Marketing: Please come forward two steps and one step back

I'm walking around the Austin Convention Center at SxSW. It's been a few days now. Actually, I've been every year except the first year. Each year it gets more digital. You can plan your panels, party schedule and whatever else I don't know. I don't have an iPhone, I have an Android. Point being, the event is highly digital. "We have an app for that." Although after listening to some of my friends talk about the apps, none of them are integrated with the other so it can be a bit frustrating.

So, I made a simple observation one day on Twitter:
So much marketing happening @sxsw still in paper form: flyers, guide book, stickers, posters, cards #housxsw

In which two people responded:
@raypage: i totally agree. #sxswi should move towards a more eco-friendly mindset.
@blatze: Seemed dated

Both observations are right on. If we nixed print it would totally be more earth friendly since there is so much printed. Yes it seems dated since we're at a technology conference and just about everyone has an iPhone or Android or whatever smart phone and laptops. Although, I'm thinking even more into this situation and this observation. Even with all this technology, people are still dependent on print.

SxSW guide book:
The guide includes the daily schedule of panels, parties and map in a printed booklet. It tells you which panels are basic, intermediate and advanced levels. You could access the schedule online or through the iPhone app. The app will tell you more such as a description or details about the panel. The app does not show the level of each panel. It does show approximately how many people will be attending or at least the website does. I'm not even sure if the app gives you a map of SxSW. I mainly used it to see where I was heading next and marked the panels of interest to me the night before. If not for the guidebook, I wouldn't have access to the iPhone app and my phone is too slow to access the web on my phone quick enough to satisfy me. But if I decided to skip the panel, I'd have to ask someone about other panels or wait til the web loaded on my G1.

Flyers and posters:
They are everywhere: in the swag bag, on tables, up on walls, getting passed out, on street corners, etc. It's where you look sometimes when something catches your eye. You can easily pass it around to people. (That last comment sounds like a disease.) This is the way to get new eyes to notice you if they aren't already following you on Twitter, your fan on Facebook, your friend, your lover, your affair. I'm just kidding about the last part. Seriously though, whether or not people already know about it, flyers and posters remind people about who you are, your party, your film, your panel, whatever it is. It's your chance for new eyes especially if you're not already listed in the guide book or in the swag bag or whatever else is sanctioned by SxSW. Not an official SxSW party, sponsor, etc.? Flyers, posters and street team is your compass (guide to new faces).

Business cards:
I am so over business cards but I have to admit they have a purpose. I personally would rather follow you on Twitter once I meet you than take your business card. I think I handed out 10 business cards and followed at least 20 more people. I have a stack of business cards from 2009 and I never looked at it after SxSW. I do remember some of the people I followed during 2009's SxSW.

So the pros of business cards? You can write notes on them, where you met someone, what you talked about, where they work and whatever else... "hot" or not. Whatever works for you, I'm not judging. Also some business cards I remember because it's cool and others I remember because it's a big company like Twitter or Google or who ever you consider a celebrity. Lesson from the "How not to be a douchebag" core conversation: don't print an all black business card because no one will be able to write notes on it and then it becomes almost useless.

SxSW had QR codes available on everyone's badge and listed the apps that would work best for each phone. I think I had mine scanned twice by two iPhones. I also Bumped someone once which was kind of fun. The only issue people have with these routes is that no one I knew could remember who was who from SxSW. At least with Twitter I could go back and see the last few people I started following and recall they were from SxSW. With QR codes or even Bump, contacts go straight into your contacts and how are you supposed to tell which contacts were from SxSW if they weren't already labeled as such? There's no way I could remember people's names if it was thrown into a bowl of all my contacts.

Twitter and Facebook plays:
If you're on Twitter I'm sure you had a lot of information flowing through the streams about SxSW. If you're on Facebook that's probably where you were invited to SxSW parties. I watched the Facebook stream more regarding parties and which parties my friends were attending. From past experience some parties made you RSVP which is kind of lame considering half the RSVP list doesn't end up showing anyways. Good thing a lot of the parties this year was first come first serve or if anything even if you weren't on the list they let you in the party. As I watched my friends mark "attending" to parties, I would go to the event details and do the same making it a point to remember the ones I really wanted to attend and making sure my group knew I was going with or without them.

From then, it was all about Twitter updates: which parties were flops and which panels were full. Word of mouth is digital and it's immediate. You quickly find out if you made a good decision to skip the keynote with Evan Williams, co-founder of Twitter, to have lunch with random SxSW goers over lunch. (Yes it was a great idea. Too bad I didn't leave the keynote sooner).

So even if it's not as green and it seems outdated, humans still don't change as quickly as technology as far as what I've discussed. If you're not in my "social bubble" I won't know what's going on unless one of you takes the plunge to drop by an unknown party and convinces me to go. And by that, what are the chances you find one of my friends through digital and convince them to go? And if you're a somewhat new organization or a "nobody" today, how will you get the word out? As much as I would love for SxSW to be green it's difficult for me to see them go 100% green soon. And even though it seems dated, it's effective to a certain extent but with everything I believe there's a combination of digital and print. I mean eventually will "juicing" my phone become anti-green? Maybe if phones became solar powered? I'll just add one more fact that remembering anything not written down is difficult for me. So having something physical to look at later helps me recall whatever memory I had of it earlier but also having the constant ability to access information is a plus too. Print vs. Digital... do I have to choose?



Other marketing articles on SxSW 2010:
SxSW: Can neuroscience trump creative in marketing?
- Recap from panel: Big Brother in Your Brain: Neuroscience & Marketing

SxSW: Social media marketing for business

SxSW Interactive 2010: Clay Shirky keynote debrief
- “Monkeys with Internet Access: Sharing, Human Nature, and Digital Data.”

Related mobile issues at SxSW:
Mobile #succeed or #fail at SxSW?

Hong Kong ... boots boots part I

Still no internet service in Hong Kong so twitter notes are continued.


December 4, 2009 -------

E: You're always thinking about food. You have a eating disorder.
M: I don't eat a lot. I just think about food all the time.
E: It's a mental thing.
M: Who said I was sane?
#lowerexpectations

Whoa... it's like we're in the matrix o_O #highriseliving

BILLYYYYYYYY!!!!!!

Found Billy working the street corner... just as I had left him. #oldtimes

Girls, skirts, tights and boots. O_O #everywhere

Mmm... wonton noodles and a drink for less than $2/person ($13 HK dollars). #iloveHongKong.

December 5, 2009 -------

B: Do you want to do anything tourist-y?
M/E: Eeh... We're casual tourists. There's the island... Wow, cool, ok... where's the food? #lazytourists #myasshurts

hehehe ~_^ ... #everythingbecomessexualreferences #billy

Japan dominated Macau #eastasianolympics #volleyball #possiblyhighschoolplayers

China vs Hong Kong 3-0 #therealchineseolympicteam #theyarehuge #thatswhatshesaid #demsometallChinesemofos

Public transportation rocks! #doubledeckerbus #ifeeltall #MTRsubway #notinHouston

So this is where all the white people are... #HongKongIsland #itslike6thStonahill

December 6, 2009 -------

Woo Hoo! A building loaded with tiny boutiques. #mykindofshopping #TimesSquare #nopictures note: behind SoGo

Shark fin soup @ Shark Fin City! #yesIknowitsbad #itssooogood

:'( Billy...

More Shopping! Yay! ^_^

Look for one with a lot of Chinese people. #weareinHongKong #hungry #semilostinHK

December 7, 2009 -------

Last morning in HK and finally there's a family I can understand. Poor guy... uncle told him he was a "cute chubby one." :) #score

Sadness... leaving Hong Kong #itsraining #byeBilly #missyaBilly

PANDA! #500daysofsummer #noItsElf ... come on @unitedairlines, show semi-new movies on int'l flights pls.

We're so close to the stars ^_^ #spacetravel #itsactuallynight

AARRGGHHHHHH!!! Second time I freaking spilled my drink all over myself... #HELLO #poorMac

AARRGGHHHHHH!!! I can't sit anymore! @southwest #betterseatsandmorelegroom @unitedairlines #flyingeconomyintlsucks #willflyadiffairlines #harrypottermovie

I'm moving my legs into @fuh23's space #becauseIcan #pocketsizeperks

More about Hong Kong continued...

ABC in Beijing ... part I

This was Edwin and my first trip to China, second trip out of the states for me. Edwin is a little more world traveled than I but still I'm eager to fill up our passports with as many stamps as possible. And, since we're heading to China, I'm a little curious about a few things...

• How much do I stand out from other Asians?
• Am I really that much smaller than other people? Is Edwin that much taller than other Asians?
  
• How American are we really?
• Is the food better in the "mother" country?
• Will we get a cultural shock that some people talk about?
• Will we be able to get around with the amount of Chinese we know?
  

I planned to be disconnected from the world I knew for a couple weeks. Unfortunately China blocks social media sites and wifi isn't very "available" so I kept my tweets on my AK Notepad app on my G1. Hopefully you can follow along but it's not as if my regular tweets ever made sense either. So here goes, my trip by way of what I would have tweeted in 140 characters (or more).

November 30, 2009 -------------

Hell is other people. --- that's a new one to me #theanswerman

Am I the first to see your monsters? #thatswhatshesaid #theanswerman

Got corrected by the drink server for not saying please... MY BAD? #feelbadforyou #morningbreathelastslongeronflight @unitedairlines sucks

I love Rachel McAdams movies - too bad I tried to watch the Time Traveler's Wife twice and passed out at the end... twice #dimplesrule #ionlyhaveoneandahalf

You can't do this. I showed you my monsters! #theanswerman

December 1, 2009 (one day lost due to time/space travel) -------------

I've seen straight sunlight since I left Houston @ 820am... it's 12 hours later. #shadesaredowntofakenight

Good thing I played vball Sunday ... makes this time travel more bareable. #icantsitanymore #ifijumpwillifeelzerogravity #ijumpinelevators

If my feet swell while I'm on this flight does that mean my boobies and butt are swollen too? #justcurious

FINALLY! After 80 min 5 seconds I won the spider solitaire game... #slow #notmyfastesttime #iblametimetravel

Beijing Airport -------------

I feel like we're in Monsters, Inc. At any moment we'll see a bunch of yellow suited officials jumping some careless unsuspecting foreigner screaming "2319!" #plsbeme

Who would have guessed I'd possibly be infected by a virus from the US? #coughheresagiftchina #h1n1 #seriouslyJK

"Please take your belongings and GET OFF THE TRAIN." #dontcarewhereyougo #directtranslationsareawesome

Chang An Grand Hotel -------------

Wow... now I see why they say Americans are rude. #learnChinesecustomsfaster

Holy cow... how do you turn on the lights? #itsdark #paranormalactivityfollwedmetochina

Hi Chinese tv? I can't speak or understand Mandarin; therefore I can't read Chinese subtitles either. #racialdiscrimenation #wtharetheysaying? #iamtheotherchinese

Missed dinner and all the fancy flashing lights are out. #nothingtodoforlatenightowls #stupidamericans #damnjetlag

No one understands iced tea. #thereisnoicehere #novendingmachinesinhotel

December 2, 2009 -------------

It's 2:55 am in Beijing and I am still on Houston time - 1:55 pm #timeforlunch #itsdark #gobacktosleep #sigh

Oh! Food! Hot pot! #iamhungry #wearenotstopping :(

I wonder if they have a "Red Lantern" district... would it be inappropriate to ask our tour guide? #pervertsinBeijing #badtourists

@fuh23 is right... I am fake Chinese #pssshhh #whatareyousaying

Look! There's white people. #itsagame #itsfun #dontbesosensitive

All of these buildings and rooms look the same. It's like a maze. #ForbiddenCity #greathidenseekplace

There is minimal grass here. No wonder 9man plays on concrete. #vballreference #paranoidChineseppl #forbiddencity

I.can't.walk.anymore. #forbiddencity #tianamensquare #summerpalace

Summer Palace is way nicer... no wonder the women rule this palace. #grassandtreesarepretty #icouldlivehere #iamnotroyaltysoicant

Girl: Excuse me miss? Your food is ready. Excuse me? Hello? Me: d'oh that's me ok... #IjustlookChinese

@fuh23 & I are always hungry right about US lunch time... which ends up being 11pm or so. #weirdoAmericans

Beyonce is hot. If I had her trunk I would shake it too. #sweetdream #JayZisaluckyguy

December 3, 2009 -------------

My butt is sore from all the trekking. Oh Great Wall ... please be kind #miniChineseroadtrip

The Chinese do amazing things with rocks. #thatswhatshesaid

Two women carrying a cage full of dead pidgeons. #eeeeek #ijustate :(

@fuh23 just asked me if I was going to twit blog this whole thing. #hetries #itscute

Who knew pee pee boys would be a selling point? #drtea #reallycuteinstructor #ilovetea

42F and an hour ride on a rickshaw? #someoneisonsomemajoropium

Silk worms... #theChineseareslick #wolfinsheepsclothing #yesiamChinese

Whoa! Africans in the house #entourage #firstsighting #Chinaisnotdiverse

December 4, 2009 -------------

500 Days of Summer! Duck lunch... so fancy! #iloveDragonAir @standrewchang

I believe ... the end of one "sad chapter" brings the beginning of a happier one. #500daysofsummer #flyingmakesmesentimental

Destiny is for people who believe in fairy tales. And those who don't... maybe they're in denial. #ignoranceisbliss #randomness

Everything happens for a reason. It's up to each to figure out why. #randomness

Lady mines her cave while keeping her treasures between her fingers then throws them on the floor #ineedrubbergloves #masksareineffectual

Pee pee boy! Don't jump! The trip has only just begun :) #peepeeboywillbeworldtraveled

to be continued...

Timing is everything...or is it?

I tweeted today that my mom called and said, "I forgot to invite you to your cousin's wedding. Ok bye!" She does that a lot and usually I don't mind because by then I've already made plans. You know my brother does the same thing but he'll text me, "Come over for crawfish almost done eating forgot to tell you" which I'll reply, "You suck! can't go."

Timing is everything. Isn't it so true with everything else, especially with advertising? Would you have run any marketing campaigns before North Carolina played Michigan Monday night for the NCAA championships? Maybe, if it made sense and your message didn't claim one as "the last one standing". But would you be running those same campaigns next week? Probably not since most people will be talking about the NBA play offs or the baseball season which just started. Most of the chatter would be today, tomorrow and then a little bit the rest of the week.

When's the right time? It depends. What are you selling or trying to promote? When are people thinking about buying that product? Are you there when the consumer is there? Did you tweet in time to be seen by your followers or did you tweet too early and it got lost in the stream? Does your facebook status update come up right when your friends or your fans sign on or did they get pushed down because you updated too soon? Do you know when you should actively update depending on when your followers/friends sign on? Does it matter because maybe those followers/friends look for your updates?

Or it doesn't matter because the more you get in people's faces the more they remember you and eventually when they need you, when they're searching for a product/service you provide they'll either remember you or hopefully see you on Google or even better they'll ask a friend and the friend will tell them to do business with you.

And of course there is the alternative option of doing something really outrageous to get as much attention as you possibly can as fast as you can for that... are you ready for it? wait for it, it's a good word... VIRAL campaign.

But here's some good advice "Never bank on media coverage and never, ever bank on viral," says Barak Kassar, president of Rassak Experience from Michael Estrin's How 5 brands scored free marketing.

Timing is everything...or is it? If you don't tell people what you have timing doesn't matter because they'll never know and they definitely won't try to find something they don't know exists.

Who in the world is Guy Kawasaki?

Does anybody know? Honestly, I had no idea until tonight and before tonight, I only knew bits and pieces from Dwight Silverman through email chains. Tonight, I went to check out Guy Kawasaki speak on the Art of the Start and that is when I confessed, in my head, that I would follow him... on Twitter. I've heard a lot of people speak in my short life and he is by far the most hilarious presenter. He seemed so real... must be the Cali in him but I could be wrong (I could be wrong???). In short, he looks like an Asian guy with a Hawaiin shirt that used to be an Apple Fellow, passed up the interview for Yahoo's first CEO and came up with Alltop.com. It's best to experience him in real life else you just don't get it.

So what can you learn if you didn't go to the event tonight? Here are some tips from Guy:

1. make meaning - what need are you fulfilling?
2. make mantra - why do you exist.... make a mantra instead of a mission
3. get going - polarize people --- if you get people to either love or hate your product, you'll have more success versus if you just make a site for everyone which makes your product mediocre and you'll have evangelists that will promote your site for free
   
4. define business model - be specific. KIS. Ask women before you go through with it (women don't have that natural tendency to "kill" everything).
5. weave a mat - milestones, assumptions, tasks; Milestones like "finish design", Assumptions like "how many sales/day", Tasks like "rent office"
6. niche thyself - think of a graph. the vertical axis is the ability to provide a unique product - horizontal axis is the value to customer -- you want to be up high and to the right
   
7. follow the 10/20/30 rule - 10 slides in 20 min with 30 point font
   
8. hire infected people (aka people with the same passion for what you are trying to do)
9. lower barrier to adoption - the plug it in and it should work mentality
   
10. seed the cloud - sales fixes everything
    
11. bonus point: don't listen to the bozos (the people who say you can't do it, the negative boobs)

Another reason why I've confessed to follow Guy, he admitted to being A.D.D. I'm so glad he is A.D.D. too, just like me and every other Jo Schmo out there. I've been known to be direct and sometimes misunderstood but I like to get things done in the shortest amount of time. Tell me fast and tell me true or CYA, I got other things to do.

The one thing I didn't ask him, which I am most curious about was how in the world does he keep his sanity? He seems extremely busy: father, husband, Alltop.com, garage, VCs, etc. How do you find time to do what you like (hockey) and have fun with your family all the while staying on top of twitter, blogging, speeches and whatever else is going on in the industry? What does your house look like???

Random - If I could afford a maid maybe my house wouldn't look like a tornado sucked it up and vomited.