Quoting myself from part 1 of an interview I did with Ellen Boughn about photography, business models, social media, and how to “be a hub”. Part 2 (to be posted later) will be about how photographers can market authentically by creating stories and “embedding humanity” into their businesses.

From Part 1 of an interview I did with Ellen Boughn about photography, business models and social media, “Be a Hub” – Taylor Davidson:

“The economics of new technologies gave anyone the tools to create, but didn’t guarantee that they would profit from creating. While the activity is in the long tail, profits flow to the aggregators [of] the tail.”

… Taylor points out that the economics of the hub have been changed by many factors, one of which is social media. He explains that electronic word of mouth has given power to smaller hubs. By being a specialty destination, your website/blog can become the hub for that subject or story. You can operate in smaller niches but you MUST be the hub in the niche. You must be really good at (your niche). You must be the top choice in the subject.

“Being a hub” is a grand idea, but how can one create a hub? Start by telling stories and creating conversations to connect people:

“I have a strong belief that successful businesses need to be more like people. Individuals want to connect to the people behind a business.” He suggests that a photographer that only shows photos on his/her website is missing opportunities to connect with their audience. “People want to see more than a series of images. Photographers should use all the tools available to them to tell a story. Be a hub of information about not just yourself and your work but about a story that you have created.”

On that note, I’m a huge fan of efforts like Help-Portrait (led by Jeremy Cowart) and Images Without Borders. But more on that later.

While it’s important to focus your time, energy, passion to create stories, experiences and assets that build on each other, it’s important to test and learn as you build:

“Don’t put yourself in a situation where the only experiments you try are the ones that could wipe you out. Try little experiments. Try one a day, one a week even if the burden of mid-career responsibilities keep you focused on getting through the demands of running an established business. These small experiences will sometimes create opportunities. (But don’t expect them all to.)”

Part 2, about how photographers can market authentically by creating stories and “embedding humanity” into their businesses, will be posted later.

Until then, dip into the deep end of posts about the evolving business models in the photography industry.

Thoughts from a year chasing split ends, random projects and fractured priorities, from IgniteNOLA, Feb 1, 2010.

Below are the slides from a little talk at IgniteNOLA on Feb 1, 2010, about how to stop doing things that don’t matter. In short, follow your passion.

Better in person, I hope…

Links to the items screen-captured in the presentation:

• Slide 2: Social capital isn’t new, but everything about it is.
• Slide 3: A Freemium Life
• Slide 4: Tweet to request help to prep for this presentation
• Slide 5: Making Myself Uncomfortable (A Zombie’s Journey)
• Slide 6: How to Pack for a Nomadic Life (and the 79 things I packed).
• Slide 7: A little known fact: I’m actually a baseball geek.
• Slide 8: 34 Posts on Evolving Business Models in the Photography Industry
• Slide 9: Slide from How to use Twitter to Market your Photography
• Slide 10: John-John music video, by Jeremy Yuricek
• Slide 11: Photo book on Blurb, INDIA, by Taylor Davidson
• Slide 12: A “Personal API” could be a modularized, standardized interface for collaboration.
• Slide 13: Workspaces and Aging, on IDEO blog
• Slide 14: Comments by Taylor Davidson, on Backtype
• Slide 15: The Drive-By Route, Dec 2008 to May 2009
• Slide 16: How to Fail: 25 Secrets Learned through Failure
• Slide 17: How can we “shape serendipity”?
• Slide 18: Slide from How to use Twitter to market your photography
• Slide 19: Slide from Trends in Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital from SXSW 2009
• Slide 20: Slide from Making Yourself Uncomfortable from Tribecon

Also:

• The view from the stage, at the start of my little talk.

“Where meaning meets business” is a simple construct that can help us allocate our money, time, attention and love; why should we do things that don’t matter?

Capitalistic Lives, Jacksonville, Florida

Roger Martin, in the Harvard Business Review, The Age of Customer Capitalism:

Modern capitalism can be broken down into two major eras. The first, managerial capitalism, began in 1932 and was defined by the then radical notion that firms ought to have professional management. The second, shareholder value capitalism, began in 1976. Its governing premise is that the purpose of every corporation should be to maximize shareholders’ wealth. If firms pursue this goal, the thinking goes, both shareholders and society will benefit. This is a tragically flawed premise, and it is time we abandoned it and made the shift to a third era: customer-driven capitalism.

… If the shareholders were all you cared about, would focusing on increasing shareholder value be the best way to make sure they benefited?

I believe that the answer to this question is also no. To create shareholder value, as I will show, you should instead aim to maximize customer satisfaction.

… Wait a minute, you might say, why not have a dual objective of maximizing both customer satisfaction and shareholder value? Unfortunately, as optimization theory maintains, there is no way to simultaneously optimize two different things—that is, to maximize two desirable variables or minimize two undesirable variables. It is possible to maximize shareholder value given a minimum hurdle for customer satisfaction, or to maximize customer satisfaction given a minimum hurdle for shareholder value appreciation, but you can’t maximize both.

While Roger and I agree that a company’s ultimate success is derived by their ability to acquire and maintain enough paying customers to cover the costs to run their operations, I have one quibble: it’s impossible to separate shareholder value and customer satisfaction, because in they are derived from the same actions: people allocating their money, time, attention and love.

Thinking of “customer capitalism” and “shareholder capitalism” as two separate organizing principles exposes us the artificial lines we have drawn between what businesses do and how and why people spend money, time, attention and love.

We were taught that “customer satisfaction” and “shareholder value” were two separate things, but that exposes the root of the problem: they aren’t.

Instead of trying to shift from maximizing one principle over the other, why don’t we work to integrate the two principles? Why not work to maximize the whole, rather than the sum of its parts?

And since metrics guide behavior, instead of creating metrics attempting to measure each principle independently, analyzing and measuring the web of linkages and impacts of one principle on the other, why don’t we work to develop metrics based on an integrated view of customer satisfaction and shareholder value?

Umair believes that every organization must learn to fight the war on consumption. Why? Because thinking of people as consumers creates a layer of abstraction that obscures how organizations address the mission-critical need to make consumption more meaningful.

People aren’t simply consumers: money is just one thing people spend; aren’t time, attention, passion and love far more meaningful?

This is why I care about how to allocate passion, how to develop relatable events and experiences as “marketing campaigns” *, how to do “cool stuff” that can become “meaningful stuff”, why ethics matter and how to embed humanity into business.

But more than anything else, when creating, supporting and investing in businesses, this is what I think about: does allocating my money, time, attention or love towards this help “meaning meet business”?

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* An example of turning a relatable experience into a campaign? Using your birthday as a vehicle for giving rather than receiving. And helping and highlighting others that do the same.

Highlighting 58 companies, organizations and programs driving the New Orleans startup ecosystem, and a call to help us improve this list.

Inspired by Michael Karnjanaprakorn’s detailed post outlining the New York Startup Movement and David Crow’s post about the Canadian tech scene, Chris Schultz and I decided to outline the New Orleans startup ecosystem.

We started by looking at a couple sources: Chris’s previous posts from August 2009 and September 2008, news articles in the NY Times, BusinessWeek, Entrepreneur Magazine, CNN and Air Tran Magazine, All Day Buffet’s New Orleans 100 and Sloane Berrent’s post about the business and cultural opportunities in New Orleans.

But it’s not comprehensive, and to fix that, we would love your input and pointers to more companies, organizations, programs and “change artists” driving the New Orleans startup system. Here’s how you can help:

• Create (or update) the listing for your company on CrunchBase. Creating a listing for your company on Crunchbase is highly recommended.
• Submit your thoughts to Chris by editing the Voodoo Ventures wiki version of this post.
• Email me if you have any questions.

Ready?

Companies
Please note that these companies are in various stages of “startup”, and I’m sure we missed a couple emerging companies. Please help us complete the list by editing the wiki and creating a listing for your company on Crunchbase.

• Audiosocket. Licenses independent music to film, TV, advertising, video games and new media.
• Body Evolution. Commercial application of body image distortion software created at LSU.
• Bruise Relief. Facial cream based on New Orleans family recipe that prevents or diminishes bruising.
• Deltree. Creative studio. Projects of note include Fifty People, One Question.
• Dukky. Platform for multi-channel marketing that provides campaign management and analysis tools.
• Feelgoodz. Natural, comfortable and ethical rubber flip-flops.
• Flatsourcing. Global software development firm with offices in New Orleans, Louisiana and Kazan, Russia.
• Flavor Paper. Custom, hand-screened wallpaper and fabric.
• Free Flow Power. Hydropower developer and technology company focused on using the force of moving water to generate electricity without building new dams or diversions.
• FSC Interactive. Strategic online interactive campaign development, focusing on paid search placement, social media and website optimization.
• Graphite. Full-service brand strategy and design agency with a national client list, recently opened up on office New Orleans.
• iSeatz. Global provider of customized online travel and entertainment solutions
• KODA. Shared space for young professionals to connect to job opportunities.
• Naked Pizza. Developing new operating model for take-out and delivery pizza, aiming to change the nutritional profile of fast food.
• NOLA Brewing. Fine craft-brewed beer, brewed in New Orleans, LA.
• NeMe Health. Biotechnology company focused on medical foods for the special dietary requirements associated with major chronic diseases including cancer, obesity and diabetes.
• Orphmedia. Custom web design and online marketing strategies for restaurants.
• playNOLA. Organizer of sports leagues for young professionals. Winner of 2009 Idea Village and 504ward Business Plan Competition.
• Petro TV. Full service, digital out-of-home advertising network of screens at gas station pumps.
• RallyPoint. Crisis communications and workforce continuity provider.
• Receivables Exchange. Capital market for privately held companies to gain quick access to working capital.
• Schedulist. Web-based staff scheduling software and employee retention resources. Focusing on healthcare and other high turnover industries.
• SDT Waste and Debris. Waste management company cleaning up New Orleans.
• Susco Solutions. Custom programming firm that develops intuitive web applications, desktop software and iPhone app development.
• Thriv. Natural Performance bamboo and cotton athletic clothing.
• Trumpet. Full-service branding agency specializing in the success of startups, launches and turnarounds.
• Turbo Squid. Buys and sells 3D models to produce digital assets for online and gaming applications.
• VCE Capital. Generalist venture capital firm based in Louisiana and New York.
• WorkNOLA.com. Collaboration with many local partners to help those living in New Orleans, as well as looking to move to New Orleans, a way to explore and apply for local job openings online.

Office and Co-Working Spaces

• Entergy Innovation Center. Co-working space with office, retail and community meeting space in Upper Ninth Ward.
• Entrepreneur’s Row. Co-working space located in Central Business District.
• Icehouse. Office space and entrepreneurial environment located in Faubourg St. John.
• Launch Pad. Co-working and private office space located in Central Business District in the IP (The Intellectual Property). Host of Launch Pad TV.

Government Agencies

• Downtown Development District (DDD). Assessment-based business improvement district created to drive economic development, cleaning, and safety in downtown New Orleans
• Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO). Public/private partnership formed to spearhead economic development.
• Louisiana Economic Development (LED). Agency responsible for strengthening the state’s business environment and economy.

Government Incentive Programs

• Angel Investor Tax Credit Program. State income tax credits of up to 50 percent of investment in a certified business. Currently lapsed.
• Digital Media Tax Credit. Tax credits for expenditures by interactive digital media companies, 25% on expenses in Louisiana and an additional 10% for Louisiana labor.
• Louisiana R&D Tax Credit Program . State tax credit of 8% to 25% of expenses on wages, supplies, computer expenses and contract research.
• Louisiana Technology Commercialization Credit and Jobs Program. Refundable tax credit for companies that invest in the commercialization of Louisiana technology and create new jobs.
• Motion Picture Industry Development Tax Credit Music/Sound Recording Tax Credit. Refundable tax credit of 25% for in-state expenditures related to the production of a sound recording.
• Motion Picture Industry Development Tax Credit. A transferable credit of 30% for in-state motion picture production and an additional 5% on Louisiana labor.
• Quality Jobs Program. Provides a 5-6% cash rebate to companies that create well-paid jobs and promote economic development.

Non-Profit Organizations
Please note, there are many more non-profit organizations contributing to economic development in New Orleans; we chose to focus only on organizations tied to the startup ecosystem.

• 504ward. Hub for young talent in New Orleans to meet, learn, explore connect and grow
• Evacuteer.org. Mobilizes New Orleanians willing to push their boundaries for the collective good, building networks to empower successful, efficient, sanitary and safe evacuations of New Orleans.
• Idea Village. Nonprofit dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship, located in the IP (The Intellectual Property).
• Net2NO. Meets on the first Tuesday of every month to bring together social changemakers and technological forerunners.
• NOLA YURP. Support and resource network to connect, retain, and attract young professionals.
• Policypitch.com. Online platform for individuals to pitch and promote ideas with communities.
• Project Greenlight New Orleans. Nonprofit working to help low and middle income families and individuals switch from incandescent bulbs to energy efficient compact fluorescent lights.
• Startup New Orleans. Website guide to local entrepreneurs.
• Social Entrepreneurs of New Orleans (SENO). Diverse resources for entrepreneurs addressing social problems.
• Young Leadership Council. Develops leadership through community projects.

Events and Press

• New Orleans Entrepreneur Week. March 20-27, 2010, led by Idea Village. (also: video summary of 2009’s Entrepreneur Week)
• New Orleans Tech.Net. Highlighting the technology community in New Orleans.
• Project 30-90. First green sustainable music festival, help in 2009.
• TribeCon. Conference focused on bridging the online and offline for change. Debuted October 2009.
• Tulane Business Plan Competition. $50,000 live-presentation competition held at Tulane. For 2010, 1st Round submissions are due Feb 1, and the final round competition is April 16.

Additions
Companies, organizations and programs added to the list…

• Bideo. Online auction house for newsworthy user-generated videos and photos. (added Jan 29, 2010)
• HAI Smartgrid Solutions. Home Area Network products designed for use in smart grid projects in the utility industry.
• Trumpet’s update on the entrepreneurial ecosystem from early 2009.

—

UPDATED: Ross Hill sent me Ned Dwyer’s list of Melbourne, Australia tech startups. What other posts about the companies driving their startup ecosystems are out there?

Continuing to think about a venture capital investment thesis…

Umair Haque, Google, China, and the New High Ground of Advantage:

An ethical edge just might be the ultimate cause of advantage. It’s how better distribution, production, marketing, and pricing — all just proximate causes of advantage — ultimately happen. Jim Chanos’s investment thesis says: without an ethical edge, new value cannot be created — old value can only be shuffled around (hi, Wall Street).

Ethical edge is advantage reconceived for the 21st century. It’s an institutional innovation: the institution of “advantage” rebuilt for a threadbare, fraying, global economy. It’s a radical new definition of “advantage” that blows past the stale, tired idea of competitive advantage.

It’s time for a great reboot. Today’s great challenge isn’t blindly building countries, companies, or households on a broken set of institutions. It is reimagining new institutions for a hyperconnected world. Answering that challenge begins, from my tiny perspective, with an ethical edge as the cornerstone of every kind of organization. Seeking an ethical edge is the truest test of a Constructive Capitalist. Google just passed it. China — like Dubai, Russia, and yesterday’s mega-corporations — is failing it spectacularly.

This isn’t just about “social entrepreneurship”: doing good = good business strategy.

I would argue that an ethical edge can only be a competitive advantage in a hyperconnected world. Rising hyperconnectivity and the increasingly publicly available trails of intentions and actions by individuals and corporations are creating the opportunity for an ethical edge to “pay” in a wider range of products, markets and industries.

This isn’t a new concept: in fact, it’s a return to our roots, an retreat from the aberration of the industrial revolution.

The final takeaway: any investment thesis today should be based on injecting humanity and creating authentic value for a society and economy ready to move beyond the massconony.

A quick update on supporting people living “lives too cool to ignore”, focusing on Sloane Berrent’s dream to attend Davos. Here’s your chance to help in one short minute (Click here to vote).

When I first mentioned Sloane as one of the people living a “life too cool to ignore” this past summer, it was just a simple effort to pick out a couple people that helped make my daily online life a bit better and a lot more fun, pointing out people on the web that I followed, listened to and interacted with in small ways.

I wrote it because I’m sometimes struck by the ambient intimacy we create by following people online. It’s all-too-easy to form one-sided relationships with people that play a role in our lives without interacting, without engaging with them, without reaching out, without saying hello and telling them they matter. In a world where social capital is a major driver of our daily lives, how can someone value their time and efforts and understand the impact they have on our lives if we don’t reach out and tell them?

But I digress. Here’s your chance to tell Sloane.

Sloane Berrent MySpace Journal Davos Submission

Sloane | MySpace Video

In Sloane’s words:

A political science and economic major/minor, I’ve long been a “geek” about economics. Factor in my CAUSEMOPOLITAN spirit, work in developing countries in 2009 including my Kiva Fellowship in the Philippines and now my commitment to economic development and social entrepreneurship in New Orleans and you can guess that Davos is the ultimate place I’ve always wanted to attend. And to be honest, I’ve always seen myself attending, I really believe from the bottom of my heart this is my year and I’ve never been better poised to take on this opportunity. Familiar with the global landscape, the names of major players on the international economic scene and the ability to interview, capture content and share that online – well, this is WHAT I DO. It’s me through and through, and I hope your votes, my video and my passion come through to the judges.

How can you help?

• Click HERE to go to the MySpace.com/MySpaceJournal, make sure you’re logged in with your MySpace account, click VOTE under my name and then SUBMIT. That’s it.
• Share with your friends: http://bit.ly/votesloane
• Tweet it? Example: Check it out! @sloane is a finalist for the MySpace Journal competition to attend Davos, please vote for her! http://bit.ly/votesloane

And yes, it’s worth resurrecting your old MySpace account just to vote…

P.S. Let’s take the idea one step forward. Pick out one person “living a life too cool to ignore”, and tell them. Reach out to one person that you follow online everyday but have never said hello to. And share with me the results, privately or publicly. I’m sincerely interested in what happens.