The ambiance was festive at the DCWEEK Keynotes which was slated to start at 7:00PM on Wednesday November 9th 2011. I got there in time to pick up my credentials, grab a copy of “The End Of Business As Usual” by Brian Solis who would later present in the time. I made my way to the front of the Warner Theater auditorium, close to the stage which had been themed out to the DCWEEK colors and logos along with balloons (that would later end up being bounced around in the crowd). The first speaker of the night was none other than DC’s Mayor, Vince Gray.
Mayor Gray’s talk was centered on the importance of technology to DC’s economy, with Gray arguing that DC was the best place in the country to start and grow a company. He also noted that the District had the fastest municipal fiber network in the world, and took the time to highlight homegrown successful startups (LivingSocial, Blackbord, HelloWallet), as well as the ones currently being shored up. I appreciated the recognition given to the 40 students from DC Public School robotic clubs who were attending the event, we always need more youth involved in technology. The high note of the talk was Mayor Gray declaring November 2011 DC Tech Month. This was definitely a recognition of the higher visibility Tech is getting in the District and certainly an achievement for the DCWEEK organizers.
Mayor Gray was followed by the quirky Genevieve Bell, Director of User Experience at Intel, who, if you ask many, gave the most interesting talk of the night regarding The Future Of Mobile Technologies From Cars To Smart Phones. Bell was a true crowd pleaser. Her Aussie sense of humor was displayed throughout a presentation peppered with funny personal observations and quotes. She shared her journey on creating responsive technology used in a crowded space. This led her to a worldwide trek asking people to empty out the content of their car to have it photographed and inventoried. The connection between cars and mobile technology was not obvious at first. But Bell explained that, as most people spend more time in their cars due to increased commute times worlwide and the rise of cars as status symbols, it was logical to study the link between cars and mobility. She highlighted how cars facilitate mobile lives, how they are “third places” where people enjoy personal time, or how they are used as a debriefing space. Cars also keep people socially safe, thus the example of people keeping scotch tape, greeting cards, and alcohol in their automobiles to prepare for unplanned events. Cars also keep ghosts of previous owners, or people we have encountered, as well as serve as places to keep our secrets. Overall this was a very interesting talk approaching mobile technology from a very different angle.
Belle was followed by Krish Prabhu of AT&T a DCWEEK sponsor. He highlighted AT&T’s efforts in upgrading their network, which was referred to as simply “The Network”. Prabhu shared that AT&T will open up The Network to developers through API. This will allow them to leverage it to the customers AT&T serves. Prabhu’s talk was primarily developer-focused and showed humility in recognizing that the biggest innovations in the marketplace usually do not come from large corporations but from individual innovators. AT&T is currently testing its LTE network in 9 markets including Washington, DC with speed up to 73Mpbs. Prabhu announced the AT&T would reveal its cloud and APU strategy at CES 2012 as early as January, so I’ll keep an ear out for that.
Scott Kelly of Ford was next, a self described car tech and geek. He was there to explain Ford’s experience in re-branding itself through social media and innovative campaigns. Kelly acknowledged that Ford’s cars did not have the best reputation. They lacked the “sexiness” appeal that was already present in their Japanese competitor’s cars. The biggest challenge they faced was that there was a huge negative perception gap against their brand. Ownership cycle for cars is 5 years which would make introducing their 2008/2009 models quite a difficult task. To save their company, they decided to focus their marketing strategy on a peer recommendation model. To accomplish this, they set on the task of getting people to talk about their product. They started with a brand new model, the Ford Fiesta which was sold worlwide but not in the US. They gave it to one hundred people to drive around for six months. Once they put people behind the wheel, they received positive feedback from the experience and pursued that strategy next by co-introducing the 2011 Ford Explorer on Facebook. They also took the traditional route and at an aut0 trade show. Kelly also played a video of Doug, a funny “spokes-puppet” for the 2012 Ford Focus and explained how humor was an easy way to connect with customers. He finished his talk by presenting the online and mobile campaign they launched to promote the 2012 Ford Mustang which included smart QR Codes and online customization tools. His talk was a great learning experience to see how a successful marketing campaign can be done with an online focus.
After Scott Kelly, Mike Jones, the entrepreneur not the rapper, took the stage for a live interview. Formerly Senior VP at AOL and President at Myspace, he gave the crowd a summary of his background and how he got started in entrepreneurship with his first business ever being a magazine. Jones emphasized that the lessons he learned from that first venture were carried through in all his following endeavors, including MySpace. He liked learning new skills on the job and made sure that he was exposed to new skills on each gig he found himself involved in. Two memorable lessons he shared were: the best teams adjust their model to the opportunities they find and a good team applied to a mediocre model can turn it around while the opposite does not hold true. He insisted on startups focusing on putting excellent teams together because as an investor, he knows it is one of the important criteria to consider. He is currently involved in investing and advising startups and his interested in building and investing in businesses in the future.
Like a whirlwind, Brian Solis stormed the stage, bringing energy and straight talk in a presenting that was largely inspired by his latest book, “The End Of Business As Usual”. He described himself as an aspiring social scientist and strolled the stage defining how technology changes us as people and how we use it as a form of expression of who we want to be. He insisted that what we need is the ability to create projects that matter, to be the signal and not the noise. He defined the evolution of consumer behavior as digital darwinism, and introduced the realms of Mobile, Social and Real Time as “The Golden Triangle”. Solis was very insistent on the interconnections of self-centered people through social media, which he defined as the “Ego-system.” Brands are not created but co-created through shared experiences that reflect the customers’ perception of the brand. Brands should not underestimate social networks as the an integral part of today’s business influence loop.
Last but not least, was Frank Warren of PostSecret, which is a non profit based on the concept of allowing people to share their secrets anonymously. This was my favorite talk of the night and judging from the #dcweek conversations following the keynotes, I was not the only one moved my Frank’s presentation. He came across as very human, vulnerable and personable as he explained how he got inspired one day to prepare 7000 self addressed post cards and distribute them in DC, asking people to write their secrets on it and mail it back. His own Mom called the idea diabolical, but he went ahead with it. As the post cards started trickling in first from Maryland, then Virginia, the Midwest and finally from all corners of the world, he realized he had tapped into a deepy personal and unknown aspect of the human mind. They often say that it is easier to tell a stranger your secrets, and as Frank realized the common trend he picked up from all the secrets he received was that most people out there are really looking for that one soul they can share their secrets with. As Frank pointed, very little of the secrets had to do with criminal activity, as most would assume, including in the media. Instead, most of the post cards were centered on the themes of body image issues and thoughts of suicide. Subsequently, Frank shared that he is raising money for HopeLine, to help train suicide hotline volunteers. He pointed out that half the murders in the U.S. are due to suicide and yet it is the most preventable type of death. Frank gave tips on how to prevent people from actually carrying their suicidal thoughts through: Be direct when speaking with them, ask them why do they want to kill themselves; remove the means (pills, loaded guns, knives, anything they could use to harm themselves), encourage them to seek professional help and follow up. Frank made it very personal in recounting his own experience, and showed how a simple SMS conversation with a friend helped him deal with his own issues. From somebody that is involved in what you would consider a serious and stark issue, Frank was very humorous, open and sincere, which gave his talk an added punch. The vulnerability that Frank showed made most, including me, realize that nobody is above having suicidal thoughts.
