Archive for March, 2007
Steve Garfield Invents Twittermail
Twitter is down. Poor Twitter is going through growing pains like there’s no tomorrow. So, in a quick email I dropped to Steve Garfield, he replied, “Twitter’s down, so you’re using email?” And the idea was born.
Just for giggles, I emailed about seven or eight Twitter users with a Twitter-like update.
Where there’s a geek, there’s a way.
The Importance of Collaborative Creativity
When we think of art, we think of singularly creative people. We imagine a sculptor or a painter. We think of trouble genius or a colorful personality. But more often than not, works of creativity, especially those we might experience in our everyday life, have the hands and minds of several people mashed into the final product you see.
When I took my first self portrait of the day, I just took something from my nearby vicinity and added it to the frame. In this case, olives. Then, while looking on Flickr, I saw this photo by Jim Kirks:
Used utterly without his permission, by the way. But my point is that Jim’s photo made me think about how to do my own. Enter: Katrina. She came up with the idea of shooting my eye up close with my cameraphone such that it looked roughly in the same place as my real eye. The result:
[Update]- Steve Garfield posted this in comments to my eyeball pic:
(photo credit Steve Garfield)
Katrina’s idea was better than what I would’ve come up with on my own. But then, we got even more collaborative. She came up with a few different photos to shoot, as once Katrina gets started, things really go faster and faster into a neat direction. She did this one of herself, after doing a smiley-face one that wasn’t as visually interesting:
And then, we hit upon the idea that I like the most of the whole bunch. Katrina’s idea, of course. Here’s what happens when people collaborate:
The point is this: working solo will always net solo results. Working collaboratively will often result in bursts of creative leapfrogging, where the first idea is good, but the final idea is really interesting and inventive.
What’s your take?
How to Moderate a Panel
Barbara Gavin pointed me to a great article by Derek Powazek on How to Moderate a Panel. Kickass advice in here, including doing your homework, limiting introduction time by the panelists, and my favorite: “Be a jerk.”
One of the best examples of this working really well was Michael Arrington of TechCrunch fame. Mike had two sessions at this past Spring 2007 Video on the Net, and in both, he played the naysayer and curmudgeon role (Mike: correct me if you want another label). But always to effect. It always worked as a good springboard to get more conversation out of the topic.
Anyhow, check out that article. It’s worth it.
Kermit Covers Nine Inch Nails
You know, you can’t really set this kind of video up.
30 Days of Experts Blogging
I’ve somehow bamboozled the folks at Chitika into thinking I’m an expert on something, so they’re going to include me in their impressive line-up of people talking. They do a site about ways to merchandise your blog, but I really got to them through Doug Haslam, a superhero I met at the first PodCamp in Boston, and who is just an all around swell feller.
Anyhow, when I get my moment in the sun, I’ll let you know about it. : )
Maintaining Community Spirit In Larger Communities
I’m a little freaked out about the size of PodCamp NYC, coming up on April 7th at the New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan, New York. I’m worried that the very heart and soul of PodCamp, the sense that everyone who comes has the power to actively affect the experience, won’t scale when there are over 800 registered participants. How do you scale community? This is a long post, but might be of use to conference and unconference organizers. And one last thing: I’m not telling PodCamp NYC what to do. I’m thinking out loud for all PodCamps on how we might keep community at the core.
I Work for a HUGE Conference
First off, I work for Video on the Net, Jeff Pulver’s conference about the impact of the broadband Internet on TV, film, and broadcasting. This event, combined with VON (which talks about the voice communications industry), brings over 10,000 people together for a few days. And yet, the word “community” is plastered everywhere in the signage and brochures, and the event has a community orientation plus two community developers on staff. If VON can get it done, if Jeff believes so much in community that he pays me and Carl Ford to represent the very nature of community, I can figure this puzzle out for PodCamp as well.
Is “Community” the Flexible Schedule?
PodCamp NYC is so large that speakers and schedule have been mostly turned solid already, whereas in previous PodCamps, one of the appealing features was that anyone at the event could spontaneously schedule a session, provided a room was available, or a suitable space could be found to gather. Well, with over 800 people, that won’t work well in NYC.
The key asset here is PARTICIPATION. I want the people who come to feel that they can drive the content and the direction it takes. Maybe latecomers can’t schedule formal sessions, but how about this?
Recommendation: Build a large bulletin area and designate unassigned spaces where latecomers can schedule ad-hoc sessions onsite, either for follow-on from existing sessions, or to try new things.
Protecting the “Little Guy”
One of my pride-and-joy feelings about PodCamp is that we had LOTS of new people: a 12 year old boy, school teachers, a straight male knitter, and plenty more folks who felt they weren’t exactly the “A List” of new media. But by the end of the event, I’d like to think that EVERYONE felt they had been transformed into superheroes. Sure, we had some podcasting “royalty” in the room, and yes, I was very proud that our inaugural event brought them together under one roof. But the homeschooling mom and the shy guy with the great baritone voice he kept hidden in a whisper got the same, if not more, attention from me as did the folks getting 300,000 downloads a day.
Recommendation: Praise and raise up the new blood, the uncertain, and the fringe players. The rockstars will get their level of fawning without you. Treat everyone as important, as the main reason you’re there, because that’s the truth of it. You’re there to make community happen.
Be Kind to Sponsors as PART of the Community
Every time Christopher Penn and I talked about sponsors, we mentioned in the same breath that we wanted to treat them like the Public Radio model, where you give them love and credit, but feature them more like underwriters than flashy ad brands. We learned as we went that it’s important to give sponsors appropriate love, and treat them all very well, but from the start, we had ideas on how we’d rather see them be treated.
Recommendation: Invite sponsors to offer sessions, to share how-to with their products or services, or to record podcast materials (audio or video) that talk about what they do. Give them reasonable signage and link love online. But be up front from the start that the event is for the larger community, and that you answer to the community first. I imagine most sponsors will get that. (Would any sponsors like to comment about this?)
Media Coverage
The PodCamp that seemed to do the best press to date was PodCamp Pittsburgh. Justin Kownacki and Eric Schark especially really got a lot of press to cover the event ahead of time, and PodCamps tend to well, press-wise, after the event left to their own. But there was nothing ever said or done about what to do with media coverage AT the event. Why? Because as far as I was concerned, anyone from the press who was at PodCamp was there as a participant first, a journalist second. That’s all I can say about that.
Recommendation: Press are people too. Sure, give interviews, but let them learn the same way everyone else is: by experiencing it.
Encouraging Conversation and Communication
If you step back about what the event is about, the most important part of community is getting everyone to talk and convey thoughts and feelings and information about what it is you’re all passionate about. That doesn’t require scheduling or planning or special considerations. It just requires humanity. But you can help it along. Stay attentive at all times for opportunities to connect one person to another, especially if they might benefit from knowing each other better. At the last Video on the Net in San Jose, I had some great opportunities to do this, and every time, it felt rewarding.
Recommendation: Put your best “connectors” to work, getting people to meet new people, and encouraging conversations about the experience. Leave “air” in the schedule for things like this. Encourage group meals and activities.
This is a picture of the day Christopher Penn and I met, shot by Bryan Person, who was also impactful on the creation of PodCamp. That day, we had no idea we’d pull off a really exciting event that would bring together hundreds, but inspire THOUSANDS. No clue. And yet, two guys with the help of plenty more people, got this event going and then let it loose for everyone to take a swing at producing. We don’t have much more experience than you. We have some experience. We learned SOME things. You’ll pick up more, too. All this above are just thoughts and suggestions, based on what I hope I’ve learned.
Weigh In
You might not have run a PodCamp, but maybe you’ve put on another event. Maybe you’re a conference junkie. Did you attend VON or Video on the Net? Whatever. I bet you have thoughts on the matter. Please let’s open up the comment section to a discussion and an enrichment of the post overall. And thank you.
Chris Brogan is co-founder of PodCamp, a free unconference about using new media. He is also community developer to Video on the Net, as well as a startup, Network2, a guide to the best Internet TV. He blogs at [chrisbrogan.com]
(photo credit, Bryan Person. Used without permission, but I hope he gets back to me.)
Memories of PodCamp Boston
Mister Christopher S. Penn recorded these movies at PodCamp Boston, and John C. Havens (one of the organizers of PodCamp NYC) sent me the link tonight to remind me. Please watch these. It’ll take almost 12 minutes if you watch them from start to finish.
The team at PodCampNYC will be hosting at least double the participants of PodCamp Boston. Maybe three times by the time they’re done. The question then becomes, how will the PodCamp experience, an unconference where everyone is encouraged to participate, scale at that size?
My thoughts will come in the post that comes after this one.
Personal Branding
Recently, a friend mentioned that he sees my name all over the place, and he asked me my secret to publicity. I answered that I am just interested in lots of things, so maybe he was seeing me around due to that. But later, I thought about the question, and there are some things I do as matter of habit that relate to the notion of personal branding.
First, the Concept
There are two sources to my belief that people should have a vision of themselves as a “brand” the same way Coke or Sony are brands. One is this article by Tom Peters from the tenth ever issue of FastCompany. The other was a decades old interview with pop singer Madonna, where she said, “It’s important to reinvent yourself every year.”
I believe that “branding” in the personal world means ensuring that people understand what it is you truly have to offer, and they understand what and how you can do for them.
Simple, Honest, Easy
Even if you don’t subscribe to personal competition, your brand, or even you as a person, are competing for attention, time, money, and other scarce resources with other people and things. If you’re interested in working with great people, you’re one of many interested in that same thing. If you believe your video or audio show is worth subscribing to and consuming, there are several hundred (thousands) people who feel they have a great product as well.
Make your brand (the way people understand what you offer) simple, honest, and easy to work with. It’s the most consistent route to your goal of being the person they think of when they think of ________. By simple, I’m saying that the more words or images it takes to describe you, the harder it will be for people to carry that message off in their heads. Honest should be a no-brainer, but lots of people pump themselves up to be much more than they are or ever could be. (People like this often say “we” when they mean “I.”) Easy to work with is another no-brainer, but people miss this all the time. Make it ridiculously easy for people to get in touch with you, and show them what you’re interested in working on.
Go Outside the Obvious Channel
When I wrote almost solely about running and fitness, my readers were pretty much into running and fitness. When I added self-esteem into the topic mix, I got LOTS of people from all over the place to start reading. When I wrote about productivity and self-esteem, with a little management and organizational life stuff in there, pow.
Stretch your brand to reach people other than a single micro core niche. Unless your goal is to live in and OWN that niche. Then don’t pay attention to me. But then again, sometimes you THINK you’re one thing, but others will perceive you differently.
I spent my entire 20s thinking that I was a writer. When I threw away that label, I started writing like there was no tomorrow. Go figure.
Don’t Overstretch
Pay attention to traditional brands like consumer brands and the like. They are forever stretching just a little too far past the border of what the people believe their brand encompasses, and pretty rarely do those overstretches work out. Instead, stay tuned to the way you want to be perceived, and project those things to the “channels” of people that you want to have notice and respond to your branding.
This doesn’t apply to business people, by the way. YOU are a brand, whether or not you choose to see yourself that way. How you parent has branding impressions. How you work at the church. Whatever you’re doing, that’s where people are choosing to form an opinion of your brand. My point in talking about this is to remind you that YOU can drive the message instead of react to people’s perceptions. Think about it.
What do YOU think your brand says to me?
(photo credit Clintus McGintus)
One Day In New York City
Yesterday started and ended for me at the Empire Deli. In the morning, Jeff Pulver and I got breakfast before going to see Brian Bedol from College Sports TV. (What a cool office! I could’ve done a photo shoot there alone). We went from there to lunch with Dan Dubno, who was a true character. Then, off to Times Square to snap off about a hundred or more promotions shooting various people talking about Internet TV and Network2. We finished the Network2 day at Proof Bar on 3rd Avenue.
Then, I got a late dinner with Cameron McGrane and with Melissa Brown, Esq, who I met at Video On the Net in San Jose. And finally, to top it off for interesting/strange/surreal, I met John Perry Barlow, co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and equally fascinating gentleman all the way around.
What follows are just some snaps from the day. It was QUITE a full day in NYC, starting with several meetings and planning moments with Jeff, and culminating in fun and entertainment. Super special thanks to everyone who came out to Proof (including those who came via Twitter), and here’s hoping I see you again soon.
Dont Forget The Basics
Travel can be daunting. There are all kinds of things that can go just wrong enough to be annoying. At 1:14AM this morning, I still had only about $8 in my pocket. The trouble being, I was standing at an ATM in Manhattan, where my bank told me the money would clear at midnight. Boy, it sure is tricky to travel without cash.
No worries, I think. I’ll call my bank in the morning. I bring up their website to find the telephone number and bang.
No telephone number.
I look further, and there’s no easy-to-find street address either. It’s all buried. Everything’s a page or two away.
This would normally be fine, except I’m browsing on my Blackberry. Read: I can’t really navigate well, especially since there are mostly graphical buttons.
The Basics
If you want people to reach you, make it EASY for them to reach you. If you are brick and mortar, make it easy for them to FIND you. And while I’m at it, make it easy for people to understand what you DO, if that’s in question.
Basics. Don’t forget the Web 0.0 world. Don’t forget the people with accessibility issues: blind/deaf/other languages. Don’t forget that there are things you want to market, but there are basics you need to communicate.
Does your blog or website make it easy for people to contact you? Do you make it easy for people to start a conversation with you? How would you know if someone got lost in the weeds of your site?
