Categories: Articles

An Idea Whose Time Has Come – National Digital Media Day

I wonder how quickly I would have found out about National Digital Media Day were it not for Twitter?

I love this idea. Here’s the scoop, straight from the wiki (where else?):

"An annual day to raise the profile of the digital media industry and celebrate the dynamic work taking place in this sector.

In Canada, a massive cross-country event that will include gatherings, lobbying, education and celebrations. In other countries, linked in celebrations and demo camps.

Let’s Get Organized Together…

Over a 24 hour period, we’d like to have demo and bar camps across Canada, exchanges, a national photo walk, streaming sessions, lobbying and partying, with hopefully some celebrity participation along the way…

Here’s a few things you can do right now to help:

– Invite ten friends/colleagues to this group

– Help out with one of the above activities

– Set up a wiki for each of these groups so we can get crackin

– Secure sponsorships for T-shirts, resources and supplies (we would ideally like everyone to wear the same T-shirt design for a 24 hour period to raise profile of our industry)

– Coordinate a t-shirt design competition

– Host a bar or demo camp in your town

This is a purely organic event – meaning, that in order for us to succeed we need mounds of volunteer power. If everyone did just one thing we could blow this out of the water!"

Now, my understanding is that the above copy was taken from the already established Facebook Group viewable/joinable here: National Digital Media Day September 25. 2008. It looks like Lynda Brown from New Media BC is one of the main people taking the lead for this special day on September 25th, 2008.

Just the other day, I was thinking about the power of unconference, and wondering if, maybe, people were getting tired by the sheer volume and availability of the ‘Camp movement. Then, an idea like this strolls across my Google Reader, and I’m back in love with the power of online communities, social networks and how they wind up connecting in the real world all over again.

Lynda, count me (and the Twist Image team) in.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.