Posts Tagged ‘Events’

11 February 2010

Vancouver 2010: Snowboarding preview

by Mike Jennings

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All posts by Mike Jennings

Now that the Super Bowl is over, you may find yourself looking forward to the pageantry of the Winter Olympics. Here’s who and what to look for in snowboarding this year…

Now that the Super Bowl is over, you may find yourself looking forward to the pageantry of the Winter Olympics. Here’s who and what to look for in snowboarding this year…

  • Lindsey Jacobellis – In the Turin Olympics Lindsey went a little too big off the last jump in the snowboard cross final and it cost her the gold. Afterwards the U.S. press criticized her for showing off and letting her country down. Lindsey would later explain how snowboarding is supposed to be fun and how she wanted to match the enthusiasm of the crowd with a stylish finish. Makes sense to me. Let’s see if Lindsey can redeem her honor.
  • “The Flying Tomato” – All sports have those athletes that come along and not only dominate a sport but also change its direction. What Tiger Woods is (was?) to golf, Shaun White is to snowboarding. I just want to say that I personally rock his signature line of Burton apparel and yes, I snowboard better because of it.
  • The Double Cork – It’s hard to describe this controversial halfpipe maneuver, so you’re going to have to click here to see it for yourself. Invented by Shaun White, it was deemed necessary for unseating him in Vancouver, but after Kevin Pearce fell hard and into a coma trying it in training, some called for a ban by the International Olympic Committee. No official ruling as of yet, so we’ll have to wait to see what happens.
  • Torah Bright – I felt this Australian phenom got robbed when she finished 5th in the halfpipe finals at the Turin Games. Since then, she won gold at the 2007 and 2009 X Games and is a favorite in this year’s Olympics. However Torah had to pull out of the 2010 X Games after suffering two concussions in three days in January—adding fuel to the fire to eighty-six certain maneuvers in Vancouver. Reports say she’s recovered physically, but as I can attest, concussions come with psychological effects as well.

I don’t know where I stand on banning maneuvers at the Olympics. On the one hand, I don’t want a governing body capping the level of competition in snowboarding. On the other, I realize each year this level gets more and more dangerous. What do you think?

5 Responses to “Vancouver 2010: Snowboarding preview”

  1. Sandra Atlas says:
    February 11, 2010 at 6:18 am

    I tend to be conservative — so, I think that capping the competition can be a good thing, if it helps to saves lives and prevent traumatic injury. Sometimes, people will to do almost anything to make their statement to the world. Setting some reasonable limits might help to keep the sport safe and prevent devestating injury.

  2. Mike Jennings says:
    February 11, 2010 at 6:25 am

    I see your point, Sandra. To add to it, I wouldn’t want people tuning in with the hopes of seeing someone get hurt. That’s what the UFC is for!

  3. Adrian W. says:
    February 12, 2010 at 7:46 am

    Capping the competition would hurt the sport of snowboarding. These athletes are the best at what they do, they are Olympians. Why should any one tell them that they shouldn’t push the limits of their sport? They are not going to go out there and try a trick they have never done before just so they can hurt themselves and get on television. They practice these tricks. If there were a cap on the sport, it would hurt the sport because people would get bored of watching the same tricks over and over. I’m sorry to say, injuries are part of any sport. They don’t put a cap on football because someone gets hurt do they? If people tune in because they want to see someone get hurt, they have a sick mind. Some people watch NASCAR races just for the wrecks, and NASCAR is capped. They are capped because they have restrictor plate races where they limit their top speed. Let the sport take care of itself. If people get hurt, people get hurt. That is what happens in sports.

  4. Mike Jennings says:
    February 12, 2010 at 10:16 am

    Thanks, Adrian, for representing the other side. I agree, banning the double cork would definitely affect “the sport” of snowboarding, but snowboarding itself would continue to evolve. Even if Shaun White wasn’t allowed to do the move in the Olympics AND the X Games, he’d still do it and it would get captured on video for all to see and emulate. I don’t know, maybe we just need better helmets.

  5. Adrian W. says:
    February 16, 2010 at 12:59 pm

    I agree Mike, those little shells they call helmets don’t help much. Keep in mind though, no helmet is going to stop someone from breaking their neck and becoming paralyzed. You can’t prevent athletes from performing with lots of safety regulations and you can’t let them go out there and risk their lives. Every sport in the world could be safer in a way, it’s just a matter of finding that common ground where people can agree that it’s not too dangerous and that it doesn’t take too much away from the sport.

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19 January 2010

How to Sell Listening to Your Organization

by Guest Blogger: Joel Rubinson

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First, let me thank Communispace for inviting me to be a guest blogger. I think I’ll ask Diane to return the favor on my blog in the near future.

Now the topic…

People who are involved with listening approaches (mining conversations in blogs, managed communities, etc.) get a little frustrated sometimes; they ask me for guidance of how to sell listening.

First, let me thank Communispace for inviting me to be a guest blogger.  I think I’ll ask Diane to return the favor on my blog in the near future.

Now the topic…

People who are involved with listening approaches (mining conversations in blogs, managed communities, etc.) get a little frustrated sometimes; they ask me for guidance of how to sell listening.

Here is my advice; don’t think of this as research.  Think of it as process reinvention.

For example, consider how an organization might reinvent its innovation process.  How could any informed marketer, when rethinking innovation in an era of social media, NOT integrate listening into the innovation process?  Listening is about hearing what people rather than the marketer wants to talk about, and hearing it in people’s own words.  It’s a window in the mind, heart and emotions of people, one you need to have your nose pressed up against continuously.  Because things change…really fast…giving agile marketers great opportunities leaving traditional marketers wearing the WTF happened look on their faces.

Traditionally, research has been at the fuzzy front end with qual and downstream with volumetric concept or concept/product testing.  Listening is about realizing that things change constantly.  Consumer needs are not linear and scheduled, they change at any time.  If there is no linear process, there is no fuzzy front-END; this is continuous and listening is essential.  Your concept testing must morph into learning experiments instead of magic number idea killers.  If you missed the action standard, learn why.  Is the underlying premise wrong or the idea impractical from a business point of view?  If not, keep working at; if yes, move on.

Now it gets even crazier.  Innovation is not just about creating new “things” with new features.  Brands are experiences and the innovation might come from a connection made via social media.  For Unilever’s Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, the innovation is in the media—creating social media environments, videos, and events that were intended to change people’s concept of beauty in a way that would enhance female self-esteem.  It was a great and innovative thing to do and not a new SKU in sight!

Now if the fuzzy front end is really a continuous backdrop requiring listening, it also means that there is little difference between new product innovation and existing brand sense and respond.  It’s all about a marketer intersecting their assets with emerging needs to serve people—add value to daily human life—who cares if you do that via media, new products, or rethinking your existing brand?  It’s about the need, not your brand management structure.

In an era when 300 million or more are on Facebook, where word of mouth is becoming one of the most trusted sources of advice, and where people love sharing their feelings online in communities, how can a marketer not want to tap into this constant and organic flow of conversations?

IMHO, that’s how you sell listening.

To learn more about how to become an agent of change for your organization regarding listening, come to the ARF’s workshop on Jan 28th in San Francisco, “Putting Listening to Work”.  All attendees will also receive a copy of our just published book, “The ARF Listening Playbook” which contains 35 great success stories that wouldn’t have happened without listening.

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8 January 2010

The “First” Decade

by Bill Alberti

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All posts by Bill Alberti

I thought I’d try a little experiment as I start the New Year. I wanted to look back at the past decade and see what really stood out—to better understand how the first decade of the 21st century would be remembered. So, here’s what I did. I copied text from Wikipedia entries for “events” during each year of the past decade and created a “word cloud.” The simple visualization tool gives greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in a body of text. So in this case, the bigger the word, the more often it appeared in descriptions of the important events of the last decade. Have a look:

I thought I’d try a little experiment as I start the New Year. I wanted to look back at the past decade and see what really stood out—to better understand how the first decade of the 21st century would be remembered. So, here’s what I did. I copied text from Wikipedia entries for “events” during each year of the past decade and created a “word cloud.” The simple visualization tool gives greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in a body of text. So in this case, the bigger the word, the more often it appeared in descriptions of the important events of the last decade. Have a look:

decade

I don’t know what to make of this. It looks depressing. There is a lot of “killing,” “kills,” “killed,” and “crashes.” Also, “US/United States,” “Iraq,” and “President” are prominently featured as one might guess. As are “government,” “Minister,” and “International.” “People” is a frequently mentioned word too, but probably associated more with all of the afore mentioned “killing.” 

Unfortunately, this is how a lot of the past decade will be remembered—for the politics and the tragedies that dominated the headlines. The other day I heard the past decade called “the nothing decade,” suggesting nothing good came out of it. Sad.

Against the backdrop of so much negativity and nothingness, it’s hard to think of any progress made in the past ten years. However, as equally prominent as any of the other words in the “word cloud” is the word “first.”

  • Firsts in science (e.g., first privately funded spaceplane to achieve spaceflight; first face transplant; first draft of the human genome).
  • Firsts in statecraft (e.g., first female president of Finland; first directly elected president in Afghanistan; first African-American president in the US).
  • Firsts in human rights (e.g., first gay marriages).
  • Firsts in pop-culture (e.g., first episodes of Survivor, American Idol, and Dancing with the Stars).
  • Firsts in technology (e.g., first iPod, iTunes and iPhone).
  • Firsts in sports (e.g., first [and second] World Series wins for the Red Sox since 1918; first, second, and third Super Bowl wins for the Patriots; first National Championship win for Syracuse basketball; and first Championship win for the Celtics since 1986).
    NOTE: I might be a little biased in what I chose to represent in “sports.”

The developments of the next decade will in many ways be the further progress made against the firsts of the past decade.

And when we look beyond the Wikipedia entries, there are our own events that shaped the past decade for us—and many of them our own personal firsts. In the ‘00s, I got married; had a son; started a new job; and bought my first iPod and iPhone.

For me, the ‘00s were not a decade of nothingness. It was the beginning of something. I saw the world differently. I reimagined life and its possibilities—both for good and for bad. I was more connected—to the world around me and to the people in it.

I’ll bet that when we look back at the ‘00s with a little more time and experience under our belts, we will see the events of the past decade—both personal and universal—as starting points and firsts rather than as nothing.

What are your firsts from the first decade?

One Response to “The “First” Decade”

  1. joyce griggs says:
    January 8, 2010 at 8:49 am

    My firsts from the first decade
    Tweeting; Not leaving home without my Flip camera;Commeting on blogs while watching democratic primary results for Prez

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13 November 2009

All in a Day’s Work

by Richard Weiss

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All posts by Richard Weiss

It’s funny, I don’t recall being asked if I was an alto or a tenor during my interview at Communispace (quite frankly I wouldn’t know, as I do my best singing in the shower). Yet for the second year in a row, I donned my host suit, grabbed a mic and headed up to our makeshift theatre in our own Fenway Park, where I sang and danced in front of my closest 200 colleagues in the annual Communispace Follies.

It’s funny, I don’t recall being asked if I was an alto or a tenor during my interview at Communispace (quite frankly I wouldn’t know, as I do my best singing in the shower). Yet for the second year in a row, I donned my host suit, grabbed a mic and headed up to our makeshift theatre in our own Fenway Park, where I sang and danced in front of my closest 200 colleagues in the annual Communispace Follies.

billOf course, I didn’t go at it alone. From some of our newest employees to our CEO, everyone who wants to get involved is able to play their own part in the show. Maybe they sing their own solo about wanting to be a girl (I will call out Bill Alberti), have a fantastic duet with awkward tension, or even rap about their job.

Beyond the laughs (and sometimes tears), is something that I feel makes Communispace such a unique and fun place to work. In the midst of all that’s going around us in the outside world, we can take a moment to stop, reflect, and laugh at ourselves.

Don’t take my word for it, just peer into the world of the Communispace Follies with this highlight reel. After all, it’s all in a day’s work.

3 Responses to “All in a Day’s Work”

  1. Diane Hessan says:
    November 13, 2009 at 8:19 am

    Rich, you get the Best Director Award. Here’s to Round 3, which is next September!

  2. Colleen Finnerty says:
    November 13, 2009 at 9:42 am

    Thanks for posting the reel Rich – great fun to see what you all are up to. Good times as always.

  3. Catie Schadlick says:
    November 13, 2009 at 9:58 am

    Rich -

    I’m so glad you posted about this. I tried to fit it into my own post, but it was already jam-packed (which says a lot, I think). This was my first experience with The Follies since I missed last year’s due to night classes. Just want to say that I had a GREAT time and was really impressed with everyone’s performances. I think we would all have a much harder time taking our jobs seriously if we couldn’t also stop to laugh at ourselves (and our community members) once in awhile. Sanity through song and dance… who knew?

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11 November 2009

Fighting Hunger, One Turkey at a Time

by Guest Blogger: Catherine D'Amato from The Greater Boston Food Bank

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Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and at The Greater Boston Food Bank that means we’re in the midst of our annual Turkey Drive.

We hope to distribute 38,000 turkeys to our 600 member food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters across eastern Massachusetts. This is the same number of turkeys we gave out last year.

Yet, we know that our member hunger-relief organizations have seen their client loads grow by 11% over the past year, and some have seen increases of 40%. One in nine Massachusetts residents is in need of food assistance.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and at The Greater Boston Food Bank that means we’re in the midst of our annual Turkey Drive.

We hope to distribute 38,000 turkeys to our 600 member food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters across eastern Massachusetts. This is the same number of turkeys we gave out last year.

Yet, we know that our member hunger-relief organizations have seen their client loads grow by 11% over the past year, and some have seen increases of 40%. One in nine Massachusetts residents is in need of food assistance.

As I write this, the U.S. Federal Government is announcing a 10.2% unemployment rate—the highest rate in 26 years! The Commonwealth’s rate is not far behind in what might, at best, be described as a “jobless recovery.” Winter will further stress the finances of families struggling to pay for heating fuel as they try to meet their housing and food expenses.

At The Greater Boston Food Bank, we have not run out of food, and we work hard to prevent that from happening. We work with our legislators to keep the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program strong. We ask our current—and potential—food donors for contributions. And we ask our financial donors to be generous. Last year, we were able to distribute 31.4 million pounds of food—more than we distributed in any previous year.

Some Communispace volunteers at GBFB

Some Communispace volunteers at GBFB

If you’re interested in helping, you can contribute to our Turkey Drive. We’re able to provide a 12-14 pound turkey to a family in need for just $12.

Another way you can help is by donating food. You can also volunteer at The Food Bank, like Communispace is doing this week, or for your local food pantry or soup kitchen. Or you can even host your own fundraiser. For every dollar that we receive we can distribute up to $4 worth of donated food.

My point here is to find a way to make a difference that will inspire you, and others close to you, to take action. At The Food Bank we say that “everyone has a role in ending hunger.” Find your role. You will be glad you did, and so will those you help.

One Response to “Fighting Hunger, One Turkey at a Time”

  1. Sonia Sharigian says:
    November 11, 2009 at 6:47 am

    Thanks so much, Catherine. The GBFB has always been near and dear to my heart, and I’m thrilled to watch my colleages at Communispace give back. Best of luck collecting food, turkeys, and donations throughout the holiday season and difficult winter months!

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30 October 2009

The Boy in The Blue Pajamas

by Rocky Prozeller

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All posts by Rocky Prozeller

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, I was, thanks to my trusty red cape, Superman. The blue pajamas provided un-told powers: authority over adult figures, none of whom could impose sugar sanctions on October 31st. Suddenly the ruling class was without rules—but how could this be?

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, I was, thanks to my trusty red cape, Superman. The blue pajamas provided un-told powers: authority over adult figures, none of whom could impose sugar sanctions on October 31st. Suddenly the ruling class was without rules—but how could this be?

Years later I would learn the ‘S’ emblazoned on my chest was not the source of suspension, instead the pause was prompted by what psychologists refer to as a Ritual of Reversal. A recess of the regular routine, Rituals of Reversal allow us to violate otherwise solid social codes; typically tame types transpose the order of expected actions, flaunt otherwise unacceptable behavior or swap the standard roles of parent-child, boss-worker, male-female.

Thus, each October countless children “threaten” creatures thrice their age and size for candy, men receive makeovers and fishnet stockings, and pranks become par for the Halloween course.

Rituals of Reversal reaffirm our regular behavior by allowing us to exercise our demons during a period of uninhibited bliss. Seasons and events centered on serving a break from the standard (think beyond Halloween, and into Mardi Gras, April Fool’s Day, or Carnival), garner specialized attention from marketers as a rare moment of receptivity when consumers are at their most liberated, lively selves.

However, focusing on a single event or pre-defined time misses a much larger and longer lasting opportunity—creating those moments for your consumers throughout the year. What if your product could provide a personal Ritual of Reversal on any given day or night? What if your product became inherently intertwined with the bliss that’s borne from shaking the shackles of standard?

Now that’s a trick which could yield many treats.

–
Ghouls, Ghosts, and Goblins alike, may your tricks be tame and your treats sweet. Happy Halloween all!

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15 October 2009

Offline Community

by Diane Hessan

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All posts by Diane Hessan

In 2006, I told the CEO of a major grocery chain that he should consider having a large space in the stores dedicated to customer service and events. He told me I didn’t understand his business, and that every square inch of the store needed to be stocked with product—to maximize revenue per square foot.

I’m not a grocery expert, so I backed off.

In 2006, I told the CEO of a major grocery chain that he should consider having a large space in the stores dedicated to customer service and events. He told me I didn’t understand his business, and that every square inch of the store needed to be stocked with product—to maximize revenue per square foot.

I’m not a grocery expert, so I backed off.

img00019-20090923-1210

Fast forward to 2009… my recent trip to London. Here’s a photo of the inside of one of the most successful retail stores in London.

Of course, it’s an Apple store, but it certainly looks more like a hotel lobby. As my good friend and colleague Jeffery Rayport reminded me a few weeks ago—at a minimum, this is not a retailer that maximizes revenue per square foot by filling its space chock-full of product. All of the pundits have compared Apple’s numbers to several competitors, but the numbers do underscore the power of community and its ability to shape the buying experience: you can increase revenue per square foot by getting your customers and their friends to fill your retail space—instead of walking sideways down the aisles, worried about knocking over stacks of products. Right in the above photo, taken randomly from my blackberry, we see all of the new buzzwords: word-of-mouth marketing, ratings-and-reviews, and more. And, if you look at the photo below, we see true engagement.

img00023-20090923-1214

I’ve shown these photos to many people at Communispace. It helps to create for us a picture of what is hopefully going on in our own communities. Surely, we are increasing peoples’ “purchase intent” or their “customer loyalty” or their NPS score, but hopefully we are also creating much more than that: a meeting place that transforms the relationship that companies have with their customers.

8 Responses to “Offline Community”

  1. Marcus Andrews says:
    October 15, 2009 at 7:34 am

    Diane,
    Great post, it would be so cool if a grocery store had more of a community aspect. They are common points in every neighborhood.

    I was in the Theater District of Boston a couple of days ago where there is a Stabucks and Dunkin’s literally 10 steps away from each other. Faced with the question of where to caffinate, I took one look at the assembly line of DD and made my way to the living room of the Bucks. I wasn’t playing on hanging out at either but I appreciated Starbucks invitation.
    -Marcus

  2. Martin Reed says:
    October 15, 2009 at 10:37 am

    Interesting article. Can people get as excited about milk and bananas as they do about Apples, though? Do supermarkets really need to get people excited about staple products?

  3. Diane Hessan says:
    October 15, 2009 at 10:46 am

    Marcus and Martin, I think you are both raising interesting issues. If it weren’t for my Communispace experience, I’d wonder whether Apple’s retail breakthrough could also apply to grocery stores. However, our consumer communities for grocery brands are some of the most vibrant, interesting and emotional ones we have. People are incredibly energized when they talk about food: shopping for it, cooking it, and of course, eating it. Look at what Trader Joe’s has done — and I actually think they are just scratching the surface.

    I also also think this applies to clothing stores, and I have one great idea (which might be impractical). Right now, I want to save that for a special client. :)

  4. Rebecca Mackenzie says:
    October 16, 2009 at 6:26 am

    Diane, reading this post, I instantly thought of the Wegmans grocery store near where my parents live in upstate NY. Whenever I visit them, I like to stop there once or twice for some “shopping” — which always turns into an hours-long experience, as they have an in-house coffee shop, pizza, sushi, vegetarian buffett, deli and in-house dining area. The store also has a childcare center and offers cooking classes for the community. I’m surprised more grocery stores haven’t jumped into this kind of multi-faceted food experience business.

  5. Paul Hassels Monning says:
    October 16, 2009 at 10:38 pm

    Indeed customer engagement starts off with real value in a shops’ products and services combined w/ genuine hospitality. The customer experience & sat would benefit greatly when other segments in retail (or beyond for that matter) would apply the Apple example to make the difference. Think of eg automotive dealerships: the other day I waited for 2 h for my saab to be fixed in a non-heated office that did not have WiFi, being served very dark tea, in isolation from other people waiting. Why not offer services on demand eg a productive workspace, a gaming area for kids, an infotainment area showing footage on the journey of a new car from R&D to factory to dealership and a networking area to get to know other customers in-person and online – to share experiences on the car and the dealer’s service yet also for business networking (?!).

  6. Diane Hessan says:
    October 18, 2009 at 7:32 am

    Isn’t it interesting how much opportunity there still is in retail? I hate to say it, but when I read Rebecca and Paul’s comments, it all goes back to the basic question of “what business are you in?” Paul the Saab story is a classic auto story because the auto companies think the best-looking car will win! Instead, we all look at the complete car-buying and car-owning experience, don’t we?

  7. Ted Morris says:
    October 18, 2009 at 8:01 am

    Diane, My first job (25 yrs ago!) was with The Hudson’s Bay Company, the world’s oldest retail department store, based here in Toronto. Our President felt that all merchandise should be on the retail floor, not in the stock rooms. He was quite right at that time. In this day, less floor space for merchandise would leave more room for an augmented customer experience, potentially opening up space for customers to congregate, try out product and meet people from the brands they are seeking to purchase and exchange experiences. Stores should be physical brand hubs, places where people talk and socialize – like the village square of old. Cheers, Ted.

  8. Nahumg says:
    October 18, 2009 at 5:45 pm

    Actually, here in MD (USA), I was told by one of the managers of the local Apple Store, that in the US the Apple stores have one of the highest if not the highest revenue per square foot!

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11 September 2009

Primed for Pigskin?

by Rocky Prozeller

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All posts by Rocky Prozeller

Technically speaking, September 22nd marks the start of the fall season, though there are many among us who calculate their calendars in a different fashion: summer signs off when football fires up.

The NFL arguably represents America’s sport, but is it accessible for the average American? Despite the arrival of The Great Recession, the average ticket cost rose 4% this year, driving the Fan Cost Index —what it takes to bring a family of four to a game—up to a whopping $412.

Technically speaking, September 22nd marks the start of the fall season, though there are many among us who calculate their calendars in a different fashion: summer signs off when football fires up.

The NFL arguably represents America’s sport, but is it accessible for the average American? Despite the arrival of The Great Recession, the average ticket cost rose 4% this year, driving the Fan Cost Index —what it takes to bring a family of four to a game—up to a whopping $412.

Can it be considered a surprise that teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars are facing fears of having all of their home games blacked out? In response to the forecasted freefall of ticket sales, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced an initiative to rebroadcast blacked out games for free on NFL.com, but with one catch: the replay will start at midnight on the day of the game.

In watching the season opener (congrats to all you Steelers fans)… I received a call from my mother and a text from a friend, both diehard Pittsburgh people; an email from another friend who has the misfortune of drawing my Fantasy Football Team in Week 1; all while checking both my iPhone for box score updates and ESPN.com for Fantasy up-to-the-second stats.

We live in an age of immediacy introduced via the Internet and around the clock SportsCenter, which makes it impossible (and quite implausible) to wait till midnight to seek the status of your team’s success. Football, like most sports, is a shared experience. Its enjoyment is driven by friends gathering around food, squeezing into couches while screaming at the TV.

So does Goodell’s goodie-bag really deliver the delight cash-strapped fans seek? Clearly the Commissioner proposed his plan in the hopes of winning over fans, but as genuine as his intentions may be, the score remains the same: we all lose.

–

As you ruminate regarding your upcoming Football Sunday food set, we give you sounds to help get you cooking.

2 Responses to “Primed for Pigskin?”

  1. Eric K. says:
    September 11, 2009 at 10:48 am

    Was already aware of the blackout issue and Goodell’s attempt to assuage the shorted fans…but it’s still a terrific point you make. If the recession sticks around AND they go to a salary cap-less structure…won’t ticket sales be inflated again creating more of an index jump? It’s a great sport made for TV, I only hope the forecast by the NFL is accurate to keep asses in the seats so we can watch our favorite/home teams…whoever the team is.

  2. Thom Mitchell says:
    September 12, 2009 at 3:16 pm

    Great point. The midnight broadcast is really just to try and show that Goodell is fan-friendly without actually being fan-friendly. I think the NFL is in a bubble right now with the interest from fantasy leagues and the Direct TV sunday ticket packages. However if the blackout is maintained this season they’ll begin losing local fans who’ll discover other ways to spend their Sunday afternoons. Once you start taking customers for granted it’s only a matter of time before your brand begins to lose prestige.

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17 July 2009

Twitter, your fly is down

by Bill Alberti

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When 310 internal documents were leaked (or hacked) from inside the halls of Twitter, the online wunderkind was caught with its fly down. Everything from corporate strategy to financial projections to talks with potential partners to the meal preferences, calendars and phone logs of various Twitter employees was exposed by someone calling himself “Hacker Croll .”

There are a host of questions raised by this unintended disclosure, e.g., “How did Hacker Croll get the docs?” “Should TechCrunch (the original publisher of the documents) have published the docs?” “How does this hurt Twitter moving forward?”

When 310 internal documents were leaked (or hacked) from inside the halls of Twitter, the online wunderkind was caught with its fly down.  Everything from corporate strategy to financial projections to talks with potential partners to the meal preferences, calendars and phone logs of various Twitter employees was exposed by someone calling himself “Hacker Croll .”

There are a host of questions raised by this unintended disclosure, e.g., “How did Hacker Croll get the docs?”  “Should TechCrunch (the original publisher of the documents) have published the docs?”  “How does this hurt Twitter moving forward?”

However, perhaps the most interesting question is, “does the leak actually HELP Twitter?”  Does it help focus attention on what Twitter really is and what it hopes to become, i.e., “the pulse of the planet”?  Does it give added weight to conversations with Microsoft, Google or other partners if they all know they are up against one another?  Does putting all their partners, employees and competitors on notice that they are looking for 1 billion members faster than anyone actually increase the likelihood of that happening?

Maybe.  It’s certainly interesting to think of the prospects and aftermath.

Either way the documents give us an unprecedented look inside a company onto something big but not quite sure what to do with that something.  Reading through the docs you get a sense of the excitement, the apprehension, the hubris and humility of a company dealing with all of its growing pains and prospects.

Of course there is a great irony of a company that advocates the sharing of information – from the most important to the most mundane – having its most important and mundane information exposed.

By having all of it out there for everyone to see, does it help invite participation, ideas and partnerships from places Twitter wouldn’t have thought to look?  At the end of the day is it all “very Twitter?”

Instead of being embarrassed with your fly down, what if it drew people in to your most, a-hem, compelling assets?  What if we were all forced into this level of transparency and disclosure, would it be a good thing?  Or is it just too much information?

2 Responses to “Twitter, your fly is down”

  1. Diane Hessan says:
    July 17, 2009 at 5:31 pm

    Bill, this is a fascinating post. My first reaction to the Techcrunch article was the same as Leslie Forde’s comment on Twitter: I would be devastated to have this kind of internal information out in public, sent by some “hacker”. However, I think I expected much more arrogance on Twitter’s part — and much more clarity. They now seem human: a good thing, and as usual, you have a great point.

  2. Leslie Forde says:
    July 17, 2009 at 9:45 pm

    Excellent observations Bill, as usual! As Diane mentions my gut reaction, as someone focused on corporate development for Communispace and often handling pretty sensitive information, was to feel sad for Twitter. I was disturbed that TechCrunch would publish this information — after all, it’s somewhat concerning that so much salacious information is published about celebrities and politicians, but what happens when you share internal and confidential business communications? How does that influence the destiny for that company and its employees? However, as you note, Twitter has pioneered a phenomenon that above all, emphasizes transparency, not just to friends, but to the world. What about the public companies mentioned in these documents? How does this impact the disclosure/legal responsibilities for Microsoft and Google by sharing their partnership explorations? The implication for the information shared transcends Twitter and impacts all of the organizations referenced. Your points are interesting food for thought and again, great post Bill!

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10 July 2009

And the Sign Says…

by Rocky Prozeller

1 Comment »
All posts by Rocky Prozeller

Burma Shave burst on the scene in 1925 with their now famous billboard series saluting shaving cream along roadsides throughout the country; thanks to the billboard brilliance, the message spread and Burma Shave survived the Great Depression with signs sticking soundly through 1963.

Flash forward to today.

Burma Shave burst on the scene in 1925 with their now famous billboard series saluting shaving cream along roadsides throughout the country; thanks to the billboard brilliance, the message spread and Burma Shave survived the Great Depression with signs sticking soundly through 1963.  

Flash forward to today.

Working to whittle down automobile fatality totals springing from a soaked season, the local government in Papkura, New Zealand introduced a billboard which bleeds when it pours. The advertisement, featuring a picture of a child, gushes red liquid from a boy’s nose, eyes and ears when the heavens open up. Despite directing drivers’ eyes away from the road, a seemingly counterintuitive call, since establishing the blood-bath billboard the town has seen zero mortal mishaps.

Greenpeace secured their own shockwaves, as climbers scaled Mount Rushmore on Thursday, launching a large sign pleading with the President. Its message — “America honors leaders not politicians: Stop Global Warming” and an unfinished portrait of Obama — was barely visible as it was whipped by wind, but still managed to build buzz. 

Burma’s bid to capture (and hold attention), proved as sound as the Kiwi’s call to slow down, suggesting signs can still have an impact. Despite drastic differences in message and execution, ranging from innocuous to provocative, both proved effective in speaking to seers; more importantly, each earned a lasting impact and drove onlookers to engage in a desired deed.

While Greenpeace will assuredly garner 30 seconds of airtime on news outlets from around the country, will their sign stunt secure a similar long-standing salute minus an equally clear message and concise call to action?

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As always, we leave you with a little levity to help you whistle while you work  through the last of the week. Enjoy your 48 hours of freedom.

One Response to “And the Sign Says…”

  1. Diane Hessan says:
    July 10, 2009 at 6:03 pm

    Rocky, a great post as always. And, do you know that I always start my weekends by listening to your tunes?

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