I spent a wonderful week in Frankfurt. It started off with my presentation (Improvising Madly: Agile Workflows and Integrated Digital Strategy) at the Tools of Change Conference on the Tuesday and ended with a perfect day on the Friday exploring the Museum of Modern Art, the cafes next to the River Main, and walking along the river bank under a beautiful crisp, blue sky.
The TOC conference was great, although I didn’t get to see many of the presentations due to the four tracks running at the same time. The keynote speakers were inspiring, and I most enjoyed the 5-minute ignite sessions and the conversation between Brian O’Leary and Alistair Horne, moderated by Sheila Bounford. I met many interesting people, including Sanders Kleinfeld from O’Reilly who confirmed for me yet again that the tech world needs more Philosophy and Arts graduates (I’m biased); my LinkedIn friend, Bill Kasdorf; and Helmut von Berg, of Klopotek, who organises an annual Publishers’ Forum in Berlin. Kat Meyer, the conference chair, was a wonder and managed everything with apparent ease, although I know that belied the incredible effort and work behind the scenes.
My thanks in particular go to Brian O’Leary who joined me for my presentation when my co-presenter, Mike, due to unforseen circumstances, wasn’t able to make it to Frankfurt. Brian, as everyone knows, is a considerate, thoughtful and wonderfully intelligent speaker on all aspects of content strategy and more.
In the days in between TOC and my last day, I visited the Frankfurt Book Fair, which was a wonder to behold. Once again, I met inspiring people working at the frontiers of digital publishing, and had great conversations. I stopped by the New Zealand stand and had such a rush of love when I saw that little patch of home.
It is good to be back, jetlag hardly made an appearance, and I’m good to go!
