Innovation Archives - Page 2 of 3

Time to explore the universe beyond Flash!

So it is my goal this year to look beyond the my current universe and begin to find other avenues beyond Flash video. Yes….for the past two and half years, I have been using Flash Video (FLV) to compress and distribute video content. Why did I start using it?

Well, at one time we were using WMV (Windows Media) as the primary platform, our current Director of IT had us on a windows platform and it made sense. It was clean, flexible yet we were missing a major target audience, the Mac World. From a user standpoint, Flash Video had a bigger penetration rate plus it looked real clean with HDV content. So off we moved to Flash video. The downside, the compression time TAKES FOREVER! WOW! But, it was flexible and had many robust player options, and every developer under the sun was creating so many options for Flash Video.

With the advent of the iPhone and other mobile computing devices (including the upcoming release of the iPad), Flash video is barely supported. It is funny, I moved to Flash to reach the Apple users, now those same Apple users are going to force me away from Flash video. So, now it is my goal to deliver high-quality video outside of Flash Video…for the sole reason of reaching mobile audiences.

How are we currently reaching mobile audiences, well there is this great new place called YouTube. Yes, god bless these souls. They are the work around. Upload the video content to your YouTube channel, then grab the readily available embed code for your web page, and SHIZAM….you can have most of the mobile devices access your video content. Yes it is a Flash player, but since they have contracts with major mobile platforms like the iPhone, you can play video embedded into your website if it is hosted on YouTube. The problem, once you upload the content…it is no longer your content, it is owned and operated by YouTube. Yes, this free distribution channel doesn’t want to be liable if their servers take a big ole hiccup and your audience can’t watch your favorite video of Uncle Al busting his ass coming down the stairs or your corporate video that needs to play in front of investors.

So really, this year is dedicated to more than just moving away from my technological dependency of Flash video, but also my hosting/contract dependency of YouTube. I want to find a place to store my content, distribute it to the targeted audiences, and maximize the quality my clients pay me dearly to provide. Now, thanks to H264 codecs…this is possible.

So far, I have only found one place that makes sense….I think, Sorenson360. I have looked at Brightcove, Ooyala, Veeple, and Kaltura….but Sorenson360 has my vote right now. This is why…pretty simple. I set-up a trial account, uploaded an H264 Quicktime (.mov), it asked me if I wanted to distribute to the web and mobile (I said yes), it gave me a simple embed code, I dropped it into my blog, pulled out my iPhone, and behold…my video play instantly on my iPhone. ***Side note, Brightcove and Ooyala have harassed the snot out of me since i signed up to check out their trial area. Actually Brightcove was very nice, but not Ooyala.***

I am looking forward to HTML5 and the opportunities it will bring. But I am a one man type of show. I can hire some developers to create a platform to upload, compress, and distribute content for my clients…but Sorenson360 did this within a matter of minutes.

Video distribution should not be what limits us to provide a message to an audience, it should enable us to reach larger audiences. It should provide a pathway to reach groups of individuals regardless of the “technology” they use to access information. It is my goal to embrace technologies to reach these groups. The same is true for Social Media technologies, they are a tool and it is up to us as practitioners to use them if it meets the needs of the audience. We have a story to tell!

BTW…I already know how to host, compress, and distribute video content on dedicated or virtual servers. I understand the ROI for the use CDN’s and the Amazon’s Cloud to encode and distribute video content. But, I am one man that likes to focus on telling stories, not managing a server network. It is time focus on my core competency…telling rich stories.

What am I really trying to measure? A Conversation?

So I have been thinking a bit about all these various discussions relevant to Social Media and how to measure success. People want a metric…they want to measure something! Whether it is the “SIZE” of the community, the number of leads, or the amount of revenue generated, etc.

I just read an excellent blog post by Amber Naslund titled: “How I made $100K with Twitter.” This was such a great post, but what I walked away from this post was this simple point, you get as much as you put into it. I know that sounds so elementary, but it is so true.

“The magic in making money with social media isn’t that the site or social network becomes a revenue center itself. I didn’t sell stuff on Twitter. I gave people access to me and my expertise, and paid attention to when the time might be right to talk business.” Amber Naslund, Radian6

So what are we trying to measure? If we are business people, we want to know that we will get something in return for the time we invest into this medium. If we are a large company, we want to measure the scale of time as it directly relates to the revenue or sales it generates. If we are a cause or advocacy group, we want to measure the reach of our message; basically how many people we can communicate and get them reciprocate the message.

This is what I want to measure:

Connectivity is increasing: I want to know that my community is growing and I can continue to connect with other smart people.
Revenue is increasing: I want to know that the number of people I am reaching has some direct effect on the revenue I generate.
Generation of New Ideas: I want my ever increasing connectivity to help me to become more innovative.
My “Competition”: I want to be able to engage and watch what my “competitors” are doing as they innovate.
Reciprocity: I want to know that if I am sharing, others are sharing back.
Clicks: I want to measure if people are clicking what I want them to click.

I think of the ole education story. Remember back when we went to college, and it was hard to get up in the morning for that 8am class. Sometimes we would skip and wonder what we missed? Then there are some of us that might have been perpetual skippers and wonder why we could not get good grades. I was one of those people. But my academic advisor told me this, your success in the classroom dramatically increases if you just show up for class. Think about that statement for a second. Your success can be attributed to the amount of time you engage.

I think the same thing is true for any portal of conversation you choose to find value. The more you engage in the conversation, the bigger return. The key word here is conversation…not dictatorship. People want conversations, opportunities to grow, listen, and to be heard. People want to share with like minded people. If you are in the business world, they want to share business with people that understand how to solve their problems. This goes back to listening .

So here is my metric: I can directly correlate the number of times I listen to the amount of meaningful conversations I have, whether it is business or personal. If I listen, I can help people solve problems. If I am a good listener, then my network is big…AND if I can’t solve the problem, there is someone in my network that can probably help solve that problem.

What stories are you listening to today?

BTW, here is a good discussion Social Media ROI from Olivier Blanchard. I think the guy is smart and has figured this out.

WOW! Bobby hits the track BMW style!

So today was the day! Yes, and it was what I least expected! A few weeks ago, I had the tremendous opportunity to meet up with someone cool, the one and only Kamran Popkin from SWAG Club. This guy is more than just about great SWAG, but sharing some fun and connecting people. He invited a few of us for a corporate trip out to the BMW Performance Track in Spartanburg, SC next to the BMW Manufacturing facility where they build the X5’s for international distribution.

As I got into my little red 1991 BMW 325i convertible, and made my way to Spartanburg, I had no idea what was in store for the day. As I pulled into the facility and made my way inside, I was greeted by some close friends who had also decided to attend this day. From there, it was lunch, some ground rules and off to the track. OK…ground rules and off to the track…YES….we are going to RACE BMW’s on a performance track. No weird Interstate driving where we are worried about blue lights. Yes, it was the petal to the metal. BTW, one of the attendees was late today because he was pulled over on the way to the day’s activities, he was a little PUMPED! Rightfully so!

So…four tracks, eight different BMW’s, 38 attendees and time for loads of fun. We started with driving the X5’s on an off road track where you can take the SUV through 2.5 feet of water, on steep inclines, and even on two wheels, YES..TWO WHEELS. My partner for the day was Wendi Hil,l whom is also a marketing professional. From the moment we jumped into the X5, it was a day off holding onto the “Ole Shit” handle accompanied by loads of laughter and screams.

So a few things that rocked my boat:
1) Racing a BMW 650i on a timed track.
We were able to drive a black 650i on a timed track where we could unleash the 4.8L 360HP V8…and charge around the track in uniform chaos with a partner in the car. Here is Wendi as she drove around the track, a video from my iPhone. Notice the intensity in her eyes and the shake in my hand as we scream around the track. If you listen, you can here the scream of the engine!

2) The Instructor “Hot Run” – AKA Check your Britches Run!
This is where the instructors get to take us ego driven goof balls (after we think we have mastered the track) and show us how to really drive a BMW M5 on this “Performance Track.” Umm…OK, my head still hurts, I never thought that I could ride in a car where the only forward motion that was created was when the car was sideways. What do I mean, this M5 spent more time moving up the track sideways than actually wheels pointing forward. After slipping and sliding, a few 360’s, my head hurt from laughing so hard! My hand was permanently engrained into the “Ole Shit” handle above the window. IT WAS AWESOME! It is amazing the performance and safety of a BMW M5.

3) The BMW 135i 3.0 Liter Twin Turbo
This little two seater actually has four seats, but the two in the back are the insurance seats. But, this little firecracker on the open track made me get on the gas in the open straight-aways and get on the brakes before those sharp turns because of this amazing power. WOW! Man does it have torque! This was my favorite car of the day, and at the nearly $30K price tag, WOW!

All I can say to my friend Kamran Popkin, thanks a BUNCH! He knows how to through a party BMW style! What a great pre-birthday present!

Excited: The New BobbyRettew.com is Up and Rolling

I want to thank the peeps over at Pixelmeld, LLC (Dave Lee and Andy Macdonald) for making this happen! We spent lots of time working on the video player for the main website using HTML5 technology compressing multiple flavors of video so that the front page could play in many different browsers and the iPhone. Bottom-line, we want to avoid using Flash video.

The site was designed using ModX CMS along with a WordPress Blog. The blog was styled with a custom template to match the branding of the main site. The part that took the most time was trying to get the background of the video as close to a true white to match the website. The video on the homepage was shot in HD on a green screen using both Final Cut Pro to edit and Avid Media Composer’s key capabilities to match colors for the background.

I also want to thank George Law for his technical expertise and direction while making this happen. He is one hell of a Linux Administrator! I am just a video guy and I like to surround myself with smart people, like George, Dave, and Andy. WOOT!

Building a Tribe – Building a Digital Strategy

Here are some notes that I use when working with groups to create a new media strategy, most of the ideas come from Seth Godin‘s “Tribes.”
——————
“A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea. For millions of years, human beings have been part of one tribe or another. A group needs only two things to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate.” ~ Seth Godin – “Tribes”

Creating a Micro-movement

Publish a manifesto
Make it easy for your followers to connect with you.
Make it easy for your followers to connect with one another.
Realize that money is not the point of a movement.
Track your progress.

Identify the Brand (The Context)

Audience
Purpose
Delivery

What is your Mission Statement?

What is your communication strategy?

Who are you trying to reach?

How to create reach? How to build the Tribe:
Build the Digital Media Presence:

Web has become more than one-direction
Create rich media for all audiences to engage
Create portals of conversations
User created content
Content Management System (CMS), Twitter, Facebook, Picasa, Flickr

Build the Events

Create events that engage students, industry, and academy in one conversation.
Create events for each group to engage internally & empower conversation.

Build a Community

Build the digital platform where students, faculty, staff, industry can engage, connect, and build relationships.
Use this digital community provide regular information about the community.
Use this digital community to create profiles for all to connect.
Build regular events around the intellectual engine.
Have thought leaders, entrepreneurs share innovation.
Provide a platform where students and industry can engage on common ground.

“A movement is thrilling. It’s the work of many people, all connected, all seeking something better. The new highly leveraged tools of the Net make it easier than ever to create a movement, to make things happen, to get things done. All that’s missing is leadership.” ~ Seth Godin – “Tribes”

It is time; for a place to call home…innovators

It is time…yes, it is time to connect all the dots and find a place that brings all of the entrepreneurs together here in Anderson. We need a vision, a place, a roof, a vision, a mission that will provide synergy to our cause. Some believe the answer is just build a place and they will come, a building where entrepreneurs can be educated…but entrepreneurs and small business owners want more than education, we want a mission, passion, vision, and a path…to success.

There are many major companies/organizations in Anderson, SC that are the foundation of this community. Without AnMed, Michelin, Bosch, Anderson School District, Anderson University, Tri-County Technical College, and other major employers…the stability of the community would be a transient community. These pillars of the community give us the foundation necessary to build support around the entrepreneurial spirit. Why not build this place, this building, this entrepreneurial community around the priorities of these pillars. They have problems that need to be solved, projects that could be business plans, ideas that cannot only lead to a high-impact business but a replicable business idea that could attract Angel Investors to the community spirit.

What problems are out there for these large organizations to be solved…is it an IT problem, a sustainability problem, a fiscal problem, a technology problem? Why not build a place around a set of priorities identified by these pillars, and use them as the vision to build this place where entrepreneurs can call home. A priority can provide vision and ultimately a commonplace for conversation and connection. This could foster conversations between entrepreneurs to find internal solutions and find a unified approach to solving problems.

Imagine if this place was built, and a priority was put in place, and these entrepreneurs built business plans out of ideas that are solving problems, and these ideas could lead to bigger ideas. Then the attorneys and business people of Anderson could help these companies become successful; and all of this could generate human equity creating a community that leads to long term community growth. The type of growth that closes the gap financially, where the average household income is increasing and those could actually afford healthcare, go to school, and be a contributor to this better Anderson.

What are the priorities of this facility that connect the entrepreneurs to the pillars of the community? Where each pillar is connected on the same playing field for one big vision…to build a bigger, brighter, healthier Anderson…one of innovation.

What is right for Anderson?

“There’s a lot of people who talk about doing good, and a lot of people who argue about what’s good and what’s not good, (but there were also some other folks who) just put their lives on the line for what is right.”
– mother of Ruby Bridges (first black child to integrate New Orleans schools) in Robert Coles, The Moral Life of Children

What are you passionate about? Where does your passion lie in this ever changing world of business and culture? I am passionate about telling stories…stories are the foundation for how I do business. I tell stories for my clients, the students I teach, the causes I represent…but does this help the greater good beyond just creating revenue?

I want the community I live in…here is Anderson, SC to be successful. A community that supports entrepreneurship and innovative business…they type of growing innovation that provides local support to big businesses like the AnMed’s, Bosch’s, Michelin’s, and Walgreen’s of Anderson County. It is their best interest that innovation and entrepreneurship live right here in Anderson County, and eco-system of the knowledge wealth that promotes innovation and a prosperous educational, knowledge economy.

Isn’t it in the best interest of the Anderson County School Districts to promote innovation and entrepreneurship, a conversation that resonates at the dinner table every night between families. How about Tri-County Technical College and Anderson University, creating entrepreneurial education for the working class along with the innovative education for the high-school graduate who might want to be a nurse or a teacher, who might have an idea one day that turns into a high-impact business. One that stays local and grows as big as the organizations it supports.

Where are the stories of individuals who have been raised, educated, and become successful right here in Anderson County. The ones that have transformed the way that we view Anderson merely by being leaders right in their own classroom, their emergency room, their business…and have gained that knowledge to become successful right here in Anderson.

It is time to start finding those stories..right here, right now.

The old days of storytelling…

Facebook is such a wonderful thing. It has allowed me to reconnect with old friends and colleagues. When I got up this morning, I did my usual by logging into both my personal & business email. I also check my Twitter and Facebook accounts. I am not sure if this gets you excited, but I love it when there is a little red pop-up in the lower right hand corner of the Facebook screen that lets you know there is an update; whether it might be someone has tagged you in a photo or even commented on a status. Today…I found this, a picture posted from 2000 in Phoenix at the Rocky Mountain Emmy Award Ceremony.

This is a picture of some of the team that worked together to produce a short documentary from the ASU/UA football rivalry game in 2000, where we had nine cameras all over the place capturing the day’s story. Not the action, but the story from the fans’ point of view. We wanted to tell the story…provide a slice of life…what the fan experienced during the last big game of the season. Nine of us all over, interviewing people from the top of the stands to the bars surrounding Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, AZ. We captured the essence of the day…then that night, we took all of that footage and edited it down to a three and half minute story to air on the Sunday Night Sports Show for KPHO-TV in Phoenix. What teamwork…what away to pull a group of people together with a common vision…to tell a story. Apparently, it must have been good enough to win us all an Emmy Award for Sport Reporting in 2000.

There is something about Facebook bringing communities back together…especially ones that have a common bond and now use a new tool to embrace connectedness. Who knows, we might get back together again, after all this time to tell another story…can’t wait to see where it will take us!

Imagine this Anderson, SC

Imagine…imagine a place in Anderson, SC where people of like minds could go and congregate, to share common goals and a common vision…a place where new ideas are born, dreams are created, vision is put to paper, and the economic synergy creates an economic surplus for innovation.

Imagine an Anderson, a place where people make it a destination, one that is home for families, home for businesses, and a place that the new wave of innovators want to thrive to create the next creative class in this human economy that leads to economic vision.

Imagine an Anderson where big box organizations, educational institutions, small businesses, and the creative class of entrepreneurs paint the fresco of a thriving community that does not compete but sets the standards for tomorrow’s economic community.

Imagine leadership creating synergistic dialogue that brings all diverse populations under one community roof where all classes of peoples can thrive, setting the national standard above the average per capita income.

What will it take to create that creative class of individuals, leaders, entrepreneurs, visionaries to take that status-quo and turn into reality base vision…one that promotes quality education and community driven innovation that insures that all can not only afford a comfortable living but quality healthcare.

Where are those visionaries…where are those entrepreneurs…those innovators…those buildings…that house that innovative thought is under one roof…to push and push to make Anderson a bigger and brighter place to live.

It is here…yes here…in Anderson! Where are you hiding? You want more that just the regular membership to the next networking club…the next meet and greet…you want more. You want to innovate…create…thrive…empower…and join together so that Anderson keeps those innovators right here…in Anderson.

Are you willing to drive to other cities everyday to find other innovators…other entrepreneurs…or would you like to bring those innovators right here to Anderson. Build that community of innovation, of economic vision here…so we can be the thought leaders.

It all boils down to this…it takes a few to create a movement…a synergy….a vision.

Imagine if there was one building where today’s class of innovators (here in Anderson) could all work under one roof. A place where we could be successful doing business and feeding off other entrepreneur’s energy. Imagine a place, where we could share ideas, congregate, hold seminars, and paint the picture of tomorrow’s Innovative Anderson…today.

I would want to have my business there…because I could thrive off of the innovation that naturally is created under that roof with other visionary businesses. We could help solve each other’s problems and solve the problems of others around…and allow innovation to take it’s natural course…create a more Innovative Anderson. A place where Economic Impact is directly attributed to the Anderson Innovation.

Imagine that Anderson…a thought leader in a global economy.