Change

As you might or might not have noticed, as of about a year ago, I switched up the topics I was posting on my blog…alot less about the ad/planning/strategy industry and more random thoughts, ideas, daily ventures, yadda yadda.

I was just getting sick of reading blogs that regurgitated the same stuff and found blogs that were actual personal to be far more interesting. And genuine. Plus, it’s pretty amazing how much you can learn about a person, understand how they think, etc. by reading their blog if you just dig a little deeper and read between the lines.

Wasn’t sure how my new blogging approach was going to fare (after all, maybe I am just a narcissist and actually just want more opps. to project about myself?). Then I read a similar post from Paul Isakson, a planner for whom I have mucho respect.

At this point, I’m feeling good.

Thoughts on Facebook

As of late, there’s been all sorts of stuff flying around the internet about Facebook. Some thought-provoking insights, some less thought-driven stuff.

My thoughts:

- FB is attempting to be everything to everyone. As not everyone wants/will want the same thing, there will always be someone(s) left unhappy.

- No matter how much people complain, user numbers continue to grow. If numbers are increasing for FB regardless of what it does/doesn’t do, who cares what people want? Especially if there is always going to be someone left unhappy, anyway?

- People complain about FB privacy, but what about all of those other terms of use we’ve all agreed to? Gmail, Yahoo, Target.com, Twitter, Flickr, online banking, amazon.com – why aren’t we all up in arms about all these other binding contracts we’ve committed ourselves to?

Preface: I Don’t Hate Social Media

I will make the following disclaimer before writing the rest of this post: I don’t hate social media. I do believe in the idea of “everything in moderation”. I also believe that “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should” …which goes hand in hand with my “having a logical / strategic purpose behind every decision” theory. Social media has some some amazing things for our society. I also think it’s contributed & influenced some not so amazing things. However, if used correctly & responsibly, social media can be pretty freaking sweet.

I was at a book store last night & came across a few of my favorite sections: psychology & pop culture. Browsed through a handful of book ( Paradox of Choice, Sex Drugs & Cocoa Puffs, The Church of Facebook, The Culture of Excess)   that got me thinking…

“We are all published now. We all have a presence. We all matter. Social media allows us to express ourselves, show our accomplishments, applaud ourselves. This is done in a relatively safe environment where we don’t risk negative feedback, unless of course you’ve allowed people into your network indiscriminately or just have really mean friends. We want to be known, and it’s easier to risk this online, somehow. To allow ourselves to be truly known is the biggest risk we take in friendships and romance, fearing that we will be rejected once people see who we really are. But we tell you, fearlessly, in our blogs, tweets, status updates and emails with an openness many of us do not practice in our offline relationships.” (excerpt from Val Brown)

Hmmmm.

Why You Can’t Beat Apple

It’s hard to win a race when the lead car in 15 laps ahead of the rest.

HASTE MAKES WASTE. While Apple invests in doing good work from the get-go, competitors release semi-ok stuff, then invest marketing dollars to convince consumers they make good products (which are actually poorly made and most likely should not be out on the market). Apple doesn’t need to prove anything – they know they have good products & have proved it.

If you don’t get mind share, you don’t get market share.

CONSUMERS AREN’T BETA TESTERS. Consumers care about the experience – they don’t care about the back-end technical stuff. Simple as that.

Waving At Strangers

The other night, we went down to the Congress Bridge to watch the infamous bats depart for their nightly flight.

We were on the bridge sidewalk, watching the people chilling in the tour boat below. After about five minutes, a handful of people in the tour boat began waving to the people on the bridge in an attempt to get them to wave back.

After about 30 seconds, the people on the bridge started waving back…the tour boat erupted in cheers. The people on the bridge then laughed awkwardly & looked around in an attempt to determine the next socially acceptable move.

So yes, this was cute. But it made me think…what is it that compels strangers to wave at other strangers in situations like these? If they were say, walking down the street or running on the trail (with the opportunity to make physical contact), there’s no way strangers would wave at other strangers, then erupt into applause once the wave was returned. But apparently, it’s a perfectly acceptable thing to do if one is at bay.

Aren’t people funny?