Today was the second Entrepreneur Camp Houston, sponsored by a whole bunch of community-focused companies and organized by a whole bunch of other good people. I was honored to be included among some of my colleagues and mentors, Brian Block, JR Cohen, Grace Rodriguez, and Ed Schipul, on a panel titled “Building Brand Communities.” It turned out to be one of the most rewarding panels I’ve ever had the opportunity to be a part of and I truly believe that each member of the panel channeled their unique passions and experience to bring something to the table for those in attendance via the web or in person. Thanks to Grace Rodriguez for both moderating and assembling the panel.
UPDATE: Audio of the panel has been included. Feel free to download, remix, share, or ignore.
For my takeaway portion of the panel I prepared the following comments relating to the importance of Brand Communities. I was only able to orate a portion of it and don’t feel that I hit the right notes in the closing portion of the panel. Full text is below:
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My takeaways involve a series of couplets. The first in Communities, the second in physics, and the third in grammar. I’m mis-using couplets. Whatever.
Communities of Interest vs. Communities of Practice
Communities of Interest are groups of people who share similar affinities, careers, and interests. These people may get together and share these ideas together in groups, they may talk about their careers, and they may share stories and build camaraderie and relationships. These groups form when personal motivations and personal interests for community and social situations align. These Communities of Interest usually take the form of networking groups, happy hours, attendance-based events, or any opportunity for socialization or group quality time. Communities of Interest share spaceand time.
Communities of Practice are made of the same groups of people who share similar affinities, interests, careers, but they also align on values and beliefs. These communities also get together and share their ideas together, talk about their careers and share camaraderie but the difference is that the Community of Practice takes an active interest in the shared success of the group, community, and individuals within and without. Communities of Practice are self-policing, develop and evolve standards of excellence, there are educational opportunities for all of its members from novice to experts; they apply their talents and their passions to do good for their own community as well as their surrounding community. Communities of Practice do things in an active fashion: they create opportunities for their members, they collaborate for their personal and career education, they dedicate time and resources towards mutually agreed upon values and goals. Communities of Practice share space, time, also successes and growth.
Physics
Our second couplet exists in physics. The first part is potential energy; the latent energy stored in an individual, body or group. The second is kinetic energy; the energy an individual, body or group exerts as a result of its motion.
Potential energy is the capacity to do work. Kinetic energy is the application of that energy towards work.
Grammar
Our third couplet involves passivity vs. activity. In grammar, passive voice is acceptable but not favored. The form shifts responsibility away from the agent of the sentence and towards the patient, indicating that the activity is not controlled or initiated by the subject of the sentence. The active voice is far stronger a form, assertive and correctly assigning responsibility to the agent of the sentence.
“Mistakes were made. The window was broken.” Passivity is convenient and easy; it escapes responsibility and action.
“I was wrong. Someone broke the window.” The active form assigns responsibility, is direct and action-oriented.
Returning to Communities of Interest and Communities of Practice
Communities of Interest passively hold incredible amounts of potential energy based in interest and shared value. Communities of Practice actively exercise kinetic energy, applying latent motivation, inspiration, passion, and shared values and shared goals. They are characterized by action and engagement.
If you are looking to build a Brand Community you need to have a Community of Practice. It’s not enough to win an awareness war. Communities of Practice in a community setting carry with them regular and actionable reward systems, standards of practice, maintenance of standards, and self-education at all levels. In a Brand sense Communities of Practice carry with them engagement, discussion, evangelism, action relating to a brand and its use.
It’s convenient and easy to align extrinsic motivations of drinks and food with intrinsic interests for company and conversation. Communities of Interest form and dissolve every day, anytime you get together with coworkers or your Star Wars interest group you’re committing an act of a Community of Interest. Communities of Practice rarely form in absentia of a community of interest except where shared latent interests overcome the interest in staying not-aligned. The recent sale of Rice University’s radio station KTRU is a clear demonstration of a community of interest who overnight sprung into a community of action at the slightest provocation. The pieces were always there but people simply weren’t motivated enough to take that extra step.
Communities of Practice form with a catalyst. This catalyst can be a catastrophic event but it doesn’t have to be. It can be just one person, or a small group of several.
In closing, successful Brand Communities, like Communities of Practice, are value based, not interest based. They are characterized by action, not words. The responsibility is owned and directed by the agents, not the patients. There is consistent motion and the kinetic application of intrinsic motivations towards the shared values of the individuals, groups and communities as a whole.
On Tuesday, August 17th, Houston Press Music Editor Chris Gray asked for comments regarding the sale of KTRU to KUHF. You can read the full story here:
It’s filled with impassioned responses from Houston music aficionados and those who have in the past and continue to contribute to our patchwork quilt of an arts community.
I missed the deadline while still on vacation. But based on the temperature of responses I would like to offer my own comments regarding the sale.
No one will argue that this situation is an incredible tragedy for independent music in Houston, for college radio in the nation, for the creative community of Houston. Even more sad is that we have to acknowledge at this point that students and the community at large hold very little power in reversing the decision to sell KTRU. This was punctuated by Rice’s choice not to include any of the stakeholders in the sale of the station. This decision is being viewed by those both inside and out of the Rice community as a betrayal of trust from an institution that prides itself in taking into account student needs and input for the improvement of their education and the university itself. Viewed from the University’s standpoint though, this was a well thought-out business decision to finally capitalize on an underused resource, and to finalize the deal at a time when there were few people around to raise objections.
The history of KTRU is as a terrestrial station, something people listened to in their cars, at home, with friends; the future of KTRU as an online-only station is an ersatz one at best. The polarized public outcry, retelling of stories of how KTRU shaped lives and careers and passions is a celebration of those terrestrial memories and of the way KTRU has changed lives.
We are about to lose a valuable asset to the Houston creative community. But this outpouring of public support is something that should make people surrounding KTRU happy, knowing that they made a difference. Furthermore, instead of remaining reactionary we can quickly turn this situation into an opportunity to galvanize our musical community to build something better. Pirate radio stations, more avenues for the exposure of live music in Houston, more local music programming in non-traditional areas. The celebration of the things that KTRU gave us in our lives and our passions doesn’t need to end, merely re-focused towards something greater.
For the last couple months Rice University and University of Houston have been engaged in private negotiations over the purchase of KTRU-Houston, 91.7fm. The news broke publicly in the afternoon on 8/16 on Houston Press’s blog and the Houston Chronicle. On Tuesday morning, 8/17, Rice University issued a press release on their site detailing the plan for the sale and shutdown of terrestrial KTRU in order to convert it to an internet only station. At the same time, Rice University President David Leebron sent an email to ALL-RICE explaining the sale and why no stakeholders were involved in the decision making process.
This is a polarizing situation, with both sides having firm ground to stand on regarding the sale. On one hand, an around the clock NPR and news station would be a valuable add for the Houston area. On the other hand, the loss of a nationally important radio station providing a home for independent and eclectic music would be a tragedy not only for the Houston community but for college and independent radio on the whole.
I will compose my own personal thoughts about this sale in the coming days as I work through unproductive feelings and towards unbiased reflection. For now what I can say is that KTRU has played a formative role in my musical education and I have grown richer as a music fan through my ten years of DJing at KTRU.
I will keep this post updated with as much relevant information as possible concerning the sale of the station as well as resources for people to read more or get involved.
CALLS TO ACTION
If the sale of KTRU to KUHF is something that you are unhappy with, here are some things that you can do to express your displeasure. I will add additional items as they develop.
Use your social networks to express your concern about there being a home for independent culture and music in Houston.
You could write emails to Rice University President David Leebron, Vice President for Administration Kevin Kirby, University of Houston Chancellor Renu Khatur, and any other decision makers you have contacts with at either Rice University, University of Houston, or KUHF. As Rice is one of my current employers I will not publicly post these people’s emails but they can be easily obtained from rice.edu or uh.edu.
Attend a 7pm public meeting with all KTRU DJs tonight at Sammy’s on Rice University campus in the Rice Memorial Center. Map here. All public and press are invited for this event.
From: David Leebron
To: Rice colleagues
I am writing to let you know that we have reached a preliminary agreement with the University of Houston System to purchase Rice’s 50,000-watt radio frequency and broadcast tower for use by Houston’s local public broadcasting station, KUHF. Rice’s station, KTRU, will continue to operate a Web-based radio station at www.ktru.org.
We made the decision to sell the radio tower and frequency for several reasons. The economic downturn which began two years ago has forced Rice — and virtually all colleges and universities across the country — to make hard choices to prioritize spending and maximize the use of our resources. As we have implemented necessary budget cuts over the past two years, our goal has been to focus on our core missions of teaching and research and, to the extent possible, to avoid layoffs. We have constantly asked, and will continue to ask, how we can best apply our resources to achieve our aspirations.
The KTRU tower stood out as one of the university’s most underutilized resources. In an era when Internet radio is rapidly growing in popularity, it became apparent that the 50,000-watt radio station that broadcasts KTRU’s programming is a valuable but vastly underutilized resource that is not essential to providing our students the wide range of opportunities they need, including media opportunities.
A recent Arbitron report showed that KTRU’s audience was so small that it did not even register in the ratings. Most college radio stations around the country have less than 5,000 watts, and since the late ’90s a number of them have added the online format and moved to online only.
At the same time, KUHF, Houston’s National Public Radio station, was looking for a way to provide both 24-hour all-news and all-classical music programming. Houston is the only major city in the country that lacks these dual services. To fill that gap, the University of Houston System expressed an interest in purchasing Rice’s FM frequency and tower, and we eventually agreed on a price of $9.5 million.
The sale must be approved by the UH Board of Regents at its meeting today, and then by the Federal Communications Commission.
Some of the sale proceeds will go toward the cost of the new East Servery, which will be adjacent to Lovett and Will Rice residential colleges on the south campus. This will both provide one of the most desired improvements to the residential experience in the south colleges, as well as help us achieve the overall capital plan approved by our board of trustees. We also plan to form a committee including students to provide input on other uses of the proceeds, such as for scholarships, improvements to recreational facilities and enhancements to the online station and other student media facilities and programs.
KTRU will continue to serve its campus and external audience with student-managed programming via www.ktru.org. The Internet already brings KTRU to national and global listeners, and there are opportunities for that audience to grow. Will Robedee, the station’s first general manager, will continue in that role.
KUHF plans to use the additional frequency to broadcast 24-hour classical music and fine arts programming on 91.7 FM; 88.7 FM will become its all-news channel. KUHF will raise funds to pay for the acquisition.
We realize that some loyal fans of KTRU may lament these changes, but it is important to remember that KTRU is not going away. Fans can still find KTRU’s unique blend of music and programming online. Meanwhile, a greater number of students can benefit from the improvements in campus facilities and offerings made possible by the sale of the broadcast tower.
As much as I prefer to consult widely and involve all stakeholders in important decisions, this sale required months of complicated and, by necessity, confidential negotiations. My management team and I approached those discussions always with the best interests of our students, faculty and alumni and the future of our university as our highest priorities.
For more information about the KTRU plans, see the story and FAQs on rice.edu.
Thank you, as always, for your hard work and dedication.
Warm regards,
David W. Leebron
President, Rice University
This weekend is the over-sold WordcampHouston, featuring programming for people at all knowledge levels using the WordPress content management system. Based on the very real space concerns at the Houston Museum of Natural Science it’s recommended that people take a second to plan out which sessions they plan to attend.
To help people make that choice, I’m going to outline what I’ll be talking about in my workshop, entitled “Must-Have Plugins.” By giving this post and outline a brief scan, attendees should be able to determine whether this workshop will be useful or not.
Saturday’s Workshop, entitled “Must-Have Plug-ins” will review some important plugins to consider using, their functionality, getting the most out of them, as well as address some industry specific plugins for musicians, filmmakers and photographers. The session, held from 2:10pm til 3:00pm in the Blogger Track will be hands-on so please bring your laptop. It would help if you already have a WordPress site set up and know the ftp log/pass.
This session is recommended if you are a novice user or if you would simply like to increase your knowledge base about plug-ins. If you are a casual user of WordPress and proficient with essential plug-ins and how to maximize their functionality, you might want to swing by for a hot minute and pick up a handout. If you feel like bouncing to a more important session, I won’t mind. If you are an expert user of WordPress or are up to date on which plugins you feel you should use, this session will more than likely not provide you with any new knowledge.
My goal for the workshop is to maximize the impact for the attendees based on their existing knowledge base and level of interest in specific plugins and categories. If we need to begin with a discussion of what plug-ins are and how to install and activate them, that’s fine, if we don’t, that’s also fine. I will push towards providing an overview of some of the following Must-Have plugins with examples of sites that use them and how to get the most out of each plugin.
Below is a list of three types of plugins and specific examples we’ll be covering. This is by no means an exhaustive or complete list and any suggestions are welcome and encouraged:
Type I: Plugins that increase your control over a WordPress powered site (Type I.rar)
Thanks to the lovely people who have crafted WordCamp Houston and are sure to be planning another in the near future: the Primer Grey Team, Colab and Katie Laird.
As I prepare an application for what could potentially be a life-changing experience, I have tasked myself with completing a series of writing assignments reflecting upon whom I am and how I arrived at this point in my life. I must’ve told this story hundreds of times. It’s one version of how I grew into my potential and discovered love in a city I formerly hated.
When I first moved to Houston I hated it. Truly hated it. For the first year, I flew back to Chicago every month to see my friends and spend time in a city that I understood, loved and felt was a fully formed idea. Houston was sprawling, had terrible public transportation and I couldn’t find any similarities to the types of events that were happening in Chicago, every day of the week. I hated Houston so much I would tell people about it. Anyone that asked. Truthfully, even if they didn’t ask. Many of my sentences began with “You know, back in Chicago we would…” Time passed…the tone stayed the same. I hated Houston.
I met a group of people outside my graduate school circle, a group of creatives, artists, people who were true Houstonians, people who knew the city, had their own treasure map they had constructed. As they showed me things that would have taken years to find on my own, I saw promise, and arts, music and film activities that I enjoyed but had never been able to find on my own. These people were staging these events, making their own life in Houston, achieving artistic and personal success through programming these events, on their own, without the help of the city and without institutional support, simply executing good ideas. I was awed and inspired. The tone changed. I stopped saying I hated Houston.
One day I made a decision, a realization. If I was going to have to live in Houston, I would need to bend it to my will. My preposterous idea was that I would start putting on my own events, things that I would see happening regularly in Chicago. I decided to bring Chicago to Houston. I put on a couple concerts, I staged some film events, I started getting active in the community and contributing to others’ events to add value. I started doing websites for local businesses and venues. Shockingly, each event and idea was welcomed with open arms, was well attended, and seemed to be enjoyed by the attendees. People saw promise in good ideas and were quick to support them. Houston showed me that it was receptive to new ideas, in fact people were asking for them, actively seeking them. I was engaged and content. The tone changed. I liked Houston.
I realized I could make a life here, make a difference, have fun, curate my own existence. With each new event and group of people who were changed I realized I liked Houston, was beginning to fall in love with it. I started doing a radio show with a friend that actively promoted others’ good ideas, events, and bands. We started working with individuals and bands to help them in their careers. There was success there too. We grew more and more passionate about the opportunities available in Houston; saw that we were making a positive impact in a city full of promise. The tone changed. I loved Houston.
The events grew larger and so did the people we worked with to help them achieve their potential. There were hard times and like any relationship it took work but my emotions for the city grew. I became an outspoken evangelist for the promise, the opportunity, the warm reception and support for new and inventive ideas. The events got more expansive, more inclusive, they collided art, music and film. I was proud of our city and what we’d accomplished. The tone changed again. I would bleed for this city.
I met a best friend; we shared our intellect, ideas, and smashed architecture and bioengineering together to make new creations. We met a tech community, people who were actively committed to their personal lifelong education. We found an idea, a unifying theme for Houston, one that would combine all we had worked on in the past, individually and together, a way to serve the entire Houston community and foster more collaboration, not just stage events or happenings. We could achieve greater success, together. The individual Communities of Interest became one large Community of Practice. The community swelled and rallied, the project launched. We were now able to reach more people, whole communities, work collaboratively together to shape our city. We grew in pride for the city and our collective ability to improve it. People were inspired and engaged. The pronoun changed. We loved Houston.
I met a partner; we shared our lives, our passions, and our desire to help individuals and communities achieve their potential. Together, the three of us grew our community hub. Dog made four. Together the community grew and the impact spread. It had long ago stopped being about imprinting Chicago or New York City on Houston; it evolved into staging events that improved our collective quality of life. The successes weren’t measured in tangible things anymore: attendance at events didn’t matter, press mentions were less important; the impact was now measured in behavioral and attitudinal changes, in mind shifts. We staged events to help whole communities, inside of Houston, outside of Houston. It was no longer about saying “I love Houston,” it was more about actions and showing that love, inspiring that individual passion and empowerment in others. It was about showing individuals and communities that they owned the power to improve that which they saw around them. It was about everyone doing it for everyone, doing it to share passion and enthusiasm to learn, grow, and improve. The idea changed, the pronoun became all inclusive, the tense shifted. We are all in it together, we are all one community.
The music business is changing. The way you as an artist craft your message and direct your career is now at your fingertips and fully in your control. While some might see this as an incredible opportunity, most see it as overwhelming and stifling to creativity and career enhancement. Questions such as “where do we start?” or “what should we be doing to get more ___ or promote our ___?” always seem to have answers but something’s missing, the actions don’t seem to tie together and build to something bigger.
Enter Goals and Strategy
You’ve all heard this before: What’s Your Goal? Well, you’re not hearing it enough and you’re also assuming it’s rhetorical. It’s not a rhetorical question. What’s Your Goal is the most important question you can ask yourself because the answer illuminates the answers to those other questions, like “where do we start?” or “what should we do to increase our promotion of…?” More than that, setting goals also lets others know where your resources and time is being spent and how they can support you. Music writers know whether you are serious about your music or whether it’s a bedroom project. Fans know that you want to get to the next level and need their financial support or just to give it a listen and enjoy it.
At this month’s Bandcampus, we’ll help you to figure out what exactly you are striving for with your music. Whether it’s fame, financial wealth, wide-spread recognition, or simply creative output, all of these goals have measureable steps associated with them. The session will begin with an overview of the difference between tools (like social media), goals (like financial security), and strategy (like a college radio campaign). Following the naming of parts we’ll dive into examples of each and how you can adopt specific parts for your own goals and strategy. We’ll highlight the difference between long and short term goals and how both of these are important for forming a strategy. We’ll showcase a couple strategies that leverage your exisiting properties and resources to vault you towards your long term goal.
Every attendee of this month’s Bandcampus will walk away with set goals for the coming year, a long-term goal and the beginning of a strategy for their musical career.
WHAT: Bandcampus: GOALS and STRATEGERY WHEN: April 11th, 2-4pm (Rescheduled for 4/18/10 b/c of Fiesta Movement party featuring Caroline Collective) WHERE: Caroline Collective, 4820 Caroline Houston, TX WHY: Set measurable goals for yourself and your band
Anyone committed to a life-long education already knows that TED talks are just one component of a healthy, balanced, information diet. Virtually all subjects are covered with inspirational, ground-breaking research explored in a fascinating, motivating manner. The real benefit of these talks is the learning that happens when these talks are digested and discussed among colleagues, when they lead to further investigation into a particular topic, or when they spark an idea helping you to solve a current problem in your own work. Sadly, most cities are deprived of the opportunity for future discussion about these topics because watching TED talks remains mostly a solitary activity, leaving viewers with a less than full feeling in their mental bellies.
Announcing a 12 Course Mental Dinner: TEDxHouston
TED Organizers have recently recognized the wealth of innovation and groundbreaking work occurring everywhere on the planet. As a platform for local communities to highlight this innovation, TED has created local conferences, labeled TEDx conferences.The ‘x’denotes an independently organized TED event.
TEDx events have been held in many places around the nation and world but we haven’t had one in Houston yet. Houstonians rejoice! because the great, community-minded, educational-focused people at Culture Pilot are organizing this year’s TEDxHouston event, scheduled for June 12th, 2010. Culture Pilot has a great day planned and they’ve also assembled a crack team of organizers to help plan the day. It cannot be overstated how much I respect the members of Culture Pilot for their forward thinking and work as well as the honor of working alongside such a prodigiously experienced and talented organizing team. We’re all doing our best to make the event about Houston people and as community minded as possible while still providing a professional conference atmosphere full of opportunities to discuss and digest. It’s sure to be a full meal of innovative information, all happening in Houston on a daily basis.
Your Dinner Invitation: TEDxHouston has limited seating and the event is designed to have a diverse attendance. Therefore, the Organizers have released an application form to attend TEDxHouston. This application process is live now, visit the TEDxHouston site and fill out an application to attend.
Your Appetizer: Golan Levin
Tomorrow, April 8th, Houstonian’s have an incredible opportunity to whet their mental appetites in preparation for TEDxHouston. Artist, Engineer, TED Speaker, Golan Levin will be speaking at Rice University as part of the James Baker Hughes Lecture: Engineering and Humanities in the Arts.
Golan Levin’s work employs computers to create improvised soundscapes with dazzling corresponding visuals. He merges the borders between performance art and engineering, employing software engineering with an artist’s touch.
Your Call To Action: Seriously. Go to this talk:
Golan Levin (event link)
April 8th, 4-5pm
Keck Hall 100 (map)
Prep yourself by watching Dr. Levin’s 2009 TED Talk:
Last Sunday, Bandcampus held it’s second SXSW PREP where we collectively prepared and reviewed band’s digital and physical toolbox in an effort to prepare them for playing SXSW. Over 15 bands were in attendance with a range from seasoned SXSWers to new bands that had never played the conference.
Also at Bandcampus: SXSW PREP we announced the winners of the community voted contest to select bands to play at the second annual Houston@SXSW party. Over 1000 votes were cast over a 72 hour period. We are all very impressed with the work that bands put into contacting their community to get the vote out. If these Houston bands are working that hard in other spheres we’re going to be hearing many more about them in the near future.
The bands that were selected, the bands that will be representing Houston at the Second Annual Houston@SXSW party will be:
Here’s the remainder of the recap in mostly bullet point form for your skimming pleasure:
Tips for Bands playing SXSW (contributed by everyone in attendance)
The first agenda item of the day was to discuss what you could get out of SXSW by playing or even just attending. The overarching tip that should be considered when planning anything is to Cut Through the Noise. Too many people are at SXSW and you need to think about ways in which you can connect with these people in a substantial way. That does not include overplaying, that does not include talking to everyone you meet. It does include thinking about effective ways to communicate your message. It does include novel ways of getting the word out.
Biggest tip: Cut Through the Noise!
Don’t overplay
bring extra equipment
Make a game plan
Playing is half of the goal
Networking needs a goal
Digital and Physical Preparation for bands
No matter what level a band is at, they should have a digital and physical toolbox that they can use at a moment’s notice to get discovered, sell merchandise or showcase their craft. At the Bandcampus session we reviewed the basics of a digital and physical toolbox that bands can set up easily. The components
Digital Toolbox
Central band email address (gmail or unique band domain recommended)
Pictures posted online
Videos (Live, Produced) posted online
Unique Band Domain Name
Music posted online in several locations
Testimonials/Writeups from press posted visibly on online properties
Booking information
Short biography of the band
A Home Base that is not Myspace, Facebook or any other online property not owned by yourself
Digital Outposts at places like Myspace, Facebook, ReverbNation, Bandcamp.com, etc.
Physical Toolbox
Music for sale
Merchandise for sale
Business Cards (Recommended by Marie Angell of The Snake Charmers)
Elevator Pitch (Worked on at a previous Bandcampus, demonstrated by Insert Name Here)
Helpers
Several experts were on hand to give bands a review of their online presence and physical marketing materials. These people donated their time and deserve thanks and also should be considered for the future if you are looking for copy, marketing materials, or general direction for a band’s career.
