Servant of Chaos

Get Your VIP Pass to FailCon

2012-06-01T17:19:36+10:00

I have always been a fan of learning from others. Even as a child I would watch friends and family members get into trouble and then work backwards to find the first point of failure – the moment from which there was no return. As far as possible I wanted to make sure that my own mischief would not land me in trouble.

This sneaky, almost surreptitious, level of observation became useful in the corporate world, where failure can mean the difference between having a job and not. In the world of startups, however, failure is seen not as an end point, but as a building block for future success.

Next week, as part of Vivid Sydney, the Vivid Ideas Exchange is hosting FailCon – “a one day conference for technology entrepreneurs, investors, developers and designers to study their own and others’ failures and prepare for success”.

There are some fantastic speakers, including:

Clover Moore, Lord Mayor of Sydney
Tim Ross, comedian
Tania de Jong, social entrepreneur and operatic singer
Mick Liubinskas, co-founder of Pollenizer

One of the things I like about this conference is that there are plenty of Australians speaking. Too often we feel the need to jet in speakers from overseas – overlooking that talent that is right here beneath our noses. Having said that, it is a conference about failure … ;)

Get 50% off the ticket price!

For a short time, you can get a VIP pass to FailCon for only $52. Just use this SECRET LINK with the password FAILCONVIP.

Get your ticket before they are all sold out!

Lots of Trends, But the Direction is Mobile

2012-05-28T15:45:00+10:00

In the marketing world, we love trends. We use them to help us spot and understand what is happening in our marketplaces and what is shifting in the worlds of our customers. They can also be used to help us identify where we have gaps in our customer engagement strategy or where a competitive advantage is opening up.

But so often we focus only on the trend and miss the greater underlying movement that is taking place.

Take a look at this presentation from Edelman Digital. The focus is on trends across Asia Pacific – but the reality of this is, that the same can be easily applied to any country. We are, after all, globally connected. And when I say “we”, I mean “consumers”.

Edelman Digital APAC 2012 Trends

View more presentations from Edelman Digital APAC

As the presentation points out, trends like “touch (see) and go” and “convergence emergence” are not just on the horizon – they are happening and visible in our marketplace now. And tying this to the Edelman Trust Barometer – a measure of the trustworthiness of our institutions – shows precisely why social networks and dominating the thinking of so many business executives.

But for my money, it’s not the trends that are important for us all to consider. It’s the direction. The report touches on this under “Trend 8: Device Freedom” – but reading between the lines, it’s clear that there is a substantial shift in consumer behaviour underway. And it will impact every angle, every industry, every message and every business – whether we like it or not. It’s the ever increasing ubiquity of the mobile phone (particularly the smart phone). It’s already changing the way we shop and the way we work, but it’s going to go further than most businesses are ready for.

Those that prepare and move earlier will be well placed to guide the customer experience and transform the notion of trust that is at the heart of our often fragile sense of brand loyalty. Those that fail to move may find that they fail in more ways than one. It’s taken well over 10 years to get to the year of the mobile, but the trending time is over – the direction is clear and it’s in the palm of your hand.

Five Must-Read Posts from Last Week

2012-05-28T08:50:10+10:00

I was out most of last week with a bad, bad cold. It seems it’s going around (ie the really viral). But I was still able to find a few gems to read in between heavy nanna naps.

Some snappy writing and a barb in the tail of Jim Parker’s writing. He explains why journalists fear academics and shines a light on the process of opinion making and influence wielding in the Australian media. You’ll love it.
Greg Verdino takes us behind the scenes with the American Express OPEN Forum and shares the four principles that keep it fresh and focused.
Is branding something that only your customers experience? What if you treated your employees first? In Let’s Go to Work, Katie Chatfield talks about what this might mean.
Despite our interest in authenticity, it can be hard to live by. Mark Schaefer shares a recent conference experience and explains why.
Is Facebook the New Big Mac? Tim Longhurst casts an accusatory eye across the over-hyped Facebook IPO to tease out the sense, if not the dollars, underlying the valuation and market expectation.

Oh and if you are looking for one more, here’s my post on the future of work and the need to think like a teenager.