I just returned from the Omniture Summit and it was an eye-opening experience.  Dots and people connected in new and unexpected ways.  Adobe made an easy bet, and armed the hyper-creative audience with free video flipcams to record the experience.  Attendees also received a nice free pen and The Grand America Hotel provides classic, ivory stationary.

I started Tweeting at the conference.  Not to say that I haven’t before.  But this was the first time I felt an imperative to Tweet about the amazing ideas and happenings at the conference.  My piece of ivory stationary is covered, front-to-back, with notes and ideas.  My flipcam is still in the box…but I can’t wait to use it for something.  At the end of the Lenny Kravtiz concert, when he (finally) dug hard into the classics, the audience stood with arms raised and iPhones/Droids/Flipcams glowing.  So much for lighters.

The tools don’t matter.  The place and people do.  Many people ride a Ferris wheel in life or for a living.  Some days are low and some are high.  The view is great but after a few rounds it becomes all too familiar.  Would you tweet about the tenth circle of the same Ferris wheel…in the same amusement park?  Are you still wondering why so many people shrug at Twitter?

I brought my notebook from work but left it in my bag.  When you step off the wheel (literally or figuratively) it’s important to bring a different set of tools.  So I lied.  The tools do matter.  Use whatever reduces the barriers to recording and sharing ideas whenever ideas strike.  I can’t think of anything better to record a good idea than a scrap of paper and pen, but not the notebook cluttered with my daily scrawl.  It needs to feel different.  And when something worthwhile and immediate hits, Twitter is a great way to sound the alarm.

Still unpacking my ideas from Summit.  Still wondering what to do with that flipcam back on the Ferris wheel.