Random Acts of Subversion, continued

On Flagged For Follow-Up, Ian Sohn posted some thoughts about brands sponsoring not random acts of kindness, but acts of subversion. These acts are not malicious in nature, but small, fun and disruptive in some way. For instance, photo-bombing someone. (See above picture.)

I’m all for subversive behavior. It takes a little bit of effort and ultimately feels pretty darn good. But can brands really own it?

In some cases, yes, but I think subversion must be defined. Photo bombing is one example, but finding a clever way to hack an archaic system is another. Take, for instance, Nate Silver’s method of ‘hacking’ his local salad bar. This will ultimately help people get more bang for their buck. Mint could own this; so could Lifehacker.

Photobombing? That’s easy: a social media-savvy company that makes primarily point-and-shoot cameras (e.g. Kodak) could own that.

Southwest Airlines is deliciously subversive in its feigned disbelief of – and action against – high baggage and transfer fees. In its commercials, handlers are seen “flagging” these injustices:

Southwest could create some sort of “flag kit” in which people are encouraged to “flag” everyday injustices, even minor ones.

Brands that enable this type of subversive behavior, however, must do two things:

1. Have a clear stance for or against something. A personality, even. Southwest isn’t short on personality. PETA, of course, has mastered the naked protest. Nike stands for performance athletics; one idea, for instance, is to sponsor flash mob-type workout activities, or office basketball. Maybe even a spontaneous mid-day runs through office building.

2. Document these subversive activities to create a sense of community. Let these subversive acts live on in infamy! Two quick ways of doing this are through Pinterest collections or Tumblr blogs. Either way, voila – instant community!

What do you think? Which brands are well-positioned to sponsor subversive activities? What could they do? Please leave your thoughts as comments below!

Looking at the Macy’s Chicago 2011 Holiday Windows

Two years ago, I posted this video about the Macy’s Chicago 2009 Holiday Windows. Several people told me they liked it, so I figured I’d do it again.

Here’s a quick video shot on Black Friday featuring this year’s windows. Enjoy:

Separated at birth: Scott Murphy and Eric Ries?

What do you think?

Eric Ries
Scott Murphy

Cigar (cartoon) of the Week: Cigar Aficionado

For your cigar viewing pleasure. Courtesy of David T. Jones.

Portland Dispatch #2: Portland Timbers game

I’m really starting to dig the Rose City the longer I’m here, I think. I was lucky enough to attend yesterday’s Portland Timbers game, thanks to my new friend Ben.

Not only did we attend the game, but we sat in the first row of Section 102, right in the midst of Timbers Army, probably the most rabid, fanatical supporters in all of Major League Soccer. For my first MLS game, I’d have to say that it was a ton of fun, for sure, in large part to the Army — a real legion of fans.

I capture some photos and video of the event, but of some of my PIE cohorts, with whom I also attended. Here’s one of the funniest — and nerdiest — sports chants I’ve seen, the Portland Timbers “Tetris” chant:

A few of the photos from the game:

I wonder if Chicago Fire’s Section 8 is this big, or this rowdy. Anyone?

Portland Dispatch #1: Wieden + Kennedy Tour

Greetings from Portland!

As you know, I’ve been accepted to the Portland Incubator Experiment, a startup accelerator based in the Rose City, out of the Wieden + Kennedy space.

If you’ve seen “Portlandia,” you know the building itself has an interesting layout. Check out this clip:

The folks here took us on a great little tour of the facilities yesterday. Here are some pictures from that tour. Enjoy!

Accepted to the Portland Incubator Experiment!

In the last few days, I’ve been posting all sorts of photos, updates and tweets from Portland. Why, you might ask? It’s simple: the super-secret, early-stage stealth startup I’ve been working on has been accepted to the Portland Incubator Experiment, or PIE.

In the coming weeks and months, I’ll post more on my experiences in Cascadia. (In fact, I’m kind of hoping it’s similar to this “Portlandia” portrayal:

I’m kidding, of course, to an extent. We’ll be working our butts off out there, but we’re excited about the opportunity to work with the PIE mentors, as well as the brands (Coke, Nike, Target, Google) and the agency (Wieden + Kennedy) supporting PIE. The folks here have done a bang-up job bringing together a lot of smart people!

If you’re wondering about just what it is that I’m working on, sit tight. You’ll hear about it on here soon enough! In the meantime, if you’d like to recommend any sights, attractions, events, restaurants or bars that I should check out, please let me know by commenting below. Some places I’ve been so far:

- Voodoo Doughnuts: I tried the famous maple bacon bar and the chocolate/Oreo/peanut butter donut. (Click for photos.)
- Rogue Distillery and Public House
- Deschutes Brewery
- Stumptown Coffee Roasters
- The Art in the Pearl festival
- The Portland Saturday Market

There’s more to come, so stay tuned!

Pegmo: Why I love it

Chicago is home to a few startup giants (e.g. Groupon, 37signals), and fast growers (Tap.Me) One up-and-comer is Pegmo, is a simple social media-based loyalty program for brands that may not have one; co-founder Wes Donohoe refers to as “a big game that isn’t built.”

There are a few reasons I like Pegmo:

- Pegmo rewards consumer behavior that already exists. When I created and led the KmartGamer project over at Sears Holdings, our end goal was to find a way to reward gamers for being gamers. Once a user signs up for Pegmo, they start earning rewards for things they already do: follow a brand or retailer on Twitter or Facebook or check into a store on Foursquare.

- Pegmo unifies brand-related social engagement on one platform. Users may follow brands and retailers on Twitter and Facebook, and check in frequently on Foursquare, but no other platform (that I’ve seen) makes it this easy for businesses to form a multi-layer relationship (unless there’s a savvy marketer driving the channel and content strategy, that is).

- For brands and retailers, Pegmo generates not just numbers, but actions. If users don’t already follow the brands or retailers that are listed on the site, Pegmo prompts them to do so for additional points, or “Pegs.” In addition, Pegmo prompts users to share their thoughts about the brands themselves. For instance, a restaurant could ask users to share their thoughts on the dishes or drinks they like at the restaurant, whether it’s directly to the brand, or posted on their Facebook wall. As a result — and depending on the feedback itself — Pegmo has the potential to be an interesting research tool.

- Pegmo can always evolve through new tasks. As businesses evolve, their goals and products do as well. (For instance, restaurants always change their menus, and retailers expand or offer new products.) This gives Pegmo a seemingly endless way to evolve, which is very different from, say, Foursquare, which relies on one basic action — the check-in — as the basis of its value prop.

Have you signed up for Pegmo yet? If so, what do you think of it? Please leave your thoughts as comments below!

The state of Chicago tech networking events

Yesterday, I attended a startup networking event, run by the Chicago Entrepreneurial Center. At the event, there was a great mix of startup founders, press and investor types. (Surprisingly, there were no social media consultants in sight — a good thing.)

In short, it was easily one of the best tech networking events in Chicago I’ve attended. The space was nice, I learned a lot from everyone I talked to and there was a great sense of collaboration, rather than competition, from everyone there.

There’s a great need for more events like this in Chicago. What other tech- and startup-related events in Chicago do you attend? If you’re not in Chicago, are there any you attend in your city or town? Why do you attend?

A guide to turntable.fm etiquette

Turntable.fm logo

Outside of Spotify, Turntable.fm has been one of the hottest startups to have been launched in the last several months. It now has more than 300K users and is seeking more funding.

More than Spotify, Pandora, last.fm or Rdio, turntable.fm is a social experience, and as such, it’s interesting to watch how users interact in the rooms.

With that, I’ve put together this quick guide to proper etiquette on turntable.fm, in the form of do’s and don’ts:

Do:

- When you enter a room to DJ, get a lay of the land. Are DJs skipping outros? Is there a theme to the music? I DJ in a lot of hip-hop related rooms, but often I find the DJs are picking songs based on a theme (e.g. battle raps, emcees from Queens, etc.). If there’s no theme per se, just play songs that are consistent with the room title.
- Be social, but be respectful. The biggest difference between Pandora and turntable.fm is that turntable is inherently social. Talk to the other DJs. (You can even “fan” them, which alerts you when they’re DJing.) A lot of the folks using the service are in the internet or music business; if you are too, it could be a good opportunity to network with them, so don’t disrespect them or the music they like.
- Welcome new DJs to the service. When someone comes into the room, click on their avatar. If they have zero DJ points, they’re new to turntable.fm. Make them feel welcome; one easy way to do this is to “awesome” their first song, no matter what it is!
- Skip your outros, if they’re long. A lot of hip-hop songs have extended outros and skits that can last up to two minutes after the song is over. Be cognizant of the fact that not everyone wants to hear the outro – in fact, there’s a good chance nobody wants to – and skip it.

Don’t:

- Don’t click “Lame” unless you absolutely HAVE to. There are two reasons, really, for “Lame-ing” a song: if the song is inconsistent with the room’s theme, or if the DJ playing it is away from the computer. Otherwise, just hit “mute” and play something else. Either way, especially don’t lame at the very beginning of the song, as DJ Woooo said in this CNN article.
- Don’t cut the line. In the more popular rooms on turntable.fm, there’s usually a DJ list. To find it, click the “Room Info” button towards the top of the page. (The list is usually a Google doc.) If you want to DJ, get your name on there, and stick around.
- Don’t repeat songs. A big [analog] DJ faux-pas is to play songs twice, and there’s an easy way to avoid it on turntable.fm. Just click “Room info” and you’ll see a list of recently played songs you’ll want to steer clear of.
- If you’re DJing, don’t keep DJing if you have to step away from your computer for an extended period of time. Give someone else a chance to spin!
- A lot of aspiring musicians and DJs may use turntable to showcase new material. If you’re in this group, don’t play self-recorded songs if it’s of poor quality. (Thanks to TT user RyanTheMagnificent for this suggestion.)
- (Added 7/20) Don’t play songs that are too long, unless everyone in the room (or a majority of it) is OK with it. The other DJs want a chance to spin their tunes, which gets more difficult if everyone plays eight-minute songs!

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Have I missed anything? Do you disagree with something I’ve said? Please feel free to post any additional thoughts you have as comments below!