Frukt sessions 001: The Meaning of Value in a free World
Today I’m attending the very first FRUKT Sessions 001. Don’t know who FRUKT is? Back at the start of the year I saw them at Iris’ Under The Influence event. They’re a music and strategy agency working with some really exciting brands and projects.
Today’s event brings together thought leaders who’ve played a part in shaping ‘Generation Free’ and how it impacts on business. Anthony Ackenhoff (FRUKT) will be kicking things off and my former client at Shiny Red Steve Purdham (We7) will be joining in on a panel later.
The most important question they’ll be trying to answer today is:
How do you connect with an audience whose most precious commodity is their own attention?
I’ll take some notes and post back here.
The Cool Curve
[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=19411479855870500&hl=en]
I’ve been a bit of a dweeb this year reading books about Lifestyle (like Tim Ferriss’ 4 Hour Work Week), Business (like The Beermat Entrepreneur), and Design (like John Maeda’s The Laws of Simplicity).
Now I’ve found a concept which plays to my need to obsess on theories *AND* teaches me about my inability to be even remotely cool – The Cool Curve.
The Cool Curve is a presentation honed at Tuttle, introduced to me by one of my favourite web people (sizemore), and created by Creative Coffee Club guru Toby Moore AKA sleepydog.
Enjoy.
Bring back 2001: Google makes their oldest index available
Ah, 2001. The first year of the 21st century [Wikipedia]. George W. Bush was sworn in as President, buying “vintage“ became fashionable, and I moved from Wellington N.Z. to a little old place called London Town.
This was long before I was doing stuff with the internet of course. But now I can experience the 2001 internet all over again because ruggerblogger sent me the link to Google’s oldest available index which they’ve brought back in honour of their 10th Birthday.
See what my 2001 Darika namesakes were up to on the world wide web:
14th October 2008: Half-an-hour day
Half-an-hour day for Growing Ambitions
A little while back I wrote about some of the interesting companies I’d met via Media Trust. One of the organisations I met was Growing Ambitions who are currently organising ”half-an-hour” day on the 14th October.
On this day individuals and businesses are being encouraged to sign up to give one half hour of their time in the next 12 months to help young people near them make more informed career choices.
Go on, it’s only half an hour out of your life to do something nice for today’s ‘yoof’.
The iPlatform will change online communities
[vodpod id=Groupvideo.1575250&w=425&h=350&fv=clip_id%3D1726008%26server%3Dvimeo.com%26autoplay%3D0%26fullscreen%3D1%26md5%3D0%26show_portrait%3D0%26show_title%3D0%26show_byline%3D0%26context%3D%26context_id%3D%26force_embed%3D0%26multimoog%3D%26color%3D00ADEF]
I couldn’t possibly explain what iPlatform does, I’ll leave it to the video above and their website to do that. However I would like to say that I think the iPlatform is very very exciting and will make a major impact on online communities for consumers, brands and marketers.
Please head over there now, learn more and get on board sooner rather than later.
Seth MacFarlane shaking up the internet
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARiN4yu3m28]
I never knew YouTube did a guest editors slot until I spied Seth MacFarlane‘s featured picks this week which led me to his YouTube channel SethComedy.
SethComedy on YouTube is sponsored by Burger King who also host the videos on their BK channel. I followed the trail further to the separate SethComedy website and then found out about Seth’s plans to take over the internet and monetise his own content via a clever distribution deal with Google AdSense.
I love disruptive broadcast models like this which put a greater share of the profits in the hands of the creators. Really hope this is a success for all parties.
Welcome!
A new online agency is born
Welcome to Stephen Davies’ new consultancy 3WPR. To me Davies will always be the original PRBlogger so I have no doubt his own agency will pan out very nicely indeed - if he just stays on his end of the Island that is (kidding).
There’s all together too much good will towards this new upstart of an agency so I thought I would uptake the challenge within his first quote as MD:
I don’t think anyone who works in the PR industry , or indeed the wider media industries, would disagree with me when I say that the momentum is moving online.
Stephen, this online nonsense is just a blip. We have only 30 years till the internet stops working. Good luck out there :-p
Flackenhacks are go
Who will take home the coveted gongs?
Looking for the PR week awards alternative? Flackenhacks are on again. Yay!
Thanks Kat for letting me know.
On geek chic and bloggers being freaks
Geek chic
Was thinking about this stereotype that bloggers are freaks. [Thanks for the birthday shout out Annie]
I still meet the odd marketer who hopes bloggers/online communities will make their campaign go viral for them and give them lots of free publicity while still sneering that it’s because “they’re freaks” and “have nothing better to do” and still question why these people would want to broadcast stuff about themselves.
I first discussed this on my previous post about being Too Shy To Share and I’ve since seen on my travels there’s been some research on virtual shyness vs. IRL shyness. Leila got it straight off in the comments of that post… We just broadcast stuff about ourselves in different ways we feel comfortable.
Read more
Fantastic, it’s not just me ranting
rant, rant, mad women go home
Was pleased to see technokitten AKA Helen Keegan blogging that when it comes to the tech conference circuit women are invisible. I also tentatively griped about this with regards to a BBC media debate. (And appreciate Mike Butcher responded). I too didn’t want to be perceived as Keegan states, like a “bra-burning feminist” but this is all getting a little ridiculous based on the male to female ratio at non-speaking events in our respective industries.
But, hmm, what do you think of this? A site which names and shames tech conferences with “a ridiculously high percentage of male speakers” [More at this post by Dori Smith]
Really wanted to keep away from this one. It’s the age old argument that talking about it perpetuates it, then people start “pandering” to inferior candidates etc., but this was something I’d noticed all by my very self. I think it would be unfair to my peers and colleagues who astound me every day with the wonderful things they have to say, to avoid writing;
I think they are not getting the soap boxes they deserve.
About:
I'm Darika Ahrens and I help brands develop marketing strategies for Social Media. My background is in Public Relations for companies like Orange, Microsoft, Philips, HTC, Yell.com, and Estee Lauder. I've worked with and trained some of the UK's top agencies.