Showing posts with label icwish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label icwish. Show all posts
Friday, May 20, 2011
Twitter defines real fame.
Twitter has made the definiton of fame crystal clear. If your death doesn't become a trending topic, you're not famous. Simple as that. A few hours ago Macho Man Randy Savage died, and now #ripmachoman, Savage, and Slim Jim are all trending on Twitter. That guy was truly famous! A big part of his fame came from his work as the spokesperson for Slim Jim, which is extra special for me because I worked for the guys that created the "Snap into a Slim Jim" campaign. That aside, it's amazing how Twitter and fame go hand in hand. #JustSayin'
Sunday, January 9, 2011
The iPad of Yesteryear
The other night I was at a party and someone went to change the music. Right as they went to hit "next track" the song advanced on its own. Was this magic? A new piece of technology? Something from the future? Nope. It was just my friend across the room using a remote control. Everyone turned their heads for a second, realized it was a remote control, and returned to normal conversation. But I couldn't. I felt like I was thrust back to some 1970's party, where the host was a super rich mogul who silenced the room with his magical remote control. All the guests stared at the host like he was a deity, waving his Jetsonian remote in the air. It was the iPad of yesteryear. I imagine it debuted at The World's Fair, and some sort of larger than life character captivated an entire audience. "Ladies and Gentlemen, what I'm about to show is going to change the way we control our appliances. It will allow you to change the channel from the couch, switch frequencies from your mattress, and impress countless women across the world. Allow me to introduce you to The Remote Control!" It's mind-boggling how something so revolutionary became so ordinary. The iPad is no different. When our children stumble across an iPad commercial in 2050, they're going to laugh, show their friends, and buy one off eBay to use as Halloween accessory. So next time you change the channel, remember you're holding the iPad of yesteryear.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Communication Priorities
Nowadays there are so many ways to communicate it's almost impossible to know which method to use. To the unknowing outsider, they all seem similar, but under further scrutiny, the intricacies of present day communication become apparent. Phone calls, text messages, BBMs, e-mails, IM's, GChats, Facebook messages, wall posts, pokes and friend requests are all very unique ways of communicating, and it's very hard to know which one to use and when.
Let's go back a few decades and realize that our parents' generation had it GOOOOOOD! If someone said, "hey, here's my number," that was the only way to communicate. You either called, or you didn't. Each action had a very clear meaning; no call meant "not interested" and if you called it was clear that you were interested. But now we have to chose our form of passive apathy to prove that we're interested. How weird is that? How bass ackwards?
I've taken it upon myself to define the meaning of each form of communication, and how the method of communication is just as important, if not more than the content itself.
The phone call. The oldest and easiest way to convey what you're truly feeling has become risque. If you just met someone and decided to call them without establishing a text conversation beforehand you are BOLD! You're so bold that the person receiving the call might not answer, just because they have to interpret and digest the meaning the phone call.
The text message. It seems that text messaging is easiest way to open a line of communication without looking too interested. WARNING! the amount of time you wait before responding to text messages is vital to their interpretation. If you respond too quickly, then you're too interested! If you respond too late, you're totally disinterested. Find the happy medium. Also, make sure not to insinuate too much. Texts lack inflection, so you risk being misinterpreted.
BBM. BBM stands for Blackberry Messenger, the proprietary text messaging service available to Blackberry users. This technology adds a whole new dimension to text messaging because it discloses whether the recipient has read your BBM or not. That's a huge issue!! If you BBM someone and you see that they read your BBM and didn't respond, consider that a slap in the face or a swift kick in the nuts. There are many meanings to the unanswered BBM; none of them good.
E-mail. E-mail has taken on a more formal appearance given the advent of texting. If you e-mail someone, you are establishing a more mature and professional relationship. It shows that you've thought about what you wrote, and that you aren't playing text games. This is great way to work yourself into a "friends" stream of communication, because e-mail connotes maturity. E-mail also allows for lengthy explanations and more in depth conversations. It seems to be the form of flirtation chosen in a more professional environment. There's a lot of reading between the margins. ;)
IM's. AIM is a very, very sticky situation. Now that many people are logged on AIM throughout their workday, it's easy to exhaust your amount of IM time. IM's don't necessarily have that much meaning, but if you're chatting with someone you're interested in, the time between each IM is the most telling. You know the person you're IMing is sitting right in front of their computer, but they're choosing when to respond to you. The silence can mean a few things. #1 they're so swamped with work that they can only respond intermittently, #2 they are talking to many other people and you must await your response, or #3 they want to make you sweat. Either way, it can be very rewarding and can be very discouraging.
GChat. GChat is the proprietary instant messaging service provided by Google. It's very similar in nature to AIM, but it forgives slow reaction time. It's simply the newer form of instant messaging and people tend to think it's trendier. Nothing that special. In fact, the interface is weak as hell. The newness of it is the only thing attracts people.
Facebook messages. Facebook messages are a very casual way of communicating. It's sort of a social e-mailing system. If someone Facebook messages you, it's a subtle and chill way of expressing interest. It shows that you are patient and are in no need of an instant reaction. Facebook messages are a good route to prove you true apathy!
[remember that apathy is cool!]
Facebook wall posts. Wall posts are some of the most ballsy forms of communication. If you post a message like "great seeing you this weekend, had a great time" you're attempting to mark your territory with words opposed to urine. The wall post is masked as a direct message to the recipient, but since all 750 of their friends are privy to the wall, it becomes a form of bragging and making everyone aware that you spent time together, and on top of that, had a "great time!" Wall posts can really affect the way people act. No joke!
Facebook pokes. Pokes have somewhat gone by the wayside for Facebook Gen-1, but in case you did poke someone, it's brazen way of saying "hey, I like you."
The friend request. At Facebook's inception, everyone was friending everyone. People were friending people in their college they didn't even know. However, once the unwritten Facebook handbook was published, errant friending became taboo. So now it's important for people to pick and chose who and when they friend. If you friend someone that you just met, you seem very eager. If you wait a few days, you've shown you have self control, but still reaffirm your interest.
It's very very hard to communicate these days because there are so many layers and meanings. In many cases, technology has been a force for good, curing diseases, spreading information, and connecting people across the universe. In other cases, its stood in the way of basic human interaction, and that's a shame.
Let's go back a few decades and realize that our parents' generation had it GOOOOOOD! If someone said, "hey, here's my number," that was the only way to communicate. You either called, or you didn't. Each action had a very clear meaning; no call meant "not interested" and if you called it was clear that you were interested. But now we have to chose our form of passive apathy to prove that we're interested. How weird is that? How bass ackwards?
I've taken it upon myself to define the meaning of each form of communication, and how the method of communication is just as important, if not more than the content itself.
The phone call. The oldest and easiest way to convey what you're truly feeling has become risque. If you just met someone and decided to call them without establishing a text conversation beforehand you are BOLD! You're so bold that the person receiving the call might not answer, just because they have to interpret and digest the meaning the phone call.
The text message. It seems that text messaging is easiest way to open a line of communication without looking too interested. WARNING! the amount of time you wait before responding to text messages is vital to their interpretation. If you respond too quickly, then you're too interested! If you respond too late, you're totally disinterested. Find the happy medium. Also, make sure not to insinuate too much. Texts lack inflection, so you risk being misinterpreted.
BBM. BBM stands for Blackberry Messenger, the proprietary text messaging service available to Blackberry users. This technology adds a whole new dimension to text messaging because it discloses whether the recipient has read your BBM or not. That's a huge issue!! If you BBM someone and you see that they read your BBM and didn't respond, consider that a slap in the face or a swift kick in the nuts. There are many meanings to the unanswered BBM; none of them good.
E-mail. E-mail has taken on a more formal appearance given the advent of texting. If you e-mail someone, you are establishing a more mature and professional relationship. It shows that you've thought about what you wrote, and that you aren't playing text games. This is great way to work yourself into a "friends" stream of communication, because e-mail connotes maturity. E-mail also allows for lengthy explanations and more in depth conversations. It seems to be the form of flirtation chosen in a more professional environment. There's a lot of reading between the margins. ;)
IM's. AIM is a very, very sticky situation. Now that many people are logged on AIM throughout their workday, it's easy to exhaust your amount of IM time. IM's don't necessarily have that much meaning, but if you're chatting with someone you're interested in, the time between each IM is the most telling. You know the person you're IMing is sitting right in front of their computer, but they're choosing when to respond to you. The silence can mean a few things. #1 they're so swamped with work that they can only respond intermittently, #2 they are talking to many other people and you must await your response, or #3 they want to make you sweat. Either way, it can be very rewarding and can be very discouraging.
GChat. GChat is the proprietary instant messaging service provided by Google. It's very similar in nature to AIM, but it forgives slow reaction time. It's simply the newer form of instant messaging and people tend to think it's trendier. Nothing that special. In fact, the interface is weak as hell. The newness of it is the only thing attracts people.
Facebook messages. Facebook messages are a very casual way of communicating. It's sort of a social e-mailing system. If someone Facebook messages you, it's a subtle and chill way of expressing interest. It shows that you are patient and are in no need of an instant reaction. Facebook messages are a good route to prove you true apathy!
[remember that apathy is cool!]
Facebook wall posts. Wall posts are some of the most ballsy forms of communication. If you post a message like "great seeing you this weekend, had a great time" you're attempting to mark your territory with words opposed to urine. The wall post is masked as a direct message to the recipient, but since all 750 of their friends are privy to the wall, it becomes a form of bragging and making everyone aware that you spent time together, and on top of that, had a "great time!" Wall posts can really affect the way people act. No joke!
Facebook pokes. Pokes have somewhat gone by the wayside for Facebook Gen-1, but in case you did poke someone, it's brazen way of saying "hey, I like you."
The friend request. At Facebook's inception, everyone was friending everyone. People were friending people in their college they didn't even know. However, once the unwritten Facebook handbook was published, errant friending became taboo. So now it's important for people to pick and chose who and when they friend. If you friend someone that you just met, you seem very eager. If you wait a few days, you've shown you have self control, but still reaffirm your interest.
It's very very hard to communicate these days because there are so many layers and meanings. In many cases, technology has been a force for good, curing diseases, spreading information, and connecting people across the universe. In other cases, its stood in the way of basic human interaction, and that's a shame.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Textbook Google
In our society, all things bound in a textbook are considered fact. When we read war dates, accounts from the trenches, or what side was good and what side was evil, we take it as gospel. When something is printed in a textbook it's the closest we come to say, "I know that to be certain!"
However, there have been many articles concerning the veracity of Japanese textbooks. They’ve excluded and downplayed some WWII atrocities…and that changes history! This changes what Japanese schoolchildren learn to be true and factual. However, this is not the focal point of this entry, this is an example of what's quietly happening to our society since the prevalence of Google.
To no fault of their own, Google has become an incredible search engine. We type in something we're looking for, and BAM, we've got our answer within milliseconds. The only problem is, we read what Google's computerized algorithm considers to be important. I don't have any idea how the algorithm works, but I'm sure most people only look at the top results on the first or second page. We're voluntarily monopolizing Internet search and it scares me.
What if there are 50 better articles out there, but Google only considers them page six worthy? We need to diversify our search engines and our algorithms or else we're all just pooling from the same source. Google doesn't provide results in order of their veracity. Google starts to develop trends, and culls more highly trafficked sites. Notice that Wikipedia and twitter and facebook all start to accumulate above the fold? We're all reading the same textbook and there isn't an impartial authority checking the authenticity.
What's stopping Google from putting some disparaging blogs or articles about their company on the 35th page? I by no means am accusing Google of doing anything like that, I'm just making sure we're all aware that we've accepted Google as the only search engine...and that's dangerous!
However, there have been many articles concerning the veracity of Japanese textbooks. They’ve excluded and downplayed some WWII atrocities…and that changes history! This changes what Japanese schoolchildren learn to be true and factual. However, this is not the focal point of this entry, this is an example of what's quietly happening to our society since the prevalence of Google.
To no fault of their own, Google has become an incredible search engine. We type in something we're looking for, and BAM, we've got our answer within milliseconds. The only problem is, we read what Google's computerized algorithm considers to be important. I don't have any idea how the algorithm works, but I'm sure most people only look at the top results on the first or second page. We're voluntarily monopolizing Internet search and it scares me.
What if there are 50 better articles out there, but Google only considers them page six worthy? We need to diversify our search engines and our algorithms or else we're all just pooling from the same source. Google doesn't provide results in order of their veracity. Google starts to develop trends, and culls more highly trafficked sites. Notice that Wikipedia and twitter and facebook all start to accumulate above the fold? We're all reading the same textbook and there isn't an impartial authority checking the authenticity.
What's stopping Google from putting some disparaging blogs or articles about their company on the 35th page? I by no means am accusing Google of doing anything like that, I'm just making sure we're all aware that we've accepted Google as the only search engine...and that's dangerous!
Monday, May 11, 2009
2 New Telexpressions: The Digital # and The Digital High 5
PREFACE: I'm posting this particular time to establish when I invented the Digital High 5 and The Digital #. I normally try to think of something insightful to write, but this time I'm just claiming ownership. [If they ever takeoff I don't want them to be unattributable.]
Giving a High 5 or a Pound (fist bump) used to only be a form of hand to hand contact, but one day after a successful client call, it all changed. I wanted to give my co-worker the corny "we just nailed that presentation" fist pound, but couldn't because he was on the phone in another state. I suddenly blurted out "Digital High 5" and pressed the #5 on the phone. The co-workers present in the room erupted in laughter and then I said "screw the Digital High 5, hey Chris, I'm giving you a Digital Pound" and hit the # key, which really got the room laughing. One co-worker said I had to do something with it and I agreed. So...I've decided to try and make Digital High 5's and #'s part of regular phone interactions.
I always thought it would be incredibly cool to start something that eventually becomes part of society; like the High 5, "See ya later alligator," or Rocks, Paper, Scissors. I have no idea how something like that starts or how to spread the word, but clearly it's the oldest form of successful viral advertising. Somewhere along the line someone coined something, and somehow that something became universal. I'm going to try to make Digital #'s and Digital High 5's part of our national vernacular. Someone was the first to say "Staycation" and that caught on quickly, so hopefully my burgeoning campaign for Digital #'s and High 5's will bear fruit. Haven't put much thought into next steps and I'm always open to suggestions.
Giving a High 5 or a Pound (fist bump) used to only be a form of hand to hand contact, but one day after a successful client call, it all changed. I wanted to give my co-worker the corny "we just nailed that presentation" fist pound, but couldn't because he was on the phone in another state. I suddenly blurted out "Digital High 5" and pressed the #5 on the phone. The co-workers present in the room erupted in laughter and then I said "screw the Digital High 5, hey Chris, I'm giving you a Digital Pound" and hit the # key, which really got the room laughing. One co-worker said I had to do something with it and I agreed. So...I've decided to try and make Digital High 5's and #'s part of regular phone interactions.
I always thought it would be incredibly cool to start something that eventually becomes part of society; like the High 5, "See ya later alligator," or Rocks, Paper, Scissors. I have no idea how something like that starts or how to spread the word, but clearly it's the oldest form of successful viral advertising. Somewhere along the line someone coined something, and somehow that something became universal. I'm going to try to make Digital #'s and Digital High 5's part of our national vernacular. Someone was the first to say "Staycation" and that caught on quickly, so hopefully my burgeoning campaign for Digital #'s and High 5's will bear fruit. Haven't put much thought into next steps and I'm always open to suggestions.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
What's left for Coors Light?
Is there anything left for Coors Light to do? They have the "freshness liner," the color temperature indicator, born on date, and now the vent. I think Coors Brewing Co. has a think tank that sits around and tries to find new ways to make the can cooler. It's scarily akin to Steve Jobs at MacWorld where he says "One more thing." It feels like Coors Light makes a new debut of their can every quarter. Their latest modification, "the vent" is clever for two reason. One, it allows Coors Light to brag about its new design and improved "drinkability," and two, the vent allows more beer to exit the can at a faster rate so more beer gets consumed. Luckily, the alcoholic beverage industry has created the word "drinkability" to mask the truth. If I were in the Coors Light think tank I know what my next suggestion would be. "Shotgun enabled cans!" The can would have another tab on the side of the can, so the consumer can shotgun the beer without ever stabbing a knife or pen into the side. All the Coors Light stunts seem so silly. I would never be more compelled to buy the beer. In fact, all the superfluous additions aggravate me and make me want to find the least expensive and innovative beer on the market. Someone should invent "Party Beer" and market it as such. Coors Light, Bud Light, Miller Light and all the other light beers except for Amstel should be in the "party section" of the supermarket. There is nothing about their taste that is interesting, and they serve no purpose other than low calorie intoxication. If you ever compare one of the aforementioned beers to something of substance like Dogfish Head the difference is incomprehensible. Therefore, Coors Light should exploit their party audience and make their next can a pinata. When you finish it, you can bash it with a plastic bat and little pieces of confetti appear. I like it.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
I'm really diggin' the AVIS spots
It seems that AVIS rental cars kicked off one of the funniest campaigns in years immediately after their stock tumbled. Maybe the ads have been airing prior to the crash, but I only started to see them recently. Either way it's got to be tough to differentiate yourself among rental car companies. At the end of the day, who really cares about their rental car? For the average annual or semiannual vacationer I find it hard to believe that anyone cares about the car. I know from experience, price is my only concern.
However, AVIS decided to solely focus on their core competencies...business travelers. Their TV spots feature a boring, sad, long term parking lot with an ugly late model 90's car. The VO is from the car's POV and imitates a sad, lonely wife whose husband is out "traveling" but in reality, cheating on her. The copy is perfect and the visual works beautifully. It's funny, easy to get, and clearly makes you think AVIS is hot, young, and exciting. I cannot think of another way to get that point across without insulting the audience. Bravo AVIS, Bravo.
However, AVIS decided to solely focus on their core competencies...business travelers. Their TV spots feature a boring, sad, long term parking lot with an ugly late model 90's car. The VO is from the car's POV and imitates a sad, lonely wife whose husband is out "traveling" but in reality, cheating on her. The copy is perfect and the visual works beautifully. It's funny, easy to get, and clearly makes you think AVIS is hot, young, and exciting. I cannot think of another way to get that point across without insulting the audience. Bravo AVIS, Bravo.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
