Yes…that’s me floating above Shaq’s head. One of the highlights of SXSW Interactive this year was Dr. Shaquille O’Neal (did you know he had a doctorate degree?). He joined me on stage at the Long Center for Performing Arts to a theater packed with adoring fans. Before we took the stage, we spent some time to shoot a special episode of Revolution. Not only is Dr. Shaq an NBA champion, an Olympic gold medalist, a 15 time All Star, 6th…
Angel Investor and Entourage Actor Adrian Grenier Starts Music Incubator
When he’s not starring in movies and television, Adrian Genier is a serial entrepreneur. Most recognized for his role as Vincent Chase in HBO’s Entourage, and also the upcoming movie, Grenier has co-founded or invested in several companies including SHFT, Fansnaps, and Churchkey Can Co. Now he’s at it again but this time, he’s changing his tune. While at SXSW in Austin, I spent some time with Grenier to talk about his new music incubator, The WRECKROOM. The idea is…
Smashing Convention: Billy Corgan on why artists need more than viral videos
Welcome to Revolution Season 3! Although, we unofficially launched one of the interviews early (because of the GRAMMY Awards), Season 3 proudly debuts with an unapologetic interview with none other than Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins. This episode also celebrates the release of Oceania, the new Smashing Pumpkins “album within an album.” As guitarist and co-founder of the Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Corgan was at the forefront of one of the most important music movements in recent history. He’s not…
SXSW News: Billy Corgan Joins Brian Solis to Discuss The End of the Music Business as Usual
When I originally outlined my presentation for SXSW, my plan was to set the stage for a passionate and engaged conversation by sharing the inspiration for my new book, The End of Business as Usual. The more I thought about it, I realized that I could do more. To me, SXSW is a celebration of culture, art, innovation, and vision. The End of Business as Usual isn’t just about “business,” it’s about the end of everything “as usual.” So, I…
Welcome to the EGOsystem: How Much Are You Worth?
What’s your Klout score? How many people follow you on Twitter? What’s your authority on Peerindex? How are peers rating you on Honestly? What’s your rank in Quora? Are you tracked by Traackr? The answers equate to a market harbinger that’s both alarming and telling…how much is your digital persona worth in today’s social economy. We’ll explore the nuances and the impact on brands and personal brands live on stage at SXSW. Join me, Ad.ly’s Sean Rad and Arnie Gullov-Singh…
SXSW Was a Tweet Success: Analyzing 2009-2010 Activity and Sentiment on Twitter
As you may or may not know, I am, among many other things, a contributing data analyst at PeopleBrowsr, a leading provider of social search and conversation mining tools and services. While PeopleBrowsr receives the activity feeds of many prominent social networks, among the most fascinating to analyze, is of course, the real-time micro conversations that populate Twitter and the passionate people who tweet towards significance. In the past, we gawked at Twitter’s Most Engaging Celebrities and also boarded Twitter’s…
Who Owns Social Media?
I had a fantastic conversation with Frank Eliason (@comcastcares), Duncan Riley, and Chris Brogan last night during the Microsoft Windows Mobile Developer event (@WMDev) at Chapel in Seattle. We explored the drivers that propel companies into social labyrinths and how they participate, react and in turn, strategically plan (or should) once they’ve arrived. The common motives are spurred through innovation (rare) and urgency (more common). It’s Aha vs. Uh-oh… However, the debate from within will eventually arise, questioning who owns…
Sarah Lacy on Sarah Lacy and the Infamous SXSW Mark Zuckerberg Keynote
I spent time with Sarah Lacy and we talked about… I’m sure you heard about the infamous Mark Zuckerberg SXSW keynote hosted by well known author, Business Week columnist and Yahoo TechTicker host Sarah Lacy. Just in case you haven’t, let’s just say that some of the audience wasn’t supportive of the casual, conversational format or her style of engaging Zuckerberg in public. From the get go, many believe that this interview was destined to fail. The angst and…
Twitter is real-time “anywhere” messaging and networking
twitter is the message heard around the world – so to speak or so to read. It’s an incredible phenomenon that is spreading faster than online parodies of Snakes on a M F Plane…and in my opinion, it has to be the fastest growing social tool out there right now. It’s everywhere, anywhere messaging so that you can stay in touch with friends, fans, stalkers, and associates whether on the Web, instant messaging, or through text messaging. Each update is…
