- Hey guys, we're here at South by Southwest
at the PepsiCo Podcast Playground with Gary V.
- Hello.
- Gary Vaynerchuk from Wine Library TV
and Mark Horvath from Invisiblepeople.tv.
- How are you?
- Now we're talking about the Pepsi Refresh
South by Southwest challenge.
Can you tell us a little bit about what that is?
- You know, I think Pepsi's obviously made a commitment
to doing bigger and better things,
and I've got to challenge my competitors,
who I see around me, who I hate with all my heart.
In raising enough awareness for our charities,
and I had to pick one,
and I found the right man.
- Can you tell us what Invisiblepeople.tv is?
- Well Invisiblepeople.tv is really a conversation.
Some people think that it's a video blog,
but it's not.
It's a conversation about real change.
We have a perfect storm of poverty and homelessness coming,
and already in '09 because of Invisiblepeople.tv
housing programs have been started.
Food programs have been started.
It's just amazing,
so this year part of the grant money here ...
What you're voting for,
you're really voting for yourself
because poverty and homelessness effects everybody.
But we're going onto more of an education
where we're going to teach people that are
going through a hard time how to use social media
because that's the voice you need to hear.
You don't need to hear another Mark Horvath.
You don't need to hear another expert.
You need to hear that single mom
who's living in a cockroach infested hotel
how she's making it day by day.
And these are tools that we take for granted,
and we're going to teach them how to use it and
expand that voice for even more change.
- So, Gary, you have a lot of experience when it comes to
social media, online video.
I mean what kind of a knowledge and experience
can you kind of lend to this project?
- You know I hear Mark say we take it for granted,
and I think anybody whose watched any of my videos
knows I don't.
You know I'm screaming for people to recognize
how powerful this is, how much a shift this is.
You know, whether it's for Fortune 500 companies
that I consult for or the high schools
that I go and talk to,
I want people to understand this is the biggest shift
in the way we communicate ever,
and the cost of entry is literally zero.
Now, granted you do need a phone.
You do need a computer,
and we when we start talking about things
of this serious nature,
maybe people don't have those things.
However, if you're able to get to that point,
go into an internet cafe.
You could start communicating your story,
and when you get passionate people to help you
raise that story's awareness,
and that's what's so powerful.
And that's why I wanted to be involved with this.
You know it's about understanding that I started my brand
by being in my liquor store with a $300 camera.
And that led to all the insanity, right?
I think that's replicable on so many levels,
and even at the lowest form level.
And you know hopefully through people that are grateful
like I am, like you guys are, like so many people here are,
hopefully we can establish just that little push
and definitely that awareness,
that education on how to do this
that can lift people to a different place in their lives.
- So there are a couple of nominees and the winner wins--
- We're going to win!
- Yeah, hands down.
- Well the winner does win $50,000
to kind of fund this project,
but what can people do in their homes
if they want to get involved with Invisiblepeople.tv?
What can they do right now?
- Well just like I said,
it's a conversation and we need to speak up.
So whatever your support level is.
Maybe it's writing your senators.
Maybe it's going down to your
local food bank and volunteering.
We all have to do something.
As the economy gets worse we need to get better,
and that's what Invisiblepeople.tv is all about.
It's just let's talk about this.
Let's not ignore this problem that's in every neighborhood.
It is.
And let's affect some real change.
- And you, Gary, what is that one piece of advice
that you can give most people out there
in order to get involved in anything locally, hyper-locally.
- Legacy is greater than currency.
You know we're living in a day and age where
everything you do is being documented.
That my great-great-grandchildren will watch this video,
and I want them to not just be proud of me
because I built big businesses doing this stuff,
but because I did things like this.
And hey great-grandchildren!
And so I think what people need to recognize is that
it's never been easier to do the right thing.
- Oh, oh!
- You like that huh?
- Oh, that, that's an ending right there.
- I'm good right?
I'm quotable.
- That is a quote.
If people want to get more involved,
find out what you guys are up to,
where can they go?
- Well Invisiblepeople.tv is the main vlog.
You can follow me on Twitter,
which is hardly normal.
There's also Invisible People,
which I call hardly normal light because I tweet a lot.
And if I'm too much for you,
just switch the channel over to Invisible People
on Twitter.
- And obviously you know
we're looking for votes for Refresh Gary.
That's the hashtag,
so follow that stream,
and, yeah, Facebook.com/Gary.
It's easy to find me.
- Great.
Well thanks a lot guys,
and if you guys want to find out more videos like this,
you can also go to PepsiCo.com/sxsw.