Friendship is Dead - See You at SXSW! (Core Conversation)
Written by Russ on November 30, 2008 – 9:21 pmWay back in May I started noodling with the notion of a panel for SXSW in 2009.
I’d say a few thousand people started noodling with the same notion, and then about 1300 of us took the plunge and submitted panels and topics to the Interactive part of SXSW.
My panel topic was “Friendship is Dead” and it is meant to be an exploration of how the word “friendship” came to be and around how our online social networks have begun to erode away at what friendship has meant. Friendship has become increasingly NOT dependent upon location and has odd sort of ways of being defined now, and it seems that the word itself gets tossed around loosely as a noun or a verb (She’s my friend, Friend me on Facebook and I’ll add you) and that once ever-valuable handshake seems to be dying away.
On the submission, I wrote:
So what is a friend anymore? Is it a checkbox or something to collect? Have social networking tools diluted the meaning of “friend” to be someone to add to your collection? Or do these tools allow you to connect with people you’ve never met before? How does friendship differ offline and online?
And, it apparently was not picked as a panel.
They selected somewhere around 200 of us in three different rounds. I received the first two rounds of rejections, but never really noticed that I didn’t receive the third–I just noticed that I did not make the cut when the last round was posted.
However, on November 25th around 1:30p CST, I was just returning from lunch and got an email that pretty much knocked me on my rear end. Here’s the (minorly edited) email I received:
Hey Russ,
Greetings. I hope that you are well and that you are having a great November. Any big plans for Turkey Day?
As you are probably aware, we received more than 1300 panel proposals for the 2009 South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival. Most of these ideas are extremely impressive in their analysis of current (and future!) issues in the new media landscape. Unfortunately, we only have the physical space at the Austin Convention Center to host about 200 of these proposals.
To this end, we really like the “Friendship is Dead” idea that you submitted. While the panel program is now pretty much full we would very much like for you to present this idea as a Core Conversation.
WHAT IS IT?
Like panels, Core Conversations last for 60 minutes. What is different however is that Core Conversations remove the traditional speaker / audience interface. Instead, imagine one person in a chair (you) surrounded by 30-50 attendees who are intensely interested in your topic. Your role here is less to give a presentation and more to direct a conversation (as the title implies) about the topic at hand.VERY POPULAR IN 2008
Introduced last spring at SXSW, Core Conversations proved to be an extremely popular part of the event. But, don’t take my word for it. This is what Scott McDaniel of SurveyGizmo says about the Core Conversation he led at the 2008 event: “We were blown away by our attendance at GTD for Startups. We counted about 50 people there and most off them stood for the entire session. Because it was more intimate than a panel, our crowd really interacted with both questions and their own tips. We felt even we learned a lot from the session. If you have a good topic people care about, you’ll get both a great turnout and a great discussion.”WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN NOW
If you want to be a part of the Core Conversation program for 2009, then please respond to this e-mail ASAP with a simple “Yes, I’m on board to do a Core Conversation.” At that point, we will get you a little more information on this program, as well as send you comp information.As always, please fire away if you have questions.
Best regards,
Hugh Forrest
SXSW Interactive Festival
March 13-17, 2009
Austin, TX
http://www.sxsw.com/interactive
So, uh, yeah.
That is, “YEAH!!”
I’m still a bit taken aback by even the remote consideration for such a thing, but I’m excited as hell about it.
The Core Conversations at SXSW appear to be something that has growing interest, and while it does not allow me to hang out with all of the insanely brilliant panel members I had selected to work with, it still allows me to talk about a topic that I think is growing more and more relevant. While I will miss my partners in crime: Matthew Milan, Bill DeRouchey & David Armano (this just in! David & I will be unveiling our Felix & Oscar routine together!), I believe that the topic is relevant and will spark some great conversation.
If you’re at SXSW, I hope you’ll join me us.
If you’re not at SXSW, I’m nearly 100% positive that we’ll find a way to have a little fun with this and engage as many people around the world as possible.
Posted in Community, Conferences, Presentations, SXSW, Social Networking | 1 Comment »
An Opportunity for Twitter, Recognized as Aching Mothers Band(wagon) Together
Written by Russ on November 17, 2008 – 11:05 pmI swore that I would not jump on the Motrin bandwagon myself and talk about how awesome it is that all of the moms came together to rally against the big bad advertisement.
So, I won’t.
Most people are observing the groundswell, sharing the videos, talking about how powerful Twitter is, and the voice of the consumers really is.
I say that’s only partially true, and to be honest, the voice of the consumers was only effective to a point–and then largely ineffective.
Yeah, I said it.
I think the voice of the “Motrin Moms” did a great job of “getting their way” and getting the advertisement pulled.
And Motrin did a great job of saying, “We heard you” to a select handful of people who are a small margin of the users of the web, but who have the power of Twitter, the blogosphere–and may, or may not, actually sell a few of those damned slings that seem to get everyone so riled up to begin with.
But, as Gabby Hon poetically said:
“Okay motrinmoms, now that you’ve “won”, so what? What did you honestly achieve via your twitter tantrum?”
Anyone who’s dug a little deeper into this blog will know how much I love the “So What?”, so I’m totally hearting what Gabby’s saying.
Michael Rivera takes things a step further and makes suggestions (which, by the way, seem to be in short supply out there–lots of criticism, but few people trying to be part of the solution) for what Motrin could do:
- Build the Motrin Mom’s Advisory Board
- Own the idea of “mommy ergonomics”
- Co-brand with a baby sling manufacturer and send out free, and branded, baby slings to all the offended twittermoms, with an invitation to join the Motrin Mom’s Forum.
Good, solid suggestions–for Motrin.
In fact, I’ve been saying all day that this whole fiasco is a brilliant opportunity for Motrin!
I mean, OMG! Like, thousands of “Motrin Moms” all started twitter-screaming at the top of their lungs that this is ridiculous! This is hurting my feelings! Motrin doesn’t get moms! Slings are totally FTW!
All. Weekend. Long.
Oh–for an ad that was released on September 30th of this year, for what it’s worth.
Somewhere out there, one rather vocal–and rather popular–twitter/blogger/etc. social mom got her feathers ruffled and shared those feelings outward and the pond rippled from there.
But, as Gabby says:
So what?
This is where the Twitter opportunity comes in to play.
The joke I made today about all of this to Cindy Chastain was:
Twitter was great to allow them to bully and megaphone their way into getting attention–from Motrin to the New York Times to David Armano, Jeremiah Owyang and anyone else who could catch on.
Good for them.
Bad for Twitter.
The reason this is bad is because this group of “Motrin Moms” had a somewhat collective voice–they were all pissed off. Most likely, this was all for similar reasons, however, there appeared to be no true leader identified–regardless of who posted what first to uncover this egregious ad that had been out for nearly 1.5 months.
They had no Jesse Jackson of their own.
They had no single point of contact to make some demands, to stand up as an organized mob and get more than just an ad pulled down.
So, to a point, they achieved an unknown–yet mutual–objective. But, now, they go away.
Fade…fade away…
(Oh, and thanks for all of you standing up and providing Motrin with an idea of who all the right people are to talk to–seriously, you just made it really easy for them, and I would personally relish that opportunity if I were them!)
So What?
So, Twitter, your opportunity is here. Allow the disorganized mobs to organize. Allow them to find their leadership and voices and share within their sub-communities inside of your Twitterverse. Allow new communities to form, grow and thrive with focus and purpose.
Heck, I bet you could even make some money at it.
Posted in Community, Social Networking, Viral | 8 Comments »
How To Stay Up When The Chips Are Down (You Know, When The Economy Stinks)
Written by Russ on November 13, 2008 – 8:23 amI think that the state of the world right now is the scariest that I’ve seen it since that whole post 9/11 bit. At the same time, it’s very exciting; there’s a world of opportunity in front of us, and if I had the stones, I’d be starting my own business.
But my stones aren’t really the important topic at the moment. In times like these, people are anxious and often stir crazy. It’s easy to be frightened and be concerned about the next bit of bad news–which, thanks to the media, it’s always just around the corner or one CNN alert away via your favorite medium.
But I’ve been through this before, and while I will admit to my own concerns, distractions and sometimes all-out fear, I learned a lot from the last time and I think there are a few things that are useful to hold on to when you start to get caught up in the crazy times around us.
Without further delay, I’ll share some of the things that I do to fight of the the crazy, battle the negative and stave-off defeatist feelings:
- Network - Get in touch with your colleagues and peers. That can be via a mailing list (and in my opinion these are still valuable, allow you the opportunity to lurk-and-learn and participate), through LinkedIn connections you’ve fallen out of touch with, or by simply attending an event.
- Go to Events - Go to events. Someone is always hosting some sort of an event from MeetUps to TweetUps to IxDA local events to David Armano streaming a ride in weiner mobile. Things happen and you should find a way to attend. And if you’re not finding something, then…
- Plan an Event - That’s right, plan an event yourself. There are plenty of organizations looking for volunteers, many would love to have a local presence in your community if they do not already. And if they do, get in touch with the local planner–that person would be happy to have your assistance, as this type of effort is often thankless. Many places are starving for an unconference or a BarCamp (and if you’re interested in something like that in the Chicago area for, say, January/February/March of 2009, then get ahold of me as I have something brewing!). Just dive in with both feet, ask a lot of questions and start to figure it out. You’ll feel better about yourself, learn a lot and meet new people.
- Volunteer - See above, but don’t stop there. There are plenty of organizations in your community that could use your help–not just professional groups. Deliver some meals, serve food, canvas an area for a cause or help build a house.
- Be a Mentor, Get a Mentor - There’s a good chance you’ve got some experience that you could impart to someone else and that could help them immensely. Do it. Get involved in a mentoring program (like the one at the IA Institute!) and give back a little–even if, if not especially if, the chips are down. This is a great way to earn some karma and add to your balance. Also, don’t forget to get a mentor of your own–I can think of several people that I consider mentors, many of whom are peers, as well, and they’re invaluable.
- Get Involved in Pro-Bono Work - It’s no time to sit on your duff and do nothing. If you’ve got skills, apply them. So, if there’s a Habitat for Humanity that could use some of your carpenter skills, get up and do it. Take pictures, add it to your resume and discuss it as part of who you are. If that doesn’t work, find a non-profit organization or cull CraigsList to find someone looking for assistance that would utilize your skills and talents. In some cases, you may actually get paid. In all cases, you’ll get experience and you’ll keep yourself busy.
- Get Involved in Communities - This may seem obvious, but it’s an easy thing to do. This can be online or offline–from Mom’s groups to a Facebook group for like-minded people to setting up your very own fan club for David Armano. It doesn’t matter what it is–either get involved or get to creating and evangelizing and getting others involved.
- Update Your Work Examples -There’s no time like the present to get your stuff together. I know far too many people who wait until a few days after bad news to update their resumes and their samples of work, and frankly, that’s just a little too lazy than anyone can afford to be right now. Don’t wait to find your next gig or job because you’re not prepared; every day you lose is a day where someone else is applying for your next dream job (or getting through crappy times job, whichever).
- Go Out to Dinner at Least Once a Week -This is a big one. I was unemployed for a healthy 6 months many years ago (and by unemployed, I mostly mean self-employed, project-to-project, little stability) and it was horrible. I’d wake up when my wife got ready for work and I’d surf the world all day, refreshing job boards, applying for things out of my league and getting fairly stir crazy. We adopted a policy of going out at least once a week for dinner–often these weren’t fancy places, but at least a step up from McDinner. This gave us something to look forward to and often was the hinge pin to getting me to shower. Just saying.
- Spend a Little Money Once in Awhile -Yeah, I know, that’s hard to swallow. But do it. Buy yourself the video game or go to a movie or something similar to that. You don’t have to go buy a brand new MacBook Pro, but at the end of the day, $50 is not going to make or break your success in surviving turbulent times. It just isn’t.
- Plan How to Run Your Own Business -You’ve probably thought about this for a long, long time anyway. What would I do if I were the boss? Figure it out. Write it down. Ask friends and family for input, sketch the office layout, research the cost of rental space (if needed), figure out what kind of equipment you’d want/need…
- …And Design Your New Business Cards - Why not? It could be a little frustrating, but it could be fun. If you’re really serious, get ahold of the folks at crowdSPRING and invoke the awesome power of crowd sourcing to find you a bunch of logo options and then start dinking around on your own (or with their help) and put it all together. It may be something you can start doing today, and it’ll give you a rush!
Certainly, these aren’t the only things you can do, but these have helped me in the past. They’ve helped me retain my sanity (if not my marriage!) and they keep the wheels spinning.
It’s not easy to do anything when there appears to be doom and gloom at every corner. Put one foot in front of the other, don’t be afraid to fail and keep moving. You’ll be fine, really.
We all will.
Do you have some tips of your own? Please share!
Posted in Community | 4 Comments »
