T H E W I L D W I L D E A S T D A I L I E S: April 2010

Friday, April 30, 2010

Love Matters

Courtesy of Hugh MacLeod at Gapingvoid.com

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

May anger find it's way out of your heart
and may love find it's way in
May loneliness be replaced by confidence
May you breath the air of success
in knowing that whatever you do is better than good enough
May you sleep in peace
knowing the next day holds more than the last
May you know the beauty of sharing
May you know the grace of caring
May conflict and indecision never be your friends again
May you fly safely
through the fires of the past that await you
And come out the other side
Whole
Refreshed in spirit
and guided by honesty
for all the rest of your days
You may
I pray

What Do You Want From Them? WWED Radio Goes National in the US!

I had a message on Facebook the other day from a charming woman in the US named Anna Smith. Anna lives in Charlotte, North Carolina and runs a website called "What Do You Want From Them?" WDYWFT? is a site dedicated to helping young managers and employees cope with the demands of management and working in small and medium sized businesses.

But that wasn't why Anna was messaging me at all. She was writing to ask if she could use our podcast, which I call WWED Radio, on her website. She thought it was the perfect antidote to young management stress. She went on to sell me by calling the playlist "genius" (I agreed) and "a work of art"

Anna Smith, Facebook, Germany, What Do You Want From Them, wild wild east dailies, WWED Radio

(and of course I agreed again) and then I not-so-reluctantly agreed once again to let her take the widget and place it on her site, but honestly, she didn't even have to ask. The widget is available to anyone who would like it - and all podcasts are downloadable in mp3 form as well. Anna's just a nice girl and did the right thing in web 2.0 etiquette by asking me. She also provided us a credit and a link, and by golly, a $$ donation to the efforts of WWED! Cheers Anna. WWED luvs U!

"Anna Smith was inspired to create "What Do You Want From Them?" by the struggles she faced managing a tanning salon when she was 20 and a Waffle House when she was 23. "I remember when I was first introduced as a manager and I was 23, every one of my employees was probably in their 40s,” Smith said. Smith created the site to help young managers share experiences and develop relationships with peers or mentors."

She said the the name WDYWFT? came from a question all managers should ask themselves before addressing employees, customers and upper management. As a marketing guy I might expand on that and start a site called, WDTWFY? dedicated to customer service. What Do They Want From You is always a good question to ask there.

Take a look at Anna's site. It's a nice idea and I think she's just in the beginning of building a large and loyal tribe. We're just happy to be the DJs! Coincidentally, Anna is from Germany and that's how she found us.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

In Search of My Holy Grail: The Travis Diaries XXXIII

"If I were 20 years younger and a lot richer, we wouldn't be having this conversation"
- Travis

Recently, someone saw a picture of me 20 years ago with shoulder length hair and bigger muscles and asked,
"Do you think we can ever have that boy back?"

For more in the Travis Diaries, check here:

Sex: The Travis Diaries I
I'm a man, DAMMIT: The Travis Diaries II
Love: The Travis Diaries III
Tiger: The Travis Diaries IV
Ambivelence: The Travis Diaries V
Advertising People & Blogs: The Travis Diaries VI
What's Left?: The Travis Diaries VII
Year of the Tiger: The Travis Diaries VIII
She said: The Travis Diaries IX
Dreams: The Travis Diaries X
A Bad Day: The Travis Diaries XI
Svengali? The Travis Diaries XII
My Way: The Travis Diaries XIII

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Truth or Consequences: The Random Search Effect VI

Consequence, Emotional, Marcofantyn Alfonso, Spontaneous, The Random Search Effect, spiral, gif, animated, animation

Marcofantyn Alfonso : " Don't just let things happen ' and then worry about it Later ! , Think about what you're doing and ' what CONSEQUENCE it's going to have on Your LIFE later on " , it's that simple ;)

And with that simple statement, Marcofantyn has nailed my week. So that's exactly what I'm doing. I'm being logical and rational in an area where I had been been emotional and spontaneous before. Does that make me less loving or caring? No, it just makes me smarter and more able to do the right thing for both of us this time.

For more in the Random Search Effect series see:

To be continued: The Random Search Effect I
Children & Unselfishness: The Random Search Effect II
Your Inner Fire: The Random Search Effect III
Mystery Google: The Random Search Effect IV
Warren Buffet: The Random Search Effect V

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Social Media Isn't Social At All, It's "Creative"

Advertising, Social Media, Creative, Social Creative, Facebook, MySpace,

I think it's very possible that we have this whole social media thing wrong. I attend conferences with "social media" in the headlines and I even help program content at these events, trying to identify how marketers can use social media properly, but the fact is that social media is just media, plain and simple. The real issue lies not within the media, but within the creative -- so maybe we should be referring to the wave of interest as "social creative" rather than "social media." Social media, no matter how you slice and dice it, is just media and media is nothing more than a distribution platform for messaging. Facebook and MySpace may be very large sites, but they are still just media vehicles. What is of real value is how you harness the power of the audience itself and create or utilize buzz. That is something done by the power of creative, not by the location of the placement on the page. The creative story that needs to unfold is the interesting component of social, which I feel gets overlooked.

Cory Treffiletti of MediaPost pretty much nails it here. In the full story, which you can read by clicking the links above, he comes to the not so astounding idea that if your paid advertising concept is not interesting or significant enough to generate conversation, then your social media efforts will fall flat as well, because basically, nobody cares or talks about boring stuff.

In a recent exchange with someone who works in management consulting, I found that we were not having a "conversation" at all. What was happening was that she was saying what she wanted to say but not responding to my reactions at all - just like advertisers had become accustomed to in the past when people just sat in front of electronic devices and watched or listened. Only this person was doing it in a social context. Definitely old-school.

And old adage comes to mind here. "If you want to bore, talk about yourself. If you want to be a sterling conversationalist, talk about the other person." Good advice for advertisers and people in general in this new "social creative" world.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Accused of dreaming...

Recently, I have been accused of drinking and smoking, both true, and being a perfectionist, sometimes true, and dreaming, always true. And all by a person who has never had a dream come true or smoked. I find that sad. And I like this cartoon by Hugh MacLeod that explains it in more rational terms.

Those of us in the creative arts do what we do because we love what we do, and hate doing what we don't like to do. And that is that. It is simply worth so much more to suffer through the down times in business to live and see the day where ideas are born, produced and enjoyed by others, than it is to work in mediocrity forever buying boredom and unhappiness.

I don't know anyone in the business who ever got into it for the money, but I've seen quite a few people (including myself) make a bit of money in the process and then the challenge becomes keeping ones bearing. What's more important? The process or the profit?

So have another dream. And keep the strength to make it come true.

From The Loose Canon Manifesto

Dreams are persnickety and fickle things
living totally in space, untethered to anyone
And if no one shares them with us, they go away
Dreams take confidence
Dreams take planning
Dreams exist
Dreams keep us going
Dreams pervade our waking hours
but without trying to realize them, are worthless
Dreams have no use for the conflicted
Without love, dreams die
Dreams are not selfish
they invite us all

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

David Everitt-Carlson 3.0

Sometimes you are less who you think you are, and more what other people say you are. "A lawyer/poet", "The most business oriented creative I have ever worked with", a "strategic eccentric" - I like those.

DEC.BIO.AD.04.10

Friday, April 2, 2010

Pachakutik: The Travis Diaries XXXII

"Pachakutik" - Travis

Pachakutik is an Indigenous Kichwa word which signifies change, rebirth, transformation and the coming of a new era. It's a positive sign. A very positive sign. And these last couple of weeks, Travis has had just about enough shit. It's time for a little Pachakutik!

As you can see, Travis has also been a bit verbose this week (see the following many posts) and it's not without reason. Too much shit. Lies, deceit, mistrust, new age evangelism and just about enough pompous "I'm so perfect and you're so fucked up" shit to last an entire lifetime that Travis has had enough - so now it's about time he started calling his own shots, instead of letting someone else do that.

Now mind you, Travis is a friend of mine and whilst he might not always be the sharpest tool in the shed or the most eloquent, Travis means well, and he's got a heart of gold - even without having a pocket full of it. Travis is peaceful, loving, tolerant and above all honest, but let me tell you, because I know him well - once someone pisses him off, that's pretty much the end of it.

So it is with Pachakutik that Travis will travel now. And travel well, I hope. There's just so much garbage a man can stand, and knowing Travis as well as I do, he just doesn't have the time for that anymore. Pachakutik Travis! We all wish you well.

Deserve Me: The Travis Diaries XXXI

"Yeah, I'm a piece of work alright, and she still doesn't deserve me" - Travis

Positive Thinking? The Travis Diaries XXX

"I was yelled at, degraded, insulted and walked away from by a meditating, yoga practicing, positive thinking guru tonight. What's that all about? Anger in Nirvana?"
- Travis

Delusions: The Travis Diaries XXVIII

"Delusions of her grandeur finally went away once I saw that there was
no grandeur there at all" - Travis

Pathological: The Travis Diaries XXVII

"Finally, when she started saying nothing, did she begin to speak the truth" - Travis

Thinking: The Travis Diaries XXVI

"The only time I can think straight is when I don't think straight" - Travis

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Plans: The Travis Diaries XXV

"Oh, there's a plan alright, honey. It's just not your plan." - Travis

Molds: The Travis Diaries XXIV

"If I don't fit into the mold, maybe the mold doesn't fit me." - Travis

A few years ago my creative director at Bozell, Ron Fisher, was giving me some advice about winning awards in the advertising business.
"If the judges aren't appreciating what you do", he said, "maybe you need to find different judges". With that, I entered some smaller competitions, won a few things, and that gave me the confidence to go back to the big leagues and do quite well.

The Highway: The Travis Diaries XXIII

"The highway held the greatest promise for me. It's the only place where people don't judge you. They take you for what you are - a hitchhiker." - Travis