Addictionary gets Wings…

… and then some.

Through our inaugural partnerships with the Comedy Central, the Tennis Channel, and our large cadre of loyal Addictionary users, we took everything we’ve learned over the last few months and incorporated it into a markedly new version of the Addictionary engine.

Now, you might say “As an agile-adaptive studio, aren’t you *always* iterating and evolving the Addictionary and your other enginets?” I’d say “Right you are, skippy!”  However, sometimes there are changes of significance to the guts and the UX (user-experience) that need tending.  In this case, six weeks worth.  Still pretty quick, and we did *a-lot* in that month in a half.

We were fortunate to be able to entice user-experience design guru Brian Veloso of Revyver, who’d sworn off client work in order to focus on cool projects of his own, to take on the challenge and complement our Spectrum team.  Predictably, he rocked.  Take a look:

Of course, you can *see* all the changes to the engine in the before-and-after screen grabs, but you can experience it first-hand, if you like:  check out http://addictionary.org or http://politicaladdictionary.com

What were our criteria for the changes, you ask?

1. People
2. Portability
3. Customizability (<- is that a word?)

People

We felt like folks weren’t getting enough credit for their cleverness.  The Addictionary is about word-play creativity, competition and community, after all.  So we decided to let them express themselves a bit more around their creations– their words, there-ought-be-a-word challenges, contest entries, etc.  That includes avatars, easier commenting, improved profile pages and more

Portability

We further modularized both the function and content of the Addictionary.

We already had RSS feeds, and a number of widgets for Word of the Day, There-Oughta-Be-a-Word, and others… but we re-engineered the Addictionary to make pretty much *everything* atomizable.  That is, both function and content can be pushed (via syndication, sponsored widgets, etc) or pulled (by users onto their blogs, myspace pages, etc).

Customize-ability

We completely separated the CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) from the guts of the engine.  For the layfolk, that means it is now much easier for us to “re-skin” the engine to look-and-feel like our partners’ sites, making embedding of the Addictionary as a feature/function of another community super straight-forward.

People-oriented + Portable + Customizable = Advertiser-friendly

All this adds up to the result that our partners can offer advertisers a whole new level of coolness.  That is, the Addictionary allows advertisers to contextually lace their product/brand/message throughout the application and content.  The can create custom function modules (like branded word games), next gen widetry that integrates their message in a engaging IAB-standard-sized ad unit that can be themed and programmed *ongoing*, and totally re-skin the overall Addictionary application around an event and product launch.

Are you running a content/community site where there is a distinct vernacular, lingo or lexicon?  Moms, golfers, travellers, celebrity watchers, foodies, action sports or pretty much any niche lifestyle, industry or hobby? Or perhaps you’re a products or services company looking to engage a community of same?

The Addictionary is a lightning rod for that community– an engine of engagement to harness word-play that’s already occuring online and offline.  More on the Addictionary here.

Or ping Seth Levenson here at SpectrumDNA if you have questions on how you can set up your own Addictionary.

Gartner Validates SpectrumDNA’s “Enginetworking” Model With It’s Report on ‘Generation V’

Gartner group recently came out with a report that provides some valuable insight into online audiences, and how they differ substantially from other media audiences.  In the process, they endorsed SpectrumDNA’s model for creating programming for web and wireless social media.

They describe Generation V in this way:

The online behavior, attitudes and interests of people from all walks of life are blending together online, cutting across generations and traditional demographics and giving rise to a new online group called “Generation Virtual” (Generation V). Unlike previous generations, Generation V is not defined by age, gender, social class or geography. Instead, it is based on achievement, accomplishments and an increasing preference for the use of digital media channels to discover information, build knowledge and share insights.

They go on to describe the breakdown of behavior in online audiences:

Marketers will ultimately need a separate marketing strategy to reach this generation, according to Gartner. Within the Generation V community, Gartner defines four levels of engagement - creators, contributors, opportunists, and lurkers - related to the extent to which customers engage with other customers and the level of engagement that businesses and other organizations must have to enable them.

And provide a bit more detail on their findings about these Generation V segments:

• Up to 3% will be creators, providing original content. They can be advocates that promote products and services.
• Between 3% and 10% will be contributors who add to the conversation, but don’t initiate it. They can recommend products and services as customers move through a buying process, looking for purchasing advice.
• Between 10% and 20% will be opportunists, who can further contributions regarding purchasing decisions. Opportunists can add value to a conversation that’s taking place while walking through a considered purchase.
• Approximately 80% will be lurkers, essentially spectators, who reap the rewards of online community input but absorb only what is being communicated. They can still implicitly contribute and indirectly validate value from the rest of the community. All users start out as lurkers.

What’s striking about the report isn’t that Gartner coined another “gen” term or terms like “creators” and “contributors” (those have been around for some time).  What’s striking is how they actually put numbers to the internal algorithms shared by those of us who’ve been working in social media for some time.  The “1-in-50 users are creators” kind of numbers are intuitively correct, and they’ve substantiated an approach to creating web/wireless applications that is eerily parallel to that which SpectrumDNA developed in its “enginetworking” approach.

Gartner is right-on when it says:

To address the different needs of these groups, marketing organizations need to segment and support all four engagement levels in the community…

But then stumbles a bit:

…. with appropriate technology and establish goals with plans for determining return on investment (ROI).

And then they’re back on track again:

Companies should plan to segment all four levels in the community - each has significant business value. Differentiation exists between sectors and industries. Marketers with strong brands attract more creators. Certain industries, such as insurance, draw more lurkers.

Let’s drill into where Gartner stumbles:  “… segment and support all four engagement levels in the community with appropriate technology…”  Engaging audiences of any kind has *never* been about technology.  It’s about technique.  Advising organizations to essentially buy a technology and think that’s going to activate any one of those user-types is wrong-headed.  It’s like telling a television network that cameras and editing systems and HD television and remote controls are going to attract and engage a television audience.  It’s about technique, not technology.  Craigslist.org does pretty darn good with circa-1994 hyperlink technology.

Too many companies are buying “social networking platforms”– essentially the social media equivalent of stages, props, set pieces… the elements necessary to “put on a play.”  And more often than not, more than they need. What they need is the methodology for engaging humans in a potentially resonant experience.  An engine of engagement is a software application that attracts and compels audiences based on what they can do, not what it can do.

SpectrumDNA’s enginetworking approach creates a relationship between the organization and that audience Gartner calls Generation V– that community it intends to engage around a theme, a behavior, a hobby or an industry– and takes into account all four behaviors Gartner cites. And we determine that intended relationship and those intended roles *before* technology is chosen and or purchased, or software code is written.  And when we do build those engines, we build them with intention to iterate and evolve to optimize them for the community.

See examples of those “engines” we’ve created and offer as software-as-a-service, or ping us if you have a community-engagement desire or goal and we’ll show you how to build an engine-of-engagement instead of a website.

Rick Outzen and Sena Maddison of “In Your Head Radio” talk with with Comedy Central’s Michael Kraskin & SpectrumDNA’s Jim Banister about the Political Addictionary, and challenge listeners to a “There Oughta Be a Word for That!” contest.

Tickle your ears with their aural cleverness here!

Rick and Sena Interview Kraskin and Banister

And don’t forget to enter, or just vote in the TOBAW challenge issued by Rick and Sena.  What’s a word for: “To shirk your responsibilities as an elected representative and fail to cast your ballot for a bill or resolution that is ultimately defeated by a single vote.”

There DEFINITELY Oughta Be a Word for that! << ENTER one now, or VOTE for the best.

CBS Affiliate KUTV profiles the Addictionary

KUTV reporter Peter Rosen helps viewers determine whether they might be “zenvious” or “intaxicated”.  Whether you are a skier, plumber, parent, pet or car enthusiast, a foodie… or perhaps more importantly, a media company looking to engage those lifestyle or industry communities by capturing and nurturing their lingo/language…  this report has something for you.

Check out the interview below, and find out more about how you can offer your community their own themed Addictionary here!

SpectrumDNA Heralded for its Efforts to Revitalize Business Education in the Context of Social Media

SpectrumDNA’s eXtreme Enterprise (”eXe”) program was recognized last week on Public Radio for its experiential approach to teaching business student applied entrepreneurism.

To hear the story visit: eXtreme Enterprise Public Radio Story

If you’re interested in learning more about eXe and how it can transform your University’s MBA or undergrad entrepreneurship program, please contact us < click here.

Behind Silicon Valley, Utah has the fastest growing per capita tech sector in the United States

This week I took part in a technology round table hosted by Utah Business Magazine. It was attended by CEOs, founders and C-levels from some of the state’s top companies.

“Top companies,” you ask, incredulous? Oh, yeah…

Can you say Ominiture (web analytics and then some)? Sorenson Media (makers of the most prolific video codec in use today)? Backcountry.com (top outdoor gear retailer recently acquired by Liberty Media)? The Generations Network (parent of ancestry.com and other myriad successful online destinations)? MoveNetworks (top provider on online TV services)? Overstock.com (giant online discount retailer)? Control4 (leader in home automation)?

As we took turns describing the quality growth in the technology industry and in our organizations it hit me - Utah is on the cusp to become the next mecca for technology and digital media. We are clearly not in Kansas anymore. (Wait, we were never in Kansas?! Well, you know what I mean).

Utah, the “best kept secret” state, has one of the richest legacies of tech and digital media in the country, one disproportionately large compared to Utah’s neighborhoodly-small 2.5 million residents. And its coming of age. What’s different today is that “the money” is finally figuring it out. And as quality of life and cost-of-living issues infect more and more “coasters”… more investment will be following talent to places like Utah. Look out Silicon Valley, make way for the Silicon Slopes!

Recession? Maybe of our CEO’s hairline…

Shockingly, really, there was no sign of pending recession around that table. Everyone was hiring in double digits and many were experiencing record revenues. Even though “branding” problems remain — like the old stereotypes of Utah residents — talent recruitment and retention are becoming easier. David Colbert, Co-Founder of Sendside Networks www.sendside.net had perhaps the most innovative workforce perq - a 12 inch rule. In the winter, if it dumps more than a foot overnight, employees are free to take a powder morning at any of Utah’s world class ski destinations (most between 15 and 45 minutes drive away). That’s a clever way to connect with a younger, tech-savvy generation. I forgot to ask him what they do in the summer!

Some of the most significant emerging global trends in technology are being experienced locally in Utah and this place is truly open for business.

5 encouraging signs I see for a bright business forecast in Utah:

1. The Utah Fund of Funds has $300 million (from out of state!), a kick ass team and is attracting an unprecedented number of prestigious VCs to look at Utah deal flow.

2. Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR), instead of acting like a governmental arm, is creating true connective tissue in a collaborative network of tech and digital media companies to buoy each other up. We know that if we network and partner to help one another succeed, we all succeed. A rising tide floating all boats and all. A good example is Omniture’s technology outreach effort www.siliconslopes.com.

3. A Women’s Tech Council sprung up out of nowhere, easily attracting 150 power women at meetings (and they are wearing designer jeans and Theory suits, not the smocks and braids). Check out www.womentechcouncil.org.

4. Want to talk globalization? We have a big business minded governor who speaks fluent Mandarin (that’s the predominate Chinese dialect, for you coasters ;-). He wooed former Assistant Secretary of Commerce Lew Cramer to open a World Trade Center in Salt Lake that entertains international trade delegations weekly — and we don’t have to constantly remind people that we once played host to the Olympics for credibility anymore. www.wtcut.com. And Utah is also the most multi-lingual place in the country. So much so that the National Security Agency has based their translation services arm here.

5. Access. You can get to anyone in the state with a phone call or two. I got a meeting with Senator Hatch, and I can’t even vote - I’m Canadian!

So forget New York vs. LA and the whole east coast vs west coast debate. If you want to create or be part of a new business, get access to university talent and to live in one of the most active, beautiful and sunny states in the union, this is the place. Utah’s future is bright, so bring your shades… or goggles, depending on the conditions

* this message was not brought to you by the chamber of commerce

The Tennis Channel partners with The Addictionary to… ahem… court users in creating the ultimate community around Tennis Lingo

Know what a FlukeSkywalker is? How about skiddielitter? There’s only one place in the world to find out– The Tennis Addictionary.

A partnership with The Tennis Channel, the Tennis Addictionary is the newest addition to the Addictionary family and is movin’ apace right outta the gate. In days, The Tennis Channel has engaged thousands of tennis players and fans, enabling those users to demonstrate they know a thing or two about tennis lingo… and then some.

links to a TC-branded Addictionary

... and back again!

Like a “show” on their television channel, the Tennis Addictionary is an engine of engagement that creates *incremental* time-on-sites for fans of tennis, and users of The Tennis Channel, who can use the inventory on the Tennis Addictionary as they please– for house-ads, incremental ad inventory to sell, or offer the Tennis Addictionary as a wholly sponsored user-experience to an advertiser looking for differentiated programming with which to engage the tennis demographic or psychographic.

There can be only one.

The Tennis Addictionary is unique. The content is evergreen. And like all Addictionaries, the engine is continually iterated and improved on 2-week cycles based on (1) the demonstrated behavior of users; (2) the programming instincts of the community leader (in this case, the Tennis Channel); and (3) the engagement aims of a sponsor/advertiser.

What’s your word?

Interested in using the Addictionary engine for your industry or lifestyle community site? More here >>

Street Soccer?

For those of us who last translated Spanish back in high school, a callejero can be one of many things: a bum, a street bully, or an adept practitioner of street soccer, a little known game here in the United States. In our sterile world of manicured fields, AYSO stickers on SUVs, and soccer moms, street soccer hasn’t garnered much attention, but that is about to change.

Travel virtually anywhere in the world (outside of the US) and you won’t be far from a soccer ball being kicked around the street, a dirt field, or any other flat surface. Statistics are hard to come by, but even by the loosest standards, soccer (futbol) is one of the most played sports in the world. World Cup Soccer alone gets upwards of a billion viewers, and street soccer is what those boys (and girls) are doing when they go outside during halftime to kick the ball around.

The guys at Calle (literally “street” in Spanish) tested their skills in streets around the world and came back with a vision no less grand than elevating the level of play of soccer throughout the US. And it all starts in the street. Strip out the uniforms, the seasons, and the scheduled games and you have a sport that can be played at any time with just a handful of friends. An hour of soccer practice can’t compete with “play till you can’t see the ball” in the lot behind your house. With the rest of world’s youth dedicating this kind of time to the sport, it’s no wonder that the United States is so behind. Enter Calle Soccer.

Calle Underground – Powered by cooshoo

Calle’s aim is to build a grassroots community of soccer fanatics who want to play anytime, anywhere. And we are pumped to help them do it. We’re working with our friends at Calle to help them create an online space where the street soccer community can thrive. They want to build brand awareness, a strong community, and a place where they can engage in frequent two-way communication with their customers. The name of the site is Calle Underground, and it is built on our cooshoo social-nicheworking application. Building a street soccer site without a physical component would be useless, and luckily this is where the cooshoo engine excels. We call it geo-social / geo-mobile networking. The cooshoo engine is built around locations that can be referenced in the real world and the mobile component allows users to interact with those locations using their mobile device of choice. Want to post up that parking garage where your’re playing Calle tonight? No problem, just pin your post to the map. On the road and want to find out if anyone is playing tonight? Just set a mobile alert for your locale and get updated via text message. Take a sick picture from the sidelines? Send it using your phone and it will be memorialized before you get home.

Zero to 44 countries in two weeks

In case you can’t tell, we are excited by this opportunity. It isn’t every day that you get to be part of something with such potential. To give you some idea, we soft-launched a beta of Underground a couple of weeks ago, and already have visitors from 44 countries and over 400 cities. That’s the power of word of mouth marketing within a massive niche community.

Map Overlay of Worldwide Visits to Calle Underground

Street soccer is primed for the spotlight, and if you don’t want to take my word for it, check out the newest release from Electronic Arts: FIFA Street 3. Watch the promo ad for it here, and then see if you don’t want to go out and buy some Calle gear. It won’t stop with Electronic Arts. With this kind of market potential, rest assured that big brands are already lining up to get in the game. And in case you are still wondering: in the world of street soccer, being a donkey needs no translation.

Check out this article on eXtreme Enterprise by Laura Hancock from the Deseret Morning News.

eXtreme Enterprise program piloted with students from The Wharton School

PARK CITY, Utah (Apr. 18, 2008) – The best way to learn business is to do business. That is why SpectrumDNA has piloted a program in which second-year MBA students are tasked with creating and running viable businesses. The program, eXtreme enterprise (”eXe”), launched in the Fall of 2007 as an interdisciplinary advanced study project led by adjunct professor Nelson Gayton at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

The eXe program combines the teaching of agile-adaptive management techniques; a proprietary “enginetworking” methodology for creating, developing, launching and operating businesses based on networked media (web, wireless, etc.); and essential entrepreneurship frameworks. After two semesters, students actually launch a business in the Web X.0 realm. (“Web X.0” refers to the fundamental, teachable tenets of social media that transcend any version of the web – the current version in common lingo being Web 2.0.)

“The intention of eXe is to immerse students in the business of building business. This is not a business simulation program. It is true experiential learning in a practical, applicable, repeatable framework that gives these students valuable techniques that will serve them their whole career,” said Jim Banister, CEO of SpectrumDNA. “It’s not quite ‘throw away the business plan,’ but modern digital enterprise is an ‘if you can, do’ proposition. Why build a business plan when you can build a business for only marginally more effort and money – and all in the relative safety of the second year of an MBA program?”

The first two businesses to stem from the eXe program at Wharton are Sproutlets, Inc. – a patent-pending solution regulating access to power and turning public electrical outlets into revenue-generating advertising platforms; and Syncrave, Inc. – an online synchronized and shared video viewing service.

Sproutlets presented to Park City Angels Apr. 16, and local VCs and government Apr. 18
The executive team for Sproutlets was in Park City and Salt Lake City this week. They were invited by the Park City Angel Network to present at its monthly meeting, on Wednesday, Apr. 16, at Glenwild Country Club. The theme for this meeting was “sustainable business” – and Sproutlets is being considered for funding because of its environmentally sustainable underpinnings.

“Sproutlets power is green,” said Francis Kim, Wharton School student and CEO of Sproutlets, Inc. “The first step towards conservation is accountability, and first and foremost, accountability is what the Sproutlets provide. All power regulated through Sproutlets is offset by carbon certificates, giving marketers the opportunity to associate their brands with the global green initiative.”

The team also presented to a select group of local VCs and government organizations on Friday, Apr. 18 at the World Trade Center Utah in Salt Lake City.

The future of eXe
SpectrumDNA and Gayton are in the process of expanding the repeatable eXe curriculum to this country’s leading business schools. UCLA is in the process of developing a program, and the eXe team is traveling to Los Angeles on Apr. 22 to speak with interested parties at Pepperdine University.

Will West, CEO of Contol4 and Chairman of the Utah Fund of Funds is a strong supporter of eXtreme Enterprise. The Wharton grad, who was recently named 2008 CEO of the Year by the Utah Technology Council said: “This could very well be the most valuable course the students take during their entire two years at Wharton. Without pontificating about the specific benefits of real world experience, I’ll just say that the mistakes as well as the successes the students experience are lessons learned that will likely serve them well no matter what career choices they make. I’m just jealous there wasn’t a program like it when I was in school.”