360DigitalInfluence

I’ve let a few days pass in order to observe and digest the after-effects of last week’s Open Room session, “Journalism’s from Mars, Social Media’s from Venus“. Needless to say, the conversations got colorful pretty quickly and have continued into the early part of this week, both online as well as in the print media. Searching the #openroom Twitter hashtag alone provides a good overview of what went down but if you want to read more, check out MyPaper’s piece on not writing off traditional media, as well as the posts by Claudia, IanOnTheRedDot, dk and one of our panelists, uniquefrequency.

Our aim of this session was to get 2 groups of people who don’t normally talk in person…talking. Both have their opinions and it’s not a case of either-or. While it’s always fun to sensationalize a gathering of seeming opposites such as this, we’re not debating whether journalism is better than a blog post or vice versa, but we did talk about the importance of solid business models in traditional media and the merits of social media in today’s new world of rapidfire communication, where anybody and everybody can be an influencer. And that’s what The Open Room is about - communicating in a human voice that is open, honest and respectful. In a world that is inundated with messaging, it’s our version of the “real coffeeshop talk” where one can listen and be heard. More importantly, it’s a place where stories get told. It’s our way of getting folks fired up and bringing real communication back to life.

We communicate with traditional media and bloggers everyday and believe that the system has room for both planets. Neither is better than the other but adjustments can be made on both sides so that news is reported better and faster. The bloggers who write great opinion pieces or commentary backed by fact are going to have the most readers. Similarly, journalists who have their finger on the pulse of wider conversations on the ground and online are going to be a step ahead. I like this post that talks about the relationship between blogs and mainstream media being a fact of life. What I think lies ahead is the next Open Room session, where we take the conversation up a notch and talk about some specifics. Brian has an interesting thought starter about Building the Future Media Organisation, which is definitely worth talking about, but I’d also like to hear from those who attended our Open Room. What burning conversations would you like to have next?

With Felix Soh, Head of Digital Media at SPH, and Thomas Crampton, Ogilvy’s Asia-Pacific Director of Digital Influence

Update: We’re maxed out on capacity! Thanks to everyone who RSVP-ed. Twollow the conversations via #openroom and le tus know your thoughts!
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A lot has been said about traditional vs. new media but it’s really not a battle with an either/or outcome. Fun fodder for an Open Room session over finger food, drinks and tweets where journalists and bloggers unite! Happening Thursday, 25 June from 7-9pm (venue TBC).

Thomas Crampton, who heads Digital Influence in Asia-Pacific, will be co-hosting the conversation with ex-journalist, Arti Mulchand. Tom recently video-blogged about his transition from journalism to digital strategy.

RSVPs closed.
RSVP: niki.torres@ogilvy.com

The idea was conceived in a seasoned Moleskine, between a page about erectile dysfunction, and another with a doodle of a communications strategy plan looking uncannily like the cross-section of a lotus root.

The objective of Your Blog™ Open Room session was simple; to enable bloggers to market their blogs like brands. The intention was perversely innocent; we wanted to give back to the community. Everyone has numbers to meet, and agencies aren’t spared. But nonetheless, it is important to contribute to the community that helps you grow in the first place. When the community grows, we grow with them.

The proposal submitted to Management for approval was a lazy flash of the Moleskine page, summarised with a few boxes, clumsy arrows, and words of less than 140 characters (ah, the bad influence of Twitter).  The approval took a shorter time than the development of the lotus root communications strategy plan.

The four speakers that we have shortlisted for the Open Room came from vastly different backgrounds with a common thread – they are fiercely passionate in what they do, and they really kick ass at doing it. No words can express our gratitude to them for helping us that evening. Singapore Entrepreneurs, Krisandro, and Brian have written their key takeaways about the event. Have a read.

The speakers were:

1. Yongfook • Jon Yongfook Cockle
Social media and may I say fashion sartorialist of a CEO of Egg Co – a digital business incubator based in Tokyo, and geeked-out blogger for more than a decade.

2. Arti Mulchand
Arti was a Singapore Press Holdings scholar who worked as a journalist at The Straits Times of Singapore Press Holdings, for over a decade, before we kidnapped her.

3. Design Sojourn • Brian Ling
An award winning, multi-disciplinary industrial design leader who specializes in strategic design and product realization programs that drive successful brands and businesses.

4. Toysrevil • Andy Heng
Andy runs an internationally acclaimed blog about toys and nothing but. Well respected by the who’s-who of today’s creative world and highly regarded by toy manufacturers and distributors alike. Incidentally, the Open Room was Andy’s first ever blogger event. We are deeply honoured.

I’ll let you in on a secret – while the objective and intention remained the same, the speakers were briefed about the Open Room quite differently. As an organiser, you need to understand the traits and unique selling proposition of each speaker, in order to bring out the best in them during an event. How do you do so? Well, as we always preach – you listen first. We shared with the speakers on what we appreciate about them, and asked for them to share their personal experiences based on that. That explains why the Open Room was so multi-dimensional and dynamic even. Any more diversity and we might have a shot at running our own United Colours of Benetton campaign.

The day the event was announced on our blog, we had both Cowboy Caleb and Victan talking about it. We tried our best to satisfy the last minute massive surge in invitation requests, without breaking our promise that this event was for bloggers only. For those whom I could not obtain an invite for, please rest assured you’d be the first I’ll call in the next Open Room. Given relevance, of course.

David Ogilvy has once said, “We pursue knowledge the way a pig pursues truffles”. This is true of the culture at Ogilvy. There is nothing more we thirst for, than knowledge. Ok, that… and beer. For all who have spent their evening with us for the Your Blog™ Open Room session, we hope we satisfied both your thirsts.

Special thanks to our kind sponsors, Tiger beer, for the wonderful bottles of Tiger beer!

i’ve actually got quite a fair bit to share, but i suppose the details can be further articulated in later posts. what i want to share is perhaps key takeaways that i got from Your Blog™ as a blogger from each of the presenters.

Overall
i know the session was about marketing your blog, but a great sense i got from each presenter, was that they actually don’t make money from their blog, but rather, their blog was both personal branding and a marketing tool for who they are as people, as personalities.

my suspicion (correct me if i’m wrong) is that earning a living from blog advertising for personally owned blogs is a bit of a myth. Whether it’s a question of eyeballs or sustainability, all three bloggers who shared use their blogs as pieces of thought leadership, reputation and authority. Only Arti, who was an ex-journalist was paid for her professional writing skills.

Yongfook: 8 profound and live changing things that happened because of my blog
Yongfook was one of my original heroes when i first started blogging in 2003. Back then, he was still writing his crazy Japanese food blog posts, talking about dealing with isolation in a rural Japanese village, and i thought “I want that! I want a really fun blog!” And so that’s my key takeaway, even as Yongfook matured and evolved to his current lifestream, he’s always maintained that unique Yongfook personality.

Arti Mulchand: Write Right
Key takeaway: You don’t have to use long flowery language to be a good writer. A good writer communicates clearly, gives readers content that is easily understood and makes a point. One good method to sustain reader interest, is by ’scattering gold coins’. Give them a good reason to read the next paragraph. Always.

Design Sojourn: How to be a __________ superstar
Key Takeaway: Managing your blog’s branding / personality so that you’re not an expert, but an authority on your given subject. My personal take on Brian Ling’s insight, is that it’s hard to be considered an expert in the field without actual accreditation, but being an authority is more feasible, valuable even perhaps. It allows you to share your opinions confidently, while always being open enough for discussion. Sometimes it’s not always about having the final say in things and have your words treated as ‘gold’, but being regarded in your area of interest / field of expertise. And you can play your cards right, is to share knowledge, share good things, invite different opinions, distill for further insights and maintaining both online and offline relationships. So those Technorati links that add to your authority? There’s some truth to that system!

Toysrevil: Eh, You Singaporean Meh?
Key takeaway: Original content. Toysrevil is the embodiment of passion when it comes to sharing knowledge, opinions on all things toys. But what really struck me, was how he puts his personal stamp on each picture he takes of a toy. In some sense, there is only one such picture in the world, they each tell a story, and convey important information for those in the toy scene. Each picture is uniquely his, and i believe that has helped add fans to his growing fan-base.

All’s well that ends well
And those were the key takeaways i got from the speakers! I’m sure everyone’s got an opinion and some key takeaways! May i invite you to share what yours were if you were here at Your Blog™ with us?

Our way of giving back to the community. An Open Room session dedicated to helping bloggers market their blogs like brands.

There are limited seats, so do drop me an email if you’re a blogger and you’d like to come along.