mindblob

Once upon a -social- time...

Being out of blogging for such a long time will not distract me from telling you a few words on "THE" extraordinary event I was lucky to attend to last April in NYC. Blogger Social was indeed such a unique, breathtaking event, that I was left literally speechless when I came back to Belgium. Believe me, I've been trying to find a way to relate how intense and authentic this moment was and just couldn't find the appropriate words. So I will simply share with you here how HAPPY I was to meet...

  

- Gavin Heaton (brother, buddy, mate, mindmelded... alien friend),
- Todd Andrlik (in Jurassic Park big Dinos vs Velociraptors phase),
- Matt Dickman (the gentle O-SO-techno marketer talented photographer),
- Anna Farmery (...with an even lovelier live voice than on her podcasts),
- Heather Gorringe (brought me a fascinating eco-Vision of social media),
- Sean Howard (dude... you rock smart, man! Man... you smart rock, dude!),
- Ann Handley (such a pleasure meeting the MarketingProfs Milady),
- Cam Beck (well, a real-real honor finally meeting you Cam!),
- Lori Magno (Wow! SO pleased to meet the O-so-fabulous YOU!),
- Steve Woodruff (a man of experience who should be Q-Listed, really!)
- Doug Meacham (wish we could have had more time to talk, Doug!),
- Darryl Ohrt (... or punk gentleman helping team finish the gift packs),
- Paul McEnany (now why was that Redbull around that shot again?)
- Arun Rajagopal (my dear friend, we simply owe you the Moon!),
- Toby Bloomberg (... the elegant Diva, with a World Wide Heart),
- Steve Roesler (conversation grows better with a sense of humor!),
- David Armano (The "Digital comrade" from the Wild Wild West),
- Thomas Clifford (Namaste Tom! Close-up on panoramic talent),
- Tim Brunelle (the effervescent-mind man with a hat - the other one!),
- Mack Collier (inspires respect and redefines the word "authentic"),
- Mark Goren (really enjoyed our chat... while spotting Duvel in NYC),
- Katie Chatfield (dear dear... it has been so flaaa flaaa flaaan-tas-tic!),
- Ryan Karpeles (discovering the brightness the of light bulbs, wow!),
- Nathan Snell (like a brief conversation being SO insightful),
- Mario Vellandi (...mon ami, Monsieur smart polyglot visionary),
- Greg Verdino (luckily didn't spill coffee on my iPhone keyboard),
- Scott Monty (the voice over of ooVoo with great news for the FPF),
- C.B. Whittemore (...mais quel plaisir de vous rencontrer, Madame!),
- Connie Reece (the amazing Lady Liberty leading us in conversation),
- Ryan Barrett (yesss...finally we met, and it was indeed a real pleasure!),
- Kristin Gorski (so brief, but just enough to trust that time does not matter!),
- David Berkowitz (David, so sorry I missed more time to share with you too),
- Jennifer Berk (great chance we could brunch and walk and chat together),
- Rohit Bhargava (too short to talk much, really... thank you for the book!),
- Susan Bird (really sorry we didn't have much time to talk Susan),
- Shashi Bellamkonda (missed time to share with you, sorry Sashi),
- Jason Falls (boy, I SO wanted to chat with ya Jason, sorry too!),
- Chris Kieff (Chris, your BS Cookies idea was excellent, thank you!),
- Matt J McDonald (short indeed... but very nice meeting you, Matt),
- Tim McHale (boy... I spotted your Ketchup bottle, but couldn't reach it!),
- Linda Sherman (Linda, it was a pleasure brunching with you!),
- Marshall Sponder (now... I just discovered your art... wow!),
- Seni Thomas (too short to really talk, but just enough to have fun, hé!),
- Alan Wolk (SO sorry we didn't get a real chance to talk live, Alan),
- Geoff Livingstone (couldn't talk with ya, but #Jaffe will tell me all, right!),

 

And of course, the friends I had already met before...

  

- Drew McLellan (brother, my friend, I really feel blessed to know you),
- Suzy McLellan (so nice meeting you again Suzy, such a pleasure!),
- Lewis Green (Lew my friend, so when do we meet again?),
- Kris Hoet (Duvel has its loyal King! Spent a fantastic time with you, buddy!),
- David Reich (such a pleasure, again, David. And what a cap you had!),
- Valeria Maltoni (O SO delighted, again... fantastica Principessa!),
- CK (the one and ONLY, magic-CK... merci for all you do and all you are).

  

And all of you BS08 attendees that I missed (shame shame shame!), but wished I could have had live conversations with. Of course this was just a first contact, a first step, a first ACTION, from "online conversation" to "reality". Time was flying as fast as ideas and discussions. "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", version brainwaves to live frequency phases. But this time, voices became faces and eyes could read the smiles between the lines. And THAT was indeed unique and will never to be forgotten. Yes, CK... you, Drew, Lori and all the BS08 team really made the world be a smaller place... through a unique, human and rich experience. THANK YOU !

  

Quest for the Ultimate Break

Well... I must admit I've been "out of blogging" for quite a while (and I'm really sorry about that). After being extremely busy sorting loads of "offline issues", I finally reach a little "break" that leads me... well... -what a paradox- offline again. Not to mention, Blogger Social in NYC (Yeeehaaa! Woops, sorry... couldn't hide my enthusiasm!). So, yes... I'm afraid the number of posts on this blog will not come back to cruising speed right now, but I wanted to inform you that it will be soon (as soon as I'm back from Social).

In the meantime, and talking about having a break, you might want to check this special action on the French Kit Kat site.It is not really new, but worth checking out if you haven't yet. They call it "The Quest for the Ultimate Break" (this link will lead you to the teaser film only on YouTube, in case you can't reach it on the main site). Will some of us see this situation -I mean the beginning of the film, of course- as a familiar "under pressure work conditions" déjà vu? I don't know. Due to the last rush I've been through, I must admit I just had to smile when I discovered it (hint, hint!).

Anyway, I really like the end of the film and the "goal of the quest" itself. It is in french, so I'll translate the idea behind it. It is contest with lottery-like numbers you get in Kit Kat and other Nestle candy bars. And guess what... the great price you may win is... a TRIP INTO SPACE ! ! ! (yes, a real one!). There is also an input channel where people can post their video vision of an "Ultimate break".

I really like the concept, because the price is quite innovative and insightful. And for the records, the french agency is JWT Paris, the very same that launched the excellent Wilkinson "Fight for kisses" site that you may remember. Last but not least -the producer's point of view here- when I investigated about who did the 3D animation, I found out that it was AKAMA Studio, the same post-production company that worked on FFK. This time they produced this trailer in about 2 and a half months... and that my friends deserves a fantastic applause, because it is not much time to achieve such a qualitative result. Thumbs up guys!

Now if you would excuse me... I have a lift to catch.  ; )

Blogger Social 2008... 90 days left!

   

So how do you like this cool looking photo-video edit Mark Goren just made to give you a visual idea of who will be coming -so far- to Blogger Social 2008?

Readers of this blog know that next April 4-6, 90 days from now, bloggers from around the world will meet in the first event so far exclusively dedicated to... GETTING SOCIAL. In other words, no seminar, no ppt presentation, no keynote, no protocol. A unique opportunity created, led and embraced by marketing and communication specialists bloggers who after meeting virtually, thought that it was about time to meet live.

Australia, Oman, Italy, England, Belgium, Canada, USA... many countries will be represented, making the event a rich and unique human experience. Here is the list of the people who registered so far and a very nice collage of the faces behind them (you may find a pdf version here - thanks to Mark Goren again).

 

 

Susan Bird - Tim Brunelle - Katie Chatfield - Terry Dagrosa - Matt Dickman - Luc Debaisieux - Gianandrea Facchini - Mark Goren - Gavin Heaton - Sean Howard - CK - Valeria Maltoni - Drew McLellan - Doug Meacham - Marilyn Pratt - Steve Roesler - Greg Verdino - CB Whittemore - Steve Woodruff - Paul McEnany - Ann Handley - David Reich - Tangerine Toad - Kristin Gorski - Mack Collier - David Armano - Ryan Barrett - Lori Magno - Tim McHale - Gene DeWitt - Mario Vellandi - Arun Rajagopal - Darryl Ohrt - Joseph Jaffe - Rohit Bhargava - Anna Farmery - Marianne Richmond - Thomas Clifford - Lewis Green - Geoff Livingston - Kris Hoet - Connie Reece - CeCe Lee - Jonathan Trenn - Toby Bloomberg - Seni Thomas    

   

So if you have not registered  yet, the great news is you still have some time to do so. Yes ! ! ! But beware, the limit is set : NO LATER than February 15. Shortly said : hurry up and just... BE THERE !

 

Image originally uploaded by dingdingwang

 

BSO8... Time to register!

   

Just a reminder for those of you who might have forgotten : it is time to register to Blogger Social '08. The deadline is November 15th, it will be in NYC and it is going to be a unique opportunity to meet bloggers from around the planet. Here is where you can find more information about WHO, WHY , WHAT... Oh, and Gavin Heaton -who will be coming all the way from Australia to BS08- opened a Kaltura video edit worth checking out there.
In other words : WOW !
   

Blogger Social 08 will be in NYC

       
Quick update (I'm still on holidays, now in Paris and dial-up, but can't resist!) to let you know that the Blogger Social '08 super dedicated website is up and running (www.blogger-social.com). The voted place is: New York City (I heart NY!) and the days will be April 4-6, 2008. Find all the details about this first and fantastic event on CK's original post, here and on the BS08 website.

   

Thanks to CK and Drew McLellan for the original idea and efforts to launch, also to  Cam Beck, Matt Dickman and Mike Sansone for making this idea come true. I'll be back soon with more about the event. In the meantime, you may want to listen to the special audio podcast prepared by Matt with CK and Drew as guest stars. And remember... the spirit of Blogger Social '08 is nice and simple : just jump from behind your computer screen and meet the faces and personalities linked to your favorite marketing blogs.

   

PS : Woops! I forgot to mention that I did have the honor to contribute too, by designing the logo, the button and the site banner.  : )

 

The Age of Conversation - GO !

The "Age of Conversation" the collaborative project of 100 authors, is now available on Lulu.com (ebook, paper and hardback). As a reminder, the editors of this project are Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton. Note that all proceeds will be donated to Variety, the Children's Charity, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of children around the world.

Drew McLellan's latest words on the ebook.

Gavin Heaton's latest post.

Arun Rajagopal's description of all the authors.

Matt Dickman's Google Map locating all the authors.

The Age of Conversation site.

Age of Conversation alphabetic list and info.

Some great posts from everywhere started to spread and so is the press coverage. I hope a lot of money will be raised to help children in need. This link between blogging and reality is what touches me the most. So, don't wait... click here and buy the ebook, a paper copy of a hardback one.

   

This is the dawn of The Age of Conversation.
My chapter is entitled : "The Dawn of Shared Consciousness".
Let this new era begin.

 

8 Random things

Last week, I was tagged twice by the “8 random things about me” meme. Lewis Green was the first to hook me with the love link and David Reich did it too a few days later. Thank you (for your patience) guys... Ok then, here you go :

 

1. - The agency I work for once organized corporate “Highland games” in Scotland. Most of the challenges were adapted for team spirit/team building. One of them was throwing a Haggis (typical Scottish sausage) on a long distance (about 100 feet) with a bottle of exquisite whisky as target (you hit it, you get it). You get 3 shots to try. Guess what, I did it... and got the bottle : twice in a row! Well... motivation I guess.

2. - Ever seen parachutes pulled by offshore boats? Well while trying that thing, I made a free fall of about 80 feet, when the boat tried to turn into a too strong winds. Hopefully fell into the water. I was OK, but the shock blew my helmet away.

3. - Feel connected to Garfield : I just LOVE Lasagna (fresh home made ones, of course!). “Hi Mom... would you please consider this as a special request from your son?” – Sorry I had to have this personal message here - ; )

4. - After travelling 7 years through space, in 2004, my signature landed on the Moon... Titan. It was on the CD-ROM traveling with ESA's Cassini-Huygens.

5. - When I was student a friend and I were radio animators for a small local radio. The audience was so low that we asked friends to call us for live quiz games. The prices to win were a bottles of strawberry milk (please don’t laugh, this is true!). We got kicked out after broadcasting an advertising experiment: “a one minute of pure white –understand complete silence- sponsored by a fake brand of washing powder”.

6. – I named my company after seing this movie. From a creative point of view, I thought going to the Moon was a fantastic challenge. Loved the idea that one day a man said "...what if we bring a buggy there... and drive it?".

Company name : Moon Buggy.
Motto: "Drive your dreams".

7. – I often listen to film soundtracks. I enjoy letting my imagination dive into their moods and surf the images they inspire. Favorites are from Lalo Schifrin, John Barry, John Williams, Henry Mancini, Michel Magne, Umebayashi Shigeru, etc.

8. – In summer time I ride an electric skateboard. 1 HP (horsepower), speed up to 35 km/h (22 mph) on a maximum distance of 16 km (10 miles). A lot of fun when riding uphill and passing bikes by (... ok, ok, I know I wouldn’t make it with you Tim).  ; )

 

Did you ever have the feeling that there were blogs you missed for a reason or another and would like to read on a more regular basis? Well, this is the message of my tagging meme, since many of you have already been tagged. Here is my “8 stars list” : Caroline Maerten, Kris Hoet, Philippe Deltenre, Pieter Ardinois, Arun Rajagopal, Ryan Karpeles, Matt Dickman, Mark Goren.

 

One year time machine

Fantastic image originally uploaded by jagus

 

Mark Goren from Transmission Content + Creative blog, tagged me quite a while ago now (sorry for being so late, Mark), to dive into mindblob archives and point 5 posts out that some of my new readers might have missed. Well Mark thank you for thinking about me... now listen to this : as a matter of fact today, it’s been a year since I landed here... A year since “Introducing mindblob”. A year of boldly exploring the bloggosphere. So, isn’t it the perfect occasion to use a time machine and travel backwards?

Once upon a time (yeah, I love that start), lead by insightful posts focusing on the essence and richness of connected brains... I jumped into documenting the meaning of “BLOGGING : Growing ideas”. Then, simply “wondering” like an Alien on planet earth. Trying to find answers about blogging itself and what makes people be attracted by that phenomenon. Naturally seeking the “Intentions of a Blogger”... and thanks to the precious help of attentive readers, adapting visions of “Blogging motivators”.

In the meantime, extending a few side stories that attracted my attention, like “The era of the electric cars” (my most Googled post actually. And I like that, because it is good to “feel” that people care about their planet and ways to use greener energies - Sigh!). Discovering creativity in unexpected, touching places thanks to “Don Quixote's Children”. Being impressed by the courage and incredible challenge of a woman sailing the oceans, alone and “Against the Winds”.

Moving towards CONSCIOUSNESS with a strange metaphor in mind : blogging is like the sum of small drops of water... it has the power of making huge waves. Beware of the pressure and “Open the tank”. This said, I couldn't help being lifted by a wave like a little Z-fish and so being the witness of mutations and transformations of that wave. Then back to earth and “wondering” again... what our future jobs will be, what we would like them to be, thinking... “Evolution, Revolution & YOU”.

Sometimes being silly too, like pointing to little “Minuscule” links that make us all smile or sing, considering we may sometimes need “Office mood boosters” or to escape from our daily routines, maybe.

Like the rabbit with a watch of a wonderful journey (see which one?), I was lucky to discover that taking a “walk on the whack side”, sometimes leads you to experiences never imagined before. There is something extra-ordinary (I mean out of the ordinary) behind all this. More than words, more than brains. It’s all about people, humans, YOU (my friends), us... and little bugger me... LINKED together, SHARING thoughts, LEARNING and hopefully GROWING together. That SPIRIT touched me... and I must say it did like never before. So as a good little Alien, I share with you my report to planet Zgork:

   

“After a year spent into the sphere, I must say what’s happening is huge. Humans are becoming more connected. They are linking their brains together and it gives them new powers that they are still exploring and trying to figure out. This will obviously make their world smaller and lead them to taking new kinds of actions into reality. They were not scared to share with me. I was not to share with them. Time does not matter. Space does not matter. They are my new friends and I THANK (them) YOU ALL for being “there”. YES... The Blob is still growing... and after jumping in... it feels good to be part of it!”

 

To be continued...

Wizzzzzzz.    : )

 

PS : Looking at this picture from Jagus... I flew through time to when I was a little kid. Making “inventions” and also “really” traveling through time. Jagus, congrats... this little boy is not lacking imagination. Please give him all my encouragements and tell him not to forget the "backwards button". I forgot to put one to my machine... now I must keep living in the world of adults (a bit silly I know!)  ; )

 

The Spirit of the Tree

Saturday May 24th was a very special day. A unique day in fact. As a matter of fact, I am a bit late on covering this event, but didn’t we once read somewhere that for some “essential things of life, time does not matter”?

 

Anyway... on that day, a simple intention became reality and (I believe) brought joy to one of our dearest friend blogger, CK. The idea came through a email I was lucky to receive one day, proposing to plant a tree in honor of Sandra J. Kerley, CK’s Momma (if you don’t know about the tragic accident, read this). The email was originally written by Drew McLellan (from Des Moines, Iowa, USA) and reached me via Gavin Heaton (Australia – talking about “distance”) who knew I was one of CK’s friend and thought I could feel concerned about the content of the email. And indeed, Drew’s words touched me, as I immediately felt connected to the intention behind them :

 

“We’re going to be planting a mature tree in one of NYC’s parks and the tree will have a plaque honoring CK’s mom.  That way, CK can go visit the tree if she wants...and knows that a part of her mom is there in her city.”

 

Mails flew around the planet, people got involved in the project, and a very nice tree was planted at the Family Garden Park in New York City. The rest of the story you probably know by know... Drew McLellan, David Reich, Valeria Maltoni, Lewis Green and I met in NYC in the names of all the bloggers involved (*) in this project to offer the tree to our friend CK.

(*) David Armano, Roger Von Oech, Mack Collier, Toby Bloomberg, Tim Jackson, Marianne Richmond, From Marketing Profs: Ann Handley, Val Frazee, Sharon Edwards and Carrier Shearer, Mario Sundar, Gianandrea Facchini, Cam Beck, Gavin Heaton, Katie Chatfield, Matt Dickman, Paul McEnany

   

Sometimes in our lives “things happen” that barely no words can explain. It appears to me that this is all about being “human”, about listening to heart beats, about sharing, about “believing”, about Love and friendship. CK covered this unique day with the depth of her own eyes and heart in a post o-so-full of vibrations (check the beautiful photo tree-montage!). Drew shared his genuine thoughts here. Lewis, wrote a great detailed story here. Valeria’s delicate words are simply moving over here. David resumes the day and the time spent together in one post, not to say one brilliant word: Priceless.

 

Coming to New York made sense to me, because the intention, the “spirit” of the tree was “good” and addressed to a very special and generous person (...and I must say I’m really thankful to my wife for understanding this and letting me go for it). Meeting Drew and his lovely family, Valeria, Lewis and David was an intense thrill and at the same time, felt like a family meeting. You know, like a day you gather on a special occasion and talk while having diner. Just one detail: most of us had never met before, but were instantly on the same frequency. Lots of ideas to exchange, common thoughts or visions to share, experiences and perspectives flying around the table. A moment out of time, spent with fantastic friends. Guys, let me tell you... this I will never forget. THANK YOU ALL for "being there".

- Left to right :  CK, Valeria - Standing : Lewis, Luc, Drew and David -

   

But wait, there is more...

When it was time to say goodbye, CK... completely surprised me. She asked if I had already been to NYC before. She understood it was indeed a first time, and that I had made a quick trip and wouldn’t really have time to visit the city. It took her a fraction of a second to take the initiative. Now I’d like you to focus on this : just imagine, after dealing with the unexpected, intense emotion of the day, she improvised and gently pushed me into a city tour of New York... with her taking the lead role of the guide. Fantastic! I would have never ever thought about that. Well, this is how she is... generous, and giving time, energy and heart to her friends – and I’m not even talking about the sharp eye and smart vision of the brilliant professional she is. Being there was an honor. Being your friend is definitely one too. THANK YOU CK !

    

- Guided through the heart of New York City -

And there is... even more :

Just Check CK’s post following meetup and sharing ideas with Drew McLellan in NYC. Yet another thrilling proposition to the community. After being in contact via our blogs, after sharing written ideas, emails and sometimes voice or video conferences over the oceans and continents, what if we would just meet for face-to-face conversations... and socialize? Wow! Yet another thoughtful challenge. There is a survey to feel the pulse (before July 1st) and an open perspective to actually MAKE THE WORLD SMALLER.

 

Guess what... that’s NOT all folks :

In her post “The world gets smaller (mindblob, me & NYC)” –I feel blessed to get such an article, after being lucky to live such an experience live (sigh!)- she went even further and created a link with Belgian bloggers I had not met yet. The day after her post I received a mail from Kris Hoet (Cross the Breeze) and we... just... met. Then, Philippe Deltenre also (Bad idea, indeed). -It was a real pleasure to meet you guys!- Now, we are planning to meet again with other Belgian chocolate eaters and create a Belgian Connection for good.

Macro-world conversation making micro-world connections...
How about that ?   : )