The Incredible Talking Dog
I am just getting back from the New Communications Forum and Expo in Vegas this week. Wow! It was fantastic! Truly!
You had Cluetrain co-author David Weinberger's give the keynote on why social media is changing the way we work, communicate and live. It was unreal. According to David: "Reality keeps things apart. The digital world escapes this constraint. The characteristics of the digital are not contained by the constraints of the real."
Not to be outdone, Kami Huyse and Linda Zimmer did a presentation on Second Life and why we should be in the virtual world. Kami provided a 'live' demonstration. The login page showed that there was only a small fraction of the number of people who have joined Second Life online. Much of what we saw was empty rooms. It was a little surreal.
Then an all-star panel of Shel Israel, Debbie Weil and friends, discussed best practices ironically for corporate blogging. The shear intangibility they were able to maintain was breathtaking.
It was all best summed up by KD Paine: "For a group of people supposedly dedicated to being real and transparent, it's pretty funny that we're all here in Las Vegas, the ultimate capital of fake."
Well, to any normal outsider, this all might seem like it was some convention of professional cheerleaders bent on raising club dues by hawking potions, crystals and magic hats. Trust me; it wasn't. I am sworn to secrecy but I am going to share what made the trip all worthwhile: "The Incredible Talking Dog." I am totally sorta serious.