Thursday, May 12, 2011
A Shortcut
Here's a neat little trick... instead of trying to train your customer or client on how to use a CMS (Content Management System) or log into an FTP hosting environment, set up a simple blog RSS feed and create an account they can update anytime, as easy as writing an email.
Friday, March 25, 2011
A Lesson on the Shady Characters of the Digital Streets...
Greetings friends and fans of the Big Dick Giant Detective, your pal Buzz has missed you! It has been an unusually long hiatus between my dispatches from the streets, but I think this one will be worth it. I wish I had gotten the down low on this topic long ago: the Shady Characters of the Digital world.
First let me start off by saying that I am going to be very candid here, likely at the expense of some friends and business associates, but mostly about my own foibles in the shadows of digital entrepreneurialism.
The world of entrepreneurialism is an attractive one to some people for the following reasons: 1)We are Ego-Centric 2)We have minor (or major) issues with authority 3) We are Patriotic* 4)We all believe we can be extravagantly wealthy if just _____.
Sound about right? Well the * needs a little detail. By patriotic I mean just that, but not to political parties, bogus flag-waving false prophets or Big Business, but to the IDEALS of our nations’ founders: Liberty, Justice, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
A true entrepreneur values one or more of the above over all else. Be it the liberty to make our own schedules, decisions, business directions, or to have our own voice and the right to use it as we see fit... the “freedom to be me” (and make some scratch while doing it). Justice to make sure there is a equal shot to get a piece of the American Pie; to have fair lending practices, competitive marketplaces, responsible governance and regulation, and all of the other sometimes fictional concepts that drive idealists to become capitalists. Finally, the Pursuit of Happiness. Happiness is the end of the proverbial rainbow, whether its comfort to live and travel, wealth to accumulate (although this RARELY brings happiness), the means to support a family, or the legacy a small business can become in a family’s history.
With that base philosophy, and with the personality traits I indicated before: Ego-Centrism, anti-authoritarianism, patriotism, and wealth-envy, it is not hard to see why this world attracts a lot of Shady Characters.
This blog post has been stewing for a few weeks, ever since I had coffee with a friend and fellow digital maven, Hana Kamm from www.shesnext.com. While we were discussing some potential integrations, the topic strayed, and turned to sharing bad experiences and the mistakes we had both made along the way... often due to Shady Characters.
The first type of Shady Character is a derivation of the Ego-Centrist, that we’ll call the Prince. It is almost universally true that the type of person that strays from the pack and goes out to find their own path is going to be a touch narcissistic... you almost have to be to want a life where there is certainly as much rough terrain as comfortable. So while some of us see ourselves as being a “solution provider”, others see themselves as being a bit more Machiavellian. For those that forgot the actual text that reference is based on, the book the Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli, postulates that “the ends of princes, such as glory... justify the use of immoral means to reach those ends” (Strauss, 1958). While business is battle, and the competition will often eat you as a sacrifice to their own demons, at least philosophically it does not need to be that way.
The Prince sure thinks so. The Prince will attach himself to any project he sees as making his purse strings stretch, regardless of his ability to complete it. The Prince will whisper in your ear, soothsaying you into engaging, and then leaving you after harvest to conquer the next town. The Prince has no interest in the fruits of well-toiled labor; he has no interest in cultivating your ideas, he wants none of the struggle to cultivate, to irrigate, to grow. He wants your sweat. Mostly though, he wants your cabbage. Oh, and he wants everyone to know he’s the Prince, and thats why it should be this way.
The second type of Shady Character takes the “chip” on the shoulder most of us SMB-owners (Small and Medium Business) have, and replaced it with a manhole cover. The Grudge takes the anti-authoritarian trait to an unhealthy, and often destructive, extreme. Business is not friendly. It can appear so; it can be congenial, it can be fun, it can be mutually beneficial or mutually harmful. It can be a good time, which is why so many of us do it, but it is not friendly. But a Grudge thinks its miserable, hateful, carnivorous. The Grudge likely has been wronged, either in the SMB world or in a former career-interrupted. I actually have been a bit of a Grudge before for the latter reason, but have had great mentors to help me get over myself. Most Grudges don’t, or won’t, get talked off their high-horse though, and we meet them frequently... and they make doing business even more difficult.
The third Shadeball is the “false-Patriot”. This is where I might get in trouble a little. I will confess I am a pretty socially-liberal person, with conservative fiscal ideals. I am not a Dem or a Rep, but I am an active supporter of certain prominent politicos and a progressive agenda (i.e. the POTUS). However, I sure as heck-fire do not try an bring my personal agenda into business though, while I DO try and bring my ideals. The false-Patriot DOES bring their agenda, and sure seems to be lacking in the ideals category. Look at the Great Recession: Wall Street RAPED and PILLAGED Main Street like some ancient Nordic raiders on a virginal Celtic farmgirl. The C-levels that committed egregious, nee’ criminal, acts went unpunished. DICK FULD should be in jail. Not white collar jail.... but cry yourself to another place jail. If crime was punished by impact, we would have to bring back some of the Inquisition’s finer instruments.
To my point (and off my high-horse), these false-Patriots hold that they can act so horribly destructively because “its America” and everyone can F everyone else. In big business the resulting impact can be devastating on a global scale, but to a small business owner, it can be eradicating on a universal scale.
Whether its media/advertising sales people wasting money with poorly planned campaigns based on manipulated data, or developer/webmaster sorts that crush budgets with their fee structures, or the type of financiers that are REALLY hoping you go in arrears so they can get your stake, the false-Patriot type can be the most dangerous Shady Character in the digital alley.
The final Shady is the Slim Shady. They REALLLLLLLY want to get rich. They will BE rich. They will make YOU rich too!
Unfortunately... chances are they will NOT make you rich, but they WILL make you poorer. Be it in time-wasted, actual loss of income, or wasted expense, the Slim Shady will more likely hurt you than help you. And lets see... Buzz can count on his stripes how many times he’s been led down this alley.
So hopefully this dispatch reaches you before you’re neck deep in Shady Characters... but if you do find yourself in dark place and someone else seems to be leading you, TURN ON THE LIGHTS! You might find a skinny Prince with a terrible disposition sticking you up with a Red White and Blue painted Smith&Wesson.
Till next time,
Buzz Titan, The Giant Detective
(a/k/a Rory Foster)
First let me start off by saying that I am going to be very candid here, likely at the expense of some friends and business associates, but mostly about my own foibles in the shadows of digital entrepreneurialism.
The world of entrepreneurialism is an attractive one to some people for the following reasons: 1)We are Ego-Centric 2)We have minor (or major) issues with authority 3) We are Patriotic* 4)We all believe we can be extravagantly wealthy if just _____.
Sound about right? Well the * needs a little detail. By patriotic I mean just that, but not to political parties, bogus flag-waving false prophets or Big Business, but to the IDEALS of our nations’ founders: Liberty, Justice, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
A true entrepreneur values one or more of the above over all else. Be it the liberty to make our own schedules, decisions, business directions, or to have our own voice and the right to use it as we see fit... the “freedom to be me” (and make some scratch while doing it). Justice to make sure there is a equal shot to get a piece of the American Pie; to have fair lending practices, competitive marketplaces, responsible governance and regulation, and all of the other sometimes fictional concepts that drive idealists to become capitalists. Finally, the Pursuit of Happiness. Happiness is the end of the proverbial rainbow, whether its comfort to live and travel, wealth to accumulate (although this RARELY brings happiness), the means to support a family, or the legacy a small business can become in a family’s history.
With that base philosophy, and with the personality traits I indicated before: Ego-Centrism, anti-authoritarianism, patriotism, and wealth-envy, it is not hard to see why this world attracts a lot of Shady Characters.
This blog post has been stewing for a few weeks, ever since I had coffee with a friend and fellow digital maven, Hana Kamm from www.shesnext.com. While we were discussing some potential integrations, the topic strayed, and turned to sharing bad experiences and the mistakes we had both made along the way... often due to Shady Characters.
The first type of Shady Character is a derivation of the Ego-Centrist, that we’ll call the Prince. It is almost universally true that the type of person that strays from the pack and goes out to find their own path is going to be a touch narcissistic... you almost have to be to want a life where there is certainly as much rough terrain as comfortable. So while some of us see ourselves as being a “solution provider”, others see themselves as being a bit more Machiavellian. For those that forgot the actual text that reference is based on, the book the Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli, postulates that “the ends of princes, such as glory... justify the use of immoral means to reach those ends” (Strauss, 1958). While business is battle, and the competition will often eat you as a sacrifice to their own demons, at least philosophically it does not need to be that way.
The Prince sure thinks so. The Prince will attach himself to any project he sees as making his purse strings stretch, regardless of his ability to complete it. The Prince will whisper in your ear, soothsaying you into engaging, and then leaving you after harvest to conquer the next town. The Prince has no interest in the fruits of well-toiled labor; he has no interest in cultivating your ideas, he wants none of the struggle to cultivate, to irrigate, to grow. He wants your sweat. Mostly though, he wants your cabbage. Oh, and he wants everyone to know he’s the Prince, and thats why it should be this way.
The second type of Shady Character takes the “chip” on the shoulder most of us SMB-owners (Small and Medium Business) have, and replaced it with a manhole cover. The Grudge takes the anti-authoritarian trait to an unhealthy, and often destructive, extreme. Business is not friendly. It can appear so; it can be congenial, it can be fun, it can be mutually beneficial or mutually harmful. It can be a good time, which is why so many of us do it, but it is not friendly. But a Grudge thinks its miserable, hateful, carnivorous. The Grudge likely has been wronged, either in the SMB world or in a former career-interrupted. I actually have been a bit of a Grudge before for the latter reason, but have had great mentors to help me get over myself. Most Grudges don’t, or won’t, get talked off their high-horse though, and we meet them frequently... and they make doing business even more difficult.
The third Shadeball is the “false-Patriot”. This is where I might get in trouble a little. I will confess I am a pretty socially-liberal person, with conservative fiscal ideals. I am not a Dem or a Rep, but I am an active supporter of certain prominent politicos and a progressive agenda (i.e. the POTUS). However, I sure as heck-fire do not try an bring my personal agenda into business though, while I DO try and bring my ideals. The false-Patriot DOES bring their agenda, and sure seems to be lacking in the ideals category. Look at the Great Recession: Wall Street RAPED and PILLAGED Main Street like some ancient Nordic raiders on a virginal Celtic farmgirl. The C-levels that committed egregious, nee’ criminal, acts went unpunished. DICK FULD should be in jail. Not white collar jail.... but cry yourself to another place jail. If crime was punished by impact, we would have to bring back some of the Inquisition’s finer instruments.
To my point (and off my high-horse), these false-Patriots hold that they can act so horribly destructively because “its America” and everyone can F everyone else. In big business the resulting impact can be devastating on a global scale, but to a small business owner, it can be eradicating on a universal scale.
Whether its media/advertising sales people wasting money with poorly planned campaigns based on manipulated data, or developer/webmaster sorts that crush budgets with their fee structures, or the type of financiers that are REALLY hoping you go in arrears so they can get your stake, the false-Patriot type can be the most dangerous Shady Character in the digital alley.
The final Shady is the Slim Shady. They REALLLLLLLY want to get rich. They will BE rich. They will make YOU rich too!
Unfortunately... chances are they will NOT make you rich, but they WILL make you poorer. Be it in time-wasted, actual loss of income, or wasted expense, the Slim Shady will more likely hurt you than help you. And lets see... Buzz can count on his stripes how many times he’s been led down this alley.
So hopefully this dispatch reaches you before you’re neck deep in Shady Characters... but if you do find yourself in dark place and someone else seems to be leading you, TURN ON THE LIGHTS! You might find a skinny Prince with a terrible disposition sticking you up with a Red White and Blue painted Smith&Wesson.
Till next time,
Buzz Titan, The Giant Detective
(a/k/a Rory Foster)
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Your Life as Content...
I've been thinking about what to write about for over a week now; with a few false starts and plenty of reading other people's words, I had a revelation: my Life is Content.
One of the most important things about brand presence is regular and relevant content updating; blogging, interactive chat, rss, video content- linked or original, all of them effective tools to maintaining a vibrant and charismatic presence online. What exactly that content ends up looking like depends on a lot of things: the brand image, the type of messaging, the desired interaction, WHO is writing the content.
If the WHO in that equation is you... the small business owner, agency or media professional, relentless self-marketer... then I have some simple advice for crafting out your place in the digital universe: be yourself.
Waaaay too much corporate messaging is just an endless barrage of offers, product info, bland corporate blah blah blah and other repackaged PR and marketing messages. On the surface this seems like a great idea, old biz agencies and inflexible corporate entities thrive on this vanilla-flavored online tripe. Don't get me wrong, I like vanilla. Its a great INGREDIENT in a better, more gastronomically-pleasing dessert. The flavors, the personality, the textures and the real goodies are what make the ice cream a yummy sundae; and they're what make it YOUR dessert.
Your digital presence should be equally self-expressive, and just as yummy. The only effective way to do this is to put yourself into the content, Your Life as Content. What does this mean? Well a few examples that I employ are this blog, some silly video content in addition to my practical reel, and a fanpage feed. The Giant Detectives have a lot of me in them, I've covered that before in the lore of @BuzzTitan, but the basic message is relevant to any business: making your presence online personal makes it very easy to maintain a rich and meaningful flow of new content.
I think that Groupon does this well. Their silly, and often literati-targeted descriptions are full of the copywriter's personality. They recruit and underpay a talented staff of young writers who grew up surrounded by digital. Those writers write content that sells products, and they write content from their own, albeit sometimes warped, worldview. The Millenials are guiding content as a business boon, and its time to take their methods to your brand. Be silly, be serious, be fresh, but most importantly, be honest. Your Life is Content, share it with the world.
Thanks and Godspeed,
Buzz Titan
a/k/a Rory Mitchell Foster
The Chief
The Giant Detective Agency
One of the most important things about brand presence is regular and relevant content updating; blogging, interactive chat, rss, video content- linked or original, all of them effective tools to maintaining a vibrant and charismatic presence online. What exactly that content ends up looking like depends on a lot of things: the brand image, the type of messaging, the desired interaction, WHO is writing the content.
If the WHO in that equation is you... the small business owner, agency or media professional, relentless self-marketer... then I have some simple advice for crafting out your place in the digital universe: be yourself.
Waaaay too much corporate messaging is just an endless barrage of offers, product info, bland corporate blah blah blah and other repackaged PR and marketing messages. On the surface this seems like a great idea, old biz agencies and inflexible corporate entities thrive on this vanilla-flavored online tripe. Don't get me wrong, I like vanilla. Its a great INGREDIENT in a better, more gastronomically-pleasing dessert. The flavors, the personality, the textures and the real goodies are what make the ice cream a yummy sundae; and they're what make it YOUR dessert.
Your digital presence should be equally self-expressive, and just as yummy. The only effective way to do this is to put yourself into the content, Your Life as Content. What does this mean? Well a few examples that I employ are this blog, some silly video content in addition to my practical reel, and a fanpage feed. The Giant Detectives have a lot of me in them, I've covered that before in the lore of @BuzzTitan, but the basic message is relevant to any business: making your presence online personal makes it very easy to maintain a rich and meaningful flow of new content.
I think that Groupon does this well. Their silly, and often literati-targeted descriptions are full of the copywriter's personality. They recruit and underpay a talented staff of young writers who grew up surrounded by digital. Those writers write content that sells products, and they write content from their own, albeit sometimes warped, worldview. The Millenials are guiding content as a business boon, and its time to take their methods to your brand. Be silly, be serious, be fresh, but most importantly, be honest. Your Life is Content, share it with the world.
Thanks and Godspeed,
Buzz Titan
a/k/a Rory Mitchell Foster
The Chief
The Giant Detective Agency
Thursday, February 3, 2011
@BuzzTitan: SoMe theory Part Deux
So I missed the Friday publishing deadline, but with good reason. The Detectives have completed two new client videos, and have secured another deal!
I wonder if this is what its like to come up in the big leagues as a rookie... every hit, swing, strike out and run scored means the world, for better or worse. Every play at this stage in the game had better be served up at 110%, with a side of pure hustle. If you’re gonna make a career out of playing a game, you sure as heck better play it well. That’s kind of how I feel about the Agency... it is a lot like a game. There are players, there are wins and some losses, there are the Good Guys, there are opponents, and there is a hero: Buzz Titan.
As I explained in the last post, Buzz is an amalgamation of the various elements of the Detective brand: my personal and business philosophies, some less-than-subtle iconography, mischievously melodramatic themes, and a little bit of humor. What I didn’t get to is Why the Brand Icon is so important: He has a Unique Identity.
The Unique Identity (UniqID) element of a Brand Icon seems pretty straightforward, but in reality is way too often overlooked. Considering The Giant Detective Agency is basically a meta-case study on digital business, for if the tools and techniques I am employing to grow the business work for the Detectives, then they certainly should for our clients. With that in mind, the UniqID element is very important. To put it in context: the core brand essence and mission of the business should be an intrinsic factor in defining the SoMe presence... i.e. Buzz Titan needs to say a lot more than words.
The tagline “Original Creative, Creatively Original” works for defining the product idealogy, at least for the Guerilla-mercial videos. Having as talented a team as I have to work with makes it a lot easier to boldly claim excellence in a somewhat unproven venture. Having Buzz to speak for the business and the work makes it even easier.
As anyone that is skilled at meeting people will tell you, confidence and genuine engagement with people are the secrets to success. Our goal at the Giant Detectives is much the same, to help clients make memorable and honest contact with their audience. The comedy should be fresh, the dramatic should be concise (think about those terribly long and depressing ASPCA commercials- a cause I support makes me cringe at thinking about them), and the informational segments entertaining.
Content IS King, and Video Content rules all. With online video you can instruct, goad, brag, praise... share a laugh, an idea, a want or a need. You can build your fan base, build your customer base, build your business... and You will definitely make impressions. So if you’re serious about solving your video needs, get Buzz working on your case today!
I wonder if this is what its like to come up in the big leagues as a rookie... every hit, swing, strike out and run scored means the world, for better or worse. Every play at this stage in the game had better be served up at 110%, with a side of pure hustle. If you’re gonna make a career out of playing a game, you sure as heck better play it well. That’s kind of how I feel about the Agency... it is a lot like a game. There are players, there are wins and some losses, there are the Good Guys, there are opponents, and there is a hero: Buzz Titan.
As I explained in the last post, Buzz is an amalgamation of the various elements of the Detective brand: my personal and business philosophies, some less-than-subtle iconography, mischievously melodramatic themes, and a little bit of humor. What I didn’t get to is Why the Brand Icon is so important: He has a Unique Identity.
The Unique Identity (UniqID) element of a Brand Icon seems pretty straightforward, but in reality is way too often overlooked. Considering The Giant Detective Agency is basically a meta-case study on digital business, for if the tools and techniques I am employing to grow the business work for the Detectives, then they certainly should for our clients. With that in mind, the UniqID element is very important. To put it in context: the core brand essence and mission of the business should be an intrinsic factor in defining the SoMe presence... i.e. Buzz Titan needs to say a lot more than words.
The tagline “Original Creative, Creatively Original” works for defining the product idealogy, at least for the Guerilla-mercial videos. Having as talented a team as I have to work with makes it a lot easier to boldly claim excellence in a somewhat unproven venture. Having Buzz to speak for the business and the work makes it even easier.
As anyone that is skilled at meeting people will tell you, confidence and genuine engagement with people are the secrets to success. Our goal at the Giant Detectives is much the same, to help clients make memorable and honest contact with their audience. The comedy should be fresh, the dramatic should be concise (think about those terribly long and depressing ASPCA commercials- a cause I support makes me cringe at thinking about them), and the informational segments
Content IS King, and Video Content rules all. With online video you can instruct, goad, brag, praise... share a laugh, an idea, a want or a need. You can build your fan base, build your customer base, build your business... and You will definitely make impressions. So if you’re serious about solving your video needs, get Buzz working on your case today!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
About BuzzTitan- A theory in SoMe part 1
Over the past decade I have been reinventing myself and my career, something many in the media industry have had to do in recent years. This gradual metamorphosis from old media hustler to new media maven took years and years, until that fateful morning I awoke from the cocoon and created my alter ego: Buzz Titan, The Giant Detective.
Buzz is a symbolic character for me, something that has meaning and is intricately connected to the brand I market, an innovative and creativity-driven video agency. With personal brand management (and that can mean a small business like my own or a multi-national corp with a slew of products and brands) it is most important that the digital presence of the brand be honest and memorable. The messaging should have its own voice, one that is cohesive and iconic. This requires a decent writer to maintain the conversation, as the standard promoted messages and links disappear from cognition as quickly as any of the other tens of thousands of marketing messages we bypass daily. Brands need an advocate, an embodiment, a character... a brand icon.
I wanted my brand icon to fulfill this for my business. My play on the concept of “Agency” in the business name is intentionally derivative of noir-genre pulp fiction, as the dramatic language of the Noir universe and its accompanying iconography are ripe for parody. I wanted a brand icon that was intelligent and deductive, and since most everything I do is tongue-in-cheek, I also wanted one that was a little bit lighthearted in this hardboiled world of digital media. The color scheme is my own personal signature: I love lavender and black, and since lavender is a floral color, it works with the bees. Bees pollinate; they keep the world beautiful, and parts of it bountiful. This is my core vision for the business (and for my life as well): pollinate ideas, help things grow, make the messaging (and clients) shine through and blossom. Create buzz... so I created Buzz. Every great detective novel protagonist has the name, Mike Hammer... Lew Archer.... Dan Fortune. Three syllable, hard-hitting, alpha male names: Hammer Archer Fortune. Sooo Buzz..... Titan. Three syllables, and whats more alpha than the spawners of the Greek Gods. Who were GIANTS.
So there it was, Buzz Titan. My brand icon. He is more than an alter ego for me, he is a voice, advocate, and representative for the Giant Detective Agency. On that day the Giant Detective, and my business, was born.
Thats all for now... tune in Friday for the rest of the story...
Yours Truly,
Buzz Titan
Buzz is a symbolic character for me, something that has meaning and is intricately connected to the brand I market, an innovative and creativity-driven video agency. With personal brand management (and that can mean a small business like my own or a multi-national corp with a slew of products and brands) it is most important that the digital presence of the brand be honest and memorable. The messaging should have its own voice, one that is cohesive and iconic. This requires a decent writer to maintain the conversation, as the standard promoted messages and links disappear from cognition as quickly as any of the other tens of thousands of marketing messages we bypass daily. Brands need an advocate, an embodiment, a character... a brand icon.
I wanted my brand icon to fulfill this for my business. My play on the concept of “Agency” in the business name is intentionally derivative of noir-genre pulp fiction, as the dramatic language of the Noir universe and its accompanying iconography are ripe for parody. I wanted a brand icon that was intelligent and deductive, and since most everything I do is tongue-in-cheek, I also wanted one that was a little bit lighthearted in this hardboiled world of digital media. The color scheme is my own personal signature: I love lavender and black, and since lavender is a floral color, it works with the bees. Bees pollinate; they keep the world beautiful, and parts of it bountiful. This is my core vision for the business (and for my life as well): pollinate ideas, help things grow, make the messaging (and clients) shine through and blossom. Create buzz... so I created Buzz. Every great detective novel protagonist has the name, Mike Hammer... Lew Archer.... Dan Fortune. Three syllable, hard-hitting, alpha male names: Hammer Archer Fortune. Sooo Buzz..... Titan. Three syllables, and whats more alpha than the spawners of the Greek Gods. Who were GIANTS.
So there it was, Buzz Titan. My brand icon. He is more than an alter ego for me, he is a voice, advocate, and representative for the Giant Detective Agency. On that day the Giant Detective, and my business, was born.
Thats all for now... tune in Friday for the rest of the story...
Yours Truly,
Buzz Titan
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Reflections
I am sitting in the Merchandise Mart on a Saturday morning, sipping on a hot cup of Joe. It dawns on me suddenly how many times I have been in the place, and how different things were then...
For those new to the world of the Giant Detective I'll shed some light on that. Once upon a time, a younger, greener Private Dick used to stalk the halls of the Merchandise Mart, immersed in the the burning house of cards that was the Chicago Sun-Times. It was a groovy time in my life, and probably the most influential era of professional development... which also made it a very hard goodbye. You think Bogey and Hepburn on a runway remembering Paris was a tough one? I can only hold your hand as I spin this sordid tale.
I joined the paper at the tender age of 24, after a brief and miserable stint in finance. I will tell you the quickest litmus test of a person's true nature is how long they can survive in the mucky, greed-infested swamp of consumer finance. I had done very well for my relative youth though, and came into the paper with eyes wide open. I had always loved the paper, and still do... although more like a long-lost dame than a job. The newspaper was about to enter its climactic tailspin, as the robber baron publisher, Lord Conrad Black, and his minion, a very Mr. Burns-esque creep named David Radler, had been looting the coffers, fraudulently doctoring circulation, and committing other heinous acts of corporate mischief.
The ensuing turmoil inadvertently changed my life, as I was able to ascend the ranks well ahead of the curve. I was becoming a sort of golden boy, but a "tarnished" golden boy as I rose to prominence at the expense of a few other more tenured individuals. During this time I would often scoff at the lack of vision my fellow leadership endorsed, as they definitely were unable or unwilling to adapt quickly enough to the changing media scape. I watched as ill conceived digital products were launched, well conceived ones back burnered. Executives completely unqualified to navigate the new landscape given promotions and more power, while the talented "idea" people were censored. Most importantly though, I watched greed destroy an institution.
It didn't have to be that way; it doesn't have to be the way it is. If traditional media was willing to be flexible, take risks, hire and inspire futurists instead of coddling dinosaurs, it wouldn't be on life support. I have always endorsed micro-payments as a way to accomodate content reimbursement... internet accounts where a few pennies get allocated for usage. On-demand content and interactions with talent and columnists. Media brokerage... the most radical but simple solution... trading available advertising space and positions on an electronic market. That is a separate post, and one I truly believe would be a gamechanger, but I digress.
The moral of the story is print isn't dead, although it sure has tried hard to commit suicide. Media companies have and will continue to evolve, but they need to be a heck of a lot more intelligent in their direction. Nimbler, more engaging, immediate and authoritative. Media outlets have failed their audiences, its time to win them back.
After writing and reflecting on the topic, my time in this granite and steel Kennedy fortress (the Merchandise Mart is a Kennedy family landmark for those unaware) was educative, inspiring, depressing, uplifting, and every shade of ennui... but it is passed. Its only too bad that there wasn't a Pink Berry when I roamed the halls.
For those new to the world of the Giant Detective I'll shed some light on that. Once upon a time, a younger, greener Private Dick used to stalk the halls of the Merchandise Mart, immersed in the the burning house of cards that was the Chicago Sun-Times. It was a groovy time in my life, and probably the most influential era of professional development... which also made it a very hard goodbye. You think Bogey and Hepburn on a runway remembering Paris was a tough one? I can only hold your hand as I spin this sordid tale.
I joined the paper at the tender age of 24, after a brief and miserable stint in finance. I will tell you the quickest litmus test of a person's true nature is how long they can survive in the mucky, greed-infested swamp of consumer finance. I had done very well for my relative youth though, and came into the paper with eyes wide open. I had always loved the paper, and still do... although more like a long-lost dame than a job. The newspaper was about to enter its climactic tailspin, as the robber baron publisher, Lord Conrad Black, and his minion, a very Mr. Burns-esque creep named David Radler, had been looting the coffers, fraudulently doctoring circulation, and committing other heinous acts of corporate mischief.
The ensuing turmoil inadvertently changed my life, as I was able to ascend the ranks well ahead of the curve. I was becoming a sort of golden boy, but a "tarnished" golden boy as I rose to prominence at the expense of a few other more tenured individuals. During this time I would often scoff at the lack of vision my fellow leadership endorsed, as they definitely were unable or unwilling to adapt quickly enough to the changing media scape. I watched as ill conceived digital products were launched, well conceived ones back burnered. Executives completely unqualified to navigate the new landscape given promotions and more power, while the talented "idea" people were censored. Most importantly though, I watched greed destroy an institution.
It didn't have to be that way; it doesn't have to be the way it is. If traditional media was willing to be flexible, take risks, hire and inspire futurists instead of coddling dinosaurs, it wouldn't be on life support. I have always endorsed micro-payments as a way to accomodate content reimbursement... internet accounts where a few pennies get allocated for usage. On-demand content and interactions with talent and columnists. Media brokerage... the most radical but simple solution... trading available advertising space and positions on an electronic market. That is a separate post, and one I truly believe would be a gamechanger, but I digress.
The moral of the story is print isn't dead, although it sure has tried hard to commit suicide. Media companies have and will continue to evolve, but they need to be a heck of a lot more intelligent in their direction. Nimbler, more engaging, immediate and authoritative. Media outlets have failed their audiences, its time to win them back.
After writing and reflecting on the topic, my time in this granite and steel Kennedy fortress (the Merchandise Mart is a Kennedy family landmark for those unaware) was educative, inspiring, depressing, uplifting, and every shade of ennui... but it is passed. Its only too bad that there wasn't a Pink Berry when I roamed the halls.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
A Vision of Video
With all of the well-documented changes in media over the past 15 years it serves us well to give pause and consider the implications on digital product development, and that oft-maligned concept of media convergence.
Twenty years or so ago, when this Private Dick was just getting his nose wet in the real world, there were well-defined, concrete, and very vertically-inclined media channels. This was due to both the consumers that were paying for them and the relatively homogenous habitat they shared as separate animals and breeds. That is to say, there was room in the ecosystem for a local newspaper, a regional newspaper, and a national sheet all to exist, and even to be consumed by the same person or family of readers. Broadcast had local affiliates and the bigthree four (remember in this distant past that Fox was still more of an up-and-comer than the House that Murdoch built, although the Bundys and the Simpsons had made their mark), and cable was all but devoid of the mindless reality tv chatter and the vitriol-fueled cable "news" programs. The buckets were big, and they were filled by smaller buckets of the same make.
Then we began the rapid expansion of tech, and the slow, agonizing death of this era of media and its vanguard. The reasons for this can be considered manyfold: poor business practices, old leadership not stepping away soon enough, de-regulation and capitalism building monstrous, monolithic meg-corps, Too Big NOT To Fail. The truth of it is, with the birth of the internet came the rebirth of tribal society. The digital tribes have been touched on before, by more well-documented journalists than this hack reporter. For the layman though, the idea that the ability to endlessly sub-segment your interests and your information channels, your style and design esthetic, your dialect, your IDENTITY has made your sphere of influence smaller.
Now that the academic stuff is out of the way, I'll get to the point... (FINALLY!)
My vision of video is to tap into both of these concepts: that the big, Old Media, has changed drastically (or is dead if you're a pessimist), and the new tribally-conscious consumer is more likely to respond to marketing if it is in their style, their dialect! Online video makes that happen, at least for some brands. There was truth to the Old Broadcast model: "the best original content that speaks to the masses of our body politick will attract the most viewers, and the viewers it attracts we can sell these products to".
The trick is to take that core message, and make it small. Very small. Make it funny, risky, safe, silly, serious, sad, or something else. But create for the "mices" (My made up word of the day- means "small masses"), and you will create memorable, actionable work. Just make it good ladies and gentlemen. Or make it bad... some of the best content is TERRIBLE... but more importantly, make it honest.
Until next time,
Buzz Titan a/k/a Rory Mitchell Foster
www.thegiantdetectives.com
Twenty years or so ago, when this Private Dick was just getting his nose wet in the real world, there were well-defined, concrete, and very vertically-inclined media channels. This was due to both the consumers that were paying for them and the relatively homogenous habitat they shared as separate animals and breeds. That is to say, there was room in the ecosystem for a local newspaper, a regional newspaper, and a national sheet all to exist, and even to be consumed by the same person or family of readers. Broadcast had local affiliates and the big
Then we began the rapid expansion of tech, and the slow, agonizing death of this era of media and its vanguard. The reasons for this can be considered manyfold: poor business practices, old leadership not stepping away soon enough, de-regulation and capitalism building monstrous, monolithic meg-corps, Too Big NOT To Fail. The truth of it is, with the birth of the internet came the rebirth of tribal society. The digital tribes have been touched on before, by more well-documented journalists than this hack reporter. For the layman though, the idea that the ability to endlessly sub-segment your interests and your information channels, your style and design esthetic, your dialect, your IDENTITY has made your sphere of influence smaller.
Now that the academic stuff is out of the way, I'll get to the point... (FINALLY!)
My vision of video is to tap into both of these concepts: that the big, Old Media, has changed drastically (or is dead if you're a pessimist), and the new tribally-conscious consumer is more likely to respond to marketing if it is in their style, their dialect! Online video makes that happen, at least for some brands. There was truth to the Old Broadcast model: "the best original content that speaks to the masses of our body politick will attract the most viewers, and the viewers it attracts we can sell these products to".
The trick is to take that core message, and make it small. Very small. Make it funny, risky, safe, silly, serious, sad, or something else. But create for the "mices" (My made up word of the day- means "small masses"), and you will create memorable, actionable work. Just make it good ladies and gentlemen. Or make it bad... some of the best content is TERRIBLE... but more importantly, make it honest.
Until next time,
Buzz Titan a/k/a Rory Mitchell Foster
www.thegiantdetectives.com
Monday, January 10, 2011
Translated Random Foreign Language Blog Posts #1
Greetings!
I think that this will be an interesting experiment, and will make filling regular posts much easier! Every Monday I will tirelessly search for the most eloquently translated blogposts from random Blogger members and share their inherent wisdom with you. If any of you can guess the original language I will send a hand drawn picture of myself to you... which I know is a blatant ripoff of a hand drawn spider for payment, but I have gotten very good at drawing pictures of myself since I gave all of my mirrors away in a fit of religious fervor.
Pregnant Talk
last night I dreamed that the doctor stole one of our babies through the type ultrasound picture or something, f***ing weird, they were woke up in cold sweat. first time I dreamed my baby and, earlier, I have only dreamed of that I'm fat xD but tonight they were in of two (until one was stolen) and it must have and make the mother's nagging, that MrSynsk could not see the wire and the family where a man joked with his wife so badly that she felt they must be two in there. My mother was previewed for the type 15 years ago or something and then would one of her children, the medium or what to say, described my personality, I'd have twins. 'll See. Would be happy if they get two because we have two children, taken only volvo and house as well and I must definitely not do if they are here.
You are welcomes. Thinks you remember calls THE GIANT DETECTIVES for video needs of all!
Buzz Titan a/k/a Rory Mitchell Foster
The Chief
www.thegiantdetectives.com
I think that this will be an interesting experiment, and will make filling regular posts much easier! Every Monday I will tirelessly search for the most eloquently translated blogposts from random Blogger members and share their inherent wisdom with you. If any of you can guess the original language I will send a hand drawn picture of myself to you... which I know is a blatant ripoff of a hand drawn spider for payment, but I have gotten very good at drawing pictures of myself since I gave all of my mirrors away in a fit of religious fervor.
Pregnant Talk
last night I dreamed that the doctor stole one of our babies through the type ultrasound picture or something, f***ing weird, they were woke up in cold sweat. first time I dreamed my baby and, earlier, I have only dreamed of that I'm fat xD but tonight they were in of two (until one was stolen) and it must have and make the mother's nagging, that MrSynsk could not see the wire and the family where a man joked with his wife so badly that she felt they must be two in there. My mother was previewed for the type 15 years ago or something and then would one of her children, the medium or what to say, described my personality, I'd have twins. 'll See. Would be happy if they get two because we have two children, taken only volvo and house as well and I must definitely not do if they are here.
You are welcomes. Thinks you remember calls THE GIANT DETECTIVES for video needs of all!
Buzz Titan a/k/a Rory Mitchell Foster
The Chief
www.thegiantdetectives.com
Friday, January 7, 2011
The first post, and the final word... on 2010.
Well 2010 was an interesting year to say the least... so I wasn't surprised to awake one day with a pretty interesting idea:
It is time for a new venture. No, strikethat, a new AD-venture... The Giant Detective Agency. My aim? Simple, to bring the wonderful world of online video to business and artistic interests. I'll be updating regularly on my projects, and will be disseminating a bit of original theory and thoughts on the digital space, technology, politics, and whatever else distracts me.
As exciting as the future is, it is also important to reflect on the past year. I enjoyed the relative freedom of the life of an entrepreneur, but have started looking at the real world again, and SURPRISE! Its still there. The Gulf Coast disaster, financial reform (lite), energy regulation and re-investment (not), politics, pandering, bickering, BLACKHAWKS, recovery (sorta), Prop 8 Flip Flop, reality tv (eck!) and its oddly similar cousin... cable news. We managed as a society to forget Haiti and Chile’s quakes, BP’s oily blanket is hiding under the surface of the water and we have forgotten about it... (well that is till we get PO’d at the Red Lobster and the lack of waist-stretching cholesterol hiking seafood buffets) Now we face a new battle to keep some of the reforms that have managed to get through the most contentious, divisive, INSANE Congress in US History. I wonder if the constituencies that elected all of the new RNC congressmen (who’s states have among the largest constituencies of underinsured and unemployed) are pleased with this? Or will be until they inevitably realize they will be screwed by this? But I digress...
The main thing that held my attention away from all of those random thoughts was the beautiful, bountiful, green-goddessy jardin that graced my backyard. You may hear more about this, as I have some excerpts of a book I’m working on about urban Elysians written under the guise of the Gardendog... but reading and seeing and TASTING are a whole different universe. I’ve gotten to the point my yield was feeding at least a streetgang of squirrels (any tips for non-violent resistance are appreciated), my friends, family, and the nice lady down the street.
Until next time... keep your chin up, your chest out, and smile! You'll never know who'll notice... maybe even the lens of the Giant Detective.
It is time for a new venture. No, strike
As exciting as the future is, it is also important to reflect on the past year. I enjoyed the relative freedom of the life of an entrepreneur, but have started looking at the real world again, and SURPRISE! Its still there. The Gulf Coast disaster, financial reform (lite), energy regulation and re-investment (not), politics, pandering, bickering, BLACKHAWKS, recovery (sorta), Prop 8 Flip Flop, reality tv (eck!) and its oddly similar cousin... cable news. We managed as a society to forget Haiti and Chile’s quakes, BP’s oily blanket is hiding under the surface of the water and we have forgotten about it... (well that is till we get PO’d at the Red Lobster and the lack of waist-stretching cholesterol hiking seafood buffets) Now we face a new battle to keep some of the reforms that have managed to get through the most contentious, divisive, INSANE Congress in US History. I wonder if the constituencies that elected all of the new RNC congressmen (who’s states have among the largest constituencies of underinsured and unemployed) are pleased with this? Or will be until they inevitably realize they will be screwed by this? But I digress...
The main thing that held my attention away from all of those random thoughts was the beautiful, bountiful, green-goddessy jardin that graced my backyard. You may hear more about this, as I have some excerpts of a book I’m working on about urban Elysians written under the guise of the Gardendog... but reading and seeing and TASTING are a whole different universe. I’ve gotten to the point my yield was feeding at least a streetgang of squirrels (any tips for non-violent resistance are appreciated), my friends, family, and the nice lady down the street.
Until next time... keep your chin up, your chest out, and smile! You'll never know who'll notice... maybe even the lens of the Giant Detective.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)