Crowdstory Launch - Day Two in Pictures

I took a gazillion pictures. Almost literally. So so so many.

Here are the best ones, and if I find out how to embed a slideshow in a blog post, I'll show you the rest of the pictures from the day. It was a pretty good one.

The t-shirts, created by our graphic designer Megan Gessouroun, were a huge hit. Everyone wanted to know where they could buy one. We should have made extras, that's for sure.

It was a really cold day (esp. in comparison to the days before), so no one wanted popsicles. But Bryce Stubblefield can sell you anything.

"It's not too cold for a piece of paper though!" - BStubb

So, in a humorous instance of reverse psychology, people would feel bad for not wanting the popsicles and would actually ask for the paper instead. And in a land where people hate handouts almost more than they hate homework during Dead Week, this is a real feat.

After being out on the oval all day, the team went home for a break before the launch party that night. I took a nap.

Then it was Crowdstory Launch Party time!

Thanks to the awesome generosity of O'Connell's Irish Pub and Grill, Team Crowdstory had 300 beers on tap to give out for free. And in exchange for free beer, all people needed to do was either download Crowdstory, tweet about us, or put us as their Facebook status.

Also, to make the party even better (on top of having all that free beer to hand out), the Rockettops, a super talented band from Oklahoma City, came out and played at our launch. For free. Because they're awesome like that.

Overall, I think we estimated that about one hundred people showed up solely on account of Crowdstory. A HUGE success. We couldn't be happier with the turnout.

Walking Up the South Oval

On Wednesday, we weren't the only group out on the South Oval soliciting the attention of our fellow students.

Walking up the South Oval, you'd see...

Camp Out to Stamp Out, an overnight affair where student groups build "houses" out of boxes to stay in overnight. They stand out on the Oval and collect spare change to help fight genocide.

After Camp Out, there was...

Green Week recycle bins, out of recycled material. Keep the Earth clean! Throw away your trash and recycle!

And then there was...

Team Crowdstory, handing out popsicles encased in plastic and a plethora of paper flyers from murdered trees, promoting our launch party with "Free beer!"

Just doing our part to help society.

See You Tonight!

Crowdstory Launch - Day One in Pictures

A successful day on the oval! We passed out ALL the popsicles and had to reprint flyers three or four times. I think we passed out about 700 flyers overall. Crazy. They go so quickly, especially from the 00:20 to the 00:30 of every hour (when classes are out and people are destination hopping).

Also, the snippet structure worked. Update on that one: Paper mache = failure. As soon as the balloon inside the paper mache deflated, the thing collapsed. But the new snippet top is a balloon (just no paper), which is still cool. And functional. Very important.

Overall, it was a pretty successful day. OU students are pretty used to getting paper flyers on the oval, so they weren't particularly excited to be getting more -- until popsicles were introduced to the mix. Total game changer. People were more than willing to accept flyers when free sugar water  was involved, and we even had people forgo to the popsicles but still ask for/take the flyers. Score.

I am excited to see the download numbers for today, and I'm even more excited to see the turnout at O'Connell's tomorrow night. Things are really rolling!

To stay up to date on our shenanigans tomorrow, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/crowdstory (and/or #crowdstorylaunch) or check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/crowdstory. It's going to be a great day!

Crowdstory Launch - Day One in Pictures

It begins.

Today is the first day of our launch. We'll be out on the South Oval, by Dale Hall, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., handing out Freezepop popsicles and telling people about Crowdstory. We'll also be inviting people to our launch party at O'Connell's on Thursday night, which'll be amazing. The band is good to go, and we officially have an official sound guy to make the band sound official. Score.

Look for us on the Oval, and I'll give you a popsicle. It'll be great.


Also, check it out! Crowdstory got an article on the front page of ou.edu -- prime real estate!

Crowdstory Gets Ready for OU Launch

Team Crowdstory blanketed campus last night with posters and chalking, preparing for our on-campus launch Wednesday and Thursday. We will be on the South Oval on campus from 10 - 3 p.m. both days, handing out popsicles and flyers promoting our launch party on Thursday night.

Stop by if you're in the neighborhood. I may even give you two popsicles. If I like you enough.

The launch party on Thursday night should be awesome too. It will be at a popular bar on Campus Corner called O'Connell's, starting at 10 p.m., and there'll be live music by The Rockettops and awesome drink specials for people who download/tweet about Crowdstory.

Look for #crowdstorylaunch to blow up the Twittersphere on Thursday night.

As of now, the Facebook event for the launch party has a god number of people coming -- I hope it gets up past 100 RSVP'd, because we have 100 free beers to hand out. I'd hate to see them go unclaimed, and I certainly don't intend to drink them all myself (though I'll probably need a drink when this is all over).

I couldn't be more excited (and stressed) that this launch is finally here. Team Crowdstory has been focused on preparing for it ever since we got back from South by Southwest in March, and all the pieces are falling into place pretty nicely (though I'm still on a desperate search for speakers for the band -- anyone?).

It's going to be a great couple days for Crowdstory.

If you're in the Norman area, I hope you come out to O'Connell's! We'd LOVE to see you there!

Just In Time

Because Crowdstory and the Student Film Production Club and studying for the PRAXIS are consuming my life, I literally forgot to blog today. Plum forgot.

I don't remember the last time I just all-out forgot to blog. Usually I just walk around all day with twangs of guilt that I haven't blogged yet, but this forgetful business is a new one.

So here's a pretty picture I took while chatting with my pops on the phone the other day...

And with that, I hope you'll excuse me for the lameness that was today.

Love in a Better Blog Tomorrow,

Senior Stressball

Paper Mache with the Team

Team Crowdstory got together on Saturday afternoon to do a bit of paper maché -- or papier-mâché, to be snooty --  while watching one of the Final Four games (per request from the gentlemen). Crowdstory is planning a super huge, super awesome launch on campus in a couple weeks (look for us on April 20th and 21st!), to promote our App and get the OU student body to use it. Part of the planning for that launch is creating a giant sculpture of a snippet (basically the red Google pin) to hang out on the South Oval with us.

After bouncing around a gazillion ideas for the sculpture's materials, we settled on paper maché-ing a giant helium-filled three foot balloon. It was hanging out in my house for a few days before the paper maché party, and it was actually really fun to have a huge balloon in the living room. Rather festive.

But all good things must come to an end, I guess. Kinda like college.

Blah.

Anywho... covering a giant helium-filled balloon with wet strips of newspaper (or torn up phone books in our case) is not as easy as it sounds. First of all, before the balloon is covered with enough paper to weigh it down, it's like a mini wrestling match. And the balloon usually wins.

That helium is some powerful stuff.

Then after you cover it with that first round of wet paper, you have to cover it again with a second round of paper, this time with glue on it.

And of course, one layer of goopy glue paper is never enough, so you'll need a couple more layers. But you have to wait twenty-four hours between each layer so it can completely dry. Gross. I just want to start the project and complete it in the same day. Instant satisfaction, s'il vous plaît.

So basically the ball still isn't finished because I haven't gotten around to those last couple layers yet. Covering a three foot balloon takes time. Something which is quickly disappearing. Poof.

Terrifying stuff.

Also, did you know that flour + water = paste?! Crazy! And flour + water + salt = paste that doesn't mold.

You learn new things every day.

So naturally, after my first experience with paper maché since elementary school, I now feel like an expert and deign to pass on my vast wealth of knowledge to the masses.

So here it goes...

The Essentials of a Paper Maché Project:
- newspaper or phonebook paper clippings
- flour/water mixture (the glue)
- water
- lots of hands
- a bowl or pot to hold the giant balloon in one place
- a Disney Princess towel to catch excess drips from getting on nice new rental carpet
- festive little balloons, to remind you that at least you aren't covering all of them

A Gazillion Ways to Use Crowdstory

Follow us on Twitter -- www.twitter/crowdstory!

South by Southwest: Day 5

It was a shorter day yesterday. The Crowdstory team did some promoting, talking to people, and checking out the trade show (more pitching involved). Mostly our day was filled with attending the VIP event at Oklahoma's Buffalo Lounge (the same location as OpenBeta the night before), where we set up our table again and talked to people who came by to ask about our app. 

We also got lunch at Gourdough's, an airstream trailer that sells food on donuts -- including chicken and BBQ (as well as the more tradition strawberries and powdered sugar fare). Strangely enough, it was delicious. 

Naturally, while it was super tasty, it was also ridiculously unhealthy. After SXSW is over, I am going on a food detox and eating nothing but broccoli and carrots. I am taking a break from meat, bread, anything fried, and anything with a sauce of any kind. I've never eaten so much meat in such a short stretch of time before; SXSW was rough on my stomach.

Of course, I say that and then immediately eat a giant breakfast burrito at the Diner when I get back to Norman. 

Hmmmm... What should we get?

Bryce and I

Part of Jack's aunt and uncle's property. They let us stay in their guest house, which was
situated on absolutely gorgeous property outside Austin.

South by Southwest: Day 4 -- In Pictures

Just pictures this time. I need sleep.

I will blog more later. But today was, again, so much fun. And a success. Can't wait for tomorrow.

In the meantime, here is the day in pictures....

Posing with the Xtranormal characters.

That's our Xtranormal commerical that TJ made at the beginning of Crowdstory's existence. Hence the reason we posed with the characters today. We told them that we'd used Xtranormal to make a small commercial of our App when we'd just begun, and they were like, "Cool. Yeah, now Gieco is using us for their online commercials." Awesome. 

Chatting with the CEO of Quibids.

The SXSW Interactive Tradeshow -- this is a line of people waiting for free alcohol. It never ceases to amaze me how little people value their time when it comes to free food and booze. They'll be rushing around, with places to go and people to see, but the instant a line forms, they are there.

Express yourself!

Crowdstory at OpenBeta

Jack presenting Crowdstory during OpenBeta's lightening talk.
So funny. There were tears of laughter from audience members.

South by Southwest: Day 3

It's been a long day. Another very very very long day.

And everyone else on my team is going to bed right now, which really sucks away my motivation to be lengthy with this blog. I just want to be asleep too. So today's entry will be short and sweet.

It's amazing what standing on your feet pretty much all day will do to your lower back, calves, and exhaustion level.

Anyway...

This festival is a BLAST.

I basically love everything about it. I love meeting the people here because most of them have incredibly fascinating jobs. I love people coming up and pitching their apps to me, because I appreciate when people listen to me pitching Crowdstory to them. I love the free food, beverages, t-shirts and swag bags. I now have a cup, bag, and frisbee to take home with me. And most of all, I love the atmosphere because it's electric. The passion and excitement are contagious -- it feels like everyone is stoked to be here talking about technology, it's future, and it's implications. I love it. Love.

So what happened in the land of Crowdstory today?

In the morning we split up into teams and attended various panels. I went to a talk by Guy Kawisaki, entrepreneur/writer, and a talk by Chris Poole, founder of 4chan. Both interesting, though Kawisaki was HILARIOUS. I loved his talk.

Also, after making small talk with the girls sitting next to me, they asked me if they could interview me (about Crowdstory) for their blog. Of course I said yes! I haven't checked their blog yet to see if we made the cut, but I'll let you know.

After the panels, we set up shop again on the corner -- this time on the mostest crowdedest street corner we could find. Which just happened to be right outside the front door of the Convention Center. Swoop!

Here are some candid shots of Team Crowdstory doing what we do best -- chatting people up.

And another picture of that sexy banner (note attempted creative angle with camera)...

And then in the evening, we got to appreciate free BBQ on the plastic turf "lawn" in the Hewlett-Packard trailer park. We sat around, ate delicious free food, and listened to music by The Nightmare and the Cat for a while, before heading back to network. It was a great break after a busy day.

Oh, and that's me. It's actually the first picture of me from the trip, but only because I finally let one of the guys pry the camera from me. What can I say? It's my baby.

Well, so much for a short blog. I never was very good at brevity.

South by Southwest: Day 2

Another good (long) day for Team Crowdstory. In fact, it was so long that I barely remember how it started.

Oh yeah. I took my PRAXIS test. Gag.

PRAXIS = test I have to take to teach in Alabama/bane of my existence

I woke up way too early and one of my teammates drove me into town to go take my test. I was so exhausted when I took the test that I don't have high hopes about it at all. I mean, I literally fell asleep during the test and had to take a bathroom break so I could walk around to wake up (I did about 50 jumping jacks in the women's restroom, which I think did the trick). Let's just say that the combination of sleep deprivation, inadequate studying, and high level of stress makes me pretty sure I'll be rescheduling to take that test in April.

But post-PRAXIS day was pretty awesome. The team split up and went to various panels on our own, and then met up after lunch.

Promotion time!

TJ pitching Crowdstory to a Gowalla developer.

On our way back to the Convention Center with banner on tow, we stopped by the Gowalla booth for free t-shirts and ended up talking with one of their developers. The guys had a chat about maps and things that I don't understand, but they walked away really excited, so it must have been good.

We then set up our gorgeous banner (thanks to Megan!) and started pitching Crowdstory.

Admiring Megan's work.

The team, minus Bryce and me, posing with our badass Crowdstory banner.

Overall people were pretty interested. It was difficult to get people to stop and ask about the app, but we'd set up near a truck with free ice cream, so we approached a lot of people in line and snagged them that way.

We're all getting pretty good at our short pitch for Crowdstory. Want to hear it?

"Crowdstory is a location-based audio storytelling app that allows you to tell a story and tether it to the GPS coordinates of where the story happened, which you can then share with friends.

Sha-Bam.

I'm not sure what kind of impact we are making, as our marketing is definitely small-scale guerrilla stuff, but it's been fun. And I am definitely learning a lot about how to approach people and pitch our idea. The atmosphere here at SXSW is unlike any other -- exhilarating, stressed, and fast-paced -- and everyone has something to sell. But there's also an incredible amount of partnership going on. We'll tweet at someone and they'll tweet at us back. And bam -- we're getting traffic from some of the guy's 2000+ followers. At the small level on which we're operating, it all becomes a sort of give and take. And while I wouldn't exactly call it commiseration, I do think we are all painfully aware of how alike we are -- passionate and hungry for success.

South By Southwest with Crowdstory

It was an early morning. The seven of us crowded into a Yukon at 5:00 a.m. (where I got the short end of the deal and had to sleep in the middle back), and drove seven hours to Austin, TX.

But it was all worth it.

Today was the first day of the South by Southwest Interactive Festival, a technology-focused festival where thousands of start-up software companies flock every year to try to get their company talked about. Everyone is trying to be the next big thing -- just like Crowdstory.

Today was a learning day though. We got our badges and swag bags, checked out the parties and events, and listened to a talk by Marissa Meyer, Google's Vice President of Consumer Products.

What do we want to do today?

Hmmm.....

So many panels, so little time! 

The super sexy Crowdstory team.

It was basically a day of getting used to the festival and learning the ropes.

Tomorrow is going to be epic.

Oh yeah.... Forgot about this gem! 

The Crowdstory team was walking along 6th Street making snippets and looking for somewhere to eat dinner, when some guy from a local branch of Fox News stopped Bryce and asked to interview him. Thinking he'd ask why we were at SXSW (free promotion!), Bryce agreed.

Instead, he was asked what his favorite cartoon character was. 

Bahaha! I swear the photo isn't posed.