Last week i was fully immersed at Shift08, the Lisbon conference on Social and Human Ideas for Technology. First, let me thank the readers who bought the ticket with my promo code, as it awarded me with a golden ticket (full refund). Awesome #1.

The first day was full of FREE workshops, with a guerrilla usability workshop by Andy Budd involving wine tasting, courtesy of Cortes de Cima and Adegga. Awesome #2.

On Thursday, the sessions started with a massive amount were to choose from. As far as i could find out on the coffe breaks, highlights were Julian Bleecker’s Design Fiction and Mark Wuben’s Home Made Ubiquitous Computing (today i’ve realized he’s also the co-author of always useful sIFR). I really enjoyed the session on Designing with common sense, by the folks of AllOfUs. Even more after i had the chance of having a great talk at lunch with Nick and Sandy. Andy Budd closed the day with a great presentation on User Experience, an appetizer for the last day main theme. Awesome #3.

Friday started with another great session by Brian Suda about semantic web and microformats, and the morning ended with our own robotic curator Leonel Moura discussing Artificial Creativity. The afternoon had the most expected sessions with Stowe Boyd and Tara Hunt focusing on social flow and social capital. Awesome #4.

If you couldn’t attend (shame on you), grab the presentations, now highlighted on Slideshare.net homepage as Shift08. Awesome #5.

And did i mentioned that it was a great chance to meet a lot of interesting people, from all over Europe, and start a true Shift movement? Awesome #6.

If further prove is needed how awesome it was, check the video testimonials below:

Loved it in 2006, 2008 was awesome, can’t wait for 2009. A big thanks to all of Shift’s team. Awesome.

UPDATE: Add the promo code gt-sourceinsp20a895d and get 20% off on registration

We’re almost there: the 2nd edition of Shift – Social and Human Ideas for Technology is taking place the next 15th to 17 October.

Having attended the 1st one – and loving it – i’m expecting the same amount of enthusiasm and interesting discussions on how technology is shaping society and our daily lifes.

The event is organized by close friends Bruno and Pedro (at non-profit), with 60 speakers during the 3 days, at Parque das Nacoes FIL (Lisbon). The subjects in discussion include: Education, History, Genetics, Economics, Accessibility, Usability, Mobile Technologies, Open Source, Transportation, Energy, Architecture and Art. Quite a treat, eh?

With confirmed speakers like Andy Budd, August de los Reyes, Julian Bleeker, Leonel Moura, Manuel Lima, Stowe Boyd and Tara Hunt, it shows how Portugal is becoming a great place for tech/digital conferences, after OFFF’s success the past May.

I’ve just registered but hurry up and get one the last available tickets. Shift !

Following the SOTW (site of the week), a Video Of The Week. Despite all the social media buzz, some people might not be aware of a groundbreaking moment for the web technologies. Meet Ubiquity:

Ubiquity for Firefox from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.

The video speaks for itself, in one huge step towards the cloud.

“the last shall be first and the geek shall inherit the earth“

The above quote from one of the latest NYTimes editorials, reminds me of how digital natives have progressed. After the dot-com crash, we shifted the focus of the Internet from business to communities, and a new Millennial generation has arised.

Internet Attention Deficit Disorder has become a reality to the horde of nerds, geeks or MMORP fans, with the usual pundits horrified by the alienation of digital natives.
The fact is that “we” (if you read this blog, i’m soooo calling you a geek) created a different kind of individuals: connected, multi-taskers, highly skeptical and with a new sense of democracy built on top of online communities.

Image Credits: Geek And Poke

Geeks are no longer a weird tribe, but started to shape soiety with new behaviors. From education to environment, geek influence is undeniable. Take for example Nerdcore, a new musical genre but also a documentary about nerds, geeks, dorks and the way they interpret Hip Hop:

Not only geek-culture is becoming mainstream, but it also creates their own sub-cultures, with idiosyncrasies and references that spawn from Star Wars paraphernalia to Python riddles. The Internet has further amplified our cult of the ego, capitalized by social networks. On a neo-”Brand Named You” paradigm, one of the most searched keywords is our own name, so beautifully stated on the film “Google Me“.

Our identity is thus increasingly shaped by digital mediums, with many joining the geek horde. Today’s relationships are built over the keyboard, and when we finally meet the person IRL (In Real Life), she’s no longer a stranger as the emotional barriers have been demolished by a long series of emoticons.

Image Credits: Geek And Poke

A few years ago, someone told me i was spending too much time online, that i should get a real life. I promptly replied: “Online is also my real life. I have friends, a culture, a digital identity with many of the community bonds more truthful than in your-so-called-real life”. Thankfully i can now be proud of being a digital native. It’s not just the money pouring in the tech world, it’s also the sense that i became part of a community that allowed me the access new realms of information and cultures.

I’m proud of being a geek.