OK, no more excuses fat boy. You're home. You've got time. Now...blog about Pop!Tech!
Couple of top of the head impressions from Pop!Tech 2006:
- Wicked smart idea on Andrew Zolli's part, putting Juan Enriquez and Tom Barnett together. Here are two first class intellects delivering important insights in compelling fashion.
Enriquez's big idea: don't take America's unity for granted. The Civil War may not have been the last time the Union gets called into question from within. Driving home, Karen asked two interesting questions: 1) "What would Texas get if they succeeded from the rest of the country?"; 2) "How would the rest of the country feel if Texas decided to succeed today?"
Barnett's: the previously described Leviathan/SysAdmin delineation tragically continues to play itself out in Iraq while old style thinking seeks to vilify China in search of the next iteration of the Cold War. Only deeply self-interest-rooted US/China collaboration can possibly handle the formidable triple threat of North Korea/Iran/Islamicism. Great quote: "If you were born before 1960, I'm not interested in talking to you." Why? You mind's probably made up, and it's probably wrong. This guy's going places, especially if he allows people to see the "adoptive father of a Chinese daughter" side of his personality that you'll find mixed in with the "big thinking strategist" side on his blog.
- I think what bothers me about The Yes Men is that I find their "identity correction" unethical. Even if they use this tactic to attack unethical behavior, it's an "ends/means" thing I just don't feel good about.
- On the other hand, I resonated with Hasan Elahi's overstimulative attacks on the system. Flooding the data-trackers of innocent people with massive amounts of trivial data (e.g., where he is every minute via ankle bracelet transmitter, photos of every meal he eats and every restroom he uses) has both an artistic and moral elegance to it that I find fascinating. It's much more passive-aggressive than directly confrontational.
- Distributed creativity is rampant. It was great fun hearing Kent Nichols talk about going from borrowing money from his parents to full Ninjahood.
- Chris Anderson's Long Tail idea has real legs. This is not a flash in the pan. Tracking the flow of ideas from the tail to the head, along with the flocking to those ideas described by my friend Grant McCracken (I highly recommend his book, Flock and Flow), will help many smart companies figure out what's next for years to come.
- Erin McKean's the cutest damned lexicographer you've ever seen. Oh, she's also smart, funny and writes about (and wears!) interesting dresses.
Enough for now...more to come.
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