IanSchafer.com

Deep Focus and The FWA Bring Halloween to Your Desktop.

Happy Halloween from Deep Focus & The FWA.

Get yer desktop wallpaper here!

Live at NY Television and Film Festival.

Paul Kontonis @ For Your Imagination blogs it best:

It's real, it's live and its all on the line at the NYTVF's "Creativity Live" mass participatory brainstorm on Tuesday, September 16 at 2:30pm at the New World Stages in NYC. Bringing together the sharpest and most creative minds in digital media - Toby Daniels from MintDigital, Paul Kontonis from For Your Imagination and Ian Schafer from Deep Focus -  with a 150 strong audience, all will be given just one hour to develop three cross-platform entertainment concepts. Can it be done? After the event people will be able to go to the NYTVF website, where they can vote on the ideas they would like to see taken forward. This promises to be a really exciting event. See you there!

This should be LOTS of fun, so if you'll be at the NYTVF, check it out!

iMedia Connection on Me on Deep Focus on Social Media.

Take a moment to read an interview I did with iMedia Connection on Deep Focus, social media, innovation, and killer creative.

Here's a brief excerpt:

Harris: Building a community of fans is an important step for these entertainment campaigns, and is gaining ground in other business sectors. It's a natural fit to leverage existing communities that support a particular brand, but what suggestions do you have for starting from scratch?

Schafer: When building a community from scratch, perhaps the most important thing you can do involves asking "why." For example, you should be able to answer the basic question of "why are you building this community in the first place?" You should have a clear understanding of the goals you aim to achieve by connecting to your consumers -- and connecting them to each other. These could very well be different than your typical business goals. Rather, they may be goals that don't result directly in attributable sales but, rather, in the alignment of a brand with, and focus of a community on, a particular cause or lifestyle inherent to the brand.

The other "why" question that should be asked is "why would I join this community?" What does the consumer stand to gain by being an active (or even a passive) member of this community? What appropriate incentives exist for participants? You can prepare for this question by doing the appropriate market research before embarking on a social media "hunch."

From a technology and strategy perspective, it is also important to embark upon a discovery process to identify your development and distribution partners, who may very well be one in the same. Should you roll-your-own social network? Should you build on a modular platform? Should you build a community within an already existing social networking property? An understanding of your goals, your consumers and their behaviors and of your brand's personality will make finding the answers to these questions an easier task.

Read the whole shabang by clicking here.

When ‘ Open ’ Isn ’ t Really ‘ Open ’ . The Battle to Own Your Code — And Your Creativity.

Oxford University Professor Jonathan Zittrain in his new book, The Future of the Internet--And How to Stop It, according to NetworkWorld, states that:

...today’s Internet appliances such as the iPhone and Xbox hamper innovation. That’s because these locked-down devices prohibit the kind of tinkering by end users that made PCs and the Internet such a force of economic, political and artistic change.

Zittrain argues that if the cybersecurity situation doesn’t improve, we will migrate to a different kind of Internet. The new Internet will have as its endpoints tethered appliances such as iPhones, which are controlled by their manufacturers, instead of open, changeable PCs attached to an open network that can foster the next round of disruptive innovation.

A bold statement. And he's got a point.

Now these devices are innovations unto themselves, and some even are positioned as development platforms. Take the iPhone, for example. Apple just released the latest version of their Software Development Kit (SDK) and developers everywhere are coding away, looking to build the next great iPhone application.

But in classic Apple style (i.e. heavy DRM within iTunes), Apple remains the gatekeeper. Applications can only be distributed via their App Store, and will only be distributed if approved by Apple. Apple will explain that this is for security and quality-assurance reasons, but it still puts them in control of what's available, with the ability to shut an app off if they so desire. So yes, you can be as creative as you want on their platform, but it's up to Apple if anyone is going to see it at all, or in perpetuity.

There's a similar situation going on with Google's new App Engine (the preview version was launched on 4/8, then taken down on 4/9). Google's vision is that instead of freely building apps with their API, you can develop applications using their APIs and host them on their servers, free of charge. Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud and Salesforce's Appexchange are also providing similar opportunities for developers. Sounds great, right? But there's a catch, as ArsTechnica reports.

Perhaps the most blatant downside is being locked into Google's platform. Existing projects will have to be ported or written from scratch, and those that rely on traditional relational databases will probably have difficulty making the transition. Even more difficult would be transitioning your application to your own servers if you choose to leave Google's tender embrace. Once you've created an established application on top of Google's authentication service and stored all your data within the company's datastore, removing all this code and data and moving it to another location would appear to a be fairly onerous task.

Once again, applications -- and even more importantly, data -- are locked into someone else's platform. And this is precisely what Jonathan Zittrain is talking about.

This is a disturbing trend and runs afoul of what led to the creativity that yielded many of the most popular websites of the last few years. Imagine if Warhol was free to create any art he wanted, but someone else owned the canvases and could destroy or bury them at any point if his art offended someone? That's what's going on here.

It doesn't seem that this is a trend that will let up anytime soon as companies like Apple, Google, and Amazon have way too much to gain by housing and hosting application engines. Doesn't feel like 'do no evil' anymore does it? And a little more 'PC' than 'Mac', if you ask me.

Food for thought...

Thoughts on Modernista ’ s Website and the Future of Ours.

There's been so much talk about Modernista!'s new ultra-web 2.0 website (or lack of a site at all). It's taken me a while to get around to discussing it, but here goes...

Take a moment to visit Modernista!'s new site.

So basically, what the site is doing is using all the tools that exist at the web's disposal to turn people on to the agency.

Honestly, most of it works like a charm. I really do like it, even though the problem with using search results to provide information is that so many people have been commenting on Modernista!'s new site, that most results are talking their own site launch rather than the work they do for their clients (which is a narcissism problem that plagues many creative agencies out there, and search results only shine a light on that).

Max Kalehoff provides a really good overview of the site today over at MediaPost.

The thing with this site though, is that while it does a great job of talking about press and showing off stills and bookmarks, it doesn't tell me about strategy. Or case studies (everyone always asks me for those). Maybe it's because we're also a media agency, but there's got to be a way to tell the agency's story with personality, without going completely ethereal or puking Flash.

We're working on a new official site for Deep Focus, and are going to be doing some interesting things with it. Believe it our not, we've had the same site design for about 4 years. Hey -- it's been really busy around here.

Stay tuned for an official launch announcement, but hats off to Modernista! for getting us thinking about official agency websites again.

In the meantime, if you've got ideas for us to use for our website, just let me know. I'm listening.

Marketers Are At Least Thinking About Social Media. But Not Enough.

As reported by ClickZ, according to report published by TNS/Cymfony (who just bought Compete.com, BTW), nearly 50% of all marketers believe that there should be an executive-level position at their companies to oversee social media.

"The names were all over the place, but it was clear in those names that the companies are really starting to think, 'How do we do it in an organization or structure... and how do we turn it into something that can be part of the mainstream [marketing] mix?'" said Jim Nail, chief strategy and marketing officer of TNS Media Intelligence and Cymphony.

While this sounds great, the report comes littered with expectation management.

"Clients, particularly the slower-moving clients, want best practices," he said. "They want proven models."

That's not always realistic. Whether it's video sharing, social networking sites, or micro-blogging, "clients want to get into it, but want guarantees, want the cookie cutter approach," he said. "That's not going to happen."

So basically, this report says that marketers know they are years behind consumer behavior, but are not necessarily willing to make any marketing changes unless they can get proven results. This, again, is a function of too many marketers looking at social media as a 'campaign' instead of an 'initiative'. If properly executed over a long period of time, a solid social media initiative will yield a bumper crop of results, I can assure you. Agencies have to teach themselves to think outside the campaign as well.

There are a handful of agencies and consultants that DO have the right experience and best practices. Marketers just have to accept the fact that it might just not be their existing media and creative agencies. As a matter of fact, if the agency doesn't have a full media/creative/public relations offering, they probably won't be able to have the right (and unbiased) experience and best practices to succeed in social media.

Mindlines

I recently read the book Breaking Open The Head by Daniel Pinchbeck on a recommendation and was very intrigued by the connection of the internet to shamanistic ideas.


One particular passage talks about the Burning Man festival which takes place in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada at the end of August.

"The rapid growth of the festival and it's flawless self-organizing structure are direct products of the Internet. Among the attendants at Burning Man can be found a tremendous brain trust of scientists and technicians, Silicon Valley Engineers and CEOs... Briefly escaping corporate jobs or university labs, they find release in flaunting their tools before a live and jubilant audience. "Black Rock City shows it's possible to create a society based on play," said Russel Wilcox.

In reading that so many internet associated people attend such events, one can see how and why the idea of the online social network was born. The ideals of current online social networks are found and inspired through these real-world settings. Life imitating art imitating life to a point. Can the online space replace the human connection of a face-to-face conversation? Probably not. But that's where the challenge lies in gaining a connection where LOL and emoticons truly emote.


As the real world and these events foster "mind altering" and "mind expanding" through a variety of methods and, yes, substances, the online space is a prime inducer of opening the mind. Granted, watching too many YouTube videos has the opposite effect, but as a whole the internet is many people's drug of choice through its vast landscape of content. I doubt the military saw the internet having this effect to such a social level.


Social networking takes us to these alternate realities. It lets users take on any persona they wish. It let's people connect with those familiar and close to them as well as complete strangers. It's an out-of-body experience. These crossovers from the physical space into the online space is where Web 3.0 is being born. Content generation with social interaction that explore connections in an alternate plane.

Reality Mining

MIT's Technology Review just published it's list of 10 Emerging Technologies for 2008. The one piece that resonated with me is Sandy Pentland's exploration into Reality Mining especially in relation to social networking, new media and interactive.

Reality mining "is all about paying attention to patterns in life and using that information to help [with] things like setting privacy patterns, sharing things with people, notifying people–basically, to help you live your life."

This becomes a hot topic for a few reasons. First and foremost is, once again, privacy issues. Data capture is part of our daily lives – credit card usage, cookies on sites, social network profiles, company swipe cards – and as technology continues to slowly infiltrate more of our lives, we become more tolerant and accepting of what information is divulged and distributed. Everyone has see the movies with the FBI trying to trace the criminals phone call with the criminal hanging up just before being caught. However, most people don't think about that even with mobile phones being on all the time A simple Google search on his/her name would surprise a lot of people.


Reality Mining has been a reality for years. And as mobile phones become more prevalent with WI-FI, Bluetooth and GPS-type systems (ala iPhone,) in addition to the laptops we carry around and use, the continual social network is our daily life. And as mobile technology advances, our blip on the grid becomes more prominent. The Human Cyborg ideal continues to press forward. Professor Kevin Warwick first started research into this in 1998 by planting microchips in his arm for recognition of systems in his lab.


The major benefit of Reality Mining is from an anthropological standpoint. How people interact, where they are and when they are. Tying this information into disease outbreaks, advertising models (when a person sees an ad, what do they do right afterwards?) and general healthcare and "human maintenance." Smartex in Italy is working on clothing that does just that.


It's a bit of the God factor (being omnipotent and omniscient) that is also fascinating. Knowing where your friends are at any time, knowing what they're doing, where to get the food your phone knows your craving. It's bringing the idea of Facebook, Google Maps, Dodgeball and other sites into the physical space. The ultimate social network. Maybe even a step closer to SkyNet.


Real-time in real-time. Very meta.

A Way to Value Engagement … or Value Beyond Engagement?

This post summarizes an ongoing conversation I've had over the past couple years with Brendan Light, SVP Research and Development at Buzzback Market Research: a super smart guy at a super smart company.


The Internet. It happened fast. One day, I was a high school, checking out images of college campuses on CD-ROM, the next, I was emailing from a "terminal" in my college library. The transition from analog to optical media-based digital content to Web-based content happened in a heartbeat and big business (and subsequently, big advertising agencies) had to adapt...fast.


So what happened? Everyone reacted instinctively and created an advertising convergence culture...and I don't mean this in the good, Henry Jenkins way. This was more a convergence of media aesthetics--the creative executions that populated the Web evoked familiar print and TV advertising styles. Even digital DM and CRM programs were really just ports of their offline brethren--not systems reconfigured to take advantage of interactivity. At the time, it was more important that clients and consumers wrap their heads around the medium in a way that was familiar. There's a silly phrase: "we only use 10% of our brains." Well, we marketers (and our clients and consumers) have only been using about 2% of the Internet. It's nobody fault, really; no clients (or consumers) were really prepared for the power of this fully operational battle station. What's sad is, since the advent of online channel, nothing much has changed. Online Advertising still rarely equates to Interactive Marketing. Digital, it turns out really just means not analog.


But, as the search for engagement valuation continues, there could be a way for agencies and brands to work together to create a different kind of value system redefining, or at least taking some of the pressure off of the idea of "engagement". To do it, we have to up the ante: it's time to define and differentiate Interactive Marketing from Online Advertising.


How? When? Where? Whaaaaa?


The onset of the Semantic Web means more powerful targeting. Targeting that could get very close to simulating an online, controlled research panel. Tools like Buzzback's suite of creative research applications (or ones like them) could provide back-end qualitative and quantitative analysis, as well as a flexible creative platform that will allow individual advertising executions to double as learning labs for valuable market research.


A new form of compelling interactive units would be more dynamic, always morphing and relating to user interaction on a collective and individual basis. Because the creative is more responsive, interaction rates would increase and clients would receive new types of valuable data that's far more actionable than what they're getting today (think about it: in addition to today's conventional tactics, these high-powered units could inform product designs...or anything else a client would usually get from a focus group).


This approach could help close the gap between what's measurable and what's actionable for our clients, increasing the value of the creative and the placements.


Some people might scream, "you've got your chocolate in my peanut butter!" but the combination of creative advertising and market research could be the most powerful and most valuable convergence we'll see.


What would it take?


1) A Reality check. Focus groups and surveys are dying. Research companies need to upgrade their approach and enroll their clients in this shift. I expect it would also take independent research companies and creative shops buddying up. If either expect to be successful without the other, they're mistaken (unless they can spend lots of time and money building a best-class department).


2) Pliability. Clients and agencies need to develop more flexible strategic plans...or develop them more frequently. Part of what makes this model so interesting is how actionable it is...but agencies can't do anything if they're constricted by a plan that's 6 months old. There's really no way to predict where a conversation with consumers will go...and the most valuable reactions will be in response to the most current consumer activity. So the way most plans and spending forecasts are developed today, they probably couldn't support this system well enough to extract the value.


3) A Breakout Hit. Money is money is money. How many times did clients ask for Subservient Chicken (without any idea how many chicken sandwiches it sold). Even though this new hybrid model would be more efficient for clients, engaging for consumers and flexible for agencies, it better not taste like medicine. A great execution for a popular brand that yields amazing results (anecdotally as well as statistically) will help this become reality. How do we increase the chances of that happening? Simple. Make sure that all your online advertising ideas are embedded with interactive marketing smarts.

Creative Department Secret Weapon: Story Games

The Idea Well—sometimes it runneth dry. All Creative Service employees know about brain drought. Even worse, it’s contagious and can stop a pitch or project dead in its tracks. The usually panacea? Ping-pong tables, CommArts books and TheFWA.com. There’s gotta be a better way! Well, if brain drought’s the poison, I’ve got the remedy.



Story Games

A couple years ago, I discovered a Story Games creative community. Story Games is a sort of synonym for indie, pen and paper RPGs. Unlike earlier RPGs (D&D-type stuff) there’s generally a lot less number crunching. In these games, the mechanics are designed to expedite the storytelling. Plus, you’ll find games with all sorts of awesome and original concepts that extend beyond fantasy, from dating to show biz development. What’s great is that each one has a unique, intuitive system (engine, in tech parlance) for narrative progression, collaboration and/or competition—essentially dialogue and interactivity.

Hmmm, dialogue and interactivity increase engagement, promote co-authorship and build narrative. That sounds really familiar…like from every client brief written in the last two years!

Not sold?

Here are 5 reasons why your Creative Department should be playing Story Games:

1) They Keep You Together. Story Games promote the collaborative development of big, relatable, compelling ideas that work for everybody…no hobby horses allowed.

2) They Keep You Honest. The mechanics that power these games are basic and elegant. Usually just poker chips, a traditional card deck or simple custom tokens. As creatives and technologists we sometimes forget that emotionally compelling interactive experiences don’t require wizbangery.

3) They Keep You in Shape. Been working for one brand or on one project for a few weeks or months? Story Games keep brainstorming muscle fit, even if it’ll be another month before you can come up for air.

4) They Keep You in the Spotlight. No hiding in the corner, resting on the laurels of AS3 skills. If somebody is gun shy (or lazy) about ideation they can’t run away in a Story Game. If they do, the experience is compromised. However, as long as everybody is onboard, the engine will work and ideation and presentation skills will evolve.

5) They Keep You Sane. In reality, these games are like narrative karaoke. They’re fun, fast and everybody gets to shine. Most importantly, they’re not work…but they’ll make you better at your job.

A Final Note:

Ian and company are going to resolve the engagement debate soon. However the measurement system nets out, the numbers are going to favor the executions that tell the best stories.

Designers of My Favorite Story Games

Jason Morningstar (The Shab al-Hiri Roach)
Jared Sorensen (InSpectres)
Matt Wilson (Primetime Adventures)
Emily Care Boss (Breaking the Ice)

I also recommend game designer Ron Edwards seminal essay, “System Does Matter”.