Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

What I learned in Trinidad

Last week I was in Trinidad, just off the coast of South America. I was speaking at the BDC’s Innovation to Income conference and took a few extra days for fun.

It’s an interesting place – since most tourists head over to the quiet, beautiful neighboring island of Tobago, Trinidad itself isn’t an easy place to be a tourist. The capital city of Port of Spain is tough, crime is a problem, and there are few true tourist attractions, nor info centers or tourist desks that I could find. But that made it real travel – I had a most interesting time walking around the core downtown area (Indi Square). It was the first time in awhile I went somewhere impossible not to stand out as a foreigner (80+% of the population is of African or Indian decent, and I’m of neither), which was a thrill.

Here’s what I learned:

  • A continent can look like an island if you are an idiot. From my hotel pool I asked one of the staff “what is that island in the distance” and was told “That? That’s south America”.
  • The Hyatt Regency is a fantastic hotel with one the best pool I’ve ever seen. It’s outdoors on the 4th floor and is lined up so the pool horizon matches the actual horizon. Fantastic.
  • Local lingo: Limin’ = to hang out. BamBam = your rear end. Boof = to insult or yell at someone.
  • Fried shark is a delicacy. Up at the beautiful Maracas beach I tried what’s called Bake ‘n Shark, which is fried shark on a sandwich with various toppings like garlic sauce (yum).
  • You can buy aged Rum – and it’s quite good. I had no idea Rum could be a premium alcohol (like Scotch), with 8, 10 and 15 year aged versions of premium brands.
  • A roti is not just bread, as i assumed from having had it at Malay Satay in Seattle. Here the roti is the container for various stuffings. Roti shops are basically like us sandwich shops.
  • KFC is extremely popular here. Vaguely like McDonald’s was in Moscow. Long lines.
  • Obama has made the US popular again, at least here. Walking on the street at Independence square, total strangers asked me if I was American, and if I said yes, they’d happily yell Obama! and shake my hand
  • .

My favorite living artist: Olafur Eliasson

Eliasson's Tate exhibit

One of the great coincidences of my life is that my girlfriend in college (now my wife) was a painter. I didn’t know it at the time, but by tagging along to events at the art department at CMU, and at times helping her with her work, I was unintentionally exposed to what the world of art is and what artists actually do. These are experiences I doubt I’d have had. My family and friends had no interest in art. And more to my work these days, few people in the computer science or business world get this kind of exposure, and I think it’s a shame (Paul Graham is a notable exception). Anyone who talks about creativity without talking at all about art is a poser – these are the folks with one of the longest creative traditions we have.

But more on the history of art and creativity some other time. I’m posting today to talk about the guy I now recognize as my favorite: Olafur Eliasson. Five years ago I stumbled into the Tate museum and was blown away by this, this thing, in the ten story Turbine hall. Frank and I spent more than an hour playing and dancing under this enormous simulated sun. We watched kids dance and play with the huge mirror hanging across the entire football field sized ceiling. It was, without hyperbole, sureal. I didn’t know what it was, or what it was for, and that, like much of the art I enjoy, made it accessible to me and everyone there.

Eliasson's MOMA exhibitThen last month, at the MOMA, I stumbled again into Eliasson’s work. Here the works are at at smaller scale, but like the Tate exhibit the works lend themselves to interaction. Rooms are filled with lights and mirrors that dared me to step inside the work (one eye on the security guard to make sure it was ok, which it was). Walls covered with distorted metal windows, or shifting patterns of light (reminiscent of Turrel’s skyspace), that make it impossible not to look. Or touch. Or stick around and wait to see what’s going on. It’s experience as art.

I’ll be in NYC this summer and hope to catch Eliasson’s latest exhibit, Waterfalls. The scale of this project looks to be more like Christo’s wrappings, interesting for their awesome scale, and interactive only in that they get people to stop and look. But I’ll go and hope to stumble again into another memorable experience.

Conference materials (and more) done right – Webstock ‘08

One highlight of webstock 08 was the fantastic design of their handouts, badges and bags. Most conferences, including design conferences, spend little effort on crafting the things they give attendees. The bags, swag, and badges are typically afterthoughts, rarely made with love, and infrequently reflecting any of the values espoused at the conference itself. Webstock kicked ass on all counts: an example for other conferences to follow. Here are some notes:

The badge

webstock-badge.jpg

  • The schedule is upside down. Since the badge hangs on your neck, the schedule, one day per page, is printed upside down so you can read it. Nice (first saw this at GEL).
  • Not made of plastic . Is it just me, or is there too much laminated plastic at conferences? These badges are made of cardstock and heavy paper, with a natural hand-made feel. It has soft edges and fits comfortably in a shirt or back pocket.
  • Cord made of fabric for easy reuse. Most conference materials have limited reuse and don’t recycle well: those plastic lanyards aren’t good for much. But since the cord isn’t the standard plastic clip-on cable, but a nice length of fabric, I can use it for something else.
  • The only major design ding is the name is hard to read. I’ve yet to see a badge that was truly easy to read from conversation distance: they’re always crammed with affiliations and job titles making them not only ugly, but worthless (Here’s a good example for reference (scroll down to second picture)).

The bag

webstock-bag.jpg

  • Looks like a high-end hipster bag. Nothing says inauthentic faster than a design conference that gives 500 people ugly, black, generic, ‘50-zillion compartment but none that fit the things you actually need when traveling’ conference bag, replete with a garish logo carelessly glued (yet impossible to remove) on the front cover. Well the webstock bag doesn’t look like a conference bag: it looked so good I had to ask twice to make sure it was the conference bag, and not some special prize.
  • Is made of canvas! I’ve been to dozens of conferences, yet this is the first bag made of a sturdy, high-quality, non-synthetic material. It feels like a well made thing to hold and gives the vibe it’s meant to be used, not just a token gift to make you feel better about the fees you paid to get in.

The t-shirt

webstock-tshirt.jpg

  • Looks like something from threadless. The front has, I believe, some of the public art from the city of Wellington, with the words Webstock underneath. It’s a nice yellow on grey, soft tones, and looks good with a pair of jeans. Unlike the dozens of conference t-shirts I’ve given away to goodwill over the years, I’m keeping this one.
  • Came in women’s and men’s versions. Why should I care as a man? Well, I confess: I like to look at women. Especially when they’re wearing clothes meant to fit their curvy figures. I always hear people complain about the low numbers of women at design and tech conferences. Well, maybe if they followed some of webstock’s ideas, more women would be interested in finding out about their conferences.

Other bits

  • Did not dig the food. I’m a foodie, I cook for myself all the time, and the food here was a problem. I admit it was awesome to see an entire vegetarian table and other special diets accounted for, but the food I grazed at at the regular tables didn’t have me coming back for more. I didn’t see anyone else complaining and everyone seemed to be eating tons, so perhaps it was me. That said, I gave up on the conference food part way through as F Inc, just across the street from the venue in Wellington, was great. I had some of my best meals of my two weeks in the country here.
  • An agenda that took risks. I missed most of the first day, but what I did at the conference included: powerpoint karaoke, where speakers had to talk for 5 minutes with someone else’s slides, and an 8×5 session, where 8 speakers had 5 minutes each. These things mix up the pace of a long conference, give people a different way to communicate, and make interesting mistakes possible. The social hours had awesome live music, craftstock was fun: it was clear, all over the place, that the organizers get what good experience design is all about.
  • I didn’t use the conference program. You can see it in the photo above of the bag, but I didn’t refer to it much. I’d read the basic agenda online and had the badge program. I can’t say much about its design, though it certainly looked great. My only gripe was that it had a page per speaker, making the book quite big, yet I struggled to find the specific speaker I was looking to track down (Mark from the 8×5 session). Do we need these big program guides anymore? This one sure looked good, but I don’t think I saw a soul with one at the actual conference.

If you get a chance to speak at or attend Webstock, don’t miss it. You’ll feel the love if you go.

  • By Scott Berkun on December 26th, 2007
  • 2 Comments »
  • Teaching/Training

Learning from London’s speakers’ corner

On my first trip to London in 1996, on a whim from a blurb in some guidebook, I checked out Speaker’s corner @ Hyde Park. I just could not believe the blurb: a place where anyone could stand up on a box, preach or rant to their hearts desire, and throngs of people would come to listen, all for free.

Inconceivable!

In NYC, we had a name for public speakers – crazies. We’d ignore them, or as a gang of kids, terrorize them. As adults, who has the time to stop and listen? The notion was absurd, and in my then fully charged American arrogance I figured if such a form of free speech were possible, surely I’d have seen it before in America.

So I went to see for myself – It was true and it blew me away.

  1. It’s self-organized. Anyone can stand anywhere and start going.
  2. People get interactive. There’s lots of yelling and heckling.
  3. It’s mostly peaceful. No one is forced to speak or listen.
  4. Some of the speakers are amazing. They own their crowds without microphones, podiums, powerpoint – just them and their voices.

Many speakers were political or religious, but many weren’t. Some were pros who seemed to be regulars at the corner, but many were just working people interested in debate. The experience redefined what a public speaker meant. It’s one thing to speak at a conference or in an office where there are rules of conduct, but entirely another to speak where no one has any obligation to even listen to you.

I can’t say what goes on at the corner is a good way to debate issues, but it sure is an experience and any thinking person can’t observe what goes on there without some kind of opinion.

I’ve been thinking more about speaker’s corner lately for two reasons. First I now make a living as a public speaker, but also because of the rise of informal presenting, from un-conferences, Pecha-Kucha, and 99 second or 60 second university talks.

Surprisingly youtube comes up short on capturing the experience. But here are a few to watch if you’re curious (which you should be):

  • Speaker’s corner / mad world. The best video of the bunch. It takes a sad view of the corner, but it does the best job of capturing the variety of speakers, formats and confrontations.
  • A debate about oil, no doubt a popular one these days. Watch the first speaker lose control to a better speaker in the crowd.
  • Race, drugs and politics. An excellent speaker who has his crowd captivated, heckle-free, for nearly 10 minutes. Wow.

The question I’ll ask you is the same one I ask myself:

  • Would you have the guts to speak at speaker’s corner? (I chickened out in ‘96)
  • If yes, what would you speak about?

Lessons from amazing projects: Russian Ark

We’ve all had tough projects, but this one might just top them all, and it hits on three of my favorite topics: design, management, and film making. Here’s the rundown:

  • It’s a feature length film shot on an independent film budget.
  • It’s one continuous 90 minute shot.
  • The film spans 33 rooms of the famed Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg.
  • It has over 800 actors and performers.
  • It has various plays, dances and orchestral performances, all performed live and in a scripted sequence.
  • It took years to plan, write and develop the custom steady-cam technology.
  • They only had budget/time for 4 tries, and got it on the 4th.

Russian arkI’ve both seen the film, and have visited the Hermitage (prompting a 2nd viewing of the film). Understanding Russian history helps make the film more than a stunt, as the story can be hard to follow (It’s an abstract and art-y film, both figuratively and literally as it’s shot in an art museum). But even without it, the film is a visual delight and a project management wonder. If you’re a designer or a manager you’ll be in awe even if you only make it through half the film. Moreso, the DVD includes a making-of featurette that entirely blew my mind: it will put whatever is stressing you out right now into deep relief.

Trailer, netflix listing, and reviews.

30 hours in Philly: a speed travelogue

After speaking at MX-East Tuesday, in the quaint retreat at Normandy farms, I hopped in a cab for the 30 mile ride to my hotel in downtown Philly, the Windsor Suites by 9pm. I got lucky: it’s in a sweet spot for a tourist, near the train station, a few blocks from museums, full kitchens and on a quiet street for $169 a night.

Looking to maximize my remaining 29 hours, i dropped my bags and headed south from Logan square down to towards Rittenhouse square, seeking a fun place for a late dinner and stumbled onto Alfa, for some sliders (small burgers), crab mac and cheese, and a spinach salad. After a few beers in the high-style digs with a thin yet friendly Tues 10pm crowd, I walked the streets for fun and then got some rest.

reading.jpgwhitefish.jpgWed morning: My train to Villanova U. for a speaking gig left at 2pm, so I had to cram any museums or further food adventures into the morning. Woke up at 10am, further closing the window of fun. I scrambled east over to the Reading Terminal Market, and felt as if I was back home in Queens. The east coast food so impossible to find in the Northwest was here in droves and after my whitefish salad sandwich, spinach knish (5 times better than any knish in Seattle) and Dr. Browns Black cherry soda, I lingered in the halls, soaking up as much of the smells as i could.

We the people…watch movies. With about 2 hours before my train, I had a tough choice: which bit of history to explore? Everyone told me to check the liberty bell, but I know it’s patriotic trash – a poor relic, made famous by accident more than by right (The myths of Innovation explains more about this). Instead, in these difficult times to be an American, I went to the National Constitution Center, the largest museum in the U.S. about the Constitution, seeking much needed USA inspiration.

The unusual museum centers on a special movie theater: a mix of live narration and projected multimedia was surprisingly captivating, but also expectedly patriotic, with no mention of current constitutional issues in the USA. After the 15 minute flick, you exit on the 2nd level and enter a round hall with hi-tech and interactive exhibits about the constitution and the bill of rights.

The great comedy of my visit? They wouldn’t let me take pictures. That’s right – in the main exhibit hall about the freedoms of the constitution, no photographs are allowed. As an expression of resistance to tyrany, here are three photographs from inside:

signers.jpgncctower.jpg
nccwethe.jpg

Next, in part 2, talking at Villanova, plus my first east coast Chinese food experience in years.

Scott's Bestselling Books
  • Confessions of a
    Public Speaker
  • Provocative and funny secrets from a veteran speaker, you'll laugh as you learn.
  • Buy now at Amazon Book Details
  • The Myths of Innovation
  • The classic bestseller on how amazing lessons from the past can help you innovate today.
  • Buy now at Amazon Book Details
  • Making Things Happen
  • The classic and bestselling handbook for any project leader, packed with tactics and stories.
  • Buy now at Amazon Book Details
Photos from Recent Events (view flickr stream)

You're reading Scott Berkun, All rights reserved unless noted. You can subscribe here Blog RSS Comments (RSS)