3 memorable points made at TEDx Sydney.
1. “You don’t need the drill, you need the hole”
Rachel Botsman, Author of the book What’s Mine is Yours, due out in September.
Picture every house in a street, each with its own drill; its own lawnmower, vacuum cleaner, and its car(s). The same DVD’s, same kids toys.
Picture if you will, at 8am each morning, every car pulling out of its driveway, driving along the same road to work, and parking in the same carpark. At 5pm, each car pulls out, drives along the same road, and returns to be parked beneath/beside the house. According to Rachel, a car is idle for 23hrs of the day; A drill is used for just 13minutes of its life.
Cue Collaborative Consumption.
(the more I see these icons the more I like them)
I have a feeling this groundswell and movement Rachel has identified will strike a chord with many. I was talking with a friend last night, who quickly mentioned a memory his Dad told him, of working with other young parents in his street who all pitched in to buy a cement mixer and then whom all shared in the workload of building driveways for the whole street. I know this was in a time unfamiliar to me, and markedly different to now for many socio-economic reasons, but its appeal is instant: Working with neighbours, learning how to make things and saving money. Not to mention saving the environment of waste too.
2. “Secularism is the defence of spiritualism”
Michael Kirby
I’ve loved hearing this man speak since I first heard him address a crowd at a Griffith Review lecture a few years ago in Brisbane. There is something about the balanced world view and sharp intellect of a Judge which ensures a certain, irresistible verbatim.
With a booming voice and a stature still and composed from behind a lecturn, he spoke of the need to stand up to the “God Botherers”. Those people who take literally the writings found within the Bible (not as a metaphor or a poem as Kirby views it), and who in this particular context, continue to urge politicians and the media alike to hamper efforts by equal rights proponents to legalise gay marriage. Kirby made the point very clear: “It is easier to register a dog in Australia, than it is to register a same sex relationship”.
He also slammed Channel 7 for its apparent and continued “homophobic” conduct as a broadcaster. I’m not aware of examples to provide here, but nonetheless applauded with the rest of the audience as it’s not hard to imagine Today Tonight stooping to the lowest level.
10 out of 10.
3. “We could predict the Macedonian election before it was held based on the Facebook groups of the nominees”.
Brett Solomon, Accessnow.org
Fittingly, out of all the speakers, I felt Brett used technology to support his talk the best. For a person whose current work focuses on supporting those who live where the Human Right to information and free speech is not a human right, his use of Google Earth zooming in and out of several parts of the world illustrating his speech was perfectly presented.
Of all the speeches his delivered the largest slap.
Ex CEO of Australian digital NFP and NGO organisation GetUp, he first pointed out that in China for the first time in history, there are more bloggers in jail than print journalists. He spoke at large about the immense shift social media is having on the popularity stakes of elections. The graph below represents the election outcomes in Macedonia. The red bars are the candidates. The blue were their facebook pages.
He then spoke about the violence of Police during the protests in Tehran, Iran and how his new company Accessnow.org helps media makers in oppressed countries share their stories and their footage with the rest of the world by bypassing firewalls and essentially ensuring their voices are heard. He also showed the audience how to bypass a firewall.
And bringing it home to Australia, he spoke passionately about the hopelessness of the Rudd Government’s internet filter. How 87% of Australian parents surveyed by GetUp don’t want it; How China was the only country in the world to support the infrastructure; and how, in regards to restricting access to the internet, if Australia “chops off a pinky, and Tehran a leg, and China a torso, then what are you left with?” He also very simply pointed out that once you prohibit something, it will only encourage hackers to get around it.
He stood, still and with poise. The clicker in his hand. The message in his mouth.
Other images of the day can be found here: http://tedxsydney.com/
Please let me know if you would like the images I’ve used credited.
