More Presentations (and Other Stuff)

Two presentations (on networks and rebuilding cities) and a bunch of random links.

So I'm really digging SlideShare at the moment. It's a great way to share presentations and the embed functionality is pretty killer. It's pretty hard to believe Google hasn't added embedability to it's presentations yet (or has it and I just don't know about it).

Anyway, I finally got around to posting the presentation I gave when I went out to Montana in May. Here it is (if you want the PDF, download it here):

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Now onto another presentation, this one comes from this month's likemind global question: "If you were to rebuild your city from scratch, how would you build it differently and what would you keep the same?" Piers was kind enough to put it into list form and we've got the full presentation over at the likemind site.

And now for some random links . . .

• Steven Johnson breaks down which authors use the longest sentences. Combatants include: Malcolm Gladwell, Steven Pinker, Seth Godin, Christopher Hitchens, Michel Foucault and Frederic Jameson.
• The Economist notes something I've been thinking for a while but having trouble articulating: "Unlike other networks, social networks lose value once they go beyond a certain size. 'The value of a social network is defined not only by who's on it, but by who's excluded,' says Paul Saffo, a Silicon Valley forecaster."
• Worried that your shotgun is too far from your bed? The Back-Up solves that by giving you a handy holder that goes between your mattress and box spring.
• The Outsourced Brain is pretty much the same article as Your Outboard Brain Knows All. In fact, David Brooks mentions reading Clive Thompson's article . . . weird. (Brooks link via Chet)
• Metcalfe's Law is Wrong. This isn't really new news, but it's the best explanation I've read. If Metcalfe's law was correct it would make no sense for networks (like Facebook or Myspace for instance) to be closed. (For more info on networks, check out the presentation at the top of this post.)
• Last but not least, one last article on network theory. This one talks about the importance of random connection in a complex network (and is pretty old).

Okay, that's it for now. Off to Jacksonville. See you later.

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Talking About CGM

I kind of hate the term, but consumer generated media has been on my mind lately.

I feel like I've been going to a lot of conferences lately. I don't know whether it's true or not, but after going to Influx Ideas last week, I actually spoke at Nielsen Buzzmetrics' CGM Summit 2007. My panel was called "Are Brands Prepared for 2010?" and was moderated by none other than Max Kalehoff. Here's the description:

What are the leading brands doing to rewire their DNA for a world increasingly impacted by CGM? How are they changing the way their companies listen, the way they communicate, and the way they manage customer relationships? How have past CGM experiments and lessons informed marketing innovation and planning for the future? Where are we certain, where are our vulnerabilities?

Anyway, I had lots of thoughts about the future of CGM (consumer generated media), but didn't necessarily get them all out during the panel. So, I figured I would throw up some of my notes here:

In three years, CGM will be:

• Integrated into more and more major sites. This is already beginning to happen with Washington Post showing blogs that link to an article or to a lesser extent, Yahoo! including Flickr photos or the New York Times showing which articles are most blogged. Obviously this will lend it an air of credibility and further expose CGM.
• Much more about testing. I've had this theory floating around my head for a while that the future of CGM (especially from an advertising/marketing perspective) is going to be about making a whole bunch of really small investments, seeing which stick and then iterating/investing more on the fly.
• Accepted as a long-term relationship play rather than a short-term burst strategy. Clients are still focused on 'viral', however, CGM is best used as a longer term strategy for developing relationships with customers. (Also on the panel was Bruce Ertmann from Toyota who seems to get this.)

Also mentioned throughout my presentation: Brand as curator, big seed marketing and horizontal media. Although I didn't get to talk about it, I meant to mention the idea that I am ready to move past just looking at influencers and instead at the gauge of the community you want to influence. I haven't fully formed this idea, but after reading The Strength of Weak Ties (PDF via Bokardo), it's something you can expect to read about in the near future.

Finally, back in September I spoke at the Promo Live conference on a panel moderated by Herb Sawyer with the always brilliant Rohit Bhargava and David Armano.

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Sorry if the presentation isn't self explanatory, I am happy to add some voiceover if necessary. Just let me know. Okay, that's it for now. Sorry for the slow posting lately.

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drinks in sf tonight

I am having a little get together in San Francisco tonight and you are invited.

[This is an email I sent to friends in sf. I decided to post it here and invite all you as well.]

Hi everyone I know who lives in or around SF, I was thinking about getting a bunch of people together Monday night for some drinks before I leave town for the other coast. If you're so inclined and available, here are the details:

Time: 6pm
Date: Monday, October 22ndm
Location: Rye, 688 Geary St, San Francisco, CA 94102 -- http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/profile/41873212/san_francisco_ca/rye.html

Rye is a cocktail bar with delicious drinks. It's a bit expensive, but you can always grab a beer instead of a cocktail (but really, the cocktails are quite delicious).

Obviously feel free to tell friends, post on blogs, scream from building-tops about it. The more the merrier.

Thanks and hope you're all well.

- Noah

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In Flux

Some thoughts/observations/quotes from Influx Ideas.

Am out in San Francisco at the Influx Ideas Conference (that's Influx like the blog). Ed was kind enough to hook me up with a free ticket and in exchange I'm going to some blogging from the event. I kind of hate the live blogging thing, though, so rather than just feed you a bunch of random points out of context I'm going to do my best to add a bit of extra info/thinking. It's an experiment, so let's see how it works out . . .

So here are some thoughts/quotes/ideas. Each header is the speaker who was onstage . . .

Sarah Rich - Worldchanging

• There's an opportunity for local food as a reaction to national security threats. Knowing where your food came from makes it safer . . .
• "Not every company brands green with integrity," but consumers will expose them. (More or less a quote.) Okay, I'm not sure about this one. Who are these vigilante bloggers people are always talking about. Are consumers really calling brands out or are consumers who live in our bubble more aware of what brand integrity means and we're projecting that awareness on the general population. Joe, a coworker from Naked, had an idea awhile back about building a Virtual Midwest to allow marketers like myself, who live in an NYC bubble to visit the midwest and see what the middle of the country looks like. Just to step back for one second, I don't mean to be snarky here and Sarah may be absolutely right, but I don't feel like I'm savvy enough to know whether a brand who calls itself green and uses some earth tones in its packaging is doing it with integrity. (As Joe pointed out, GM is a good example. Hopefully he'll explain in the comments.)
• Sarah talked a bit about backstory which I think is a huge area of possibilities. Reminds me of blogjects (here's an old entry of mine that talks about them). Anyway, what happens when objects know (or at least contain information that documents) their own history. What if your clothes included a little chip that told you where it was from, who worked on it, how much fuel was consumed, etc.

Scott Wyatt - NBBJ Architects

• They've done some awesome work. I've been to Reebok headquarters and it's pretty amazing. He also mentioned Boeing and Telenor. I love architecture as a discipline. Seriously, it's so cool and multi-disciplinary.
• "When you see the Sydney Opera House you think 'Sydney', but when you think about Sydney, do you say 'opera'?"
• This building is absurd.
• I've heard/read a few times recently about the idea of buildings as sales tools. Scott talked about how Boeing brings more clients to it's office as a way to show off their philosophy. I can't remember where it was, but I recently read about an agency (I think) that recently redid it's office and they had a close rate of like 70% when they brought prospects in. (I'm sure those numbers are totally wrong and if anyone knows what I'm talking about, please let me know.) Anyway, it makes perfect sense: As always, everything is media.
• Last from Scott is something else I've been thinking lots about. He was talking about buildings for corporations and how they approach it. Rather than working off functional specifications (number of desks needed, number of conference rooms needed, etc.), they work off the cultural specifications of the company: Who are they, what do they stand for, etc. This, to me, is a much better approach. I think far too often the corporate world approaches problems by forgetting that people are people. That's why business software is so bad. Anyway, here are two articles about designing business spaces that I think you'll find interesting: 1) Enabling Innovation Through Office Design and 2) Designs for Working.

Gregory Kennedy - Millions of Us

• I have to admit, as soon as the topic of Second Life comes up I kind of roll my eyes . . .
• The one point I found especially interesting was the idea that Second Life could be a super cheap 3D app. Rather than paying thousands of dollars for Maya, people have a cheap way to design 3D objects. Of course it's a lot more amateur, but so are lots of other things . . .

Okay, that's it for now, will just keep amending this thing . . .

Kent Nichols - Ask a Ninja

• Ask a Ninja is very funny. I had almost forgotten.

More soon . . .

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likemind Global Question

A small addition to likemind this month.

As with most months, I like to remind people that likemind is happening. We're in 37 cities (if my counting is right) and we're pretty excited to be opening our first dual city this month as likemind Brooklyn joins Manhattan (we felt like the time was right).

What's extra exciting for this month, though, is the realization of an idea Piers and I have been bouncing around for a while. We're going to see what happens when we throw a question out to the likemind network. It's a bit scary, since the beauty of likemind is it's free-formness, but we are quite committed to keeping things that way. No one is required to talk about it, but we thought it might be a nice way to meet new people you otherwise wouldn't chat with (it's much easier to start a conversation off a prompt you've been given).

Anyway, this month's question is: "If you were to rebuild your city from scratch, how would you build it differently and what would you keep the same?"

Got any thoughts?

Update (10/17/07): I am headed out to SF tomorrow AM. Will be there Friday for Influx Ideas (and hopefully stop by likemind). If you're around, drop me a line.

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Musical Numbers

Assorted thoughts on the state of musical things.

Clearly the music business has been on everyone's mind lately. Between Radiohead going with pay-what-you-want and the slew of announcements that followed, it's been a hot topic. So, in a move that should surprise no one at all, I'm going to throw my two cents in the ring (inspired in part by Chartreuse calling me out).

So in no specific (or sensical) order . . .

1. I've said it before (though maybe not here), digital technology and piracy is not to blame for the decline of the music business. Rather, poor planning and lack of strategic vision is the real issue. Rather than dealing with the hand they (and the rest of the media world) were dealt, they tried to hold back the dam with some chewing gum (even winning lawsuits for hundreds of thousands of dollars). If the industry had invested even a small portion of their legal fees in building something people wanted, they probably would have been the ones Rupert paid millions to instead of Intermix.
2. Suing your customers is a bad business practice. Period.
3. A while back I wrote that everything is relative. Well this, my friends, is a perfect example. Small artist invests small amounts to make record. Said small artists needs to recoup small amounts to break into the black (especially without all the accountants, lawyers, handlers and marketers to pay). It's not brain science . . . Sure they may not make millions like the record company did, but then again, the only figure that really matters is the one you need to pay your rent (and whatever else you like buying I guess).
4. I listen to more music and go to more concerts than I ever could/would have before all this digital music stuff happened. I love it. Two weekends ago I shelled out $50 for an Arcade Fire show and this week another $20 for !!! (which I didn't even make it to thanks to a delayed flight). I am seeing Go! Team Friday in San Francisco (btw, if anyone wants to meet up, I'll be out there for a few days) and Sufjan Stevens in two weeks. That's a lot of music and a fair amount of money. All of it is being spent on bands not on major labels who I wouldn't know about without all this crazy music sharing that's going around.
5. Despite what Chartreuse said, Radiohead is an anomaly and much of the success of this experiment is due to past work (not just marketing) and the hype Radiohead can create (seriously, how many other bands have fans who wait outside the night before the release?). That's not to say that this isn't a good model, but rather that few other bands will see the kind of success from it that Radiohead will. It's not an indictment of the system or the other bands, but rather it's praise for Radiohead.
6. Speaking of revenue models for music, I think it's Prince, not Radiohead, who's got it figured out. (I wrote a bit about this a few months ago.)
7. Doritos and Missy.
8. And speaking of music and marketing, I'm pretty excited to see how things work out for RCRD LBL, I've been chatting with those guys and I think it's bound to be big.

I think that's it for now. I'm sure more thoughts will pop in my head and I'll add them as updates or just stick them in the comments. Until then, feel free to throw in your own.

Update (10/17/07): Just read this entry over at Virtual Economics and thought you all might enjoy.

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Science, Economics and Cupcakes

Yet another entry of no rhyme and reason (YAEONRAR).

Okay, so I haven't had a ton to say lately, but I expect that may change as I have recently begun reading Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable. I'm just digging in, but have been quite impressed so far. It's basically a book that suggests the way we think about almost everything is backward: We focus on normal when its extreme events that really make change. My favorite example is a thought experiment that imagines a politician who managed to get a law passed prior to September 11th, 2001 that required all airplanes to have bulletproof locked doors to the cockpit. Taleb goes on to explain:

The person who imposed locks on cockpit doors gets no statuses in public squares, not so much as a quick mention of his contribution in his obituary. "Joe Smith, who helped avoid the disaster of 9/11, died of complications of liver disease." Seeing how superfluous his measure was, and how it squandered resources, the public, with great help from airline pilots, might well boot him out of office . . .

No consider again the events of 9/11. In their aftermath, who got the recognition? Those you saw in the media, on television performing heroic acts, and those whom you saw trying to give you the impression that they were performing heroic acts.

We focus on the wrong stuff . . . a lot.

Okay, now on to other randomness.

• First off, the Influx Ideas Conference is only a few weeks away in San Francisco and I just got an email from Ed at Influx Insights letting me know there are still a few tickets left. If you're interested, it's on October 19th in San Francisco. Speakers range from Worldchanging to Ask a Ninja. For a full explanation check out this Influx Insights blog post or the conference site. Or, if you're ready, go buy some tickets.
• David Card huzzahs Michael Arrington. In response to a quote by Arrington about how music should be free, Card responds: "By this remarkably oversimplified analysis, software, filmed entertainment, soda at McDonalds, and the classic example, high-end perfume, should all be free. What, pray tell, are the "real products" that will support those industries? Very few bands can make a living off of touring and T-shirts. Oh, that's it, advertising. I bet Arrington listens to a lot of commercial radio..." As my mom so nicely put it in the comments to my last entry: Snap!
• Speaking of economics, Robert Frank was interviewed on NPR the other morning about his book The Economic Naturalist: In Search of Explanations for Everyday Enigmas. Basically he goes around trying to answer questions like why are milk cartons square as opposed to round like most other beverages (answer: because milk always needs to be refrigerated, so you want to fit as many as possible) and why does Magnolia Bakery not charge more for its cupcakes if the line is so long (answer: because the line is their best marketing channel).
• My coworker Jared wrote a great post last week about how awful the idea of "owning" things in marketing is. Money line: "And despite one former client’s dreams, their snack could never own July 4th, no matter how much they spent (budget was roughly $2 million). Because only one thing owns July 4th, and that’s fireworks." Go read the whole thing.
• WikiScanner is awesome. It lets you look at anonymous Wikipedia edits made by a specific IP address. For example, someone from the Naked office in London removed vandalism from Wikipedia's entry on Stromboli.
• Switching gears, my friend Andrew wrote up a great entry highlighting the differences between marketing conferences in New York and web 2.0 articles in San Francisco. Money quote: "There's a lot of women here, of all ages, all ethnicities, and all advertising job functions. 'nuf said."
• The NFL is creating an ad network across it's 32 team sites. Interesting, very interesting . . . everyone is a media owner.
• A really good article from this month's Wired (at least I think it's this month) on how there's a push in science to publish failed results. I feel like this probably falls into the Black Swan/behavioral economics category, but I'm not sure how. Think about it, though: How many experiments fail? Yet all we ever learn from are those that succeed. How much money and time is wasted recreating failed experiments because others didn't admit to their failure?

Anyway, that's it for now. Have a big weekend ahead of me: Taking a tour of the High Line, seeing Arcade Fire and going to a wedding (with the geekiest cake toppers I've ever seen). Have a good one.

Update (10/6/07): Just wanted to add one more link: My friend Justin wrote an incredibly funny entry titled the songs I sing to my [newborn] son as reviewed by an anonymous music critic. Just made me laugh and I figured I'd share.

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