Cameron Woodward

"The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it."

Fri, 11 May 2012 19:20:09 -0400

“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”

- Henry David Thoreau

Raised by Wolves

Wed, 02 May 2012 17:16:05 -0400

Sprinkle Lab co-founder Brandon Tauszik worked intimately with Magnum photographer Jim Goldberg mining audio archives and rarely seen images to present the out-of-print book, Raised By Wolves as a multimedia short.

Tauszik, under the direction of Goldberg, delicately crafts a…

Kony 2012

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 21:45:00 -0500

I’ve had the privilege of working alongside some of the greatest activists of the 21 century. After years of lobbing, touring, & fund raising, their grand finale is fast approaching. Watch and learn about the worlds worst war criminal, Joseph Kony, and the hundreds of thousands of everyday radicals who are going to stop him.

Practice.

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 20:45:00 -0400

I havent been writing in the last few months, and I can feel it. It’s taken me close to two hours to write the slop you’re reading. It’s convoluted, hardly hits a point, and feels forced. It is forced.

I’m going to write and publish it anyway. I’m convinced I’ll write something better tomorrow and even better the day after.

Intentionally writing is incredibly difficult. The best comparison I can think of is self-assigning yourself homework every. single. day. It’s painful and takes discipline like any art.

It’s scary. It’s difficult. It’s homework.

On the other hand, I believe everyone should write publicly. Regardless of the risks, writing publicly will push you (like it’s continually pushing me) to get better and better at communicating clearly and effectively. We live in a miraculous time, the opportunity to self publish is a privilege that pushes us forward. We need your voice.

Here’s is a killer video from Ira Glass, it really hits home.

A life well lived.

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 23:03:00 -0400

Steve Jobs passed away today.

His life was a terrific example of a life extraordinarily lived.

His legacy, vision, and contribution to humanity will live on for generations to come. The world lost a hero today, my thoughts and prayers are with the Jobs family and everyone else in the Apple community.

MAKE: willyoutrade.me

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 23:41:00 -0400

I dreamt up this little idea yesterday and figured I’d give it a go.

Willyoutrade.me is an interactive mixed-media experiment questioning the nature of wealth, commerce, material and the human condition. I will trade you an object for another object of greater or equal value. Your objects worth will be valuated by narrative potency and perceived worth. If you’d like to trade, you must be willing to be photographed and interviewed for the willyoutrade.me website.

What is the bigger risk?

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0400

I think the most difficult part of doing something is in the starting.

A few months ago I was working at a great job. I was challenged, had a great community of co-workers, and was growing both personally and professionally.

I left it all behind.

Although life was great, I knew that I wanted to make something. I wanted to own something and have the creative control to breath something from nothing. Entrepreneurship is an art-form, it’s taking basic elements, mashing them together and… poof! Something.

I remember the weeks leading up to quitting my job. I was stressed, I was frightened, and I wasn’t sure if I was making a huge mistake. I made the leap anyway. Looking back, the most terrifying part of starting my business was working up the nerve to make a first move.

If you’re on the edge of making a leap, it’s worth it. Failure or success you’re going to be better for it in the end. Maybe the bigger risk is looking back on life wondering…

What would have happened if I had made the jump?

Brand

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 15:54:58 -0400

Is everything.

It's possible...

Sat, 04 Jun 2011 16:16:29 -0400

to be remarkable. It’s possible to live a life of meaning and purpose. It’s possible to bless those around us for no other reason than the simple recognition that their potential is only to be recognized to be set ablaze.

What will the world look like with a humanity on fire with passion, empathy, creativity and brotherhood?

Another world is possible.

Ranting, art, and existentialism.

Sat, 02 Apr 2011 21:22:00 -0400

Hit by a car, or say, a horrific plane crash - what will happen to your art?

What is your legacy?

One of the most amazing aspects of a (great) company* is that mere humans are able to become the spark of organizations that can stand for something. Perhaps your organizational philosophy is to have fun, perhaps it’s to make people happy, or something else entirely - but it’s selfish of us if our only call in this lifetime is to simply build a company that feeds us individually. If that is our goal, we are zombies.

Our ambitions are too weak if we are not fighting for something bigger.

Let’s build products that, if when we die, live beyond us. That is, after all, our biological goal - to build something better, to be remembered, to pass on something worth remembering.

*I believe that ‘company’ and ‘art’ are words that can be used interchangeably.

If you're going to build...

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 19:33:24 -0400

an amazing company, you need to live and breath for it.

I want permission.

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 19:04:00 -0400

The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference. And that’s the battle for the marketeer; how does your brand, project, comedy album, or new company get the attention it needs to get over the hump?

It’s the natural tendency to start advertising and blasting our networks begging (spamming) to be discovered and accepted. However, the spamming methodology isn’t very powerful, is working less and less, and pisses a bunch of people off. We have spam filters, ad blockers and are exposed to so many advertisements a day that they’ve stopped working.

Successful marketing is linked specifically to generating interesting content that is especially easy to spread. And then, finish off the cycle via - the catch.

The catch is when you ask your new-found viewer if you can share with them in the future. It’s more than making great content, it’s getting the permission to share your content with the same folks again, and again.

Maybe it’s too easy of a segue, but, I’m working on some amazing projects with my new company Sprinkle Lab. If you want to stay in the know, sign-up for our newsletter.

Introducing: Sprinkle Lab

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 20:44:06 -0500

When I think about the Invisible Children family it makes me incredibly proud. The growth trajectory of the organization from the beginning of my tenure, to where the company is preparing to venture today, is incredibly exciting (and has been a wild ride). I count myself as blessed to be a small part of the Invisible Children legacy, working for the organization that has (and continues to) change the world is a real dream come true.

It’s with a mixture of excitement and sadness to depart from Invisible Children, for the past 5 years the organization has been my life. Since I was 17 I’ve loved and lived for the IC brand and mission; and the experience of working with the company has been the most important professional and personal development opportunity of my life-time.

All that being said, owning my own business has always been a dream of mine, and I’m proud to say that my first independent venture is off of the ground.

Say hello to Sprinkle Lab.

Army of construction

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 21:52:00 -0500

We’re an army of consumers constantly being convinced to buy more, eat more, spend more and then watch television. Once we’ve consumed the latest trend, we find ourselves in front of the television; we brainwash ourselves with commercial media to become new recycled customers for the corporation.

Their advertisers convince us that we’re broken, ugly, unhappy, fat, and insecure. It creates a void in us that we obsessively pursue to fill. Then we repeat the cycle.

We built this suicide machine.

Luckily, we’re not doomed. It’s a choice to impart something better to customers; we have a chance to do something more than business as usual. We have a choice to do work that matters – to build businesses that experiment with new ideas, connect, and create wealth for everyone.

Business is not a zero sum game. Giving has always been better than receiving.

Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction! Be heroes in an army of construction! - Helen Keller

There is no wrong answer.

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 18:12:00 -0500

School is incredible, but it’s also a big cultural joke.

School is not going to allow you to be remarkable – you allow yourself to be remarkable with every choice you make. If you choose school because an academic environment is a place where you can grow and become a better human – go to school.

If you think you need a break, or need to learn in a new place – go get an internship, go farm on an organic ranch in France, dance, sing, run, skip, fly – do things that build you.

School is only one answer to a test question without an answer.

A million different ways to live it.

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 20:53:00 -0500

Maybe it seems like a crazy step to quit your job; especially when you like what you do.

Although, it’s probably crazier not to do what you love.

Since the beginning of time, humans have been working to live. Today, we live in an unprecedented age – we’re lucky that we have opportunities to live to work. It’s never been easer to find shelter, food and the bare necessities – this access to resource has nearly been impossible for the rest of our ancestors.

If you’re working to buy more clothes you don’t need and food you don’t need to afford, maybe its time to remind yourself of the dreams you’re not chasing.

You only have one life to live.

Space matters.

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 21:01:00 -0500

I have a beautiful oil painting of a monkey wearing huge sparkling ear rings and a wonderful spinning hat. Its hanging just above a flamboyant bookshelf painted 4 different colors with a ton of books out of wack.

Anchoring icons and spaces are a useful tool to induce creativity.

Strange toys, weird sculptures, unorthodox boardrooms can change the balance and mood of an office. Are you exposed to different ways of thinking about function, utility, and cultural norms - it may sound strange, but having more flamboyant space induces playfulness which is a creative device to connect and more importantly – experiment.

Whats your office look like?

Sorry Bebo.

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 06:30:00 -0500

You’ve got the brilliant idea to develop an application for a social network and you’re positive that the team you’ve got together are going to build an amazing product that the world will be forced to talk about one they get their hands on it…

You have the perfect team, the best engeneers.

They build the prefect product, its flawless, beautifully designed and functions great.

But then… no one actually uses Bebo anymore.

The old adage, “If they build it, they will come” should be changed.

If you build it, they most likely wont come… unless they want it.

A great team can always make a great product, but a great product doesn’t always fit a great market.

Small note, big idea.

Sun, 09 Jan 2011 14:18:43 -0500

The best marketing is creating an awesome product.

When attempting to build an awesome product, remember:

The majority of human living is in pursuit of curing boredom.

Cure boring.

Build a foundation of failures.

Sat, 08 Jan 2011 06:30:07 -0500

Entrepreneurship exists in the tiny space between madness and genius; and, its journey requires a few cross border violations across both madness and genius to get to the final destination - JLM

This is brilliant. If you’re doing work that matters, you’re risking a lot and putting yourself on the line. It’s scary as hell and close to insane… or genius.

Producing real work sometimes feels like it’s going to leave you homeless on the streets… in the cold. It’s the fear of failure.

Success has always been built on the strong foundation of failures; success is made from tackling fear head-on and shipping. shipping. shipping.

The best way to learn how to fail is to pick a hobby, and sell it to someone else who loves your hobby too -

If you love drinking coffee - try selling coffee in your office to coffee fans.

If you love socks - try selling custom designed socks to sock fanatics.

Like anime? Maybe you should try and sell prints to anime obsessed freakazoids.

If you fail, it was just a hobby, no big deal.

But what if you don’t fail?…