For better or worse, products and the designed world are used as tools for self-determination. In childhood, toys become part of a playful process of becoming ones’ self. Child psychologists have known for decades that through play, children learn empathy, “try on” identities, and experiment with their place in the world. Essentially, in childhood we play our way through discovering who we are. Unfortunately for kids today, the designed world doesn’t leave much room for them to explore. Most toys come with pre-defined identities and stories, which rob children of the joy of imagining these things. There is also a dearth of open-ended toys, or toys without instructions and right and wrong answers. This leaves few opportunities to figure out how to use a toy, experiment, fail, and invent the story of where it came from, and why it does what it does. READ MORE: The Case For Letting Kids Design Their Own Play | Co.Design | business + design.
Tag Archives: identity
The Problem With The Color Blue | Co.Design #business #branding
Blue may seem like a safe bet for a brand’s identity. The data suggests otherwise…There is plenty of psychological research on reactions to blue and other colors, but to evaluate the strategy of choosing blue for a brand, we wanted to measure how blue actually performs, to examine how it measures up against other colors in competitive environments. After all, brands have to compete—they have to work against the idea of sameness and command a premium. So we looked at the comparative performance of blue and other colors in several real-life contexts
READ MORE: The Problem With The Color Blue | Co.Design | business + design
Free e-book: Hanging Out, Messing Around, Geeking Out| Tame The Web
Free e-book: Hanging Out, Messing Around, Geeking Out | Tame The Web
Full title: Hanging Out, Messing Around, Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning New Media.
From the series forward: This book series is founded upon the working hypothesis that those immersed in new digital tools and networks are engaged in an unprecedented exploration of language, games, social interaction, problem solving, and self-directed activity that leads to diverse forms of learning. These diverse forms of learning are reflected in expressions of identity, how individuals express independence and creativity, and in their ability to learn, exercise judgment, and think systematically.
Direct link to the pdf here.
15 TED Talks That Will Change Your Life | Mashable
15 of the most inspirational, tear-jerking and downright beautiful TED talks out there.
via 15 TED Talks That Will Change Your Life | Mashable.
A great list of TED talks. My favourites on the list are talks 3. Elizabeth Gilbert: Your Elusive Creative Genius and 13. Andrew Solomon: Love, No Matter What.
How to Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft Online | Mashable [Infographic]
Criminals are also getting more sophisticated and tech savvy, but sometimes, we do most of the job for them. After all, “password” is still one of the most popular passwords on the Internet. And there’s no need to tell you why that’s a bad idea via How to Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft Online | Mashable.
Top Ten (10) Social Media Competencies for Information Professionals | The Search Principle
Top Ten (10) Social Media Competencies for Information Professionals | The Search Principle
Pull Quote:
Top Ten (10) Social Media Competencies for Information Professionals (2013)
- Understand, explain and teach others about the principles and trends of social media, web 2.0 (and library 2.0 / archives 2.0)
- List major tools, categories and affordances of social media
- Apply social media to solve information problems, and communicate digitally with users
- Use social networking sites for promotional, reference and instructional services in libraries
- Navigate, evaluate and create content on social networking sites
- Follow netiquette, conform to ethical standards and interact appropriately with others online
- Explain copyright, security and privacy issues on social media to colleagues and user communities
- Understand the importance of digital identity and reputation management in a social media age
- Explain related terminology such as collaboration 2.0, remix and open source
- Renew social media competencies, advocate for institutional strategies and policiesand build evidence base in social media
The Promise And Peril Of Big Data | Co.Exist: World changing ideas and innovation
“From health care to city management, we hold out a lot of hope for data–and even more, “Big Data”–to fix our problems. And, in many cases, it surely will. But the perils of personal information being freely available to all–from fraud, to identity theft, to authoritarian intrusion–are also clear. Data is a double-edged sword that’s just as likely to deprive us of our individualism, as serve up the perfect, and personalized, 21st-century solution.”
via The Promise And Peril Of Big Data | Co.Exist: World changing ideas and innovation.
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