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"Tom Clifford is by trade a filmmaker. For most of his life, he rarely wrote anything longer than a brief comment in the margin of a script. 

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« What's on Page 123? | Main | Getting Social at Blogger's Social »
Thursday
Apr102008

The Other Half of My Soul

DateThursday, April 10, 2008 at 09:23PM

Tom%20wDave%20Armano.jpg

It was just a train ride. Like any other train ride. But different.

You know how it is.

Something happens to you. Something unique. Something that comes along once in a lifetime.

And it changes you. Perhaps forever. Perhaps half of forever. Whatever.

You're different. Stronger. Better. Clearer. Bolder.

You've defined your place in life.

Just a little bit more than the week before. Or month. Or year.

I know.

Tom%20wSteve%20Woodruff.jpg

That train ride leaving New York's Blogger Social told me something happened.

Wasn't sure yet what was different. But something changed. I needed time. Distance.

So I got to thinking about stories.

So many stories were shared. At the speed of light. Well, kind of.

Do the math. 80 people. 20 hours. Or more. 2 days. That's a lot of talking. That's a lot of stories.

17,200 stories I figure. Told. Shared. Laughed at. Listened to.

The%20BS08%20Gang.jpg

Heck, I'm a filmmaker. The number may be off. Never mind. Forget the number. Here's what you need to know.

Thousands, and I mean thousands of stories were told.

And lives changed.

So I got to thinking about the power of stories. Our stories.

Here's what I believe about our stories. I've believed this my whole life. But here's the thing.

Blogger Social manifested and crystalized that belief in few hours.

BAM! Just like that.

Tom%20wLuc.jpg

So here's my DNA of last weekend. My mini-manifesto of Blogger Social '08. And life.

  • I believe in the power of story.
  • I believe our stories outlive us.
  • I believe we were all witnesses to something greater than ourselves.
  • I believe our stories bear witness to creating new realities.
  • I believe we changed the world just enough to create a new story.
  • I believe I discovered the other half of my soul.

Thank you CK.

Thank you Drew.

Thank you for creating a new story.

A story that will, no doubt, be looked upon as visionary and historic.

A new story not just for 80 people to believe in...but thousands more.

Not bad for just gettin' a little social, huh?

---Tom

AuthorThomas Clifford | Comment11 Comments |
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Reader Comments (11)

Bravo, my man. I only wish the story could have been told last weekend through your lens. It's the only way it could have been better ... but then again you wouldn't have been as intertwined if so.

Glad to know you and more of your story, too.
April 10, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterJason Falls
Thanks, Jason :-)

It was great meeting you...always wishing for more time, huh? Just never enough of it when we need it! Oh well, carry on and take care.

Tom
April 10, 2008 | Registered CommenterThomas Clifford
"A story that will, no doubt, be looked upon as visionary and historic."

Funny because first we had The Age of Conversation, now Blogger Social. Both groundbreaking events coming from the same wonderful community.

Methinks we've got a pretty special group here, and you're a big part of that Tom. Thanks for giving us your view!
April 10, 2008 | Unregistered Commentermack collier
Tom, somehow, I think we barely got through the preface last weekend. A lot more chapters to write, and it's a pleasure to to co-author with you!
April 10, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterSteve Woodruff
Wonderful post, Tom. Hate to say it, but I only wish we had the chance to speak a little more. One of my big regrets of the weekend. Guess we'll have to figure out another way to get that done! All the best to you, DT.
April 10, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterMark Goren
Pure poetry. So beautiful. You have such a loving and positive energy--I just remember when you looked at me you'd pretend to run at me before we'd hug (and I love that pic where I'm peering out over your shoulder with my silly crown!).

I just love the line you said that headlined Mack's post and how you talk of the thousands of stories here. And I do believe that we are part of something great...and that greatness stays with us.

Thank you for being part of this story. It's a mighty important one ;-).

And we're just getting started.

(I promise)
April 10, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterCK
Tom,

Spoken like a true artist! You know what I notice about the photos and what I noticed throughout the weekend?

You always have that Director Tom grin on your face. It's so welcoming and inclusive -- it's a gift that draws people to you. As always, it was my pleasure to spend some time with you this weekend. Thanks for always being willing to share yourself with all of us!

Drew
April 11, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterDrew McLellan
Wow! Thanks to all of you for leaving such kind comments :-)

This community, and all my readers, are indeed a special group of folks!

Thanks!
Tom
April 11, 2008 | Registered CommenterThomas Clifford
Indeed, many stories were told - Gavin and I shared some that following Monday afternoon in some extended time allowed before we both left from JFK. What I noticed at BS08 was that there seemed to be no continuous awareness of time passing, exactly because this was a social event. As a result, the collective attention level was very high - and that feeling spread throughout the entire group.
April 17, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterMario Vellandi
Wow. Found your blog via a strange path.

I'm on FriendFeed and I occasionally do keyword searches to see if people are posting stuff about subjects I'm interested in. This morning I was searching using "Eckhart Tolle" and "Deepak Chopra."

Then I found a post by David J. Hinson which was actualy a Tweet by you that said: "The universe conspires once again. Just bought tickets to attend a private Deepak Chopra seminar 30 minutes from home. That's..."
I checked out your Twitter feed, and saw your description. Intrigued me, then linked to your blog. And I loved what I saw.

I work for a communications firm as a multimedia and video producer, project manager, ui designer, and information architect. Most of my video and multimedia stuff are typical corporate stuff. But every once in awhile, we get to do something for a non-profit where we can tell more of a human story. It's very cool that someone like yourself is trying to incorporate the human side into every corporate video you do.

I also like your philosophy on telling stories. I myself spend much of my free time working on a handful of novellas, novels, and screenplays.

But the "universe conspiring" concept interested me the most. I will be publishing a post on my blog soon explaining how it seems to me the universe is up to something with me as well. It has a little bit to do with Eckhart Tolle, Deepak Chopra, and Paulo Coelho, but other stuff as well. (You can also see the start of this "conspiring" on my blog under a post titled "What a Serendipitous Day.")
April 23, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterBill Bittner
Hi Bill,

Thanks for sharing you thoughts!

Yes, I firmly believe an invisible hand guides us through life.

Glad to inspire your upcoming post :-)

Tom
April 23, 2008 | Registered CommenterThomas Clifford

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