The South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival recently posted a video of Brian Solis’ 2018 keynote address.
The Past, Present and Future of Social Media
A big part of my work as a digital analyst and anthropologist is to track emerging and disruptive technology trends and study their impact on business and society. In the early 2000s, much of that work was focused on what was Web 2.0, collaboration (office 2.0) and the rise of social media. It was a very special time in my career. I had the good fortune to be in the center of a very important shift in technology and culture….
I was supposed to write about Apple’s new show ‘Planet of the Apps,’ Instead, I wrote about @GaryVee
This post started as a review of the new show on Apple Music, “Planet of the Apps.” I realized the world didn’t need another announcement or review of the show. What I will say is this, any show that aims to help entrepreneurs bring their ideas to life and also transform them into budding businesses that change the world is important. The show features Jessica Alba, Gwyneth Paltrow, will.i.am and Gary Vaynerchuk. I’ve had the privilege of working with this crew (except…
Dear Startups: Disrupt Yourself To Disrupt The Industry
Here’s something you may not know about me…Before I focused on studying digital transformation, innovation, culture and digital anthropology, I used to exclusively work with enterprise tech companies and startups going back to the (gasp) early 90s. I’ve been through Web 1.0, 2.0, the rise of digital, social, mobile, cloud and every SW/HW/online/app consumer and enterprise trend in between. In all my years, I’ve probably helped launch/advise over 1,000 companies. I’ve even started and exited a few myself (note: I…
The Importance of Designing Customer Experiences
SXSW is one of my favorite events of the year for many reasons. It’s an experience where serendipity becomes the new gravity and almost everyone you meet has incredible stories to share. Upon arrival in Austin, I drove straight from the airport to the Sysomos lounge to see my dear friend Amber Naslund and her team. She was kind enough to host my very first booksigning of X the evening before SXSW was set to kick-off. The place was packed! What…
SXSW 2016: Where to Find Me (and Get Free Copies of X!)
It’s that time of year again and I’m excited to have the opportunity to meet with so many incredible companies, entrepreneurs and people changing the world. There are a number events, book signings and presentations that I wanted to share with you. If you have time to make one or more, please join me. Many of the events are open to all with several generous companies offering free companies of X to attendees. Take a look below and let’s meet y’all!…
SXSW Jumps the Shark (Again?), The Meerkat Craze and Twitter’s Questionable Developer Relations – ContextMatters #6
Jumping the Shark Has Jumped the Shark SXSW is a special event. It is what you make it and what you allow it to be. And, that’s what makes it both personal and serendipitous. That doesn’t stop people from asking every year whether or not SXSW has jumped the shark. Did you know that jumping the shark was a Happy Days reference? Chris and I talk about why SXSW is important and we speak to attendees about why they travel…
Meerkat and the Ephemeral State of Livestreaming
By now you must have heard about Meerkat, the latest tech media darling that lets people tweet (stream) live experiences with friends and followers on Twitter. It’s basically an easy to use app that combines ephemeral livecasting/livestreaming on top of the Twitter platform but through a dedicated screen where participants can see video, who’s watching as well as the Tweets between them. I call it Meerkasting and yes, it’s already a verb. I realize that most of the words I…
Made in Detroit: How Shinola’s Good Ole Fashioned Business Values Outperform the Status Quo
You don’t know shit from Shinola. Ever heard that saying before? This World War II era colloquialism caused a movement to revive the American watchmaking industry and with it bring to Detroit yet another chapter in its storied history in manufacturing. This year at SXSWV2V, I was fortunate enough to interview Shinola president Jacques Panis live on the main stage. He’s not only the president of a thriving lifestyle company contributing to the resurgence of Detroit, he’s also incredibly genuine and…
3 short videos on innovation, surviving conferences and cringe-worthy career moments
Every now and then, I take a step back away from research, writing and the relentless barrage of disruption and innovation to go through my inbox, favorites, bookmarks, etc., to see what’s worth revisiting. To my surprise, I’d forgotten about three fun, short 60-second videos that I shot for LinkedIn on location at SXSW 2013. While short, I was thoughtful in my responses to three important yet diverse questions. As such, I’m hoping that they might either help or entertain…
