Conversation Agent

I've Done it My Way

The advice is to pick a unique name, I came up with Conversation Agent - that was still when the term conversation had not tipped, and I knew it would. Thank you mom and dad for giving me a pretty rare name, it will come in handy. Conversation Agent is an accurate expression of my personal brand vs. an aspirational concept. It came after years of work with organizations and community filling that role.

This is who I am. It will evolve thanks to the connections and interaction. I welcome that evolution.

They say that writing short posts is much better and gets you more readers and comments. I know it's easier on the eyes and time for sure. Although I have gotten better at editing my content down, I am still writing long. My posts also tend to be more like articles, with subheads and development. That happens when I am thinking deeper as I spend time with an idea. It also happens as I connect different ideas. Yes, they do take time to write - 2-4 hours, depending on the research involved.

This has been a prequel to other projects. The time has come to recalibrate what I write here.

The third piece of advice I usually do not follow is thinking that the value of content I share depends on the number of comments I receive on that post. That's because on more than one occasion I presented ideas that were slightly or much ahead or from a Euro-global angle. There is also plenty of evidence that my posts grow over time - they are directional and at a slow release even for me. Many a time I've reread an old post and looked at the content from a fresh angle.

I measure myself by the number of comments I leave, not those I get.

Success to me means inspiring insight, helping others connect, learning, and failing, too - my way.

Thank you for risking conversations, exchanges here and elsewhere, incomplete thoughts, and amusement. Thank you for the contribution, the likable ways *you* have that are yours alone. Thank you for allowing me to glimpse into your world and for taking part in mine. Thank you for reading.

[unforgettable Frank Sinatra, My Way - listening time 4:38]

Tom Peters and Thoughts on Design

Tom Peters has an outstanding post outlining 67 random thoughts on design. I have admired the deliberate way in which Tom uses language from the very beginning of his career. The words we use matter. Words are powerful. As my spiritual upbringing taught me, thoughts are even more powerful than words.

Loving, compassionate, caring thoughts, when harnessed and shared through inspiring and empowering words, can move to a positive transformation. Words can sometimes betray thoughts, too. However, I have often found that it does not occur at random, it happens by choice - by design. The problems I (and I am sure many others) have been experiencing with TypePad for the past two plus weeks, are also occurring as a result of design decisions.

The teams at Technorati, Twitter, and now LinkedIn have all made design decisions that are impacting the function of those sites/services now. There is a reason why we all so like the quote: "if you build it, they will come" in Field of Dreams - it was a design decision that provided the theater for the events that followed. Design permeates everything: design of work, design of team, design of community - design of life.

How do we approach the design of conversations, actions, experiences? Do we let our need to leave an imprint rule the specs? Do we test, fail, learn, implement with others? As you think of that, let me build on a couple of Tom's thoughts:

• "It" works only if it is "a way of life." (Apple. BMW. Cirque du Soleil. Starbucks.)
• "Design-mindfulness." (Design-mindfulness is a universally shared attitude.) The tone, the pitch, the non verbals, the experience, all contribute.
• "It" does not work if it is a "program"! It most definitely is not going to be a campaign. However, if you need to start somewhere, do start by willing to make it an aspirational goal. Be serious about it.
• Don't try to "engineer it"—there is an essential "spontaneity" dimension. (Southwest Airlines.) It starts with that soft stuff called culture. That is not only your company's environment, it is also your personality, what comes across. You can help it change.
• "It" starts with the vendors and the vendors' vendors—and especially includes packaging and delivery folks. (And parking lot attendants. Think Disney and the gum-free Orlando airport.) Obsess about the details. Every single thing is a clue.
• IT IS NOT ABOUT "MARKETING"! (Though marketing is a piece of it—like everything else.) It most definitely is everyone's job.
• Capturing "best practice" only goes so far. Design is a decision made at every level, every moment, in everything you do - and are.

How do you design a life that works?

We Take Your Trash

What would happen if creatives from agencies all over the US organized an exhibit of all the communications that clients discarded? How about those works that were withdrawn or otherwise censored? Is there a hall large enough in Vegas for such a show?

Creatives Are Bad accepts your trash from all over Italy. They are putting together a show of all the refused (notice the nice play on words?) communications. Deadline for entry is June 6. In case you are in Italy and are planning to participate.

They do it because they want to draw a line, show that some of the discarded work may in fact have not gone far enough, ending up half done. Which did not satisfy the client, nor the creative.

You are smiling, you've been there. The concept you presented was gutsy, at the edges and still part of the brief. Yet the client looked at it, thought about it, and then decided to tone it down a little. Clean that headline, put in more copy there.

And you rationalize every change, water it down. Or so you think. The manifesto of Creatives are Bad specifies that the purpose of the exhibit is to reflect upon why the work was a no go. The ultimate goal is that of writing itself out of the event - by having less and less refuse.

It's a noble attempt - that of reconnecting creative work with business strategy, making communications sell not just itself, but the product and service it was created to help you buy. Over and over we say that the learning is in the mistakes. Were are they in this unwanted work? The exhibit purports to help creatives find out. [hat tip to Luca Oliverio]

Are you a creative? Agency, consulting firm, freelancer - now is your chance to showcase some of your best work that was not appreciated. C'mon, give us a link and a short brief in the comments here. Get some exposure to your unrealized dream and be part of the conversation.

What's Your KOOZA?

I just bought tickets to go see KOOZA. In researching what the story is about, I discovered that in KOOZA, Cirque du Soleil tells the story of The Innocent, a melancholy loner in search of his place in the world.

From the site: KOOZA is a return to the origins of Cirque du Soleil: It combines two circus traditions – acrobatic performance and the art of clowning. The show highlights the physical demands of human performance in all its splendor and fragility, presented in a colorful mélange that emphasizes bold slapstick humor.

Many of the Cirque shows remind me of journeys. The Innocent's journey brings him into contact with a series of comic characters. This contact no doubt will result in experiences for both the character and us, the audience. In anticipation for another feast on the language of movement, I thought it fun to imagine some possibilities for the types in the story:

• the King - this is one of the most fascinating images in the history of tales. For a medieval history buff like me, King can take so many forms. I think of King Lear and the transferal of identity in the connection between the King and the Fool. The King can be a benevolent and magnanimous character, or he can be a real ass, depending on the circumstances. Straight from legend, King Arthur was the former. King of the Hill, Burger King, Mattress King, the noun lives on. And so does the metaphor - living like a king.
     
• the Trickster - a less than flattering term. While nobody would take that name, we sometimes feel cheated in our experience, tricked into a situation, or into thinking something that is not. Tricks can also be acts of magic. By and large we do not think of them that way.
     
• the Pickpocket - rarely do we think as a hand in our pocket as being a good thing. This and the previous character are in fact the Cat and the Fox in Pinocchio (Carlo Collodi). Classic characters introduced to create the conflict in the story.
     
• the Obnoxious Tourist and his Bad Dog - the antithesis of The Innocent. Another really popular character in old tales and sometimes a less popular character in cities and places around the world. It is how the journeyman responds to the taunts and influences of this type and his side-kick that will carry him to the end of the tale.

Like every strong story, this one promises to weave itself between strength and fragility, laughter and smiles, turmoil and harmony - touching every human emotion in a way that leaves plenty of room for the imagination of the individual to fill in the blanks. The set will be visually stimulating and appeal to the auditory sense, but it will be the surprises, the turns, the audacity of the visuals and sounds that will evoke total involvement.

As it provides an experience, KOOZA brings together and explores some timeless themes: fear, identity, recognition, power. We buy, our customers buy, on the strength of some basic emotions and desires: love, hope, and fear. Which industry are you in, and what's your story?

Judge a Magazine by Its Cover

"New technologies do not erase the enduring strengths of magazines to build brands, to tell powerful narratives and to define the national conversation." 

[Landon Jones, former managing editor of Money and People - hat tip to Andy Nulman]

What makes a magazine stand out? Take a look at any rack at a bookstore and you will know - its cover. Of course, it's not about the image itself, it's about the story the image (and layout) convey.

I've given you a selection of covers to provide some diversity here. You may grab more at the site of the American Society of Magazine Editors, and Time for starters. There are so many narrative tools one can employ to design a conversation with an image - illustration, photographic treatment, optical illusion. The most memorable covers sum up the story inside by connecting with you at the emotional level:

• evoking memories
• presenting the unexpected
• painting a scenario
• zeroing in a subject
• doing the opposite
• provoking a visceral reaction
• surprising, etc.

These covers are designed to tell a very specific story, yet they leave themselves open to your interpretation and participation. The simpler, the more complex the narrative they symbolize. If I had to take an educated guess, I'd say that the most powerful covers (and narratives) are the brainchild of one visionary, or the collaboration of a team of specialized professionals each complementing and building upon - and not stifling - the other.

This also applies to your corporate brochures, Web sites, tech sheets, presentations, speeches, memos, letters. Do you want to stand out? Then stand up and make a bold move. Outstanding is the opposite of conforming.

Bill(board) Talks Back - Ad Designed to Have a Conversation

We've been talking about connections this week. Connections are at the heart of new media, and they are what makes the world go 'round.

When you've got personality, laughter can bridge the short distance between people. Being playful makes us feel like we belong together. Defenses down, curiosity up, we forget what keeps us apart.

Connections from a billboard? Now that is something you don't come across every day - unless you live in Vegas or near Times Square. Meet Nathan Phillips, who was the CountsMedia world's largest fully live totally interactive video billboard in Las Vegas.

Last October, Bill (Nathan) talked with Bob Garfield about improvisation and using his skills as an actor to entertain and, in so doing, market. It looks like Nathan has taken his one man Bill(board) act in Time Square, NY this year.

In the world of marketing as context building, a world that, with the rise of the semantic Web, is becoming more important for marketers to understand and live in, if you want to be a leading brand, you lead. Which means that par for the course becomes the ability to improvise based on context and the information available.   

Remember that Drew Carey show "whose line is it anyway?" Drew and gang were given ideas from the audience. The actors focus on the ideas, and then use their skill to build on them in unusual and (still) practical ways to tell a story. That is improvisation. As defined on Wikipedia:

Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or new ways to act.

What are the characteristics of improvisation transferable to marketing?

• having a conversation, in the moment, with your audience
• building upon the response and feedback your public gives you
• developing rapport with those who are willing to be entertained

Those are all sound characteristics of conversational marketing. Want to make this fun? Let's do some improv comments here.

[hat tip to Anne Libby]

How a Blog is Born

Last week, Keri, a student from the Savannah College of Art and Design, reached out to me with a few questions on social media. Keri is pursuing a MFA in advertising design and she is researching new media and blogs in particular. Her inquiry came at a time when I was leaping onto deadlines so I recommended the posts at The Blog Herald as a start.

As serendipitous things go, this weekend I had a pretty lengthy conversation with Seni Thomas about the future of advertising and marketing education in general. Seni is a graduate of NYU and a very astute marketer with a practical business sense and an already impressive array of hands on experience. Our discussion's backdrop was the MoMA visit of "Design and the Plastic Mind" during Blogger Social '08.

In our conversation we touched upon the lack of a contemporary reality check for advertising students. You may recall that about a month ago I visited with the students of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design as a guest of Tim Brunelle. As Seni, Tim feels that nothing beats practical executions, especially those that involve how we interact with products and services through social media.

Many of the discussions at the blogger dinner Saturday night revolved around the use of social media and why it matters understanding it. When Keri sent me a thank you note yesterday I had the opportunity to think about her specific questions one more time and thought it would be a beneficial conversation to have here. Here are Keri's questions (in bold) and my answers:

How did your blog gain the readership that you have? Did you “launch” the site in some way? Did you send an email blast or hire a publicist? I’m just trying to figure out how a blog is born.

How was your blog born?

Is also the question I answered many times this weekend in New York. It was August 2006 and I had just completed a full personal brand assessment to plan the next learning opportunities I should seek. I tend to be quite disciplined that way. As those things go, I was probably a late adopter - the time felt right for me to start publishing online.

The brand conversation

Given that what I do is launch new brands and develop mature brands to take them to the next level, in some cases to an exit strategy, it was appropriate to execute social media on my personal brand. Conversation Agent was born out of the idea that I have always been a connector - someone at the intersection of ideas and people, marketing and public relations, academia and practicums with participation as my contribution. In other words, the idea was to express marketing, communications and participation as one. That is the conversation part. Agent stands for (Lat.) effective, expressive - it's an action verb. It's a matter of language: I am talking about connection vs. transaction. Big difference.

The launch without fanfare

I did not send any email blasts - the site went live on September 1, 2006 and nothing happened. That's right, what happened in the intervening weeks and months was the result of a commitment to social media - through comments, guest posts, helping others connect, building a community of shared thinking, and in general giving time and attention to my colleagues online.

Readership finds you

That's how individual bloggers found me. Through trackbacks and links, comments to their posts and consistent content here. Your content is the value you provide your community. A blog, in other words, is born from a commitment to put your content out there, listen, and participate actively. We know that third party endorsement works best in recommending anything. With social media, this is amplified.

What did you do to prepare your site for launch? Do you have any tips you can share?

Got content?

At first I was worried that I would have nothing to write about. From the feedback I received this weekend I think I need not worry about running out of ideas. The trick for you is to discover what lights you up. What are you passionate about? Why are you publishing in the first place? That energy will be your best friend on slow content days.

Examples

There are two amazing bloggers who have delivered consistently on their promise without ever compromising quality: Rebecca Thorman and Tiffany Monhollon. There are many more, of course. I am suggesting you connect with them as they are Gen Y writers who may be wrestling with many of your same issues.

Preparation

Before going live and publicizing my URL to friends and colleagues I went ahead and wrote several posts to give myself a head start. That also gave me some back up confidence that I would be able to keep to a regular schedule until I figured out how long it would take me to write and post. I also wanted to test my "voice" and style in posts - I had been reading and commenting at other blogs for several months by then.

What effect do link buttons have on the popularity of your site? (i.e. Digg, Technorati, del.icio.us, etc.)

RSS

The point is not how you can push the content out, the point is providing a way for people to pull your content, if they so choose. By far the most important button you may have on your blog is the RSS feed. The sole provider of RSS feeds in alternative to hosting the traffic on your network is FeedBurner, which also provides an email option. As I wrote recently, RSS stands for really simple syndication. Steve Roesler suggested that it can also mean relationships, style, and substance.

Other social media bookmarks

Bottom line, if your content deserves attention, it will get it. Technorati tags will allow you to highlight the topics you are writing about so people can find you. It is also a source to find who links to you so you can learn more about your fans. I cross reference Technorati with Google Alerts because sometimes the links take weeks to be indexed or do not show up at all on Technorati. Remember also that Technorati links have an expiration date - 6 months.

Skellie wrote more eloquently than I could about Digg - do take the time to read the comments, too. Do Diggs grow your subscriber list? In other words, does a short burst in traffic converts to increased RSS and email subscriber counts? Skellie might know better - I rarely get dugg. Many of my readers prefer to use Stumble, which has a much longer tail: it drives traffic over time.

You can learn more about Del-icio.us from the Wikipedia entry. 

What’s the best way to encourage relevant comments on your blog vs. random rants?

Lead by example

Be present and listen to your readers. They will know if you're just putting content up vs. intend to engage in the conversation with them. Lead the way by example. I read more than 100 feeds and I find that the most popular bloggers tend to respond to comments and care for their community of readers. It is less likely that those bloggers will receive rants.

Relationships trump quantity

Having said that, there are occasions when you might be linked by a popular site or get on the front page of Digg, when you will need to stay strong and weather a few rants. The best way to encourage productive conversations is to focus on the readers who are loyal to you - those you already have engaged with. Relationships trump quantity.

What are the most useful tools available for blogs – things that make it more engaging for the reader?

Make it personal, it is

Asking questions, participating, caring for your readers' experience and giving them a seat at the  conversation are all ways to provide value in addition to writing things they are interested in learning. I've observed that the more personal posts earn more interaction. That's because in social media the point is not perfection - the point is getting to know each other.

How important is it to link to other blogs on your blog and how does this affect traffic?

Be generous

My philosophy on linking is quite simple - be generous, highlight good content produced by others. I tend to do that in a couple of ways: (1) by incorporating it directly in my posts, in the flow, like I did here; (2) by linking to it at the bottom as further reading, a recent example is the discussion on Starbucks; (3) by listing contributors to a specific project, like The Age of Conversation.

Whenever you link to someone, you are telling your loyal readers you recommend their content. The same happens when others link to you. If someone who writes a blog that gets a lot of traffic links to you, you may receive a nice traffic spike. I have also seen focused traffic from newer blogs. I would not get hung up too much on who links to you. Focus on the relationships.

Any other comments that you would like to share with me on creating a successful blog?

I will let my readers kick off the conversation on that one.

People Don't Get it. Is that True?

Can we stop seeking love, approval, and appreciation?

Everyone agrees that love is wonderful, except when it's terrible. People spend their whole lives tantalized by love - seeking it, trying to hold on to it, or trying to get over it. Not far behind love, as major preoccupations, come approval and appreciation. From childhood on, most people spend much of their energy in a relentless pursuit of these things, trying out different methods to be noticed, to please, to impress, and to win other people's love, thinking that's just the way life is. This effort can become so constant and unquestioned that we barely notice it anymore. [Byron Katie, I Need Your Love, is That True?]

Sometimes the problem is in the question. When you pose it with enough conviction, a curtain falls down right in front of your eyes and you stop dead in your tracks, unable to open yourself to true inquiry.

Why don't people get it? Do you own your inquiry when you pose such a question? Does the premise open you up to possibilities with what follows? Who would you be without the thought that people don't get it?

We use our brains, our smarts, our cleverness, even our charm to capture attention and approval from others, as if our own validation depended upon that. I want others to want what they want, not what I think is the right thing for them to seek. We're asking the wrong question. A better question might be - what would you do if you knew you could not fail?

The question we're considering is that underlying the new Age of Conversation project. The exhortation, the curiosity, the inquiry are in fact an opportunity to question our thoughts about what we see. As Byron says, be a child, know nothing. Take your ignorance all the way to freedom. Who decides who gets it and who doesn't? As I'm fond of thinking - it's not your job to understand me - it's mine. And so it works for others.

I hope all of you, 275 of us, will consider leading with the thought of what we would do if we knew we could not fail - us and our readers. Approach the question with a true spirit of inquiry. The more we change the way we look at things, the more the things we look at change. All we can do is be what it looks like for us to get it. The participants:

Adam Crowe, Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob Carlton, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Bradley Spitzer, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Clay Parker Jones, Chris Brown, Colin McKay, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Cord Silverstein, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Goldstein, Dan Schawbel, Dana VanDen Heuvel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Darryl Patterson, Dave Davison, Dave Origano, David Armano, David Bausola, David Berkowitz, David Brazeal, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Emily Reed, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, G. Kofi Annan, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Graham Hill, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, J.C. Hutchins, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeremy Middleton, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, Joe Talbott, John Herrington, John Jantsch, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Flowers, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kris Hoet, Krishna De, Kristin Gorski, Laura Fitton, Laurence Helene Borei, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Barnes-Johnston, Louise Mangan, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Marcus Brown, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Mark McSpadden, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Hawkins, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Monica Wright, Nathan Gilliatt, Nathan Snell, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul Marobella, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Beeker Northam, Rob Mortimer, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Cribbett, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tiffany Kenyon, Tim Brunelle, Tim Buesing, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Longhurst, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem

[image by Kris Kan Photography]

MoMA: Italians and Design

I read about Paola Antonelli first in Fast Company. Since joining MoMA 10 years ago, Paola Antonelli has had to compete with Picasso and Magritte to capture people's attention. Her shows have done just that.

From exhibitions on the future of the workplace to her current show on "humble" masterpieces such as Post-It notes and Bic pens, Antonelli continues to demonstrate to the world the scope and dynamism of design. Linda Tischler dubbed Antonelli Paola the Populist. According to Tischler,

The museum champions an innovative spirit, the potential for cultural impact, aesthetic significance, and an affinity with an evolving idea of modern design. Period.

Antonelli's job touches upon aspects of a job I'd like to have. And I am not bashful  in making claims to a shared origin with design pretty much embedded in my DNA. 

Apart from scouting objects for the museum's collection, Antonelli curates MoMA special exhibits, distilling the impressions and discoveries she amasses over a year's worth of travel, reading, Web surfing, shopping, conferences, and meetings with designers worldwide. In a typical year, she logs eight serious trips, not counting jaunts within the United States.

Form and Function Blend

Would your product be featured in a MoMA special exhibit? That to me is functional design excellence. Antonelli's new exhibit "Design and the Elastic Mind," opened February 24. It explores design's response to the dramatic changes in scale that we must navigate every day. John Seely Brown has called "thinkering." As an aside, every time I see a creative and descriptive title like Seely Brown's I am reminded of the rather conservative nature of mine.

The exhibit presents a shift in perspective, from the view of an entire city on Google Earth to a street map on our mobile phone, from intimate, one-on-one conversations to the vast reach of social networks. Virtual things, like interfaces, and real things, like chairs. I started this journey from real to digital with Designing Business by Clement Mok many years ago.

In this new "thinkering" culture

experimentation is guided by engagement with the world and open, constructive collaboration with colleagues and other specialists. Whether in the form of origami, nanofacture, or growth and aggregation, thinkering gives shape to the embryonic dialogue between design and science.

The exhibit seeks to address the change in how we experience time, space, matter, and identity. If you listen to this podcast by Core77, you'll be able to hear Paola Antonelli's lovely Italian accent while she lays out her vision. I learned about the interview via Influx Technology [hat tip to Seni Thomas].

Reporters are Never Objective

Instead, they report a trajectory, said Antonelli in her interview. What she noticed that sparked the collaboration for this exhibit was that designers and scientists where both in need of entering the modern conversation. The exhibit lets you experience people and objects, design for debate, visualization, and thought to action. All together now, explores the contemporary relationship between individuals and the collective sphere.

There's also a space dedicated to super nature. Do a deep dive with the online exhibit and join us for a field trip at MoMA during Blogger Social 2008. Most quotable: You cannot buy passion, your strength is your vulnerability, when something is in the public domain you don't have to possess it anymore. Join us at MoMA to design a conversation on the elastic mind on April 4 at 4:30PM.

[Also see Antonelli's TED talk on Treating Design as Art.]

The Museum of Modern Art
(212) 708-9400
11 West 53 Street,
between Fifth and Sixth avenues
New York, NY 10019-5497

Museum Hours
Saturday 10:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Sunday 10:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Monday 10:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Tuesday closed
Wednesday 10:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Thursday 10:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Friday 10:30 a.m.–8:00 p.m.
Please note: the Museum will be open to the public on Tuesday, March 18.

Getting to MoMA
MoMA is located at 11 West Fifty-third Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues.

May I have Your Napkin?

The back of a bar's napkin has become a metaphor for improvisational and passionate brainstorming about a new business idea. In the volatile and exhilarating new technology world of just a few years ago, sometimes the business plan itself was but a collection of bar napkins. And why not, if that plan includes a sentence on how your business is going to make money, it works.

Management consultant Dan Roam has written the book on The Back of the Napkin. He now brings us this ChangeThis manifesto on "The 10 1/2 Commandments of Visual Thinking." I am interested in visual thinking for many reasons. I won't give you 10.5, just a couple.

_____________________________

(1) They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I had this conversation with many writers and they usually come back with the thought that a metaphor is worth a thousand pictures. Fair enough. A metaphor is a way to envision with the mind - very powerful.

(2) When I had the fortune of working with a team of experience design professionals, they taught me how to envision information. Having the ability to display quantitative information is a big advantage that can help you glean more from what you have - and solve problems. Edward Tufte writes and teaches all about that.

(3) The visual display of information can lead you to insights. Let's face it, we are visual beings. All of our daily stimulations - much of which you may contend is noise - include a strong visual component. Our vision is always on from the time we get up in the morning, to the time we go to bed. We may temporarily block our auditory by zoning out, but vision stays on longest.

[...] it’s always worth it to take our picture to the point where something new emerges. When you think you’re done, push that pen one more time to write a title, a conclusion, an insight, or a comment. Squeezing one last drop out of your visual thinking muscle almost always delivers a “eureka!”

I could say the same for writing. My question to you is this - do you find yourself doodling at meetings and on conference calls? What happened to all those white boards? Or maybe all you ever need are bar napkins. They would make the meetings much more fun.