Wednesday, April 28, 2010

The New Hipster: A Generation With Identity Issues

I’m thinking into the near future…

When I think of a “Hipster” I think a Fedora or some funky hat, a vintage t-shirt (that really isn’t vintage but only meant to look so) or a flannel, tight jeans, and cowgirl boots/flats for the ladies and shoes with sued for the gentlemen. I think the new hipster is changing a bit, with a complete embrace of the 1970s. For the men, they’ve lost the hat and replaced it with big puffy frizzy wavy hair (imagine white guys with afros) and a moustache, shirts are about the same, some may be risky and add small flowers or paisley to their dress shirts. They may have added a leather jacket, and the pants are now dark brown polyester (next week they may have bell bottoms). The ladies are also rocking the leather jackets but I think it’s time to either curl the hair Farrah Fawcett style or grown it out to be super long, stringy, and blonde. I think the women will start wearing fur jackets too (that are fake of course). Maybe indie music will start to incorporate funk. Keep an eye and ear out!

My First Digital Birthday: Communication

My birthday this year was highly digital so I wanted to sum up the various ways I received my “Happy Birthday” messages and more importantly, what it means.

I received 60-something facebook messages from a combo of family, friends coworkers and acquaintances (mainly coworkers acquaintances). I received 5 phone calls (from my parents, an aunt and 2 close friends). I received 8 text messages (from my sister, 2 cousins, an aunt, my boyfriend’s mom, 2 close friends, and a coworker/friend). I received 3 cards in the mail (from 2 aunts and a friend).

On the non-digital front I received about a couple dozen in person birthday wishes (1 from my boyfriend, 1 at the restaurant, the rest from coworkers and friends). I received 2 cards handed to me in person (from my parents and my roommate). Lastly, 1 message accompanied with flowers and chocolates delivered at my office from an aunt.

Does any of this surprise me? No. The only one that appeared out of the ordinary was the card received in the mail from a friend (which was nice). Also, those who are rather close to me made it a point to send their wishes in all formats possible (in person, a phone call and then a text or email just in case!) These people must love me a lot :)

So what can we learn from this when it comes to communication? People communicate differently based off of 2 important factors; 1 – age (which also drives wiliness to adopt technology) and 2 - closeness. The older you are, the less likely you are to communicate special messages digitally. Older people tend to pick up the phone or even drop a card in the mail. There is a sense of time and effort that is prevalent in their communication. Secondly, the closer you are to somebody (regardless of age) the more likely you are to communicate in a more personal way (like by phone) – this usually includes family and close friends.

So, ranking these forms of communication from the impersonal to personal...
1. Facebook/In person (In person may seem strange here but I’ve placed it here because I’m thinking of when it’s done in passing, like at work)
2. Email (also depends on who it’s coming from; your dentist or your mom)
3. Text (this is bit more personal than email only because you can have a back-and-forth conversation more easily)
4. Phone Call/Card (Handed to you in person) – these messages tend to come to you from that people that love you most
5. Card (sent by mail) – I feel this is the most personal form of communicating special messages (accompanied with an in person visit at a later time) because it takes the most amount of thought, time and effort

By the way, I did have a nice in-person BBQ with my parents and friends as well as a lovely dinner with my boyfriend which of course is the most personal of them all!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The best thing since sliced bread - stickybits!

According to every marketing expert and well-respected news website, location-based technology is the hot new thing. By now most of you have heard of fourspuare, which speaking of I think just reached its tipping point. So, this is not about if fourquare is revolutionary or just a trend - there is enough criticism on that written way better than I could ever put it. This is about stickybits.

Today I read about stickybits on trencentral and was beside myself! What are these silly words you ask?! Stickybits is a company that allows you to use your cell phone (with a free iPhone or Android app) to scan a barcode and either obtain or attach some media-rich content to it (say a picture, video, or audio recording). You can either attach a “bit” of information to a barcode that already exists, or create your own barcode. Also, as the location moves about I believe you can also track where it is geographically.

This is about endless possibilities for marketers, brands and people. I feel that stickybits (and perhaps other similar products like Microsoft Tags) is going to revolutionize marketing, content sharing, and location-based tagging. What’s the benefit you ask? Richer content and a new and innovative way to satisfy a participatory culture.

If you need this explained a bit more tangibly, bury yourself in these examples…

1. You’re walking out of a concert and you get a flyer for a band you have never heard of. Typically you drop it on the floor right away because you just know you wouldn’t like them. But this time, there is a barcode on the flyer. You scan the barcode with you iPhone and get to watch a music video from the band on that flyer that has now created a new fan!

2. You’re at the grocery store thinking of buying some new product you have never purchased before (let’s go with udon noodles) but you have no idea what udon noodles are or how to cook and prepare them. No worries - just scan the bar code and watch a video of some famous chef teaching you how to cook them. Okay, you’ll buy them now!

3. You’re driving around apartment hunting in an unfamiliar area and see a for rent flyer so you stop and pick it up. The building is locked and the apartment manager is away so you grab a flyer but wish you could have seen the inside. Of course stickybits is the solution – you scan the bar code and see pictures of the inside of the apartment for rent!

4. How about a contest? You’re an avid Coke drinker on a mission to find the golden ticket. You scan the barcode on each Coke can you purchase until you find that you are the winner of an unlimited supply of Coca-Cola! Along the way you of course get to watch other hilarious videos about your fellow Coke drinkers.

I think you get the point now. A few issues come to mind… how will this impact controversial businesses and people (I can already imagine all the anti-McDonalds videos). This also might be an interesting medium for graffiti artists or anti-media peeps.

Monday, April 19, 2010

What Words Inspire You?

I’ve been doing quite a bit of reading and listening lately and because of a suggestion from a friend, I have started to write down on flashcards the words that inspire and guide me (on a non-spiritual level). Most of this comes from authors I like, the blogs I read, and the amazing people I often listen to on Ted Talks. Some are life-ish, some are career-ish, some are rather random. When I need to remind myself of the life I strive to lead, I read through them all for a bit of inspiration.

I imagine I’m going to gather many more, but here they are so far…

1. People are not good at predicting now, how happy something will make them in the future. If you want to know how happy something will make you feel (say moving, changing careers, having a baby…) then ask those who are experiencing it.
2. To innovate you must leap ahead – anticipate needs that people don’t know they have, and then deliver something that redefines the category.
3. Focus on the process, not the outcome.
4. Place intrinsic value on what is tangible – love, health, values…
5. Appreciate what already exists.
6. Be you. Know who you are. And be really good at it!
7. If everything you do is to increase happiness, then ask yourself, will doing this make me more happy?

So, what words of wisdom inspire you that you would like to share with me?

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Kick-Ass Billboard

Look at that person up there...


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