Here are three lessons gleaned from watching brands both succeed and fail at trying to make a video that “goes viral.”
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With the debut of Google+, how are audiences reacting and what are it’s long-term prospects?
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So I am in one of those strange moral dilemmas where I want to talk about something but don’t want to drag specifics into it. Ironically, that’s exactly the approach a new website, The Cancer Talk, is taking to helping kids talk to their parents about prevention and diagnosis of cancer.
Let’s put it this way -- for anyone who has been through or is going through a battle with cancer, you know that it’s never easy. The only thing you can do is pray you found it early, seek out as much information as possible and commit to the fight.
Sponsored by FCancer, The Cancer Talk features tools and guides for kids to talk to their parents about factors that lead to a higher risk of cancer. Along the way, the site features cool stuff like a celebrity-voice mail system that can lessen the awkwardness and help set up the conversation. The goal is to promote healthier lifestyles, overall and hopefully more vigilance.
The main call to action of the site is that 90% of all cancers can be treated successfully if found in early stages. This might not be relevant for some families but I think we can all agree that prevention and knowledge is a good thing and needs to be on the table.
If you haven’t done it, talk to your parents and family members about cancer. Talk about lifestyles risks and talk about family history. One moment of awkwardness could make the difference in catching cancer early and can help families cope and beat it.
As much as I think she’s head-and-shoulders, intellectually above some other pop icons I can’t decide if I love or hate Lady Gaga. On one hand, she’s been the first new artist in a while to really be able to speak the gay community. She’s also inspired a new look at what diversity means and how we define it in terms of accepting one another and ourselves. On the other, she’s almost TOO GOOD at it.
You see, Lady Gaga has figured out the formula for mega-hits and an instant mass (read: cult) following. She’s figured it out so well that she’s churning out one hit after another in the same format with roughly the same theme. Sure, as Ragan Fox points out, her lyrics are amazing but the over-engineered bass beat almost drowns out any attempt at sincerity.
What happens when you crack the code of this kind of mass stardom is that your fans tend to start over-looking your artistic integrity in favor of worshiping at the alter of their popularity. They play the music over and over again telling themselves that it’s good when it really could use someone stripping it down to an “unplugged” version. The music becomes an actual barrier to exploring other, more nuanced music styles.
It’s like fast food. Who needs a salad when you can get fries just as easily? I am not saying you have to be on a “music diet” but anyone who’s really gotten into diverse styles of music will tell you it takes an open mind and ear to appreciate and enjoy it.
In a sense, it really correlates well with a popularization of gay culture and the gay rights movement. As soon as we figured out it was stylish to be gay, we started to chip away at our own ability to be diverse among our own ranks. We systematically pushed the things that didn’t fit with what fashion deemed to be fabulous to the fringe and in doing so gutted our argument for tolerance for all.
OK, maybe I am thinking WAY too much into this but you see what I am talking about, right? We can have our diversity and love Gaga too but let’s demand more from her as a true symbol of acceptance.
It’s a sophomore album so I’ll download her new album but Gaga, I’ve got your number. If you want to continue to carry the banner, you need to prove you deserve it.
Photo Courtesy of Peter Cruise
Ok, I am just going to let this loose because, well, I can.
For the last several weeks – or more like 2 months – I have had the most serious writer’s block I think I’ve ever had. I’ve attempted to find the source and, at long last, I think I’ve found it…
Let’s start from the beginning, shall we? About a year ago my life started to unravel by a series of events, the details of which I really don’t want to talk about quite yet. Suffice it to say, it culminated in a long-overdue moment of shakabuku.
In case you’re not familiar, shakabuku is Buddhist term referring to “a swift spiritual kick to the head that dramatically alters your view on life” (see pop culture reference here). Shakabuku moments, themselves are meant to be unpleasant but the way in which mine was served up left me with this residual feeling of angst that I don’t think I ever quite let go of.
Flash forward – life went on, my situation almost instantly and vastly improved and it turned out that the shakabuku served its purpose. Still though, I couldn’t forgive or forget the way it went down. There was still something inside of me wanting to get out – a feeling that things were still not right on a karmic level. It turns out I was right.
Though I am really not one for schadenfreude, something happened that made me really glad to have moved on. In its own, unique way karma worked itself out.
Nothing really stopped me from growing and evolving but I realized that pent up angst took a toll on me in the form of serious writer’s block. You see, I write to build things and nothing is more destructive to a creative spirit than a grudge. Sure, it can sustain you and power an ambition to best those you feel wronged by but that only lasts for so long.
I wanted to start building again but in order to do that, I have to release the last of that angst and satisfy my own need for a karmic level-set. Though I may not ever forget what happened, I can forgive the events that precipitated the wrong and be grateful that it led me to a much, much better place.
Photo courtesy of MixTribe
Too many times we keep ourselves from going forward by hanging onto the past. Grudges, past histories and the memories of moments gone by haunt us into thinking our future is determined by the life we led.
This past weekend, my paternal grandfather passed away. He was someone that got caught in the all-too-common familial politics that accompany a divorce and its aftermath. Though the things that transpired were the fault of neither of us, they put a strain on our relationship.
Upon hearing of his illness, it was my hope that I could put both of our regrets to rest. I wanted to let him know that even though it felt like it, we never lost each other. Unfortunately, by the time a call could be arranged it was too late.
His passing, though not unexpected, highlights the all-too fragile nature of life and of relationships. Those of us who are lucky walk through troubled times and come out stronger on the other end.
Though it may not seem important at the time, we owe it to ourselves to resolve the past in the best way we know how. It’s not always easy and its not always equal. However, it’s the price we should be able to pay for making the lives of those who we are most closely connected to us that much better.
It occurs to me that for far too long we hold onto the past and let it constrain what we could be or what we could achieve. I look around me now at the family, the life and the budding relationships I have and realize how lucky I am. Perhaps the most difficult thing is forgiveness and perhaps there are things that should not, in fact be forgiven.
The only thing I know for certain tonight is that my grandfather was a good man. He was an honorable man who made his way in life the best way he knew how. We should all be as lucky for others to say that of us when our time comes.
Back in high school everyone knew who the “cool kids” were. They hung out in right corner of the lunchroom, they spoke to only the right people and no matter how badly they treated us, we all wanted to be them.
Flash-forward 10+ years later and the dynamics really haven’t shifted that much, particularly in what most of us call “social media.” Sure, the food is better (thank you, scoutmob) but we’re still ruled by cliques and quirks we always were back in high school. In fact, the stakes are now higher because the “cool kids” have power in the form of influence over others’ buying behaviors.
Given this continued dynamic, I set about trying to deconstruct influence from both sides of the electronic divide. Perhaps, I thought, if I could explain the influence equation it would be easier for us to identify, manage and influence the influencers.
Here’s what I ultimately came up with:
I kept it simple to zoom in on the key factors of influence and also to help define why, perhaps, our overtures at influence may fail from time to time.
CONTENT
VOICE
Content and Voice enhance and amplify each other. In fact, in later posts I’ll go into this relationship deeper but notice that all influencers have the same ability to know themselves, their audience and just what to say to push their audiences’ “buttons.”
PERCEPTION
Now that the equation is set up, it’s easier to deconstruct the components of influence into smaller parts to help and explain and “crack” the influence code. That is exactly what I want to do in subsequent posts as well as dive into barriers to influence. Perhaps by looking closer at what keeps influencers from becoming influencers, we as marketers can better manager and create for the world of social media.
As always; suggestions or counter-arguments are welcome so if you think this equation could be stronger, drop a line in the comments.
One of the great things about working in a boutique operation is that your co-workers can be remarkably candid without being mean. For instance, yesterday I was in a lengthy meeting trying to explain a strategic plan when the conversation turned to my use of “MBA-Speak.”
As the team’s more senior members put it; most MBAs have an affinity for MBA speak simply because it’s what they’re used to being around. In the outside world, they added, there is an enormous benefit to being able to speak plainly without over-complicating your vocabulary for the benefit of sounding smart.
Having previously worked in a situation where being an MBA was actually a liability, I saw their rationale and appreciated the way in which they delivered the critique. In fact, they pressed me to explain why my plan would help us differentiate from other agencies in a single sentence. After several missed attempts, I finally stripped the last of the MBA-Speak out of my explanation. When I looked back on the simplicity of the sentence and how it was 100 times more powerful than 4 more sentences packed with business jargon and buzzwords my jaw hit the floor.
Though I can’t promise my team to completely erase the MBA-Speak from my vocabulary, I can set myself a challenge to try. For the next month I am going to see if I can go without using any of the following:
I will also attempt to explain the benefits of whatever I am working in direct relation to increased customer awareness, interest, leads or sales instead of things like “engagement.” Best of all, I will let you know how it goes!
In the meantime, feel free to add words I should avoid using in the comments section. Let the games begin!
Deep in my files I have a folder containing a hard copy of every performance review I’ve had. I open this folder from time to time just to take a peak at how far I’ve come in certain ways and just how far I have to go in others.
Some might call this practice cruel and inhuman. Who cares about your previous critiques or accomplishments if, as my friend Leslie says, you’re only as good as your last project?
Still though, it’s an interesting look back at the themes that tend to permeate your working life and a reflection on the journey to world domination….or whatever personal direction you might be headed.
For instance, a comment I see over and over again is that I tend to take on a lot more work than I can handle. This, in and of itself is not a bad thing. In fact, these comments usually say more about my relationship with that boss more than anything else.
For instance, the bosses that I generally got along with usually characterized this particular aspect of my personality as a good way to power through the workload. In the one case where my boss and I didn’t really get along, they characterized it in a less-flattering way. In fact, I think the word he used, off-the-record of course, was “asshole.”
My issues with this particular boss aside, I realized that the terminology fits in an odd way. Think about it; we all have those moments when our work situation causes us to pull inside of ourselves and forget there are other people around us. We all, at one point in time or another, become assholes or at least in the eyes of those around us
It’s not a permanent thing and many times, we don’t even know it’s happening. We just simply become aware only of our own needs and that’s how we manage the stress.
The thing to remember about becoming an asshole is that we have to become tolerant of both ourselves and others – both when we, ourselves are acting assholes and also when we see others acting like assholes. After all everyone has bad days – even assholes.
Think of it in terms of karma. It’s a given that not every day will be your best day. It’s also a given that every day will not always be the best day for your co-workers, either. The more you can try to understand and tolerate others when they slip into that mode, the better chance you will have of being tolerated when the occasion comes around that you fall, unknowingly, into “asshole-dom.”
Let me make one thing clear; I am not advocating that being a full-time asshole is a good thing. In fact if those performance reviews tell me anything, it’s that you can’t be a good boss or a good teammate if, at your very core, you’re an asshole.
What I am saying is that it’s time for us to understand that business and progress are full-contact sports. In a global marketplace with competition for every dollar; those who are focused on the politics of appeasement are leaving valuable opportunities on the table. For the sake of taking risks and pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zone we owe each other tolerance.
Next time you feel like one of your co-workers is being an asshole, try to understand why. When you feel yourself becoming an asshole, do the same thing. Understand that a certain amount of creative tension is a good thing and that being human means that this tension is a double-edged sword.
Possibly more importantly, when you emerge from the state of being an asshole cultivate forgiveness from both others and yourself. Just remember that understanding breeds tolerance and those moments when you can be focused on relationships should be dedicated to advancing understanding of both yourself and others.
One thing is for certain, though I see the moments of imperfection reflected in those reviews I also see moments of progress and accomplishment to accompany every one of them. This is, in the end, is the best we can hope for.