#Social2011: Radian 6’s User Conference
It’s 2:30 in the morning and I’m finally settled into my hotel here in Boston. Today and Friday I will be attending Radian 6’s User Conference, Social 2011.
For those of you who don’t know, Radian 6 is an online listening tool that allows Community Managers like myself to get a glimpse into what is being said about their client’s brand online. Additionally, it’s one of many tools that helps users gather research and insight into what people are saying about a particular topic online. At JWT we’re already doing this type of work with Randian 6 and other listening tools, but there is always room to grow and I’m hoping that this conference provides just that.
Prior to getting to Boston late this evening, I was feeling frazzled and rushed as I left New York. I literally booked my ticket just a few hours before leaving and I hadn’t had much time to organize which break out and training sessions I wanted to attend. As I sat on the train, I started searching Twitter for the conference’s hashtag, #Social2011. Not surprisingly, I saw that lots of people were already in Boston meeting up before the conference even started. A tiny bit of FOMO washed over me- I was missing out on all the fun and the pre-conference festivities.
LinkedIn Knows It’s The Little Things
I wouldn’t put “receiving blast e-mails from social networking platforms” atop my list of stuff that I like.
But I just received an unusually thoughtful one “from” Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn’s co-founder, calling me out for being one of LinkedIn’s first million members:
I wouldn’t say I’ve previously had a tremendously strong emotional connection to LinkedIn, but small gestures like this are a great first step. They’ve even thrown in some info about locating a little easter egg within LinkedIn (i.e. how to identify your member number)!
More companies should follow this line of thinking. Sweat the small details. They’re the things people remember.
Fun with Nintendo 3DS and Kinect
First, an amazing video showing off the augmented-reality prowess of the Nintendo 3DS (found via Kotaku)
At SXSWi last week, I bumped into a friend who is studing at Carnegie Mellon’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute. That friend introduced me to another friend at HCII, who introduced me to another friend at HCII, and now I’m in thick with these geniuses! Anyway, one of these new friends, Nisha Kurani, sent me this note this morning, regarding the program’s mind-bending Kinect-hacking projects:
[guest post by Owen Katz, Senior Integrated Producer at JWT]
This year’s SXSW Music Video program featured “a range of classic, innovative and stylish work showcasing the scope of music video culture.” The low tech, lo-fi videos, created for little money and/or without sophisticated production tools, were the most remarkable. They prove that compelling content does not have to be expensive, elaborate productions.
U.S. Girls “Red Ford Radio” dirs. Jacqueline Castel, Preston Spurlock
This lo-fi animation was created on a photocopier and shows collage animation of 1950s – 60s era print advertisements featuring women, domestic appliances and electronics. This video’s simplicity makes it more poignant, highlighting the ever-changing and never-changing aesthetic/style of advertising throughout the years. It’s using popular culture as a counter culture statement (nothing new) but has stand-out power when compared to the hyper-produced videos of today that look more like cell phone commercials that artistic statements.
Holy Crap, I’m Using Foursquare Again
Badge fatigue. Privacy concerns. Another likely-to-pass technology fad. I thought these were the reasons I quit checking into Foursquare.
Turns out, it’s a hell of a lot simpler than that: I lead a boring life.
Last week, when I touched down in Austin for SXSW Interactive, I checked back in at the airport. (At the risk of sounding even more curmudgeonly, I even found myself rationalizing it: I needed a digital memento from my first trip to the Salt Lick.)
It may have been the Jetsetter badge I earned, or the fact that Foursquare told me that two of my friends had recently checked in there, but immediately, I found myself pulled back in by the Foursquare tractor beam. Over the next several days, I tracked down friends. I racked up points. I earned a slew of new badges (though I’m still missing the coveted “Room Service” – curse you, @gmdclark!). I even referred to the “Tips” section when making dinner plans.
So what was I doing with Foursquare before SXSW?
Well… There was that time I checked into JWT. And that other time when I checked into JWT’s café. Oh yeah, I went to the Spotted Pig once. And then I checked into a chat room… at JWT.
In the category of “things most people learned in 2009,” it turns out that Foursquare is only as interesting as you are. The second your check-in list tips in the direction of work, fast food restaurants or (god help you) your apartment, it’s over. The corollary is you’d better have interesting friends or… I’m not naming anyone, but honestly, I don’t really care about your Applebee’s check-in. Joe.
Now that I’m back, I find myself checking in more frequently, excited by the possibilities of the app. Here’s hoping it’ll make me a more adventurous person.
Things are looking promising: after all, it’s only two more days before I become mayor of chat room 3A at JWT.
SXSWi’s Breakout Performer: Advertising
[Guest Post By Tim Nolan, Creative Director @JWTNewYork]
Looking back at my SXSW 2011 experience, I have been trying to determine who and what exactly was the breakout of festival. Last year we of course had the birth of Foursquare, and the years leading up to 2010, Twitter was a huge component in the digital vs. real world. However this year, the breakout performer was not a person nor was it a product or even a platform, it was ADVERTISING. 
Having attended the event since 2005, it was clear just after a few hours in Austin that this year advertising, and advertising agencies were definitely #winning. It was impossible to avoid the co-opted and sponsored experiences, free rides, and free food brought to you by major brands like Pepsi, CNN, and a wide array of advertising agencies including our very own collaboration with The Salt Lick.
Over the past two years the interactive portion of SXSW has outgrown the once dominant music presence and I am sure the SXSWi attendance will only continue to grow in the years to come. The event I once attended in 2005 is no longer the same, and I can definitively say we are not in Kansas anymore Toto. For better or for worse SXSW is once again changing and breaking new grounds.
Ad+Geek 