We have our bags packed and ready, but we need a destination.
Is there an individual or organization you know about that’s finding new and innovative ways to create change in your community? If you do, tell us about it, and we may make your nominee the subject of our next video.
The Quotidian is looking to produce original short video documentaries (under 10 minutes) about people doing good for their communities. Subjects can range from an individual taking personal initiative to improve the well-being of homeless people in his neighborhood to a local business that donates a percentage of sales to charity, for example.
Though not a necessary requirement, we’d love to tell stories that are in the development stage – whether it’s someone starting an innovative social program or a nonprofit pushing for widespread community action. We feel that focusing on the development phase of a particular action enables us to not only tell a potentially more captivating story, but a more inspirational one for the budding social entrepreneurs and volunteers of tomorrow. Our videos aim to not only explore the work of a particular individual or organization, but to also demonstrate how we can all participate in doing a world of good.
In particular, we’d love to get out of the social innovation incubation center known as the Bay Area and see how people are doing good in other parts of the country. Is there a grassroots movement to get schoolkids to help green parks? Read the rest of this entry »
If you think we’ve been antisocial of late, please don’t take it personally. We try to explain.
There have been some questions about why The Quotidian has been a little quiet lately, and so I wanted to let everyone know about what has been developing in the past few weeks.
I started The Quotidian a few months ago with the purpose of thinking more deeply about how our everyday actions – from buying light bulbs to consuming meat – affect the larger world, and by using essays and commentary to dig deeper than your average blog to contextualize these issues in a fresh way.
It was important that we didn’t just reflect on the issues, however, but to also show what people were trying to do about them, and there seemed no better way to capture how change is happening in our communities than with shortform video documentaries that bring these actions and movements to life.
The hypnotizing power of video is, of course, nothing new and it’s no secret that online video has become an incredibly powerful medium that continues to grow not only in viewership but in quality and distribution opportunities. But with more people watching than ever, are the stories of people creating societal change at the grassroots level being given enough opportunity to be told?
The Quotidian can better fulfill its mission of educating and inspiring people about how any individual can do good for his or her community by focusing on the production of short video documentaries about these efforts. Read the rest of this entry »
If you’ve ever wondered what else could be done with a single parking space – here are some ideas.
With PARK(ing) Day 2009 fast approaching, here’s a look back at some of the wonderful projects people came up with for the event in San Francisco a couple years back.
If you’re not familiar, PARK(ing) Day is a one-day, worldwide event that raises awareness about the use of public space and urban planning issues by transforming parking spaces into public parks, guerrilla-style. Ordinary citizens take over one or more parking spaces for the day by feeding the meter and then reinventing their borrowed space by installing a putting green, croquet course, or even a chicken farm.
The San Francisco-based creative collective Rebar started the event in 2005, and it’s been growing steadily every year with more and more cities across the country and the world participating.
I hope that this video will give you an impression of what an amazing and transformational event this can be. Also, given that PARK(ing) Day 2009 is roughly three months from now, this is the perfect time to start planning your own project for September 18. Check out the PARK(ing) Day 2009 Web site that’s been revamped with wonderful digital tools to help you get inspired and started with a project of your own.
Thanks to Sarah Evershed for her help with producing parts of this piece, which was shot entirely on a Flip camera.
Back from the desert and now in edit lockdown for our next video on Party Corps – stay tuned for news about its release in the coming weeks. 2 months ago
Thanks Tucson for showing me fantastic people doing amazing work, for sharing your inspirational stories – and for free airport wifi. 2 months ago
Getting ready to cross the border into Nogales - sort of the Tijuana of the Arizona border. 2 months ago
Is there an individual or organization you know about that’s finding new and innovative ways to create change in your community? If you do, tell us about it, and we may make your nominee the subject of our next video.
There have been some questions about why The Quotidian has been a little quiet lately, and so I wanted to let everyone know about what has been developing in the past few weeks.
