Arianna Huffington took the center stage and keynotes this year’s AdTech San Francisco this week and as always, nailed it again, despite a couple of questions about the controversy around the ongoing discussion of unpaid versus paid bloggers prior to and following the sale to AOL. (and in general as a standard for the industry).
Yet, with fearlessness, poise, humor and confidence, she moved from old media to new media and referenced Craig Newmark, Guy Kawasaki and Biz Stone as well as cited quotes from her mother and Shakespeare all within a ten minute window.
Her focus and leave behinds primarily revolved around humanity, the need to return to hyper local engagement (and Enchantment per Guy’s new book) as well as connecting with community. (she gives examples including their focus on Patch, the new hyper local sites — a friend of mine runs Santa Cruz).
Arianna also talked about the importance of sleep and how sleep deprivation doesn’t serve anyone or anything…..”we can’t be enchanting or engaging if we’re sleep deprived,” she says.
She says of new media, “we suffer from OCD – obsessive coverage of topics,” and related to humanity, she quotes Biz Stone who said of Twitter, “it is not not a triumpth of technology but a triumph of humanity.” Her full talk below in a two part series. Also up on YouTube.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
