Mitch Joel's Blog: Six Pixels of Separation, page 190
May 21, 2016
Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #309
Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?
My friends: Alistair Croll (BitCurrent, Year One Labs, GigaOM, Human 2.0, Solve For Interesting, the author of Complete Web Monitoring, Managing Bandwidth: Deploying QOS in Enterprise Networks and Lean Analytics), Hugh McGuire (PressBooks, LibriVox, iambik and co-author of Book: A Futurist's Manifesto) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person "must see".
Check out these six links that we're recommending to one another:
Big Imagination 747 - One Month Progress Report - Big Imagination - YouTube . "This project tried to get to Burning Man last year, failed pretty spectacularly because -- who knew--they underestimated the challenges of acquiring a jumbo jet. It's now underway. It shows the sheer hubris and scale of what has become a controversial festival that's a wannabe spiritualist hipster boondoggle for some, and the greatest art party on the planet for others. But whichever camp you're in, the scale of this art car boggles the mind." (Alistair for Hugh).
Hyper-Reality - Keiichi Matsuda - Vimeo. "A few years ago I saw a pretty dystopian video of mixed reality by Keiichi Matsuda, where a user's view was clogged with ads that blocked out the real world in order to earn enough money to boil water. Well, if that was dark, this finished, Kickstarter-backed one is downright terrifying. Here's what our augmented future might look like if we're not careful, and it's so compelling and vivid it's hard not to believe it's on its way." (Alistair for Mitch).
How I Acted Like A Pundit And Screwed Up On Donald Trump - FiveThirtyEight . "Data whiz any pollster analyst, Nate Silver, underestimated Donald Trump on his site FiveThirtyEight. Here is his mea culpa." (Hugh for Alistair).
Never mind the bus pass: punks look back at their wildest days - The Guardian . "When I was a kid in the mid-eighties, I fell in love with punk music and the punk aesthetic from late 70s London. Somehow this article is heartwarming." (Hugh for Mitch).
New Digital Face Manipulation Means You Can't Trust Video Anymore - Singularity Hub . "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog. This was a well-used, much loved cartoon that made the rounds - for years - as connectivity and social media took hold. The image to support the text was - simply - a dog typing on a computer. Well, what if you could alter a video of anyone to emulate facial and mouth movements that never existed in the source video -- by yourself, at home, using a cheap webcam? Watch the demo below. Now, think about how big of a problem we already have, in a world where most people share, comment and expand on news items that are false and/or satire. Who will be watching for us?" (Mitch for Alistair).
Great Books for Designers to Read in 2016 - Robin Raszka - Medium . "As a non-designer (in the traditional sense), I find that most of my inspiration and ideation gets sparked by looking, reading, analyzing and thinking even deeper about design. Most of that inspiration comes from books (the Web versions seem somewhat "limiting" - which is surprising). There is something about how these books are designed (imagine that), that truly does inspire. Here's a whole lot of them... many of which I have just ordered." (Mitch for Hugh).
Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.
HYPER-REALITY from Keiichi Matsuda on Vimeo.
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alistair croll
amazon
analyst
art project
augmented reality
big imagination
bit current
bit north
book a futurists manifesto
burning man
complete web monitoring
design
design book
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donald trump
facebook
fivethirtyeight
gigot
hugh mcguire
human 20
iambic
j walter thompson
jwt
keiichi matsuda
kickstarter
lean analytics
librivox
link bait
link exchange
link sharing
managing bandwidth
medium
mirum
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mixed reality
nate silver
pollster
press books
punk music
punk rock
robin raszka
singularity hub
social media
solve for interesting
the guardian
vimeo
wpp
yeaEr one labs
youtube
May 16, 2016
We're Watching Too Much Netflix, People!
Every Monday morning at 7:10 am, I am a guest contributor on CHOM 97.7 FM radio broadcasting out of Montreal (home base). It's not a long segment - about 5 to 10 minutes every week - about everything that is happening in the world of technology and digital media. The good folks at CHOM 97.7 FM are posting these segments weekly to SoundCloud, if you're interested in hearing more of me blathering away. I'm really excited about this opportunity, because this is the radio station that I grew up on listening to, and it really is a fun treat to be invited to the Mornings Rock with Terry and Heather B. morning show. The segment is called, CTRL ALT Delete with Mitch Joel.
This week we discussed:
How much TV did you watch growing up? I used to think that computers were great, because it took us all (especially kids) out of the zombie mode of staring at a screen that we could not interact with. Turns out - because of streaming and Netflix - that it's worse than can be imagined. Business Insider published that people watch Netflix more than they hang out with their friends, exercise, and read -- combined!
Screens, kids, adults, boredom, and the changing face of how we interact with one another.
Can you still find Instagram on your phone? Last week, the 500-million plus app that enables photo and video sharing (and, it's owned by Facebook) changed their logo. The Internet lost its collective mind. How big of a deal is a logo change? How much does it affect the overall brand? Remember when Uber did it? Facebook reaction buttons? People do not like change.
App of the week: TaxiLater (great add on for Uber).
Listen here...
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May 15, 2016
The Power Of Small Data
Episode #514 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Mirum Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to.
He's got a big brain, and he's always thinking about marketing, advertising and brands. You can hear the excitement in his voice. Martin Lindstrom was made for this business. He has a unique sense of curiosity mixed with academics and layers it all on top with science. He doesn't guess why people make the choices that they make. He dives in deep and cracks the nut open as to why. In a world of big data and analytics, Martin's latest book is, Small Data - The Tiny Clues That Uncover Huge Trends, and it bucks the system with his global perspective and pioneering research. He is a New York Times and The Wall Street Journal best-selling author of six groundbreaking books on branding, including Buyology: The Truth and Lies About Why We Buy, BRANDsense, Brandwashed and many more. Small Data will make you rethink those insignificant observations, to help you better understand how overlooking them could be the reason that your brand has not been able to breakthrough. Enjoy the conversation...
You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via iTunes): Six Pixels of Separation - The Mirum Podcast #514.
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jwt
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martin lindstrom
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new york times
prince
small data
social media
the wall street journal
twitter
wpp
May 14, 2016
Life Lessons From a Rock Star... And Finding Your Magic.
I could hardly believe my eyes.
"What? What? What?" This was my reaction as I came across the video below on my YouTube feed. In one corner of my life, I am obsessed with the work, thinking and writing of Alain de Botton. His books, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, The Architecture of Happiness, Status Anxiety and every other one he has written are core to lot of how my thinking has evolved (and this includes both the topics that I choose to study, write and speak about). It's deep. It's not light reading. It is profound. There are not many contemporary people that I would label as a true "philosopher." de Botton - for my money - is the first name that comes to mind as a true modern philosopher and thinker (Douglas Rushkoff is up there too). de Botton also launched a pretty amazing organization called, The School of Life. Books, online training and live events. Most of the live events happen where de Botton lives (in England). In the other corner of my life, I am obsessed with music and the creativity behind it (have you checked out my music podcast? Groove - The No Treble Podcast). One of the most amazing artists that always creates music that moves me is Peter Gabriel. I've had the pleasure of enjoying his music since the seventies, and have had the honor of meeting him on multiple occasions.
The two worlds collide... and everyone wins.
In March 2016 Peter visited The School of Life to speak about the lessons he's learned from his life as a musician and someone who gets deeply involved in important social causes. I love everything about The School of Life. This is how they describe this modern institution: "The School of Life is devoted to developing emotional intelligence through the help of culture, addressing issues such as how to find fulfilling work, how to master the art of relationships, how to understand one's past, how to achieve calm and how better to understand, and where necessary change, the world."
Watch a video of the evening here: The School of Life - Alain de Botton and Peter Gabriel.
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Pure Mastery. Pure Creativity.
This man is a legend.
You may not know him by name. You have heard hundreds of songs that he has played on. Over a year ago, I decided to start a new podcast (it's called, Groove - The No Treble Podcast). As someone who studied and loves the sound of the electric bass, I realized that these musicians (these artists) are often in the shadows - their stories rarely told outside of the bass community. If you're a bass player (or a musician), you will often know these people. As a casual listener, it's often the instrument that is often forgotten. It's also a relatively new instrument. One that is still coming into its own. Tony Levin is a bass specialist. Pure, simple and rhythmic. Bass players know how hard it is to find one's voice. Levin has not only found his voice, but a very distinct sound, playing style and groove, whether he's playing electric, upright or the curious Chapman Stick. It would be easy to lump him into the progressive rock genre (considering his work with King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, and Pink Floyd), but digging deeper into his discography (over 500 albums that include everyone from Cher and John Lennon to Carly Simon and Seal), you will uncover a true artist.
His hustle.
It's not just music. Tony started blogging (before it was even called that) in 1996, he writes books, is an avid photographer and more. Levin turns 70 years old this year, and he's busier than ever. His Levin Brothers band (a duo featuring him and Pete - his brother) is still active, Stick Men is just finishing up a club tour, he will hit the road next month with Peter Gabriel and Sting, and then cap off the year with some additional King Crimson dates. Recording, writing, taking pictures, touring and more creative output. Levin - a legend in the bass space - does not want to slow down. Prior to our conversation, he was about to embark on a club tour with Stick Men. Imagine, at 70 years old, he's hopping into a van, hitting the road, staying in random hotels and gigging in small clubs. It's a far cry from where he'll be in the upcoming months, as he heads out on the road as Peter Gabriel's bass player (think private jets and the best hotels). Why bother playing clubs? Because he loves it. It's who he is. It's what he does to continue to develop. He's 70. What's your story? Often, people will ask me about the relationship between these conversations and this, the Six Pixels of Separation, community. These are artists that many of you have never heard of. Now, they are telling their story. If, for a second, you don't think there is much to learn from people like this... you need to listen to this. Their inspiration, their process, their grit, their creativity and more...
Here is our conversation: Groove - The No Treble Podcast - Episode # 17 - In Conversation With Tony Levin.
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bass
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Disruption Of Disrupted
Opinions are not facts. Perspectives are not reality (they're personal).
I read Dan Lyons book, Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble, and really loved it. It's a real page-turner. It was well-written. It was funny. It was fast-paced. It shed a ton of light on an industry (and the way that money is being spent). It is a book about unicorns, dragons and company's that are worth billions of dollars with tons of revenue (but not enough profit). It is a book about a company that I know and respect (HubSpot). The read was all-the-more interesting, because I've known about HubSpot, since the company's inception. I know many of the named (and secondary) characters described in the book. I've spoken for many years at HubSpot's Inbound event. I even know many of the people that he briefly mentions/makes fun of. I can only imagine if this book was about me (or our team), how hard it would be to consume. Still, everyone must not forget that this is Dan's opinion about the tech, marketing tech and startup world. Opinions are not facts. Dan provides a meta perspective about this book, which is not reality, but rather his own experiences (perspective is not reality). Many of the major issues he brings forward are real (the age, gender, and multi-cultural challenges that these tech startups struggle with). I've worked with many of the companies he also describes (and dissects), and have attended many of the other events that he lambasts in the book. I feel like Dan and I were at two completely different conferences (I'm talking about his description of Salesforce's big event, not HubSpot). I'm sure what he describes happens, but it sure wasn't Caligula from my perspective (which is my reality). Plus, like Lyons, I'm a middle-aged white guy (so I can relate, on many levels).
It's a sketchy situation from all sides.
When Dan Lyons lost his job at Newsweek, Lyons - who had long reported on Silicon Valley companies - accepted an offer from HubSpot, as a "marketing fellow". It was clearly not the right fit and, because of who Dan Lyons is, non-hilarity ensued. He is a novelist, journalist, and screenwriter. He is currently a co-producer and writer for the HBO series, Silicon Valley. Previously, he was technology editor at Newsweek and the creator of the viral blog, The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs (Fake Steve Jobs). He has written for the New York Times Magazine, GQ, Vanity Fair, and Wired. Recently, he spoke about his book, Disrupted, at Google's Cambridge, MA office. Yes, the belly of the beast that he picks apart in Disrupted.
Here is his presentation: Talks At Google - Dan Lyons: "Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble."
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A More Elegant Question About Publishing And Money
How are publishers going to make money?
That is the question that everyone in the media wants an answer to. This is the million dollar question? Scratch that, this is the multi-billion dollar question. It's not just traditional media outlets that are scrambling to digitize their content, increase advertising revenue on their existing products or - worse - attempting to stabilize the loss and shrinkage that is happening. The truth is that advertising shifted from a model of scarcity to a model of abundance (many more outlets, much better targeting and for a lot cheaper). With that, the definition of publishing expanded as well. Social media networks became part of the fold, and other publishing platforms that could have monetized with a revenue model that wasn't advertising-based, flocked to advertising as brands, agencies and media companies do what they do best: attempt to find more people to buy their products/services in the different places that these consumers spend their time. Now, the publishing and advertising businesses are in a huge, heaping pile of mess. Billions of dollars are at stake, advertising continues to grow and disruption is everywhere. We're in an ad-supported world, where consumers say that they hate seeing ads (you know all about ad blockers, right), but also won't pay for content because it has been given to them for free for so long. Ugh.
The question: would consumers pay for content if the ads were removed?
MediaPost published the article, If There Were No Ads, How Much Would You Pay? And here's what happened: "Zigby Analytics asked that same question to 1,004 US adults and found that Americans assign a value of about $1,200 per year to the services provided them. 85% of respondents said that they prefer an ad-supported Internet model as opposed to paying for content... It may very well end up that after all the dust settles around how publishers will make money in the future without destroying their UX, ad-supported models will turn out to be the best option. No one likes having to pay for things, after all. 75% of respondents said that they would reduce their Internet usage a great deal on all devices if the Internet was on a paid model. 90% of them said that services like email, blogs, the news and weather were very important or somewhat important."
What does this tell us?
Consumer respect and value content. They prefer ads over paying content (but they hate the ads). Ad-supported models may be a publisher's only hope (this means more players, less attention to the ads and less value on the price of the ad). Consumers would prefer free content (they value content, but don't want to pay for it?). If publisher's change for content, they will get less consumers. Consumers all agree, that they can't live without this content and the services. What a headache. Smart people are trying to solve this problem. Few publishers have found a true, valuable and sustainable business model around this. It's a complex problem as more advertising shifts to digital channels and segments beyond the traditional advertising channel.
Perhaps a more elegant question about publishing is this: Do consumers truly understand the implications of what happens when these publishers can no longer make enough money to keep the lights on, and what this means for democracy, access to information and how sustainable communities stay connected?
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mitchjoel
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traditional media
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ux
weather
zigby analytics
wpp
Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #308
Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?
My friends: Alistair Croll (BitCurrent, Year One Labs, GigaOM, Human 2.0, Solve For Interesting, the author of Complete Web Monitoring, Managing Bandwidth: Deploying QOS in Enterprise Networks and Lean Analytics), Hugh McGuire (PressBooks, LibriVox, iambik and co-author of Book: A Futurist's Manifesto) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person "must see".
Check out these six links that we're recommending to one another:
New Seminar Apps and Long Now Video Archive - The Long Now Foundation . "The Elders of the Internet geek out about something called the Long Now Foundation. They build thousand-year clocks, and worry about humanity at scale. Their talks are legendary, and now they're all free. I literally plan on binge-watching all of this." (Alistair for Hugh).
How Music Taste Evolved - Polygraph . "Get your headphones out, Mitch. Every top 5 song from 1958 to 2016, in one place. Some things make you realize this Internet thing might just catch on after all." (Alistair for Mitch).
Exxon scrambles to contain climate crusade - Politico . "I spent a few years working on climate change issues back in 1998-2003, and I have seen very little evidence that the world wants to do anything about this potentially cataclysmic risk. The Kyoto Protocol (do you remember that one? I do) was signed, ratified, and mostly ignored. I've seen no evidence that the recently ballyhooed Paris climate agreement will do any better. But this, this is something different: once the lawyers for big CO2 emitting companies start to worry about financial liabilities for the effects of climate change, once rating agencies and the markets start baking that into their calculus, well, things might change faster than we thought." (Hugh for Alistair).
9MOTHER9HORSE9EYES9: the mysterious tale terrifying Reddit - The Guardian . "Brilliant. A reddit user started posting comments in reddit threads - except instead of being on-topic, the comments are sections of an utterly creepy scoff story about, among other thing, massive LSD ingestion and 'flesh interfaces.' As of today, no one knows who the writer is. But, if you get hooked on the story, as I did, you'll be checking each morning to see if s/he's posted something new. This is a brilliant hack of the reddit platform as a channel for long-form fiction (at least, I hope it's fiction). And the story itself is so creepy/compelling that... well. Read for yourself." (Hugh for Mitch).
How America's Most Iconic Design Brand Is Planning Its Next Century - FastCo.Design . "Herman Miller is a fascinating brand. Very high end office furniture. The world is a competitive place. Hyper globalization (think about Alibaba), massive consolidation and, of course, valuations that are off the charts (hello, unicorns and dragons). I wonder how many niche (and respected) brands will attempt what is happening here. This is the classic move from niche to mass. So, what do you think, can Herman Miller become a 'lifestyle' brand? Will they be able to pull this off?" (Mitch for Alistair).
Apple's actual role in podcasting: be careful what you wish for - Marco.org . "There was a well-passed-around feature in The New York Times about Apple and the state of podcasting (see: Podcasts Surge, but Producers Fear Apple Isn't Listening). Is Apple getting podcasting all wrong? Is Apple responsible for how podcasting will grow and gain in distribution (right now, they really do own that market, though others have tried). Famed programmer and app creator, Marco Arment weighs in. Marco has a dog in this fight, and you should check out his latest adventure, Overcast." (Mitch for Hugh).
Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.
Tags:
alistair croll
amazon
apple
bit current
bit north
book a futurists manifesto
climate change
complete web monitoring
exxon
facebook
fast co design
fast company
gigot
herman miller
hugh mcguire
human 20
iambic
j walter thompson
jwt
kyoto protocol
lean analytics
librivox
link bait
link exchange
link sharing
long now
managing bandwidth
marco arment
marco org
medium
mirum
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music
overcast
paris climate agreement
podcast
podcasting
politico
polygraph
press books
reddit
social media
solve for interesting
the guardian
the long now foundation
the new york times
wpp
yeaEr one labs
May 8, 2016
Ethics In Newsjacking
Episode #513 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Mirum Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to.
Social media is becoming very complicated. From Prince's death to global news moments, brands are being pushed to be ever-more careful when, how and what they post in social media spaces. Famed marketing author and speaker, David Meerman Scott, coined the phrase "newsjacking." It an opportune moment for brands to capture attention from something major that is happening in the media for their own gain. I'm (somewhat) skeptical of it, but I'm a big fan of David's work. So, what does ethical newsjacking look like, in a world where so many brands don't know their own boundaries? Listen in as the bestselling author of The New Rules of Marketing & PR, The New Rules of Sales & Service, Marketing the Moon, Real-Time Marketing & PR, Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead, World Wide Rave, Eyeball Wars and more discusses newsjacking, and why he created an online course on how to master it. Enjoy the conversation...
You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via iTunes): Six Pixels of Separation - The Mirum Podcast #513.
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prince
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social media
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twitter
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wpp
May 7, 2016
Quitting The Internet
"I quit the Internet." That's what the world heard.
This week, the hilarious Louis C.K. was on Conan O'Brien's show tonight and he expressed (in his comedic way), why he walked away from the Internet to be a better parent. We all have the same feeling that Louis has. We will be talking to someone, and our smartphone will beep (or, worse, we will think of something else) and completely implode whatever connection is in front of us for some alert on our iPhones.
Don't blame technology for our unhealthy relationship with our family, friends and coworkers.
I've written about this countless times before, but it bears repeating. How many notifications do you have set up in your life? Think about your smartphone. When does it notify you of anything? A call? A text message? A voicemail message? An update from Facebook? A direct message from Twitter? When you have a scheduled appointment? When someone would like to set-up an appointment? A notification that a meeting is about to happen? A warning that your flight may be delayed? An alert from your many messaging apps? What about your computer? A new email? An incoming Skype chat? A request to connect? A news alert? A nudge from your Apple Watch? A special price for that hotel you were hoping to stay at? The lists, pings rings, beeps, buzzers and more could go on and on. The enthusiasm that many people are expressing to create these digital bankruptcies and technology sabbaticals shore up to a bigger problem: finding a healthy balance in our lives.
How to take your life back (without making your daughter create an access code to your iPhone).
People are often shocked when they spend any amount of time with me in my protein form. My smartphone and laptop have zero notifications. Zero. There is only one notification set, and that is a customized vibration tone on my iPhone for when my spouse calls and/or texts me. That's it. Otherwise, I look at my devices when I have a moment. Seems simple enough? It is. Over time (and I have been using these technology from very nascent stages), those who connect with me no longer have expectations of an immediate response. The goal is simple: never put yourself in Louis' position, so that your life requires a moment to unplug. Instead of letting the technology and their notifications manage you, start managing your technology and notifications.
The results will stun you.
You won't find me thumbing the iPhone while pushing my kids on the swing at the park, because there is nothing notifying me of any sort of message. So, unless I take a break on the park bench and decide to pick up the device on my own accord, I don't have to play life judge and figure out if a text message is more important than the swing-set. This is key: notifications are ambiguous. They no longer tell you what's important, they simply inform you that there is something new to look at. Like the Pavlovian creatures that we are, we just can't help but take a peek at what the message could mean. Over time, this conditioning has jaded our judgment and confused the importance of our work. Many people attack the last message that came in rather than the important ones. Many people attack the messages that are quick to respond to and wait for more time in their day to attack to the ones that require more work. All of this isn't technology's fault. All of this is our fault, because we're allowing the technology to manage us, instead of the other way around.
Take a break.
Instead of taking a break for any period of time, start deactivating your notifications. Agree that before you make a grab for any device, you will proactively define if what you're doing in the here-and-now is more substantive than what may be on the digital screen in your pocket. See, if you unplug, you will eventually plug back in. What you're plugging back into isn't technology. You're plugging back into bad habits. These habits were facilitated by how technology works, but they don't have to be that way. The next time that you're thinking about unplugging from it all, take a step back and ask yourself what, exactly, you're unplugging from and how you can best manage the process?
Plug into what is most important in your life.
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