New communications realities

So I have been twittering, as you know, and I have also been looking into social media as a whole and trying to stay on top of some of the tools as well as the arguments for using them. I loved this article, and in particular, what was said here:

Is digital marketing the wave of the future or just today’s in thing?
I think the key issue is not digital marketing vs. conventional marketing but rather interactive communication vs. passive communication. The trend of tomorrow will be that the consumer will be in the driver seat of communication. I call this the MSP generation—Me Selling Proposition. The brands no longer have the power, the consumer does. The consumer today (more and more) has trust (more than the companies), i.e. consumers trust consumers more than brands. The consumer also has the message in their power, meaning more than 500,000 new blogs appear every day and every consumer has a TV station in their backyard, meaning they have access to the world via the internet. Those three factors mean that the consumer has substantially more power than the brands, which is the reason why the share price of Domino’s Pizza dropped 9.7 percent in just one day due to a video upload from a consumer on YouTube. This very interactive MSP phenomena means that brands need to engage with consumers in a totally new way: a trend which is about to become a standard for all communication in the future—and not just an in thing.



Read more: http://www.imaginepub.com/orange/dirty-little-secrets#ixzz0V5bYLeXj

I wonder how long it will take the Gov't to universally recognize that the only way to control their brand is to simply be transparent and do a good, honest, respectable job with taxpayer money?

True multi-tasking!

FINALLY. Tomorrow, while at work, I will have a handyman at home, putting up the backsplash and our lights and various other great finishing touches on our kitchen. We took issue with poor execution on our granite counter install, and so it has set our timelines back quite a bit. Now, finally, the finishing touches can be completed, and the vision I originally had will come to fruition. Can't wait.

And all this while I am at work!

Love it.

Hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. I have a lot I could say on the topic of thanks, but let's keep it simple. I am thankful for my health, above all else. It's pretty damn precious.

Here's to health and happiness for everyone I know for the coming year and beyond!

Animal instincts

This week, a friend and potential coworker on some small side jobs I may do, asked me to complete an analysis of my personality. Called the Kolbe A, it was an analysis of my 'conative' index. My instinctual responses when I am in 'action mode'. The results? Were bang on. I found it really fascinating, especially given that the quiz itself I found frustrating and dissatisfying due to format, cryptic wording, and choices I didn't feel truly reflected answers I would generally choose.

Some of the most interesting 'observations' about me?

"You are terrific with future-oriented challenges and deal with the essential information without getting bogged down in the details."

I had a 9 out of 10 in the Quick Start mode, which meant that I was high on the Improvisation scale and very low on Stabilization. In lamens terms, I love and embrace change. Yup, I certainly do. Specifically, I "initiate change, improvise solutions, generate slogans, defy the odds, promote new opportunities, etc."

Even better, I am a 2 out of 10 on the Follow Through mode, which is really funny to me. But while it might be stressful for me to have to finish up all the little details, being in the low range means I am an 'adapter'. I "find ways around problems, multitask and thrive on interruption, revise approaches, diversify and am flexible".

In the Implementor mode, I am an Imaginator (not a builder). I "concoct out of thin air and deal with abstractions. I capture the essence of things and can envision the way things should be."

And finally, I am right in the middle of the "Fact Finder" mode. This implies I am an 'explainer'. I don't specialize, but neither do I generalize. I rewrite, edit and fact check. I work within priorities, start with the highest probability, and create documentation and instructions. Essentially, I am a bridge to help people who understand only simple elements of a topic to understand specifics and expert details. Pretty bang on, I would say.

Now, the funniest elements of my results related to the things that are my 'stressors'. If you know me REALLY well, you will totally laugh at some of these, and potentially, even manage to put people's names beside certain elements!

My stressors?
- having to prove my point or argue over facts
- being asked to oversimplify and/or get bogged down in details
- being overly scheduled, told to follow specific steps, or follow rigid rules
- having to repeat myself
- being asked to edit my ideas
- avoid potential risks
- conform and/or work toward known outcomes
and finally
- I am likely to be driven nuts by things or people that take too long to get to the point, aren't focused, and anything that is boring, repetitive and predictable.

The best were the Kolbe Tips, though. They said I needed to 'seize the moment when I have ideas - don't wait, or debate'. I should also 'take time to do nothing after working intensely on deadlines' (consider it done). And finally, 'self-provoke to get where you want to go. You often have to goad yourself to initiate action you desire."

Ya got me.

But now I want to know about others. Have any of you done these types of analysis? What did they say about you? I wish I had the user manual for everyone I know!

Time and inclination

I haven't been writing much. I have been exploring another addictive social media tool, Twitter. It's quite the powerful play area, I must say! I have found top chefs who tweet about their days or food they are making. I have found winos who tweet about wine cellar resources (BTW www.winecellar.com...? COOL.)

But if I am honest, I am mostly not writing because I don't feel well. I keep sabbotaging my efforts to lose weight and get healthy again. I keep looking for things to do to be happier. I keep just kinda 'going through the motions' of my days, waiting for the next time I can try to get pregnant again. If I am really and brutally honest, I am unhappy. But it's hard to come to terms with that, when you look around and life is no different now than it was before the miscarriages, and in fact, we have more money and are in a better financial position. We have a new kitchen (almost) and our health, which jeeeez....seems like a MASSIVE blessing these days.

This week will be good though. Finally getting the kitchen moving again (granite on one side being replaces, plus the final touches on the cabinets and handles, etc.) and soon we will be able to get our handyman in again and we will then be able to tile the backsplash, replace the plug plates (bought some cool stainless steel ones), paint, install the new light fixtures, and then the only remaining item will be left - whatever solution we figure out for the patio blind/sun block. We have a major challenge because the kitchen design and the high cabinet on the left only clears the patio door frame by 1/8 of an inch. So. We need a solution to mount inside the frame and it will be interesting to see what we figure out. And believe me, with sunshine streaming in from the back of the house, we can't go long without something there. But the rest will be done, and THAT is exciting.

But it is a fleeting, external source of happiness. There's only one thing that will truly make me happy again. Being pregnant again.

Wish me luck.

False Economies...and cool professors

Check it out.

Neoliberalism As Water Balloon from Tim McCaskell on Vimeo.