mindblob

Landing on planet RTBF.be

[Original FAB illustration by Sebastien Verliefde]

 

It's been a while since my last post, indeed, but as some of you might know, I was "up to something". That "something" was the preparation of a new job challenge that I will start next month. I will share with you a little more about it in a next post, but as announced on my Twitter and Linkedin profiles, I might as well relay the nature of this job here. I will be Online Marketing Manager in the interactive department of the RTBF.be (Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française). I'm very pleased about it and really looking forward to the launch of this new adventure.  O )

So, yes... more Alien stories coming soon!

The ride of the Hero

 

 

Last month a video posted on YouTube hit the Guitar Hero fan and gaming community. If you're familiar with the video game "Guitar Hero"... this film will appear to be incredibly creative and surprising. The video had over 1.747.000 hits within less than a month. Recently it was unveiled to be a viral video launched by Activision to promote their last version of the game, Guitar Hero Worldtour. So, at the end of the day, the  bike hero video was not made by a bunch of talented kids, but developed by independent shop Droga5 (check their client list and work).  

 

And here comes the debate about "authenticity" again. Is it OK to play with your audience and authenticity or is it just not a good idea? After a quick check, it seems that the feedback after the revelation is very much mixed between "fake = lame" and "who cares it's a fake, idea and video are still stunning". I noticed a tendency to get more votes from the "it's OK" side on this specific viral case. As mentioned in interesting AdWeek article "Viral Video Hits Blur the Authenticity Line" it seems that advertisers are clearly exploring the limits of fake vs authenticity.

  

"To be sure, there continues to be a fine line between fooling with consumers and simply fooling them. Like much in viral marketing, it remains unclear how much an advertiser should reveal during campaigns." - says Brian Morrissey of AdWeek.

...

"It was awesome only because we thought there were creative kids doing this in their free time," noted a commenter on game blog GameCyte. "Now, it's just a good commercial." - [AdWeek article abstract]

  

I like a related comment found on Twitter and left by Daniel Stein, CEO of EVB in SF the company behind Office Max's "Elf Yourself" :

 

"I like Droga's Bike Hero. Who cares if it is fake, it is entertaining. New definition of viral video should be 'ads people actually want to see.' "

There is one important thing to consider, though... the kind of product we're talking about and the related target group. OK for a little authenticity play with Guitar Hero Worldtour is one thing. OK for authenticity play with the New York Times, might be another one.

 

What's your take on this? Is authenticity an absolute must or can marketers sometimes cautiously play with it?

  

PS : Thanks to Cedric M. for pointing this video to my eyes. Dude... you simply Rock!  : )

  

About NEW, unique... live EXPERIENCES

  

A few months ago, I ran across my RSS reader and POW! Right Between the Eyes... got hit by a post of my friend Andy Nulman. Andy said (again!) :

"Consistency isn't everything it is cracked up to be" -  Then, naturally I can hear your immediate question  why? Andy brings his own answer to this : "In business, a reputation of being reliable and true-to-your-word is both admirable and desirable, but there's something to be said about the currency of Surprise being part of your corporate DNA."

He then points to the way Andy Berndt of Google described working with Obscura Digital in Fast Company (see other article on digital projections here) :

"The thing about working with these guys is that you never know quite how a project's going to come out... you just know they have great taste and are going to wow everybody"

   

That is definitely a very nice way to be described by a client. So this lead me to investigate a little about Obscura Digital. Who are these guys and what are they doing. Well, glad I did... look what I found in a very interesting CNET News article by Kara Tsuboi - (video credits CNET) :

   

  

CEO Patrick Connolly describes his company as "... a marketing company revolutionizing the advertising world with its interactive and immersive technology." Obscura Digital is based in San Francisco USA (soon new offices to come) and their work has found clients all over the world.

As you might know by now, documenting "new & innovative live experiences" is one of my favorite topics. This, because I believe that unique experiences will always strongly insight conversation. I just love the "I wish I could have been there... I wish I could have seen this" effect. But when you make the experience INTERACTIVE + IMMERSIVE + CAPTIVATING you get really powerful human emotions drivers... and so, powerful communication tools when mastered with the appropriate expertise, of course. Well, I wish I could meet these guys and visit the testing labs of Obscura Digital! ; )

  

When was the last time you were impressed by a "unique" live experience? What made that live experience memorable?

  

United PEAS of Social Media

- Original picture from Addixon777 + home made transformation -

   

The amazing thing about "social media" is the power that these two words joined together took over the meaning of each word when standing alone.

"Social" is the grouping of individuals around common characteristics, interactions between groups of people, is taking consideration of other's behavior. Many more definitions apply to that word, but in a way the "united humans" side of the definition is probably the one we keep in mind. And here comes "media" basically related to communication and being the vehicle of messages towards as many people as possible, not to say "masses".

Now "social media" pushes us from being readers and spectators of news and information, to being actors and publishers of messages through a completely new vehicle. And we may see "the wisdom of the crowds" as the evolution of individual messages freely embraced by other individuals.

The very first time I understood the power of "social media" was after Noel Davis' terrible bicycle accident just before Christmas 2007. Noel is the father in law of Gavin Heaton, a blogger friend I had met on the net months before. At the time, I didn't know Noel but I was warned by another friend blogger CK that "something terrible" happened. Gavin communicated to friends and family on Noel's web page and a solidarity chain was raised by other bloggers relaying the information and collecting funds to help. Cam Beck created a special page to make donations, David Armano made a visual for the cause, many helped making posts to spread the information. Hopefully, Noel recovered from his accident and I'm quite sure many people still think about him today.

Then, another terrible event tore many of us apart when our friend CK was facing the toughest moment of her life. This difficult moment, brought to our eyes the important fact that there is a link between this virtual world, our emotions, values, good intentions and reality.

More recently, Susan Reynolds a blogger I don't know personally, discovered that she had breast cancer. As a matter of fact, Susan suffered so much from the multiple biopsies she went through that she placed a pack of frozen peas on her breast to relieve the pain. She decided to share her experience with others and launched a special blog : Boobs on Ice. When she posted a picture of her and the pack of peas in such an unexpected place, some of her friends were touched and reacted. In less time than it takes to actually say it many people took action (see the full story on Connie Reece's blog) and a solidarity wave rolled around the planet.

Then a special Frozen Pea Fund was launched to raise money with all benefits going to Making Strides, the breast cancer campaign of the American Cancer Society. Now what if we would all donate the price of a package of Peas to such a fund raising program? Hundreds of Twitter users changed their avatars on a Pea theme. When I see the specially created Frozen Pea Flickr group, I really beleive that there are PEAple out there ready to help change the world.

Today is the THIRD PEA FRIDAY... so if you have not done it yet, go to this link and donate the value of a few peas (or more), because this action is good and is helping an important cause we should all care about. I am sure Susan was happy to see that many were there to encourage her and try to help. Also, I'd like to honor people who lead others in the right direction, to help those in need. Connie, this one is for you -sorry it took me so long to make this post-. Even if we have not met yet, please know that it is a real honor to know you. I am amazed by the mountains you are moving.

I understand that social media is not done shaking positively my vision of this world. These incredible examples raise the definitions to another level. So, whoever still thinks "social media" is yet another trendy notion to debate on, might want to consider this : next time you are watching PEAple from a distance, watch closely and listen... maybe you'll find out that the voice behind each one of them is worth some of your attention. Above definitions, there are people behind all this, connected and sharing experiences. Internet is just a vehicle, let's keep in mind that human beings are on both sides with their hearts and values.

      

Always in BETA - The Conversation Fish

- Karl Long as being filmed by CM's web cam... hi Karl ! -

Imagine you were a fish on misson, in a bowl right at Forrester Consumer Forum 2007. Imagine you could see and hear people there and -wow!- send them text messages to a screen and get instant "live" feedback. What would you actually see? What would you say? Well, the first thing you'd witness is Critical Mass fantastic, audaciously open, conversation experiment : ALWAYS IN BETA.

David Armano and the super team at Critical Mass Chicago are indeed giving us an insightful view on the Forrester Consumer Forum. Letting anyone on the net log onto their open "Always in Beta" site. I encourage you to check it out as this is only a 2 days event (11th and 12th October). CM's blog is here.

As being one of the fishes around the Internet bowl yesterday, I must confess I really enjoyed the experience. First of all the technical aspect, innovative Internet tools (free and available to all of us, provided by UStream). So, no complicated IT server and gear with wires and geeks figuring out the optimal bandwidth in a hidden NASA-control-room-like place. Computer + web cam + Internet connection = that's about it. Well, of course there were some gaps in the video from time to time and the available computer mic was a bit overwhelmed by his assignment (unidirectional might help for next broadcast). But that's not so important, this is Beta, right.

The most important thing is the EXPERIENCE offered there. It opens lots of doors and ideas on how the future of live coverages of events could be. Imagine a phone with super-speed Internet access and a camera and you could broadcast "live" on the Internet from any hotspot. David gave us -fishes- an adrenaline peak when he went "WIFI-LIVE". Walking with his laptop and web cam in the hallways of the Forum felt like being on Neil Armstrong shoulder on July 20, 1969. Wow! David's wifi-walk made me think about this :

 

"It's one small step for man...

one giant leap for Conversation"

 

Congrats guys ! ! ! What an experience! We, fishes, loved it! Thank you for taking us on Enterprise -Critical Mass- spaceship... for a walk & talk on planet Forrester.  Last but not least CM bought 300 Age of Conversation hardcover books and offered them to the visitors of the forum. Now wait a minute... maybe "Beta", means "Conversation"... That's it!

   

The Age of Conversation - Teaser

UPDATE : 2 first fresh press releases on AdAge and Social Computing Magazine.
(...thanks for pointing these links out Gavin!)   

 

Look! It's a bird... it's a plane... it's "The Age of Conversation" ! ! ! The O so expected FANTASTIC ebook everybody is already talking about, is almost ready to be launched and to spread the world with its rich, eclectic, collaborative content. The launch day is next monday, July 16th... So, just ONE more unbearable, long weekend to go. Be patient, we're almost there.

To find all the latest details of this incredible adventure initiated by Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton, just click here. Remember: all the benefits of this project will  be donated to Variety, the Children's Charity. Well, it is an honor to be part of this project, really. I created a special AOC page here with an ALPHABETIC list of the authors for your convenience. This list is updated, please let me know if you notice something wrong.

More coming soon !
JUST CAN'T WAIT !

 

PS : In the meantime and if you need to calm your nerves while waiting during this never ending weekend, I'd suggest you to spend some (more) time reading these great blogs. The list here under being the latest updated by Drew himself :

 

LATEST list of the authors :

Gavin Heaton
Drew McLellan
CK
Valeria Maltoni
Emily Reed
Katie Chatfield
Greg Verdino
Mack Collier
Lewis Green
Sacrum
Ann Handley
Mike Sansone
Paul McEnany
Roger von Oech
Anna Farmery
David Armano
Bob Glaza
Mark Goren
Matt Dickman
Scott Monty
Richard Huntington
Cam Beck
David Reich
Luc Debaisieux
Sean Howard
Tim Jackson
Patrick Schaber
Roberta Rosenberg
Uwe Hook
Tony D. Clark
Todd Andrlik
Toby Bloomberg
Steve Woodruff
Steve Bannister
Steve Roesler
Stanley Johnson
Spike Jones
Nathan Snell
Simon Payn
Ryan Rasmussen
Ron Shevlin
Roger Anderson
Robert Hruzek
Rishi Desai
Phil Gerbyshak
Peter Corbett
Pete Deutschman
Nick Rice
Nick Wright
Michael Morton
Mark Earls
Mark Blair
Mario Vellandi
Lori Magno
Kristin Gorski
Kris Hoet
G.Kofi Annan
Kimberly Dawn Wells
Karl Long
Julie Fleischer
Jordan Behan
John La Grou
Joe Raasch
Jim Kukral
Jessica Hagy
Janet Green
Jamey Shiels
Dr. Graham Hill
Gia Facchini
Geert Desager
Gaurav Mishra
Gary Schoeniger
Gareth Kay
Faris Yakob
Emily Clasper
Ed Cotton
Dustin Jacobsen
Tom Clifford
David Polinchock
David Koopmans
David Brazeal
David Berkowitz
Carolyn Manning
Craig Wilson
Cord Silverstein
Connie Reece
Colin McKay
Chris Newlan
Chris Corrigan
Cedric Giorgi
Brian Reich
Becky Carroll
Arun Rajagopal
Andy Nulman
Amy Jussel
AJ James
Kim Klaver
Sandy Renshaw
Susan Bird
Ryan Barrett
Troy Worman
S. Neil Vineberg
C.B. Whittemore

    

Be a part of... "the story"

   

You can now be a part of "the story", a narrative illustrated fresco, incorporating pictures submitted by the readers. Okay, I must admit the plot and scenery are quite surreal, but still... it is fascinating to view characters based on real people. Plus the idea is worth consideration as it could lead our minds to imagine other concepts based on the same principle.

Building a story, music, painting, object, item... piece by piece, with submitted elements. Definitely lots of things still to be done that way.

What would you suggest to "build"?

 

Musicovery

Here is a little find that might please you music and graphics lovers. Musicovery is a web site that offers a selection of music classified by moods and styles. It works like a web radio and lets you see the next few songs it is going to play so that you can jump forward directly to a part of the selection you like better. Check it out, it is really easy to use and fun to see move around.

The selection of music styles include some good classic, jazz and world music references which is not such a common feature on internet fancy platforms. Streaming quality is perfect in lo-fi and also available in hi-fi via a payable option. Unfortunately though, there is no volume control.

Impossible to see this site and not think about Liveplasma a very similar graphic interface focused on referencing both music and movies. Also the great Pandora (featured in a previous post), fully customizable and somehow more detailed in terms of finetuning your own play list moods.

SKYPE video for MAC is out!

Great news for the Mac fans. Today, Information Week announced that Skype video for Apple computers was launched. This means that from now on, video calls between Windows and Mac platforms will be as easy as phoning with Skype. Version 2.0 beta is now available for download.

Coming soon :

Yesterday was full of Apple news as well. Steve Jobs delivered a special announcement from the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco (link to watch the full special event). The soon available "iTV" (first quarter 2007), a living room streaming box will soon let you beam your media from your computer directly to your TV. Jobs also introduced the colorful new ipod nano range, the ipod shuffle clip and the launch of itunes 7 with downloadable (and yes legal) movies and ipod games. Pictures of the coming iTV player covered on Gizmodo.

These new products are here to remind us that the link between internet, computers and our homes is growing stronger everyday.

Viral video - CBS definition

CBS definition of "viral video" posted by Joseph Jaffe on YouTube.

Joseph also appears in the video and gives us the perspective of marketeers trying to catch the wave : "If you can't beat them... join them". This explains the rise of internet advertising investments.  But beware... marketers making fake videos take big risk and the issue is that taget audience will either "Laugh with them or laugh at them".

Examples :

- "Laugh with them" : Converse (Made by you).

- "Laugh at them" : Chevrolet Tahoe.