Yesterday I participated in the Problogger Social Media Love-in as did, to date 600+ others.
It was an instant broadening of my network. Like most others who participated, there has been a surge in followers, and some interesting new conversations.
In essence it is the biggest unconference I've had the benefit of attending in a while. The beauty is that by simply posting a set of presences or lifestreams, the 'love conference' (*joke*) has utilised existing content as subject matter.
Participation has led me on an eclectic surf around a range of new ideas from Cyborgs to SEO and politician ratings! I've had a wonderfully creative 24 hours, and have been inspired by sites which I would never normally look at.
Sometimes we get so very comfy in our spaces that we only look within our sphere of knowledge and
influence. I'm sure most people involved in social spaces/creativity or creative design would agree, that some of the best ideas come from triggers entirely unrelated to our usual worlds. It works for IBM and for Google!
I think there's a case for a regular event which brings people out of their comfort zones, and utilises some of the wonderful information which we all produce in our lifestreams. Probloggers Love In did exactly that - and it's fun!
Taking this even away from the "problogger" tag would help as its seem are Darren's baby. If it want's to grow it has to step beyond his "fan circle"
Posted by: Gary Barber | July 23, 2008 at 02:15 PM
Thanks for the link, sorry it took soo long for me to stop by and say thanks. I have been swamped lately.
That social media love in was like the best networking thingy i have ever done!
Also, years ago i started exposing myself to many new things for design ideas, but the concept has done soo much more for me. So, I fully agree that exposing ourselves to new worlds is inspiring :)
Posted by: Marc | October 22, 2008 at 02:47 PM