I was invited to speak as a part of the Rotman Lecture Series on some of the strategic insights learned from the Obama Campaign that could be applied within organizations. It was a really great experience, and despite a case of the nerves, I had a lot of fun sharing my story. There was a lot of interest so we ended up doing it in the Fleck Auditorium and 295 people showed up!  (You can see more photos here)

I removed some of the photos I had in the presentation because they were just too big, and because they were from my personal collection, but the meat is all still there. If there was one point that I wanted to make in my talk, it was that the Obama Campaign clearly highlighted how effective Social Media can be when it is integrated into an organizations strategy (as opposed to an added on afterthought.) The power of New Media is unleashed when it is able to execute a clear strategic vision.

You can view a video of the presentation here. There is an introduction by Proffessor Alex Manu about innovation which is about five minutes long.

It’s time for another TED Tuesday! I’m so glad everyone is enjoying them, the feedback I have gotten from people has been great, and I have gotten a lot out of the conversations so far! This week, I’ve chosen one of my favorite heroes, TV genius J.J. Abrams.

J.J. is the brains behind two awesome shows: Alias and Lost. I just fell in love (read: became addicted)  with the unique way he weaves a story. Feeding you enough information so that you’re hooked, but never enough that you’re satisfied. Truth be told, it’s a love hate relationship, I have. Especially with LOST - that hatch was driving me crazy!

He is a member of an elite breed of writers that can keep you on the edge of your pants and completely in the dark for an entire season. You just never know what he’s going to do. And everything is so intricate, that you know you have to pay close attention to every scene because every little bit matters in the end. I love his reveals, the way he shows you the clues that have been hidden in plain sight all of this time.

In this talk, he talks about his love for mysteries and the magical gift his grandfather gave him that has inspired him ever since.

Why You Should Watch

As the Emmy-winning creator of the smart, addictive TV dramas Lost, Alias and Felicity, J.J. Abrams’ name looms large on the small screen. As the writer/director behind the blockbuster explode-a-thon Mission: Impossible III, the upcoming Cloverfield and the next Star Trek movie, these days Abrams also rules the big screen — bringing his eye for telling detail and emotional connection to larger-than-life stories.

Abrams’ enthusiasm — for the construction of Kleenex boxes, for the quiet moments between shark attacks in Jaws, for today’s filmmaking technologies, and above all for the potent mystery of an unopened package — is incredibly infectious.

My Favorite Part

I love the part where he talks about how technology has helped us bypass the traditional systems that would have normally prevented us from making movies, and now anyone can do it.

“The creation of stuff is democritized… Go make your movie. There’s nothing stopping you from going out there and getting the technology. You can lease, rent, buy stuff off the shelf just as good as the stuff that’s used by the [pros].”

I love that, there will always be challenges, but no more limits to what your creativity can do.

My Take

I love the mystery box, it’s how I feel when I open a new document to write a story. The anticipation is also mixed with a sense of knowing that no matter what I write, it will never be as good as the potential of what I could write, of everything that page can be. Humans are obsessed with possibilities, with the potential turns our lives can take, and I think the mystery box captures that feeling perfectly.

Sometimes not knowing is better than knowing.

Are there areas in your lives where you feel the same type of potential? When anything and everything is possible? I love those moments because they open your eyes to things we otherwise would dismiss.

Some Extras:

This LOST video made me laugh because it goes through seasons 1-3 and highlights every time a character says “what?” They say it a lot, I probably say it twice as much each time I watch an episode. If you haven’t seen it, give it a chance. Try watching the first season and then stop. I dare you.

Oh and if there are any Alias fans out there, I wanted to post an awesome clip from Robot Chicken called “Whalias” but thanks to copyright laws, I can’t find it anywhere. Thanks antiquated legal system.

I told you I would be back to my regular blogging tricks, didn’t I? Consider this a mini-post since I’m working on a few longer thought pieces for this week, including a sweet video for Ted Tuesdays!

Jesse found this video online a few days ago, and I keep finding myself looking it up online and watching it. It’s a tribute to uber-composer John William who is responsible for creating some of the most memorable film scores in history including: Star Wars, Superman, Born on the Fourth of July, Harry Potter, Jaws and Indiana Jones.
So the song shows Toronto-native Corey Vidal singing a Star Wars song accapella incorporating a few of John William’s tunes including ET, Jaws, Superman, and Indiana Jones. I was actually going to try to interview Corey to find out some more about him and what he did but then I found his handy FAQ’s and decided to go the lazy route. Everybody wins!

There have been a bunch of people who have tried to take away from the awesomeness of this video because Corey used the help of a company to produce it and he’s lip synching, and to that I say: who cares? The end result was that I was hugely entertained for four minutes, and it’s quite clever.

Let me know what you think, maybe you think it’s lame, but I think it’s such a cool example of how far we’ve come in terms of user generated contented.

My favorite part about working in New Media is being able to see and write about how people use it to express their creativity.

What do you think?

I actually wandered on Youtube to find a completely different video, but stumbled upon this instead.

I have to confess that Will.i.am holds a special place in my heart ever since his original “Yes We Can” video. I still remember that freezing cold February day when I saw it for the first time - and got goosebumps.  That video spurred me to research Obama and became an official supporter. It was a big change for me, I was rooting for Hilary, a familiar face and longing to see the first woman become elected.

But something about him just captured my attention.

Little did I know that my research would help spawn a chapter in Grown Up Digital, and that the contacts I would make would eventually have me placing my life on hold for two and a half months while I moved to Chicago to volunteer on the campaign New Media Team. Little did I know that I would make some incredible friends and have profound and changing experience.

Anyway, flashback aside, I was happy to see his latest video, capturing the elation of the election victory. It was posted last week, and I’m not sure if that makes it old news or not, with Viral Videos you just don’t know. I’ve decided that I haven’t seen it, it’s considered new, at least to me, lol. It seems sort of fitting that this experience starts and ends with a Will.i.am video, a nice and tidy way to wrap up the emotional journey of the last few months. Enjoy!

And for good measure, the “Yes We Can” video.

I find it so fascinating that despite all the advances science has made in learning about our minds and bodies, there are still vast amounts of information that remains unknown. Things that seemed impossible to our ancestors like flying through the sky or curing (now) common diseases are normal for us. I can only imagine what seemingly out of this world things will be commonplace to future generations. I think you’ll enjoy this talk by renown age scientist Aubrey De Grey, who hypothesizes that within the next thirty years, gene therapies will be introduced that will allow us to halt the aging process and life long and extended lives, spanning hundreds of years.

Why You Should Watch:

Cambridge researcher Aubrey de Grey argues that aging is merely a disease — and a curable one at that. Humans age in seven basic ways, he says, all of which can be averted. He provocatively proposes that the first human beings who will live to 1,000 years old. 

My Favorite Part:

I just love his sense of humor during this whole talk. He’s got a long pony tail and large bushy beard and he looks a bit more mad than scientist, but you just know after listening to him speak for a few minutes that he would be one of most interesting people to talk to.

My Take

I find myself having mixed reactions to this talk. I mean it’s pretty exciting to think about living for 200 years or more, but what if we achieve immortality, which is something he also hypothesizes. That opens up a whole realm of philosophical, theological and moral questions. The points below are pure speculation on my part, and are just some of the ideas that were bouncing around in my mind during this presentation.

Isn’t death natural? - Someone pointed out to me that it’s a little bizarre to pursue this line of research since everything in nature dies. What are some of the implications of circumventing a natural cycle like this?

Can we handle it? - There are already too many people on the planet, what will living forever mean people who want to have children? What will it mean for sustainable business and the resources of our planet? Population control will have to be seriously considered.

What about the afterlife? Now I’m not a religious person by nature, by I know many of my friends are, and they believe that what happens after you die is just a natural progression of human development. So, hypothetically speaking, what if there WAS something really great after death and now we’d never know?

Who will get access to this treatment? At the onset I can guarantee you it will probably be rich people, and I wonder how the world will react if they know there is a treatment available to the elite?

Will we want to live so long? You think working until 65 is a long time, can you imagine your career spanning hundreds of years? And what about opportunity within organizations? 250 years old and still a junior manager? Sucky for you!

What do you think? Where do you stand on the immortality continuum?