The final day of #mesh11 was off to another great start with a packed house and creative energy flowing.
Photo Credit: Mathew Ingram
We kicked it off with a keynote conversation with Mark Surman, the executive director of the Mozilla Foundation. Discussing the future of an open web with mesh’s Mark Evans, Surman explained how Mozilla organized a distributed and global workforce of volunteers to produce the Firefox browser. Surman noted that the Internet is changing the way work is and can be done, and that companies are increasingly adopting some of the methods Mozilla helped pioneer, including clearing business practices, transparency, mentorship and working around time zone differences.
Notable Tweets:
@adaoust13: Treat everyone as if they are an asset says @msurman #mesh11. Too much of our management philosophy comes from old corporate culture.
@meshconference: #Mesh11 @msurman: Clear business processes are essential for distributed or open-source models of working.
@RickWolfe: #mesh11 Mark Surman asked us, how many of you have installed Firefox for someone else? Answer: most of us. His point: That’s how it grew.
The second keynote of the day was with Gabe Zichermann, an author and expert on the psychology of games, motivation and behaviour. Zichermann argued that the principles of game design “provide the ultimate toolkit for those seeking to create engagement” because our brains are being rewired to respond to entertainment stimulus 24/7/365.
Zichermann noted that by applying the processes and tools of game design to marketing, marketers can provide positive and negative reinforcement to affect behaviour change in consumers.
Notable Tweets:
@meshconference: #Mesh11 @gzicherm: Progression & Mastery key to game design. Mirrors our real life journey to master (e.g. Financial, work, etc.)
@David_Blumer: You must have a product market fit before you attempt to add a game layer – gamification can amplify this fit but not make it #Mesh11
@meshconference: #Mesh11 @gzicherm: social games beat television (U.S.) in terms of time spent and engagement. We love games.
Following another delicious lunch [is it just me or is this conference food actually great!], we kicked off the afternoon panel sessions. So many great panels and so little time! Here’s a recap of a few panels we attended:
How Do You (Or Can You) Measure Online Influence? – David Armano and Valeria Maltoni
This jam-packed session broached a hot topic among the digital marketing crowd: how do you find, outreach and measure online influencers? David Armano and Valeria Maltoni, both considered “social influencers” themselves, took the stage to discuss. A key takeaway is to identify influencers based on the topics they talk about, not only their reach. Armano highlighted that Twitter lists should not be overlooked to find influencers. They allow you quickly judge reach and the categories users are listed under will give you a sense of what they talk about. Other tools mentioned during the session include: Klout, Sulia, Traackr, Twylah, PeerIndex, Radian6 and SocMetrics. Unfortunately no “one” catch-all tool exists to measure influence; the focus remains on research, trust and credibility.
Notable Tweets:
laurenonizzle: Great way to tell if someone is actually a “guru” = Google them. “It’s not Rocket science” -@Armano #Mesh11
@meshconference: Art of influencer outreach: 1. Identify influencers 2. Engage 3. Create influencer management system @armano #mesh11
The Business of Apps – Kevin Restivo, Farhan Thawar, Ingrid Kelly & Jerome Carron
Next up, Kevin Restivo, Farhan Thawar, Jerome Carron and Ingrid Kelly took the stage to talk about the business of apps and the app ecosystem. Much of the conversation was around the various platforms and how to choose which platform to develop for. While it might be obvious to some, be sure to ask the group you want to engage with which type of device they use to determine a preferred platform. Another key insight was on app monetization: keep in mind that a $1 app may be easier to sell but will also require increased customer support mechanisms versus a more expensive app that may sell less, but require less servicing. Essentially, with either option your profits may net out.
Notable Tweets:
@mattfrehner: Leaving aside the native v. HTML5 debate, consumers just *expect* to find your brand in an app store. #mesh11
jasondoucette: #mesh11 business of apps insight from @fnthawar on mobile app discovery & seo: we’re in 1997. It’s the Yahoo stage.
F-Commerce turning “Like” into “Buy” – Janice Diner
Janice Diner led a great discussion on the significance of the Facebook “Like” and how it translates into a purchase. With 160 million Facebook users, it’s obvious that people are talking about brands online and sharing their opinions and recommendations with friends. Marketers have an opportunity to leverage this into a full user experience. Janice discussed using Facebook Connect to allow users to make purchases. A key take away from her session is that users who like your page are more likely to engage with your brand, be passionate about your brand and even more importantly, purchase products or services offered by your brand.
Notable Tweets
@antderosa: 21% increase in money loaded onto Starbucks cards after adding card management to Facebook, totaling $1.5 billion #Mesh11 #FCommerce
@JessDavidson: 20 per cent of all page views and time spent online in Canada is on Facebook #mesh11
Although #mesh11 is wrapping up, the content shared from speakers and panelists has hopefully inspired you to push your limits, think outside the box and action some of your key learnings from the conference – in other words: connect.share.inspire.
Be sure to join us for a celebratory toast at the Wrap Party sponsored by Edelman at The John Labatt Pub!
Edelman is a founding sponsor of mesh and proud supporter of Canada’s premier web 2.0 conference. Blog posts and Twitter updates are brought to you by @davidakermanis, @midnighthaircut @lowflowliving & @melissaretty from the @edelmanTO team. Edelman is the largest independently-owned communications firm in the world. For more information, check out Edelman.ca
