Thinkcorps

What a whirlwind! SXSW was excellent, met some new folk, reconnected with some friends (and family), and generally got psyched to get working on new projects. But oh, the ups and downs! Several work issues blew up just before I left on Thursday, I tweaked my back while gathering up gear to leave (thanks to my physical therapist, I recovered nicely, despite 5+ hours of flying), and I ended up losing my moleskine (75% full, btw). But of course, that creates the opportunity for me to have one of those cool, “I lost my moleskine and this really great person returned it to me” story. Oh, and my checked suitcase didn’t make it back to Portland with me (should be here this afternoon, though).

But SXSW has a way of energizing your mind, and I feel focused and ready to kick some ass. I’m picking up new glasses today, and while that might seem meaningless, I’m really hoping that the new prescription helps with my astigmatism and eases up the eye strain—that means more hours designing and coding. :)

Huge props go out to to Ted and Molly for their gracious invitation to the gospel brunch at Stubbs on Sunday. I can’t even tell you how much that lifted my spirits (I was really obsessing about work issues at that point). I’m not particularly spiritual in an organized religion kind of way, but it’s truly amazing what a good bass line can do. Plus, migas, catfish and barbecued brisket!

I’ve been trying to dig up links to downloadable SXSW presentations, and while I haven’t found any good compiled sources, a good bet seems to be a google search for “sxswi 2007 notes”.

Here’s a simple sketch. Without knowing anything about what type of site it that you’re running (imagine you’re a newly installed CEO, for example, they’re usually pretty oblivious) and given the limited information detailed below, which user would you rather have?

User A: spends 6 minutes on your site and generates 3 pageviews
User B: spends 30 minutes on your site and generates 24 pageviews

Second question: which user probably has a deeper relationship with your site?

In my admittedly simplistic sketch, User A has gone to a online magazine to read an article about a health condition. User B went to an active online health forum and had an interesting discussion with several other members about the same health condition.

After this one session, User A probably knows a little more about the condition, but User B has collected lots of advice, several new article and Web site recommendations, and some new online friends. Similarly, User A won’t engage the online magazine until an editor posts a new article (of interest), while User B is welcome to come back and chat about whatever’s on their mind at any time.

The definition of “media” hinges upon the word “communications”. User B clearly communicated more, gathered more information and forged a deeper relationship than User A. In addition, User B is free to return and deepen that relationship at any time, 24/7. User A has to wait for new articles to be published.

Admittedly, there are times when you want to be passive like User A, but more and more I think, we are becoming like User B—active consumers, armed with online tools that make being active almost as easy, and far more satisfying, as being passive.

This is why I’m having a hard time embracing traditional media business models.