This is not an XOXO re-cap — it’s a placeholder — a rough outline.
In brief: the day was so chock full that it will take a while to parse.
Anxiety at bay, I very much enjoyed the entire day of presentations of this last XOXO Festival, the moment and the folks. It was still overwhelming, but the best sort.
My notes from the talks are fragments to revisit.
One of the Andys that organized the event has a most excellent recap of those talks and a bit of insight to how they came together. (I’d gone through the playlist earlier with my partner to make recommendations and ended up suggesting darn near all of them.) My suggestion? Bookmark that page and when you need a moment of perspective, queue one that strikes a chord.
Some take-aways:
- Every speaker chased curiosity.
- There is no better time than this very moment to explore ideas and experiment.
- We have an expanding array of tools at our disposal.
- Now is terribly exciting.
- Sharing is key.
Also? We’ve collectively been put through a ringer.
In my youth I used to think technology alone would inspire a renaissance. I guess I didn’t factor that heavy things could also be an ingredient to motivate art, science, philosophy and learning.
This was the last XOXO, but it doesn’t feel like an end — It feels like a cusp between what was and what can be.