Hitchhiking to the Boardroom – Presentation Pitch for SXSWi10

Dave Olson at SXSW F@ck Stats Make Art 2008
Find the plane where Awesum & Audience intersect

Here’s my (Dave Olson’s) submission to SXSW Interactive 2010 – Starting August 10, you’ll have a chance to vote for SXSW Panels and Presentations until Aug. 28th and your vote constitutes a portion of the selection process along with staff and an advisory board.

After the enjoyment of presenting F@ck Stats, Make Art spiel at SXSWi 2009 (which garnered favourable reviews BTW), I mulled over my options and have some pretty entertaining in mind which will entice me to dig deep in my older travel files and more modern Internet biz binders of artifacts to support my story-telling.

For F@ck Stat, Make Art, i went fully analog with no projectors, laptops etc. but this time i will  use some photos to share what i have in mind including stories from time spent as mushroom farmer in Japan, beach club host in Guam, searching for the kind in Palau, gathering grapes and chestnuts in Germany or following the Grateful Dead through the hinterlands of America in a VW bus.

Listen to a recap of my SXSW 2009 core conversation and after-hours hi-jinks in SXSW Stories from Middle Earth – Choogle On #79 podcast.

Also for your voting consideration:

Art = craft + intent x integrity
Art = craft + intent x integrity

Details of pitch:

Title of panel or presentation (maximum 8 words):

Hitchhiking to the Boardroom

50 word description of this panel / presentation

Not all business lessons are learned in an MBA program, nor management skills gained in seminars. This inter-disciplinary conversation distills a decade of working odd jobs in 20+ countries, followed by 14 years of Internet biz endeavors, into unique problem-solving skills as well as inspire attendees with a replenished toolbox of usable tactics.

10 questions that will be answered in this panel / presentation

  1. How can I reach the top without a fancy degree?
  2. Why should you bring “yourself” to work?
  3. How do you diffuse a$$holes (especially when they are your boss)?
  4. How can I find mentors, teachers and miracles?
  5. How can I develop recession-proof business ideas?
  6. What are the advantages of communicating with an audience in their language?
  7. Why should I forget pre-conceptions and surprise myself?
  8. Why is an inter-disciplinary perspective important?
  9. Why should I consider hitting the road (and not look back)?
  10. How can I figure out what truly matters to me – and make it happen?

50-word bio for this speaker

Dave Olson is a world-traveling renaissance guy who has published essays, poetry and fiction, wrote and produced a documentary film, and traveled to 20+ countries working jobs from mushroom farmer to private beach club host. An experienced story-teller, Dave’s presentation style is unique, visually compelling and free of jargon, cheesy buzzwords and bulleted lists.

get out of the cublicle you deserve more!
get out of the cublicle you deserve more! (photo KK)

I am qualified to speak on this topic because:

{pardon the 3rd person} An experienced media pundit, Dave made dozens of TV/radio/newspaper appearances discussing web media technology, public policy activism, entrepreneurship, hockey and more on outlets ranging from CBC to BBC to High Times.

Most recently, he’s worked as a professional web community builder and marketing evangelist for a variety Vancouver web companies.

He regularly speaks at events and conferences about using technology to enable artistic expression and using social media for social change.

He graduated in 2004 from the noted Evergreen College in Olympia, Washington with a degree in Inter-disciplinary studies after studying public policy, philosophy, global affairs and writing – he also attended the Universities of Utah and Guam.

A podcasting pioneer, Dave creates several long-running series including Postcards from Gravelly Beach – a spoken word literature show, Choogle on! – gonzo international sound-seeing adventures, and Canucks Outsider, a wildly-popular audio magazine about Vancouver hockey culture.

Has this person spoken at SXSW before?

Yes – See the recap of F@ck Stats, Make Art at SXSW 2009

Spieling to the People of SXSW 09
Spieling to the People of SXSW 09- photo by KK

The scales of sharing - Free for Taking or Dont Take
The scales of sharing - Free for Taking or Don't Take

Recent Publications:

  • Depth Perception (poetry) – 2009
  • Letters from Russia (epistolary lit) – 2006
  • The First Rule of Longboard Hockey is … – Heads Magazine 2007
  • Rebagliati Positive for 2010 – Head Magazine 2006
  • Zen Rambling in Japan – Heads Magazine 2006
  • Hemp Culture in Japan – Cannabis Culture 2000

For Your SXSW Voting Consideration:

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