Last week saw the annual Dynamites awards, held at Newcastle Civic Centre banqueting hall. Dynamo’s showcase awards evening for the tech industry has become a highlight of the calendar. This was the eight time that the awards evening has been held, with the previous two years online. The fact that it was a live event again was very welcome and made it even more special.
Even though I didn’t stay for the whole event, that is a story too dull even for my blog, I gather it was a fantastic night. It was certainly great up until the point I left.
If there was one thing to take away from the evening it was that there is a real need for people to come together. Online calls are fine but humans need contact. They want to shake hands, they want the kiss on the cheek, they want to bump into people they haven’t seen for ages.
I realised, not that I had really forgotten, that this was my element. Saying hello to people I have known for a long time, making the acquaintance of people I had never met, rekindling old contacts that may or may not be useful in future. This is probably what I enjoy doing most in my work, bringing people together.
It was very strange to meet some people who I had known for a long time, indeed worked with for a while yet had never met in the flesh. It is also odd that people do not look the same on screen as in person. There is always something different about them. You only get the essence of someone when you stand in front of them.
This has been a very strange period in business and has shown that I don’t think we will ever get away from this need to connect in person and in many ways this has helped restore my faith in human nature.
For me the greatest award at Dynamites was the fact that we were back together.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 