Today I'm at NewCommForum down in San Mateo. A best-kept-secret conference that impresses me with the quality of its sessions, conversations, and people.
This morning, the session opened with United Breaks Guitars on the screen--a video which has become one of my favorite examples of what New Media has been enabling people to do: express themselves as powerfully, and equally to what was once only possible for powerful customers and attorneys. Halfway through the video, Dave Carroll--the singer who created the video in protest of his poor experience with the airline--came on stage and completed the song live.
This, is the quintessential expression of the convergence between the online and the offline world that so many brands are trying to figure out and that consumers, are vying for whether they are able to articulate it or not. Just look at the buzz around startups Foursquare, Loopt, QuickMark who are looking to capitalize on that invisible—and yet so solid—line between our real and digital worlds.
Great start to a full day of closing gaps, visualizing the future, and connecting with those thought leaders who go beyond the twitter monologue and who are truly interested in—well, thinking, about the possibilities, the future, and our evolving culture.
And, a mid-morning update: Edelman's VP of Digital reported Carroll's campaign resulted in a loss of $180M...the equivalent cost of replacing 51,000 guitars. United is a client of Edelman.
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