Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you auditors and CPAs.
So here is a big trip down memory lane (actually four years ago). The first music video for auditors and accounting filmed in Second Life. Conceived by our friend and blogger extraordinaire, Edith Orenstein over at FEI, music by the Singing CPA, Steve Zelin, a cast of accounting’s top bloggers, and a set, animation, and avatar training by MACPA’s millennial interns on our own CPA Island in Second Life.
What you probably don’t know is that this video features an all star cast of the top bloggers in the CPA Profession and a few stars from our MACPA Team.
The set and animation was designed and filmed by an MACPA college student intern, Andrew Hood.
Avatar training provided by another college student intern, Thomas Hood (accounting major).
The bride is MACPA’s own Dee Sullivan.
The concept and lyrics are from FEI’s blogger in chief, Edith Orenstein.
The song was put to music and performed by the Singing CPA himself and Edith Orenstein.
Want to know the value of social media?
This lives on as one of my highlights as this entire production came from “social media” relationships that came together to have some fun and left with “real life” (IRL) relationships that continue to this day.
“If I Were an Auditor” is sung to the tune of Bobby Darin’s romantic 1966 hit “If I Were a Carpenter” and was one of the top 10 posts at the FEI’s blog in 2010. It has received over 15,000 page views in the three major blogs that featured it.
How can Second Life help you as a leader?
Leaders are responsible for setting the innovation direction and for not taking themselves too seriously.
For us, Second Life was an innovation experiment into an emerging trend around learning, gamification, and deep immersive social experiences. Somebody had to take the first step, and it might as well be us. Here is what Gail Perry (then editor of AccountingWeb) wrote about us and innovation:
“Tom Hood and his colleagues at the Maryland Association of CPAs never fail to amaze and impress. Sometimes you can find them orchestrating a flash mob of accountants or putting down stakes in the virtual world of Second Life, but most recently the Association has gotten serious about XBRL and has undertaken a project to demonstrate XBRL’s scope and versatility
What message can you learn from the MACPA’s XBRL project? But the bigger message is, stop waiting for other people to tell you what works and what doesn’t. Be proactive and experiment. That’s what new technology is all about. Whether it’s cloud technology, IFRS and XBRL, social media, or choreographing a dance – the leaders are the ones who take the first steps.”
What is your “Second Life” project?
The whole story of the first music video for CPAs produced in Second Life (on CPA Island) is captured in several blog posts:
Auditor’s in Love by Financial Executives International.
Hit Song: If I were an auditor – Professor Albrecht in his blog The Summa.
If I were an Auditor: The Video – Rick Telberg at CPA Trendlines.
A Valentine’s Day Love Story – CPA Success.
Accounting music video launches in time for the holiday – Accounting Web
A-list of accounting bloggers visits CPA Island to film music video – CPAs on Second Life Blog
So, here is a Happy Valentine’s Day for all of you auditor’s and CPAs with special props to the cast and crew of this video!