The suicide death of 15 year-old Amanda Todd was a preventable and tragic event. Her mother, Carol Todd, has asked that her daughter’s death be used as a means to prevent the death of another child. Our children need to understand that suicide is not the coping option. That one can survive being bullied. That we all make mistakes, that we all are stronger when we have a support system to lean on.
Chris Pirillo, a man who I admire very much, has a suggestion – a one-day conference for children to learn that bully victims can and do survive and most importantly for them to know that life is worth living. I am supporting Chris in his effort to put such a conference together. I solicit your support, spiritual, fiscal, and participatory.
Unintended Consequences – Time for a paradigm shift
On 2 November, I gave a talk, “Unintended Consequences” at Gnomedex. I spoke to the need to recognize that “always-on” isn’t necessarily always good. I went on to describe the train-wrecks which occur when technology which is created for good, is used in a manner, unintended. I then shared the stories of 36 young people who we lost in 2010 due to being overwhelmed, both online and off.
A discussion surrounding bullying
I had the pleasure of speaking with Chris Pirillo pre-Gnomedex about a variety of subjects, some light, some humorous and one very serious – the topic of bullying and the attendant suicides. During this discussion, I also shared my thoughts on how we as a collective society need to step up and accomplish in the immediate future. I do hope you will come and listen to my talk on the Gnomedex stage at Seattle Interactive conference on 2 November 2011 at 1400 hours (2:00pm).
The presentation is titled: “Unintended Consequences”