Experience 2008

No, it's not a central European country in the mid-30s, it's people at Experience 2008 experiencing different views of the same thing.

I'm attending the Experience 2008 conference in Vaasa Wednesday to Friday (which I probably should, since I was presenting a paper before noon).

Some interesting stuff has been presented and discussed. Prof. Wim Veen from Holland was very much into what he called "Homo Zappiens", the online, multitasking (most often young) person that is the future of mankind. I agree to a certain degree, but I believe prof Veen falls into the same category as many other researchers and people in the industry... There are two kinds of views - the first is that Internet, games, LAN-parties, Twitter, DVB-H, whatever, is crap and unnecessary. The second thinks that all that once was will disappear since kids just interact online nowadays - and the people representing both these groups most often belong to generations before the first IT-generation (of which I am a member, like it or not).

The truth is, I think, somewhere in between. Of course everything will change. Everything always change, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. But just because kids of today watch YouTube clips and chat via MSN instead of watching television doesn't mean that the world will turn itself upside down. We will have kids playing football in the streets, we will have girls playing "home" in the yard, we will have boys running around with their guns playing at cowboys and indians.

And when they grow up, we will have youngsters that like nature. We will have youngsters that love to go swimming. We will have "the old stuff", side by side with the new stuff.

So, a bit more perspective, perhaps.

Right now listening to something pretty interesting from Dr. Kaj Storbacka of Vectia Ltd - experience is bullsh*t, brandbuilding and helping the customer to understand what is going on, that's the key.

Kaj Storbacka presenting stuff at Experience 2008.