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Everyday Ambassador: Make a Difference by Connecting in a Disconnected World
In Everyday Ambassador Kate Otto brings people together even as our digital networks pull us further apart.
In a world of limitless technology, we are more connected than ever before but our hyper-connected lifestyles threaten our ability to know ourselves and interact with each other. By focusing on the four core values that allow us to become truly “connected” in tech-centric societies—empathy, patience, focus, and humility—Otto demonstrates that the power of technology is not in the tool, but in the intention of the person using it.
Everyday Ambassador offers a unique solution to those who aspire to truly make a difference in the twenty-first century—revealing the secrets of how to unite people, even when technology keeps us at a distance from others—emotionally and physically. Otto helps us lift our heads up from our cell phones and tablets and take a look at the people standing right in front of us.
In a time when good citizenship is the new currency of cool, Everyday Ambassador gives us the tactics to connect in our disconnected world.
In a world of limitless technology, we are more connected than ever before but our hyper-connected lifestyles threaten our ability to know ourselves and interact with each other. By focusing on the four core values that allow us to become truly “connected” in tech-centric societies—empathy, patience, focus, and humility—Otto demonstrates that the power of technology is not in the tool, but in the intention of the person using it.
Everyday Ambassador offers a unique solution to those who aspire to truly make a difference in the twenty-first century—revealing the secrets of how to unite people, even when technology keeps us at a distance from others—emotionally and physically. Otto helps us lift our heads up from our cell phones and tablets and take a look at the people standing right in front of us.
In a time when good citizenship is the new currency of cool, Everyday Ambassador gives us the tactics to connect in our disconnected world.
- GenresNonfiction
224 pages, Paperback
First published April 21, 2015
7 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
About the author
Kate Otto
1 book3 followersKate Otto is the founder and director of Everyday Ambassador, a network for young individuals who are currently pursuing or have completed an international service opportunity, an overseas fellowship, and/or a travel experience. She is also a global health consultant who has worked in Indonesia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania, South Africa, Mozambique and Haiti for several development institutions including The World Bank, USAID, and various grassroots organizations. She designs, deploys, and researches innovative mobile phone-based technologies to improve health service delivery in areas of HIV/AIDS care, maternal and child health and nutrition. writes for Huffington Post and Christian Science Monitor. Kate graduated from New York University with a BA in International Relations and an MPA in Health Policy and Management. She is a proud Reynolds Scholar in Social Entrepreneurship, Starting Bloc Fellow, Truman Scholar, Luce Scholar, and member of the Academy of Achievement. She lives in New York, NY.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 9, 2015
I feel like this was really two books.
I very much enjoyed the author's commentary and critique of the role technology and media play in our lives. I found her assessments to be insightful and often, dead-on (sometimes too much so as I reflect on my own habits.). This book I would have rated 4.5
The second book, which she intends as illustration of her points in book 1 tells quite inspiring stories of people who are making a difference in our world. As one who believes in the importance of social justice and social action work I was inspired by her stories.
Where she lost me was in the attempt to fuse the two works together with her notion of our challenging ourselves to become Everyday Ambassadors. I have no side with her concept. I think it is a powerful one.
But I feel as if she had two different books here. I was drawn in by the premise of the first. After a while reading a seemingly unending series of inspiring stories grew tiresome. Not because the stories were not worth hearing. I felt invited for book one and after a while less interested in book two.
I very much enjoyed the author's commentary and critique of the role technology and media play in our lives. I found her assessments to be insightful and often, dead-on (sometimes too much so as I reflect on my own habits.). This book I would have rated 4.5
The second book, which she intends as illustration of her points in book 1 tells quite inspiring stories of people who are making a difference in our world. As one who believes in the importance of social justice and social action work I was inspired by her stories.
Where she lost me was in the attempt to fuse the two works together with her notion of our challenging ourselves to become Everyday Ambassadors. I have no side with her concept. I think it is a powerful one.
But I feel as if she had two different books here. I was drawn in by the premise of the first. After a while reading a seemingly unending series of inspiring stories grew tiresome. Not because the stories were not worth hearing. I felt invited for book one and after a while less interested in book two.
February 13, 2016
Oh, to be 50 years younger and have this book to inspire me! I would have loved to have read this when I was in high school or college. I would have loved to travel to another country and build relationships with those I met there. In my opinion, this book should be in every high school library and recommended reading at all colleges and universities. There are probably many young people who would be interested in being an everyday ambassador but don't know how to get involved. This book opens that door and explains how to work and commune with people to build a better world! Congratulations to Kate for developing this organization and living it herself!!
October 31, 2021
Thank you to the person who left this at Coupa for me to pick up!
Technology is a tool, and we should be cautious not to be overtaken by its easy affordances. Rather, we must practice humility, empathy, focus, and patience.
Key ideas:
- Grassroots activism
- Relationship building
- Partnership (in both ideas and execution) vs. paternalism
- Long term engagement, even in the face of personal inconvenience
- Building in an exit strategy
- Using technology as a tool for connection across distance, rather than a wedge that drives us apart through diminished social interaction and heightened self-promotion.
Technology is a tool, and we should be cautious not to be overtaken by its easy affordances. Rather, we must practice humility, empathy, focus, and patience.
Key ideas:
- Grassroots activism
- Relationship building
- Partnership (in both ideas and execution) vs. paternalism
- Long term engagement, even in the face of personal inconvenience
- Building in an exit strategy
- Using technology as a tool for connection across distance, rather than a wedge that drives us apart through diminished social interaction and heightened self-promotion.
July 30, 2017
(Had to read for college Common Reading)
It was fine. I felt it was a little preachy at times, but it is a type of self-help book, so I guess a level of that is to be expected. I have to admit that I skipped the inspirational, personal stories that were mixed into the novel. As another reviewer said, this really was two books in one; I much prefered the one where she analyzed and explained various social phenomenon and gave ways on how to rectify it in your own life. Also, I am just enough of a nihilist that certain statements/sections of the book made me scoff.
It was fine. I felt it was a little preachy at times, but it is a type of self-help book, so I guess a level of that is to be expected. I have to admit that I skipped the inspirational, personal stories that were mixed into the novel. As another reviewer said, this really was two books in one; I much prefered the one where she analyzed and explained various social phenomenon and gave ways on how to rectify it in your own life. Also, I am just enough of a nihilist that certain statements/sections of the book made me scoff.
January 6, 2025
There are some great points made in this book and the stories told throughout really do help connect the thoughts to purpose. While I was inspired at some points, it also felt that this book is more so meant for high school students than adults. So much has changed in society in the 10 years since this book was published as well, it almost feels as though it might need to be updated. I was hoping to find a book to share with those i mentor in Community health but i guess I'm going to have to keep looking.
November 20, 2017
This book is certainly useful for its practical idea to implement what the author deems the four tenets of Everyday Ambassadorship (patience, focus, humility, and empathy), and I can see this book being useful for a college student interested in doing some kind of service trip abroad. It could have conveyed that utility in about half the page count. It is at times very preachy and didactic, and honestly I found it to be just a slog.
June 27, 2018
This book serves its purpose, but it was so drawn out. I'm student teaching with this text in the Fall, and I need to find the safe middle to present it with. If I didn't enjoy it, I can't expect my students to have enjoyed it. So I've personally annotated it to highlight the few important themes within that seemed to have gotten lost in the rants and repetitive pool
October 22, 2017
It could have been maybe a third as long,,,, I almost died trying to finish it. It was so drawn out.
August 9, 2018
Good practical advice for doing good in our world by making human connections.
May 14, 2020
Great book to use in a high school classroom! Very teachable.
June 21, 2015
Kate Otto wants more people to engage with their fellow human beings on a personal level, and unlike so many authors, she lives exactly what she advocates. Her book "Everyday Ambassador" demonstrates how we can maximize the use of technology to enhance our personal relationships and have a deeper social impact. Ms. Otto hones in on four principles- focus, empathy, humility, and patience- and how they can change the world. Through her own anecdotes and stories of fellow everyday ambassadors, Ms. Otto brings these abstract ideas to life in an engaging, digestible way. This book `is a must-read for anyone who wants to bring their service to the next level. I highly recommend this book and encourage others to follow the work of Everyday Ambassador at http://everydayambassador.org/.
December 12, 2015
In this book, Kate nicely weaved together advice on how to combat our tendencies to drift away from others due to technology's increasing influence, and stories of how she and others have been able to serve the world as "Everyday Ambassadors". With a very relevant topic for 2015, Everyday Ambassador is a light read, but an impactful one. You're bound to find some take away within its pages that you can try to apply in your life immediately. For me, it was the idea that we should use social media to promote others and their own accolades, rather than simply try to build ourselves up for our own egos.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews