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| Doggystyle Album Cover |
In the Big Payback, Dan Charnas was able to capture the varying degrees of the culture and how it was used to escalate opportunity in a variety of industries that had been historically inaccessible to African Americans and other people of color. Higher Education is no different. Universities that are PWI (Predominately White Institutions) have been in the driver seat of determining what is considered valuable knowledge and have structured gatekeeping processes to maintain those environments.
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| Iovine and Dr. Dre |
Apple and BEATS are a contemporary example of a shift in the culture. Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre have suggested that their academy at USC is steeped in disrupting how institutions of higher education are not preparing students to be the driving force of innovation.
Why is this important and what are we disrupting with this course? Your blog assignment is to examine the role of this class as a point of disruption at Illinois and create a strategy to extend the brand on campus, nationally, and internationally. I would like you to:
- Write a new description for the course within the context of what you have learned (you may want to examine the description on Technology Entrepreneurship's website).
- Identify and lay out a new marketing and promotion strategy to introduce the class to untapped student groups.
- Be prepared to present an on the spot action plan in class to email and invite select indivuals to class to promote the course. Also explain why you have selected these individuals and how they will aid in disruption.
- Uncover the cool factor of this course and how do we exploit it?
Explore the techniques and business models used in the hip-hop industry as well as expand your brand and decode what todays hip-hop mongrels have done to get where they are...on top of the world.
ReplyDeleteI think a series of emails from the LAS/Buisness/ACES/etc. offices explaining what the course is and offering it to students as an option course for them to take would definitely gain students. I also think that flyers posted with famous hip-hop faces and asking "have you heard of them?" and then next line "Learn more about your favorite artists, their brand and how they expanded in this new interesting class "Exploring Hip-Hop in Entrepreneurship" course TE 498.
I honestly think the cool factor is what we bring to the table in terms of views and discussions. Not many places on this campus can we compare our thoughts in such an open space without judgement. So the ability to discuss anything business related or hip-hop related is very unique and cool. Our coolness is only as cool as our diversity.
I like the inclusion component of your reply. In fact, demonstrating the parallels of moguls from different sides of the track is a major strength. For example, what is the difference between Donald Trump and Sean Combs or Jay Z and Warren Buffett? You may find very similar narratives in their experiences and should be something to explore.
DeleteMy course description would be:
ReplyDeleteUnderstand how to utilize the viral marketing techniques applied by countless successful entrepreneurs in the hip hop industry. Learn how their strategies and product development can help increase the desirability of your innovations and how to apply cultural engineering to target the demographics you need to reach.
I would create a very well designed course website with a general outline/portfolio of what the curriculum of the class would entail. I would then work to share this website with class groups through social media where it would have the best potential of being seen by other students. Unfortunately, a lot of students just ignore emails about courses but I think I really comprehensive course website would really attract the type of tech-savvy and startup focused students the class would want.
I believe the cool factor of this course certainly revolves around the interest of the case studies we have been able to talk about regarding our favorite hip hop artists and icons. A lot of students are familiar with and are large fans of the artists like Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, and Run DMC--so more familiar course case studies regarding these artists and their products/marketing philosophy would definitely attract more students. Talks like the one we had about Dr. Dre's Beats are the ones that would really captivate students to see the potential of cultural engineering and effective marketing. I believe students who would be interested in the class would definitely be hip hop fans/nerds so they would be interested more so in the popularity and storylines behind the artists and their products which would encourage them to sign up for the class.
Helom, the idea of creating a website for the class is awesome. How do we architect it? Moreover, the entrepreneurial backstory is a great angle in terms of flushing out the cool factor. I think the book, The Big Payback as worked well in terms illuminating "the behind the scene deals" of some of Hip Hop's elite.
DeleteClass description:
ReplyDeleteIn Hip-Hop Entrepreneurship, students will gain an understanding of the elements of hip-hop culture which enabled artists like Dr. Dre to achieve success as both a musical artist and as an entrepreneur. Techniques related to marketing and product development will be examined in order to learn what makes certain music and/or technology a hit or a flop. Parallels will also be drawn between Silicon Valley startup companies and Hip-Hop artists to better illustrate the entrepreneurial spirit which thrives within Hip-Hop culture and the artists who represent it. Many experienced entrepreneurs will participate in class on a regular basis, held in the creative working space of Pixo café in Urbana. Come with your innovative ideas, and expect to be pushed to the next level!
I think your description is spot on. It is spirited and couched with the right contextualization. Good job.
DeleteMarketing Strategy:
ReplyDeleteAbove all, I think it is important to gain a significant presence in HackIllinois and CU Make. Especially with the support and participation of the Ghetto Genius and CU Fab Labs, sponsoring projects and challenges related to Hip-Hop Entrepreneurship will motivate innovative students to work on building something which can grow and succeed within the context of this class. The CU Community Fab Lab already participates in CU Make, but the Ghetto Genius Fab Lab is where Hip-Hop culture truly meets the creation and innovation associated with entrepreneurship. As for contacting these two entities, applying to sponsor HackIllinois can be done here: https://hackillinois.org/sponsor . And contacting CU Make can be done via this email: makersuiuc@gmail.com .
Besides that, I think it is important to develop flyers to put around campus and to send emails to all colleges on campus. This emails can be annoying, but for the rare individual who reads and finds themselves interested, it will be worth it. As for gaining a bigger prescence within TEC itself, Ashley Hipsher can be emailed at ahipsher@illinois.edu and she can help out by putting a horizontal PDF advertisement for the class on the television screens in the TEC office.
Lastly, along the same vein as the hackathon and makeathon mentioned earlier, it might be worth considering hosting a hackathon/makeathon exclusively for Hip-Hop Entrepreneurship projects. The students in the class can help host and run the event, and we can throw a big event where anyone can register to compete within certain disciplines, and present their work at the end of the event. This would also serve as an excellent opportunity to host a variety of guest speakers who can discuss their own ventures as well as give advice to budding Hip-Hop Entrepreneurs.
I read this before the Ghetto Genius Hack and it resonated well with the group. In fact the idea of us hosting our own event is awesome. Ashu mentioned the culture of the university may be stifling in this regard, so we need to extend our approach and be more inclusive to the larger the entrepreneurial community.
DeleteCool Factor:
ReplyDeleteThe cool factor of this class is that it unleashes the spirit that college stands for. Not all universities allow for such intense freedom of creativity and expression, but I think most people, certainly in this class, would agree that college serves as a period for rapid self-discovery and growth. Within the context of business and engineering, I have never personally experienced such powerful learning as when I have attempted an entrepreneurial venture. Attempting such a venture is an opportunity to not only learn about a variety of fascinating and complex fields, but it is more importantly an opportunity to discover one’s passions. I’ve always considered every class in Computer Science to have an implied “Intro to…” preceding the class name. After all, I find it unreasonable to be expected to master a subject in a matter of 16 weeks. This class, as a novice entrepreneur, is no different. But it is a head start on what I hope to achieve as a full time software engineer after graduation. After all of my introductory courses, I want to try out becoming a master as one of my many interests: data science. After a year or two, I hope to gain a mastery of data science and know that it is either something I see myself pursuing further or dropping. Either result is okay with me, but the point is that attempting an entrepreneurial venture is a chance to create a particular product or service and see if it leads to something that can be pursued long term. If it does, then that’s awesome. But if not, it’s still a data point, and can be used to determine the next step, the next venture. To paraphrase Edison, if my current venture with Slick, a mobile haircut appointment application, eventually dies, then it may be over, but it is not a failure. I will have simply succeeded in discovering one path which does not lead to a successful venture. To summarize my long-winded anecdote, Hip-Hop Entrepreneurship’s cool factor is that it serves as the foundation for this very opportunity which I am describing. Students can come to this class, learn about entrepreneurs that preceded them, invent and develop cool ideas, and walk away strengthened by that knowledge as the continue their entrepreneurial venture.
Class description :
DeleteI am going to be talking about the "Ghetto-Genuis" aspect of the class, cause thats the one that appeals to me the most. In India there is a term, its called "Jugaad", which basically means hack. Someone who is "Jugaadu" (well versed with the art of "Jugaad") can find a feasible solution to a problem with the least amount of resources. I find the art to be fascinating. Its basically where engineering, problem solving and entrepreneurship intersect together. Thats why I like the Ghetto-Genius Hack class so much! I think thats also the cool factor! You come with a problem that you think is unsolvable, and we as a team of "Jugaadus", tell you a> Why its solvable, b> How its solvable c> What are the immediate steps you can take to start solving it. For me, life is just a big Machine problem, that has several subsets of problems that present them selves as a series, and the reason I think life is "cool" is cause I get to solve really hard problems in super-interesting ways! May that be problems in professional or the personal forefront is irrelevant. I may not be able to solve all the problems in life within a time constraint that life sometimes puts on us, but hey, you cant stop me from enjoying my fascination with the solution to the problem, and the fun in executing the solutions in multiple and sometimes hilarious ways. That's what makes my life cool and I think could make the class cool! The "Jugaad" a.k.a "Ghetto genius hack paradigm" angle of the class.
As far as marketing strategy I concur with Zack that a unique hackathon event series (along with free Pizza) can spark a lot of interest for the class. I would also recommend giving me the responsibility to market the class in my unique way. I've done this before, and can reproduce it. This is just my 2 cents. Thank you
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugaad
DeleteI thought that my blog post was better organized outside of the format used here on the blog. Here's a shareable link to my new course description and marketing / promotional methods.
ReplyDeleteIn short, the cool comes from the content we create. In the document, I share several different ways to tactically promote the student work / research.
Let's share and dissect!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9uu-0I0FBmrdGgxbExJRTA0X0E/view?usp=sharing
Class Description: Students will hack various aspects of entrepreneurship through the lens of hip-hop and cultural engineering. Entrepreneurial concepts include marketing, branding, cultural engineering, technological innovation, business model formation, and sales. Hip-hop concepts include the ‘ghetto genius paradigm”, the cool factor, and the intersectionality of hip-hop culture and technology.
ReplyDeleteOne goal for this course and for the Technology Entrepreneur Center courses in general is to promote the courses to students outside of engineering. To do this, I propose a marketing strategy that features TEC courses, workshops, competitions, and events in a way similar to Quad Day and EOH. Various courses, workshops, competitions, events, and so forth will have booths set up on the quad and show off what they have to offer students. This will increase awareness on campus of TEC and the resources that are available to any student on campus. Hip-Hop Entrepreneurship can have a booth with speakers playing bumping hip-hop to draw students in. Then, they will see interesting comparisons between hip-hop and entrepreneurship and be more likely to enroll in the course since we have the cool factor of hip-hop music on the Quad. Besides music, we could also bring in well-known guest speakers such as producers, DJ’s, technology developers, etc. to the event that will talk about how hip-hop has affected their entrepreneurial journey.