Kyle has used his background in trends and innovation to build a strategic design consultancy for the collaborative economy. He and his partners design functional business strategies that help organizations develop trust and community in an age of transparency.

1. Kyle STUDSTILL
Failure or Interesting?
@kylecameron

2. FAILURE DOES NOT EXIST
FOR PEOPLE WHO CAN
TELL STORIES
FAILURE IS JUST WHAT
WE CALL EXPERIENCES
THAT ARE NOT
INTERESTING – THOSE
WITHOUT STORY

3. Starting point #1 of 2– How I came to learn this

4. “Kyle, what was it like being in Kuwait?”
+
Warehouses
full of water Nothing else

5. CLEARLY
THIS IS
FAILURE

7. KYLE’S CAREER PATH, OR:
THE UNCANNY VALLEY OF MARKETING
+
audience interest
INTELLIGENCE “INNOVATION
(DATA) ANALYSIS CONSULTANT”??
MESSAGE
SEMIOTICS
required understanding of
*actual* marketing
-
ADVERTISING

8. BUT IS IT “ESCAPE”?
ELEVATOR CAREER
“ESCAPE” “ESCAPE”
TOO LITERAL TOO ABSTRACT
????????
PRACTICAL METAPHOR:
JUST “ESCAPE” ENOUGH THAT
AN AUDIENCE CAN APPLY A
PRACTICAL LESSON TO THEIR
OWN LIVES

9. BUT IS IT MUSIC???
IS IT INTERESTING
ted.com/talks/mark_applebaum_the_mad_scientist_of_music.html

10. “The Mud Tub is an organic interface that
allows people to control a computer while
playing in the mud.”
BUT IS IT USEFUL???
ISBUT INTERESTING
IT WHAT IS IT FOR???
IS IT INTERESTING
tomgerhardt.com/mudtub
flickr.com/photos/ugotrade/3536775424

11. IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO
LEARN FROM FAILURE
YOU HAVE TO MAKE
YOUR FAILURES
INTERESTING

12. Starting point #2 - Storytelling, or:
Ontological Reappropriation
The art of making things interesting
Positioning
HOW IT WORKS
Lies
WHY IT WORKS
Authority

13. POSITIONING 101:
If it’s not working for you,
call it something else
Exhibit A: NYC garbage Exhibit B: NYCgarbage.com

14. ONTOLOGY

15. KYLE THE COGNITIVE SCIENCE &
ADVERTISING DOUBLE-MAJOR
Cognitive Science Advertising
Program Program
20% Psychology
40% Photoshop
Artificial
20%
Intelligence
20% Linguistics
20% Anthropology 60% Crap
Philosophy
20%
of Mind

16. BUT KYLE, USING
STORY TO MAKE ONE
THING SOMETHING IT’S
NOT…
ISN’T THAT JUST LYING?

17. WE LIVE IN AN AGE OF
TRANSPARENCY
IN TRANSPARENT
ENVIRONMENTS, THE
WEIGHT OF AUTHORITY IS
ASSIGNED BY
ITS AUDIENCE,
NOT BY ITS ISSUER
(wtf is going on here??)

18. TRADITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS
SUBSTANCE
ISSUER AUDIENCE
ISSUES EXPRESSES
AUTHORITY AUTHORITY

19. AGE OF TRANSPARENCY:
AUTHORITY NOW COMES FROM STORY, BUT ONLY IF
THE STORYTELLER CAN MAKE THE AUDIENCE
INTERESTED
ISSUER SUBSTANCE AUDIENCE
Organization
“Chief Jedi
Wizard of
Customer
Happiness
Ninja”

20. FAILURE DOES NOT EXIST
FOR PEOPLE WHO CAN
TELL STORIES
(AND MAKE PEOPLE
INTERESTED!)
USE ALL YOUR
EXPERIENCES TO MAKE
PEOPLE INTERESTED IN
WHAT YOU DO

21. BUSINESS STRATEGY
kyle@threekings.co
+ @kylecameron
Three Kings⊕
audience interest
INTELLIGENCE “INNOVATION
THANKS!
(DATA) ANALYSIS CONSULTANT”??
MESSAGE
SEMIOTICS
required understanding of
*actual* marketing
-
ADVERTISING