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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
Published

Speaking With Purpose | Kick-ass Presenting

A presentation on presenting like a pro (or something like that).

Today I delivered an intimate public speaking seminar through Chalkle : Six Degrees Of Education.

My foundation came via this Top Ten Speaking Tips blog post written a couple of years ago (which still holds up today).

Was a great experience to not only share some of the insights gained over my short speaking career, but as ever, deconstructing something you do with the purpose of sharing that knowledge, enriches your learning so much more.

Other things discussed:

  • Compfight—clean image search with creative commons options (my preference over the Flickr Attribution directory, although they do pretty much the same job)
  • Salling Clicker—what I use to control my presentations (ensures stable connection, timing options, non-touchscreen so no accidental ‘clicks’ plus haven’t failed me in 6/7 years)
  • transitions—less is more. Advice extended to presenting software like Prezi which can be overused at times when a simple dissolve would be far more effective

…there were many more.

The attendees also had the opportunity to present for a couple of minutes and together we positively critiqued their work.

So what do you think on the advice shared above? Do you have any tips / tricks to share? Do you disagree? Dare you to leave a comment… go on, double dare ya!

YouTube Version
Image Credits: Animal, Woodrow, Guru, Wayne’s World, Talk, Practice, Don’t, No, Control, Look, Attention, Scary, Gospel, Questions, Next
Published

Things The Internet Needs | Part 1: AdPants

adpants

First world problem solving.

Every time you skip a YouTube advert (after being forced to watch 5 seconds) or mute the new evil 15 second ones, a Tweet / Facebook update is sent out referencing the brand in question saying something like:

“Thanks @[nameofbrand] for hijacking my @YouTube time with your old school ad #adpants”

Advertising via interruption on the web is awful, lazy and tasteless. Old paradigm thinking in new world playgrounds. It doesn’t work.

Who wants to build a Chrome extension or some other programme / app which does the above? Can it be made? If so maybe we could crowfund it—who’s game?

Published

TEDxTeAro Review | Reflecting

dk at tedxtearo

100 enthused attendees, 8 wonderful speakers, 6 skilled partners, 3 lovely sponsors, 1 very happy licensee holder.

On Saturday, TEDxTeAro made me smile with my heart.

Ideas from the stage included:

sarah wilson

“fear is something we don’t usually run towards” / “adventure is any undertaking where the outcome is unclear” / “we breathe in and inspire” | Sarah Wilson

evan thomas

“everything always has a [maker] story behind it” / “[digital] fabrication is a grass roots technology” | Evan Thomas

emma saunders

“success doesn’t lead to happiness, happiness leads to success” / “19% chance of a faster diagnosis if your doctor is happy” / “[cultivate happiness through] compassion, conscious acts of kindness, gratitude” | Emma Saunders

anja geelen

“we’re genetically wired to be in nature” / “we are biologically designed for play” / “children download [real life] experiences into their brains” | Anja Geelen

anna guenther

“even though it’s a young industry there are already 300 crowd funding platforms out there” / “it’s a disruptive innovation” / “collaboration is the new black” | Anna Guenther

dan khan

“the innovation ecosystem needs to be led by entrepreneurs with 20 years of history” / “innovation is bred at the boundary of constraint” | Dan Khan

ben forman

“our teaching has yet to catch up with our environment” / “comfort is boring” / “go nuts, do stuff and have fun” | Ben Forman

alex hannant

“we can’t negotiate with a planet which doesn’t speak english and which is much bigger than us” / “create unreasonable ideas” / “social enterprises focus on a geniune need (rather than creating one to sell)” | Alex Hannant

My focus now:

  • how do we improve?
  • how do we ensure momentum is not lost?
  • how do we scale and match the personal nature of this event?

A HUGE thank you to everyone involved, the speakers, sponsors, partners, attendees, TED and its community etc etc etc

What were your highlights?

Onwards to TEDxTeAro 2013.

Related posts: Today I Will Be Busy | TEDxTeAro Goes Live, TEDxTeAro | Dates And Location Announced and Announcing TEDxTeAro | Steering A Very Important Ship
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Today I Will Be Busy | TEDxTeAro Goes Live

all the tedxtearo 2012 speakers

The capitals first grown-up public TEDx event.

Honoured to be involved—here’s the agenda:

1.00pm Networking Hub doors open
1.40pm Event doors open / live stream starts
1.45pm Mihi Whakatau
2.00pm Welcome / Intro
2.20pm Sarah Wilson : Deconstructing Fear : a Personal Adventure.
2.40pm Evan Thomas : Designing for mass customisation.
3.00pm TEDx Video : Chosen / introduced by Kaila Colbin, TEDxEQChCh Curator.
3.15pm Emma Saunders : Happiness is a boardroom strategy.
3.35pm Anja Geelen : Reconnecting with childhood through play.
3.55pm Review / End of part one / Networking Hub break
5.00pm Welcome back
5.10pm Anna Guenther : How crowdfunding is going to change the world.
5.30pm Dan Khan : Thinking small, big impact.
5.50pm TEDx Video : Chosen / introduced by Jose and Trent from TEDxQueenstown
6.05pm Ben Forman : Digital Thinking vs Analogue Thinking.
6.25pm Alex Hannant : Why Social Enterprise is a good idea, and how we can get more of it.
6.45pm Close / Thanks / Networking Hub
7.30pm Go home smiling

Will be streamed live on tedxtearo.com—watch / support if you are able.

Related posts: TEDxTeAro | Dates And Location Announced and Announcing TEDxTeAro | Steering A Very Important Ship
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