Connecting socially with purpose.
March 21, 2010
©2007 Derek Sivers
This article isn’t about strategies for using social media on a branding level. Those plans involve individual situations that are appropriate to the mission of a brand’s campaign objectives. This conversation is about using online social networks for building professional relationships. If you’re a professional using social media, your best plan is to have a purpose and be consistent.
I’ve always been a social person and after 15 years in the ad industry I enjoy meeting people and having conversations about the biz. About two years ago I joined adgabber.com, a social community site dedicated to serving the advertising, marketing and media industry – a place to share the latest ads and news. With over 8,000 members, I realized it was a great place to have conversations, post articles and gather content. The site was formed as a sub social group of Adrants.com.
Why am I sharing this with you? Because it’s the premise to my purpose for using online social media for professional reasons. Like AdGabber, there are many tools available to establish relationships for building a solid professional network.
Linkedin.com is an awesome tool. It’s basically an online resume on steroids – it lists my work history and professional connections throughout my career including associations, books I’m reading and groups I’m affiliated with. This network is probably the most relevant relationship builder for having conversations with other professionals in the industry where you work, or within related industries. In advertising it’s especially great for connecting with say, brand managers with whom you don’t normally communicate and would want to establish a network with. If you’re not familiar with its purpose here’s a little info. on it:
Ok, so these social tools were the foundation to my online relationships. Then I joined twitter. Twitter allowed for instant real-time sharing of valuable content from whom I followed: Ad Men, Social Media Gurus, Graphic Designers, Art Directors, etc. I also used this tool to promote content from the ad agency where I worked – as the Creative Director. This was my purpose and I remain consistent with it to this day. Some use it merely as another form of personal socializing, I made sure I didn’t follow these Tweeps. The people I followed and still follow are aligned with my purpose and are all associated with advertising in one form or another. And, for the most part, the people who follow me are the same. In short, this is the real beauty of twitter. To boot, it proved to be important in research and keeping current in my industry.
All this may be elementary for a lot of you, just stay with me a little longer, I have a point to make.
Now that I had my three levels of online relationships down it was just a matter of being consistent with the sharing, conversations and contributing. I did this on a regular basis and it was part of my daily plan. If you don’t plan your day using social media this way, it can very easily consume your whole day – don’t let that happen.
This formula and the certain social networks I use is my personal strategy. There are many other social tools available for you to use. However, based on the personal professional mission I’m talking about here, this plan works pretty well.
Ok, here’s why I wanted you to stay with me – I left my job as Creative Director at redpepper. What happened next is how I have positioned myself for further employment and other opportunities with the world.
With the three networks already established all I had to do was: build this site to showcase my work (portfolio) and convey my understanding of advertising strategies; provide relevant content in a blog format to highlight my philosophies (this helps others to get to know me on a different level); share it within my established social networks to get exposure. Next I started a separate blog, I chose postereous, for the purpose of critiquing ads within the industry to stay current and to also share with others – another form of exposure.
All five social network tools allowed the user to connect with each of them – creating a cyclical way of relationship building and exposure. More importantly, having conversations with those who commented or shared on the content I provided, and likewise, doing the same with those who connected with me, gave way to new relationship opportunities.
Here’s the key: I still found traditional ways to meet people by using these social networks: I volunteered to judge shows and speak at events; I developed contests and gave away gifts to meet people and share stories to get to know them better and for them to know me.
In the end, it’s people that we communicate with. Whether it be for brands or for ourselves, “social media” or better, “social connecting” is all about being purposeful with how you connect with others and have conversations about..well, you have to find out for yourself.
Feelin’ Campy
March 6, 2010
PodCamp Nashville – Cadillac Ranch, Music City
Today I presented at PodCamp Nashville, a local event inspired by the user generated national conference, BarCamp and is put on by the local community itself. It’s also free – in an “un-conference” style format. As always, I enjoyed running into friends in the biz and networking with others. The best parts of the event were the people and the content they presented. Here’s why:
PodCamp invites people within the community to present at the event, with content that is relevant to the needs of that market.
There is a certain trust between the presenter and the attendee as every member of the event is from that city and in general, from the same industry.
The event planners and volunteers who execute the event are also from that same community.
Myself and Brian VanderMey, founder of The Collaboratory, a relatively new organization I am currently involved with, presented a session based on the challenges of collaboration and how to leverage social media.
The Collaboratory is a group of independent marketers, creatives and ad folk working together benefiting non-profits. Each of the members are involved in other activities – looking for their next creative opportunity or employment. The benefit and purpose to the member of this organization is to stay sharp and achieve personal and professional growth. After the group’s population grew to over 35 people, a new challenge arose – how to collaborate with each other remotely.
None of The Collaboratory’s members arrive at the same office each day to develop the projects they work on for these non-profits. Instead, they operate remotely only meeting physically when necessary or when client meetings dictate. Very quickly we realized that sharing information and attempts at collaborating became an issue: e-mail threads were long and confusing; conversations in groups were cumbersome and didn’t foster the real-time interaction needed for true collaboration; organization of projects, assigned talent and client content wasn’t efficient and cracks in the process were starting to show up.
A solution to this challenge was an innovative way to collaborate online – not by expensive organizational applications as these don’t allow for real-time conversation that fosters collaboration – instead by utilizing social apps currently available for free, a perk for this organization working with non-profits.
The following is a model we developed that aggregates a combination of popular social tools. These harness the ability to communicate at a high level and promote the true fundamentals of collaboration to ensure great results.
This “map” of our collaborative process showcases each social app with a specific task. If you’ve used these tools before, it’s pretty self explanitory – with the exception of Twitter and its function.
Twitter is great for cultivating content and tapping into information for research. It is also a great tool for capturing content such as photos, drafts and videos that can be uploaded to social apps that store information that allow for sharing. Evernote is a good example of a content storing and sharing application. Finally, twitter can be easily used by mobile devices and it’s excellent for remote members who are mostly mobile.
Our exploration of a social app that helps in collaborative communication is Google Wave, a new product by Google that is still in beta testing. Wave allows for real-time conversations with multiple people and simultaneous interaction.
The beauty of this tool is its flexibility. Here’s a catchy video using Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp fiction as a theme and demonstrates the program’s agility.
It was fun to present our journey to solving online collaboration at PodCamp. It was a great event and I can’t wait until PCN11 next year. Check out some of the tweets from attendees that signed up for our session.
Parallel Action – how you move.
February 27, 2010
Think about what happens when you work in a linear fashion – you wait right? Most process models are designed so that “B” can’t start until “A” is finished. This makes getting from A to Z time consuming, not to mention – it leaves no room for exploration, experimentation and failure. Wait, failure? Yes. Failures in a process are necessary for evolving an idea and even starting over if needed. “Parallel action” allows for these steps to occur and is the difference between work that is good or work that is great.
This type of thinking isn’t relatively new. Edward DeBono (one of the world’s leading thinkers about thinking, and founder of “The six thinking hats”) says this about “parallel thinking“:
“Parallel Thinking is not about philosophy but about the practical thinking required to get things done.
For two and a half thousand years we have followed the thinking system designed by the Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, based on analysis, judgment and argument. Is this traditional thinking sufficient today? The old boxes are no longer adequate to cope with today’s rapidly changing world. So judgment and argument can no longer solve problems or move us forward. We need to switch from judgment to design. How can we design forward from ‘parallel possibilities’?
– Accept possibilities without judging and lay them down in parallel
– Accept both sides of a contradiction and lay them down in parallel
– Then design forward from parallel possibilities”
– Edward DeBono
So what’s the difference between “parallel thinking” and “parallel action”? It’s the “action” part? Seriously, there are times you can improve a project just by moving it forward – working at the same pace as others within a process. It’s far better to share what has been developed, allowing for movement instead of waiting until others are finished with their role in that process. This requires more communication and constant feedback, thus everyone moves in parallel.
Here’s the trick. There is a reason for order within a process. It maintains integrity of key components like research, insights and ensures deadlines are met. So there still needs to be certain “linear actions” taking place. It’s like parallel action taking place while linear movement still exists. If this sounds like chaos it could be, but only if you’re in the wrong mindset.
Creativity is difficult if your intentions are to create something great – something unique. It’s why some people refer to the creative process as a “science”. It’s definitely, if done correctly, not subjective. It takes effort and commitment in it’s communication and sharing of information. This process also demands respect and real collaboration with those involved. Being able to say, “Your idea is better than mine” means dropping egos and playing with a humble attitude. Hilman Curtis, an artist well known for creative process states:
Creative horsepower.
February 21, 2010
In most cases, what you do in your creative career won’t and can’t be your creative outlet. Only 1% of people find their dream job and still I argue that these people will need an alternate creative interest. There’s one reason why – balance. Find that outlet and you’ll have unmeasurable horsepower fueling your daily job. Without this balance, you’ll crumble emotionally little by little.
Creative outlet – 1977 camaro project. Best part of the build was this 550 horsepower motor.
For example, communication arts mixed with the business world is a paradox. Creativity was never meant to be controlled. For someone to create with purpose they must execute without undue influence, which is almost always impossible in the business world, mostly due to the sway of who’s controlling the process.
Industries that require you to be innovative, creative and think of unique ideas on a daily basis can also influence your creativity in negative ways – where there’s a client or need to create for reasons other than your own desired outcome, there will be conflict. You must find a balance with your creative career by introducing other interests where you can control the process and end result. Once in place, harmony will occur and your career will find focus and your emotions will be controlled.
Creative people are emotional and passionate. Passion leads to purpose. People who define themselves by purpose need confidence that they have the power to create something meaningful, without being tainted by decisions that lead to executions without desired results. I’m not talking about creativity void of collaboration and not having failures along the journey to success. I’m talking about the frustrations that come with false input and controlled decisions that cause brilliant ideas to go south. You all know what I’m talking about.
So what is a creative outlet? It’s anything that involves creative expression without false input or control.
I have a couple of creative outlets. The first, is hotrods. I’ve been rebuilding antique cars and muscle cars into powerful street machines since I was a teenager. I enjoy using my hands and creating things that were once considered junk into beautiful metal powerhouses. Sharing stories of what 550 horsepower feels like driving down the road with other hotroders is what I relish the most. My second creative outlet is acquiring posters from stapled-up telephone poles from a city-near-you. I love collecting them because of their graphic qualities and design aesthetics. The joy is simple – their beauty and sometimes unique approach to messaging.
I encourage everyone to explore ways to be creative outside of their careers. This balance will influence your confidence as a creative person and allow for inspiration and focus in your skill-sets at work. More importantly, it will give you license to develop creative expression that will foster purpose in your life.
Don’t be afraid.
February 14, 2010
I just finished judging the student Addys here in the middle Tennessee region. For those of you who don’t know, this region leads the nation in entries and the number of schools that enter. That said, it warms my heart to know that there are some real teachers out there that give a shit. Horah to those that coach and mentor young aspiring creative thinkers who dream of being talented. The collection of work proved it. Here is some of it.
James Button – photographer/Nossi College of Art
People are born creative. It’s society and conservative teachers that lead us to believe that creativity is something only meant for those who want to struggle through life. Not true. Sure it takes effort being creative and you do have to show up everyday (read my last blog post “Show up.”).
The work was impressive which made it truly difficult to decide from so many entries. From illustration, photography, advertising, copy writing to graphic design, packaging and digital development, these guys can hold water to actual agency work. To those of you who aren’t challenging yourselves in the market right now – look out.
And this is a good thing. Infusing new talent, aspiring not to beat you out, but who seek to challenge you and want you to challenge them is how “staying fresh” is supposed to work. Yes, you have something they don’t: experience. They’re craving it. Let them in. Collaborate with them. Learn to bridge new frontiers in design and technology with them. Hire an intern if you can’t afford to pay a new salary. Interview and hire those who are testing their own creative growth and actually want something from you. Then give it to them.
There is a catch though: you have to be committed to their growth. But you already know that, right? You’re already growing your own talent, right? And you’ve already given them tools and the freedom to know how to grow it on their own, right? Because you know that’s how you get to a level of consistent company growth that produces great work, right?
It’s simple. Fear kills creativity. Don’t be afraid to say to people, “That’s not good enough”. Interview hard. Don’t be afraid to express and implement your philosophies of personal growth and insist on collaboration with the talent you have and with others, introducing perspective and objectivity into the work. Hire people that are better than you. Always. What should be motivating is that someone is doing better work than you because it forces you to step up your game. Just make sure your competitive heart is humble and fair.
I always enjoy working with young talent. It reminds me of why I started in this business – to find purpose and to make a difference. And more importantly, when I work with others who share that same ideal, we can make a HUGE difference. As long as we’re not afraid.
Show up.
February 9, 2010
Working with other creative people is why I chose my career. Add working with some of the best creatives, judging some of the best work in the U.S. – it’s the makings of a perfect job.
My trip to Virgina Beach was one interesting event. Mostly due to the weather. It snowed almost a foot the weekend three other talented people and I were asked to judge their 2009 Addys. It also made for interesting travel. At one point, due to flight delays and over-booking, I had to board a plane by walking up to it via the tarmac.
The creative WOW was left to a few, as always, but what was more telling was the work… that wasn’t even close.
I guess it bothers me when some people call themselves creative and they don’t even understand the groundwork for what it takes to be good, let alone great. I’m talking about just getting the rules of graphic design and good ol’ advertising strategy down. We were judging the Addys right? I’m just sayn’.
I enjoy coaching people and their creativity. Especially when THEY define what is great and at the very least, good enough. That’s because they know how to set the bar is for what is great. Not because they just do know, but because they learned something along their journey of creativity to actually want to be talented, not just to be “creative”.
They show up ready to do what’s necessary to do great work. They seek out others who inspire them and see the things they are creating. They look for mentors from whom they can learn from. They find others who challenge them and they challenge others. Quite simply, they give a shit. And these people aren’t always in the creative departments of where we work, they exist everywhere. From owners of companies and CEO’s to Marketing Directors and Account Executives, we’re all responsible for “great”. It’s the difference of whether or not you show up and work hard at what you believe you can achieve and what you can accomplish with others.
Are you “being creative” or are you a “creative being”? Everyone has the capacity to create, and to judge what’s “creative”. But just because you’re standing next to the President doesn’t make you the VP. In other words, just because you ran an ad doesn’t make you creative, let alone a creative great. It takes more than osmoses to actually understand how to be really good. It takes effort, you have to be obligated to it.
Talented people work hard at their skill. Their work shows it. It’s obvious. And it stands out against work that, well, doesn’t show up.
Who owns it?
February 6, 2010
Recently I was asked to speak at a DOT (Department of Transportation) national convention where I was to engage people during a 30 minute break-out session on the subject of Branding. I said, yes of course, it’s my favorite subject. What did I learn? People who are not exposed to the science of branding are like sponges if you “show” them how it works, and not just tell what they should be doing. These were all people within a certain industry that typically don’t use agencies and understand branding only as logos and signage.
My approach was to show them that THEY are consumers of their own products and services and to personify their brand as a real person. Because of this, they have to have the perspective of the consumers’ lens when they want to understand what others think of their brand. To this degree, they don’t own their brand. Understanding the insights from what people think can influence messaging that can lead to action.
We went to BrandTags.net and looked at brands and what consumers think of them. That was an eye opener – they started to see that branding isn’t a logo, a sign on a building or a secret formula, instead it is a thought, a feeling or a understanding of a company through an emotional experience.
During the session I had them fill out part of a worksheet and then pass it to another person. This revealed how each of them were different yet all part of the insight to their brand. To again prove that they have to embrace the consumer’s perspective.
Finally, I wanted to reinforce that internal alignment is important to the success of the brand performance and longevity. Understanding good culture can build authenticity and believability into a brand’s unique qualities.
Quiet on the set.
February 6, 2010
Sometimes you just can’t think when you’re around a bunch of creative people all the time. Not that it’s always noisy, but it usually is, and not that that’s a bad thing either. Sometimes to get the best “thinking” you need a change of scenery and a new perspective, a new “set”. I call it the “The Triple O”. Or, “Out Of Office” experience. You’ve just got to get the hell out of your own space to get the juices flowing, or to find new influences, etc. Then, more importantly, afterwards share about it.
Today, I needed to write a script so I wanted to take a stab at it to show another writer what I was thinking. It was such a pretty spring day outside. Where to go, where to go? I headed to the park for some sun on my bald head and a fresh perspective.
With journal and pencil in hand, I found a spot next to a tree where I could watch people jogging and others eating lunch on picnic tables and a good view of the Parthenon. Given that I was going to write a script for an actor, I wondered if this might be how writers for TV or movies might do it. Anyway, it was how I was going to do it.
After five minutes or so I put my pencil to the first blank page and started writing. 10 minutes later, and a cramping hand, I had filled 5 pages. It just came out of me. And I wanted it to be very casual so I didn’t stop to correct myself and so it just went. It was good enough to go back and typeset it and share with others, I thought.
I couldn’t have been gone but 30 minutes or so. I had wanted to stay a little longer just to read it to myself, but alas, a Creative Director is always needed by someone and my cell was lighting up.
My point? I don’t think I could have done that in my office or a conference room. It was just enough for me to get out of a regular situation and to think differently. I challenge everyone to take action this way. We could all use a little OOO in our work day or lives in general.
On Fire.
February 6, 2010
I tend to watch programs on the Discovery channel. I think it’s because the commentary is inviting and not harsh like the news or most TV drama shows. The other evening I was engrossed in a show I usually watch called, “The Naked Planet” that was explaining how a meteor enters the earth’s atmosphere and it’s impact on the planet’s surface. What I discovered was that meteors, in this manor, behave almost like the mind when developing creative ideas.
A meteor is a piece of rock or ice that travels in space which is pulled by the gravity of a nearby planet or moon. It becomes incandescent as a result of friction and appears as a streak of light as it enters the atmosphere of that planet or moon. See what you can learn from watching the Discovery Channel? So how does this relate to the creative process? The answer lies in what happens to the rock and ice as it travels to the surface .
This meteor gets really hot as it fights the atmosphere of earth traveling at thousands of miles an hour. It pushes through the gases of space and it compresses the air so tight that the heat literally peels away the material from the meteor and it burns away, thus causing the trail of light that we usually see. Since childhood we refer to these as “falling stars”. That sounds much better than a burning rock traveling at blistering speeds headed right for your backyard.
The most important part of what happens to the meteor is that it ends up being a fraction of its original mass and sometimes is nothing more than a pebble before it reaches its destination. Now plant this image I just painted for you in your head and think about the creative process. As you develop ideas you get excited about them, you get fired up, and then you start to peel off the layers of that idea until it becomes this nugget of creativity of unmeasurable power.
Finally, this meteor – even the size of a pebble – hits its destination with such impact that would destroy entire cities. Think about that. A huge idea, narrowed down to a powerful creation, on target, on strategy, reaching its audience with such an impact that causes a result that is so explosive that everyone notices. That, my friends, is called an idea on fire.
And why would you want to stop that?
