S360 is a think-tank where creative minds get together to discuss topics surrounding web technology and digital media. The purpose is to explore the latest innovations in digital media, design and the web and share ideas that can progress the community. Just to recap, below are a few topics I touched on: •"The Break" •The aesthetic of cool •Black culture on the internet •Branding principles

1. DIGITAL BRAND STORYTELLING
ADDING “THE BREAK” TO DIGITAL MEDIA CONTENT

2. ERICA REID | CONTENT PRODUCER AND DIGITAL STRATEGIST
•B.A. in Communication Design from Texas State University
•M.A. in Digital Media from New York University
•Adjunct Professor at University of Houston
!
@theblvdmag
@theblvdmag

3. Present Interpretation of Cool
“A source of spontaneity, irony, intellectual insight and joy”
-Black Cool, One Thousand Streams of Blackness: The Break by Valerie Thomas
“The Break”: That point where a song stops for a
drum or other instrumental interlude or improve, is
a trademark of African diaspora music. The break
adds a new element that challenges the structure
of a composition. This is where assumptions are
overturned and narrative arcs change.

4. The Break: Challenge the
status quo and create in
mystic coolness.

5. AESTHETIC OF THE COOL

6. The Lexicon of Cool
A basic reference to moderation in coldness extended metaphorically to include
composure under fire.
Cool, composed, collected, unruffled, nonchalant, imperturbable,
detached are adjective which apply to persons to indicate calmness,
especially in time of stress.
In some West African languages, cool is the belief that the
purer, the cooler a person becomes, the more ancestral he
becomes. In other words mastery of self enables a person to
transcend time and elude preoccupation.

7. The Antiquity of the Cool
The concept of cool seems to be originated in Nigeria.
During the first half of the 15th century the leader
of Benin was crowned and to the title Ewuare,
meaning literally “cool”.
The Philosophy of Cool
Coolness brings order not through lavish clothes,
but by means of moral responsibility.
!
“To act in foolish anger or petty selfishness is to
depart form this original gift of interiorized
nobility and conscience.”

8. Black stereotypes on the internet
Visual Storytelling

9. Before the advent of the television and the internet- minstrel
shows were a popular form of entertainment in western culture.
The History
The Black Dandy Minstrel Shows

10. …and before that, there were carnivals.
The History
Sarah Baartman
“Hottentot Venus”
Ota Benga the Congolese
Pygmy posing at the Bronx
Zoo in 1906

11. Black Internet Culture: Memes
A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas,
symbols, or practices that can be transmitted from
one mind to another through writing, speech,
gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena with
a mimicked theme - Wikipedia

12. Black Internet Culture:Youtube dubs

13. Black Internet Culture: Natural Chick Bloggers

14. Black Internet Culture: Dapper Dandies

15. Black Internet Culture: Crowd Funding
Dear White People: Indie GoGo raise $25,000
Da Blood of Black Jesus: Raised over
1million on Kickstarter
Raised over $40,000 on Kickstarter

16. What’s Next?

17. Branding

18. Cool brands stand for something and
stand out from the crowd.

19. Know your audience
You need the experience of seeing and feeling what moves the people
you’re talking to.
!
Michael Lang, co-founder of Woodstock, thinks of his experience
overseeing the festival: “…that was how we learned what really
inspired people–and what we needed to do in order to keep inspiring
them.

20. Know your audience
Scott Bedbury, the former head of advertising at Nike and chief marketing officer at
starbucks, said: “We wanted to be in the know…you better know what’s going on in the
minds of young basketball players–the music the listen to, their vernacular, how they define
success, what they fear, what they dream.

21. TRIBAL CULTURE
We need divisions. Divisions build tribes. They create intimate worlds they can
understand, and where they can be somebody and feel as if they belong. (The Brand
Gap)
Source: The Brand Gap

22. Company Culture: Look within
When looking for an edge, start
from within the company. Research
is always great and outsourcing
works, but you have to start from a
place of really knowing who you are
and what you stand for.

23. Company Culture: Hire Cool Kids
Andy Warhol surrounded himself
with young people like Jean-Michel
Basquiat and he listened. He
depended on young people’s ideas
to keep him relevant.

24. Black Cool in Popular Culture
Bohemians
Access to the unknown
Naturalistas
5 Buckets
Nerds
Afro Punk

25. Black Cool in Popular Culture

26. 5 Disciplines of Branding
1. DIFFERENTIATE>>Why do you matter
2. COLLABORATE>> Work with people smarter than you
3. INNOVATE>> The courage to be different
4. VALIDATE>> Start at the ground level and build a base
5. CULTIVATE>> Relentless innovation and access to capital
Source: The Brand Gap

27. DIFFERENTIATE
Source: The Brand Gap
WHO ARE YOU? WHAT DO YOU DO? WHY DOES IT MATTER?
!
•Stand out from the herd
•Preserve the core and stimulate progress

28. DIFFERENTIATE
Source: The Brand Gap

29. Collaborate
Source: The Brand Gap
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
Work with those who are smarter and more talented than you.

30. Innovate
Source: The Brand Gap
CREATIVE THINKING
LOGICAL THINKING
AUDIENCES WANT MORE THAN LOGIC

31. Innovate
Source: The Brand Gap
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN AN IDEA IS INNOVATIVE?
WHEN IT SCARES THE HELL OUT OF EVERYBODY
BE DISRUPTIVE!!

32. Innovate
Source: The Brand Gap
The Barney’s Philosophy: Less is More
Barney’s customers are voyeurs, the
more they people watched, the more
time they spent in the store.

33. VALIDATE
Source: The Brand Gap

34. CULTIVATE
MAKE YOUR POWER PITCH, GET MONEY,
SPEND IT WISELY AND KEEP INNOVATING!
How can we get a seat at the table?

35. CREATE A BRAND
!
WHAT’S THE POSITIONING:
WHO ARE YOU? WHAT DO YOU DO? WHY DOES IT MATTER?
!
HOW ARE YOU DIFFERENT (What’s The Break)?
!
COLLABORATORS?
!

36. DIGITAL BRAND STORYTELLING