july 2008

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I was just commenting on this post by Chris Wilson when I needed to check some facts. So I popped over to The Kaiser Edition and was surprised to see this ... a deck of slides. Not only that, but also a promise, that in the "spirit of Web 3.0", The Kaiser Edition will return in the next few weeks. More storytelling goodness from the master of context creation.

branding)

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If you are reading this blog, then chances are that you have come across the work of ethos3. They are known for building compelling, story-based presentations for folks like Guy Kawasaki and AMP. You can see, and vote for, some of their latest presentations in the Slideshare "World's Best Presentation" competition (see below).

Earlier this week I was interviewed by Lori Williams from Ethos3. We looked deeply into the world of storytelling, presentations and the connection between the P-L-A-Y framework for brand engagement and its applicability in presentation storytelling. Hope you like it!

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When it comes to understanding the impact of digital media on the way we live our lives, there are few who dig as deeply as Michael Wesch. This is a recording of his speech at the US Library of Congress in June. And while the presentation starts off with some impressive statistics about the number of videos uploaded to YouTube (9,232 hours per day -- 88% of which is original), the fascinating aspect of this presentation is the focus on story. In his own words:

... that is the story of the numbers and this is really a story about new forms of expression and new forms of community and new forms of identity emerging.

For the following 45 minutes or so, Michael Wesch leads us through a discussion on the way in which digital media is celebrating and connecting people in entirely new forms of shared experience. He starts with Numa Numa and his famous The Machine is Us/ing Us. Interestingly, the latter was initially launched the Wednesday before Superbowl Sunday -- and as he had quickly reached an audience of over 200 people he sent a screen shot to the head of school for his permanent record. By Saturday the audience had grown to over 1100 viewings and the video had been posted on Digg. As you probably know, this video has at current count, around 5 million views.

As an anthropologist, Michael Wesch is providing a fascinating analysis of the shifts in society and culture that are already underway. In this video he shows how user generated content + user generated filtering + user generated distribution is reinventing the way in which we create, find and share branded and unbranded material via the web. This potent mix is ignited with a final piece, which Michael calls "user generated commentary" -- ie blogs -- however, I feel this is better represented as user generated CONTEXT. When blog authors share content with their readers, they create a context into which the content becomes more accessible and digestible for their particular audience. It is this final piece which is an essential part of any digital strategy. I fully recommend setting aside an hour to watch this presentation through, however, if you have limited time, I have written my thoughts below.

About 12 minutes into the presentation, Michael turns his attention to the media. Here he talks about the media not as technology but as a system through which human relations are mediated. This is given more context by showcasing the way that remixing and remastering videos allows others to participate in a video meme (eg Charlie Bit My Finger and its 100+ responses). Clearly this is not just about claiming 15 seconds of fame. This type of participation goes to the very heart of the P-L-A-Y (P-ower, L-earning, A-dventure, Y-elp of surprise), delivering an experience that crosses the chasm that is imposed upon us by culture, geography, suburbia and even the isolating experience of TV viewing.

But the experience of this is dislocating. At ...

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The idea of "influence" fascinates me. I have written about Granovetter's strength of weak ties, the importance of curiosity over influence and the democracy of action -- and each time I wonder how influence does, or should relate to social media. As I explained previously:

The findings of Mark Granovetter's research into social networks demonstrated that it is the WEAK ties that lead to action. If this is the case, then influence may only play an important role in the very early stages of branding efforts -- to facilitate AWARENESS. But as consumers begin to engage with the brand messaging and various forms of communication, it appears that the power of the social network lies not in the level of influence of any select group but in the susceptibility of the audience to contagion.

I think this is where social media, and blogging in particular are interesting. While we spend quite some time and effort talking about the way in which social media is "changing the game", we also tend to rely on the measurements on which "traditional" advertising has been built. And the influencer as a new media "celebrity" is a case in point. Where the actual change in game has occurred is in the balance of power -- marketing is no longer about B2C or B2B but about Brands-to-Community.

As Leigh Himel says (in this comment):

... we cannot solely BUY people's attention anymore. We have to earn it. That's the shift. And the problem is we keep applying a linear thought process that is based in mass advertising instead of looking at a networked marketing model that is both embracive of mass as well as interactive media (and pays homage to those differences rather than attempting to utilize the same strategies and tools for each).

To survive and prosper in this new environment, brands have to begin to employ their ENTIRE ecosystems -- the networks of supply, demand (consumers), partnership and collaborators -- in such a way as they fulfil the need of a single person. This still can be done on a mass scale, but the nuance is different. The marketing is transformative. The delivery is personal. And the experience is unique. And while this may take brands some time to rethink the business processes which deliver this experience, it is not impossible nor unattainable. Review, for example, this great explanation from RichardatDell on the way in which Dell are seriously rethinking and re-engaging with their communities.

Another way to consider this, is in terms of blogging. Think about the blogs that you read, comment on or subscribe to. Think about whether you would personally consider them to be influential. I may be wrong, but my sense of "influence" is that it belongs "out there" -- where there is no relationship; where the connection is faceless, impersonal, removed.

As our personal and professional networks become increasingly more visible the concept of influence will fade. And in our socially networked world, reputation rather than ...

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There are only days left for the lovers of all things gadgety to enter the Limited Edition Nokia N96 competition. In a novel pre-launch twist, Nokia are giving us all (ie a worldwide audience) the opportunity to get our hands on their latest mobile device ahead of the in-country launches. By following the effective launch strategy that has been employed by many Web 2.0 brands, the N96 has a limited edition (ie like a beta program) that ships ahead of the launch. However, there are only two ways of receiving one of the number N96s -- and both are funnelled online.

The website, Face the Task, has some neat full screen (Flash) video, and guides you through various features before you have the opportunity to enter the competition. And while the underlying story is a little obtuse, it serves well enough to put forward the various features. But the real story, for me, is the link with good deeds.

In case you intend to buy one of the limited edition N95 multimedia computers (notice they are no longer being called mobile phones?), you can help the WWF by making a 750 EURO donation -- and receive an N96 for free. BUT, you still need to do a complete review of the features, answer a question and then, be lucky enough to randomly view the "donation" page when it is timed/programmed to offer up one of the limited edition beauties.

However, if you are like me, you have to enter the competition and keep your fingers crossed.

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Take a moment and think about the best family holiday of your childhood. Try to recapture the sounds. Picture in your memory the faces of your family and friends. Remember how you felt -- how your arms and legs tingled, how your heart raced with each new day.

Unfortunately, not all kids have such opportunities. Each year in August the Fresh Air Fund strives to change this situation by giving New York City kids the opportunity to spend part of the summer with host families outside of the city. It is a chance for a break. An experience that could change the course of their young lives.

And while many children have already been placed this year, and many new host families have signed up for next year, there are still some kids waiting with their fingers crossed. Can you help? Do you know someone who can? If so:

• Please Email Angie, angie@freshair.org, immediately and she'll speed you through the process!
• Or, you can call the Fresh Air Fund at 1-800-367-0003 (212.897.8900) -- ask for Angie

One last thing that is actually very important. The Fresh Air Fund are looking for families who want to extend an invitation to a 9-12 year old. They really need more families who want older children and boys. Your actions may make one child's Summer 2008 unforgettable for all the right reasons.

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In this seven minute video of advertising guru, David Ogilvy, a case is made for a new form of advertising. It is a clear call for a fundamental change in the way that advertising functions. He talks about new, direct response advertising and the way in which it out performs, out sells and out functions "general" advertising. Efrain Mendicuti suggests, that with a few chosen word substitutions, that Ogilvy could in fact, become Marketing 2.0's leading evangelist:

... substitute the words Direct Marketing for On-line Marketing and Direct Response for Interactive Marketing, and tell me if you wouldn't want to have him as THE ambassador for Digital / on-line Marketing today.

Is another new advertising revolution already underway? Do Ogilvy's words sound eerily presentient?

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There is something about dinosaurs that captures our imaginations. Perhaps it is their scale, or their seeming impossibility. Perhaps there are remnant echoes buried deep in the human unconscious that reminds us that these great monsters once ruled the world we stamp so carelessly upon.

But what would happen if you came face-to-face with a dinosaur? Would your heart skip? Would your instincts overrule your rational responses? What is the story that you would tell? Luc Debaisieux describes such a situation:

Imagine you are visiting the Natural History Museum of LA with your kids. You take a gentle turn into a hallway and come face-to-face... this dinosaur, looking almost as alive as you and me. I love the reaction of the adult coming from another way who seems to really freak out because of the realism of little-big-dino-boy. That... is definitely some kind of an experience.

These days we talk about "traditional" agencies being dinosaurs. But perhaps they have only been sleeping and will awaken to remind us all of their power to tell stories, to surprise and delight and create truly unique, human responses.

Extinct, my ASS! from The Original Joe Fisher on Vimeo.

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Sometimes "user generated content" astounds me -- not only in its quantity but in its quality. In those instances, it is a pleasure to see Clay Shirky's "cognitive surplus" in action. Clearly, a great deal of effort, focus and skill has gone into this video clip. One viewing and you will be as amazed as I was.

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Yvonne DiVita is also unimpressed and wondering why there has not been a chorus of voices raised in protest.

To put this down to "lazy" advertising is too easy. While there is no strategic thinking behind this, and a surprisingly limited understanding of the BMW brand, poorly conceived work like this damages not just the brand in question but the entire advertising industry. Isn't it time we started treating our audiences with a little respect?

And just in ... another lazy piece of degrading advertising. This time, however, Wade Millican has taken action -- speaking to the company approving the work and referring it to the Advertising Standards Bureau.

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Lazy Bloggers Blog Post Generator. Here is a blog post that comes direct from the generator:

OMG! I just remembered I have not updated this since Paris Hilton was in jail... You would not believe my anguish at my misdoings. Jealous much? Don't be, it was very painful..I am frantic with an awfully big adventure, soaking in the tub, just generally being a Darling to the servants, my day is full to overflowing from when the nightclubs close to I run out of alcohol. I am happy with that. I need some perspective.I solemnly swear to post at least once a month. Promise! Unless of course the pool with the cocktail bar is heated!

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Ross Dawson's Future of Media Summit generated quite a lot of debate on both sides of the Pacific. There was some excellent coverage of the summit from a variety of angles, with Stephen Collins asking What will the future of media look like?, Chris Bishops pondering the business models around monetising future content and Craig Wilson viewing the summit with one eye focused on the Twitter backchannel.

summary including notes on all the panels which is a great reference point for those who attended, and those who could not. Reading back through these posts it is clear that the debate shifted to a discussion about future roles, not necessarily future industries. Indeed, much of the discussion falling out of the conference has been around citizen journalists vs professional journalists.

Stilgherrian's summit coverage, (and the same post at Crikey with a different commentary/discussion), plus Jonathan Este's response, (which was originally posted on Crikey and reposted on Stilgherrian's blog with comments) turned the heat up on this debate.

Clearly this is an emotion-charged discussion. And while it is a discussion that needs to take place, it strikes me that we are being bogged down in a debate that may be solved by refocusing our cognitive surplus in another direction -- finding an innovative way of delivering value across the chasm between the "traditional" and "social" media groups. In fact, finding a way of bringing journalists and new media practitioners together may be the best way forward.

Last week I saw a link to Peter Shankman's Help a Reporter site. It is a site designed to connect reporters with credible and expert news sources (and yes, that includes bloggers). It is opt-in. It's a site that uses technology to provide value to a community that, in many ways, does not yet exist. It is well facilitated. But I wonder, is this something that would work here in Australia? It certainly could, and should.

But participation costs. It means leaving your shoes at the door. It means rolling up our sleeves and reshaping the media industry from the ground up. It is not the total solution, but it is a first step. What do you think? Would you help a reporter?

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harrassment? Given that the business model around Web 2.0 platforms is about leveraging the mass of aggregated user data to generate insight/targeted advertising etc, how is that these platforms seem unable to gauge the temperament of their communities? Could it be that they are ape-ing big brands and are simply not listening to the abundant digital voices?

Clearly these leading Web 2.0 platforms have built what we could easily consider unassailable user bases. Facebook carries millions of users each day and has the backing of Microsoft. Twitter appears to be hovering around the 2 million user mark and has attracted a great deal of goodwill. However, what happens when shifts occur? What about extended downtime?

Twitter has successfully modified the behaviour of its user base in such a way that we have all come to rely upon it to fulfil a range of communication needs. But ongoing reliability issues has seen a number of defections to other services that have followed quickly on Twitter's heels. One such service is Plurk.

However, when people who are used to using Twitter arrive at the Plurk interface, they encounter problems. They don't get it. They find it confusing and unintuitive, maybe even over-engineered. I also experienced this ... but felt that there was something different about Plurk. And anyway, I realised that I was looking at Plurk through my "Twitter Goggles" -- and I was finding it lacking (as were others). -- but I knew that I needed to allow Plurk the benefit of the doubt.

Over the last couple of months, the Plurk team have been slowly but surely improving their system. New features, improvements and so on have been appearing regularly. And earlier this week we were given a new series of selectable key words. One of my favourites is "wonders" ... I found that I was using it quick consistently to communicate with my small community of followers -- "Servantofchaos wonders what is going on today". "Servantofchaos wonders why he is still up late writing a blog post". It seems that the Plurkers have been  surveying the most popular "freestyle" words and have added them to the drop-down list. Great!

But while I was impressed with the simple addition of the word "wonders", I was a little surprised to see that it was coloured a dull grey. That seemed like an uninformed decision. So I wrote a message wondering why this was the case ... and in the space of a couple of hours, the word "wonders" was transformed into a beautiful, vibrant colour. Were the Plurkers listening? Was it just coincidence? With my ...

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david ian...

There are no shortages of "how to" guides for creating better, more effective presentations. A quick search on Google will yield thousands of results, from books to websites and blogs through to live examples on YouTube.

There are excellent presentation decks that can be used for inspiration on Slideshare, and simply watching one or two presentations on TED talks can drastically improve your in-person style and approach.

But despite all this, poorly structured, visually cramped presentations continue to dominate the business landscape. Presenters themselves continue to recite slide content without weaving a story between the bullet points or slide topic areas. This means that those "participating" in the meeting, turn their attention to also reading the slide content -- focusing not on you, the presenter, but on the words on the screen.

This turns the presenter into a "PowerPoint Goose" -- with no attention from the audience, your "speech" turns into non-representative "honking".

But what can you do if you have only a few minutes before your next presentation? How can you avoid turning into a PowerPoint Goose? Laura Fitton has this great post that steps you through the QUICK things you can do to improve a presentation. She identifies four steps:

1. Review your audience and objective
2. Get Darwinian and only allow the strongest slides to remain
3. Reorder your slides
4. Do a lightning round on your deck, condensing each slide to a single sentence

Even with only a few moments, you can improve your presentation. So before you go into your next meeting, take a quick look at Laura's post and aim for the golden egg.

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Being a lover of good storytelling I live a life of disappointment between the hours of 8pm to midnight. With a vast array of low-rent, poorly executed television, there is little wonder that I turn my attention to the plethora of quality (and low-rent) content available online. And while I am sometimes appalled by what I see online, I have the control to simply move quickly to something that at least offers the promise of an engaging storyline, believable characters or even a toe-tapping number or two.

And given that Josh Whedon, the master storyteller behind the Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly series has just released a new series, there was reason to hope. But where can one find this? I scoured the TV guides only to be beaten into a dull submission by old formats and "celebrity talent". At last I turned to Twitter to find salvation -- and it came to me in the shape of something horrible. Dr Horrible.

That's right. Josh Whedon's newest series is available exclusively online. You can watch it streaming via the innovative Hulu format or download via iTunes. And at 15 minutes an episode, if it doesn't capture your attention, you haven't wasted your valuable time -- quality content is only a click away. Just a shame they didn't add interactive channels to the format.

But, it just makes me wonder about the future of media. And the future of brands. And it seems, the answer is the same. Content. How else do you think you will attract the slim attention of audience 2.0? Time to stop reading and start participating.

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Darryl Ohrt's Plaid Nation Tour has just kicked off. Darryl is the author of Brandflakes for Breakfast and is the "Band Manager" of the Plaid team -- one of NYC's smartest boutique agencies -- and each year they take off on a road trip meeting up with the people behind the brands along the way. In their own words:

PlaidNation is a rolling celebration of creativity and a demonstration of social media in action. It's a Plaid van driving through the country meeting creative, marketing, brand and internet workers, and sharing Plaid love. Oh yeah - and every aspect of the tour is broadcasted HERE on plaidnation.com. Like the best reality show, but more.

The Plaid team have three live video streams (the one below is "driver cam"), you can track their progress via GPS and keep up with the gang via a Twitter stream.

Personally, I am most looking forward to the expose on "skanky hotel rooms". But if you are lucky enough to live on the Plaid Nation route, then you there is an opportunity to meet up in real life! Enjoy!

Monday, July 21 : Vancouver, Canada

• 10am: Ideas on Ideas
• Lunch
• 2pm: TBA
• 3pm: Cupcakesonline (come share a cupcake!)
• Travel to Seattle

Tuesday, July 22 : Seattle, WA

• 8:30am: Tweetup! (come say hi!!)
• 10.30am: TBA
• Tune in for the 11:40 show!
• Lunch
• 2pm: Jones Soda
• Travel to Portland

Wednesday, July 23 : Portland, OR

• 9am: Voodoo Doughnut (come share a donut!)
• 10.30am: TBA
• Tune in for the 11:40 show!
• Lunch
• 2pm: TBA
• Travel to Redding, CA

Thursday, July 24 : Redding, CA

• 10am: TBA
• Tune in for the 11:40 show!
• Travel to San Francisco

Friday, July 25 : San Francisco, CA

• 8:30am: Tweetup! (come say hi!!)
• 10:30am: Twitter?
• Tune in for the 11:40 show!
• Lunch
• 2pm: Google (who can get us into the Googleplex??)

Saturday, July 26 & Sunday July 27

• We're off enjoying San Francisco. Where should we go?

Monday, July 28: San Francisco, CA

• 11am: Robert Scoble/FastCompanyTV
• Tune in for the 11:40 show!
• Lunch
• 2pm: Seesmic
• 5:30pm: Tweetup! (come say hi!)
• Travel to San Luis Obisbo

Tuesday, July 29 : San Luis Obispo, CA

• 9:30am: San Luis Obispo Creative and Marketing Alliance (SLOCAMA) group meeting
• 12:30: BIG IMAGE/ iii DESiGN

Wednesday, July 30 : Los Angeles, CA

• 8:30am: Tweetup! (come say hi!)
• 10:30am: Yari Films
• Tune in for the 11:40 show!
• 12:30pm Lunch @ Leads 360
• 2pm: Sony Pictures
• Travel to Carlsbad

Thursday, July 31 : San Diego, CA

• 10am: Aptera
• Travel to San Diego
• Lunch
• 2pm: TBA

Friday, August 1: Las Vegas, NV

• 8:30am: Tweetup! (Come say hi!!)
• 10:30am: Zappos
• Tune in for the 11:40 show!
• Lunch at that killer Thai place
• 2pm: TBA
• 4pm - ?? PlaidNation wrap party (location TBA)

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memories and fresh possibilities.

This year, the summer holiday has been scheduled for August and there are still 200 NYC children who need to be placed with host families next month.

Unless all prospective host families are screened and vetted by the end of July these 200 children may miss out on an invaluable experience .

If you can host a child -- great! If not, it would be appreciated if you can help spread the word.

One last thing that is actually very important. Fresh Air Fund are looking for families who want to extend an invitation to a 9-12 year old. They really need more families who want older children and boys.

Please e-mail Angie, immediately and she'll speed you through the process! Or, you can call Fresh Air Fund at 1-800-367-0003 (212.897.8900) -- ask for Angie.

If you want to help but don't live in these areas -- BLOG about this program, tell your friends, recommend someone, or DONATE .

There are trip dates set for August 2008 for over 200 children and we need host families to volunteer to host these inner-city children. The dates and locations are as follows:

8/11-8/21 New Jersey: Warren County, Bergen County, Union County, Somerset County, Morris County, Hunterdon County

8/11-8/22 Pennsylvania: Lancaster, Akron, Christiana, Denver, Donegal, East Earl, Elverson, Lititz, Manheim, New Holland, Quarryville New York: St. Massena, Ogdensburg, Potsdam

8/12-8/22 Harrisburg, Pa

8/15-8/22 Central Massachusetts: Acton, Hopkinton, Lexington, Marlboro, Wayland

8/15-8/25 New York Western Fingerlakes: Canandaigua, Canal Towns, Dansville Central New York: Fulton, Marcellus and Oswego

Massachusetts: Cape Cod

Pennsylvania: Doylestown, Upper Bucks, Lower Bucks, Chalfont

8/25-9/1 New York: Columbia County Red Hook/Rhinebeck (Dutchess County) Albany County

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job application to Wieden + Kennedy in London which simultaneously demonstrated his skills while also showing how one of the leading advertising agencies on the planet were not adequately listening to digital conversations swirling around it.

In many ways, Marcus' searing investigations remind me of Antonin Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty -- his intellectual and creative endeavours devouring, in their articulation, the topics that he interrogates.

While he has generously left his Kaiser Edition website intact, despite the resignation of its host personalities, there are some key series/posts that any serious student of marketing/brand activation should spend some time with. These are:

• If I were a client today -- this series looks at agencies from a client-side point of view.
• My first night -- authenticity? How do you make a story real? Read this if you dare.
• Content will kill your agency -- some acute thinking around advertising agency business models and the need for innovation.

Dig deep.

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One of the things about blogging is that it is immediate. I can think of something, write and publish it very quickly. In minutes it can be in thousands of feed readers and available on the web.

One of the downsides of this is that we can often miss some great thinking -- or forget about it in the rush to the next, new thing.

So, with this in mind, I am going to devote a post each week to the trawling some of the older posts from the bloggers that I admire. These posts may be a week or a month or even a year old. This new category is called MINING THE GOLD.

I am also interested in anything that you may want to see re-featured. Drop me an email, add a comment or DM me on Twitter with your recommendations!

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Ross Dawson's Future of Media Summit was held simultaneously in Sydney, Australia and San Francisco, USA.

I live blogged the proceedings using CoverItLive (my first real usage of this service) while also attempting to feed this information into the Twitter stream -- which you can view via Summize.

There was much "traditional media" vs "new media" discussion which bogged down the flow. This was particularly evident during the panel discussions which were heavily laced with members of "traditional media", with bare and often no representation from the "new" side of the business. This forced the alternate conversation into the "back channel" -- the Twitter stream which was equally one-sided.

It wasn't until later, during the unconference sessions, where Stephen Collins and Jed White took the lead in introducing the participants to Twitter (and the under-conference that had been happening all day). Unfortunately I had to leave by this time, but was able to roughly follow proceedings via Twitter -- with new names popping up every couple of minutes. Perhaps, in this way, the future of media is PARTICIPATION.

But before we can get to participation, there is some work to do on education and on technology. There is some effort required to re-think the business models and the frameworks that we use to value communities, consumers and the space where they intersect with brands and publishers. It seems that ten years on, the vision of the Cluetrain Manifesto is coming into focus.

Congratulations go to Ross Dawson and team responsible for bringing together some of the stakeholders. I will be interested to see the way that this conversation pans out over the next 12 months.

I will have more analysis around this event in the coming days -- and keep an eye out for the coverage from Stephen Collins, Stilherrian, Chris Saad, Craig Wilson, Mark Pesce and other attendees.

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This post is from from my other blog here

Learn - Change - Share.

Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it?

This is a powerful piece of storytelling. It is raw, powerful text. It is reality writ large.

And while you can watch it below, take my advice. Immerse yourself. Click here.

More to come on this. As there should be. But I will leave it with you for now.

Via Katie Chatfield and Luc Debaisieux.

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When we think of social media, we often think of younger people. We think of people who are fully-immersed in the world of Web 2.0 -- a 3G iPhone in one hand and an attitude ready to take on the world and win. But even a cursory trawl through the wonderful world of the blogosphere will show that there are many others using social media to connect with their friends and others with agile like-minds.

Last year I marvelled at the spirit of the world's oldest blogger, Olive Riley. And while her story was mediated -- discussed and typed up by someone else -- Olive soon found that there was a certain pleasure in conversing with people from all over the world. Being 108 years old, Olive was able, through her blog, to share snippets of her life -- reflections on her childhood as well as current realities -- in a way that is often overlooked in the rush for the latest new thing. It is clear that Olive was a master storyteller -- her personality, sense of humour and zest for life (even her crankiness) all coming through in each and every post.

Alas, Olive's last blog entry has been written. Over the weekend, Olive passed away peacefully. May she rest in peace.

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Growing and nuturing talented creatives is a long term project. It takes time, talent, focus ... and it seems, plenty of fertilizer. But the rewards are significant -- the ability to distil the "creative juice" that is needed for the demanding advertising, online, direct marketing and game development industries can provide significant competitive advantage. Watch this video to see how one region in the UK has been harvesting creative talent for generations. With thanks to Kris Hoet at 'Cross the Breeze.

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A car purchase is the second most expensive investment that an individual is likely to make (the first being their home). And in that respect, consumers come close in behaviour to their B2B counterparts -- after all, vehicles are expensive, have ongoing cost requirements and (whether we like it or not) reflect on our own sense of self. Accordingly, when it comes to purchase time, we shop around, do our homework, check blog posts, search engines and customer satisfaction ratings. We ask friends for recommendations, take a keener interest in the cars we pass in the street, and think through the implications of this major purchase.

Recently though, the greater awareness (and concern for) the environment, coupled with ever spiralling oil prices has seen a massive spike in the popularity of hybrid cars. (Some US states have gone so far as to mandate the production of eco-friendly cars.) But, even a cursory glance at the prices of hybrid cars shows that they are significantly more expensive, meaning that you will need a longer timeframe before your hybrid car breaks even with its petrol equivalent.

Honda, makers of leading hybrid vehicles have not produced something similar.

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Katie Chatfield shares this great presentation at TED by Benjamin Zander. It takes 20 minutes to play, and at its completion, you will come to love classical music.

Six minutes in, Benjamin positions this transformation beautifully -- in terms of leadership. As he says, "one of the characteristics of a leader ... [is] that he not doubt for one moment the capacity of the people he is leading to realise whatever he's dreaming". But then, Benjamin spends the rest of the time taking us on a journey, inviting us into his own story and into the story of the music which is his passion. He explains how the music taps into our emotional intelligence and then demonstrates its power by asking us to go deeper into the music -- to make it personal.

He wraps up this artful talk magnificently with anecdote and personal story, explaining his own revelation -- "My job is to awaken possibility in other people". Fascinatingly, he also demonstrates how you can tell when this has been achieved ... but you will need to watch until the end to understand. Not a bad way to spend a lunch break on a Friday afternoon. Enjoy.

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When brand marketers are considering social media, the first question they ask is what is the ROI? After all, most marketers have been trained to believe that every piece of spending has to have a short term return to their brand -- hence the idea of the campaign. (Perhaps this is why Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has taken some time to gain traction -- though that is the subject for a whole other post.)

But what happens when your return is uncertain? What if the potential returns remain beyond your measurement horizon? Or outside of the normal market boundaries in which you operate? This post, Where the Hell is the Sponsor?, about Matt Harding's dancing video has received quite a bit of traffic over the last week or so, and has generated some great conversation. And this morning, the great connector, Christina Kerley, referred me to both Mario Sundar's post on Matt's video and the New York Times article on the infectious nature of the video which has generated around 4-5 million views.

Think about the value here. There are 4 million people around the world willing to sit through almost 5 minutes of video. These people are receptive to the simple brand message offered by Stride Gum. That is 20 million minutes of brand engagement -- opt-in. That is the equivalent of one person spending 38 years watching your brand message -- in good faith. And I have a feeling that this may well go a whole lot higher now that the NYT has begun spreading the news. Now, not all videos or brand activations will "go viral", but the niche targeting and the goodwill halo achieved (if you have good strategic planners working for you) with only a moderate number of impressions can generate a significant amount of roll-on coverage, PR, blog reviews such as this -- and a whole lot of offline discussion.

Developing the ROI for social media is not an easy measurement, but it can be done:

1. Start with your "time with brand"
2. Expand this with  some sharp guestimates around mainstream broadsheet adoption for a good NYT story
3. Factor in some multipliers for influence networks and the strength of weak ties (blogs, online coverage etc)

... and before you know it you have a fairly powerful model that will make your jaw hit the floor.

And if that is not enough, the shouty, Katie Chatfield raised yet another perspective -- that it is not about the return on investment, but about managing the risk of NOT participating in the conversations that are ALL ABOUT your brand.

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo

Special thanks (again) to Ian Lyons for introducing me to Where the Hell is Matt!

This post is from from my other blog here

Brain of Wade. There's more than meets the eye!

This post is from from my other blog here

To celebrate Hello Viking's first anniversary, the entertaining Tim Brunelle is inviting all iPhone and iPod Touch owners to a "viking smackdown". The smackdown takes advantage of the inbuilt motion sensor -- your challenge is to acheive the highest score by August 15, 2008. If you do so, you will, in Tim's words, "win big":

We’ll fly the winner to Minneapolis, put ‘em up in a fancy hotel, then give ‘em a really large birthday cake and the chance to throw it at our CEO—all broadcast on the Internet.

So if you have one of the aforementioned Apple devices, glide over to www.vikingsmackdown.com and join in the fun. Now, I wonder if that prize covers non-US vikings?

This post is from from my other blog here

The months of June and July 2008 will have seen two major initiatives aimed at bringing the Web 2.0 and publishing industries together -- Pubcamp organised by Jed White's iTechne, and The Future of Media organised by Ross Dawson's Future Exploration Network. Here in Australia, this is big news, and indicates a significant shift in the business perspective of both groups -- clearly there is a need to bridge the gap between what can roughly be described as "New Media" and "Old Media".

But when it comes down to the nitty gritty of how, why and when these bridges are crossed -- when it comes to execution -- there will be plenty of other entities and industries seeking a seat at the table of this debate. There will be marketers, advertisers and there will be planners, there will be companies large and small. There will be media companies, there will be "new media" companies and there will be agencies. There will be government departments, schools, universities and a wide spectrum of interest groups. And at the far end, perhaps, one or two (thousand) individuals with a vested and personal interest.

Yes, that's right ... the future of media is going to touch each and every one of us. The impact of the shifting balance between new and emergent forms of media and "traditional media" will be far reaching and may, perhaps, change the nature of the business landscape for years to come (of course with the rise and rise of Google, it could be stated that the game has changed irreversibly). But as Alisa Miller points out in this TED talk (vis ShiftedPixels), the media has taken a particular, and distorted view of storytelling in recent times. And, it seems to me, this myopic focus on easily digestible stories, has fuelled the growth of social and new media enterprises -- our interests and curiosities have not been sated and we have begun to look elsewhere for those stories.

As Alisa points out, younger Americans know less about the world today than their counterparts 20 years ago. However, this is not an indication of a lack of desire for knowledge -- it is the result of the homogenisation and filtering of what is considered "newsworthy". Even the great winner in the new media stakes, Google, can be considered guilty here -- with "Google News" also opting for narrow focus storytelling in a broad vision world.

With an ever increasing number of people participating and contributing to emerging forms of media -- and an understanding that we, as media consumers spend more time viewing both "traditional" media online as well as new media sources -- it is clear that our strategies for engaging with our markets/audiences/consumers require new approaches. It seems that we need to re-think "media" itself -- and stop talking about the divides I have reinforced above. Perhaps it is not about "media" but about the people that the "media" want to reach and engage. And if we start thinking about ...

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Somethin' New

Ross Dawson has consistently been thinking through the future of media from a business perspective for the last few years. In 2006 Ross developed this strategic framework which still holds great value for organisations yet to come to grips with the opportunities and challenges of Web 2.0 (and let's face it, that is the majority).

This month, Ross has released the latest installment -- the Future of Media Lifecycle. It is a nice framing device for the main thrust of the Future of Media Summit that is occuring simultaneously in San Francisco and Sydney next week.

If you are in Sydney (July 15) or in San Francisco (July 14), you can register here ... and participate in the live conference, the city-to-city live hookup and in the unconference sessions that are bound to bring some life to the proceedings. After all, where else are you going to get this array of speakers for one low price?

And if Pubcamp Sydney was any guide, there is bound to be a healthy Twitter back channel in action -- and with luck -- a vibrant series of unconference discussions.

This post is from from my other blog here

As I discussed in The Future of Your Brand is Play, brands need to take a different approach to engaging with those formerly known as "the audience". In the US Spike TV is screening the whole Star Wars series and have a comprehensive, integrated promotional strategy in place. One of the activations is shown below. Makes me think that playing gold with "The Shark" would be a cinch after all.

This post is from from my other blog here

If your brand is struggling with social media -- wondering how to become involved with a "viral" marketing activation, there is much that can be learned from Stride Gum's involvement with Matt Harding and his Dancing Matt videos.

The folks at Stride Gum took an interest in the videos that Matt took while travelling. These videos show Matt doing the "only dance" that he knows how to do in a number of places around the world. And while these were initially done for the benefit of his family, they were absorbed into the great viral milieu and spread far and wide. The videos worked because they manifested the P-L-A-Y framework as I discussed yesterday (and in more detail here).

• P -- for power: the videos demonstrate the power of belonging, the desire to connect
• L -- for learning and curiosity: Matt chooses his locations well. He sparks recognition in the locals and curiosity in everyone else.
• A -- for adventure: through this very simple visual storytelling, Matt stimulates our own sense of adventure. Importantly he also demonstrates that despite very different circumstances and locations, that we are connected to others in a primal, joyous way -- a connection that has no regard for language or alienation.
• Y -- the yelp of surprise and delight: just watch this and you will know what I mean.

After seeing the videos and their impact, Stride Gum approached Matt, and sponsored him to travel around the world again, this time on their dime. Again, this was a great "viral" achievement. After that success, and after thousands of emails, Matt returned to Stride Gum and suggested he do the trip again -- this time inviting the community to participate. Those who had emailed and commented on his blog were invited to perform the dance with Matt ... the result is shown below. Fanstastic.

But even better is the approach taken by Stride Gum. While they could have plastered their logo throughout the clips, provided T-shirts to participants etc, they are content with what is effectively a post-roll credit. This allows us, as viewers, to be drawn into the story and into the experience. It allows us the possibility of transference from passive recipient to imaginary participant. It grants some respect to the story, the communities who participated and the viewers. And it really puts a smile on my face.

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo

Special thanks to Ian Lyons for introducing me to Where the Hell is Matt!