I just stumbled upon an interactive list of cool collaborative tools, organized by category. Very cool and obviously a lot of research has gone into it. I encourage you to check it out: http://www.mindmeister.com/12213323 

Also, if you haven't discovered mindmeister, where the the list is located, you are missing out on one of the best creative, brainstorming, mind mapping tool online.

Check out the Collaborative Tool Mind Map.

Here are some facts re: US Latinos that may surprise some: 

* 40% of US kids are Multicultural

* 30% Latino parents have up to 10th gd education.

* 80% of Latino kids are first in fam to go to college

* Latinos are 31% more likely to be on Twitter than net population

* 73% of Hispanics are more likely to purchase a brand associated with a cause

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The #2Cultures Twitter Party

Date:  7/7/2010

Time: 7 - 9 pm EST

Hashtag: #2Cultures

Join us for a celebration of individuals that live on the borders of two or more cultures! 

When I was in my early 20's, my best friend and I decided to move to New York. We had gone to college in Washington D.C. and decided we wanted to experience the beat and hussle of NYC. 

Bridget is from Ohio and, as she jokingly states, in our circle of friends she was the first "real" American friend many of us had ever had. We still fondly remember many of the emergency "meetings" we had about severe miscommunications that could have ended really badly. In fact, my relationship with Bridget was, in many ways, the beginning of the intense, bicultural, identity-searching adventure I had in college. 

I had grown up in New York - Yonkers specifically - and as my best friend, it was my duty and honor to offer her my family home. At this point, I saw Bridget as my sister, and she had known me long enough to "get my family." However, in my deep appreciation for Bridget's cultural sensitivity, I forgot that there were things I still had to explain to her. She was NOT, in fact, Cuban by osmosis and, at that time, had not had enough exposure to understand that words such as "coffee" did not mean the same to all people - even if they were spoken in English. 

The following are articles I wrote for the Online Journalism Review - a point of reference in the journalism world.

----  What is the future of Journalism and Social Media

----  Ethnic Media's Four-Step Model for the News Industry's Future

I was published in the Canadian Association of Journalists monthly magazine. My SEO How to Guide was published in their Winter 2010 edition. I basically tried to provide journalists with guidance on how to SEO, or search engine optimize, their articles. I think I did a good job at giving a good overview.

In the 19th and 20th centuries,  societies were shaped and molded by philosophers and the beaujouis class. In 2010, the technologists and the "public" have taken reign - or so it seems.

During the earlier days of the internet, experts cited the 1% rule which proposes that more people will "lurk" in a virtual community than actually participate. Specifically, the theory states that "1% of people create content, 9% edit or modify that content, and 90% view the content without contributing." The theory, however, fails to include the number of people that  cannot access virtual spheres because of age, poverty, technophobia, etc. What begins to emerge is a clear, shocking picture of a reality that is hidden by first world assumptions: Everyone is on the net and everyone is equally represented. In fact, the internet is still just as elitis as the real world.

The difference, however, is that the current technological elite fights relentlessly and sincerely to close that gap.

What is Pronia?
Society has a clear message for you: You are in danger, you are worthless, and you will never amount to anything. Sounds like something someone mentally unhealhty would say, yet we embrace this energetic filth and indoctrinate our souls to be believe it whole heartedly.

We are quick to assume the worst in ourselves and in each other, regardless of the positive experiences of solidarity and compassion we have had along the wayIs it surprising that so many of us have problems with anxiety, depression and self esteem? How could you possibly be comfortable with yourself or others, if we are constantly reminded to hate and fear.

I have another option for you. Tell society and its paranoid programming to go f#$@ itself. There is a different path you can take. Opt, instead to embrace pronia - the idea that, in fact, the universe and your fellow humans, love you and want you to do well. This is a much better narrative to take part in - and just as real -  than the one offered to you by the the mainstream communication channels.

Like most Generation X ers, I probably enjoyed my youth a bit too much. We were the generation of raves - spiritual parties that were organic, uncommericalized, and cultivated community and comradeship. Most importantly, they were fun and provided a brief moment in time to liberate ourselves from the confines of society.

Many Gen Xers can recall more than one night of being covered in absurd amounts of glitter and sweat, watching the sun rise in some field or deserted location, with a group of close friends. The feeling of love and connection with the universe that would overcome us is indescribable. We felt like a tribe and everything highlighted our desire to become a collective, collaborative, primitive whole - or rather - one single, enlightened, pulsating organism of diversity.

The music was tribal. The outfits were tribal. And we acted tribal.