GENYOUth at SAPPHIRE Now 2014 - a delightful set of conversations
- Summary:
- We rarely get the opportunity to celebrate the youth of the world but on this occasion we have three very special young people to both honor and cherish. Check out the GENYOUth video set.
When I saw that we had a video shoot with GENYOUth it was always going to be mine. As the oldest guy around I liked the idea of getting young people on camera. We'd been here before when Nikola Bura, a young first generation American boy competed at SAP TechEd in 2012. The video conversation was magic.
What I didn't expect was three people turning up, all wanting to be on camera and all wanting to put questions to me. So, without any rehearsal other than a quick pre-brief about the topics I wanted to cover we got into a shoot session that was the highlight of my SAPPHIRE Now experience.
First up we had Chris Nilsen talking about how he created a fitness program for kids who are not getting enough exercise. While I didn't say anything at the time, my mind flew back to when I was a kid where the only recreation to be had was outdoors. Now of course, kids have iPads, smartphones and computers.
Next we had Kaitlyn Mortimer talking entrepreneurship and discussing how she got on with Bill McDermott, CEO SAP. You really must see the wee video they recorded with McDermott. Oh yes - the advice he gave her was priceless but you'll have to watch our shoot to discover what he said. It will surprise many.
Finally, we talked with Noa Sreder who is keenly interested in healthcare issues and who finds the talk about genome sequencing using HANA to be an exciting field of study. Someone needs to fund her a trip to Stanford where a lot of world leading work is in progress.
But it was the bit where they each got to ask me a question where things get scary. It almost never happens and I had no idea what was coming. So to be asked what it takes to get your own video show, how do you work on building an audience and about what it takes to succeed in tech media were all predictable questions that require complex answers.
I rarely see people talking about this but the innocence of youth is something we absolutely should cherish. I saw that in each of the people who appeared, along with a self assurance that only comes from being much loved as growing children.
Those were moments I will treasure for a long time to come.
The playlist is embedded below. Take what you want and leave the rest but each of the individual shoots is short enough to be enjoyed over a cup of tea/coffee.
Thanks to whomever arranged their attendance at SAPPHIRE Now. It was an inspired piece of thinking.