I do love conferences, but they do exhaust me! This week, I attended another great conference put on by the Canadian Society for Training and Development (with the unfortunate acronym of “CSTD” 
). In a session earlier today about Learning in 3D environments, the concept of “Machinima” came up. Here’s a simple definition I found online:
Machinima (muh-sheen-eh-mah) is filmmaking within a real-time, 3D virtual environment, often using 3D video-game technologies.
What’s most interesting about Machinima is that it allows participants in 3D worlds to capture their activities, either as proof of bragging rights or to allow for post-mortems or reviews to occur after an event has been completed.
It suddenly hit me today that much of what we enjoy about digital social media is the ability to capture important social interactions or thoughts that previously were intangible and could only be recalled by our memories and only from our perspective!
How amazing is it that we can now go back and review that exact exchange, really see what others said or did! Talk about empowering tools for personal growth and professional development! Now that’s powerful!
This may seem quite obvious to many of you ! But, for me, it provided a new perspective on these latest social media tools; I realize that the ones that bring me the greatest value are the ones that allow me to capture my “intangible experiences”. That’s the power of capturing!
I’m exhausted! This past week, Vancouver hosted two of its largest digital media conferences, the Vancouver International Games Summit (VIGS) and the Vancouver International Digital Festival (VIDFEST), simultaneously!
I was very fortunate to connect with several bright, sharp and visionary people and am still digesting all the nuggets of wisdom that were doled out. It’s going to take a while before completely internalizing all that I heard.
I must admit that I am always most interested in the question of “What’s happening with ‘Business’?” All I can say is the only consistent answer I heard was: Change! Awesome!! Changing business models mean lots of new opportunities and challenges, and, of course, lots of uncertainty! I thrive in uncertainty!
As a teaser, here are a few of the “nuggets” that have me stewing:
- Social Capital and its role in the Social Media Economy
- The Importance of Micro-transactions in Social Media Monetization
- The Importance of Social Experiences to ALL media businesses
- Synergizing the Mob
- New Leadership and Organizational Models
- Agile Business Planning
Unfortunately, I don’t have any concrete answers right now; lots more thinking to be done! If you’re interested in batting around some of these ideas with me, do send me a note!
In the meantime, I’ll try to catch up on my email backlog and recharge my battery before my week begins…and, for all my US colleagues and friends, have a great Memorial Day weekend!
Over the past week, I’ve noticed some great new ways people are using twitter and twemes. Building on my earlier post about flash online communities, people are now organizing groups, not just for quick events, but for causes and things they firmly believe in. One that caught my eye yesterday was #freetibet. This is a great example of people determined and passionate about a cause using the power of twitter and twemes to get their message out.
This week, I also received an email from Mike Sansone highlighting the tweme #quotable. Here’s what Mike said in his email:
Have a favorite quote? Use the tag #quotable and share it. Or place the quotable widget on your site.
What a great way to inspire others and recognize those nuggets of wisdom or moments of genius! On those days when things just don’t seem to be going well, it’s a nice to review the tweme and pick out some inspiring quotes!
And, finally, we are only one week away from Mother’s Day! I received another email from Anne Gentle, who is launching the tweme #mom to recognize the funny and precious tales of mothers. Here’s her description;
A mom friend and I are starting a tweme called “I’m the Mom Who” or “I’m the Mom Whose” which we’ll shorten to #mom – to tell funny tales of parenting in time for Mother’s Day. While there may be a few guilty confessions in there, the goal is to gather funny sayings from your kids throughout the day, or recount funny scenarios, not to pour your guts out or tattle on anyone (including yourself!) in 140 characters or less. Here is an example:
I’m the #mom who has the 4-year-old son who wants to buy his preschool teacher a gift certificate “For Zales, for diamonds!”, for the holidays.
I’m thrilled by all of these new uses and encourage you to think about ways you can organize, recognize and inspire others! Social media tools are quite powerful and small ideas can blaze through the networks and have incredible impact! Try it on for size; the results may really surprise you!
