okay, so for those of you who haven’t been, sxsw is an awesome festival that takes place each march in Austin, celebrating interactive, music and film (not necessarily in that order, but we all know i’m a geek!). it’s by far one of the most fun events that i’ve ever been to and i’ve made some amazing friends and had some amazing hangovers as a result.

a change

now don’t get me wrong. i don’t have a drink problem, i don’t go to sxsw just for the parties. i do actually attend the presentations and boy, there have been some amazing ones – from the Zuckerberg keynote to the lifetime of secrets with Frank Warren where i actually cried (not many people know that, i blamed it on hayfever, sorry if you’re one of those that i fibbed to).

now, i’ve got the partying off pat…. i can do it rather well… i no longer fall asleep on people or lean on poor Ryan King to hold me up. i know to take plenty of paracetamol and water ready for the next morning and it always helps to have you outfit pre-picked so that you can sling yourself from the shower straight into your clothes and off you go. you see, i’m a bit of a pro.

this year though, i thought how much i’d love to not be able to drink one night and be “one of those” that have to be sensible because they have a panel the next day. so i set about submitting my panel ideas and they have been accepted for the panelpicker. excitement doesn’t describe the emotion when i found out and my smile was stuck for a good day and a half (i think people thought i had wind).

the panels

i know that i’ve already pimped it out and to be honest, short of flashiing my gnashers one more time, there’s not a lot more i can do with that. but, i did think that it would be good to give you some more background about the panels themselves (always helpful hey?).

walking the tech runway in stilettos

Lickle old me, Aubrey Sabala (digg), Tara Hunt (Citizen Agency), Sally Strebel (Best Party Ever), Kirstie Wells

all about being a girl in a boy’s world. and succeeding. a fun and lighthearted discussion that prepares females for greater success by helping them get comfortable in their own shoes. 5 panelists share the lessons learned on their journey toward success. plus i have some amazing stilettos lined up to wear if this gets through!!!

clear your ears for instant success

Lickle old me, Aubrey Sabala (digg), Tara Hunt (Citizen Agency), Sally Strebel (Best Party Ever), Vero Pepperrell (That Canadian Girl)

it’s a well known fact that whilst you’re in a conversation with someone you’re often thinking about what you’re going to say next rather than listening. this can be the same for businesses too. this panel discusses the skills it takes to have effective communication with your users and the benefits that brings.

and…

i’ve also been honored to be asked to speak on a further 2 panels that have been submitted by the lovely sally strebel. 5 Common Misperceptions of Technological Creativity and Climbing the Corporate Ladder in a Mini Skirt. i’m really excited about these panels as they’re both something that i’m passionate about. you can find full details here.

so, if you’d like to see me with my sensible hat on (for the whole of an hour), oh heck who am i kidding – it will be me being me, joined by some truly amazing women, i’d really appreciate you taking a couple of minutes out of your day to support us.

now to work out how i’d actually get there if the panels are successful… maybe i’ll party a little harder and save on hotel costs?

btw

thanks so much for the support that you’ve shown so far. things like this and this below really make me glow inside (even more than buying great shoes!!!). thankyou.

community bricks

i’m currently working on the social strategy for a really fun project. it’s challenging and rewarding. it’s what i enjoy and it’s something that i’ve spent a lot of time developing. as such, i’ve gone through what i consider to be the basic steps of building a successful community:-

1. establishing who the community is that you serve
2. deciding what problem it is that you’re solving and how you plan to solve it
3. working out where your community are having their conversations and how they want to be communicated with
4. finding out what it is that interests the members of the communities, what it is that bonds them, what tools they use etc.
5. what it is about your service/product that is actually going to distinguish you and make them give a damn

the company thang

having done that and established the networks i believed our users have adopted, i created corporate accounts on a number of sites that people who were interesting in what we were doing could connect with us on. for me, the benefit to this was that they’d easily be able to identify the tone and character of the brand and creates something for the company that anyone can use, rather than just myself. that makes sense right?

well why is it then that i still find myself updating content on my own networks as well as the branded networks? you’re guaranteed if i post a link on twitter i’ll get more than ten times the response as if i were to post it on the corporate twitter account. fact.

reputation

the change in our culture of late has meant that people zone out when they’re being marketed to – they rarely listen to ads, hate sales people (especially those of the stripy suit variety) and can see through thinly veiled social media attempts from the old boys trying to be cool.

someone that i barely know can recommend something on twitter or save a link on magnolia and i’m way more likely to check it out than a company persuading me to do so.

do your job

Brian Oberkirch recently wrote a really interesting piece about consumers not wanting to be talked to all of the time and i couldn’t agree more. for me, the perfect combination is having a company that let’s me have a nose (without that annoying person on your back asking if they can help until you have enough and leave) but is still on hand if you get lost and need a little point in the right direction.

the perfect company is one that uses their products and services as much as you, knows it inside out and is part of the conversation because they truly have something interesting to contribute, not because they feel they need to be seen to still be in the loop.

the insider

if the truth be known i think that people want to know who’s behind the scenes, they want to interact with someone that they know or have heard of, they want to know you’ve got flaws as well as sheen (why do you think so many mags sell when there’s pics of celebrities with blemishes – people don’t like perfection).

i realise for corporations that brings with it issues. you can’t rely on your marketing coming from a few individuals, after all what happens when those people leave? i’ve thought about this issue long and hard and i’m still not sure that i know the answer to be honest. it is a risk, but it’s a risk that you need to take, at the beginning anyway. surely it’s better you have people doing a bloody good job and getting your product or service out there into the domain and cross the other bridges when you come to them – after all, the hope would be that the brand would be well recognised by the time that happened?

the solution that i’ve settled for is to use both personal and professional. i converse with community members using the corporate name, encouraging people to recognise that there’s a human voice behind it. however, those same community members are also more than welcome to talk to me using my personal accounts. on twitter for example, my followers know if they follow me, they’ll hear about good days, bad days and the days where my heel snapped on the way to work. if they follow the work twitter account, they’ll hear about website developments, legal issues and exciting launches.

it becomes a different issue again when you throw seeding companies into the mix… but i won’t even get into that here. maybe i’m a small town girl with small town ideas but i’m going to stick with my beliefs. my beliefs that if you’re genuine, you care and you want to make a difference, your community will build. have nothing to hide, don’t be afraid to wear your heart on your sleeve and willing to share (collaboration is much more fulfilling than the feeling of hiding your ideas to keep that competitive advantage!).

onwards and upwards

it’s really not an easy situation to tackle and i think you need to remain open and flexible with your approach. be okay with the fact that you’re learning and developing – you’re on a journey and given time, your community members will be coming along for the ride too. i’d be really interested to hear how others approach this issue…

after almost two years with carsonified, i’m announcing today that i’m moving to pastures new.

i’m more proud than words can say to have been part of a team that has gone from a few web apps, workshops and 2 large conferences a year – to numerous workshops, conferences, expos and web apps. i know the effort that goes into each of the events that carsonified lays on and i know that the team will continue to go from strength to strength. i thought it might be quite fun to recap…

during my time, i’ve…

• been involved with 7 events
• managed 4 events (including the mammoth expo)
• met thousands of amazing contacts and friends
• broken or lost 3 iphones (yes i’m skint now)
• stickered up 1092 oranges – for the vitamin stand!
• sent 1297 tweets
• blogged more than i care to remember
• been mistaken for a tequila girl at a cold fusion event only once
• signed one laptop (that was weird!)
• become a pro at updating the site, yes <div>’s are now my friend rather than my foe
• attended 2 SXSW festivals
• …and suffered many hangovers

reason for leaving

i know that many people will think that i’m mad for leaving such a forward thinking company, positioned in my opinion, in one of the best industries in the world.

i’ve been offered a 6 month contract with the oscar winning aardman animations (makers of wallace and grommit, heck yeah!) looking after their online communities and driving the strategies for their online presence. it’s an opportunity i feel that i have to take – i’m passionate about bringing content to the masses and community work is where my heart is, so i’m excited to apply this to another industry (whilst still being a web chick of course).

in the long term, i’d love to have my own consultancy some day – helping people connect with their users/communities and i think that this is vital experience in helping me along the way – plus, come on… it’s wallace and grommit! the first project that i am working on will be reaching out to animators, so if you have any work that you’d like to showcase, remember to keep me in mind…

my last day with carsonified is 5th June and then i’ll be out in the wilderness, yikers!

so what now?

i love you guys. i love the web. i love everyone who spends 5 minutes reading my silly blog about things that really don’t matter. i love the way everyone gets more and more amazed (and often baffled) by my random videos. i know that’s cheesy but it’s true. the friendships and connections that i have made over the last couple of years are genuine, i really care about you guys and i hope that they continue and everyone stays in touch.

the web is the best industry in the world. a revolution is taking place. connections are happening between people in the world that couldn’t be possible if it weren’t for the sites and technologies that you guys are working on, i’m so honored to be part of it. man i love the web

mel xox

p.s. i think i’d be quite good at oscar acceptance speeches don’t you think

p.p.s you can stay in touch by…

twitter:        www.twitter.com/melkirk
email:         melkirk1 at gmail dot com
facebook:   mel kirk (bristol)
seesmic:     www.seesmic.com/melkirk
aim:            melkirk2006

i’m basically all over the web!!!