We were extremely proud to have one of our team members selected to lead a panel discussion at this year’s annual SXSW Interactive festival! Schipulite Sarah M. Worthy and former Schipulite Data Analyst Dr. Dharol Stevens, PhD. led a Core Conversation on the topic of “How to Crowdsource Your Mental Health for Free.”
The audience was made up of an array of medical professionals, those looking for better ways to find health information online, and those curious about the topic as it relates to the growing trend of Health 2.0. The panel was a great discussion with lots of feedback and participation. Below are my highlights:
Why Crowdsourcing for Mental Health?
Crowdsourcing is where many people are doing a little bit of the work instead of one person doing all the work.
Over 50% of people in the US can’t afford afford mental health treatment. Mental health issues are complicated and much of the treatment is trial and error. Unlike other medical conditions, mental health symptoms do not necessarily have only one answer that a doctor (even a very experienced doctor) can diagnose with a single test or symptom.
For Mental Health issues specifically, crowdsourcing can help piece together the puzzle of what is really going on for symptoms that are difficult to diagnose. The idea is that crowdsourcing is a tool you can use to be more informed and aware when you visit a doctor.
The Power of Crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing’s power is in its specifics. Reading other people’s very specific accounts can hopefully ring true to your unique situation as well.
The benefits of these personal experiences include:
Reading other people’s stories lets you know you’re not alone
Seeing stories of those going through treatment may set expectations for what treatment entails
Stories of people who have overcome health issues gives hope that the symptoms will eventually end
Reading other people’s accounts can also help you define symptoms you didn’t otherwise know how to articulate, or things you didn’t know were a symptom you should be paying attention to
These accounts give access to peer support which can be incredibly powerful for those going through any kind of medical treatment
When you visit your doctor, you can ask more informed questions to get to treatment faster
Tools for Anonymous Online Searching
Many people hesitate to do searches around mental health online because they are worried about the privacy issues involved. If your family or peers cause these concerns, here are some resources to try for anonymous searching online:
Incognito mode in the Chrome browser when browsing the web
Duck Duck Go – Anonymous Search Engine with Privacy at its core
Validating Medical Information Online – The Downside to Crowdsourcing
The danger of crowdsourcing is that 50% of health sites have incorrect information. You can combat this by arming yourself with tools to evaluate information online and look for trusted sources.
Tips for Validating Online Medical Information
Verify that it is written by an expert
Make sure it is current & cites valid sources
Look for certifications and disclaimers
Valid Sources for Medical Information Online
Look for .gov or .edu sites
Anything linked from the resource pubmed will be credible
If you find studies cross linked you can look for them on scholar.google.com – Sometimes it will appear as though you have to pay for detailed study information, but any government journal is required to release its studies for free after 2 years
Health on the Net is a great resource as well – this organization’s goal is to publish credible medical information
“It’s never been easier to cross reference information online” – Dr. Dharol Stevens
Mental Health Apps to Help Focus
Mood Tracker tracks your mood over time and shows patterns like how your mood is related to stress, amount of sleep, etc.
The success of SXSW’s March event each year has brought a year-round calendar of mind-expanding events like the 2nd annual SXSW Eco conference a few weeks ago. SXSW Eco brings participants together to focus on areas of Sustainability. The popular SXSW format, panel discussions and meetings over the three days, allowed experts to share their ideas, successes and challenges with audience participants. I was able to attend a variety of sessions including one important to both Schipul and our clients who use technology to support their business or non-profit.
The Good, Green & Shocking Truths
Panel Summary: Many factors such as planned obsolescence, consumer trends, and updated technology contribute to e-waste becoming one of the largest societal waste segments. Exactly how recyclable are our electronics, and what are the most responsible methods of disposal?
The panelists discussed the history of electronics recycling in Texas and the ways their organizations, alongside our state’s legislature, have gradually increased the ease of recycling for businesses. The panel shared the different local electronics recycling programs and explained which programs were legitimately using state approved certifications and processes so that Houston business owners could confidently select a certified recycling center.
History of Electronics Recycling in Houston
15 years ago in Texas, most waste was being shipped overseas, and low grade metals were one of the main waste products. Within the last ten years, we’ve seen this change as more businesses are seeing the value of sustainability programs. Granted, some of this was instigated by policy change. For example, Texas passed the 2008 Computer Take Back Law making computer manufacturers responsible for providing recycling to residents and small businesses.
In 2011, there was only one certified center in Houston and now there are 5 certified centers indicating a move towards easier and more responsible waste management. The increase in facilities comes from businesses who provide recycling services moving towards end of life asset management for businesses, including refurbishing and re-use as much as possible, and encouraging recycling when re-use is not possible. Combined with policy changes, taking out the hazardous materials and doing the right thing has become a profitable business focus. Recyclers also recover more value when possible for the business or consumer than they did in the past.
E-Waste Sustainability in Houston Today
Yesterday’s technology included much more solid metals waste and was larger (think old Desktops). Today’s recycling stream allows removal of metals and proper disposal. Current electronics are smaller and more efficient in their production. This already eliminates some of the bulk of recycling. Both of these are results of policy changes bringing a change in practices and new business opportunities.
Clive Hess, President of CompuCycle – Houston’s first R2 recycling center, brings success stories that share how CompuCycle has expanded their services to include data management and data sanitization, and provide better opportunities for Houston businesses to incorporate sustainability programs. At CompuCycle, many recyclers now securely erase, sanitize and provide warranties on products they resell. No products are sold as-is, but only with a warranty and if it can’t be sold with a warranty, then it is recycled.
CompuCycle also participates in the unique recycling challenge called the WhatIf? campaign where you can donate your eWaste and they will hire and train individuals to recycle the components. This creates jobs and training for a local non-profit organization. The plan is to continue beyond the campaign as a sustainable endeavor, but they ‘need your junk’ to be successful.
Seek Out R2 Certified Recyclers
Most companies are not quite educated yet on R2 certification and the panel shed some light on how to evaluate and find the right certification options for your business. There’s still a long way to go for the recycling industry to be a recognized standards bearer and the EPA encourages companies to find out if the recycler you’re considering is certified by an accredited, independent certification auditor such as the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board.
The panelists agreed that Education will become key for Chief Sustainability Officers in companies and for your Chief recycler in your home. The people who fill these roles will want to seek updates and stay informed with both the changes within the recycling services corporate world as well as with Federal and State policy changes. Some rrecycling businesses are only registered and will include this as part of their marketing materials, but doesn’t mean they are certified for recycling responsibly.
Our future should include policies that put pressure on electronic manufacturers to build upgradeable devices and longer life cycle products to reduce waste. But, this will require individuals to let their lawmakers know how to write these policies. Lawmakers listen to their constituency and particularly parents.
Want to Help Improve E-Waste?
Manufacturer’s need collection goals and the public needs easy locations to drop-off.
Require retailers to provide information about recycling to consumers.
Require state agencies to recycle assets via certified vendors.
Find local R2 Certified Recycling facilities in your area.
Concerned about the future of materials in your landfills near your children? Let your State Representative know your concerns. The EPA’s website also has a list of Recycling Resources where you can go to stay up to date on changes in policies and find tools to help individuals and businesses develop and implement sustainability programs at home and in your office.
Silver Lining for Urban Mining – Urban mining and rare earth metals can be found locally instead of offshoring with other countries. Opportunities exist for job creation and has even been part of the lawmakers focus in Colorado for underserved markets. A de-manufacturing site provides jobs for disabled or underserved markets, and a refurbishing site can provide high-tech jobs for engineers. Recycling E-waste is a reverse supply chain position taking one part and producing many parts from the whole. The recycling industry is a consumer driven market. Imagine what happens if everyone started sending all electronics to recycling? It would be an influx of materials. A typical middle-income household has four or more devices per person in their home. Game consoles, cell phones, old iPods, CRT screens, printer, etc.
Business is good for current recycling facilities. What happens when there is no longer a market for glass or other low grade materials? There are electronic parts that have value such as copper, gold and metals, but it is getting harder to handle materials such as glass, lead and plastic. Panelists were quick to suggest as invention increases, there is opportunity with the challenges. Glass is now used in aggregates for road construction to help the roads last longer with addition of silica to increase life span. Reground ABS plastics lower the cost of many manufactured items. There will be a greater need to find opportunities like these for our increased e-waste.
Take Action Recycling your Electronics
Find a certified recycler near you, and find your representative. Have eWaste? Let us know and we can help you find the means to recycle responsibly!
Each year, a team of Schipulites converges upon the capital of Texas for South by Southwest. This year, Schipul is also a sponsor of Who’s HOU – a new creative project with the mission to share and promote Houston’s best music, film, and interactive talent at SXSW.
I wanted to share all the incredible interactive and technology professionals and events that are heading to SXSW from Houston and I encourage you to add these panels and events to your calendar.
Want to Learn More? Who’s HOU also has the full schedule for all the Houston tech, music, and film at SXSW on the website plus will feature daily videos, photos and more content throughout SXSW. If you’ll be at the conference, make sure you stop by Who’s HOU booth at the trade show and meet everyone!
Description: This panel’s discussion will focus on three key issues around communications within the Jewish culture: ( 1) Targeted Update Messages; (2) Bridging technological gaps between community leaders/communicators and social media experts; and (3) Community Engagement.
Description: This panel will discuss three ways technology is making waste a resource and how knowledge sharing and collaboration across the enterprise and even competitors can create new and innovative solutions to environmental problems.
Description: If you’re curious about the digital nomad lifestyle and wonder if you could live for a year or more “homefree”, this is a presentation you don’t want to miss.
Description: This presentation will help small organizations think through developing, implementing, and measuring an effective campaign by sharing details of success stories from professional organizations and health advocacy groups when you don’t have the big staff and resources of bigger companies.
Description: This panel will explore the global startup accelerator explosion and share the latest quality rankings you can use to determine the right startup Accelerator for you.
Description: Learn how the publishing industry is changing dramatically and the new business models that locate talent and package content in new ways. Is the book dead? No—it’s being re-imagined and redefined by these very people.
Description: In the annals of citizen empowerment and institutional vulnerability, democracy and anarchy share an interesting paired history in the digital environment, this panel intends to address how the global system may handle this latest disequilibrium.
Description: While established membership organizations struggle to survive, Internet-enabled groups are flourishing with new members from far outside traditional demographic lines that are creating large-scale activities. Learn why people came together to become a ‘Space Tweep’ and got so passionately involved in space, how they became good friends over the Internet, and what they’ve created to make measurable change toward a more awesome tomorrow.
Hashtag: #spacepts (This is also my panel and you can follow @sarahmworthy on twitter throughout the week for all the SXSW action!)
Learn how a group of “space geeks” consisting of web developers, aerospace scientists and engineers, and people who have a dream of living in space started meeting up and designed the rules, developed the application, and are sharing SpacePoints to increase public awareness about space policy, increasing funding to aerospace-related research (commercial and government), and having fun playing to win!
Description: This panel discusses the creation of One, a mobile application that notifies you when there is someone right next to you with similar interests and how One helps you form meaningful connections with people who would otherwise be strangers using technology.
Description: This penel of the best and brightest authors, brand-builders and marketers aims to provide some real answers, honest talk, and genuine experiences on social media ROI.
Description: This panel seeks to change the conversation from ‘What can technology conferences do about diversity?†to ‘What can attendees do about diversity at technology conferences?†Panelists will share how individuals can contribute to making technology conferences more inclusive.
Descripton: This panel addresses what vendors need to begin to design for all ages to enable a connected living and social aging experience for older consumers, and discuss how entrepreneurs and the venture community need a more dynamic relationship with this huge and underserved growth market.
Description: This panel will address the different concerns around government legislation versus the rights of consumers around copyright related policies including the PROTECT IP Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act.
Events, Parties, and Lounges
SXSW is well known for having great speakers and even better known for the non-stop action that goes on outside the Austin Convention Center. Here are my top picks for SXSW events that I’ll be sure to attend this year. If you want to meet up with me and the rest of our team heading to Austin for SXSW, you’ll most likely us here:
HATCH is debuting at the new SXSW Startup Village this year. HATCH will be featuring 15 revolutionary startups certain to change your world. Come hear them pitch to investors. And when it is done, tell your friends you heard about the next big thing at HATCH.
C2xSW 2012 will showcase Houston Film/Music/Tech through “The Official Unofficial All of Where the Wild Things Are Interaction Packed Adventure Extravaganza!†orbiting the SxSW conference in Austin.
March 9th through March 14th From 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM Daily
The Beaconfire Lounge returns for the 4th year in a row with the theme: “With a Conscience” and is known as THE spot for cause-focused people to hang out with the best and brightest non-profit Geekerati. The WiFi will be speedy, the noms and drinks plentiful, the couches comfy and the do-gooding vibe pure awesome.
SXSW Interactive is one of, if not THE biggest, interactive marketing and web conference, and is a valuable resource for our team here at Schipul. SXSW Interactive offers education and the latest and greatest for all things related to web marketing and digital advertising.
I’m excited to be able to give back to my profession this year as a presenter on a panel: Spacepoints’ Space Outreach at Ludicrous Speed! If you’re going to be in Austin in March for SXSW 2012, come check out my panel or just hang out with the team from Schipul attending. {shameless plug!}
SXSW has a Guide for First Timers that can give you some tips on navigating the conference. Their guide can get you to the sessions, but when I attend SXSW, I am also looking to connect with other Interactive Agencies to build relationships and identify the latest technology innovations and software tools to help our clients improve their online marketing results. This results in a 24/7 week-long agenda of AM networking breakfast, blogger’s lounge, panels, afternoon networking, party, party, party, 4 hours of sleep, repeat. Over the past few years, I’ve developed my own tips for surviving the extended-version of SXSW Interactive.
Here are my Top 10 Tips for Doing SXSW Interactive Hardcore:
1) Say Yes to the Free Caffeine; Say No to the Free Booze.
You’ll find that every party will have plenty of free sugar free red bull, monster energy drinks, vodka or some other kind of alcohol to mix. Then my Caffeine Hero: Starbucks always comes to the rescue the next morning with plenty of free coffee. Skip the booze if you want to make it through the entire week, and stock your hotel with fresh fruit and healthy snacks because you’ll be hard pressed to find any food, let alone free food at SXSW.
2) Keep Your Smartphone Charger on You at All Times.
You will be on the go running from panel to panel during the day, and then party to party each night. Carry your phone charger with you, take a spare that you keep in your hotel room (in case you lose your first one), and if you have the option’ get a spare battery too. If you see an outlet near you’ don’t be ashamed to plugin and juice up your phone. Tweeting, foursquaring, and texting is power-intensive and you don’t want to have a dead battery at 2am when you are trying to find directions back to your hotel.
3) Bookmark http://austin2012.sched.org/ and use it to create your personalized SXSW schedule before you get to Austin.
SXSW’s event schedule on their website is pretty good’ however I’ve been using sched.org’s unofficial SXSW guide to find EVERY party, panel, and must attend event possible. The best places to connect with people at SXSW aren’t always “official” parties.
Sched also offers a new feature this year that enables you to sync your Eventbrite RSVPs and the platform is available for all the major mobile platforms: iphone, Droid and Blackberry. When you get to Austin, you’ll love how easy sched makes it to find your next session on the go.
4) Pack a Swimsuit.
Austin weather is fickle, and it may be 60 degrees in early March or 90. Regardless’ all the hotels have swimming pools and hot tubs and if you are doing it right, you’ll be invited to at least one pool party. I don’t recommend skinny dipping at SXSW’ everyone has a camera in their smartphone and you what happens at SXSW definitely does NOT stay at SXSW. So take your favorite swim trunks or bikini when you pack for Austin.
5) Pack a Cowboy Hat and Cowboy Boots.
There will be at least 2 parties with a Texas country theme. If you don’t have western attire’ no worries, Austin has some great shops where you can purchase what you need. I’ve gotten great Cowgirl boots at Allen’s Boots and the HatBox has Cowboy hats in every style plus tons of other fun and funky headwear.
6) Pack a Backpack and Leave Your Briefcase at Home.
Have I already mentioned you’ll be on the move for a week? Take a compact backpack with a laptop-padded section for your trip and spare your back and shoulders the strain of running around all day carrying your briefcase. You don’t have to take your laptop or tablet PC’ but you’ll definitely want to have something with you for taking notes in the sessions, even if you prefer traditional pen and paper. If you are going to any of the developer or design sessions then your laptop will be heavily used. Bloggers will find the Bloggers lounge a great resource for power and snacks while updating your audience with all the latest happenings online too.
7) Talk to Strangers.
The panels are great for professional development but it’s the people at the conference that are the core of the experience so don’t be shy’ say Hi to everyone you meet. SXSW Interactive hosts the largest single gathering of ‘Connectors†you’ll ever find so strike up a conversation and get connected with new people who will help you grow your business, launch your start-up, or make an introduction to that big prospect or thought leader.
8) Take More Business Cards Than You Think You’ll Need’ and Stickers Too!
I probably go through 200-300 mini-moos each SXSW. I order cards JUST for SXSW that have my contact information while at the conference. I include a headshot so people recognize me throughout the week, my mobile so people can text me about any “pop-up” parties, my email address for following up later, and this year my panel information so people will know when and where I’ll be presenting. I recommend moo.com’s mini-moos if you are going to order cards just for the event. Here’s my cards for this year:
9) Make Time to Visit the Exhibitions, Showcases, and Lounges.
One of the best places to find out about innovations in online technology is SXSW’s Interactive. The only place I personally can imagine being cooler for a tech-geek like me is the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. SXSW has several different Trade Shows and Showcase Lounges featuring an array of products and services that your business may want to utilize for growing online and offline next year. You definitely want to make your rounds to the SXSW Start-up Village Showcase featuring new technology start-ups, plus you can snag some really fun Swag!
10) Don’t Try to Do Everything.
You can’t. I tried one year and came back with no voice left and a dazed and confused fog that took 2 more weeks to dissipate. Until cloning techniques advance, I’ll have to settle with missing about 2/3rds of everything because so much is going on all at once.
Schedule at least 4 to 6 hours of sleep each night. Make time in your schedule to get away from the convention center to walk around the lake one morning or take a couple of hours one afternoon and take a nap in your hotel. SXSW, when done right, is both grueling and an amazing experience. Definitely dive right into the throng of digital tech madness, but be sure to turn off your phone every so often…
SXSWi reigns as the Geek Supreme Conference for marketers, technologists and entrepreneurs alike. The Schipul team attends and speaks regularly at this great event – boy do we love the energy, fun and creativity that is found walking through the streets of Austin in March every year!
In the spirit of awesome content and even more awesome SXSWi attendees, we have created another SXSW Proposed Panel Page (say that five times fast) to help support Schipul and friends’ favorite SXSWi 2012 panels to vote on!
Let us help you promote your SXSWi panel submission!
Did you submit a panel or see a few that you want to spread the word about? Leave us a comment on this post with the link and reason why you think it rocks – we’ll add it to our community proposal page!
Looking forward to bumping into you in line at a party and Tweeting at you in a packed conference room full of amazing minds next year!
How to support your favorite SXSWi panels
Unlike most conferences, SXSWi has a very interesting panel selection process. Your vote and comments count for 30%, the SXSW Advisory Board mindtrust counts for 40% and SXSW staff weigh in with the final 30% – all designed to help deliver some of the most intriguing and diverse content of any event.
How often do you get to have your voice heard as an attendee? Dig through the main PanelPicker 2012 interface and explore proposals by category, tag, title and more. Once you’re logged in, you can give panels a thumbs up or down, then leave your comments on each individual page.
Comments are a great way to recommend a speaker you have seen before, leave feedback (hopefully constructive!) on the topic or just express your general excitement – which is also a great feeling for wannabe panelists. Don’t forget to Tweet, Facebook, Google + and email topics you think SXSWi 2012 just shouldn’t be without. A little promotion can go a long way for any speaker’s success.
And finally – comment with a link to your favorite SXSWi 2012 panels so we can add them to our list! Voting and commenting ends on September 2nd, so don’t delay – we want to see what panels inspire you. Thanks!
Everything isn’t a Facebook Like or Share. Everything isn’t a retweet. Everything isn’t how many times you’ve checked in on Gowalla or Foursquare or bought a Groupon or Dugg something. These ideas aren’t revolutionary.1
But it’s easy, isn’t it? It really easy. You don’t have to leave your computer. You have an infinite number of shots. You can throw as many notecards at the wall—when you have an unlimited number of notecards, you just know eventually something will stick.
Right?
To use a military metaphor, there is no substitute for on the ground intelligence. To not use a metaphor at all: There is no substitute for face-to-face meetings. For phone calls over e-mails. There is no substitute for getting out of your chair and attending a conference, or speaking at a luncheon, or for taking a client out for lunch.
This is what I call Analog Marketing. It’s you being you—all your awkward mannerisms, all your beautiful eyes, all your suits that fit slightly off your shoulder, all your quirks and the cadence of the way you speak. It’s getting on the ground and doing the tangible work that will support your digital marketing. And for that, there is no substitute.
Like and Share everything you can. Go viral. Ask for retweets. Do the best you can.2 But in reality, companies don’t have an infinite number of notecards to throw. Companies have to be selective in what they do. They have to make profitable decisions. And the most profitable, sustainable decision a company can make is to put their people on the ground.
Part I: DrupalCon and the birth of the #drupalmonster
I recently had the pleasure of giving a guest lecture at a Public Relations class with co-worker Albert Hughes at his alma mater Prairie View A&M. It was the impetus for writing this piece.
Our company Schipul solves problems. Painting with a broad brush, we solve client problems related to the Internet. For example, a potential client will come to us with one concept: They need a website and they have no idea how to do it. They trust us to not only:
Be honest with them and give them an honest quote3,
but also provide them with the best technology to solve their problem.
One of the solutions our company employs is the content management system Drupal4. We believe in its infinite flexibility, its community, and it is often times the perfect solution to a potential client’s website that needs to be extremely custom.
We realized three things about Drupal as a company:
The community is fiercely loyal;
a lot of people talk about Drupal as a solution, but there aren’t a lot of people “doing it”;
the Drupal community is definitely doing it.
Albert effectively “brought” Drupal to our company as a solution. He had been messing around with it in his personal time, and when a client approached us about a website, he immediately knew Drupal could solve the client’s problem. It did.
At that point, Schipul went full force with Drupal. We learned it and memorized it and taught it and began to take part in the community. We even loved it so much, that at one point, Albert (a rapper by night) produced a quick music video based on a flow of his. Watch this:
Rapping about Drupal is a pretty absurd concept, but it worked. Founder and creator of Drupal, Dries Buytaert, saw it and put it on his blog. The plays on the video sky-rocketed. Albert and I went to DrupalCon that year, and because of the video, people recognized him. He began to cultivate relationships based off his non-Web-based talent. It established him as part of the Drupal community, albeit in a weird way. It showed a love for the product, and the people responded.
Fast forward to a year later, and Albert and myself were attending DrupalCon again. We knew the power of last year’s rap video, and we wanted to do it again. We had just hired a video specialist on our staff, and with his help, Al and I created a remix to Kanye West’s Monster, effectively creating the #drupalmonster. Watch:
Since we had met Dries, we e-mailed him again and asked him to watch the video figuring he would enjoy it. To our intense thanks, he loved it so much he posted it on his blog again. This was two days before DrupalCon.
Here’s where Analog Marketing comes in. We didn’t want the initial push and hype of a mere blog post to stop people from watching the video. We wanted to be a part of the Drupal Community, and we wanted to give back—as I said earlier—albeit in a weird way.
Our idea was this: Print a bunch of moocards (half-sized business cards, halved hot dog not hamburger) with a bit.ly link that pointed to the video. That was it. The only thing on it was this: bit.ly/drupalmonster. When we got to DrupalCon, we had 1,500 printed out at a local Kinko’s, and old-school guerilla-style, handed them out to everything and everyone. We put them on tables. We gave them to Drupal fanatics, we gave them to concierges at our hotel, we gave them to people we’d meet eating lunch at a local pub.
Drupal Monster Moocards
But as we gave them out, we talked to them about Drupal. What they loved, what they didn’t. Some had more to say than others, but we tried to connect with them on some level. Given a captive Drupal audience, this was somewhat easy. (“Hey, we wrote and produced a Drupal rap music video” said to someone who uses Drupal raises an eyebrow—it doesn’t make a lot of sense.) It was a little harder when trying to convince a hostess at the hotel it was worth her time.
But I saw that same hostess the next day and she called me over and said that not only did she watch it, but she pulled her co-workers aside and they watched it. Eventually, her boss saw it too. And as she was telling me this, her boss came over and complimented us on the video, and I got to compliment the hostess for being a good sport and actually taking the moocard back and watching the video.
Warning: Nerdy Business ROI Stuff Coming: A lot of people ask me how to quantify ROI on social media… blah blah blah. This is exactly how: That boss then said to me: “I’m not in control of who does our website, but if I were, I would go with you.” It’s the best compliment you could give not only myself and Albert, but our company. Asking our company to do your website is an honor to us; it’s like asking us to babysit or be invited to your wedding. And because of the work we did on the ground, in the trenches, talking to the people and going to where they were, we would get their business. We would get that honor.5
Part II: SXSW
If there was ever any epic display of Analog Marketing, it exists on the corner of Trinity and 4th St. during the Interactive portion of SXSW. I had the pleasure of attending for the third year in a row, and each year, it seems this spot between the Austin Convention Center and Champions Bar gets busier and busier.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of attending, at this spot and immediately entering the convention center, there are literally hundreds of people handing out any number of things: party invites, QR codes, half-clad women giving you a card with a free trial code on it. It’s Analog Marketing, for sure, but it’s the “Facebook” equivalent of the concept. You have an infinite targeted audience and, most likely, and infinite number of notecards to throw at a wall. So you start throwing.
Companies know SXSWi is an important cornerstone in networking. The sessions are always hit-and-miss, but there’s always one thing you can rely on: People. People are the cornerstone of any business. If you have no buyers, there is no company. The only thing this version of Analog Marketing lacks is the connection. Most of the time, the people are in a hurry. They’re trying to get from Point A to Point B in as quick a time as possible—the marketer barely has time to hand them a card (one of many they’ve gotten in the past 30 seconds), let alone have a conversation with them about their needs and how the marketer’s product could possibly solve their problems.
We tried the Analog Marketing moocard approach to our video at SXSWi as well, and it was significantly less successful, for two reasons:
We did not have the captive audience. (When you’re at DrupalCon and you’re handing out a video about Drupal, it’s like going to a comic book convention and asking someone to watch an interview with Stan Lee.)
We did not have time to cultivate a relationship with the person receiving the card. (See next.)
Part III: Cultivating the relationship
Our Business Development Director Aaron Long once told our company in a full company meeting:
It’s a lot harder to get mad and permanently leave your best friend.
His intent is this: When we talk to clients, we try to be their friends. They literally pay our paychecks. Being honest, ethical, and doing good are cornerstones of our company’s foundation, so when a new client comes in, we get the blessing of helping their business not only survive, but thrive. That’s our job; it’s why people hire us. In return, they pay our paycheck which allows us to do all the things we love to do when we’re not working. It’s a win/win6.
When you have a good rapport with a client, they’re less likely to leave you. You can be absolutely honest with them, speak with candor—and with those two combined—have real conversations about what they need their website to do and how we need to accomplish it.
Along the way, you become their friend. You begin to respect each other. You begin to bring in the client’s business as your own; when they succeed, we succeeded. And as they grow and trust you more, they’re less likely to leave. You’ve established a level of trust that has absolutely nothing to do with Digital Marketing. Something you could never buy and something you could never “Like” or “Share” on Facebook. Those things are all part of it, but at the end of the day, you need Analog Marketers to cultivate your relationship with your consumers.
Part IV: What you should be doing now
Laozi (known by any number of variations of his name, such as Lao Tzu) was a record-keeper for the Zhou Dynasty court. He is credited with the following, translated into any number of languages, written 3,000 years ago in one of the most famous texts of all-time, Tao Te Ching7:
Go to the people. Live with them. Learn from them. Love them. Start with what they know. Build with what they have. But with the best leaders, when the work is done, the task accomplished, the people will say, “We have done this ourselves.”
This is the definition of Analog Marketing.
I spoke in Houston once about The Next Generation Website at the Social Media Breakfast Houston. A man was there whom I had never met, nor had the chance to meet after my talk, but called our office later that same day. Our top sales-person, Courtney Pemberton, fielded the call and fell in love with them; it wasn’t even about “selling” to them in the conventional sense. They were Girouard’s General Store, who have the claim of the oldest general store in Texas. Due to my public speaking and Courtney’s expertise, they signed on as a client in an incredibly short amount of time. At the time of writing, their site is still in development, but Courtney has gone out of her way, having fun with the client, because she likes them. Both the project manager and Courtney went to their store and took pictures of everything they could find because it’s such a cool place. She brought the pictures back and in design meetings, the designers fell in love with the place as well, experiencing it through the pictures they took, but also the excitement in the employees’ voices.
And when their designs are approved, and their content is added, and their site goes live, our tasks accomplished, I know they’ll look back and say, “We did this together.” And at that point, Digital Marketing can take over and run its course. I’ll be sure to Like it and Share it on Facebook, but I have confidence knowing it all started with Analog Marketing.
Footnotes
1 Although I am still amazed at how many “public relations” companies just try to convince their clients to get on Facebook or Twitter because it’s like some sort of mandate. News flash: You don’t have to be on Twitter. A better question to ask: Is that where your people are?
2 Recognize that these are still good things and that this statement is not tongue-in-cheek. Just don’t start here. Don’t put your cart in front of your horse.
3 If someone’s quoted you over $100,000 for a website, please—call us. You’re most likely being lied to.
4 For the curious, we use three content management systems at our company: WordPress, Tendenci, and Drupal. The first and last are open-source CMSs that have created and cultivated wildly successful communities. We rely heavily on said communities and are infinitely grateful for the hard work these people do. The second in that list is a currently proprietary CMS our CEO wrote in the early 2000s to keep the company afloat after September 11. It’s currently in its fifth iteration and is still bread and butter to our business model.
5 Even more “ROI”-y stuff: The video had an initial push of around 1,500 plays. As we handed out the cards throughout the conference, the plays continually went up each day: 123, 141, 148, 154, culminating the last day of the conference, topping 200 plays at 202.
To this day, we continually get double-digit plays from the video as it takes on a life of its own. We also continually get sales calls solely because they saw the video, liked it, and thought to themselves, “If they love Drupal this much to make a video, they must have a passion for it.” And passion breeds greatness.
At the time of this writing, the video has over 4,600 plays and 33,400 loads.
6 Also a cornerstone of the business. A card is handed out to every new employee (and to a number of clients/potential clients) that not only lists the cornerstones of the business, but also our Mission and Vision and Schipul Honor Code.
7 I don’t intend to cheapen any form of Taoism or religion by comparing the concepts of Analog Marketing to a sacred text. I take the quote literally at its face-value: Go to where the people are first. It will literally support everything you do after that.
This month’s Social Media Breakfast included a speaker panel of four folks eager to share their thoughts on SXSW interactive this year. Jerald Reichstein of Bouncing Pixes, Javier Fadul of Culture Pilot, Brian Truax of Black Sheep and Schipul’s own Katrina Kokoska all shared their experiences and thoughts on SXSW and the “next big thing” along with event organizer Kami Watson Huyse .
SXSW for Breakfast
Lots was said, the panel switched from speaker to speaker and became very interactive, which was a great way to get different perspectives and address the audience’s question. There were also some great take-a-ways for those of us who could not attend SXSW interactive.
The Next Big Thing
Brian Truax knows that the biggest “next big thing” seems to be the “game layer”. That little nudge given by brands on social media platforms that compels us to take part in a game or content. The game layer can be a very popular tool for customer acquisition and loyalty while simultaneously motivating consumers to act.
Social Media is staying put
All the panelists today agreed that some people think that social media is on its way out (yes, some of you out there think that) and the game layer will take its place. The truth is, however that the game layer is not replacing social media but only building upon it. It’s the next level of social media. The next big thing.
Brands, now, have to become accustomed to behaving within a different type of relationship online.
There is a need for businesses to pivot the direction of a brand or product based on new developments in technology, brands, or consumer needs and wants. This can only keep their brand relevant and in the public eye.
The Core Conversation sessions at SXSW were great, as agreed by some members of today’s panel, but the audience was also heeded to prepare for next year by take a list of things you want to learn. This way, if you aren’t learning them, find people who can answer them for you or stay for Q and A at the end of sessions.
Unfortunately, some companies are finding new ways to use black hat methods to increase conversion. Some facebook ads were used as examples for this.
Social media behavior was also big in today’s Social Media Breakfast. Standard social norms carry over to the social media realm as well and if a person or a business can’t conduct themselves accordingly, it can get awkward.
A company’s attempt humanize themselves in social media platforms can backfire depending on how an interaction was conducted. This is where the “game layer” comes into play. It provides a way for a brand to interact on a fun and casual level with anyone in the social media world.
It was a great panel with best of the best geek-filtered info from SXSW . Javier even brought Ogilvy notes from SXSW for everyone to see, which was awesome bonus. A video of today’s session coming soon, so anyone who couldn’t make it can soak up all the SXSW interactive they can. We’ll keep you posted.
Attend today’s Social Media Breakfast? What were your take-a-ways from the panel?
Photo via www.fastcompany.com (SXSWi 2011 Scvngr feature)
The highlight of SXSW 2011 for me was definitely SCVNGR CEO Seth Priebatsch’s keynote address. Priebatsch explained how the developing ‘game layer†in the virtual world can be applied to solve problems in the physical world by taking advantage of principles of game play, including rules, rewards, and levels. He even concluded the talk with a short game involving the audience to illustrate how game play can motivate people to work together to accomplish communal goals, regardless of locale of the players.
Not only did the talk itself cover a lot of real world problems (such as the inherent problems with school model) and present some interesting solutions, but Priebatcsch’s energy and enthusiasm was unmatched and inspiring. Listen to the audio of Seth Priebatsch’s Keynote Address
The high-profile presence of Gowalla and their SXSW-focused game of checking-in and collecting stamps throughout the conference was a lot of fun, too!
Also, I attended a panel session called Time Traveling: Interfaces for Geotemporal Visualization. The panel discussed how much data we are creating and storing in online systems, such as Google Maps, now that so many more people have access.
It’s easy to show either time or space/geography in visualizations, but combining them together makes visualizing the data a lot trickier. It’s a new challenge and new opportunity to create and use tools to learn about history, current events, and trends and also presents new ways for storytelling on the web.
One of the panelists, Nick Rabinowitz, who works mainly as an information consultant with a focus on non-profit organizations, created a JavaScript library called Timemap.js that can be used to display geotemporal data in tons of ways, including progressing loading as you scroll through time. He and his brother, panel moderator, Assistant Professor and Director of University of Texas’ Institute of Classical Archaeology Adam Rabinowitz, also created GEODIA, a system that visualizes the temporal, geographic and material aspects of ancient Mediterranean civilizations.
We went to SXSWi with a strict goal to promote Schipul as a leader in the Drupal community, and while we promoted our Drupal Monster video, we had a wonderful time engaging the SXSW crowd with a content management system some were new to.
As part of our strategy, we printed out Moocards with a simple link on them, and we handed them out guerrilla-style.
We got more of a response from DrupalCon the week before SXSWi. But that’s to be expected since the video is Drupal-related. That being said, our promotion at SXSWi kept the snowball rolling. Watch the Drupal Monster video.
The panel that made a lasting impression on me was by Aaron With from Groupon called ‘Strange Business: Corporate Creativity that Doesn’t Suck.†It was about a lot of things they do that most people see as wasting endless amounts of time and money for no reason. They do fun, interesting things that have no plan at first then actually end up having value at some point (try unsubscribing and you’ll see). My favorite quote was Aaron describing one of their activities: “We made it for no good reason then it ended up having a business benefit.”
At Schipul, we don’t go to the extremes Groupon does, but it’s good to see the idea reinforced by a large company. Our company realizes the potential of ‘wasting time†even when it may mean lack of productivity at that specific period of time. The Drupal Monster video or Plasma Car races are perfect examples. Listen to the audio version of this panel
Random Photo Time!
While in Austin, we took every opportunity to live it up: nerd-style. That means Lyndia and I cuddled the xtranormals (you may remember them from @urbanhoustonian’s video); I met Dule Hill from psych (USA) and The West Wing (NBC) ; and between panels, the Schipulites enjoyed the beautiful weather on patios with free wireless internet access.
Lyndia and I cuddled the xtranormals.
Me to Dule Hill: Dude. You're hot.
We're mapping out the parties that have free beer. Priorities. Nerdery.
Looking ahead
We had a few SXSWi first-timers in our group (including me). Since the conference we’ve had opportunities to apply much of what we’ve learned in small doses. Between now and the next SXSWi, it’ll be interesting to see how we, and how others, expand on information from panels.
If you missed it, I’ve updated my takeaways with audio links to the panels. Check them out here. And please feel free to share your takeaways and links with us. We’d love to hear from you!
How did it go? In a word’ Overwhelming. The entire experience was a hodge podge of sessions, panels, networking, crowds, conference food and, of course, parties. But considering that this was an exercise in education, I’ll skip the parties and share my major takeaways from my favorite sessions.
The Unwritten Rules of Social Media
Ben McAllister and Kate Canales with Frog Design had some thoughtful comments regarding acceptable behavior in social media.
Three Types of Relationships
Kate and Ben identified three types of social relationships:
Authority: An example of this type of relationship is the relationship you would have with a police officer. There’s pretty much not a question. He has the authority. You do what he says.
Exchange: This is a basic friendship or romantic relationship. A mutually beneficial give/take relationship.
Communality: These are looser relationships basically based on having something in common. Social media relationships rooted in this. An example would be that person you talk to online through Twitter about a common interest, but you don’t really know much else about them.
Each type of relationship comes with its own set of social rules and norms, and we know how to act in each situation. We behave accordingly. When we don’t, it’s very awkward. Example: If I hug (Exchange behavior) and police officer (with whom I have an Authority relationship), it would be awkward. So guess what? I don’t hug police officers. Ever. But life’s not that easy. These relationships overlap a lot. What if I were married to a police officer? What happens when I spend time with my coworkers outside of the office? Things can get hairy, and sometimes awkward.
This happens in social media too. Relationships overlap, and acting out of turn can create an awkward situation with a digital footprint.
Avoid Awkwardness Online
Ben and Kate offer three rules for brands to follow in order to avoid these types of situations.
Pull Back the Curtain: Transparency earns honesty. Let your consumers take a peak behind the scenes. Best Buy’s Twelp Force is a great example of this.
Stop Selling. Start Sharing: Self promotion is awkward. Share relevant content that makes people trust you. Ben and Kate liked one of their own projects as an example.
Stop Talk. Start Listening: Once again, self promotion is awkward. Listen to what your consumer wants and respond when it makes sense for your brand. For example, Bravo heard their viewers saying that they wanted to see a show all about Bethenny from the Real Desperate Housewives. So, Bethenny Ever After was born. (If you watch this I’m judging you.)
Tools and Processes for ADD Project Managers and Entrepreneurs
The first full session I was able to attend was for sure one of my favorites. While I don’t think I have Attention Deficit Disorder or any derivative of it, Jason Ford of FeedMagnet gave organization tips that could be useful to any project manager or entrepreneur. The takeaways:
We have problems with Attention
These problems are Hyperfocus and Distractibility
We moderate Hyperfocus through consistent scheduling, working in locations that allow us to get our work done and delegation
We moderate Distractibility with plain, old will power, lists and any gadget or application that helps us stay focused and organized.
We have problems with Action
These problems are Intensity, Restlessness and Impulsivity
We moderate Intensity through shorter meetings, self awareness and transparency.
We moderate Restlessness through regular exercise and meditation.
We moderate Impulsivity through wise counsel, human filters and boundaries.
Seth Priebatsch, 22-year-old founder of SCVNGR, suggested that the next decade will see a shift towards games in most aspects of life: digital, marketing, even school. How?
1.) School
School is game. But it’s broken.
Grades are rewards for not failing. Grades should be rewards based on progression
Cheating is only punishment in this game if you get caught. Schools should create an honor code in which knowing about cheating is as bad as actually cheating if you don’t tell – complicity as a crime.
I take issue with some of Seth’s thoughts here, but I like his attitude. He saw something that was broken; identified what was broken, and offered a solution.
2.) Customer Acquisition
Seth described how customers will be acquired through game play with a simple example – Groupon. What is Groupon? Something free + communal game play + a countdown = Groupon.
Why does this formula work?
Something free: Sounds too good to be true. So why don’t people think it’s too good to be true? Groupon removes skepticism by requiring that a certain amount of people also sign up for a deal in order for anyone to get it.
Communal game play: Since Groupon requires a minimum amount of people sign up for any deal to be valid, Groupon users are compelled to spread the word.
Countdown: Groupon creates a sense of urgency and excitement by requiring that said minimum is met by a certain time.
3.) Loyalty
Brands can create loyalty through games based on “leveling up.” American Express successfully uses this method by offering different levels of cards. How does this work?
While they’re growing in popularity, location-based services like foursquare, SCVNGR and Gowalla aren’t quite mainstream yet, but Seth sees this as changing in next ten years. Right now he sees two main obstacles that these services need to overcome before this can happen.
They’re too hard: The rules are frustrating for users and keeping more people from using them (including me)
Reward schedules: Location-based services and their affiliates have seen a lot of success through reward schedules (ex: check into Starbucks at XYZ time and get a free coffee), but they only work for a limited time.
Check out Seth talking about his Game Layer on TED.
We’re still wreaking havoc in Austin! Here’s a an overview of what I’ve been up to –sending a little SXSWi report to give you a peek at what’s going on here. We’ll take a more comprehensive look at these panels and others we attended when it’s all said and done.
SXSW Newcomer
This is my first time at SXSW. I knew it would be impossible to do everything so I set a few goals to help get the most out of the experience. One of my goals is to attend panels that cover topics that interest me as a woman, a web marketer, a writer and a minority in America. I have to admit, I’m pleased with my panel selections so far.
The Yoga Panel
No. This guy wasn’t the instructor, but he totally was giving out free hugs.
About the yoga though: It was interesting to see yoga offered as a panel. And it was an actual yoga class that any beginner could get through easily. It was a good experience for advanced yoga folks, too. The panel was surprisingly popular and we had to modify a few of the poses for the sake of space. Ari Stiles was a great instructor who made light of the crowded room and kept us all at ease. I left feeling refreshed and ready to take on the rest of the day. If you missed Saturday Yoga, no worries. Tuesday Yoga will help you close out the conference feeling peaceful.
Bedsider.org is funny, human and interesting enough that it got women to share their personal experiences with sex and protection on camera. They’re also a free support network for birth control. It sounds boring. I know. But it’s so not.
One of the major take aways from the panel Re-Branding Birth Control: Behavior Change through Design, was simply that it’s easier to have sex than to talk about how to have sex responsibly. Jennifer Maer and Lawrence Swiader did a beautiful job of illustrating how Bedsider has a conversation about sex and protection in a way that women can relate to: through girl talk.
Despite sex ed classes, religious teachings and Maury baby daddy episodes, young adults who say they don’t want to have kids yet also say they use birth control inconsistently. To that, the Bedsider team says awareness isn’t enough, and that part of the solution is to have the right tools and an agile approach to educating young adults about safe sex. Bedsider is a community supporting women who use birth control and rewarding them for getting it right. And they’re doing it all by design and conscious content creation.
If you’re into sex (no joke), check out this evening’s panel on Subtle Sexuality on TV.
Latino Link: Marketing to Spanish Speakers Using Digital Platforms
Ana Grace and Joe Kutchera facilitated a brilliant discussion on including Spanish speaking consumers in online marketing campaigns. Ana is leading the charge at BestBuy. She presented a case study on BestBuy’s Spanish language website that gave attendees an idea of how to approach this form of online inclusion. Some of the challenges the company overcame included deciding which version of Spanish to use (they went with universal Spanish), and whether or not to highlight special content to try to appeal to their Spanish speaking customers.
The major takeaway from this panel is that in the BestBuy case study, they learned consumers didn’t want different or “customized” content on the Spanish language site. Their target audience wanted the content to be identical to the content on the English language site. Also, it was an integrated campaign that relied a lot on the support of off line (in-store) components. The offline components included helping customers identify Spanish-speaking customer service reps that could help them in the store.
Seth Priebatsch (founder of SCVNGR mobile check-in app) delivered a compelling keynote presentation. The main conference room was jam-packed so we watched the simulcast from a nearby conference room.
Priebatsch proposed a theory that suggests that we can solve some pretty big problems if we apply key elements of gaming to real life. He demonstrated the premise of his theory by getting the audience involved in a little bit of play time.
Each person in the audience had a card with two colors – one color on each side of the card. (Only in the live presentation, not the simulcast ones). The cards were placed randomly. The colors varied on each card and the room was filled to capacity. The challenge: get each person on a row the same color card. The prize: SCVNGR would donate $10k to The National Wildlife Federation.
It was a fairly difficult task. And it was timed –they got about 2.5 minutes to win the game. Players couldn’t get up from their seats (though I saw some people standing). The audience did well and completed the challenge with almost one minute to spare.
This panel rocked my socks off. I was hesitant to go because, straight up, I didn’t want to get duped into watching a power point slide show about extinct brands and what they should’ve done. This panel was not that at all. The panel played to a packed house.
Hey! Things couldn’t be better. You’re at the top of the game right now. Your brand is doing well –you’re the hottest thing going right now. In a word: you’re winning. Now let’s change everything completely. Don’t worry.
Thank me later.
Your Branding Agency
Scary. Charnock and Ring painted a clear picture of why changing while a brand is at the peak of its influence helps it avoid becoming obsolete. It’s a form of adapting overlooked by some brands that have failed. As an example, Ring and Charnock pointed out that lots of companies built their brands around selling fur, but cultural shifts made that change. You have to be ready to shift when “shift happens.” The key to brands shifting when at the height of their success, according to Charnock and Ring, is to find your higher purpose as a company rather than focusing solely on a product.
These takeaways are just snippets of what I learned in each panel. There’s more information and takeaways from the rest of the team still to come. We’re taking in new ideas and making new friends every day we’re here. Look forward to seeing more of what we learned as we return from SXSW. Can’t wait for the wrap-up posts? Follow our tweets to participate in our SXSWi experiences!
Crowdsourcing’s power is in its specifics. Reading other people’s very specific accounts can hopefully ring true to your unique situation as well.
![E-Waste dumping - photo by Curtis Palmer](http://farm1.staticflickr.com/139/345897594_272bf58cc9_n.jpg" width="320" height="240 "E-Waste dumping - photo by Curtis Palmer")
Each year, a team of Schipulites converges upon the capital of Texas for South by Southwest. This year, Schipul is also a sponsor of 
