By: Riku Vassinen

Facial recognition is a new data point which enables brands to serve customers better driven by the latest mobile operating systems. You can pay with a smile or easily classify your photos with different people. Increasingly more companies are asking permission to recognize your face.

Your face is more than your address or other data points. In many ways it is more than a photograph of you. With facial recognition you can actually track person´s movements. This much more personal data point brings opportunities but there are big risks to it as well.

Recent MIT study found out that face recognition algorithms work for white men but not as well with black woman. There are two kinds of bias going on in here: training data and implicit bias.

Training sets of faces are generally constructed from people like your colleagues or your university mates. Then there might also be implicit bias by makers of algorithm, who quite often happen to be white male. Facial recognition company Kairos CEO Brian Brackeen announced in SXSW that they are creating a diverse dataset with all the races and genders and they will have it opensource so everyone can use it. 

Facial recognition can be used (and is already used in China) to track you. With countries with many CCTV cameras , government could track (maybe already tracks) your movements and if you stray from your normal moving patterns too much, they could identify those fluctuations as potential terrorist threat (usually connected with racial profiling). Your face also reveals other things than your identity. Programs can detect your gender, age, race and even certain diseases you have. You do not necessarily want companies know this information while you are using face recognition to pay for your hamburger more quickly. There is now big focus in universities to create programs that enable you to use face recognition for your identity, but not to detect other aspects about you:

In the above example the face can be used to identify you but not necessarily detect your other traits.

No algorithm is 100% perfect and there will be errors with facial recognition. In Florida there is currently on-going appeal against failed facial identification. Anecdotally in Notting Hill Carnival there was 35 identifications but only 2 of those were accurate. As the development has been really rapid in this pace, there are no existing legislation or regulations around the use of face data. Companies are also actively fighting against regulations. Governments are the biggest users of facial recognition and some governments have been quite proactive in this place. 

Facial recognition and other biometrifics bring huge opportunities to personalize your brand experience with users.

When we are planning to use facial recognition, we should also focus on algorithm quality: recognition accuracy (trying to minimize bias) and privacy (Notice and inform consent, preferably opt-in). Highlighted already in the previous post, users are weighting convenience over security. From brand perspective it is not zero sum game.

SXSWAPAC 2018 Daily Recap #3

Reflecting on Christine Amanpour, CNN Cheif International Correspondant, keynote address at 2018 SXSW. Paul Everson

With the #metoo movement continuing to drive ahead the conversation about the systemic obstacles and discrimination women face, and the damage done by everyday sexism, many men are finally examining their own behaviour and reflecting on the part they play in the system.

This self-reflection can be painful, but it is crucial to be brutally honest with ourselves and to be willing to accept instances where our behaviour may have been less than ideal. Only then can we truly begin to do our part to make things better. And when men treat women respectfully, they become liberated too.

Winning the fight for equality won’t be easy, and it is a fight with many battlefronts. But one area where demanding – and securing – equality can effect huge gains across the board is pay parity. When women get equal pay for equal play, their lives improve in numerous ways.

By Brandie Tan

Obviously the title is a click bait. The Philippines despite a 3rd world country is not by far behind the rest of the world when I comes to marketing and advertising. In fact the country has produced some of the best in the world.

I was sent by J. Walter Thompson and Mirum Asia Pacific as part of a team of delegates to the Interactive track of SXSW 2018. Now, Interactive? Isn’t SXSW about Music and Film? It is. It’s also about Interactive which is about innovation, marketing and the future. The future is what SXSW is all about. New Films, New Music, New stuff. Marketing and Advertising belongs in the “Stuff”.

Which bring me to my first observation. Good advertising would be able to belong to the Music and the Film track of SXSW. This is because the work doesn’t look like an advertising material and therefore look like it belongs on pop culture.

Observation two. Being innovative doesn’t always mean being technologically new.

And my final observation is that the best advertising is something people go out of their way to interact with. To watch, to listen, to play with, to find useful everyday. You might say that the best advertising is a product on its own.

From Michelle

Here is a video I recorded at a Sony studio called WOW. Basically is a very big space with Sony’s latest and coolest products for people to experience. What you see here is a game that’s being played by four people, everyone need to catch the assigned color by finger to compose a music piece. A projector is attached on the ceiling to project colors and catch finger movement at the same time. 

The experience is very smooth as you can see from the video. It feels like people were having a good time at this booth, and apparently there were a lot more people  waiting on the line to get to play. 

Now here comes the fun part. I asked the staff about how is this technology gonna be applied in the real life, besides games, what can we benefit from the seemingly cool experience. And this very nice Japanese guy said we don’t know yet, it is just a technology we want to share with you. 

In fact, this wasn’t the sole case. I came twice to WOW studio because I thought it was so cool that I want to take more pictures and try out products I didn’t get the first time. I walked around as I saw people with the exact same smile and enthusiasm as the first time, and it made me think maybe that’s why Sony has gradually faded out from the public. They were robotic puppies walked around on the floor; there were intelligent voice “robot” interacted with the audience, and there were people drawing virtual pictures on the wall by their fingers.  Do any of them look familiar?  Because one thing is clear, there were no demonstrations of any forms of apps or technology from the mobile platform. They need walls to project; they need big tables for people to participate. Only people will pay for those games is when they live in a mansion. My friend who used to work with Sony play station said they are still the top leaders in medical equipment industry. I believe that’s true. However, when it comes to our daily mobile life, I mean the product you need to use everyday, where’s Sony？Sony isn’t the same brand as I would show-off to my friend the next day when I was 15.  

We have three seconds to catch someone’s attention in this multitasking, digital-first, skip-happy world. Creatives are being pushed more and more to factor in audience insights, behavioral data, and interest segmentation into their thinking. Some creative is even being adapted in real time through automation. Let’s talk about how creative is evolving through data, how traditional creative can better incorporate data, and when data goes too far. (This paragraph was taken from the SXSW site)

Data needs to be attacked with a Cultural anthropologist’s Point of View. This is because the problem is not that there isn’t any data at all, the problem is there’s too much data brands don’t know what to do with them.

Combining two different data points leads to good creative. Much like creating any idea where we connect two totally unrelated things to create something new. We can connect Demographic Data with Location Data. Or Interest Data with Behavior Data. Or any other way to combine the different types of data available.

Modern consumers live from screen to screen. Responsive frameworks accommodate that behavior. The result of a systematic approach is an industry saturated with similar looking sites. More unique experiences can be created by exploring viewport space in innovative ways such as; dimensional movements, contextual scrolling, progressive disclosure and prototyping. Trista Yard, Associate Design Director at Code and Theory, will discuss applying spatial techniques to create effective solutions. (This paragraph was taken from the SXSW site)

How Are we solving the unique problems of brands if we are creating sites that look exactly the same? Says Trista.

When we design for work to be responsive our work start to look alike. But. There are ways to keep sites fresh like in the days of flash.

Spatial Design is seeing sites not a flat canvases but as 3D spaces where people can walk around in or at least get the feeling of going into a new environment.

Sites that are successful in being unique without being too complicated will be more remembered. Just like any form of advertising.

Trista Yard is an Associate Design Director at Code and Theory. She has worked across a variety of industries and her clients have included leading companies such as Google, Lexus, Verizon, Citibank, Logitech, Benefit Cosmetics, U.S. Airforce, EA Sports and American Express. Her work has been recognized by Communication Arts, Cannes Lions, and Awwwards.com. (This paragraph was taken from the SXSW site)

By Natya Sekar Arum

Two of the most interesting sessions that I had today. From both of them, here are few of the insights (there’s actually a LOT more!) that gave me fresh perspective: - With social media, fashion can be used as a platform for social activism. The way we dress is already a statement, but once you write the caption about it, you are actually narrating the story you want the world to hear. - Gender neutrality in fashion is never about rejecting what’s already been accepted by society; it’s about affirming what kind of person we comfortably want to be seen. - Although the mainstream media has trying to include the minorities–still, they’re not trying that hard. Cultural appropriation is still happening here and there, so if you want to collaborate, also think about what value can you bring to represent said minority group. - Representation does matters. The fact that representation exists in the first place: like the growing number of gender non-conforming and hijabi fashion styles–is opening up options for people who aren’t exposed to/have no access to that.

It is ironic that you have to go to the most digitally connected seminar in the world to start pondering about value of friendships.

In the panel “Not Only The Lonely: How We All Can Be Happier”, the panelists talked about the threats of loneliness and how it is as dangerous as smoking or obesity. The topic is very topical in SXSW, where the program is build around digital innovations (many of them helping us to create digital relationships: facebook, whatsapp, etc.) or start-ups creating those digital innovations (”When you are entrepreneur, friendships are usually the first thing that goes” said Shawn Boyer one of panelists).

Here are some of interesting insights from the talk:

Prolonged isolation has the same effect as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

It is important to separate loneliness from solitude. Being able to be alone is important skill, but if you are feeling lonely you might have a problem.

Digital tools do not necessarily bring people together. Millennials, despite being well-connected in digital media, are having same level of loneliness as those older people who are over 45 years.

However for those with strong social relationships, the digital tools actually strengthened those relationships. It is important to use digital channels as supplements but not substitute for real contacts.

Woman talk face-to-face, men shoulder-to-shoulder. I don´t is this related to guys sitting. I don´t what to do with this piece of data, but that was found out while observing men and women. Maybe that has something to do with men sitting and drinking in the bar counter.

Good relationships are about regularity & intent. Just “having a coffee over sometime” usually does not mean deep relationship. You have to see people who are your friends regularly and with intent.

“Introverts don´t want extroverts to tell how they feel”, said Brian Baker, editor from Boston Globe. I don´t think there is a same problem vice versa.

After the talk I was filled with regret with my lack of communication with many of my friends across the globe. Luckily I met with a good friend after who I had not met in-person for almost five years and went for a beer and hot dog. Thus far that has been the highlight of my SXSW.

Also I downloaded this app RealizD that calculates your screentime on mobile by Amy Blankson´s recommendation. The results from this day are all already quite worrying. I have seem to be spending lot of time in social media and less actually socializing:

Panelists “Not Only The Lonely: How We All Can Be Happier”

Anik Kumar, Founder of Forget Me Not. Probably the youngest entrepreneur in SXSW, this college freshmen heads intergenerational nonprofit organization called Forget Me Not, which aims to reduce feelings of loneliness among seniors by partnering them with teens in a companionship phone call program.

Billy Baker, Editor of Boston Globe. His story "The biggest threat facing middle-age men isn’t smoking or obesity. It’s loneliness." became a viral hit and most shared article ever on Boston Globe.

Amy Blankson, Consultant Goodthink bestselling author of The Future of Happiness, she is currently working with the IEEE to create standards for well-being in the creation of artificial intelligence and emotion awareness.

Shawn Boyer, founder of goHappy.

Before moving to Singapore over 6 years ago, it would have been unheard of to queue up for your meal for even hours. After testing out some of the iconic hawker stalls, it is nowadays not uncommon to see me standing in line for hours for a really good chicken rice.

But only if it is the best.

So I am well adapted to queuing up and that experience comes in handy in SXSW:

On the left: people queuing to get in.

On the rifght: people queuing to get out.

In SXSW, you have to queue for everything. For your badge, to hear the talks, for your morning coffee or for your lunch.  

For the most popular talks with well-known speakers you have to be minimum 30 minutes early (e.g. Bernie Sanders today). But sometimes thing can become more popular than expected (e.g. Anatomy of An Trend talk today that was moved to bigger venue and still not everyone was able to get in).

So when planning your itinerary of talks, it is good to have alternatives near by on your schedule if you cannot get in to hear your original plan A. It also seems that certain venues are more popular than others.

So good planning is a must. Even though conference venues are close by (around 10 minute walk), you have to always factor the buffer time (around 30 minutes) and plan the alternatives.

This day I have been also been listening to interesting talks aside queuing. I have been able to visit 2/3 of planned talks and improvised one I selected on the fly was quite good. In the following posts I will tell you more about what I have learned today:

How to become happy?

How to build the most digital sports league in the world?

Is this news article news worthy?

Anatomy of a Trend

A packed first day talk. Too many people RSVPed, SXSW has to move the talk to a bigger Hall in the convention center instead of in a hall in Four Seasons

This was a talk given by Carla Buzasi, Managing Director of WGSN.

Trends are all around us. We see them in what we eat, where we live and how we connect with each other. They dictate the products we want and the services we crave - and can even last for decades. By identifying trends before they reach critical mass, companies can tap into unlimited growth. To do so, they must connect the dots between influences to identify macro trends, filter them into their own brand DNA and innovate at the right time for the customer. So how do you forecast a trend? (Description of her talk taken from SXSW site)

Carla mentioned not to confuse trends with fads. Then she went on the describe the different types of trends such as Perennial Trends (Aviator Shades) or Trends you wish had not come back or wish would never return. And some go to sleep for a while.

Her company researches both Macro and Micro Trends. Giving as example for Macro trends are the emerging Artisan industries (coffee, fashion, food, etc). And Micro would be food trucks for example. They combine both. How different news from what seems totally unrelated stories over time affect what becomes popular. Using both art and science WGSN is able to create a two year forecast.

Fact tidbit from her talk: Micro influencers who have more than 10,000 followers are considered mass market. And taking Trend cues from them would probably mean the trend is at a later stage of its lifecycle.

Carla Buzasi is the Managing Director at Global Style Network.

by Hansa Wongsiripitack

Artificial Intelligence (AI) ruled the show in SXSW this year, with demo & talk after demo & talk on how AI can change the way we see the world - and how we can make use of it's unlimited possibilities. 

As someone who works in the world of storytelling, the biggest question I have is around human feelings. I went into the festival wanting to understand how AI will interact or impact our feelings and emotions, and whether this technology will be meaningful in our lives. 

I got some interesting answers at the panel, “Can a Film Made by a Machine Move You?”. Saatchi/Team One  worked together with Zoic Labs, LA based CGI/software company to conduct an experiment on film making process conceived, directed, and edited by AI using open source and various custom AI tools. 

Kieran Antill shares his thoughts on data as the core of machines and robots’ ability to interpret the world around them.

Josie explains how the trade floor allows for an easy sharing of ideas – from agency to people who may use them and vice versa.