It took me a second to get it. Pretty clever.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Smash and Grab
Road rage happens because you're anonymous. It's easy to flip someone off when your victim doesn't know who you are. You wouldn't be as likely to cut someone off or give them stink-eye if your name, photo and phone number was published on the back of your car.
Web rage happens because you're anonymous too. People are generally civil in person, but they morph into belligerent blow-hards when they post anonymously on web message boards. Seth Godin calls them Monkeys with Megaphones. Just spend time reading the aggressive posts on YouTube and news sites to see what I mean. Anonymity creates a smash-and-grab mentality.
Perhaps someone's already thought of this, but it would be good to start a second Internet. One where no one is anonymous. Everyone knows your real name and your home town. Message boards would take on a much more normal tone, there would be no spam and we'd all try to get along....just like real life.
Web rage happens because you're anonymous too. People are generally civil in person, but they morph into belligerent blow-hards when they post anonymously on web message boards. Seth Godin calls them Monkeys with Megaphones. Just spend time reading the aggressive posts on YouTube and news sites to see what I mean. Anonymity creates a smash-and-grab mentality.
Perhaps someone's already thought of this, but it would be good to start a second Internet. One where no one is anonymous. Everyone knows your real name and your home town. Message boards would take on a much more normal tone, there would be no spam and we'd all try to get along....just like real life.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
A Focus Group About You
A few years ago I was leaving for work when my wife casually muttered that I was dressed "like a Backstreet Boy". Since then I've wondered if the personal brand we think we project is really what others see. Well, now you can know for sure with a service called Check Your Image (currently only in Germany but coming soon to the US).
Check Your Image lets you upload photos and information about yourself and have 30 strangers offer feedback on your style, perceived attitude, body language and the personal brand you project. You can even ask questions like "Friends say I look cold and intimidating. Do you agree?". Tom Peters calls this "A Brand Called You".
Perhaps Check Your Image is slightly extreme, but it's a good reminder that managing our personal brand directly impacts on how far we go.
Check Your Image lets you upload photos and information about yourself and have 30 strangers offer feedback on your style, perceived attitude, body language and the personal brand you project. You can even ask questions like "Friends say I look cold and intimidating. Do you agree?". Tom Peters calls this "A Brand Called You".
Perhaps Check Your Image is slightly extreme, but it's a good reminder that managing our personal brand directly impacts on how far we go.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Johnson & Johnson Introduces 'Nothing But Tears' Shampoo To Toughen Up Newborns
Another (fake) bad business idea for a Friday afternoon, courtesy of The Onion. Here's an excerpt from the story...
After decades of coddling young children, Johnson & Johnson unveiled its new "Nothing But Tears" shampoo this week, an aggressive bath-time product the company says will help to prepare meek and fragile newborns for the real world.
The result of five years of intensive research and market testing, the company's "Nothing But Tears" shampoo contains only the most abrasive of natural ingredients and is nearly impossible to rinse from a baby's screaming face. According to directions printed on the label, the bath-time product is best used with scalding hot water for optimal toughening-up of newborns.
Available in an easy-to-find-and-open bottle, the new shampoo is also guaranteed to give children a "healthy dose of reality."
"You'll notice a difference after just one use," said Michelle Baker, head of new product development. "Whether it's your newborn's more hardened appearance, the way he now approaches people with guarded skepticism, or just that look on his face that says, 'Oh wait, maybe life isn't all hugs and kisses and rainbows. Maybe I need to get my ****ing act together.'"
After decades of coddling young children, Johnson & Johnson unveiled its new "Nothing But Tears" shampoo this week, an aggressive bath-time product the company says will help to prepare meek and fragile newborns for the real world.
The result of five years of intensive research and market testing, the company's "Nothing But Tears" shampoo contains only the most abrasive of natural ingredients and is nearly impossible to rinse from a baby's screaming face. According to directions printed on the label, the bath-time product is best used with scalding hot water for optimal toughening-up of newborns.
Available in an easy-to-find-and-open bottle, the new shampoo is also guaranteed to give children a "healthy dose of reality."
"You'll notice a difference after just one use," said Michelle Baker, head of new product development. "Whether it's your newborn's more hardened appearance, the way he now approaches people with guarded skepticism, or just that look on his face that says, 'Oh wait, maybe life isn't all hugs and kisses and rainbows. Maybe I need to get my ****ing act together.'"
Monday, August 11, 2008
Lost in Translation
Seems a Beijing restaurant owner used a web translation engine to translate his restaurant's name during the Olympics. The result? Not so good.
Sometimes taking a few seconds to double check your work makes all the difference.
Sometimes taking a few seconds to double check your work makes all the difference.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Microsoft Fights Back (Finally!)
Seems Microsoft has finally taken enough punches from Apple's hugely effective "Mac versus PC" campaign. About time.
Microsoft's agency, Crispin Porterl Bogusky (Mini, Burger King, Coke Zero etc.) just launched the Mojave Experiment, a mini site showing focus group footage of what users think of Vista when they don't know it's Vista. A few things I noticed about this campaign...
1. It feels raw and scientific, a stark contrast to Apple's stylized ads
2. It subtly implies that Apple's not truthful when it criticizes Vista
3. It feels honest, and the users don't seemed coached or planted
4. It's in harmony with the Microsoft brand which seems silly when it tries to out-hip Apple
We'll see if this helps stabilize Vista's sluggish sales. My thought though is that Apple has had too much time to effectively brand Vista as broken, slow and frumpy.
Microsoft's agency, Crispin Porterl Bogusky (Mini, Burger King, Coke Zero etc.) just launched the Mojave Experiment, a mini site showing focus group footage of what users think of Vista when they don't know it's Vista. A few things I noticed about this campaign...
1. It feels raw and scientific, a stark contrast to Apple's stylized ads
2. It subtly implies that Apple's not truthful when it criticizes Vista
3. It feels honest, and the users don't seemed coached or planted
4. It's in harmony with the Microsoft brand which seems silly when it tries to out-hip Apple
We'll see if this helps stabilize Vista's sluggish sales. My thought though is that Apple has had too much time to effectively brand Vista as broken, slow and frumpy.
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