Whoever created this ad, knew exactly what he/she was doing. It resonates so powerfully with many people because it there is a kernel of truth to it. If Hillary Clinton wasn’t such a Democratic Party old guard robot, this ad would have never gained legs. Welcome to the Internet democratized era of politics. The machine can no longer control the message. It is going to be a very interesting year.
SXSW was amazing this year. Interactive was much bigger than last year, a sign the boom is back or something. Geek summer camp it was. I stayed a few extra days for Music this year, just to catch a little bit of the flavor. I got myself a wristband which enabled me to get into most of what I wanted to see. Almost every venue and street corner in Austin has a bad playing at all times. It’s quite insane really, but awesome if you love music. A highlight for me was seeing Pete Townshend in a small venue play acoustic guitar. He’s a spry and witty legend interacting with the audience and playing a few songs with other musicians who shared the stage with him that night. Here’s a clip I shot of Pete doing Drowned off of The Who’s Quadrophenia.
My panel went well. Packed house, 400+ peeps, standing room only. Having Internet rock stars on the panel probably had a little something to do with that. Hoping someone shot video of it, I don’t think SXSW did anything official. PC Magazine did a nice summary of the major points we hit. No, we were not the only panel to drink ourselves silly throughout. I think MJ downed a bottle of Jack on her panel.
Kind of last minute, but I’m in Austin right now for SXSW Interactive. It’s been a blast reconnecting with friends from far away places. As has been said before, this is summer camp for Internet geeks.
Today at 5pm, I’m moderating a panel titled ‘What Does the Future Hold for Video on the Internet?‘. Panelists include Kent Nichols of Ask a Ninja, Micki Krimmel of Revver, Kevin Rose of digg / revision3 and Scott Watson of Disney Imagineering. We’re gonna shoot the shit about the heady futurism of online video as it relates to policy, audience, community and big media. Join us if you’re here.
I was lucky enough to first meet Craig some 10 years ago through the Noend mailing list when Craig’s List was still a local San Francisco trading post. He was humble then and he is just as humble now. If there is anyone who is the poster child of how to navigate lots of attention and scrutiny, yet still stay true to your core ideals, it is Craig. Humble, mild mannered, world changing, not a sell out, safe around children and pets, that is Craig. Kudos Craig and congrats for making an appearance on one of the best shows on television! Can’t wait to see what your Colbert experience will be like as well.
And here’s a little interview we did with Craig last year at SXSW in Austin. Wow, a lot’s changed since then.
Vancouver has fast become one of my favorite cities. Everyone I’ve met there has been welcoming, open, giving and involved in a variety of cool projects. Tech geeks, media nerds, world changers, yoga instructors, fashionistas, tree huggers, mountain lovers, it’s a pretty sweet mixing pot of awesomeness. Maybe being Canadian has something to do with their openess. I can’t help but think back to Bowling for Columbine when Michael Moore checks in on some Ontario residents to discover they keep their front doors unlocked. I think there’s something there.
Vancouver is Internet savvy with several rad web development shops. Some people who work at these rad shops organized the Northern Voice conference that I was invited to speak at this past weekend. A very cool event, Northern Voice is a blogging conference geared towards anyone with a burgeoning interest in that world. Unlike some San Francisco web 2.0 related events, many people who attend NV are just regular folks who are not technologists and don’t track their lives using upcoming.org or Twitter, though maybe they will now. These are folks who realize the potential of Internet media to amplify their niche interests, whether they are artists, photographers, school teachers or fashionistas. Real life outside of the SF Internet tech bubble, who’d a thunk?
I was invited to present and lead a discussion on how Internet video is changing the world. Despite the massiveness of the topic and me being all flu’d up, I felt like it went well. Much discussion ensued around politics and whether politicians will be more accountable and authentic as a result of many citizen eyeballs documenting their every move. Or will the perfect liars rise in the political ranks as a result? Scoble said politicians will just adapt to being “always on” by being even more media ready and camera trained. Maybe it is naive, but it seems to me that the more public our public servants are, the better it is for society in general. Rob is also hopeful that it will tilt the scales a bit to honest candidates.
On Sunday after the conference, I escaped north to Whistler Blackcomb with MC and Izzie for a day of spectacular snowboarding. Light snow, much fluffy powder, not too cold, it was a near perfect day. Big ups to MC and her entourage for hooking me up with gear since I was completely unprepared. And major props to MC for treating me like a king when I was all flu’d up. BFF!
I’m in Vancouver, BC this weekend to participate in MooseCamp and Northern Voice, a couple of day long conferences dedicated to changing the world through blogging and vlogging. A tall order for sure, yet you don’t succeed if you don’t try. The Vancouver peeps I’ve gotten to know over the past year are some of my favorite brilliant freaking minds and hearts. I feel like there is an underground subway between SF and Vancouver which I’ve finally discovered.
I’m plugging in a couple of ways. I’m co-hosting VideoCamp with Warwick and I think Scoble at MooseCamp on Friday. On Saturday, I’m leading a discussion at Northern Voice titled ‘Using Internet Video to Change the World One Eyeball at a Time’. I’m going to seed the discussion with a bunch of examples of what I call ‘world changing’ video in hopes of spurring others to offer up and create their own. More later, flight to catch.
