#sic2014

See, B2B can do social right!

Warren Etheridge, presenting What's Your Story

Because you can't always buy your way in to the lives of your audience.

I was pretty excited to hear this talk, thinking it could help me dream up new ways to engage audiences in narratives and experiences via mobile devices. When I think about how I use my smartphone to connect with people, take pictures, share what I'm doing, and interact with companies/brands/services, I want to know how all those interactions create a larger narrative web. I absolutely agree with the idea that we are in a non-linear narrative mobile world, and that we interact with everything in our lives on multiple levels, all at once, whenever we want. But I was left wanting more than a pitch for another push-based mobile app that augments reality for specific experiences. Yes, those can be relevant and valuable, but isn't storytelling more than just an overlay of info on the physical world? Isn't it more than cross-merchandising products available for purchase at the end of your tour? If I came to the zoo to see the hippos but the hippos are sleeping, how is a video of hippos making up for not seeing the hippos? I could look at hippo videos at home, for free. I love the idea of the Internet of Places, and contextual awareness, and geospecific content, and relevance, and deeper experiences. But I don't think I want a fancy audio tour on my phone that tries to sell me stuff. So, the challenge I'm left to contemplate is: how can we use the ubiquity of mobile to build and share experiences, benefit people, engage and enhance audiences, and give narrative control to the holder of the device rather than push our story on them?

Data, access, population, frustration, possibility, loyalty... It's what drives the collaborative economy.

If you grew up in the Seattle area, you know grunge didn't start with Nirvana, it started with bands like Mudhoney. They also inspired the movie band Citizen Dick in "Singles" (starring members of Pearl Jam) and their song "Touch Me, I'm Dick". For the next two days I'll be collecting my notes from the Seattle Interactive Conference (SIC) here, and using the hashtag #touchmeimSIC to collect my tweets and Instagram photos. And to bring it all home for those watching at work, this is a good primer for our talk with Jeff Kleinsmith from Subpop on Friday!