SaaS - Software as a service - Working together towards solving problems of the day

Software as a Service - SaaS is probably one of the finest innovations of the Internet yet. With people's abilities to use the Internet more frequently and more efficiently, essentially moving your desktop "on line" is naturally the next step. Think of it... no more restrictions of what you can and cannot do. No more restrictions of who you can contact and access. As part of a whole you are stronger and the delivery of work as a whole is less restricted by your silly scanner, e-mail storage limits and independent work flow calendars. More so, with the proper network set, you can find the right people instantly per job requirement and spend less time looking for the ideal employee. I can recount the many ways it was frustrating to find the right person for a specific job that I needed done "Today" without a network of people to tap into.

By buying into a service, you are contributing a comparatively small monthly fee (and sometimes it is free thanks to minimal advertisements along the right side of your screen) and receiving a MASSIVE, constantly updated and improved virtual machine. The power is in numbers and likewise, everyone benefits. The more participants there are, the more the developers can afford to enhance your experience.

From a work experience perspective, I have learnt over time, that not every one is naturally cut out to be an organiser - least an organised person. Furthermore, I found that I either had a very a big picture thinker in my team that could  never get anything done (not even keep notes) or in most cases, very talented people who are excellent at focussing on one thing but struggle to see the bigger picture.

However, having the work experience of Creative Direction, I can empathise with both sides of that coin for even with a tight well oiled structure of daily "scrums", constant reporting, target deadlines, etc. I was ever so grateful to have a database (even if it was an in house Access database). While working on developing On line work-related applications for other clients such as School Boards, Health Units, etc., I can easily picture how much of an improvement a SaaS would be for any work responsibilities either as a Manager or a contributing worker. While you are within a well structured network of easily accessible information, well organised work flows and instant support there is much less to gripe about at your job and much more time spent working feeling the rewards of a job well done.

Ultimately you have more people working together at solving the problems of the day, speeding up the momentum of progress (whatever that may be defined as for you) and lessening strife.

Less win / lose situations = less conflict = harmony

A.K.A. Everyone Wins

Fundamental Laws of Story Telling: The MONOSTORY

(Continue to the end for an informational video)

Story telling is arguably the first art form that sprung from the creative human mind. It is the root to all of our myths and legends and it contains within itself the fundamental laws of the human experience. To understand these laws makes you a good story teller and history suggests that it was the good story tellers that understood the world around them the best. In many cultures, the bard, the priest/priestess and the "Shaman" (pardon my universal application of this term) had the upper hand in society - whether it be in the power reflected in social status or power in his/her abilities to provide for the community. These figures in society had the creative prowess to deliver inspiring leadership and some of the greatest wisdoms which have transcended through time in various forms.

"The Scream" - by Edvard Munch

For this reason, if true, if having a better understanding of the human experience through story telling will improve my understanding of the creative process, then I am compelled to go back to the roots of this ancient art form.

It was in stories that the story teller could teleport the human mind into a different state. Following the guided path downward, the apt story teller has the ability to safely take you through vicarious experiences of strife and seemly insurmountable challenges in stages without any harm done to you. Within we may tear up, feel scared and before we know it, the experience can feel very real. As such, it is necessary for there to develop a bond between you and the storyteller - and that is why you listen on.

It is only at the right time, after all of the various stages of facing numerous challenges, that we are dared to approach the story's climax. It is only then that a story  teller has prepared you to face the final challenges that are reflected within you. We cheer for the champion - a.k.a. the locus of our identity - and whether the characters we have learned to love die or loose tragically or not, their efforts do not go in vain. Ultimately we always gain something, whether it be insight, morals, wisdom, warnings, etc.

As so too reflected in the modern world of creative productions (and not limiting to novel or screenplay writing) good stories are written every day and always beget good creative results. This is not to say that every creative process requires an elaborately woven story however, I find that to some degree, do to the inherited nature of the human experience, that all human creations will have some form of a story to it - simple or complex - conscious or subconscious - emotive or matter of factly.

I found this video to be most helpful. It is at risk of pointing out the obvious however the speaker does a very good job of formulating the fundamental concepts of storytelling in a very neat and well rounded fashion. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

The MONOSTORY: