I will be a panelist again this year at APPNATION in San Francisco. Like last year, we’ll be talking about Creative Technology, and specifically, the role of the creative developer. This is always a great conference – hope to see you next December 1st!

I had just finishing giving a presentation on multi-screen experiences at the Adobe MAX conference – it went really well. My colleague, Yasmin, had a good crowd of people coming up to us afterwards thanking us for the presentation – that always feels good. We tackled things less from the tech side, and more from the creative and strategic approach to solving business challenges (using multiple digital screens.)

After everyone cleared out of the room and I was able to catch my breath, I quickly turned on my iPhone to check my email. The first message I saw, at 4:54pm, read RIP: Steve Jobs. I didn’t believe it at first, but when I clicked on the link to apple.com, and saw the updated image (replacing the announcement of the 4S iPhone announcement), I knew it must be true. Clearly, still in denial, I quickly sent a text to my friend, The Force. Seeing as though he not only works at Apple, but also works on their website, I figured he’d know for sure. Sadly, he confirmed the news.

It sure feels strange knowing Steve is gone; I guess I always thought that one day I get to meet him (then again, I thought the same thing about George Harrison and Michael Jackson.) I love Apple products – I use them almost exclusively. And honestly, I don’t believe they are necessarily the “best;” in fact, I like elements of other products better, and Apple products are the most expensive. But, no product can touch the ease-of-use, and overall magical product ecosystem that IS Apple.

But, more than the products he created, Steve influenced me in his fierce pursuit of perfection and passion for what he did.

I once read an interview with Steve where he was responding to questions about his incredibly high standards. I’ll have to dig up the exact quote, but the essence of it was, “look, we only have this one life, and we spend most of it at work, doing our jobs; so why would you not want to spend this precious time being the best you can be?”

If you’re going to Adobe MAX this year, please come see my presentation and say “hi.” Yasmin and I will be giving a presentation on mulit-screen experiences (description below.) We’ll be talking about overall marketing strategies as well as user experience and technology concepts/best practices. Of course, we’ll be showing of some amazing R/GA work. Hope to see you there.

See how one of the world’s leading digital agencies, R/GA, delivers campaigns that scale across devices, screen resolutions, and operating platforms. This presentation will reveal the best practices and strategic approaches that R/GA deploys. R/GA will showcase successful initiatives and discuss the strategic thinking behind each project, as well as their overall impact.

I recently did a Podcast interview with Rick Mathieson for his GENWOW blog. I was joined by Sarah Ortman, senior group manager for consumer and shopper promotions for Clorox, and Dorrian Porter, CEO of Mozes, Inc. We talked about the projects we working on (I could not speak about too much because of NDA), and some of the trends we see shaping up in the Mobile world. One of the ideas I helped introduce was the concept of “reverse search.” Specifically, it’s the idea that, moving forward, with all the data we are collecting about individuals (via social networks, ecommerce, CRM systems, location, etc…), we could be approaching a shift in how we “find” things. For example, right now, when we want to find something on the web, we go to Google and, using the best “keywords” we can think of, we try to narrow in on what we are looking for. But, perhaps the next direction, or an augment to current Search, is to use what we already “know” about a person, to provide users with a direction, or suggestions of what might be valuable to them. Not unlike the recommendation engines we see now – but with more relevant and real time info as we can pull from multiple data stores, including location. Maybe, I can turn on my “antenna” for what I’m looking for, and the world will be waiting to find me!

Big thanks to Rick for the invite to join the discussion – I had a great time!

Whew, last week was a busy one; I’m calling it my “PR Road Show.” It centered mostly around the AppNation conference in SF, but also included a trip to Facebook, a panel on Native vs Web mobile apps, and numerous parties.

Facebook.
Met with some very cool people at Facebook’s new HQ to discuss programs/plans for communications with agencies as well as tightening our technology relationship. Man, they have a great cafeteria. Google’s is much bigger, but the food at FB seems more healthy.

Mobile Marketing Panel: Native Apps vs. Mobile Web.
I spoke on a panel, moderated by AppNation founder, Drew Ianni, which raised the question: “Are Apps Just a Stop Along The Way To The Mobile Web?” I’m a huge fan of building web apps for mobile devices. Back when the iPhone first came out (literally, the week it came out) I was playing with the iUI framework and convincing clients to create we-based iPhone experiences. After the AppStore came along, the mobile “apps” didn’t seem so “hot” to people – but, they are making a come back! However, I still feel that discoverability for web apps is a key factor in their success; so, I’m not sure we are quite “there” yet.

AppNation
It was my second AppNation – this time I spoke on a panel (“The Rise of the Creative Technologist”). Like the last event, this year’s show was full a good info and great people. One of the things I enjoy the most about this conference, and what seems to set it apart from others, is the focus on business (vs. development or design). For example, it’s quite amazing to be able to hear top VCs get up and talk about how they see things from their side (how often do you hear that?)

See Me Speak at AppNation SF. April 28, 2011

I’m excited to be participating on a panel at AppNation in San Francisco next week. I attended the the very first AppNation last year and I really enjoyed it. It was one of the only conferences I’ve been to that has a cool lean towards product start-ups (even has presenters from VC firms speaking) as well as the creative and marketing side.

In our panel next week, we’ll be talking about a subject near and dear to my heart: The Rise of the Creative Technologist. Having been part of the creation of the title, Creative Developer, and the department, Creative Development, at AKQA way back in the year 2000, I’ve always been a keen believer that we must push digital agencies to see that creativity comes from more than visual designs or copywriting alone. We don’t have to look far to find that some of the most creative and innovative companies in the world (Google, Apple, Facebook, etc), are known more for the creativity of their technology than for their visual creations (well, maybe Apple is known for both

Hope to see you at AppNation next week!

Mauro and I will be speaking at the Click SF Conference next Thurs, Oct. 7, 2010. We’ll be talking about our experience of creating a new product design team in our R/GA SF office. We’ll share what we learned from bringing together people from many different backgrounds: interface design, software development, advertising, branding/identity, etc. Among the many things we learned from this wild experience, the cultural and process differences that arose were among the things that will stick with me.

Why is this important? As companies like Google, Facebook, and even the Nikes, continue to blur the lines between software, marketing and communications, it will not be long before many of these once disparate groups will need to work together and adapt to new processes and methodologies. Brave new world!

Come see me and my old pal Tina speaking about Mobile, and it’s influence in the social space.

Going My Way? The Implications of Advertising Within the Mobile, Social Web 

As smart phones get smarter and find themselves in more consumers’ pockets, social platforms are becoming more mobile, transforming what was once a PC-bound experience into one that has major implications for advertisers, who now have the opportunity to reach people – and their social network friends – with the right message at the right time in the right place as never before. But how will this, no pun intended, map out? How are advertisers successfully infiltrating this very intimate space in ways that please users and advertisers? What are some of the best and worst examples of marketing in the mobile, social Web? In this panel, executives deeply involved in this space will answer these questions and more.