Traveling Geeks

Cambridge Traveling Geeks TweetUp #TG2009

We had the most gorgeous setting for a TweetUp ever, arranged by Karyn Barnes of East of England. Thank you, Karyn!

Below are a few choice photos and links to larger sets. If anyone else has photos, please let me know.

Cambride England TweetUp at the Fitzwilliams Museum

Flickr Set from Susan Bratton

http://www.flickr.com/photos/luvlotus/sets/72157621345333391/

Flickr Set from Mark Littlewood

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39952434@N04/sets/72157621295932914/

Laurence John, Amadeus | Andrea Christofaro, Designer

William Tunstall-Pedoe, True Knowledge with Susan Bratton, Personal Life Media

Howard Rheingold on 21st Century Literacy Skills at #RebootBritian #TG2009

Howard Rheingold Keynoting Reboot Britain

I had the good fortune to travel for a week with Howard Rheingold as part of our Traveling Geeks contingent to England. Being with him 24/7 is delightful. He rolls with the natural hiccups of travel, is cordial to one and all and is a deep thinker about the human condition as it meets the online world.

Howard’s keynote at Reboot Britain was his first pass at a new group of practices he believes are crucial skills for success in today’s online world.

Check yourself and see which you possess and where you can improve.

The five main skills, according to Howard are:

• Attention
• Participation
• Cooperation
• Critical Consumption
• Network Awareness

Howard purports and I agree, that school is no longer enough to educate our students. If you’ve listened to my DishyMix interviews with Alvin Toffler, author of FutureShock and Revolutionary Wealth, Marcus Buckingham, author of The Truth About You or Sir Ken Robinson, author of The Element, you know I believe our schools are failing our children.

This presentation hit home for me as a litmus test to both my personal skills as well as those of my daughter. Howard says learning is happening outside the classroom via participation with others, including via online gaming and socnet interaction. He says that “being an active citizen has values on many levels that support learning.” As I’ve said before, passive consumption is no longer enough.

First there’s attention. In a world of multi-tasking and content snacking, we must continue to pursue focus. It’s a required skill. How is your attention span?

Next are Participation and Cooperation. Howard points to the value of online collective action and collaboration as trends happening now in which we should participate. Here’s my post on next generation collaboration tools. Are you taking advantage of these online tools to fix problems, change the world or just work more efficiently? Your children will be, if they are smart.

Howard Rheingold

Next is Critical Consumption, or as Howard calls it, taking a page from Ernest Hemingway, “Crap Detection.” He rails at the lack of critical thinking being taught in schools today. If we induce children to challenge authority by teaching them critical thinking, we won’t be able to control them in school. Now that anyone can post anything online, everyone must develop scrutiny, fact-checking, rational thought and critical thinking. Is that Wikipedia entry true? Did USA Today fact check that story? Doubtful on both counts.

Crap Detection 101 by Howard Rheingold

Finally, there’s Network Awareness. Who do we know? Who are we leveraging? Are you taking advantage of social networking tools to stay connected and grow your connections? A small number of distant connections has been proven to significantly empower one’s network. Are you proactive in your approach to online networking? Are you using it for good?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on these or other skills you think are critical for our real-time, web-connected, networked world.

Susan Bratton and Howard Rheingold

Related articles by Zemanta

• Do You Think Futurists Are the Smartest of All Thinkers? (blogs.personallifemedia.com)
• What to Learn: ‘Core Knowledge’ or ’21st-Century Skills’? (downes.ca)
• Critical Thinking in the Classroom (downes.ca)

UK Diary: Thursday – SVW Goes To The Europas . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyIlECwWlDA

It’s Thursday evening and the Traveling Geeks are at the Europa Awards to celebrate European startups.

The place is already filling up when I get to the venue for the Europa awards in south London. Things don’t look good because I have just one invite and I have my son Matt with me and my friend Heddi Cundle. And security is very tight — they are turning away everyone without a ticket (it’s a $100 entry).

However, a little smooth talking, and a little confusion at the front, and we slip in fairly easily.

I won’t bore you with who won what. (The Europas: The Winners and Finalists)

Throughout the week I’d been hearing complaints from various startups that the awards favored the pals of TechCrunch Europe and specific VC firms but I can’t verify those claims. There were certainly lots of very worthy startups that didn’t get a mention. And a lot of the awards went to well established firms like the popular Spotify, and the highly funded SpinVox – hardly startups.

Mike Butcher, the very capable editor of Techcrunch Europe did a great job of MCing an increasingly loud and alcohol fueled event of a type we don’t get in the US.

(Throughout the trip fellow TGer Craig (Cheap Date) Newmark constantly remarked and marveled at the amount of drinking by the Brits. The ubiquitous TG companion Paul Carr said his drinking was inspired by Charles Bukowski.)

I had a great time at the event and I spoke with lots of interesting entrpreneurs. I’d like to single out for special attention Mathys von Abbe from the fast growing Dutch startup Moby Picture; also, the impressive Hermione Way, founder of Newspepper; and Alexander Ljung, founder of Soundcloud (Europa winner.)

You can see them all and more, in the short video of “SVW Goes to the Europas…” (It’s a little pixelated at first but settles down quickly.)

Backstage Pass- Tom Foremski says disruptive tech linked to fault lines

Kinda spooky idea, but Tom Foremski suggested to me that fault lines and disruptive technology appear in the same regions of the world. Speaking of disruption, we were at Reboot Britain when I recorded this clip and were struggling because hundreds of attendees were sharing a wi-fi connection and it was pretty difficult to find enough bandwidth to squeeze up a podcast or video to the Traveling Geeks web site.

Tweet This Post

“Because I listened to Al Gore!,” Lisa Devaney. #WDYDWYD? #TG2009

Lisa Devaney, Hai Media Group

My Traveling Geeks Meme: WDYDWYD? What is it?

Lisa playing with Legos – Bonus Material!

Related articles by Zemanta

• My Traveling Geeks Meme: WDYDWYD? (blogs.personallifemedia.com)

Video: Interview with multiple award winner Spotify at #Europas

This is a re-post from Techcrunch Europe.

As you may well have heard, the big winner at The Europas Awards on Thursday night was Spotify, which won four awards (Best We app, Best New Startup, Best Founder Team and the Grand Prix). Here’s Shakil Khan (the video title is mis-spelt), Spotify’s Consigliere, sharing with writer and author Paul Carr and myself how he felt about winning four awards, including The Europas Grand Prix award:

TechCrunch Europa Awards in London

We were lucky to be in London for this year’s TechCrunch Europa Awards this past week.

Held half in a venue that was separated by a wide hallway (great for networking), one section had a stage set up while the other was dedicated to passing plates of food and a bar.

There were many differences between similar events in Silicon Valley, notably the diversity, the level of enthusiasm and the dedication to staying up all night to celebrate, well after the venue closed its doors.

Outside, people gathered as it was a relatively warm night; cameras were shooting, flips were activated and wine was pouring. (more…)

Rap to Celebreate Darwin 200th Anniversary

As I was dining with a group of technology innovators, scientists, professors and entrepreneurs in Cambridge at Kings College on Friday night, someone played a rap from the previous night, which was in celebration of the Darwin 200th Anniversary Dinner. Click below to listen.

Download RapcambridgeMemo

Econsultancy London Round Tables

Econsultancy has set up an event for the Traveling Geeks where we’ll have round tables discussing technology as it relates to community, customer service and innovation with a focus on social media tools.

This is a way we can “power network” with a LOT of UK companies that are clients of Econsultancy’s and are of interest to us.

We are meeting at the Swan at the Globe – the restaurant at the Globe Theatre originally build in Shakespeare’s time.

The Companies:

Photobox, Warner Music, eOffice, lastminute.com, Channel4, Intruders tv, MakeYourMark.org, Mandate, Macmillan Cancer Support, Equalities Human Rights Commission, London 2012, Progenit, Poke, Random House and Summit Media

The Geeks:

* Robert Scoble @scobleizer
* Craig Newmark @craignewmark
* Sarah Lacy @sarahcuda
* Howard Rheingold @hrheingold
* Meghan Asha @meghanasha
* JD Lasica @jdlasica
* Tom Foremski @tomforemski
* Sarah Austin @pop17
* Susan Bratton @susanbratton
* Jeff Saperstein http://sapermktg.wordpress.com
* Renee Blodgett @weblogtheworld, @magicsourcemedia
* Jim Schuyler @jimsky7

Find out more about each of them and their interests at https://tg.planetlink.com/geeks/.

Econsultancy guests:

* Community Product Manager, BSkyB
* Manager, ba.com and Mobile Innovation, BA
* Global Digital Marketing Director, Warner Music
* Commercial Director, Photobox
* Head of Marketing for Future Media & Technology
* Founder & CEO, eOffice
* Head of Digital, OMD
* Co-founder, Poke London
* International COO, MySpace
* Head of Innovation, lastminute.com
* Head of New Media Marketing and Communications, Channel 4
* Head of Content and Co-Founder, Intruders tv
* Platform Evangelist, Adobe
* Jim Sterne, CEO, Emetrics
* Digital Guru, MakeYourMark.org
* Head of Social Media, iCrossing
* Associate Director, Mandate
* Director, Nixon McInnes
* Freelance Social Software Consultant
* Head of Digital Marketing, Macmillan Cancer Support
* Head of Digital, Equalities Human Rights Commission
* Head of New Media, London 2012
* Head of Social Media & Stakeholder Engagement, UK Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills
* Head of Audience Development, Telegraph Media Group
* Editor-in-Chief, Internet Retailing
* CEO, Make It Rain
* Junior Account Executive, Make It Rain
* Senior Lecturer, Manchester Metropolitan University
* Content Editor, e-skills UK
* Project Officer – Skills, Northwest Vision and Media
* Head of Ecommerce, Random House
* Digital Media Communications, EMEA, Dell
* Marketing and Ecommerce Consultant, Progenit
* Managing Director, Summit Media
* Online Help Manager, Carphone Warehouse

Rebecca Lieb, VP North Amercia was a recent guest on DishyMix where we talked about Econsultancy and her new book,“The Truth About Search Engine Optimization.”

Click here to listen now or subscribe in iTunes.

Rebecca Lieb on The Truth About SEO, Journo Interview Techniques and Oceans & Otters

Speed Dating with Tech Entrepreneurs in London “US/UK Speed Date with SeedCamp Winners” as Part of the Traveling Geeks Blog Junket #TG2009

One of the fun events we’ve created for the #TG2009 trip July 5-11th is a “US/UK Speed Date” event where the Geeks are moving from company to company around the room to collectively meet with all of the SeedCamp winnners.

SeedCamp is an organization that matches mentors with technology entrepreneurs. It’s a terrific idea and one that goes beyond just the relationship of a venture capital firm with their investment companies.

I’ve reviewed these organizations in advance and will hope to capture as many of their business models and unique points of differentiation for you on the trip as possible.

Here’s a list of the companies with whom we’ll meet for this event. This is my quick overview of what I got out of just looking at the home pages of each of their websites. I’ll be briefing you more via this blog as I get to hear their stories.

The biggest thing I noticed in reviewing these sites is the terrific work coming out of the UK. The Silicon Valley used to have an unfair advantage of venture capitalists, tech workers and local savvy. No more.

Today I am working out of Utah on my MacBook Pro, starting to write this blog post on free WordPress software that was updated by my tech guy from India (thanks, Satish!). Once you see the creations of these Seedcamp winners, you’ll agree that consumer web service creation is no longer coming solely from the California coast.

Basekit Groupspaces Huddle Kwaga Moo Qype School of Everything Skimlinks Spotify Stupeflix Ubervu Zemanta

Basekit Drag and Drop Object-Oriented Web Site Designer. Hot area for massive growth, according to moi. Can’t wait for this demo.

Groupspaces The next generation of Yahoo! Groups, full of excellent features, like file sharing, payment systems, group scheduling. Finally, someone with an alternative to that heaving elder, Y! Groups.

Huddle Like Basecamp. Interested to see the differences. Global collaborative projects are here and Huddle knows it.

Kwaga Email management system. Perhaps like OtherInBox? Hoping it has support for Apple Mail.

Moo We all love those little cards. Checking in on the advances of one of the most fun, unique companies in the world of printing.

Qype User-generated local reviews. Yelp for Europe and South America (so far).

School of Everything Great idea – sign up to teach something or cruise the database for something you’d like to learn. As Boomers age out, they want to give back and have a lot of skills. Great individual matching opportunities for unique skill sets. Fire dancing anyone?

Skimlinks Site-wide JavaScript to add affiliate link codes to your whole site. If you are a publisher, signed up with a bunch of affiliates, this is a great way to automate links on your site to add affiliate code and get rolled up reporting.

Spotify A new spin on music. Waiting to see the demo. My buddy, Shak Kahn, is involved so I know it’s going to be clever.

Stupeflix Kinda like Animoto – take your photos, images and add your music to create a video. This is absolutely what’s hot right now and I like the new empowering tools for folks who want to be creative but aren’t schooled in the arts.

Ubervu If Twitter Search and Google Alerts had a baby, it would be Ubervu. I’m super high on the meta services for social nets. Like MobyPicture, a syndication tool that let’s you post your images, audio and video to all your soc nets in one fell swoop, Ubervu is a social listening tool that also lets you comment from the ap. This is smart – take out the steps to commenting by helping you reply and comment to any service from one ap. Can’t wait to see this demo.

Zemanta Speaking of “commenting,” Zemanta is a Firefox extention that gives you creative ideas for adding images and other associated content to the comments you’re making on the web. I’ve installed it and will play with it and see if it makes me look smarter.

P.S. At SXSW, I interviewed Dave Taylor (AskDaveTaylor.com) about his blog commenting strategy. At this juncture of the web, you must engage in social listening, and Dave gives some great strategies for commenting and managing your time around responding. Here’s the interview.

Dave Taylor and Susan Bratton Community Powered Podcast SXSW

Original Post – Click Here

Susan Bratton & Dave Taylor on Social Media Strategies for Staying in the Game Without Being Overwhelmed – Coping Mechanisms from @DaveTaylor