Tweet and Meet

Recording Device Ban, originally uploaded by TaulPaul.

Friday’s Macy’s Glamorama event is probably one of the most well produced, anticipated, and fun charity events in the Minneapolis / St. Paul metro.  This year was no different.  We had a great time for a wonderful charity.  One thing did change this year.

The Orpheum Theater housed a couple thousand event goers to a specticle of fashion, and A-list performances.  I toted along my Canon Vixia HD video camera, and my iPhone 3G to tweet my perspective of the show, with some pictures being uploaded to Twitpic.  I was also able to grab some video with my video camera.  The unfortunate part of the experience was security’s constant nagging of pictures being taken.  I’m accustom to this experience, as it happens all the time.  I’ve been asked to stop taking pictures and video in all sorts of different establishments, and always comply.  I personally was never asked to stop recording at the Glamorama event, but always wonder why the policy is never made clear from the get-go.  Like the sign illustrates above, as an establishment, you must set an expectation to a have grievance.  This year’s security personnel finally gave up.  Unlike previous events in the last couple years, the shear volume of patrons recording and documenting their experience was too vast to control.  The entire row of 20-something women in front of me, each had a device, recording their experience at will.  That was about a dozen people to try and control.  It was literally impossible for security to make them all stop, so they basically quit asking.  That was the first experience of mine where this has happened, and wonder if this is the first step into a more open experience for people to freely document their experiences at concerts and events.

Have you had similar experiences?

Update:  To be clear.  The point of this post is not to pick on the staff at the Orpheum or organizers of Glamorama, as this experience is pretty normal for all concerts and events.  The purpose is to open a dialogue about how this experience needs to change.

There, I said it. We won’t be talking about “Social Media” 5 years from now. It will be roped into the practice of UX or Experience Design. How do I know this? Well, if I go back to my roots in online gaming (which I do for forecasting purposes), there was a movement in the early days of id Software and the game Doom. Gamers were editing, and creating their own game maps/levels (UGC). Some of the creators even ended up getting jobs in the gaming industry (sounds similar to Atari). Fast forward to today’s games. For the most part, game designers set the in-game rules. They allow for content to be created in their world, and give the players tools to enhance and build their experience, but ultimately control their world. I sort of see Facebook as a very immature version of a MMORPG, and whether it’s a video game or your life, they are both starting to look like games.

This poses the question, “Are you a game creator, or a player of the game?” This is where I see UX and Experience Design swallowing what we know as “Social Media”. I can tell you the average time a person plays World of Warcraft in a sitting, blows the average time someone spends on Facebook out of the water. To think that we haven’t even incorporated more than two human senses (sight and sound) into this game, is profound. When we get to a point with UX where we tap a third and fourth sense, it’s game over (no pun intended).

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Here are a few snippets of SMBMSP 16 at the @deluxecorp and @partnerup HQ. Featuring @tbrunelle, @mjkeliher, @malbiniak, and @dougpollei

I’m not going into detail of the email that sparked a small debate around Gary Vaynerchuk’s new book release. You can read John Cass, who covered most of the conversation on his blog, the comments from this other post. I personally think it was more of a tempest in a teapot situation. Gary apologized numerous times, and I think all is good.

John Cass emailed me after I left a partial comment on one of his blog entries on this topic. Here’s part of what I wrote back on what I viewed from this situation:

“I find it odd that Gary would write a book. I get he’s doing it for the cash, but it runs contrary to all the tools, platforms, and channels he used to create all the buzz around his brand and content. He’s not the only one to do this, as online “micro-celebrities” are cashing in for main stream distribution all the time. He’s going for reach and frequency, rather than Gary doing what he does best; having his advocates help him get the word out. It just seems akin to Gutenberg having scribes duplicate directions on how to use the printing press.”

I really don’t believe that writing a book that can help others is a bad thing. He’ll probably do well with it financially. Gary succeeds more than anything from his passionate personality. His ability to convey that passion through online video, is a large part of why he is, where he is today. I don’t know how many emails he sent out, and I haven’t read the book yet, so maybe the editors were able to convey that same passion in writing, as Gary conveys in video…but I’m skeptical. It just seems like the wrong medium for his message, and further away from his sweet spot; online video.

Update: I’d like to offer Gary and his wife congratulations on their new child.

Eve Smiling 7 Days Post Operation, originally uploaded by TaulPaul.

It has been pretty uneventful the past couple days, other than Eve showing withdrawal symptoms from the pain killers. It’s actually a pretty scary to see your kid going through drug withdrawal. She had Morphine post op, so they’re using Methadone (yes, the same drug for Heroine addicts, but smaller doses).  It is pretty amazing that this can happen less than a week after open heart surgery.

In other news, Ron, Isabelle, Andre, and Lynda came to visit us at the hospital today.  I can’t say enough about these guys.  They’re pretty awesome to take time out of their day to come see us.  We got to talk about our kids, swap hospital stories, and talk about the future of CHD awareness.  Thanks for the coffee guys!

Update:  I forgot to mention she played Peek-a-Boo for the first time today, and actually laughed…the laugh was a first as well

Eve’s Chest X-Ray, originally uploaded by TaulPaul.

Dr. Del Nido and Dr. Triedman stopped in today to check up on Eve. I believe it was the first time we’ve seen them together. It was nice to have a chat with both of them. You can tell they have a great rapport. Dr. Del Nido talked a bit about some of the projects they’re working on for pediatric cardiac imaging. It was nice to chat about tech, as it’s one of the things I’m comfortable blathering about.

In other news, we saw Jennifer and Stellan come in today. They were in the CICU room next to us for a couple hours. I think they moved when I stepped out to get some of Eve’s stuff. It’s nice to see they’re getting help here, and another Minnesota family is nearby.  We found out about Stellan right when we learned we would be going to Boston.  I contacted Jennifer through Twitter, and found out several days later that they would also be coming to Children’s Hospital Boston.  I can imagine the concerns, as Eve had an Ablation to her heart in order to control her SVT and WPW, but Stellan’s case seems to be much more severe.  Our thoughts and prayers are with them as well.

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So today has been good and bad. Eve has been crying uncontrollably for the last 2:30 hours. I thinks she has gas, and nothing is really working at this point. Her stomach is hard as a rock. The nurses are trying a lot of different things. I think Eve is probably just going to pass out, actually, I’m surprised she hasn’t passed out yet.

Eve will be extubated around midnight. This means they’ll take the breathing tube out, and let her breath on her own. I can’t think of any other time where I’ll be happy to hear any baby cry more than that moment. She cries now, but since the tube goes past her vocal chords, there’s no air to make any sounds. It absolutely crushes me. They suction her tube about once an hour. This is usually the only time she wakes up. She gets pretty worked up, and she’ll kick her little legs. She’s even grabbed the tubes a couple times. I let her hold one of my fingers, while she looks up at me with her teary eyes wondering why all this is happening to her. I just smile back at her, and tell her everything will be fine. It’s all I can do to prevent myself from crying myself. They say she’s not in any pain. I hope that’s true.

I had started compiling a list of things that I’ve learned since we were admitted into Children’s Hospital Boston, but this includes things leading up to Eve’s surgery:

• Never feel like you can’t ask the nurses and doctors questions (for anything)
• Wi-Fi is a Godsend at the hospital, for work, for family, for feeling like you’re still connected and not alone
• I’ve used my iPhone more than my laptop for the last 3 months, it has been a huge crutch for messaging and publishing
• I never thought we had it hard through this experience, and I’m continually reminded of this as we meet families who really do have it rough
• People’s compassion knows no bounds
• I’d like to forget about a lot of the things I’ve seen through this experience, but probably never will
• Getting messages from everyone, no matter how small, is a huge pick-me-up
• iTunes movie rentals have been a life saver (this also goes back to the hospital wi-fi point)
• I have a hard time showing emotion
• The medical staff has your best interests in mind, but you have a say in how most things are done
• Eve has more strength, determination, patience, etc… than I ever will