2 Weeks Later, SXSW Still Burns In My Brain

By Jeff Horn

Horrific accidents aside, this year’s SXSW Interactive held more inspiration for me than the past two years combined. As a copywriter, I can’t say that every session and panel applied to my craft. As a creative leader, however, I discovered a few ideas that set my mind on fire during EFM’s brief stint in Austin.

Lesson 1: Death is Imminent

Pretty morbid, huh? That’s what I thought too, but there’s an important lesson to take away from our impending demise: There’s very little time to create something worth sharing, and even less time to celebrate our achievements. This lesson by the indelible Austin Kleon segues perfectly into a mind-tingling question: What would the world look like if we were less afraid? If we were fearless?

Those who are unafraid to fail are those who make lasting breakthroughs. Take Thomas Edison, who famously said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” The spirit encapsulated in this statement is the same motivation that death can bring us. Who cares if it takes 10,000 tries? One day you are going to die, and the urgency to create something meaningful during this lifetime ought to trump any fear of failure.

Lesson 2: Process is No Excuse for Mediocrity

Many of today’s corporations struggle with innovation. They value innovation. Some go as far as to preach innovation. But their marriage to strict processes doesn’t allow the flexibility for real innovation to take place.

In her panel, Chaos & Creativity: A Love Story, Patricia Korth-McDonnell of Huge Agency discussed how every agency wants to create something rationally sound, but for the crazy ideas to take shape, we must build flexibility into our processes. In her words, “Process is a starting point. Not an excuse.”

What can creatives take from this? We’d do well to maintain a healthy friction with our processes. At every juncture, let us ask the question, “Why?” If at any point you find yourself answering, “Because that’s how we’ve always done it,” run for the hills.

Lesson 3: “Story” is Not a Universal Term

At EFM, we talk a lot about storytelling. After 4 days at SXSW, however, I get the sense that the term is being skewed by marketers. As a writer, I think of story as an exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and a resolution. And interwoven through it all are characters, plot, theme, syntax… all the juicy stuff.

If I could go out on a limb, I’d like to translate what 90% of marketers mean when they say “storytelling.” Update the photography to lifestyle shots with a headline telling people how they feel.

I love and believe in stories, but let’s not denigrate the meaning of ‘story’ by doing a Buzzfeed-style video and anointing yourself John Hughes.  Real stories are the ones where character transformations produce a deeper self-understanding or connection with the world. Story brings catharsis, relief and reactions. As Jon Setzen, CD at Media Temple said, “Every story needs a hero, and in our trade, that hero is a relevant solution.”

Lesson 4: Anyone Else Care to Preach About Why?

Simon Sinek really screwed marketers up. I don’t think I attended one meaningful session that didn’t mention starting with “why.” I take no issue with the approach. In fact, I’m an advocate of Sinek’s Golden Circle. As a writer, though, my issue lies more with marketers not practicing what they preach.

We can’t continue asking “why” in pockets. One or two people who understand “why” isn’t enough. It must be shared discussion. The more people we can get to ask “why,” the quicker we can all arrive at the root of the problem. When a variety of personalities each tackle the problem from a different point of view… that’s where genuine breakthroughs occur.

Don’t confine “why” to a vacuum. Practice what you preach. In the end it makes it easier to preach what you practice.

How To Never Be a Vampire or Piece of Human Spam

I had never heard of Austin Kleon before this year’s South by Southwest – but now I have, and for that I am glad.

Austin is a writer who draws. What does that mean, you ask? Well, he is perhaps most famous for taking New York Times articles and blacking out everything except carefully chosen words, thereby forming print/sharpie clad poems. As an early blog adopter and aficionado of words, doodles and humanity, his was the first keynote I attended in Austin this year and, in addition to wanting to be his new best friend, I really enjoyed what he had to say.

Here’s an example of one he showed during this presentation. 

He talked about, wait for it, Vampires and Human Spam. Allow me to elaborate. These tragic creatures were once lovely humans, existing on planet earth just like you and me. Somewhere along the way though, something went awry and they were given the very false life manual where competition and self promotion rule. When you spend time with vampires, they suck your energy stores dry, use them for their own selfish, vampirey benefit and leave you lifeless. Jerks. Human spam, conversely, ram their stuff- projects, events, whatever- down your throat as hard as spamingly possible, forever shoving harder if you, by some miracle, evade them during the first go around. Once they’re in, don’t expect even a flicker of reciprocity. It’s simply not in their nature.

Austin went on to discuss the more human like qualities of creativity and it’s purest derivative: collaboration. He noted we are all part of a ‘scenious’ – or a group of like minded people, consistently fostering and encouraging one another toward a common goal. In theory, our goal as artists is to get noticed. In practice, our mindset should be how we can contribute to our scenious – as opposed to standing out as a genius. A scenious is nurtured by collaborative sharing. You cannot have a healthy scenious with the presence of Vampires or Human Spam.

nice photo, I know. 

How can we then, make the transition to effectively contribute to our scenious – to better serve it, ourselves and one another? Let me count the ways:

1. Listen. Pay attention and take stock. Find gaps worth filling and find ways to fill them. Improve scenious efficiency and wholeness. Become a citizen of any community before you attempt to influence it.

Find gaps aka opportunities in your scenious. Fill them.

2. Don’t be a hoarder. Share your stuff. Similar interests will be attracted to it – and you.

3. Share. Other people do awesome things. Share them and make a habit of it- but give credit. Steal like an artist – don’t be a Vampirey or Spam-like.

4. Find people of like minds. <insert sports analogy here> In baseball, all pitchers are competitive. No one shares their secrets for fear of falling short  on the mound. This is true for all but one: the knuckleball pitcher. This unruly pitch is so unpredictable that like-pitchers have formed a brotherhood of sorts. Knuckleball pitchers share experiences, secrets and share a cross team bond unlike any other position in the sport. Find your knuckleballers, teach what you know, learn what you hear.

All in all, Austin jives very well with a concept we’ve been working a lot on at EFM and that is the idea of ‘collective intelligence’. Essentially, this concept reflects our belief that like minded people with similar beliefs can do more. They can do good. They can harness a usually ignored energy that comes from within. This energy is selfness, it is non competitive, it is purpose driven and it is unbelievably powerful.

No matter what scenious of which we are a part, or what purpose we have committed to, we should always live to contribute, share, embrace and flourish for we can, as Margaret Mead once said, “never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Follow Austin on Twitter if you feel so inclined. I highly recommend it.