IanSchafer.com

Video From THE CONVERSATION: Attracting Audiences Through Social Media

Here's the full video of me and awesome panelists Arin Crumley (FOUR EYED MONSTERS), Jason Spingarn-Koff (LIFE 2.0), Ryan Werner (IFC), and Nina Paley (SITA SINGS THE BLUES) at Scott Kirsner's THE CONVERSATION conference back in March here in NYC.

ConvoNYC - Attracting Audiences Through Social Media - Part 1 of 3 from Scott Kirsner on Vimeo.

ConvoNYC - Attracting Audiences Through Social Media - Part 3 of 3 from Scott Kirsner on Vimeo.

How Social Media Can Save The Newspaper Business.

On Tuesday, I gave this presentation at the NAA MediaXchange. The topic was how social media can be used to generate revenue for newspapers.

I think it can do more than that.

Putting Social Media To Work For Newspapers

View more presentations from Deep Focus.

How Social Media is Transforming Everything [VIDEO]

Here's a video of my panel discussion at the 4A's Transformation 2010 conference, called "How Social Media is Transforming Everything". Pretty big canvas to paint on. We hit on a lot, but not everything.

Big Trouble in Little Austin (A Brief SXSW Recap).

Check out my latest DigitalNext post in AdAge that starts off with a little something like this:

I've been going to the South by Southwest conference (SXSW) for several years now, and every year it gets bigger. This year was no different. More than 12,000 people reportedly attended SXSW Interactive this year, giving it its biggest crowd ever. In fact, from what I experienced at this year's SXSW, everything seemed big in Texas, but not necessarily "best.

Click here to read the rest.

My SXSW 2010 Schedule.

Here's a living schedule of what I hope to attend at this year's SXSW. Your best bet is to follow me on Twitter (@ischafer)to get my whereabouts, but this is pretty good for pre-programming purposes.

You can see it on the SXSW website by clicking here.

It's Time For Social Media Week. Are You Ready?

This morning I participated in the official press conference to kick off Social Media Week worldwide. I was joined by Paley Center for Media's Chief Operating Officer Christy Carpenter; Pip Marquez de la Plata, chief marketing officer of Meebo; Frank Cooper, PepsiCo's chief engagement officer.

Video of the event is available here (I show up about 29 minutes in):

Watch live streaming video from smw_newyork at livestream.com

And if you just want to read what I spoke, well, here you go:

As far many areconcerned, “social media” isn’t a medium. It’s a term that represents the increased connectivity that we share as humans not just to information, to brands, or to experiences, but to each other. It has brought us closer to the world around us, and made our local connections more meaningful. It is forcing governments to listen to their people once again, and forcing businesses to remember that they have customers with voices that can make more rational, informed decisions. It has raised expectations across the board, and now we’ve got to use our connected consciousness - and consciences - to live up to them.

The importance of these connections is what led me to found Deep Focus eight years ago, and in that time, we have evolved - and evolved with - media, naturally placing more of an emphasis on social interaction. As a business, we are undergoing a renaissance of sorts, where ongoing planning and real-time thinking has become more important - more valued - because so much of what drives a consumer’s purchase decision has spiraled so far out of marketers’ control. These decisions are now happening because of conversations - not just commercials. For brands, the depth of social interaction is just as important as the breadth of the reach and frequency of ad impressions. And we believe that delivering that depth of engagement - at scale - is not only the future of marketing services, but also the future of marketing. The future of marketing will be discussed throughout this week. Social Media Week.

The aim of Social Media Week is to draw attention to disruptive phenomena. It’s an opportunity for publishers, agencies, consumers, students, humans around the world to connect around the issues and technologies that are affecting a media and content landscape undergoing its biggest and most rapid evolution in its history. And while there has been a lot of fallout as a result, new, exciting opportunities are emerging that can enrich real lives, create real jobs, and live at the core of new, real business models. Great things happen when we organize, and the organization of this year’s Social Media Week will yield important thinking that improves the understanding of the changing environment around us.

I’m proud to be serving on Social Media Week’s Advisory Board, and of my team at Deep Focus for being an important part of various events throughout the week including the organization of an event on Thursday evening debating the possible life, death, or metamorphosis of the media business, as we know it. I’m looking forward to a week full of stimulating conversation, networking, and visions of the future. And the parties. Definitely the parties. Thank you.

And if you want to see me in person this week, here's where I'll be:

I've Got Your OnMedia Conference Tickets Here At a 50% Discount.

I'll be speaking at AlwaysOn's OnMedia conference here in NYC at 11:45am on February 3 alongside our wonderful client at Diageo, Kristin Ganong, VP, Digital Strategy and Relationship Marketing in a session titled: The New Madison-Avenue Campaign: Agencies & Brands Offer an Insider Look at Successful Partnerships.

The speaker line-up at the event is shaping up nicely featuring:

Frank Addante, CEO, Rubicon Project

Quincy Smith, CBS Interactive

Dave Morgan, CEO, Simulmedia

Mark Cuban, Chairman, HDNet & Owner, Dallas Mavericks

Alan Patricof, Founder & Managing Director, Greycroft Partners

Eric Wheeler, CEO, 33Across

Jay Kulkarni, CEO, Theorem

Peter Kafka, Senior Editor, All Things Digital, Wall Street Journal

Jason Glickman, CEO, Tremor Media

Joy Marcus, U.S. Head, DailyMotion

Doug Scott, President, OgilvyEntertainment

Michael Siegenthaler, Director, MSN Branded Entertainment & Experiences Team, Microsoft

Jordan Levin, CEO, Generate

Lisa Stone, CEO, BlogHer

Satya Patel, Partner, Battery Ventures

...and many others.

And just for being a loyal reader of this here blog, AlwaysOn has extended you a 50% discount (as my guest). And I'd love to see you there.

  Click here to purchase a discounted ticket.

Click here for more information about this year's event.

My Next Appearance: Dow Jones/Nielsen Media and Money

I'll be speaking with some folks I greatly admire on November 13th at the Roosevelt Hotel in NYC at the Dow Jones/Nielsen Media & Money Conference, on an agenda that includes Tim Armstrong, Kara DioGuardi, Gregory Maffei, and a hero of mine, Steve Tisch.

Here's my session:

10:25 – 11:10 AM
Part II: The Advertiser's Perspective: Harnessing Social Media
Leading advertisers debate real opportunities in the rapidly expanding digital world and discuss how to foster a deeper connection with consumers. Growth in mobile media and social networks represent the latest in a string of new communications vehicles available to advertisers. How far are they willing to go and what does this mean for the future of advertising?

Tom Arrix, Vice President of Sales U.S., Facebook
Bonin Bough, Global Director of Digital and Social Media, PepsiCo
John Partilla, Executive Vice President and President of Global Media Sales, Clear Channel
Ian Schafer, Chief Executive Officer, Deep Focus
Moderated by Pete Blackshaw, Executive Vice President, Digital Strategic Services, The Nielsen Company

I know and genuinely like everyone on the panel, so I can assure you, this will be lively. How can it not be with the inimitable Pete Blackshaw moderating?

My Adweek Social Media Strategies Keynote Presentation: Social Media is Mature. No It Isn't.

By popular demand, below is an embedded version of my keynote presentation at Adweek's Social Media Strategies conference on 9/22 (MC Hammer opened, I closed. That's how I roll.) I'll be adding the audio from the actual presentation as soon as I receive it, so please stay tuned for that. I promise that it will make it at least 1.5x better.

Social Media Is Mature. No It's Not.

View more documents from Deep Focus.

Thanks to everyone that attended, and thanks to my team at Deep Focus that makes all of this possible.

Why You Might Want To See Me and Microsoft's Bing at SXSWi.

In March of 2010, I might be speaking at SXSW Interactive, alongside our friends at Microsoft's Bing, with an in-depth look at how they've been able to launch a new brand, with new features, as an underdog, successfully.

Here's the description:

One of the most anticipated, high-profile product re-branding and re-launch efforts of this past year, Microsoft’s Bing didn’t just gain mind- and search-share, it earned it through unique positioning and a holistic social media marketing strategy. An informative, entertaining look into how the right advertising and social media marketing efforts made something very big even bigger -- by feeling and acting smaller.

I'm going to be on this panel with Aaron Lilly, Bing's Senior Marcom Architect, Betsy Aoki, Bing's Community Manager (and ^BA on @Bing), and Stefan Weitz, Director of Bing. And who knows, there might even be a special guest moderator.

I can assure you that you're going to be surprised at how candid and introspective this panel will be, and you really will get an inside look at how Bing's digital marketing evolved from its launch. A lot is going to happen between now and then, and we'll be covering it all.

But you may not be able to hear any of it if we don't get your vote. Please take a moment to visit SXSWi's Panel Picker and vote for this panel - just click here. We want to tell the story to the world, and SXSWi would be a great way to do it.

And while you're at it, vote for some other (sure to be) great panels. Len Kendall has a nice list going here.

Thanks! And I look forward to (hopefully) seeing you in Austin, TX! (TIP: Book your hotel room now. Seriously.)