I’m a big fan of visualizations. For this year’s SXSW, Pepsi came back with an updated version of their “Zeitgeist,” created by Amy Hoy and Thomas Fuchs of Slash7. I liked this year’s version much better because it included Foursquare check-ins (which everyone was doing) and it seemed to be more relevant for people that were actually there.

I wish there was a Zeitgeist for every event that ever was so hopefully there is a trend toward more visualizations. Regarless of how you feel about the Zeitgeist’s actual value, it looks cool and it makes a non-tech company look very high-tech. Well done Pepsi. Well done.

Below are a couple of videos of the displays they had at the Austin Convention Center. Note the Samsung HDTVs :)

You read that right. I’m not talking about crowdsourcing, but crowdsurfing.

At SXSW Interactive 2010, I attended fantastic panels and solo presentations by people behind the brands, behind the books, and behind some of the most innovative tech. I met many very interesting people with whom I had very interesting conversations. I learned, I explored, I experienced, and I saw the potential of what this community could do in the next few years. To say the least, SXSW was unforgettable and I think anyone who is in marketing, advertising, PR, web development, design, user experience, customer service, etc., should head to Austin next year.

So when I heard about the usual post-event complainers talking about SXSW 2010 sucking.. I remembered being at Stubb’s with friends, watching a live Diggnation. Dice flying everywhere. A weird sense of FourSquare community. Fun. Excitement. Hope for a better world. Hope for a world where technology can make us all better people. And live streaming crowdsurfing…

Leo Laporte Crowdsurfing while Livestreaming TWiT:

Kevin Rose Crowdsurfing: (more…)

Every so often I stumble into an interesting + funny blog with the potential to stick around for a while. The moment I heard about Build-a-Beard, I knew I had to find out more about this “movement” and “organization” led by Kristina Weise and Alex Aizenberg. Please check them out on Twitter and Facebook, and attend the Beard Ball NYC on Feb 4th (with proceeds going to RightRides).

1. Build-a-beard has been getting some much deserved attention. What’s the story behind it? When and how did you get started?

The idea for B-A-B came when I was admiring Paul Bank’s new band, Julian Plenti, at the Guggenheim in August 2009. I (Kristina) found myself in a sea of bearded hipsters.  To keep myself amused that evening, I started picking out the “best beards of the night.”  The next morning, I ran the idea past El Beardo (Alex Aizenberg) to have a blog dedicated to both beards and DIY facial hair creativity and voilà – Build-A-Beard.

2. The world probably wants to know what’s next for you. What’s the future of B-A-B? Will you ever actually take on Build-a-Bear?

Down the pipeline, we hope to throw a Beard Ball in every major city.  Next up for us is Spring/Summer 2010 in Los Angeles.  ‘R Bar’ in Los Angeles, California has already been gracious enough to contact us and offer up their venue.  A bar in Austin has reached out to invite us to Texas.  There is a real need for people to have an outlet for their beards – and that’s where Build-A-Beard comes in.  In addition, each city that we choose to have a Beard Ball, we will obviously pick a niche, community-focused charity to support.  Sadly, we will never take on Build-A-Bear – different industry all together – but bears are rad.

3. As beard experts/connoisseurs that study the art of the beard 24/7, do you ever look down on those who cannot grow a beard?

Build-A-Beard is about the celebration of facial hair, but it also is a nice niche group for those who admire beards.  So if people cannot grow beards, as long as they hold some sort of admiration for those that can (or just mild curiosity), they are welcomed in our bearded world.  Besides, some people are not built (ha ha) to be able to grow one, and that’s OK… at most we will ask of those people is to try. (more…)

On the most recent “The Social Nerdia Show!” I had a conversation with  Angela Natividad and Bill Green, the podcasters behind AdVerve.

Angela’s Twitter profile tells us that she is “VP-Marketing, hypios. Ad scribe, Culture Buzz. Hostess, AdVerve. And yes, still the wholesale purveyor of The Sass™.” Bill Green blogs at MTLB (Make the Logo Bigger), a personal favorite, and  has worked with lots of great brands. You might also know them from their work with AdRants and their appearances on The BeanCast.

Listen to the entire conversation with A &B on the Flash player below. Please subscribe to us on iTunes, stream from mobiles on Stitcher, and listen to upcoming LIVE shows on blogtalkradio.

Angela and Bill told me that they started AdVerve because they wanted to take ad podcasting in a new direction, to a place where every topic is welcome. “Every topic is about advertising. Advertising surrounds everything, all of the nuances from our culture,” Angela told me. Bill added that they wanted to have a “conversational (podcast) and see where things go, the way ad agencies are, the way creatives actually talk about situations.”

While the show is quite open-ended, both of them emphasized the importance of honesty and respect. “We’re careful about what we talk about on the show. We’re honest but respectful of anything that is confidential,” Bill explained. He told me a story that reflects just how much some advertisers and marketers are still not sure what do do with bloggers and podcasters: “There was an incident on the BeanCast where one of the guests on the show was fired, even though he didn’t say anything incendiary.. It was just a very nervous employer.”

Angela and Bill met through AdRants, a blog and email newsletter that provides “marketing and advertising news with attitude,” published by Steve Hall. “I knew Angela had a style that could transform into a different form,” Bill explained. Today, AdVerve already has 15 shows and its first episode was downloaded over 2,400 times. Regarding the future of the show, Angela told me that they “do see an opportunity for AdVerve to expand.” (more…)

Elli Grace is a fashion brand that was launched in February of 2009 by designer duo Sojung “Sue” Yang and Lamarr Nanton. Earlier this month, I spoke with Lamarr, who has 19 years of experience in apparel design and development with companies like Giorgio Armani and JC Penney, at the first Elli Grace retail location in Plano, TX.

See the three videos below to learn more about Elli Grace, Lamarr’s personal story, and some of the geeky stuff they’re doing to differentiate themselves in the fashion world (including blogging and tweeting):

Lamarr shows how to use a mobile device to charge customers from virtually anywhere that has a cell signal or Wi-Fi, after the jump..

(more…)

Jonathan Crowley is the co-founder of Black20, a multi-platform digital studio that operates out of Long Island City, Queens. There’s a good chance that you’ve seen or at least heard of one of their viral videos or award-winning web series, which have been viewed by over 60 million people. A recent partnership with 15 Gigs means their entertaining content is going to reach even more people. Prior to co-founding Black20 in 2007, J. Crowley was a part of NBC Digital Studios developing comedy programming for the network’s digital initiatives. You can check out more of their programming at Hulu and Black20.com.

1. Black20 recently partnered with Fox TV Studios’ 15 Gigs to produce Web-based pilots like “Heart Felt.” What kind of relationship do you have with FTVS and how has it been working with them?

We partnered up with FTVS to create innovative and cheap-to-produce content for the web, and always with an eye towards its extension to other platforms like television.  We view it as both an opportunity to develop stories and formats that can really speak to a Web-video-consuming audience and also as a chance to play around with a much more cost-efficient development model.

“Heart Felt” is merely one example of a digital pilot we produced to gauge our audience’s appetite.  In this case we wanted to test whether people wanted to watch a comedy about relationships between people and puppets. The viewership and feedback were very strong, so we now look at how to shape this series for both online and television platforms.

2. Black20 seems to focus on the content instead of spending money on marketing. What are some of things you need to do when creating content that is meant to be spread by the online masses?

We’ve never paid a single cent for marketing or promotion. We’ve relied on our content to virally spread itself. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. It’s tricky predicting what videos will go viral, but we’ve realized content focused on nostalgia or topical events tend to spread much faster. Oh yeah, or anything related to Star Wars. (more…)

After befriending children with no shoes in Argentina, Blake Mycoskie decided he wanted to help. He started TOMS Shoes in 2006 with a simple idea: With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One.” The shoes were designed after the Argentine “alpargata” and 10,000 pairs were sold in the first year. The company has given away over 150,000 pairs of shoes to kids all over the world.

At the young age of 33, Blake has not only created an admirable brand, but he has also built a platform that allows anyone to provide a basic need to those that are often forgotten and ignored.

1. I love your quote: “I don’t want to be remembered for what I did, but what I gave away.” Have you always had this philosophy or did it develop over time?

As you grow and have different experiences, you learn what you want out of your life and what direction you will pursue. The things I have learned and people I have met over time have shaped my philosophy and have guided me to where I am now.

2. Designing a new type of shoe, starting a non-profit and building a brand that incorporates both seems like a lot to take on, did you ever consider partnering with a brand that already existed?

TOMS was such a unique model from the start, and we broke the mold in some respects of how most businesses operate, so we wanted to show others that this idea of incorporating giving could work on its own. It’s great now to be at a point where we can do some amazing collaborations with other brands like Ralph Lauren, Element Skateboards and even Dave Matthews Band. (more…)