Posts tagged innovation
avin narasimhan
often rambling, but hopefully always interesting
Video: What Is Google+ And Do I Need It?
via youtube.com
Two months without a single post, so why not get back in with something nice and easy. Right? Right. Besides, I guess I have a good excuse- got married, went on an amazing honeymoon, and have spent most of my time since then trying to figure out what it is I do again.
Anyway, I figure many people are having similar internal debates abt Google+ now though I doubt it’s as entertaining. Good break for your afternoon.
#Planningness2011: What I Learned And Thoughts For The Next One
Back in the office after yet another incredibly inspiring Planningness, thanks to the tireless efforts of Mark and Claire, as well as the long list of fantastic and truly brilliant speakers. Though I think they learned their lesson by asking me to speak last time, and wisely chose not to this time around (kidding…I think). Anyway, lots of people with very different backgrounds and different views on the world shared their ideas with us, and the breakout sessions were again intense yet wonderfully productive at the same time. Many of these folks, in planningness tradition, were from far outside the ad world, and it made it all the more interesting and fun. And of course, there was plenty of drinks with old and new friends ( more and more and the list goes…) once the sessions let out, and I think even 3 days later I’m still feeling the effects. A few people have already written up recaps/implications worth checking out (including Ed Cottons excellent post which he seemingly posted hours after the final session while the rest of us were still knocking back a few). Given I’ve been lucky enough to go to all 3 planningness events so far, I thought I’d also try and share some things I’ve learned overall, not just this past session, and also some thoughts as we look toward the next time we all get together. The idealism from Planningness 1 has been replaced, to some degree, with practicality
You could probably read that and take it as a bad thing, that maybe we’ve become disheartened or less enthused, but I think that couldn’t be further from the truth. When I left the first Planningness, I felt like I was walking on air. It was the first conference of it’s kind I had ever been to (which I think is true for most of us), and I got back to the office determined to change the world in 7 days or less. Well, not surprisingly, that didn’t happen. And it frustrated the hell out of me. Ed and Kristina keenly pointed out this feeling of high vs low at the start of their session:
On that note, perhaps there’s some therapeutic value in the dreaded echo chamber
In a few of the sessions, we aired out in our groups some of the major problems planners face today, from our roles not being fully understood by clients, to our value in helping actually come up with creative ideas not being understood internally, to resource and time constraints on the brief/briefing process, and everything in between. And I guess to some that could be seen as a bit of an echo chamber, planners running in circles talking to each other. While I agree there are many detrimental aspects of the ‘echo chamber’ as it’s often referred to— particularly that it can perpetuate the stereotype of talkers vs doers— maybe the therapeutic side is one unspoken benefit. It helps for me to know there are others out there struggling through the same things, beyond these walls. Dealing with the same challenges, having the same fights, losing the same battles. It’s not in defense of an echo chamber, but just a point to say maybe there’s one helpful aspect to it after all. 
Frankly, there are too many brilliant people in this industry for agencies to fail
Just a few lines after I said idealism has been replaced with practicality, I realize maybe this is an idealistic thought. But working with all of the people in attendance this year, witnessing brilliance and energy in action, and seeing how determined (and perhaps even a little desperate) we all are to bring about meaningful change to this industry convinces me that for all the talk of the death of agencies, there’s simply too much talent for us all to fail. This isn’t limited to planners, of course, and I don’t think anyone else in attendance would believe that it is. We all know there are people across our own offices of a similar mind, determined to push things forward, whether you work at a large network agency or a small boutique. My hope is the more we’re able to learn from each other, gain fresh ideas and approaches, we can continue to make progress. It might be slower than most of us would like, but as someone once said, “change doesn’t happen over night”.
On that note, I might submit this humbly to our amazing organizers- what if we all looked around at our respective agencies to get some creatives out to the next Planningness? They may not be interested or may not care, but I bet there are a few that would. And I wonder if it would impact their views on what planning is perhaps seen as today vs what it can and should be, to see first hand how determined and excited we all are about the possibilities for the future, particularly when you put so many in one room and get outside the day-to-day challenges of work. Not that we want to fundamentally change the spirit and culture of Planningness, but just as Adrian sought to bring together the worlds of production and strategy in his session, maybe we can continue to blend other worlds into our little family.
All that said…
What did I miss, and what did you learn? What sticks in other people’s minds? I realize I didn’t get too far into details about specific sessions, would love to hear further thoughts. And I’ll try and post a bit more about things in the coming days. Either way, can’t wait for the next Planningness. Thanks again to Mark and Claire (and everyone else who spoke and attended). See you all soon I hope.
#PSFK2011: Post-Conference Thoughts And Some Things I Learned
This past Friday, I was fortunate enough (along with a crew of fellow Arnold planner types) to be able to attend the PSFK conference in NYC. As you’ve probably heard already, an awesome day filled with lots of inspiring talks and panels with amazing people. It was my first time being able to attend any of the PSFK sessions, despite wanting to go the past few years something always seemed to get in the way. And I now know that all the hype wasn’t really hype, it is that good. Several people have already written great recaps and implications from the day, and I guess that’s what I get for being days behind in posting my own. Not sure how much I’m adding to the dialogue, but for what it’s worth, here goes with some stuff I took away from the day.
The gap between invention and true innovation.
This is basically a theme pulled from one part of one discussion, but I thought it was telling and interesting enough to stand on its own. One of my favorite quotes (paraphrased a bit as I tried to keep up with the rapid fire discussion) from the session on ‘What’s Next’ was from Ayesha Khanna:
She was talking broadly about the R&D culture in the U.S., and how it is very good at coming up with amazing things in research labs and getting patents filed. But how many of those patents and inventions see the light of day is a very different story. Her point was that while other countries may be lagging behind on paper when it comes to # of patents, they’re (quickly) getting better at getting stuff made and out into the world, where it can either be deemed useful or a flop by the masses. Got me thinking that agencies have a very similar problem— plenty of really interesting ideas (inventions) exist within all of our walls- on concept boards, as rough sketches on napkins or tear sheets, or just in random conversations between smart minds who work in the same building. Yet more often than not those ideas go nowhere, either because a client wasn’t ready for it, it wasn’t sold in right, it simply wasn’t feasible, not the right time, etc etc. Places like Made By Many, BBH’s new venture Black Sheep Fund, and others are countering this and focusing on getting stuff made and out into the world, but by and large agencies haven’t broken out of the invention vs innovation trap. The more we can get stuff out of our dark labs and into the world where it can either fly or die a quick death, the better off we’ll be.
Speaking of which- for planners, how may we best balance rigor with speed to innovate?
This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently and the conference was yet another reminder. In nearly every job description for planners you will see (or that you may be writing now), “planning rigor” in some form is almost always mentioned. Not that it should be surprising- applying strategic rigor, examining ideas and territories from every angle, is critical in getting to the best work. But the term and associated ‘process’ can tend to feel somewhat academic to me. How much rigor is too much, and is there a point when it gets in the way of true innovation? I guess what I’m asking is— despite best intentions, do we run the risk of sometimes getting in our own way? I don’t really have an answer to this, but feels like an interesting area as we all try to evolve planning broadly, and specifically within our own agencies. Making stuff, not just thinking, has been a popular rally cry for a bit now in planner echo chambers, but are getting there fast enough?
We’ve only scratched the surface on the impact gaming is having on culture.
Aaron Dignan of Undercurrent gave one of my favorite talks of the day, an adaptation of sorts of his new book Game Frame. He provided some lessons about how game mechanics can fundamentally change not just our approach to our work, but the workplace itself. And importantly he brought up some powerful points about how incorporating game mechanics doesn’t mean just adding points and badges to everything you do. But rather thinking about the underlying behavioral motivations and how those can translate into gaming experiences in the business world (read: “gamification” ain’t your answer). Bottom line, it’s about to get so much more interesting and exciting. After watching Aaron speak, am definitely putting his book at the top of the reading list. Some of his lessons for what can be turned into a game (again paraphrased, hope I’m doing it justice):
Most startups didn’t spend much time talking about marketing and/or advertising (at the conference, or in general, it seems).
AirBnB. Kickstarter. Thrillist. Justin Gignac and his NYC Garbage project (as awesome as it sounds). The most inspiring people of the day didn’t really mention advertising, marketing, agencies, or the like. Nor did they seem to agonize about it much in the early phases of their respective ventures. They had an idea (ideas that do, as Gareth puts it), along with a million reasons why it could probably fail, but they just went ahead and did it. No overthinking, no grand ‘social engagement experiential explosion contact mapping plan’ that promised this thing would be the next Twitter, they just put their heads down and did it. They tried some stuff, it failed, and they went back and tried other stuff until something worked. It’s a mentality we talk a lot about around agencies, but one that isn’t quite yet in practice more often than not. Ed Cotton probably captured what all of this means best in his PSFK recap on how the makers are now the heroes, and if agencies hope to draw in the best people, perhaps we need to start infusing the values and ideals of the startups that inspire us all. Somewhat of a side note- nobody really talked about Facebook.
Perhaps surprisingly, perhaps not. But I found it interesting- and honestly somewhat refreshing- that facebook occupied very little of the overall discussion and speaker sessions. This isn’t some rant against FB, I’m a fan, I’m on it far too much, yada yada. And besides, the value (or lack) of it for both personal social connections and potential for brands has been talked about ad nauseum. Maybe it’s because so many of those in attendance feel similarly, and spend so much time discussing it at their respective places of business, that it felt like this wasn’t the place to talk even more about it. Or perhaps it means facebook is fully getting to the place Clay Shirky has written about: “communications tools don’t become socially interesting until they become technologically boring”. Despite the constant changes and updates from Zuck and co, maybe it has actually just started to become part of the fabric, an assumed part of the world that doesn’t need to be discussed in tech innovation circles. So what did I miss? I’m sure there’s plenty.
I’ve realized that aside from a steady stream of hashtagged tweets (or perhaps because of that), I’m not too good at taking actual notes during conferences. Look forward to hearing others thoughts in the coming days. In the meantime, big thanks to Piers Fawkes and the rest of the PSFK crew, and all the fantastic speakers who were good enough to share their time, energy, and perspectives with the rest of us.
WeTransfer Just May Be A Worthy Drop.io Successor
Not too long after the announcement broke that facebook had acquired drop.io (and subsequently the latter would no longer be accepting new drops), I along with many others felt a bit frustrated by the sudden lack of (good) file transfer options. Have never really had a good experience with Yousendit, so that didn’t really seem like an option. But then WeTransfer quietly bubbled up, without a lot of fanfare, but seemed intriguing. After trying it out several times, I’m starting to wonder if the experience may be even a little bit better than drop.io (though I do miss my drops, I won’t lie). Love the dead simple UI and transfer process, and 2GB free limit is pretty impressive. Have been using it several times a week for the past month and a half or so, and have yet to have any issues. And I love that they took the time to think about adding an extra element of design to the background. Small detail, but nice touch. Should you require something a bit more heavyweight, there’s also a paid, yearly subscription option:
In case you’re wondering, no I don’t work for WeTransfer in any capacity, but have been happy enough with it (particularly given the surprising lack of suitable post drop.io alternatives) that I figure it’s worth pointing anyone else to it who may still be looking for a good service. Anyone else have other options they’ve turned to in a post drop.io world? Or any WeSI’m all for keeping options open.
Pre-Holiday Reading: Most Contagious 2010
The latest installment of Contagious Magazine’s ‘Most Contagious’ is out, and always is full of inspiring ideas and work. Particularly enjoyed section 08 on Gaming, and not surprisingly, Angry Birds gets its fair share of time (hate it or love it, it’s hard to deny that it’s taken hold of an unhealthy amount of many people’s time).
Full pres is worth a few minutes of your time, and definitely one to keep on hand for quick reference.
via slideshare.netPre-Holiday Reading: Most Contagious 2010
The latest installment of Contagious Magazine’s ‘Most Contagious’ is out, and always is full of inspiring ideas and work. Particularly enjoyed section 08 on Gaming, and not surprisingly, Angry Birds gets its fair share of time (hate it or love it, it’s hard to deny that it’s taken hold of an unhealthy amount of many people’s time).
Full pres is worth a few minutes of your time, and definitely one to keep on hand for quick reference.
via slideshare.net#greatpresentationsof2010: The Awareness Fallacy
#techdream: The Future of Screens In 2014
via gizmodo.com
This is a truly amazing video put together by the good people at The Astonishing Tribe on what our future screens might look and act like. I’m now going to be dissatisfied with every piece of technology I buy until it comes close to resembling this. Thanks a lot guys.
But seriously, well worth a watch, pretty incredible to imagine the possibilities. And reminds you how much more ubiquitous information could possibly be in our lives. Great stuff.
TedTalks: The Beauty + Power Of Data Visualization
via ted.com
Seems like everyday there is someone offering up the latest infographic of the day or a new take on data visualization to wow your senses. But, not surprisingly, this Ted Talk courtesy of David McCandless is quite an amazing and inspiring display of data visualization unlike most others. Particularly impressed with the selection of data sets he works through (from media interest in violent video games, to $ figures randomly thrown out in news reports that are meaningless without context).
Well worth 15 minutes of your day. And a nice dose of inspiration for the next time you need to present absurd amounts of data in a way that won’t put everyone but you to sleep.
