Forward Podcast 38 is an inspirational story of connection as Paull Young takes a look at the Frozen Peas Community that has risen up in support of Susan Reynolds.

Susan blogs at Case Notes from the Artsy Asylum and is recognized as one of the ‘most loved’ members of the Twitter Community. In December Susan was diagnosed with breast cancer - a journey she has been tracking at a new blog, Boobs on Ice and via her extensive Twitter network. As Susan began her personal battle, a remarkable story of connection and community sprung up as her online friends activated a support network through Twitter and other blogs in solidarity with Susan.
This resulted in the Frozen Pea Fund, a fundraising effort to support breast cancer research. If you’re new to this story, it has already been told better than I am able in the Washington Post. The author of that Washington Post piece, Craig Colgan (who also blogs at The Municipalist), joins us for this podcast as he discusses how he found this story through social media, took it through the editorial process and then joined the Twitter community (as @ccwriter) to follow the story even further.

It’s an inspirational story of the power of connection, caring and community. The story still continues and you can be a part of it by supporting the Frozen Pea Fund in any way you are able.

Show Notes

00:15: Paull introduces the podcast.

01:30: The interview begins as Susan Reynolds and Craig Colgan introduce themselves and share where they can be found on the web.

05:10: Susan, Paull and Craig explain what Twitter is (and Paull points to our earlier podcast on Twitter with Doug Haslem.)

06:30: Susan tells the story about the growth of her online community through Twitter and other social media venues.

10:30: Susan shares the back story that leads to her diagnosis with breast cancer and the story of the day she was diagnosed.

14:30: Susan continues to tell the story of the day she was diagnosed, including how she was Tweeting from her phone at the Dr’s surgery, without being able to see her friends response.

17:40: Susan tells the beginning of the PEAS as an emblem for her fight and her community.

20:30: Susan and Paull chat about the rise of the PEAvatars as the Twitter community showed their support for Susan by changing their avatars to feature peas as a symbol of support.

23:00: Paull asks Susan about how the rise of the Frozen Pea Fund came about through the work of Connie Reece, Cathleen Rittereiser and others.

25:45: Paull asks Craig how he first came across Susan’s story and how the story developed into his Washington Post piece.

29:30: Craig and Paull discuss the fluid relationship between traditional and social media that occurred around Craig’s WaPo story and Craig explains how the story grew extra legs through the support of the online community.
33:40: Craig shares his thoughts on the power of connection that are highlighted by Susan’s story.

35:50: Susan shares some of the things she has learned, along with some touching examples, from her journey with the PEAS so far.

40:30: Susan provides a call to action, highlighting some of the important ways she sees that people can help.

42:30: Craig points to the lesson he has taken from Susan’s story: “People are looking for reasons to connect, to help each other. People enjoy it, they love it. We forget this… but this shows us that people want to participate and do good”

Listen Now:

 Forward Podcast 38 - Susan Reynold's and the Frozen PEAS Community [48:16m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3459)

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Hard to believe that another year has come and gone. As we kick off the new year, I suggest you take some time and reflect. Review 2007. Plan for 2008. It will help you start the New Year with a renewed sense of purpose, and joy for life!

1. Celebrate the best. Bury the worst. Take some time to remember the great things that happened to you in 2007. Celebrate them. If you had a hard time this year, or had a certain thing occur that really caused you pain, learn from it, then bury it and move on. Use the start of a new year as a reason to move forward. Stop looking over your shoulder and look straight ahead instead.
2. Renew old acquaintances. Find five people you want to get back in touch with and contact them this week. Old friend from college? Teacher/mentor? In this age of social networking, there is no way you can’t track them down. Say thank you. More importantly, tell them about you and learn about them. Renew the relationship.
3. Commit to doing less, better. In a column on to do items, this will sound funny, but make a don’t do list. Commit this year to do less, and to do those things better. Concentrate on what you really want to do, and say “no” more often to the things that distract from those goals.
4. Schedule at least one mental health day each quarter. Do it now. With the rush of the season, it’s hard sometime to plan ahead. Take time to figure out one day every three months that you can take off – just for you. Holidays don’t count! Taking this time can make you a better worker, colleague, partner. It’s a valuable investment.

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