Aaron, publisher of miLienzo.com has meme'd me. As he re-coupes from a long but successful semester, I'm betting this will be the last for a while. It's interesting tracing these things. I must be at the bottom of the bunch. I believe this meme has been around for two weeks.
Anyhow–
Eight things you probably don’t know about me–probably.
1) I'm originally from Long Island. Long-gi-land.*
2) I've read "Adventures of the Mind," 8 times.
3) I used to lie about my age when I was in my early teens in order to work.
4) I still lie about my age.
5) If you say my complete name out-loud quickly, it sounds like 'more crapp.'
6) I used to be really good at billiards. In-fact, I've applied everything I've learned from the game, into my work ethics.
7) I've got a nose piercing. Tiny-itsy-bitsy-shiny-thingy.
8) No, it doesn't fly out when I blow my nose.
*I have no obvious accents, no southern, midwestern-nadda. It's weird.
And now, eight things about: Joanna Bickley ( shoulda been sleeping! ), Briana ( cause I know your answering one already ), Mr. Price, Johno, Architectradure and Design Sojourn ( even though he's probably actually blogging–probably ).
6.26.2007
WHAT IS IT CALLED–AGAIN?
I'm realizing that I don't really follow the jargon most agencys perpetuate to clients–what else is new.
Heres why:
A picture might very well be worth a thousand words but, that doesn't mean we should be using more then ten to describe or explain it.
ART DIRECTORS HAT
To assume you can communicate a value proposition by adding more visually, is just plain silly. What really happens is, you create more noise. Another crappy little shrub that got lost in the forest.
MEDIA/PLANNER HAT
With the increasingly limited amount of time we have with a prospect we should be engaging them to look once and think twice. Once they've made a decision to look a little closer, they've made a choice. And when prospects make a choice on their own, they've established a relative value. That choice denotes value. The message becomes a valued experience. This doesn't happen when your prospect is confused.
THE ETHNOGRAPER'S HAT
When asked to look back into our past and describe an experience during a conversation, most of us instinctively condense the entire experience into a few words. Sometimes our body-language will carry more of the burden of reinterpreting the experience however, our words remain very simple. The body-language is peripheral and meant to reinforce and even re-inact the experience for our listener. Ultimately once we think we have our listeners attention, body-language even simplifies. I think it's logical to assume we should be following these same guidelines with our communication.
THE OBSERVER'S HAT
This does not mean it cannot be vibrant, exciting or contrastingly-elegant or subtle. These descriptors are closer to emotions then they are expressions and description of visuals. These are all perceptual end-results. A prospect does not instantly perceive; bold, exciting, uplifting, benefit. Not in a context of 'placed' media.
Campaigns with communication that establish a big picture, with media being the 'details' and not the focus, will create relevancy. Position a statement before you position media. A statement is clear and concise. Whether written or expressed verbally ( or anything auditory ). Creating alternative vehicles for messaging should be secondary. And all–though media is the form in which we function it is not a something with a true form. The ideas and concepts should dictate the media. Perhaps calling media 'context' with the message/concept being 'content' will help clarify my points. (some of this sourced from a previous post)
How many times can you sell the same idea, with the same verbiage, to the same people, before you realize your not doing what your claiming the work does.
Heres why:
A picture might very well be worth a thousand words but, that doesn't mean we should be using more then ten to describe or explain it.
ART DIRECTORS HAT
To assume you can communicate a value proposition by adding more visually, is just plain silly. What really happens is, you create more noise. Another crappy little shrub that got lost in the forest.
MEDIA/PLANNER HAT
With the increasingly limited amount of time we have with a prospect we should be engaging them to look once and think twice. Once they've made a decision to look a little closer, they've made a choice. And when prospects make a choice on their own, they've established a relative value. That choice denotes value. The message becomes a valued experience. This doesn't happen when your prospect is confused.
THE ETHNOGRAPER'S HAT
When asked to look back into our past and describe an experience during a conversation, most of us instinctively condense the entire experience into a few words. Sometimes our body-language will carry more of the burden of reinterpreting the experience however, our words remain very simple. The body-language is peripheral and meant to reinforce and even re-inact the experience for our listener. Ultimately once we think we have our listeners attention, body-language even simplifies. I think it's logical to assume we should be following these same guidelines with our communication.
THE OBSERVER'S HAT
This does not mean it cannot be vibrant, exciting or contrastingly-elegant or subtle. These descriptors are closer to emotions then they are expressions and description of visuals. These are all perceptual end-results. A prospect does not instantly perceive; bold, exciting, uplifting, benefit. Not in a context of 'placed' media.
Campaigns with communication that establish a big picture, with media being the 'details' and not the focus, will create relevancy. Position a statement before you position media. A statement is clear and concise. Whether written or expressed verbally ( or anything auditory ). Creating alternative vehicles for messaging should be secondary. And all–though media is the form in which we function it is not a something with a true form. The ideas and concepts should dictate the media. Perhaps calling media 'context' with the message/concept being 'content' will help clarify my points. (some of this sourced from a previous post)
How many times can you sell the same idea, with the same verbiage, to the same people, before you realize your not doing what your claiming the work does.
I'M TIRED OF SEARCHING
Earlier today, Kevin Lee posted a question within his LinkedIn network;
As I thought about it–there are times I just don't want to search. Yes–there are days when searching seems painstaking and not fast enough for me brainy.
So I thought, what if all data passed through our servers and daily communication was aggregated and later mined by a ( whatever the term is ) program that would later hit the search engines and return viable content based on the company's internal communications that day?
It would alleviate a great deal of searching and also minimize the need for an 'influencer' or 'connector.' It would be an automated service that provides relevant information to the company and it's interests as a whole.
Thoughts?
"Is there a "designated searcher" in your office or household?"
While sitting watching a panel at an event argue about whether the concept of the "influencer" had validity a thought occurred to me. While there may be influencers in search (consumers who influence others), a more... see more answerable question is whether there are designated searchers. In your office or home is there someone who is asked to perform searches for information or use search in the net to find products? Or does everyone do their own searching.
As I thought about it–there are times I just don't want to search. Yes–there are days when searching seems painstaking and not fast enough for me brainy.
So I thought, what if all data passed through our servers and daily communication was aggregated and later mined by a ( whatever the term is ) program that would later hit the search engines and return viable content based on the company's internal communications that day?
It would alleviate a great deal of searching and also minimize the need for an 'influencer' or 'connector.' It would be an automated service that provides relevant information to the company and it's interests as a whole.
Thoughts?
6.25.2007
GEEK MARKETING 101
I've had this post planned since I began this blog and completely forgot about it. I loved this post as did many others. And it's worth reiterating no matter how old it is.
Originally posted on Make Marketing History:
1) Marketing is not a department.
Marketing is a combination of elements that creates the environment in which it is possible to meet a customer need (starting right back at product development). Promotion and sales are just sub-sets of marketing.
2) Marketing is a conversation, but most people don't speak geek.
Successful technology marketing must translate the creations of the uncommunicative into the needs of the untechnical. Spin is not good marketing. Lucid two-way communication is.
3) Simplicity does not negate complexity.
Reductive marketing that simplifies ideas does not undersell your complex creation. It facilitates an entree to your world. You can't have passionate users until they start using.
4) Think what, not how?
Think of the "product" in terms of what it does, not how it does it. You may be interested in the latter, but your users generally aren't. Portable computer memory is not a difficult concept to enunciate, yet flash drive and USB drive nomenclature is predicated on technological aspects not the actual function. Long words confuse, don't they?
5) Think will, not can.
Think of the "product" in terms of what most people will be happy doing with it and not in the myriad possibilities it offers. You may think speed and multiple settings are hot, but outside the lab such attributes may not provide the greatest satisfaction. Simple, intuitive interfaces will.
6) Only you RTFM.
Regular people don't read the manual. It's too big (see 5), too complicated (see 3) and thus incomprehensible. It's not that people are averse to science and technology - they're averse to being made to feel helpless. The demand for books that simplify science is huge the world over. Your manual is marketing.
7) Technical Support is marketing.
In the absence of all of the above, your users inevitably need help. A technical support department speaking in non-technical, hand-holding language transforms their purchase from waste of money to life-enhancing boon and is the greatest marketing tool you have.
8) You're not marketing to people who hate marketing.
Don't allow your misguided prejudices about advertising and snake-oil to infect your approach and damage sales. People hate hype, spin and unfulfilled expectations. They do not hate having their needs met (see 1).
9) You're not marketing to people who hate technology products.
They're not Luddites, but nor are they geeks - that's what you're paid to be. However, they often hate how technology products make them feel because blinding with science is as bad as baffling with bullshit.
10) Marketing demystifies.
As the conversations develop, the users comprehend your products better and you better understand their needs. With increased confidence, they utilise more and more of your geekiness and, with increased awareness, you are better able to adapt to their behaviours. They feel more warmly about geeks and you may get the chance to buy them a drink. That doesn't sound so bad, does it?
Originally posted on Make Marketing History:
1) Marketing is not a department.
Marketing is a combination of elements that creates the environment in which it is possible to meet a customer need (starting right back at product development). Promotion and sales are just sub-sets of marketing.
2) Marketing is a conversation, but most people don't speak geek.
Successful technology marketing must translate the creations of the uncommunicative into the needs of the untechnical. Spin is not good marketing. Lucid two-way communication is.
3) Simplicity does not negate complexity.
Reductive marketing that simplifies ideas does not undersell your complex creation. It facilitates an entree to your world. You can't have passionate users until they start using.
4) Think what, not how?
Think of the "product" in terms of what it does, not how it does it. You may be interested in the latter, but your users generally aren't. Portable computer memory is not a difficult concept to enunciate, yet flash drive and USB drive nomenclature is predicated on technological aspects not the actual function. Long words confuse, don't they?
5) Think will, not can.
Think of the "product" in terms of what most people will be happy doing with it and not in the myriad possibilities it offers. You may think speed and multiple settings are hot, but outside the lab such attributes may not provide the greatest satisfaction. Simple, intuitive interfaces will.
6) Only you RTFM.
Regular people don't read the manual. It's too big (see 5), too complicated (see 3) and thus incomprehensible. It's not that people are averse to science and technology - they're averse to being made to feel helpless. The demand for books that simplify science is huge the world over. Your manual is marketing.
7) Technical Support is marketing.
In the absence of all of the above, your users inevitably need help. A technical support department speaking in non-technical, hand-holding language transforms their purchase from waste of money to life-enhancing boon and is the greatest marketing tool you have.
8) You're not marketing to people who hate marketing.
Don't allow your misguided prejudices about advertising and snake-oil to infect your approach and damage sales. People hate hype, spin and unfulfilled expectations. They do not hate having their needs met (see 1).
9) You're not marketing to people who hate technology products.
They're not Luddites, but nor are they geeks - that's what you're paid to be. However, they often hate how technology products make them feel because blinding with science is as bad as baffling with bullshit.
10) Marketing demystifies.
As the conversations develop, the users comprehend your products better and you better understand their needs. With increased confidence, they utilise more and more of your geekiness and, with increased awareness, you are better able to adapt to their behaviours. They feel more warmly about geeks and you may get the chance to buy them a drink. That doesn't sound so bad, does it?
6.22.2007
SIGNED, THE WEB MASTER
Dear Mr. Architect:
Please design and build me a house. I am not quite sure of what I need, so you should use your discretion. My house should have somewhere between two and forty-five bedrooms. Just make sure the plans are such that the bedrooms can be easily added or deleted. When you bring the blueprints to me, I will make the final decision of what I want. Also, bring me the cost breakdown for each configuration so that I can arbitrarily pick one.
Keep in mind that the house I ultimately choose must cost less than the one I am currently living in. Make sure, however, that you correct all the deficiencies that exist in my current house (the floor of my kitchen vibrates when I walk across it, and the walls don't have nearly enough insulation in them).
As you design, also keep in mind that I want to keep yearly maintenance costs as low as possible. This should mean the incorporation of extra-cost features like aluminum, vinyl, or composite siding. (If you choose not to specify aluminum, be prepared to explain your decision in detail.)
Please take care that modern design practices and the latest materials are used in construction of the house, as I want it to be a showplace for the most up-to-date ideas and methods. Be alerted, however, that kitchen should be designed to accommodate, among other things, my 1952 Gibson refrigerator.
To insure that you are building the correct house for our entire family, make certain that you contact each of our children, and also our in-laws. My mother-in-law will have very strong feelings about how the house should be designed, since she visits us at least once a year. Make sure that you weigh all of these options carefully and come to the right decision. I, however, retain the right to overrule any choices that you make.
Please don't bother me with small details right now. Your job is to develop the overall plans for the house: get the big picture. At this time, for example, it is not appropriate to be choosing the color of the carpet.
However, keep in mind that my wife likes blue.
Also, do not worry at this time about acquiring the resources to build the house itself. Your first priority is to develop detailed plans and specifications. Once I approve these plans, however, I would expect the house to be under roof within 48 hours.
While you are designing this house specifically for me, keep in mind that sooner or later I will have to sell it to someone else. It therefore should have appeal to a wide variety of potential buyers. Please make sure before you finalize the plans that there is a consensus of the population in my area that they like the features this house has. I advise you to run up and look at my neighbor's house he constructed last year. We like it a great deal. It has many features that we would also like in our new home, particularly the 75-foot swimming pool. With careful engineering, I believe that you can design this into our new house without impacting the final cost.
Please prepare a complete set of blueprints. It is not necessary at this time to do the real design, since they will be used only for construction bids. Be advised, however, that you will be held accountable for any increase of construction costs as a result of later design changes.
You must be thrilled to be working on as an interesting project as this! To be able to use the latest techniques and materials and to be given such freedom in your designs is something that can't happen very often. Contact me as soon as possible with your complete ideas and plans.
PS: My wife has just told me that she disagrees with many of the instructions I've given you in this letter. As architect, it is your responsibility to resolve these differences. I have tried in the past and have been unable to accomplish this. If you can't handle this responsibility, I will have to find another architect.
PPS: Perhaps what I need is not a house at all, but a travel trailer. Please advise me as soon as possible if this is the case..
-Unknown
Please design and build me a house. I am not quite sure of what I need, so you should use your discretion. My house should have somewhere between two and forty-five bedrooms. Just make sure the plans are such that the bedrooms can be easily added or deleted. When you bring the blueprints to me, I will make the final decision of what I want. Also, bring me the cost breakdown for each configuration so that I can arbitrarily pick one.
Keep in mind that the house I ultimately choose must cost less than the one I am currently living in. Make sure, however, that you correct all the deficiencies that exist in my current house (the floor of my kitchen vibrates when I walk across it, and the walls don't have nearly enough insulation in them).
As you design, also keep in mind that I want to keep yearly maintenance costs as low as possible. This should mean the incorporation of extra-cost features like aluminum, vinyl, or composite siding. (If you choose not to specify aluminum, be prepared to explain your decision in detail.)
Please take care that modern design practices and the latest materials are used in construction of the house, as I want it to be a showplace for the most up-to-date ideas and methods. Be alerted, however, that kitchen should be designed to accommodate, among other things, my 1952 Gibson refrigerator.
To insure that you are building the correct house for our entire family, make certain that you contact each of our children, and also our in-laws. My mother-in-law will have very strong feelings about how the house should be designed, since she visits us at least once a year. Make sure that you weigh all of these options carefully and come to the right decision. I, however, retain the right to overrule any choices that you make.
Please don't bother me with small details right now. Your job is to develop the overall plans for the house: get the big picture. At this time, for example, it is not appropriate to be choosing the color of the carpet.
However, keep in mind that my wife likes blue.
Also, do not worry at this time about acquiring the resources to build the house itself. Your first priority is to develop detailed plans and specifications. Once I approve these plans, however, I would expect the house to be under roof within 48 hours.
While you are designing this house specifically for me, keep in mind that sooner or later I will have to sell it to someone else. It therefore should have appeal to a wide variety of potential buyers. Please make sure before you finalize the plans that there is a consensus of the population in my area that they like the features this house has. I advise you to run up and look at my neighbor's house he constructed last year. We like it a great deal. It has many features that we would also like in our new home, particularly the 75-foot swimming pool. With careful engineering, I believe that you can design this into our new house without impacting the final cost.
Please prepare a complete set of blueprints. It is not necessary at this time to do the real design, since they will be used only for construction bids. Be advised, however, that you will be held accountable for any increase of construction costs as a result of later design changes.
You must be thrilled to be working on as an interesting project as this! To be able to use the latest techniques and materials and to be given such freedom in your designs is something that can't happen very often. Contact me as soon as possible with your complete ideas and plans.
PS: My wife has just told me that she disagrees with many of the instructions I've given you in this letter. As architect, it is your responsibility to resolve these differences. I have tried in the past and have been unable to accomplish this. If you can't handle this responsibility, I will have to find another architect.
PPS: Perhaps what I need is not a house at all, but a travel trailer. Please advise me as soon as possible if this is the case..
-Unknown
6.21.2007
6.20.2007
BEHANCE
" Great ideas are conceived and subsequently lost in the hands of creative geniuses, everyday. Frustration, rationalization, and despondence loom as creative people jump from idea, to idea, to idea... and fall short of actually making ideas happen. It is a shame that most creative breakthroughs never materialize.
The Behance team studies exceptionally productive people and teams working in the creative fields. We document the methods and resources that productive creative professionals use to push their ideas forward.
Our inventory of knowledge, products, and services is carefully curated according to our philosophy, "Productive Creativity."
Behance
6.18.2007
FIRE THIS PERSON
"We don't have the money for that."
( budget allocation takes place after the big idea )
"It's been done before."
( all emotions have been touched. execution redefines them. )
If it is truly a new idea, there are no words to describe it.
Embrace them.
( budget allocation takes place after the big idea )
"It's been done before."
( all emotions have been touched. execution redefines them. )
If it is truly a new idea, there are no words to describe it.
Embrace them.
6.17.2007
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Imagine a brand landscape defined by the individual; the consumer, the prospect, the common surveyor–a marketplace that evolves organically based on consumer interaction and feedback. A company and their agency-both accountable for their products, services and ideas. Knowledge is growing directly in relation to the amount of people contributing to it without regard for social or economical barriers. Language barriers don't exist. Knowledge is systematic growth based on interoperation without ration. Mass communications leveraged by the individual. Products and services rising and falling on their own merits. Someone googles "sucker born everyday," every minute. Advertising talks too much, art requires no explanation and we live in the middle. Create relevancy.
