I have a mind that goes in all directions and it's always nice to have a chat with a smarter friend to set me thinking - focused like - on something. and last night I had the privilege to be set straight by Mr. Ursache who got me thinking about business models and how they have been affected by Internet and the new frame of mind it puts us in.
Actually I got to thinking about this after reading about W+K's Platform and Anomaly and also thinking about the crazy dudes who wrote Funky Business.
It used to be that making money and being successful was all about assets and project management and strategy. But with the advent of Internet, new millionaires proved that all you needed to have was an idea. Just like Funky Business says, these days the real asset is a good brain that can generate unique and interesting ideas which later create wealth. And internet has exacerbated this by making it possible for geeks in garages to have brainstorms and then get filthy rich.
So, I'm thinking that this has literally turned into a business model, so much so that companies gather together people to have ideas which can then make money for them in a long term.
This has everything to do with the way internet affects our perception of the world. You don't want to buy stuff because you know someone on the internet has it for free, you don't want to go out because you can chat online, you don't send cards because there's a faster way to get in touch with video logs and stuff like that. Internet has taught us the power of hugeness - because when you make it big here it's really big, but also the speed with which success comes and goes. pretty much like an idea. it comes fast, it goes away fast.
with internet, we live a life of peaks and precipices. there is not more smooth line of growth.
it's pretty exciting if you think about it.
7/10/2009
7/09/2009
Agency I don't know blasting "London creativity"
This is excellent stuff. I love W+K (actually found this on their blog so props to them for being so open) but this simply is funny funny funny and really creative
7/07/2009
7/05/2009
Singing the joy of online
This is brilliant. the problem seems to be
a) TV still works here
b) not even online people know algorithms that well
c) I am not sure who plays the original of this :P
(via)
a) TV still works here
b) not even online people know algorithms that well
c) I am not sure who plays the original of this :P
(via)
User Generated Advertising
Is not a myth anymore. Current TV, which is Al Gore's online TV channel, has a system called VCAM - Viewer Created Ad Messages - which enables users to create ads for their favourite brands and have them played on the television station if the advertisers approve them. You also make 2500 USD if they choose it and up to 60000 USD if the ad is played on another TV station.
I have watched some ads and they are interesting, well produced, if not mind blowing funny or smart. So, with a bit of practice users might put advertisiong agencies out of business also, after print is starting to give out :).
[PS: maybe this is a good time to restart that debate about users being unable to create useful or good content :)]
Search behaviour
I have been meaning to write something about this for a long time. The idea came to me a while back when I was watching Veronica Mars and in one episode the kids at school were tested in the IT lab for search competencies. The challenge was who could find the information pitched by the teacher the fastest. The information was the name of a local basketball player who has surprisingly saved the day in a match by scoring a final 4 pointer.
Eventually, Veronica Mars wins simply by looking up the names of the players and then cross referencing the lower scoring ones with the word 'surprising'.
This to me is a perfect example of how search actually works. I have previously said that the fastest way to find something on google is to simply "ask" like you were asking a normal person. The reason behind this is that most people do not take a scientific approach to searching. They behave naturally towards online and have no search strategies, like inputing keywords and tags or using punctuation. For them conversations online are much like conversations offline, they rely on simple speech patterns and simple thinking patterns and when they write they write like they were talking about it. So, the largest number of indexed information sounds like that. In the case above people would not mostly be interested in the scores of a game but rather in the human story of an underdog who suprises everyone.
So, search is always about the simplest and most human context. Find what is the key, common story around a term and search it just like that, like you were talking about it. Generally, it gives the best results.
Eventually, Veronica Mars wins simply by looking up the names of the players and then cross referencing the lower scoring ones with the word 'surprising'.
This to me is a perfect example of how search actually works. I have previously said that the fastest way to find something on google is to simply "ask" like you were asking a normal person. The reason behind this is that most people do not take a scientific approach to searching. They behave naturally towards online and have no search strategies, like inputing keywords and tags or using punctuation. For them conversations online are much like conversations offline, they rely on simple speech patterns and simple thinking patterns and when they write they write like they were talking about it. So, the largest number of indexed information sounds like that. In the case above people would not mostly be interested in the scores of a game but rather in the human story of an underdog who suprises everyone.
So, search is always about the simplest and most human context. Find what is the key, common story around a term and search it just like that, like you were talking about it. Generally, it gives the best results.
Three things not involving money
Ever since the crisis has been upon us I have sensed a change in the speech of the online community. If one year ago it was all about getting smart, showing the world what we can, making great things happen, today it's about one thing: MONEY.
There is more than one explanation for this: investment money is running out and people who used to live on that money, thus having plenty of time on their hands to generate ideas and projects, now need to make a living, advertisers are less inclined to spend money on long term commitments since they need short term results. The term branded utility, which I fell in love with at that time, has almost disappeared. Nobody thinks about making meaning anymore because we are down to the bottom of Maslow's pyramid - we need to fulfill basic needs.
However, this is depressing.
Online was the brave new world and now it's turned into the world-which-hates-itself (banners :)-and-makes-little-money and is frustrated. That's why I need to put on the table three things:
1. Optimism 2009 - made by Manafu, this conference is very much like Russell's Interesting (read this instead) only focusing on how to keep up spirits and remain creative in a time when all energies are focused on raw production. While I think that some of the initial thinking behind Optimism has been lost, with a bunch of speakers being the "inspirational" type, which I don't particularly like, I think it's a good thing to be in a conference where we don't speak about how to make money but how to make optimism.
2. A challenge: I run a digital agency and we do not spend a lot of time making anything that makes a difference but a lot of time making money. That's because we have shareholders who have expectations. I know a lot of people who are in the same position. I promise I will talk to each and every one of them and invite them to a challenge: each agency needs to make a project that is not for money but makes a case for innovation, good thinking, meaningful additions to the Internet. My deadline is end 2009 when all projects should be written up and completed.
3. Knowledge: the digital community here does not share too much and obviously with internet not monitored it's hard to keep up and learn and understand more in point of advertising online. There are no publications involved in analysing the online advertising evolution in Romania very much because, as said, it's hard to monitor. So, the thing that needs to happen is an online collectuion point for all the good projects from all players online (Much like bannerblog). This I plan to start and would like to enlist the support of as many people doing online advertising as possible. This will only be possible if everyone shares what they do and is great.
... so there, maybe this will help get over the money-making blues.
There is more than one explanation for this: investment money is running out and people who used to live on that money, thus having plenty of time on their hands to generate ideas and projects, now need to make a living, advertisers are less inclined to spend money on long term commitments since they need short term results. The term branded utility, which I fell in love with at that time, has almost disappeared. Nobody thinks about making meaning anymore because we are down to the bottom of Maslow's pyramid - we need to fulfill basic needs.
However, this is depressing.
Online was the brave new world and now it's turned into the world-which-hates-itself (banners :)-and-makes-little-money and is frustrated. That's why I need to put on the table three things:
1. Optimism 2009 - made by Manafu, this conference is very much like Russell's Interesting (read this instead) only focusing on how to keep up spirits and remain creative in a time when all energies are focused on raw production. While I think that some of the initial thinking behind Optimism has been lost, with a bunch of speakers being the "inspirational" type, which I don't particularly like, I think it's a good thing to be in a conference where we don't speak about how to make money but how to make optimism.
2. A challenge: I run a digital agency and we do not spend a lot of time making anything that makes a difference but a lot of time making money. That's because we have shareholders who have expectations. I know a lot of people who are in the same position. I promise I will talk to each and every one of them and invite them to a challenge: each agency needs to make a project that is not for money but makes a case for innovation, good thinking, meaningful additions to the Internet. My deadline is end 2009 when all projects should be written up and completed.
3. Knowledge: the digital community here does not share too much and obviously with internet not monitored it's hard to keep up and learn and understand more in point of advertising online. There are no publications involved in analysing the online advertising evolution in Romania very much because, as said, it's hard to monitor. So, the thing that needs to happen is an online collectuion point for all the good projects from all players online (Much like bannerblog). This I plan to start and would like to enlist the support of as many people doing online advertising as possible. This will only be possible if everyone shares what they do and is great.
... so there, maybe this will help get over the money-making blues.
7/04/2009
7/03/2009
7/01/2009
Wieden+Kennedy launch Platform
This is what makes W+K great (although this time I think it's Anomaly who've made the first move
when they launched)
all details here
"To handle these types of projects, Brookes and Collier have launched a recruitment site they're hoping will attract programmers, fashion designers, engineers, anthropologists, artists—basically all creative types outside of advertising. Brookes says that they're not looking for people who specifically want to get into advertising; they'll only consider applicants with ad backgrounds if they also have the right kind of ideas. Platform has been accepting applications online--and will be until July 10--in the form of social media projects. Applicants need to identify a problem or something that irks them, fix it, document the process through photography and upload the album to Flickr. And, to introduce themselves and answer a list of introductory questions, applicants must create a YouTube video."
when they launched)
all details here
"To handle these types of projects, Brookes and Collier have launched a recruitment site they're hoping will attract programmers, fashion designers, engineers, anthropologists, artists—basically all creative types outside of advertising. Brookes says that they're not looking for people who specifically want to get into advertising; they'll only consider applicants with ad backgrounds if they also have the right kind of ideas. Platform has been accepting applications online--and will be until July 10--in the form of social media projects. Applicants need to identify a problem or something that irks them, fix it, document the process through photography and upload the album to Flickr. And, to introduce themselves and answer a list of introductory questions, applicants must create a YouTube video."
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