Mom2Summit Panel Video: It’s the end of Marketing as we know it. And we feel fine.

Well it took me half a week, but here is the full video of our panel from the Mom2Summit last weekend. The title was “It’s the end of marketing as we know it. And we feel fine.” First the full video.

Panel: It’s the end of Marketing as we know it. And we feel fine. from Ed Schipul on Vimeo.

Lessons learned about video: Given this was my first real attempt at video, I learned a few things. Like you can’t work with MOV files on a PC with Movie Maker. Macs have iMovie, which rocks. And iMovie compresses video into mv4 files which is cool with youtube. Limiters: Youtube limits video length to 10 minutes. Facebook limits video length to 20 minutes. Google video allowed longer videos but they are shutting it down. The ONLY product that worked was Vimeo for a 32:56 video. In short, vimeo ROCKS!

A direct link to “It’s the end of marketing as we know it. And we feel fine“

It’s the end of Marketing as we know it. And we feel fine.

I had the privilege of moderating the panel “It’s the end of Marketing as we know it. And we feel fine.” at the Mom2Summit this weekend in Houston. With the help of Katie we coordinated a panel with these three talented bloggers:

1. Kirsten Chase (Motherhood Uncensored, Cool Mom Picks)
2. Jordan Ferney (Oh Happy Day)
3. Jenny Lawson (The Bloggess, Good Mom, Bad Mom)

In the planning phase it occurred to me that panel introductions are typically a bit boring. This led to “instead of introductions we could do ____” type thinking and conversations with HK. Various ideas such as non-existent peacock sightings (don’t ask) and bullhorns were ruled out.

Somewhere along the way Rachel suggested we do “interpretive readings” which led to a quick call to a friend from AAF at the Pastorini Bosby talent agency in Houston. They provided three amazing options and we would up selecting the brilliant actor David George. And David rocked the house!

Update: Here is the panel followed by the introductions:

Panel: It’s the end of Marketing as we know it. And we feel fine. from Ed Schipul on Vimeo.

Without further adieu. Here are the three blogger introductions for my panel at Mom2summit! (And a huge shout out to Katie Laird for all of her help putting the panel together!)

A dramatic reading of Kirsten Chase‘s blog post V is for Vasectomy.

A William Shakespeare Shatner tribute to the beauty of Jordan Ferney‘s blog Oh Happy Day.

Oh my, where do you start with The Bloggess? Well, we chose to go back all the way to Jesus.

Thanks to our organizers and the sponsors of Mom2Summit for bringing this great conversation to Houston! I also know from working with her that Maggie put in a ton of time on the summit so thanks Maggie!

PS – MistyKhan has a great recap of day 1 from the conference here. And be sure to check out the mom2summit photos on flickr!

PPS – Huge THANKS to Monica and Laura and Carrie for trusting me to run a panel. What were you thinking? Heh.

Internet Famous – Cases in Point

The ability to express yourself through social media is not new. And to fight to become Internet famous.

And Gwen Bell asks some great questions on the topic of Internet Famous at what price?. All of which reminded me of this.

“The role of prizefighters, surgeons, violinists, and policemen are cases in point. These activities allow for so much dramatic self-expression that exemplary practitioners – whether real or fictional – become famous and are given a special place in the commercially organized fantasies of the nation.”

- Irving Goffman, The Presentation of Self, Pg 31

The Tricksters of Social Media; Fakesters vs Avasters

“So much seems possible at the beginning of a trip, so many  things seem brimmed with meaning.” pg 5

“…trickster is a boundary-crosser. Every group has its edge, its sense of in and out, and trickster is always there, at the gates of the city and the gates of life, making sure there is commerce.” Trickster, pg 7

Reading about fakesters led me to this post on fake twitter accounts varying from Fake Steve Jobs to Fake Seth Godin to my favorite, Chuck Norris. Chuck throws down the tracks like

“When google has a question, they “norris” it.“

And some fakester parodies are richly deserved like rahodeb of Whole Foods (In)Fame(ity).

Motivations for fakester accounts based on famous people might include a desire for attention, satire, performance art, hatred of what a person represents, desire to be in on a “secret”, or admission into a Goffmanesque “back room” to blatant monetary goals. But there is a motivation of some kind that piggy-backs on top of someone else’s fame.  Every invention of a new namespace opens up opportunities for these reputation barnacles.

But there is a different type of “fake account” in the form of a completely made up person or object. A persona. And this type of fakester account is lumped in with the impersonators, and this is a mistake. I submit they are entirely different.

In disparaging terms, these are called “sock puppets.” Wikipedia clarifies

“The key difference between a sock puppet and a regular pseudonym (sometimes termed an “alt” which is short for alternate, as in alternate identity) is the pretense that the puppet is a third party who is not affiliated with the puppeteer.”

My problem with the “sock puppet” term is that the pejorative nature overrides the trickster legitimacy and social commentary conveyed. Hence I suggest a new term for those that have passed a social acceptance threshold within the community. For lack of a better word I’ll call these characters Avasters.

Avasters – an character created by a person or persons that is not based on a specific person living or dead. An invented character that acts and behaves with a unique personality. And earns the right to be considered a “person” within the community.

(more…)

Enabling Conversation through Blog Bars

An Interesting post over at TrendCentral on "Blog Bars". Banks of computers set up conveniently so if someone wants to talk about your brand, they can easily do so immediately. From the site:

Blogging on location

As a way to create a more engaging, interactive and creative way for consumers to experience brands, stores and events, expect to see more “blog bars” (computer terminals which give the public the ability to post in real time and on location) to pop up in such settings. Consumers will have the opportunity to post fresh thoughts and reactions, pose questions, and receive immediate response.

This isn’t so different from the online concept of "badging" – having handy HTML that a blogger can copy to make it easier for them to talk about you. And it is a great idea.

Gene McCubbin is blogging (no really)

Gene, who I know both professionally and personally and mostly as a sometimes competitor, is blogging. There have been fits and starts before, but this looks legit. Welcome Gene!