News Etc

I’m about to begin blogging and doing social media outreach for a new client, Quiet Enjoyment Infrastructure. These guys, led by Wes Kussmaul, are looking to “boil the ocean” and change the way we think about online security. Their model asserts that the way we think about online security is fundamentally flawed. Rather than trying to keep out threats one by one (a futile undertaking), we ought to be pushing for infrastructures that encourage “authenticity,” a central concept for QEI.

It’s a fascinating way of thinking and it takes a minute to get your head round it. I aim to help them find the right expressions, communication channels, and inroads with thought leaders to help spread the word.

I love freelancing. But every now and then, a full-time possibility presents itself that is just too good not to jump at, and last month one such possibility came to me via Idealist.

Before I go any further, I’ll kill the suspense: I didn’t get this particular full-time job. Somebody with deeper, more applicable experience did. (Pshh. I guess for some reason a seasoned Communications Manager with lots of “experience” running a “department” and “doing a fantastic job” moving the organization “forward” is somehow better than, you know . . me. I know, I know, it strains credibility, but not everyone can be so prescient as to instantly realize my infinite worth.)

But I still want to talk about the organization, because they’re the bees knees.

They’re called Goods for Good, a New York-based nonprofit whose missions is to turn excess into progress by taking surplus goods scheduled for destruction in the U.S. and making them available to partner NGOs (Non-governmental organizations) in Malawi, Africa.

Having spent time in the kinds of classrooms they supply–you know, the kind with 40 kids packed into a 15′ x 15′ room, concrete floors if you’re lucky, no furniture, and perhaps 5 textbooks and 3 pens for the lot to share–I really love their mission. A few tons of pens might be headed for a landfill or a zillion yards of fabric might be languishing in a warehouse, unused. G4G steps in and says “Um, if you’re not using that, I’ve got a great idea . . .” They ship the pens to schools in need around the Lilongwe area (near the middle of the country). The fabric goes to young tailors-in-training to make badly-needed school uniforms.

I’m especially a fan of the priority they make of partnership, developing relationships with schools and other NGOs. There are way too many people who show up in Africa with “a Land Rover and a plan” without any intention of truly learning about the culture and what locals are saying and doing about development in their own country. Like Lao Tzu said: “Go to the people. Live with them. Learn from them. Love them. Start with what they know. Build with what they have. But with the best leaders, when the work is done, the task accomplished, the people will say ‘We have done this ourselves.’” While the people in this case won’t exactly believe they made the pens, fabric, and everything else, they’re the ones who use them to give the kids a better shot at success.

In addition, the idea of using surplus from a rich country is pure dynamite, both for the practical reasons and for the massive potential it holds for getting people excited to help here in the U.S. “Wait, I can join an organization that’s not only helping schools in one of the world’s poorest countries, but simultaneously cutting down on waste in our country?”

Of course, there’s much more that they do, which you can read about for yourself.

Big ideas always find people to help make them happen. I’ve got to think Goods for Good has a bright future, and I wish them well.

Donate or learn more.

Shameless plug for a friend’s business here–but it’s a great business well worth shamelessly plugging. In fact, I amend my adjective: This is a shame-free plug for a friend’s excellent business.

The Fruited Plain Cafe was just written up in the New York Times. Co-owned and managed by Laremy DeVries, a man with whom I once shared a dorm room and a crush on the same girl (more on that in a minute), this dandy little establishment serves the tiny town of Sioux Center Iowa with premium coffee, wines from around the world, a fine beer selection, plenty of lunch fare, and dinners served up on weekends by none other than their resident Sicilian, Giovanni Romero. Read the article for more about Giovanni and his authentic Italian culinary stylings.

Laremy married and had a precocious daughter with Rebecca (Schelhaas) DeVries, the aforementioned mutual crush as well as the co-owner of–and the brains behind–the Fruited Plain. What can I say? When you’re outmatched, sometimes you just need to step aside and let the victor claim his prize–and a prize she is indeed. Together, the two run a comfortable, unassuming, yet cultured little establishment that is winning over more and more local residents by the day. Trying to sound as pretentious as possible, I regularly tell Lar that I’d probably frequent his cafe as much as any in Chicago. The only difference between the Fruited Plain and any of the hip, well-run places in these parts is that I don’t have to pay $8.50 for a scone or feel out of place amongst the ironic t-shirts, tight jeans, and meticulously bedraggled hairstyles of the hipster hoards that frequent them.

The Cafe features fairly-traded coffee, a stage where young musicians flip the hair out of their eyes to tell you about why they wrote this next song, an elegant Backroom Bistro that serves 50 patrons, family-style, and even a small play area for the kids. It’s one of those small-town places that can make a jaded city dweller rethink his choice of habitat.

If you live in Iowa or happen by my old college town of Sioux Center, stop by “the Plain” and tell them Adam sent you. After they say “Adam who?” and you patiently (but curtly) respond “SMIT,” they’ll smile and offer you a warm cup of something and a plate with something else you’ll invariably scarf right on down.

And goodness gracious do they need a website. I think I’ll see if I can help with that.

A blog post about how my website (wherein my blog is contained) is now finished.

My website is now finished!

It took a lot longer than I expected, and I had to learn a little about PHP and a lot about WordPress, but here she is. If you’ve got any feedback, I’m 97% ears.

And now it’s time to go and get some sunlight on this pasty, sallow skin.

According to the Download Squad at Switched.com, the world’s biggest fire-breathing spam network was shut down by the knights at Microsoft, with help from the federal government, Pfizer, FireEye, and the University of Washington.

The dragon, known as Rustock, accounted for an estimated 39% of global spam and could send out 30 billion spam daily back in its heyday.

As a happy result, your tech-challenged parents or grandparents need no longer huddle together in fear every time they open their email. Plus, you may get fewer calls to come over and fix their machine. Let’s be honest, though: You know it made you feel useful, and you never call often enough anyway.

Now if you could just get them to stop paying for AOL . . .