This past weekend I was lucky enough to attend the 6th Boston Calling Music Festival and it was AMAZING! The bands were phenomenal and the whole atmosphere was energizing, with a strong grassroots feel. Even the video the festival put out to announce the September 2015 lineup looks like something that could have been made by a group of friends who wanted to make a cool YouTube video:
Needless to say, it was a perfect end of Summer/intro to Fall kind of event. What surprised me throughout the weekend was how consistently active the festival's social media was. I downloaded the Boston Calling App which was great for making a schedule of which bands I wanted to see and when they were playing.
The app is very user friendly, and even sent me reminders before a band was about to go on. The most exciting/helpful part about this use of technology: there was more where it came from. It's safe to say that the festival was such a success thanks to the groundswell... Here's why:
The Boston Calling Facebook pageand Instagram were both pretty active throughout the weekend. Pictures of each act went up after nearly every performance! I think its important to give snaps to the Boston Calling social media team for their attentiveness to festival goers. Monday morning a visitor to the Facebook page posted this plea for a lost cell phone:
Unfortunately the phone hasn't been found, but the fact that the Boston Calling team made the effort to respond and reassure the fan that they will be in touch if the phone is found. It's the little things like this that make this festival so personable!
We also have to appreciate how humble the Boston Calling team is in their posts. Take this one for example; Part of the reason why people (or at least why I) love going to this festival is the humanity that the Boston Calling team shows for its fans. It's like when you go to your friend's house for dinner and they thank you for coming over, but in reality YOU should be the one saying thank you for the delicious meal your friend just served you. When I saw this post I had the urge to reply, "No, thank you Boston Calling!"
And lastly, The Boston Calling Twitter page was a beautiful outlet for performers to share their thanks and positivity.
Even as I'm writing this post I am still in awe of how tactical and genuinely enthusiastic Boston Calling's social media held up throughout the weekend. It made me feel even more connected to what was going on throughout the weekend...a nice way to take a break and enjoy some promising up-and-coming bands!
My question to you all is, have you been to this festival or other ones like it where social media was used to heavily? I haven't come across this consistent of a social media presence at other festivals and am curious if anyone else has.
From the best that reality tv has to offer to the worst, everyone is part of the groundswell these days. Let's take a look at the best and worst reality tv has to offer!
The Good- Caitlyn Jenner's Outreach to Transgender Youth
Caitlyn Jenner's new show "I Am Cait" has taken on a life of its own, and its all thanks to the groundswell. Caitlyn's fans have been over the moon about her dedication to helping the trans community and they've been talking about it via all types of social media.
Below is a screenshot of Cait's Twitter feed. There are all sorts of tweets at her, and even the hashtag #IAmCait. Basically, this girl is killing it when it comes to marketing her brand!
Cait's fan's have even created their own fan page on Facebook to acknowledge the good work she is doing. It is safe to say that Cait's brand is exactly what her fans say it is!
Howie Mandel (or at least his people) listened to the
groundswell on August 25th when Howie Mandel decided to make a joke
about bulimia on a live broadcast of America’s Got Talent. No sooner was it out
of his mouth that the Twitterfeeds starting blowing up.
By the time the show came back from a
commercial break, Howie was prepared with an apology for his bad joke.
Source: https://twitter.com/howiemandel?lang=en
This video shows Howie’s insensitive comment and his prompt
apology to angry fans.
Following this incident there has not been too much buzz
around the issue. Could it be that the groundswell helped keep this under
control? In chapter 5 Li and Bernoff discuss the benefits of listening to the
groundswell. In their list of 6 reasons to listen to the groundswell, reason #5
is to “Manage PR Crises.” The authors warn that “In these situations, hours can
count,” and in today’s world it is even arguable to say that minutes count!
The Ugly- Invasion of the Kardashians Apps
Not to bring up more Kardashian drama, but you knew it was coming right?! If we didn’t already know too much about the Kardashian clan
before, we can be certain we do now. As of September 14th, Kylie, Khloe, Kim, and Kendall all have their very own apps.
Source: https://instagram.com/khloekardashian/
While the Kardashian invasion is a bit scary, I do have to give them credit for their ability to use the groundswell to their advantage. As per Li and Bernoff's descriptions, the girls do have a way of "Talking" to and "Energizing" their fans.
For you Kardashian fans out there, can you think of any other ways the Kardashians have used the groundswell to their benefit?
Kickstarter has found itself at the
epicenter of the groundswell with
its crowdfunding platform being generated almost exclusively by its users.
So what is crowdfunding anyway? For
those of you like myself who have very little experience with the groundswell, crowdfunding is a
new financing practice where entrepreneurs (or anyone, really) can raise money
from a large number of people (typically online) for a potential venture.
Specifically at Kickstarter, regular
people can peruse through hundreds of projects in 15 categories. If they
discover a project that strikes their fancy, they can choose to become a backer
and either contribute a donation or offer to pay a certain amount of money in
return for a gift that is determined by the campaign creator.
Watch the video below to
learn more about the nuts and bolts of Kickstarter.
What we’ve learned so far is that
Kickstarter is allowing the average Joe to become the fancy venture capitalist
he’s always wanted to be. The site is user friendly AND its helping
entrepreneurs make their dreams a reality. So far so good right? What could
possibly go wrong with this type of app?
People lie, that is what can go wrong…Kickstarterhas been getting a lot of heat lately
for itscampaign
creators who haven't been keeping their promises to crowdfunders. One recommendation from BostonInno that could prevent this problem in the future is
regarding the lack of rating on the site. Unlike Ebaywhere all users can be scored and
ratedfollowing
all transactions, Kickstarter has no rating system for its campaign creators once their project has been funded. The
risk here is that someone can take off with the money, leaving backers high and dry. No matter how terribly a campaign creator
screwed their backers over, they can’t be publicly criticized on the site for
their failure to keep up their end of the deal. And what’s worse, they can
continue to take people’s money without following through with their promises if they create multiple profiles under different email addresses.
For
me personally, this type of app is too risky. If I am looking to help someone
start a venture, then I want to meet them face to face and see physical
evidence of their project.
I appreciate the benefits and simplicity of Kickstarter. If I were to someday start a project that I needed funding for, I would
certainly consider Kickstarter as a platform to use. I don’t see any risks for campaign creators. If they get 100% backing, then they are funded, if not, they can revamp the project and try again.
My question to you all is, would you
consider using Kickstarter? Would you use it as a campaign creator, backer, or
both? I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
