It has been a super-busy week, but one that I have enjoyed tremendously despite several pressures and setbacks. My little mishap with my neck last week is getting better and best of all, the distraction of going to the web 2.0 Expo kept my mind off of it.
The best part of the week though, was meeting so many positive-energy people. I spoke with dozens of people who are all jazzed about what they are doing. The thing they all had in common was that they all have that 'change the world' look vibe and indisputable energy. They look like they are having fun. The thing that was different about this conference to me was how open people were. I talked to people about all sorts of things and came away energized too.
The presentations were mostly good to great, though there were some snoozers. Some of the panel discussions were lacking in content, but others were interesting. It was a great place to sample lots of different visual styles of telling stories without turning people into powerpoint zombies. I took lots of pictures, I twittered, I blogged, and I did a bunch of back channel stuff during the talks with friends old and new.
I learned so much that my head is spinning. But it is spinning in a good direction. I need to do th is kind of conference more often.
I also got lots of homework to do (besides my work work). For one thing, I met Clay Shirkey and am half way through 'Here Comes Everybody' . Then I ran into Charlene Li who did some great panel discussions and was kind enough to autograph a copy of 'Groundswell' for me.
And I turned 50 this week, and got more birthday greetings and wonderful wishes from everybody on FB, which really felt so nice. Thanks to everybody for that, I really feel humbled by your gestures.
And Best of all, I got some great birthday presents : 1) Good Health, 2) Great Friends old and new, and 3) a sense of purpose and growing energy in my life which I never felt as strongly nor valued as much as I do right now. I'm happy.
