Over the years, SXSW has grown in popularity and magnitude to the point where it’s sometimes a challenge to navigate the event–literally and figuratively. SXSW 2012 was no exception and the Interactive portion has earned the reputation of being a great launchpad for new products.
One highlight was a startup named Highlight that provides location-based discovery of people around you based on common interests. While Highlight’s reviews were mixed (some wondered if there really needed to be an app to virtually “tap people on the shoulder” and start a conversation), there was no denying that it was one of the few startups that had people buzzing. There were so many startups vying for attention, however, that many felt that the success Twitter enjoyed at SXSW would be difficult, if not impossible, to ever recreate.
Startups aside, there was a variety of great panels that ran the gamut in terms of technology and digital trends. I was honored to host a panel with my DDB colleagues titled “Credit vs. Collaboration: Addressing the Organizational Divide.” The format–“Core Conversation”–is relatively new and I served as a guide curating the discussion and interjecting my thoughts and opinions. It was a nice break from the standard presentation or panel style.
We not only had representation from various agencies and agency disciplines (creative directors, designers, technologists) but also had a handful of client-side marketing leads in the conversation. It was interesting to observe how digital communication is fundamentally changing the game for so many radically different organizations yet many patterns persist.
For organizations that are still evolving their digital prowess, one such example is the “specialist vs. generalist” syndrome under which most “digital” people exist. The digital specialists bear the burden of translating, teaching and creating other bridges to their respective disciplines whereas the generalists must awaken to the reality that this “specialized” knowledge will soon be “mainstream requirements” for the jobs of the future.
Conversely for digital-centric organizations, the need for collaboration is more of an inter-organizational challenge between them and external partners (as opposed to individuals collaborating internally). For these specialist organizations, the common challenge was how to effectively manage their deliverables against a broader workflow that’s still struggling to understand (and value) exactly what’s involved in doing what they do.
There was general agreement that creators and artists need to be given credit for their work. It was brought up that some organizations choose to embrace a team-centric philosophy through which individual recognition and accolades are deprecated whereas others are still struggling with getting everyone on board with a team-based directive. The challenge is especially sensitive for the ad/communications agency as there’s a legacy of “idea ownership” that needs to be addressed.
The undercurrent evident at SXSW was that everyone needs to improve their collaboration and idea management, however the tools and software are still fairly “1.0” when it comes to doing so. Maybe next year’s SXSW could serve as a launchpad for a startup that can effectively tackle the job.
(Azher Ahmed is SVP, director of digital operations, DDB Chicago.)
Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More