This is my blog.

It isn't about gin.

nextMEDIA wrap up

Dear Team,

I'm skipping my wrap up on Amsterdam, mostly because there wasn't much to report on WiMax post-Singapore. Conference went well, the sessions I attended ended up being really interesting, and the city of Amsterdam is perfection in the Spring. Ria, Ryan and I walked. A lot. Straight from there out to nextMEDIA - a conference with great content, people and location. Although I missed having Jasmine there with me this year, I still did some learning.


One of my favorite quotes ever was Jack Nicholson, talking about how he chooses roles. He said, "I like to play people who haven't existed yet, a future something." This is what I was hoping to see at nextMEDIA, a future something (don't even bother, I've already registered that domain). I felt there was more time devoted to discuss issues and not very much time discuss what comes next (yes, I often use quotes in scenarios that have nothing to do with the original comment). 

What surprised me is that often talk went on about how to get people to consume the content they've already created and not very much talk about how people WANT to consume content. "I made this thing, how do I get people to care?" seems more difficult to me than "what do people care about and how will I build it?" I am fully aware that this is easier said than done, but you have to say it before you can do it.

Having said that, the highlight for me was Janet Kestin from Ogilvy Toronto. She spoke for an hour, I believe without notes and was intelligent, insightful and empassioned. Janet went through the Dove Brand and some campaigns she had worked on, then switched focus to some campaign she thought were brilliant. I too thought "The Great Schlep" was genius, but could not have eloquently broken down the details on why for you. Janet could...and did. 

I listen to people like her and I add to the list of thesis topics I'd like to write about if I were independantly wealthy and could drop everything, research and write something brilliant all in the span of a month, every time I heard something interesting. The sociology and psychology behind marketing, crowdsourcing, communities and advertising is something I could sit around thinking and talking about for days. What motivates people to buy, engage, participate and contribute is beyond interesting to me, it actually wakes me up at night (along with everything else...). 

I felt less-than-genius for not knowing about some of the mobile stuff going on, but when I looked at the schedule, I really only saw something about monetizing your content over mobile. While the two top words at WiMax and Mobile Marketing events are convergence and ubiquitous, I heard neither term once at nextMEDIA. 

I would love to throw a weekend conference of all the smartest, coolest, biggest thinkers in Canada just sitting around talking about what the future looks like. How can we take the platforms, infrastructure, gadgets and tools coming out and blow people's minds with what we can do with them? I'll need to come up with something better than the current working title, which is, "Collaborating Awesomeness for the Future with Smart People"

Working on it.
Huggles,
Blue

Song lyrics o' the day - Kenny Rogers and the 1st Edition

I woke up this mornin with the sundown shinin in
I found my mind in a brown paper bag within

I tripped on a cloud and fell-a eight miles high
I tore my mind on a jagged sky
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in

(yeah, yeah, oh-yeah, what condition my condition was in)

I pushed my soul in a deep dark hole and then I followed it in
I watched myself crawlin out as I was a-crawlin in
I got up so tight I couldnt unwind
I saw so much I broke my mind
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in


Lyrics for today were contributed by Duncan Kinney, recent j-school grad, lover of all networking events, curator of yycblogs and firm believer that The Big Lebowski could achieve world peace. Duncan, this three minutes and twenty-six seconds of Kenny Rogers is for you!

Is Calgary on the Cusp of Greatness?

Is cusp even the right word? 

I've always found Calgary to be a city of apathy when it comes to anything other than oil, beer and "bonus rooms" (don't even ask...). Something is in the air though. You can almost taste it. There are all these pockets of people, wanting to affect change. Not just talking about it, but starting to do really cool things.

Hopefully, they won't give up. This is a young city - and while there are plenty of DBs in town, I think there's just as many who are interested in leaving a mark, whether it is through art, culture, or technology. I want my home to be a centre for innovation. I want to be proud of where I live. 

I think these next few years could be the tipping point. Now, we all just need to figure out how to do our part so it tips in the direction we want it to. I'm not quite sure how to do that, but I'm working on it.

Song lyrics o' the day - Howie Day

Even the best fall down sometimes

Even the wrong words seem to rhyme

Out of the doubt that fills my mind

I somehow find

You and I collide


Another suggestion by Sean Tierney :)

I've never listened to Howie Day before. I checked this song out and kind of think it should be on the soundtrack for every romanitc comedy, but how can you not fall in love with those lyrics? Seriously, I watch Dirty Dancing and Pride and Prejudice (the A&E version) every time I have a cold. I'm a romantic at heart.


Singapore mobile marketing wrap up!

Dear team,

Ok, I tweeted enough about my love for Singapore, I'll give it a rest. What I didn't have much of a chance to talk about though, was the amazing people I chatted with during both the Mobile Marketing Forum and WiMax: Asia Congress. I came back feeling like I had the chance to connect with some true innovators. Definitely a great experience for someone like me who might sometimes feel a little jaded :) 

I'm lucky that my "several jobs" expose me to so much of the internet/mobile web. I see nothing but opportunity ahead!

That opportunity got me thinking with my crowdsourcing hat on - in the mobile space (what? I can't help it!). I definitely want to think on/discuss topics like the four below with other people. 

1.      Mobile commerce – micro-payments from your phone. Not just crowdfunding Kiva.org style, but “hey, I’ll give you $5 to do task A” etc. or using 2D barcodes as a means to interact with your customers – A 2D barcode on a poster at a movie theater – snap a picture with your phone, sms your feedback, get a coupon, etc. Very cool companies like ColourZip SEA working on stuff like this

2.      Going into green fields - Africa etc. How do we crowdsource best practises? Do we need to? 

3.      Using crowdsourcing to Innovate on emerging technology hurdles you don't think about. People talk about how India is this huge untapped market for mobile – but when Mobile Marketing through SMS and mobile web is just gaining traction, it won’t go anywhere in a market where most can’t read – how do you reach the illiterate?

4.      Crowdsourcing practical applications for new technology. Location based real-time information from your phone to ease everyday life - surveillance, health (monitoring patients, etc) Amber alerts with FemtoCells (lets you know when a phone/rfid chip is in the area), etc.


Huggles,

Blue