Community Guy – Jake McKee

Keep SXSWi Weird

Paraphrasing Bono: There’s been a lot of talk, maybe too much talk about this year’s SXSWi. This next song is Douchey South by Douchey.

This year’s SXSW Interactive had 12,000 people attend. It was bigger than SXSW Music for the first time. It had 4,000 people more than the year before. Largely I heard two things from people:

• “This is a great event, I’m getting a lot out of it!”
• “Man oh man, I can’t seem to throw an iPhone without hitting a douchebag!”

Personally, SXSWi for me just isn’t compelling anymore, at least not as a conference. While the content may be perfectly suited for some, I found the sessions weak and beginner level. But that might be OK, since there was clearly an audience for that content. And yes, there were an insane amount of douchebaggery going on. This came in two forms:

• Social Media Expert Douchebaggery – There’s only one thing worst than a room full of “social media experts”… a room full of social media experts who’ve been making a living off that “expert” status for a couple of years. They’ve fashioned a career out of telling clients what to do and now they seem to think that they’ve been knighted by Queen Elizabeth.
• Starf**king Douchebaggery – I’m amazed at the sheer number of Foursquare shouts and twitter messages I saw from talented, experienced, mature social media people that sounded something like “OMG! I might get to meet Pete Cashmore at the Mashable party!”

Maybe my disillusionment comes from the fact that my SXSWi experience this year started off with one of the most insulting conversational exchanges I’ve had in my entire life, with a “social media expert”, who later (and totally separately) blogged on the topic of the problems with interpersonal exchanges at the conference. (No I’m not going to say who or what, other than to say that year ago we drank together as friends. Apparently I’m no longer worthy of respectful conversation…)

But that was my experience. I’ve been going to SXSWi since 1997, taking a few years off around the dot com bust. I remember when the conference was less than a thousand people. We were learning and struggling together through the Web 1.0 days. Then we were learning and struggling together through the Web 2.0 days. But as Gina Vakili said: “Aging Techies are the new Aging Hippies.”

As one of those aging techies, I remember a time when SXSWi was better than it was this year, and it wasn’t a smaller amount of douchebaggery. Here are the main three reasons I think SXSWi has gone off the rails:

Size
The organizers of the event have largely kept the formula of the event the same as it was 13 years ago when I attended my first event. Directly scaling a 500 person event to 12,000 simply doesn’t work. To put the 12k number in context, CES this year had 6,000 attendees, while GDC had 18,000. This is the big leagues as far as industry events go. At this point, SXSWi will never again be a 500 person event, and that’s OK. But it’s time to rethink what SXSWi is and what people are hoping to get out of it. The SXSWi team has to decide what they want the event to be and then redesign it according to those desires. If it’s going to be a size restricted event, so be it. If it’s going to be as large as they can sell tickets to event, that’s fine too. But those are both very different events, and that decision needs to be made.

Mass Audience Crowdsourced Panel Picker
The first year the Panel Picker was out, I thought it was a great idea. The content that came out of it was pretty solid. But as awareness of the tool grew, people figured out that the best way to get a panel selected was to come up with a sexy and often pointless session title. It’s time for the organizers to enlist a group of people to help find genius speakers we don’t know, to find topics we don’t know we need to know. The best session I’ve seen in years at any conference was Henry Jenkins at last year’s SXSWi. Henry is an absolute genius and an amazing speaker. I’ll bet you’ve never heard of him, and if you have, you probably haven’t read his blog or his books. Which is exactly why he was so much fun to hear from. Just because a metric ton of potential conference attendees vote up all the panels with “sex” in the titles, doesn’t mean you’re going to have a compelling content experience.

Do you know why TED has absolutely astounding content? Because they make it the very core of the program and they find people you’ve never heard of. Then they work with them to ensure insanely good presentation.

Grand Expectations
Good things do, in fact, come to an end. SXSWi isn’t the same because the world isn’t the same. For every SXSWi vet that I talked to who said the event sucked, I talked to two first timers who loved the event. Yes, SXSWi is “just another event”, but that’s actually a good sign. It means we’re onto the second (third? fourth?) generation of Web geeks. Those of us who were doing this stuff 10+ years ago dreamed of the day when the Web would be given the serious attention and credibility it deserves. We’re there. And that’s a great, great thing.

Despite the problems, I have to call out some awesomeness.

• Foursquare (the app): A truly useful service for the event. While I used Foursquare before SXSWi, I was never really that excited about it. Having a purpose and a network for people using it for the same purpose helped me get quickly excited. Now I want all my friends and local businesses on it. I’ve already talked to two neighborhood small businesses about how they should get on it. (Oh, and the updated app was a great improvement just in time for the conference)
• Foursquare (the company): From the fact that the service was rock solid stable, to the custom SXSWi content, these guys did great in running a Web app business.
• Chevy: The power bricks the Chevy team put out for people to plug their laptops into was an insanely good promotion for their Volt electric vehicle. I literally thanked the Volt girl standing next to the car for those power bricks. They could have just printed a bunch of pointless paper collateral to shove in the registration bag. Instead they solved a real need.
• AT&T (the network): It worked. Well. As TechCrunch asked, why can’t they do that every day?
• AT&T (the lockers): Like Chevy, AT&T solved an honest to god need with an unique and talkable solution. They created lockers where you could plug in your phone to get a recharge, then lock it up so you could hit a session while you rejuice. Genius.
• Inspiration: I didn’t realize quite how inspired I was from all the great work my incredible friends are doing until the first day back in the office. I literally filed a 4′x8′ whiteboard with ideas, tasks, and sketches.

So what did you think about the SXSWi 2010?

UPDATE: Here’s a few additional bits of content from around the Web re: SXSWi 2010

• Swag Bag Assessment (with lessons for marketers)
• Check-in & Location Apps
• How AT&T dealt with the insanely high network traffic
• SXSWi 2010 recap on Baazarvoice blog

SXSW Survival Guide 2010

It’s that time of year again! This is a rehash of last year’s version, but that’s OK. It’s the same advice I’d give this year too!

So with that, here’s some SXSW tips I’ve found over the years…

1. It’s casual, baby. Austin is one of the most laid back cities on Earth, and with it being a college town there’s not much need for the suit jacket. The event is pretty low key – upscale weekend wear. Don’t show up in your car wash shorts, but you’ll be fine in jeans and a t-shirt. Been dying to show off that new Threadless shirt? This is your opportunity. (And despite what you might have heard, not all of us Texans wear boots and cowboy hats, FYI.)

Oh, and wear comfortable shoes. Everything’s bigger in Texas, including the size of the convention center, and the distance to lunch. (See below about lunch)

Bonus tip: Watch the weather for Austin. This time of year in Texas has a wide range of climates, and you’ll want to pack right. This may well include bringing an umbrella. Or a snow shovel. Or a bikini. Or all of the above.

2. “Plan” your sessions. The sheer number of sessions is insane. Seriously crazy. And they’re all going to be great. Take a look at the schedule before you get on the plane, and then once you’re there and have seen the building layout, make up a game plan for what you want to see. The really cool sessions can often fill up to standing room only capacity, so the quicker you get from session to session the better. That said, don’t over plan either.

Be prepared, but go with the flow. I’ve passed up seemingly cool panels to hang in the hall and talk to people who’ve ended up being long term friends.

3. Learn the building/room layout. Along those lines, there are so many session rooms, the event is naturally spread across the Convention Center. Last year, there was a whole wing that nobody knew how to find. When you get there, take a walk around, learn where all the SXSWi rooms are. You’ll more quickly and easily move from session to session. And hell, your superior knowledge may impress those around you who are struggling for direction…. a great wa to meet new people!

4. Introduce yourself! SXSWi, like the city that hosts it, is an incredibly welcoming event. Don’t think twice about sticking your hand out and saying “Hi, my name is ______”. I’ve always been amazed at how easy it is to meet people at this event. The great thing about the event is the guy sitting on the floor in the hall charging his laptop may be the founder of your favorite web app!

Don’t forget to bring tons of business cards and a pen. (I always write details on the back of the cards I collect so I can remember who the heck the person was, including descriptive physical traits)

I actually make a list of the people I know who will be attending that I want to meet. This helps me ensure that I don’t forget anyone I’m dying to connect with. It’s nerdy, but hey, I take my networking seriously! Besides, when are this many people I’m dying to meet in person going to be in the same location again?

Bonus tip: Don’t spend all your time between sessions checking email. Do something more productive with your time… you can check your mail at home, and you’re going to be behind when you get home anyway.

2010 Bonus tip: Stop twittering and start talking. No, I’m not suffering from “Get Off My Lawn Syndrome”, I just think that with so many great people and great sessions, it’s time to look up from the screen and rejoin the world, at least for a few minutes. There’s a good chance that many of your twitter followers will be at SXSWi, so no need to tease the rest of them who aren’t with info they’re likely not going to understand without context.

5. Get out from behind the camera. Keep in mind that hundreds of people will be uploading thousands of photos to flickr and other photo sharing sites in the days of and after SXSWi. Don’t spend all your time behind your camera lens when you are just going to be taking photos of the same thing 432 other people will be posting online too. Save your “behind the camera” time for shots that are truly unique, or that are must-haves for you.

Bonus tip: Be sure to tag your photos when you post them to flickr! Something descriptive will work: sxsw2009 should work fine.

2010 Bonus tip: Ask someone to take YOUR picture with YOUR camera. You’ll enjoying having pictures of yourself for later.

6. Food is off-site. Plan on heading off-site for lunch, since the Convention Center doesn’t have much in this department. (One of my biggest beefs with the event for years now) There’s a number of places close by.

7. “Plan” your parties. A lot of great companies host a lot of great parties. So many, in fact, that if you don’t think about which ones you’re going to, you’ll miss something great.

And of course, same thing goes as planning your panels – go with the flow. Have fun, don’t stress your plan too much. You plan so that you have the knowledge to be flexible.

8. Dump your bag. Part of planning your parties is figuring out how to get back to your hotel room to drop of your bag before heading to the parties. Nothing worse than having to drag your laptop around all night, hoping nobody spills beer on it.

9. SMS is your friend. In the few days I spend at SXSWi, I send more SMS messages than I probably spend the entire rest of the year. It’s how I check with friends to see how our current sessions compare. It’s how I tell my friends where I’m at and how to hook up for lunch. It’s how I coordinate party going. If you’re not a big SMS person, figure out how it works on your particular phone before you get to Austin.

2010 Bonus tip: Here’s where using Twitter might be fantastic. Especially since the parties last year were ALL packed like mad. Prepare to setup your own parties, and start building your twitter following now so you can quickly switch gears when the line for the party you’re trying to get into is 500 people and the building fits 135.

10. Bring cab money. This is something I always forget, then find myself looking for an ATM at 2a or walking many blocks back to my hotel. Austin isn’t a real “cab city”, but downtown there’s usually plenty. As part of the point above, I try to go to the furthest party from my hotel first, then party/bar hop towards the hotel, which often eliminates the need for a cab all together.

SXSWi is a great event, so have fun! (It’s hard not to) Hope to see you there. Feel free to text me (214-566-5957) or drop me an email (jake AT communityguy DOT com). I’d love to meet you in person!

Need more tips? Check out the unofficial SXSW blog, or check out this collection of links from DailyIdea.tv. They’ve also put together a fun video that covers many of the same things I’ve outlined here.

GasPedal Interviews Jake

In advance of my upcoming speaking gig at the Super Genius conference, GasPedal interviewed me about what I’m going to be talking about. The interview is embedded below!

Visit us at the Social CRM Virtual Summit

Ant’s Eye View is sponsoring a pretty cool event next week. It’s all virtual and it should be all awesome. From the official AEV blog post, here’s the details:

This year there have been a lot of online discussions on Social CRM – what is it? can it work? who is doing it? Now is the time to hear from the informed and thoughtful on how Social + CRM enable new business opportunities.

The Ants are proud to be a sponsor at the Lithium Social CRM Virtual Summit on Tuesday, November 11 – the largest online conference for Social Media and CRM professionals. The Social CRM Virtual Summit is a five-hour online conference, which includes webcasts by industry leaders in an interactive exhibit hall, a resource center with extensive materials for download, and a virtual networking lounge to chat live with speakers and prospects.

The virtual event is featured in two time sessions on November 11th:

• 5am to 10am PT / 8am to 1pm ET / 1pm to 6pm GMT
• 10am to 3pm PT / 1pm to 6pm ET / 6pm to 11pm GMT

Check out the full post for more info on how to register and what the agenda looks like. Hopefully we’ll see you there!

Apparently I’m a Supergenius

If you’re a fan of awesome conferences and events, never pass up a chance to go to one put on by Andy Sernovitz. He’s a master of the fun time.

Andy invited me to speak about my LEGO experience at Word of Mouth Supergenius in December, and it’s sure to be one hell of a good time.

Here’s the official event description:

Word of Mouth Supergenius is where you’ll learn to be a fantastic word of mouth marketer with 12 how-to classes, 12 real-world case studies, and 6 brilliant authors. You’ll learn practical, hands-on techniques to get started, grow your program, and earn amazing word of mouth.

Taught by masters of word of mouth from Starbucks, Maker’s Mark, Domino’s, LEGO, Coca-Cola, and many more, you’ll gain the knowledge and skills you need to get people talking about your brand. Captivating speakers like Jason Falls, Mitch Joel, John Jantsch, Saul Colt, Spike Jones, John Moore, Rod Brooks, and our own Andy Sernovitz (to name a few) will take you through a day jam packed with innovation and intellect.

You’ll ask questions, discover new ideas, and get answers from people who have been there, done that — and learn it all in just one day.

If you’re interested in going (and really, why wouldn’t you be?), use this discount code to get $101 off your registration.

JAKEISMYHERO

The lineup of speakers is truly impressive, including Ant’s Eye View clients Rod Brooks (PEMCO) and Kira Wampler (Intuit). What are you waiting for?

AEV @ SXSW

The Ant’s Eye View team has four sessions in the SXSW 2010 Panel Picker this year. We need your help! Can you vote us up?

It’s Never What They Say, It’s What They Mean
When someone yells online, it’s easy to get caught up in the negativity, seeing visions of doom and gloom. But more often than not, negativity is a form of passion. This session will introduce you to the fine art of translating community discussions into actionable decisions.

Ensuring Everybody Goes Home Happy
This session will convince you that any company/community relationship that is not built on the belief that success doesn’t exist unless “everybody goes home happy”, company and community members alike. You’ll learn how to find the right balance between serving your community while also delivering business results.

Social Business Vitamins
Discover the overlooked, but essential mental vitamins necessary to prepare the social body to function inside the Enterprise. Case studies that showcase what needs to in place to operate and benefit with the myriad of social tools and content.

Watch Out For The Ugly Babies
Everyone has seen an ugly baby, but no one has given birth to one. Online Communities are similiar, a lot of online communities are ugly and need help, but the parents who gave birth to the online community site are last to realize. Learn some ways to prevent ugly babies and if you believe you have one, get ideas to help your community become more attractive for your audience.

Come see me speak: Making money is easy, just ask your customers

If you’re in Dallas, or you don’t mind coming to town, I’ll be speaking to the DFW BMA on Monday, March 23. Are you coming?

Making money is easy, just ask your customers.

Making money is easy. Your customers and clients are telling you every day how to do it, but too many companies are caught up in “doing business” to hear them. We hear things like “join the conversation” and “engage your customers”, but it’s easier said than done. With the creation of social tools like blogs, wikis, social networks, and twitter, how do you know where to engage? How do you know what to build yourself? In these troubling economic times, how are you going to make money… or more specifically, how are you going to listen to your customers to learn how to make money?

The answer to these questions are a combination of the new (understanding the tools and ideas we now find at our disposal) and old (basic business strategy and improved customer experience). Even though the tools may be new, our approach to business need to remain focused on connecting between with customers and clients and turning those connections into activities that help deliver on business goals and objectives.

In this session, customer collaboration guru Jake McKee will help introduce you to the social tools and processes that will help you better engage with your customers. Jake’s insights, techniques, and best practices well help you understand not only the tactics themselves, but the way they map against your business objectives.

You will learn:

• Basics of the social tools available, such as blogs, social networks, and micro-blogging
• The three stages of customer listening and engagement
• Business goal alignment
• Examples of companies using social tools and tactics effectively
• Next steps for developing your engagement strategy

The DoubleTree Hotel Dallas
4099 Valley View Lane
Dallas, TX 75244
972-385-9000

www.dallasnearthegalleria.doubletree.com  

SXSW Survival: 2009 Edition

In advance of SXSW last year, I put together some survival tips for the SXSW event and I wanted to dust them off and polish them up for 2009. If it’s your first time at SXSW Interactive (or if you were too blitz to remember much last year), you might be be wondering how you can make the most of the event.

1. It’s casual, baby. Austin is one of the most laid back cities on Earth, and with it being a college town there’s not much need for the suit jacket. The event is pretty low key – upscale weekend wear. Don’t show up in your car wash shorts, but you’ll be fine in jeans and a t-shirt. Been dying to show off that new Threadless shirt? This is your opportunity. (And despite what you might have heard, not all of us Texans wear boots and cowboy hats, FYI.)

Oh, and wear comfortable shoes. Everything’s bigger in Texas, including the size of the convention center, and the distance to lunch. (See below about lunch)

Bonus tip: Watch the weather for Austin. This time of year in Texas has a wide range of climates, and you’ll want to pack right. This may well include bringing an umbrella.

2. “Plan” your sessions. The sheer number of sessions is insane. Seriously crazy. And they’re all going to be great. Take a look at the schedule before you get on the plane, and then once you’re there and have seen the building layout, make up a game plan for what you want to see. The really cool sessions can often fill up to standing room only capacity, so the quicker you get from session to session the better. That said, don’t over plan either.

Be prepared, but go with the flow. I’ve passed up seemingly cool panels to hang in the hall and talk to people who’ve ended up being long term friends.

Bonus Tip: Check out Roy’s SXSWi 2009 schedule!

3. Learn the building/room layout. Along those lines, there are so many session rooms, the event is naturally spread across the Convention Center. Last year, there was a whole wing that nobody knew how to find. When you get there, take a walk around, learn where all the SXSWi rooms are. You’ll more quickly and easily move from session to session. And hell, your superior knowledge may impress those around you who are struggling for direction…. a great wa to meet new people!

4. Introduce yourself! SXSWi, like the city that hosts it, is an incredibly welcoming event. Don’t think twice about sticking your hand out and saying “Hi, my name is ______”. I’ve always been amazed at how easy it is to meet people at this event. The great thing about the event is the guy sitting on the floor in the hall charging his laptop may be the founder of your favorite web app!

Don’t forget to bring tons of business cards and a pen. (I always write details on the back of the cards I collect so I can remember who the heck the person was, including descriptive physical traits)

I actually make a list of the people I know who will be attending that I want to meet. This helps me ensure that I don’t forget anyone I’m dying to connect with. It’s nerdy, but hey, I take my networking seriously! Besides, when are this many people I’m dying to meet in person going to be in the same location again?

Bonus tip: Don’t spend all your time between sessions checking email. Do something more productive with your time… you can check your mail at home, and you’re going to be behind when you get home anyway.

2009 Bonus tip: Stop twittering and start talking. No, I’m not suffering from “Get Off My Lawn Syndrome”, I just think that with so many great people and great sessions, it’s time to look up from the screen and rejoin the world, at least for a few minutes. There’s a good chance that many of your twitter followers will be at SXSWi, so no need to tease the rest of them who aren’t with info they’re likely not going to understand without context.

5. Get out from behind the camera. Keep in mind that hundreds of people will be uploading thousands of photos to flickr and other photo sharing sites in the days of and after SXSWi. Don’t spend all your time behind your camera lens when you are just going to be taking photos of the same thing 432 other people will be posting online too. Save your “behind the camera” time for shots that are truly unique, or that are must-haves for you.

Bonus tip: Be sure to tag your photos when you post them to flickr! Something descriptive will work: sxsw2009 should work fine.

2009 Bonus tip: Ask someone to take YOUR picture with YOUR camera. You’ll enjoying having pictures of yourself for later.

6. Food is off-site. Plan on heading off-site for lunch, since the Convention Center doesn’t have much in this department. (One of my biggest beefs with the event for years now) There’s a number of places close by. Here are some recommendations: Chowhound, Chow, SXSW Baby.

7. “Plan” your parties. A lot of great companies host a lot of great parties. (Here’s the official list, although there’s usually other that don’t get listed, so pay attention to the fliers on-site and what people are talking about) So many, in fact, that if you don’t think about which ones you’re going to, you’ll miss something great.

And of course, same thing goes as planning your panels – go with the flow. Have fun, don’t stress your plan too much. You plan so that you have the knowledge to be flexible.

8. Dump your bag. Part of planning your parties is figuring out how to get back to your hotel room to drop of your bag before heading to the parties. Nothing worse than having to drag your laptop around all night, hoping nobody spills beer on it.

9. SMS is your friend. In the few days I spend at SXSWi, I send more SMS messages than I probably spend the entire rest of the year. It’s how I check with friends to see how our current sessions compare. It’s how I tell my friends where I’m at and how to hook up for lunch. It’s how I coordinate party going. If you’re not a big SMS person, figure out how it works on your particular phone before you get to Austin.

2009 Bonus tip: Here’s where using Twitter might be fantastic. Especially since the parties last year were ALL packed like mad. Prepare to setup your own parties, and start building your twitter following now so you can quickly switch gears when the line for the party you’re trying to get into is 500 people and the building fits 135.

10. Bring cab money. This is something I always forget, then find myself looking for an ATM at 2a or walking many blocks back to my hotel. Austin isn’t a real “cab city”, but downtown there’s usually plenty. As part of the point above, I try to go to the furthest party from my hotel first, then party/bar hop towards the hotel, which often eliminates the need for a cab all together.

11. Stop by BarCamp Austin. Yes, SXSWi is fantastic, but so is BarCamp Austin. If you need time away from the SXSWi group, or just want to meet the folks at BarCamp, swing by.

SXSWi is a great event, so have fun! (It’s hard not to) Hope to see you there. Feel free to text me (214-566-5957) or drop me an email (jake AT communityguy DOT com). I’d love to meet you in person!

Need more tips? Check out the unofficial SXSW blog, or check out this collection of links from DailyIdea.tv. They’ve also put together a fun video that covers many of the same things I’ve outlined here.

SXSW Accelerator Finalists Announced

The SXSW Accelerator finalists have been announced, and I’m personally looking very forward to the event. There’s a great line-up of startups that you’re going to want to see. Here’s the list of finalists. And here’s some more info about the program:

The newest addition to the mix of activities in Austin is Microsoft BizSpark Accelerator at SXSW. Scheduled Monday, March 16 at the Downtown Austin Hilton, this event showcases some of the most innovative new products, services and online applications. The list of finalists in the four different categories (audio, innovative web, social technologies and video) is now posted on the Accelerator site — congrats to all these incredible companies, as well as the numerous other amazing companies who applied to be part of the event (but were not accepted). Also, we are excited to announce the two emcees for the 2009 event: Silicon Valley VC Guy Kawasaki as well as veteran tech journalist Brad King. Be at the Downtown Austin Hilton on Monday, March 16 to watch these two help uncover the best of the best!

(Disclosure: I am on the Accelerator Advisory Board)

Twestival cometh!

In a matter of a couple of weeks, a grand experiment has been conceived and prepared. Are you going to pitch in?

On Feb. 12, users of the micro-blogging service Twitter will gather in over one hundred cities around the world to share the love and raise money for charity:water, a not-for-profit bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. The event is 100% volunteer-run. The Dallas Twestival at Mockingbird Station will feature live music by local bands, food and drink, a raffle, WiFi, feeds from other global events, a free film at the Angelica Theater, a show at Hyena’s Comedy Club, and friendly, engaged Fort Worth and Dallasites united to “Tweet. Meet. Give.” 100% of proceeds go to charity:water. Purchase your tickets now for only $10! The Dallas/Fort Worth Twestival goal is to raise $4000, which is the cost of one well. Dallas/Fort Worth Twestival volunteers are looking for sponsors at the $500 or $1000 levels, or who can offer goods or services for donation – these will be part of a raffle or silent auction. Sponsors’ logos will be displayed at the event, on the Dallas Twestival website, and included in the live streaming web broadcast; they may also provide materials to be distributed at the event. The sponsorship package information is available online at http://dallas.twestival.com/dallas-twestival-sponsorship/.

Additional information may be found at http://twestival.com.