To-Do Lists

Those who frequently blog through Blogger probably already know about Sasha Cagen's blog and book, "To-Do List."

Her premise is simple: send her your to-do lists. Sasha didn't expect such a huge response to her request and soon wound up with a closet full of lists. As she looked at them, she realized that a to-do lists speaks miles about the person who creates them. With all those lists clogging up her closet space, she thought, "What a shame not to share these with the world."

The result is a blog and a book (blook?).

Here's another example of how a simple thought can transform into a great cultural project. Sasha joins the ranks of other simple innovators like Frank at PostSecret and the guys at Found and Dirty Found, who also ask for submissions.

Frank asks for people to send in artsy postcards that share a secret they've wanted to get out. His concept coincided with helping out the Suicide Hotline, which knows that just getting "it" out can save a person's life. What's resulted is a series of books and speaking tours.

The guys at Found produce a magazine featuring all the submissions they've received... usually scraps of paper that the submitter has found while out and about. Of course, a fair share of those found items tend to be of a raunchy nature, so they launched a second magazine called Dirty Found.

From Sasha to Frank to the guys at Found, these pioneers are taking simple things from everyday people and spotlighting them in ways that exemplify that people, everyday people, are who create culture.