I recently read a few outstanding articles that speak to this issue of 1) owning vs. challenging a brand’s monopoly, and the related issues of 2) embracing what is unique about a company 3) creating a unique and extremely useful shopping experience based off of a unique brand ; and I wanted to pass these along here:

Apple’s unchallenged monopoly
http://kensegall.com/blog/2011/11/ads-apples-unchallenged-monopoly/

Why Jeff Bezos is OK with Amazon being Amazon, and nobody else http://m.wired.com/magazine/2011/11/ff_bezos/all/1

What Ron Johnson learned from building the Apple Store Empire http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/11/what_i_learned_building_the_ap.html

After receiving the book from Amazon (that story here), I was first suprised by the shear size of the book. This things a monstor, by today’s literary work’s standards. Close to 3″ tall, and it’s not even large print. Isaacson has surely done his homework, not to leave any stone unturned. Which leads me to this post.

I am only a small bit into the book, but I am already enthralled, if you can’t tell, ha. So when I saw that PBS would be airing an hour documentary special on Steve’s live, I thought it would be interesting to compare the two works.

While somewhat informative on a very very high level, I was really suprised how much detail and backstory was left out, compared to the book. Granted, this is to be expected wthen comparing an hour long video production versus an exhaustive literary work, but I was still suprised by just how much was skimmed over.

So as I make my way throught this mountain of a book, I wanted to share my thoughts along the way, in smaller snippets here on my blog.

I will try and keep the post relatively short and to the point, starting with a quote or section from the book. And as always, I would love to see the discussion grow with your own observations.

I am only 23 pages into the work, but my mind is already racing with new insights and observations Walter Isaacson has dug up, to the benefit of us all.

Here’s to the crazy ones.

Fast forward to this past Saturday, when I received an approximately book shaped package. I was giddy, to say the least. I knew the book was set to come out publicly this Monday, but I thought maybe Amazon had picked up some customer “surprise and delight” cues from their recent acquisition of Zappos, and had surprised me with the book a few days earlier than expected.

No go. It was a different book, from a different vendor.

Disappointed, I consoled myself in the fact that I would have the book in just a few days, assuming Amazon’s stellar track record would stay true. Or so I hoped.

Monday morning I awoke to an email not telling me my order had shipped or would be arriving soon, but rather that they needed further information from me to complete the order.

I understand that I supplied incomplete information and therefore partially my fault, but this was over two weeks ago. Disappointed that this had not been addressed much earlier, I completed all that was needed, and then waited for progress.

And I’m still waiting, over 24 hours later. It’s tuesday, yet Order status: shipping soon. With no further details as to why.

You might have surmised this already, but I’m pretty disappointed with this whole user experience. So for what it’s worth, here are a few suggestions. again, mostly from the high expectations I have from my fantastic experiences with Zappos:

1) When a pre-order is placed, handle all necessary paperwork / fulfillment details immediately, so that the order will ship as soon as possible.

2) A customer who goes out of his or her way to pre-order an item should have that item in hand at the same time it is available to all, if not before. Otherwise, I don’t see the use of pre-ordering. For instance, I pre-ordered a book set to come out to the public on this past Monday, and it should have been at my house on Monday, if not earlier. On a side note, kindle customers did receive their copy early. But I will leave the fragmented user experience / company to another post.

3) If the above two options cannot happen, and the item cannot be shipped until the release date, all customers who pre-order a hardback copy should be given a kindle copy until the hardback comes in the mail.

I realize this last suggestion is a big step, as it was questioned on twitter when i originally proposed it, but here is my reasoning: Amazon should do what all of the best business do: play to their unique strengths, in order to create a substantial competitive advantage.

First, Amazon is without a doubt the industry leader in online book retail, and the accompanying fulfillment and delivery system. Nobody else even comes close. Nobody. This is the first strength to play off of.

Second, and not as strongly, Amazon is a major player in the ebook market, though it is seeing major competition from iBooks and others. They have a good platform, and some promising new devices, but they are in a fearce competition, and need something to help them stick out.

If Amazon combined the two strengths, as I have suggested above for pre-order customers, it could create a HUGE competitive advantage, and greatly increase it’s repeat customers for such transactions.

As it stands currently, I went through the extra steps of pre-ordering the Steve Jobs autobiography, and yet I might receive it on 4 days late, on Thursday. Or Friday. who knows really.

I love Amazon’s services. I genuinely hopes this actually spurs changes that help Amazon, whether ones that I have stated, or something different entirely. I just wish Amazon would take a few pointers from Zappos, and their over the top customer service. It sure does pay off, just look at the purchase price they paid for the startup.

Update
I sent an email with these thoughts to Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of amazon, and he responded! Granted it was through his assistant, but that’s understandable. He understood my frustrations, and greatly appreciated that i went beyond just frustration and offered a solution. He is not sure if my ideas are completely feasible, but he has passed the ideas down to the heads of the respective departments. A class act. Well done mr Bezos!

As I’ve talked about a little bit here on the blog, I had a blast my first time at sxsw this spring, and I want it to be even better next year!

so here’s what I propose, whether your a veteran, a newbie, or have never been to sxsw, let’s band together the collective nerd / design power of the interwebs, and get transparent about what we want to see / present / build up / rip apart at sxsw 2012. let’s stop bemoaning how big / corporate / meh sxsw has become, and let’s blow it out.

and if the thought has ever crossed your mind, “maybe i should submit a panel about (insert whatever your passionate about)”, then yes, you should. we need more PASSION, and less web celebritieness.

with me? alright, let’s procede:

so here’s a few of my prelimenary ideas / topics i would like to either

a) present on / participate on a panel on

or

b) would love to see others present

1. being awesome. i know it sounds completely narcissistic, but hang with me… what if i just moderated a panel and invited four or five designers / creatives / activists / mad scientist / generally awesome people to come and discuss their craft, their lives, and how their using their influence for good.

2. digital dads. i know this isn’t very inclusive, but i’d love to moderate / hear a panel on the daily joys / struggles / opportunities that other dads have experienced.

3. working in house, and killing it. a panel from a handful from some of the world’s leading in house designers / creatives, from large corporations, to startups, to non-profits, and everything in between. @boda , @squaredeye , @keeg , and @soopa are a few possible participants that come to mind.

4. trimming the fat in my creative intake. a panel discussing the growing problem of information overload, particularly with other creatives, and how they balance keeping up with the creative world around them, without getting swamped in blogs / feeds / and general mashahoopla.

5. the remote creative office. this one is a bit more long term aspirations for me, as one day I hope to be able to work remotely as a part of a stellar creative team that is free from the restrictions of a traditional office space / commute. at sxsw 2011 i met a few creatives that are doing this now ( @pws just to name one), and it has inspired me to keep seeking out this possibility. I mean seriously, it’s 2011, and we’re still tied to location??

So these are just a few of the first ideas i have. You might have noticed all of these are panels. After originally proposing a solo presentation last year, and ending up doing a dual presentation, I would highly recommend a panel, or at minimum a dual presentation. Unless your Blake Mycoskie or Majora Carter.

I would love to hear your ideas, no matter how rough they are. Or do any of my ideas sound interesting, need to be tweaked, or should be scrapped, insert your thoughts here.

So don’t hold back, let’s create the future we want to see.

I’ll be speaking at #sxsw in just a few months! oh yeah!

So my topic officially is “Clients are not the target audience. Users are.” More info here

I am beyond thrilled, and honored to be included in an event i’ve wanted to take part in for quite some time. Beyond attending, getting to know some amazingly talented leaders in our industry, and taking in the festival in general, I also will get a Gold badge, which will grant me entrance into the Film festival as well. I’m by no means a film buff, and can only name a handful of actors at any given moment, but this should be a fun perk.

One last interesting tidbit, there is a great chance that I will be able to co-lead this discussion. At this point, the choice is not ultimately up to me, but I do have in mind a few people I wouldn’t mind meeting and leading this with. ( David Lai from @hellodesign , Tim Barber from @odopod , @squaredeye, or any of the creatives from @rga , @hugeinc , @hornallanderson, @f_i , @summitprojects , or @frogdesign , just to name a few possibilities I wouldn’t mind, in case your listening #sxswi staff )

2011 and Beyond by JWT Intelligence

I was really surprised by their track record from 2007-2010, and I found their report to be varied and broad, yet engaging. Everything from individuals, to flavors, to certain technologies, and a 100 things in between.

trendwatching.com’s take on 2011 consumer trends

Their 2011 briefing is succinct, and very global. Some really interesting thoughts here.

Springwise.com’s Top 20 business ideas & opportunities for 2011

Some odd ideas here, but also some stellar ones.

So those are my top pics. What about yours?

the creative agency

Though I have had the privilege of working at two great digital agencies, Crispin Porter + Bogusky and Springbox, I am still very interested in hearing from other leading shops, to find out the struggles, unique viewpoints, and victories that they have discovered. Whether it’s exploring the digital pod / team concept from R/GA, or a radically new compensation model from Fahrenheit 212, or hopefully a dozen of other innovative agency models / structures, I am looking forward to hearing other’s thoughts on forming and unleashing creative teams, adjusting and finessing the creative process, and the evolving digital agency in general.

the good, the bad, and the ugly role of digital in our daily life

how is the ever present stream of information and connectability helping / hurting our lives? our relationships? our family? our health? our careers? our neighborhoods? what are the psychological affects of always being connected / on / checking in? Specifically for me, as a new dad, and young husband, what precautions do I need to take to keep my own and my families digital intake at a healthy ebb and flow?

technology for the greater good

how can we move past shiny gadgets and time wasting games, and use technology for the greater good of our community, and ultimately our world? how can we use technology to provide basic necessities such as clean water / food / dignity / freedom from slavery to those daily affected by these issues? Much closer to home, how can we restore wonder and play to a dilapidated education system? What can be done to improve easy access to locally grown foods? The possibilities are endless. I know this one is a bit vague, but I have a feeling that there is so much that COULD be done, but is currently being trumped by angry birds and shiny plastic. I mention this topic, not as one who is an expert or even currently active in creating solutions, but rather as an area that I want to invest more of my time and energy into.

So those are my top interest for #sxswi 2011. What about you?

yep, seven years, three states, and 35,892 psd files later, I’m finally staring down the joy of taking part in the sxsw interactive festival this year. oh joy.

so to give this monumentous event the care and energy it deserves, I will be sharing a bit of my preparation on the blog here, with a desire to facilitate a conversation, more than prescribe a plan of attack for others. if 2011 will be your first year attending as well, welcome fellow newby! or maybe your a veteran and could recite the last ten years keynotes in your speech. if so, i would love to hear tips and advice, as well as what your looking forward to as this year’s shindig. or maybe your in the same boat as i have been up until this point, and you can’t make it to tehas this year. even so, i’d love to hear your thought on the topics and have you join in from afar!

Enough preamble, here’s a rough look at the topics I want to cover in this series of posts:

Topics I’m interested in

Reading list in preperation for #sxswi

People I’d like to share a pint with

hidden gems to find while in Austin

daily thougths (during the conference)

post-conference wrap up

I hope you join me in my preparation. And as always, if you have any thoughts, suggestions, or gems of wisdom to contribute here, share away!

they are an “innovation firm”, as they call themselves.

bringing high tech, high return on investment innovation to some of the largest companies in the country. they struck me as remarkable for many reasons. one being their unique compensation based on their solution’s earnings. another unique thing about them was there all out, multi hour product reveal extravaganza at the end of each product.

do your self a favor, and read more about them here.

but i want to focus on a different practice of theirs that really stuck out to me.

to stay motivated, focused, and ferocious, they have continual cycles of 100 day plans.

every 100 days, both for each individual, as well as for the company, goals, milestones, and actions are brainstormed and written down. then at the end of that 100 days, everyone, yep EVERYONE is held accountable to how they did against there stated goals.

real goals, actionable items. playing off everyone’s strengths, they are not content to sit on there laurels for even a day.

so being a natural goal setter myself (with my 10, 5, 3, and 1 year goals), i was challenged to step it up even further and try out this 100 day goal challenge.

what type of goals? well hear are a few of mine: 600 miles cycling, 2800 pushups, 700 ab rolls, 15 blog posts, 3 insight post, read 5 books, and a few others

even halfway through, i see how i really missed out on some goals that should be there, and how a few others might have been a bit unrealistic, ha.

but, better to measure, see what’s working and not, and improve; then to daydream and sulk when nothing happens.

today is day 42, and though i half to play a bit of catchup in many of the goals, i’m really glad i’m doing this, and look to continue the experiment.

My current cycle will end on December 8th, and i’d love to have anybody else whose up for it join me starting on the 9th.

it could be goals of cycling. writing. cooking. climbing. loving. doesn’t matter what it is. as long as it takes everything you have. as long as it’s a bit daunting even to think of.

Here’s to grit. Here’s to audacity.

Here’s to changing the world, one day at a time.

to be honest, i was a bit disappointed with it. if asked, i would admit that. it’s not very playful. it’s not stretching the company visually or conceptually. but alas, it’s not really my place to blast this well established / successful brand.

so i moved on and kept working through the rest of the day.

but it didn’t stop there. just the next day the bonfire of one liners and full on blasts have now grown into a forest fire. everybody has an opinon. and there all ripping this work to shreds. just like they did to the itunes 10 logo / interface a few weeks back.

ripping it apart as if they have their own pedestal of a proven portfolio of work from which to stand on.

some of these critics do good work, but the majority of them have never invested the time, sweat, and blood to make a internationally successful brand.

so, as i alluded to earlier in the week in a tweet:

Don’t criticize someone else’s identity / website unless your own is stellar.

and even then, only do it if it is helpful.

It’s so much easier to tear down every one else around us, than to invest the time and energy into building something great. I’ll be the first to admit this.

I may not be as vocal as some, but i catch myself all the time mentally throwing stones at the latest agency.com redesign, or identity rework. it’s easy to play down someone else’s hard work, guts, and or brilliance.

I heard it a few days before the whole gap hoopla, with a recent agency’s .com redesign. i overheard two guys talking about it, and how meh it was, when they’re very own agency’s site is 4 years old, aging, and in really bad need of a rework.

the monologue usually goes something like this:

“it’s not bad… but…

they’re working with _______ brand, so they can do that…

or

it’s been done before..

or

if only i worked with clients that had that type of budget..

or

it’s kind of predictable…

and the list goes on and on.

It’s time to stop. Stop the crap. Stop the excuses.

Lay down the stones. Turn off twitter. Close out the latest hysterical rant about the hideous redesign of ___________ .

Let’s pick up the chisel. let’s get to work. and let’s make something beautiful.

PS. i realize the irony in writing a post, critiquing the critics. but i had to get this off my chest. please forgive me for having a log in my own eye.