Future Man of IABC Houston

Today at IABC Houston’s Luncheon I got a chance to listen to Andy Hines of Social Technologies.

Andy was a very entertaining speaker (I have heard other futurists, but so far Andy has been the most anlytical) and he gave me two things that were very valuable:

1. One of the most clearly defined factors associated with the success of blogs, myspace, youtube, social networks, etc.

   The factor? Self expression. We spend money on clothes, cars, educations, electronic equipment, etc. that give us a sense of self expression. Blogs especially are another arm of self expression. We find other people’s expressions interesting and valuable as well. Group expression drives social change. So the technology may change, but we need to allow people to express themselves (crazy as they may be).

2. The second valuable find from Andy was reemphasizing the importance of mixing in variable X into your daily thought pattern.

   “Variable X” is something that is outside your “echo chamber” that helps you learn a new perspective. I used to do a mindmapping exercise for my “Storyboard” class when I tought animation at the Art Institute of Houston. I would make the kids start an idea from a random word, like: fishing, shoe, smoke, glue, applesauce, etc. If they through in an element that was not in their familiar thought pattern they came up with ideas that were better and original. If they tried the same thing on their own, the results were “flacid”.

So, thanks Andy for the presentation.