The puzzle and the tools are the same…
it’s all about how you take a complex, important story, weave it together so people truly understand it and develop
an emotional connection to it.

About the Interview

David Dwyer is a longtime friend and former client of Brainstorm. From his role as a Publisher at New Riders Press (Pearson) to his days as Microsoft Windows’ Chief Storyteller, David’s career was what most would deem a pinnacle of success.

Then David decided to leave corporate marketing and move to Santiago, Chile to serve with IberoAmerican Ministries. We checked in with him recently and asked him to compare his former positions to his current one and whether his definition of success has changed.

Questions

.think | 1. Are there similarities between your former role as Windows’ Chief Storyteller and your current role with IberoAmerican Ministries?

David Dwyer: With one part of my job it’s almost identical. My role with IberoAmerican Ministries (IAM) is twofold with the major part of it being to tell the IAM story through the web and multimedia pieces. The puzzle and the tools are the same…it’s all about how you take a complex, important story, weave it together so people truly understand it and develop an emotional connection to it.

Your brand is what people identify with,
if it is done correctly.

The other part of my job is helping teams, professors, and others visiting our works to plan their trips and then manage their time while here in Chile. Our entire family participates in that part of the job (shopping for food, translating, getting people to their Chilean homes, etc.).

.think | 2. Any particularly difficult language or cultural barriers you’ve struggled to overcome?

David Dwyer: Learning a new language at 45 years old is THE most difficult thing I have EVER done. It’s a work in progress. It doesn’t help that Chilean Spanish is very slang driven, i.e., the words aren’t in any dictionary we have. And, Chilean driving leaves a lot to be desired!

.think | 3. Describe a typical lunch at the company cafeteria in Redmond versus lunch in Santiago.

David Dwyer: I liked to get off campus most days at Microsoft. But usually those lunches on campus were mostly about the work. In Chile, lunch is at 2:00 and is the biggest meal of the day. It’s where the family often gathers together and catches up. So, I would say the big difference is work versus family. I like the Chilean lunches much better.

The first information
we communicated back to the states
was through Facebook.

.think | 4. Can you contrast the role technology played while at Microsoft versus technology’s role in what you are doing now?

David Dwyer: We have many friends who served in the mission field many years ago—before the Internet. I cannot imagine what that was like. We are a simple Skype call away from anyone in the world. We use technology to spread the word just as Microsoft does.

.think | 5. In what ways do your experiences in branding and marketing at Microsoft translate into working with the IberoAmerican brand?

David Dwyer: Great question. IAM didn’t really know what a brand was, or how even in the subtle things you make brand work for you. Your brand is what people identify with, if it is done correctly.

For example, our name doesn’t roll off the tongue, so we usually use IAM. On the website, every first mention of our name is followed by (IAM) and then in the rest of the page we simply use IAM. It gets people into the groove of our brand the same way we are. It parlays across the site and other things, too, in the way we use images, etc. The next big task for us is our logo, which needs some help, but it’s a major hurdle for any organization.

.think | 6. Have social mediums like Facebook or other online networks impacted your efforts in Santiago, and, if so, in what way?

David Dwyer: I started a Facebook page for the organization. It gives us a chance to get notes, prayer requests, and news out to the masses quickly. This was very helpful during the earthquake in February. The first information we communicated back to the states was through Facebook.

Some of our teams are using Twitter to do daily updates from South America and many blog the experience, too.

Chilean Sea Bass, no contest!

.think | 7. Can you compare and contrast the audience you seek to reach now with the audience you targeted while at Microsoft?

David Dwyer: You know, contrary to what the media would like you to believe, Microsoft does really care about their customers. We had many VERY good conversations about how to build an emotional connection with our customer and I personally used to exercise that in many different ways.

I’ve directly translated those things I’ve learned to our “customersâ€? with IAM. I want them to live this service with all of us because, in reality, we’re only playing a small part in the bigger picture of which they are a part also. It’s the same way with the Microsoft customer, we each played a part in their technology experience.

.think | 8. Is the pay about the same, or different?

David Dwyer: (grinning) It depends on how you measure it. I am MUCH richer than I would have ever been at Microsoft.

.think | 9. Career pinnacle to-date: New Riders (Pearson), Microsoft, or Missions?

David Dwyer: The answer is Missions. But, I don’t believe missions for us happens without the other parts. The key is to make sure, as a believer, that you are always working to glorify the Lord. I have tried hard to do that every step of my career. And at 45-years old, the Lord chose to lead me to Chile, not another tech-related company.

.think | 9-1/2. We know you enjoy playing soccer, snowboarding, and surfing; does your active lifestyle play a role in your work in Chile?

David Dwyer: It does! Futbol in particular, because we use the experience to connect with so many other people in the community. It is a language in itself. When a gringo (not a bad term in Chile) can play and hang with the locals, it opens many doors to create relationships! But, I’ve toned down my extreme sports participation due to the cost of insurance…for someone my age.

.think | Bonus. Chilean Sea Bass or Pacific Northwest Salmon?

David Dwyer: Chilean Sea Bass, no contest! The fisherman in Iloca—where the tsunami hit after the earthquake and where we have been building new houses—catch it, clean it, and prepare it in a way that you would not believe!

Click here for more about IberoAmerican Ministries.
And here for more about Microsoft Windows.

Marching Bands are Just Homeless Orchestras, Half-Empty Thoughts Volume 1
Written by Tim Siedell and illustrated by Brian Andreas

“I wouldn’t say I’m antisocial
as much as I’d say it’s hard to meet interesting people in an attic.”

- Tim Siedell, @badbanana

About the Book

Marching Bands are Just Homeless Orchestras, Half-Empty Thoughts Volume 1, by Tim Siedell, is a light and easily read collection of select quips from the man behind the wildly popular @badbanana persona on Twitter and Facebook.

Unlike the ever-flowing nature of Facebook and Twitter feeds, Marching Bands are Just Homeless Orchestras brings Tim’s bursts of abbreviated wit, self-effacing observations and social commentary into a traditional book format — and turns them into a keepsake.

And who better than Tim Siedell, an icon himself in online social realms, to present us with a snapshot of a trend toward modern-day shortened writing forms he’s been instrumental in propelling.

“Tim Siedell clearly has no life, but he’s extremely funny while not having one.”

- Rob Reiner, famed actor, director, writer and producer

Seasonally Set

‪Punctuated throughout by the whimsical and lyrically expressive line art of Brian Andreas—an apt accompaniment—Marching Bands are Just Homeless Orchestras is a must-have memento of a cultural era in flux. It also makes a fitting holiday gift for any busy friend or loved one with a throng of online tweeps and peeps.

A One Man Brand of Broad Appeal

In addition to Tim’s ongoing thoughts on Twitter and Facebook, his work has been cited in The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and on NPR, The Huffington Post, The Today Show, MSNBC, Mashable.com, Fast Company, PC World and Maxim.com.

Published by StoryPeople Press, Tim’s book is currently available for pre-order (shipping the final week in November) on Storypeople.com and Amazon.com.

Refused to pay $7000
for seaplane rescue

Our latest list of inane musings from the Brainstorm office white board:

Top 20 Things That May Have Killed Ed in the Boundary Waters

1. Minnesotan’s unfailing politeness
2. The guys from Deliverance
3. Massive oil spill
4. Refused to pay $7000 for seaplane rescue
5. Minnesota wading coyotes
6. A run-in with Locke (smoke monster)
7. Inability to update his Twitter stream
8. Eaten by a Northern Pike
9. Not knowing what’s going on at Brainstorm
10. Ran over by a deer
11. Elk
12. Bear
13. Moose
14. Wild dawgs
15. Lyme disease
16. A Flash sideways
17. Malaria
18. Snake bite
19. He’s not dead, just lost
20. Unfiltered water
21. Starvation

See the entire white board

Savoir faire:
A polished sureness in social settings

Indelible or invisible?

You know the adage about first impressions. People are always making quick assessments of you or your brand based on how you look, what you say, and what you do. Eyebrows may raise, ears may perk up, or you may be completely ignored. Even a non-reaction is a reaction. Unless you’re surveying your audience on a regular basis, you may not even realize the impressions you’re making, or consider their impact, good or bad.

An impressive following

Think about how this applies on Twitter—how you form impressions and make snap judgments about who you do or don’t follow. It usually starts with them following you, or recommendations from those you trust. How often do you check out the Tweeter before you follow them—their content, name, URL, bio, and, yes, their background image?

Care enough to do a background check

A small online poll provided these nuggets of information about who checks out backgrounds:

• 50% of respondents said they view background pages often, 28% said sometimes, for a total of 78% who view background pages.

• 73% of respondents use a Twitter app such as TweetDeck, Seesmic, or HooteSuite that normally precludes them from viewing an individual’s Twitter background image.

• Based on the total number of respondents who said they view background pages often or sometimes, 75% leave an app to do so.

• The remainder, slightly more than 24%, view Tweets—and backgrounds—in web view mode.

One respondent’s comment underscores the numbers:

“I use Seesmic Desktop and occasionally Seesmic Web. Still prefer to look at Twitter Web when evaluating followers and potential follows.�

Although the sample size was small and the poll was simple, it underscores the importance of a web background as the first step to a strong online brand in Twitter. That brand is the first and sometimes only impression potential followers get. That split second impression could impact the next rung of your success, no matter how you personally define it.

Image: alainelorza

Share your experience.

Share everything. Make it easy.

A positive experience with your brand lingers with those who encounter it. It can become part of their life experience, and people enjoy sharing life experiences.

Therefore, it’s important to provide opportunities and simple ways for people to embrace and share your brand content.

Here are 10 ways to distribute your content and extend your brand:

1. Multi-Channel Distribution
   Use multi-channel distribution mediums like Posterous.com. Posterous allows you to assemble your content in, and send it via email. Simply send an email to Posterous with your formatted content attached. PDFs, text, images, even video are immediately forwarded to multiple social sites of your choice. Once distributed, users or fans can easily share your branded content with others.
2. Widgets
   Use widgets like Share This, Add to Any, or Add This to enable single-click sharing on other web sites and social media pages.
3. Micro-blog
   Create an account and build a following of constituents, friends, like-minded individuals, clients and prospects on a micro-blogging site such as Tumblr, or Twitter. Post short messages with information or links to your content and users can re-blog posts of interest. You can also feed your micro-blog to your web site, Facebook page or other online destinations for real-time updates.
4. iPhone apps
   Aggregate your content from multiple sources into a custom-branded iPhone app where fans and affinity groups can follow the content from your blog, web site, and social communities, all on one portable device.
5. Downloads
   Give your content away in the form of portable ebooks, white papers, digital audio and video downloads. Spread the word.
6. Flash drive
   Hand a prospect or influential person your content on a portable device like a branded flash drive. Encourage them to share its content with others. They’ll remember you and your company when they use the drive for their own storage and file transport needs.
7. Incentivize others to share
   Create a contest or sweepstakes to pull people to your content, then encourage and incentivize them to share it with others.
8. Think about the copyright
   Use Creative Commons to manage the proper usage of your shared content on sites like Flickr; it protects you, the author, and facilitates liberal sharing of your content.
9. Share the responsibility for content creation
   Extend the reach of your content to different audiences and demographics by collaborating from the outset to make your content, “our content.” When people share in the process of content creation they become invested and far more apt to share the experience and results with people they know.
10. Branded Watermarks
    Tastefully embed a logo or other watermark in the corner of your photos and encourage users to make them their own in device backgrounds or other digital applications.

Have an idea about making your media and messaging movable?
Share it with us.

Image: jonathanvlarocca