xmedialab

Local brains have been buzzing this weekend as the X|Media|Lab moved their festival of ideas to Auckland. Seventeen international mentors, keynote speakers, plus seventeen projects teams met at the Viaduct Harbour to share their knowledge, experiences and pathways to success. 

This is my third X|Media|Lab to date, though the record holder is Dale Herigstad with six under his belt. I had an inspiring time listening to the diverse keynote speakers from across the globe, and learning about the innovative digital media projects chosen for the Lab workshops. My brain had a full blown information hangover by the end of the weekend, but it was well worth it.

Read Helen Baxter's roundup of the X|Media|Lab, Auckland in full at the Big Idea and follow live tweets from the keynote conference day @thebigideanz.

I have a quote on my fridge that has been there for years, on a sky blue postcard with faded red letters. "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now", Goethe. One thing successful entrepreneurs have in common is that they share their dreams with a team of experienced mentors. Access to the knowledge, and networks of a mentor you trust will make your big idea far more likely to succeed in the long run.

At Mohawk Media everything starts with a brainstorm using pens and a layout pad to capture our creative flow. At this point there is no such thing as a stupid idea, that comes later. Some ideas are great, and some of them are never going to work. Telling the difference is what stands between success and failure which is why filtering them is so important. It's a smart idea to find experienced mentors to give you feedback on your plan, before you waste time and energy going in the wrong direction. Read Commercialising Ideas in full at the Big Idea.

Listen to a podcast of Helen Baxter / MsBehaviour talking about the value of business mentors in the MsBehaviour Files on the Radio Wammo breakfast show for Kiwi FM. 

 X|Media|Lab Auckland “Commercialising Ideas” brings together some of the world’s best informed experts, VC's, and business analysts, as well as some of New Zealand's creative, business, and technology wizards to to assist you succeed amids these turbulent times. If you are developing digital media ideas across platforms, attend the Keynote Conference Day on Friday 22nd May at The Hilton Hotel, to hear how the experts are thinking and planning.

You can also apply to attend the Lab itself on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th May, where you can work with the International Mentors one-on-one to bring your own digital project ideas to market. 

International Mentors include:

• Dale Herigstad - Four times Emmy Award Winner, and Winner of the inaugural Interactive Emmy Award; CCO, Schematic (Los Angeles)
• Adrian Sexton - Co-founder, New Medici, and formerly Digital Head of Lionsgate and Participant Media (Los Angeles)
• Tim Chang - Principal, Norwest Venture Partners (Silicon Valley)
• Susan Bonds - President and CEO, 42 Entertainment (Pasadena)
• Richard Cardran - Multi Emmy Award Winning Media Strategist & Technologist (Los Angeles)
• Juliette Powell - Media Entrepreneur, Author of "33 Million People In The Room" (Toronto)
• Vishal Gondal - Founder and CEO, India Games; one of India's top 40 Entrepreneurs (Mumbai)
• Rajat Paharia - Founder and Chief Product Officer, Bunchball (San Francisco)
• Doug Whatley - Founder and CEO, BreakAway Games (Hunt Valley)
• Hugh Mason -  Partner, Pembridge Partners LLP (London, Singapore)
• Parmesh Shahani -  New Media, Venture Capital and Innovation, Mahindra & Mahindra, one of India's largest conglomerates  (Mumbai)
• Andrew Hamilton - CEO, The ICEHOUSE (Auckland)
• Mike McGraw - Digital Media Pioneer, Managing Partner, Big Fuel (New York)
• Zhan Ye - President, GameVision; Strategic Investment Consultant for Giant Interactive, China's leading online game developers (Beijing, Chicago)
• Nathan Torkington - Open Source Evangelist and Founder of Kiwi Foo Camp and NZ 2.0 (Auckland)
• Greg Suess & Trent J Blacket - ROAR (Los Angeles)
• Helen Baxter - Managing Directrix, Mohawk Media (Auckland)