One day before next TEDxLausanne opens its doors and one day after my birthday, I’d like to share this inspiring talk of Steve Bridge from last year’s conference, one that could inspire you every day of the year:
“Dress for a party every day and the party will come to you”
So, I’ll be dressed for a party for the theme: “What if we do(n’t)? “
photo of Johnny Hallyday taken from the instagram account of Laetitia Hallyday for the 24 heures (swiss magazine)
Many industries are being deeply impacted and revolutionized by social networks.
One of them will surely be the news industry living of “scoops” and stolen images.
As an illustration of this, have a look at he way Johnny Hallyday, one of the biggest French “stars”, with thousands of fans and certainly one of the most sought after by paparazzi, and her wife Laetita are communicating via Instagram (see Laetitia’s Instagram account..)
It is simply a genious “coup” of communication. Why?
They give the fans a direct connection with their idol, they offer them pieces of intimacy, fans have a direct interaction, they can “talk” directly to the star, and they are rewarded by being directly adressed to, even thanked, given love. By seing Johnny communicating “intimately” (it’s a public account, so the notion of intimacy is relative) with his wife, people can dive directly into the couple’s privacy, a bit of what they are looking for with magazines like “Closer”, etc..
In this way, the couple takes back the control of their communication.
Recently, when rumors said that Johnny had to interrupt his holidays for health problems, people turned to Instagram to get news… but newspapers, too, as witnesses the above picture of a swiss magazine, showing the Instagram pictures of Laetitia’s account. Interesting to see that even the print media turns to social networks to find pictures, convokating a higher emotional power.
As an answer to the general anxiety and the thousands of love message received on their Instagram accounts, Laetitia answered with this picture, thanking everybody and giving love:
On her feed, you can see pictures of her husband, of their daughters, their friends (many of whom are very famous), their holidays, many backstage photos.
It’s free, it’s original, it’s intimate, it’s true!
Conclusion: Will magazines have to buy pictures directly from the people they want to feature?
Are the stars becoming the new paparazzi?
In my previous post, I was asking “What can the Future do for you/me”?, taking upon my own #lift11‘s title. Obviously, you don’t get – nor give – answers to such a question in a few words but you can get tracks of reflexions, and that’s one of the reasons #lift is so much appreciated. The following article gives you a deep understanding and good highlights of this year’s conference: Reflections on LIFT Conference 2011.
After the conference, Lift launched kind of a reverse project, called “What can you do for the future”? (I don’t find the link). And, oddly, it’s the speaker of another conference, that gave me a clue to this question, by making a wish: “Use art to turn the world inside out”.
And creating insideoutproject .
Grab a cup of coffee, lean back and take the time to watch this video (images are very important). Maybe will it whisper to you an idea, the small idea creeping in the back of your head, waiting for the right moment to light up. It acted that way on me. I already see which face will be on the picture. A picture with a voice, wanting to tell his whole story to his sons, daughters, grand-children, and to the world. Because his memories override History’s. And his face will be worth hundreds of words.
As every year before the Lift Conference‘s kick off, I have a look back and a look forward, in order to assess where I hope and want Lift to lead me to.
Looking back from now on, I see lots of – personal – progress, human connections and new horizons made possible, as already largely evoked.
But at the same time, tools like Twitter and Facebook have become mainstream and play now a role of “talents discoverer”, trends detectors. You know the latest hype – product, platform, application, etc.., the latest success stories, case stories, and all other industry experts and reports. With good sources, you really are ahead of the wave. My favourite, as you surely already know, is Paper.li, a good curation tool. You can call yourself ” a trend watcher”, “trendhunter” or whatever trendexpert, following the maturing wave of “digital experts”.
In this context, answering to the question “What can the future do for you”, as promises the #lift11 theme is highly challenging. How to deliver a message different from what you can already find in your timeline? How to deliver added-value?
I see tracks of answers in the speakers, of course: not all of them are “mainstream” and they surely have specific angles for their presentations and outstanding qualities. Other tracks of possibilities could lie in the quantitiy and quality of “lifters” (yes, it has become an official term :-)), in the interactions arising during the workshops, in the Lift experience and other networking spaces, like the fondue.
In this context, what I expect from this promising Lift’s edition is: getting back in touch with people met at Lift, some becoming friends :-), catching up with them, getting true insights into future issues and opportunities – especially linked to marketing/social media/business model – being inspired, be it by people, Lift experience, speaches. I also set objectives for Sosoftware, having a couple of interesting meetings scheduled. I really hope to get means to cut down into the noise of some digital platforms and get true value.
Side considerations: some of friends met at Lift will be missing. I’ll regret them (you know who you are!).
I also have a special thought for a person met during my very first Lift, more precisely during the workshop where I opened this blog, with Stephanie Booth. That person was among the participants, we talked a bit and kept contact over the years. He very sadly passed away a couple of days ago, he was my age, I have a special thought for him, I know he was very respected.
Last but not least: I am looking forward to listening to @BrianSolis live tomorrow morning at a special presentation organized by Label.
I’m lifted! Follow me on Twitter with my brand new #lift11 avatar made by @nicktalop
As we’ve seen it in the past couple of years, the acceleration of technological innovations has been impacting many sectors, marketing included. Some disciplines like communication, PR, marketing, customer service have partially blended, technology contributing to “dis-cluster” them, bringing along in the same time new challenges.
As stated in this excellent article, “Social technology is permeating everything in our lives. It seems that every medium of media has integrated social into the message. The Facebook craze has pulled over 500 million people into use of social technology for multiple purposes. Humanity is experiencing connectivity to the human network like never before in history.
The influence of technology on humanity is affecting all market sectors whether private or public, on-line and off line. The intersection of technology and the human network is disrupting old business models, organizational theories and beliefs systems founded in old knowledge. ”
In this disruption context, question is: How to bridge the gap? How to leverage those (r)evolutions to empower your organization’s global efficiency?
It has become essential to understand new technologies, how they can augment your marketing’s objectives, impact your business results.
New kinds of jobs are emerging: community manager, chief marketing technologist, digital strategist, etc, that all have in common to mix combined skills in technology and communication, marketing.
Paradoxically, the more fragmented the world becomes, the more “convergent tracks” we’ll see, with an emphasis on the convergence of: mobile (highly fragmented)-social-local.
Here are some of the -new- challenges marketers are facing:
And, at the converging point between marketing and technology, connections and emotions, the lattest being the central linchpin to valuable connections.
That’s why you see those 2 signs on the image: <3 is the symbol of love in the digital media and the other one, on the right, is the symbol of sharing/connecting (via 2.0 technologies).
It is my personal way of wishing you all a happy 2011, under the sign of love and connections, all real, no matter the media!
If you’re interested in decryptering the discussed trends, you can focus on these 2 information sources:
Adage Digital
The Marketing & Innovation Daily
And for the upcoming months:
10 digital predictions for 2011
Top 10 Stories on AdAge.com in 2010
Social Media in 2011: Six Choices You Need to Make
PS: social media is implicitely included in the article, as being one of the most disrupting trends, mix of platforms, technologies, participation, interaction, crowdsourcing potential, etc, etc…
PS2: Focus. It’s getting more and more noisy out there.
PS3: Follow your own track
Image courtesy of a dear friend, Jacques-Antoine Besnard, quadruple airship world champion who’s leading the engine on the image. Official site of the last world championship. His official Fan Page (not regularly updated). A model of a focused mind. Merci Jacot :-)
Icons taken from The NounProject
See this great image? It’s the work of @MAMK, a brillant -human- mind met during last Lift Conference, on which he mixes many elements not necesserally linked at the beginning.
It’s a story of addition, in addition of being a story of connections and people.
When I think of the 3 coming days, I stumble upon some random thoughts:
– How many iPads will there be among the roughly 1000 participants? (I want to see and touch one !) Remembering back to 2007’s conference, not everybody had a laptop! (me included)
– Will there be a “check-ins” war at the CICG? ?
– Connected people: some people met at Lift have become friends.
– Connected people: 3 years ago, I was looking around during “networking” breaks, wondering how the hell you “do network”?? Today, I fear not to meet all the people I am looking forward to seeing- again, or for the first time.
– connected people: a twitter list to help connecting people before and during the event
– Connected people: a question: what will change after these 3 intensely rich days? It is (a Lift Conference), every time a unique occasion of intense questioning. New ideas blossom. New vision takes shape.
– what would look like the addition of all the content produced during 3 days? What could it lead to?
– emotion-connection
But first, place to … the people! And to the inspiring program.
This – beautiful – image embodies to me the Lift experience, taken in its broader meaning.
It was taken at Lift Marseilles, here’s the breathtaking slideshow by centralasian, whom I borrowed the image to. It was part of the “Atelier des Ondes Parallèles“, by Etienne Rey.
It is beautiful.
At Lift, beauty is omnipresent. Like in front of this image, you feel inspired, beauty opens out all of your censors, you are more receptive, open.
Lights shed on things make emerge unsuspected shapes, colors. You start seing things differently, under unusual angles.
A connection can be made through intellectual analysis as well as through emotional or human interaction.
Like this suspension, it is moving and you move along, you follow a movement, without knowing precisely where this will lead you to.
Under its light, the prism of colors will overlay over your skin, like a superficial metamorphosis, but, once back to normal daylight, its effects will dive deep into your roots. The roots of a slight transformation.
The link between beauty and connection is one convergent track I strongly believe in. And transformation takes birth at a converging point between beauty and connections, where sharing could be seen as one of the underlying links.
All the heart of the theme: Connected People.
Being more and more connected, not always only with positive aspects, I am very curious and open to what will come up during these 3 days.
For my 5th Lift Conference, I’m ready for letting the transformation go one step further.
And you? Will you be at #lift10? what are your main expectations? Hopes?
The trend started a couple of years ago, when a woman would’ve got an iPod for her birthday.
Not an expensive jewel.
Not a precious garment.
(not a hoover)
No.
Something that she’d call “technology”. But was like a jewel: beauty, design, emotion.
It’s been a turning point.
At this time, I don’t know about any revolutionary impact of the iPad on society, uses, business models or whatever. But I have the feeling that women will like it.
Particularly because men seem to think that their wife will like it! (follow link to see the search on Twitter for “my wife ipad”!). Isn’t it a sign of times changing?
I liked this Tweet in particular:
Inspired by this one, too (French):
Are we witnessing a slight social shift? A breath of freedom for women?
[The hoover is over! ]
convergenttracks.com 