[Design Indaba conf] Martha Stewart flamed

The always spectacular Design Indaba will this year be remembered, not only for the fabulous speakers such as Harry Pearce, Bruce Nussbaum, Priyush Pandey, Stefan Bucher, Mokena Makeke, etc, but for the worst presentation it's ever hosted - by famous ‘homemaker' Martha Stewart. Who will also now be credited with launching the first local "twitcom". [view twitterfall]

Delivering a presentation more suited to the Krugersdorp Vrouefederasie or the Belville Housewives Scrapbooking Circle, she managed to inspire a mass walkout in both auditoriums - practically unheard of in the history of Design Indaba, which is the industry's premier conference and expo showcase in the creative industries and an inspiration destination annually.

And so we get another twiord (twitter word): she was ‘twitter slapped' (twitapped?) by the twitterverse. Twerrible.

The complaints centred around that fact that she used her presentation as a sales pitch (given how she is about to launch her ‘Martha Stewart's Cupcakes' in South Africa) and spoke to these highly creative and key delegates with a lack of awareness that was astounding. With the likes of local agency heads and creative directors and world-renowned designers and architects in the audience, you don't talk about doing ‘glitter by numbers' pictures and show 29 pictures of yourself holding various farm life (unless that's part of your creative installation!). The laughter was cringe worthy indeed. The result was a walkout.

And suddenly the twitter stream at #designindaba flowed with incredulous disdain at her presentation, recording every bon mot and updates on how many people were walking out. It wasn't long before the mainstream media services started reporting on ‘mass walkout at Martha Stewart presentation'.

People watching the Martha Stewart twitter backchannel via the Bizcommunity Design Indaba twitterfall #designindaba. Pic by @warrenmoss.

Basically she was boring and out of touch and self-promotional. Everything that Design Indaba is not. Design Indaba is about collaboration, sustainability, social entrepreneurship, less conspicuous consumption and looking towards redesigning a new world where product has less impact on the environment. General opinion was summed up by the biting comment of MC Michael Bierut as Stewart left the stage: "Dr Craig Venter is to the human genome as Martha Stewart is to paint chips." Ouch!

The subtle quips continued through subsequent speakers in the afternoon on Friday with references to the ‘millions' to be made out of design (not) and pleas for people not to put gold glitter on their food, or anything else for that matter. Speakers following her were thanked profusely for "showing us what Design Indaba is all about" by Bierut. Groans and laughter greeted each aside.

Delegates who walked out gathered around Bizcommunity.com's live ‘twitterfall' screen outside the main auditorium which live-fed the deluge of tweets to delegates. "It was hysterical," said one executive creative director of a leading SA ad agency. "The tweets were hugely entertaining, much more so than her speech!"

Another creative director pointed out that the real story was how fantastically social media worked in this case. "People didn't like her... so they said so. That's the real story. Brilliant."

Delegates and journalists attending didn't pull any punches, with scathing references to her ‘lack of a glittering performance' and the fact that she could write a book on ‘How to clear a room', rather.

Some of the more memorable tweets:

Lynesse: martha stewart delivering an advertorial (sic) at the design indaba she sure knows how to clear a room
Iconeye: Martha Stewart's on the stage at Design Indaba. One of the freakist talks I've ever scene (sic): the combo of deep banality and ferocious ambition
Marinxs: Martha Stewart is quite oblivious to the fact that she is completely disconnected from her audience.
jadeDsantos: Apparently #Martha Stewart's hashtag went from being Design orientated to the world 1st twitter comedy!
Marklives: Smother me with a Stenciled Hawaiian Flower Cushion
marklives: God people are taking out their cellphones to follow the Twitter buzz #martha #designindaba
terrylevin: martha Stewart inadvertently becomes star of first twitcom #designindaba

Indeed.

To see most of them (not everyone used the same hashtag or any hashtag at all), go to Bing Twitter:#martha [and view Louise's own tweets at @louise_marsland as these are well-worth reading - acting editor].

Update Monday, 1 March 2010: also see Herman Manson's blog post The Martha Stewart Twitslap (in tweets)