Joe Gerstandt | keynote speaker, freedom fighter, freak-flag flier

I spend a fair amount of time in the interwebs and I try not to ask for much.  I try not to ask for votes, re-tweets, diggs, etc. 

But.

This time it’s different.

I am very much asking for your vote.

I would like to be on the agenda at SXSWi in 2010.  The proposal for my session can be found here…it is called “Difference and Commonality: Understanding Community Dynamics.”  There are 2,211 proposals being considered…which is one of the reasons why I need your vote. 

I also don’t think I wrote the most engaging proposal for what I have in mind…another reason I need your vote.  I continue to be far better at doing my job than I am at explaining it and pitching it to people.

And.

I think that this topic is incredibly important…the third and final reason that I need your vote.

SXSW is a very cool event and there are a lot of very cool, very interesting and very important topics that have been submitted.  This one looks very cool.  So does this one…and this one.  You should probably vote for them.   Vote for this one also, Jeff is one of my favorite follows on Twitter.

Here’s the thing…

Media…in all its various forms is a tool.  It can be used for good and for bad.  A lot of times we get really excited about the transformational potential of a new tool or a new technology, but it is our intentions and actions that determine whether tools are used for anything truly transformational or not.

There is a great deal of noise in the new media world about authenticity, collaboration, democratizaion, transparency and innovation.  Despite this noise, I think there is very little real understanding about any of these things.  There are certainly some exceptions to that…the Cluetrain gang was pretty crystal clear on this stuff some time ago, and there are others.  But a lot of what I see is taking place is still about:

• quantitity over quality
• profits over people
• defense of status quo over pursuit of positive evolution
• conformity over difference

This is, obviously, just my humble opinion. 

But, I think that if we really want to use new media (and old media) in a way that is truly transformational we must understand some of the basic fundamental truths of human relationship.  Two primary ingredients that exist in all relationships between all human beings are difference and commonality…and if we want our relationships, our communities our world to be what it has the potential to be, we have to understand the two and utilize the two.

It might be 2009.  We might have a whole lot of people running around talking about “post-racial” this and “post-racial” that.  But I would suggest to you that we are still greatly confused regarding the meaning, the value and the impact of difference.  The media world, the tech world and every other part of our society is still significantly skewed by things like race, ethnicity, gender, etc.

It is my hope to make a contribution to us remembering the really important stuff, so that we can use our fancy new tools in the best way possible.  I apologize for the brazen and shameless pandering, but please take a minute and vote.  You do need to create an account to vote, but it only takes a few seconds.  Thank you.

My name is joe gerstandt, and I approve of this message. 

Be good to each other.