Sandy, a co-manager from AARP, and I had a quick breakfast in the atrium of the Media Lab. We registered and received our conference booklet. The theme of this semi-annual sponsor consortium meeting is See & Seek with a series of talks generally related to data visualization.

Our name badges hang around our necks and incorporate the symposium schedule and lab map printed upsidedown for easier reading. A student told me a little usability funny: this year, they shortened the badge's lanyard so that for the men, the tag would stay out of the way in the urinals.

Nicholas Negroponte is kicking off the day with a little history on the lab. He's saying Asia is the next big frontier. Though the economic transformation of countries has gained momentum, Negroponte says that the factors that drive economic growth are different from what drives cultures of creativity and that's what's needed more in Asia.

- mike lee -