NETWORKING FUN FOR THE INTROVERTED: Pan Historia

Networking Fun for the Introverted with Wendy Kovitz

One of the first things I did when I became active on Twitter was to seek out other creative writers. I was quickly intrigued with Pan Historia --a haven, think-tank and playground for collaborative writers and role-playing fans and got to know one of the founders who calls himself "Wyatt Earp." Over the course of my interview process, I found out that his real name is Dan Rice and he writes in the fantasy, horror and, as his pseudonym implies, western genres. I love the way information trickles down in Twitter, it's more about who the person is rather than what's on a business card.

"Wyatt Earp"

...depicting two of the central elements in my Pan fiction at the time I painted it: Wyatt Earp and Ancient Egypt. I used oil and encaustic on gessoed watercolor paper.

- by Dan Rice

Interview with Wyatt (aka Dan Rice)

Tell us a little about the founders of Pan Historia and their desire to build an online community for collaborative writing and role-playing.

My sister dragged me to a site called Ancient Sites years ago and I was bitten by the collaborative writing version of role-play to the point that I forgot all about D&D and other versions of the genre. The site had been built as forums for some online game based on Ancient Rome but had jumped off into an entirely different direction based on the whims and creativity of the users. It was that creativity that inspired me, as well as the odd fact that the investors in Ancient Sites seemed antagonistic to the fiction writers when it seemed to me that they were the sole financial supporters of the site. There was an attempt to monetize the site that failed miserably around about the dot.com crash and all that creativity disappeared into the emptiness of cyberspace limbo. Fortunately for many of the writers other options were on the horizon even before the site went belly up.

I had started working on a community for writers that would embrace the role-play aspects that had kept me excited and writing consistently almost every day. I started out with a programmer friend, my sister, and a good friend that I met on Ancient Sites. Between us we worked out a design, the software, and the site was launched in time to welcome a flood of refugees from the Ancient Sites community.

Is there a code of conduct that collaborators follow, and if so, who (and I hate to use the term) enforces it?

We have some basic guidelines about courtesy to other writers and their characters - like no killing them off without permission. In the case of our site there is definitely a unique culture in how we go about collaborating and role playing our characters in a fiction setting. It's a good idea when just getting started, for example, to talk everything through with your new writing partners and not just throw stuff at people and expect them to hit the ball back. There is, on the other hand, as many ways to go about the thing as there are collaborative novels and writers at Pan Historia.

What happens to a work once it's finished? How do you know when it's finished?

Very few collaborative novels get finished at Pan. That's going to be a new evolution for me and my fellow writers. When it comes to story telling our 'novels' are much more like TV shows with a new episode every week and when one story arch ends another is starting up. Characters come and go, but the story remains. Eventually many stories just dry up, but I'm looking forward to creating 'season finales' to some of mine to give both readers and writers that satisfying sense of completion - as well as enable print versions of some of the stories.

What are the demographics for Pan Historia?

It's about two-thirds women to men with many people being college educated, interested in arts and everyone loves to read. Most people tend to either have no kids or the chicks have flown the nest - because let's face it, you need some private time to write. I used to believe that a lot of D&D and gamer types would be drawn to Pan, but it's really a very different crowd and most of our members do not readily flock to other kinds of social media. We also have a large number of college students, and I would say most of the members come from the US but we do have some people from the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.

How about the sister site Pan Erotica (adults only)?

It's much smaller - more like a nightclub for the kind of people that want to let their hair down, but it's not as risqué as its title implies. It's just intimate.

Tell us about the free membership and activities...

There is no need to subscribe to Pan Historia to enjoy almost all of the activities. Boards are viewable by all once you register, and you can join in and start reading and writing right away. Everyone gets their home and instant messaging for free (just make Pan a safe site when it comes to popups). We don't allow any outside advertising either, though I have been an Amazon affiliate forever, but that's worth about $25 a year.

The site is entirely member supported, however, by the people that do subscribe. Those subscriptions pay for my time as administrator and programmer, as well as all the server costs. Of course it doesn't pay well enough for me to stay home and work full time on Pan. It's really most a labor of love for me at this point considering the amount of time I put in.

Tell us about Pandemoney?...

Pandemoney is more like a game then anything. It's our form of site currency. When a member subscribes they receive a certain amount of panickels that they can use to purchase site features such as more characters per username, their own novel to run, attractive new icons, reserved names for added uniqueness, and character banners that show up on the main pages of the community.

What are the goals for Pan Historia? Who are the people you need to connect with to make them happen?

I really would like Pan Historia to be more successful as a community in terms of membership. I have no aspirations to be the new Facebook or MySpace, but it would be nice to see the community grow and embrace writers and readers of all varieties who are willing to get into a social activity instead of lonely writing. I think if we were maybe four times the size we are now it would be more self-sustaining too. Too big though and we would lose what makes us great.

I'm still searching for how to make that happen. It's been an ongoing project to try and get such a small backwater of the internet into a more prominent locale for people. So far I have focused on getting people to the front door and then hoping the site will sell itself.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Pan Historia is not a 3-D driven Second Life experience. There is plenty of room for imagination and creativity which technology will never be able to fully master--good news for writers and artists alike. After meandering through the current issue of The Pan Historian and the archives I got a further glimpse into the writers, characters and the fun they have in the within the "walls" of the community. I've connected with many of the writers on Twitter and enjoy the camaraderie and subliminal reminders to write everyday, ponder what it means to be human and, yes, clean the house.

While the solitude of writing may seem the ideal refuge for an introvert, I can assure you that utter dread of networking and abhorrence of shameless self-promotion will, in no small way, hamper your success. (Trust me on that one.) Therefore, I would be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity to thank my Twitter pals (who ever they may be in real life) for taking time to visit my "fictional blog epic," especially for feedback like "it made my head hurt." While I've assured DiamondSharp that it was not my intent to cause emotional or bodily harm through my writing, I am constantly looking for ways to be more reader-friendly -- or possibly a connection to someone in psychological warfare in the Pentagon.

Writing can be a very lonely hobby or profession, but thanks to Wyatt and Pan Historia it's easy to see the beauty, necessity and practicality of networking and collaboration.

Wyatt's contact info:

Social media:
http://www.twitter.com/panhistoria
http://www.facebook.com/panhistoria
http://www.myspace.com/panhistoria

Collaborative writing and blogs:
http://www.panhistoria.com/
http://www.panhistoria.wordpress.com/
http://wyattswriting.wordpress.com/
http://www.panerotica.us/

Other sites of interest:
http://www.ancientworlds.net/
http://www.bardicweb.com/

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Next month: "Millennial Kingdom and Generation Y"

- Wendy Kovitz
The Great National Kiss-In for Equality-Philadelphia! http://www.facebook.com/wendy.kovitz#/event.php?eid=122955264512&ref=mf

email
http://bookofara.blogspot.com/2009/07/introduction-by-roarke.html
http://www.twitter.com/wlkovitz
http://www.facebook.com/wendy.kovitz


For more information, please visit Wendy's TNNW Bio.

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In memory of my father-in-law Joel H. Kovitz

Pragmatic yet warm and approachable,
He remains an inspiration to all who knew him
and left big shoes to fill.

*******
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NETWORKING FUN FOR THE INTROVERTED: Pan Historia

TNNW Updates! July, 2009, Week 3

JULY, 2009, Week 3
UPDATE ISSUE 4 (New Format)

Coming in August:

Aside from the results of TNNW Surveys #88 and #89 (which will be published in separate Special Editions) which you can review to refresh your recall of the subject matter at http://TheNationalNetworkerSurveys.blogspot.com, we have a bullet series of goodies headed your way. Incidentally, if you should have ideas for surveys which you would like for us to design, publicize, analyze and use for your branding advantage, go to the Survey Site! As promised, here are the bullet points:

• High-Utility Killer Content


• Sharp New Look and Super-Simplified Navigation and Access


• The World's Best Suite of Member Services*


• Some Brilliant New Writers


• Direct Professional Introductions


• The Ultimate Intelligence Source - THE NATIONAL NEWSPICKER**


• TNNW BUZZWORKS - Our SWAT Team Becomes Available to YOU***

*Imagine These MEMBER SERVICES, Bundled for Optimal Efficiency:

• Complete Public Relations, Publicity and Press Releases;


• Financing! - For Ventures, Acquisitions, Development Projects, Operations, Purchase Orders, International Trade and Growth...Credit Insurance;


• International Agent/ Distributor Service - Go Global Instantly and Inexpensively;


• Targeted Multimedia Advertising for You, Your Organization and Your Services, Publications and Products;


• Custom Surveys and Market Research Packages.

Q: How did you live without this stuff?

**Imagine This One, Amazing, Time-Saving Resource: THE NATIONAL NEWSPICKER. One source of distilled business intelligence from over 25 of the world's most credible and authoritative sources. Twenty minutes of reading. Knowing it all. Being informed. Sounding lethally intelligent. Being more efficient, effective, powerful and valuable. Increase your Relationship Capital (Adam J. Kovitz is the Avatar of Relationship Capital, by the way). Also: We invite our Subscribers and Members to rename this thing. Please.


Q: How did you live without this stuff? (We're asking again!)



***Imagine This Kind of Artillery, Working for You: TNNW BUZZWORKS, giving you visibility, credibility, image, identity and a constant presence across all e-media. Full saturation marketing.


KNOWLEDGE + APPLICATION = POWER.

****Blogs to visit:
http://Braintenance.blogspot.com
http://TheGlobalFuturist.blogspot.com
http://TheInternationalistPage.blogspot.com
http://HumanitasMaximus.blogspot.com
http://DouglasCastleIEP.blogspot.com
http://aboutDouglasCastle.blogspot.com
http://SrMeetUp.blogspot.com


We will make you glad that you joined us and became a part of our growing, interactive international community. And of course, they'll be plenty of buttons...




With our Commitment of Great Things to Come,

Adam J. Kovitz and Douglas Castle (who is not quite as important as Adam J. Kovitz)




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TNNW Updates! July, 2009, Week 3

THE REHUMANIZATION OF NETWORKING: ADVICE: Question Your "Advisors" and Their Motivations

ADVICE: Question Your "Advisors" and Their Motivations.

Dear Readers (and those special folks who only look at the pictures):

I have learned much though my participation in the amazingly rapid development and growth of THE NATIONAL NETWORKER Companies (special thanks here to my dear friend Adam J. Kovitz, who talked me into "helping out a bit with a small project," a year ago, and to the ever-popular Rick Itzkowich of QuoteActions, who knows an amazing secret ... how to make friends). This past year has actually clarified and crystallized something about Human Behavior (we K-PAXians are constantly observing Human Behavior -- it's fun) which I have long believed. It applies to you. Me too. Nobody is exempt.

Some great achievers have succeeded by disregarding almost all of the "well-intended" advice of others. Perhaps intuitively some of these great achievers understand that most seemingly "well-intended" advice is actually thinly-veiled bitter admonition about what is impossible, and very little encouragement about that which has never been tried, but which presents an irresistible opportunity for a deserving and tenacious person.

Some advice is merely discouragement fired at you from someone who has been embittered by personal failure. He or she is actually emotionally invested in your failure, for if you were to succeed, it would emphasize the magnitude of his or her own shortcomings. This "misery loves company" syndrome is a contagious disease, and is very easily transmitted. Friends and colleagues should support each other through difficulty -- but they should also encourage, support and celebrate each other's successes.

Some advice is offered to shield you from hurt. While well-intentioned, it can cause you to withdraw from a challenge. It can keep you safely in your cage, where no one can hurt you, but where you are a prisoner. The sad truth is that we learn best by our own real-life, real-time experiences, and that we must expect some pain in the process of growth. Those exercises hurt, but they strengthen you. That scar tissue is stronger than the virgin tissue which came before it. Living in fear is simply waiting for death. Don't do it.

Some advice is intended to program and manipulate you into serving someone else's needs or agenda. When daddy is getting ready to retire from his scrap metal salvage business, he might prevail upon you to take over the family business (like George Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life). You might be interested in xenobiology, but daddy wants you to be a scrapologist. Who will have to ultimately live with your decision? You will. [I enjoy answering my own rhetorical questions]

You must choose your advisors, and evaluate their advice very carefully. Ultimately you will find that you are the only advisor who is completely qualified to determine what will bring you happiness and prosperity.

Bottom line 1: Always judge the source and his/her motivations before taking his/her advice to heart.

Bottom line 2: Watch people before you listen to them. Are they credible? Do they "walk the walk"? Are they the examples and avatars of what they preach?

Bottom line 3: Always seek the best advice possible, but don't forestall your action, your plans and your dreams just because you haven't collected "all of the data yet." Political careers are made by Monday morning quarterbacks who do nothing, contribute nothing, build nothing and merely ask probing questions...usually stuff like "Who knew about this, and when did he know it?" If I weren't in such polite company, I could probably state plainly where these postpartum prosecutorial parasites should deeply lodge their "probes."

Be you own best advisor. Learn to hear your own inner voice.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

For more information, please visit The Esteemed Mr. Castle's TNNW Blog.

p.s. Always judge the source and his/her motivations before taking his/her advice to heart.
p.p.s. Subscribe to the TNNW Weekly Newsletter for free at http://twitlik.com/OK .

*******
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THE REHUMANIZATION OF NETWORKING: ADVICE: Question Your "Advisors" and Their Motivations

WORKING WITHIN: Five Blinding Flashes of the Obvious

Working Within with Leanne Hoagland-Smith

Of the 130 plus million U.S. labor force, one third of them are baby boomers and represent the largest demographic within this labor market. As these soon to be retired workers leave employment, most businesses will be facing a critical human capital talent gap. #1 Blinding Flash of the Obvious

Looking at the K-16 educational experience, there is far more focus on acquiring knowledge and skills than developing good attitudes and habits. This focus continues in corporate America where training is still about technical skills while people or soft skills have perceived little to no value based upon the emphasis within existing training curriculum and budgets. Yet when analyzing performance failure such as in sales, customer service or management, the question to be asked is not “Do they (employees) know it, but rather do they want to do it?” #2 Blinding Flash of the Obvious

President Teddy Roosevelt was quoted as saying “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” #3 Blinding Flash of the Obvious

Business research continues to indicate that people leave managers and not companies. #4 Blinding Flash of the Obvious

Additional research by the HayGroup suggested that worldwide one-third of the workforce was thinking of jumping ship to work somewhere else given the first four Blinding Flashes of the Obvious. #5 Blinding Flash of the Obvious

All of these Blinding Flashes of the Obvious can be traced back in many cases to failed internal networking where mutually beneficial relationships have not been maintained. From the top down to the bottom up, many individuals feel devalued and disconnected from the organization. These feelings create distrust and distrust breeds fear. Fear creates uncertainty resulting in people leaving the organizations. This migration or what others call turnover costs billions of dollars annually including:

• New hiring costs estimated at 1 to 3 times the annual salary
• New training costs estimated at $750 to $1,500 per person per year
• Additional costs such as unemployment taxes, etc.
• Lost customers to lost productivity
• Lot more stress increasing health care costs, absenteeism, etc.

Within many small to large organizations, silos (think turfs) are created. Everyone is concerned about his or her immediate turf area and cannot see the entire football field so to speak. For example, the inside sales manager for a 15 person industrial wholesaler cannot get the Warehouse manager to make a delivery because it would mean overtime. Yet the client who needs the material is a significant long-term customer with a pending multi-million dollar contract. The salesman does not want to be disturbed because it is not his job and it’s the responsibility of the warehouse manager. Everyone is protecting her or his turf and bottom line the company loses so everyone loses.

One of the activities I share with CEOs to department managers to small business owners is to ask them about their employees. The purpose of this activity is to illustrate how well the employees are known by management. If you, as the owner or manager do not know simple information about your employees, how can you create mutually beneficial relationships?

Years ago, many companies provided opportunities to know fellow co-workers a little better. These events usually happened in the summer and in many cases involved picnics with associated team activities including: baseball, horseshoes and volleyball. By having these internal networking events, employees had time to play together and learn a little more about who they were working with.

Now is the time to invest in your internal customers (a.k.a. employees) before they leave you for greener pastures. Through internal networking and creating opportunities for your team (employment force) to interact will only strengthen your organization, create a culture of mutual trust and keep you from having one of these Five Blinding Flashes of the Obvious.


For more information, please visit Leanne's TNNW Bio.


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WORKING WITHIN: Five Blinding Flashes of the Obvious

NIGHTMARES OF NETWORKING: EQ>>IQ

Nightmares of Networking with "The Mad Genius"

30 years ago Alice Cooper wrote “Welcome To My Nightmare.” Alice has been playing too much golf, because he has no clue of what a nightmare really is. I am The Mad Genius, and welcome to “Networking Nightmares” where you shall truly know terror.

For my IT friends out there, this is not a computer network or a Web 2.0 social site. This is real face to face human interaction that has turned into a train wreck and then a horror story. But unlike the over glossed and grossed Hollywood fiascoes (including Jar Jar Binks), Networking Nightmares is a true psychological thriller (sans cameo by Hitchcock) because these stories happen every day, everywhere. And if you are unlucky enough to stumble into one, these Nightmares could happen to you!

Now you are probably wondering who The Mad Genius is. I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. Seriously. I know how, and have the people and other means at my disposal to take care of yours. Your whereabouts and remains would be as mysteriously lost as Hoffa or Ricky Martin's career. You shall know when the time is right, but three things you can know now:

1. I have more degrees than a thermometer.

2. I am legally brain damaged.

3. I have been referred to as the Lex Luthor of my field.

Yes, as my friends in Boston say, I am “wicked smaht.” But high IQ does not always translate into success, often because of a low EQ, or Emotional Quotient. Which brings us to Bob.

What about Bob? Bob was a Fraternity Brother of mine, a second generation engineer at one of the oldest and most reputable engineering institute's on the planet. Bob also did not learn (since he was an engineer from birth) that you do not talk AT someone, or even TO them, but with them. Bob's attempts at pickups are legendary in their futility, or were until he changed and evolved by learning one simple ratio that the Mad Genius will reveal to you once you have seen the horror of these errors.

Bob is a genuinely nice guy, and would do almost anything for his friends and co-workers. He is hard working, and fairly good looking. He smokes, which is as attractive as chewing dip or rubbing manure all over yourself (and smells just as good overall. Great way to turn off 80% of the population while endearing yourself to the other 20% of addicts out there. Why not go inhale pitch-blend and road tar, it is quicker and will cost less?).

Bob was a great guy to work with and be around, until he started interacting with the fairer sex or authorities. Then it was as just fun to sit back and watch the show like Friday the 13th, especially when you wanted to yell “Don't go through that door!” But he'd go through that door, and then there was blood. A lot of blood. We almost felt bad for him. Almost, but it was sooo entertaining!

Once as a freshman Bob was at a mixer with the Dean of Students. Normally we tried to keep young Bob away from influential people because of his bad case of “Pedial/Oral Syndrome” aka “Foot in the Mouth Disease”. This time there was no one to run interference between Bob and the Powers that Be on Campus so the Dean was stuck, in a corner, listening to Bob diatribe on ice fishing outside of Buffalo in a shack with 90 year old men stinking of camphor and cheap whiskey. Luckily we saved the Dean before Bob got into the part about the skinny dipping, varicose veins, and CPR.

Another time, Bob went begging for a grade from a professor. And he did have a semi-logical case, but his sales and negotiation skills were, umm, let us say, inferior to a drunk and lobotomized Barbie Doll trying to explain the intricacies of the SALT II Treaty.. After an hour in the hot little office with Bob (who hadn't showered in a week), the Prof just gave up, essentially crying “I have no clue what you are talking about! You have proven to have at best absolutely no knowledge of the basics of thermodynamics, something that is so intuitively obvious that the most casual of observers on 15^th Street would understand. You exhibit a total lack of comprehension, comparable to a brain damaged sea cucumber! In the history of idiocy, you are clearly a Hall of Fame caliber nincompoop! But I will pass you Bob if you will just leave my office and de-stinkify yourself!” Bob got his “C”. OK, so maybe that time it worked.

One time, Bob was actually able to seal the deal with a girl. Was probably a combination of law of large numbers (ten thousand rejections before an acceptance), an alignment of the planets, and the fact that the girl was a nut-job. Like nutty enough to make a squirrel explode with endorphic enthusiasm. Bob told us later that they were lying there in his bed and she just kept going on and on about how much she loved bacon. For over an hour. At three a. m. And it was a surprise to him, because somehow he missed the flashing red lights and Robbie the Robot yelling “Danger! Danger Will Robinson!” And the thirty minute conversation on ketchup wasn't enough of a clue for Bob to realize that this was not the person to try to take home, unless home is Arkham. But maybe, just maybe, she held up the mirror for Bob to look at himself in.

After that he got much better. The changes were slow, and sometimes there were step backs (occasionally over a cliff), but Bob started to realize that in interactions, there is give and take, and in conversation at least is is better to be a taker than a giver.

Then a wise alumni informed the young engineer of the Golden Ratio in communication, the way to get what you want because people appreciate what a great conversationalist you are. And the ratio is this my little networkers: you have two eyes, two ears, and one mouth, and they are to be used in that proportion. Once I clued young Bob in on this, his successes exploded: the peach internships with a top financial company and with a Senator, the liaison position with the Trustees, eventually the Presidency of the student ambassadors on campus. Today Bob is the head salesman for a distillery, having unique success because as much as he loves to talk about his product, he watches and listens to understand what to talk about to his consumers to get maximum efficacy and make them feel like they are in power.

Not too bad for a high IQ low EQ engineer with a smoking addiction: two eyes plus two ears plus one mouth yields success.

Thus ends our Nightmare for this month my humanoid little friends. That beeping sound may be your alarm clock waking you, calling you back to your little reality. Or it may be awakening you to something more, a world you never knew that is bigger and bolder, filled with Network Nightmares you can only start to comprehend. We shall see, we shall see....

For more secrets, you may visit the TNNW Bio of "The Mad Genius", if you dare.

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To subscribe for your free TNNW Newsletter, go to http://www.thenationalnetworker.com/ For the complete National Networker (TNNW) Relationship Capital Toolkit and a free continuous RSS feed (available either by traditional RSS or by direct email), go to: http://thenationalnetworkerweblog.blogspot.com/

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NIGHTMARES OF NETWORKING: EQ>>IQ

IT ALL STARTS WITH US!: An Introduction

It All Starts with Us! with John A. Lee

Welcome to my first column for The National Networker! I would like to thank Adam for inviting here to share my personal observations on the Power of Networking. The distinguished company of other columnists who publish here humbles me. They have some very impactful messages that we can all learn from and I hope to enhance this site with my own strategies and experiences as well.

Networking for me is a thrill. Discovering new contacts, understanding their needs, and introducing them to a potential problem-solver. During the months to follow, I will put my spin on networking as I discuss such topics as recovery solutions, personal accountability and branding, strategic partnerships, and alliances, “paying forward” when an immediate return or benefit can’t be seen, and dozens of other related issues.

It used to be all about “who do you know.” Today, it’s all about “who does ‘who-you-know’ know.” When you start to do the addition -- No! make that multiplication -- you suddenly have access to thousands of potential contacts with just a couple of generations of friends of friends. In spite of the uncertain times, my discovery is. . . people genuinely are eager to help make a connection for you. I will help you capitalize on this phenomenon as long as you are willing to do the same for others – quid pro quo.

So, offer a leg up. Lend a hand. Refer a connection. Listen with an open mind. Think of how you can help. Just do it!

Because, like the name of this column. . . It All Starts With Us!


For more information, please visit John's TNNW Bio.

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To subscribe for your free TNNW Newsletter, go to http://www.thenationalnetworker.com/ For the complete National Networker (TNNW) Relationship Capital Toolkit and a free continuous RSS feed (available either by traditional RSS or by direct email), go to: http://thenationalnetworkerweblog.blogspot.com/

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IT ALL STARTS WITH US!: An Introduction