On June 22, I attended the Boston #140conf tweetup at the Seaport Hotel’s Tamo Bar. It was an opportunity to connect with folks and build buzz ahead of the upcoming Boston #140conf conference on September 14. I had attended the Jan. 14 Boston #140conf meetup, which was essentially a mini-conference, and it was an excellent event.
#140conf, headed by technology entrepreneur Jeff Pulver, focuses on “the effects of the real-time Internet on both business and ‘we’ the people.” Over the past year, the movement has grown exponentially, with events in New York and Washington D.C., with more #140conf conferences coming up this year in Tel Aviv, Nairobi, LA and Detroit.
If there’s one thing that makes me itchy, it’s a meetup without structure. So I decided to create some and give myself a creative challenge, to boot. I took out my Kodak Zi8 and began interviewing people to get their thoughts on the big impact of the emergence of the real-time web. I got a wide range of thoughtful answers, compiled in the video below:
Thanks to my interviewees (in alphabetical order): Margot Bloomstein, Jeff Cutler, Steve Garfield, Joselin Mane, Tamsen McMahon, Jennifer Scott and Erika Templeman.
Why was this a creative challenge? I’ve never edited a video in my life! Much less shot one with the intention to publish and disseminate it in a somewhat formal fashion. And the only editing software I have is what came with the camera. But Bruce K. Garber, who I chatted with a bunch at the event, was great at encouraging me to give it a shot, limitations be damned. So thanks, Bruce. I’m fairly happy with the result and was excited to hear so many great thoughts about the real-time web.
I appreciate Pulver’s approach toward organizing #140conf events — giving voice to passionate people who have compelling thoughts and ideas and thereby empowering them to effect change in an evolving web world. Dropping a term from his music industry past, he likened organizing a #140conf to doing “high tech A&R” (artist and repertoire) to scout the talent that will shape what’s next. I’m really looking forward to the Sept. 14 #140conf event in Boston and getting a glimpse of the big “what’s next.”
Here is Jeff Pulver hyping the Sept. 14 Boston #140conf and talking about the #140conf initiative:
Funny sidenote: Bruce mentioned at one point that if I wanted to shoot a video about the real-time web, I should have used the mobile livestreaming platform Qik. True enough. But then, of course, I wouldn’t have had my little creative challenge to play with. 
Georgy,
Great job, I like the fact that you JUST DID IT ie this video project and you did it in Real Time. In real, meaning you didn’t go into the event thinking about it but created & executed the project in “Real Time”.
A lot of this Real-Time web is all about that, creating content on-the-fly. So yes, it wasn’t uploaded in real time but that’s just a matter of time when you become more comfortable with the tools.
I look forward to seeing more Real-Time content from you!
Georgy,
Very nice video. As we spoke at the #140conf the hard part is getting started. However, you already had that covered when you showed up with your Kodak Zi8 video camera and a plan to conduct short interviews about the Impact of the Real-Time Web.
You captured the feeling of the gathering and answered your the way you pulled together your interviews.
Keep up the great work and as you already know, video adds a hole new level to your storytelling, I mean your journalism, I mean your writing, I mean your web content creating, blogging, digital media, enthusiasm, your poetry and online marketing.
Please keep in touch, and let us know from time to time when you have more Real-Time Web content posted.
Great job!
ps; thank you very much for the shout out in your article.
Don’t forget to get it on almost.at so then people can watch it all in real-time.