Let’s face it – most of us are human sponges…

Up to date on the up to date. In the world of digital interactive and advertising it’s a 24 hour job. But the fact is if you spent all your time following the news, advances in the industry and new technologies you’d never get anything done. Luckily we are on the cusp of a new social web revolution that has also affected the marketing folk in a huge way. A few years ago you would need to read the newspaper, strategy magazine or worse wait until the annual award tombs came out to see what you had missed. But these days it’s as easy as 20 minutes of your day to check a few sites.

Aggregators have been around for a long time now. But only over the last few years have we really seen an explosion in them. We admit we spend time looking at other work and new things. Often we are drooling and cursing companies from our own jealous rage – since we didn’t think of it first. But those daily check ups are what inspires us to think big and know what the latest platform is. Whether it’s 4-Square or QR Codes, the latest graffiti artist or resurgence in mediaeval night-gowns (Fingers crossed). So where do we look? It doesn’t matter as long as you find it useful and addictive. If you feel like you don’t find value in the sites hourly updates dump it and find a better one. You can go to the standards like Mashable or Marketing Magazine email updates or Ad Age or you can go to something more random that sparks your fancy like one of our favourites Singularity Hub (hey give us a break – its about ROBOTS!!).

With that in mind we wanted to share a bit of our favourites with you (take it or leave it):

http://www.mashable.com (cause if we didn’t list it every social digital being would complain about our ignorance…yet we admit we visit it often. You can even download the iphone app if that’s easier and be ping’d. Or sign up for email updates)

http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com (Not updated as often but a great source of digital focused things from Aden Hepburn)

http://walkblog.co.uk (great for social marketing content – and if you’re in N. America and are prone to ignorance like many of us beware – the UK have always been great leaders of marketing ideas.)

http://www.regator.com (news agitator and one of the best ever – recently revamped)

http://singularityhub.com/ (because robotics, science and technology are cool – and if you work in the digital marketing world you may find it inspires more than expected.)

http://www.ted.com/ (International thinkers at their best. So much good video content here and no conference fees)

http://www.adage.com (Advertising news and business news)

…and a million more.  (These are just a few of our favourite daily intakes.

So where do you go?
(other than Twitter)….

After reading a rather ignorant and defensive twitter post by someone I did not know about artists transitioning into other fields being sub par to those who are trained and remained in their field I began to have a thought (after the “I’ll remember never to hire you” thought of course)…after all, I’m an artist and illustrator who became a designer and 3D animator and then became an advertiser and a brander…and who knows what I’ll be tomorrow. So I wanted to take a closer look at the unique sub culture of artist working in an alternate field.

There is a strange sub section of Advertiser Creatives out there in the world. They’re not really “big idea” generators, they’re not really designers….they’re not really production artists. They’re sort of a hybrid. They’re the artists. Creative sponges who like to draw and create – but aren’t necessarily trained to do much else. They have visual imaginations that are often way off target or brand but if you are able to navigate through their thought process they can often have the best ideas, the best visuals and more importantly in today’s online and offline world of marketing and commerce…they can often have the unique style and perspective to give you something different to work with.

Like many of these people I to have found my way from industry to industry, project to project, learning to learning and somehow – for the present at least – have found my way into advertising. A world that is so far removed from art and commercial illustration (what I was schooled in) I often find myself marveling at the idea that I’m even here. I hear similar thoughts from others from my discipline who are now working in advertising not as artist but as as Designers, Art Directors, Creative Directors and all other variety of titles; “How did I go from painting stuff for magazines and drawing in sketch books to selling marketing ideas on how to push products?” It’s an intriguing thought and usually is counter balanced in the arts industry as well as photography industry with statements such as “Things are good but if they don’t pick up I may have to get a real job”. A strange thing to say as I did not realize that a real job only consisted of a regular paycheck…

So thinking that, I began to wonder what makes artists in other fields unique – for the better or worse. Think about this: I am a self taught designer. I’ve had only one real graphic design class (and I didn’t do very well at all). I simply like to organize things by nature and if you look at how I paint things…well I tend to design it as well. I work with composition in my design much like I do when I draw. Not because I was told to, only because I tend to. When it comes to thinking I break down ideas to answer a solution. For those like me in the industry I see some similar hurdles we (artists) all face: presenting an idea as an idea – not as a garbled creative thought, designing the look of something to serve an audience – not ourselves and collaboration. Over the past ten plus years I’ve found I’m pretty comfortable with all those hoops and can jump through them with ease. However I see with younger Creatives in the industry – and recognized in myself if i look back – that they stumble often with how to overcome their own need for personal expression and the high learning curve you face when you begin to transition from production to actual advertising and management of others.

If you are of a similar mould as I and find you are an artist in advertising with street knowledge, and an urge to learn and are not sure how to grow, I have some suggestions (take it or leave it):

1. ASK
Your non-artist counterparts are creative. Be careful to acknowledge that they know things you don’t and vice versa. Often simply opening yourself up and asking questions (especially when you’re starting can not only help you form a collaborative, non-selfish working relationship – but can also improve many of the skills you may have not learn while learning your artist craft). I once taught a group of final year college students how to think beyond what they thought they knew after 3 years of learning to be illustrators. The most important part of that course was NOT creative thinking. It was the fact that they were mandated to present their ideas and work on an almost weekly basis on very different projects. As an artist interacting with others can be a scary thing. It’s made easier in opening yourself up to a regular dialogue. Other industries are constantly working at bettering themselves through continued education and mentor-ship.

2.LEARN
On that note – if you want it, you need to work at it. Like marriage, an alternate career from that of what you were before is a lot of work. You will need to educate yourself. My first website job back in early 2001 was sold when I said “yeah I can do that”. I then went home and picked up a book on how to use Dreamweaver and spent 3 days teaching myself “how to do that”. I kept learning in the evenings and weekends while working to improve my skills. Same thing goes with 3D animation – picked up books and read through them over a summer between semesters back in school. Some of the most creative and empowered people in any industry are successful because they have a hunger to always learn. Advertising is no different. (Especially digital – see the previous blog post on that topic…)

3. SPEAK
Learn how to talk. Practice it and listen to others. Over the past half decade as I’ve begun to lead projects and companies. I’ve focused much of my efforts in two new areas of discipline: talking and thinking big picture. I present a lot more and talk to a lot more people – clients, colleagues and vendors. When it comes to presentations work at being a human sponge. It’s not uncommon to see a good presenter casually open their note pad while listening to someone else present and write down a phrase or word they like. We learn from each other not only how to talk to certain people but how not to talk. Tact is after all a skill.

4.REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE
And possibly (for me anyways) one of the most important things to work on – follow your industry, BUT DON’T feel hand cuffed by it. As artists we have a lot of influencers and it is very common for them to have nothing to do with advertising or marketing at all. Use that to your strength. Keep an eye on the industry out of respect for what you are doing and to not feel ignorant to the craft – but bring forward outside inspiration. It is our greatest strength and it is often shunned not by our fellow industry colleagues but by ourselves. We fear they won’t care so we do not bring it up. Some of the best solutions came from completely unrelated fields of thought. I still watch cartoons and animated features, I still play video games, I follow art and technology advances. I pay attention to things that I like and try at every occasion to use it on projects if I see a fit.

I encourage EVERY real job artist convert to do the same. No matter where you go remember where you are from and use it to your advantage. Id if you don’t like – there is always another path.

This is a conversation I’ve had a lot of late. What is it about the world of digital that has so many in the Mass side of marketing (Radio, Print and Broadcasting) so blindsided about? Well in truth many of them aren’t. Yes there are a few who still refuse to work digital. But over the last 2 years as the economy’s bottom fell out and many brands turned their attention to cheaper ways to reach large audiences online through online marketing and social outreach – those who still wish to work in the industry are beginning to alter their perspective. Believe it or not we’ve seen brands go completely digital over the last 12 months and agencies go from 40% digital to 80%. There is another reason I’ve seen interest from “Traditional Advertisers” who have started to realize they need to get on board – and it has nothing to do with the changing in numbers or budgets. They are working a little harder at understanding…us.

Why would anyone be afraid of a digital advertiser? That was a question I thought about for a while and have had half a dozen conversations about this year alone. And I came across a thought: unlike Mass – Digital evolves. And it evolves fast. Think about it for a second. Other than better sound quality what has changes about how to approach radio? Other then better editing and the introduction of CGI as an affordable production tool for commercials…they are still usually 15, 30 or 60 second linear stories. Now take a look at digital? It is still young but it is growing and evolving at a terrifying rate. Ten years ago when I started making digital websites, they were ugly static HTML tables with big chunky text and animated GIFs. I still remember when we got image rollovers and javascript – man I was excited. And when Flash first came out my first flash site was only 300pixels by 200pixels to match the average users screen. It was also 6 megs and a mess. But it was an evolution.

As we’ve gone from clunky 90s home computers to fashionable Apples Computers and super powered home gaming rigs – our ability to see more content has been matched blow for blow with that of online media and content. We are now ok with watching 50 meg videos, loading flash hybrid sites with 3D engines that are usually massive (though built to load in small segments to optimize the experience). And for an advertiser that means something that is a profound thought…us, the digital guys have done commercials. We’ve done radio. We’ve done print. It was simply on a screen. Whether it was a static banner ad or logo design or a full web episode or a narrated web spot – we do it all now. A few years ago I would have had no idea what video shoots looked like or how to direct 3D productions. Or working with copywriters to develop voice-overs and scripts…all for online. So while we’ve been taking over in other mediums – some in Mass have started to notice and become curious about trying to understand digital. And I commend you – you’ve got the right idea and are also evolving. Now Digital is asked to be at the table from the beginning of an idea. Something that simply didn’t happen before.

We are an industry that is in constant evolution. It just changed a second ago – did you miss it? And to stay in the middle of such a forward motion you need to have a hunger for challenges beyond creative ideation and now into planning for what hasn’t been invented and how to use what came out yesterday. Much of it is useless. I’ll be the first one to admit that I’ve seen nothing commercially viable done with augmented reality that would help an experience and not hinder it. And papervision is choppy and ugly as sin. But some of the new things aren’t useless and we are always looking at that something and thinking… “How could I use that?” And since much of what we do is based on user interaction – we talk to a reactive audience not a passive one who is only listening, reading or watching media – we have also started to delve heavily into new areas to understand out audience. Behavioural science, social interaction and user reaction. They are not simply big words – we do actually think about it when we plan out and poke holes in our own ideas.

I admit I am filled with curiosity. And it has served me well. I for one enjoy instability. I like when a developer tells me he doesn’t think it’s possible to do something. It brings forward some of the best collaborative efforts and selfless creative problem solving I have ever experiences. Although I love some of my brands – If I slept at an office it wasn’t because a project was late, or because it was broken – it was because we knew we could do better and hell or high water, no one was going to see us fail.

So where is it going? Honestly, I have no idea. But I’m sure it will be interesting as it always is. Personally I think the future of digital is all around us and many advertisers strange as it is have not seen it for what it is. Digital is everywhere – so why aren’t your ads? And better yet – why isn’t your state of mind? An open mind will accept the impossible and make it reality. A mind that wants to stay rigid will block off potential and in the end cage itself. I do know where I would like to take it in my own work…experiential. Digital after all is not a website. It’s not a banner. It’s not your i-pod or i-pad. It’s electric. It’s interaction. It’s reaction. It’s a mirror of how we socially interact with each other. And where ever electricity is digital media can evolve to fit into. Now where’s my note pad…

LIKE THIS HAIRLESS FELINE….YOU ARE NOW NAKED.

I’ve been a part of a lot of brainstorms with clients and industry people where discussion on where a client should be or go often turns towards the grey space of “social”. A ridiculous term if you think about it in reference to communication in the digital space. I mean think about it – if it’s so social, why do we communicate through text and a viscous cycle of replies when we could simply pick up a phone or meet face to face and actually socialize as humans did for thousands of years – until about a decade ago. Social networks are at their core an evolution of unsocial habits that have become the norm in essence out of ease. It’s easier to type it and not deal with having to converse. I’m a victim to it as much as the next person. Hell, I live it, eat it, breathe it…and as some may call it on the “dark side” I also sell, design, advertise and build ideas for it. Since back when Facebook still had a useful sales mechanism in their applications and twitter was strictly the next up and comer.

I’ve designed entire advertising and contests around this “social” digital space. And you know why? Simple. Because it knows more about you than many of your friends do. It knows where you live, what you like, what age range you fall it, how you interact and how many times a day you act online as well as what you do when you are acting online. A little creepy yes – but when someone wants to through half a million dollars at selling you their latest product and convincing you it’s cool – or if you are in your late thirties, married and with children telling you it’s safe and trusted…it has it’s uses.

So now it comes to the trickle down. As this world has been for the large part completely embraced by human kind the globe over…it becomes how we communicate within it. There are plenty of horror stories out there with people that have found themselves out of a job one comment later after forgetting their boss was on their friends list. Or those that have broken too much privacy and found themselves at the hands of stockers, fraud or worse. So when it comes to how you act in this social space I might ask you why and how? Take for instance this post. I’m typing it…why are you reading it? My hope would be that I felt it was something I wanted to say…and that you in turn are curious to read. That same thought goes through every clients mind when they are presented with “social reach” as an “opportunity”. And for everyone three that say they want in two of them will not know how to handle the first attack. Do you know how many times I’ve heard and still hear “You opened yourself up it”? You have to expect dialogue. Good or bad.”

Like the movies say though – it’s not what you do that defines you; it’s what you do next. Well guess what, the same goes for businesses who open themselves up and try to have social dialogue with their fans and detractors. So to you if you are planning to do so I offer you a few pieces of advice that I’ve learnt from and seen firsthand:

1.Respond. Believe it or not it’s the best thing you can do. If it’s a positive reaction – show there are people on the other side of that logo and react positively and more importantly if it’s a negative reaction – spark up the dialogue to offer customer service and solutions. Large companies now employ their customer service online as well as over the phone to help turn around negative perceptions. It’s a smart move.

2. Keep content coming. If you don’t do anything at least every 2-3 weeks (if not daily or weekly) you might as well not bother. Competition is heavy in the social space because it’s often cheap. But that means your message can be gone in the shuffle 20 seconds after you let it out.

3. And perhaps most importantly, you are now naked. Chilly huh? Everyone can see you. Mistakes will happen. So be transparent. Be honest. TALK to your social followers. They are smart and know when you give them a well prepared PR reply instead of an honest response.

SO I POSE A QUESTION BACK TO YOU MY READERS:

how do you keep things social? Are you open or tentative? Do you reaction or act? I’d honestly like to know.