1 septiembre 2010 – Gabriel Catalano®

Pragmatic Brainstorming for Productivity

For many of us, brainstorming is a lot like play: it’s something we used to do in the golden age of youth, but these days, we have serious work to do, and have no time for futzing around with different colored pens and butcher paper.

In some workplaces and industries, a strong reliance on processes can reduce the perceived need, opportunity and respect for brainstorming as a valid work process. Where brainstorming does take place, it’s often on a “corporate retreat” and adopts a cheesy, hackneyed air — the inference being that it’s not “real work.”

I find brainstorming an immensely helpful process, and I think one of the reasons it’s so commonly dismissed as a frivolity is that few people actually know how to take the outputs of brainstorming and apply them to whatever it is they’re supposed to be doing. Here, I’d like to outline some tips for getting the most out of brainstorming — including applying what you learn.

By Georgina Laidlaw
http://gigaom.com

Por qué centrarse en los virales es malo para la industria

Los vídeos reales han cautivado a los profesionales de la industria y también a los hastiados consumidores, pero no han conseguido aportar el valor necesario.

“Los videos virales son, en su esencia, nada mejores que un simple sándwich de pura miga de pan, que poco y nada de valor tiene para cualquiera que lo coma”, dijo el columnista de AdAge Jim LouderBack. “Los videos online no han sido semillero de éxitos hasta ahora, y poner todo el tiempo el foco en los éxitos virales es, creo yo, lo que realmente nos tiene mal”.

En este sentido, el experto predica en contra del estancamiento que crean los sistemas de hábitos y las formas de producción, que impiden elaborar un trabajo realmente creativo.

Los vídeos reales han cautivado a los profesionales de la industria y también a los hastiados consumidores, pero no han conseguido aportar el valor necesario.

“Los videos virales son, en su esencia, nada mejores que un simple sándwich de pura miga de pan, que poco y nada de valor tiene para cualquiera que lo coma”, dijo el columnista de AdAge Jim LouderBack. “Los videos online no han sido semillero de éxitos hasta ahora, y poner todo el tiempo el foco en los éxitos virales es, creo yo, lo que realmente nos tiene mal”.

En este sentido, el experto predica en contra del estancamiento que crean los sistemas de hábitos y las formas de producción, que impiden elaborar un trabajo realmente creativo. Continuar leyendo «Por qué centrarse en los virales es malo para la industria»

Blockbuster tiene ideas creativas pero no tiene dinero para realizarlas

En Columbus, Ohio, se ha lanzado otro spot, “25 years”, que promocionaba descuentos en el alquiler de DVDs con motivo del 25 aniversario de la empresa. En el tercer anuncio, “Recorder” sólo se emitió en la radio de Reno, Nevada, y promocionaba un forfait de 3 meses por 49 dólares para que los clientes pudieran alquilar videojuegos ilimitadamente y sin recargos por retraso.

La creatividad de la campaña la está desarrollando Euro RSCG, de Havas, que se hizo con la cuenta de Blockbuster la pasada primavera. Un portavoz afirmó que no se puede confirmar cuándo habrá nuevo trabajo y evitó hacer declaraciones sobre la posición que tomaría la agencia en caso de que Blockbuster se declarara en bancarrota.

El acuerdo que Blockbuster ha logrado con las productoras de Hollywood ha hecho que la compañía tenga una posición de ventaja frente a la competencia, pero también obliga a una imagen de marca que la compañía no puede permitirse promocionar.

marketingdirecto.com

Blockbuster por fin ha logrado un punto de diferenciación que anunciar y una creatividad fuerte para implicar a los consumidores, pero se ha quedado sin dinero que invertir en marketing. El gigante internacional de alquiler de películas tiene hasta el 30 de septiembre para pagar 42 millones de los 1.000 millones de dólares en deudas y, según Los Angeles Times, la compañía está considerando declararse en bancarrota. Pero al mismo tiempo ha estado probando creatividades con tres temáticas diferentes en Charlotte, Carolina del Norte; Reno, Nevada y Columbus, Ohio, informa Advertising Age.

Blockbuster ha logrado un acuerdo para ofrecer estrenos 28 días antes que sus principales competidores, Netflix y Redbox. Aunque el trato sólo afecta a Universal, Fox y Warner Bros., en Blockbuster han afirmado que es una gran oportunidad para el negocio. Continuar leyendo «Blockbuster tiene ideas creativas pero no tiene dinero para realizarlas»

Geografía de una recesión que tiene escasos parangones

La crisis sistémica y su recesión consiguiente (2006/09) parece lo peor en 73 años, al menos para Estados Unidos. Pero algunos creen que no es tan así. Por ejemplo, Peter Zeihan en Strategic forescasts (StratFor, boletín allegado al Pentágono).

El experto parte de algunos datos sencillos. Verbigracia, a mediados de 2010 la recesión norteamericana es la más profunda, pero desde 1982, no desde de 1933/6, y empalidece ante paralelos en el resto del mundo. Pero, al menos, “¿no empezó en EE.UU.? Sí, pero –supone- su economía es más estable, resistente y flexible… gracias a la geografía”.

La clave no reside en el tamaño. “Por supuesto, Rusia, China, Canadá o Brasil son tanto o más grandes, pero buena parte de sus territorios es inepta para cultivo, desarrollo o habitabilidad. Al revés, el medio oeste constituye la mayor masa continua de suelo arable en el planeta. Además, hay vastas áreas útiles sobre las costas occidental y oriental”.

La crisis sistémica y su recesión consiguiente (2006/09) parece lo peor en 73 años, al menos para Estados Unidos. Pero algunos creen que no es tan así. Por ejemplo, Peter Zeihan en Strategic forescasts (StratFor, boletín allegado al Pentágono).

4 Tips for Writing SEO-Friendly Blog Posts

In addition to writing for their human readers, web writers and bloggers have to consider the digital web crawlers employed by search engines like Google (Google). Your business can’t skip the task.

Since most would-be readers use search engines to find blog posts, you need to make sure that Google ranks your site highly when those readers search for terms related to your business and the content you’re writing.

You could spend thousands of dollars to have a search marketing firm optimize your business’s blog for search engines, but chances are that you can learn a lot of the fundamentals yourself, saving yourself a lot of money as long as you have the interest and the time. Here’s a basic primer on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your company’s blog…(let’s see)

Samuel Axon
mashable.com

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

In addition to writing for their human readers, web writers and bloggers have to consider the digital web crawlers employed by search engines like Google (). Your business can’t skip the task.

Palm introduces webOS 2.0

Palm has finally released a beta version of its webOS 2.0 SDK. The latest iteration of the operating system boasts some really sweet features, so come on in and check them out!

Yes, we’re talking advanced multi-tasking, universal search, Synergy and (seriously) slick HTML 5 enhancements.

Although its too early to say for certain, it certainly seems as if Palm is gearing up to seriously challenge Apple (iOs), Google (Android) and RIM (Blackberry) with a really tricked-out OS and accompanying UI.

Palm introduces webOS 2.0 Interested? Check out some of these highlights, you won’t be disappointed.

A STAFF WRITER
tgdaily.com

Palm has finally released a beta version of its webOS 2.0 SDK. The latest iteration of the operating system boasts some really sweet features, so come on in and check them out!

Yes, we’re talking advanced multi-tasking, universal search, Synergy and (seriously) slick HTML 5 enhancements.

Interested? Check out some of these highlights, you won’t be disappointed.

Stacks: Next-gen multi-tasking

WebOS 2.0 takes multi-tasking to the next level by grouping related «cards» (or apps) in stacks, reducing clutter and making it easier to move quickly between tasks.

For example, webOS 2.0 automatically stacks cards for you when it makes sense, and you can also drag and drop cards to manage stacks yourself.

Just Type: Quick Actions

Simply start an email, create a message, update your status, search your favorite websites — all without having to launch a single app. Continuar leyendo «Palm introduces webOS 2.0»

Book Review: Intangible Capital

Intangible Capital is a book that seeks to create a new way of thinking about our businesses and how we operate them. Traditionally our businesses and how we organize them, even how we measure and report on them, have been based on labor and tangible capital (property, plant and equipment). That’s because traditionally these were the motive forces behind how firms differentiated and made money. Firms that managed their tangible assets and labor effectively made more money than those that didn’t.

But what if the situation changed and tangible capital wasn’t as important as intangibles. Those intangibles might reflect the accumulated knowledge in the business, its strategies and recipes, its intellectual property and ideas. What happens to how we structure an organization and how we value an organization if intangible capital becomes as important, or more important, than physical capital?

(…)
By Jeffrey Phillips

Intangible Capital is a book that seeks to create a new way of thinking about our businesses and how we operate them. Traditionally our businesses and how we organize them, even how we measure and report on them, have been based on labor and tangible capital (property, plant and equipment). That’s because traditionally these were the motive forces behind how firms differentiated and made money. Firms that managed their tangible assets and labor effectively made more money than those that didn’t.

But what if the situation changed and tangible capital wasn’t as important as intangibles. Those intangibles might reflect the accumulated knowledge in the business, its strategies and recipes, its intellectual property and ideas. What happens to how we structure an organization and how we value an organization if intangible capital becomes as important, or more important, than physical capital? Continuar leyendo «Book Review: Intangible Capital»

The Devolution of Advertising

Author matt

Digital content consumption has become more and more a part of everyday life.

In fact, watching video online as seen a 46% uptick over the past year*. And while television has remained the dominant behemoth in the realm of entertainment and content consumption, certain trends have made advertisers re-examine the way they approach traditional, disruptive advertising.

Death of disruptive?

We’ve heard rumblings for the past few years about the general concern over the 30 second TV spot – is it still reaching consumers (and more importantly, young male consumers)? Our knee-jerk reaction was to start throwing money in the places we saw these target-rich eyeballs congregating – digital. Digital advertising saw immediate leaps in expenditure – 100’s of percent increase year of year; giant homepage takeovers; astronomical search programs and more banner impressions than you could ever imagine. To what end? Search provides a utilitarian value and is here to stay. But display? At the end of the day, its driving people to a commercial piece they’ve already seen. Is this an effective way to reach these consumers? Can we evolve our thinking?

Author matt
anidea.com

Digital content consumption has become more and more a part of everyday life.

In fact, watching video online as seen a 46% uptick over the past year*. And while television has remained the dominant behemoth in the realm of entertainment and content consumption, certain trends have made advertisers re-examine the way they approach traditional, disruptive advertising.

Death of disruptive?

The Case For Open-Source Design: Can Design By Committee Work?

In celebrating the merits of free software and the excitement over this radical networked production method, an important truth is left unspoken. Networked collaboration shines in the low levels of network protocols, server software and memory allocation, but user interface has consistently been a point of failure. How come the networked collaboration that transformed code production and encyclopedia-writing fails to translate to graphic and interface design?

The following is an investigation into the difficulties of extending the open-source collaboration model from coding to its next logical step: interface design. While we’ll dive deep into the practical difference between these two professional fields, the article might also serve as a note of caution to think before rushing to declare the rise of “open-source architecture,” “open-source university,” “open-source democracy” and so on.

By Mushon Zer-Aviv

In celebrating the merits of free software and the excitement over this radical networked production method, an important truth is left unspoken. Networked collaboration shines in the low levels of network protocols, server software and memory allocation, but user interface has consistently been a point of failure. How come the networked collaboration that transformed code production and encyclopedia-writing fails to translate to graphic and interface design?

The following is an investigation into the difficulties of extending the open-source collaboration model from coding to its next logical step: interface design. While we’ll dive deep into the practical difference between these two professional fields, the article might also serve as a note of caution to think before rushing to declare the rise of “open-source architecture,” “open-source university,” “open-source democracy” and so on.

Continuar leyendo «The Case For Open-Source Design: Can Design By Committee Work?»

McChrystal Clear: Basic Media Training

McChrystal: The Lessons

What lessons are there to take away?

1. As apparently General McChrystal didn’t or wouldn’t, remember when you are speaking to the press that you are speaking to the press. Obvious? Maybe not enough. If you are offered an interview opportunity that may seem attractive to your business efforts, do your homework. What is the publishing organ? Is it Time or is it tmz.com? That is, is it an organization which endeavors to be fair and objective and has a reputation to match? Or is it a shoot-from-the-hip medium which is only concerned about titillating its readers/viewers?
2. Then, who is the writer? Ask for published work if it’s available so that you may review the writer’s credentials and orientations. What you are doing is protecting yourself. But what you are also doing is impressing the writer that you did your own homework, and that you cared enough about the dialogue to familiarize yourself with the writer’s work.
3. And of this, remember: Writers are people, too, with egos. If you liked something the writer wrote, say so. It’s a great ice-breaker.
4. Then, in an interview setting, measure your words. You’re not going to lose your job if you say too little. But you might, like Stanley McChrystal, lose your job if you say too much. If you hear your mind caution you about a comment or revelation you might be about to make, think a couple of homely maxims: “Better safe than sorry.” And/or “When in doubt, leave it out.”

by John Cass
http://pr.typepad.com

Duncan Christy is a colleague of mine, he is an editor of great experience, and he was inspired to write this article about media training from his years of experience as a journalist and the McChrystal story. He kindly let me republish the article here on PR Communications Blog:

______________________

This exchange occurs very near the beginning of reporter Michael Hastings’ profile of General Stanley McChrystal in a recent issue of Rolling Stone:

«I’d rather have my ass kicked by a roomful of people than go out to this dinner,» McChrystal says.

He pauses a beat.

«Unfortunately,» he adds, «no one in this room could do it.»

With that, he’s out the door.

«Who’s he going to dinner with?» I ask one of his aides.

«Some French minister,» the aide tells me. «It’s fucking gay.»

And with that we are off to the races of one of the most colossal misfires in the history of a subject cooperating with an interview. A disaster that cost an otherwise admired career officer his career and was a huge embarrassment for the Obama administration, which had selected him specifically to lead a successful “surge” in embattled Afghanistan.

What happened? And, more to the point, how can you avoid this ever happening to you should you be a public person or a person speaking publically? Continuar leyendo «McChrystal Clear: Basic Media Training»

The Price Isn’t Right

By Detlef Schoder and Alex Talalayevsky

Thanks to the Internet, companies have lost control of their pricing power. Here’s how they can get it back.

Everyone knows that companies have rock-bottom prices they’re willing to offer in emergencies. Think goods and services whose value is about to expire: hotel dates, plane tickets, last season’s fashions, packaged food.

But until recently, not many people knew what those prices were. Keeping them under wraps is a key part of how companies maintain pricing power.

Well, the secret is out. Now, thanks to the Internet, consumers are able to figure out those prices. And that is creating huge headaches for the companies.

Online shoppers today aren’t just buyers; they’re also product reviewers, technical consultants and scouts for legions of fellow shoppers hunting for bargains. Many use Web sites where links are posted for online coupons and cash-back offers—deals that some companies didn’t intend to circulate so widely. Others go to sites where people discuss how to find the lowest bids acceptable on travel-service auction sites. Even shoppers for big-ticket items like cars get an edge from sites that reveal prices paid for new and used cars.

Questions to Ask Yourself

1. Does your company deal in products or services whose value is highly perishable or time-sensitive?
2. Do you offer online coupons or have multiple discount strategies that can be used by unlimited numbers of consumers?
3. Are your resellers sometimes discounting your goods without your authorization or knowledge?
4. Is your company unaware of what’s being said on bargain-hunting and other shopping-related Web sites about its prices and products?
5. Do you make last-minute offers at cut-rate prices without full appreciation as to how that might undermine your established pricing schemes or your brand image?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, your company may need to reassert control over its pricing power by pushing back against the increasing ability of online shoppers to obtain your lowest acceptable prices. Selling unlabeled, marked-down merchandise through an intermediary is one strategy, as is bundling the goods with additional offerings so that the base value you’ve assigned to the products is less clear.

Further assisted by search engines and so-called shopping bots that find the lowest prices for any number of products, shoppers today have unprecedented power to buy products at the sellers’ rock bottom. But if they come to expect such prices all the time, companies could see their long-term pricing power erode and profits slashed.
Here are eight tactics companies can use to limit the ability of bargain hunters to find their deepest discounts and lowest acceptable prices.

Marketing

By Detlef Schoder and Alex Talalayevsky
http://sloanreview.mit.edu

Thanks to the Internet, companies have lost control of their pricing power. Here’s how they can get it back.

But until recently, not many people knew what those prices were. Keeping them under wraps is a key part of how companies maintain pricing power.

Well, the secret is out. Now, thanks to the Internet, consumers are able to figure out those prices. And that is creating huge headaches for the companies.

Questions to Ask Yourself

Does your company deal in products or services whose value is highly perishable or time-sensitive?
Do you offer online coupons or have multiple discount strategies that can be used by unlimited numbers of consumers?
Are your resellers sometimes discounting your goods without your authorization or knowledge?
Is your company unaware of what’s being said on bargain-hunting and other shopping-related Web sites about its prices and products?
Do you make last-minute offers at cut-rate prices without full appreciation as to how that might undermine your established pricing schemes or your brand image?

A Diabetes Cure?

With the obesity epidemic making diabetes much more prevalent, a possible cure couldn’t have come at a better time. The condition, which causes huge (and damaging) fluctuations in blood sugar levels because of the body’s inability to produce or utilize insulin, disproportionately affects people who are obese as well as those who are physically inactive. (Still, an estimated 10 to 20 percent of people with type 2 are not obese, including some of normal weight.)

Diabetes is a leading cause of death in America, where it affects one in 10 adults, including nine million women. For the vast majority of them, the disease is diagnosed after age 40. Type 2 dramatically increases the risk of heart disease for women at this age and contributes to complications such as stroke and damage to the eyes, kidneys and nerves. There’s no cure for the ailment. This form of diabetes is, at best, treated and managed, and even patients who are vigilant have a hard time keeping their blood sugar levels in check. So if bariatric surgery eliminates diabetes, should more patients be having it?

by Roni Caryn Rabin
Via more.com/2024/24133-a-diabetes-cure

The enormous health benefits of gastric bypass operations kick in before you even drop the pounds

Before her gastric bypass surgery two years ago, Mary Ellen Sweeney weighed in at 344 pounds and suffered from type 2 diabetes. Her blood sugar levels were so out of control that sweet desserts were forbidden. But now, as she sits in a restaurant at the Jersey shore, she orders a slice of raspberry Linzer torte that’s served on a streak of chocolate sauce, with whipped cream on the side. She can indulge because three days after she had a gastric bypass operation, a remarkable thing happened: Her diabetes disappeared. Continuar leyendo «A Diabetes Cure?»

Bouncing Back from a Negative 360-Degree Review

What the Experts Say
Before you begin the 360-degree review process, it’s important to have an open mindset. Remember that no one is perfect and every manager, no matter how seasoned, has room to improve. «The best leaders aren’t those who don’t have a lowest score on a 360. The best leaders have standout strengths,» says Susan David, co-director of the Harvard/McLean Institute of Coaching, founding director of Evidence Based Psychology LLC, and a contributor to HBR’s The Conversation blog. It’s your job to figure out what to do about those low scores. Larissa Tiedens, the Jonathan B. Lovelace Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford Business School and co-editor of The Social Life of Emotions agrees. «Being reflective and changing after a negative review is often more impressive than getting positive reviews from the start. Thus, a negative review is an opportunity to show that you can listen and learn,» she says. Here are several principles to follow if you receive a less than stellar 360-degree review.

Best Practices / by Amy Gallo

Unlike traditional reviews and other types of feedback, 360-degree reviews include input from a comprehensive set of people: peers, managers, direct reports, and sometimes customers. One of the most valuable aspects of this tool is that the opinions are voiced anonymously, which encourages a higher level of honesty than you might normally get.

However, the truth is not always pretty, and receiving a negative 360-degree review can be upsetting, especially when the opinions are echoed at many levels. But with the right attitude, you can still create a positive experience. How you handle a bad 360-degree review is far more important than the content of the review itself. Continuar leyendo «Bouncing Back from a Negative 360-Degree Review»

Using Networks to Find Knowledge

As you can see, effectively using the knowledge of the business means trying to get better connections to reduce the size of the “I don’t know who to ask” space.

So how can we do this? One possibility is that we direct our questions to people in the organization that we know are very highly connected. However, one simulaiton study of search in a real organizational network has found that this might result in more steps needed to find the right person. In this simulation, a slightly more efficient search could be conducted by going to the manager who is responsible for the subject area that is being investigated or by starting the search in the right department.

Last week Ralph Ohr left me with a challenge to think about how to use experts to get the best outcomes on making decisions under conditions of uncertainty. We constantly miss disruptive changes in the operating environment and I suppose if I really knew the answer, I wouldn’t be posting it on a blog.

Sometimes predictions are genuinely impossible because of true uncertainty. The future is the future and nothing in the past can help us predict some events. Rather than making predicitons, operational flexibility is probably the best response to this type of uncertaintly.

On the other hand, sometimes the emerging disruptions are right under our noses and the problem is getting over myopia. Experts can suffer from myopia as well as the rest of us so perhaps the issue is finding the right expert with the right interpretation of what is happening. Continuar leyendo «Using Networks to Find Knowledge»

69 Sexy and Explicit Advertisements: See It Creatively

Sex sells. In today’s society, people are becoming more open minded. As such, advertisers are becoming bolder. They exploit our acceptance and desire for the sensual by using sex to turn heads regardless of your gender or sexuality. Sex has always been one of the most powerful and persuasive advertising tools. Only now, it is more socially acceptable to use sex to entice and attract consumers.

WARNING: Some images may be too explicit and is not suitable for minors.

Sexy and Explicit Advertisements

The advertiser’s aim is to capture the attention of viewers by using sensual or sexually explicit tones to do so. Although today’s society is becoming more tolerant of using sex to sell products, not every country has reached the same level of openness. Depending on the restriction imposed by various countries, some overtly sexual ads are banned.
Each individual have different levels of tolerance and acceptance of a subject matter or topic. You can never please everyone simply because we are all so vastly different. Everyone is unique and has a right to form and express their opinion.

While some individuals might be offended or horrified by advertiser’s use of crude humor to sell a product, others might appreciate its wit and intelligent commentary on society.

Likewise, using sex to sell might appeal to some and disgust others. However, because there is a noted increase in demand for products that have been sold using sexually explicit tones, the possibility of high returns overthrows advertiser’s fears of offending the minority who disapprove of selling with sex.

Some overtly sensual ads turn out to be rather classy and tastefully done while others are bordering on pornographic. Regardless, it is one of the most effective forms of advertising.

Sex in advertising builds on the premise that people are curious about sexuality and that experience in marketing has been that sexuality sells products. From a marketing point of view, sexuality can have biological, emotional/physical or spiritual aspects. – Wikipedia

In today’s article we journey into the world of temptation and take a look at that which brings about our wild and uninhibited side.
The Art of Selling With Sex

Here are 69 advertisements that use either sexually explicit graphics or nudity to promote their products and services. However there are also some that use overt sensuality simply to make waves and create an impact. Creatively sensual or just plain lurid; be the judge of the quality of these advertisements for yourself.

Sex sells. In today’s society, people are becoming more open minded. As such, advertisers are becoming bolder. They exploit our acceptance and desire for the sensual by using sex to turn heads regardless of your gender or sexuality. Sex has always been one of the most powerful and persuasive advertising tools. Only now, it is more socially acceptable to use sex to entice and attract consumers.

WARNING: Some images may be too explicit and is not suitable for minors.

Sexy and Explicit Advertisements

The advertiser’s aim is to capture the attention of viewers by using sensual or sexually explicit tones to do so. Although today’s society is becoming more tolerant of using sex to sell products, not every country has reached the same level of openness. Depending on the restriction imposed by various countries, some overtly sexual ads are banned. Continuar leyendo «69 Sexy and Explicit Advertisements: See It Creatively»

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Death of disruptive?

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