Execution trumps strategy, according to Rachel Tipograph, social media director for the Gap. She was a very wise speaker on the “how” of actually getting things done in large organizations. Creating meaningful experiences online is more important than endless rounds of strategy and planning. As I listened to her speak at What’s Next DC, I watched heads bobbing in agreement around the room.

Execution > Strategy. Which is how I feel about conferences devoted to social media. How can you develop the perfect social media strategy in an ever-changing environment, especially when success is determined by the audience? It’s better to dive in, create something, and see what works.

I was at What’s Next DC thanks to my own bit of execution – I made a pithy comment on the importance of storytelling on GovLoop and won a free ticket to this conference on digital marketing.

What’s Next DC was relentlessly focused on execution, on new media marketing efforts that worked as told by the people who created them. There were no belabored lectures on the media landscape illustrated by grainy slides filled with biz speak jargon. Instead, real practitioners in the field told their stories, warts and all.

How Dunkin Donuts does it.

One of my favorite speakers was Jessica Gioglio from Dunkin Donuts. She made the point that Dunkin Donuts was a brand owned by the fans. People feel passionate about the donut-maker and her job was to provide them the tools to express that passion. They have a huge presence on Facebook, where they promote a “fan of the week” and run lots of Dunkin “DD” puns.

And when Dunkin screws up, she’s going to hear about it, even if it’s a local franchise having a typo in their signage. You have to respond quickly and personally to every concern.

Sabrina Caluori from HBO is not the kind of speaker you’d typically find at a conference in DC. She shared the successes and failures of HBO’s social media efforts. They originally tried a tweet-chat with one of the stars of True Blood. As hundreds of questions poured in, it was quickly clear that this wasn’t going to work. That led to the development of HBO Connect, a “digital water cooler” for fans to discuss their favorite shows and communicate with talent.

I have a passionate, vested interest in the Washington Post. I’ve read the paper daily for decades. Over the past couple years, I’ve watched as the Post web site became virtually unusable, due to a clunky content management system and the integration of every annoying web gadget out there.

Sadly, social media is just part of the clutter. Katharine Zaleski from the Washington Post discussed some of these “advancements”. Coming from the Huffington Post, she brought a relentless focus on metrics and daily measurement of news performance. And she rolled out a couple of dubious products. Mention Machine is super annoying. It’s a little bar that appears at the bottom of the browser, impinging upon the story that you’re reading, and showing the number of Twitter mentions various candidates have received. Doesn’t the Washington Post understand that we just want to read an article? Isn’t that what newspapers are for?

Another deleterious gee-whiz gimmick is the Washington Post Social Reader. I don’t want to install another annoying Facebook app just to read stories that my friends find interesting. Why do you have to reinvent the URL?

This is execution gone wrong, when you place barriers in front of your readers.

Wouldn't you like this for your next meeting?

One final (and good) example of execution – the brilliant whiteboards by Carolyn Sewell!

These beautiful “doodles” summed up panel discussions in a creative and artistic manner. They’re a great way to remind people of what was discussed. And I’m sure her artistic talent didn’t originate in some strategic planning session.

What’s Next DC is not just another social media conference. With its focus on results, attendees left with lots of good ideas to execute – and not just strategize about.

I’m old enough to remember the early days of the web. Back then (not too long ago, the 1990s), organizations didn’t take this online medium seriously. The web site paled in importance to the newsletter or magazine, at least according the leaders of the time. After all, who reads things on a computer? The Internet was a place for nerds and geeks, for them to discuss Star Trek trivia and learn arcane HTML codes.

If you ran a company or a nonprofit, you really didn’t need a web site, or so people believed. And if you wanted a web site, you could have your nephew build it. He could make something flashy and “cool” like MySpace.

I see the same attitude today toward social media. Why should an organization invest in Facebook or Twitter? Let the interns handle it…

But would you trust an intern to be the voice of your organization? That’s the point I made in a recent article in AOL Government. If you accept the fact that social media is important (and you should, because that’s where the audience is), then why would you hand over these communication efforts to those who know the least about your company? Do you trust college kids to spread your message, respond to questions and interact with potential customers? Do they know the hot-button issues within your company? The language that you use with customers? Your customer service standards and policies? The things that they’re *not* supposed to talk about?

And what happens when the interns leave? They take all that hard-won knowledge about your organization with them, as well as valuable expertise in social media. And they may take the Twitter account as well.

Social media is too important to be left to a transient workforce. Companies and organizations should take a deliberate approach to this dynamic new tool. The keys to the social media kingdom shouldn’t be in the hands of someone who just walked in the door.

Your voice online should be controlled by someone who both knows your company and is familiar with the culture of the web and social media. Look around – you probably have someone already with the requisite experience and interest. They’re probably doing something perceived as more important. But what’s more important than representing your brand in a medium that reaches millions?

Content marketing is defined as:

the creation or sharing of content for the purpose of engaging current and potential consumer bases.

We’re all in the marketing biz now, defined by the content that’s available about us online. Whether it’s a post about World of Warcraft in a gaming forum, a Facebook complaint about teenagers at the mall, or a well-sourced article in a scholarly journal, our identities are a function of the web. We may be very different people in real life, but for potential employers, customers, friends or romantic partners, first impressions are formed by what pops up during a Google search.

Unless you’re living off the grid in some Nevada desert, this information, this shadow-version of your self exists in cyberspace. Details about your life are posted online (like that you finished in 122nd place in the local fun run), without you probably even being aware of it.

You could rage against this loss of identity or you could do something about it. Content marketing is doing something about it. Instead of just being a viewer of content, start actively creating it. Register a site in your own name. Create a blog. Tweet, comment on stories and contribute to online forums.

But do so consciously. Be aware that you’re shaping your personal brand online. Think about the searches that people will be doing in the future and how you want to appear in them. Don’t let other people define you – use content marketing to shape your image online.

My short story Boom and Bust has been published in the online literary journal SPLIT. Boom and Bust is a satire, told from the perspective of a self-deluded marketing consultant. Obsessed by money and status, my narrator represents all that’s wrong with America these days. In my story, he’s helping an evil CEO escape the wrath of shareholders.

SPLIT is a new online magazine designed to showcase emerging talent in the art of storytelling. “Spill” is the theme of the second issue of the magazine. SPLIT features poetry, photography, a novel excerpt and even a short film.

Boom and Bust is part of a novel that I’ve been working on. Check out the further adventures of my consulting friend in the short story, Don’t Mess Up My Block.

Fans and a large dehumidifier cope with some water damage on my floor.

So, late one afternoon, my building caught fire. My apartment was fine; other people weren’t so lucky. This is part two of lessons learned. Check out part one for my initial thoughts on having a backup plan and other realizations.

Stuff Matters!

It would be nice if I had a zen-like approach to material possessions. I think I lead a fairly minimalist life but when I couldn’t get back into the building, all I thought about was my stuff. I knew the fire didn’t reach my apartment but I was worried about water damage. I pictured water pouring down on my brand new MacBook Pro and soaking the pillow-top mattress that I like so much. Plus, books, photos, art, letters from friends, keepsakes, personal items, clothes and everything else.

I’m glad that I have renters’ insurance (that’s really a must) but so much of the analog stuff that really matters is irreplaceable.

My Online Life

Fortunately, most of my digital stuff is online in some capacity. Nearly all of my photos from 2006 on are on Flickr. My book is on Amazon. One of my screenplays is on Scribd. Short stories and articles are on the sites they were published at. I also use a Google Site as a personal intranet – it contains my resume, other short stories, older screenplays, other docs.

What would’ve been lost is docs in progress, as well as the many passwords necessary for modern life these days – that would’ve sucked. I do use a backup (Time Machine) but the backup is in my apartment.

There’s No Accounting for Stupidity

The fire was caused by an unattended candle. A woman left her apartment with a burning candle on a dresser. That resulted in a fire that left 21 people homeless.

Initial Reports Will be Wrong

I watched Channel 4 report on the story, implying that residents were being kept out of the building. I saw the story while sitting in my undamaged apartment.

Another report said that there was $250,000 in damages. But if a whole floor of apartments has been condemned (about 12 units), then that figure has to be higher.

Anonymous Commenters are Jerks

There’s no greater forum for online hate than the comments section of the Washington Post. Read any story, particularly about crime or local politics, and check out the comments for unhinged vitriol of all kinds. And of course in the comments on the fire story, some anonymous person said that my building was a hellhole filled with bedbugs and venereal disease. Nice…

I’m 100% for free speech. But, Washington Post, august institution of journalism that you claim to be, you allow crazy people to publish content on your web site? How are you different from any random blog?

Communication Matters

Since the fire, I have received only a single communication from Borger Management, who runs the building. It’s an officious, unsigned memo from an Executive Vice President saying that restoration of the building will be lengthy and that “certain actions must be taken for everyone’s safety.” It also has this confusing statement:

We cannot allow anyone to enter an unsafe building with high levels of water damage, broken glass, smoke damage, and no electricity.

Considering they slipped this under the door of my apartment, where the electricity is on, and where I am presently typing, I think what they meant was:

The ninth floor and other parts of the building are still unsafe, due to water damage and broken glass. Access to these areas will be restricted until they’re safe to enter.

Two points:

1. Can’t you hire somebody who knows how to write? The statement in the memo says that no one is allowed to enter the building while, in fact, everyone except the people on the 9th and 10th floors are allowed in.
2. This is your communications plan? After a fire, everyone is going to have lots of questions. It would’ve been better to send a manager door-to-door to reassure residents and answer their concerns. A building-wide meeting would also be a good idea, as well as a phone number or web site for people to check out.

Really, it’s not difficult. Don’t hide behind memos. Put a human out there and let them answer questions honestly.

So, late one afternoon, my building caught fire. My apartment was fine; other people weren’t so lucky. This is part one of lessons learned. Check out part two for my thoughts on the importance of communication after the fire.

I got the call around 6:30 PM.

“Oh, Joe, I think your building is on fire.”

It was a friend of mine, John Hanshaw, who lives nearby. He could see my apartment building and said that it was surrounded by fire engines.

I really didn’t believe him at first. DC sends out fire trucks for everything. They roll not just for fires, but for medical calls as well. This is because the ambulances are unreliable and sometimes can’t find the right address. The thinking is that the local fire company knows the neighborhood better.

But this makes the city a “land of sirens”, with fire trucks constantly racing down streets, sirens blaring. After a while, the commotion becomes so much background noise.

At the time, I was a few blocks away, having a drink. I was about to go to an election night party.

I tweeted flippantly:

Within just a couple of minutes I got a  second call, this time from Neil Torda in the mountains of North Carolina. We went to high school together and he knows my place in DC. Seeing my post, he did a Google search.

He tweeted an article about the fire and sent me this terrifying picture.

I walked back, visions of my building completely destroyed.

When I got there, the fire was out. There was a black hole on the 9th floor where an apartment used to be. I hoped that my place, on the 7th floor, on the backside of the building was okay.

My neighbors were sheltering in the lobby of a building around the corner. The building’s management provided pizza and drinks. Later on, the Red Cross distributed blankets.

Everyone wanted to know when they could get back inside. Management said it would be a couple hours. And that they would call us (which they never did).

To me, this seemed hopelessly optimistic. Looking at the burned-out apartment, the broken windows, the smoke and water damage, all the ladder trucks surrounding the building, getting the elevator running, the necessary investigations – there was no way we were getting in that night.

I left and walked over to the Helix, a boutique hotel a couple doors down from where I live. I knew that they were actively involved in the local community, having been a sponsor of the DC Shorts Film Festival, which I volunteer for. I love all the Kimpton properties and have recommended them to out of town visitors.

I told them that I lived next door. I was hoping they would give me a decent rate but instead the manager comped me. He showed me a picture on his Blackberry of my building in flames.

While all this was going on, I had updated my Twitter and Facebook feeds. An outpouring of concern filled my iPhone. Friends asked how I was, shared how they had seen the fire, if they could do anything, if I needed a place to stay. It was incredibly moving.

Unfortunately, my iPhone wasn’t fully charged and it soon died. There’s a perverse thrill you get with disaster. It seems like a crazy adventure – locked out of my apartment! I get to stay at the Helix! Fire trucks! Streets shut down!

But then my phone powered down and I couldn’t talk to anyone. Real worry set in.

I didn’t sleep and walked back early the next morning. Entering my apartment and seeing it exactly as I left it was a moment of incredible relief.

Others were not so fortunate. They have to deal with homes now wrecked by smoke and water. I really didn’t know how bad the fire was until I saw the video of people being rescued from the upper floors of my building. I can’t imagine their terror.

Lessons Learned

1.  Social Media is Great but Better to Have Neighbors

John Hanshaw, who lives two blocks away, told me about the fire. Later on, I commiserated and shared information with my neighbors, people who I had shared small-talk with in the elevator. Friends who lived in DC offered me a place to stay. People called to check in on me. The Helix Hotel put me up, recognizing that they were part of the community.

2. Location Doesn’t Matter

Who confirmed the fire for me? Neil Torda, who lives hundreds of miles away but was sitting in front of a computer.

3. Social Media is Indispensable

I tweeted so that friends and family instantly knew that I was okay. Having parents on Facebook can be occasionally awkward but at least my status updates alleviated their worry.

4. Social Media is News

A three-alarm fire in Washington is big news. How was this story covered? Social media informed the coverage each step of the way. As you can see from this TBD page, updates came in about the fire in real-time and included pictures, videos and tweets from participants. It wasn’t just media covering the story but also included involved parties and those who just happened to be walking by.

5. You Need an Emergency Plan

Leaving my apartment yesterday, I had no idea that I’d have to find another place to stay for the night. “Go to the Helix” is really not a good emergency plan… It would’ve been nice if I had a pre-arranged place to go, with at least a toothbrush and a change of clothes.

6. Charge Your Phone!

I didn’t think I’d be out long so my iPhone wasn’t fully charged. Yet, this was how I communicated with the world and found needed information. When it died, I was essentially lost.

Things could’ve been so much worse. I’m thankful they weren’t.

What do fire dancers have to do with technology?  Attendees at the opening night party of DC Week had a chance to find out.  Digital Capital Week (DCWEEK) is a 10 day festival in Washington, DC focused on technology, innovation and all things digital in our nation’s capital. DCWEEK takes place in venues throughout Washington and runs from June 11th to June 20th, 2010.  The mission of DCWEEK is to strengthen the capital region’s digital economy via a ten day series of events focused on creativity, technology, entrepreneurship, marketing, content creation and innovation.

The week began with a party in Blagden Alley that brought together the worlds of art and technology.  Web developers, social media experts, writers, transparency advocates, government geeks, photographers and venture capitalists were inspired by bands, video displays, free beer and women twirling flaming hula hoops.  Set in a historic downtown alley, the party was a casual and creative affair where you could meet some of the brightest minds in DC.

But that was just the start.  DCWEEK continued over the weekend with CityCamp, an “unconference” that brought together local government officials and technologists, with the aim of building a better District of Columbia.

All week long, this festival of innovation continues with workshops on gaming, accessibility, communications, media relations and much more.  And since it’s not your normal conference, DCWEEK also includes happy hours, tweetups, a “schmooze cruise”, a flash picnic on the Mall and even a social media comedy show.

DCWEEK demonstrates that tech doesn’t have to be boring.  After seeing someone twirl fire, how could you not be inspired to try something new?

It’s the end of the year, and the end of a decade. What were my favorite projects of 2009? What did I have the most fun working on?

Murder in Ocean Hall

I can’t help myself, I like to write fiction. People have asked me how I could leave my job and then spend countless hours alone, in a coffee shop, writing a novel. I’ve offered advice on setting a schedule and being committed, but the truth is that writing a book is a huge sacrifice and something that you must really, really want to do. And something that you must enjoy doing more then anything else.

DC Shorts Film Festival

This year, I made sure to really enjoy the festival, not only as a screenplay contest judge but as a participant. For the first time, I was in town for all the parties and saw some great films, including Funky Prairie Boy. What’s great about DC Shorts is that you get to meet filmmakers and other creative folks in a very relaxed, friendly atmosphere. And with the Screenplay Competition held a month after the main festival, I got to enjoy both events. The funny thing about being a volunteer is that if you show up and prove to be reliable, you get given all sorts of other interesting duties. For DC Shorts, I’ve been a film judge, screenplay competition manager, executive judge, film panel moderator, assistant emcee, furniture mover and event photographer – anything for the cause!

Transparency Camp

“One time, at Transparency Camp…” Embarrassing, I know, but Transparency Camp was really a revelation for me. Having worked in government, I firmly believe that it should be more transparent and accountable, which was the focus of the event. The most interesting part was the format – it was an “un-conference” where the participants devised the agenda and put on the presentations. And it was free. That’s a tremendous development, because most web conferences cost thousands of dollars and feature sitting in cold rooms looking at PowerPoint presentations from various experts. By contrast, the un-conference format enables tapping the knowledge of the group in a democratic and open session. Plus, free beer!

Pink Line Project

The end of the year found me embarking on a new project – interviews with artists and other interesting DC creatives for the Pink Line Project. These are people who are risk-takers, who go out and start film and theater festivals. I think that everyone is creative and with my interview series I hope to encourage others to write that book or make that painting.

With the advent of the Barnes and Noble Nook e-reader and the growing acceptance of e-books among readers and writers, it’s safe to say that we’ve reached what I’d call the Disintermediation Moment. This is the time when industries collapse, driven by changes in consumer behavior and expectations. Technology offers new solutions, eagerly adopted by ordinary people, but resisted by middlemen and gatekeepers who want to retain their status, control and income.

The music industry had its Disintermediation Moment with the advent of Napster. Once consumers discovered the power of acquiring individual songs, rather than whole albums, the days of the $16.99 album CD were doomed. Lawyers shut down Napster but could never put the genie back in the bottle. The music business, where “thieves and pimps run free,” according to Hunter S. Thompson, was forced to cut a deal with another rebel, Steve Jobs. An industry that once condemned the idea of “ripping” songs from CDs to computers has turned to iTunes to save their sliding profits.

Newspapers were early adopters of the web, launching some of the first web sites and online services, such as the Washington Post’s Digital Ink in 1994. Early efforts made the mistaken assumption that people would pay for content – despite being surrounded by a sea of free information. For more than a decade, newspapers have tried to use the web to support a business model (money from classified ads goes for reporters, buildings, paper, trucks) that’s been undercut by Craigslist and others. It would be better if they adapted to the medium like the Huffington Post or Politico.

Back in the 1980s, movie studios tried to stop the development of the VCR, arguing that the devices enable copyright infringement. Though they lost, they continued their efforts, athwart the flow of history, as they sued DVR makers, as if they had learned nothing. Meanwhile, consumers have moved on, and watch clips and whole movies online.

And now it’s the turn of the book industry.

I’ve been reading a lot about e-books and the Nook, both as an avid reader and an author. I wrote a book, Murder in Ocean Hall, have an agent and am looking for publisher.

However, I also work on web sites for a living so the slow print publishing world seems really outdated to me. Why does it take a year for a book to go from an author to a bookstore? I could publish my book on Lulu and start selling it immediately.

Why are there so many gatekeepers involved? Why do writers get such a small (10%) royalty on their titles? Why do so many writers have to do their own marketing, despite the fact that publishers claim that’s what they’re for?

The argument seems to be that this is the way we’ve always done it. The book publishing world seems little changed, a Mad Men environment of stacks of manuscripts, Manhattan offices and boozy lunches. I would love a noontime martini but like the manual typewriters and flirtatious secretaries of Sterling Cooper, that world is long gone.

The price of e-books today is subsidized by Amazon and others. Publishers would like to charge much, much more than the standard $9.99 for e-books, arguing that they have high costs. This makes no sense – when you have perfect, unlimited digital copies of something, the price has to come down, as anyone who’s bought an album or song on iTunes knows. Consumers are saying that e-books should be comparable in price to paperbacks. That’s what its worth to them and book publishers need to adapt if they’re going to survive.

The fact that the publishing industry takes such a big chunk of the price of a book really seems like an argument against it. If so much of the cost of a title pays for execs and marketing campaigns, then why have a publishing industry at all? How is this model any different from the music, film and newspaper industries – all middlemen and gatekeepers have been rendered irrelevant by the Internet.

Without such high costs, books would be cheaper for readers and writers would make more money. My thoughts were really crystallized by this wonderful blog post by Joe Konrath. In it, he breaks down the amount of money he makes off e-books he sells through his publisher and those he sells on his own. He gets more money from titles he sells himself. And readers get more works to chose from and at a cheaper price. Konrath is meeting the demand of the market and making a better living than he would if he used a book publisher.

What value do book publishers add then? Are they not just standing in the way of more books at lower prices for more readers?

A few weeks ago, I received the following email:

Hi Joe,

I moved from Scottsdale, Arizona, to California last summer, and brought an unfinished painting of Papago Buttes along with me.  I looked around for a photograph to help me finish the painting, and I found one that seems to be attributed to you on Wikipedia.  The shot helped me enormously, and I ended up finishing the painting and giving it to a friend.

The more I learn about artwork and photography, the more I realize that asking permission before using a photo, even when referring to it for painting, is the right thing to do.  I just wanted to be in touch to apologize for failing to do this, and to offer to email you a photograph of my finished painting.  I think you’re a good photographer and you helped me by sharing your image online.

Thanks,

Robert Collins

The photo that Robert used as a guide for his painting was this one:

Papago Buttes © Joe Flood

It’s a picture I took several years ago, during an April 2005 visit to Phoenix, where friends of mine lived for a while.  I thought it was a really interesting geological structure, so different from the green and gentle landscapes of the East Coast (where I live).  We had visited late in the day, when the light was particularly warm and nice.

And it was hot as hell.  I remember that much.

This was one of the first pictures I posted to Flickr.  I had purchased a DSLR, a Canon Digital Rebel, and was taking pictures of almost everything.  Digital had brought out my inner photographer.

I added the title Papago Buttes more for my benefit than anyone else.  I wanted to remember where these rocks were in case I went back.

At the time, I had chosen a Creative Commons Attribution license for all my photos, one that allowed anyone to use them long as I was credited.

The photo was reviewed on 10:45, 7 April 2007 (UTC) by the FlickreviewR robot and added to Wikipedia’s image library.  The robot is a program that basically harvests images that are freely available in Flickr and confirms their availability and license.

This was all fine with me.  That’s why I chose the Creative Commons Attribution license – I liked my photo and was happy that other people used it.

I didn’t know that this photo was in Wikipedia. I found out after my picture of another Arizona landscape, Hole in the Rock, had been selected by an editor for the Papago Buttes Wikipedia page. I looked around Wikipedia and found a couple of my photos in the online encyclopedia.

This is all geeky and interesting but it’s not exactly art.  It’s fascinating look at some of the robotic and human processes that make the web possible.  I could wax rhapsodically about the power of crowds, the value of free or the democratization of content creation.  All worthy topics.

Yet, the part which really thrilled me was that my simple photo helped create a piece of analog art.  Paint on a canvas created by a human.  If you look at the photo and the artwork, there are some definite similarities:

Papago Buttes © Robert Collins

Papago Buttes © Joe Flood

The line between photo rights, remixing and creative use has become very blurry and controversial.  For example, the AP is suing Shepard Fairey over his apparent use of one of their photos.

Robert referenced this issue in his email:

The more I learn about artwork and photography, the more I realize that asking permission before using a photo, even when referring to it for painting, is the right thing to do.

My perspective:

1. I put the photo in the Creative Commons.  I wanted it to be used.
2. The painting is a brand-new creation, summoned from the ether by the artist, using his skills, experience and with my photo as one of many influences.  He selected the brushes, paint, canvas and created the work.
3. I’m thrilled.  It probably helps that I like the painting a lot but I’m really honored that my photo helped create this work of art.  Robert sent me a digital copy of the painting which I’m using as my desktop.

This event also underscores my belief that the Internet is a wonderful and unexploited opportunity for artists, photographers and writers.  When I took that photo at Papago Buttes on one hot April day, I had no idea that it would end up in Wikipedia and inspire a painting.  This photo doesn’t lie forgotten in a drawer.  Thanks to the web, it’s gone on to a life of its own.