On indie culture, putting birds on things and Tightrope’s Best Canadian Essays 2012

(This is a modified version of my November 28, 2012 reading as part of Tightrope Book’s Fall 2012 launch for Best Canadian Essays 2012.)

Last year I wrote about indie culture and how it went mainstream without really trying for Broken Pencil. My essay focused on authenticity versus transparency. So, for example, Louis C.K. made $1 million dollars in 12 days selling his last comedy special for $5 through his website. How do we know this? Because he was kind enough to tell us. That’s transparency in action.

Now is Mr. C.K. authentic? Maybe. Maybe not. To be honest, I’m at that age where I don’t really know anymore. And this would bother me, except that no one really knows anymore. Authenticity is a slippery concept, it’s a moving target measured with notoriously faulty equipment. That is to say, authenticity is measured by human beings. And we are very unreliable.

The problem is that authenticity is far sexier than transparency. Transparency is a spreadsheet full of earnings. I’m thinking of Zoe Keating, an indie musician who created a publically viewable Google Doc of her income.

Authenticity, meanwhile, is Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil at a crossroads. Authenticity is Lou Reed releasing Metal Machine Music as a way of giving his record label the middle finger. (And most of his fans too).

What we often forgot is that transparency takes bravery. Maybe even more bravery than Metal Machine Music. That’s because with transparency, you leave the job of interpretation in the hands of your fans. Authenticity can be spun, shaped, cultivated and managed. That’s not to say that transparency makes the end result more or less authentic. But it does demystify the conditions under which culture is created, which is what indie culture is all about.

Indie, as you might recall, is short for independent from the mainstream. Indie means more than simply putting a bird on it.

The other benefit of transparency is that it helps other artists. Zoe Keating makes almost nothing from Spotify, for example, which is probably a helpful thing to know if you’re a musician.

So, in the spirit of transparency, I will mention that I received $2000 from the Ontario Arts Council for my essay, which originally appeared in Broken Pencil. That sounds like a lot, but writing an essay is plenty of work, especially if you do it correctly. I was paid considerably less for being included in this book – I received two copies of the anthology.

So there you go. I walked the walk. I was brave and transparent. I’ll leave the job of interpretation to my fans.

Please buy the anthology. Or buy me a beer. Or both. Just do whatever feels most authentic to you.

(Special thanks to Broken Pencil for publishing the article in the first place. Extra special thanks to Lindsay Gibb for being such a wonderful editor. Also thanks to Christopher Doda and Ray Robertson for putting together such a fantastic anthology. And super thanks to everyone at Tightrope books.)

Dear SXSWi: Thanks for the faint hope

This Friday email made my weekend:

On Monday, October 15, we announced approximately 450 accepted sessions via the SXSW website (http://sxsw.com/interactive/talks/programming). Unfortunately, your proposal was not part of this announcement.

That said, we like your proposal a lot, it is one of about 200 proposals that we are still considering. However, at this point, we have a limited number of open speaking slots for the 2013 event, so this last round of decision-making is very difficult.

Slim chance ahoy! Thanks to everyone who voted for my proposal!

Some great multi-screen content strategy links

Tonight Kim Lawless overcame the ambient noise of a lively student bar and managed to demystify multi-screen content strategy with style to spare. A few links for anyone interested in learning more:

Slideshare presentation - Content Strategy for the Multi-screen world

http://www.slideshare.net/kimlawless/content-strategy-for-the-multiscreen-world-14674357

Forbes - "The Shape of Things to Come"

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gyro/2012/10/17/the-shape-of-things-to-come/

Google - The New Multi-Screen World

http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/insights/featured/new-multi-screen-world-insight/

Karen McGrane - Adapting Ourselves to Adaptive Content (presentation)

http://karenmcgrane.com/2012/09/04/adapting-ourselves-to-adaptive-content-video-slides-and-transcript-oh-my/

Luke W - Writings on mobile design and content strategy

http://www.lukew.com/ff/

Cameron Koczon - Orbital Content

http://www.alistapart.com/articles/orbital-content/

Follow @kklawless for more insights, or visit Teehan+Lax: http://www.teehanlax.com/author/kim/

Toronto content strategy meetup in convenient poster form

Only 9 days until Kim Lawless explains multi-screen content at the October 18 Toronto Content Strategy Meetup.

Here's a little poster to celebrate!

Right About Being Wrong About Being Right

"Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong."

-- Neil Gaiman

 

The Story Behind My Content Strategy

So I wrote this piece about the importance of story-telling and narrative for MarketingProfs a few weeks ago. Not to brag, humblebrag or underbrag, but the article was well received, and thousands of people ended up reading and/or enjoying it. I found this quite gratifying, because the piece felt like a successful blend of my interests as a cultural journalist and some of my perspectives on content strategy. 

Since the fall of 2009 I’ve been working hard to determine the best way to combine my decade+ of experience in print journalism with my work in the digital space. In the interests of saving time, here is a non-narrative, bulleted list version of recent events:

•       Copywriting for digital advertising agencies (Fall 2009)
•       Joining the Toronto Content Strategy Meetup (Summer 2010)
•       Enrolling in the CFC’s Interactive Art and Entertainment Program (Sept 2010 to Feb 2011)
•       Finding a job in content marketing at Sequentia Environics (Feb 2011)
•       Staying up all night for the launch of tweet2hold during Nuit Blanche (Oct 2011)
•       Finding a job as a Digital Content Strategist at Nurun (Feb 2012)
•       Taking over as organizer of the Toronto Content Strategy Meetup (Spring 2012)
•       Giving my first talk at NXNE Interactive about physidigital objects (June 2012)

Which is my way of explaining why I’m ready, eager and excited about the opportunity to be teaching Digital Content Strategy Demystified this fall through the U of T’s School of Continuing Studies.

If you’re interested in the course, @reply me via Twitter.

Demystify Content Strategy through my UofT SCS course

Hello! Are you interested in content strategy? Are you interested in learning what content strategy really means? Are you enjoying this series of provocative questions about content strategy?

If you answered yes to some or all of these questions, consider taking my UofT SCS course “Digital Content Strategy Demystified.” It’s an 8-week course that begins on Wednesday, October 3. It will be guest speaker driven – that means I’m hoping to have at least 6 guest speakers come in and discuss various aspects of the discipline of content strategy. As a bonus, the classroom is equipped with a ginormous smart screen – basically a giant touchscreen television connected to the Internet that provides unlimited opportunities for interactive learning and discussion.

Course description and signup.

The Fall 2012 Toronto Content Strategy Meetup Guest Speaker Series!

SXSWi is Dead

Just kidding. Please vote for my panel about Creating Great Analog Souvenirs for a Digital Era.

Physidigital Life is a Beach -- So Don't Forget to Make a Few Digital Souvenirs

It says physidigital.com. My sand calligraphy is rusty.

Please vote for my SXSWi proposal entitled "Creating Great Analog Souvenirs for a Digital Era." I promise to you that I will not be arguing that the future of interactive involves writing URLs in beaches.