Terry Anderson gave a characteristically fantastic keynote today on social learning 2.0. Of course, I may be a little biased as he very kindly gave me some credit for what he had to say and gave a brilliant plug for my book! However, the style and interpretation was all Terry's, full of rich insights into the nature of groups, networks and collectives.

Terry is a great crosser of boundaries, pulling in ideas from many different fields and pushing out something new, fresh and thought-provoking. I've said it before but it's worth repeating: inspiring things happen at the edges, as we cross into new territories. The previous keynotes have been great, with interesting things to say and deep insights into important areas in which their expertise is unrivalled, but I have not walked away feeling inspired. Reflective, yes. Enthused even. But not inspired. Terry was inspirational.

The talk was followed by a very lively and interesting discussion, attended by many of the great and the good. The underlying themes included all of usual suspects, including the stormy relationship between top-down and bottom-up control, issues of trust and privacy, and concerns about the stupidity of mobs. It is wonderful to me that these debates are at last getting out into the open. 

And while we're on the subject of social software and inspiration, I have been bumping into George Siemens on and off throughout the conference, who has been making some interesting contributions to several discussions. It is reassuring to know that he is as smart in real life as he appears in his blog. 

Original: https://community.brighton.ac.uk/pg/blog/jd29/read/80606/edmedia-day-3
By: Jon Dron
Posted: June 29, 2007, 2:00 am