Several weeks ago we moved into a new office in the heart of Silicon Valley - an office that's big enough to house a bar, a (makeshift) ping pong table, a swing and, of course, an enormous shiny new conference table. The backdrop for all our glamorous new furniture is a giant chalkboard wall.
One of the most exciting things about having a spacious new office is our ability to meet with more speakers. In the past few weeks we've had visits from several Keynote favorites, who dropped in to check out our new space and talk about some of their exciting new updates. Some highlights:
Guy Kawasaki was one of our first visitors. Keynote has worked with Guy for over a decade, and he's visited us at each of our offices. If his note on our chalkboard wall is any indication, this office is his favorite (mine too!).
Guy filled us in on his new position as a special advisor to Motorola Mobility and talked about a few new developments with his most recent book, APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur - How to Publish a Book.
Guy and I have something in common: we both have unusual forms of transportation. He drives an electric Honda Fit, and I sometimes ride a Harley to work. Guy posted a picture of the two of us (and my motorcycle) on his Google Plus account.
It's true, Guy has WAY more followers than I do. We're not even in the same league. But that's why he's the famous speaker and I'm just his agent.
Howard Rheingold, our newest exclusive speaker, came by to talk about his online learning courses at Stanford. Howard is clearly passionate about how technology and digital media are shaping education and creating a new culture of learning. He also impressed us with his chalk artistry, including a self-portrait.
Michael Tchong also stopped by the office to tell us about several companies releasing truly innovative technologies. As "America's most influential trendspotter" and an innovation specialist, Michael is always on the hunt for the next innovation. His catchphrase, which he used to decorate our wall, is "catch the next wave before it catches you!"
Maria Murnane dropped by our office this month while she was in the area visiting family. Maria, who spent several years living in the heart of San Francisco, wrote a series of humorous novels about the dating adventures of a single, professional woman living in San Francisco. The Waverly Bryson series has sold over 200,000 books and has been translated into seven different languages.
Maria just signed a two book deal with her publisher for her next two novels, Cassidy Lane and Katwalk. She tells me that last one has a heroine with a fantastic name... Katrina. Can't wait to read it.
The books, which are independent works of literary fiction, gave Maria the opportunity to develop two new sets of characters and try her hand at more serious subject matter. Both books will be released in 2014, and her editors tell her these are her best works yet.
Our last blog post discussed Leonard Brody's visit to the Keynote office, along with an exclusive interview about "The Great Rewrite' and what it means for businesses. If you missed that post, you can find it here.
Keep your eyes peeled, we'll continue updating our wall (and our blog) as more speakers pop into the office.