[...]... by the time we’re done, you’ll be in the renegade camp Some brands are already employing the renegade rules we’re about to discuss, and I applaud them They embrace all forms of innovation and especially through social media I’ll introduce you to several of them and to others in their 15 RENEGADES WRITE THE RULES same industries who don’t yet get it—and if they don’t get it soon, they will fade further... Trust me, they will surface 11 RENEGADES WRITE THE RULES The truth is that debate and critical feedback have been repeatedly proven to bring out our best And that’s a big benefit of social media, not brainstorming Today ’s renegades thrive off both positive and negative feedback because together they paint the clearest picture of reality, whether that’s the street perception of your brand, the practicality... customer service conversations The primary question collaboration answers is, “Did the product, service, and/or process meet your expectations?” Today, however, audiences own the market and dictate the expectations (at least for a season—more on that later) The tool they offer is crowdsourcing 7 RENEGADES WRITE THE RULES It points to the crowd as the key resource, which it is The funny thing is that this... social media have forever changed the scope of innovation I wasn’t the only pioneer out there, but let’s just say the landscape looked more like the wild, wild west than Woodstock back in the summer of 1969 Yet for the handful of us willing to brave the elements, the spoils of the land were abundant if we were willing to make mistakes early and learn on the fly By the time we were building social media... millions love On the other hand, I am still learning on the fly That’s the nature of social media and innovation Sometimes renegades wing it While some of the landscape has come into focus, it is still ever changing, still a frontier to be discovered There are rules that have clearly been defined But there are also new rules to be written One of the best perks of being an entrepreneur is the ability to... my 9 RENEGADES WRITE THE RULES business idea, and then I depended on the crowd for feedback I knew they would either prove me right, almost right, or off my rocker The way I saw it, I had a 66 percent chance of succeeding as long as I didn’t dismiss the crowd So I stuck my neck out and then listened to see if I’d survive Could someone have it all, and if so, what were the best ways? Was there a market... social media was the wild, wild west My work and I represented risk and volatility to an otherwise conventional operation I’d suggest “a tweet-up,” and they ’d say, “A what-up?” What I called opportunity they called naiveté The tension eventually came to a head one afternoon on the team plane 1 RENEGADES WRITE THE RULES We were preparing to take off for Los Angeles for a game against the Lakers, and... with the answer to that question to fit her higher purpose in business and life Amy Jo has made her mark over the past three years with her digital media agency, Digital Royalty With this book, Renegades Write the Rules, you’ll learn about her unique story and perspective that can have an impact on your own approach to business and life as well Tony Hsieh CEO, Zappos.com x RENEGADES WRITE THE RULES 0 The. .. let go of the belief that my notions were spot on I floated my ideas into the crowd because I knew the best idea might be a combination of my spark of innovation and others fanning the flame Before social media, the world primarily used the crowd (target market, voting bloc, Super Bowl viewership) either dependently to get validation or independently to sell the crowd something they thought the crowd... learning and thus of innovation 5 RENEGADES WRITE THE RULES This is a book about social media It will usher you into the engine room of some of the world’s most popular celebrities, strongest brands, and biggest sports icons with whom I have the honor of working There you’ll get an insider ’s look at how these culture shapers make social media work I’ll give you a clue: they don’t just sign up for an