Think Visual
It’s rare that I am able to make it through a meeting without having to pick up a marker and draw on the white-board to adequately communicate an idea. I suppose this is to be expected, since my father could hardly sit through a family dinner without busting out his handy note-pad or a paper napkin to explain some concept. My siblings and I still tease him about it. Similarly, I’ve always been slightly embarrassed by my own communications crutch, frequently accompanying any drawing with an excuse such as, “Sorry, I’m a visual learner.”
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False Analogy
By most accounts, this has not been a good week for Justin Bieber’s brand. The former YouTube sensation and current teen heart throb quickly became the butt of several internet jokes when he allegedly compared himself to Kurt Cobain, the angst-ridden ’90s alternative rock icon.
It doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to figure out the similarities between Bieber and Cobain are few, if any. But it does raise a good point about branding and authenticity.
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Morning, Noon or Night?
One of the themes that Intelliworks often focuses on in our conference presentations is signal versus noise— how do we reach our constituents amid the noise of the internet? The factors involved in sending a meaningful message that attracts attention are one part art and one part science. The art involves things like copy writing, selecting content and branding, while the science involves things like channel and audience selection.
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Sometimes More is Less
The Consumerist reminds us today of just how smothering companies can get when they abuse their email privileges with customers. They point out this web comic by Brad Colbow that walks us through several stages of email frustration.
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Social Connections and Privacy
Each time Facebook releases a new feature, the blogs and tech reporters go nuts complaining about privacy. Facebook usually does nothing, users accept the changes and the cycle repeats itself. Most of the millennials I know have been dissatisfied with Facebook’s increasingly intrusive features. But I can count on one hand the number who have actually deactivated their accounts.
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