The breathless news reader announced that after a commercial break, the top story was going to a clip from a sketch comedy show from late Saturday night.
After the medicinal commercials, the news reader was sitting on a couch and engaged in banter with another news reader on the couch talking about a sketch from the Saturday evening show.
The bottom screen crawl announced that this was not only a news program, but a news network.
I was struck by how juvenile we have become in our choice of information sources.
Can one imagine Walter Cronkite sitting on a couch, using network time to talk about a comedy routine? Cronkite held such esteem and projected such gravitas that when he agonizingly came out against the Vietnam war, American opinion turned.
Sure, part of this is about bandwidth and segmentation, after all during Cronkite's tenure, most Americans had three choices for news, and only that in bigger markets. And even with a daily deadline, reporters had time to write, check sources, and film.
As the news cycle has compressed, two of those important steps are missing or truncated. And the American consumer of information has gotten lazy or jaded and all too easily accepts news at face value and all too often passes it along verbatim as news.
Added to that is the fact that much that is passed along is not news. It is usually publicity that confirms a networks biases toward news. Thus a skit that mocks a politician gets coverage, but an academic study that confirms a political stance will get no airplay.
Timing is another issue. The average nightly news piece is 90 seconds or less. Often the teases for this story will accumulate more time than the story itself. Contrast that to a front page newspaper tease for an article. It is often read in seconds, while the article takes minutes to read.
Saturday, September 1, 2018
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Are we losing common skills
A recent drive through transaction got me to thinking. I had cash and plenty of change so I was able to produce exact change at the window. I had to gather the appropriate amount of quarters, nickels and pennies to go with the bills. That required me to do some very elementary math. Of course, if I would have used a debit card, I would not have to think at all, even to remember the total. That total was on the receipt, along with an itemized bill and the ubiquitous survey request. I had only to pause shortly in the parking lot and I could have viewed the debit in my bank account.
But I started thinking about that tiny bit of mathematics I performed, I began to wonder; are we losing the basic cognitive skills that have served us in the marketplace for ages?
Everyone has had a retail encounter where in an effort to get back an exact amount, say a five dollar bill, one has added a dollar or so and some change to a twenty. When offering this to the cashier, one gets a blank stare, or the cashier has to ask the register for the answer.
And a true lost art is the ability to count back change!
I am not pining over the diminished skills of cash transactions, indeed, with cards, smart phones and the like, cash is much less important and may disappear anyway.
But what I am wondering, is there a true loss of cognitive power when we are freed from the drudgery's of simple transactions and the simple math that goes with it? By not using brain function for calculations, are we sacrificing capacity?
Perhaps, all of us should think on this!
Everyone has had a retail encounter where in an effort to get back an exact amount, say a five dollar bill, one has added a dollar or so and some change to a twenty. When offering this to the cashier, one gets a blank stare, or the cashier has to ask the register for the answer.
And a true lost art is the ability to count back change!
I am not pining over the diminished skills of cash transactions, indeed, with cards, smart phones and the like, cash is much less important and may disappear anyway.
But what I am wondering, is there a true loss of cognitive power when we are freed from the drudgery's of simple transactions and the simple math that goes with it? By not using brain function for calculations, are we sacrificing capacity?
Perhaps, all of us should think on this!
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
A diamond is a rock with a great marketing plan
In today's world, marketing and advertising is all around us. It has always been a staple of newspapers, radio, television and billboards. It has made its way onto websites, social media and even packaging. (Who doesn't know what box has the smile on it.)
Marketing with lasting power can even become conventional wisdom. For example, most apple production before Prohibition went into hard cider. During Prohibition, the Washington state apple producers came up with the famous slogan, "An apple a day will keep the doctor away."
So what about diamonds? Firstly, they are rocks. Granted rare and interesting rocks, but still a pure form of carbon that by the way can be reproduced in laboratory conditions. They have a number of uses, in cutting, conductivity and light usages.
While rare, they are not any more rare than other gemstones. They come in a number of colors, white or clear being the most sought after. The most expensive ones are almost always for ornamental purposes, having been cut to take advantage of light refraction and shape and size.
Since the 1950's diamonds have been the default way of cementing a nuptial agreement. It is interesting to note that the 1950's was also a decade of younger marriage trends for the first time this century.
Marketing of the stones has consisted of a sense of exclusivity, wealth, permanence. It didn't hurt when Marilyn Monroe sang about diamonds being a girls best friend. As marketing became more sophisticated, education became a way to enhance exclusivity with in-store materials on the diamonds characteristic.
One piece of brilliance was the suggestion that one pay two months salary for a stone. That expanded the possibility of larger sales, finance costs and higher volume.
Fast forward to a couple of years ago, when the introduction of brown diamonds into jewelry stores. Prior to the introduction of the marketing of said stones, the brown diamond was considered a more common stone, the offshoot of mining production. Most were funneled immediately to industrial applications.
But now, since almost no one had a colored stone in their jewelry box, a new wave of presents, purchases and additions could be unleashed. Marketing for the holiday is in high gear with the brown diamond renamed after a cocoa derivative to give it provenance and luster.
And so, another option of what to get someone for the holidays has conveniently and brilliantly entered the market.
Marketing with lasting power can even become conventional wisdom. For example, most apple production before Prohibition went into hard cider. During Prohibition, the Washington state apple producers came up with the famous slogan, "An apple a day will keep the doctor away."
So what about diamonds? Firstly, they are rocks. Granted rare and interesting rocks, but still a pure form of carbon that by the way can be reproduced in laboratory conditions. They have a number of uses, in cutting, conductivity and light usages.
While rare, they are not any more rare than other gemstones. They come in a number of colors, white or clear being the most sought after. The most expensive ones are almost always for ornamental purposes, having been cut to take advantage of light refraction and shape and size.
Since the 1950's diamonds have been the default way of cementing a nuptial agreement. It is interesting to note that the 1950's was also a decade of younger marriage trends for the first time this century.
Marketing of the stones has consisted of a sense of exclusivity, wealth, permanence. It didn't hurt when Marilyn Monroe sang about diamonds being a girls best friend. As marketing became more sophisticated, education became a way to enhance exclusivity with in-store materials on the diamonds characteristic.
One piece of brilliance was the suggestion that one pay two months salary for a stone. That expanded the possibility of larger sales, finance costs and higher volume.
Fast forward to a couple of years ago, when the introduction of brown diamonds into jewelry stores. Prior to the introduction of the marketing of said stones, the brown diamond was considered a more common stone, the offshoot of mining production. Most were funneled immediately to industrial applications.
But now, since almost no one had a colored stone in their jewelry box, a new wave of presents, purchases and additions could be unleashed. Marketing for the holiday is in high gear with the brown diamond renamed after a cocoa derivative to give it provenance and luster.
And so, another option of what to get someone for the holidays has conveniently and brilliantly entered the market.
Saturday, November 18, 2017
Stress is a much discussed topic in today's world. Everyone has stress, talks about it, seeks help with it and constantly looks for ways around or out of it.
In the real world, stress is actually a physical phenomenon. Engineers test bridges for how much stress they can endure. Buildings are designed to withstand the stress of high winds or earthquakes. In almost all cases of physical stress, designed flexibility is the solution.
When is person is stressed, particularly a new threat or challenge, he or she often defaults to the familiar. They seek comfort in activities that are either routine or repetitive. For example, a person may seek comfort in television, food or alcohol.
The term comfort zone comes from a familiar routine. When the person is challenged from outside influences, there is a tendency to seek ways back to the comfort zone.
This can be seen in the business world. A tremendous sales person is promoted to a sales management position. All of a sudden, the person cannot perform the comfortable sales routine and must transition to meetings, coaching and supervising. Often times, this person may seek to revert to their comfort zone by going on sales calls with subordinates and sometimes even taking over the sales call to the detriment of the sales person.
This has been explored in the Peter Principle which holds that businesses often promote people to their level of incompetence.
What is a strategy to defuse this situation? One technique used in some types of therapy is to add a cushion of time between the stressful event and the reaction to it. That cushion can be used to use rational thought to seek other more measured responses. It may help a person to avoid an autonomic response and creatively see and solve the problem.
In the real world, stress is actually a physical phenomenon. Engineers test bridges for how much stress they can endure. Buildings are designed to withstand the stress of high winds or earthquakes. In almost all cases of physical stress, designed flexibility is the solution.
When is person is stressed, particularly a new threat or challenge, he or she often defaults to the familiar. They seek comfort in activities that are either routine or repetitive. For example, a person may seek comfort in television, food or alcohol.
The term comfort zone comes from a familiar routine. When the person is challenged from outside influences, there is a tendency to seek ways back to the comfort zone.
This can be seen in the business world. A tremendous sales person is promoted to a sales management position. All of a sudden, the person cannot perform the comfortable sales routine and must transition to meetings, coaching and supervising. Often times, this person may seek to revert to their comfort zone by going on sales calls with subordinates and sometimes even taking over the sales call to the detriment of the sales person.
This has been explored in the Peter Principle which holds that businesses often promote people to their level of incompetence.
What is a strategy to defuse this situation? One technique used in some types of therapy is to add a cushion of time between the stressful event and the reaction to it. That cushion can be used to use rational thought to seek other more measured responses. It may help a person to avoid an autonomic response and creatively see and solve the problem.
Friday, November 17, 2017
Branding in one note
On my last commute, I switched radio stations and caught the very end of a song and with a short pause, the first note of the new song played. I immediately knew the song and also immediately knew that for the most part, I could not stand the song. All of that information conveyed in less than a second! I knew the song, the singer, about when it was popular, and my emotional response of not liking it.
Over the years, there has been a number of game shows along the genre of naming popular songs. Many of these shows come down to a playoff between contestants in bidding on how few notes they can name the song. Usually this is done on a piano, so one note is not distinctive and it takes more than one to name a song.
But how many songs are recognizable in one note? The Beatles "A Hard Day's Night" is instantly recognizable by the distinctive guitar chord that opens the song. Others are recognizable with a vocal. Who can forget the maniacal laugh that opens the tune "Wipe Out" by the Surfaris?
One could argue that these opening notes comprise the song's brand. As familiar to audiences as the Coca-Cola label or the McDonald's arches.
In fact, one popular dittie was based on a corporate logo on top of its headquarters!
This begs the question of how we are establishing our personal brand. What are we doing to make our company brand and our individual persona vibrate.
I suspect that our brand is strengthened with a couple of "C's"; consistency and constancy.
Consistency in how our work is performed, how it is presented, how it is perceived and how it is accomplished.
Constancy in the fact that we are not here today, gone tomorrow. That we are dependable. That we follow through.
We can work on these things and our brand will flourish.
Over the years, there has been a number of game shows along the genre of naming popular songs. Many of these shows come down to a playoff between contestants in bidding on how few notes they can name the song. Usually this is done on a piano, so one note is not distinctive and it takes more than one to name a song.
But how many songs are recognizable in one note? The Beatles "A Hard Day's Night" is instantly recognizable by the distinctive guitar chord that opens the song. Others are recognizable with a vocal. Who can forget the maniacal laugh that opens the tune "Wipe Out" by the Surfaris?
One could argue that these opening notes comprise the song's brand. As familiar to audiences as the Coca-Cola label or the McDonald's arches.
In fact, one popular dittie was based on a corporate logo on top of its headquarters!
This begs the question of how we are establishing our personal brand. What are we doing to make our company brand and our individual persona vibrate.
I suspect that our brand is strengthened with a couple of "C's"; consistency and constancy.
Consistency in how our work is performed, how it is presented, how it is perceived and how it is accomplished.
Constancy in the fact that we are not here today, gone tomorrow. That we are dependable. That we follow through.
We can work on these things and our brand will flourish.
Thursday, November 16, 2017
Using the Heart of Palm Method
I was watching one of the reality shows that pit man against nature with little else. Although highly edited, (one member had a staff with day notches in it, with about seven notches above the crawl that told us it was day one) I came across an interesting lesson.
Early in the challenge, the issues of fire and water were solved as well as some sources of fish. (I will blog later about semantic laziness and the use of the word protein). However the need for food of any kind was apparent.
One of the contestants found a cabbage palm tree, whose center contained the fruit heart of palm. However to harvest this required chopping down the tree and cutting into the center to harvest the heart of palm.
Bearing in mind these shows are heavily edited, the contestants seemed to go at the tree in lengthy bursts thereby exhausting themselves and being forced to lie down or immerse themselves in the nearby stream.
My comment to the TV screen was "Why don't they go hard at the tree for about five minutes every hour of daylight until it is done?" By doing so, their energy level would allow for gathering, fishing, drinking and resting. And more than likely, the momentum would be self fulfilling as nearing the goal would provide additional motivation. Thus, the tree would come down much earlier and provide food for a longer period.
Here is our common sense aha. Why not apply this "heart of palm" method to our daily routine? For example, take a break from a task by performing another task for a few minutes. A good way to do this is to set a kitchen timer for a hour and then at the end of the hour take five minutes on another activity.
Write for an hour, then straighten you closet for five minutes. Get on a conference call for an hour, then spend five minutes standing up and dusting your desk.
Nothing really new here, but as with all things in the common sense realm, we need to remind ourselves.
Napoleon:
Early in the challenge, the issues of fire and water were solved as well as some sources of fish. (I will blog later about semantic laziness and the use of the word protein). However the need for food of any kind was apparent.
One of the contestants found a cabbage palm tree, whose center contained the fruit heart of palm. However to harvest this required chopping down the tree and cutting into the center to harvest the heart of palm.
Bearing in mind these shows are heavily edited, the contestants seemed to go at the tree in lengthy bursts thereby exhausting themselves and being forced to lie down or immerse themselves in the nearby stream.
My comment to the TV screen was "Why don't they go hard at the tree for about five minutes every hour of daylight until it is done?" By doing so, their energy level would allow for gathering, fishing, drinking and resting. And more than likely, the momentum would be self fulfilling as nearing the goal would provide additional motivation. Thus, the tree would come down much earlier and provide food for a longer period.
Here is our common sense aha. Why not apply this "heart of palm" method to our daily routine? For example, take a break from a task by performing another task for a few minutes. A good way to do this is to set a kitchen timer for a hour and then at the end of the hour take five minutes on another activity.
Write for an hour, then straighten you closet for five minutes. Get on a conference call for an hour, then spend five minutes standing up and dusting your desk.
Nothing really new here, but as with all things in the common sense realm, we need to remind ourselves.
Napoleon:
“The reason I beat the Austrians is, they did not known the value of five minutes”
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