Something Digital is back for its fourth year, embracing the hybrid program of real-life and online sessions that the pandemic has taught us to roll with.
At Liquid, we’re passionate about effective partnerships and genuine collaborations – especially when it inspires digital experiences that impact people’s lives. So having the space for conversations that inspire these moments is hugely valuable.
This is where Something Digital comes in. It’s a growing space for three important Cs – conversations, collaboration, connections.
We’re all still navigating this new world – on a personal level, but also on a professional one – so this year’s theme of “Conquering the Unknown” adds a fourth important C to the list.
When I spoke to Nadine Zrinzo, co-founder of Something Digital, about this year’s event, her enthusiasm for bringing people together — be it in real life or online — was evident.
Sparking those important conversations starts with the speakers and the topics they will cover. Nadine is excited about the breadth and depth of this year’s speakers, and she’s also really proud of the headliners.
“What I love about the seven headline speakers is you can see the diversity – diversity of talks, diversity in ethnicity, in gender, in organisations,” she says.
“There’s a lot to cover but I feel like we’ve found a nice balance between depth of content but also keeping it relevant.”
How do we find a path through the unpredictability that’s in front of us? Well, we can’t do it alone. Increasing collaboration beyond the digital ecosystem and recognising local talent can benefit all of us.
Nadine adds: “We’re trying to understand what is happening in the world around us. If we’re talking about technology and ethics, how do we put some frameworks around responsible innovation?
“Or if we go into bigger societal problems, sustainability and climate change — how is digital innovation improving our world from that perspective? How are we bridging the gap in 2021 Australia?
“Our program is looking at bigger challenges and how digital comes in.”
(Read more about what we think makes successful collaborations.)
For those of us in Brisbane, we’ve been able to return to face-to-face interactions. But for friends who are interstate, we know that maintaining connections is still incredibly important.
“It's really important for us, on a personal level, to actually feel motivated and excited, but also to meet people and get that personal connection,” Nadine says.
“There is so much talent in our state, if we pay attention to it. And there are so many people who should be talking and working together. We’re keen to introduce them.
“We want people who come to Something Digital to take something away that helps grow or nurture the digital ecosystem.
“It could be a new contact or a new project that’s getting you excited, it could be new ideas for strategies, it could be anything that helps grow the ecosystem, because that is one of the important things, to push the economy forward.”
:: Something Digital is on October 19-20 and tickets are still available – so we’ll see you there!