Tag: create south 2008

CREATE South is In the Can

The CREATE South conference is now behind us. Big swatches of the day went not like I hoped they would but like I dreamed they would. The day wasn’t perfect by any stretch but the flaws were forgivable and survivable and the strengths powerful and heart-warming. I’d write more, but now I’m driving down to Surfside Beach to see newly minted blogger Roger Yale and his band Sick Stooges play. More later, after I have had my socks rocked.

Create South – T minus 9 hours

Tonight a group of us met at the Liberty Steakhouse for dinner and drinks as a pre-conference shindig. I met a few people that I knew online but had never met in person. This includes Heather who has been helping organize and calling in to the conference calls but who I didn’t previously know. I’m more excited than ever and more terrified than ever.

We’re now at that point where things are what they are. There are still a few details, but pretty much everything is in hand. I’m still sweating those, but I think all is taken care of. I’m so happy to be in this deal with Andre who has been a true monster of rock. Lots of people have helped in lots of ways, but having things such as all the food cooked by him and his wife Heidi and printing all the banners himself. I went by his office tonight to get a wifi router and he was punching grommets in the banners.

The complete list of people that have contributed is long and maybe Sunday I’ll take a minute and try to catalog it. Really a lot of what we’re doing tomorrow is cooking a big pot of stone soup. Everyone is bringing a little something with them, literally and metaphorically. I predict will have something tasty and interesting and it will be because of everyone there. To quote Steve Gillmor, “Thanks to everyone that showed up and especially those that didn’t.” See you there!

Do What You Imagine

Dan Conover writes about shooting his short film over the last few weeks.

Dan talks about the power of cheap technology when it intersects the desire to be creative. That’s the spirit that drives our Create South conference this weekend. Not coincidentally, Dan and his wife Janet will be presenting at the conference about ways to wire up cheap web services to create something more powerful than the components standing alone. I can’t wait to see this, I can’t wait to see Dan and Janet, I can’t wait for the conference. Come join us, register now!

Update: It gets better. In response to a sniffy comment about how they used this energy and cooperation not to “end hunger but make a zombie film” Dan responds:

We have a local blogosphere because dozens of people have been working to knit that community together since April 2006. It didn’t suddenly emerge because I posted a casting call for zombies. And would everyone have come running if I’d proclaimed “Hey, I’ve got this idea to end hunger. Y’all come help me?” I doubt it.

But I believe that every time we work together to make a “not so good by the looks of it” video, we learn a few things. We adjust our horizons. We start to look at ourselves and our possibilities differently.

I spent a long time being a Very Serious Person. But I get more joy from being silly.

In the end, I think spreading joy is a better strategy.