Archive for November 2008
Knowledge and Art
Seth Godin wrote in his book Tribes, “[I]t has nothing to do with knowing how the trick is done, and everything to do with the art of doing it. … The art is the difficult part.” How many times have you heard people saying, That is easy—nothing special? And how many times have they made you feel like the things you are doing are not exceptional enough, because other people can do them too?
Certain people only think of the trick or the craft and not of the art of doing it. They might ask, What’s so special about presenting in front of an audience? You just stand there and talk. Right? Wrong! I always get sleepy when I have to attend a presentation where the presenter doesn’t master the art of presenting. Or, what’s so difficult about running a company? If you study the processes and read a couple of smart books everyone can do it. But if you want be successful you need to master the art of running a company.
Another example: Playing the ukulele. The ukulele has fewer possibilities than a guitar or a bass, and it might be easier to learn how to play the uke than the guitar. Nonetheless, the art of playing the little four-stringer lies in giving her a personal sound and bringing soul to the song you’re playing. Everyone can easily ‘shrum’ on a uke, but making her sound great is an art. And it goes further. Making a whole album or playing an hour-long ukulele concert needs real art to catch your audience’s attention! The same is true for any other craft or trick.
Magician and essayist Jamy Ian Swiss once said, “You cannot cross over into the world of magic until you put everything else aside and behind you and focus on bringing an experience to the audience.” And that is true for anything we do.
You, Yourself, and Your Brand
British artist Damien Hirst said, “Becoming a brand name is an important part of life. It’s the world we live in.”
Just think of everyone in the public eye. They are all brands. Politicians, actors and actresses, TV personalities, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, other CEOs, pop stars, and more. They all incorporate a public figure that is not much different from a product or service. A few examples from my point of view: President-elect Barack Obama is an elegant American-made sports car, George Clooney is an exclusive espresso, Oprah Winfrey is the #1 corporate identity service, Steve Jobs is a Mac, and Madonna is an energy drink.
You don’t necessarily have to sell anything for money to become a brand. All those great artists on Youtube who have their videos viewed millions of times, and bloggers in the blogosphere sharing their knowledge with all of us, didn’t go online because they wanted to sell something in the first place. Maybe Blendtec, the makers of the craziest and most effective blender, did. Nonetheless, if you watch their destructive, though funny videos, you really feel that you want to buy that blender. I’m going to get one for sure!
Some people become a brand without realizing it. I’ve got two perfect examples: Presentation-whiz and Presentation Zen author Garr Reynolds and Youtube ukulele player seeso. Garr posted his first PZ entry on January 18, 2005, and become ‘the’ destination for everyone interested in high-end presentation design and delivery. He didn’t put on a mask. All he wanted was to share his knowledge and engage in a conversation with a niche audience. By doing that, Garr became the leader of a tribe, as Seth Godin would put it, and therefore, a luxury brand. seeso did basically the same like Garr. He recorded songs on his ukulele—61 videos have been uploaded on Youtube since March 1, 2006. seeso’s trademark is playing pop covers on his ukulele, and according to his stats—more than 1 millions views and over 6,300 subscribers on Youtube—there is obviously a very big interest for his talent.
Garr and seeso became a brand by doing what the like doing and what they are very good, or even best at. You should find out what you really like doing and what you are best at. Once you know that, becoming a brand is just one step away—if you really want to.
Coca-Cola Zero And Promoters
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Coca-Cola Zero
As I wrote in my Emminent And Happy Promoters post, many companies use Zurich main station as a platform for promotional activities. Today, it was Coca-Cola’s turn to promote their product Coca-Cola Zero. Comparing Coca-Cola Zero’s activity to Emmi’s Emminent promo idea, I have to say that Coca Cola has disappointed me all the way. Three things I would have done different:
(1) Instead of giving away a larger 5 dl PET bottle, which is easier to recycle, they were giving a 3.3 dl can. It is smaller and there are less recycling bins for cans than for PET. (2) When the Coca-Cola Zero promoter gave me one can, I asked for a second one, because I was very, very thirsty and she said that I could have only one. She didn’t even apologize. I don’t mean to be greedy here, but other promoters gave me two or three pieces. This is marketing. If you plan giveaways don’t be stingy, or else just leave it be. (3) There were four promoters on one spot. They had two big containers filled with Coca-Cola Zero cans distributing them without emotions or energy. It was early afternoon, and I can’t imagine they were already tired. And even if they were, a promoter’s job is to make me wanting the product. If she isn’t happy giving away the product, why should I be happy receiving it?
It is obvious that you can’t stop trusting a brand because a handful of promoters didn’t treat you the way you wanted to be treated. Nonetheless, I expect a brand and marketing manager to supervise such an activity and choose the right promoters, or at least give them something that makes them feel good, like the promoters for Emmi’s Emminent. Apple has clear rules and expectations for their Apple Solution Consultants (ASC), who are employed by Apple and are the company’s first-line promoters. ASCs do a great job and are usually being taken care of very well.
This Coca-Cola Zero promo was rather unremarkable and therefore simply a waste of money. People know what Coca-Cola Zero tastes like by now. It was introduced more than one year ago and people already decided whether they like it or not. If the promo would have included something remarkable like all promoters wearing something crazy or a new remarkable packaging or slogan, it might have had an impact. But simply giving away a product everyone already knows will not move mountains.
UPDATE: Read Coca-Cola’s response here.
Include a Satellite to Avoid Blabla
“No audience member, in the history of presentations (written or live) has ever said, “it was exciting, useful and insightful but far too short,” says Seth Godin and I believe so, too!
The blablas make me sleep. The blablas make me feel annoyed. Why not concentrating on what is really important? Not only in presentations but also in music. I understand that there are masterpieces, which can go on and on and on. Take Dream Theater’s Take The Time, an almost 8-minute song with verses, choruses, solos, and anything else that makes my musical heart dreaming. Nonetheless, many artists produce a radio edit of their potential radio songs because those songs have parts that might bore potential listeners. This is where you need to learn what and where to cut.
We always have the feeling that everything we have to say is important and interesting. For us it might be true, but others might not think so at all. That is why it is very important to have an editor or a producer, who decides with you what is important and what is not. I always preach to include a very objective set of ears and eyes to the project. A critical and objective person is crucial to the success of a project.
Some musicians, like Seth Horan, started putting together a whole group of producers, who tell him what they like and what they don’t like about his new album. I wrote about it in my entry Music Producers and Crowdsourcing. No one likes to admit that his or her work needs development, but an objective person floating like a satellite in the orbit of the project can take a picture of what is going on and show it to the respective artists to make them understand where they need to improve.
Be Wrong
Seth Godin
Before hiring me for managing online communities, my current boss talked to a former employer of mine, and she told him that sometimes I wouldn’t mind going a rockier road to achieve my goals, even if it might be risky. In other words, Sebi is not afraid of making mistakes. And I was very, very happy with that statement about me.
How many times do you hear people say, “That’s not good, that’s wrong!” Sure, if you’re making pasta and you put 500 grams of sugar into the boiling water for making 200 grams of pasta salty, that is definitely wrong. Unless you’re not afraid of trying out something new that might even lead you to a great conclusion!
In his new book Tribes, Seth Godin says the following about the fear of being wrong:
The secret of being wrong isn’t to avoid being wrong!
The secret is being willing to be wrong.
The secret is realizing that wrong isn’t fatal.
The only thing that makes people and organizations great is their willingness to be not great along the way. The desire to fail on the way to reaching a bigger goal is the untold secret of success.
Exactly. If you do everything right all the time you will never know what can go wrong. Everything’s going to be just smooth and unremarkable. Like Seth always says, “Being safe is risky.” We can all learn from mistakes we make and share with others. I say, if we want to be remarkable, we should not fear to fail. We can always get up and try again. We need to be ethical, but other than that, we simply need to evaluate and have the guts to try something new to reach a higher goal.
Change isn’t made by asking permission. Change is made by asking forgiveness, later.
–Seth Godin, Tribes, page 70.
Facebook Love Song
Here you are our very first song: Fallin’ in love on Facebook. Ale, Simu, and I recorded the song and made the video within just a few hours, because we simply wanted to catch the spirit of the song as nude as it can be. We will take the song a step further in a later stage, but for now we want you to spread this version of our Facebook love song:
The lyrics encompass what many youngsters are experiencing nowadays. They get to know each other online and eventually move on to meet offline to find out that they are in love with each other. Not that it has happened to me, but I’ve heard of different couples, who have experienced that kind of romance. That is why we want to dedicate this song to everyone, who fell in love online.
New Classics
New Classics?
My buddy Simon Kurt, starring in the forthcoming shortfilm Shuumatsu Dou Datta part 2, recently bought the new Nickelback album and was somehow surprised when he read the sticker on the package: 11 New Nickelback Classics. New classics? How can brand new songs already be classics? By definition, a classic is a creation of the highest excellence. And I doubt this brand new album, which has been out for 3 days now, is already a classic. I’m sure the marketer at the record company didn’t think that this would bother anyone. Well, it does. It is like saying that the band is in the Hall of Fame when it is not.
The problem here is that the record company decided to proclaim the new songs as classics to sell more CDs, instead of letting the audience decide. That is a very big No-no. When the record industry tells me, which songs are classics, I ignore them because I don’t trust them (anymore). The record company is trying to sell something, but I’d rather have friends suggesting which album will become a classic.
Daniel, a very dear friend of mine, who just became daddy—congrats at this point to you and Sonja—is a huge 3 Doors Down fan and all their albums are classics to him. I believe him, even though I wouldn’t consider any 3 Doors Down album to be a classic, because I’m not that much into their music. Still, when we’re in his car, he keeps playing 3DD songs and eventually I liked their song Cryptonite, which reminded me of my college years in Minnesota, and I bought that album. Nonetheless, I only bought it because Daniel, a friend, told me that it is a classic. Having been released in the year 2000 and having sold millions of copies ever since, it is safe to consider it a classic.
The point I’m trying to make is that companies and artists should leave it to the fans and audiences to decide if a song is a classic. Anything else is just a lie.
You Know You’re a Bass Player when…
As many of you read in my post A very interesting instrument, I fell in love with the ukulele. Recently, I joined a ukulele group on Facebook called You know you’re Ukulele Player when… and its info text inspired me to write this entry. When do we actually know if we are bass players or not?
My opinion is that anyone who loves the low-end and a cool groove is only one step away from becoming a bass player. But in the end, you know you’re a bass player when…
- You’ve been faced with the question, Is that a big guitar with only four strings?
- You’ve had to show up at a gig with a huge wall of cabinets in order to compete with the volume of your always-too-loud-and-shredding guitarist.
- You tend to crank up the low-end to 10 on your amp.
- You’ve considered selling your body on the street just to get the money for a Fodera or Ritter bass.
- You’re not a Hindu but you do believe in multiple Gods. Five of them, in fact. Victor Wooten, Stanley Clark, Marcus Miller, T.M. Stevens and Jaco Pastorius.
- You strongly believe in the phrase “One day bass players will take over the world.”
By the way, my name is Sebi and I’m proud to be a Bass Player!
Youtube Live: Offline Event
Youtube Live
Youtube has been providing a great community to promote and foster many talents, which eventually become internet superstars. Up until now, it was a genuine online platform and nothing else. But this will change on November 22, 2008, when Youtube Live will be held in San Francisco and in Tokyo on Nov. 23. Youtube Live is the platform’s first official live community celebration event that will host well-known artists like Will.I.Am and Kate Perry, as well as Youtube-made stars such as Julia Nunes and Esmee Denters.
Caroline McCarthy write on CNET News, “YouTube co-founder Steve Chen announced earlier this year that live video would be coming to YouTube later in 2008, but several months later, there were scattered rumors that those plans had been scrapped. An event like YouTube Live would indicate that live streaming is indeed still on track–though the company has not yet said anything about further live-video plans or whether the streaming will be handled through a partnership with one of the many start-ups that specialize in it.”
Margaret Wappler is not very sure if Youtube Live is a good idea. She asks in her L.A. Times music blog, “So, when do all the other online communities, Facebook, Bebo, et al, start throwing their own concerts? YouTube plans to live-stream this show but somehow, I don’t think that would work so well for Twitter. Set up instruments (9:58 p.m.). Play awesome show (10:45 p.m.) Hang out in green room, drinking beer (12:02 a.m.).”
Good question. Still, I think it was a good move. First of all, live-streaming is becoming more and more popular, especially thanks to better internet connections. Hahetame commented on Silicon Alley Insider, ”I love live streaming. I can watch any NFL or English Premiere League game via live streaming sites.” Many of my friends, who travel for work or studies, miss watching their favorite TV channels and are more than happy to watch them online through a stream. I usually watch N-TV, a German news channel, online when I’m on the road. If CNN had a live-stream, it’d be on 24/7 on my computer. Fortunately, I can usually use Zattoo for live-streaming TV.
Youtube has given a great value to the entertainment world and to community thinking. People start being creative because they see others creating something with little effort on standard computers. They interact and help each other out. They compete, but in a healthy way. It is not about creating something for oneself anymore. Now, it is about creating something to share with others. “The value of YouTube is we’ve created this platform that’s been driven by the community, so this is in reaction to that,” said YouTube spokesman Chris Di Cesare “Having a community event that the community values benefits all involved.”
Top10: 1991 Rock Videos
The 1990s started with a bunch of great bands that started out in the 80s, becoming more and more popular. Here you are my favorite 1991 rock videos. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” on Youtube, otherwise it would be in here, too.
#10 D.A.D. “Bad Crazieness” [Video] [Bio]
#9 Metallica “Enter Sandman” [Video] [Bio]
#8 Red Hot Chili Peppers “Give It Away” [Video] [Bio]
#7 Soundgarden “Jesus Christ Pose” [Video] [Bio]
#6 Infectious Grooves “Punk It Up” [Video] [Bio]
#5 Mr. Big “Green-Tinted Sixties Mind” [Video] [Bio]
#4 Pearl Jam “Alive” [Video] [Bio]
#3 Skid Row “Slaves To The Grind” [Video] [Bio]
