Capital C

Capital C event for Social Media Week- 'Reason to Believe'

On February 5th, we held an event here at Cap C as part of Social Media Week. Tony Chapman kicked off with a 'fireside chat' on the characteristics of social media, and we then branched out into an engaging panel discussion moderated by Christopher Loudon, Editor-in-Chief, Marketing Magazine. The main themes of the afternoon were social capital and innovation, and their role in the brand-building process.

Please check out the summary video below, we've tried to capture the main pain and passion points from the discussion. Would love your feedback.

The things you own

can't make you as happy as the things you do.

An experience provides more utility and lasting happiness than a material possession. We quickly adapt to new toys, but experiences have staying power because they involve fostering or strengthening relationships with other people.

If we want to build brands that lasts, we need to design ways for people to create shared experiences around that brand, ways for them to create social velcro through action. It only works if they do something.

Dektor over to discovery

Came across this gem from Chief Culture Officer, one of my favorite  reads in a while. Grant talks about the iconic show NYPD Blue, and its  'amphetamine photography' visual style, pioneered by Leslie Dektor.

I especially like Dektor's idea that the camera should come to each scene "a moment too late."  Surely, this was a camera incapable of bullying or inquisition.  A late camera comes to the scene breathless, eager, as if to say, "wha'd I miss?"  This camera is not the boss of anyone.  It's ingenuous, alert, ready for anything. Dektor gives the camera back its liberty, the better to get accident, spontaneity and the ordinary back into the scene. I asked Dektor why the camera rocked in place. 

"I would let the camera vibrate because I wanted to be prepared to make the next move.  It's poised for movement.  I wanted the frame to be rubbery to prepare myself for the     next move.  You never wanted it to go rock solid.  You wanted to keep the softness, the vibration."

Replace 'camera' with 'idea', and maybe there's a lesson here.

Brain Drives

A braindrive is an asynchronous brainstorming session involving the entire company. Whereas normal brainstorming sessions gather a small group of people in one place at one time, a braindrive gathers a very large group in a large space over a long time.

The principle is based on harnessing the subconscious of people while they go about their meetings and other tasks. It's about using the wasted "idle cycles" of the brain towards a productive goal, and encouraging people to talk in the halls about a common challenge.

We should do this as often as possible, whether it's for a client, or just for fun. People like being creative and they love contributing to something meaningful. A regular braindrive will make people feel like they can shine in the creative spotlight. They will also have the effect of exposing the company to ideas from people who don't often get invited to brainstorms (ie developers, testers, PMs).

We'll be wrapping our noggins around the concept over the next few months. Stay connected

-Alexi

Liquid Thinking

Kevin Kelly of Wired coined this term to explain how the Internet has changed the way he thinks. Due to the instant connection to 2 billion minds that the Internet provides, ideas are archived, remixed, and challenged constantly. The objective truth falls away from the limelight to be replaced by subjective, contextual, and dynamic truths. The 'Big Idea' takes a backseat to a framework of multiple ideas, constantly being generated, tested, and iterated. And this framework is to be applied in a highly social environment, thus subject to constant scrutiny and modification.

This changing of the guard applies to brands as well. Brand stewards will increasingly have to become what IDEO's Gentry Underwood calls 'social interaction designers', highly mindful of the social forces deciding their brand's fate:

 " A social interaction designer must consider not only people, environment, and existing tools, but also the unseen elements of the system such as social relationships, power dynamics, and cultural rules. Who are the stakeholders in the system and what do each of them want or need? How does information flow and where are the friction points? What does it feel like to be a part of this particular culture? "

An exciting time to be in this business. Especially in Canada, where we've got the requisite market complexity, a rich cultural tapestry, a quality workforce, and yet the affordability to invent, test and pilot new models for the global economy.