Posts tagged fun
what will become of us?
Apr 13th
“because of you the days to come will be better than the days before this one.”
So.
I have been participating in another TED discussion with regard to the youth and education and a distressingly pessimistic view of who they will be and what they will become <a post/rant/observation is forthcoming on that soon>. That discussion has certainly made me sit back and think. And much of it has also clearly brought to the forefront why the project global generation web based education initiative has not gained traction.
Anyway. All the pessimism reminded me of something I had read.
Because sometimes you read something that is almost so perfect that you want to store it away and use yourself at some later date.
Thankfully I have a blog where I can write them down and post them so when I want to use it I can just send someone a link.
This is about telling a child what they can expect from life.
What will become of us? (asked the children to her mother) …
—-
“What I imagine is that you will live magnificent lives.
And that you will live lives of quiet disappointment.
You won’t be able to explain why. But there will always be some failure. You will strive for greatness and justice and you will help to make our nation wondrous.
You will be great but you will also fail at many of the things dearest to you.
And people – even ones you love – will disappoint you.
You will know great loves and you will have dear friends and you will be part of something bigger than you.
You will never be alone. And yet some of those you hold dearest will betray you, envy you over things they perceive you have that they do not. At times – even within a crowd and noise – you will feel strangely lost.
You will find gifts that are special to you but you will never understand why such things were thrust upon you.
You may curse the world for always spinning never pausing and yet this motion will be the music to which you dance.
In the end, I hope, you will come to feel that none of the life you lead could have been any different, any better or worse. You will find meaning in accepting many things you cannot understand or change. And if you live a long life you will grow tired and that will be alright because you will have done the best you can do during your lives.
You will take into the future all that has ever been for us. Because of you the days to come will be better than the days before this one.” – Mena Akaran
Can you ever imagine telling a child anything better?
“because of you the days to come will be better than the days before this one.”
Every child should hear this.
And, frankly, I wish more people would feel this way about our youth rather than bitching about what they are not or what they cannot do.
Heapsongs
Feb 24th
So.
Imogene Heap continues to convince me she must be an incredibly interesting person in person … as well as a talented musician. And she just released another new song … from China.
Think of this:
Featured on TED (magical gloves <that capture sound through motion>).
Finds musical inspiration in almost absurd ways (newspaper printers).
Innovative thinker (YouGov).
Certainly not mainstream (I envision most people have no clue who she is). But certainly way ahead of what I would consider a global collaborative thinker (not just a musician).
First. The song.
Heap is working on her fourth cd. But she is going about it in a really interesting way … it is almost like sh is releasing each song as a “cd” as she rolls out the entre cd one-by-one. While the cd will be a collection of songs written and released individually two months apart each “Heapsong” is a story in itself. As I just said … each song is almost its own cd. People should be paying attention to is concept … REALLY paying attention. Because this may be the way of the future. Full length cds simply being a means to an end (a compilation of individual songs).
The newest song, the 5th, she made in China and is called Xizi She Knows: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgvAx2Bdt-o&ob=av2e
Ok. About the song (and another reason why I think she is one of the most innovative musicians out there today):
We went into a primary school class, where the children were doing their eye exercises, and the teacher giving them their instructions gave us our tempo. The sound of the newspaper printing presses – that became the beat. And we caught this woman who heads up this huge hill to a temple every day at sunrise and screams at the top of her lungs, so the sound of that is now in the middle section of the song.- Imogene Heap
Next.
She worked with YouGov to conduct a unique piece of research.
Imogen wanted to find out more about her fans by working with YouGov to write a tailored survey. Through it, she hoped to discover how her fans first came into contact with her work, when, how and why they enjoy her music, and what it is about Heap fans as individuals that mean they connect with her sound. It is a fascinating way to stay in touch with not only fan base but a larger base of what I would consider ‘global influencers’ or, at minimum, people who care about issues globally.
YouGov mapping of HeapFans
YouGov Heap: http://labs.yougov.co.uk/news/2012/02/14/imogen-heap-results/
Oh.
By the way.
Every one of my readers (because I assume they read because they like to explore new ideas and be involved in a worldview) should register with YouGov.
While it is certainly UK based it explores global issues as well as UK issues and is really well done. A very easy way to keep in touch with a variety of global issues (and some are serious and some are not).
Here is the registration site: https://labs.yougov.co.uk/account/register/
Next.
I love the fact she has made new technologies and social media integral to who she is and what she does … WITHOUT losing her individualism.
Heck. in 2010 she accepted her Grammy for the best engineered non-classical album (there are so many frickin’ grammy categories its nuts) wearing an interactive Twitter dress <yeah … interactive> specially-made to enable her to ‘bring’ her fans on stage with her.
And.
She has been featured on TED as assisting in the development of “magical gloves” which capture sounds in motion.
I love the fact she is recognizing the importance and functionality of social media as a vehicle for, and measure, of not only engagement but also the possibilities created through collaboration by constantly involving people with various projects.
I have written about her before an this 4th cd but it us using an entirely new innovative approach to writing & recording by releasing one song every three months … because each song is basically being created through collaboration in a two-week song-composing flurry.
‘Lifeline’ and ‘Propeller Seeds’ were the first and second tracks created this way.
For ‘Propeller Seeds’, Imogen invited fans to share their moments of ‘clarity’ with her – namely, the times in their lives when “everything seemed to click” – to inspire her interpretation of this moment in her music.
Anyway.
Fascinating young lady.
And, from a bigger picture perspective, I believe her efforts and working style actually does more to encourage arts & music in people’s lives than any “music & arts is good” advertising initiative. She is involving people … and young people to see how music can be part of their lives.
Here is the Guardian article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2012/feb/23/30-minutes-with-imogen-heap#1
And if you ever wanted to be part of a song writing process … well … here is your chance. Her cd ain’t done yet.
Enjoy.
fearless & young people & hook in your head
Feb 23rd
“Guess I need to unhook these thoughts.”
- Throwing Muses lyric from ‘hook in your head’
Ok.
I began writing this to remind us that young people are smarter and more innovative than we give them credit for as well as we typically have to look to the youth for trends and what the horizon has in store for us (whether we like it or not).
Oh. And this is is also just a reminder to us old folk how short our memories are.
So I began this with lyrics from a Throwing Muses song because it was written by Kristen Hersh (maybe 20 at the time) and Tonya Donnelly (maybe 20 at the time). And I used music as an example because … well … that’s what I do.
Two young 20somethings from Rhode Island creating things that would influence musicians for decades.
That said. I will say that aging, getting older, is consistent.
We begin to doubt that which we believed in when we were younger.
So this is a reminder.
Since I read Rat Girl it has re-instilled my belief that the youth is our future.
And the early 90s provides some good proof. And the Throwing Muses are proof. And Kristen Hersh (and Tanya Donnelly who has made every band she has played in sound awesome … not only did she co-found Throwing Muses with stepsister Kristin Hersh but then went on to work in The Breeders and Belly).
Anyway.
Hook in your Head is proof.
The song isn’t for everyone.
But it is a spectacular piece of song writing. In its 6:30+ length it is kind of 3 different songs.
In my words … it is a “clean messy” song.
(definition: the constant incredibly hooky rolling bass and drum riff is clean allowing Tonya and Kristen to be spectacularly messy).
Hook in Her Head remains one of my favorite Throwing Muses songs of all time (and no it isn’t a real hook it is something that is just stuck, or hooked, in your head).
Certain things I love, Spend my time
I guess I’ll have to unhook those hooks
This woman literally
Felt she had a hook in her head
When I first heard the song I listened to it … and listened to it over and over. Typical of the Muses it was odd … a fusion of alternative sections in one song(within 6:32). It has a brilliant drum steadying it with an awesome rolling bass riff holding it together.
And all the rest is messy.
But it sounds messy great.
The song is “ridiculously intense” as one commenter suggests (this is a live version but an almost perfect rendition of what you would hear on The Real Ramona): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcnDsTpO-CY&feature=related
And, most importantly, it is timeless (you could play this on any current alternative radio station I will guarantee multiple calls will come in asking who the heck the band was).
And they were teen-young 20’s defining a future sound.
Unpopular then? Sure.
Fearless ? Sure.
Young? You bet.
Old people hated it? Absolutely.
Acceptable today? It is what all alternative does and sounds like.
Truth? <as in “what can we learn” truth>
The youth are fearless and therefore, inevitably, they are influencers. Oh. Influencers of not only their own generation but of everyone.
At least everyone who pays attention.
At least to everyone who would quit bitching for “the good old days.”
And we shouldn’t forget it.
And any time us old folk do forget this I encourage you to go back to your youth and take a good hard look, and listen, and remind yourself.
And, frankly, we should remind ourselves more often.
Because too many of us are pretty frickin’ stubborn about today’s youth (and how irresponsible and immature we are so sure they are).
I have one suggestion for the old folk (say 40+).
Get your head out of your ass.
Young people are smart.
And they are innovative.
And, yeah, some of the innovations are aggravating … but we are supposed to be mature enough to delineate between “aggravating because it is simply aggravating” and “aggravating because now I am going to have to change.”
And, frankly, young people think of things we older people not only don’t – but can’t.
And if you ignore it or dismiss it (teen thinking) you are going to miss out on a lot.
Maybe worse?
You will have failed that generation. The young’s innovative thinking should be nurtured and fertilized like young plants that you want to blossom. For like flowers or trees they are the foliage that will line our horizons in the future.
If we kill their ideas our horizons will lie barren. Or worse. Our horizons will be lined in our ideas. And while we may be comforted in the sight of things we have created we are leaving nothing for future generations to look to on the horizon as their own.
(sorry … I felt kind of poetic as I banged away on the keys … ignore that bad imagery but accept the point … please)
Anyway.
Here is a thought for you as you think about today’s young people.
The Throwing Muses weren’t ahead of their time.
They were at their time.
But originality is often unpopular.
Play their music today and they would be a top 10 alternative band.
Does that mean they missed out? Nope.
Because they created. They were influential. They were a voice of the youth innovators of that generation.
Ignore the Throwing Muses music if you want.
But don’t ignore the youth.
Nurture the voices of this generation. Don’t mute them in your non understanding of what they say.
Just because originality is unpopular doesn’t mean we should discourage originality.
No matter what age the originality occurs.
Bottom line?
Unhook those thoughts from your head about young people.
voices of a generation
Feb 21st
Well.
This is about teens and what they are thinking and how the respond to reading <or claims they are not reading> and, frankly, a view from their perspective. And I am going to use their words. I am gonna use a lot of their words.
I am going to do this one in parts. First. A website dedicated to giving voice to teens globally. Second. Some response comments pulled from an article written … well … I cannot remember. Suffice it to say the article was from a reputable publication and the article was a bunch of moronic drivel written by an old guy waxing on about how this generation of young people are missing out on what his generation did (mostly reading) and are turning out to be a generation of illiterate mindless dweebs (sorry … it probably wasn’t that bad but you get the point).
I get tired of this (bashing today’s youth).
So … the first. The voice of the global teen. A blog created and written by teens. As a good friend of mine said “it is humbling.” Beyond that it is smart, insightful and extremely well articulated. And if anyone tries to tell me that this is a minority from a generation made up of a majority of morons I respond with a simple “bullshit.”
All generations think thoughts. But all generations have individuals who give voice to those thoughts. In fact all generations need an articulate few to create the voice of a generation.
Here is the site: http://voicesofyouth.org/users/11472
If you have any doubts that this generation doesn’t “get it” you can read the words of the younger generation globally right here … in one spot.
Do not doubt for one minute they are not extremely qualified to step into our shoes if not throw away our shoes and do us even better.
Second.
Reading.
Whew. This is one never ending gripe from old folk.
So I will begin with reading and literacy and … well … books, e-books and whatever else you want to consider reading.
Here is how one teen responds:
A major source of confusion is the fact that information from reputable sources is increasingly available on the Internet, which is far more convenient to use than hauling your ass to a library, browsing through the book collection, finding a giant tome, browsing through it to find what you need, and then rinse and repeat.
We’re keeping up with the modern world. And we’re definitely reading. We’re just not reading on physical paper, which is apparently a crime against humanity or something.
Hell, we’re reading plenty of things on physical paper too. Just not what we “should” be reading according to these “Damned-Whippersnappers”-crying adults. We’re reading not only fiction and fantasy (Harry Potter, Hunger Games, etc.), but also memoirs (The Glass Castle and Night) and many other genres.
We’re reading, just not what and how you think we should – GuywiththeContacts commenter
(amen)
Look.
I have read Hunger Games (a youth book … and I am looking forward to the movies) … the Immortal Nicholas Flamel book series (an excellent smart series) as well as I rarely read a newspaper anymore … oops … rather I read newspaper online. And, in fact, I probably read a wider variety of opinions and articles because I gather information online versus one paper newspaper than ever before.
So maybe I am also ‘just not reading what and how you think I should.’ Uh oh. I guess that means I owe an apology to the 50000 some people who visit my site each month.
Aw.
Bullshit.
Guywithcontacts is right. We adults need to stop crying. Reading (and writing maybe even more so) is alive and well. And prospering.
And the world is not losing its moral foundation nor is it crumbling …
Is Western Civilization coming to an end again? So soon after the last time? Actually, this article made me nostalgic for all of the other times Western Civilization was on its last legs. The symptoms are always the same – teenagers are distracted, can’t pay attention, and don’t have patience or empathy. The cure is always the same – read more, especially books from the canon. But the cause is different each time.
Remember when it was Facebook and Twitter that was going to bring us to an end? And before that, it was the internet? And before that, it was MTV? Before then, I think the culprit was supposed to be blockbuster movies (for killing our imaginations and preventing us from reading). Before that, it was television. And before that it was comic books. Then radio, movies, jazz, and vaudeville. And dime novels. And let’s not forget the assembly line and the automobile. All of them were, at one time or another, the cause of the demise of our culture.
I also recall, when I was a teenager, being told that I was the reason Western Civilization was doomed. Because all teenagers would lack the wisdom and common sense necessary to function. I heard the story about the high school student who hadn’t been aware that the U.S. and Japan had once been at war. “Who won?” she asked. I heard the story about the teenagers who saw a movie poster for “Amadeus” and wondered to each other who wrote the soundtrack. They sounded like jokes to me, but were presented as Actual Facts by adults. All it taught me at the time was that: (a) adults could be awfully credulous at times; and (b) backhanded put-downs weren’t much of an inducement to read more. But articles like this one are never aimed at the teenagers who are putting Western Civilization in peril. They are aimed at people who want to rail at the annoying, careless behavior of those who are just beginning to acquire the means to act independently, when carelessness or obnoxiousness could actually do someone harm. I propose that Newsweek retitle this article, “Kids today!” and leave it at that.
That being said, I have found texting to be both useful and terribly, terribly annoying. It depends on the context. – Maura commenter
(amen)
Get on the train or get run over by the train.
This generation is going to be managing our future one day.
Quit bitching.
If our generation didn’t kill civilization no generation will be able to. We have certainly done our best to do so … therefore … maybe this generation will pull our proverbial asses out of the fire and make all good as it should be.
But, as Maura so rightfully points out, ‘backhanded put downs are not an inducement’ for anyone to want to do anything.
This generation is not going to destroy civilization they are going to rebuild, recreate and renovate civilization. That said … we adults better quit bitching about reading and make sure we let them learn the good stuff any way they want.
Yeah.
Any way they want …..
“I’m so incredibly tired of everyone railing my generation for using the technology available to us. Yeah, cell phones allow us to communicate with each other easier. Awesome. That’s why they were invented. And the reason we use them a lot isn’t because the act of typing a message on a tiny keyboard gives us some immeasurable thrill. It’s because there’s someone on the other end whom we care about and want to be in contact with. Text-speak just makes things go faster. Is there anyone who honestly thinks that there are teenagers out there who don’t know how to spell ‘you’?
It’s like Maura said– you don’t think your parents said the same things about you? And their parents about them and on and on until you get back to neanderthals and the invention of the wheel. It’s just scapegoating and fear of change. It’s old news, buddy.
Also, I don’t hear people complaining about how Facebook and Twitter led an entire region to overthrow tyranny and oust dictators. Someone who did a great job of finding the real heart of the problem– and not maligning technology and advancement–was Ray Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451.
So please, stop accusing teenagers of destroying the world before we’re even allowed to vote, and quit blaming my generation for things we haven’t even gotten the chance to do yet (such as, you know, spike the US deficit to over a trillion). – chrissy a commenter on a site
(amen)
In the end … maybe let’s try some of these words on for size and today’s youth …
Resilience.
Adaptability.
Innovative.
Optimistic.
Yeah. Optimistic. Instead of cynicism … which seems to appear in older generations … this youth remains optimistic.
Think about this … a Pew survey found most young adults today believe they have a harder time than their parents did:
- 82% say it’s harder to find a job.
- 75% say it’s harder to save for the future.
- 71% say it’s harder to pay for college.
- 69% say it’s harder to buy a home.
<note: I tend to believe ALL younger generations believe they will have a more difficult time then their parents.> Yet. Despite all of that … the same Pew study found high levels of optimism among young adults. Although the survey found young people are less likely now than before the recession to say they have enough income, their level of optimism hasn’t shrunk from where it was in 2004, the report notes.
“Their optimism is just as high as it was in a booming economy or a stronger economy” before the recession.
There you go. I bring up optimism to close this post because, dammit, it’s not up to older generations to kill this optimism … or bitch about how “they don’t do it the way we do/did” … rather … it is up to us to fuel this optimism and let this generation find its true voice … and foster the generation to create whatever innovations it is destined to create .. and reach whatever new horizons they are destined to reach … all of which “civilization” will benefit from.
Oh.
We will benefit to (just wanted to remind everyone about that).
beautiful brains
Feb 20th
“Moody. Impulsive. Maddening. Why do teenagers act the way they do? Viewed through the eyes of evolution, their most exasperating traits may be the key to success as adults.”- National Geographic
teen brain Harvard magazine
Ok. This is about teens … their <maddening> brains … science … and the art of how we can <positively> influence them.
And, yes, beautiful brains refer to the teenage brain.
And, no, I have not been drinking nor have I become <officially> delusional because I agree that the teenage brain is beautiful … beautifully creative, insightful, sharp, inquisitive, non linear & fragmentally brilliant (among other things).
Personally I love the way the teenage brain works and dealing with it.
Sure. If I was a parent and had to deal with this inconsistent brain 24/7 I am sure I would have a different perspective (or at least it would be colored by that perspective).
But. Beyond parenting … let’s focus on how the teen brain works and what it creates (beyond the obvious fairly maddening decisions) … because it is typically quick, expansive and sometimes quite brilliantly random, therefore, while it may appear impossible to deal with it is at the same time a whetstone for our own brains.
It hones us and sharpens our own logic, thinking & articulation skills (as well as our patience & character I imagine).
Their brains force US to weave our way through a veritable hornet’s nest of thoughts & thinking to uncover some pretty insightful quick thinking sharp ideas.
Yeah.
Think about that for a second.
And maybe that is why their brains are so maddening to us. It makes us work too hard. Or maybe it makes us move more quickly mentally then we typically are comfortable with. But think about what we “get” if we get involved with the intensely intricate beautiful brain.
We get the opportunity to jump in the middle while all that stuff is being jumbled in their head …. and … well … unjumble. And decipher. And guide. And redirect. And repurpose. And rejoice.
But we don’t get to relax. And maybe, once again, this is where we fail.
For even if we redirect & repurpose a teen thought it doesn’t stop moving …. it interacts with everything else that is going on in their brain and in an iterative fashion it begets additional brain activity.
So.
You snooze you lose.
Slow no go.
Pick your bad poetic poison.
If you don’t get in and stay to play, well, I guess it is just maddening.
Anyway.
This isn’t just me that find their brains beautiful. National Geographic wrote an article (called Beautiful Brains) and actually did research.
Here is the fascinating National Geographic article about the science behind teenage brains trying to understand why they are what they are.
National Geographic Teenage Brains: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/10/teenage-brains/dobbs-text/2
So.
The proof is that while their thinking may sometimes appear illogical that it is sharp thinking …. and … if you read between the lines (and think about it) you can see the small windows of opportunities of which if we glimpse them we can make massive impacts.
Research shows “there is simply too much going on in the brains of adolescents” for them to concentrate on the task at hand. That means resources and energy in the brain are wasted as it tries to identify what to focus on … and, as with anyone <even adults> that has a negative effect on decision-making.
The study shows that the brain doesn’t actually grow very much between 12 and 25. It has already reached 90 percent of its full size by the time a person is six. However during the teen years the brain undergoes extensive rewiring and restructuring (they suggest it is like having an electrician come in and do a complete rewiring job).
distraction because of too much stimuli
During this period the brain has a much better chance of being distracted by something … and by ‘something’ I mean ‘everything’. It’s just the way rewiring works.
So. It isn’t that a teen cannot focus … it is just sensory overload. There is too much stimuli. And the sheer volume of stimuli management is challenged in that they don’t have the experience to shut things out … or maybe better said … they don’t have an experience filter with whoch to prioritize the stimuli. (
In the end it is an overwhelming combination of too much and an inability from lack of experience to manage.
It is easier for a teen to shift focus than to keep focus.
In national Geaograhic’s words … “In short, more grey matter means more room for mistakes and a sharp decline in efficiency.”
While us old folk may not like to hear this but as as we grow older we lose brain (it shrinks). but it’s not so much a loss as it is a honing. Our brains shrink, becoming more efficient, and (hopefully) less prone to distraction and what could be construed as stupid immature <inexperienced> mistakes. That honing is a double win for most adults. Less room fr random distraction combined with more experienced stuff crammed into it.
A Cornell study also points out that while teens do a lot of irresponsible things (drinking & driving, sex, drugs, smoking) it is not because they think they are invulnerable or haven’t thought about the risks.
In fact, the Cornell study suggests they are more likely to ponder the risks, take longer (about 170 milliseconds more) weighing the pros and cons of engaging in high-risk behavior than adults — and actually overestimate the risks.
“It’s just that they often decide the benefits — the immediate gratification or peer acceptance — outweigh the risks”, says Valerie F. Reyna, professor of human development at Cornell.
If you buy that (risk versus reward) and the fact that psychologists have found that teenagers are about as adept as adults at recognizing the risks of dangerous behavior you have to begin understanding the role we adults play (and in fact the opportunity we have).
This beautiful brain is a massive network of neurons constantly assessing the costs and benefits of potential actions calculating the reward … how far they are willing to go to gain the reward (the risks) and making judgments in hundredths of a second.
The article does a nice job of pointing out that at some level and at some times (and it’s more the parent’s job to spot when then the teen’s to ask) a teen recognizes that the parent can offer certain pearls of wisdom—knowledge valued not because it comes from parental authority but because it comes from the parent’s own struggles to learn how the world works. The teen rightly perceives that he/she must understand not just her parents’ world but also the one she is entering.
This last point is extremely important because:
“a sort of crucial period of learning—the wiring is getting upgraded, but once that’s done, it’s harder to change.” Douglas Fields, a NIH neuroscientist
The teen is quite capable, if not as capable, as an adult to make a decision … they just need assistance in assessing and sifting through the stimuli … and I imagine with some sort of prioritizing as they assess.
If we miss this opportunity to assist simply because we judge a teen as “unable to make good decisions” or “immaturity” or <gasp> ADD … we are cheating them.
We have an opportunity to help with the rewiring … actually ‘upgrade the wiring’ if yu will if we elect to do so.
This isn’t me … this is science telling us this.
I end (or close to the end) with that thought because I also found a whizbang interactive chart created by PBS on the teenage brain: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/
Even if you don’t give two shits about the teenage brain it is still interesting.
Now.
For the end.
From twitter:
ohteenquotes Clara Quiambao
I would love to meet the teenage version of my parents. Don’t you?
25 minutes ago
Am I asking us to be kids again? Nope. We lived those years and those experiences help make us who we are today. However … what I am suggesting is that we shouldn’t forget that we don’t have to be immature or foolishly act young … just interacting with children is how we return to our youth.
There really is no other way.
Any span of years we may live will never make what we say or do immortal. It is children that give each of us some immortality.
And with that thought we should all think of how we can help the beautiful brains … no matter how maddening they may seem at times.
Oh, and remember these wise words from one who you would have to have assumed would have been a stodgy Brit … and 2 time Prime Minister in the 1800’s … Benjamin Disraeli:
“Almost everything that is great has been done by youth.”
Smart guy for a Brit.
social media ain’t antisocial
Feb 16th
Well.
Because I was in a recent business meeting where we were discussing social media and I was surrounded by a bunch of old farts (of which I am also) who were blathering about kids texting too much, how twitter is killing reading and basically all that old person garbage about how the internet is crumbling the foundation of civilization I thought I would write a quick factoid article on how social media is anything but anti social.
I am usually pretty harsh on the whole social media thing. Mainly because I don’t believe most social ‘tools’ (facebook, twitter, etc.) were created for marketing. They were … well … created to be social hubs not marketing hubs. But marketing people, being marketing people, came along and said “wow, how can I take advantage of that?”
Anyway.
Let me spend a couple of minutes on social as social hubs.
Because they do NOT diminish reading skills (by texting & such), or diminish social skills (conversation & talking) nor do they enhance marketing (for the most part).
Some factoids.
PewInternet research has shown that social relationship and sense of community are NOT diminishing but rather growing … and growing n non traditional ways. Simplistically instead of a tighter cocoon of friends there are now truly social networks … expanded groups of like-minded people (and there can be very obscure ‘like-minds’ but no less passionate & interesting) can be brought together regardless of geography. Social relationships now have no boundaries. Doesn’t mean they are any less meaningful in fact they can be empowering. Those who felt ‘alone’ … unlike others … are now empowered to find ‘others’ an, in fact, are quite pleased to find many others. Social relationships are being empowered. Let me close this section with this … PewInternetResearch: “Our research shows face-to-face time between teenagers hasn’t changed over the past five years. Technology has simply added another layer on top.
PewInternet research also shows that the internet has actually positively affected core ties and significant ties (definition: core ties identified as close/intimate relationships and significant ties as people to whom one is somewhat closely connected). Internet enables more contact (quantity) than ever before. The quantity translates into stronger, deeper ties with cores and significants.
PewInternet research reflects that 32% of respondents say that internet engagement has increased the size of their face to face network. Only 3% said it decreased them. Overall internet users have somewhat larger face-to-face social networks than non-users.
Research has shown the internet has strengthened church and fraternal organization involvement rather than diminish them (this is an indicator of social involvement).
Ah.
And texting.
Pewinternet research has found that more frequent texting actually encourages more face-to-face time. In addition research shows it is not about the quantity of texting but rather texting takes more careful crafting that telephone/face-to-face as well as texting more often happens at night/home therefore people share more intimate feelings.
3 out of 10 teens say “they are more honest when they talk with friends online.”
PewInternet research also indicates the internet doesn’t create false selves (and the predators are a miniscule minority … similar to the face-to-face predators who hide as Sandusky-like neighbors) but rather helps people bring out their true selves. Social scientists have suggested that “one can share one’s inner beliefs and emotional reactions with much less fear of disapproval and sanction.”
Oh (because it is topical and, oddly, among all the garbage about the degeneration of our youth caused by the internet social revolution actually came up).
Internet does not create social revolutionaries. The internet just means that anyone can have a voice. But the internet is as fragmented, no, more fragmented than cable tv.
Do you know every station you have available? Have you ever even watched every channel? <answer: no> Internet is the same. Just because someone has a voice doesn’t mean someone will hear it.
Yes. On occasion something can gain critical mass.
And, yes, that is what people call ‘viral.’
But in the scheme of things they are few and far between. What the internet does do is permit likeminded people gather. And if there are enough likeminded people who gather … and they become some derivative of a critical mass … that still isn’t a revolution … it is simply a voice loud enough to be heard.
Oh. And that voice has to say something meaningful & relevant.
Internet doesn’t (and cannot) create things from a void but rather it gives voice to those things that need to be said (and a LOT of things that don’t need to be said).
Suffice it to say with the internet that the good will be good, the bad will be bad and everyone can take a place in either the good or the bad line.
<note: marketers should read the social revolution section, insert marketing for social revolution and take a moment and ponder>
Lastly.
Reading.
Conventional wisdom suggests that YouTube, videogames, cable TV and iPods have turned us away from the written word. All these new fangled innovations have replaced paper and longhand letters only to shrink reading & writing into bite-sized status updates, text messages & colloquial emailing (or so the theories abound).
Conventional wisdom, in this case, is wrong.
A large-scale study by the University of California at San Diego and other research universities revealed what some of us have long suspected: We’re reading far more words than we used to as we adopt new technologies. “Reading, which was in decline due to the growth of television, tripled from 1980 to 2008, because it is the overwhelmingly preferred way to receive words on the Internet,” found a University of California at San Diego study.
Take a look at Facebook. It clearly shows we’re writing more than we used to. Take a look at the blogosphere … the young generation has more opportunities to write and read than ever before. And write and read in response to other writing and things they see.
<note: we adults also have the opportunity to interact with their reading & writing if we choose to>
That’s it.
After listening to a bunch of old farts babbling away about the good ole days (and taking a look in the mirror to be sure while I may look like then I wasn’t sounding like them) I thought would write this.
as one social scientist stated in a Guardian article: “Step back. The telephone, the car, the television – they all, in their time, changed the way teens relate to each other, and to other people, quite radically. And how did their parents respond? With the same kind of wailing and gnashing of teeth we’re doing now. These technologies change lives, absolutely. But it’s a generational thing.”
In my words? There is nothing anti social about what is happening in the social media world.
the wine glasses
Feb 12th
So.
A 20something (a delightful quirky young lady named Nicole) wrote a hysterical post about huge wine glasses and cheap (excuse me … “inexpensive”) wine. I laughed my ass off when I read it.
But here’s the deal.
I gave these wine glasses to a couple of my best friends about 10 years ago or so.
And we aren’t even close to being 20somethings. And probably not even close to being as funny as Nicole. But pretty funny after drinking an entire bottle of wine in one glass.
My friends really do love their wine.
And they love a
good bottle of inexpensive wine (although they do draw the line on boxed wine).
And they absolutely love the fact they could drink an entire bottle in one glass (don’t we all?).
This couple are awesome at the art of entertaining and having fun. And before the humongous wine glasses I had searched high and low for the world’s largest martini glass for them (and I am not sure they even like martinis). I believe part of entertainment is the ‘show.’ The acroutrements as some may say.
Anyway. If it is fun and spectacular and has to do with entertaining it is perfect for my 50something friends (although I believe they would like 20something Nicole but they already have a pretty outrageous amazing daughter).
Anyway.
I am kind of a wine snob (ok. maybe I wish I could afford to be more snobby but I scoff at a cheap bottle of wine before inhaling a bottle or two of it). But my good friends have mastered the art & science of finding excellent wine under $10. Although. I do admit that after you are on your, say, third bottle of wine and shooting the shit anything tastes fucking awesome.
But. Maybe these wine glasses could be used to benefit … well … say … monkeys for example. Maybe even monkeys in Russia.
Yeah. No shit. Why? Well. Monkeys drink red wine in Russia to stay warm (frankly I didn’t even know Russia had monkeys).
There is a zoo in Karaganda Russia that gives its monkeys hot red wine.
“Monkeys get warm with the help of the wine drink. We take a bottle of “Kagor” red wine, add some apples, lemon, sugar and simmer for a while.” – Svetlana Pilyuk (a spokeswoman for the zoo).
Apparently the monkeys enjoy the hot wine drink a lot (hmmmmmmmm … isn’t that stating the obvious). “This is normal international practice. During the cold time of the year, when we plan to take the animals to a different zoo, or when we have to transfer them from summer to winter enclosures, employees give them something sedative. Most likely, they give them the “Kagor” red wine, which is widely used in Orthodox churches. This is normal practice in all zoos of the world. In their natural habitats, apes also consume alcohol-containing plants that can relax their nervous system”. There you go. Red wine for monkeys.
I say we ship them some of these wine glasses for the monkeys winter health.
So, anyway, why this post (beyond being able to use the monkey drinking wine factoid and writing about the fact I have friends who can drink an entire bottle of wine from one glass).
All of a sudden I began replacing the 20something s perspective and replacing it with say a 50something perspective and I started laughing so hard my sides hurt. I am not sure I will ever look at my friends the same again. They must be eternally 20somethings at heart. And don’t we all wish we had at least a thread of that youth in later years. Joie de Vivre?
And it reminded me how things loop around in life especially if you remain young at heart.
And I think it is good to look at our own actions through the eyes of a completely different generation. And see the common aspects, the scary aspects and the perspective aspects.
Awesome post from Nicole. I can learn a lot from her. I think we all could.
Ok.
There are some things we old folk probably should just ignore with Nicole (you will see if you read her stuff … although she is an excellent little writer and … it is fun stuff).
Oh. If you REALLY want to see a large wineglass visit Japan.
This is awesome (but they don’t have monkeys drinking wine).
confessions of an ad man
Jan 29th
Well.
Maybe its because I get to talk with a lot of teen/20somethings or maybe its because all my friends are cynical bastards … but I seem to defend the advertising business a lot.
And maybe because of that I thought I should take a moment and share some truths.
Because the business (for the majority) is not made up of liars, hucksters, clowns, alcoholics and smarmy assholes.
And mostly we try and tell the truth to businesses and consumers. I say mostly because I admit that there are some moments inside an agency where one of the minority (from the above aforementioned majority) find a voice (most typically with regard to new business) and says things that send a shiver up my ethical spine.
Regardless.
Some truth (I imagine this is just an abbreviated list of truths of which we could add many many more if I were to think about it more).
Advertising is not always about just selling stuff.
Advertising isn’t just a catalyst for buying (or convincing someone to buy) … it is a catalyst for how people see things, think about things and, sometimes, actually do things. I heard Spike Lee once say .. “I feel a responsibility for everything I create <because millions will see it>.” Advertising may be the most powerful thing out there to affect people. We know we are in a business but we also know we impact people significantly more than the sales numbers ever reflect. We in the business never forget this (albeit it may look like we have on occasion). Ok. Let’s just say that the people in advertising who really ‘get it’ never forget this.
That said …
Yes. Creativity is about results & awards (or recognition).
We understand what we do makes an impact … and should be measured by some type of results. On the other hand … because it is creativity we like some creative validation that you didn’t just have to throw mud against the wall to make something stick. The truth is that advertising people thrive on both. And we have to because sometimes bad advertising can generate results. And people get fooled by just looking at sales results (and not examining the results in terms of what people actually think … because that impacts future behavior). Good advertising can generate better results (and better long term impressions). And awards help better delineate between the crappy advertising that shows results and good advertising that shows results.
We like results & recognition. And we like people talking about it … speaking of which …
Social media is actually not that social.
We care about social media. Probably more than most business owners actually do. Many businesses create an illusion of ‘social’ but in reality maintain a relatively non-social business model (as defined in traditional social terms). So. The truth? The term social media has taken on galactic size proportions standing for everything … and nothing. Here is the truth. Most social media vehicles are simply information disseminators. They aren’t social. They permit people and businesses to narcissistically spew forth ad nausea about themselves. What makes the web different is that there is an OPPORTUNITY to respond. If you take part in responding … well … it still isn’t social … it has simply become a dialogue (sort of). It only becomes social when there is some interaction like talking with someone at a party. Trust me on this one … in most cases it remains at stage one (the spewing part). For the most part the current social world is a monologue.
Oh. Just like TV.
Now. This doesn’t diminish the importance of social media and the future … it’s just that the good agencies keep perspective and actually recommend what is going to be the best for a clients’ business.
Ok. Back to TV.
Television is not dead.
One TV ad on American Idol can reach more teens then a PitBull tweet. And make a bigger impression (because you have those funny moving picture thingies).
Anyway. As long as tv executives keep their heads out of their asses often enough to actually produce programs people will watch … there will be TV ads. And as long as there is TV advertising there will be a maddening mix of insightfully educating entertaining executions and pedantic pedestrian drivel waste of :30 seconds.
Why is that? ….
We don’t know what works (for sure).
Sure. There are some basic principles that can insure your advertising will be in the “good” portion of the gene pool but, in the end, setting research aside … people are fickle and clients (in general) find it difficult to make the hard choices (because they prefer to ‘please’ rather than ‘prod’ the mind) needed so that the advertising actually has enough sharp edges on it to stand out. I will say this … give a good advertising agency (not a hack agency) one year to do whatever they believed was the best thing to do and I would bet over 80%+ of everything they did would be good (people like it) and effective (creates results).
Anyway. We are probably like songwriters. We write songs and we know some are better than others when we write them. We also kind of recognize when we write a hit – on the off chance when we write something like that – but you can never be sure until it is actually out there for all to hear & see.
And we do care what people think …
We do care about clients (most of them).
There is nothing better than knowing you have created something people like and generates results in partnership with a client you respect.
Nothing.
The only advertising people who have no/little respect for their clients or nothing good/nice to say about their clients (most typical comment is “they just aren’t that smart”) aren’t good advertising people. And you don’t want to work with them anyway.
And we do care about the people who buy the stuff too, but …
The consumer is not the king/queen.
Sorry to burst everyone’s bubble but if they were (kings & queens) they could demand anything they wanted and businesses would go out of business chasing their fleeting whims.
Here is the truth. A sale is a partnership between the seller & the buyer. At its best it is a marriagelike relationship. In either case … things are balanced … with one not significantly more important than the other. And why is this important? Well. With balance there is trust. And that is the basis for any long term brand or business proposition. Treat them like a king/queen? Yikes. At some point they will believe they are one and … well … treat the company like a serf (that is bad by the way).
Speaking of how people are treated …
Creative people always have a thread of insecurity (or fear).
If people want to wonder why creative people (or agency people in general) do wacky things … well … try this on for size. Remember what it felt like the first time you were in love and decided to say it out loud? You were scared shitless it wouldn’t be reciprocated. Or, worse, someone would just laugh. Well. That’s life in advertising on a daily basis. Creative ideas and ads and thoughts are emotionally, typically insightful, parts of our soul we elected to have the kahones to share with the public. In the end no client is the enemy, the consumer isn’t the enemy … fear is the enemy. Understand that and you understand the people in the business.
Ok.
I am sure I missed some other truths, but those are probably the biggies.
Good advertising people don’t lie. Either by omission or in actual ‘untruths.’ And they actually have the clients’ business interest in mind with almost everything they do … because when a client is successful, even if an agency may not get credit, they almost never get fired.
That’s the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth (at least for today).
moving in day & memories
Aug 29th
I live near a university and last weekend was moving in day.
It was packed with parents and new students and those coming back and renewing relationships and unloading and facing the unknown and everything that college is all about.
Beyond the fact looking at all these fresh young faces made me feel pretty frickin’ old … it did bring back memories.
Firsts.
Freshness.
Fun.
Friendships.
Fears.
Family.
Fame
Failure.
Fate.
Facing the unknown.
(it seems like i could discover a lot of F’s to use)
Driving thru campus you see it all and remember. The step from high school to college is a leap. A huge leap across a chasm.
Yeah. But everyone gets across (no one actually tells you that when you get there though).
But once across it is as if you have entered a new country. You have become a citizen of someplace new with new rules and a slightly different constitution and ‘declaration of independence.”
Even the non freshman years are steps. Renewed friendships. Different challenges. New fears. New failures. New successes.
It is a fact. College teaches 2 lessons. Education and life. and, by the way, that is one of the reasons why I am a huge proponent of having someone go to college. While I am not sure (ok. I am actually sure on this one) everyone who goes to college is smarter than peple who do not go to college I do believe the life experiences are invaluable for dealing with things later on).
Anyway. I believe that many who fail in college classes fail not because of lack of brain power but because they fail at the life trials they are tasked with.
And I thought as i looked around me driving through campus which of the fresh faces I saw today will succeed and which will fail?
I admit it brought back so many personal memories. Memories of how I danced upon my own precipice of failure several times. Looking back it is easier to see what happened.
At the time my parents were sure I would fall. They believed I would fall because of the education challenges. They didn’t believe I was up to those challenges (or maybe better said they were unsure I was smart enough).
If I knew then what I know now I would have told them it wasn’t the education. It was life. I danced with death on the precipice of life. I doubt I could have explained it well enough to be accepted by them but I see it now. And I wonder which of these young faces will dance the same dance.
It also reminds me why I like to teach. And why people ask me to teach. I always weave in a life lesson to the education lesson. I absolutely believe knowledge is power. And teach that way. But I also know that even the smartest have to face life. And life is a shitload tougher than any college class you can take (although it may not seem that way at the time).
And college is just one big life trial.
Its kind of like a trial run for life and career. It is certainly a trial run for who you will end up being in life – character, resiliency, respect, etc.
Anyway.
Moving in day also reminds me of what changes and what stays the same.
The hair styles stay the same (although the women may sport more variety of colors than in my day). Short hair is cool as is long hair. Just depends on what kind of cool you want to be.
Hats. Baseball hats. Panama hats. Floppy hats. Beanies. Whatever. Hats.
Tight clothes and baggy clothes. Just depends on what statement you want to make.
This year? Big colored sunglasses on girls. It used to be the big black jackie onassis sunglasses but that’s now for older women. Today its about colors and big RayBan looking colored framed sunglasses (I saw yellow, white, pink, red, blue and multiple variations of those colors).
I think every fashion designer should attend a moving in day just to get a sense of what is “in” and what isn’t.
There is also a sense of energy and excitement and angst that is difficult to explain but you wish you could put in a jar like you did fireflies and hope it wouldn’t dim despite the fact you tried to capture something that was never meant to be captured.
College moving in day.
Fun day.
A memory day.
ad agency client service: best job in the world
Sep 9th
I have worked within the advertising agency business environment my entire career. Began in Media, shifted to account management (interfacing with clients), learned strategic planning/account planning along the way, shifted into senior management and have handled new business, some business consulting assignments and ultimately have managed entire agencies. Throughout my career I have not only touched pretty much every aspect of a marketing/advertising/business consulting company but also have touched upon just about every industry and business type out there (excepting waste management possibly). All that said. The best job in the world is in account management. Sure. I imagine it has a lot to do with your personality and what floats your boat but there is absolutely no job in the world that will insure you will never be bored, always be challenged, have the opportunity to lead as well stand aside and still share in successes more than a position in account management. It is not for the faint of heart. You have to have resiliency of kevlar and a slight strain of paranoia to balance a sometimes quasi-arrogant attitude to push you way through a seemingly endless maze of objections and doubters to great ideas and great work.
Bill Gray, CEO of O&M said this at the 2005 4 A’s conference about account management :“Great account people have great observational skills, seek simplicity as the foil to complexity, take great intuitive leaps, are not linear thinkers and have bias to action.”
Anyway. I say all that as a preface to something I liked to give my team members when they joined (or I joined an agency). While I wrote it many many years ago as a young supervisor I have always hesitated to revise it. Yes. It could be improved. Yes. It could be smoothed. But, yes, it says pretty much what it needs to say.
Welcome to the description of possibly the greatest job on earth:
——-+
Welcome to account management. You are a unique person at the agency. You have to know as much about your clients business as an employee of that company does (maybe a little more). You also have to know more about your own agency than the client does (a lot more in fact). You are paid by the agency, but you won’t ever get paid unless your client is successful. You are a business consultant – internally and externally. You are an expert in ‘objection management’ (or at least you better become one if you want to be able to get ideas implemented) and you are a decision maker.
Think of yourself as the one who drops the pebble into the still pond. Your job isn’t just to drop the pebble but more so to recognize how the ripples will spread out and affect everything surrounding you. As a junior account person your pond may be small (simply opening a project effects a number of people), but the key to becoming a senior manager is recognizing how decisions dropped into the business pond ultimately impact when the ripples hit the long-term horizon. You won’t get them all right. And you’ll have to be flexible enough to know when to course correct versus “stay the course”.
It’s a tricky job. But it’s a great job. It is never dull. High risk. High reward. Being the closest to the client you get to truly share in their successes more than anyone else in that agency. As the main contact with the client you get to share all the agency successes. The highs are high. The lows are low. But (this being written by an account person with over 20 years experince) it is the best job in the agency.
Some rules of the road for account management within my group:
Create a Positive Environment.
People in the agency take your lead. If you are passionate, they will be passionate. If you show you respect the client, they will respect them also. It is up to you to create an environment that makes people want to work on an account. Sure. On occasion you will be asked to work on an account that you will scratch your head and trying to figure out what YOU like about the account.
Well. That is actually part of being a great account person. Finding that initial spark yourself. Finding the passion for that account that you can share with others. Trust us .. there are people on the client side who LOVE what they do. Find out what it is. Tap into it yourself. Be accountable. Be honest. Be an expert. And share the passion they have.
You have to be a little of a ‘chameleon.’ No. that does not mean changing your ideals or beliefs. It simply means you have to assume some of the characteristics of your account environment so that you can blend in and become part of the client. Then you will be successful. Then you can create a positive environment. Then you can convince your client to take some chances and that typically leads to bigger results successes. (then everyone is positive when that happens.)
Lead versus follow.
Lead, lead, lead. That’s your job. You always have to know where ‘you are going’ so that you can help people better understand why they have to do what they are doing. Always have long-term attitude embedded in everything you do. Following (particularly your client) often means you have entered the ‘short term trap.” This is a doom loop that you can only break out of by being a leader.
And you can only be a leader if you are informed and educated. You have to know more than the other person. Internally as you guide people through the process you have to be able to share the knowledge that lets them do their job better. In order to lead the client you have to know their business and/or products. You cannot talk with a car client unless you have driven the car, been on the lot with the salesman and even maybe visit the manufacturing plant.
In the absence of anything better, even a camel will walk to the closest water .. even if it is poisoned. Even the smartest clients need to be led. Without leadership given the myriad of projects clients can demand, it is easy to very quickly go astray and simply start “following” and just start ‘doing what we have been told to do’ – and that is how relationships get poisoned. Clients rarely leave agencies where their account management team is respected as leaders.
Proactive versus reactive.
The corollary to lead versus follow. Being proactive.
The moment you start to react to a client’s suggestion or a situation you know you are behind. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t listen. You should ALWAYS listen. In fact, listening can help you become more proactive. By building on what you heard (and learned) from your client you would continuously share forward thinking, new ideas and stay ahead of the game.
Half the battle in account management is figuring out how to keep moving forward. By reacting you are defending and not moving at all (in fact you often find yourself moving backwards!).
At any level in account management you should be thinking proactively. You are not an order taker. The minute you do become one .. find another job.
Outcome versus output.
As account managers we are all about ‘doing things’ — creating advertising, generating ideas, solving businesses problems — that generate outcome for our clients. Outcome. Real business results. Yes. Business results. An agency is measurable by results. Even if we do not control all aspects of the plan. Trust me. If business results are down, a client doesn’t want to hear why an agency is not responsible for those results … they want an agency that is also losing sleep and coming up with solutions.
To be sure we do that (generate successful results) we need to insure quality output. Don’t settle for “c” product or “ok ideas.” They’ll come back to haunt you with “ok outcome.” And ok outcome doesn’t make clients happy.
The reality is .. as you start your career in account management .. your role and responsibilities are focused on generating the output. Project management and just getting all those projects done. Efficiently generating the work and making sure it is as effective as possible.
But as your responsibilities grow you will become increasingly focused on outcome. Short term and long term. Sometimes in the beginning stages of your account management career it is difficult to see what the ultimate long-term outcome strategy is. That’s ok. It will become clearer as you grow and take more of the long-term leader role on the accounts you work on.
But always remember. All agency output should be judged on outcome. Even in your self-assessment. If you are not generating good outcome, then start judging your output. Maybe it needs to be improved. And, ultimately, that is what great account mangers do. Constantly assess, evaluate and improve.
