November 17, 2007 by jenks

stop saying the word “viral”

seriously, just stop.

it’s not cute, it’s not hip, it’s not clever, it just makes you sound antiquated. this is not the 90’s and there IS no more viral. it’s over. deal with it.

“and then we’ll just use a viral blahblahblahblahblah”

i’m sorry, what did you say?

“yes, i said, ‘and then we’ll just use that thing that’s gonna make all our stock go up.'”

uhhmm….

“i said, ‘and then we’ll just use the magic love potion that’ll make people fall in love.'”

wait… what?

“i said, ‘and then we’ll just use that thing that’s gonna do something we have no way of controlling, but i’m gonna say it like we can anyway.”

it sounds like nails dragging across some absurd chalkboard.

all there is is content, expression, and tools. there’s compelling, relevant content, content which says something about me, whether it’s my sense of humor, or my political leanings, or my musical taste, whatever. content that’s gonna express something about who i am to the people i share it with, and that i think they too will appreciate. and there are the tools to facilitate that sharing, (use your imagination…please).

that’s it.

there is no “viral” thing in that equation ANYWHERE. i know it would make your job or worldview or whatever easier if there was, but that’s no excuse. the sun does not revolve around the earth. deal with it.

viral is like the new clothes of the online marketing emperor.

do you even know what you’re saying when you say it?

cuz it doesn’t exist.

it’s actually gotten to the point now where–and i swear, i’m not making this up, but–ANY kind of online content that COULD, potentially, be shared, that is simply share-able is now being referred to as “viral.”

“we’ll just use a viral email,” “a viral widget,” “viral banner”–the entire internet is evidently just a giant contaminated pitri dish of “viral content.” the word is so absurdly misused that it’s completely lost any meaning whatsoever. its utterance isn’t even an incorrect usage anymore, it’s simply just gobbledygook nonsense.

like market forces and falling in love “viral” is a phenomenon. using the word like you think it refers to a type of content (i.e. “viral video”), or a marketing strategy (i.e. “making it go viral”) doesn’t give you cred. to anyone that’s actually willing to confront the inevitable complexity of what’s entailed in designing and encouraging what is essentially just effective word of mouth, saying “viral” just makes you sound out of touch and ridiculous!

so stop saying it.

November 16, 2007 by jenks

a dynamic sponsorship opportunity for green brands

we are now skeeing sponsors for the Lightning in a Bottle Music & Arts Festival 2008:

Over the past two years The Do LaB’s Lightning in a Bottle Music & Arts Festival has become one of the most beloved, exceptional events within the West Coast’s young, active, environmentally and health conscious, creative community. Powered almost entirely by “green” alternative energy and produced as a model for sustainable large-scale live entertainment, the event is renowned as a showcase featuring some of the most acclaimed and original musical and performance acts, as well as a nexus of community and green education.

In May 2008, Lighting in a Bottle once again returns to Santa Barbara with a stellar lineup on 3 major music stages, and a slew of other attractions that include a dynamic art gallery and large-scale art installations, workshops, interactive entertainment, and much more. With the success of the previous years The Do LaB is expanding LIB08 to 4 days over Memorial Day weekend.

As influencers and leaders within the community, The Do LaB is just as committed to creating an event with the highest caliber of entertainment and ambience as we are to promoting sustainability. We fuel or offset the energy needs of the festival with solar power, bio-diesel, and wind power, and implement sustainable production practices throughout the whole event.

The Do LaB aims not only to produce an unforgettable experience, but to set an example for the creative and sustainable lifestyle. We are currently seeking to build relationships with brands and organizations that share our green vision.

for more information on the sponsorship opportunities available at LIB08 contact: dede@thedolab.com

November 4, 2007 by jenks

values-driven consumerism

just found this photo in the icecreamman.com archives.

November 3, 2007 by jenks

whatever, internet

cut it out, internet.

everyday there’s some kind of new technology hoopla vying for my attention with the sordid insidiousness of a tabloid magazine at the checkout counter. and i don’t even buy that shit, but for some reason i can never resist trying to get the latest download on what’s going on in brad and angelina’s relationship while i’m waiting to ring up my groceries.

like this crazy story about a 17 year old girl from a working-class chicago suburb with no business background or any kind of investment backing accidentally striking it rich with her site that creates custom myspace layouts: www.whateverlife.com. (i feel like i may as well be reading about the state of britney’s deteriorating mental health.)

or getting sent links to stuff like dapper.net–which i don’t even understand what the hell it means half the time and that just fills me with this kind anxiety that’s on par with the dread of an “orange”national security alert. (are you feeling it yet?)

at least a friend of mine explained to me what this means: http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial

translation: “FACEBOOK = SCARY”

but that, of course, just begs the question: why is google so scared? what’s facebook really trying to do?

it’s like lindsey lohan. it’s insidious. it’s a giant nebula of crowd-sourced user-generated conspiratorial terror. i don’t want to think about the internet anymore. i’m over it. i just want a break.

though you really just can’t help but wonder what the hell a 15 billion dollar valuation means exactly.

crap!

i’m doing that thinking about the internet thing again.

fucking QUIT IT, internet. i don’t even care about this defeating, demoralizing tabloid trashstuff.

this is why i try to stay on the people side. with humans it might take like millennia to create any kind of significant change. it’s like…. all you have to do is look backwards at a relatively finite amount of information. (we may be discovering more of it as we go along, but it’s not like more of it’s being created.) so you just figure that stuff out, and you’re good to go. the basic programming idea behind the way we think, why want what we want, why we buy what we buy, why we behave the way we do, it’s all right there….. it’s like a swiss watch. it’s complicated, but you’re not expected to put it together differently every morning.

the internet, however is a different story. makes you want to just stick your fingers in your ears and go “lalalalala” (it’s working out well for the music industry, i hear).

ugh….

the whole thing’s just a big ol’ mess.

the post about the whateverlife.com story says:

The name came to Ashley in a moment of frustration. After losing a video game to [her friend] Bre, she dropped the controller and blurted out, “Whatever, life.” She liked it instantly. She thought it would be a great name for a Web site.

well…..

at least i’m not the only one tired of this stuff. even fifty’s got technolofatigue:

November 1, 2007 by jenks

marketing 101 questions

last week i was on the marketing 101 panel at the startupLA conference. it was
actually a lot of fun, and there were some great questions afterwards. here’s some of my favorites, and my answers:

Q. what’s the fastest way for a new company to get exposure?
A. look for existing communities that are comprised of your target demographic and approach them. if there’s already a connected group of folks that you feel will be interested in what you’ve got it’s a lot faster to generate authentic exposure through that network than trying to aggregate a community from scratch. from a completely different perspective, cliff allen of suretomeet.com who was on the panel with me, said the fastest way for a new company to get exposure is spam. so there you go. choose your own adventure.

Q. is social media, like facebook, going to be the future of advertising?
A. its impact on the process is hugely important. i think it’s certainly something that now needs to be factored into any kind of advertising plan. but i also think it’s completely foolish to altogether write off exposure media (which is what advertising has been primarily dependent on up until like yesterday). it’s not a battle between whether engagement or exposure media is better adapted to the natural selection of marketing, it’s about pursuing a symbiotic relationship between the two, and developing integrated strategies that are overall more effective. that’s the future…. or at least it ought to be.

Q. what’s one piece of marketing advice that is most important for a new company?
A. know your audience. really really understand who you’re talking to. or who you should be talking to. the danger in making a message that isn’t relevant or that isn’t approaching your audience on their own terms is not just that we, as consumers, “tune it out,” it’s that unconsciously we translate messages we don’t relate to as being “not for us.” that’s the #1 thing to avoid.

(and my #1 favorite…)
Q. if you had $10,000 to spend on advertising and you couldn’t use any of it on the internet, what would you do?
A. throw an event. and if you’re targeting people over 50, buy some print.

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stop saying the word “viral”

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