ITWC’s lead designer/developer attended NextMedia in Toronto to boost his branded content knowledge. He also agreed to share what he learned with us in a couple of recap posts.
It’s not often that a 27-year-old would represent the most elder member of a three-person panel, let alone that they would be older than the other two speakers combined. But that’s what I saw at today’s NextMedia conference on a “future of media” panel.
It turned out to be an amazing talk about shifts in perspectives. Comments like “I was two when Facebook came out,” from Vine star Gregor Reynolds brought a collective groan from the audience and helped to hammer down the fact that the next generation is not aware of a life without Facebook, let alone tablets and smartphones.
As I stated in my last article, I’m a designer and developer, not a writer, so be gentle.
Session Details:
The Cord Shavers: Generation Next & the Future of Content
Join the youngest panel of professionals at nextMEDIA 3.0 to learn what they think is next for the future of content.
Gregor Reynolds, Viner/Actor
A 12-year-old from Stratford, Ontario, has over 155,000 followers on Vine. Gregor has created a worldwide following and worked with brands like Disney, Bandai, the Whisper app and more.
@GregorReynolds "I think @vine has helped me and my dad @brittlestar get even more creative" #nextMEDIA2014
— nextMEDIAnow (@nextMEDIAnow) November 11, 2014
An interesting discussion came up around brand journalism. Gregor bought up a situation where he was approached by a dating app in order to create a vine for their product. It brought up his worries about whether this was a good fit for him and his brand and audience. It was awesome to hear such a poignant and educated response to a very real problem facing large enterprises come from a 12-year-old in response to a question from the crowd.
Hannah Alper
Creator, CallMeHannah.ca
An 11-year-old in Grade 5 that started a blog so to share her passions including the environment and social justice.
Accepting that I'll never be as cool, eloquent or successful as @ThatHannahAlper or @GregorReynolds #nextMEDIA2014 pic.twitter.com/7Otrj8xwjH
— RachelElizabethMcKim (@RachelEMcKim) November 11, 2014
"When my grandparents came up with the internet, they didn't know what to do with it." #nextMEDIA2014
— Jeff Radecki (@JeffRadecki) November 11, 2014
Listening to @ThatHannahAlper talk at #nextMEDIA2014 makes me realize just how advanced her generation. Mind blowing! pic.twitter.com/gLmXf94w2U
— Aram Melkoumov (@melkoumov) November 11, 2014
Probably the most adorable and impressive speaker of the entire conference. She brought up a few amazing points on how she could work with brands in order to hone in on what about that brand would connect with her values and speak to her audience.
“Oh you make shoes, Do you use sustainable materials? Do you support fair wages? Do you contribute to charity? Let’s talk about that.”
Her ethics and passion shone through all of her responses and reactions and was an inspiration to see. Made me feel just a tad guilty trying to compare my accomplishments with hers.
Chris Carmichael
Co-founder of Crater and Snapchat Star
Snapshot superstar as well as the co-founder of Crater, A micro fundraising platform for social media celebrities.
https://twitter.com/jorgeleedotcom/status/532190714734452737
Chris from @Snapchat says now is the time for Canada to advertise. Taco Bell is promoting SnapChat #nextmedia2014 http://t.co/xZVaCFIUBs
— Carrie's Closet (@nycinyyc) November 11, 2014
Snapchat Stories are intimate, compelling, and lead to huge conversion rates with an untapped audience. (@christophercarm) #nextMEDIA2014
— Fergus Heywood (@FergusHeywood) November 11, 2014
Chris had insights on Snapchat I found really interesting, mostly because they were new to me. Like most of the audience I immediately thought of “sexting” when Snapchat was brought up, after his feedback on how it can be used to tell stories and create connections, I changed my perspective on it.
One thing I took away was the personal commitment you get from a viewer when they know they can’t go back and watch it again. The undivided attention leads to really high conversion rates. Brands have been slow to utilize Snapchat and it may be a huge opportunity to connect.