Scuba is the new Golf

The Media Lab named its new director this week. Folks around the Lab are very excited to see what Joi Ito will bring to the Lab. On Tuesday after the announcement we had a lab-wide video conference with Joi to start the dialog. Joi appeared on the large video wall in the 3rd floor atrium, while folks on the 3rd floor and fourth floor balconies looked on.

We were catching him in a hotel room in the Middle East where he had just finished getting certified for his PADI instructor’s license. When asked if he’d passed his test he explained that ‘scuba is the new golf’, the activity where connections develop and deals get done, so when off diving in the coming months he would really still be ‘working for the lab’. With Peter off to the Virgin Islands get his PADI open water certification this summer, I guess he’s well on his way to a successful career.