BrightKite Flyer
I received a link from Doug Karr to test out a Beta version of a social platform called BrightKite . I always find enjoyment in checking out new forms of social media. Thanks Doug! 
Overall, the platform is pretty cool. In my opinion, the coolest feature on the site is a location generator. You can update your friends where you are in a particular city based on street address. Of course, you can do this on twitter just by sending an update but Brightkite takes it a step further and places your friends on a Google interactive map.
I like the map feature. Some might think BigBrother just got a little creepier but that is offset by a TRUST feature you can apply to friends you trust. (Something LinkedIN should figure out).
Short and to the point.
I’m back
I’ve been down for a little bit. Working. Working. Working.
The new design is complete and I have promised myself I will start blogging again. Stay tuned!
Small Pox and Smaller Indiana
Seth Godin has another great blog on gimmicks. I didn’t pull much from the actual blog pertaining to gimmicks but he had a great thought at the end:
As you sit down to consider ways to be more remarkable, the challenge is to be worth talking about… at the same time you are adding value for the person who’s talking about you.
I encourage all members in Smaller Indiana to invent your “gimmick” for Smaller Indiana. Does it add value when you are virally spreading? What will it take to create a Smaller Indiana that is worth spreading like an epidemic from city to city? Are we already there?
I will leave you with this:
I was playing Oregon Trail on Facebook and well, I died from a virus (my body was probably eaten by a pack of ravenous wolves but that is beside the point). It made me chuckle and ponder on how a virus spreads and infects.
And much like a small pox outbreak on Oregon Trail, Smaller Indiana is turning into a virus.
New Media Marketer – Kyle Lacy Launches eSpace™, a Myspace Marketing Tool
New media marketer Kyle Lacy believes that companies can be lovable or dirty flirts. A lovable brand is one that establishes a two way relationship with their customers. His new product eSpace™ is designed to help companies to create lovable brands.
Leveraging the growing popularity of Myspace and other social networking groups, Brandswag delivers targeted and branded messages to consumers in specific demographic groups and geographic regions by utilizing Zip Code searches. At the same time it provides a wealth of data about preferences and interests of target customers, allowing companies to create more meaningful and marketable messages.
Niche markets such as restaurants, bars, clothing stores, retail stores and record labels are perfect examples of who can benefit from eSpace™. By providing these markets with the ability to better understand the personal needs of each customer, eSpace™ strengthens the relationship between producer and consumer.
“Many companies flirt with their customers, indiscriminately distributing marketing communication with no real interest in creating a relationship,” said Brandswag founder, Kyle Lacy. “In the future, successful brands will be built on what they learn from their customers. There is a whole new level of communication taking place on the internet through blogs and social networks. We have developed a unique expertise in the online arena and are excited to offer it through our new eSpace™ product.”
About Brandswag: Brandswag Corp. is focused on design, branding and new media marketing. With offices in
See press release here: DBusiness News
Life. Liberty. And the Pursuit.
I wrote last about the American Gladiators show, but I did make a comment about a Cadillac commercial being on during the show and right after a WWE commercial. Are you missing your demographic Caddy?
Even though I didn’t agree with that particular placement, I absolutely love the new marketing campaign from (insert Ad company). It looks to me as if Cadillac is trying to reinvent itself to a younger generation and demographic. It no longer wants to be grandpa’s luxury card you rode to church of the weekends. The reinvention of Cadillac is succeeding in my opinion and the tag line is genius.
I can’t tell you how much I love this tagline. Everything about it is a good thing. Way to take an old saying and make it new again caddy! You are catering to the old and the new.
Dumbing Down America. The Gladiators.
Who was a huge fan of the old school American Gladiators show on TV? THIS GUY! Yah that’s right, I used to love watching the matches between competitors and the unstoppable, iron fisted gladiators. You could imagine my intense pleasure when I read that a NEW American Gladiators was going to be released onto the American TV Screens. I can’t explain to you the excitement I had to be able to watch my beloved Gladiators again.
I sat down last night with some popcorn, friends, and a bottle of Upland Beer (BUY IT, it is from a brewery in
Long story short, American Gladiators was absolutely terrible. It was over produced and after the corniness factor I had more popcorn than I had started with.
What is happening to American entertainment? From the flopped broadcast or the Grammy Awards to the horrible CaveMan TV show, I feel like we becoming a Ray Liotta in the Silence of The Lambs 2 when Anthony Hopkins eats some of his brain.
Also, there was a Cadillac commercial right after the WWE. Enough said. Get a new VP of Marketing but keep your AD company because those commercials are amazing.
This is Ryan Seacrest, signing out.
Is that a GAP in your knowledge?
Curiosity is monumental when it comes to marketing. In the fast paced world of today where marketing is being droned down to a dull roar and people are ignoring everything they come in contact with, curiosity always reigns supreme.
A good “marketing definition of curiosity would be: Curiosity happens when someone feels a gap in their knowledge (Made to Stick, pg 84). It can be detrimental to a psyche when you feel the gap of knowledge when hearing, conversing, or seeing something you don’t quite understand.
Learning in the pursuit of knowledge is a universal trait in most human beings. When you feel the knowledge gap you scramble around trying to find something to fill it.
So many times companies try to throw the facts at their consumers without telling them why they need to learn it in the first place. “This is what makes our product work! It is a semi-conductor flex conductor.” Eventually they get to the need statement of the product but all the facts are thrown into the face of the consumer. I don’t care about the flex mumbo jumbo. How will it make my life easier!?
You can’t fill a hole that has already been filled. You need to dig the hole first to fill it in again. Dig a hole. Create a need and fill it.
It doesn’t matter who you know
Seth Godin has an interesting post titles, Who You Know the extent of the message is this:
” One of the mantras of networking (and the many social networking sites that people are flocking to) is that it matters who you know. The goal of having a thousand or more friends online is that you’re well known. Connected. A click away.
I wonder if there’s a more useful measure: who trusts you?”
This is starting to become the trend in socially networking after the myspace phenomenom of “friend bots” (basically bots that added friends for your myspace page) and add trains, where you picked friends at random and added them.
When I first joined the myspace crowd, about 4 years ago, this is what mattered. If you have 20 friends you were the bottom of the barrel. With the introduction of Facebook and the multitude of other social networking sites the view changed from knowing people to only careing about the people who trust you and vice versa.
It is my opinion that this is where social networking should be and needs to evolve from. We are trying to make that happen at Smaller Indiana, with networking online and offline.
In this world trust is really all you have, shouldn’t it be true on the internet too?
The warmth of Indianapolis. Even at 4 degrees.
From my post at I Choose Indy.
I ended up in Indianapolis after finishing up college in Anderson, IN. It was a pretty logical choice geographically at the beginning of the decision making process of where to go from here. We have all been in that situation. After moving to Indianapolis, I found that it was the people that captured my love for this city not necessarily the economic environment. I have met mentors here that I will have for many years to come.
I have made it a priority to meet and surround myself with professional and successful business owners I can learn from and, let me tell you, there is no shortage of them here in Indianapolis.
Through Smaller Indiana
, Rainmakers Marketing Group, IndyMojo, and other networking establishments and social gatherings in Indianapolis, I have met hundreds of WONDERFUL people. Thank you Indianapolis for opening your arms to my generation and nurturing us into the business owners of tomorrow.
A special thanks to Lorraine Ball and Tony Scelzo for mentoring me and helping me with my startup. Also, special thanks to Douglas Karr for the I Choose Indy and blogging help and Pat Coyle for starting Smaller Indiana!
Start-Up Firm Brings New Level of Expertise to Business Branding
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Brandswag already has an impressive list of clients including Roundpeg, Rainmakers, Donate Life
“Brandswag, led by Kyle Lacy, is one of the most innovative, up and coming design and branding firms in the city,” said Rainmakers Founder, Tony Scelzo.
Brandswag services include traditional branding and marketing such as Web and graphic design, electronic and printed newsletters and marketing collateral, and consulting and plan development. In addition, Brandswag is testing leading edge technology with their Myspace social marketing tool.
For more information visit www.getbrandswag.com. Kyle Lacy can be reached via telephone 765-610-5965 or email kyle@getbrandswag.com
About Kyle Lacy: Kyle brings five years of experience in branding and marketing to his role at Brandswag, most recently with Roundpeg.
An experienced entrepreneur, Kyle’s first business Transit Medium, LLC was an innovative, social on-line medium for musicians, which won the prestigious InVision AU Business Competition in 2004.
Kyle has also held positions at Anderson Media Group, Coon Engineering in
