Dave Evans on Twitter & the Metrics Panel at SXSW

I am posting a short video below that I took over dinner at Truluck's in Austin with Dave Evans' version of the Metrics Panel at SXSW. Apparently, the panel members were taking a little too long to get to the point for many audience members, who were communicating via Twitter. Read some actual quotes from the back channel audience conversations.

It's graphic evidence of how fast and dramatically the balance of power is being re-weighted in favor of the recipients of information as compared to the disseminators. Heck, we are all busy; it's not hard to understand the "just get to the facts" attitude that is prevalent at least at tech conferences.

Audiences are Messy Too

Yesterday I wrote about customers being messy, and that it is our job to work with, rather than expect them to use our products and services only as the engineers intended.

Well, audiences can be the same! The Sarah Lacy keynote interview of Mark Zuckerberg yesterday was a very educational event. As a public speaker with 20 years experience, I shared the audience's impatience with her style and also felt her pain as the session eventually erupted in loud shouting protest. A lot of blame is being dispensed, and I think SXSW has some responsibility on the table too. Seems that people who weren't there are being more forgiving however the energy in the room was very hard to dispute.

For me, it's a great opportunity to take some notes to serve as reminders for events in the future. Jeff Jarvis has some examples. I've condensed the collective ideas into a pocket-handy bullet list.

1. The larger the audience, the more it makes sense to plan for contingencies. Once you are in process, the titanic effect kicks in and it is not easy to know if things are going south, and then be able to act on it.
2. Know when to use the old rules and the new rules.
3. Use the best practices of Speaking 1.0:
   • Have a more formal introduction so the audience are informed about the speaker's expertise.
   • Event organizer should prep the speakers and remind them to repeat questions from audience if not captured by the microphone, for the recording and more importantly to keep all in the audience part of the conversation.
   • Have chairs that are comfortable and complementary to the speakers. Do everything you can to help them be at ease and look good so their knowledge can shine through. The chairs were too low to the floor at this keynote, which may have contributed to Sarah Lacy's body language problems and also made it harder to see them on stage.
   • The interviewer's job is to shine a light on the featured guest. It is not to draw attention to oneself.
   • The specific venue will dictate how much of your flashlight has the inquisitive and honoring bulb (the Lannan interviews are superb when people come to hear insights from someone they love) or the probing and investigative bulb (as the Columbia University event with Iran's President Ahmadinejad).
   • If there are pre-arranged questions, and you have been honored with a scoop, don't blow it! (Sarah announced that Facebook was launching a French version and stole the thunder away from Mark Zuckerberg.)
   • Interviewer's job is to ask questions, not make statements. The guest's job is to answer questions, not repeat PR taglines (paragraph 6).
4. Use the best practices of Speaking 2.0:
   • Engage your audience in advance to find out what they want to know from this person who is so private and inaccessible.
   • Being casual does not equal being flip or disrespectful. I thought the comment about his dripping wet t-shirt (from nervousness on a previous interview) was out of place.
   • Bring the audience in to your past experiences with the guest, don't use them to exclude people. This translated as unpleasantly coy, superior, and lacking the highly valued transparency of 2.0.
   • Listen to your customers. When things are not going well, own up to it (don't blame the audience) and take a minute to re-adjust. Ask for help. Apologize. There are numerous 2.0 behaviors that can have haters turn into fan boys if you know about and are willing to use them. I'm not saying this is easy because it isn't. But opportunity exists to help us all become stronger, clearer, and more competent.

Things happen and Sarah, to her credit, is holding up against the barrage of criticism Here's her point of view. Learn, laugh, and move on.

Customers are Messy

I am at the SXSW Interactive conference listening to Forrester analyst Charlene Li talking about Social Revolutionaries. She just described how some companies act like they have the perfect customer as a porcelain figurine in the sales and marketing department. They want to sell to this "ideal person" and psychologically resist or ignore real customer data and experiences.

It reminds me of my first business 20 years ago when I owned an exercise club and traveled the world training instructors and setting up health and fitness programs. Most people wanted to teach the most fun classes, to have the most advanced equipment, to work out really hard - because those were the things that drew them into the business.

But there are relatively few people who share that level of interest in health or fitness ability.

To have more customers (and a stronger bottom line as well as bottom) meant to open your arms and embrace the less than perfect bodies. My default message was:

Bring me your bad backs, your bulging bellies, your weak knees, your aching feet, your stressed out minds, and your defeated spirits. I will walk with you side by side and help you rebuild your energy, enjoy your body, and enliven your mind.

This meant I could not do some of my favorite moves: why should I impose that on my customers? It meant having unglamorous people in my club - but these people were far more loyal because I paid attention to them.

Way back then Reebok was ripping a new shoe line "aerobic shoes" and growing enormously, while the Nike board had the following discussion:

Board Member 1: Reebok is selling these aerobic shoes like mad. Should we get into that business?

Board Member 2: What the hell do we want to have anything to do with a bunch of fat women kicking their legs in the air?

Two years later Nike could no longer resist the urge to make money off these fat women and men. They realized there was room to support elite runners and Michael Jordan's along with the masses of people wanting to be healthier and wear a functional shoe as well..

The fact that your customers are making mashup videos about you on YouTube, talking about you on their blogs, and using your products in strange ways, IS THE GOOD NEWS. There is magic and millions in those messes, if you are willing to set aside your own prejudices about who should be using your stuff.

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Aloha Summit - get your business “social media-ready” in just two days

Aloha Summit: March 18-19th, Waikoloa, Hawaii. It's custom-made for savvy businesses who want to understand geek secrets like how Google works, what's behind YouTube, not to mention Twitter, Flickr, podcasting, and more.

Of the many disruptions we are seeing in the marketplace as a result of the internet, the trend toward unconferences and lobby-styled events are some of the most interesting to me. I am a communicator. As much as I have enjoyed giving formal presentations for the past 20 years, the real juice usually occurs in the one to one and small group discussions in the hallways between and after the didactic sessions.

What's In It for You?
Coming up in a few weeks is The Aloha Summit, being held here on the Big Island of Hawaii. It is a two-day event limited to only 28 guests, plus several experts in social media and internet marketing, including me. This is designed for the participants to dive right in and:

• Learn about and see demos of how social media, podcasting, and web 2.0 networking applications work, up close and personal.
• Ask your personal questions as they come up in the conversation, and as detailed and specific to your business as you want to get (or not - you are in control.)
• Create new marketing, communication, and advertising strategies for your business, using the hottest web tools.
• Show you how to manage your time and filter out the things that may not apply to your business.
• Share power user secrets so you don't make costly and embarrassing mistakes as you venture into the always-on, transparent, and personal nature of today's leading business practices.
• Understand what things you can get for free online and what things are worth paying for when it comes to both strategy and implementation.

Your Own Team of Private Experts and Tutors
We know how busy you are. It's like having a team of experts at your private beck and call. We won't be covering anything that is not directly relevant to the people sitting in the room with us.

We will be walking the talk and helping you learn to do the same. It will be private, intimate, hands-on and hand-holding: a two-day working class with smart, friendly, connected instructors. You help guide the questions; you set the pace; you reap the rewards. We are here to support and educate you.

Still Trying How to Decide to Attend?
On the other hand, it's not for you if you don't like immersion-style learning or don't want to get your hands on the secrets of the web today. If your business is doing fine without knowing how to find out what others are saying about you or without finding and supporting customers via technology, then you can skip this.

However if you think your business is being affected by unknowns on the internet or if you want to use the internet more effectively but don't know how, then this event is perfect for you.

Ideally, you may want to bring one other person from your company. The social web is all about having buddies. If you come alone, no problem. I'll be recommending some tools the attendees can use post-event to continue your learning and support together too.

Special Pricing for Hawaii Residents: $495
Click here to get a very special rate of $495 for locals only. Use code "kamaaina" for HI residents and pay only $495 or use code "rox" for non-residents and save $250.

Though we here in Hawaii are so great at networking locally amongst ourselves, many are really behind the curve when it comes to networking our businesses with others around the world. The most frequent comments I get when speaking at local business events, are that "our company is not that tech savvy" or "the majority of our staff are older than 30 and we just don't understand a lot of this stuff that's happening online." If you can put two days in to The Aloha Summit you can single-handedly change this and catch up on the amazing changes that have taken place online in the past three years.

Tourism is a key industry that would benefit from using social media, both for our visitors as well as kama'aina. It could even bridge some of the growing gaps between those two groups. Other industries IMO with untapped opportunities are some of the innovative startups we have in Hawaii, especially those related to energy and lifestyle products and services.

Think Your Business is Too Large or Too Small to Matter?
It's not. Companies as large and sophisticated as Walmart have tried to use social media with unexpected negative results. If you're big and you don't have social media experts on staff or on-call, this program is critically important to your business.

Meanwhile, very small companies are using social media to create global brands on shoestring budgets. It's an opportunity that has never before existed.

Personally, I would love to see some of my friends in PR, Communications, Advertising, Tourism, and government at the conference. There are so many ways we can build our own businesses (and those of our customers) by using the collaboration tools of web 2.0. It's close, it's convenient, it's private, it's efficient. I can't think of a better way to go to the head of the social media class.

Got questions?
Please call my mobile and we can talk directly: 808-384-5554. I am traveling across time zones so try 6 am - 4 pm HST (which is 8 am - 6 pm PDT). Use code "kamaaina" to pay $495 if you are a Hawaii resident. Not lucky you live Hawaii? No problem! Enter code "rox" to save $250.