In The Beginning
The afternoon after Brian’s talk, he was grabbed by some people to go be interviewed for Pangea Day. I saw the name tag of the woman with him and it said, ‘Pati Hillis’. My first thought was, ‘I wonder if she’s Danny Hillis’s wife?!’ Then just thought I was being a silly fangirl and forgot about it (I did the same thing when I saw someone named Laura Druyan and my first thought was, ‘I wonder if she’s related to Ann?! Oh, don’t be silly’ Turns out Laura’s her niece).
A few minutes later, Pati said something like, ‘I wish Danny could have been here to see your talk. He would have loved it.’ And I squeed, ‘Danny Hillis?! He’s your husband??!’ She looked at me and said, ‘You’ve heard of him?’ Brian said, ‘Gia’s a big fan of his!’ I said, ‘He’s one of my inspirations! Oh my god! Oh my god! I mean, the Long Now Foundation!’ And I just totally dorked out on the moment.
After that, it was an insane 24 hour whirlwind during which Pati introduced us to the most mindblowingly interesting people. I couldn’t even begin to write any of it down in a way that could convey the amazingness of it all.
In a few days, I’m heading back to the bullshit. Where people complain that TED is ‘elitist’. Where they think that podcasting deserves the same respect as Radio 4. Where TV executives get all excited and say that they think blogging might be the next big thing (OK that was 6 months ago, it mightn’t be as sad now). Where no one cares about big ideas.
I’m so happy that TED re-opened that place in my heart where the big ideas live. I’m going to get them out.
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regularjen:
March 2nd, 2008 at 11:14 pm
F*ucking fantastic post. You’ve hit a whole box of nails on the head.
And also, I’ve enjoyed your TED tweets. :)
John Pedant.:
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:01 am
What’s the big idea suggesting that people take podcasts seriously ;O) I liked your tweets too.
mitchell porter:
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:25 am
I can relate to the bicycle commute at the dawn of time. For me it was a bus, and a computer lab at a university where I wasn’t enrolled; and the spectrum of inspirations might have been a little different. But it was that same early-90s cyber-zeitgeist.
Nicholas Butler:
March 3rd, 2008 at 1:36 am
Great stuff spot on and yes podcasts!=Radio4 ever. Too much churn and burn and whilst im keen on encouraging friends I have to say I keep having to turn down the .. ohh you should do a tech podcast conversations that people have. We need ideas to inspire people to change not nagging rehashes of old ideas.
Thanks Gia I was going to bed. now im fizzing with ideas again ! grrrr
giagia:
March 3rd, 2008 at 2:42 am
Oh. I’m so glad you guys liked it. I went out with Brian – wandering around Haight Ashbury and taking photos of the Golden Gate Bridge… and all the while I was thinking, ‘Oh god, people will get pissed off.’
The main thing that makes TED work isn’t *just* the interesting people, it’s the interestED people. People who are into *everything* that’s interesting – science, art, music, mushrooms, the intelligence of crows. :)
Brian always says I’m really socially awkward. Mainly, I find it virtually impossible to talk small talk. I have to work very, very hard at it. If I’m tired or not in the right mood, I’m incapable of socialising like a normal person.
At TED I had no time for awkwardness. There *was* no small talk. It was like the best dinner party ever, for four days straight.
julie70:
March 3rd, 2008 at 8:29 am
Hi Gia, it is a very interesting note,
I am probably just one of those 99% on blogs and flickr too, you talk about. my blog in french is called Il y a de la vie après 70 ans, and yes, I am very active on flickr, my groupe Afterclass discusses a new photographic theme every month.
Just opened my latest blog, http://julie70inlondon.blogspot.com/
Life in London after 70
but I am not yet living there, just contemplating to arrive soon, as my son, ergonomist will move with his familly, probably in Clapham.
Wired was a very good magazine, way back, when it was not yet hidden in all those advertisements. If I wrote “at the beging” note, I’d write about assisting to meeting where the pioniers of micro revolution spoke, assisted, Jobs, Wozniac, Atkinson, at the time they were my heroes.
Perhaps you have time to show some of the town around you or speak about it to an old lady from Paris? I’ll be in London from 7th for 6 days.
giagia:
March 3rd, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Julie,
There is a difference between someone who is just doing a blog for fun and someone who is in a position of ‘influence’ within the online world. So people who, for example, run a blogging or podcasting association who don’t care about fact checking or accountability and claim that opinions are as valid as fact; people who have tens of thousands of ‘followers’ who have no writing skills whatsoever; people who think that quantity is far, far more important than quality; people who are new media consultants who lie to all of their clients and tell them that the web will work magic for them.
I could go on.
So, it’s not about the 15 year old on LiveJournal or the 70 year old in Paris ;), it’s about the people in positions of power and influence online who bring the whole thing down because ultimately they lack style and, in many cases, talent.
Yet they think the world owes them everything… without ever having given the world anything of value themselves.
Jonathan:
March 3rd, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Nice summary. “Ask not what Web2.0 can do for you, but rather what you contribute to Web2.0″.
Great post, right on the nose; as ever, what matters is passion and talent and practice and perspective. But mostly passion, I think.
Ciaran:
March 4th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
“It’s about praising every piece of rubbish an online friend of yours does like it’s all ‘genius’.”
Great post… no wait… terrible post.. no.. errr :p
You make a very important point. Perhaps the issue with the majority of the stuff on the net is that a large number of content producers are not self critical. If they were in the academic, or publishing world (to an extent), they have to account for the accuracy/quality of the work. Online no such limits are in force, not even the thought of ridiculing themselves provides a barrier for the dross that spills out.
The Internet is a great medium, where professionals and talented amateurs can gain an audience for their work, and even nowadays provide a route into old media. But it also affords the same platform to every lunatic with a computer, and there are increasing numbers of them also showing up as “experts” in print, radio and on tv, based solely on the reason that they are very popular online.
And you’ll need to give us more on the Danny Hillis meet. I was at the science museum looking at the Clock of the Long Now a couple of weeks back. It proved a perfect vehicle to get my son interested in the back catalogue of Brian Eno. Who of course is a famously self critical producer. :)
giagia:
March 4th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
“Perhaps the issue with the majority of the stuff on the net is that a large number of content producers are not self critical.”
Well, I’m self-critical to the point of self-loathing, ;) so perhaps I take it to an extreme… but I agree 100%.
There’s been a bit of TED jealousy in the blogosphere the past week, where certain people were basically saying they were peeved at other people for being invited to TED. *They* should have been invited to TED, damnit, cos they’re such a great and popular blogger.
Now, the fact that they think ‘blog popularity equals interestingness’ really tells me they’ve totally drunk the Kool-Aid. Really? Do you *really* think that in all of human experience having a blog is important?
If they believe that having a blog is the pinnacle of themselves as a person, then they most definitely *shouldn’t* ever be allowed to go to TED. Fucking hell, even Bob Fucking Geldof said he felt ‘inadequate’.
Seriously.
I was lucky that I got to go to TED – my husband is amazing, so they invited him along, I was ‘a spouse’. If I ever do anything in my life that is worthy of being invited to TED, I will have lived my life well. Writing a blog- no matter how popular or well-written – is not it.
Podnosh Blog : High Fibre Podcasting » Archive » It’s 99% crap:
March 4th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
[...] read this sobering but accurate post from Gia Milinovich after her first visit to TED – the place where the currency is quality [...]
danny bloom:
July 28th, 2009 at 6:43 am
gia gia, you simply must get back to me on this screening versus reading idea and please do. I am not at TED. I am on Taiwan Island. In a cave. See my blog and email me back at danbloom gmail dot com, thanks. Loved your blog post about and the Pati Hillis part. Great. Did you know she just coined jabberwalking? Guess what it means? Ask her. — DANNY in Taiwan