As I sit here, back home in Cleveland for the holidays, I reflect on what’s been a very interesting year for me - actually, the most interesting than any in the past. I’ve learned a lot about myself, on personal and professional levels, as I’ve gone through a lot of changes this year with family, friends, and my career - with most recently, my lay off. But even with all the highs and lows, I’ve enjoyed every second of it and wouldn’t change it a bit.
A friend of mine sent me this video last week called The Process and asks ‘What if there were no stop signs…and a major corporation was charged with inventing one?’
Check it out (only 4 1/2 minutes long so you can spare a short break):
The video is damn right hilarious. I’ve watched it several times and have noticed little cues that poke fun at the corporate ‘process’ when developing new concepts or strategies. As humorous as the video is, the truth is that companies often lose sight of who and what their strategy is for and end up putting all their energy towards the wrong ideas (as seen in the video). The team in this video obviously took a very reactive approach when conceptualizing a stop sign, rather than taking the time to understand who will see the sign and then develop concepts for those drivers, not the company.
Realize who your consumers are, people! Don’t focus on being fancy, demographics (the wrong approach to your demo, rather), ads and any other nonsense this corporate team was worried about; put that power towards the people, first and foremost, and you’ll see a much more effective campaign.
In the social media world, we talk about building community and conversations all the time. Well, Matt Harding has definitely taken it to the next level and in 42 different countries:
This amazing video shows how simple creating a community can be. It just takes is a little effort and giving people something to talk about. In this case, it was Matt spanning the globe to spread the joy of dancing.
If you’re not aware about Common Craft’s ‘In Plain English’ show, head over there right now! They’ve created an informational series that simply explains the many mediums of the web through fun and creative videos.
They’ve just released a new video, Social Media in Plain English:
Through the use of a simple story, their newest show explains how Social Media works through communities and the user-generated content each unique network provides. Reiterates that the voice of the people is what makes a community or product special, it’s just a matter of finding your niche; or ice cream shop.
