Compassion in Politics: Christian Social Justice, Non-Profits, and Life Theology

Mitch Joel at Twistimage chimed in on the issue of Boliao (random, useless content) after Barcamp Singapore: 

Jorg posed a serious Marketing question at PodCamp Singapore: “how do we, as Marketers, connect with a group of people who are, literally, watching (and creating) nonsense?” How do we, as Agency people, pitch this to clients, and how can we explain (with sincerity) that Boliao is the kind of content people want?The question becomes: what are Marketers supposed to do? If Boliao is something that millions of people are engaged with, and it has no substance… where will this lead us? 

I think Boliao offers a great jumping off point for teachers. I noticed the Design presentation that David Owens, a professor in the MBA program at Vanderbilt Universtiy daftly use of so called “boliao” and humor to impart design, psychology, and communication principles to the Barcamp crowd in Nashville. I think that more mainstream use of pop culture also makes sense.Second, I think that it is perhaps only from the perspective of adults that this is “boliao.” I wonder what these kids would say about the video–in other words what their association with videos like this is. As someone interested in framing, I wonder if referring to it as “boliao” (aka meaningless crap) instead of “user-created content” or “creative content” seems a little problematic as it seems to create a wall. It demonizes the very people who you are trying to reach. To me, this “divide” seems like the jumping off point for a conversation and a dialogue. This seems to be as much a question of intergeneration understanding and communication as anything. It will be those marketers and communicators who are best able to create this dialogue are going to be the most successful. Ever since the era of Shakespeare humor has been one of the key means with lower class status have used to voice their opinions. In our age, the desire to be internet famous or have a boost of social status at school is also probably driving factor. To be true, the raw human emotion to be noticed and to be significant cannot be underestimated. Ultimately, I believe that with a delightful spoon full of digital sugar, the “medicine” just might go down…Thoughts?

Is all internet video really of this variety? You decide at StumbleVideo, whose art, design, and jazz videos seem to transcend the “meaninglessness” claims.

Hopefully I’ll answer Mitch’s other question in a subsequent post… By the way..Go TN Titans!

I must be the only one who hasn’t seen this video.  Anyway, enjoy!

Thanks to everyone who put BarCamp Nashville and the video montage together (it was truly dreamy)!

Trendspotting Online: Web 2.0 and Social Networking (Digital Natives: the MySpace and Facebook Generation)
A shift is occurring beneath our feet as more people are actively leaving the ranks of mass media consumers and followers to new media pro-sumers who actively voice their opinions in the newer, more interactive web environment.  

This weekend at BarCamp Nashville new media guru Mitch Joel of Six Pixels of Separation pointed out that consumers are spending 48% of their free time online.  This, alongside the millions that are hopping on the Facebook bandwagon and that are daily joining of the diverse ranks of the bloggosphere.  

Mitch also pointed to the incredible diversity in users and methods of communication.  With mega-events like Blogher and the sprouting up of unconferences like Barcamp this trend will only continue.  Events like these and virtual collaboration and communication is increasingly flattening the earth, such that you don’t have to be a tech geek in San Francisco to have social networking access to the stars of the digital world.  And far from being withdrawn wizards behind the curtain that may characterize other industries, these folks generally seem to be women and men of the people. The monumental and viral Free Hugs video is really a metaphor for the diversity and community, that are embraced  by this change is far more human than the top-down culture and one-way communication of the era that came before it.

The Mass Media and Commercial Shift:

One more sign that the old guard might be crumbling is “You Tube Killer the Video Star” with some Steven Colbert love.  Corporations are seizing this opportunity too.  Tracking the Influence of Conversations: A Roundtable Discussion on Social Media Metrics and Measurement is a manifesto and testament to this shift.  I highly recommend it for anyone looking at the cultural or commerce ramifications of this fundamental shift in the way we communicate and do life.

“The advent of social media–blogs in particular–thus brings with it at least the potential for removing the barrier between a sellar and buyers who are likely remote–geographically, economically, culturally, and otherwise.  The social media platform truly leverages the Web’s massive scale to carry information–fact or opinion–globally and instantly.” 

Jeremiah Owyang of Podtech.net and Matt Troll of Down Jones 

The Personal Shift or What this Means for You, Me, and the Human Community:
I guess the balls in our court now.  We are no longer sitting on the bench, we are potentially active participants in the game.  In our hands, we have the power to forge or disrupt conversation and community. 
What will you do?

Oddly enough Mitch Joel has a great post about linking up via social networking communities.  Thats a great start.  Whats next??

Ps.  If all Canadians are as nice as Mitch Joel, it might not be half-bad place to live.  Like Nashville, but with French accents and pronounce “about” like “a boot.”  Diversity is lovely indeed.

I’m getting pretty excited about the local new media and tech unconference BarCamp coming to Nashville this Saturday at the Exit/In.  All this excitement has me thinking:  what have other folks done in terms of creating a robust blogger community thats been successful?  How can the blogging and new media community best get its tech on?

I know big mega-conferences like yearly Blogher, Gnomedex, YearlyKos can all be helpful.

I realize free unconferences which are all over the globe like BarCamp and PodCamp can be helpful as well. 

Monthly meetups like Blogging meetups, Social Media Club , and Net Squared are likewise an addition to the community.  I imagine that San Fransisco, Boston, and London are on the frontlines of new clubs like Open Coffee Club for the tech community.

I know local information hubs are critical too.  For instance, a friend of mine in DC kept DC Tech Events, which was a weekly posting of upcoming events in the DC area.  Very simple, very helpful.

What ideas do you have?  What have you seen thats worked?  How can we collaborate and community build virtually better?

Looking forward to Barcamp Nashville next weekend at the Exit/In.  Barcamp is a free unconference–a gathering of folks who are interested in the web, new media, and interactive communications technology.  It will be my first taste of the tech community in the Music City.For information about Barcamps in a city or town near you, check out Barcamp.org. Here’s a tasty tidbit about the mantra and values of the Unconference community.  If you’re interested in Bar Camp Nashville, specifically, the kind folks at Nashville is Talking have your 411.  Hope you’re having a great week!