State of Awe is a stack of trend digests and elemental essays from experience designer, Jordan Kallman at The Social Concierge.

The writing covers the latest wonders, most influential psychological movements, emerging ideas, tactile designs and hottest patterns keeping attendees, producers, designers, operators, sponsors, organizers and leaders engaged in the experience economy. 

Why subscribe to State of Awe?

This is why we think our digest is important to you, and what you can expect:

MY BELIEF: Depth of experience ignites culture, culture values beauty, beauty triggers emotion, emotion deepens understanding, and understanding gives us words for things we had felt but had not previously grasped. Belong and repeat. This loop creates a more beautiful life, well-lived, deeply remembered. We must popularize the way to people’s hearts, charging bonds and linking character, lighting up this circle of experience. Encourage others to join the club. Long live the spectacular. 

THE INTENTION: The Epitome is a collection of essays on the experience economy, gathering design and culture. These essays have evolved out of a long-form, twice-monthly digest that was released regularly from March 2020 to July 2021. My intention with Epitome is a deeper writing style, exploring three key experience economy mega-themes: the loss of legacy ways of doing things, the rise of the Metaverse and the increasingly distributed way we choose to organize ourselves. The writing is meant to inspire your own experiences, by diving deeper into arguments we feel are relevant to the future of gatherings. Epitome essays will be published semi-regularly, released on Sundays without a set schedule. Digests will continue to be published on a quarterly basis, charting various trends and emerging fascinations.


Feedback from Fellow Gatherers

“There is so much ‘stuff’ out there, I can’t wait for State of Awe to hit my inbox because I know it’s going to be a thoughtful curation of what’s interesting and important. I use it weekly to inform my business decisions as we navigate our way forward. - Roger Nairn, CEO of JAR Audio

"Authentic. Practical. Thought-Provoking. This digest will satiate your appetite of understanding how our human experience is evolving." - Riaz Meghji, Founder at Every Conversation Counts

“State of Awe is an amalgamation of information, trends, cool ideas and designs all relevant to the event industry… It always provides me with insight and new ideas I would not have thought of myself” - Lise Carriere, Director at Five Currents

“Jordan's staggering volume of deep insight, trend analysis, business intelligence and ideation makes a McKinsey report look like a Mr Men book.” - Chris Neary, Brand Strategist at Frank Strategy

“Choose Your Own Adventure Through the Magical 'State of Awe'. As opposed to being told what to think and directed down the path of Jordan’s personal arguments, the digests paint a contextually complex picture and provide me with the brushes and medium with which to create through exploration, upon my own personal canvas. I walk curiously, like Alice through Wonderland and consequently, I am more deeply informed and considered in my opinions.

As such, I would recommend you take a comfortable seat, settle in and wriggle through the rabbit warren of discovery” - Oliver Finlay, Sporting Director, Director of Performance Science, Medicine & Research and PhD Candidate, UBC Faculty of Medicine

Subscribe to State of Awe

The Latest Wonders in Experience Design, Festivals and Gatherings