Chris Writes.

So by lunchtime at Bar Camp, as I enjoyed the magically-appearing food and drinks that no one paid for (volunteers found sponsors for everything, apparently), I was ready to try this thing out.  I grabbed an open slot on the schedule wall, and tossed up a topic: “Marketing: Web 2.0 Accidents (good and bad).  How come companies keep messing this up?”

This was the ultimate in impromptu.  I basically started with a story, and three follow up questions.  The story: the specialized angel.  This guerilla marketing campaign that kicked off in February at the Tour of California bike race was made popular and successful by web2.0 apps like flickr and blogs.  I told them how we thought it up, why we thought it would work, and how we stared on in disbelief as it took off, entirely out of our control.  Web2.0 turned our gimmick into a franchise. 

So I asked them: Why did this happen?  And how do we make this happen again? 

The general answer, during the heated 30-minute chat of about 30 people, was that it happened because people were allowed to have ownership over the story.  They told the story they wanted to tell about the angel.  Either that she was a great icon for their little girl to hug, or that she added color and flavor to a bicycle race, or that she was merely attractive (yet not salacious), so everyone could safely say so without getting smacked. 

As for how to make it happen again, that question didn’t really get a good answer.  But right before we split up for the next discussion, a new question arose that I think might be even more valuable: how do you say thank you to a group of bloggers who have helped you achieve success?  That is a question worth exploring.  There is gold in them thar hills.