Stories Told Through Ira Glass

If you do anything creative, you know the battle between a flash of instant brilliance, and working, working, working to get to that inspiring idea.

In the clip above, Ira Glass, host of This American Life on NPR, talks about how practice makes perfect even when it comes to creative work (click for video).  Cue Gladwell’s Outlier’s pitch.

Just because you have taste and vision doesn’t mean the work you put out matches your ambition. You need to do a large volume of work before you hit upon something really compelling, and your output catches up to your good taste.  

In fact, the good taste that many creators have often stifles the ‘artist as a young man’, because one realizes that the early output...isn’t all that great.

That said, there are constructs to follow to possibly get to that successful spot more readily.

In an additional segment, Mr. Glass shares his experience of what makes a good story. Although he focuses on broadcasting, his nuggets of truth are applicable whether creating or presenting or...socializing.

As he says, a story is essentially a sequence of events told in a compelling way that carries the audience towards a destination, coupled with a moment of reflection on why the story matters.

The trick?  Figuring out the strong interplay between the two and editing down to content that isn’t crap.

Storytelling is powerful in any situation, creative or not, because our brains are wired to process in terms of narratives. With a lot of work, editing, and luck, you can create better communication in the form of a good story.

Maybe a pair of Ira Glass’s thick glasses would help as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loxJ3FtCJJA&feature=relmfu
http://vimeo.com/24715531

The Best Advice You'll Ever Hear

Having problems with your business? Why not call up Nobel Prize winning economist Gary Becker to talk it over. Think your significant other is hiding something? Just get ex-FBI Special Agent Joe Navarro’s take on the matter. 

A start-up website called Expert Insight is making it easier for us common-folk to get advice from the best of the best. Customers can browse the list of experts from various fields and their hourly rates, select a time slot from their schedule, pay online, and video chat their way to enlightenment.

Most of the rates are pretty steep, but paying $400 an hour for Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron is still far more democratic than having to be accepted into Harvard and paying the $50,000 tuition. 

Although Expert Insight is still in its beta phase, it is an interesting attempt to improve our inefficient and unequal access to expertise. It’s another example of how the Internet has blown the top off of information access, especially privileged information (we’re looking at you, WikiLeaks). 

If you think you’re qualified or know someone who is, Expert Insight is accepting world-class applicants. Otherwise, you can work on your swing with an ESPN coach or talk strategy with a poker pro. 

You can even hire former call girl turned best-selling author Tracy Quan. She charges $750 an hour, just to chat. 

http://www.slate.com/id/2296822

https://expertinsight.com

Smile for the Data, Sweetie!

Marketers are used to mining data as a resource.  But effective presentation of data is increasingly less about numbers and spreadsheets, and more about turning the quant into a quality visual.

Not that Powerpoint isn’t visual, mind you.

‘Data visualization,’ the process of distilling reams of statistics into something aesthetically pleasing and functional, is quickly becoming a buzzword.

Tech companies have been doing this for years. Google Maps and Google Earth, for example, are just enormous amounts of data packaged into a useful and consumer-friendly service. 

Now marketers are catching on. Intel created the Museum of Me website which pulls Facebook photos, videos, and other archived bits to create a gorgeous, if self-absorbed, virtual exhibition. 

For marketers themselves, data visualization tools help synthesize paralyzing amounts of consumer information.  Forward-thinking agencies like R/GA are hiring computer scientists to find new ways to distill and display data. 

Easier analysis means faster insight and decision-making -- and even though number crunchers abound, it’s visuals that stay with most people.  Think back to your ‘how to give a presentation’ lessons -- gesture, smile, and be a presence.  That’s what’s remembered more than the content.

Data visualization creates a demand for those who are able to think mathematically as well as artistically. By using both sides of the brain, we can graph recipes that double as art work and discover new music and apps through interactive maps.

In this highly visual, digitized age, a picture’s worth a thousand words...and a million data points.

http://adage.com/article/digital/powerpoint-data-lure-consumers/227997
http://www.intel.com/museumofme/r/index.htm
http://www.abisolberg.com/#1217452/Sum-of-the-Parts
http://discovr.info
http://mwtech.com/rw/photos/GoogleEarth/

Counterintuitive Counterfeits

The counterfeit industry has long been the shady brother of legitimate, high-end manufacturers. Conventional knowledge says fakes steal sales from genuine brands, but could they actually be good for business?

A preliminary study of counterfeit sales in China (the birthplace of all these fine products) suggests that rip-offs may serve some good after all. 

In the 1990s, China suffered a bout of well-publicized cases of food-poisoning and gas tank explosions. As policing efforts were diverted from counterfeiters towards the drug, food, and gas industries, knock-offs proliferated. Instead of losing business, however, high-end labels saw rising sales in the following years.

There might be several reasons for this:

• Fakes serve as free advertising by signaling brand popularity. All publicity is good publicity, right?
• Owning a fake could eventually lead to purchasing the real thing. MIT marketing professor Renee Gosline calls counterfeits “gate-way” products that allow the owner to form an emotional attachment to the brand.
• A guilty conscience helps propel counterfeit owners to buy the genuine article.

As more brands and corporations go global, the best solution against counterfeits and copycats  is differentiation through quality. For high-end labels, luxury materials that are harder to replicate fetch higher prices anyway.

Imitation may be flattering, but it’s so much better when it’s also profitable.

http://www.slate.com/id/2294927/

http://in-this-economy.com/2009/03/04/fashion-flash-new-black/rich-louis-vuitton-car/

The Times They Are A-Changin'

A documentary about journalism might not seem like edge-of-your-seat material -- you’re thinking white guys on computers, right?  But Page One: A Year Inside The New York Times, is gripping -- a spirited defense of traditional print media in its most dire hour.  

Page One follows the goings-on of the newsroom, casting media reporter and colorful personality, David Carr, as the main protagonist defending journalism against bloggers and new media types.

Carr is actually far from a luddite. He calls himself a ‘digital adopter’ while at the same time recognizing that derivative news sources such as blogs and the Huffington Post can’t exist without and can’t replace rigorous, original reporting.

Page One makes clear that journalism as a public resource is what’s at stake -- but it’s also a classic tale of an older entity struggling to adjust to new markets and resources.

TV Guide transformed into an online fan resource; AOL is trying to sell ads instead of dial-up portals.  Can the Times, and the traditional news industry in general, make the leap where the FREEconomics have changed the field?  And if they don’t, will the blogs and aggregators in essence kill off the host organism that feeds them?

David Carr believes the Gray Lady can keep shining, beyond just using new hair dye.

He calls newspapers “branded information put together by people you trust.” The brand, if valuable enough, can live on even if the physical product, delivery method, and business model change.

The Times put up a pay wall in March, the first step in what might be a future largely supported by readers instead of ads or subscriptions.  If the Times is going to be asking for dollars, Page One is  a pretty persuasive infomercial.

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/watch_trailer_for_journalism_documentary_page_one_inside_the_new_york_times/

http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/browbeat/archive/2011/01/28/david-carr-page-one-and-the-future-of-the-new-york-times.aspx

http://www.thenewsgallery.com/2011/06/page-one-ny-times-documentary-opens-for.html

Small Logo, Big Noise

Not everyone knows the name Les Paul, but everyone Googles. When Google recently created an interactive logo to honor the late musician and inventor’s 96th birthday, the Gibson Les Paul brand received enough exposure and word-of-mouth to fill a stadium.

The logo let users strum, record, and email their masterpieces. Of course, countless work hours were wasted and YouTube videos uploaded.

Through a simple widget, Les Paul updated its image and introduced itself to non-guitar afficionados. Sometimes, small but smart executions deliver a bigger impact than scale and dollars. Rock on.

The Les Paul Google Doodle now has a permanent page, you can test it out and annoy your friends and co-workers.

Click image for the obligatory, guitar-store-banned rendition of “Stairway to Heaven.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnaqjobfkI8&feature=related

Friskies’ Marketing Cat-alyst

You know why Apple never marketed the iPad to cats? There just weren’t enough apps for them. Cat food maker, Friskies, has changed all that with a line of tablet games for the underserved feline segment.

Capitalizing on the Internet’s insatiable appetite for cat videos, Friskies released an ad on YouTube that was quickly imitated by pet owners who rushed to film Fluffy playing with the most expensive toy ever.

The value of technology like the iPad lies in how you use it to serve real human needs and passions. For Friskies, the formula was: 1 open-ended tech medium + 1 community of cat lovers = cheap exposure/good will from consumers.

Sprint aimed for the same market with its Android 4G cat commercial, but Friskies actually integrated itself into the online cat phenomenon by giving people a product to use and share.

How can technology benefit and entertain your consumers? Zippo has an app featuring virtual lighters for concert-goers; Pedigree created a facial recognition program called “Doggelganger” that matches users to their shelter dog counterparts.

As our personal gadgets become more sophisticated, what’s imaginable is often doable. And the impact of marketers spending dollars not on a 30 second TV blip but on an app that interacts with consumers, furry or not, is a welcome development.

But then again, we're also easily distracted by balls of yarn.

Click image for video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaif2uq_0Vc
http://technabob.com/blog/2011/05/20/friskies-ipad-games-for-cats/

Name That Logo!

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a good logo is worth even more. A good logo is likable and persuasive (think Obama’s 2008 campaign design); a bad one is...well, the briefly lived Gap fiasco.

A well-designed logo is the literal face of the brand-- an ambassador that conveys corporate identity, personality, a promise. It does all of this instantaneously and has the potential to linger in the public memory far beyond words and slogans.

Need proof that effective logos really settle into the public consciousness? You can test your own recall skills with Sporcle.com’s Corporate Logos quiz. You have 6 minutes to name 36 common brands. It’s a little trickier than it looks, there’s always that one at the end driving you nuts...

Does your logo say what you want it to? Would investing in identity work reinvigorate the brand or will consumers pounce if they feel like you’re changing something beloved and familiar? Ponder these questions as you take the quiz.

It’s a great time waster if nothing else. There’s even a Corporate Logos 2 and 3 for 200% more brand action.

http://www.sporcle.com/games/corplogos.php

Trick or Tweet

Twitter user @oldmansearch is apparently an 81-year old man who was told by his son that Twitter is how you search on Google.

You can imagine, peeking into an old man’s “searches” provides endless amusement: “Diane sawyer swimsuit pictures” -- “Is alex trebek really smart?” --  “Doorbell volume.”  

Though @oldmansearch has racked up over 100,000 followers in a month, it’s probably fake. Hard to believe even a computer-illiterate senior citizen would continue searching without any actual results.

Most likely, this is someone hoping to capitalize on the success and subsequent TV deal around the ‘Sh** My Dad Says’ Twitter feed made popular years back.

Nonetheless, the account is a great example of how Twitter is leveraged for different purposes.  Companies like Dell effectively use it for customer service, TV networks use hashtags to connect with viewers, and others obviously use it for pure amusement.  Or to communicate live during turbulent times across the globe.

Twitter has become a viable people mover.   And from offers to awareness, it’s worth considering how your business objectives could be met by a tweak of these tweets.  

Just use under 140 characters.  Or one really old character.

http://twitter.com/#!/oldmansearch

Google, 12 Years Ago (Or Billions of Dollars Earlier)

Before the Googleplex, before the billionaire creation, the mega-acquisitions and the 20,000th employee, Google was just a bunch of guys holding an all-hands meeting and eating cake.

The video below (fast forward liberally – it’s long) shows founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin leading a meeting of fewer than 60. 

They introduce a new employee and celebrate Sergey’s birthday.  There are presents (see 6:20 for Larry's gift to Sergey) and silly string. Folks sit on the floor or large exercise balls.

Hard to believe that just over a decade later, Google has grown into one of the most recognized and respected companies in the world.

In this video, everyone seems part of a tight-knit group who want to work there, who are happy to be with this little tech company. 

Google’s main asset was always its people, without whom there would’ve been no innovation, no world domination.

No matter what organization you’re in, a culture that gives people creative freedom and a sense of ownership will enable more success. 

It’s true -- just Google it.

Click image for video


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u68QWfHOYhY
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-tgif-13338.html

Jersey Shore Gone Wilde...Oscar Wilde

To promote their Broadway show, The Importance of Being Earnest, Roundabout Theater has launched a video series in which actors recite lines from MTV’s Jersey Shore in the style of Oscar Wilde. 

The results are 'Capital, old man!'  Or 'Slammin'', depending on your view.

Delivering lines like “You like your women how you like your underwear -- dirty” with a Victorian accent and cocked eyebrow, make a mash up that's far funnier for both eras.

What we find most appealing about this idea is the mix of low-brow and high-brow, and new and old media. 

Tagging videos on YouTube with a popular search term like ‘Jersey Shore’ guarantees more exposure than traditional promotion.  The videos have been picked up broadly on sites and blogs given the entertainment factor and the ease of sharing online.

Of course, Monty Python did this jokes-taposition years ago.  Karl Marx losing on trivia in a game show once they veered beyond the Das Kapital questions.  Socrates vs Aristotle…in a soccer match up.

But think about your business now, in a creative, mash-up way.  How could you reframe your content, or delivery, in a way that reached more people, or a different market?

Could Kia create Dancing with the Cars, where non-drivers are taught to win?  And viewers learn the key to stunt driving?  Could an Athenian style restaurant have a Greek of the Week message sent out on Twitter to promote a meal deal and a philosophic insight, Plato-style.

Anyway, The Snookis of the world are probably hitting the club, not the theater.  

But reaching a broader audience by tapping a current cultural rave for what WAS a cultural rave 100 years ago?  That demonstrates a certain 'savoir faire'…and Wilde would approve of it.  Or at least revel in the Situation.

Click on image for video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mhk5Rjz7xk0

TV Hash Tag -- You're It.

The folks working in TV land have had a hard time with the rise of convergence and non-linear viewing habits. Hulu, anyone?

But recently, they've found a clever way to leverage Twitter to drive viewership. 

On Glee or American Idol lately, you might’ve noticed #Glee or #AmericanIdol lurking on-screen. These aren't mistakes, but hashtags used to categorize topics on Twitter.

Comedy Central experimented with this during the Roast of Donald Trump.  Not only was #trumproast used more than 27,000 times on Twitter during the telecast, it helped propel the channel to its most-watched Tuesday in history. Another victory for the Donald, beyond his hair defying gravity.

Other TV networks are catching on to the trend -- smart on multiple levels:

• Official hashtags aggregate Twitter chatter so it's easier to monitor buzz surrounding your brand

• People are encouraged to watch in real time 

• Seeing a TV show trending on Twitter might compel others to tune in

Real-time, online conversations allow fans another level of engagement with their beloved programs. 

Maybe this is a way to make “Must Watch TV” a relevant phrase again.  Must tweet TV?  Hash tagged.

http://www.blueglass.com/blog/why-hashtags-belong-on-tv/

http://howdoimarketmybiz.com/225/twitter-hashtags-on-tv/

http://www.inquisitr.com/103778/pics-stephen-colbert-attacks-jon-kyl-on-twitter/

A Chorus of Ones

Normally we're not a big fan of crowd sourcing.  But when everyone builds in concert to create something new out of the whole (Linux updaters be praised), we're big fans.

And so we love this spin on that concept: crowd making, one individual at a time.

This video explains how a conductor got a bunch of submissions for his internet-chorus to create one of 2010's biggest viral hits -- individuals, brought together via web and a smart editor to become a cyber-chorus.

The result is moving.  

Any time lone individuals, connecting in from anywhere, create something in which the sums is far greater than the parts, we stand in awe of what can be in the world we live in. 

So even amidst the chaos out there, we can pray for less antagonism, and more anthems.

http://www.ted.com/talks/eric_whitacre_a_virtual_choir_2_000_voices_strong.html?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2011-04-05&utm_campaign=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email

Just Kidding

Being in the creative marketing world, we've been called 'childish' often.  

Like when we put all those yoga balls in our reception area.  

Or when our voicemail greeting imitated French language lab:   'Ecouter, et repeter....   Beep!'

We take the 'childish' label as high praise.

To us, childishness can be about looking for the fun or the funny in almost anything.  

It's about being pleasantly surprised by something new.

A childish sense of wonder, optimism, and limitless freedom  is ESSENTIAL in creativity.  

It's the only real way to think big, new thoughts.

We'd argue that it's essential in ANY aspect of business, and if you disagreed, we'd never ever ever talk to you again.  Period.

Limitless freedom to 'adults' means risk. Untried.  Not validated.  

And that's frightening.

But new ideas are just that.   

And if we lived in fear of always skinning knees, we'd never run.

So, with all that in mind, listen to this erudite speaker's lessons on what adults can learn from kids.  

And the next time someone calls you childish, just flick 'em.



http://www.ted.com/talks/adora_svitak.html