coming to a tweet near you?

Indeed, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that we are coming up with new methods of storytelling and collective histories that are …well…. transmedia’d, mobile and modern. We are, after all, fundamentally social beings with an inquisitive streak that predates opposable thumbs. What are we doing now that we possess not only opposable thumbs but touchscreen mobile devices? The same thing we’ve been doing all along: interacting with our world through our social structures and the technological means by which such undertakings can be facilitated. Or, to make it sound less intimidating: we do stuff in our world; utilizing people and things as needed.

What’s interesting to me is to see the latest iterations of the “utilizing people and things as needed” part. This is because the social web is allowing an unprecedented confluence of people, things and worlds—stories, about real things, unfolding in real time, across a digital ecosystem that permits the democratic, horizontal and interactive production of content and correspondence. Instead of relying upon DJs and evening news producers for determining what we hear and how, we have things like Last.fm that bring us closer to a network-based musical listening experience and Youtube playlists, enabling users to tell a certain story by preparing a particular sequence of videos for others to view (and comment upon/respond to, accordingly).

This development—the streamlined horizontal addition of one’s own narrative or storytelling touches to things and ideas—is now being carried over to the analog world and it has important implications for the relationship between someone and the brands and people with whom they interact. While there are many facets of this (which I will surely continue to explore in subsequent posts), I wanted to take a moment to make an initial look at one in particular: the “Internet of Things”.

You can think of the Internet of Things as the inclusion of real-world objects to the internet, by virtue of physical sensors, QR codes and RFID tags. I’ll not talk too long on the basics of it and will instead steer you to ReadWriteWeb’s excellent (and persistent) coverage of the emergence of the Internet of Things. Allow me to summarize, as simply as possible, why this is an awesome development for brand strategy: imagine.the.storytelling.potential.

As brand strategists and marketers we always talk about fostering a close relationship between people and the brands they love—this adds a whole new dimension (namely, the 3^rd dimension) to such efforts and smart brands will start playing in this space to find out just how it might be utilized by their users. While I envision there being a certain time and place for proprietary Internet of Things uses (see my previous gushing about Icebreaker’s “baacode” as a quasi-Internet-of-Things program), my sense is that much of this will (hopefully) follow the adage that “information wants to be free” and barriers will come down in favor of a ubiquitous and usable interface that crosses brand lines and product categories. A cool new contender: Itizen.

Describing itself as “a place to tell, share & follow the life stories of interesting things,” I think it has a lot of potential. It’s simple: you put one of Itizen’s TRACKit tags (available in stick-on or sew-on, depending upon the nature of the object) on whatever you want, then you register the code on the website and share its story. What it is, why it’s meaningful, where it’s been, and so on. Cool. Fascinating. Powerful.

I first heard about this kind of idea from the founder of Re-Shirt and love how it does more than just share things or even stories—it shares meaning. An opportunity for self-expression, cultivating connections between people on a very deep level: the little bits of life that are interesting and beautiful—(some of) the things that make life worth living. It’s an amazing step back to where we began: passing down stories of the valuable things in our lives, just with a new twist: a digital invitation to put your voice into the story as well.

What are your thoughts? Are people going to get burned out on all of this “sociality”? Do I have the wrong read on the “information wants to be free” thing? What are some of the neatest applications of the Internet of Things that you’ve come across or seen on the horizon? Let me know!

-          Caleb

PS – for a great thought experiment regarding products and “sociality” as a factor of the Internet of Things, look here.

©2012 From The Rooftops. All Rights Reserved.

Jason Mraz, conveniently sporting two of our five brands

Osborn Design Studios shoes

The process by which I came to learn about Osborn Design shoes is a classic example of trust and Word of Mouth. Celebrity and all-around good guy Jason Mraz went to the Grammy Awards in a sustainability poster boy outfit including an EcoGir suit (another great green brand, though not exactly unknown), a Sonic Fabric tie (which I’ve known about and admired for a while, and is discussed below), a Culturata organic cotton shirt and Osborn Design shoes. While I’m familiar with all of these brands except for Osborn, I had no idea that Mraz wore any of this because I don’t pay much attention to the Grammys. My friend Sara doesn’t pay much attention to the Grammys either, but she pays a lot of attention to Jason Mraz (I’d tease her about it, but … I mean… look at that sustainable cutie—can you blame her?). Because I pay attention to—and trust—her, I came to see and take note of her retweet of his blog post on the subject. Because I was familiar with—and trusted—the credentials of the other brands I came to trust Mraz’s sense of sustainability style, allowing it to carry over to the Osborn line.

Mraz writes on his blog:

“The Osborn Design Shoes were my lady-killers for sure. Hand crafted in Guatemala, these Fair-Trade shoes are one of a kind. Osborn works with the artisans directly. Each pair is signed and numbered by the cobbler.”

Now you know as much as I do—but not for long, because I think I want a pair!

Sonic Fabric

It’s hard to wear a black tie and feel very unique, ecologically-inclined or terribly creative. Sonic Fabric is changing that. In simple offerings of black, grey or dark brown, Sonic Fabric ties exude a sense of innovation and uniqueness (not to mention dashing aesthetics) with fashionably designed ties that are constructed of a remarkable 50/50 blend of polyester (yawn) and …cassette tape. That’s right, folks, Journey’s greatest hits lives on and, remarkably, is cool again! An interesting corollary to the use of magnetically-tweaked cassette tape is that, despite its new life as a garment, the fabric is still “listenable.” Sonic Fabric answers what must be a common question, “what ever inspired you to weave fabric from cassette tape in the first place?” and even explains how to repurpose your funkyfresh old Walkman in order to listen to your tie (I can assure you that I never thought I would type those words).

The best part about all this is that these innovative, fun ties are thus a great conversation starter for two reasons: they have a great sustainability/handmade crafty story and they can freakin’ play music. I know it’s an easy tagline to write, but I’m still going to say it anyway: sustainable fashion never sounded so good.

Kashless

Our next entrant is not a consumer product, but a great brand: useful, innovative, savvy and more. Kashless is another Pacific Northwest production that I think has a lot of potential to stir things up in all sorts of wonderful, sustainable ways. Why? Allow me to provide you with a simple equation: new technology + free, used items = two great tastes that taste great together.

Web 2.0 and location-based resources are all the rage. What else is all the rage? Conscientious consumption. It should be no surprise, then, that these two trends are coming together in important and useful ways. Kashless is one of several web resources coming up (such as ooffoo, among others) that are stepping into this space and really making a difference. One of the greatest impediments to buying used items in lieu of new items is the fact that, well, ‘the odds are good that the goods are odd,’ and searching high and low for a non-new solution can take time. If you want to find a particular item (a size 15.5” 34-35 dress shirt that didn’t come out of the ‘70s, for instance), you might wind up visiting several shops (and going a long way to try on one measly shirt via Craigslist) before finding something that works. A visit to a regular department store, however, will certainly yield dozens of options. Enter Kashless. Kashless is a website trying to help lower the search costs associated with connecting people who have items they’d like to give away, and people who would otherwise have to buy the product new. Win-win-win.

SoupCycle

SoupCycle delivers, by bike, wholesome, organic soup to your door. It is the sort of sustainability home run story that essentially writes itself: Organic? Yep. Local? You betcha. Seasonal? Quite. Delivered by bike? Even in the rain. SoupCycle supports local organic farms, getting healthy, delicious food to homes, and by doing so, they reduce the need for carbon-intensive delivery trucks (or the corresponding single-occupant trips to the store).

Their brand personality, like their soup, is flavorful, fun and accessible. By signing up, you become one of hundreds of “soupscribers” who receive weekly deliveries of vegan, vegetarian or meat soups that are delicious, creative and enjoyable. Depending upon your location in Portland (they call it “Souplandistan”), you receive your weekly delivery on either Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, in serving sizes that you specify and with accouterments (salad, breadsticks, etc.) that round out the meal. Regions (within PDX) include: Souptopia, SoupCycle Central, The People’s Republic of Soup, and Soup-Urbanites. I think I once saw Jed, one of the co-founders, wearing a SoupCycle shirt saying something along the lines of: “tasty like pizza—only wetter.”

Icebreaker

Alright, these guys actually have a bit of a name for themselves but there’s one feature in particular that I think is so neat that I felt compelled to include them anyway. Icebreaker makes svelte wool garments for the outdoors, travel and nights on the town. Their clothes have a sexier shape/look than competitor Smartwool (whom I dearly love anyway) and they have a visual identity that is provocative to match! As we’ve already established with my fawning over Nau’s product line, I love wool. Love it love it love it. It’s versatile, durable, ethical and renewable. Now, it’s true that not all wool is the same. There is ample reason to be diligent about the treatment of the sheep whose haircuts I wear, but the best brands are mindful of these things and treat their animals (and the animal owners) in a responsible, ethical manner.

As you know by now, we at From The Rooftops are huge advocates of authenticity in business messaging. You can see, then, why I’m so excited that Icebreaker has implemented a really cool product-tracking system, delightfully titled “Baacode.” Each Icebreaker garment has a tag with a unique number that, upon entry into the Baacode web page, provides you with the exact origin and history of the wool that your garment is made of. I look forward to a time when more companies do this sort of thing: it’s great from a consumer standpoint (want to know more about the garments you’re buying? Here you go!) but it’s also a fantastic tool for deep storytelling on the part of a brand. It connects the Icebreaker identity from beginning to end, providing a cohesive, authentic narrative that articulates and reinforces their presence and customer experience of—and with—the brand as a whole.

- Caleb

©2012 From The Rooftops. All Rights Reserved.