Dana’s own back-story is pretty fascinating, he was working for a mobile start-up in New York and had a chance encounter with Kevin Spacey whom he sold a phone to. Kevin convinced him to leave his start-up and to become his personal assistant, an idea that did not completely appeal to Dana.  However, he took the risk and now over a decade later Dana is Kevin’s business partner, President of TriggerStreet Labs, and an acclaimed Hollywood producer.  Sometimes taking those risks pays off, a lesson many of us here in Silicon Valley still aspire to.

Ironically, Dana created a social network before there were social networks or Facebook even existed.  His company TriggerStreet Labs is a platform that enables budding screenwriters to get their work discovered and workshopped providing real world unbiased feedback that helps aspiring writers & film-makers hone their craft.

Dana’s big mantra “Silicon Valley needs to take over Hollywood” is one that he extols passionately and and seeing the coming intersections of the two industries, makes him very excited.  The Netflix project he is undertaking with Kevin Spacey to remake the British show House of Cards is without a doubt a game changer.  His feeling is that Silicon Valley now has the technology and means for distribution, getting into the content creation business if done the right way will certainly make enormous waves in an industry controlled by old school behemoths and sure to disrupt in much in the same way that the music industry has been turned upside down by digital content.  And with this deal and others in the pipeline, Netflix aims to take on those giants.  And in spite of its recent service pricing debacles, Dana remains quite positive about the company’s future.  Industry moves by other web titans are also pointing to the coming disruption of the traditional Hollywood model.  Youtube recently put some skin in the game as well,  announcing its foray into creating original content channels with the likes of Madonna, Amy Poelher and Snoop Dog.

Pretty strong validation that the tides are shifting and Dana’s predictions are soon to be reality..

In the very near future, consumers will soon be able to select the ala carte version of the media they want, all controlled via their smartphones activating different chiclets, apps or programming when and anywhere they want it.

In the movie business, having a project make it the screen often involves a complex juggling act that provides little to no certainty of completion, until the filming takes place and distribution is set – it was interesting to note the time involved to get projects completed, the Social Network itself took roughly 2 years to complete and that was accelerated because the manuscript and screen-play were being worked on almost simultaneously… in reality projects can often take 3-6 years to complete, a completely foreign concept to those of us in the tech industry, especially in the age of agile development and lean start-up methodologies.  Yet, Dana is a new breed in Hollywood aligning himself closely with technology and infusing a new innovative spirit into the old guard.

Off camera, Dana also discussed Jameson First Shot project with Kevin Spacey and sponsored by Jameson whisky.  It is a very noble project which in Kevin’s words “sends the elevator back down”  to aspiring film makers looking to break into the business. It involves a screenplay contest that will select and feature several winners whose pieces will be produced by TriggerStreet and star Kevin Spacey.  A very cool project that will undoubtedly bring some very interesting short stories to us and pay it forward to those talented and lucky enough to make the cut.  Check it out here.

Dana also shared some of his favorite iPhone apps with us – top of his list Twitter, Cor.kz, Uber,  & Waze to name a few.

Craigslist started as a benevolent resource to keep Craig’s friends and acquaintances connected to local events here in the bay area. Through small increments of progress brought on by listening and integrating peoples suggestions it has become a hugely sucessful cultural phenomenon – a brand that is synomous with helping consumers find virtually ANYthing.. they need whether that is a new bike, roommate or even casual hook-up.

That philosophy of staying close to and listening to the customer is very much engrained not only in Craig’s personal dealings, but at the heart of how the business is run.  And while he now has a team that helps him field the thousands of daily emails that come in,  Craig still holds the title of customer service representative staying in touch the community at the grassroots level.

It’s clear from talking to Craig that he has always been a helper and truly altruistically motivated.  In fact, his focus these days has shifted to more involvement in charitable causes and he is passionate about finding ways to utilize social media & technology to develop more accountability and efficiency in the non-profit sector.  Growing out of need to help consumers understand where their charitable dollars are going, Charity Navigator is an online community of non profits that helps consumers find “charities they can trust” through an online rating system and participant feedback – bring much needed accountability and transparency to the world of non-profits.  In much the same way that Consumer reports (which Craig is a board member) has brought unbiased, and sometimes exciting ratings (such as refrigerator reviews) to consumers looking to educate themselves on new purchases.

Craig’s involvement in social good is expansive – from working with veterans, to victims in Haiti, to educational causes – the list is long and inspiring.  You can check out some of his recent causes on his blog  http://www.cnewmark.com/

Don’t mention Facebook!

Sooner or later you will realize that  Facebook wants no part of yours or anyone else’s promotion. The reason? It might have something to do with  liability and lawsuits epic enough to inspire a hit movie.

The promotion guidelines are designed to put as much distance as possible between contest and the actual utilization of Facebook. For example, to qualify for a contest or sweepstakes it cannot involve any action related to Facebook including: uploading a photo, commenting, communicating through Facebook, status updates or giving an entry for liking a page.

Third  Party Platforms; Facebook Connect

So how does your company run a promotion on Facebook without actually touching Facebook? It sounds like a parlor trick, but it’s made possible through third party, companies like Wildfire, Votigo, Bulbstorm, and Strutta that build contests like the one pictured below (Wildfire) and ask people to interact by submitting their profile information to the application via Facebook Connect.

facebook contest

These companies require users to opt-in to a 3rd party application to access their data.  Often this can be a real barrier to contest entry.

Until recently, Facebook only allowed  promotions if your page had enough advertising spending, however, with this recent note from a Facebook account manager – Facebook is shifting the liability to 3rd party providers and giving marketers a way to leverage the platform in a promotional nature.

As of December 10, 2010, anyone can run a contest through a 3rd party platform. We should see an explosion in the amount of contest (games of skill) or sweepstakes (games of chance) on the Facebook platform. Good Luck!

The risk of running a contest outside of these rules? Pretty big.  And if you have a lot of fans even riskier as Facebook can shut down your page any time with little to no recourse to getting it back up.

Are you considering running a contest on Facebook?  Would love to hear your tips or best practices.

New gaming friendly enhancements to Android 2.3 “Gingerbread”, dual core devices, and the rumored launch of an android PlayStation phone signals an emerging gaming platform in 2011. If the folks over at Apple aren’t already looking over their shoulders noticing a fast-approaching monster of a competitor, they should.

In 2010 Android got a taste of gaming when iPhone studios like Gameloft began to port successful titles from iOS to Android, and companies like GLU released big name titles like Guitar Hero through partnerships and licensing. However, large game makers have been very selective in expanding into the mobile and almost exclusively through Apple iOS. For example, Capcom has 22 titles available in the app store compared to nil in the Android marketplace. Huge gaming company Electronic Arts has offered a limited number of titles such as Need For Speed Shift and The Sims 3 but they are in both platforms and Apple has a lion share of the games.

Gaming already dominates the mobile landscape as far as usage and grossing and it could be the arena in which the battle for smart phone supremacy if fought, Google and hardware manufactures have made deliberate efforts to improve the quality and sophistication of the games can be installed on the platform.

SOFTWARE

The Gingerbread update is the most gaming friendly version of android yet. Gaming controls have been improved with more responsive touch and keypad and better 3D motion tracking is possible in applications utilizing different combinations of new sensors which allows games to recognize complex gestures. To improve the handling of heavy graphics, applications now have the ability to utilize efficient native programming on the phone allows for the greatest performance with the least strain on resources.

HARDWARE

In 2011 phone manufactures will introduce a new generation of Android dual core smart phones phones like the LG Optimus 2x which will have processing power to handle the heavy graphics that come with large and complex studio games which tend to lag on weaker device. There is also the possibility of a serious game changer if / when the rumored Sony Playstation phone launches. It will most definitely bring new and exciting ways to experience gaming on a mobile.

No doubt that mobile gaming will continue to grow in presence and scope, and expect Android to start slicing into Apple’s Pie…

Lots of great stories this week. Check them out!

1. Simplicity Is Power For Brands

2. Social media trends to watch for 2011

3. 37 Emotional Benefits To Use in Marketing

4. The Best Business Model in the World

5. Social Books Imagines a Future of Communal Reading

6. How the Cell Phone Is Changing the World

7. Tech Trends Hot for this Retail Season

8. iPad Is About To Become A Video Game Console Controlled By The iPhone

9. Hasbro unveils device that promises 3-D on iPod

10. Twitter and the Future of TV

Top 10 stories we think were most noteworthy during the week, in no particular order.

1. Top 5 Mobile Advertising Trends To Watch

2. The Dawn of the Social Consumer

3. Facebook Offers Local Deals for Mobile Users

4. AdAge IDEA Conference: Be Big, Act Small

5. In the future, you’ll buy things just by scanning QR codes

6. Leadership & The Changing Face Of The Ad Agency (Video)

7. Mad Libs For Pitches: Perfect The One Sentence Pitch

8. A Glimpse at the Future of Foursquare

9. Facebook, Twitter Election Results Prove Remarkably Accurate

10. Social Media Sobriety Test: A Digital Breathalyzer

1) Have a great product – This team pulled it out, worked hard and played great baseball.   After climbing out of a period San Francisco fans call the Torture, years mired with the agony of being so close yet so far to victory….this year the team pulled together, leveraged their assets on defense and offense to a tee,  and quite simply played terrific baseball.  Great products ignite conversation and great teams galvanize their cities.

2)  Be a true team.  This year unlike in previous seasons- there was no one player that stole the spotlight, rather each player rallied and played together to ensure victory.  Similarly, marketing today is no longer a silo that creates and pushes messages.  Customers are creating the conversation and that means that true alignment needs to happen.  Marketing = Customer Service = Product Development = Sales.  Are your teams set up to share customer feedback in way that positively impacts each of these areas? If not, hurry it up!  Listening to feedback and bringing that back up the chain to product development, messaging and service are the ONLY way now.

3) Embrace your brand’s quirky side. Whether its long hair, an unusually dark beard or a nickname like Panda – tap into your corporate culture and let the best shine through.  In world of over-stimulation and advertising noise everywhere – its the different quirky brand elements that will stick out, personalize your brand and keep your customers thinking of you.

4) Let your customers do the marketing for you.  Your brand advocates will tell you what they love, tap into that and expand on it, give them ways to spread those messages.  “Fear the beard” was a phenomenon that quickly took hold city-wide.  SF Giants were able to capitalize on this and as a result rung up $483 million in revenues according to Forbes.

5) Reward your customers!  When a baseball team like the Giants have success, they don’t keep it to themselves – they share it with all of the fans.  Set up marketing programs that give your customer something back in turn for their loyalty. This could be as simple as a thank you (the equivalent to a “high five”), or an actual real world reward they can use. It will create goodwill and can even be a positive conversation piece to share with friends, which can expand your base.

Did we miss any.. what other lessons can Marketers take from this years World Series champions?  or other winning teams for that matter?

Hi folks!

This is the first entry in a new weekly series that will be posted every Friday. Idea Roundup is a list of 10 links to stories we think were the most noteworthy during the week (in no particular order). You’ll find a mix of marketing, branding, tech, mobile, social media, and emerging trends, with a dash of pop culture.

1. Gadget Census Apportions States by Smartphone Ownership

2. Why Twitter Is a Big Win for Small Businesses

3. How Facebook Decides What To Put In Your News Feed

4. There is No New Media: It’s All New Consumption

5. The Importance of Brand in the Digital Media Environment

6. 10 Questions That Will Always Make You Better

7. Facebook “Like” Button in Real Life

8. Forty Percent of Groupon Merchants Say Never Again

9. Check-in Royalty, Customer Loyalty, and Foursquares Evolving Strategy

10. Zynga Chart Reveals what Farmville Players Knew a Long Time Ago

Dynamics, Inc. (links to video)

Dynamics, Inc. is attempting to change the way we use our credit cards. Actually, they are completing re-writing the book. Is it ambitious? Yes. Is there solution incredible? Yes.

“Dynamics, Inc. produces next-generation interactive payment cards that utilize programmable magnetic stripes to communicate dynamic information to the 60 million 1970′s era magnetic stripe readers that are used in our day to day payment card transactions.”

In simpler terms, Dynamics Inc. has created new forms of credit cards that can change the data on the magnetic strip, at any moment. On their Hidden™ card, you notice right away there are 6 missing digits in the 12 digit credit number. On further inspection, you realize there is a digital screen in this space. Now, this is where it gets really interesting. In order to make those missing numbers appear, you must punch in a 4 letter pin code. There are 5 buttons, letters A-E, on the top right of the card. When you punch in your code, the numbers appear, and the magnetic strip becomes activated. You can then slide it in any regular magnetic strip reader, and the card will function just as any other credit card.

After you make a purchase, you can de-activate the card, the 6 digits disappear, and the card becomes a worthless piece of plastic. It also has a built-in mechanism that turns off the card after a short amount of inactivity. This makes the card virtually theft proof, as the thief would have to know your pin to make any purchase whatsoever. Did I mention the cards are not only the same thickness as a regular card, but also waterproof? Founder Jeff Mullen claims that we will see this technology in the consumer market soon, possibly by the end of the year. Keep your eyes pealed, I know I will.

Bump.com (links to video)

Bump.com is a free integrated web and mobile messaging platform that lets users send a message to the owner of any license plate in the U.S., at any time. Let them know if they left their lights on, they have an oil leak, or that they’re parked in your spot. You can send an email, text, or voice message. In order to receive a message, the license plate owner must “claim” their plate on Bump.com, which is part of a free registration process. Once registered, users can participate in geolocation-based messages, discounts, and offers. Think Foursquare, but while you’re in your vehicle. If you have a Bump account and you’re on the highway, you might get a notice that informs you of a $5 discount at a restaurant off the next exit. Pretty neat.

In the near future, Bump will roll out an advanced version with a business-oriented use – while in the drive-through line at a fast-food restaurant, the license-plate-recognition software registers your car and takes note of your purchase. The next time you drive through, the software recognizes your car yet again, remembers your last purchase and displays on the order screen a personalized, special offer.

Zappli, Inc. (links to video)

Full disclosure: SPdL helped this company in their development stage, and they are a current client. We aided their launch, and you’ll actually see Sandra in the demo video.

Zappli wants to shift purchasing power back to the consumer. The goal is to give the consumer everything they need to make an informed purchase while in the store, all in the palm of their hand. Zappli created and launched a one-stop social shopping app called myShopanion. You can access information on millions of products by searching by keyword, browsing by category, or scanning a barcode. This is great if you’re in the store so you can see right away if you can get a product cheaper online. If so, you can buy straight from the app.

Another cool factor is that you can connect with friends and ask for opinions and advice. According to statistics, 2/3 of consumers ask friends and family their opinions and advice before buying a product. myShopanion connects the dots between social networking and shopping. You can post on Facebook, Twitter, or send an email to ask a question – your friends can make a comment (they don’t need the app) and you will receive the feedback instantly on your phone. Never shop alone again, my friends!

With now over 145 million registered users,- it may come as a surprise that the company’s goal is to design better systems to digest the quantity of information we receive and yet to also maintain a medium that enables people to express and share whatever information they want to.  Which may be hard to grasp for many Twitter newbies who often suffer from an overwhelming sense of information overload  once they follow anything over 100 active tweeps.

The rest of us have long since given up the need to read each and every tweet and trust that necessary information will surface.  And that’s the point.

Ev likened the difference between Google and Twitter to the difference between need and discovery.   In a world of creators and editors, recipient-driven media means more quality content.  You don’t have to pay attention to everything, but you don’t miss anything you might want.

The fact that I follow many marketing and social media tweeps, means that we share common interests in the news that moves us.  I depend on my twitter network to curate the content that it knows is important to me.

“Twitter wants to know what you need in life.“  It’s a beautiful thing.

Ev firmly rejects the notion of telling people how to use twitter,  instead allowing the interesting to unfold.  Many conventions now widely used such as the #hastag, tweetup, RT were in fact driven by the community – when such innovation is readily available among your users, such guidance would only stifle creativity.  Pretty cool also that the Russian president visited Twitter HQ recently to get his account set up.

He also spent some time talking about Twitter’s internal growth and how even as believes in and recently hired a marketing and PR team, it can be a challenge when your company’s culture is wholly based on openness and transparency.  That transparency is one the company lives by, even distributing weekly project notes to everyone company wide.

All in all a fascinating glimpse inside Twitter land and what lies ahead for the company.