How Do You Stay At The Top Of Your Game?

Where do you get your ideas? What is the best way for you to be creative? Sometimes, creative professionals live in a world that competes directly with their best interests.

Necessity forces me to spend between 10 to 12 hours in front of a computer some days. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do, and feel privileged to do it. Spending long amounts of time in front of the computer can drain your creativity, however. Business ideas, creative ideas can suffer.

Sometimes, my best ideas for work come in regenerating. I try to find time to spend with friends and family. I try to spend as much time as possible enjoying the summer weather. Maybe take a nice day trip, or short get away.

Bikerides, walks, runs, working out. You’d be surprised how many ideas come when you have a little time to think. An elevated heart rate due to exercise can work miracles.

Sometimes I need to take more constant breaks when I work. Get up, walk away from the computer and come back.

I’m curious what other people do. What do you do in your off time? How do you regenerate?

TYE Offers a New Way For Doing Business

When we think social media, we think the wave of the future. We think of the interconnectivity that it will provide over the years to come.
Ironically, one lasting effect is that it returns us to the small-town atmosphere that was common in the 50s and 60s. Social media creates one giant, small town, where people talk. Everybody knows what everybody is doing. In a way, the future is like Mayberry.
This concept is the main idea behind Gary Vaynerchuck’s newest book, The Thank You Economy. The way the world does business is changing. Instead of pumping marketing dollars into the tried and true mediums of radio and television, companies will do better to invest in a personal platform.
One person can influence thousands in their social network simply by tweeting or posting about their favorite brands, Vaynerchuck writes. Companies can provide a broader, more personal approach by taking advantage of this.
Vaynerchuck uses the example of a theme park. Instead of dumping thousands into a traditional television and radio campaign, they would get more out of providing a “Willy-Wonka” like experience for a handful of customers. There’s a lot of potential for a small group of people with all access to the park, a few cameras and the instruction to post their exploits in their online communities.
The buzz created by this act of good will would resonate deeper than the traditional ad campaign, he argued.
Social media has made consumers more accustomed to this personal level of interaction from businesses. Instead of talking at customers through the traditional “megaphones,” they’ll do better to talk with people on a one-on-one basis. Social media gives consumers leverage in the process again, making customer service hugely important.
Like Crush It, the TYE is also filled with wonderful insight and ideas from someone who is on the forefront of social media. He discusses some current campaigns that have worked well, and some not so well. He discusses several ideas that he has had for businesses and how they can leverage the power of social media.
This book provides an excellent glimpse at the culture social media creates. It’s written for a wider audience than his first book, Crush It, which is more of an entrepreneurial how-to.
I highly recommend this for anyone looking to make sense of the business community moving on in the future.

Preliminary Thoughts on Google Plus

I’ve been playing around with Google+ for about 24 hours now, and have a few preliminary thoughts. First, Google’s invitation system is arbitrary and frustrating. I managed to squeeze in at some point Thursday evening but I’m still not quite sure how.

I signed in with my Gmail address and it allowed me to sign up for G+. If I sign out, it appears that anyone can always sign in in this manner. So I post to Facebook, and I inevitably frustrate friends who are not allowed in. Very strange, very frustrating. After a few days of being left out, I got lucky. Hopefully Google takes advantage of the early buzz generated by the nerds (myself included) and opens G+ to a wider platform soon.

The Platform

The interface itself is a lot like Facebook. You have the very visible bar up top for notifications. You have the option to see a stream, or your profile where all of your posts and comments reside.

The big difference is in the circles, which is probably the concept that has been written about the most, involving G+. The circles allow you to organize your friend list categorically and send messages just to them. You could do a circle of strictly coworkers. The advantage to this is they don’t have to see when you went out for drinks last Friday night, or all the pictures of little Suzie in the bath tub. I know Facebook has lists, but they always felt a little convoluted.

Even though you organized this stuff on Facebook, there was a little uncertainty. G+ asks you every time you post something what circle you want it to go to. It will show you who the post is visible to. You do not have to wonder.

It doesn’t seem that there is a wall right now, which is a little strange. If you want to communicate directly with someone, there is an email option. When you are viewing someone else’s page, you no longer have the ability to write anything. There is also a voice and video chat, which I suspect has a lot to do with Facebook’s sudden desire to integrate Skype.

They also have something called Sparks, which offers the ability for you to find internet items that interest you, to feed them into your stream. I don’t think this does a lot that Google Reader doesn’t do, and it doesn’t seem like the most beneficial feature.

Everything feels a little cleaner and more organized than Facebook. The biggest difference is that there’s not 700 million people. Yet. It’s a little premature to know how this will play out. This is a cleaner, more organized social network that has generated a heck of a lot of buzz. When it publicly launches, I think it will fill up, and there will be more people at the party.

The Future

I’ve seen predictions that there will be 100 million on the network by Christmas. They’ll need a large number of people to make a social network like this relevant. Google’s strength will rest in tying it in with the other programs and features that it offers.

What does G+ mean for businesses? Right now, there’s no business pages, so there’s no strong branding advantage to G+ yet. That will come in time as well. One advantage for businesses could be in the practical, however. Is it tough to get everyone in one room at the same time for meetings? You could always build a company circle, and use the video chat for meetings. The advantage this has over using just a video client, is that you can stay in contact, sending messages within your circle after the meeting.

This is Google’s strongest foray into the social ever, though. Facebook has met its match. We’ve all heard the phrase that Social media is here to stay, even if the platforms change. I don’t think this will kill Facebook, but they are no longer the only dog in the fight.

This is a strong platform that builds on perceived weaknesses of Facebook. Hopefully it launches soon.

Look at Me, I'm On a Horse: A Little Creativity In Your Marketing Copy Helps A Lot

It’s no longer enough to just tell your customers how great your product is and expect results. There’s hundreds of distractions competing for your customer’s time. Without something to grab their attention, you’re inviting them to leave.
What are your favorite recent ad campaigns and why? Chances are there was something funny about them, or at least stimulating. Something that grabbed your attention, and made you remember long after the spot was over.
When my dad and I watch any sporting event together, he has a favorite line during the commercial breaks. I should have gone into advertising. This line gets uttered for any commercial that just falls flat. It is said at least a few times a game, and the commercials that solicit this comment share one common trait—they’re bad.
As I write this blog, I’m sitting in a Starbucks across the lot from a Buffalo Wild Wings. I’m remembering the commercial that involved restaurant patrons putting in a request with a football ref for overtime, to stave off real life for that much longer. This spot works because it’s a creative and different way show just how much fun is possible while watching the big game in their restaurants.
Another that comes to mind is Dos Equis, with the most interesting man in the world. Not all of these commercials are equally interesting and outrageous, but some of them are pretty funny. Heck, sometimes the guy bowls overhand, and his bird bath has been known to attract Bald Eagles. That’s somebody anybody would want to know.
Another one that comes to mind for me is the Old Spice man your man could smell like. These commercials are just beautifully delivered, and memorable for their highly juxtaposed imagery. He’s on a boat. He’s on a horse. He’s on a beach. He’s also not your man, but he is the man your man could smell like. It’s so highly original that it is something bound to be remembered.
In the written world, Groupon has done a great job of providing some of this captivating copy. They go out of their way to captivate you with a funny or outrageous message before offering their deal.
Sure the beer and deodorants listed above are Fortune 500 caliber. Any business would benefit from a creative, strong message, though. Accountants, attorneys, restaurants, retail—it doesn’t matter. All businesses can benefit from a strong message.
It’s up to you to develop the message that works for your business. Don’t be afraid to outsource the marketing copy, and ask for something creative. Your business will benefit.