col’s blog

Keeping a journal is a lonely man’s habit, it betrays the vices of introspection and social withdrawal, even a kind of Narcissism, … It has certain things to recommend it, it keeps a recorded continuity between his past and present selves, it gives him the comforting reassurance that shocks, defeats, disappointments are all snowed under by the pages and pages of new experience that still keep flaking down over him as be continues through time, and promises that this comforting snowfall of obliteration will go right on as long as be himself keeps going.

– From the personal notebooks of Tennessee Williams (1911-1983), courtesy of delancyplace.com

A “trailer” for my friend Mary Jane’s newest novel, DYING FOR MERCY. I have dones these for the past 8 or so years. It entails reading the book, writing the script and finding someone to design and produce it on a shoestring budget. I am pleased with the end product, tho it took a wee too long this time.

Independence, like honour, is a rocky island without a beach.
– Napoleon Bonaparte

I was reading a missive from Bob Lefsetz that really hit home. It was about independence. There were a few lines, specifically, that penetrated to my noggin:

The question is, are you working with your head or heart?  At some point you’ve got to stop being who your parents want you to be and start being who you are.

If you need to play, don’t lament that you’re not a millionaire.  The music should be enough.  If you’ve got a roof over your head, if you can pay the bills, you’re on the map.  Affecting a coterie deeply is more important than being a momentary comet, burning brightly and then flaming out.

So don’t do what you should do, do what you want to do.  Even if your chosen field is not perceived to be a road to riches.  Who knew all those chefs would become stars on the Food Network?  Who knew you could make a career in extreme sports?  Who knew gaming would outstrip both music and movies in revenue?

I’m not saying to forgo an education.  Fundamentals are important.  Only by establishing a foundation do you have a place to build.

It’s time to establish your own independence.  To make your own decisions.  So when you’re on your deathbed, surrounded by loved ones who will soon reach their demise also, you’ve got no regrets.

It got to me. For a number of reasons. But namely because I am a loved one surrounding my Dad, who’s more or less on his deathbed at this point. And he has regrets. Had regrets I should say … not a lot of conscious thought or communication going on at this point. But rewind to the past 5 years when he was healthier, he was steeped in remorse and depression. Haunted by ghosts of a life he believed he missed. Keep reading →

i grabbed this excerpt from the victor bokris biography of keith richards. love the book and its subject. it was gifted to me by a crazy stoner hippie dude when i was an intern at The Nation. a guy i dated in the late 90’s made fun of me for having the book in my collection. he was promptly voted off the island (there were other issues, but this sealed the deal).  i don’t know when i got deeply into the stones … probably not til college. beth and i went to see them play at soldier field our sophomore year. our tickets got upgraded to the front row. keith was down on his knees right in front of us. sweet virginia! the book is fascinating … so interesting to learn about how long it took before things caught on for the stones. what i love so much about them is what i love about america … it’s rough, it’s ugly, but also sweet, sanguine and true.

There’s a new book by the long tail guy that everyone is talking about. And by everyone I mean Malcolm Gladwell and Seth Godin and pretty soon I’m sure, Bob Lefsetz. These guys are a few of my chosen filters. At least when it comes to the topic of marketing. I read their stuff online. I’ve purchased their books. I’ve heard their talks. I tend to agree. And when I don’t agree, I at least care because, like them, I am moderately obsessed with how ideas spread and how the process affects commerce and society.

I earn my living by thinking up and executing strategies for getting people’s attention. It’s a tough thing to do these days. It’s quite messy in fact. (As Seth powerfully stated: “Neatness is for historians.”) “Influencing the press” is no longer as possible (or valuable) because “the press” is withering away. Advertising is a crapshoot, now as always. There’s always been that Lord Lever mantra to contend with: “I know that only half my advertising works, but the trouble is that I don’t know which half.” But now that people have the tools to evade uninvited non-personal communication … Zap, Block, Delete …there’s a general feeling that that 1:1 ratio no longer applies.

Plus there are now more media options than anyone knows what to do with. Aggregating and evaluating reach and impact is more perplexing than ever. Everyone in every kind of business wants to know how to win, measure and place a value on people’s attention. Where is the impact? What breaks through? We want a silver bullet…  clarity… something we can buy and be done with, and know whether it worked. A clear path. Instead we have many rough roads to travel and new trails to blaze before we can figure this new world out. As MW aptly stated in his recent New Yorker piece: “The digital age has so transformed the ways in which things are made and sold that there are no iron laws.”

If we had a keen vision of all that is ordinary in human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow or the squirrel’s heart beat, and we should die of that roar which is the other side of silence. — George Eliot

I came across this quote during college … presumably from Middlemarch … It’s always stayed with me. Filters. Gotta have ‘em. Without filters it’s screeching chaos bombarding your senses. Telling you things you don’t need to know, taking your focus away from what you care about. Distracting you, obscuring the big picture with transitory external details.

In the old hierarchical business world, people were the main filters. But now that information has been unbound from a specific sect of individuals, now that everybody can participate in the great (and lame) debates of our time, personal categorization is less important. Knowledge and ideas can come from anywhere … an intern, a Tweet, a honcho, a whiney customer, and anonymous blog. Categorization and titles matter less and less. Being able to sort through the dreck and highlight the gems … to find and expand on value is what counts the most.

One of the biggest challenges for marketers is launching anything new at a time when people take new for granted. We don’t look for it … we assume anything and everything worthy will come to us. There isn’t as much of a sense of time. What’s old, what’s new. It’s all just now. We go through our lives like whales snacking on plankton. Mouths wide open, waiting for stuff we want or need to swim on in.

Such is modern life. Technology has changed which mental muscles get used. Math? Memorization? Spelling? Who needs them when you have a computer? Why waste the time and the bandwith? Why not use your juice making art? Or tackling meaningful problems like building fuel efficient modes of transport? Or making health care affordable? Or fixing public education?

The key for marketers is to help people create their own filters … and to work better with whatever filters they may already be employing. In exchange for their attention, give consumers a useful way to block out the noise and elevate the music. In the world of television marketing, this largely entails partnering with technology companies to create new user interfaces, new communication platforms and finding simple ways to integrate programming into all aspects of people’s lives (provided they want you there and invited you in).

It’s a daunting task, but a welcome challenge. More on this to come …

we were sitting around on the balcony watching the ocean, looking at the stars, drinking beers, recalling pranks, and showing each other our favorite wacky youtube videos. beth and i  were looking for our personal favorite … “bizarre english lesson for japanese tourist” when we accidentally came across this doozie.