everlastingNow

i’ve been writing and speaking about being in the ‘now’ throughout the year. sprint has recently entered the fray with their ‘now network’ and relating it to the launch of the new palm pre. looking forward to more and more people getting a sense that their time is their own. and that we own a responsibility for using it the best we can.

the new launch site for the pre does a wonderful job exhibiting the many aspects of our ‘now’ that we might otherwise be missing.

Our job, at the end of it all, is to stitch back together the humanity that has been isolated by technology over the years. Ironic, no?

[podcast]http://www.manifestdigital.com/podcasts/BeHereNow-Capstone-3.mp3[/podcast]we’re in a moment that allows for tremendous change. to the dismay of some, it’s in fact demanded of us–how we work, who we work with, and the principles that guide us. having created a platform for new agency/creative thought, i have been speaking on the topic throughout the year. creatives are our new leadership and they don’t seem to fully know it yet.  in anticipation of some of the speeches i’m delivering and as a baseline for shared thought already presented, i have recorded an audio version of this presentation to get the core concepts out. the piece is included here and i welcome any insight or feedback on the topics established. there’s a lot more work to be done and we’re well into it now. as we have pieces and parts to share, i’ll continue getting them out here. for the more traditional impact to my own business, we’ll put out missives at manifest digital’s site proper.

carolyn chandler speaks from the ‘red couch’ at sxsw. video posted! http://vimeo.com/manifestdigital

last weekend i had the distinct pleasure of attending for the second time, the 11th annual Food and Froth Fest at the Milwaukee Public Museum. talk about entering a ‘moment in time.’ here’s the deal: sell the place out to hundreds of voracious beer drinkers, infuse three floors of a natural history museum with nearly fifty brewers offering healthy tastes of even more beers, mix in four hours’ time to let it all settle in, stand back, and watch the magic. a grown-up version of a night at the museum. i would have to argue after my 50th ‘tasting’ that night, more than the live bands were coming alive. meantime, we had the wonderful representatives from Flying Dog brewery revel in the moment. and somehow, just somehow, Jason Ulaszek caught it all on film…

the interaction’09 conference sponsored by the IxDA was held this year in vancouver. it was a tremendous experience on a number of levels and our ability to sponsor was an honor. part of that sponsorship gave us the opportunity to speak to the attendees on the final day for breakfast (and they had to listen because we were buyin the bacon and eggs ;o). this is currently one of my favorite topics to speak on… the fact that we are in a moment of great change and one that should include strong leadership from the design community in order to redefine the world we are in. great design minds have often stepped to the fore to guide us, one of my favorites being Daniel Burnham in the late 1800′s. his leadership after the great chicago fire helped to redefine our city and provide a focus for one of the greatest world-wide events at the time, the World’s Colombian Exposition. it was held only twenty years after 1/3 of the city of chicago was leveled.

we are amazing beings, capable of reinventing ourselves and the structures that guide us when all else appears lost. we are in a moment now where things appear scary and lost. they aren’t. instead, we are in a moment of tremendous change and we need to take the reigns and make that change happen purposefully, artfully, elegantly… so that the world we create on the other side is one of transparency, authenticity, and amazing opportunity going forward.

i’ll continue refining and redesigning this particular speach, but hope you enjoy its current incarnation as delivered at the interaction’09 conference.

best,
–jim

Jim Jacoby, manifest Founder and CXO, Presents “UX Designers as Business Leaders” from manifest on Vimeo.

experiences are the measure of moments. design and experience. create a moment. own your customer’s ‘now.’

building the next generation agency. what could it really mean?

(thanks in advance to Jeff Leitner for sharing the following with me this past week. this is a blog posting that must be shared wherever it can be…)

Andy Sernovitz spent the past week at the TED Conference. He came back with the following report:

what’s a weekend for if not to catch up on all the work you didn’t get to during the week.