Not What You Think
Fine Line
“Drawing the line is easy, not stepping over it is the difficult bit”
Brendan Mitchell
Not What You Think
Not What You Think
Brands & Marketing
Stephen Fry on Twitter
I happened to drop by Stephen Fry’s Twitter stream last night and it really made me chuckle, I could just imagine him sitting there cursing the damned Sony Vaio in front of him. I understand his contempt for the thing, I keep well away from the things (I’ve probably only racked up around 10hrs of my life trying to use Windows and on each occasion I’ve been pulling my hair out or cursing through gritted teeth!)
Anyway, I captured the screen so you can see what I’m on about (click it to view larger)
Do we expect Sony Vaio sales to now drop?
Drivel
Fakebook: Koobface Virus
If you use Facebook, then you should read this article from the BBC about the Koobface virus that has been playing havoc on Facebook. Below is a snippet of the article, but follow the link to read it all on the BBC site.
‘Koobface’ spreads by sending a message to people’s inboxes, pretending to be from a Facebook friend.
It says “you look funny in this new video” or “you look just awesome in this new video”.
By clicking on the link provided they’re then asked to watch a “secret video by Tom”.
When users try and play the video they’re asked to download the latest version of Adobe Flash Player.
If they do, that’s when the virus takes hold and attacks the computer.
Interestingly this dovetails nicely with a post I made called “You don’t know Jack” back in August
Drivel
Heads You Win, Tails I Lose
“Those who don’t keep their stuff in order, are lazy… while those who do, are too lazy to look for their stuff”
Brendan Mitchell
Tech Stuff
Livestation: Live Video Streaming to iPhone Demo
Livestation™ is a new development from Skinkers
In essence it’s live video streaming to your desktop over the web, OK nothing exactly ground breaking there, but they’re also developing a version that will run on mobile devices, namely the iPhone & iPod Touch. Although technically, they can deliver the stream over a 3G network, the cell operators will likely baulk at that idea, so currently it’s only due to work via wifi. It’s not out for the iPhone or iPod Touch yet, but that’s likely to happen quite soon! Also within 3months, they have on average 5-10k per day? (so that’s quite a wide ranging average!? anywhere between 450,000 – 900,000)
Here’s the link to their blog where you can get the latest info, there’s a great interview on their with the wonderful Jemima Kiss from the Guardian
Tech Stuff
Ah, So Tru
OK, everybody has heard of Skype, (if you haven’t, then what cave have you been hiding in?) but now there’s a new VoIP kid on the block Truphone. Unlike Skype, Truphone doesn’t offer instant messaging & online chat, an answering service or even a desktop based application… so why bother with it then? Well unlike Skype, Truphone has it’s sights purely on the mobile handset market, this is an area Skype’s own developments have been somewhat lacklustre over the years, and will be a market that will dwarf the desktop in years to come.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Skype, I use it everyday, it’s become our defacto way of communicating in our business, but Truphone looks promising, plus a bit of healthy competition never hurt anyone.
Drivel
To reach 180 million people…
Radio took 40yrs
TV took 14yrs
Internet took 4yrs
Facebook 4yrs (140million so far)
(I wonder how long it will take me to get 180million people following me on twitter!?!)
Brands & Marketing
Seth Godin Podcast
I had the good fortune to arrange a live webcast with Seth Godin, to discuss his latest book. The original idea was by Elizabeth Cook, but as I’ve been doing webcasts since 1999, I said I’d be happy to help out. This was actually recorded on the 12th September, before his book was released, so I’ve been keeping it under wraps (it was only available to triiibes.com members), but as it’s already appeared on the open web, I thought I’d put a link to it and remove the passwords.
Drivel
Drip It
Something bugging you?
Have something to say?
Want to make a difference?
Then get over to dripit.org
The concept is simple… There’s three ways you can affect change.
Drip: Small incremental changes, or personal adjustments
Trickle: Larger changes that influence change and spread the word
Flood: Put on your wellies and wade on in there, to cause widespread uptake of your concept
So pick a subject you feel passionate about and post it on Dripit. Suggest how your readers can drip, trickle, flood your idea until the flood becomes unstoppable and you’ve created a movement!
Brands & Marketing
Shift Happens, Are You Ready?
I recently found my notes from a presentation I gave 13 years ago, unfortunately I no longer have the presentation (not that I would have software that could open it now even if I could find it). You need to remember that at the time a 56k modem was considered warpdrive access to that little known thingy-me-jig called the internet. Upon seeing the presentation, everyone I knew thought I was nuts, as the basis of the presentation was simple “All music will be available online.” Now that was bad enough, but I also went on to say, “it will be free, or so cheap that it might as well be” as the distributors and artist will make their money in other ways, concerts, t-shirts sales, merchandise etc (ie giving the audience what they want… mmmmmm sounds like tribe building to me, but that’s another discussion!)
OK, look at the music industry in the past 10 years then think about what I said back then, just how crazy was I? although I did say All music not just some of it (that’s still to come, and it will), but prices are hitting rock bottom, the labels tried DRM, it didn’t work (DRM free did), they tried to keep prices high, that didn’t work either, they were too slow to move with the tide. You only have to look at the likes of Jamendo to see my 13 year old predictions coming to fruition, entirely free, good quality, legal music downloads, if you like the music enough you can pay money directly to the artist through the site, but it’s your choice entirely.
The movie industry is doing the same, they think they’re safe due to movie file sizes, but they’re not, data speeds are going up, compression improving, portable players increasing… DVD’s have a 2-3 year life expectancy, HD-DVD & Blu-Ray was undoubtedly the last physical format war, everything will be online & instantly available very very soon!
As they say, “Shift Happens”, at the turn of the century the petroleum motor car replaced the standard mode of transport at the time, the horse & cart, did this end with the demise of the horse, far from it, it gave rise to horses having an improved quality of life, being used for sport & leisure activities only, rather than be flogged everyday to pull a cart. In fact the motor car gave everyone a better quality of life, if the motor car hadn’t been introduced to London it would have ground to a halt, as it was knee deep in horse manure and the stench unbearable. Now it’s the turn of the petrol based motor car, to be replaced by electric or more likely hydrogen based cars completely within the next decade, will this be the demise of the petrol car, not entirely, as enthusiasts will be able to use their treasured “classic” petrol based cars purely for leisure guilt free, in the knowledge that they’ll be using their hydrogen based car for the weekly commute to work.
The newspaper & journal industry is on it’s last legs, they appear to have forgotten what they’re really about, which is delivering “News” not paper, paper is merely the delivery mechanism, but it’s days are numbered, newspapers & books are a dying breed, being referred to as the “souvenir dead tree format”, there will be those that cling on to the printed page, just like those that still listen to vinyl (but they’re a tiny number, even iTunes alone, downloads more songs now than CD sales worldwide!). I know people argue that they like the tactile feel of real books & have a bond with them that they could never have with an electronic version, and I have to agree with them to a degree, but you have to face up to the tide of change. Plus this is only true when it comes to story books or novels, when it comes to manuals, reference books, cooks books, self help etc who has this same bond? Let’s face it, no one… are you really telling me you’re going to get attached to “Dreamweaver For Dummies”, no you’re not, plus you’d probably prefer an electronic version anyway, one that you can bookmark & search through instantly, plus contains electronic versions of code & examples.
So there’s a mindset shift that needs to happen with those that like to read paper now, but the next generation won’t have the same limitations, they’ll simply want whatever is most convenient and most up to date, no paper is the future. Another limiting factor currently is the hardware, reading on a computer screen or an iPhone isn’t great, eReaders that use e-Ink like the Kindle are so like reading paper, you hardly notice you’re not, plus they have numerous advantages. Some argue that because paper books are real tangible objects, they’re more permanent than their electronic counterparts, but actually the reverse is true, paper rots, it gets dirty, you can tear it etc. Corrupt an electronic file? simply re-load a new file and it’s as good as new, in fact it’s probably been updated with new content. I’m not dead set against paper, it has it’s place, but it’s time for the publishing houses worldwide to wake up, accept the sea of change, and prepare for it, otherwise they better be ready to move over when the flood happens & the new ePublishing houses appear on the scene giving the audience what they want (now where have I heard that before?)
So will eBooks, replace paper books? absolutely… but at the end of the day, does it really matter which prevails, as long as more people are reading & writing, who cares how it’s delivered, we’ll all be winners!
Brands & Marketing
Got Something to Say?
I got your press release, I wouldn’t change a single word… and that single word is on page 5!
Ouch! but in today’s fast paced attention grabbing media frenzy, you really have to get to the point in seconds or your reader is gone, there’s too many choices, yet too little time. Sticking your press release on your website hoping your audience will drop by & pick it up, is a waste of your time, as they won’t be dropping by, they’ll be reading what someone else has sent them directly. Plus writing a book every time is wasting their time, if they actually bother to read it that is!
Brevity is the way ahead, if the gist of your release doesn’t fit within the header of an RSS feed, you’ll get skipped over. Twitter limits you to 140 characters, but if that’s where your audience is then that’s what they want. The mobile platform is happening right now, if you’re not on it, you’re not being read.
So sending out press releases the old way isn’t cutting it anymore, you have to be pro-active to survive, you need to be opening up dialogue, and when someone does contact you, you need to respond to them directly. You need to focus on producing something they’ll want to discuss with others, and build a platform so they can!
Brands & Marketing
Just Give Me The Darn Thing!
If you’ve got something worthwhile of my time then let me read it, but don’t make me jumps through hoops to get it. Why do I have to register with your site first to get it?
ask yourself the following:
If I don’t register with you…
I’ll never know how great what you’ve written is, you had your chance but you lost it, I won’t be back.
If I register with you…
but it’s not up to scratch, sending me emails isn’t going to make any difference, your emails are just annoying me and have been relegated to my spam folder, I won’t be back.
If it’s just sitting there in the open and if it’s good!
I’ll pass it on to others and recommend they do the same, so in turn spreading the word about you.
If it’s good & I’m interested…
you don’t have to email me to remind me, I’ll be back anyway, as I want to hear more, plus I’ll probably want you to have my contact details.
So, say something worthwhile & I’ll make the decision to listen & contact you, not you.
Brands & Marketing
Can Stephen Fry kill a gadget?
For one answer click this link to the BBC dot.life article by Rory Cellan-Jones
It’s a good question to ask and anyone in a marketing or branding department should take note, as it’s not just gadgets that can be made or broken in this way, but services, reputations or even your brand!
There’s been a lot of press about the Obama Campaign utilising web 2.0 in the run up to the election, although it will be interesting to see if they continue to use Twitter & the likes as much after the campaign, odd’s on they don’t, but that’s a another conversation!
Social networks & web 2.0 services such as Twitter make the individual very powerful, and it doesn’t take long for an opinion or rumour to ripple out across a network, as per the Korean proverb “Whether it be a grain of sand or a rock, in water they both sink alike.” So size doesn’t matter as much anymore, what matters now is who’s talking & more crucially who’s listening. It’s important that businesses listen in on what is being said, plus essential they are actively in there themselves. Blanket marketing & advertising doesn’t work as effectively as it used to, we all place a recommendation from a colleague far higher than an anonymous advert, when the likes of Stephen Fry, whom is held in great esteem & is loved by his fans & followers (I’m one of them), gives an opinion on a product, we listen, because we trust him.
And there in lies the rub people, you have to be trusted, but trust takes time, you have to put in the effort and you have to be open & transparent in your opinions and take a genuine interest in what people are saying. You can’t fake it, Stephen Fry is no fake, he’s honest & open, plus he’s probably mortified that he has the power to make or break a gadget, but as “with great power comes great responsibility”, and I for one would trust Mr Fry with this power.
Here’s a link to Stephen Fry
Brands & Marketing
Get Mobile
There’s great advantage of brevity, we all use our mobiles for communicating, for texting and now surfing the web.
Your kids and grand-children, will be using mobile devices we’ve never dreamed of, and they’ll probably never see let alone use a computer, because they won’t exist… Sounds unlikely, well ask yourself this, you don’t expect them to buy vinyl, or even CD’s anymore, they’ll just download music, DVD’s & BluRay, will be gone in 5 years (BluRay may hold one for 10 years tops). In developing nations, almost anyone can get a mobile phone or has seen one, the rate of computers being sold year on year is dropping, while mobiles is increasing. In these countries the users will again never see or use a computer, Even, English won’t be the main language spoken on the internet, countries such as India & China dwarf English speaking nations, plus with ICANN soon allowing non-roman characters to be used in URL’s this change will probably happen quicker than anyone expects.
Anyway I’m breaking my first rule, “Brevity”, but you needed to think about all this… the mobile platform & brevity are the future, make sure you’re part of it.
Tech Stuff
Incredible, Jaw-Dropping Photosynth Demo
OK I know it’s almost 18 months old, but this presentation still impresses the hell out of me everytime I watch it. If you’ve not seen Blaise Aguera y Arcas giving his Photosynth demo at TED, then prepare to be wowed!
UPDATE: Microsoft has released Sea Dragon for the iPhone, not quite sure why, but maybe it will all make sense in the future.
Wize Wordz
The Difference
Next time you think someone is asking for just a little too from you, remember these words… “There’s a difference between bending backwards and bending over!”
Frank Zappa
Drivel
Try Again
While I was visiting my Aunt in Ireland a couple of years ago I was admiring a small delicate red leaf plant she had in her kitchen (I’m not much of a plant person, this was very out of character for me), she said she had loads of the stuff all over her garden, I looked out the window and sure enough it was dotted around in little red clumps here and there. So she gave me the small flower pot I had been admiring.
A few days later I wrapped it up in newspaper and placed it in my luggage ready for the flight home. Upon my return I put it on the windowsill in my own kitchen and there sat for the next 6 months, doing what plants do best, sending out new shoots as older ones withered and died back. This continued until the rate of new shoots started to drop, the withering was out pacing the new and the plant started to look very sorry for itself. Eventually there was just a single shoot which didn’t last more than a week until it too withered and died.
I put this down to my lack of plant skills, I had fed & watered the plant, but I had no idea if I was doing this too much or too little. I tipped the soil from the pot at the bottom of my garden and put the flower pot in the shed and forgot all about it. That was last November, winter came, the ground froze, it snowed etc. Then in the spring my wife said there was a small red plant growing at the bottom of the garden!?
Yep, sure enough, there it was, sprouting out of a crack on my garden path. I was amazed that it had come back, how it had survived I’ll never know. So my wife replanted it (she’s the one with the green fingers) and put it back in our kitchen, where it’s thrived, so much so, that we’ve had to split it I now have a pot in my living room.
What I have learned from this little plant, is that no matter how small or insignificant you are, or how hostile the environment, if you stick to what you do best, you will survive & maybe even thrive. Whenever I’m doing something that everyone else is telling me is a waste of time or that there’s too big an obstacle to overcome I look at that little red plant and I know that if I’m passionate and dedicated enough about it, I’ll thrive.
I still have no idea what type of plant it is, my Aunt named it “Red Shamrock”, but it’s certainly a different beast to normal Shamrock. If you know what it is let me know.
Drivel
Startup Tips for the Early, Early Days
I couldn’t agree more with this… I stumbled across it while looking at Noah Everett’s blog, he’s the founder of Nusoni… (they developed TwitPic)
Brands & Marketing
Tribes Q&A
Here’s another free eBook created by the guys in Triiibes
unlike the case studies ebook, this time, this one has been laid out properly (by Paul “Bolofeesh” Durban) and has been edited to make it a better read. Paul’s even created a Kinetic Typography style video to entice you (there’s obviously a lot more to Paul than just feesh!?)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_sy6rBl7Pk]
Brands & Marketing
How’s My Driveling?
Blogs are great, everyone should have one, certainly every company, but most of all they hsould be using it… but blogs have a serious drawback, they’re reactive, not proactive, your user has to come to you for updates. Which unless you have something worthwhile reading, they won’t bother doing. But just in case you do say something worth listening to from time to time, they link to you via RSS, just in case. And that my friends is the really important part to make note of. Blogs in general are too wordy, internet users are scanners, they don’t have time to read all the blogs out there, let alone read your long winded blog, so many choices, so little time, there’s a lot of noise to sift through.
So in steps twitter, messages that are only 140 characters in length total. May seem pointless at first, but think about what I’ve just outlined above, the messages are short, to the point and it’s proactive, your visitors link to you, they receive every tweet you send out. If all you’re doing is saying, “making my self a nice cup of coffee” or “off to the gym to pump those weights” then people will eventually stop following you around, you’re just adding to the noise & they already have a lot of that in their busy lives. Say something worth listening to and they’re continue to follow, keep it short and they’re actually read it!
Brand Building
Naked Inspiration!
Why does inspiration come when you least expect it, or at the most awkward of times? While in the shower, driving to the office, in bed just when you’re comfortable and drifting off… I’m sure many of us have kept (or keep) a notebook or something beside the bed to scribble on when inspiration suddenly strikes in the middle of the night, usually to the annoyance of whomever happens to be laying beside you at the time.
so why is this? is a left brain right brain battle for control? I think it could very well be.
At my office we perform various psychoanalytic tests, usually for a bit of fun, although, insightful personality traits & communication issues are highlighted at times. Anyway I know through years of performing these tests I’m split almost 50/50 (averaging 48% left, 52% right), which may explain a lot about how my mind works (although it’s been said by some that I’m 10% left & 10% right!?)
Of course, I’m a typical guy, I can’t find the butter in the fridge & make toast at the same time, I don’t multi-task, it’s one thing at a time for me, if I’m in the middle of writing a proposal and the phone rings or somebody says something, or distracts me ever so slightly, I’ve lost my train of thought & I grind to halt. I know this about myself, so have adapted to it, when I’ve got something I really need to think about, I lock myself awa stick my iPod on and cut myself off from the world… although this works, it has the disadvantage of cutting me off from other forms of inspiration, which can come in all sorts of wonderful and weird ways. The smallest of things can trigger an avalanche of ideas and brain activity that I have a hard job keeping up & writing it down.
Coming back from a client meeting a couple of weeks ago, I not only defined their Mission Statement & core values & thus their Brand, but I’d also worked out the entire identity, without a single pen or scrap of paper, all in 30 mins, while driving my car!!! Now, if only I could tap into that on a regular basis, I could free up so much time, it normally takes me days of brainstorming & piles of paper to do what I achieved in only 30mins.
So I’m guessing that once the left side of the brain is getting on with the mundane process of driving the car, it lets my right brain get on with what it’s good at, without interruption! or am I completely wrong, does inspiration happen anytime, and it’s only when it’s at an awkward moment that you remember it’s interruption so vividly?
So when are you most creative, or inspired by brilliant thoughts and how do you deal with it… and how do you encourage Ms Inspiration to come round & chill with you on your iPod?
Brands & Marketing
Networking or Not Working
In today’s 24/7 wired world of social networks, web 2.0 & mobile platforms, if you’re business is not networking then you’re not working!
Do you have a group or page on a social network such as Facebook?
Do you have a Twitter account?
Do you have a Blog?
Do you have a YouTube Channel?
Do you have an account on Get Satisfaction?
Do you run a Forum?
Do you have a mobile strategy?
Answer no to any or all of the above, then ask yourself why not? If you say it’s because you can’t afford the time or the resources, then find the time & the resources, as the cost to your business of not utilising these platforms will outweight your investment of time.
Answer yes to any of the above, great stuff… answer yes to all of them, that’s amazing! But remember simply registering in these places won’t mean anything if you’re not participating & engaging your audience on a one to one basis, plus it’s not just about getting large numbers. Having 5,000 people in your Facebook group won’t mean a thing if you’re not having direct two way communication with them.
It’s easier now more than ever for you to open dialogue & interface with your audience directly, but it’s also easier than ever for your audience to talk about you to others, you need to ensure what they’re saying showers you in a positive light. If you ignore the conversations going on, soon you won’t be in them anymore, as your audience will be talking about, and to, your competitors, and it will be very difficult to get them back!
Drivel
Guiness World Record for most T-Shirts worn at one…
Pointless I admit, but it made me smile
[youtube=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=r6tlw-oPDBM&feature=related]
Drivel
And the Beat Goes On with Beatcast TV
A good friend of mine, Matt Francis, was discussing an idea he had to create an online independent music channel, but was looking for an easy way to create a forum platform. I suggested he use ning. Within a couple of days, Matt had jumped head first into ning and has created an amazing music website. To see what I mean check out www.beatcast.tv
Drivel
Drivel
Help Feed The Bolofeesh!
Paul Durban has created a cartoon strip named Bolofeesh. It’s a very original concept, the life & times of two Bolofeesh, it’s very entertaining, so go have a look for yourself.
Wize Wordz
Business Strategy
Charles Darwin never actually said “survival of the fittest”
but he did say this… “It’s not the strongest
of the species that survive,
nor the most intelligent,
but the one most responsive to change.”
Drivel
An (i)nspired Idea
In my very first blog entry I asked the question where do you get your inspiration?, then a similar question in Naked Inspiration, but now there’s an inspired idea, that gives an easy way for you to show your thought processes and give thanks to those that have inspired you along the way.
When writing a blog you can easily add a hyper link to your post, but how about a simple way to differentiate between a “forward” link to more info or further reading etc and a “backward” link to those that inspired your post.
Well now you can, devised by Bernd CoCreatr (AKA Purple Pointr), the concept is simple (as are most great ideas), to add a backward inspiration link you add an (i)
(c) = copyright, (cc) = creative commons, (i) = inspired by
For more info in Bernd’s own words click the (i)
As an example:
This blog post inspired (i) by Bernd Cocreatr
Plus there is a graphic that can be used instead of the (i)
Drivel
How to be a Leader
Make your passion your goal & be committed to it
Be true to your ideology
Wear your values on your sleeve
Listen with an open mind
Speak from the heart
Be honest, most of all to yourself
Give respect where it’s due
Know when you’re right
Admit when you’re wrong
Give your audience what they want & be generous
and most of all
Be an inspiration & make a difference
Your tribe will gather, and when they do
Empower them to do the same
To read more of the same you can get a free eBook full of case studies the guys on Triiibes contributed.
Brand Building
I can’t get no…
Go on admit it, you know you jutted your lips out just then and said “mmm, mmm, mmm satis-fact-shun”
Well maybe you can now… if you have a niggle about something, or want to ask the guys that actually make the products you’re using, check out Get Satisfaction
What better way is there for a company to improve it’s products or services or head off disasters before they happen, than to take part in open discussions directly with their client base. Years ago you’d have paid a research company £,000’s to poll your customers, now you can do it online for pennies! Putting your dirty laundary on display by being transparent & open is the only way to ensure your customer loyalty and build their trust. But you have to become engaged, fobbing them off with pre-written FAQ’s won’t do it, invest your time to engage with them directly, as you’ll earn their respect & gain a follower for life in the process.
Drivel
Making Elephants Jump
I just thought this was beautifully animated
[youtube=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=TK27aknWVI4]
Drivel
Are You Ready to Lead?
In the morning the disciple would awake before dawn
He would draw water from the well & carry it up the hill
He would clean & sweep the temple
He would pick fresh mangoes, wash, slice & prepare them
He would grind coffee by hand
He would boil the water
He would awake the guru at sun rise
He would wash him
He would dress him
He would prepare the Guru’s seat
He would sit quietly, while the Guru ate
He would clear everything away
He would then sit in silence, listening to the Guru’s words of wisdom
He did this every morning for years, until one day…
He awoke
He collected the water
He picked the fruit
He prepared it
He ground the coffee
He boiled the water
He sat on the veranda and consumed the lot, as he watched the sun come up
He had a pang of guilt for what he had just done
How will the Guru react?
He turned, only to find the Guru standing quietly behind him, smiling from ear to ear
He said to the disciple “so now you’re a Guru”
Only you, can decide when it’s time & when you’re ready to lead
To read more of the same you can get a free eBook full of case studies the guys on Triiibes contributed.
Brands & Marketing
Marketing or Publicity?
Well, basically it depends how much you want to spend… simply put you pay for marketing, while publicity is free! well free as far as you don’t give anyone any money, but of course it doesn’t just happen on it’s own, you’ve got to invest the time & effort, but it’s probably more fruitful than blanket marketing & advertising.
Invest your time building a dialogue with your audience, leverage social media sites & the web 2.0 revolution, find out what it is they want and give it to them. Don’t waste you time developing products then spend the rest of your time looking for an audience, invest your time in building your audience base, build a rapport with them, then develop products and services they want, stuff they will wax lyrical about to everyone else, thus in turn increasing your market share and exposure.
These early adopters become your publicity channel, continue creating products they want and they will continue spreading the message, focus on them, not the wider market, as they’re do your marketing for you, for free!
Brands & Marketing
It’s email Jim, but not as we know it
Eyejot’s video email service is a great idea, that works really well. Rather than emailing your friends boring old text and still images, you can now send them video based emails.
Brands & Marketing
Wario Land: Shake It – YouTube Viral Campaign
If you’ve not seen this already, trust me you will send it on to others!!!
http://uk.youtube.com/experiencewii
Wize Wordz
Fighting Talk?
“Never fight a man who has nothing to lose”
Baltasar Gracian
Tech Stuff
Meet Emily – Image Metrics Tech Demo
[youtube=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bLiX5d3rC6o]
incredible isn’t it… and to see just how far things have come, he’s another Emily, some of you may remember.
Visualisation & Infographics
Bikini Statistics
“Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital”
Aaron Levenstein
Wize Wordz
Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
If you’ve not heard about Randy Pausch, or seen this video, then I’m quite surprised, as over 8.5million people have watched this on YouTube so far! I won’t try and describe it as I couldn’t do it justice, all I will say is take out 1.5hrs of your day to sit down & watch this, you’ll be so glad that you did, it may even change your whole perspective on life.
[youtube=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo]
Wize Wordz
Your Legacy?
“what we do in life, echoes in eternity”
Maximus Decimus Meridius
Brands & Marketing
Improv Everywhere
If you’ve not heard about these guys, prepare to be entertained
http://improveverywhere.com/
they also have a ning forum http://improveverywhere.ning.com/
Brands & Marketing
You Don’t Know Jack!
The bigger they are, the harder they fall… plus they’re likely to move a lot slower too
Large name brands face a dilemma, the bigger they become the harder it is to protect their brands, gone is the time when they simply bought every URL iteration of their name to protect themselves online. With the advent of Web 2.0 & social networking, intrinsically built around two way communication, a whole new range of problems has opened up for the “brand police”, plus, with the speed of their development, they’re having a hard time keeping up… so how do they protect their brands?
ExxonMobil had a rude awaking recently when a new profile named Janet identified herself as ExxonMobilCorp on Twitter. Janet proceeded to discuss the corporate affairs of ExxonMobil and had a following of over 300 users. Often Brand-Jacking is carried out by someone with monetary gain in mind or with a grudge against the brand they’re jacking. Thankfully for ExxonMobil, Janet appeared to be a loyal employee, trying to represent them as best she could, or was she? Her identity & goal is still unknown at present, if she was an employee trying her best, then ExxonMobil were lucky, but if she were someone that was subtly giving misinformation about ExxonMobil and it’s policies then the Brand-Jacking may have had a far more damaging effect had it gone unnoticed.
Another case to hit the headlines recently was when artist Nadia Piesner created an image of a starving child holding a small dog in one hand with an Louis Vuitton bag hung over the other. This was her take on how the media glorifies the likes of Paris Hilton with massive coverage & air time, while the starving of Darfur hardly get a mention. LV were not best pleased, they immediately sent a Cease & Desist letter to the artist, to which she returned a letter stating, that this would be a violation of her right to free speech & her artwork was not a direct attack on LV or infringed their identity, to which LV returned a lawsuit claiming $20,000 a day damages. Whether LV’s course of action was correct or not is up for debate, but this case highlights the seriousness of brand-jacking and it’s impact on the business.
Another form of Brand-Jacking is linked with “phishing”, were the user is duped into thinking the message or communication is official. Spam is an obvious method, but more & more social networks are becoming targets. As explained in this Wired posting, Facebook users were duped into entering their details into a fake website. OK you think, so they can see my photos and my friends photos, no biggie, but as the post highlights, many users use the same log in & passwords for social networking sites as they do to access their bank accounts. Those that use different log in details shouldn’t be complacent though, as once the hackers compromise the facebook account, they can install Trojan Horses that track key strokes and thus bank & credit card details.
So Brand-Jacking doesn’t just steal the identity of the company & it’s brand, it can steal our identities too.
UPDATE: 9 Dec 2008
A new phishing virus named Koobface has been playing havoc on Facebook, more details here.
For further information:
Save Darfur Campaign
Brand Protection:
MarkMonitor
Net Enforcers
Brand Intelligence
Drivel
Story of my life!
“Her lips said no,
but her eyes said read my lips”
unknown
Drivel
You realise you’re not as original as you thought…
OK them’s a fighting talk… well not exactly, provocative yes, but that little collection of words intrigued you & made you want to find out more, so I guess they worked, and if I can encourage (oh, let’s face it provoke) you to leave a comment, then even better.
As this is my first blog entry I thought how apt to include the bumper sticker I dreamt up a few months ago… so how is my drivelling so far? it’s OK you can tell me later.
the reason, well let me explain…
I’ve always thought of myself as being “creative”, it’s in the blood so to speak, plus it’s the first half of my job title for the past 15 years, so I have something to live up too I guess!! but I’m constantly looking around & learning from what’s been done before, both the good and the bad. As I say “Creativity is a great thing, but plagiarism is much quicker!” Don’t get me wrong, simply copying someone is breaking the rules & should be avoided, no matter how good the idea is. Thinking out of the box should be encouraged as much as possible, but sometimes you need to turn around, so you can gauge just how far away you are from the box, not so you can jump back into it when you need to, but so you can see how far you’ve come… oh, and to make sure no-one pushes you back into it!
Without getting too philosophical, aren’t we just an amalgamation of everything we’ve ever seen, smelt, tasted, heard, touched or the people we’ve met, so can we ever really be completely original? Aren’t we just regurgitating everything around us into something we can stake a claim to and call our own? A much bigger debate in its own right and not one I think I have the brain capacity to argue : )
OK, back to the drivelling bumper sticker – this time I had a completely original idea, right? I thought of it while stuck behind a truck driving into work, but alas it may have been original, but it wasn’t unique (as one of my colleagues pointed out to me a few days ago when he found on the web that someone else had also come up with the same idea).
OK, so you may be original, but probably not unique! (and surely being unique should be the ultimate goal for any Brand?)
So here’s the question, just how original have your best ideas been (if they’re unique, good for you!), or do you want to come clean and let us in on your original muse or inspiration?
So who’s going to step up first?
Don’t worry, you won’t be alone, who knows it may even be cathartic!