Domino Theory Blog

Kudos to ThePoint.com But I Disagree

I'm pretty darn impressed with ThePoint.com.  They have implemented (very well) many of the ideas knocking around in my head about Toplers.com.  The "Tipping Point" is a big part of their approach, so there's a domino-like angle as well.

Basically it works like this: Someone creates a campaign.  Once there's enough critical mass (or the tipping point is reached), then things are set in motion.  The campaign creator decides what the tipping point is.  The site does an excellent job of helping people create a campaign an market it to people.  In fact, I created a campaign for Topple Two Night.  I'll probably write about that later.  In my case I said I would donate $250 to ONE.org if 50 people from ThePoint.com decided to join the festivities on May 16.

However, here's my beef with ThePoint's model.

The whole premise is that nothing gets going until there are enough people behind.  I completely get that - but it reinforces the notion that something big needs to happen before taking action.  That's often what makes people feel unempowered and disenfranchised.  I prefer to think that one thing can lead to another.  Sometimes it makes sense to line everything up before you start the topple, but other times you just need to go for it and have faith that by acting other people will join the cause.

Working on the Framework

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about the components of the framework that makes up Domino Theory.  Here are some new terms and updated definitions.   I've also updated the Domino Theory Terms page.

A Creator: Someone that sets up a topple by defining the core purpose.  There are different categories of Creators.

Core Purpose: Why the topple was created. There a proven methods for making a purpose "powerful." 

The Root Domino: Domino #1 in the topple.

A Receiver: Someone that has been given a domino, but hasn't yet become a Toppler.   When creating topples it's important to understand that a topple carries on only when receivers are compelled to help with core purpose.

A Toppler: someone who received a domino from the creator or another Toppler, and is now compelled/inspired to also pass on the domino.  A Toppler is credited with keeping the Topple in motion. The Toppler's impact can be measured by evaluating how much energy is generated in the Topple by successive generations.

Tipping: The act of passing a domino from one person to the next.  In other words, the action that changes a person from a receiver to a Toppler.

A Generation: The first generation is the collection of dominos that are children of the creator's root domino.  The second generation are the children of the first generation, and so on.   

It may seem a little academic to create these terms, but it helps to break things into chunks that can be examined and broken down further.  For example, I'm beginning to believe that for a topple to reach it's full potential it's important to understand the transition from "Reciever" to "Toppler" in the Second Generation.

Lastly, I now see I missed something big while previously writing about the Core Purpose.  What I'm finding it that people often understand the core purpose, but have no idea how to Help Keep the Topple in Motion.  I now believe that "ways you can help" must be part of the core purpose.

Enough ramblings for today.  Comments please.

Domino Video of the Week

It's been a while since I posted a video.  I came across this one today and was pretty impressed!  I've heard about Mentos and Coke before, but I didn't realize there was a video of an explosive Topple.

One thing leads to another, and making a Topple a success takes lots of work and ingenuity. 

We setup a 1100+ Topple at the Domino Awards last week.  I should have some video of that up shortly.

For now, enjoy the crazy Mentos and Coke Topple.

 

Help Others.org: Acts of Kindness

I recently came across the site HelpOthers.org.  I really like how they have set up the site for people to tell their stories.  They also have this idea of Karma points which is similar to Impact Points that I'm considering for Toplers.com.

You might be interested in checking out HelpOthers.com.  If you can, visit this link to a story I posted about Topple Two Night.  The more readers and "smile points" we get the more popular the story becomes (like Digg).  Could be one way to get more people involved with Topple Two Night and fill out the Google Map some more.

In Support of Adam, Alex, and Stephanie

When I started the Domino Theory blog I stated that my purpose was to Set 1 Million More Topples in Motion.  Since then I have handed out nearly 100 dominoes, some with the specific purpose of asking people I know if they would be willing to help anyway they could.  One of those dominoes was numbered #0000001-4, and I gave it to my dear friend Trent. 

Next, Trent introduced me to Adam Brucker.  The introduction felt a little random at the time, but both Adam and I knew Trent was up to something.  Well, since meeting Adam he and I have become friends and are now working together to try to conceive a business model to make Domino Theory even bigger.  Adam now holds three dominoes that are the children of Trent's.  All of this is visible at toplers.com if you are interested.

Here's where you, the reader, come in...

In part because of my blog, Adam had the courage to send a very touching email to his network sharing his feelings about loosing his sister Alex.  In that letter he asked people to consider making a donation to support Alex's good friend Stephanie Levine and her courageous walk in memory of Alex.  I've made my donation.  I'm now passing this on to you. 

If you would consider some multiple of $31 that would be great.  Alex would have been 31 years old last month.  Stephanie's walk is on June 21.  Please don't delay, click on this link - let's show Adam the power of Domino Theory.

Here's one very simple example of how one thing can lead to another.

Google Map of Topple Two Night

I know a lot of people are excited about Topple Two Night and plan to join the fun.  However, only a few folks have actually sent mail to info@toplers.com so far.  We'll be working to get more people "officially" signed up over the next couple of weeks.  If have been saying "oh, I plan to do that," then could you please do it sooner vs. later!  Dominos will be getting shipped out starting this coming week.  Adam has put together some excellent instructions that will come in the package.

So, it's still early, but here's something fun!  A Google Map of where the request for Dominos have come from so far.  Help us get a few more marks on that map!

 

View Larger Map

 

Thinking About The Second Generation Domino

For years I've been thinking about how to take the concepts in Domino Theory and put them to work by using real dominoes.  So, over the last few months I've been making dominos, handing them out, creating a website for people to register their dominos, etc.  What this has lead to is some "real world" experiences about the challenges of creating "topples."

Today I'm specifically talking about just how hard it is to get a Second Generation domino to fall, thus spawning a Third Generation domino.

To understand what I mean consider the following:

I create a topple with a purpose (i.e. "But Dinner for a Stranger").  Several dominos are handed out to people (see "Topple Two Night").  All of these dominos are children of the first domino in the topple - they are First Generation dominoes.  People use these dominos to help the topple spread.  They either hand them off, or ask me to create a child domino so they can keep the original.  Either way, their First Generation domino "tips over" and spawns a Second Generation domino.  Now, comes the hard part.  The person holding the Second Generation domino is two degrees away from the Topple Creator.  In my experience so far, this is where the topple looses momentum.  Not that I'm surprised by that, but seeing it first hand makes all the difference.

On toplers.com, there are 4 Topples containing a total of 89 dominos.  24 of those 89 are still in my procession for various reasons.  Of the 65 that are floating around, 16 are Second Generation.  And of those 16, I basically forced 2 to be gen two, meaning there are 14 legit Second Generation dominos - or just over 20% the size of previous generation.  So, if that ratio held steady, we would expect Generation Two to spawn 3 dominos in Generation Three. 

Right now there are no Third Generation dominoes.

Why?  Here are my thoughts at this point:

- The numbers are too small still.

- People with dominos don't know what to do to help the topple continue.  I realize this is an area I need to improve the website and the blog.

- Several dominos were handed out earlier this year and there wasn't an easy way to register them.  The domino is out there "standing" and forgotten about.  Maybe some reminders to those owners would help.

- Some are actually third gen, they are just in a different topple.  For example, I know of a case where I passed a domino to someone, that lead to another person getting a domino (now second gen), and that person then got a domino to another person but that domino was part of another topple.

- I handed first gen dominos to people that aren't likely to do anything with them, thus the 20% rate could be higher if I wasn't flinging dominos everywhere.

Writing this has made me think of a number of "lessons learned."  I'll write more about these in a bit.  I just wanted to get some thoughts out quickly today.

If you want an invite code to be able to fully explore toplers.com let me know.

It's Time for the Domino Award

After several months of work, I'm very happy and proud to be hosting the Domino Award in Computer Science tomorrow afternoon at the University of Colorado. 

The winners are:

John French.  Essay - Domino Theory: Tribute to Raymond Kurzweil

Kelly Anne K. Shuster. Essary - Grace Hopper: Dominos Two-Fold

Alan Versteeg.  Essay - Daniel Bricklin: Not Just a Software Developer

Each of these students receive a $500 cash award, and an all expenses paid trip to the next Telluride Tech Festival.

Here's the final agenda:

                                         

Schedule of Events
Monday April 14,   2008 4:30 -:6:30 p.m.	University of   Colorado Engineering Center (Boulder), Computer Science Lab (ECCS 128)
Welcome and   Introduction to Domino Theory	Herb Morreale, CS   Alum 1991, co-founder of the Domino Award
Introduction of the   Winners	Professor Clayton   Lewis, Computer Science, co-founder of the Domino Award
Dominoes in Motion -   A Live 2000 Piece Domino Topple	Created and Toppled   by the Student Chapter of the Associate for Computing Machinery (ACM)
What It’s Like to Be   a Domino	Ben Whaley,   recipient of 2003 Domino Award
Keynote Speech	Bill Coleman, CEO   Cassatt Corp., founding donor Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities at   the University of Colorado.
Telluride Tech Festival	The Little Known   Conference for Big Thinkers
Colorado’s   Commitment to Innovation	John Conley, Deputy   Chief Information Officer State of Colorado.
Award Presentation	Bill Coleman, Herb   Morreale, Clayton Lewis
Dinner - Computer   Science Style	Pizza and Highly   Caffeinated Pop

A special thanks to my friends at the following companies who stepped up and help provide financial support:

Stratom, Inc.

It's About Inspiring Others

The other day I was asked, "Herb, what's this all really about?  Are you trying to do good in the world."  Sure, maybe to some extent.  But more specifically what I'm attempting to do is to provide a platform that Inspires Other to Have the Courage to Try and Set Something Big in Motion. To do that, I want to show examples of it working, and help people get over the fear and self doubt that does with chasing their hopes and dreams. I deeply believe we all want to make a big impact.

Here's more on that...

Domino Theory is a framework that helps people understand that no matter how large or small your hopes and dreams are, you can meet them by seeing the world around you as a set of dominoes.  Sometimes the dominoes need to be "set up", other times the dominoes are just waiting to be tipped over.  Either way, one tip leads to the next, and before long something big is happening.  No longer will you be saying to yourself, "Oh, I just can't make a difference so why try."  All it takes is one small strategic action.

In this blog I try to find examples of where one thing lead to another.  Even better is when we see one thing leading to another, then another, then another.  Because, Domino Theory isn't just about "paying it forward," it's about building a better understanding of the second, third, fourth, etc. order impacts of our actions.

Domino Theory is a my way of inspiring people to not feel trapped and helpless. With inspiration, maybe more people will find the motivation to have the courage to take on challenges they would otherwise shy away from.  And I'm not just talking about "social good."  The Domino Theory framework can be applied to business, family, person health goals, etc.

Please share your stories.  The more we learn through examples (and failures count double) the more refined the Domino Theory framework becomes, and as a result the odds improve that this domino (the blog) will inspire and motivate others.

Be a Toppler: Join Us for Topple Two Night

Are you ready to set something big in motion? 

On Friday May 16 people all around the U.S. will experience firsthand the amazing power of a Domino Theory inspired event and YOU can be part of it!

Every Topple Has a Purpose, and this one is:

• Do a Random Act of Kindness by Buying Dinner for a Stranger
• See How Far Your Random Act Can be Tracked with the Toplers.com website
• Provide Valuable Information and Support to the Toplers concept
• Make a Donation to ONE.org and support its fight against poverty.

Here’s how it works:

1. Let us know you will participate.
2. We send you a few uniquely numbered dominos with instructions.
3. Register the dominoes at toplers.com.
4. Make your dinner plans.
5. Buy dinner for a stranger.
6. Check the website to watch the topple "fall" and see all the stories.
7. Sign up to get email updates when the person you bought dinner for “pays it forward.”

There’s a bit of history behind this Topple. Here’s a link to a post with some of the history.  Here's the comment from "Claire" after receiving the domino from my family:

"This evening I took my 22 yr. old son out to dinner at one of our favorite Italian restaurants. In a couple of weeks he will graduate from CU and I am so proud of him.

We had a great visit discussing his plans and we were waiting for the bill when one of the waiters apologized and sat down at the table with us. He explained that our dinner was an anonymous gift from other diners at the restaurant tonight. He said not to ask or push in any way to find out who treated us. Then he left us with the domino.

The persons who chose to pay for our meals couldn't possibly know how incredible their timing has been. This was such a lift after three very difficult days. Thank you so very much for this thoughtful treat for two strangers. [#0000002, SN-8]. Not sure if I've posted this in the right place, but I will most definitely carry this Domino idea forward!"

I can't wait to see the comments that come in after May 16!

Over the next few weeks I’ll be making more posts about Topple Two Night. We’re hoping to get a bunch of people to participate, and thus increase the likelihood that this topple will continue on.

So, are you ready to join the fun and help this event a big success? Step-1 is to let us know you'll be participating by sending email to info@toplers.com. 

Also, Here's a link to a nice one pager on the event.

Lastly, we need your help recruiting people.  Whatever you can do would be great.  Thanks!