Digital Connections

Google Wave Preview: Waving At Myself!

"The first fax machine -- the person who bought the first fax machine was an idiot, because there was nobody to fax to.

But he or she became an evangelist, recruiting others to get the fax machines because it made their purchase more valuable.

Those are the effects that we're going to see.

Attention is the currency."

Kevin Kelly [TED: The Next 5,000 days of the web (Dec '97)]

This morning I was lucky enough to receive an invite from Google to preview Google Wave.

Which is absolutely fantastic news and the geek in me is pretty darn excited.

Although I must admit to feeling rather like that man with the first fax machine...

I've sent out my 8 invites to some friends and some fellow tweeters and bloggers (James, Neil, Amelia & John), but they are all currently awaiting delivery by Google.

"Invitations will not be sent immediately. We have a lot of stamps to lick."

In the meantime I'm sat Waving at my desk and sending out faxes to myself.

Timeless Marketing Classics: Chris Anderson

Last week I contacted Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine, author of The Long Tail blog and Geekdad blog and of course the book, The Long Tail.

My question to Chris was simple, "Chris, which marketing books will survive the test of time - which ones do you consider to be Timeless Marketing Classics?”

Chris’ five classics are:

Kevin Kelly: Out of Control (1995)

This is a book about how our manufactured world has become so complex that the only way to create yet more complex things is by using the principles of biology. This means decentralized, bottom up control, evolutionary advances and error-honoring institutions. I also get into the new laws of wealth in a network-based economy, what the Biosphere 2 project in Arizona has or has not to teach us, and whether large systems can predict or be predicted. And more: restoration biology, encryption, a-life, and the lessons of hypertext. Yes, it's a romp, in 520 pages. But the best part, my friends tell me, is the 28-page annotated bibliography. If you have suspected that technology could be better, more life-like, then this book is for you.

Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger: The Cluetrain Manifesto (2000)

"Of Course" - Chris Anderson

" Most marketing campaigns are based on the fear that the market might see what's really going on isnide the company.  Sound familiar? If it does then you've already come across the Cluetrain Manifesto...... If you haven't already then you should make it your business to do so.... Until big brands embrace more of the Cluetrain thinking, the anti-capitalist rioters might just have a point." Campaign, August 2001

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Seth Godin: Unleashing The Ideavirus (2001)

Treat a product or service like a human or computer virus, contends online promotion specialist Seth Godin, and it just might become one. In Unleashing the Ideavirus, Godin describes ways to set any viable commercial concept loose among those who are most likely to catch it--and then stand aside as these recipients become infected and pass it along on to others who might do the same.

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Clay Shirky: Here Comes Everybody (2008)

Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations is a book about what happens when people are given the tools to do things together, without needing traditional organizational structures.

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David Weinberger: Everything is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder (2007)

Business visionary and bestselling author David Weinberger charts how as business, politics, science, and media move online, the rules of the physical world - in which everything has a place - are upended. In the digital world, everything has its places, with transformative effects: Information is now a social asset and should be made public, for anyone to link, organize, and make more valuable; There's no such thing as "too much" information. More information gives people the hooks to find what they need; Messiness is a digital virtue, leading to new ideas, efficiency, and social knowledge; Authorities are less important than buddies. Rather than relying on businesses or reviews for product information, customers trust people like themselves.With the shift to digital music standing as the model for the future in virtually every industry, "Everything Is Miscellaneous" shows how anyone can reap rewards from the rise of digital knowledge.

A Collaborative Search for Timeless & Essential Marketing Reads

The digital age has changed the way people read.

Some read exclusively from the screen, island hopping from site to site, and extracting key phrases from each page. And I'm sure that most of us read more from the screen than ever before.

We all have unique reading habits; I love the printed page, almost exclusively read non-fiction/business, and each time I start the final chapter of a book, I plan for my next read.

The advertising and communications industry is incredibly fast paced, and digital marketing even more so. Change is rapid, with new theories being presented at an incredible rate. Given the time it takes to write and publish a book, many books have an incredibly short window of opportunity and relevance before a new theory or trend is published. Only a handful of books withstand our changing times and remain as relevant today as they did upon their first day of issue; and occasionally I look at the date of issue and wonder, "Is it still worth a read? Or have we moved on -- leaving the book dated?"

As is the case with most literature, it's the classics that survive the test of time; books that don't age, books that retain their value and are just as relevant today, if not even more so, than when they were first written.

With the help of the digital planning community, I would like to identify these timeless marcomms classics.

Many are obvious, with Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People" leaping immediately to mind. Equally, it's hard to believe that James Webb Young wrote "A Technique for Producing Ideas" almost 50 years ago- its simple and logical process for innovative thinking proving is just as effective and valuable as when it was first published.

On "The Planning Lab," Russell Davies recently said, "You can learn all the(planning) theory you need to know from "Eating the Big Fish" and "Truth, Lies and Advertising," or a couple of other similar books. Truthfully, there are about two books' worth of theories and stories you need to know.Everything else is experience." Wise words indeed.

It is interesting that Adam Morgan's "Eating the Big Fish" and Jon Steel's "Truth, Lies and Advertising" were published ten and 11 years ago, respectively - both classics that will be just as relevant in another ten years. One could even argue that "Truth Lies and Advertising" has become a "how-to" guide to planning.

Maybe it's his style, but I feel that Jon Steel has written another classic with "Perfect Pitch," with its excellent presentations and creative storytelling that will never go out of fashion.

Kevin Kelly wrote "New Rules for the New Economy" 11 years ago, and in his own words states, "I stand behind my analysis and today, ten years later, I don't retract a single word of the book. In fact, I believe "New Rules"could be released today for the first time and still be extremely useful."Kevin is being far too modest; the book goes way beyond being extremely useful.

I've suggested a few timeless classics, but I'm looking at compiling a more definitive and collaborative list of books that have shaped the advertising and marketing communications landscape and remain as relevant today as on the day they were first issued.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be approaching a few planners and digital marketers to get their views and help in unearthing these gems.

Of course I'm interested in hearing from anyone in the digital community, so if you have a classic that you'd like to put forward then drop me an email (graeme at agencysherpa dot com) with the following:

-     What you consider to be a timeless marcomms classic

-     Why was it relevant then?

-     Why is it relevant now?

Hopefully, in a few weeks' time, we'll have a compilation of essential and timeless classics.

The Internet Of Things: Pattie Maes' Sixth Sense

Some of the talks, most in fact, of the talks on the TED website (or their YouTube channel) are absolutely exceptional.

One of the latest is by Patti Maes at MIT Media Lab, who along with her colleague Pranav Mistry has developed a wearable device with a projector that enables interaction between everyday things and the internet.

That "internet of things", where everything we make contains a sliver of connection is a fascinating area, and we're witnessing the first stages of this

The internet is developing beyond beyond virtual space and establishing itself in the physical world. The internet is everywhere not just on a screen, its in the shoe (Nike Plus), its in the car (Fiat EcoDrive) - both developed by AKQA.

According to futurists, such as Kevin Kelly, almost every object carries the possibility of being connected to the internet. This means that domestic appliances, clothes, books and cars may be assigned a unique IP address, just as both computers and web pages are assigned them today, to enable them to talk to each other.

If anybody else has any other examples of the "Internet of Things", then please... share ...

Has Digital Killed The Movie Star?

Thirty years after The Buggles became a number one hit with "Video killed the radio star,”  and I can’t help but wonder whether the celebrity movie star will meet a similar fate to the radio star. But this time at the hands of digital technology, not video.

Inspired by JG Ballard’s short story, "Video Killed the Radio Star" was written and performed by Trevor Horn and celebrates the golden days of radio, describing a singer whose career is cut short by television.

Thirty years on and the entertainment industry is undergoing a far greater change than the impact of the music video or the subsequent birth of MTV. The film companies are on the ropes and the movie star’s career is in danger of being cut short by digital.

Quite simply, the internet and digital technology has made available a huge volume of films, from any genre or era, for online ordering or download – thereby lessening our exposure to Hollywood’s intended blockbusters.

We are a long way from the 1950's when Hollywood film stars (Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Marilyn Monroe, and Rita Hayworth) were at their peak. That was an age when cinemas had one screen and if you made a movie you were virtually a celebrity by association.

A recently as 10 years ago we were restricted to the 8-10 movies showing at the multiplex or the 100 movies stacked on the shelves at the local blockbuster.

Now, with the exception of the very latest films, almost every film imaginable is available at reasonably high quality for instant download via BitTorrent or online ordering at Amazon or LoveFilm.

A few months ago, my wife and I watched "Tell No One (Ne le dis à personne)" an absolutely excellent French thriller which I suspect wasn’t even close to being shown in the major cinemas, but just might have been lucky enough to make those large inner city rental stores with a foreign language section.

BitTorrent (peer to peer file sharing technology) and broadband connectivity has given us an unlimited and unfiltered access to a phenomenal library of movies, covering all genres. Type "Ne le dis à personne" + torrent into Google and there you go. 

The internet has taken copying to another level. To quote Kevin Kelly, "The internet is a copy machine. At its most foundational level, it copies every action, every character, every thought we make while we ride upon it."“ Once anything that can be copied is brought into contact with internet, it will be copied, and those copies never leave." 

The impact of broadband penetration and BitTorrents in our new “World of the Free,” has quite simply put Hollywood on its arse. The current IFPI & Warner Bros v PirateBay trail (#spectrial) is a classic example of how the film (and music industry) have rather handsomely failed to understand the basics of the New Economy and the concept of “Better than Free”.

We, the public, have choice hundreds and thousands of films all available for viewing; niches and genres for everybody’s taste and exposure to films that goes way beyond the top 10 hits showing at the Odeon.

The impact? Where does this leave our celebrity movie star, who only appears in the hit blockbusters?
Well I believe that they will be left in a similar position to our radio star. 

It’s no coincidence that of the Top 50 best selling albums of all time, none were made in the last 5 years – and films look like heading the same way. 

Digital technology provides us with choice. We’ll watch fewer blockbusters, we’ll see less of Cruise, Clooney et al – and as a result their exposure and celebrity status will be diluted.

RIP the Celebrity

Kevin Kelly / Digerati: Communications, Social & Cultural Revolution

I've recently read a couple of articles about Kevin Kelly, the founding editor of Wired Magazine, contained were a couple of fascinating quotes.

Time, timing and relevance are what I find so interesting about these quotes; Kevin Kelly uttered these words almost 13 years ago, and as the communications/marketing industry engages in another revolution I find Kevin’s words incredibly thought provoking.

The first is a short one liner which I've converted to jpeg for my own future document use,

….and the second is an excerpt from John Brockman’s 1996 book, Digerati - Encounters with the Cyber Elite. Obama, Social Networking, Media, Collaboration, Art and Creativity - it can all be found in less than 300 words.

Enjoy....

"There is a utopian dream that the coming of the Net will bring positive social changes. I have my doubts about that. It is going to bring great social changes, but they won't all be positive. At the same time, if I have a positive feeling about what's happening with digital technology and the revolution that it brings, it is because netification, computerization, and digitalization all increase choices. That is about all that technology gives, but that is a very large thing. For example, a person born now who is interested in the arts can paint, sculpt, make films, and make music in many different spheres. Two centuries ago, there were fewer choices. Each time the media reinvent themselves, they expand the number of choices without excluding any of the previous ones. On this simple level, the Net and the literary space‹the thinking space that it creates‹will allow a whole new space for the arts. It is also a space that will allow new kinds of political and social structures, and it will allow them as a net gain.

What we are talking about now is a communications revolution. That is exciting, because communication is the basis of culture. Culture is a process of communication among individuals and groups. We are amplifying and enhancing the foundations of culture and society with this communications revolution. All the dynamic and revolutionary effects we are going to see will come from these tiny chips being used in a communications mode.

With the Net, we're going to see ideas of a type that were almost impossible to think about earlier. Technology shapes our thought, just as our thought shapes technology. We're in a period where technology is going to re-engineer and redesign the space in which we can have thoughts."

Kevin Kelly [1996]