Stage Management.

Since 2001 I’ve had the privilege of stage managing the annual PopTech conference in Camden, ME. Founded by Bob Metcalfe and John Scully, and hosted by Andrew Zolli the gathering is kind of like a kindler gentler east coast TED. We share a lot of the same presenters, and many in the audience attend both events. PopTech is a thought leadership, innovation, activism Sangha with an unabashedly progressive social impact bent, all tinged with a dose of Brooklyn. Responsibilities include overseeing deck operations, troubleshooting, talent management, speaker coaching, scheduling, etc., etc., etc.

I’d  love to meet you there!

Stage Direction.
Production Management.

The Personal Democracy Forum [PDF] brings together a community of activists, policy makers, journalists, academics and investors to explore how technology is used  to further the democratic process. Since 2008 I have worked closely with the conference presenters to establish high production values for  this annual event. Specific initiatives have included: graphic & presentation design; scenic design; venue coordination; contracting vendors; stage management & staff supervision; etc. Also includes PDF Barcelona 2010.

Attending BDI’s Global Communcations Conference 2008: Connecting Across Borders and Understanding Cultural Differences. I’ve been tracking BDI’s activity over the past few years and am excited to be here. The event feels very much like a “stand +deliver” format. The presenters so far seem knowledgeable and smart.

First up was Marco Franca, VP/Latin America for PR Newswire. Franca built his presentation around a rubric: PEST [Political, Economics, Social, Technology], stressing the differences between cultures in LA + USA. Moreover that LA is a mass of nations where family comes first + relationships are important.

Next up, Michael Moeller, Director Corporate Public Relations of Xerox. He presented a case study describing the mega-brand’s strategy for transitioning from a “copy machine” company. It appears that the repositioning was successful as measured by press impressions. No one in the audience heard what the new products …