The Beauty of Collaboration

October 13, 2009 · Comments

Just watch this video:

(if you can’t see it, click here.)

I got this via Maura’s site after she complimented my recent Twitter avatar.

What’s this have to do with anything? Nothing. Except, maybe, if you think about it: Twitter is a serendipity engine for the web, and maybe there’s a story in understanding that power. There might not always be profit, at least not in the business sense, but maybe there’s a lot more wealth in these hidden kingdoms than what you’re thinking about right away.

Just a thought.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.

ChrisBrogan.com runs on the Thesis Theme for WordPress

Thesis WordPress theme

Thesis is the search engine optimized WordPress theme of choice for serious online publishers. If you’re a blogger who doesn’t understand a lot of PHP, Thesis will give a ton of functionality without having to alter any code. For the advanced, Thesis has incredible customization possibilities via Thesis hooks.

With so many design options, you can use the template over and over and never have it look like the same site. The theme is robust and flexible enough not only to accommodate a site like ChrisBrogan.com, but also to enable the site to run far more efficiently than it ever has before.

  • wow...
    Really hot video here.This video is fantastic.I have enjoyed alot while browsing this post.Thanks for shairng such a great video here...
  • Stunning! What an example of teamwork to make that happen. Thanks.
  • I just wanted to say that I really dig the creativity that went into putting this video together! Great find...
  • Great example of viral video this, I've seen it many times now :) They (the band and fans/friends) only used webcams to shoot it. Amazing work
  • Very well done. Good find, Chris!
  • This is why I love the internet, social media.. all of it! Simply amazing!
  • fabulousphotogifts
    Have you ever tried to analyse what works on Twitter (from a marketing perspective) by reviewing which tweets you click on or interact with yourself?

    This was an interesting little notion that occurred to me the other day. There may be no magic formula and there's bound to be differences depending on the 'product' but is there a common theme that 'guarantee's' more interaction?

    Humour, enticement, honesty... what gives?

    Another great thought-provoking post Chris - I really don't know how you find the time for them all.
  • Awesome video. Social Media at its finest. Thanks for sharing Chris.
  • Hi Chris. Fascinating isn't it! You might be interested to read about how they made the video http://weloveyouso.com/2009/08/how-they-did-it-...
  • JamieLee
    Chris - thanks for sharing this. Really touched a chord with me - wrote a follow-up post on my good mood gig blog (http://bit.ly/PEB89) about how joyful collaboration can be.

    Imagine how much we can accomplish if we're feeling joyful? I don't think this applies just to artistic expression. I think there are ways people can create joyful collaborations in business. I'm part of a collaborative blog called Savvy B2B Marketing - we are six women who met online by chance, hit it off, and decided to launch a blog. That was over six months ago and we're still going strong and having so much fun. I believe the joy we bring to our project is something people outside our group can sense and appreciate. I think it's part of our success - on both a professional and personal level.

    Thanks again for sharing. Great way to start my day. :)
  • djedgerton
    Thanks for sharing Chris. That is one of my all time favorites. I'd love to learn about the background on how they pulled it off. One thing that is blatantly obvious in this video is that collaboration, when done well and with passion can be incredibly fun. And they all looked like they had a blast....for the common good. Cheers! - DJ
  • Really nice video, without this massive and really good colloboration at creating this video this awesomeness wouldn't be possible.
    Many hands together form a net and this net was able to capture my emotions. :)
  • Chris,

    The collaboration is cool, but to me there's a bigger lesson. It's proof that a great idea, executed well, doesn't even require (understanding the) language.

    Nice find!

    Regards,

    Kelly
  • djedgerton
    Thanks for sharing Chris. This is one of my All Time Fav's! I'd love to learn more about how they pulled this off. One thing that is blatantly obvious that we all can learn from is that when collaboration is done with care and passion, the participants can actually have fun. These people look like they had a blast, regardless of the fact that it must have been a difficult undertaking. Cheers! @wiltonbound
  • cafedave
    Really loved the way that it moved from "oh yeah, that's a bunch of separate people" to "wow - they were actually working together from different locations on this". Thanks for sharing it.
  • Wow, really very nice video. I enjoy the video with song. But I can not understand.

    Well thank you lots for this video.
  • Good Morning Chris!
    Very interesting post this morning and as usual it got me to thinking. When we were young one of the first lessons we're taught is to play well with others and as you advance in school it's to work well with others. And many times as we get older we forget the power of collaboration. Wikipedia defines collaboration as the process where two or more people or organizations work together in an intersection of common goals. I think social media is the place that opens us up and exposes us to like-minded people outside our zip codes yet still a part of our community. Social media has been instrumental in connecting me to other people outside my zip code who care as much about the famine and drought in Kenya as I do. And together we've been able to accomplish something bigger that each of us could have done alone. And today in one tiny village in Ngaamba, Kenya they now have water flowing in to the community. Now to me that's powerful!
  • "There might not always be profit, at least not in the business sense, but maybe there’s a lot more wealth in these hidden kingdoms than what you’re thinking about right away."

    If we all thought that way I'm pretty sure we all be more happier with our results. Have a nice day Chris, you rock.
  • Great Video!
    Brilliantly put together.
  • It's amazing to see what can be achieved when people work together! There's something comforting, too, about people being able to connect like that, even from great distances. Thanks, Chris.
  • Wow, great use of video & collaboration. Love the digital cameras and webcams to shoot the video. Cool tune too! #FB
  • I love this video, too, and had blogged about it for similar reasons... particularly since I call my company and site the Happy Accident! These serendipitous moments are all over social media and while some of them are just plain old "luck" most of them actually trace back to things you talk about here all the time. There's trust involved, there's being there before the ask, there's letting people be a part of something, and there's the fact that we all want to feel human and connected. It isn't always about profit, though I would imagine everyone in that video will be fans of the band for life. And for artists moving towards 1000 True Fans instead of traditional outlets, collaboration like this probably makes even more sense. Plus, of course, the video just rocks!
  • Wow..."hidden kingdoms"...I love that image! And how beautifully this post goes with thoughts on philanthropy from your book review yesterday. There's power in collaboration -- the power of a whole kingdom!
  • Chris - This is simply awesome. I'm sure you've already seen this one, which was done in one take, apparently:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zcOFN_VBVo
  • Thank you for posting this. It brought a great big smile to my face.

    Kate
  • Thanks for posting. It produced a great big smile.
  • Thanks for posting. It gave me a wonderful chance to smile.
  • Hey! Great information on your blog. I'm working with an amazing Landing Page company. Ad2Action.com can help you build, promote, and earn, using your own affiliate landing page. Keep up on the amazing work!

    --www.Ad2Action.com
  • thomaswii4life
    Whoa, really cool. It's nice when people work together. Amazing things can happen..
    Two Voices | Two Guys
  • melissabarker
    Chris--you make a wonder point about the power of collaboration. I recently wrote a piece about combining the power of social entrepreneurship and social media marketing, which really underscores this kind of collaboration (see http://www.melissabarker.com/SocialEntrepreneur...).
  • Thanks for sharing this. And also for the newsletter.
  • Chris, I love the concept of Twitter as a "serendipity engine." Serendipity is a key part of the creative process, and I totally agree that it exposes you to some amazing strategies, ideas and resources that you wouldn't otherwise find. Here's my riff on the subject: http://www.innovationtools.com/Weblog/innovatio...
  • I like what you said.
  • This video is awesome. I'm always amazed at the cleverness (is that a word) that people demonstrate with technology. Thanks for sharing this video.
  • wow - that's amazing! i want to watch it again and again
  • nais :D
blog comments powered by Disqus

Previous post:

Next post: