Smart Janitors are Smarter than Dumb Doctors

This chart shows the mean IQ score by profession (sorry, marketers are not broken out specifically but it does mention "Managers").

I guess this is confirmation that I made the right choice by not going to Sexton School. It's also interesting to see the top percentiles of janitors have the same IQ as the bottom quartile of MDs.

It's not on the list but I bet "Shamoo Trainers" would have the highest mean IQ. I mean, you're pretty smart if you recognize just how sweet that job is.

=sum(ACDC:MSExcel)

The viral marketing concepts that work are the ones that surprise you. I bet never in your life would you associate AC/DC with Microsoft Excel but, well, there it is. AC/DC's new video from their new album as run through macros in Excel. I'm sure this was Angus' idea. He seems like a real Excel jockey.

Is Your Business Ready for its Close-Up?

Technology is a lens that helps us see trends, culture and groups of people on a micro rather than a macro level. We can now subscribe to a Podcast about Madisonian Constitutionalism that someone in Toledo makes in her basement. We can join a web forum called "Boomer Quilters against Drunk Drivers". We can peek at the latest work from an artist who specializes in making portraits out of Jelly Belly's.

Although these are somewhat extreme examples, all are extremely niche ideas. Business has gone increasingly niche over the past 10 years too. Here are two examples of just how focused some businesses are:

BoxCycle is a San Francisco start-up that helps you find cardboard boxes. If you've ever needed boxes to move, you know what a pain it is to either pay a fortune for them or go box scavenging behind retail stores. BoxCycle lets retailers with extra boxes list them on its site so you can pick them up either for free or paid.

Element Bars lets energy bar consumers custom design their own energy bars online. You can make it chewy, crispy, "oaty", with nuts, with dates, with cherries, with extra protein, with extra vitamin D etc.

Both of these business are targeting a very specific type of customer with a very focused product. This approach is becoming a core competitive advantage by essentially eliminating any competition.

You are your Facebook

A report came out yesterday saying that two thirds of employers will review a job candidate's Facebook or MySpace site before hiring them.

It made me think that gone are the days when our true selves were known only to our close friends. Before the internet, you were your resume. That was the first and last statement of record about who you were. Now, your Google results, MySpace and Facebook page, Twitter feeds, LinkedIn recommendations are all free game for people to make judgments about you. Sure, you’re all buttoned up in your interview but those Facebook photos showing you after a few drinks, trying to ride a cow while holding two sparklers reveals a bigger picture (yes, I really saw a photo like that). Not to mention all the people who post rude things about their boss or co-workers.

Technology keeps our past alive and always stalking us. Think twice before posting any embarrassing cow photos. Or better yet, just don't ride the cow.

A Clever Burger King Ad

It took me a second to get it. Pretty clever.

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.

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.