Glasgow Service Jam

This was the third time that I've taken part in the Service Jam and this one felt a bit different to previous Jams.

Or maybe I feel different?

The group mix was a lot more varied than previous times and this was truly a global event.We had Jammers from all over the world, from Brazil to Japan and just about everywhere in between.I found that really interesting as it brought different ways of looking at problems.

The challenge was to take a simple phrase and turn it into a product or service or thing.

We all ended up taking it as a communication challenge and then finding different ways of encouraging or initiating communication.

I feel very off form compared to previous years, like a football player struggling for match sharpness so I don't feel my contribution to my team was as great as it could have been.

Our project was about getting people to break the ice and talk. For a long while I was starting to hate our product and right up to the presentation had a fear that it wouldn't work.We just prototyped and prototyped until something worked. And then we got volunteers to use it and they just got on and enjoyed it. In practice it just worked.

There were a couple of little games that we all played as teams and I found it interesting asking people how they felt and what they thought while playing the games. It ranged from embarrassment to fear of getting it wrong.

For me, I wanted to win.

I loved the solutions that the different teams found. So many of them were experiences as well. The one pictured above was a walkway of balloons and people's stories with really relaxing ambient music.

Our stories!

I was first to experience it and it felt wonderful. I always find it amazing to see what a group can accomplish in a weekend. We did our best work under extreme pressure. Whenver there was a 2 minute timelimit we were on fire.

No time limit and we were all over the place.

I think that's what I learned this time. Time limits and pressure are good for struggling teams.

Design the experience as much as solve the problem

And I'll end this post with a question.

How do you define an internet influencer?

I ask because on Saturday I got 6 complete strangers from SIngapore to make a choreographed dance routine for me all because I challenged them to do so.

How cool was that?

It makes me feel a bit like this...

**also massive thanks to Keira, Afsa, Harriet, Marie, Keir for organising**