Collective Detective Blog Archives

SXSW: Something Thingie This Way Comes

It’s that time of year again. The annual pilgrimage to Austin, Texas for SXSW Interactive. Last year, we roamed the streets of Austin and handed out Rubber Duckie Thingies to help us test the first version of Collectivus. Many of those Thingies have gone on to have encounters all over the world.

Buttons and stickers and Thingies? Oh my!

If you’re heading to SXSW this year, keep an eye out for the guys in the Collectivus shirts. They’ll have buttons and stickers to give out and perhaps give you a sneak peak at the upcoming Collectivus 2.0.

We’ll even explain the story behind the new Duckie Thingie and show you some of the other Thingies we’ll be introducing. Basically, they’ll be happy to show you their Thingies.

Heading to the Live Music Capital of the World or not, follow Collectivus on Twitter for Collectivus updates from Austin.

A Collectivus Christmas Gift

When we concocted Collectivus, one of the things we’d wonder about is how far away from Pennsylvania they might travel. The example we’d use when we tried to explain our pitch our concept was: "Imagine that the Thingie you just found had been at the Sydney Opera House the week before?" We had always hoped that a Thingie would travel there someday. Traci and I had been there in 2008, saw an opera, and the idea of our creation making a trip there was exciting. Plus, it would be hard for a Thingie to travel any further away.

Fast forward to March 2010. I met David Storey at a party during SxSW. The Collectivus prototype was out for less than two months; I had given David and his friend John Rubber Duckie Thingies to help test out the concept.

David is Australian. During the conversation, I mentioned our Sydney goal and the back story of Collectivus. Like many of the people in Texas we gave a Rubber Duckie Thingie to, we were appreciative of their time and entertaining our ideas, not sure of when or where they might create a Thingie encounter.

On December 23rd, 2010, David checked in Charlie at the Sydney Opera House.

David’s check-in is extra special to us because he took this mission to heart and with one Encounter with a Thingie, helped validate that our social objects really can help connect people, places and ideas. He even took the time to send me a follow-up note and send additional pictures.

Thank you to David and the hundreds of you who have taken a Thingie on a journey in 2010. The Collectivus team appreciates your support and we look forward to bringing you version 2.0 in 2011.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

Collectivus: Six Months Ago…

Hey gang!

Six months ago we launched the prototype release of Collectivus. In that time, we’ve released hundreds of Thingies into the wild. Some have travelled as far away as Turkey and Australia, many have journeyed all over the country, some have been hijacked by children, two confirmed cases of being eaten by dogs, some appearances at Philadelphia Union soccer matches, and a lot of them wound up playing in the snow. Most of them seem to be photogenic judging by all the pictures that get posted.

We introduced people to Collectivus through care packages sent all over, handed them out to hundreds of people on the streets of Austin at SXSW, and spoke about them in front of the Executive MBA class at Villanova.

It’s been a wild half-year!

As someone who has spent literally years thinking about this project: thank you! Thank you for reading this post. Thank you for posting your Thingie encounters. Thank you for the feedback and most importantly the support.

So if version 1 was a "prototype of a beta," what next? Well, version 2 is in the works and hopes to be a "beta of a beta." We’ve taken your feedback and the data we’ve collected and went back to the drawing board on certain features. We’re also working on features we’ve had planned all along. We’ve more than doubled the team that worked on the fist version and we have a ton of ideas we can’t wait to get to.

Speaking of feedback. We finally figured out how to send a newsletter. Please check your email for a link to a survey. We could really use your two-cents to help us improve the next version.

We think we’ve got a formula to make the next version of Collectivus even more fun, more interesting, and more interactive. Soon, we’ll find out.

We know things have been quiet on the blog, but that’s because we’ve been working on what’s next. Keep an eye out for information on the new Collectivus and meet more of the crew working on the project in “Team Spotlights.” You can also get updates by following Collectivus on Twitter and liking the Collectivus Facebook page. We also now have a Collectivus Photo Pool on Flickr.

Thanks again!