We opened the PdF Europe conference with this video:
Why? Well, this video evokes the right associations for us. It’s a wonderful piece of user-generated content, a mashup made by five young office workers who had a stroke of genius. With nothing more than the speakers and web-cams on their office laptops, and no rehearsal, they share a moment of beauty and joy, a break from the alienation and drudgery of office life.
This is the spirit of the age; personal democracy in action. You can make your own story come alive today in ways that, only a few years ago, were only for Hollywood production houses and Madison Avenue ad agencies. If it’s compelling, the network–not the Network–will spread it for you. (This video, for example, has been viewed on YouTube more than one million times.)
Politics and governing is rarely as simple as a joyful song by the Backstreet Boys, but the we believe that something beautiful IS happening as cheap and pervasive and easy-to-use connection technologies get in the hands of more and more people. Over the next two days, we’re going to explore how that is changing life and society today, and we look forward to your contributions to that conversation.