Last year, I attended the PSFK conference in NYC and listened to an incredible collection of presentations. Kevin Slavin from Area/Code talked about blurring the lines between the physical and digital. Ben Malbon from BBH Labs talked about agencies owning and developing their own products, and had one of the most memorable quotes of the day.  (“You can’t be fired from a client if you are the client.”) And Scott Heiferman from Meetup and Avner Ronan from Boxee sat on the same mind-blowing panel about what’s possible when you open up ideas and technology to the crowd.

As it turns out, I’ve been invited to speak at the very same conference on April 9th. I can’t overstate what an honor this is for me, given the state of awe I was in just one year ago. My presentation, “If you aren’t what you’ve done, what are you?” will dissect what I’ve learned about realigning skills for the next chapter in one’s career, drawing from the hundreds of stories gathered in the process of making “Lemonade” and writing a book by the same name.

I also hear they will be screening “Lemonade” over lunch for anyone who’d like to see it.

The cost to attend the conference is $350. But because our community is so closely aligned with the theme of this year’s conference, a limited number of PFTA readers can attend the all-day conference for $99. I’m no mathematician, but that seems like a pretty incredible deal to me.

I hope to see you there. If it’s anything like last year, you won’t regret it.

CLICK HERE TO ATTEND THIS YEAR’S PSFK CONFERENCE FOR ONLY $99.

UPDATE: Apparently all 20 tickets have been sold with this discount code. Thank you everyone.

My friends Shawn Webster and Keith Gibson have created an organization called the Red Pencils. First mission: assemble a team of advertising and creative professionals to train for the 2010 Aids Lifecycle Event.

Here’s a quick Q&A with Shawn and Keith about what they’re trying to accomplish with the Red Pencils. It’s further proof that our industry is filled with amazing human beings.

1. What are the Red Pencils?

SW: The Red Pencils is a charity organization that helps fund-raise, organize, and coordinate events for causes that might directly relate to, or resonate with, people in any creative industry.

Our first endeavor is to organize a bicycle team — comprised of advertising professionals from all over the country — to ride in the AIDS Life Cycle event in San Francisco this upcoming June.  Our role is to handle nearly all the fundraising for the riders who join the Red Pencils team.  Everyone who rides in the event is supposed to raise $3000, but we’ll take care of that for them.

With the help of Pereira & O’dell in San Francisco, we’re creating a campaign to raise attention, educate, and ultimately raise money. Of course, we’ll take any help and assistance from anyone who wants to lend a hand. But we are currently batting around some ideas with PO to get this off the ground.

If it’s as successful as we hope, we’ll branch out to scholarships, more events, etc.  We’re excited to see where it goes.

KG: Exactly what Shawn said =)

2. How did you get involved?

KG:I was already signed up for the 2010 AIDS Life Cycle when it hit me how much fun it would be to have a team to ride with. It is an awesome charity and I wanted to raise as much money as possible for them. Naturally I looked inside our industry and realized the potential for a team of advertising people to raise money and awareness. I soon after reached out to Shawn with this “little” idea and it ballooned into this amazing thing.

SW:  Keith called me a few months ago with the idea.  He’s an avid bicyclist and a damn good guy, so it was his passion that drew me in.  What started as an idea to put together a team for shits and giggles has grown into something a little larger.

3. What’s your connection to the AIDS Life Cycle Event? Has the disease affected you or someone you know in a personal way?

KG:I actually had a roommate with AIDS. It was terrible to see the things he had to deal with on a physical and mental level. He’s a super sweet guy who is a testament to survival.

SW: The AIDS Life Cycle Event sounded like a great way to get people involved.  It affects all of us, so to say I’m not affected by this would be wholly naïve.

4. What is your relationship with Pereira O’Dell? How did that come about?

SW: I have worked with James Brown, one of the CDs there, in the past and he contributes on one of my blogs, www.andshakers.com. I knew he was an avid biker and since PO is local to San Francisco, it seemed like something he could get behind.  And he did. They’ve been great, and we are all excited to see what comes of this collaboration.

KG: Shawn totally set that up. Hey gets major brownie points for that! But I also want to commend James Brown. He has been a pleasure to deal with.

5. How many riders per team?

SW: We would be happy with a dozen this first year, but more would be great.  We’ll see how things stack up.  But, there are other ways to get involved.  Being a Roadie, for one, is a great way… especially for non-riders like me.  Remember, Keith is the two-wheeler.

6. Are there a lot of cyclists in advertising?

SW: Since getting involved, I have been surprised at how many there are.

KG: Definitely! There is at least one per agency. Some have “gangs” of them. Cycling is a good sport for you to get away and go into your head. Figures that a lot of creatives flock to it.

7. Are you both big cyclists? How long have you been doing it?

KG: I am becoming a huge bike nerd. I started a couple years ago, but definitely have stepped it up this past year. On top of doing the AIDS Lifecycle, I also plan to start competing at an amateur level this year. I am hooked!

I secretly want to sign Shawn up as a rider so he can get his butt in gear and ride with us.

SW: Um…
8. Advertising tends to get a bum rap. What do the Red Pencils say about people in the business?

SW: That’s one of the first things we spoke about, using this as a platform to show that ad people can do some real good. Obviously ad folk aren’t the swindlers they are perceived to be … the vast majority, at least.  And I can say without a doubt that the people within advertising have brought a great amount of attention to some important causes, no matter the scale. Perhaps Red Pencils can be seen as an extension of that?

KG: Sometimes I tell people what I do and get that look. You know that look.  Hopefully The Red Pencils will bring some much needed good press. EVERYONE who has contacted me is more than generous in offering their time.

Advertising is not a thing you get into to be alone. We naturally band together and I think with something like The Red Pencils you can definitely see that. It’s nice to see a “Team” forming.

9. Are the riders generally employed? Unemployed?

KG: I am Freelance right now and “in between” gigs (which means sometimes unemployed). Everyone else is luckily gainfully employed at the moment. But who knows what the future will bring. Our ideal rider “works” in the industry.

Maybe we will all have some more time for practice

SW: Either.  Non-issue.  We’ll take freelancers and fulltimers alike.  You could fresh out of ad school, or running a shop.

10. Anything else you want to add?

KG:I just want to thank everyone who has helped, reached out and shown support so far. Especially PFTA! This is really just the beginning of something amazing and I can’t wait until Mile 1 on June 6th.

SW: Yeah.  Although this is based in San Francisco, we do ask that people from all over the country consider riding.  (Personally, I live and work in Atlanta).  As of right now, riders will have to find their own way out to San Francisco come this June; but we are hoping to get some sort of travel sponsorship to assist in getting the non-Bay Area folk out there as things continue to grow and move forward.

11. How do people sign up?

KG/SW: If you like to ride, and if you are passionate about doing some good (and having an amazing time),  join the Red Pencils at www.redpencils.org.

This Saturday in San Francisco, I’ll be part of a “panel of career professionals who will provide practical tips, advice, tools and some useful forecasts for navigating the new creative marketplace.”

And if I can get Lemonade done before then, I’ll even be screening it for the attendees.

So if you’re in the Bay Area this weekend, come to the ASPP Event, “Ready For Reinvention.” I’d love to meet you, and maybe have a drink afterward.

Saturday, November 7th, 2009 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Blue Sky Rental Studios
2523 3^rd Street, Suite 434, San Francisco, CA  94107

Please RSVP by November 6th to Michael Masterson at michaeldmasterson@gmail.com

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Cost:

ASPP Members – $15

New ASPP Members – Free

PACA, APA, ASMP, AIGA – $20

Non-members – $25

Students (with ID) – $10

My position on crowdsourcing is so on-the-fence that a stiff breeze in one direction or the other would send me toppling to either side.

On the one hand, it’s a brilliant way to engage fans/consumers/friends with your brand. Instead of pushing an internally generated idea, you invite participation in shaping its course. There are great examples this kind of thing, like this poster for Adidas and this site from HP. In fact, much of PFTA has been crowdsourced. The new logo, the guest posts, even Lemonade — these things would be impossible without the crowd (you) engaging with the brand (PFTA). In these instances, crowdsourcing = co-creation. Everyone is on board for the shot to be a part of something bigger.

So from that perspective, I should have no issues whatsoever.

On the other hand, I’m hanging on to my old (guard?) belief that a day’s work deserves a day’s wages. For every co-created group project, there are even more crowdsourcing contests, like Crispin’s much-criticized design competition for Brammo, and entire sites dedicated to getting creatives to compete for projects like Crowdspring and Zooppa. The argument against them is that if you really value creativity, writers and artists and designers (and any other skill there’s a demand for) won’t give away their talents for nothing.

Not to mention, this approach to crowdsourcing tends to generate what most advertising and design professionals consider terrible ideas.

I bring this debate to the table because over the past couple of months, I’ve received several requests from companies wanting to leverage PFTA’s talent pool. The reason I haven’t shared these requests with you is because they came with no promise of payment. The people who approached me said, “let’s use your talent and when we win the assignment we’ll reimburse them for their time.”

I don’t know about you, but I can’t just spend 15 minutes writing headlines and expect something great. Depending on the project, it could take days or weeks to do something that meets my own standards. So the opportunity cost of committing to a project without any reasonable assurance of reimbursement is just too high for me.

I haven’t broached crowdsourcing with you until now because I was acting like a den mother, trying to shield you from unfair labor practices. But I’m realizing now that it could just be me. I may have mistakenly projected my own reservations onto you. And since we’re all part of this community, I wanted to open(source) this for discussion.

So here’s my question: Would you be open to working on crowsourced projects? Is there a middle-ground you’d consider…say, half your rate until your idea is bought, then more after? What if you could bid on work before committing to doing it? Or say the client didn’t own the rights to your work unless they bought it…would the prospect of maintaining your own intellectual property be of value to you?

Or is there some crowdsourcing model (current or in your own brain) that would make participation more attractive to you?

I see how valuable crowdsourcing can be for creative expression, and especially for clients. But I also see how it can be used to demean what we have all chosen to do for a living. As James McMurtry wrote in the great song “Where’s Johnny”:

He saw both sides of everything and found he could not move.

I suspect this won’t be the last time I approach this topic with y’all. So with this post, I’m starting a crowdsourcing category.

Discuss.

Next Thursday, October 1st, in NYC, The Feast Conference will gather the minds that are making the world a better place. From their web site:

Our secret sauce lies in a healthy combination of passion, creativity, and entrepreneurship to shift the way things are done. “The Feast” brings together the world’s leading creative entrepreneurs, revolutionaries, radicals, doers and thinkers to inspire more action, share best practices, and create valuable connections that will change the world.

They will also be showing the Lemonade trailer, so I’m doubly bummed I won’t be able to attend. It’s for a good reason,  though. We’ll actually be doing one last shoot day to fill in a few of the holes we found while editing. That said, I may try to attend the workshops on Friday. So if you’re in NYC next Friday, let’s connect.

San Francisco Animal Social

Tuesday, August 18th from 7-10 PM

Swig Bar  http://www.swigbar.com

San Francisco Animal Kelly O’Connell, on her own behalf and with no prompting from me, is hosting an Animal Social next Tuesday, August 18th. Ideas will be shared. Mugs will be hoisted. This is what it’s all about, folks. If energy does not find you, create your own. Bring cameras…I want evidence.

The Temporarily Retired Party

Wednesday, 9/2/09 @ 3:00 PM

Joe’s Garage, Minneapolis

Supporter of the Unemployed Arts, Clark Patrick, is hosting a “network party for the MSP freelance community.” And it’s at 3:00 on a Wednesday afternoon, so you know it’s geared toward those of us with a little weekday time on our hands. I’ve got some family in Minneapolis, so this might be all the excuse I need to get my ass over there.

California Animal Kelly O’Connell will be hosting a San Francisco Animal Social tomorrow evening at the Nova Bar & Restaurant. If you plan on attending, please register so Kelly knows how many to expect. (If enough people come, the bar may provide the appetizers.)

From the invite:

Calling all thirsty Bay Area animals. On Tuesday, June 16th, Please Feed the Animals will host its first ever west coast Animal Social at San Francisco watering hole, Nova. Consider this event an open forum for sharing war stories, exchanging ideas (and biz cards) and partaking in witty ad banter. So mark your calendars and tell your animal friends. Please Feed The Animals has officially gone national.

We’ve all done campaigns that have moved the needle. Maybe even won an award or two. But how well do we apply that insight and creativity to marketing ourselves? When it comes to attracting new clients, self-promotion is just as important as the body of work in your portfolio.

So on June 15th, the Boston Ad Club will hosting a workshop to help freelance creatives be their own clients.  And if you use the code “PFTA” during registration, you’ll get a 15% discount on both member and non-member prices.

Here’s a description from Adclub.org:

You can make the most amazing designs in the world but if no one knows what you did, then you won’t get recognition for it. It is a fact that marketing is just as important to the success of a creative business as the work that is produced.

Find out how some of the most well known shops have become as popular as they are (hint, it’s not just about the work!). This session will focus on the various techniques we can all use (from studio to freelancer) to market our work, promote our skills, and attract the kinds of clients we want.

We will also discuss the role that awards play in the art of promotion, as well as some ways to make yourself a guru in the eyes of your clients.

Click here to register. And remember to use the code “PFTA” to get a 15% discount.

]]> http://www.pleasefeedtheanimals.com/2009/06/03/learn-to-promote-thyself-with-animal-discount/feed/ 1 http://www.pleasefeedtheanimals.com/2009/06/01/cards-of-change/ http://www.pleasefeedtheanimals.com/2009/06/01/cards-of-change/#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:38:57 +0000 Erik http://www.pleasefeedtheanimals.com/?p=1374

The second I tweeted about the PFTA film, I got about a half-dozen replies from people referring me to Cards Of Change.

The premise of the site is simple: If you’re one of the unfortunate many to lose your job, scribble what you’ve been up to on an old business card. Take a picture of that card and upload it to the site along with your contact info.

Not only is the act cathartic in and of itself, but you also become part of a collective of talented, hungry and available resources for project work. See my upload here.

As one person said, Cards of Change is like the still version of the PFTA film.

Fellow animal Kelly O’Connell was feeling disappointed that those many thousand miles between San Francisco and Boston prevented her from attending our last Animal Social. I made the suggestion that she consider hosting one in California. So she is. (How cool is that? Thank you Kelly!)

It will be on June 16 from 7-10 PM at Nova Bar & Restaurant.

Click here to register: PFTA San Fran Animal Social