24 Lessons on Technology, Innovation, Media and Business from SXSW 2016
Brands and algorithms are both trying to do the same thing: reduce the cognitive load of making decisions. Brands do this by earning our trust in their quality versus the competition, while algorithms do this by convincing us we don’t need to worry about brands at all.
Algorithms are making basic products a commodity. For brands to survive they need to stand for more than their product: by having overt values, offering services additive to products, and instilling expectations of future innovation. Media brands are also fighting this threat, but from the downward trend of programmatic advertising CPMs.
To succeed as a VR company, you either need either the best technology or the biggest community, and you need to be very clear on which you are. Investors looking at startups today are skeptical they can win community from YouTube or Facebook, so their best chance appears to be quickly building superior technology.
The power of VR is to bring people closer to once limited experiences. The NBA is exploring the use of VR to give everyone access to the most expensive and exclusive seats in the house. TOMS is using VR to bring people with them on journeys to the countries they’re helping. VR represents the shift from information to experience.
Nest thermostat is an example of “anticipatory design”; it learns our habits, and manages our home climate for us. What makes it so compelling isn’t just its ability to make decisions, but to do so in the service of a larger goal: saving us money. Once we feel the benefit, we begin to trust it with assuming more control.
Self driving cars are already safer than humans and getting better exponentially. They combine lasers, radar, and mapping to read millions of data points about their environment and make 10 estimations per second of what behaviors could take place. As soon as one car learns, the knowledge is shared with all others. They will improve safety, increase productivity, and give mobility back to people with disabilities.
Hyperloop doesn’t just represent a new mode of transportation, it represents a new model of entrepreneurship. The company building it is a membership of over 500 professionals from 21 nations who contribute ideas, code, server management, prototyping and other skills for at least 10 hours per week in exchange for stock.
Innovation at scale happens when audacious science is married with applications that matter. DARPA and Google ATAP both believe that research must be driven by an intimate understanding of human needs. Pursuits need to be challenging, but also have clear hypothesis and time & resource limitations to avoid waste.
The next 3 Billion internet users will jumpstart whole different types of innovation because they will experience the internet first through mobile phones, use messaging before they use search, and will be trying to solve for the essential services (e.g., financial, healthcare, and educational services) developing countries need.
Building apps into messaging services will eliminate adoption barriers and reduce cognitive load. Users don’t have to search for, install, and learn how to use entirely new apps because they already understand the dynamic. They also find responding to individual messages easier to digest than whole interfaces or long email threads.
Conversational UI shifts the focus from interface design (rigid) to service design (flexible). Developers are free to take advantage of existing messenger frameworks such as identity and payments. Services provided through conversational UI are also adaptable to new products — from phones to cars to speakers, and beyond.
To be effective, AI needs to be focused, not broadly applied. Expectations need to be understood by people so inputs can be answered reliably and dialogue can be used to deepen interaction from initial search to refinement. Any frustration with outcomes leads to immediate leads to mistrust and abandonment, i.e., the Siri problem.
AI will soon be a utility that we buy like a commodity, like electricity or bandwidth. It will likely be provided by Google and Facebook, because of the massive head start they have in data collection and processing, the fundamental inputs. AI will be so readily available that the next wave of startups will be “Take ‘X’, add AI”, to cognify it.
Sports are the perfect entertainment product — uniquely positioned with a regular mix of live perishable programming to command a premium and the ability to generate compelling “highlights” content that has an afterlife for share-ability.
Global on-demand access to games and players is reducing the importance of big markets. NBA.TV, social media, and news pubs like Players Tribune are making teams and players from all over the map into international stars, increasing viewer ratings even when NYC and LA are doing terribly.
Physical experiences are still proving to be important in the digital era. Attendance at NBA games is increasing (at 92% and climbing) because people are valuing community. eCommerce companies like TOMs and Frank & Oak are opening stores because people want to see and touch products and learn firsthand what brands stand for.
The OTT broadcast revolution is opening up opportunities for new brands to take on TV. Vox and other non-broadcast publishers will have just as much access to building apps for Apple TV and Roku, and be competing on equal footing for mindshare.
To win in today’s digital publishing landscape, brands need a strong voice and flexible programming strategy. Vox is winning because it stays “data informed”, not “data driven”, using insights to effect where they publish, how they publish, and to whom, but creating content true to their craft and point of view.
To be effective, conscious capitalism needs to be embraced by both brands and consumers. Brands like TOMS and THINX need to build business models that invest in sustainable contributions to underserved communities (e.g., jobs and training, not just donations), and consumers need to “vote” for these business models with their wallets.
The 3-step thought process to make a difference: “does it suck in my world” + “does it suck for a lot of people” + “can I be passionate about it for a really long time”. THINX Co-Founder Miki Agrawal said she thinks this before pursuing any problem, because she knows to achieve anything it will take immense discipline and sacrifice.
What makes GIFs so interesting is people associate them with emotions. People search Giphy for things like “Happy”, and the results are “how happy is, right now.” It is an entirely different mode of thought than the way people typically search Google, or even Google Image Search.
Anthony Bourdain sees success as doing work people love one week and hate the next. His biggest fear is being consistently good, because that means he’s not pushing the boundaries of creativity or purpose. that ambition is the driving force of Parts Unknown, which regularly explores new modes of film and storytelling.
Agency participation in Venture Capital is helping to align the goals of both businesses, from output to outcome. Having skin in the game means marketers benefit directly from growing the startup’s business, not just impressive creative. In turn, startups get access to marketing services before they would normally be able to afford.
If you crave barbecue while at SXSW, take a short drive out to Lockhart, a small town with four barbecue palaces. Stop at Smitty’s Market for quality food and atmosphere, and Black’s for some of the best beef rib and brisket you’ve ever tasted. Plus, you won’t have a long Austin-style lines, and the meat won’t run out by 10AM.
