Is This the Fall of Desktop Computing?

via huddleproductions.com

RECORD LABELS: New Artists Don’t want to Dirty their Hands with Social Networking

 NEW YORK–The music industry is in a major state of crisis and some up and coming acts are reluctant to dirty their hands with social

via radiofacts.com

Waiting for the hardware [or software] to catch up……. (tips for creatives)

(Shameless plug) Our (www.studioplexstudios.com) 3D motion graphics guy Emmanuel made a statement to me, during one of our video shoots, that inspired this post. Actually, every producer in my office, from video to design inspired this post. As creatives, we are often ahead of our machines in what we envision. If asked, each of us could give you list upon list the things we WISH our machines could do. However, chances are for every 10 ideas we conjure, we can only implement what our machines can handle. I put together a small list of tips to help us creative types when our machines can’t quite catch up.

* Depend on tech, depend on yourself more
Its true that without, say, photoshop, final cut, or protools couldn’t get work done. But the ideas should be in your head long before you begin to implement. Don’t rely on plug-ins or effects to spark your idea pool. That comes from the brain you were born with.

* Keep a pad, journal, something
PDA’s and computers are wonderful. Having back-ups for them are wonderful also. But there’s nothing like a good ol’ pen and pad to get the juices flowing. Trust me on this one.

* Wait before you update
Companies ship updates like water. But sometimes an update can interfere with present versions (meaning your work) of software. Wait for compatibility test, etc. before you decide to update. Don’t lose a job trying to be cute and up to date.

We all love our rigs, I do too. Just remember, men make software, software don’t make men.

To work for free, or not work for free, that is the question…(6 important steps)

More than any other time in my life, I clearly see the effects of unemployment. Friends and family alike are either out of work, or looking for a better paying gig. That said, the presently unemployed often get offers to work for ‘free’, which may or may not turn into verified employment. This is not true for every industry, but those of you in media, marketing, and quite a few other areas get my drift.

The challenge is this: being passionate about a particular company or work, that you’d LOVE to work for and hear a line like “we don’t have anything right now, but if you’d like to work with us on some things until our budget opens up….” blah blah blah.

So what is one to do? I believe in passion in an old school sorta way, but, the issues of rent and mortgage don’t speak that language. Here’s a few steps to help navigate the playing field.

1) Be stern and even bullheaded about your ability.
No company will ever respect a wimp (sorry wimps). If theres one thing that plays well in today’s workforce, its confidence. When you know how to do something, step up to the plate and do it impeccably well.
2) (In a nice way) Be clear that you wan’t a paying job.
This can range from not hanging around all day, to (subtlety) mentioning other job interviews/opportunities. This goes extremely well with step one, and gives a clear message that not hiring you would mean giving you to another employer.
3) Once an idea, twice a promise.
This is a rule I live by. We all have great ideas. When you mention an idea to a potential employer the first time, it means you’re smart and witty. When you mention it again you’ll be expected to follow through. Follow through should equal $, so mention it once. You can implement if and when they hire you.
4) Don’t be a social fool.
Unless you’re instructed to, DO NOT post anything about a potential employer on Facebook, Twitter, Google Buzz, or the like. And oh yeah, when you get the gig? Same rules apply.
5) Write everything down from day one.
Whether you get hired or not, most companies (like life) have plenty to teach. This experience may teach you something you need for the rest of your life, and chances are, if you don’t write it down, you’ll forget.
6) Know what you want.
Colleagues of mine know how much of a fan I am of the Michael J. Fox movie “The Secret of my Success”. In that movie, there was no janitor-to-CEO miracle. Work smart, and start where you see yourself. The term “get in where you fit in” was not made for the workforce, it was actually the way pimps talked to used up street walkers. If you’re not used up (I hope not), get in where you see yourself.

Generate Random Teams Using the Interwebs

Suppose you need to divide a bunch of people into several groups — without giving any impression of bias or favoritism. It’s not the sort of problem that arises every day, of course, but mark my words: Come your next team-building exercise or morale event, you’ll be scrambling for a hat and some strips of paper. I’ve got a more modern approach. Let the Web randomize your teams for you.

11 Reasons the iPad counts, what you (may or) may not have thought about.

Then...

The New Family Entertainment?

I go way back with the Mac. I owned a Mac SE when PC’s were fast, and my friends with PC’s would tease the hell out of me. Times have changed. The introduction of first the iMac, and eventually the iPhone, has literally changed lives. Yesterday’s announcement of the iPad had mixed reviews, as with every Apple product launch. I only have my 11. Enjoy.

1. Entry into a brave new world
Apple is so damn good at this. I agree with @benparr. If there is one company that looks like the Jetsons cartoon life we pondered, its Apple. They continue to usher us into unknown territory. Suddenly we find ourselves as the person that waits in line to be in the front car of the roller coaster, raising our hands.

2. Students best friend
Having a partner in McGraw Hill, and opening an iBook store will break some parents and make students very happy. To have textbooks on a slate (oops I mean pad) means not carrying books and watching Hulu on breaks.

3. Family Entertainment
This is the one that rings with me the most. @scoblelizer mentioned, among his sons iPhone time cut into Xbox time. Photo album, portable entertainment system, you name it. Quoting @scoblelizer “laptops are ugly at a Thanksgiving table.”

4. Kindle Killer
For the future of the printed word, I’d consult @jeffjarvis and the summit he held in Aspen. But the future of newspapers and the such seems to hang in the clutches of some hand-held device. Amazon’s Kindle made a nice go at it, but again, the iBook store will rock. I give the Kindle 18months. Bye.

5. AT&T’s redemption
If I’d heard it once, I heard it plenty. iPhone users complaining about AT&T. AT&T complaining about Apple. Apple complaining about AT&T. Offering an unlimited data plan for 30 bucks with no contract is a big deal for them. It will be for me too!

6. Gadget Pron
The dedicated geek will at least have the $499 version. Just to have.

7. Showing Off
Walking down Peachtree street or Madison avenue, hanging out at Phipps Plaza, I need one of these to accessorize my Prada.

8. Designers
Speaking of showing off, I can see @ariesdesign now. With one of these babies, he will be working on, and displaying, design on a tablet designed for the designer.

9. Photographers
Photographers will now have a convenient way to seamlessly showcase between the web and local files. The accessories available for digital cameras is impressive.

10. Apple’s (yet another play) to stifle the Xbox
Another great point from @scobelizer. Insider Silicon Valley stuff.

11. Comics
Comics have never transitioned to mobile. The iPad will change that.

That’s my 11 cents.

This HAD to be reminded……

Ecc 3:1
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
Ecc 3:2
a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
Ecc 3:3
a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
Ecc 3:4
a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
Ecc 3:5
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
Ecc 3:6
a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
Ecc 3:7
a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
Ecc 3:8
a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
Ecc 3:9
What gain has the worker from his toil?

Relevance, Time & Exposure

Truth is, you need all three to successfully market. Clearly, in the above example, we have Kings in their class. And as a piece of art, the song is intact. However lacking these three major elements, you’re probably hearing it for the first time here.

1. Relevance
Being relevant in the marketplace is so stealth its often missed. Many marketers release products into the market based on loving it, and now how much others can relate to it. LL Cool J releasing a Michael tribute song was a great idea, you would think it was relevant due to MJ’s passing. Unfortunately it was not relevant to the audience that listens to rap records today, or the audience that listened to LL yesterday. A relevant product means customers see a reason to use it now, art included.

2. Time
We would all love to think we have a product that spans over decades. Although this may be true for a company like Coke, a company lik H&M (both on 2009 list of biggest brands), had to be launched at a time past coattails and top hats. Time means keeping up with where trends are going. Being outdated (or the perception thereof) is not sexy. Time also means what a market is familiar with (concerning you) right now.

3. Exposure
Often the 20 million dollar question: How do I expose my product to my potential market? As easy as this answer is not, it does have an answer. It begins with where you are strong (green lights), continues to where you need more strength (yellow lights), and evolves traveling into unknown territory (red lights). In the above example, if LL had used his two strongest vehicles of the day (television and movies) exposure would have been a lot easier, instead of competing with a gargling cat on youtube.

Never shortchange your product. True, you should love it because it is your baby, but if you send your baby out in the cold with no coat, she’s bound to come home frostbitten.

5 steps to understanding tribes & brands

We all have a tribe (sorry universalists), and if we don’t market to them, chances are we don’t have a shot at marketing period. Below is my collections of the steps that help. More forthcoming.

Man Hours…….
How much time does it take to build your brand online? You may be surprised.

Who is your Twaudience? (cultivate)
Find out who your tribe is, really.

Don’t Be Too Far Ahead………
Being ahead of everybody else. Is that a good thing?

Practice Makes Perfect….Still
You can NEVER escape rehearsal.

Brandbuilding Pt. 1, the Telephone….
Part 1 of my forthcoming series on building a brand.

Who is your Twaudience? (cultivate)

Later this year, I launch a property called twaudience. Its a marketing option coined “budget your market.” Of course it involves software. Of course its open source. Tight business strategy, as much internet guru-search (research on the giants I love) that can fit. With all of this, timing will be the reason I succeed. You see, just like a song ahead or behind its time, the same applies to business.

In music, even a dope song and video (see above), released at a time with stiff competition, uncultivated audience or old technology, usually fails. When I say failure, I don’t mean exposure, I mean relevance and continued revenue stream. In most cases people pay for what they need (unless your Starbucks), and take what they want. So being relevant becomes the deciding factor.

Just as cultivated land equals good crop, a cultivated audience will buy your product. Does cultivation=free? I won’t go that far….yet. I will say that perfect timing means meeting your audience where their brain-space is at the time you go to market.

In this age of analytics, we are finding out more about our audience, so that should help. When we launch, we’ll help you do the rest. Sorry for the shameless plug, lol.