by Josh Karpf
Does Personalization Equal Optimization?
Countless start-ups and entrepreneurs have flocked to SXSWi eager to build the right connections, ignite the first deal, and all the while, promote feverishly. Naturally, that’s the SXSW experience. They want validation. They want to breakout. They want it to be their time.
Livestreamed on PepsiCo’s exclusive SXSW blog, Dennis Crowley, Co-Founder of Foursquare, discussed this “tip” reaction. Joining Mashable’s Pete Cashmore for their panel, “Enabling New Experiences & Creating Serendipity Through Check-ins,” insight was gleaned around once you break, then what? Loyalty is a big factor. Give your loyal users what they want. Accordingly to Crowley, Foursquare’s recently announced 3.0 with the new Explore tab does just that.
“Check-ins are most interesting in the archived history sense. What does it mean about the places I go? Collecting all of this information you can learn about what people are doing. For 3.0, we want to recycle this data and give it back to you in the form of recommendations,” said Crowley.
Following the interview, Mike Schneider (Location-Based Marketing for Dummies), Amber Case (Geoloqi), Lou Kerner (Wedbush Securities) and Cali Lewis (GeekBeat.TV), met at the PepsiCo Plugged-In Stage to discuss these implications during “PepsiCo Post-Game: Foursquare, Gamification, and Location-Aware User Experiences”.
The sentiment expressed was individualization for geo-location services is significant, but it also comes at a potential cost. Essentially, the chances reduce for users to make a great discovery, since all of the recommendations seen are based on past behavior or what the users’ network of friends has done.
“The big problem with Facebook and Google is that it’s all personalized. We all live in our own little bubble so that kind of serendipity is gone,” said Lou Kerner, VP, Equity Research at Wedbush Securities.
Next Generation of Talent: Experience vs. Initiative
As quickly as startups, such as Foursquare, need to adapt, refine and advance alongside the emerging digital landscape, so do the individual talent. PepsiCo’s Talent Engagement and Marketing Leader, Chris Hoyt (aka The Recruiter Guy) joined fellow panelists at “Designing Careers That Don’t Exist Yet” to theorize on how to grow the next generation’s talent pool of agile and creative minds.
Moderated by Fast Company’s Anya Kamenetz, the conversation turned on laying the groundwork for success, keeping up with the pace and how to standout. When it comes to talent acquisition and what companies should be looking for, “sometimes there is a trade-off between experience and initiative,” said Scott Belsky, Founder of Behance. Hoyt took it a step further, “When you find something that you are passionate about, you find the hours to build it.”
The Myth of the Digital Divide
PepsiCo Conn3ct blogger, Zedric Bordelon’s recent post “SXSWi: The Rise of the Latin American Digital Class”, exemplifies the taskforce’s dedication to education, professional development and engagement. Stocked with sharp insights, Bordelon joined Joseph Crump, Senior VP of Strategy at Razorfish’s panel, who proclaimed, “If you’re not thinking about Latin America, you should be.”
According to Bordelon, “Crump backed up this statement with five months of research he gathered while living in the favelas of Brazil. Every major corporation (including PepsiCo) is either doing business or interested in doing business in Brazil.”
The outcome of his analysis uncovered most people within the “digital” community were very low on the socioeconomic scale in Brazil, with 9 out of 10 computers sold to its poorer citizens.
“The myth of a suspected “digital divide” is inherently wrong.”
