Category: think

Libraries As Interfaces, Extending The Possibilities | LIANZA 2012 Keynote

My keynote presentation at this years professional organisation for the New Zealand library and information management profession (LIANZA).

My abstract: The opportunities to connect to audiences and markets are vastly changing due to the social layer the web and new technologies now offer. How can libraries leverage this rich source of interaction to aid their focus, deepen existing relationships plus help generate new ideas and solutions?

Thank you to the amazing (nearly 500 strong) crowd, the organisers, the tech staff etc

Here’s the humbling testimonial:

DK was an outstanding presenter — fast-paced, dynamic, fun and the audience just loved him! They loved his content too — challenging and ‘mind-melting’ but also with plenty of takeaway messages. His keynote was perfect as it delivered oodles of inspiration, and his workshop demonstrated how fast and easy it is to create exciting content in the social media world. He was very professional too, cool and calm during a few technical hitches, and great to deal with.

Linda Palmer
LIANZA 2012 conference convenor

How did I do?

Hire me
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My Next Mobile Phone | Looking At / For Options

iPhone 4's Retina Display v.s. iPhone 3G

iPhone 5 competitors.

Next month I will be handing back my iPhone as I pivot and go freelance again.

Am very tempted by the iPhone 5 ALTHOUGH can be persuaded to try one of the other brands on the market.

So…:

  • Samsung (never had one of yours before)
  • Motorola (ah, I still use my L7 RAZR as my presentation clicker), and / or
  • Nokia (creators of one of my favourites phones, the N95 8gb)

…want to get your devices in the hands of a key influencer in the Wellington / NZ scene who’s also got the license to run a TEDx here in December?

Image credit
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Piano Grades | Transitioning Out Of Social Media

piano

Time to pivot.

“I was surprised, as always, by how easy the act of leaving was, and how good it felt. The world was suddenly rich with possibility.”
Jack Kerouac, On The Road

18th October 2012 is my final day as social media manager with current employers CORE Education.

After 6/7 years serving the social media space the following metaphor has developed:

Imagine learning to play the piano. Putting in the years to hone your skills / knowledge which enables you to reach grade 6.

You’re then asked to share your insights with those who are at a lower grade, which you do willingly (it’s a wonderful feeling to assist and inspire others).

After a while of playing the same tunes, answering the same questions, giving the same answers, the urge returns to explore further levels and challenges.

This is not a criticism or a statement of arrogance, it’s a description which outlines where I am with social (media, or, just, the web).

The coming months will be the last devoted to delivering specific social media services and talks. Will always be happy to share my thoughts / experience / knowledge with others, it’s just that now my interest is in the next set of questions around:

  • creativity
  • innovation
  • ideas
  • excellence
  • humanisation
  • simplification
  • effectiveness
  • action
  • wisdom
  • exclusivity
  • play

There is a hunger to converse and surround myself with folks who want to challenge, explore, build, create waves. Whose purpose is to delight, astonish, create poignancy. Who are not afraid to try new things, create the space / time needed to cultivate the imagination, mash traditional and new models together, and most importantly, push at the edge of what’s possible.

If anyone has a role they think I could kick ass in which includes the above then please do get in touch. Maybe you’re tired of the whole ‘social’ scene as well—your comments / thoughts / ideas / responses are welcomed below.

Image credit
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Announcing TEDxTeAro | Steering A Very Important Ship

tedxtearo logo

Cool ideas from the coolest little capital in the world…

Am chuffed to announce the launch of the TEDxTeAro event website which I’m honoured to hold the license for (many thanks to Catalyst90 and CORE Education for partnering in the application).

It’s an opportunity to do a few things:

  • give back to this inspiring TED community which has stretched all our brains / hearts
  • a chance to help others share their own stories (which I’ve been lucky to do in the past, here and here)
  • to offer my time and service to this fabulous city I now call home

This is Wellington’s first ‘grownup’ TEDx event (it held a youth event over two years ago).

Going to be one hell of an adventure.

Full launch press release available here.
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Design & Thinking | Wellington Screening

Miss it, miss out.

If you’re free on 14th September 2012 at 4pm get yourself to The Film Archive to catch the first Wellington, NZ screening:

Design Thinking was applied as a term and methodology by a design firm in 2008. It was received as a tool to solve every problem, from daily life decisions to business challenges to world hunger problems. Attention and debates followed; some insisted on design education in all K-12 schools, some declared it is just marketing tool for that firm, some hoped it would turn his company into Apple. Some said it’s nothing new, just a new packaging of how creative people do things.

Design & Thinking, the movie is bought to these shores by the funky, clever folks from Empathy—not many tickets left, book now.

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Tweriod | When Your Audience Is Online For Engagement

tweriod graph for followers

Guiding and aiding engagement through data.

Tweriod is a neat little free service which offers an insight into when your Twitter audience are online and therefore what times to post content into the stream to gain maximum reach and response (see above).

As you can see from the graph below, the data offered also illustrates your optimum reply window (love that there’s an increase in responses around lunchtime):

tweriod replies graph

Now, there’s an obvious danger of tweeting out during a short period of time and clogging up your networks stream with your stuff. However, managed correctly, will take the information above and do a little testing around focussing my tweets during these certain times to see if more engagement occurs.

Tweriod also offers an ‘Influence Graph’ which links in the Klout—bah, here’s my opinion.

I also dropped the $5 for the one-off pdf report but it’s not really worth it (as it’s basically the stats in presented in a daily graph—nothing else). If you know how to screengrab just don’t bother and save your money.

How do you decide when to tweet? What do you make of the above service? Would it influence you to tweet differently?

UPDATE Just came across this infographic by Fusework Studios:

buddy media twitter infographic

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UX For Good – NOLA 2012 | Building Teams Around Causes

20mins of good stuff.

The model is simple:

“We lure the smartest, most creative, most influential people out of boardrooms and darkened auditoriums to get them engaged in designing a better world.”

The above will rarely succeed at most organisation / companies due to limited or little time and (head and / or physical) space.

Check out The Insights Labs for inspiration (and what I want to do when we all grow up).

Isn’t this the perfect model for innovation?

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Remixing Copyright | Creating / Curating Public Works

copyrightcreate

©

There’s this website where, at the beginning of each week, it displays works which are now in the public domain due to their copyright terms expiring.

You can subscribe by email or RSS, and even choose specific fields in which to be notified about (whether that be music, graphics, poetry, design etc.).

Then there’s this social layer in which, after creating an account, you can upload back into the community remixed works from ones which inspired them. This new content forms an interconnected ‘network of influence’ which is graphically illustrated for users to navigate around.

As a member, you also get access to tutorials, interviews and options to participate in group tasks and creative challenges set by the worlds leading artists and thinkers.

Sounds great, doesn’t it…?

The above doesn’t exist. Want to work with me on it?
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