Learning from Joi Ito

As Tom Kelley said a few weeks ago in the  NYT, "One thing I've learned is that it is important to surround yourself with the kind of people you aspire to be."  The cool part about the web is that you don't necessarily have to hang out physically with the kind of people you aspire to be in order to get the desired effect. 

I believe wholeheartedly in Tom's assertion, and that's why I spend time hanging out online with Joi Ito.  I read his blog.  We chat.  We quest together.  As William Gibson once wrote, the "...future is already here - it's just unevenly distributed."  I'd say the same, with the modifier of "... it's just unevenly distributed, so save yourself some time and check out whatever new thing Joi is up to."

To wit:

• Buying virtual property in order to support "real world" non-profits: Buying an island on Second Life
• Expanding on the "New Golf" meme we've been spreading about World of Warcraft as a way to model new approaches to creative work:  Leadership in World of Warcraft

What Joi does really well is to learn by doing.  He doesn't sit around and pontificate about the future of being online. He lives it.  There's no difference between knowing and doing in his world.

Comments

[Mark Schraad]

Funny, in my post divorce days I decided that if my life was to move forward I needed to "surround myself with pople who I admire and want to be more like." I can not tell you how many times in the last 6 years I have repeated that to employees, students and friends. I still live by it and always will. Tom is apparently a smart man.

Though not the main point of your post, is might well be the most important (with all due respect to Joi).Thanks for sharing his thought.