…is an increasingly dumb distinction.
Inspired by this tweet from Paul Isakson, which was inspired by this piece from Ad Age, I got to thinking about the general concept of ideas and executions. Paul says “ideas are ideas” and I’m inclined to agree.
So many times, ideas get pegged as Online or Offline and then executed independently. The problem with this is that it’s not how people operate. My online life might be more tied to my offline life than the average person, but just look at how many people are active on Facebook (250 million!), not to mention Twitter, Blogs, and e-mail. People don’t consciously think “this is an online action” and “this is an offline action”. A social action is social, it doesn’t matter if its a tweet, text message, or lunch plans.
The fact that many companies have different agencies for online and offline efforts certainly doesn’t help, but that’s a poor excuse. If the best ideas and efforts really tap into the markets behavior, then why do we still insist on segregating ideas. If the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, it makes it really easy to get punched in the face.
- I think Twitter has really changed blogging. I know it’s still a young medium itself, but I feel like I’ve seen a ton of “I’m not blogging as much because of Twitter” posts lately. The short-form stuff that we used to blog about now goes straight to Twitter. I’m not sure if it’s a bad thing, but it seems like a trend to me.
- I’ve been thinking a lot about blogs and shifting the focus of the content; I’m wondering if it’s okay to change things a little bit. Obviously I’m not saying that I’m going to start writing about lolcats (but I should be able to if I want, it’s my blog after all), but I’m wondering if it’s disconcerting to the readers to experience a change. I feel like it would be a disservice to not allow the evolution of both the author and the audience. What do you think?
- That being said, I change the tagline of my blog a lot. I feel like as I’ve been writing this more and more, I’m growing into a place where I’m really happy/comfortable with the style and content. If you’ve noticed, there’s been a lot more design/design thinking and visuals (inspired partly by Sir Armano). I’ve also become more comfortable with shorter posts because I’ve realized that if I sit on an idea too long, my motivation goes away. Gotta strike while the iron is hot.
But that’s just me. How do you feel about this stuff? What’s your take on the shifting focus of a blog? How have you grown changed as an author or a reader?
Fire away.
I just read this really great piece from Clay Shirky about newspapers and “the unthinkable”. It’s a little on the longer side, but if you haven’t read it yet, you definitely should.
His post got me thinking:
- I have to say that right now I don’t think newspapers will continue to exist. At least not in their current form. Whereas the transition from LPs, to 8-tracks, to cassette tapes, to CDs, to MP3s went somewhat smoothly, I don’t think newspapers will share the same ease. In the case of the audio mediums, the changes represented an evolution. Better quality, improved portability, etc.. However it didn’t really mark a seachange in the way we consumed audio media or the “purpose” that it served. But as Shirky mentions, the internet more-or-less breaks the model of most publishing. It’s not a matter of evolution, it’s a matter or revolution.
- I don’t read hard copies of newspapers and I don’t think anyone in my immediate circle of friends does either. I’m not suggesting that this is representative of Gen-Y, but I also don’t think it’s an uncommon scenario. By contrast, I know that the parents of many of my peers are still reading the papers. Is this a trend that’s going out with the changing of the guard? And why do our parents still read hard copies? Is it because it’s what they’ve always done?
- As a society, I don’t think we “owe” anything to newspapers. I can understand the government backing banks and carmakers because they’re a backbone of our economy, but I don’t think newspapers fit into that category. I’m not sure they deserve any special help. If the question of “Where will we get our news?!” is so relevant, then why are we having this discussion about newspapers dying anyway?
Steal This Idea!
That being said, I think there will be a short term business opportunity that will come about as a result of all this. As more and more newspapers shift their content to online-only, a market will be created to provide hard copies to people still interested. This might provide an opportunity to a small 3rd party printer that can efficiently make small runs of several different publications. They would be able to contract with the subscribers individually to get their hard copies, maybe even customized versions, after the papers go digital. However, this wouldn’t last forever, as eventually the demand for a paper copy will probably decline to the point of not being profitable anymore.
And no, I’m not talking about anything related to Watchmen.
I’m talking about The End in a grow, seize the day, adapt, change, move, “Now is Gone”, type of way. Because, if we’re being honest, The End is always nigh.
The End of Twitter being for early adopters. The End of your Mom not being on Facebook. The End of “Social Media Expert” being a good thing. The End of Technorati being important. The End of a digital sin going unpunished. The End of Auto-DMs (well I can wish, can’t I?), The End of thinking that creating content for someone is a good idea.
But with each end, comes a new beginning. So really…
The Beginning is Nigh. Tell your friends.
Have had this idea for a little while. Thought I’d throw it out there to see if anyone is interested in doing something like this.
With the economy in it’s current state, many game developers/publishers are either downsizing or closing their doors all together. However, indie game studios have seen some solid growth. Games like Braid, Castle Crashers, Geometry Wars RE 2, World of Goo, and A Kingdom For Keiflings have been met with both critical and commercial success. This is a trend that I don’t see changing any time soon.
The opportunity is this: Many of these small (many/most under 10 people) game studios don’t have dedicated marketing resources. Think of them as new authors promoting a book. The do all the work creating the game and then they have to go out there and sell it. I know they don’t have big budgets, but where’s the savvy marketers willing to work for a commission or percentages?
Big opportunity and still growing. I’d like to give it a try. Anyone else?
It seems like there’s always a fight for the best ideas. A war for intellectual capital, almost. It can get tiring trying to out-think everyone or to decide what everyone else would want if it was their choice. I think the answer is to take a step back. Sometimes the best idea is to realize you don’t have all the best ideas.
Take Mighty Muggs and Munny for example. Both are small, blank, vinyl figures designed for you to customize. They’re the epitome of a DIY toy.
Their genius lies in the fact that they decided the community would know what’s best for their toys. Why limit the designs to a few dozen with all the potential out there? Don’t believe me? Try doing a Google Image Search for Mighty Muggs or Munny.
And this doesn’t just apply to toys. Look at what Converse and Nike are doing with the custom shoe options. You need to trust the market, and if possible, empower them to come up with some great ideas.
My name is Matt J McDonald and I'm a New Marketing Strategist based in Charleston, SC.
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