March 15, 2010 204 Comments

We Could Do So Much More

I’m at South By Southwest in Austin, Texas. It’s been called “spring break for geeks,” which is definitely the vibe. To the plus, lots of people are making lots of relationships and connections. I think the networking is unsurpassed. Startups are a big deal here, and I think people are going to see some good things coming out in the tech scene (though I didn’t really hear of anything especially giant or buzzy). People have been so very nice at this event. I’m so happy to meet people that I’ve only seen from online. That’s a wonderful thing. I’m glad you met me.

But I want to talk about more. I want to do more.

The guy in that photo is Mark Horvath from Invisible People. He caters to the homeless. Directly. He and Liz Strauss walked around giving pizza to homeless guys while they were here. They talked to the homeless, made them feel seen.

As well as meeting me, I want you to find Mark and say hi. I want you to make HIM feel the way you make me feel. He’s doing good work.

This is Melissa Leon and AJ Leon from TheLACProject, a human business company. They are doing AMAZING things. Find them in the hallway and talk about Africa and social good.

On another note, Thom Singer. He just wrote about a giving moment that happened at a party at SXSW. Man, I wish I went to that party.

What We Could Do: Networking

We need better networking tools. We need to build a “I’m ____, and I’m into _____ , and I’d love to talk about _____ , and I’d love to meet people into ______ , or just ______ . I like _____ food. If I were to support a cause, it’d be _____ , but I’m open to ____ , too” kind of tool.

We need to give new people the warmest welcome with some kind of “I’m new here” badge.

Can you see it?

What We Could Do: Panels and Speeches

We need to give the new people more to talk about. We need to give them more fundamentals. We need to strip out some of the entertainment value and get back to sharing our big ideas, our golden thoughts. (Me included. I think the panel that Julien and I gave was fun, but not as informative as we could’ve made it. Next time.)

We need to bring our A game, our A ideas. Maybe some of you did. I spoke to a few hundred people, and no one gave anyone rave reviews except for the panel with Jeff Jarvis, and the talk by Clay Shirky. (Note: I didn’t see hardly any panels, so I’m not talking from experience, as much as I’m talking from what the buzz reported).

What We Could Do: Sponsors and Exhibitors

We could do lots more in these regards. I think sometimes, as attendees, we forget that the sponsors are helping pay for the experience. How can we do more things to pay them back for that? Yes, we pay for the ticket. I think we would do well to grab a quick interview with a few sponsors while we’re out and about at all these parties.

What We Could Do: Interpersonal

People still anxiously talk all about themselves. We could ALL just ask about the other person, get to know what they’re doing, and share our best intentions of understanding each other. Sounds hippie, but that’s how things really get done. It doesn’t get done when you start into your pitch before really even getting to know us.

Might Just Be Me

Know what I saw more than anything else when I really took a moment to look around? Lonely people. I saw people not connecting. I saw lots of people who could’ve used a little attention. And I saw many people with lots of energy looking for a place to put it. And that means we have opportunities.

This wasn’t a rant about SXSW. It’s a post begging for a new way, a more engaged way, a human way to bring out the best in our efforts and time and expense.

What say you?

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ghopkins

Chris, I couldn't agree more. The factory mentality, where you do your elevator pitch before the target escapes, is dead. Engage first. Connect. Show interest. The very basics of human communications. I think we forget what we did when we were kids just making friends. We didn't run at other kids while screaming how great we are. I believe we started with “Hi, my name is_____. What's yours? Do you want to play?”
http://www.madpoetfiles.com/ Zach Ricks

You don't need to be at a conference to see lonesome people. Good thoughts, man.
http://www.dogwalkblog.com/ Rufus Dogg

@susan @Brandon If the SXSW welcome dogs are anything like the ones here at The Walk, I think the biggest challenge is finding enough people to pet them :) There are the obvious logistical and liability concerns, but it would sure make a cool story for SXSW to latch onto.. and pull the local Austin rescue, therapy and dog training industries into the show. Of course, cats would be jealous, but still aloof :-)

@Kristin right you are there. We all scratch a dog's belly the same way :-) Dogs don't care how many twitter followers you have or how many people read your blog. They just want a tussle behind the ear and a little attention.. like most people… hmmmm…
http://www.lynetteradio.com/ LynetteRadio

That last part about 'lonely people' *broke my heart* – I see that at Podcamps too & have been known to grab them by the hand, ask them what they are 'into' and walk them around to every single person I know. Sometimes it's forgotten that a lot of people are active in social channels are behind a keyboard, but when put in a room with the same number of Twitter followers they have – they FREEZE! I'm thankful for those that put other people's interest in front of their own.

Put a hand out and help someone out, and make them feel a part of the group that they already belong to. Always.
http://www.rocknrealty.net Nanette Labastida

tal- alway dig your thoughts, pleas blog more, thanks – apparantly we are the barcamp purveyors – BRING ON MORE BARCAMP and get engaged on that level. we are all panel worthy
Jetzcorn

Maybe 'that look' should be the goal – to get as many of those 'what the heck are you talking about' looks as possible. Keep track. Applaud each one. Maybe then we would “do more than we know” as Miss Distructo suggested. It's a mindset. Make sense?
http://gregcryns.blogspot.com/ greg cryns

This post touched me.

Yes, we could be doing so much more. Let's get our heads out of our butts and start opening our eyes, our feelings, our attentions, our pocketbooks.

Let's stop commenting as though we are experts and start waking up to those around us who may need a helping hand. Not everyone is an outgoing maniac. Not everyone is brilliant. Not everyone is dense either.

Chris, this is one of your best posts ever.
Pat

A comment about talking and doing…

I was talking to my husband about talking, and how sometimes it feels like just talking. We both want to engage more in 'doing' and came up with a simple plan for us in our biz. We run our own financial planning firm, so we decided to randomly choose someone that will benefit from him doing pro bono work. (As a financial planner, he charges a pretty good hourly rate)

Last week a 28 year old woman called with basic questions about savings, budgeting and cash flow. Like so many people her age, she has huge student loans to pay off and even though she was recently laid off and was bartending to make ends meet, she was fully prepared to pay his fee and so made an appointment with him. He had given her some 'homework' to do in preparation of the meeting and when the time came, she was prepared and ready to make good use of the scheduled phone call.

She was both shocked and thrilled when he told her of his intention, to give her a free financial coaching hour per quarter for a year.

And no one knows but us.

He got off the call jazzed beyond belief – it feels great to have the freedom to give of yourself in whatever way you want to.

You give so much every day Chris – thanks much.
http://www.diamondwebsiteconversion.com/ Shelby Sanchez

There is a new website called Buzzuka that helps people create their 30-second pitch. I haven't set up a profile yet, but it seems like it would be very helpful for people going to gatherings like SXSW for networking purposes.

http://www.buzzuka.com/
http://twitter.com/ellencrimitrent ellen crimi-trent

actually you are correct when you say they need to have a panel… if you look at this post I did about how when I tweeted about Paula Deens rug company ripping off my along w/ other artists rugs you can see how powerful twitter is! http://ellencrimitrent.typepad.com/my_weblog/20…

the news spread so fast I got a call from her people within an hour of posting it on Twitter- so yeah social media is for everyone and it would be great if SXSW would see how important it could be for artists as well!!
http://twitter.com/ellencrimitrent ellen crimi-trent

I guess you are correct Chris- what to do with the tools we have.. I say I am with Rufus on that there needs to be more of an expansion on other areas and I see Artists and Crafters such as the ones on Etsy a big hole missing here. The power to spread the word on their products is huge and the copyright issue as well. The fact that I got Paula Deens people to call me after Tweeting about the rug infringement is huge! No longer can companies just think they are “getting' away with it… the word will get out faster than ever, and most importantly the ones that are overseas we would rarely hear about you now can get them too. This recently happened to a fellow artist who was completely ripped off by someone in Germany but because of Twitter and Etsy and Blogs this girl was outed so fast she had to take the products of her site or she would get serious hate mail!!
Colleen

The networking tool suggestion is a lot of fun. It should replace the “Hello my name is…” sticker.

“I’m [Colleen], and I’m into [baking], and I’d love to talk about [mixing muffins], and I’d love to meet people into [art journaling], or just [image transfers]. I like [Vietnamese] food. If I were to support a cause, it’d be [something for homeless people], but I’m open to [Alzheimer's charities], too”
http://soulfulcreating.blogspot.com/ Rosaland Hannibal

Chris,

Great post. Here’s what came to me when I read it.
If you give individuals in large groups ‘permission’ to talk to strangers, they are more likely to do so. Here’s what I mean. The organizers of the conference could initiate a contest of sorts. Entice the participants to interact with each other and report on what they discover. A way to ‘Share the Passion’.

Simple structure. Each day, encourage all participants to do brief, 3 question interviews with people they have never met face to face. Then they can report what they discovered by using their favorite social media tool to talk about the person they just met. If they are not tweeting or whatever, they could simply introduce the person to some else and talk about what they just learned from them. This brings 3 people into conversation that would not necessarily be interacting otherwise.

What should they ask? Could be ‘What do you want to learn? What do you want to do with what you learn? What was the most important thing you got out of that last session? What could have been better about that session? What are they into? What type of people do they want to connect with? etc. Questions could be different every day and could include just about anything.

If it is built into the conference structure, it becomes part of the overall experience puts everyone on a level playing field in terms of meeting others. It’s all about talking to strangers. Two strangers get heard by each other and by their friends if the talk about each other through their respective social media outlets. Even if it is just a few sentences.

Of course it is in the best interest of the conference organizers to monitor those social media tools (or just pick one for this particular activity) and at the end of the day or the total conference, acknowledge the ones who introduced and talked about the most people or something. And of course the people who benefit most are all the ones being introduced and the ones reading those intros. Make sense? Just some thoughts.
Pat

Thoughts about talking and giving –

I was talking to my husband about talking, and how sometimes it feels like just talking. We both realized want to engage more in doing and came up with a plan for us in our biz. We run our own financial planning firm, so we decided to randomly choose someone that will benefit from him doing pro bono work. (As a financial planner, he charges a pretty good hourly rate)

Last week a 28 year old woman called with basic questions about savings, budgeting and cash flow. Like so many people her age, she has huge student loan balances and even though she was recently laid off and was bartending to make ends meet, she was fully prepared to pay his fee and made an appointment with him. He had given her some 'homework' to do to prepare for the meeting and when the time came, she was prepared and ready to make good use of the scheduled phone call.

She was both schocked and thrilled when he told her of his intention, to give her a free financial coaching hour per quarter for a year.

And no one knows but us.

He got off the call jazzed beyond belief – it feels great to have the freedom to give in whichever way feels right.

You give so much every day Chris – thanks much for all you do.
melissaleon

I agree with you Chris we should move away from what we do to what can we do. This is my first time at sxsw and I find it really difficult to find the sessions that would be talking about social justice, social change, news ways of thinking. There were a few that I found but it was difficult.

Totally agree about sponsors we don't do enough for them.
spinhead

In Seth Godin's Triiibes.com network, when about a thousand new members joined after Linchpin was published, a handful of us put an orange question mark on our avatar. The newbies knew they could ask us what was going on, how to do this or that, why so-and-so said such-and-such, and what's all this about bacon, anyway?

Mentor badges are a good thing and more of us need to wear them, online and off. (I'm also the guy who gets stopped in the mall and asked for directions, just because a) I look like I know what's going on and b) I'll be willing to share it)
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

Dear Chris,
I have no idea who you are but I somehow found you and I'm VERY glad I did! I just read this post and it was like drinking a nice fresh cold glass of refreshing water, feel me?!

For the last 13 years my life has consisted of helping people live life to their fullest potential. Not like a Tony Robbins or a Gary Varynerchuck but more like a ghandi mixed with some Mother Theresa. You mentioned the Leons whom I also don't know…yet heehee but they remind me of an old version of myself. One that was more innocent and caring until years of experience reshaped my idea of reality.

I spent many years basically living with homeless peeps since it was my couch they would crash on. I learned alot during those times and what I slowly began to realize was the most recurring 'cause' of my friends homeless situations was simple. Lack of education and leadership.

Coincidently I JUST created a facebook group that I believe will be revolutionary along the lines of everything you touched on in this great post. Bravo my new friend!

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=372615012939
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

Heres a description of the group if your interested in participating, its all experimental but then again, isn't life?

I have created a group with the BEST of intentions. I am a self professed learning addict and now that the internet has matured to the point we are familiar with today (2010) learning takes on a whole new meaning!

What I mean by that is the typical mindset assumes one must go to school to really 'learn' a profession, trade or science correct?

That makes sense because the ones that choose to attend a learning center such as a university, trade school or community college are then immersed into a social community of like minded individuals. And when like minded people start asking each other the most knowledge enhancing question of all time “why?” and proceed to answer that question to the best of their ability then wonderful conclusions start to become reality.

but what if your like me, what if you cant afford to attend a 'learning center'?

That is why I created the classroom.

We have a RIDICULOUS amount of knowledge at the tips of our fingers which can become a frightening reality to any who ponder for too long (breaks out in hysterical laughter hahaha)

All that needs to be done now is some simple 'system integration'. In the world of internet marketing there is a a term often used, 'information overload' or 'Analysis paralysis' . I suffer greatly from that! Meaning, I study and learn all these great ways to make a buck or two online but then fail to act upon them because I'm too busy studying ANOTHER way, craziness I tell ya!

SO my thought is too oversee a system that integrates teachers (people like me and you that are passionate about teaching something) with students (again people like me and you that are passionate about learning something new)

The format is simple, converstion style. What I mean by that is again simple, I'm sure we've all been involved in at least one lengthy facebook comment conversation. I happen to be involved in at least one a day ranging from politics to religion to sheer randomness and typically two things tend to always happen.

First off, nine out of ten times I learn something. I may not openly admit it in the convo, but I always take something away from it heeheehee.

Second, I almost always meet somebody new who gets involved in the convo by joining via already involved mutual friend. Thats my favorite part even though I love learning new things, meeting new interesting people is by far superior :)

As soon as a lesson gets going you will be able to SEE a better example of what I'm talking about but know this, I learn as I go so I have no idea what this will evolve into I just know it will. If I'm the only one teaching and learning then so be it, feel free to 'lurk'.

All righty! With that being said I encourage you to ask questions if you have any, I am going to commit to this experiment so I will be available more often than not and am excepting financial donations of any amount so my internet does not get turned off or my mom has to make the always difficult choice of eviction. (I rent my brothers old house which she bought from him for a great deal, and yes she will destroy you in a game of monopoly,speaking from personal exp hahaha)

Oh! I almost forgot! What inpsired this idea (last night) was my sister! I started helping (teaching) her how to build a website that she could sell her handmade babie clothes with. I walked her through the complete process and as soon as the site was finished she decided to rename it. That meant building another completely different site! Time is not always available to a guy thats hard up and starvin so I spent 5 minutes installing a platform for her to work on and then forwarded all her questions to google. Well last night when I stopped by her house she had a question about her site and when she loaded it up on her PC I was like WTF?! You DID THAT! I was blown away, a month ago this chick had no clue how to 'build' a website, and now shes got mad STYLE! http://runwayrugratz.com/

So hear me out, if you believe in this idea like I do, donate money! I am muy pobre as far as $$$ goes but VERY wealthy in the ambition,innovation and production departments. Thanks for your time, please share the Classroom with all who you know that would find interest.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=372615012…

Jeremy Aragon
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

“It is not just you. Ironically, the larger an event gets, the lonelier it becomes for new people. Cliques form, the elite go to meet the other elites, the fans go to rub elbows with the elites and the event is too busy catering to the sponsors to pay attention to the new people coming in. “

again, another similarity to why I cut ties with the USA version of Evangelical Chritianity…

Keep preachin it Rufus DOGG!
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

“Chris, it sounds like we need to develop an entirely different conference that will impact many lives..I'm game if you are:)”

Can I be game too?
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

“It is a funny thing…those of us who couldn't make it to SXSW have been envying all of you from afar.”

aint that the truth… The website say walk up tix are over a G! n my powers bout to get shut off….
http://www.dogwalkblog.com/ Rufus Dogg

Got to do more than preach, gotta try and change it. I'm guessing most of the “elites” are less aware of their exclusion behavior than the newbies and most here would like to change that. And for the ones who don't, their loss. No change, no growth!
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

Pace, ironic you mentioned (and keep the sharks out) check out what I posted like 3 hours ago on my facebook :

Jeremy Aragon Talk about a woman getting what she wants? Peep this, “she seeks out her own specialty food, SHARKS LIVER!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8GaDuCvYbE
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

Viva La Revolución!!!!!!
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

what are the qualifications of a 'guru' these days anywayz?
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

Kristin! We should 'roll' together online sometime! You said,'I'm a loyal reader but rarely comment because when I see 100 other comments I figure it's all been said…” When I say 'roll' together what I mean is we 'connect' using whatever the coolest tool is, right now I'm using DISQUS ? which I signed up for like 3 days ago hahaha and then we find an interesting post like this and read through commenting together and meeting interesting and cool people…such as yourself ;)
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

who then also participate using the magical 'reply' button :O
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

we could play a game called 'how many conversations can we start within a conversation” or , who can 'organically' glean more friends from a 'roll' by utilizing active participation and advice offering skillz :)
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

Shane, what you said reminds me of a t-shirt a “Great Wazu” in Jersey said he would buy me, it simply says “Altruism is the new sexy”
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

“A lot of what they shared though were visions and dreams. They couldn't stop talking about how they had desire and energy to change business, fight going broke, or just make sure people were safe.
Unfortunately many of these people didn't get heard.”

reminds me of this guy: me(dot)jeremyaragon(dot)com
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

“I've been at seminars where I stand alone, someone approaches me, and we end up with 10 people around and we're all engaged in the conversation, sharing what we know. It's a beautiful thing.”

I met most of my best friends and camping buddys by approaching them in a downtown church in the central hill side of Duluth MN by the free coffee. They where the 'newbies' everybody shunned…makes me kinda tear up thinkin bout that damn…..
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

“I've been at seminars where I stand alone, someone approaches me, and we end up with 10 people around and we're all engaged in the conversation, sharing what we know. It's a beautiful thing.”

I met most of my best friends and camping buddys by approaching them in a downtown church in the central hill side of Duluth MN by the free coffee. They where the 'newbies' everybody shunned…makes me kinda tear up thinkin bout that damn…..
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

“If the kinds of things you've blogged about were to become reality,”

sounds like a challenge heeheehee….
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

I dont know why but I just got a silly idea from reading this reply, bare with me… its inspired by my favorite poet Tupac Shakur, he said one time that he thinks the rich should live like the poor and the poor should live like the rich and it should switch every week.

What if that could be translated into “Social Media”? laguage?

What exactly defines one of these 'gurus' thats talking at this event thats poppin off? Wow they developed another way to communicate, and their an extorverted?!
Soooo, wheres that leave the 'noob' who may possess WAY more raw talent in the social interaction world just lacking the technical know how.

DOes that make sense? I hear what your sayin though Jeff, it was just a random idea that popped in the dome…
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

“I absolutely LOVE taking an online connection and making it an “in-person” one”

HAHAHAHA Laura you just defined the main purpose of my first 3 myspace accounts after I was divorced hahahahahahaa… but seriously, that was the best social networking tool for a single guy EVER, 3 of my current BFF girls I met that way :O then the spammers took over…
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

touche! (nice)
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

“I am an artist and while I enjoy the uses of Social Media for getting the word out about who and what I am I find I am just a small piece of the pie of Social Media and wouldn't know where I would fit into the whole thing.”

WORD! We should ROLL together yo!
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

YES!
shaneketterman

Ha! I love that. How about at t-shirt that says “YOU Are The New Sexy”
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

Not only do you have the coolest name on this page thus far Miss Destructo (that sounds so cool saying out loud, if your reading this try it in a super villain voice hahaha) but also the coolest idea

“I think sometime there should be a “living panel field trip”. Take the whole room and go outside and interact with others using what they just learned. Spread the knowledge, make it fun and make it helpful. Have people go out and find the lonely folks and get to know more about them.. bring em into the group”
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

hahahaha! I am the epitomy of the “do , think , do” mind set…. irony is everywhere today…
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

hola amigo, como estas? (I'm trying to learn spanish opposed to what I currently know Spanglish by typing in espanol, honestly this was the first time, but the first of many!)
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

#zombiesheep
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

I would be so offended if I were the speaker, #zombiesheep are EVERYWHERE these days!
http://jeremyaragon.com/ Jeremy Aragon

“but there somewhat of a sense of “clique” here at SXSW. I wish it didn't exist.” thats why I only spent one semester at a Theological Seminary…
http://twitter.com/deannie Deanna McNeil

I kind of stopped at the part where you wrote, “…People have been so very nice at this event. I’m so happy to meet people that I’ve only seen from online. That’s a wonderful thing. I’m glad you met me.” You weren't glad to meet those folks? And those lonely folks you saw? Did you approach them? That is something you could have done right then and there.
http://mydarabell.com/ Dara Bell

I think the human artist is interesting, I think that people that live with people are better at it, I think you need to take yourself out at night or day. It is just a social muscle. It needs exercise.

I feel concentrating on win win or how you can serve also immediately puts you at ease. Gary Vaynrchuk served wine to people at early Social Netwoking meetups. If you are deviod of outcome placing others at the centre of you attention, rarely are you anything but a human artist.

Also you can just reel of some of your core content (brand message) in a your own voice and that can get through a bit of social anxiety,nobody liks someone who is too perfect so slip too. I kinda of recommend people read Trust Agents and tie in the event into a bigger picture. This is all just a game as you suggest in the book.
http://netvibes.com/monikahardy monika hardy

i love this post.
lindavandevrede

I haven't attended SXSW yet, but I have the feeling it has morphed into so large a conference that the personal connections have been lost. Not sure if I will try to attend in 2011. Maybe it has become a victim of its own success?
http://recruitingindustrybrandingandsourcing.blogspot.com/ David Benjamin

My first experience at sxsw was awesome. I wasn't one of the lonely soles looking for something. My gut tells me the same people that looked 'lonely' at sxsw also struggle with online networking. They most likely haven't made connections with those they would like to meet and so they lack the confidence to approach people they admire, follow, and learn from through the various social networking channels.

While I like some of the suggestions you've listed in your post, I think the onus still falls on each individual to make their own way. Insecurity is not a friend of sxsw, but we must not forget that tech people, by nature are not always the best at comfortable, confident interactions.