Tag Archives: apps

Shared Situation? Try This!

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You probably have some shared situations with friends, family, coworkers, neighbors or others. This video shows you how to access and start using the Shared Situation Guide on your desktop or mobile. Your shared situation can be whatever your group is dealing with or considering. A shared situation might be a problem, challenge, opportunity, place, set of circumstances, something you’re managing or working on together, and so on. With smartphones, we have new possibilities. For more, see http://ss.proxthink.com.

Description of Upcoming Workshop on Sustainable Variety

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Here’s my current description of an upcoming workshop on sustainable variety. I’m thinking of calling it the Get More Sustainable Variety Workshop. I’ll let you know when things are more finalized and you can sign up!

Why Sign Up —
You may share a situation with some friends, family, co-workers, neighbors or others. Your shared situation is whatever your group is dealing with or considering. With smartphones, we have new possibilities. This hands-on workshop will show you how to combine the Quip mobile app and the sustainable proximities approach, helping you collaborate better to improve shared situations. Doing so can lead to greater sustainable variety, since keeping the proximity alive is boosted by variety. Not only that, this approach gives people chances to relate to the proximity in a wider variety of ways. We’ll use examples most people can adapt to their own lives, and collaborate on some real world situations too. You’ll try things and can ask questions as we go. If you can’t join us in person, you can join us online!

Proximity Thinking about the California Drought

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How can proximity thinking be used to think about, and relate to, the current California drought?

The mind map below should be pretty self-explanatory. Click the image to open it full-size. Once open, you can zoom it even larger.

NOTE — THE REST OF THIS PAGE IS BASICALLY JUST FOR SEARCH ENGINES.
Since search engines can’t index the text in an image, I’m including the text from the graphic below. However, I’d recommend only looking at the graphic, as it will make a lot more sense. Also, WordPress is adding some blank lines in the outline below, and I can’t fix it. So please imagine there are no blank lines!

• A proximity thinking example, including a few basic definitions. To learn more, visit proxthink.com.
• Situation – A “situation” is whatever you are dealing with or considering.
• Element – Loosely, an “element” can be anything. Any person, place, thing, idea, feeling, time, group, relationship, situation, proximity, etc.
• Proximity – The “proximity” consists of elements related or potentially related to a situation, in physical, mental and other ways.

  • SITUATION
    California Drought
    —
    Elements in
    the proximity of this
    situation.

    • Need for water
      savings.
    • A challenge shared by
      everyone in the region.

      • Consequences of failing to
        reduce water use.
    • How much water are
      we saving?
    • Incentives to save water.
      • Save money.
      • Avoid penalties.
      • To help yourself as
        well as others.
      • What other kinds of
        rewards might there be?
    • What are ideas for saving water,
      and how do we share them?
    • Lack of enough rain
      for many years.
    • Water sources and
      related resources.
    • People, organizations, equipment
      and infrastructure in the region.
    • To what extent are our
      efforts coordinated?

      • How could this be improved?
    • Weather and forecasts.
    • Related technology,
      tools and processes.
    • How can proximity thinking be used for this situation?
      • The ProxThink Growth Model, for people who share a proximity, has four main parts:
        • Vadi Agreements
          • Vadi Agreements
            acknowledge valuable
            differences and provide
            ways to sustain them.
          • Enough water to meet
            or exceed needs is a
            valuable difference.
          • This water vadi helps
            support many things, like
            survival, sustainability,
            stability, health, happiness
            and vibrant communities.
          • Vadi Agreements can be
            explicit (legal, contractual),
            or informal, as well as the
            general agreement that
            we’re in this together.
          • Agreements can also include
            goals for water savings, which
            ProxMonitors can help track.
        • ProxMonitors
          • A way to monitor and track
            water savings and other
            related information at different
            levels (personal,
            organizational, local, regional).
          • Proximity monitors increase
            proximity awareness, which can
            help many kinds of relationships.
          • Can be both technological
            monitors and people
            reporting current conditions.
        • Proxri
          • Sharing an idea for saving
            water is also a proxri.
          • Proxri are rewards which relate elements
            in the proximity. So such rewards are
            often made with the proximity in mind.

            • Water you save is a proxri
              to yourself and others in
              the proximity.
          • Proxri can be money, or result in
            money, but the idea is much broader
            than money, and acknowledges the
            need for a wide variety of rewards.
          • Water savings may or may not
            result in money but these proxri can
            benefit multiple levels (personal,
            organizational, local, regional).
          • People may see proxri
            made by others, or needed
            proxri, at RelatePoints.
        • RelatePoints
          • Ideas for saving water can be
            shared via RelatePoints.
          • A primary place for coordinating
            relationships in this proximity.
          • A place to connect and access
            ProxMonitors, Vadi
            Agreements, Proxri (made and
            needed), and other related info.
          • Could be a website
            and/or a mobile app.
        • Are there other benefits to the ProxThink Growth Model approach?
          • We may develop new ways of
            managing shared challenges.
          • Since it enables people to see and relate to proximities in a wider
            variety of ways, it can lead to more variety in our lives, one of the
            keys to health, happiness, sustainability and vibrant communities.
          • It may help us realize how
            many proximties we share.

• Questions? Contact us via proxthink.com.
• Created by David Loughry.
• As you find this rewarding, please proxri with the proximity in mind via proxthink.com.