This episode is an interview I did at SXSW with Matthew Inman, the author of the popular web comic called The Oatmeal. Find out how he went from social media favorite to a book deal.
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Background
Matt got his start at online marketing and SEO firm SEOMoz. He went from there to coding an online dating site completely by himself in just 66 hours, and then turning around and selling it in only six months. The key discovery while he was there? The comics, quizzes and viral content he used to market the site were even more popular than the site itself. And thus while concentrating on just the viral comics themselves, The Oatmeal was born.
Today on The Hopkinson Report: Everybody Gets a Trophy!
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I talk with former Wired Intern 1.0 Brandon Werner (pictured above) of The Modern Day Pirates about how engaging with different generations is changing, specifically that notoriously difficult market of 18-30 year olds, known to many as Millennials or Generation Y.
In this corner, Jim, the Gen X archetype. In the blue trunks, Brandon, paragon of all things that represent Gen Y.
How does a company turn their email file into a list of powerful social media influencers? They go to Flowtown.
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Podcast Episode 101 is an interview I did at SXSW with Ethan Bloch of Flowtown.com, a service that turns email addresses into social profiles. After discussing the best way to survive the festival on no sleep and Green Tea, Jim gets down to business to find out Ethan’s story.
Topics covered: About Ethan
- Ethan’s amazing start as an entrepreneur, importing video game components and driving $13,000 worth of revenue — at age 13!
- How marketing, finance, and technology have been the three pillars of his career thus far
- His move to San Francisco, subsequent job loss, and founding of a new business
About Flowtown
- A platform that allows businesses to connect with their customers
- Starting with their email list, Flowtown generates a list of the social networks their customer base is on, allowing them to write better posts, send better tweets, and more easily target their customers
- Not only does Flowtown return age, gender, networks, and the top 50 locations, but it then creates a sort of “iTunes Smartlist for Marketers,” showing the top 50 influencers that really move the needle
The Marketing Angle
- What is Flowtown’s approach to marketing their business?
- Where does Flowtown get their customers?
- Is all this a good thing? What about user’s personal information being exposed?
- Is email dead?
Advice for Startups
- What are the challenges of being a startup?
- What is the main advantages of being a small company?
- How the “lean startup” process enables them to make quick advances in technology
- Lessons learned through a failed project, which led to 3,500 new customers on their next project
Try it yourself
Check out flowtown.com and enter your e-mail address (it’s not stored) to find out which networks you’re on.
We made it everyone! 100 episodes! I’ll cover 10 lessons learned, the big party, and give some shoutouts.
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Wow, 100 episodes – pretty amazing. I’ve been at this for more than 2 years, week in, week out, whether I was tired or sick or excited, I carved out a little time to try and share some thoughts with you.
Listen, I’m an oldest child, I’m a Leo, and obviously I like to hear myself talk. But I try to be aware of that and not get TOO full of myself. I realize this isn’t 21 seasons of the Simpsons or some of the other social media guys with millions of followers. It’s not the frontpage of the NY Times, the cover of Wired, and it’s not even a video podcast. Even 2010, some people don’t even know what a podcast IS.
It’s my 99th podcast
I’m having a ball
Sarah and Chris are here
I’m not really sure, but they’re entrepreneurs
99 podcasts of beer on the wall.
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On this episode of The Hopkinson Report, Jim takes some time out of his SXSW adventures to have a chat with Chris McCann of Startup Digest and Sarah Prevette of Sprouter.com.
Hot topics for entrepreneurs:
- Why breakfast foods are the secret to business success and how Jim is going to corner the market with French Toast marketing.
- Chris shares his recent experience at an entrepreneurial conference in Dubai, the surreal “Las Vegas” of the Middle East.
- Sarah talks about Sprouter.com, which aims to bring entrepreneurs together to collaborate, share resources and experiences.
- Chris explains why startups near Carnegie Mellon will tell you about their business ventures, but then they would have to kill you.
- The most important lessons Chris has learned with Startup Digest, an international e-mail list to keep startups in touch.
- Chris discusses the up & coming cities for young entrepreneurs. He explains why NYC might be giving Silicon Valley a run for its money, and why everyone should keep an eye on those crafty Canadians (Sarah included).
- Why partnerships with experts can be a more efficient means of delegating tasks than taking it on alone.
- How and when marketing through e-mail can be effective.
In this episode of The Hopkinson Report, Jim talks with Brendan McManus of Wildfire. The Wildfire guys have developed a streamlined, cost-efficient, and user-friendly way of integrating promotions into Facebook fan pages.
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The numbers are overwhelming…
- Facebook has 400 million users and just keeps growing
- Users are joining at least 4 fan pages every month
- Traffic from Facebook to websites is increasing
Hi, this is Jim Hopkinson, Wired’s Marketing Guy, bringing you the marketing trends that matter. Welcome!
Today is Part 2 of my interview with photographer, Diana Levine – smile! [Camera clicking]
Jim Hopkinson: Hey, everybody, this is Jim; welcome back. I am here again with Diana Levine. We talked about photography last time, we talked about how she got her start as a photographer working for magazines, going freelance and all the cool celebrities she works with, and this is Part 2 of the podcast. And, we’re going to talk about the equipment she uses, how the internet and Facebook and new media has influenced her profession, and then some tips and tricks for photographers.
So, welcome, Diana.
Diana Levine: Thanks for having me, again.
JH: So, let’s go right to the equipment. How much of being a great photographer is the equipment? Do you need the best equipment to be a great photographer?
What kind of equipment does a pro photographer use, whether its shooting celebs in the studio or podcast hosts in the hallway of an apartment building? In part 2 of this interview, Diana Levine will tell you. (Above… Diana sets up in Jim’s hallway).
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Topics Covered:
- The importance of equipment for budding photographers and how the accessibility of equipment is changing entry into the business.
- What to look for in a digital camera
- Jim and Diana consider the great debate of Nikon vs. Canon
Hi, this is Jim Hopkinson, Wired’s Marketing Guy, bringing you the marketing trends that matter.
Welcome!
Today I’ll be speaking with New York City-based photographer, Diana Levine, talking all things photography. Stay tuned.
Jim Hopkinson: Hey, everybody, this is Jim; welcome to the Hopkinson Report. I am with here with Diana Levine in New York City. I met Diana at an event during Social Media Week. It turns out we have some things in common. We’re both Boston-based, originally, so welcome, Diana.
Diana Levine: Thank you so much for having me.
JH: So, give us a little of your background, taking us through your upbringing in Boston to being a freelance photographer.
What’s it like to be a professional photographer rubbing shoulders with celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Billy Corgan, and Ludacris? Pro photographer Diana Levine will tell you.
Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below:
Ever since I worked in the photo section of the Caldor department store in high school, I’ve been interested in photography. I’ve owned many many cameras, from old school 110, Disc, and 35mm SLRs like my Minolta X-370, to some of the first digital cameras on the market in the late 90s, up through my newest point-and-shoot and desire to upgrade to a DSLR.
So when I had the chance to sit down and speak with pro photographer Diana Levine, I jumped at the chance. I had so many questions on so many topics. I wanted to know what it was like to freelance. What was her favorite equipment. What was it like to work with celebs. And with 2 billion photos a month being uploaded to Facebook, and more and more pictures needed various profiles on the web, how was social media affecting her business.
[Above: Diana shooting Alicia Keys]
We talked for so long I’ve made this a 2 part episode, and then we hit the streets of New York and set up an impromptu studio to see her in action.
In Part 1 we cover the following topics:
Background
- How did Diana get her start?
- Who was her main influence as a child?
- Which Conde Nast magazine did she intern at?
- What was the main thing she learned at Boston Magazine?
Freelance life
- How did she get over her fear of making the leap to freelance?
- What would she tell people wanting to strike out on their own?
- Is it a good or bad thing that cameras are so good and so inexpensive now that everyone thinks they can be a good photographer?
- What are the things that distinguish a true pro from an amateur?
Celebrities
-Â What’s it like working with celebrities: * Kim Kardashian
* New Kids on the Block
* Billy Corgan
* 50 Cent
* Ludacris
* Alicia Keys
* Vampire Weekend
* DJ AM
* Iman
* Fabolous
* JoJo
* Los Del Rio
* Harry Connick, Jr
(and more)
Other Celeb Questions:
- Tell us about your first celebrity shoot with KRS-One
- What’s the real scoop with Kim Kardashian
-Â Which singer made Diana have to pinch herself to make sure it was real?
- Which band’s fans sent her hundreds of tweets after she photographed them?
-Â A revelation about Billy Corgan that really shocked me.
-Â Which celebrity would be the one she’d like to photograph most (but can’t)
- How do you create a comfortable atmosphere when working with celebrities
-Â Which celebrity is she named after (Answer at right)
Celebrity projects
- MTV’s Super Sweet 16: What was Sean Combs’ house like?
- AOL’s Day in the Life project, what was it like spending an entire day with Ludacris or New Kids on the Block?
Part II will contain:
- Equipment she uses
- The affect of social media on the photo industry
- Tips and tricks for taking great photos
[Above: Diana shooting Alicia Keys]
