In New York, meeting with ad agencies and content partners, with a noontime stroll through Times Square to watch the Inauguration. Lots said, but how about this as an inaugural goal from President Obama: "feed hungry minds."
We like that.
And while meeting with the fabulous Nancy Donner and Matt Sussman of FORA partner The New School, Nancy dropped the news that the First Lady's dress was designed by former Parsons The New School For Design student Jason Wu.
We like that too.
Monday, January 19, 2009
It has been a remarkable two years covering the hundreds of events, discussions and debates that culminate on Inauguration Day. On this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I give you the interview of the man standing next to me at the end of Obama's acceptance speech at Invesco Field in Denver. Phildell, a young, charismatic African American minister, and I talked throughout the speech. At the close, candidate Obama referred to a young preacher from Georgia and closed with words that, on this holiday, I'll reproduce below. The audience erupted and, little Flip video camera in hand, I turned to Phildell and asked what he was feeling. He said, "Tonight was awesome, because it put so many more people on the map. I know being African-American, I feel a part of this country…I feel that today… I don’t have to just get jaded or bitter anymore... I feel a part of this. This is an awesome time in history. And so, go Obama. Change we need for America. For real." Enjoy the short video and watch a man's sheer joy.
Happy Martin Luther King Jr.. Day. And Happy Inauguration Day.
"And it is that promise that, 45 years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln's Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream.
The men and women who gathered there could've heard many things. They could've heard words of anger and discord. They could've been told to succumb to the fear and frustrations of so many dreams deferred.
But what the people heard instead -- people of every creed and color, from every walk of life -- is that, in America, our destiny is inextricably linked, that together our dreams can be one.
"We cannot walk alone," the preacher cried. "And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back."
America, we cannot turn back...
... not with so much work to be done; not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for; not with an economy to fix, and cities to rebuild, and farms to save; not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend.
America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone.
At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise, that American promise, and in the words of scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America."
Mike Rowe, the host of Dirty Jobs,gives a rousing talk about the most humane way to castrate a lamb at the EG 08 conference. I have watched a few of these programs on the Discovery Channel and find them mildly amusing. During this event, Mike exudes intellect, knowledge and speaking skills. But the most entertaining thing is his comedic timing.
I don't expect to watch video on FORA for a laugh, at least not usually. But this had me cracking up.
Viral video sensation Matt Harding responds to the video from his Entertainment Gathering appearance where he shatters the hearts of millions and proclaims Where the Hell is Matt? was just an 'elaborate hoax' for a marketing company.
UPDATE: Watch Matt's response at MacWorld 2009 here.
I sensed Harding's facetiousness early on and my intuition was confirmed after the introduction of Larry the animatronic robot. Though, the real deal sealer is the last slide breaking down the budget:
What’s all the fuss about? Watch the EG video embedded below:
I received a delightful email from Trevar Mazza, our head of media production, just after midnight. We surpassed a million monthly pageviews for the first time, minutes before the clock turned midnight on the final day of the month, and year. "What a fantastic way to ring in 2009, the year of the FORA. Happy New Year!"
Whether the world recognizes 2009 as the year of the FORA is to be seen, but the raw enthusiasm of the team as we exchanged text messages and emails round midnight was a joy, and a portent of things to come.
What can you expect from us in 2009?
Well, judging from recent activity, there will be many more of you. We brought video from the world's great public forums (FORA = the plural of forum) to lots more people in recent months, growing at a rate exceeding 50% per month. With a half million people enjoying the site, we are reaching a million FORA-lovers across our growing platforms from YouTube to iTunes to Amazon and satellite TV. Our new chief marketing officer Val Landi innovates daily, and has a slate of social network programs rolling out in January that will bust through new audience records.
Expect an eye popping new design and interface in early February from senior director of product development Sarah Kennon, who amazes daily with big ideas and smart thinking. Everything will be more fun and easier to access, new information architecture and new ways to customize, share and self-publish. Allan Claghorn, our first employee who single-handedly built the FORA platform in 2006, is leading the engineering effort, alongside Colin Fein.
The content will just keep on getting deeper and better, building on our library of thousands of thought leaders. New conferences like the just completed EG: the Entertainment Gathering, more international events, innovative partnerships with universities and content creators. And new editorial presentation, reflecting the leadership of FORA's new president and CEO Blaise Zerega.
Amongst the flurry of messages last night was Stuart Schulzke, our director of content development, mentioning how much he was enjoying re-discovering the wealth of favorites in our library over the holidays. I have been doing the same. So, I wish you and our growing, million strong cadre of intellectually curious FORA viewers a happy new year with these gifts:
Forgot to get spiritually inspired over the holidays? Your antidote is Karen Armstrong, former nun and now spiritual provocateur, found speaking at City Arts & Lectures, Books Inc, the National Press Club via C-SPAN, and the fabulous Chautauqua, where Karen spoke daily during last year's opening week in the Hall of Philosophy.
Hot new author Andrew Sean Greer speaks with other hot Bay Area author Michael Chabon at City Arts & Lectures. When you check out the extraordinary new Brad Pitt film 'Benjamin Button,' also buy a copy of Greer's "The Confessions of Max Tivoli," a variation on the theme of reverse aging. I talked to Andrew backstage about his new book, "The Story of a Marriage," and the author conceit of speaking in the first person of a character of a different gender, race and time after the CA&L video (chapter 4).
There are too many highlights from EG, but it's hard to beat this from the New York Times' David Pogue, replete with Broadway style techno-showtunes.
