Perspective

There are many clichés that exist to express the problem with being too close to something. Perspective is a difficult thing to find and many of the greats either towered over this problem or fell to its trickery.Seeing the wood from the trees is one of my favourites. Here's how I saw the woods and the trees in Bellagio:[gallery link="file"]Having recently sold Motribe left me feeling very close to the local technology industry. I've been preaching about mobile for nearly four years in the South African space and I've been promoting my baby (Motribe) for 2 years solid. So when I no longer had to go to work every day I felt a bit lost.I was fortunate to be invited to attend a conference in Bellagio, Italy in October. The conference is held at the Rockefeller foundation in the Rockefeller Villa and hosted by the Knight Foundation. I didn't know much about the Knight foundation before I went to the conference so I made a point of doing some research. Here's the short version to catch you up:

Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged.

My roots are heavily embedded in journalism and media and it felt good to be surrounded by fresh minds from all over the world. I met people from Bhutan, Guatemala, India, Canada, Tanzania, USA, Nepal, Zimbabwe and more and all had a unique perspective on media, journalism, technology and the integration of them all.It's very refreshing to witness a coming together of minds so far removed from one another but so interested in finding a common ground and actually then finding one.Seeing what people can accomplish with limited technology, bandwidth, funding and manpower really helped me understand the advantages that I have. Seeing all of these incredible people provided me with some much needed perspective. It was fantastic for me to be reminded that there are amazing people all over the world doing some of the most innovative things I've ever seen. It's good to remember that the cluster that you are in is not the only one you can be in, tap into or be exposed to. Sometimes you need to physically remove yourself to gain the perspective. Sometimes you need to go to Bellagio for a week.The perspective that I was able to bring to the group appeared to be a mobile-specific angle on media and journalism as well as revenue and business models. Most of the people attending were fellows (people who had received a grant or funding to innovate and push boundaries in certain spaces, industries or markets around the world - Knights fellows, Gates fellows, Ashoka fellows and more) who have all done thankless work in their communities and others all over the world.One of the strangest things that I noted from almost all of the fellows was the reluctance to generate revenue off of their ideas and products. In their space generating revenue is seen as a negative because you are taking money from the same people you try to help. I think that that often people respond and respect a service they can pay for. Also, there are revenue models outside of charging users. Most people just lack the perspective to find a sufficient model that works for everyone involved.Perspective is a fantastic thing to have.