Crayon, join the conversation

Imagine you work for a small digital shop (one among hundreds, no doubt) and you want to attract attention and demonstrate that you've got the social media chops to stand apart from the pack. What would you do? Roll out the obligatory social media tactics -- like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, find us on Foursquare? Put a couple of "we get social too" pages in your creds deck and slap a "share this" icon into the footer of your agency site?

Or pile your team into a Ford Flex and drive 'em around the United States to meet with some of the most creative and interesting people in media, marketing, business and technology?

If your answer sounded more like the former, then you're probably -- well -- you (and that's OK; there's nothing wrong with being you). But if your answer sounded more like the latter, then you're probably Darryl Ohrt.

Darryl is founder of the Connecticut-based interactive agency Humongo (formerly Plaid, recently renamed following its acquisition by Source Marketing), and for four summers-running has been taking his show on the road -- literally -- for Humongo Nation: a rolling real-world demonstration of social media in action. When so many agencies are talking (and only talking) big about social, Humongo has taken a decidedly different approach by putting their media where their mouths are. With just one small idea that any agency might have come up with (but didn't), they have created a proof-is-in-the-pudding showcase of the current batch of social media technologies, a demonstration of their own chops at putting the tools to work in compelling and relevant ways, and a non-traditional forum for earning the attention of not only raving geek Humongo fans (yes, they're out there and they've got the t-shirts to prove it) but also innovative companies that might be interested in securing the services of a shop like Humongo.

This year's Humongo Nation kicks-off on July 19th and takes the team on a 10-day trip down the east coast, from Maine to Miami. Along the way, they'll be hanging out with cool people and visiting with companies as diverse as Wingate by Wyndham, Paul Deen Enterprises, NASCAR and the Miami Heat. As in past years, the whole thing will be streamed live from a pair of in-car video cameras, live tweeted and blogged. New for this year, you can also track the tour's progress as the crew checks in on Foursquare along the way.

So be sure to tune into the Humongo Nation dashboard starting on the 19th to live variously through the wonder of the interwebz. But most of all -- and this is the personal plea part -- I hope you'll make super-sure to tune in at noon on July 21st when I'll be meeting up with the Humongo team when they visit New York City.

We'll be hanging out at the Doughnut Plant (doughnuts for lunch? it's only fitting if you've eaten your Brand Flakes for Breakfast) and talking about microMARKETING and whatever else strikes our fancy. In fact, if you're planning to be in NYC on the 21st feel free to swing by the Doughnut Plant, grab a glazed, and say hey.

In the meantime, for more details on what Humongo Nation is all about, check out the pre-tour trailer (if you're reading this in the feed or on email, you may need to click through to the post to watch the video.)

Humongo Nation pre-tour video 2010 from Humongo Nation on Vimeo.

Disclosures: I've been on the Plaid/Humongo blogger outreach list for several years, which means Darryl and team have outfitted me with a few free t-shirts (including one my fiancee keeps "losing" because she finds the bright orange color a bit too over-the-top), lapel pins and air fresheners. Also, the consultancy formerly known as crayon worked with the agency formerly known as Plaid on some programs for the video chat service still known as ooVoo. Also also, in a past life I worked with a couple of Source Marketing's key executives but that's neither here nor there (but hello to Rich and Mark, regardless).

Imagine you work for a small digital shop (one among hundreds, no doubt) and you want to attract attention and demonstrate that you've got the social media chops to stand apart from the pack. What would you do? Roll out the obligatory social media tactics -- like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, find us on Foursquare? Put a couple of "we get social too" pages in your creds deck and slap a "share this" icon into the footer of your agency site?

Or pile your team into a Ford Flex and drive 'em around the United States to meet with some of the most creative and interesting people in media, marketing, business and technology?

If your answer sounded more like the former, then you're probably -- well -- you (and that's OK; there's nothing wrong with being you). But if your answer sounded more like the latter, then you're probably Darryl Ohrt.

Darryl is founder of the Connecticut-based interactive agency Humongo (formerly Plaid, recently renamed following its acquisition by Source Marketing), and for four summers-running has been taking his show on the road -- literally -- for Humongo Nation: a rolling real-world demonstration of social media in action. When so many agencies are talking (and only talking) big about social, Humongo has taken a decidedly different approach by putting their media where their mouths are. With just one small idea that any agency might have come up with (but didn't), they have created a proof-is-in-the-pudding showcase of the current batch of social media technologies, a demonstration of their own chops at putting the tools to work in compelling and relevant ways, and a non-traditional forum for earning the attention of not only raving geek Humongo fans (yes, they're out there and they've got the t-shirts to prove it) but also innovative companies that might be interested in securing the services of a shop like Humongo.

This year's Humongo Nation kicks-off on July 19th and takes the team on a 10-day trip down the east coast, from Maine to Miami. Along the way, they'll be hanging out with cool people and visiting with companies as diverse as Wingate by Wyndham, Paul Deen Enterprises, NASCAR and the Miami Heat. As in past years, the whole thing will be streamed live from a pair of in-car video cameras, live tweeted and blogged. New for this year, you can also track the tour's progress as the crew checks in on Foursquare along the way.

So be sure to tune into the Humongo Nation dashboard starting on the 19th to live variously through the wonder of the interwebz. But most of all -- and this is the personal plea part -- I hope you'll make super-sure to tune in at noon on July 21st when I'll be meeting up with the Humongo team when they visit New York City.

We'll be hanging out at the Doughnut Plant (doughnuts for lunch? it's only fitting if you've eaten your Brand Flakes for Breakfast) and talking about microMARKETING and whatever else strikes our fancy. In fact, if you're planning to be in NYC on the 21st feel free to swing by the Doughnut Plant, grab a glazed, and say hey.

In the meantime, for more details on what Humongo Nation is all about, check out the pre-tour trailer (if you're reading this in the feed or on email, you may need to click through to the post to watch the video.)

Humongo Nation pre-tour video 2010 from Humongo Nation on Vimeo.

Disclosures: I've been on the Plaid/Humongo blogger outreach list for several years, which means Darryl and team have outfitted me with a few free t-shirts (including one my fiancee keeps "losing" because she finds the bright orange color a bit too over-the-top), lapel pins and air fresheners. Also, the consultancy formerly known as crayon worked with the agency formerly known as Plaid on some programs for the video chat service still known as ooVoo. Also also, in a past life I worked with a couple of Source Marketing's key executives but that's neither here nor there (but hello to Rich and Mark, regardless).

Confession: I've never bought or sold a used car. Sure, I've traded in a car or two at a local dealership but
I've never had the time, patience or inclination to deal with auto listings (online or offline) as a seller or a buyer. But I know plenty of people have and I'm always interested in the ways companies empower people to do old things in better new ways by offering tools and technologies that improve on traditional means, especially in simple ways.

The folks at used car bible Kelley Blue Book - the gold, umm I mean blue, standard for what that old clunker is really worth - have come up with a way to tap into social and mobile to make it easier for regular people to sell their used cars without coming across like (well) used car dealers. Their new Seller's Toolkit provides sellers with a set of easy-to-use tools that make it simple for anyone looking to unload a car to advertise their vehicle across the social web -- from Craig's List to Facebook to Twitter to their own blogs -- and any interested in learning more to get real-time value info with a click or a call.

Social media is pervasive and I don't know many people who don't carry mobile phones complete with data plans and (increasingly) the ability to run apps.With Seller's Toolkit it seems KBB understands that its better for everyone -- the buyer, the seller and KBB itself -- if regular people had the tools to sell cars like the pros.

So what exactly is it and what does it let you do?

First, if you're gonna sell a car you're gonna need a window sticker. KBB let's you create a printable page to tack up in your car but (this is the cool part) it includes instructions and the mechanisms to let interested buyers get the current KBB value (something KBB calls LiveValue) with your mobile via text, voice or QR code. It's a nice modern take on the FOR SALE sign.

 

The kit also lets you build out a "digital window sticker" for your blog, site or social network profiles -- essentially a nice widget that allows one-click sharing across your online presences. If you've uploaded images for your listing, those images are presented dynamically so they're always the latest greatest shots of your car. And of course the KBB value is always current too via LiveValue.

 

Next, since so many of us use Facebook as a primary social network, the tool lets sellers quickly and easily turn their listing into a custom tab that they can add to their profile to let all their friends know that their love mobile is available for purchase. Personally, I've seen friends posting 'car for sale' and even 'house for sale' notices to their walls - this take that to the next level and provides potential buyers with a nice, clean tab that offers all the necessary info.

 

And finally, the KBB Seller's Toolkit even takes care of the tiny details like automatically generating Twitter and status update-friendly bit,ly shortened URLs that link buyers directly to Kelley Blue Book pricing reports for the appropriate make, model and year.

You can learn more or try it out for yourself at Kelley Blue Book. But obviously, I'm not an automotive blogger so I'm not here to sell you on the tool itself. Instead, think about why something like this makes so much sense -- it is consistent with KBB"s brand, modernizes their value proposition by taking advantage of common social and mobile technologies, and keeps the interests of its core consumers (both buyers and sellers) squarely in its sites. It's not gimmicky or flashy; instead it answers some simple business questions:

• How can we add more value in what we already do well?
• How can we make customers' lives easier?
• Is there a way technology and tools can empower both our company and our customers to do more, get more and transact more easily (and on their own terms)?

 This is just flat-out smart and cool.

The Institute for the Future teamed up with Sun Microsytems and Boing Boing to host The Digital Open, a tech expo for teens under the age of 17. Last week they announced a series of winning projects, one of which caught my eye -- not because it made use of amazing, forward-looking technology, but because it ostensibly uses no technology at all...

Actually, that's not quite true. Let me explain.

The project, developed by a 17-year-old girl named Alexis McAdams, is called "DiorActive" and essentially takes the big world  issues -- political, social, cultural, economic, environmental, etc -- that we all hear about (in the abstract) through the constant barrage of information available at our fingertips every day and brings them to life in a tactical, experiential way at a human scale. How? By portraying them live in the real, physical world, reenactment style or interactive diorama style.

You can learn more about the project and its inspiration in Alexis's own words  (video):

So of course technology plays a role -- the real world experiences are informed by all of the online and media information available to DiorActive "builders" as they research the issues they'll bring to life. But the idea of using technology simply as a conduit to bridge a world-scale issue that we hear about to a human-scale physical experience that hammers the issue home in a meaningful, personal way is brilliant. And I think that it also speaks to an interesting blur between the digital, virtual and physical and provides a firm reminder that even for a generation that was "born digital," real world connections matter most of all.

As marketers, we intuitively (if not through hard and fast data) understand that online activities ranging from traditional digital advertising to web-based research and social media word-of-mouth translate into real world behaviors. As social computing evolves and becomes increasingly mobile -- and increasingly blurs the distinction between online connections and real world friendships -- the distinction between the digital and physical worlds will become less, well, distinct. And as we geek out over shiny objects that tap technology to enhance the physical world, it's good to remember that it flows the other way too -- that real world experiences can, do and will absolutely serve to enhance the digital (think about even the humble tweetup...)

I love the way Alexis's DiorActive project reminds old people like me, "hey, while you guys talk about where this might all be going, some of us are already there..."

I'd love to hear your thoughts. What do you think?

The days, nights and weekends have been super-busy for those of us working at crayon -- just one of several reasons you've seen fewer scintillating blog posts than you've come to expect 'round these parts. So in this post, I'll kill two birds with one stone and tell you about a cool new program we just launched for Panasonic that we've dubbed LiHD Insider.

But first a little background...

I've written before about our work on Panasonic's Living in HD community and some of the ways we've involved social media influencers in the program. If there are common threads running through the work we've done with Panasonic they are as follows:

1. Demonstration Beats Communication Every Time: Put products directly into the hands of real families as a means of demonstrating just how much impact new Panasonic HD technologies can have on how real people spend their time and make memories, but also to gain better insights into what consumers want and how they use consumer electronics in their everyday lives.
2. A Brand Can Serve as a Catalyst to Bring Together Likeminded People: This is what the LiHD community is all about -- connecting people to people around a passion point and giving them access to information, inspiration and ideas to fuel that passion.
3. A Program that is Inherently Social Should Engage Consumers Directly Through Social Marketing: Whether you're a member of the Living in HD community or not, you can also find LiHD, its people and its content throughout the social web in places like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Blogger outreach and influencer/enthusiast engagement have been standard operating procedure since we started working with Panasonic way back in early 2008.

And so these three threads tie together in our latest promotion: a contest to find the next LiHD Insider.

Who and what is an LiHD Insider, you ask? An LiHD Insider is a content creator and social media maven -- someone who blogs, vlogs or podcasts and loves to connect with interesting people online -- who'd like a chance to get a full suite of Panasonic HD gear and a peek at the newest coolest products before they're available to the general public. You'll also get a Lumix G1 (I love my G1) to give away to one member of your own audience so he or she can get a taste of the HD life too. Nice...

If you fit the bill (and I'm sure some of you do), you can visit LiHD to get all the details and enter the contest -- but why not take a few moments to hear all about it straight from the horse's mouth.  Or at least straight from the mouth of a guy standing in front of a huge photo of a horse: one of our current LiHD Insiders, the popular video blogger Steve Garfield.

[Click through for the video if you can't see it in your email or feed reader.]

So LiHD Insider isn't just a great way to find out what it's like to live in HD; it's also your chance to take your content creation to the next level. Sound cool?  Then you should enter to win -- it's easy to do, but you'll need to get your application in before October 6th.

While mobile still has a long way to go before it becomes a key channel for most marketers, it would be foolish not to keep an eye on new developments in mobility.

Although I don't write many posts about mobile on this blog, in the past couple of weeks on Verdino Bytes I blogged about two separate and very different mobile implementations.  Looking back at those posts now, I think they are even more interesting when viewed in tandem than they were individually. So I thought I'd take a second look at both technologies and provide some additional context.

On July 8th, I wrote about the incorporation of 2D barcode technology into this year's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Black-and-white visual codes developed by a company called Jagtag appear alongside one of the photo spreads. Readers can use just about any camera-phone to shoot and send an image of the barcode to receive an MMS message containing a set of additional mobile-friendly model photos. Super simple in its execution, this implementation offers consumers, publishers and advertisers a practical way to extend old world media (in this case a magazine, but it would work equally well with newspapers and out-of-home) into the mobile channel via exclusive content and supplemental information.

The following day, I happened across a company called TAT and posted a video demo of their Augmented ID offering. Augmented ID is a super-practical spin on shiny new augmented reality technology that, via your mobile phone's camera, "visualizes the digital identities of the people you meet in real life."  Let's say you're a social media geek who writes a blog and networks on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.  You step away from your computer to attend a conference or tweetup where you meet lots of new people face-to-face. With Augmented ID, you point your camera-phone at one of your fellow attendees and, through the viewfinder, see his live image enhanced with a series of floating, interactive icons representing his online social media profiles. In the grand scheme, this blurs the increasingly narrow line between online and offline identities, and online and offline social networking. In the less-than-grand scheme, it allows us to avoid stick-on name tags and nerdy small talk like, "So, are you on Twitter?" 

See it in action (feed and email readers click through to the blog for the embedded video):

So now, I'll tell you why I find these two technologies interesting although, of course, I already tipped my hand in the title of the post.  The first offers an enhanced traditional media experience to the mobile device. The second extends the social media experience into the real world by way of the mobile device. 

I'm not going to pretend I have any clue about where this might be headed, but I'm intrigued by the notion of mobile as the glue that binds together our online and offline experiences.

Would love to hear your thoughts.