Posts filed under 'Events'
Disney Remains True to Core
Today I had the distinct honor of attending several events at Emerson College, which provided me the opportunity to meet and learn from some amazing individuals. First, there is Chris Montan, President of Walt Disney Music. After realizing he no longer wished to pursue a career with his Western History undergraduate degree, he decided to strap on his guitar, write music and has never looked back. He offered us a number of wonderful suggestions when pursuing our degrees, including the need to have passion, create that personal unique vision of who we are as an artist, and to be prepared and take every opportunity that comes our way.
He accounts for much of High School Musical’s success with the reach and distribution of the Disney Channel, a channel that ’superserves’ the tween age group. In an age where so many distribution media platforms exist, High School Musical was able to start on the small screen, spread its music through Radio Disney and the Internet, to end up as a full screen movie, now, several years later.
I also had the opportunity to hear Dr. Gayle Carson and Steve Shaw speak. Dr. Carson is known for being the ‘Spunky Old Broad,’ and she is not kidding! I have never seen a 70-year old woman so passionate and active. She told us about how her career (and she, herself) has evolved, her current membership site goals and the keys to her success. Steve Shaw also talked to us about his career evolution and his constant focus as a broadcast journalist in his young 20s, only to be burned out by the age of 26. However, he has since started his own business in Corporate Communications, proving that the ‘next best career’ can be just as good as that ‘dream job.’
The day ended with a truly memorable experience of bringing together Thomas Schumacher, Roger Allers, Chris Montan and Mark Macina to discuss the making of the movie, The Lion King. Whether it was discussing Elton John’s ‘the cheese sandwich’ song, Allers’ desire not to work on the movie, or telling us about the recent (very recent) start to the creation of The Newsies stage performance, the entire evening was entertaining and informative, though, above all, consisted of story telling. Although The Lion King had not hit it of with the ‘analytical’ executives at the time, its emotional draw and depth has pulled at family’s heartstrings for nearly 13 years.
In one of his talks today, he mentioned that a lot of individuals at Disney are the combination of business and creative. They wish to be that bridge, that link between the two. I believe I am one of those individuals, strattling both sides, desiring to belong to both ‘camps.’
I would absolutely LOVE to work for Disney! This is a truly innovative company brimming with driven, creative individuals, and at the end of the day, their goal is a smile…a laugh…a tear…and what better use of our time, then to evoke such emotion and resonate with others through the medium of storytelling.
Add comment February 29, 2008
DLD08 Conference Wrap-up
Whether it was Jeff Jarvis’ advice for big companies to ’stop whining about Google,’ Kinder Lister’s resonating voice that made the room go silent, or Sir Martin Sorrell’s somewhat blunt, but direct and poignant question regarding revenues and profits to tv company executives, DLD 08 was a memorable event.
True to form, there is a wide variety of video, pictures and blogs available on the web, recounting the 3 whirlwind days. Some of those sites include:
Unfortunately, as part of the DLD team, I was unable to see a majority of the sessions; however, far more valuable was the relationships made. I had the opportunity to meet countless interesting individuals, many whom have taken the initiative to start their own companies and pursue what they are passionate about. Moore’s Law says that the processing power of the state-of-the-art computer chip will double every 18 months. Although this point has been recently contested, with technology growing at such a rapid pace, it’s vital that people gather to discuss crucial issues occurring in today’s society.
On the last day of the conference, a gentleman asked me, ‘What are we doing here?’ To which I replied, “networking.” With much of the knowledge available elsewhere, it is the human interactions, which provide the added value to such an event. As technology evolves and content exists everywhere, it will be that added value, which will allow business (though, more importantly, brands) to surpass its competitors and survive.
Thank you, again, Hubert Burda Media for a wonderful adventure. Not only did I have the opportunity to personally meet host Steffi Czerny (an incredible woman who knows everyone) and many of the speakers, including John Brockman, Linda Stone, and Karina Hollekim, but, I also met Heiko Hebig, Luzi Santos and Marielle Hanke, also quite fascinating individuals making a mark in this world.
Add comment January 24, 2008
tuh-mey-toh, tuh-mah-toh…Linguistics in Action
Having arrived in Munich about 2 weeks ago, I have spent my days assisting with preparations for the Digital Life Design Conference (DLD). We have about 120 speakers, and in reviewing the numerous CVs, bios, and life accomplishments, I am absolutely blown away by the intellect, creativity and determination of the individuals attending this conference. A complete list may be found, here. A short list includes Marissa Mayer (Google), Martha Stewart (MSLO), David de Rothschild (Adventure Ecology), Craig Venter (J. Craig Venter institute), John Brockman (author), and Viviane Reding (EU Commission). Not excluding, Dr. Hubert Burda and Yossi Vardi, the co-hosts of the Conference.
As I have been editing and answering questions over the last couple of weeks regarding the English language, I am trying to find this balance between the English I use daily, what is considered, ‘appropriate’ American English, British English, and the English taught here, in Germany. Does the comma occur inside or outside the quotation mark? Should there be a period after ‘Dr’? What about capitalizing the first word of an email or letter…languages are absolutely fascinating!! In part, it has been standardized, yet, on the other hand, it is solely what is considered acceptable amongst an audience’s majority. The people at Hubert Burda Media have been incredibly kind! Despite the language barrier, they have been extremely generous in providing me this opportunity. Although I anticipate the next several days wrapped in lists, name badges and airport schedules as last minute details are prepared, I also anticipate the laughter, heartfelt handshakes and intellectual curiosity that gives DLD that ‘human touch,’ I have yet to experience at another Conference.
I am also sure that as these bright minds come together, my own exploration into the future of business and the economy will only enhance exponentially, having the opportunity to listen to so many intriguing speakers. The future of business and the economy lies in building bridges across multiple fields which in the past have appeared dissimilar…hence, bringing together Digital…Life…&….Design.
1 comment January 16, 2008
The ‘Pub’ Club Meets High Tech
The Publicity Club met this past Wednesday, offering a panel of reporters within the high-tech industry to discuss the fields’ changing landscape, as well as help explain how Public Relations professionals can work with reporters to get their clients’ stories in the news. Panelists included:
- Wade Roush, Chief Correspondent, XConomy
- Martin LaMonica, Senior Writer, CNET
- Rick Whiting, Senior Editor, CRN and VARBusiness
- Deb Donston, Co-editor, eWeek
One item of particular interest was the business models. XConomy has an underwriting structure, where the other media companies are working from an Ad Revenue stream. I see television companies using the underwriting model for a lot of their online programming now, for example, when a show is watched online, only 1 company will be advertised with 30-second spots. Offering viable numbers to possible ad clients is difficult because although ‘clicks per page’ can be known, within uncontrolled circulation, it’s difficult to know if the products’ target is viewing the page.
Other take aways included: For a reporter, the Subject Line may be all they see; SEO (Search Engine Optimization) numbers are the drivers - you cannot post on your site alone and those who are at the top of the organic search results will have the most hits; ticker symbols increase your ranking; don’t waste time on fluff - reporters want to see the facts and who’s quoted; 25% of their stories come from press releases; it’s not about being 1st (since being 1st only lasts 10 minutes), it’s about who owns the story.
With so much discussion recently about the need for social networking, and finding a business model that is profitable, the question is raised - will we see every site as a ‘facebook’/social community web-site in the future? If so, how many sites will be able to survive in this type of environment?
Add comment November 9, 2007
