Clifford Stall is a scientist. Or an astronomer. Maybe he is a physicist.

I am not sure actually. But just listened through his talk on TED- and this DEMANDS a mention and sharing.

A maverick scientist, he fits the eccentric scientist stereotype to the ‘T’. Fidgety, restless and full of things to talk about, he is seen talking almost in a state of hallucinated paranoia – and for the first few minutes made me wonder if there is substance or a theme in the talk, or just plain showmanship for entertaining the audience.

Blown up zero volume glass containers, a science experiment and an amazing, possible real life chase story that led him to the TRUTH- all in one TED talk!

But towards the end- it all seems to make, well, a bit of sense.

Stall epitomizes constructive rebellion- the theme of ChasingTheStorm.com.

“Once I do something, I want to do something else.”

Sums it all up.

Enjoy.

Think About It

Shalabh

In my about to be launched book- “Think About It”- Ideas shaping digital media and marketing in the new decade, I discuss something that is just one step behind Augmented Reality, and if used correctly, could really boost interactive marketing processes and adoption.

I have also mentioned in the past, that Augmented Reality is cool- though a technoolgy whose time was not there yet. I saw its adoption increasing from mid 2010 onwards- specifically in Asia.

AR is used across touchpoints now- like with printed codes, webcams and computers but to me the real coming of age would be interactive usability via camera enables mobile devices.

However, I see signs of Augmented Reality coming up faster than expected- with usage that is more practical than just ‘cool’.

Though when you see advertisers like Nike and Adidas using this technology, the ‘cool’ automatically associates.

I discuss some good campaigns around AR here:

Nike (via marketing interactive): This one is from Asia- Hong Kong.

Nike launched this programme (mcCann+hyperfactory) to target teenagers- for strengthening its soccer products.

For four weeks, Nike plastered a series of secret codes around Hong Kong, in Nike stores and at the Causeway Bay MTR station.

The codes invite users to download a mobile application that allows them to view its T90 soccer boots and ball in 3D through their mobile screens.

So this is simple- but an early entry into this market- makes it newsworthy and upholds the innovative/cool factor of Nike.

There are some other campaigns as listed bby Devora Rogers on iMediaconnection

Samsung:

This is a simple, yet great use of Augmented reality and we could see more such stuff in the near future.

Samsung’s AR execution, which helps consumers figure out what a TV will look like on the wall, before they hang it. Users print out an image that they then show to their webcam, which faces the wall on which they want to hang the TV. The screen recognizes the AR trigger, and instead of seeing the printout, users see a TV laid over their wall through their screen.

With these examples, this technology seems perfectly well suited for home improvement and decoration industries- but the potential goes much further than that.

Home Depot:

This US retail giant has reinvented the humble gift cards.

Simply put, when you receive a gift card, displaying it in front of a webcam enables users to browse and buy products online or plan for their next project.

Here’s more- in video:

Ray Ban:

Another really cool yet practical usage by Ray Ban.

Rayban Virtual Mirror application demonstration. Using key points on your face the app maps pairs of augmented reality shades onto your face. Then you can click straight through to the store.

Ordinary people:

Well you could use this on your resume or on your business cards. Imagination is the only limitation here. Of course being a bit flamboyant helps

The real coming of age of this technology will be when it is more end user focused rather than being inward focused.

Think About It

Shalabh

Happy New Year 2010.

The MicroInfluencer (TM) as a concept in pop culture has caught on. When I had first thought about the concept of the MicroInfluencer and published it, I wanted to highlight real life people who had actually achieved some success by exercising their influence over the digital medium. The thought of individuals and everyday people having influence on the internet was not new- but the phrase itself brought clarity to the meaning.

Anyhow, I intend to start a process I’d been thinking of since long now- highlighting MicroInfluencers from time to time – as and when I discover a few- and as and when you lead me to some of them.

Here is one- and quite with times too.

MicroInfluencer(TM): Danny MacAskill a.k.a the urban cycllist

Danny MacAskill- a bicycle mechanic. From Edinburg. Pretty obscure- maybe known in the local circuits. And then one fine day, he and his roommate decide to shoot a video of his ‘stunts’ en route to work.

Dave Sowerby- his roommate picks up a cam and shoots some excellent videos over the next few months. The founder of Inspired Bicycles- Dave Cleavers- (who has a razor sharp marketing brain it seems- following the success of the video- he has come up with new cycles similar to those of MacAskill’s and his bike brand has got some cool buzz going on the net. For his brand, he has started what I call the BuzzLifeCycle and is riding a meme at the right time) then had it put in YouTube. What results thereafter is this:

• More than 13 million views
• Highest viewed sports video on YouTube
• Spread all across the net via blogs and other social networking sites

Danny had made it- and like this article says- his life could now be phased as “Before youTube” and “After YouTube”. The video became a Germfeed Item that spread really quickly and constructively impacted Danny’s life.

This is the video that started it all – in case you don’t happen to have contributed to the 13 million views:

The video caught on like wildfire and soon enough not only Danny gets interview requests but even gigs- like this professionally produced ad for  recruitment company/website.  The story from the sponsors here.

What followed the epic first video was a flurry of interviews/articles and presentations from mainstream media. Worldwide recognition.

This excerpt from the NYT article sums it all:

One day, he was asked to appear in 10 countries. Filmmakers wanted to make documentaries about his life. Advertisers pounced. Big companies, like Red Bull in Britain, lined up to sponsor him. People wanted his autograph. Ellen DeGeneres, who bears a faint resemblance, wanted him to dress up as her and ride around Los Angeles. The Doves, a British rock band, wanted him for a video. Lance Armstrong called MacAskill’s video “a must watch.” A circus in South Korea wanted to hire him to perform stunts.

Danny is from Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye. Go figure where that is (clue in the beginning of the MicroInfluencer intro topic). From an unheard-of town to worldwide acclaim, being invited across the world for adverts and paid gigs. It’s a long way baby- in a pretty short time. You will soon be a MegaInfluencer.

Think about it

Shalabh

In part 4 of this 4 part video brainstorm, we discuss how to market a start up.

Start ups usually do not have the luxury of huge advertising spends- and this pushed the boundaries being creative and using only the most efficient mediums for maximum bang for their buck.

Thorben highlights how he uses the Influencers (what I call the MicroInfluencers) to gain traction.

I had lots to discuss- but this was about them- and some good points were made .

Enjoy

Shalabh

In part 1 and part 2 of this 4 series video brainstorm, we discussed Orsiso and Advertising on social networks previously.

In Part3, we discuss whether downloadable appplications have a significant advantage over browser based or web based applications. Also another point- the funding story- the issues- what do investors look for, and the like.

In part 1 and part 2 of this 4 series video brainstorm, we discussed Orsiso and Advertising on social networks previously.

In Part3, we discuss whether downloadable appplications have a significant advantage over browser based or web based applications. Also another point- the funding story- the issues- what do investors look for, and the like.

Enjoy

Shalabh Pandey

We featured Orsiso in Part 1.

In part 2 of the discussion between myself (Shalabh Pandey) and Thorben, amongst other things, we discuss advertising on social networks, its significance and nuances.

Enjoy!

Advertising campaigns on the digital medium are an inherent part of Digital Marketing initiatives by bigger brands.

They offer immediacy, instant results, and if done right, can be less intrusive than they are perceived to be.

A few years ago, the hottest thing in online advertising was the shoskele- an ad unit- that almost hijacked the page due its overlay properties- did its thing and went away to settle down in a smaller, regular size banner.

The argument against it could be that it is hugely interruptive. however, if you integrate your creative and media together, it can be less intrusive and more enjoyable.

In my many previous experiences, I have seen that weaving various elements together can give you a great RoI- we have seen CTR increases- but more importantly people were clicking on ‘Replay’ and watching the ad all over again!

I found this new ad- being promoted by a French crime TV series called Braqupo.

They bought the media on YouTube and MSN. Watch how it works.

Braquo ad on youtube.com from Jay Salvat on Vimeo.

Typically these kind of media buys are done on a daily basis, and not on a impression basis. And they are not cheap. Can set you poorer by about $20k-30k a day for one day on one of these channels.

Not only is this ‘Rich’ – use of video, audio and animation elements, it even interacts with its environment- the web page content- which was only possible in this type of media buys.

You could reach a reasonably sized audience- and get more impactful awareness – probably it could still be cheaper than TV.

Shalabh
(@shalabhpandey)

Everyone has seen some version of “Did you know” series. The series aims to highlight some amazing facts about digital media. And puts all the trends in context.

I am embedding all the four videos from the series here:

Did you know version 4.o (courtsey Digital Trends)

Did you know version 3.0

Did you know version 2.0

Did you know version 1.0

Enjoy
Shalabh

I was on a panel at the Social Networking World Forum Asia  held in Singapore recently.

Posting the audio podcast here- will soon follow it up with the video version.

In case the above player does not work for you- here is the direct link to the audio to play online or download to your players: Shalabh Pandey at Social Networking World Forum Asia

The Panel’s topic was

Home entertainment, broadcast television and social media

and the topics covered were:

• The marriage of online video and social media
• How communities can help develop better TV programming
• Using social networks to engage new audiences and expand reach
• Integrating social media within the Television proposition
• Developing pay-tv with web 2.0 applications.

Panelists:

Thorben: CEO Orsiso

Nicolas Colinos, Deputy Sales Director, Eurosport Asia

Shalabh Pandey, Digital Marketing Thinker and Strategist, Singapore

Chaired by Euan Wilcox from The Upper Story (Who did a great job in steering conversations)

The premise or build up was thus:

Premium content and advertising is fast becoming a key strategy allowing social networks to monetize their sites. Viral content distribution has created a valuable new inventory for advertisers and a new business model for the entire media industry.

We look at at content services, the strategy behind there delivery and how this can be developed.

In the audio clip, podcast and video, I have basically cut down the talk to my opinions – so apologies to the rest of the panel members- I will take the first opportunity to upload entire content (runs into 3 GB+ and it is a pain- so had to cut down)

Think about it

Shalabh

Whew!

We did this about a fortnight ago. A (apprx) 40 minute discussion caught on video- on Start ups, funding story and advertising on Social media- amongst many other things. Between me (Shalabh Pandey) and the CEO and co-founder of Orsiso- Thorben Linneberg.

I finally managed to clean up the video and uploaded the final video brainstorm- after about 2 weeks of having shot it.

Featuring the entire series in 4 parts- so enjoy this over the next few posts.

Part 1 of 4:

This is our first time doing a video- and the quality is a bit low. The video was on analgue tape- and I had only Windows Movie Maker- to help me with the editing. There was a time lag between the video and the audio- which was proving impossible to curate in WMM. And hence the quality is still not up to my satisfaction, but after having spent close to 25 hours or more on this- I thought I’d better get this up and running now.

The problem with me is I cannot compromise on quality of end product- and that pushes me to do as much as is within the outer boundaries of my limits.

But I believe web video is the future- and there are learnings for the next time.

• One learning has been that even though you can manage without the best equipment and software- it is not advisable to do so. You end up spending too much time and effort just cleaning the whole thing up.
• Another learning for me has been- in the absence of external mikes, speak up! My voice is a bit soft, and I also have a bit of a hunch- and since video is about presentation, it shows. Tip to remember next time.

Overall, it went off well- we had some help too- from Orsiso’s side- we had Laurent Roux- Business Director- helping co-ordinate- and from ChasingTheStorm we had some great help from Mohd Hisham with the camera set up.

The objective was to introduce Orsiso and alongside also have a little discussion session around the Web landscape of today.

In the first section, we discuss largely about Orsiso- how it aggregates various social networks and organizes your social life on the internet.

In the second section, we move on to discussing advertising and social networks

In the third section- we discuss whether downloadable applications are back or the browser based applications?

And in the last section, we discuss How to market a start up- basis Orsiso’s experience.

Enjoy!

Shalabh

While there is no denying about the viral potential of Facebook, there are a lot of subtle nuances that even marketers do not understand.

Though I’m pretty platform agnostic when it comes to marketing, I also understand that after a strategic planning of using digital medium- you need to understand the platforms you will use eventually to market.

Now I am scared that most of the posts on the Home Page are totally Social Media Marketing related- but that seems to be the flavor of the month anyways. From Spikes Asia to Social Networking World Forum Asia.

To understand the importance and how things work in that platform could prove to have a substantial impact on your marketing over that channel.
So here is this short and cool lecture- via Global Thoughtz

Came across this Research document on- How does content become Viral in a social network- that could be used for Social Media Marketing. Conducted by Eric Sun from Stanford.

Gesundheit! Modeling Contagion Through Facebook News Feed

Eric Sun

Fundamentally, it says something similar to what I have mentioned in my theory of MicoInfluencers.

That it is not only one or two super-influencers/celebrities that influence decision making or the spread of ideas- rather it is people like you and me- that spread ideas as a collective unit.

The only Difference between the documents from Eric Sun and Duncan Watts (another good paper on what he calls “accidental influencers”) is that I tend to believe that Micro-Influencers effuse have certain traits that you could identify them with.

Unfortunately cannot embed this here- but you could get the link and learn more from the site apart from downloading the presentation.

Important points:

• FaceBook diffusion chains can be really long- some about 82 levels deep
• However, they do not seem to be the result of a single chain reaction event
• Rather they seem to be a result of a substantial number of base users
• There is no meaningful evidence that a start node’s maximum diffusion chain length can be predicted with the user’s demographics or Facebook usage characteristics (including the user’s number of Facebook friends). This may provide insight into future research on public opinion formation.

  I have a point of difference here. I think data CAN help use get some level of meaningful extrapolation of behaviour. We just need to know what to look for.

• Watts says: Success depends not on how persuasive the early adopter(s) are, but whether everyone else is easily persuaded
  • It propounds that influential nodes are no more likely to trigger cascades than average nodes

Think about it

Shalabh Pandey

(twitter: @shalabhpandey)

I sporadically cover marketing/advertising campaigns and tutorials in my post. And when I do, I try to make some observations rather than just report on something cool. Like my analysis of the Dell Swarm campaign.

I try to keep an Asian perspective but cover International campaigns (Like Grasshopper). There is a lot of noise specially if they are in the social media domain- and that too international campaigns

And then sometimes, the post is for documentation and for general reference. Like this time- here’s an international campaign from Philip’s agency (ies) .

The “Philips Vs” campaign

Note: Just before the post, three terms I’d like to reintroduce: GermFeeding is creating ‘Spreadable’ content;  GermSeed or Enzymate is the act of spreading or intentional placement of content to make it readily spreadable. Germ refers to an ‘enzyme’ and GermFeeding is like introducing a culture (germ) to milk to make it curdle. It is a more positive and all encompassing theory as compared to the concept of “Viral”.

You have heard little about this campaign- undertaken about 2 months ago towards the end of June. The campaign piggybacks on the MicroBlogging/Twitter phenomenon and tries to exploit the frenzy surrounding the newness of this platform.

• The proposition is simple- in order to win a Philips TV, participants in this marketing contest have to Twitter a “Philips Versus _______” tweet

• Their Profile Bio on twitter sums it up: “Philips_vs_anything you can imagine in 140 characters. We challenge you to challenge us for the chance to win a Cinema 21:9 TV & worldwide fame “

• You need to follow them on Twitter and reply to them (or use the hashtag) with a description of an idea or visualize with a link to an image or video that you have created. The best suggestions were retweeted and the Jury’s favorite to be filmed and shown all over the web
• The campaign seems to be over with the last tweet seen on July 13th (but that does not matter- not promoting the contest here but the methodology)
• They had a cool site with clever creative interface and one that explained the idea creatively and clearly
• They also had GermFeed (Spreadable content) created for this campaign like this video:

Not only this, they even took it on the streets as an on ground engagement/experiential campaign and challenged people to challenge Philips using a play with one of their products. Then again, they converted it into a video and posted it online as a classic Germseeding tactic.

On the audience participation front, there were some good submissions, and two of my favorites are here:

All of these things seem like good ingredients for a buzz generating campaign. Only they did not seem to work. (As Viral Blog showcases in this  brilliant analysis)

Even though it was a twitter centered (though not limited to- because content could be created anywhere) campaign, the buzz on twitter was not rocking

And even the general buzz on the internet did not have any effect around Philips.

So what actually did go wrong here?

Any Ideas?

I know you have some opinions…

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.

.

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Come on…

So what do you think went wrong?

Shalabh Pandey (@shalabhpandey)

Thumbnail: beautiful depiction of Twitter overcapacity by Mykl Roventine

Chris Anderson delivering  a talk on the theme of his latest book ‘Free’ courtsey ZDNet.

Chris Anderson, author of “Free: The Future of a Radical Price,” discusses how different companies use the free-to-premium, or freemium model to not only make money, but often keep customers at a higher rate than fully paid services. There are many economies–ones of status, time, information and more–and the trick is to get people to trade their money for one of them

I will probably post on his most famous and of course more ground breaking book ‘The Long Tail’ in some time.

Meanwhile, you can follow the links and maybe follow an excellent interview by Hugh McLeod of GapingVoid.

Got my hands on this book- aptly called The Idea Book . Probably my first book review on ChasingTheStorm and an apt way to start a category considering this blog is also about Ideas and memes. Also, I am pleasantly surprised at the fact that I already practice a lot that is there in the book. Starting with documenting my ideas in a notebook- which has been a habit since childhood.

I do read a lot of books- albeit with my fragmented attention span- I usually take more time than others to finish them. And sometimes I read more than one book at a time. Will soon start listening to ebooks heavily- is what my guess is- they are more portable and handy while traveling. That is after I decide on which portable device to buy for that purpose.

The Idea Book is exactly that- a book on inspiring ideas and anecdotal evidences. You can visit the official page here.

Written by Fredrik Haren of Interesting.org and generously sent to me by Bastian Doehling- the book’s tagline says it all-

150 pages about ideas and 150 empty pages to write your own ideas.

The book is about being inspired and encourages you to write down your ideas. Inside the book.

Now one thing that is great about this book is – you don’t need to start it and finish it at one go. It works even if continuity is not maintained. Because it does not read like a story.

Read it, get inspired- jot down thoughts and do it all over again.

If you want to have a flavor of the book, a preview is available here.

Some of my favorite quotes/anecdotes from the book:

• Eat this: Edison had an Idea quota. A minor invention every 10 days and a major invention every 6 months!
• Have the courage to invent new words in order to invent new ideas. Now this is something that comes intrinsically to me. Read more of this blog to know what words have I invented
• High technology obeys the iron law of revolution. The more you change. you have to be willing to accept the fact that in this game the rules keep changing. (Bill Joy): So true of the industry I represent.
• Philosophers have only interpreted the world. The point however, is to change it. (Marx): ChasingTheStorm?
• I’m sure you have ‘intelligent’ people in your companies. The kinds that shoot down ideas and enthusiasm effectively by pointing what would not work. 2 quotes:
  • Every Fool can see what is wrong. See what is good in it (Churchill)
  • Imagination is more important than knowledge. (Einstein)
• There is a natural opposition to anything they havent thought of themselves (Barnes Walles; Page 97; The Idea book)
• If you don’t tell me how tall your house is, I’ll beat you to death with my barometer… (Ask me about this story)
• Everything that can be invented- has been invented (1899); Heavier than air flying machines are impossible (1895)
• Nothing is done. Everything in the world remains to be done or done over…(1931, Lincoln Steffens): In contrast to the previous quote, this is so true of the new world order that beckons us post the downturn
  

And many many more such gems. Already spent enough time and hopefully inspired you a bit in the process.

Now my part on suggestions for the book. Some thoughts on how could the book be more innovative:

• The book has inspiration and pages to jot down ideas. But what is missing- is a writing instrument. What would be really cool is -an innovative pen with the book- maybe one hanging with the bookmark thread. People end up reading books while traveling and- in case you get inspired, you need to have that pen around.

• Another more innovative way could be- have a carbon paper over each empty page- so you don’t even need a pen or pencil- any object (including finger tips!) would do for a quick jot down of ideas in that moment of inspiration. Very useful for those who get ideas in the bathroom

• Also, from a user experience perspective- I think the empty pages could be clubbed together. Helps in better continuity of ideas if they overflow from one page to the other and dives into the reader psychology. As of now each article is followed by a few empty pages- which makes it looks like there is an ‘exercise’ to do after each chapter in a text book (though it is not so)

They have a contest on the site- where people could submit photos with the book- and there are prizes to be won every week .

Meanwhile, I leave you with this TED talk as an apt way to end this post. Enjoy!

And let me know if you need some inspiring quotations. I am armed.

Cheers

Shalabh (twitter.com/shalabhpandey)

Note: The link to buy from Amazon has my Associates ID