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Posts Tagged ‘Hawaii’

Stories of Our Remains

August 1st, 2011
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anatomy of a cell, showing the mitochondria where mtDNA is located

mitochondria (in red), part of a cell

This is a joint post with ManyMedia, offering two perspectives on this singular event: a visit to JPAC, a military lab that works to recover remains of the dead following war (repatriation).

This post is about constructing a victim’s identity, which is a puzzle constructed from the bits of a person’s remains and life.

Many people like to think about how each of us are unique, despite our commonalities: basic upright shape, two arms and two legs, 206 bones in our body (most in our hands and feet). In fact, our unique nature is what helps identify who we are. For example, our skull reveals our age, racial affiliation, biological sex, and our specific identity through many features including certain geometries of our whole skull, our teeth, and our DNA.

The DNA is the interesting part. Sampling skeletal or dental remains allows a look at nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. Nuclear DNA (taken from a cell’s nucleus) is specific to a person and can display genetic patterns of a family. It’s what is used in standard DNA testing. Mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA, is passed down by the mother, and is good evidence (though not conclusive) of a specific family relationship. Here’s an article from Genebase (a global testing service) about mtDNA and it’s role in heredity.

Our DNA has one set of stories to reveal about us, but it wouldn’t be complete without the people, places and activities that also made up those lives. People who survived catastrophic incidents, or pieces of life (sardine cans from a last meal, pieces of helmets or parachutes), or other “material evidence” are also puzzle pieces that help develop an identity. The JPAC lab works with all of this evidence to re-construct the identities of the soldiers and victims of war.

Coaching moment: Sometimes context is everything. Contrary to the common approach in “Web 2.0″ technologies, our lives are rarely as simple as one bone, one face or one persona. Our current tools are poor fits for offering a more robust representation of who we are and what we want or need.

There are tools and concepts in development that will give us better control over what specific information we choose to keep or share, in different contexts, with others. These new tools are more about the living, but will also help us better understand the past.

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Digital Identity and PodCamp Hawaii

November 12th, 2008
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Last month Hawaii saw it’s first PodCamp/WordCamp. Roxanne Darling of Bare Feet Studios rallied an amazing line-up of sponsors. Over 400 people (including some representing their businesses) came to learn from a diverse and talented group of speakers, who were talking about WordPress and blogging, tweeting, Podcasting (video and audio-casting), Social Media, and Business Uses of these concepts.

What does this have to do with identity?

Everything. The tools we learned about are all tools for self-expression. The Web, audio and video are tools to help us show and explain the world that we are part of. They give voice to the beautiful, the ironic, the funny, and the learning parts of life. We have the power, expanded by these tools, to share our own stories.

What did PodCamp Hawaii have to do with business?

Everything.

Businesses have an identity and express themselves too. Marketers call the business identity a “brand,” and protect it with intellectual property laws (copyrights, trademarks, etc.). Sounds so cold, doesn’t it?

It doesn’t have to be. Businesses can (and many do) use social media tools to express themselves in a more personal way with their clients and customers. Businesses are “reaching out” and learning to interact. Just like any learning process, some are better at this than others. It takes practice.

Coaching moment: we use language to show or withhold respect for others. Before your business engages in using new tools, check your language and metaphor defaults: have you “won” your customers because of “successful campaigns” on the marketing “battlefield?” Or have you welcomed your customers to help make your business successful? The former is closed and hostile. The latter opens doors for all kinds of beneficial conversations.

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Scattered!

November 11th, 2008
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This last month has been hectic. I helped with PodCamp and Wordcamp Hawaii, the first podcamp held in Hawaii. It was all-consuming, and wildly successful.

I have several posts in the queue. Notably, I’m at the Internet Identity Workshop right now, so you’ll be seeing notes from the conference soon.

Coaching moment: Sometimes we are not ourselves. Despite our best intent, other priorities get in our way. It’s often helpful to take a few deep breaths, observe our state of mind, another few deep breaths, and get on with business. We’ll be back to “normal” (as it is for each of us) soon enough.

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