Lars Bastholm, Ogilvy’s  relatively new Chief Digital Creative Officer.

I like him because he came across as human, empathetic, non-pretentious, and eager-for-ideas, characteristics I see as a must (versus a nice-to-have) for any would-be leader in a world covered in an internet web.

Lars Bastholm speaking at Adobe

Mr Bastholm started his talk by telling how on his first day as Creative Director in the new office he was carried out on a stretcher after throwing out his back. That’s embarrassing for anyone but also utterly human. I’ve embedded below a video of him I found (an interview, 7:52 min long)  so you get a sense of him. He also said, “Flawed is the new flawless.” I usually run in the other direction when I start to hear something playing off “_____ is the new black”, but I agree with this susinct statement.  Showing flaws is one of internet’s greatest services.

What he said was not new to anyone participating or paying attention to how everything is playing out online. The tags for anyone speaking on this subject, where duly referenced: listening, conversation, consumer has the power, and so on. But as a high-up at a big firm, he had his finger on the correct pulse and was aware of the considerable hype too.

He listed his 6 principles of social media, paraphrased they are:

1. Look at marketing as the beginning of conversation
2. Closely monitor social media conversation and be ready to respond.
3. Provide tools for users/consumers to participate in conversation.
4. Be sure to leave space for interaction.
5. Conversation is over when the consumer says it is.
6. Listen and learn from the feedback loop.

How these are implemented, of course, means everything.

The question I asked him during Q&A:
“You said social media is a conversation and that the conversation is not over until the customer says is. People at companies are busy and want to end campaigns and get on with a new project. How do you prepare clients for the continuity implied by a conversation?”

Answer: He suggests to companies they set aside innovation budgets that allow them to experiment and learn

Here is the video I promised above.

Three steps to putting context to the work you do.

This post started on Tuesday with a day off work. I went to South Hall on Berkeley campus to listen to a guess lecture by Björn Hartmann for a class on Tangible UI.

South Hall, Berkeley campus

Björn listed three “dimensions” he keeps in the background of his mind for his research and projects on building tangible user interfaces. Here they are:

1. Re-purpose familiar objects vs. Employ familiar metaphors
2. Add tangible control to existing systems vs. Design new artifacts from scratch
3. Single user vs. Audience participation, where you’re trying to engage many people at once

Or, written as questions, he’s answering:

1. How do I help people understand (know how to use) a user interface?
2. What do I use to create something?
3. Who am I you building for?

This quick dissection leads nicely to a few steps on how to uncover the dimensions of your work.

1. Ask yourself three, or so, meaningful questions that you answer through your work. “How do you solve design problems regarding space?”
2. Write down possible answers to each question for various projects you’ve been part of.
3. Now, look for naturally opposed asnwers.  “I solve design problems in the natural environment vs. I solve design problems inside architectual spaces.” These become the dimensions of your work that should provide a framework for all of your work overtime.  And your work should naturally fall in one pole or the other, and not often be caught in the middle of the two.