Another big goal of the redesign was to bring more attention to the fact that there is a real person behind Project Rethink.  I think it’s important for a blog to have a voice.  My worst fear is that this blog becomes filled with anonymous “fluff” and buzz-words.

So as always, feel free to comment below and share your feedback!  You can also reach me via the contact page or just send me an email to info at projectrethink dot org

Thanks for reading!

-Shawn

Using Youtube’s Audio Content ID system the video, “JK Wedding Entrance Dance“ was identified as containing “Forever” by Chris Brown. However, instead of pulling the content Jive Record label capitalized on the viral nature of the video. According to the Official Google Blog, this was the right move:

This traffic is also very engaged — the click-through rate (CTR) on the “JK Wedding Entrance” video is 2x the average of other Click-to-Buy overlays on the site. And this newfound interest in downloading “Forever” goes beyond the viral video itself: “JK Wedding Entrance” also appears to have influenced the official “Forever” music video, which saw its Click-to-Buy CTR increase by 2.5x in the last week.

Source: Official Google Blog

So what’s the lesson here? If someone uses your content, it’s not always a bad thing. We need to fight the knee-jerk reactions to pull everything and ask questions later. According to Google, in the last week, over a year after its release, Chris Brown’s “Forever” has again rocketed up the charts, reaching as high as #4 on the iTunes singles chart and #3 on Amazon’s best selling MP3 list.

Surround yourself with good people. It’s humbling, but try to avoid situations where you feel that you’re the smartest person in the room because if you do chances are you’re either,

• A) Full of yourself and your ego needs a check, or
• B) You really are the smartest person in the room and it’s time to move on

Good people are humbling. When you surround yourself with good people you are making a conscious effort to be open-minded. This mindset is key to inspiration and motivation.

There are a few companies who do this very well; Apple and Google typically come to mind. But I think there is an overlooked simplicity to the success of new products from these companies. Some people call it the “wow factor”, but it is a little more than that. These companies have a reputation of creating NEW categories of business.

When asked why, in these economic times, Apple has continued to focus on the “premium” computer market instead of creating the infamous netbook, they responded:

For us it’s about doing great products. When I’m looking at what’s sold in the Netbook market, I see cramped keyboards, junky hardware, very small screen, bad software. Not a consumer experience that we would put the Mac brand on. As it exists today, we’re not interested in nor would it be something customers would be interested in the long term. We are looking at the space. For those who want a small computer that does browsing/email, they might want an iPhone or iPod Touch. If we find a way to deliver an innovative product that really makes a contribution, we’ll do that. We have some interesting ideas.

So what does that mean?

Apple could easily iterate their product models to fit the market of netbooks. They could simply strip down their low-end laptops to make them cheaper and competitive in this market while still maintaining their profit margins. But they refuse to, as Steve Jobs said in a special appearance on an earnings report call back in October:

“We don’t know how to build a sub-$500 computer that is not a piece of junk.”

When Apple does enter the netbook market, you can bet they will redefine it. Instead of rushing into the market, Apple is spending a great deal of time and money researching a way to do the market right; figuring out how to avoid a piece of junk.

If history is any indication (iPod, iTunes, iPhone, App Store, etc) this investment of time and money in the beginning will greatly pay off the in the long run.

The Take-Away

There is a simple litmus-test you can use on new products and processes. I don’t mean to oversimplify the matter, but if you, your engineers, your competitors, or your customers utter these phrases during your product release chances are you are not “iterating” an old process:

1. How did they do that?
2. Why didn’t I think of that?

As innovators, we are in the business of “shock-and-awe”. We must never take for granted the consumer experience or return customers. Every product should be as amazing and inspiring as its predecessor.

Links

• Netbooks
• NYTimes – Read My Lips
• MacRumors 2009 Q1 Call Summary

This single video has been on Youtube for less than a week, and has already surpassed 26 million views.

Why is this story so catchy? Why do people want to watch it over, and over.

One of my favorite books in the last couple of years is Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath.  This book describes 6 characteristics of a sticky story:

• Simplicity
• Unexpectedness
• Concreteness
• Credibility
• Emotional
• Stories

Susan Boyle’s story was, in every way, simple, unexpected, concrete, credible and emotional.

A few weeks back I was in one of my favorite coffee shops and I overheard a small group talking. It was obvious this group was meeting for the first time, as they were making introductions and detailing a shopping list of their skills and assets. One of the introductions, however, caught me off gaurd.

“Hi, my name is [fill-in-the-blank], and I am a champion project manager“

I immediately began thinking about this phrase, wondering what it meant to be a champion. The blogosphere and twitter are full of titles like professional, expert, guru, ninja, etc. Everyone tries to come up with the catchy, trendy title; but what do they mean? What does it mean to be more than an expert? What does it mean to be a champion?

With all of these question racing in my head a grabbed out a piece of paper and started writing down some of the characteristics of a champion.

The Characteristics of a Champion:

1. Champions are not defined in a moment. Champions are defined through a history of excellence; champions rise through a journey.
2. Being a champion does not mean perfection; plenty of champions screw up. A champion comes back from a mistake stronger and more determined. A champion comes out on top.
3. Champions are not self-proclaimed. A champion is given their title by a group of their peers, colleagues, or even competition.
4. Champions are not permanent and require self-improvement. A champion is always challenged and never stops learning or growing.

Here is a shortlist of some people I consider champions. I have a learned a lot from every person on this list, and if I haven’t met you, I look forward to thanking you in person some day.

• Champion Presenter: Garr Reynolds (@presentationzen)
• Champion Blogger: Seth Godin
• Champion Evangelist: Guy Kawasaki (@guykawasaki)
• Champion Innovator: Clayton Christensen
• Champion Photographer: Scott Kelby (@scottkelby)
• Champion Thinker/Reformer: Lawrence Lessig (@lessig)
• Champion in Social Media: Chris Brogan (@chrisbrogan) and Laura Fitton (@pistachio)

*Sorry, I couldn’t settle on one social media champion. Maybe Laura and Chris will just have to battle it out?

What are your ideas of a champion?

Who are your champions?

(Please comment below)

During the video, David asks the question: “Is this real life?”

This question spawned a great comment thread on Digg; this is why I love the Internet.

Having trouble watching this video? Watch it on Youtube.

Chris Brogan wrote a great post today entitled “You’re Doing it Wrong”.  This fit so well with a post I had drafted last night I decided to turn it into a follow-up post.

Spend 5 minutes on Twitter and you are bound to find an expert, guru, or maven in just about any field; especially social media, marketing, and SEO.

Look at the list Chris put together and you’ll notice a common theme.  Rapid expansion and aggressive marketing is not the secret behind social media.

Social media is not the place for instant celebrity.

But even if you’re not doing it wrong, sometimes it feels like thinks aren’t working. Why?

There are 2 key principles to social media. Two reasons why people often start out doing things right, but end up doing things wrong:

1. Patience, slow growth wins over aggressive expansion
   
2. Build relationships along the way, interact and engage

We don’t like to wait.  The catch-22 of Twitter is it’s speed.  It’s tempting to join a network like Twitter and follow everyone under the sun because it’s easy and that feels like success.  But even if you pick up 500 or 600 auto-follow’s or a few polite follow-backs, you’ll quickly find you’re not the success you think you are.

Social media works because people talk to each other.  Aggressive expansion only results in one-way communication; and that will get you nowhere. 

There are a lot of really good posts about Twitter.  I’m sure you’ve read them, but if you haven’t this is a good starter list: (please add in the comments below more great posts on Twitter and social media)

• Chris Brogan (@chrisbrogan): Newbies Guide to Twitter, 50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business
• Guy Kawasaki (@guykawasaki): How to Use Twitter as a Twool
• Laura Fitton (@pistachio): Getting Started on Twitter

Argue as you might, this book is backed with all of the supporting evidence one would come to expect from a distinguished law professor.  I’ve read much of Lessig’s work, and I must admit I agreed with his premise going into the book; but there is an interesting dynamic in how he presents his case.  This book is hardly theoretical, many of the examples he uses (Flickr, Youtube, Redhat) are all working  examples of everything he presents.

Lessig’s argument is not that these entities can exist, but that they should continue to exist and should be encouraged in the years to come.

Remix Reviews

Based on the nature of the book, I thought it appropriate to bring some reviews by other critics

Lessig’s proposals for revising copyright are compelling, because they rethink intellectual-property rights without abandoning them.

Briefly Noted, The New Yorker.

“A public intellectual of zealous spirit, a skilful polemicist engaged in the discourse of law, politics and the worldwide web – Lawrence Lessig is a prophet for the internet age.”

Lewis Jones, The sharing generation, in the Financial Times.

“It is not easy having a calm conversation about media these days. … The most potent bombs have been thrown by Lawrence Lessig, a law professor, litigator, and author.”

L. Gordon Crovitz, Remix by Lawrence Lessig, in Commentary.

Lawrence Lessig on The Colbert Report, January 8th 2009.

The Bottom Line

There are people who agree with this book and people who don’t; I just happen to be one of those people who does agree with this book.  But it might not be the reason you expect.  Lessig presents an excellent argument for the hybrid economy, but the most compelling evidence to date is the world around us.  

Look at the “breakout” companies of the last 10-15 years. Google, Youtube, Wikipedia, Facebook, Twitter; all centered around the idea that the community adds value.  Lessig quotes a gentleman in his book, and I apologize I could not find the reference (if someone finds it please comment below) who says, “20 years from now this won’t even be an issue”.  His point was simply that, 20-30 years from now the managers choosing the projects, the venture capitalists signing the checks, and the CEOs driving major corporations are going to be people who were born this digital world of remix.  The companies won’t be breakout companies forever. They thrive on community created culture.

If the Google’s and Facebook’s of the world are in fact “breakout” companies and startups, their CEOs are merely breaking out from a pack of likeminded individuals, who 20-30 years from now will catch up and hybrid will become the norm.

Remix Links

It’s no secret I am a Photoshop nut. I love everything about digital media and spend much of my day in various Adobe products. 

This has little to do with innovation, it’s just to have a little fun. So in celebration of Layers TV, here are 5 simple steps to the perfect photoshopped Santa hat avatar.

Step 1: Find a good Santa Hat

If you’re looking for quality stock photos, check out istockphoto.com or sxc.hu. This Santa hat is from Stock Exchange.

Step 2: Isolate the hat, quick selection

Open your Santa hat in Photoshop to mask out the background. There are many ways you could remove the background of the hat; however for this purpose I’m just going to use the quick selection tool. Simply paint around the outside of your hat with the brush to select.

Your selection will most likely bleed into hat while you paint along the outside–no worries, that’s normal. Simply hold down the option key on a mac, or alt key on windows, and  the center of your brush will turn to a ( – ) symbol.  This will allow you to paint over the areas you have already selected and deselect them.

Adjust your brush size as needed to fine tune your selection, this may take some practice. When you are finished, your hat should look something like this.

Step 3: Free Transform

If you haven’t done so already, double click the background layer (in your layers pallet) of your Santa hat to turn it into a normal layer, this will allow us to remove the background from the selection we just made.  Once your Santa hat is a layer, simply hit the delete key to remove the background.

Open up your target image and drag the newly isolated Santa hat layer.  The first thing you want to do is free transform the hat to a realistic position.  You can do this by hitting Command + T on a mac, or Control + T on a PC; or by choosing Edit > Free Transform.

By setting your width to -100%, you can flip the image along the vertical axis (or just drag the controls from one side to the other). Also, by holding down the command key you can independently skew the corners.  Position the hat so that it is in a realistic position. Don’t be afraid to rotate or skew the hat as needed.  For more advanced transformations, you might try Liquify tool (Filter > Liquify) or the warp tool.

Step 4: Levels, Gradient Overlay

If you are trying to photoshop two images together, be it a Santa hat or adding yourself to a photo, one of the most important (and easiest) steps is your levels panel. It will be very obvious that your pictures don’t have the same lighting conditions, so take the time do do this quick and simple step.

With the Santa hat layer selected hit Command + L, or choose Image > Adjustments > Levels.  This will open up your levels panel.  Your goal here is to match the levels of your hat to the levels of your photo. Since my photo is darker, I am going to move both the left and middle slider to the right.  This will deepen my reds and increase my shadows.  You can decrease the highlights by lowering the white output level.

Finally you’ll want to add a gradient overlay to add depth to your lighting conditions.  Looking at my picture, I can see the my face gets darker top to bottom.  A low opacity gradient overlay set to multiply does the trick nicely.  I also added a subtle drop shadow, inner shadow, and inner glow to help blend my picture to the background. Experiment and have fun with it.

Step 5: Finishing Touches

You can add snow, text, antlers or a beard–go nuts. Just be sure to have fun.   

I want to thank RC and Corey over at Layers TV.  I watch you guys every week, you’re great. Both of you are on my list of people I’d like to meet someday, looking forward to PSW in Boston this year. The same goes for Matt, Dave, and of course Scott Kelby (The Photoshop Guys).  I am a bigger nerd because of you guys.

Like I said, this blog entry was the result of a few tweets.  Here are some good photoshop people you should follow on twitter, as well as some good links. If I miss anyone, please don’t hesitate comment, email, or twitter me @shawnwelch.