The more digital we become, the more human we become

The more digital we become the more connected we become, the more human we demand.

And the more human we become.

I spoke at Mobile Content 08 in London yesterday. It was a great event with a stella line-up: fjord's Christian Lindholm, flirtomatic's Mark Curtis (author of Distraction), msearchgroove's Peggy Salz, Sean Kane from Bebo, Melissa Goodwin from ITV, Ray de Silva from Vodafone and Graham Thomas from T-mobile. Not to mention Day One's chair JonathanMacdonald (ogilvyone and chief node in the Every Single One of Us project - which you MUST check out) Day Two's Tomi Ahonen (Communities Dominate Brands and mobile legend) and in attendance, Day Three's Andrew Grill (London Calling). And many more, of course.

I opened with a talk on mobile's role in the eighth mass media - which is why the line about the more digital we become the more human we become was so appropriate.

Here's the accompanying slide deck - though you won't find the line in it.

Mobile's Role in Eighth Mass Media

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own.

But the fact that The Power of The Network equates to the power of humanity is written through the idea of the eighth mass media.

As we become the connections and the way the connections are made we are reconnecting with our human selves.

We connect in a network - in adhoc self-forming communities of purpose. There is nothing from the centre. And the centre has a tendancy to dehumanise.

• The government line is very different from an MP's opinion.
• Company policy is very different from an employee doing what seems right and reasonable.
• Brand voice can't compare to a human conversation with someone who cares about what they are doing.
• Search engine optimisation can't beat my friends' recommendation (and of course their friends' recommendations)?

Now that we have the ability to organize ourselves through the tools to connect, what we are demanding is more human interaction.

Our connectedness in, through and beyond silos is tearing off the hard corporate masks and revealing the soft human faces. And we're ready to reach out and touch that warm flesh.

The digital future is a very human place to be. And for this, it is ever truer to who we are.

How you can double the value of our network

One extra person added to a network doubles its value. That's a truth revealed by Reed's Law; group forming network theory.

I also find that inspiring. It means if I ever feel like I'm wading through a quagmire of resistance to change, I know that adding one more connection can literally redouble my network's efforts and effectiveness.

We are all made greater by the sum of our connections - all of us. Even the newest, loosest connection.

So, with all that in mind, who would you like to introduce to this network WE share?

Who doesn't yet know they they need to know us?

I'd love to hear your suggestions - either privately via email or publicly by posting below.

Ideally it'll be someone you know because the best five suggestions will be rewarded with two copies of my book The Power of the Network.

The idea is you get to keep one for yourself and one to pass on to the person you've suggested needs connecting to our network.

If you've already got The Power of the Network, great (and thanks!) you'll have two copies to pass one.

I hope handing over a tangible real-world book will act as a physical conversation starter for you - a social object around which your introduction to the network can begin.

Maybe you'll see this as something interesting we can do together? I hope so. And if so, please share.

The closing date for this is December 31, 2008.

• By the way, I'm presenting at Mobile Content in London today - talking about Mobile's role in the eighth mass media at 9am (The Big Question slot) and on a panel in the afternoon at 4.10p. Come and say hi if you get the chance.

Sony-Ericsson X1 developer competition NOW ON

The battle for hearts and minds of developers is well and truly on - and it's a battle all the major players are tackling head-on.

The iPhone has Itunes, Android is offering developers an apps marketplace too.

That's all well and good for the software houses, for the companies, for the bigger guys.

Now Sony-Ericsson's X1 is entering the fray with a competition for developers. I'll be able to share exact details of the prize later this week. They want you to create panels for the X1. Details here.

If you're one such, here's an early heads-up. The site hosting the competition doesn't go live until November 14.

UPDATE: In the meantime the competition site is live already AND the closing date is sooner than I'd been led to believe, Nov 30.

But take it from me, it's coming (I know, because the company I work for is building it right now!). Drop me an email for details when it goes live.


So, best get cracking!

In the meantime, get a lead by downloading the FREE Developer SDK.

Watch a video of how the phone and its touch panels works here.

From Gizmodo

Developers can use the Windows Mobile SDK, free of charge, to produce a wide variety of panels to meet the consumer’s demand for a rich, individualised multimedia experience on their phone. Users of the Xperia™ X1 will be spoilt for choice as they personalize their handset with panel applications to suit their mood and lifestyle. Whether it is a search engine, advanced calendar or social networking application, music or film catalogue, sports or news related content, the panels enable you to access any information – quickly and directly – with a simple tap on the 3” super high resolution touch screen.

The X1's panel interface runs on Windows Mobile 6.1

Testing qik live from a glider!

I've been playing with qik recently as anyone who has caught any videos from me will know.
Qik allows you to broadcast live streaming video from your mobile phone. There's usually a small delay before it'll appear in my live channel (see latest from the channel below) but it's close to live.

This evening from 6.30pm (UK, BST) I'm going gliding - and I'm taking my mobile and qik with me. I managed to broadcast on just a couple of bars of 2G signal recently from a forest in Norfolk. I reckon hundreds of feet above the Cambridgeshire countryside should offer an even tougher challenge! Here's what I've written about qik before.

UPDATE The rather disappointing outcome appears below: