The WELL: inkwell.vue.436: SXSW 2012, Jon Lebkowsky

#133: Ted Newcomb (tcn) Fri 30 Mar 12 04:29

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 04:29:00 PDT

Nice video with Robert Scoble...SXSW from the perspective of startups, entrepreneurs, and investors. Quite a lot of enthusiasm, different point of view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4j7k_nkzlEA#! [Read entire topic]

#132: Jon Lebkowsky (jonl) Thu 29 Mar 12 04:33

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 04:33:00 PDT

Thanks, Ted, for leading the discussion so well! [Read entire topic]

#131: Ted Newcomb (tcn) Thu 29 Mar 12 03:55

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 03:55:00 PDT

Our discussion comes to a formal close today, but I encourage everyone to continue to post comments and questions as they may occur.

Warmest thanks and appreciation to Jon Lebkowsky and Ed Ward for their time, talent and candor as they have shared their thoughts and experiences at SXSW as well as their wide-ranging grasp of the larger issues occurring as we make the transition into a digital age. The best to you both in all your endeavors.

And thanks to all who have participated with your comments and your attention. Be curious, be well. [Read entire topic]

#130: Ted Newcomb (tcn) Wed 28 Mar 12 15:42

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:42:00 PDT

I'm sure it's been amazing to watch the transformation over the years. You all do an exceptional job putting this on. The ripple effect is becoming phenomenal and Austin itself is one of the premier towns to be living in.

(Only slightly jealous:)) [Read entire topic]

#129: Jon Lebkowsky (jonl) Wed 28 Mar 12 13:21

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:21:00 PDT

Yes, indeed! Looking forward to that one.

We sometimes focus more on the conference aspect of SXSW, but it's first and foremost a festival - originally a music festival, then a film festival was added, and finally a multimedia festival which became SXSW Interactive. On the ground at SXSW, I think the festival aspect is more compelling - music performances and film screenings - for many who attend. Interactive has been more about panels and solo talks, but as social technology has emerged its become more about gatherings - bringing people together in all sorts of contexts, and having stimulating conversations that are often extensions of the conversations they've been having all year online. The Interactive Festival really is a festival of interactivity - I think the various Meetups and Core Conversations are becoming the heart and soul of the event, and the keynotes are actually less interesting. [Read entire topic]

#128: Ted Newcomb (tcn) Wed 28 Mar 12 13:02

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:02:00 PDT

And all this music talk segues nicely to our next Inkwell.vue conversation, How to Make (and Find) Music in the 21st Century? [Read entire topic]

#127: Ted Newcomb (tcn) Wed 28 Mar 12 13:00

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:00:00 PDT

I had never heard him before. He is very smart and impressive. I'm going to have to check out his music. [Read entire topic]

#126: Jon Lebkowsky (jonl) Wed 28 Mar 12 12:21

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:21:00 PDT

Here's another talk with Corgan at SXSW: http://youtu.be/x8z6tU4at30

He's talking about VRM and disintermediation... ideally artists and fans can be connected without a "value chain" of middle men. If you're one of the middle men, this sucks: your world is falling apart, and you're trying to pull it back together again, build this or that paywall to protect your position. This will pass as the media environment evolves further and middle-man expectations fall away like dinosaurs with no more oxygen to sustain 'em.

He's smart to point out the importance of ever richer experiences - there's an experience economy thing happening. Digital doesn't replace "real experience," it points to it. In the world of music, concerts are the focus, rather than recorded music, which is just a pointer to the live experience. As it should be. [Read entire topic]

#125: Ted Newcomb (tcn) Wed 28 Mar 12 04:49

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 04:49:00 PDT

Jon, in response to VRM, Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins) and Brian Solis held a panel at SXSW...Billy is interviewed by Alex Jones on Infowars.com (You Tube) and really gets rolling around the 13:22 mark...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9TVc8Tob98&feature=youtu.be [Read entire topic]

#124: Ted Newcomb (tcn) Wed 28 Mar 12 03:47

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 03:47:00 PDT

<122> scribbled - bad link

Thanks for that link Jon. That should be a great conversation. Nice to see that the user is pushing back and companies are actually paying attention. Advertising is probably the biggest driver out there right now. We are in the marketing age of "push and pull" and the equation works best when both sides are understood and respected. It is not inevitable that the big 5 become the Evil Empire.

I'm thinking let's go out with a big bang and touch on the underbelly of the whole shebang. Code. The deus ex machina that results in all the things we see and play with in our everyday digital experience.

Some essential pieces are out there for a glimpse and grasp of 'the Borg':

From Neal Stephenson's In The Beginning was the Command Line (http://www.ridemybike.org/command1.pdf) to

George Dyson's new book, Turing's Cathedral: The Origins of the Digital Universe (http://www.amazon.com/Turings-Cathedral-Origins-Digital-Universe/dp/0375422773) to

Anything by Jaron Lanier to rattle your brain. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaron_Lanier)

The Edge (http://www.edge.org) has had several conversations with George Dyson over the years, most recently this current one about self-replicating code and Dyson's metaphor of the WEB as a biological entity, beginning in the earliest days of computing at Princeton. He views the WEB as a physical reality, thought crazy at the time he first mentioned it and now being taken quite seriously. He estimates that over 5 trillion bits of code are being created each second. Chew on that NSA. (http://edge.org/conversation/a-universe-of-self-replicating-code)

It's a bit like turning on the light switch without any understanding of electricity. This is the OZ; what's behind the curtain of the wonderful world of digital. Doug Rushkoff, in his Program or be Programmed, thinks we must at least have a 1st grade education about all this. So, I throw in all these links and hope something or someone bites. [Read entire topic]