Charettes, Naps, Social Media & A Laser Etched Bamboo USB Drive FTW
Charrette. A charrette (pronounced [shuh-ret], consists of an intense period of design activity [thanks wikipedia]
Combine this with one super awesome laser-etched bamboo USB drive that is now a permanent part of my keychain, 36 students from schools/colleges across Syracuse University, and one amazing collaboration space, and you’re bound for some good stories.
The Topic for this Design Activity? “The Future of Social Media.”
The Charrette took place at the CoLab, a floor designed for collaboration and idea-generation. 36 SU students listened to groups and speakers, researched from this list of resources, and in the end 6 teams presented their thoughts in “Pecha Kucha” style.
One of my favorite parts? The conversation going on in the background — on Twitter (#sucharrette). One of the students wrote on his tag that “Social Media is… Not as scary as bears.” Oh yea, I RT’d that.
The other favorite part? These awesome bean-bag convertible chair-things from sumo that were piled up EVERYWHERE — which led to many TwitPics of people napping :)
In the end, the event just solidified in my mind what can happen when you get talented groups of people not just working — but having fun together.
Additional Links on the Syracuse University Social Media Futures Event:
- iSchool blog - Designing The Future of Social Media
- colab – CoLab Blog
- colab - Social Media Futures Event Information
- youtube – Videos from the Charrette (via @dhrosen)
- commonground- The iSchool/VPA partnership
One of my favorite videos: