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Unplugging | Kicking It Old School

stoplooklive

After over a decade of being immersed in online social spaces and digital technologies it’s time to take a break.

To quieten the cleverness.

To go deep (not just wide).

To consolidate memory.

Regain focus.

Reflect.

Create.

Play.

That means no more blogging / Twitter / Tumlbr / Pinterest / Facebook / RSS feeds…

Don’t know how long—definitely for a good few weeks / months (during my west coast trip), maybe longer.

“The quieter we are, the more patient and open we are in our sadnesses, the more deeply and serenely the new presence can enter us, and the more we can make it our own, the more it becomes our fate.”
Rainer Maria Rilke

In the past couple of years the whole social media space has become noisy with advertisers / marketeers and diluted with experts.

That being said, recently I’ve discovered the next set of questions—just have to work out if I have the energy to start another business around them and if I’m in the right place for folks who are ready buy.

Still available for hire regarding consulting and speaking gigs (no more training services though unless it’s c-suite level).

I’m back.

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The Original Social Media Anti-Expert | Me

3 things tell a man quote

Been introduced as a social media expert / guru / master / ninja (shudders) etc too many times.

“Change is not merely necessary to life, it is life.”
Alvin Toffler

Been saying stuff like this for over four years

It’s time to live it out.

Leave by a different exit.

Go a different way.

Change down gears.

Be more humble.

Become an anti-expert (for a while)!

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Project X | An Interactive Online Participative TV Puppet Show

henry ford reputation quote

An idea that nearly changed my life.

What follows is an idea for a kids puppet show I emailed someone back in July 2006:

A weekly series (episodes only 10minutes long), purely online where kids can also download shows onto their iPods or PSPs or even mobile phones. Because it’s online you can make it interactive in terms of each episode can be commented on (like on a weblog) and the viewers can suggest a forward narrative or plot plus character developments—that would mean every week the creators would be influenced and directed by the viewers comments…

One day to plan, one day to shoot: it goes live every Friday—comments open till the Wednesday morning, development day, Thursday shoot and edit—Friday morning live (whole process starts again)…

Business model: well you could sell advertising but it has to be managed or very very short. The real money would come from selling mobile phone wallpaper, ringtones, merchandise such as tshirts etc—even DVD bundles of all the shows or if Jim Henson were to produce and run with it, use it as a vehicle to promote his other product lines or shows…


Kids television at that time was seeing its funders look elsewhere. The main terrestrial channels were buying in cheaper foreign shows rather than commissioning home grown talent. Coupled with the rise of cable / satellite / internet, the eyeballs were dispersing and audiences were dwindling rapidly.

A 50 year old industry was in decline.

After being invited to speak at the main UK conference on kids television at the time, I sat in most of the sessions confused as to why these amazingly creative people weren’t simply adapting to the new mediums and opportunities it bought. Embracing them as tools to shape new possibilities and audiences.

The above idea was born at that event.


The contact who received the email was one of the co-founders of the amazing Fraggle Rock (amongst other things). The response was more than encouraging and within a couple of months a meeting was set up at BAFTA. There I was surrounded by a creative consortium of kid show producers, voice actors and puppet operators who have worked on most of the kids shows I grew up on (most of which had served their apprenticeship under the great Jim Henson).

All were enthusiastic and wanted to play—the delight of possibility was titillating and it was oh so exciting.

Alas, with no coherent lead and money becoming available, momentum was lost in the following weeks.

A year from the original idea it was already being done by someone else, and others, even the big players, kind of…

Ideas can have all the promise in the world but they need others to thrive. Partnerships to create foundations and leaders to lead. More importantly they need chancers to push at that boundary and explore new paths. To be the first. (Ideas need) pioneers.

Six and a half years later I’m pretty sure if this did happen it would’ve changed the direction in my life…

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BlackBox SocialMedia | Automated Communication

George Bernard Shaw communication quote

Going fishing.

It started with the casting of this tweet:

BlackBox SocialMedia bait tweet

A little bait to catch a bite… four days later, they bit:

BlackBox SocialMedia automated tweet reply

Much in the same vein as SplashMedia (please read the comments), it looks like BlackBox SocialMedia first capture mentions of Twellow, Facebook, Twitter and social media training, then hit these Tweetmailers with an automated reply service directing them to articles on their website (which is basically trying to sell you their services).

It’s easy to understand the above approach as social media presents an enticing opportunity to offer wisdom through targeted communication. And in sharing knowledge the aim is to build a connection (and for these guys, a sale).

There’s another way.

By creating a relationship first, not only do you become aware of the context (which is so important, otherwise, you’ll be responding to questions which haven’t been asked and you’re made to look a little silly—see my tweet and then their response) plus it’s simply more honest.

So what do you think, are BlackBox SocialMedia being savvy or is this lazy marketing? Have you experienced a similar thing on Twitter? Btw BlackBox SocialMedia, feel free to respond in the comments below.

Related posts : Splash Media U And Pete Aspen | A Twitter Mystery
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I Like I Wonder | Curating A New Monthly Event Series

socrates wonder quote

Intimate monthly events for creative leaders and innovators in Wellington, NZ.

i like i wonder logo

The inaugural event is launched with this wonderful offering:

We’re Analog Creatures

dennis hodges headshot
Dennis Hodges

When we were kids we were freethinkers, spontaneous and open; as we grew older and the logical side of our brains kicked into high gear and our non-linear “œcreative” side became less dominant.

Today, through the use of electronics for everything—smart phones and computers in particular—we reinforce the logical side of our thinking and further relegate creativity to the back seat. We need to reconnect with our right brain, stretch our non-linear nodes, nurture them on a daily basis and, as a result, increase our overall satisfaction with life.

Part one of our session will look into our situation, show how we got here and what we can do on a personal level to mix things up. Part two will open up the dialog for how to foster in an era of non-linear thinking at your company or organization and share some effective brainstorming techniques that can be implemented today.

Creatives gain true understanding by “˜doing”™.

I Like I Wonder events are about gaining creative wisdom from visiting international speakers through not just listening but by applying your new found insights in a hands-on workshop which follows. The workshops focus is on creating content, extending thoughts, heightening interactions, disrupting models, challenging paradigms, all within a inventive space and through facilitated conversations.

Numbers are kept small to ensure a quality experience””this is not a money making exercise but a exploration of creativity with exclusive groups of like-minded folks.


So excited to launch this today and looking forward to working with Empathy / Awayday plus all our speakers.

Feel free to spread around the Wellington networks and hope to see you there.

Image credit to Ben Crowe plus related post: 2013 | Create / Curate
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2013 | Create / Curate

Creating / curation is the new black.

And my 2013 theme:

rilke create quote

Creating is action.

Doing.

“Where I create, there I am true”
Rainer Maria Rilke

Public speaking for me is a hugely innovative exercise. Many folks don’t understand the work and expressive energy that goes into a presentation and its delivery (especially if you don’t use a script or practice like me then the execution itself is very much an inventive act).

I. Want. To. Do. More. And. Get. Better.

But, also, taking the time to craft the opening video here or the images which compliments the text, is part of what I mean.

It’s the realisation of discovering what you’re good at plus what you’re passionate about then using that to spark creation.

Deconstructing. Starting. Expanding. Mashing up ideas. Disrupting. Smiling. Thinking.

Look out 2013 for lines in the sand and new ventures.

clay shirky curation quote

There are two areas of curation which hold my interest: developmental and experiential.

“Curation solves the problem of filter failure.”
Clay Shirky

Developmental

How do you / your organisation / company view curation? What role does it play in broadening discussions and skill development internally? How are you using it to celebrate those in your industry or even as a way of extending yourself?

The rise of the individual digital curator (thanks to sites like Tumblr / Pinterest) allows for a wider interpretation of the more traditional role. Although, the leaders in the field (Tina or Jason or Maria or Shaun etc) demonstrate a higher purpose rather just serving individual tastes, but that of aiming to inspire, educate, challenge, explode wonder, intrigue, curiosity, in their audience.

The idea of curation as a(n online) skill is hardly ever discussed in articles / conversations around social media. My argument is that it will become increasingly crucial to individual and organisational development—as the signal vs noise ratio of companies / organisations, let alone a sector or industry, continues to increase, so to is the need to understand how to navigate and sift through the information and concentrate it into action.

This is sucking the juicy wisdom out of the web and humanising it for good.

Experiential

TEDxTeAro (I’m the license holder) is an example of experiences as curative event.

There are two things to be announced in the New Year around stretching the idea of traditional events: one for Wellington-based creatives (to be made public next week) and the other for social media mavens like myself who want to explore the next set of questions (who understand the difference between strategy and culture and who want to get away from ‘how to use Twitter / Facebook’ to advertise in a slightly different way and sell stuff).

More to follow but thinking it’s time play around with event formats and offer attendees more than a seat and people talking at them.


What’s your 2013 theme? What do you think of mine? Leave a comment below you lovely tribe of readers you.

Clay Shirky image attribution
Video music via Oddworld
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