The really cool stuff, the ideas and innovations that are changing our lives are not being created in the big corporate offices.
Apple's roots were in somebody's parents' garage. Facebook was created by a couple of college students. Twitter is reportedly the result of a brainstorming session by a podcasting company. Instagram, Pinterest and Vine were not borne in an idea lab funded by a big multi-million dollar corporation. Warby-Parker - who has disrupted the entire eyeglass industry - was the result of a conversation between four Wharton graduate students over why it was so hard to find a reasonably priced pair of stylish eyeglasses. Social media channels continue to proliferate. Case in point - Happier, which bills itself as a "simple and beautiful way to collect happy moments you find in every day, share them with close friends, and be inspired to do more of what makes you happier."
Big business resists innovation. They might say otherwise, but they hardly walk the walk and instead create hierarchies of processes that make it near impossible to do something new in real time.
They don't like risky. Risky is too hard to explain to their board members and shareholders. That conversation is not about the cool and cutting edge. It's about what their monthly financial statements look like.
There's no doubt in my mind if the idea for Happier was pitched internally at a stalwart media company that it would have fallen on deaf ears. In those environments - if it bleeds, it leads. Which would be their reasoning behind passing on the opportunity as they explained that happy stories don't make money.
Except of course the one about the new start-up called Happier that according to the New York Times has found $2.4 million in seed funding.
note: This is Day #24 of the 30 Day Experiment. Here are the details on how it all started.
Showing posts with label Instagram. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Instagram. Show all posts
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The 140 Character Universe
Sometimes there are just too many words.
Yes, that was me who wrote that. A writer at her core. A person who needs words. Lots of them to express herself in the way in which she wants.
But sometimes less is more.Scratch that. When it comes to words, less is always more.
Writers are taught to clean it up and to show me, don't tell me. It's ingrained in the head of a writer. The little bird sitting on your shoulder - asking - is that word REALLY necessary?
Of course, today everyone is writing. If not the great American novel, chances are somewhere in the course of an average day a line or two is posted on Facebook, a Tweet is sent to your tribe, a shout out on Google+ or perhaps a cute little hook on Instagram. At the minimum you've sent at least one email or text message.
If someone has not told you about the less is more concept, you might not make your point.
-You might try a blog post that runs the length of one of those articles in Vanity Fair, which is great for a juicy magazine article, but considered a ramble for a blog that should run between 350-750 words.
-You might respond to someone else's blog post in 410 words with no beginning, middle or end that leaves the reader wondering what your point was and longing for the excess time that you seem to have.
-You might never get a retweet because the original tweet was just too long and there was nowhere to cut it down.
-That email you wrote to pitch a new client never got read because the reason for the note was buried somewhere in the fourth paragraph.
-The text you sent was so long it came in three sections which explains why your boyfriend still doesn't understand why you're mad. He never read it.
If your intention is being heard - or in this case read - get to your point. Keep it concise. Don't make us wonder what your point really is. In a world where our attention span has shriveled to that of a goldfish, there just isn't time to go wasting a lot of words.
Twitter forces the practice. For better or for worse. On the one hand it is a challenge to get to the point in just 140 characters (120 if you'd like your message retweeted). On the other hand, it forces us to get clear on what we want to say.
But even if you're not tweeting, the point of all this technology is to connect. The 140 character message won't always work, but it's a good barometer - especially if you want to make your point.
Yes, that was me who wrote that. A writer at her core. A person who needs words. Lots of them to express herself in the way in which she wants.
But sometimes less is more.
Writers are taught to clean it up and to show me, don't tell me. It's ingrained in the head of a writer. The little bird sitting on your shoulder - asking - is that word REALLY necessary?
Of course, today everyone is writing. If not the great American novel, chances are somewhere in the course of an average day a line or two is posted on Facebook, a Tweet is sent to your tribe, a shout out on Google+ or perhaps a cute little hook on Instagram. At the minimum you've sent at least one email or text message.
If someone has not told you about the less is more concept, you might not make your point.
-You might try a blog post that runs the length of one of those articles in Vanity Fair, which is great for a juicy magazine article, but considered a ramble for a blog that should run between 350-750 words.
-You might respond to someone else's blog post in 410 words with no beginning, middle or end that leaves the reader wondering what your point was and longing for the excess time that you seem to have.
-You might never get a retweet because the original tweet was just too long and there was nowhere to cut it down.
-That email you wrote to pitch a new client never got read because the reason for the note was buried somewhere in the fourth paragraph.
-The text you sent was so long it came in three sections which explains why your boyfriend still doesn't understand why you're mad. He never read it.
If your intention is being heard - or in this case read - get to your point. Keep it concise. Don't make us wonder what your point really is. In a world where our attention span has shriveled to that of a goldfish, there just isn't time to go wasting a lot of words.
Twitter forces the practice. For better or for worse. On the one hand it is a challenge to get to the point in just 140 characters (120 if you'd like your message retweeted). On the other hand, it forces us to get clear on what we want to say.
But even if you're not tweeting, the point of all this technology is to connect. The 140 character message won't always work, but it's a good barometer - especially if you want to make your point.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Authenticity: Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing
I follow a lot of people on social media networks. I've learned from many of them. When presented the opportunity I'll try to hear them speak live.
Which poses problems. Sometimes when I see them living and breathing in front of me I fall more in love. Like way back when I first admitted to a big crush on Seth Godin. I still have not gotten over it. Even when I don't agree with him, I hold his opinions in high regard. It's his authenticity that does it. It's the real thing.
But there have been others it would have been better to have never met. They know who they are.
In person they disappointed. The projection of who they were that was so live and vibrant in the words they wrote on their blog or the posts on their Facebook page fell flat in person. The energy was just not there. Which made me question who they really were.
I mean, you can pretend to be authentic in social media, but in person, there is no hiding the real truth. If you can't pull off with genuineness and ease on stage in front of real humans what you have been conveying through your tweets and blogs and Instagram pictures, then you are nothing more than a cardboard cutout of yourself.
Last Tuesday I got to hear Chris Brogan speak at ImpactNEXT. I was not disappointed. In fact, it was pretty similar to how I felt when I first met Seth Godin. I liked him even more than I did before. His online persona was no different than his real one. Smart, real, charming and pretty funny. Authentic. The real thing.
Which all leads me to this. A vibrant and robust digital profile is essential today. But when you create yours, make sure it's yours. Not some made up, inauthentic version of you.
If you don't, eventually you'll get caught. You'll find yourself standing face to face in front of someone you intrigued enough to want to meet you. And then they'll wonder where you are. Because you just don't seem like the image of you that your social presence created.
That may be okay with you. But it doesn't work for most of us. It's not smart marketing. It does not build relationships. It breaks them down.
Authenticity rules. The real kind. The kind you can't pretend to be. Even on April Fool's Day. There ain't nothing like it.
Which poses problems. Sometimes when I see them living and breathing in front of me I fall more in love. Like way back when I first admitted to a big crush on Seth Godin. I still have not gotten over it. Even when I don't agree with him, I hold his opinions in high regard. It's his authenticity that does it. It's the real thing.
But there have been others it would have been better to have never met. They know who they are.
In person they disappointed. The projection of who they were that was so live and vibrant in the words they wrote on their blog or the posts on their Facebook page fell flat in person. The energy was just not there. Which made me question who they really were.
I mean, you can pretend to be authentic in social media, but in person, there is no hiding the real truth. If you can't pull off with genuineness and ease on stage in front of real humans what you have been conveying through your tweets and blogs and Instagram pictures, then you are nothing more than a cardboard cutout of yourself.
Last Tuesday I got to hear Chris Brogan speak at ImpactNEXT. I was not disappointed. In fact, it was pretty similar to how I felt when I first met Seth Godin. I liked him even more than I did before. His online persona was no different than his real one. Smart, real, charming and pretty funny. Authentic. The real thing.
Which all leads me to this. A vibrant and robust digital profile is essential today. But when you create yours, make sure it's yours. Not some made up, inauthentic version of you.
If you don't, eventually you'll get caught. You'll find yourself standing face to face in front of someone you intrigued enough to want to meet you. And then they'll wonder where you are. Because you just don't seem like the image of you that your social presence created.
That may be okay with you. But it doesn't work for most of us. It's not smart marketing. It does not build relationships. It breaks them down.
Authenticity rules. The real kind. The kind you can't pretend to be. Even on April Fool's Day. There ain't nothing like it.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
The Real 5 Reasons No One Is Buying
No matter who I talk to about marketing in the digital age, the one question that inevitably is begging for an answer is how will all this "stuff" ultimately make me money. The "stuff" being the blogs, the content marketing, the YouTube Videos, the followers on FaceBook and Twitter and Pinterest or LinkedIn, the innovative Apps, all that SEO marketing.
It doesn't surprise me. It's the same question I was asked when I was selling sixty-second radio commercials in the eighties.
No one has ever been big about investing in marketing without an assurance that it will make them more money. Everyone wants to know what the ROI is. They want proof that all those Instagram followers will translate into cash in the same way they always wanted to know exactly how many customers one television spot in the early news would.
The real truth is there is no one straight direct line. I'd argue there really never has been. But there will always be people trying to prove one by offering a multitude of data that often misses the real point.
Marketing today has changed in that it is about creating meaningful conversations with people who are interested in what you have to say and at some point willing to plunk down their credit card to buy your wares. Digital technology has provided an avalanche of tools through which you can do that.
1-Your story is fuzzy and not relatable. As Michael Margolis said so well,"Technology is just the means, not the ends in itself. The story is what's really at stake." If I can't figure out what your story is, I'll be going elsewhere. I don't have time to try and decipher it.
2-Your solution to my problem is unclear. It's wordy. It's not succinct. I can't figure out how you might help me. In fact I'm not sure you even know what my real problems are. It's a noisy, busy world out there. If you're not making it easy for me to absorb, you've lost me before you had a chance to convert me.
3-There isn't a market for what you got. Maybe what you got ain't all that great. That's a tough one to own up to but one worth taking a look at.
4-No one believes you. Whether you are a brand or an individual profile on LinkedIn looking for a new job, if you come across as untrustworthy or not authentic, no one will listen to your message no matter how many social networks you are engaging with. Consequently they won't buy, convert or call you in for an interview.
5-You forgot to ask for the order. Today, we like to refer to that as a Call to Action. Primarily because we like to not use the word "sell". We prefer conversion. It sounds less harsh. But the end result we are looking for is the same. Moving the needle.
It doesn't surprise me. It's the same question I was asked when I was selling sixty-second radio commercials in the eighties.
No one has ever been big about investing in marketing without an assurance that it will make them more money. Everyone wants to know what the ROI is. They want proof that all those Instagram followers will translate into cash in the same way they always wanted to know exactly how many customers one television spot in the early news would.
The real truth is there is no one straight direct line. I'd argue there really never has been. But there will always be people trying to prove one by offering a multitude of data that often misses the real point.
Marketing today has changed in that it is about creating meaningful conversations with people who are interested in what you have to say and at some point willing to plunk down their credit card to buy your wares. Digital technology has provided an avalanche of tools through which you can do that.
But if the needle is not moving, and by that I mean revenue is not increasing, the real reasons remained unchanged. They are not quantifiable. They are one or more of the following:
1-Your story is fuzzy and not relatable. As Michael Margolis said so well,"Technology is just the means, not the ends in itself. The story is what's really at stake." If I can't figure out what your story is, I'll be going elsewhere. I don't have time to try and decipher it.
2-Your solution to my problem is unclear. It's wordy. It's not succinct. I can't figure out how you might help me. In fact I'm not sure you even know what my real problems are. It's a noisy, busy world out there. If you're not making it easy for me to absorb, you've lost me before you had a chance to convert me.
3-There isn't a market for what you got. Maybe what you got ain't all that great. That's a tough one to own up to but one worth taking a look at.
4-No one believes you. Whether you are a brand or an individual profile on LinkedIn looking for a new job, if you come across as untrustworthy or not authentic, no one will listen to your message no matter how many social networks you are engaging with. Consequently they won't buy, convert or call you in for an interview.
5-You forgot to ask for the order. Today, we like to refer to that as a Call to Action. Primarily because we like to not use the word "sell". We prefer conversion. It sounds less harsh. But the end result we are looking for is the same. Moving the needle.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
My 8 Rules Of Social Media Engagement
Someone asked me recently to tweet something for someone they were working with. It was a new product, one I had no hands on knowledge of. I love helping and I love spreading good stuff. Still, I said no.
I had my reasons.
I'm careful about what I attach my name to. It's a reflection of who I am and what I think and stand for. And I know that what I put out there, stays out there. Forever and then some. No matter how much I'd like to believe that delete button really works, it doesn't when it comes to the Internet. So I'm thoughtful about what I share and suggest to my followers. I keep it to the stuff I care about and know about and have intimate knowledge of.
For instance just the other day I shared a link encouraging people to vote for Laura Zigman in the Shorty Awards. I love her Annoying Conversation series. They are clever and well-written and they never fail to make me laugh out loud. I think she's deserving of winning.
This other request did not fall into such a category. At least not for me.
But I know everyone is not like me. Like everything else in life, many share on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest because they think by doing so there is something in it for them. They shout outrageous things in 140 characters or less, they might not say if we were standing in front of them. They post a picture on Instagram that guarantees they might never see that promotion they had their eyes on. They have interpreted having an authentic voice to mean typing whatever comes to the top of their head with absolutely no filter, followed by quickly hitting the send button without a care as to the repercussions their words might have. Again, things they might never say at a dinner party. Or maybe they would.
(note to self: do not invite those types to any I'm hosting)
In any case it got me thinking it was time to share the rules I like to follow when engaging in Social Media.
- Think before you post. To Twitter or Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+ or whatever your social net of choice is.
- Post with integrity. By definition integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, moral being the difference between right and wrong.
- Remember that what you put out there will stay there. Forever. And a day.
- Your on-line engagement is a reflection of who you are. So think before you post, who do you want to be seen as?
- Being authentic does not mean posting the first crazy thought that pops in your head. At least not without taking a long, deep breath first.
- Being creative does not mean being outlandish, cruel or thoughtless.
- Don't share what you have not read or viewed. Sounds so obvious but it happens. All the time.
- Don't share what you don't believe or think has value or is worth sharing. The great thing about our new digital age is that really great ideas can spread quickly. So can bad ones. Your opinion can help to make that happen. So use it. Wisely.
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