Apparently the lovely, talented, and very attractive people at SXSW have deemed my proposal worthy of inclusion in the SXSW 2011 Interactive Conference.
Wow.
Thanks to everyone who voted for me in the public Panel Picker, and those other 2/3 of the equation — the folks at SXSW.
If you can’t make it SXSW in March, there’s still time to register for ePatient 2010 where I’m co-presenting a pre-conference with my esteemed colleague Daniel Davidson. I can even offer you a discount to that (rtcrm300) which I can’t do for SXSW.
Social Health: Who Wants to “Like” Hemorrhoid Cream?
Social media is a powerful medium, and can really improve patient outcomes. It can also add some much needed life to marketing plans, and help brands build relationships with patients. With any luck this will be a win/win for patients and brands. Right now the entire Pharma world is busy figuring out how to jump into social media. The problem is very few people are thinking about whether or not someone really wants a relationship with their Rx. Imagine announcing to the world on Facebook that you “like” your prescription Rx cream. Really? You want to do that? Well, different strokes and all. In this session we’ll talk about how to chose the right social technologies to achieve the brand’s marketing goals. Part of that decision matrix is understanding people and how and why they use social technology. We’ll definitely talk about why Pharma should never say they want “viral” marketing. In a best case scenario, this will be a highly interactive presentation taking live suggestions and questions from the audience and discussing their unique situations. Tell me your product, we’ll talk about your audience, and we’ll discuss the appropriate use of social media technology for you.
Questions Answered:
Why segmentation data isn’t enough.
Why you need to understand why people use Facebook, not just that they do.
Do all pharma brands need to be on Facebook?
Would you follow a brand on Twitter? Why?
What the FDA really says about social media.
That’s my pitch! I think it will be fun and informative. So, hows about sending me to SXSW?
I’m enrolled in a master craftsmen program around color for embroidery design, one of my passions. And no, we’re not talking about embroidering kittens from someone else’s pattern onto a pillow case. It’s really fiber art, but when I say that — no one knows what I’m talking about. But back to the color theory class.
My first assignment is
“Color symbolism: An essay on color symbolism in various cultures and two stitched pieces demonstrating traditional and nontraditional color harmony.”
Color, a Natural History
I figured I’d start with the book: Color, A Natural History of the Palette. So far, it’s really, really interesting. Lots of great context on the social/historical/cultural implications of colors. Totally surprised by some of what I’m finding. Frankly, I’ve only read the first chapter and am completely stunned by how fascinating “ocher” is and how the color is found and created in natural settings.
The book ranges from the eminently practical to the ethereal and metaphysical. Here’s a couple of my favorite quotes so far. (I love having a Kindle — I don’t have to type these!)
The first challenge in writing about colors is that they don’t really exist. Or rather they do exist, but only because our minds create them as an interpretation of vibrations that are happening around us.
The best way I’ve found of understanding this is to think not so much of something “being” a color but of it “doing” a color.
But, in simple terms, coloring can be divided into two main causes: chemical and physical.
The sense that light is a manifestation of the glory of the sacred—that the numinous is held within the luminous—is common to almost every faith.
That last one was in respect to why a particular indiginous people chose a more shimmer shade of ochre that had a rich deposit of hematite in it, rather than a flatter one that was offered by outsiders. The cultural implications are really what I am finding most fascinating.
It has me thinking a lot about how we use color to communicate things we could never express verbally.
Every morning I read Fast Company, Mashable, and All Things D on my way to work. Not to worry, I take the train and the bus. I also read the blogs on my Kindle, so there can sometimes be a full day back of articles to catch up on. It occurred to me that I should post the more interesting things I come across. I also may switch over to Pulse or something that will cache the blogs on the iPad so I can draft these posts in transit. Of course, I still really prefer reading on the Kindle. I don’t know if I’ll manage this daily, but here’s a start.
Bansky - Let's just hide this, shall we? Photo used by CC permissions DanBrady
There’s an old maxim in advertising that you have to get them young. It’s why Coke new that soda machines in elementary schools were a good idea, at least as far as building loyal customers goes. There’s a cultural concept here too. If you can indoctrinate kids into a particular world-view, you have them for life. Even if they later reject that world-view, you still have it in their minds and they are still viewing the world through that lens — even if it’s a rejection.
Back in June, NPR ran an interview with the band Devo. It’s mildly hard to believe that an interview with a kitchy 80s band inspired a whirly-gig of thoughts, but it did. During the interview, the guys from Devo talk about why they not only allowed but encouraged their music to be used in advertising.
We always kind of liked that subversion of mixing fine art with commercial art. ~Devo
I have notes on several blog posts I want to write, but for some reason this one moved to the top of my list. There’s a good, wholesome reason for this — I assure you. On my way to work this morning, I considered browsing the blog options on my Kindle again. I finally gave in a few months back and began paying for a couple of blogs to be delivered to my Kindle. It’s actually very worth the pennies I’m paying. I had finished reading what I had and thought I’d see if there was anything else I felt like adding.
Then I remembered: Porn.
Apple has taken some criticism for banning porn from the App Store. I thought it was a pretty silly choice, too. Let’s be honest porn is the money behind a lot of early innovation, especially anything that involved home/private consumption of materials.
Real innovation requires real risks. The nice thing is you can manage risk. You can plan for risk. You can’t plan for all possible outcomes, but you can plan for risk. It’s an inherent part of innovation. How can you create something new, if you aren’t thinking of possible outcomes and how to learn from them?
Sometimes innovations seem to just happen naturally, but any innovation requires someone to risk trying something new — even if that thing seems like a “gimme.” Many people have ideas all the time, but very few actually speak them and more importantly take action to bring them to fruition. And, many people have ideas that are not innovations. To be an innovation it has to help something grow and move forward, not just be change for change’s sake.
I’ve decided to apply professional discipline to my own career and life now. I haven’t done a full risk matrix, but I have played out many possible scenarios. I’ve had a pretty interesting life and career so far. I started out as a professional Stage Manager and Prop Designer and then spent the next 10 (ish) years working my way around the Interactive world. I’ve designed sites, and even won a couple of awards. I’ve built sites – not something I’m really good at.
Most of the time, I’ve been on the marketing side – agency and client side. I’ve been part of the group that develops and executes interactive marketing strategy. I’ve worked on everything from media plans to content strategy to social media.
What I haven’t done is often expressly discuss the other things I’ve been doing. The thing is, I think it’s this “other” stuff that has made me really good at what I get paid for. The “other” stuff seemed like things you don’t talk about at work, and really did people need to know about it?
This may not seem like an important statement, until you factor in that my current job is Director of Interactive Strategy. You’d think being obsessed with the latest gadget and every new feature Google rolls out would be what I live for and it was. I had an epiphany on the bus this morning, though.
Quite simply — I’m bored with technology.
What excites me is people. Why do people do what they do? Why do some people favor Twitter over Facebook? Why do some people swear by their iPhones and others are perfectly happy with basic phone that makes phone calls. The iPad in itself is just not interesting. Okay, it’s kind of interesting — but the interesting part is how it may change the way people do things or understand something.
The Kindle (still one of my favorites), is interesting because it finally created a way that mainstream people began to accept digital books. The gadget is not what’s important. Even Amazon proves this point by providing Kindle Apps on allkindsofplatforms. This seems to baffle people. Why would Amazon create a Kindle App for the iPad when that may doom their gadget? Frankly, it’s because Amazon seems to get it’s not about gadgets. It’s about people reading. The Kindle provided an experience that was so similar to reading a print and ink book that it was comfortable. But, like the iPod, it allowed you to carry your entire library around with you and shop from anywhere. Even the much maligned design of the Kindle illustrates this ethos. It’s not about the gadget. The gadget should disappear when you read. It’s about the words on the page. Why is there a keyboard? Because people like to make notes in the margins of their books.
As a marketer, I don’t care about the technology. I care about the people I’m trying to reach. I care about how they use technology to communicate. I care about ways to create experiences, which technology makes a lot easier. I love articles like these from Mashable because they show ways we are using technology to rebuild community experiences that time, distant, a crappy economy and a ridiculous lack of work/life balance have begun to remove from many of our lives. These are things marketers should be looking for, especially pharma marketers. What do people already do?How can we help with that? Another great example is from the world of law enforcement (again via Mashable). This is not about cops thinking, “we should be using Facebook.” They saw that technology offered new ways, possibly more efficiently, to do things they already needed to do.
I’m bored with technology unless we’re talking about what you could do with it, what you do with it, and why you do it.
This video is well worth the watch. If you are a digital strategist, you will be cheering. If you are new to social media in your marketing mix, it may change your life.
Recently I had the honor of presenting at the inaugural ePatient 2009 conference. I have to say it was one of the best conferences I’ve been to in or out of Pharma. I was part of the “Pecha Kucha” session, so my deck is 20 slides and 20 seconds a slide, per the proscribed format.
I’m posting with my script so it makes some kind of sense. Thanks to Melissa Love, a talented RTCRM Art Director for the fabulous mood boards.
Everything is connected if you can see what's not being said, what's missing, and read between the lines. Understanding those connections not only makes us people, but better marketers. In the end, it's all about understanding how what you are doing is relevant to someone else.
My job is to understand those connections and be able to help you to not only be able to see them, but also use tthose connections to improve the world around you. Sometimes it's just why someone would care about your product. Sometimes its understanding how services like Twitter are help return a lost sense of community.
This site has been through many iterations since I first launched it in the Summer of 2000. Every iteration since 2001 is actually captured in the Internet Archive.
I figured I’d start with the book: 
— I don’t have to type these!)
when that may doom their gadget? Frankly, it’s because Amazon seems to get it’s not about gadgets. It’s about people reading. The Kindle provided an experience that was so similar to reading a print and ink book that it was comfortable. But, like the iPod, it allowed you to carry your entire library around with you and shop from anywhere. Even the much 
