Ken points us to Emma. I have no idea if their email service is any good, I’ve never tested it. I can tell you that their site is really good. Great, even. It’s written by real people to be read by real people. The tone is just right.
It’s not the only way to design a b2b site. But it’s sure a good way.
[Bryan would like you to compare that site to this one.]
I’m delighted that we’re doing a public Dip gig in Silicon Valley. Wednesday, May 23 at 5 pm. The details are here. An overview and three more cities to be announced in the next few days.
Who knew that DVDs even had a distinctive smell? The MPAA in its never-ending quest to keep the world safe from a pirated copy of Star Wars is enlisting well-trained labradors.
It is now clear that is no longer easy to tell fact from fiction. The net gives everything equal authority, and it’s often impossible to figure out what’s true. MPAA Uses Dogs to Find Pirated DVDs.
If the MPAA story is fact, it’s ridiculous at about 17 levels. If it’s fiction, then it further reinforces the notion that news about everything is suspect.
[UPDATES: Martin says it’s true. Travis says that handburnt DVDs smell different than mass produced ones.]
Max writes:
There are a gazillion things, a gazillion truly different and differentiated thing, a gazillion things of genuine value, to be the best in the world at.
This is exactly what I’ve been trying to say. Best in the world just refers to the world of the consumer in that moment, and best means the thing that most appropriately fits his worldview. In other words, I don’t think you have to be the best in the world at classical violin. I think you can do great by making the best espresso on this particular block of downtown Chicago, or being the politician with the best stance on immigration (the one I agree with the most).
Compromise is the enemy of that. So is fear. So is the desire to fit in or be average. Overreaching is possible, but talent is almost never the problem.
I had breakfast today with a senior executive who estimates she spends more than 30% of her time in internal meetings.
My guess is that many marketers (who seem to go to more meetings than most people) might envy a number that low.
Despite the time spent, most people don’t seem particularly happy with the results the meetings create. In that spirit, I want to share some radical thoughts on how you could completely change the meeting dynamic in your organization.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF MEETINGS. It’s a huge mistake to just show up in a conference room and have a meeting. If the expectation is ‘yet another meeting’, then the odds are, you’ll have yet another meeting.
Here are a few very distinct types of meetings:
There are more, of course, and your situation is special, but in general, you ought to be able to clearly delineate what an ideal meeting is like, and then make it happen.
TIPS: I think most of the time, most meetings should be held without chairs. People standing up think more quickly and get distracted less often. And the meetings don’t last as long.
All day meetings should be banned. Meetings that attempt to accomplish more than one of the tasks above should be banned.
Bonus tip: Last person to walk in the door pays $10 to the coffee fund.
Extra bonus tip: hire someone to come in and videotape a few of your standard meetings. Watch what happens.
Last tip: if there’s someone senior in the group who comes to meetings, spouts off and then either changes his mind or doesn’t take action, start asking people to sign in to meetings (with a pen) and then, when the meeting is over, sign out (with a pen) on a document that you create in the meeting that says what you did and what’s going to happen next.
If it’s not worth doing this stuff, then I guess it’s worth wasting 30% of your day.
Channel 4 in the UK claims they shut down a magazine after a week because it didn’t sell well enough. Either there’s some bigger political agenda at work or they are totally clueless. The myth of the overnight sensation is a dangerous one. Marketers are starting to learn that staying power is probably more important than weekend gross. Pop magazine axed after one week. Thanks, Ken, for the link.
At 5, the clock radio at the hotel started playing Steely Dan. I knew it in less than a second. Two notes.
Same thing happens when I see just the edge of the New Yorker sitting in the pile of mail or the formatting of an email from a friend. I could probably tell a Starbucks just from the sound and the smell of the store. They all have brand DNA.
Do you? Does your blog? Your company? I don’t think it happens by accident.
By popular request, you can subscribe to this blog by email now. Once a day, it just shows up in your inbox. Same low, low price as our regular blog, just more convenient for the easily forgetful.
I just left Dave Balter’s very cool office at Bzzagent. One highlight: the work of his artist in residence.
Seth goes to work and makes paintings. The paintings hang throughout the offices, and in May he’s doing a show.
What a great idea for a mid-sized or big company. What a great idea for a real estate agency… put the paintings in houses for sale, put them in your offices, have regular shows. Give the community (and your staff) some art and the benefits are significant.
Why not?
I’m looking for a few roommates for our very cool office near the train station in Irvington, NY.
Now that offices are no longer about housing machinery and all about finding energy and creativity, I’m looking for a few people that can add both. A clean, dry space, out of the rain, with weekly cross-pollination brainstorming sessions to keep everyone’s juices flowing. Drop me a line with your how and why, though I can’t promise instant turnaround.
