The document summarizes the key themes and lessons from an event called "Meet the Makers" about the art of making things. The event featured 10 presenters from various creative fields who discussed concepts like audience, anticipation, authorship, awareness, bravery, collaboration, connection, passion, scale, and transparency. The document ends by posing 10 questions for the reader to reflect on how they can apply these lessons of making to their own work.

1. Lessons from
“Meet the Makers”

2. Contents
• What was “Meet the Makers”?
• Why “Making”?
• 10 Themes
• 10 Questions

3. What was
“Meet the Makers”?
• Held at MILK Studios- NY on December 3rd
• 10 presenters on the theme of “Making”
• Writers/Authors: Frank Rose (Wired) , Scott Belsky (Behance)
• Bike Maker: Thomas Callahan (Horse Cycles)
• Brand Consultants: Ashley Alsup, Mark Barden (Eat Big Fish)
• Game Maker: Jim Wexler (BrandGames)
• Content Maker: Sarah Rich (Longshot)
• Designers and Managers: Josh Quittner (Time Inc) and D.W Pine
(Time Magazine)
• Catalysts: Gary Hirsch (OnYourFeet), Piers Fawkes (PSFK)

4. What was
“Meet the Makers”?
• A “lab for a day”
• Hosted, curated and organized by BSSP and
Influx Strategic Consulting

5. Why Making?
• We are at a time in the communication industry where we need to do more
than make ads or write press releases
• There are many other things we need to make
• The are new ways to make and new ideas we have to embrace like- failure,
collaboration and risk
• There’s new technology that helps make all this possible and gives us more
things to make
• Beyond the business- there’s a craft, passion and personal connection to
“making” that we could all learn from

6. “The internet collapses all
media.”
Frank Rose

7. 10 Themes
• Concepts that relate to “Making” and
suggest what might lead to or be the
ingredients for COMMUNICATION that’s
interesting and relevant, being made.
• Not in any order or prioritized in any way

8. 10 Themes

9. 10 “Making” Themes
Anticipation
Transparency
Audience
Scale Authorship
Making
Passion Awareness
Bravery
Connection
Collaboration

10. Audience
• “The audience isn’t just an empty vessel.That’s
the mistake the ad industry made.” Frank Rose
• “ Control the story, tell the story, but leave
room for the audience.” Frank Rose
• “Games change with players actions” Jim Wexler

11. Audience
• Maybe it’s better to think about audiences, rather than consumers- after all,
we’ are now creating media
• The audience plays a role in what you make
• You are making things for them
• You need them to help you make something effective
• It’s a two-way relationship

12. Anticipation
• Back in the C19th, people in NY asked people arriving off the boats from
England what was happening in Dicken’s serialized novels. They wanted to
know what had happened to the character. Frank Rose

13. Anticipation
• People should be excited about what you are
doing
• They should be look forward to the next
installment- the next thing coming from you
• You can build ancipation through relationships
• Stories can help do that
• Think about serialization of an idea

14. Authorship
• “The audience wants to know that the author knows
where the story is heading.” Frank Rose
• “ A game is not a puzzle, it has rules set by its maker”-
Jim Wexler

15. Authorship
• The audience wants to be led
• It needs to know who the author is
• It wants to believe the author has a plan and a
direction for their story
• In an era of consumer-control, it would be easy to
give it up- but it’s important to recognize the
balance that’s needed
• Collaboration is exciting, but it needs discipline of
authorship

16. Awareness
• “ Companies today don’t understand how they are
being evaluated. “ Ashley Alsup
• “It takes people 30 years to learn the grammar of a
new medium.” Frank Rose
• “Collect your random thoughts and synthesize them
into something meaningful. “ Scott Belsky
• “Capure and record everything.” Scott Belsky

17. Awareness
• You aren’t making things in a vacuum- they are
responses to your audience and the things that
matter to them
• Without understanding who they are and what
interests them- you couldn’t make anything that’s
relevant
• You have to know the context and be aware of
what’s going on

18. Bravery
• “If it doesn’t make you uncomfortable, you aren’t being
transparent.” Ashley Alsup
• “Making isn’t just about creating, it’s about making
decisions.” Mark Barden
• “We only had 40 days and 40 nights to develop Time
for the iPad”- Josh Quitner and DW Pine (missed, but caught the need
for Kindle mode)

19. Bravery
• Making something is making a statement about
who you are- artists constantly put themselves on
the line
• In a complex and changed world- it’s not always
easy to get it right- you have to keep trying
• Simply not doing something is often the easiest
choice, but you’re never going to capture people’s
imagination unless you make something
• This means you are going to have to be brave and
take risks

20. Collaboration
• “The network economy should be the network
of generosity.” Mark Barden
• Engage in radical co-operation.” Ashley Alsup
• “Telling the story in shards was the secret of
Lost’s success.” Frank Rose

21. Collaboration
• Sarah Rich’s Longshot- 1,500 collaborators-
getting workspace to create in offices of
other pubs

22. Collaboration
• It’s easier than ever to work with others-
technology makes this happen
• More minds on the task can make it better- co-
creation is possible
• Opening youself up to your audience and getting
contributions and ideas makes a lot of sense
• Try to understand if you just have consumers or a
network of potential collaborators and if you have
consumers, how would you change them?

23. Connection
• “We aren’t just hard-wired to faces, but to stories as
well.” Frank Rose
• “The power of Star Wars = The infinate details that
storytellers can feast on.” Frank Rose
• “Facebook fuels the timeless desire for attention, is this
sort of a game?” Jim Wexler

24. Connection
• “Interaction has no value in itself. Interaction must
have a purpose.” Jim Wexler
• “People come to watch me weld their bike”- Thomas
Callahan
• “Connection is the most fullfilling part of my job.”
Thomas Callahan
• “Always be a curator.” Scott Belsky

25. Connection
• Stronger relationships are made through
connections
• What could you do to encourage greater
connectivity between you and your
audience?

26. Passion
• “I want to feel happy and fullfilled” Thomas Callahan
• “There’s a thrill in seeing your book arrive in physical
form and getting reactions to it.” Scott Belsky

27. Passion
• Making is a passionate endeavour
• This passion has the power to be infectious
to others
• It constantly needs re-charging or it will
fade away
• How do you bring passion to everything
you make?

28. Scale
• “Wal-Mart is poised to become a bigger regulator than
the FDA. “ Ashley Alsup

29. Scale
• We aren’t all the same size
• Small has the power to be bigger than it is
by making something powerful
• If you are bigger can really make a
difference

30. Transparency
• “Apple is ahead of the game, but one of the most
protective.” Ashley Alsup
• “You can find elements of the story everywhere.”-
Frank Rose
• “ Make the invisible, visible.” Ashley Alsup

31. Transparency
• Opening up what was previously closed can
change relationships for the better
• It provides a connection point for
engagement
• It allows you to tell your real story, instead
of hiding
• You can crate streams of compelling
content by being transparent

32. 10 Questions for You

33. 10 Questions for You
• 1. Are you making work that makes you
happy? Are you passionate about what you
do?
• 2. Are you aware of what’s going on in the
world and constantly making the most of
opportunities?
• 3. Do you lead your audience to new
places?

34. 10 Questions for You
• 4. Do you take risks with your
communication that make you feel
uncomfortable?
• 5. Have you opened yourself up to your
audience?
• 6. Do you collaborate with outsiders to
make better things?

35. 10 Questions
• 7. Do you leave room for your audience?
• 8. What are you doing that gets your
audience excited about?
• 9. What are you doing to build stronger
connections with your audience?
• 10. Are you making the most of your size?