0:00:10.054,0:00:11.769
Thank you very much.

0:00:11.769,0:00:15.652
13 months ago my son's classmate, [br]Robyn Higgins,

0:00:15.652,0:00:18.735
was diagnosed with something [br]called Neuroblastoma,

0:00:18.735,0:00:23.171
which is a rare form [br]of aggressive childhood cancer.

0:00:23.171,0:00:30.450
And all my son could think of was, [br]how can my dad and mum help her?

0:00:30.450,0:00:36.771
So, we rallied together and we created [br]a little blog, we created a Facebook group.

0:00:36.771,0:00:39.171
I know Facebook is popular here.

0:00:39.171,0:00:43.522
And we tweeted about things,[br]and the problem was that we had

0:00:43.522,0:00:51.480
to raise 300,000 pounds within about 8 weeks [br]so that Robyn could fly to America,

0:00:51.480,0:00:54.622
which is the only place [br]where she could actually be treated.

0:00:54.622,0:01:01.283
As the person in charge of -- [br]well, self volunteered in charge of

0:01:01.283,0:01:08.175
trying to coordinate the diligent efforts [br]here and rallying support.

0:01:08.175,0:01:13.994
I just did what I'd normally do and collaborated [br]with as many people as possible,

0:01:13.994,0:01:17.089
and it got about 10,000 people involved, actually.

0:01:17.089,0:01:21.018
So I was just one small cog[br]of a very large wheel.

0:01:21.018,0:01:25.739
And a few months ago, Robyn had [br]her tests back from the operation.

0:01:25.739,0:01:29.204
We did raise the 300,000 pounds [br]and she's now all clear.

0:01:29.204,0:01:31.740
And she is gonna live.

0:01:31.740,0:01:35.823
(Applause)

0:01:37.669,0:01:42.920
And that was when [br]this presentation started in my head.

0:01:42.920,0:01:46.685
Because I'm a geek, [br]I don't know if you can tell.

0:01:46.685,0:01:49.775
I'm a nerd. [br]I'm geek and I'm proud.

0:01:51.422,0:01:53.703
I even have glasses as well [br]because apparently all geeks

0:01:53.703,0:01:57.168
have to wear glasses [br]it's some strange stereotype.

0:01:57.168,0:02:00.628
So as a technologist, [br]which I prefer the term of,

0:02:00.628,0:02:04.873
I have been looking back [br]at what happened and thinking,

0:02:04.873,0:02:09.016
"Was this only possible, raising a third [br]of a million pounds, by and large,

0:02:09.016,0:02:12.490
was it possible [br]because of technology?"

0:02:12.490,0:02:16.506
You know, we were able to tweet information [br]that was retweeted and retweeted

0:02:16.506,0:02:19.615
and retweeted to such an extend [br]that even the BBC picked it up.

0:02:19.615,0:02:22.348
It was on the home page [br]of the BBC, the Evening Standard,

0:02:22.348,0:02:25.929
it went worldwide, [br]because of technology.

0:02:27.760,0:02:31.923
So it got me thinking, [br]what else is possible if we can do this?

0:02:31.923,0:02:34.944
We raised 300,000 pounds [br]in 8 weeks, 9 weeks, [br]

0:02:34.944,0:02:38.318
using the tools [br]that we have in our hands.

0:02:38.318,0:02:41.729
Surely we can do [br]so much more than just that.

0:02:41.729,0:02:49.494
And to cut a short story long, I eventually ended up [br]with these ridiculous philosophical questions

0:02:49.494,0:02:52.688
such as "What about if [br]Mandela had tweeted?"

0:02:52.688,0:02:54.896
And that's how we get [br]to where we are today.

0:02:58.762,0:03:02.179
It's not to do with Twitter [br]that I'm fascinated with.

0:03:02.179,0:03:05.058
It's not necessarily to do [br]with Nelson Mandela,

0:03:05.058,0:03:07.731
who I have a private passion for, [br]but that's not really the point.

0:03:07.731,0:03:10.360
The point is [br]if the people

0:03:10.360,0:03:13.515
who have changed the world [br]and had a massive difference,

0:03:13.515,0:03:16.023
actually had the tools [br]and technologies in their hands

0:03:16.023,0:03:20.343
that we do today, [br]what else could have had taken place?

0:03:20.343,0:03:25.642
You know, some people who've changed the world [br]for millions of people rather than just for one person.

0:03:25.642,0:03:29.195
Of course through the eyes of Robyn, [br]her world has fundamentally changed.

0:03:29.195,0:03:31.790
She had a life or death, [br]and she has a life.

0:03:31.790,0:03:34.858
Which is as much of a change of world [br]as anyone could possibly have.

0:03:34.858,0:03:38.262
So, then I started thinking [br]"Well what about if da Vinci had Photoshop?"

0:03:38.262,0:03:39.984
(Laughter)

0:03:39.984,0:03:41.934
Bear with me.

0:03:41.934,0:03:49.655
It's just starting to wonder how the tools [br]that we have now, so readily available,

0:03:49.655,0:03:55.039
would actually impact the people [br]that have made fundamental difference.

0:03:55.039,0:03:58.287
What about if Einstein had Google?

0:03:59.857,0:04:07.358
What would that mean? How would that [br]actually have changed the work that he did?

0:04:07.358,0:04:11.940
What if Ernesto "Che" Guevara[br]had had mobile?

0:04:11.940,0:04:16.289
All he had was 'Radio Rebelde', Radio Rebel.

0:04:16.289,0:04:23.373
What about if all of his troops in his guerrilla war[br]that took down Batista with Fidel Castro,

0:04:23.373,0:04:24.662
had actually been armed

0:04:24.662,0:04:28.953
with weapons of mass communication [br]rather than mass destruction?

0:04:28.953,0:04:31.227
And believe me, the more[br]you start thinking about this,

0:04:31.227,0:04:33.766
the more you get caught up [br]in this kind of thing,

0:04:33.766,0:04:38.422
it's produced many sleepness nights [br]as anyone who knows me will tell.

0:04:38.422,0:04:42.256
But maybe it's actually the fact [br]that the Vitruvian man [br]

0:04:42.256,0:04:43.839
is geometrically perfect anyway,

0:04:43.839,0:04:48.214
so therefore, it doesn't matter [br]that da Vinci didn't have Photoshop.

0:04:48.214,0:04:53.649
It's arguable E=mc^2 [br]is actually the ultimate answer,

0:04:53.649,0:04:56.932
therefore, what would Google [br]have done for him?

0:04:56.932,0:05:01.490
Computers are only as good as the data [br]that we put into them after all.

0:05:01.490,0:05:07.558
And finally, with someone [br]like "Che" Guevara, who knows?

0:05:07.558,0:05:13.474
All we can go is as far as who cares[br]but there's a limited amount of time

0:05:13.474,0:05:16.509
that you think about these things [br]until you brain starts hurting.

0:05:16.509,0:05:19.263
Well, in my case anyway, [br]because it's not much to hurt.

0:05:19.263,0:05:23.696
But it's something [br]which I've been amazed by [br]

0:05:25.081,0:05:26.790
when you start thinking [br]about the tools

0:05:26.790,0:05:30.822
that we have today,[br]what can we actually do.

0:05:30.822,0:05:36.456
So to answer this question, is it the tools? [br]Is it what's in our hands?

0:05:36.456,0:05:41.407
Or is it what's in our hearts [br]that actually makes those differences?

0:05:41.407,0:05:45.283
With Robyn Higgins, [br]the tools for sure helped.

0:05:46.683,0:05:51.339
But looking at the seven characteristics [br]of the people that changed the world,

0:05:51.339,0:05:56.022
and by the way, the more you read up about people [br]who've changed the world and how,

0:05:56.022,0:06:01.045
there's writing all over the place, [br]you can find 11 characteristics, 20 characteristics.

0:06:01.045,0:06:04.498
You've got Covey's "7 Habits [br]Of Highly Effective People", [br]

0:06:04.498,0:06:06.753
there's lots of writing, etc.

0:06:06.753,0:06:13.114
But actually the ones that I have found [br]the most resonant, is that, sometimes,

0:06:13.114,0:06:16.656
to change the world,[br]you just have to be genius.

0:06:16.656,0:06:18.941
That's quite handy.

0:06:20.449,0:06:23.042
I wouldn't know of course.

0:06:23.042,0:06:31.222
The second one is the absolute conviction [br]of belief as shown by MLK [Martin Luther King Jr.]

0:06:31.222,0:06:36.073
The third, shown by someone[br]like Tim Berners-Lee.

0:06:36.073,0:06:41.052
The imagination of seeing something [br]that any sane person

0:06:41.052,0:06:46.232
would've found absolutely improbable [br]or arguably impossible.

0:06:48.186,0:06:50.891
The passion of the Wright brothers.

0:06:50.891,0:06:54.684
The Wright brothers [br]who were in competition

0:06:54.684,0:06:59.172
with a certain gentleman [br]from the Smithsonian Institute

0:06:59.172,0:07:02.682
to be the first people[br]to have a flying machine.

0:07:02.682,0:07:05.755
He was funded --[br]the guy from the Smithsonian Institute,

0:07:05.755,0:07:11.667
was funded with grants from Kings and Princes[br]and he very much wanted to win.

0:07:11.667,0:07:14.423
He very much wanted [br]to be the first person.

0:07:14.423,0:07:17.507
The Wright brothers who actually, [br]eventually, became the first,

0:07:17.507,0:07:22.456
the day afterwards the guy [br]from the Smithsonian cancelled his project.

0:07:22.456,0:07:25.070
You'd think why would he cancel his project?

0:07:25.070,0:07:28.815
The thing was that he didn't want to fly, [br]he wanted to win.

0:07:28.815,0:07:31.352
The Wright brothers wanted to fly.

0:07:33.491,0:07:39.157
The persistence of someone like Churchill. [br]Especially on this day of awe.

0:07:39.157,0:07:44.757
And for those watching us on video [br]this is Remembrance Day, hence the poppies.

0:07:44.757,0:07:46.780
The compassion of someone like Ghandi.

0:07:46.780,0:07:49.367
How many tools did he have? [br]How many Facebook accounts,

0:07:49.367,0:07:52.984
How many Facebook likes did he receive?

0:07:52.984,0:07:55.324
So when I start looking at these things, [br]I start thinking to myself,

0:07:55.324,0:07:58.702
"Hold on a minute, these guys [br]didn't have any tools."

0:07:58.702,0:08:04.107
They had an old radio station here and there, [br]and a chalk board and some chalk.

0:08:04.107,0:08:08.155
And finally I have my 7 anyway, [br]with no disrespect to Neal and Buzz,

0:08:08.155,0:08:10.047
the first people we've ever put on the moon.

0:08:10.047,0:08:15.654
This guy here, the stones of someone [br]like Yuri Gagarin, the first man into space.

0:08:15.654,0:08:19.061
Of course, landing on the moon [br]was when all the awards were handed out.

0:08:19.061,0:08:26.375
But the bravery that's needed to act [br]in these ways of changing the world,

0:08:26.390,0:08:33.387
is something which isn't related in any way, [br]to necessarily using the modern tools of technologies.

0:08:33.387,0:08:39.412
So looking at what we have today, [br]these tools, are they actually irrelevant?

0:08:44.289,0:08:49.079
We look at something [br]like Barack Obama's first campaign,

0:08:49.079,0:08:54.135
not reflecting his most recent results, [br]but the initial campaign,

0:08:54.135,0:08:56.451
that got him into the White House,[br]

0:08:56.451,0:08:59.433
is an arguably way [br]of using modern technology

0:08:59.433,0:09:02.835
to connect multiple hearts, [br]his case across the middle America.

0:09:02.835,0:09:08.364
People who have never necessarily felt represented [br]before, using common tools and technologies

0:09:08.364,0:09:12.149
for donations [br]and for news bulletins, etc.,

0:09:12.149,0:09:16.104
for urging people on [br]to go and actually vote.

0:09:16.104,0:09:19.586
So in this instance here,[br]the tools really did help.

0:09:21.571,0:09:26.321
The tools also can increase the speed of emotion [br]with the Haiti earthquake appeal.

0:09:26.321,0:09:31.805
Ushahidi.com is a site [br]where people can pledge support.

0:09:31.805,0:09:36.852
And it's very sad to hear [br]the most recent events in Haiti,

0:09:38.406,0:09:42.333
but Ushahidi's efforts, [br]or their tools, their technologies

0:09:42.333,0:09:48.921
that actually sped up the ability for people [br]to emote and support is unarguable.

0:09:48.921,0:09:51.557
The tools helped that unendingly.

0:09:54.604,0:09:57.366
And finally, the magnification of feeling.[br]

0:09:57.366,0:10:01.646
Like we see from how the world's AIDS day,

0:10:01.646,0:10:06.860
is actually able to use the emotions,[br]not just as a physical manifestation as the bow,

0:10:06.860,0:10:10.605
but also throughout the tools, [br]platforms and channels,

0:10:10.605,0:10:13.714
the Facebooks, the Twitters. [br]

0:10:13.714,0:10:20.531
This is something which is magnifying [br]the feeling, not just from the transmitter,

0:10:20.531,0:10:23.784
i.e. the World's AIDS day [br]and the Foundation,

0:10:23.784,0:10:25.792
but the receptors as well. [br]Which is us.

0:10:25.792,0:10:28.739
Who then become transmitters [br]onto other receptors

0:10:28.739,0:10:31.877
who become more transmitters [br]onto other receptors.

0:10:31.877,0:10:36.322
So the technologies [br]aren't so vitally important.

0:10:36.322,0:10:39.622
But from the 7 characteristics [br]that I showed, not one of them

0:10:39.622,0:10:42.509
was called Facebook or Google.

0:10:44.586,0:10:47.087
So I went round,[br]and round and round

0:10:47.087,0:10:52.236
and I spoke with lots of people about it [br]and got myself in a bit of a pickle.

0:10:52.236,0:10:59.326
And eventually you end up back with the question,[br]"So what if Mandela had tweeted?"

0:11:02.603,0:11:06.436
What if he was able [br]to smuggle a phone into his cell?

0:11:09.236,0:11:11.886
And somehow mobilize his group?

0:11:15.194,0:11:17.420
What if that had happened?

0:11:17.420,0:11:20.901
Would it be the case that[br]he had been released earlier

0:11:20.901,0:11:23.391
because of the pressure from the crowds?

0:11:24.867,0:11:30.388
If you look into how the Berlin Wall fell,[br]it started with one person protesting.

0:11:30.388,0:11:33.308
The tipping point with that [br]was actually

0:11:33.308,0:11:37.427
when there were more people protesting [br]than it was possibly able to police.

0:11:39.612,0:11:45.519
It's the power of citizens, [br][it] is immense if mobilized.

0:11:45.519,0:11:51.055
Maybe what would've happened with Mandela [br]is that the messaging from inside his cell,

0:11:51.055,0:11:56.086
which could only really be transported [br]by writings, at much later days

0:11:56.086,0:11:59.573
would actually have changed[br]the minds of people [br]

0:11:59.573,0:12:03.379
around the world[br]to stop apartheid much earlier.

0:12:07.348,0:12:12.032
So the question, is it more to do [br]with what's in our hands

0:12:14.171,0:12:17.237
or is it more to do [br]with what's in our hearts?

0:12:17.237,0:12:26.640
How important is what is in our hands in relation [br]to the importance to what's in our hearts?

0:12:26.641,0:12:30.287
And this has confused [br]the hell out of me for a year.

0:12:32.103,0:12:36.721
And I think I have the answer [br]and it's a really simple one.

0:12:36.721,0:12:38.102
And I think the answer is this

0:12:38.102,0:12:43.217
it doesn't really matter what's in your hands [br]unless it's in your heart.

0:12:43.217,0:12:50.813
I don't believe that you can use the tools [br]in the most effective powerful way,

0:12:52.921,0:12:54.487
unless it's in your heart.

0:12:54.487,0:12:59.570
The people that submitted fundraising ideas [br]on the RobynHiggins.com website,

0:12:59.570,0:13:03.463
were offering to give away [br]their entire salaries.

0:13:04.402,0:13:09.342
Children saying I don't want any presents, [br]please use the money to donate.

0:13:11.604,0:13:17.637
It wasn't the technology that did it, [br]it was what was people's hearts that did it.

0:13:17.637,0:13:24.453
We just had the technology to transfer [br]that emotion, to magnify that feeling,

0:13:24.453,0:13:28.637
to connect to the multiple hearts [br]in the best way

0:13:28.637,0:13:33.981
and as we move forward, [br]you guys are half my age. Lucky group.

0:13:33.981,0:13:36.168
(Laughter)

0:13:36.168,0:13:42.269
When you're my age, think about the stuff [br]you're going to have.

0:13:42.269,0:13:47.936
We've just started with augmented reality,[br]virtualization of all physical.

0:13:47.936,0:13:49.669
Think about what you can do.

0:13:49.669,0:13:56.154
Think about how if it's in you hearts, [br]actually, things that are absolutely outrageous,

0:13:56.154,0:13:58.462
raising a third of a million quid in 8 weeks

0:13:58.462,0:14:03.113
for some girl in a school [br]in the middle of nowhere, where I live.

0:14:03.113,0:14:06.055
How all of this is it possible?

0:14:06.055,0:14:09.687
Somebody in your family is ill, [br]something needs to be changed on the roads,

0:14:09.687,0:14:13.020
new road system, [br]a law needs to be changed.

0:14:13.020,0:14:16.987
We can do this now. [br]We have the tools.

0:14:16.987,0:14:26.070
But we need to have first what's in our hearts [br]and that is the end of, I must admit,

0:14:26.070,0:14:33.471
a very long story, in my heart, that I finally[br]feel as if I've resolved on this stage.

0:14:33.471,0:14:34.861
I'd like to thank you for your patience.

0:14:34.861,0:14:37.633
And I'd like to wish you all the best [br]in changing the world

0:14:37.633,0:14:39.024
in whichever way [br]you see fit.[br]

0:14:39.024,0:14:40.224
Namaste![br]Thank you.

0:14:40.224,0:14:42.628
(Applause)