I just watched Iain Tait, global interactive creative director at Wieden Kennedy discussed the role of software and storytelling at the modern ad agency. He gave this talk at CAT London in 2010. Iain shared the challenges of advertising due to the advent of social media and technology. After watching his presentation, I concluded that:

1. Video games are the ultimate example of a creative product where storytelling and software complement each other to bring an awesome user experience. Iain suggested that creatives and advertisers should spend time playing the best video games to see how immersive and emotional they are. I agree with him.
2. You need an integrated team who has an idea of what the others are capable to do. The creative people must be aware of the production process to be able to take full advantages of it when they are writing their scripts. I believe that great ideas can be born by exchanging ideas between people with different skills. I would go further and tell you to quickly implement these ideas and to test it on the market. You must be ready to iterate as you learn from the results.
3. Your idea must stand the test of time. Campaigns live longer than the TV ads. In the digital world, you must be able to stand by your stories, maintain them and let them grow on their own over time.
4. A Mastermind – With Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, You Tube, blogs, Linked In, etc…,  you need to hire people who truly understand how these different components fit together. You need an architect for your campaigns. Everyone talks about it but not many fully grasp the intricacy and how they should interact. You need to know when and why you should use and monitor every piece of the puzzle. It is key to maximize the execution of your campaigns.
5. Results count – Half of the idea is the participation and the interaction. At the end of the day, if people did not participate, your idea fail. I would add that you must be sure that the failure was not due to an inadequate or uninteresting execution.
6. The right software enables you to response quickly – This must be a part of your campaign, not an after-thought. Software partially explains the success of the Old Spice campaign because it gave them time to response quickly and to create an incredible momentum to the campaign.
7. Be passionate about your work – We are living in an exciting time where we are still defining what is possible.

My last words of advise would be to:

• Care about what you do;
• Try to do your best every step of the way;
• Do not be afraid to experiment and to do things differently if it brings something to your users or improve the process.

I invite you to watch the video. It is 20 minutes well spent.

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Even though my husband and I are very active on social media, we always take steps to preserve our private life. Having said that, they are some happy moments that we wish to share online. One was my pregnancy. I made no secret that I was pregnant on my blog, Facebook or Twitter. We discovered later that our son had a heart defect that might require surgery. In fact, he had an open heart surgery a few days after birth. The question became “How will we handle that publicly”. I opted for a wait and see position during my pregnancy.

We shared the news of my son’s birth since people wanted to know. The news was so popular that I became the #1 trend on Twitter for Montreal. As more comments refer to my role as a new mom, my husband and I discussed how we would handle these comments. We decided that we could not hide the fact that our son would stay at the hospital for a few weeks. Therefore, we made a small announcement to our friends on Facebook. What we didn’t expect was the amazing response we got from our Facebook friends day after day. We both feel that the support of our Facebook friends helped us during these difficult times. Having people inquiring every day about the progress of our son comforted us and gave us strength. During his 24-day stay at the hospital, we made an habit to give a brief report on his condition. Our comments left out the details. As I said, we like to keep our life private. People told me how graciously we handled the entire situation. I am proud of that.

Facebook also allowed us to inform everyone without losing time. We welcomed the time-saving aspect since we did not have a lot of time on our hands. For all these reasons, we are glad that we made this announcement. Detractors of social media and the Internet often comment that it is impersonal. I can vouch that it can be very personal.

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I received many event invitations each week and I am amazed by how the PR professionals fail to use new technology. I will review what are the most common mistakes and how to easily solve them.

The typical media event invitation is received by email. The event details, including the RSVP email, is nicely published on an image file. I understand the need of presenting a design invitation but why not also type the RSVP email and show it inside the email message. It often happens that the RSVP email is not the sender email. The blogger needs to remember the email and type it to respond. Not very user friendly.

Then, you need to add the event to our calendar. Again, you have to remember the venue name, address and time to type it to our calendar. On top of not making typing errors, you must set a reminder alert. Frankly, it’s a cumbersome process that any of the Add to Calendar tools out there would streamline.

My question to PR professionals is “Why make it so difficult for bloggers to attend a media event?” when you hope to get press coverage from them.

The Easy Solution

I recommend to PR professionals that they continue to send media event invite through email with a nicely designed invite but that they add a link to handle the RSVP process. And do it via an online invitation management system like Eventbrite. It will make the entire process easier for you and your guests.

I used Eventbrite both as an event organizer and as an attendee. I like it in both scenarios. I will go as far as to say that there is absolutely no reasons not to use it since Eventbrite is FREE for free events. Practical features include:

• Create a branded event page to manage the RSVP and provide your event details
• Attendee management with contact information of the attendees. You can keep track of the number of attendees in real time.
• Add to my Calendar button. They support Outlook calendar, Google calendar, Yahoo! calendar and iCal
• Share buttons. Attendees can send an email to friends, tweet it, share it on LinkedIn, and like it on Facebook
• Automatically schedule a brief reminder email to be sent to your attendees 48 hours before an event
• Automatically generate customized name badge templates for all registered attendees.

If you are not tech savvy, do not worry. Eventbrite produced tutorial videos to get you started. Please make it easy for everyone to attend your event! Then, you can concentrate your efforts on organizing an event that bloggers would not want to miss.

+ Eventbrite

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WebTweet is a parallel conference to the 8th edition of WebCom Montreal. Both events will be held on Wednesday, May 26th, 2010 at the ICAO head office in Montreal. Last year, I was an official blogger for WebCom. This time, I am glad to participate as a panelist on a subject that is dear to my heart: Twitter for Women (Twitter au féminin). Note that the panel will be in French.

Reporter, blogger and animator Dominic Arpin will be our moderator. The panel is composed by Émilie Ogez, Tamy Emma Pepin, Kim Vallée , Cindy Laverdière. I hope to see you at 1:30 P.M. in room E04.

Other topics covered at webTweet will be Twitter & Politics, Twitter & Business, Twitter, nanolitterature & Cultural Institutions and finally, Twitter & Medias. Plus, the keynote speaker is Jeff Pulver who created the 140 Characters Conferences. It costs $95 to attend webTweet, which includes one meal and the closing cocktail. If you register to WebCom you have access to everything, including the webTweet.

+ WebCom Montreal

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You can start planning your agenda for PodCamp Toronto now that the schedule is out. The 2010 edition is huge. They have over 1,000 persons who registered to attend. In the tradition of the unconference, the presenters selected their time spot. I will be presenting this Saturday, February 20th, 2010.

+ First, at 11:15 a.m. at room RCC 361: At Work with Kim Vallee: The Why, What and How of Community Building

+ Then, at 2 p.m. at room RCC 204, I sit on the panel with the well-known Erica Ehm of Yummy Mummy Club where we will discuss The Business of Online Communities for Women. The panel will be moderated by Eden Spodek of Bargainista.

I will continue the self-promotion by inviting you to attend at 10:30 a.m. at room RCC 359, a session presented by my husband, Jerome Paradis. Jerome will share his vision of Semantic Commerce: Understanding what’s in store for the future of e-commerce.

+ PodCamp Toronto 2010 Schedule

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More and more brands ask you every day to become a fan of their Facebook page. As a blogger, we often get requests from brands that we never heard of. In light of this fact, I share here how I decide to become a fan or not of a brand on Facebook. I feel my social netetiquette guide could be useful to marketers who wish to pitch bloggers.

The first thing I suggest to any marketer is to know the blogger first. Chances are that if we never connected on social media and that I never talked about your brand on my blog, I do not know you. Second, know what are the values and the scope of interests of the bloggers you targeted. Third, read my editorial policy as it applies to all the content I produce.  [Update: If after that it still seems like a good fit, maybe you can inquire if I know your brand or if I tried your products/services before?] Four, do not insist.

My brand At Home with Kim Vallee is based on providing a curated experience for my readers. My profile on Facebook is an extension of my brand. Using kimvallee.com as the domain name excludes the idea of separating the two identities.

On Facebook each brand is subject to the same principles I apply when I write a post, that is I feature only things and stores that I like. For me, being a fan symbolizes that you like a lot. Therefore, I may even go a step further with fan pages. Plus, if I become a fan of everything it will lose its purpose. But more importantly, if I become a fan of everything that is pitched to me I would betray the trust that my fans, my readers, my Facebook friends and my Twitter followers put on me as a curator.

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A quick note to tell you that I will be giving a session at the next PodCamp Toronto that will happen on the weekend of February 20 and 21st, 2010.

I started working on adding a community site to the KimVallee.com brand. I analyzed many angles to make sure I get the right ingredients. My session will explore what you need to consider before building your own community site. I will tell you why, what, and how I will expand my blog with my upcoming community site.  I will deliver food for thought, practical tips and a toolkit. I would be honored if you put it on the agenda. The exact time and date will be revealed later.

+ Register to attend PodCamp Toronto 2010

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Bloggers continue to grow their influence. More and more traditional print media recognized how the blogosphere and social media forced them to evolve. As an avid magazine lover, I am happy that they embrace the Web.

We can co-exist and support each others. Margaret Russell pointed out in her January/February 2010 Editor’s page the contributions of bloggers in providing insights about what people like:

And design bloggers have stimulated an animated and powerful dialogue based largely on images published in magazines. They are our treasured partners, and the conversation they engender and sense of community they encourage benefit us all.

At the end of the day, we all enjoy more great design ideas. I encourage you to read her editorial article.

+ photo: Elle Decor

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It is no secret to everyone who knows me a little that I love Etsy. I bought items on Etsy. I feature my favorite Etsy sellers on my main blog, At Home with Kim Vallee. When I talk about the business opportunity of the Web, Etsy always comes to my mind. Etsy opened the doors to many women, and men, by giving them access to a suitable marketplace. The past business model was solely based on local market and exhibiting at flea markets and fairs. By running an online store, more people could buy their products.

Let’s be clear, most Etsy sellers do not make a good living and will probably never will. But with hard work, a business plan and perseverance, you can do it. The New York Times published a good article on how people turned their hobby into a business on Etsy. Towards the end, the article missed the boat. Being a small entrepreneur asks for sacrifices at first. As a Web developer, I recalled doing rush jobs once in a while that meant working 16 hours a day.

Starting any mom and pop shop requires a lot of work, regardless of the products or services you sell. The sellers mentioned on the NY Times articles seem to be at a transition point where they moved from a mom and pop shop to the SOHO stage. Once their employees or freelancers are trained, they will be able to get more free time. In fact, this already happened for Ms. Vasquez.

Mixing Life and Business at Home

About that quote “At dinners, she and her husband talked only about business.”, it is normal at this stage. It requires discipline to find other topics to talk about. For the last 15 years, I have a business with my husband. We make sure to find time every day to talk about something else. We make sure we have hobbies outside our business. But it is also good to exchange about our respective business projects, where we want to go and to dream together of a successful outcome. It energizes us. Plus, talking about it ensures that we are both comfortable with the way we live together.

But you also need to network to grow your business and for your well-being. Meeting people provides new conversation topics. If you do not go out enough, it is not healthy.

Why Etsy?

If you are thinking about selling handmade products online, I suggest to any creative sellers to do three things:

• Have a blog where you not only talk about your products but also about other people products, design ideas that you like. There is an Etsy widget that will allow you to feature on the sidebar a few products from your Etsy shop. Make sure to add the Etsy widget to your blog.
• Open an Etsy shop. Bloggers love Etsy and being active in the social media community is key for promoting your shop.
• Use Facebook and Twitters. Make connections with people online and offline.

SOURCING:
+ photo: The Journey Journal by Cracked Designs on etsy $12 USD
+ That Hobby Looks Like a Lot of Work on The New York Times

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With more and more businesses jumping into social media, it is important that you read this to avoid mistakes. There are some subtleties that a beginner may not easy grasp when comes the time to create a Facebook page.

First of all, businesses must create a page. Profiles are exclusively reserved for humans. You go against the terms of use of Facebook and many people, including me, will refuse your friend invitations. Think about it. Someone does not want to become friend with a brand, but they might be a fan.

How to Proceed?

You first need to sign in with the profile you want to use as the creator/owner of the page and then, create the Facebook page of the business. One fact that you need to know is that, contrary to group, people do not see who is the creator of a business page.

This is where it may be confusing to beginners. A Facebook page must be created by a person with a Facebook profile. The creator cannot be changed. If you are the sole owner of a small business, it is simple. The owner of the business creates his/her profile and then, the page for the business. What happens if you are a corporation or have multiple owners?

Choose wisely who creates the page

I repeat, the creator of a page have administrative power over the page forever. Therefore, if you ask a consultant or an employee to create a page your business make sure they do it right. Otherwise, they will always have access and control your page forever. It is easy to forget that important detail in the middle of the action.

I got the last piece of the puzzle (the ownership of the page) after a discussion with Jerome Paradis of Paradivision over dinner earlier this week. And we both discussed it with other social media experts. One may be inclined to create a profile that the business will control. One idea is a profile for a top position at the corporation, like the president or even the communications director where it is seen as the position, not the person who holds the title. Notice that it is against the terms of use of Facebook to create a profile for a person who does not exist and that a person cannot have 2 profiles. Facebook may imagine a better way to deal with the business page ownership in the future. Until then, you do not really have a feasible option.

Before you create your page, I invite you to read those texts written by Facebook about their Business Fan pages:

+ Who Owns Your Facebook Business Fan Page? – Talked more about the problematic than the solution
+ Facebook Pages: What are Facebook Pages? Should I create one?

Disclaimer:  Jerome Paradis is my husband and I own shares of Paradivision.

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I am always amazed to see how many brands and organizations have not adapted to the new reality of Web communication. Brands and organizations spent a lot of money on marketing and advertising. Yet they fail at the cheapest and probably the most efficient promotion tool: the words of their fans.

If a blogger decided, on their own initiative, to write about one of your products or your event, chances are that they give you free publicity that their readers will trust because it is their honest opinion. People prefer to write about what they like than what they do not like. So why are you making it difficult for bloggers to write about your stuff?

I go through my checklist before writing a story. The first thing on that list is the availability of great pictures. If they are none, I moved to the next story. This is because pictures sell a story.

Asking people to fill a form and wait for your staff to send me a password to access your media kit is so passé. Blogging is about what is hot today. What is hot today is what caught my attention at that instant. If I cannot find the material right away to write my story, I will pass to the next story. They are no shortage of good topics when you know how to research and have imagination.

As a blogger, I want direct access to promotional pictures that are at least 500 pixels in width (80% jpg or png-24). Simply protect your content under a non-commercial Creative Commons license and request that bloggers clearly give you credit and put a link to you (the source). If more people knows about what you are doing, you will be more successful. At the end, we all win.

By the way, the free Trend Briefings produced by Trendwatching.com is a must read. I am one of their 160,000+ business professionals in more than 180 countries who is looking for it every month.

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The New Times published an article today about the fact that party hosts and some bars are starting to request no twittering, no blogging, and no photos. I agree with their concerns.

With the capability of uploading our pictures, updating our status and to publish all the time on social network sites, we need to use judgment about what is appropriate to put online or not. As adults, we must consider others’ view on privacy; not just our own.

I love and live in social media. But I also believe that we must keep a line between our private life and our public life. It is not just for you that you must censor what you put online; it is mostly for my friends and family. Not everyone wishes to participate in social networks.

Different Events, Different Venues, Different Rules

This is a lot to take into consideration. The proper code of etiquette is still in the making. Obeying a few basic rules keeps it simple.

Social media conferences encourage video recordings of the entire session, blogging and twittering. It is a given that you can publish your content without asking. But what about when you are in a restaurant, in a bar or when you are invited at a party at a friend’s house?

It is rare to get great shots in a dark bar with a phone camera. Asking your friends if they are OK with you posting the pictures with your phone in the middle of the party is not enough. Your friends may regret it the next morning. It may just be because they may not like the idea that we see them in a bar drinking and dancing. How many of you, have friends requesting that you untag them?

When you go to a party, upload the pictures the next day. You can better judge sitting at home than in the middle of a party. My rule of thumb is to take pictures at the start of the party. Then, forget about your camera.

Family affairs and parties at a friend’s house is generally off-limits. Even a quiet brunch party can be a problem. First, the host may not want to show off their house publicly. I always keep these pictures off the grid. The same is true for a wedding or a birthday celebration, even if they are happening on a public space.

As we continue to use social network sites, the etiquette will mature, will become more universal and will evolve with what we, as a society, feel comfortable with.

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