10^100

Google is doing this really cool + important 10 to the 100th Project:


I thought it would be an interesting assignment for some of my classes, for a couple of reasons:

1. As Paul Isakson has wonderfully put: New Marketing = Making People's Lives Better. This project gives an example of Google practicing exactly that. And, allows students to think about "making people's lives better."
2. It forces you to take a complex idea and make it instantly understandable. Not that ideas need to be instantly understandable, but they should be scalable.
3. Also, I had just assigned the remarkable Anthropological Introduction to YouTube video (having been a huge fan (like many) of Mike Wesch since first seeing The Machine is Us/ing Us.) And I wanted students to experience making a video, hopefully posting it online and maybe even the unique experience of talking into a camera.

However, I did not require the students to submit their idea, unless they felt so compelled. I just wanted to see the supplemental video. They mostly agreed, "30 seconds is too short!" Some just decided to go longer ... others stuck to it and will hopefully submit their idea to Google.

I'm going to submit mine. My video is below. I just did it. It took 5 minutes (as is embarrassingly obvious), but who cares? The web is a messy place, a beautiful messy place. I said things incorrectly, rambled, emphasized at incorrect places, used cliches, and jerked my head like a chicken going after feed on the barn floor all because I was staring at a webcam and I had only 30 seconds (would this be worse or better at a minute?) ... but that is important to the experience. I'm not worried about getting exactly right.

Here are some student videos (below). All the ones that had working links: some of you had broken links that led no where and some didn't upload to the internet :( Some of them lead to Facebook links ... I'm not sure if you are able to see these? If you aren't up here and should be, please let me know ASAP, and I apologize for missing you.

I had hoped to put this in a digg-like format, some mini-app. But, in the interest of time, I just put them up. So please feel free to leave your comments on this post, or on the individual videos. Start conversations, share feelings and reactions, get messy.

Thank you to all my students who participated. I greatly appreciate your interest.

1. Alison
2. Amy
3. Andy
4. Anne Marie
5. Apo
6. Aruna
7. Billy
8. Blair
   
9. Bobin
10. Cassie
11. Christian
12. Crystal
    
13. Denise
14. Erlina
15. Evgenia
16. Fritz
17. Gavin
18. Jaclyn
19. Jenna
    
20. Jenny
21. Jin
    
22. John
23. Jordan
24. Josie
25. Katie
26. Katrina
27. Kaytee
28. Kris
    
29. Lance, Video 2
30. Liz
31. Mani
32. Marissa
33. Martin
    
34. Megan
    
35. Megi
36. Michael
37. Michele
38. Mona
39. Morgan
40. Noemie
41. Oswaldo
42. Paris
43. Peter
    
44. Rabia
45. Rob
46. Sean
47. Shannon
    
48. Sophia
49. Spider
50. Tasha
51. Terry
52. Travis
53. Wona
54. Xiaoxiao