Ellopositions itself as the anti-Facebook. No advertising. No user-tracking. And, no data re-selling to advertisers. Clean, minimalist, zero-clutter, user-interface. Invitation-only.
Martin highlights important, missing features in the launch release (e.g., like/favorite/+1 type button, search ability to locate friends, etc.).
I'm working on securing an invite so I can test-drive Ello. Will keep you posted.
I'm a visual person. Post-It(R) Notes are my storyboarding savior (colleagues say I have an illness and should seek professional help).
The app allows users to digitize their Post-It(R) Notes from brainstorming and storyboarding sessions. There's a 50 note limit for the image capture.
You can share, rearrange, categorize, and build additional storyboards with the app. Users can export the digital session into other tools (e.g., Evernote, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.).
This first version doesn't allow changing the names on the Post-its(R) once they're digitized (but future iterations will probably include this improvement).
The app requires updating to iOS 8. Yes, I endured a 2+ hour update session for my iPhone 5c so I could use Post-it(R) Plus tomorrow at work (which is why I require professional help).
3) TechCrunch: Closing The Gaps In Mobile Health.Dan Pelino's piece describes the IBM-Apple value proposition and long term implications of the Apple econsystem in a real-world example. Look out healthcare this strategic alliance wants to disrupt your industry. Their solutions will focus on physicians and patients.
(direct article quote) Many doctors already have smartphones with 68 percent using iPhones and 59 percent using iPads.
3) LinkedIn Pulse: Club Ed: How Some Colleges Became $41k-a-Year Gyms. Point-of-view from LinkedIn Influencer and Bain & Company's Jeff Denneen on the escalating costs at American universities. The article discusses "the arms race" or "Law of More" for student amenities at competing private schools (e.g., gourmet, organic-ingredient meals, student athletic facilities, enhanced student housing, etc.). Denneen poses the question on the ROI these costs deliver to students upon graduation. Why? Thousands of students from private universities can no longer afford these amenitiies post-graduation because of either A) Unemployment or B) Under-employment (accepting jobs not requiring a college degrees).
4) MarketingLand: Ford Motor Company Takes A Newsjacking Bite Out Of #Applelive Event. My fave article in this post.This is brilliant, timely, and funny newsjacking. Ford flipped on its head the attributes of the ballyhooed Apple Watch and apply them to their brands in real-time, laugh-out-loud, newsjacking examples. Denny's and Crest also delivered creative #AppleLive newsjacks.
5)Fortune Magazine: How Google Works.Eric Schmidt (Google's Chairman) and Jonathan Rosenberg (Google's former Head of Product Development and Senior Vice President of Product Management) provide excerpts and thoughts from their upcoming book How Google Works. Key insights shared include why Google's approach to sustaining its growth (systematizing innovation into company culture), identifying talent (hiring the smartest people possible who critically think and continuously adapt versus hiring for specific job position criteria), and nurturing talent (aggressively rotate the most passionate people into different organizations — e.g., "pass the M&Ms and not the raisins."
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The New Rules of Sales & Service by David Meerman Scott
"Sooner or later the world will be interested in your area of expertise." —David Meerman Scott from The New Rules of Sales and Service: How to Use Agile Selling, Real-Time Customer Engagement, Big Data, Content, and Storytelling to Grow Your Business.
But, will YOU (companies or individuals) be able to deliver YOUR expertise at PRECISELY the RIGHT time when the customer needs it?
That's just one of several game-changing concepts David Meerman Scott describes in hs latest book.
BOTTOM LINE: Buy and study it. The New Rules of Sales and Service (NRSS) ROCKS!! It's destined to become another Meerman Scott classic.
Social Media ReInvention Community Members know I'm a huge fan and student of David's teachings.
I own and constantly refer to these classic books:
The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly
Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn from the Most Iconic Band in History
As soon as I learned about this book, I pre-ordered the NRSS hardcover and Kindle versions. My review is based on an advance, draft copy of The New Rules of Sales and Service on which I'm basing this review.
A Rebel with a Cause
The New Rules of Sales and Service is written in David's trademark style: challenging marketing strategy's status quo (with a rebel's heart). His thoughtful, entertaining, and case study-rich content applies to Fortune 100, small businesses, and individuals who genuinely desire to competitively differentiate themselves.
Game Changing Rules in Selling and Customer Service
Among the game changing arguments David makes in numerous case studies (~10 per chapter) is how marketing, sales, and service can no longer exist in functional silos. Every employee is (and should be) accountable for marketing, selling, and servicing new and existing customers because the social tools are available online to everyone.
The New Rules of Sales and Service extend beyond it's a "cross-functional" thing. It's now an "all-hands-on-deck" thing.
Executing and sustaining an NRSS-driven culture requires top-down, CEO-driven leadership. Successful New Rules of Sales and Service practitioners instill a participative and trusting company culture. These leaders enable all employees to capitalize in social, one-to-one, real-time, customer communications throughout the entire buying process. David interviewed company leaders who trust and expect their team members (regardless of departmental function) to:
1. Acquire NEW customers and MAINTAIN existing customer relationships using social tools in real-time interactions (e.g., concepts of AGILE selling and real-time speed & engagement; Case Study: Avaya)
2. Contribute and share valuable content to educate and inform customers in the pre- and post-sale process AT THE PRECISE TIME THE CUSTOMER NEEDS IT (e.g., CONTEXTUAL & consultative selling vs. hard-selling tactics; Case Study: Kendall PRess)
3. Collect and analyze real-time customer data to support real-time content delivery, service actions, and sales interactions (e.g., salesperson comes in later in buying process OR no salesperson; Case Study:GadCAD)
4. Convey stories about the company's products / services aligning with the customer's view of themselves (e.g., buyer persona research, newsjacking; Case Study: MultiCare Health Systems)
That opportunistic mindset drives competitive differentiation at both a tactical and strategic level.
By the way, David's research confirms blogging is far from dead. Long form content may be the best social tool in authentically demonstrating one company's "truth" to a competitor's public relations "spin."
Closing Thoughts
Will more and future leaders trust their teams and David's rich teachings in NRSS? Time will tell. But, why wait? Gain the upper hand by buying and studying David's work. The hardcover book officially ships today, September 2nd.
Bonus #3: (STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS) Mind Maps of Chapters 1-7. The goal is to have the remaining Chapters 8-10 completed by the end of next weekend. I'm still experimenting w/ the XMind Mind Mapping Software to make the maps easier to read in slide show mode.
Please be patient, and I'll update this post as quickly as I can. Here's what they look like so far (I know I can't read'em either):
Paraphrasing another media influencer, Ryan Holmes is kind of a big deal.
All of Us Can Create Remarkable LinkedIn Posts (Even If We’re Not a Big Deal)
I’m not a big deal. I suspect most self-publishers in LinkedIn’s 313 million membership base aren’t either. But, LinkedIn inFluencers aren’t the only members with valuable writing, thoughts, and experiences to contribute to the LinkedIn Community.
Through disciplined practice and study, we can learn how to create great content (just like inFluencers like Ryan Holmes). Let’s examine Ryan’s post for clues on what to “steal.” In the words of Pablo Picasso …
1. Write a Crisp, Eye-Catching, Headline
Easier said then done. I changed my headline 20+ times. It’s an iterative process. Here are the headlines Ryan published for the Hootsuite blog and LinkedIn:
Notice the tight precision of both headlines. In Ryan’s LinkedIn post, “(Really)” caught my attention and caused me to click on his post. The Hootsuite blog example poses a question. If we want to learn Ryan’s conclusions, I have to read the post. Great link bait.
Check out the efficient number of characters (with spaces):
Hootsuite Blog Post: 68 characters
LinkedIn Post: 55 characters
See how both headlines are Twitter-optimitized. Each leaves lots of room for retweets (RTs) and additional comments for Ryan’s ~52,000 followers.
2. Support Your Argument with a Picture Painting the Story
The picture Ryan selected and credited cuts straight to his argument. It’s ironic, humorous, and to-the-point. An unforgettable lead-in to initiate an important discussion.
Bonus:flickr’s Creative Commons Photo Galleries. Talented, generous photographers share their art in return for proper attribution. When using their photos, do the right thing and link back to their flickr gallery.
3. Newsjack Breaking News to Your Competitive Advantage
4. Acknowledge the Situation and Propose Measurable Solutions
Ryan distinguishes his communication by writing a first-hand account acknowledging gender imbalance in both Hootsuite and the technology industry. His Hoosuite Blog and LinkedIn Publishing Platform posts cite his company’s diversity numbers among 600 employees:
40 percent are women
23 percent work in tech roles
38 percent hold leadership positions
In his words:
“This comes out a bit better—but certainly not much—than at the other companies**. What exactly are we doing differently and, more importantly, what we can we do better?”
**Note: “other companies” refers to Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Intel, and Twitter (mentioned in Ryan’s previous paragraph).
He follows his acknowledgement by proposing solutions at both industry and company levels:
More importantly, publishing his LinkedIn post and stating his call-to-action on the Hootsuite Blog may positively impact ONE woman’s professional career prospects (maybe her entire life).
Making a difference in one person’s professional life doesn’t require 33,000+ views. It takes ONE VIEW of ONE POST.
That post could be yours …
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Here's a look at how Silver Oak Cellars uses their visual, multi-channel social media strategy to emotionally connect special moments with their audience.
What Are The Stories You Want to Tell? How Do You Emotionally Connect Your Brand, Your Company, and Your Employees to Your Audience?
When I combed through Silver Oaks Cellars multiple social channels, these visual stories emotionally connected with me. That emotional connection differentiates a brand, a service, a product, or a company from its competition.
And, that emotional connection is unique for each of us. That unique, individual meaning defines special moments.
How do you emotionally connect with your audience? What works for you? Is it images, video, words, voice, or something else?
Please let me know in the comments. I want to connect too.
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A second straight quarter of increased user growth: 16 million new users
Revenue doubled to $312 million (driven by mobile use and mobile ad consumption)
Mobile advertising accounts for 81% of total ad revenues
The stock price spiked 29% in after hours trading
271 million monthly active users
How Twitter’s Investor Relations Team (@TwitterIR) framed these positive results is worth studying. Their critical and judgmental audience includes (but is not limited to):
Wall Street Analysts
Technology Journalists / Bloggers
Mutual Funds Managers
Silicon Valley Competitors
Individual Investors
Writing and storytelling skills are important in the financial and investment community. Investor Relations Teams are tasked with building credibility, trust, and transparency. The ability to convey confidence with a compelling and memorable story (particularly when financial performance suffers) makes or breaks organizations.
Real-time, Internet speed and scope, play a crucial role in addressing public scrutiny. Here are three (3) writing and storytelling tips I learned from the Twitter Investor Relations Team.
And, it maximized this competitive advantage during the July 29th earnings call. Topsy analysis shows @TwitterIR‘s (Twitter’s Investor Relations Team) published 23 real-time tweets supporting the earnings presentation.
Topsy Query for @TwitterIR July 29 Tweets
Tip 2. Be Simple and Concise
Communicating financial analyses (or other complex information) into simple, bite-size messages isn’t easy. Twitter’s Investor Relations Team addresses this challenge head-on knowing they have to frame a memorable, compelling story in “pulses” of 140 characters or less. I’m sure their rehearsals resulted in multiple iterations of tweets to constantly refine and simplify the gameday message.
According to Topsy, here’s the top tweet during the July 29th call …
Topsy Twitter IR Top Tweet
Topsy Top Twitter IR Tweet
… and it clocks in at 136 characters (with spaces).
Tip 3. Draw Pictures for Key Messages
Twitter’s Steady, Consistent Positive Revenue Growth. Note: I drew the red arrow.
As an individual Twitter investor, I appreciate and respect the Investor Relations Team sharing key metrics like quarterly revenue, EBITDA, and net income. But, the tweet has too much math for my simple brain.
The hyperlink and chart are vital. They impart two (2) positive impressions:
“We know you want more details. Here’s where you can find/analyze the details.”
I made a 2014 resolution to publish an eBook / presentation.
This presentation / eBook describes three (3) career management lessons I've learned from my Dad and applied to my own career:
1) Learn From the Best
2) Get Published
3) Get Back Up — Fast!
My Dad inspired me to apply each of these lessons in a digital marketing and social media context (e.g., blogging, participating in Twitter, reading books of marketing strategy thought leaders, connecting directly with marketing strategy thought leaders, etc.).
These lessons describe the opportunity for online self-publishing, personal brand / personal reputation management, and the teachings of different marketing strategy authors. The marketing strategy authors (and their books and blogs) that have inspired me include Seth Godin, Ann Handley, Mitch Joel, Tom Peters, and David Meerman Scott.
It's my way of showing my Dad how much I admire and respect his individual achievements (and the obstacles he overcame).
Thank you and I hope you enjoy and benefit from reading it. If you find the content helpful, please feel free to share this presentation with others.
In 2009, I discovered MarketingProfs.com. You and the MarketingProfs team dedicated significant time and energy to help me and other social media rookies learn, understand, and enjoy the current and future implications of online conversations in 21st century marketing.
Even more importantly, I discovered and connected with YOU.
My love for marketing strategy skyrocketed due to your influence. When I'm not in my day job, marketing strategy is what I love writing about and studying. The valuable and generous work you and MarketingProfs publish and share continues fueling that passion.
For two or three straight years, I think I signed up for every webinar, virtual conference, and LinkedIn Discussion Group with the words: "MarketingProfs." Whenever I marked one of those events on my calendar, I anticipated them like Christmas morning!
"As part of the Fall 2009, MarketingProfs Digital Marketing World Conference, Ann's going to talk to Tina Brown." Yeah, that Tina Brown!! You were stellar during that Q&A. Tina Brown took Ann Handley's phone calls, emails, and questions.
And, Ann Handley shared that access to Ms. Brown to benefit the MarketingProfs fanbase — Wow!
The writing you publish on Annarchy.com is funny, smart, and thoughtful. Every blog post is an writing and marketing master class.
That's why I read EVERY WORD of your work. When it comes to Ann Handley content, skimming is forbidden. Plus, my reader reaction inevitably involves one or more of the following:
Three (3) horrible thoughts engulfed me. First, Ann and David probably won't see the tweet or respond because I'm a nobody with less than 10 Twitter followers. Second, if they do read the tweet and click the attached link, they're going to HATE my post and horrible writing. Third, they'll never want to see anything from me again. They'll block my tweets because I'm an just another unworthy amateur, rookie, or "wannabe social media hack" who's trying way too hard to gain their attention.
But, something incredible happened — YOU tweeted back! YOU even wrote THE FIRST comment on my blog — EVER!
THAT'S RIGHT, ANN HANDLEY WAS MY FIRST!
(If you know what I mean …)
Okay, all kidding and Joey Tribiani-like innuendo aside, I've never forgotten your kindness and generosity. That was four years ago …
At that moment, YOU made me believe I was on the right path. YOU made me feel important. YOU made me believe if I kept at it, my content could bring value to others.
I know I shouldn't look for validation. But, when one of your heroes says something nice about you, shares your work, and gives you praise, it feels soooooo good!
Your kindness motivated me to believe: "Yes! I CAN DO THIS!"
As I gained more Twitter experience, I started tweeting you directly. I love tweeting and talking with you! I don't know how to describe it. It genuinely feel like I'm sitting across from you while enjoying a a hot cup of coffee or a cold beer.
It feels that real.
And, it's because IT IS REAL. It's because YOU make it real. It's because YOU are genuinely kind and authentic.
I'm sure you get embarrassingly sick of how I share on a weekly basis why I know and believe YOU are the best writer in the business. I'm still learning how to write and connect. I'm still learning how to do them both well. And, there are times when I feel like I'll never get there.
That's why your work is so personally important and influential. That's why I cherish directly connecting with YOU. Your art is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from one of the all-time great teachers and practitioners. That why I view you as an important professional mentor.
Ann, I hold you in the highest regard. Every time YOU share and publish your art, YOU inspire me to become a better writer, marketer, and person.
One day, I hope to have the privilege of telling you these things face-to-face and shaking your hand. Till that time, please travel safely wherever you may be (today and in 2014).
May You and Your Family Enjoy a Safe and Merry Christmas,
Note: Austin Kleon's book, Steal Like an Artist and Mitch Joel's public fan letters inspired this post. Pages 108 to 109, "Write Fan Letters," and Chapter 2: "Don't Wait Until You Know Who You Are To Get Started" from Austin's book are amazing. After reading Austin's book and Mitch's public fan letters, I made a list of my heroes.
Please indulge me as I periodically publish these fan letters on this blog.
From page 109 of Steal Like an Artist: "Maybe your hero will see your work, maybe he or she won't. Maybe they'll respond to you, maybe not. The important thing is that you show your appreciation without expecting anything in return."
CTRL ALT Delete Is a Gift on 21st Century Career Leadership and Opportunity Management. Mitch frames and delivers his compelling arguments in two (2) sections:
1. Reboot: Business – The 5 Massive Movements
2. Reboot: You – The 7 Triggers
Yes, his book describes corporate and marketing strategy opportunities impacting organizations (big or small). Yes, his book contains important personal branding / personal reputation implications.
But, all twelve (12) principles focus on individually identifying and framing opportunity (and having the collective or individual courage to pursue it).
We All Have the Opportunity to Differentiate Ourselves and Lead. CTRL ALT Delete's resounding themes are to:
Take the Initiative
Take Intelligent Risks (i.e., Embrace the Squiggle)
Differentiate Yourself (because the opportunities are highest in THIS era)
Invest in Yourself and Buy CTRL ALT Delete. Here are four (4) important questions Mitch Joel asks about building competitive advantages to reboot our organizations and individual careers:
How Are We Building Direct Relationships with Our Customers, Fans, and Connections?
Creating a Unique Competitive Advantage. Direct relationships as a competitive advantage (versus price) is best described by these CTRL ALT Delete quotes (page 11) on how Apple executes its retail strategy:
The solution for Apple was to create a "cradle to the grave" business model where the customer is–at every touch point–directly speaking with Apple's brand. A true, direct relationship–in every sense of the word. Apple could not win on price (their computers and other devices are usually much more expensive than their competition's), so they had to win by being there for the consumer and by making these consumers a part of a more complete brand ecosystem.
At the time that Apple first launched retail stores in 2001, the common practices among retailers was to cram each nook and cranny of space with merchandise to maximize the sales per square foot. Sadly most retailers (and businesses) still hold on to the traditional thinking. For Apple, it was less about every square foot of retail space and much more about evey square inch of the direct relationship. Apple didn't start in the retail business to compete with other consumer electronics stores; they went into retail for the direct relationship with their customers. Apple's attitude was: "Why give that power to Best Buy or anyone else?"
"My dad used to always to say that he could teach anything but he couldn't teach how to feel. That's the hardest part when you have 11,000 people: How do you teach them how we feel?"
"The thing is, I don't want to be soldwhen I walk into a store to be welcomed. The job is tobe a brilliant brand ambasador. Everyone is welcome. Don't be judgmental whatsoever."
"Don't sell! NO! Because that is a turnoff."
Converse Directly With Your Connections and Followers. Don't just tweet out links and "like" stuff. Mitch's observations about building direct relationships highly applies to our personal social network connections. For example, participating in Twitter by sharing links your followers find helpful is a starting point for establishing authority and reputation.
But, if you want to "own and nurture" a long-term direct relationship, you have to directly converse with your followers. Mitch talks in depth about this concept throughout the book. These types of direct conversations are powerful and solidify lifelong loyalty and relationships:
How are You Building Competitive Advantage in a One-Screen World?
The entire chapter describes how consumers operate in a mobile, one-screen world. The only screen consumers care about is "the one currently staring them in the face."
Mitch further makes a compelling argument:The most important consumer screen resides on our smartphones.
Here are Mitch's thoughts on Twitter and the one-screen world (from page 99 of CTRL ALT Delete):
"Twitter's metoric rise and continued success have less to do with how many followers Lady Gaga has and much more to do with the fact that it was the first-ever online social network that worked better on mobile than it does on the Web. The sheer simplicity of those 140 characters of tweets makes it that much more workable and easy for consumers. Twitter's focus (from day one) was on connecting people as they were on the go. To this day, everything that Twitter does — from acquisitions to business strategy — is driven by a one-screen-world philosophy."
How are We Differentiating Ourselves as Critical Thinkers?
A Personal Blog = Personal Competitive Advantage. The Internet affords anyone with a laptop and broadband access an opportunity to stand out. But, we often allow ourselves to be defined by our current job titles and bullet points on our resumes. That's a mistake.
Mitch thinks strategically and critically. In a social media age, when most tweets or Facebook status updates provide diminishing returns on our attention, the opportunity to differentiate ourselves as entrepreneurial, credible, forward-looking strategic, critical thinkers has never been higher.
3. Making it easy for a potential employer / great connection to find you (e.g., SEO benefits)
4. Giving you practice in an important and portable business skill set — writing
5. Proving you're technology and Internet savvy
6. Informing people first-hand how you're driven to learn new skills
Isn't Blogging Supposed to be Dead? Hardly. As Mitch points out in the section, "Your Life in Startup Mode," a personal blog describes important aspects about ourselves that a resume fails to represent:
(page 227) "You're writing to exercise your critical thinking skills."
(page 225) "But for the purpose of this book, I'll define a blog as an online journal of your work. The spirit of the blog is to create a living and breathing resume and portfolio of how you think and work."
(page 224) "I still believe that a blog is a canvas that allows you to think, share, and connect with an audience."
(page 228) "Because if you care enough to blog, it means that you have something to say. If you have something to say and you're blogging it, it means that you want to share and connect.Ultimately, the world needs more people like that."
What is the Legacy and the Value You are Ultimately Delivering and Leaving?
Pages 190 and 193 fromThe Marketing of Youexplain the ultimate goal for connecting (online or face-to-face):
(page 190) "There's nothing wrong with asking for help, but you will always see a more positive result if you start by delivering value first—by being valuable to others before asking them for favors. Give abundantly and be helpful."
(page 193) "True influence comes from connecting to individuals, nurturing those relationships, adding real value to other people's lives, and doing anything and everything to serve them, so that when the time comes for you to make a request, there is someone there to lend a hand. Worry less about how many people you are connected to, and worry a whole lot more about who you are connected to—who they are and what you are doing to value and honor them(in their spaces)."
That sounds like a great philosophy towards achieving professional and personal fulfillment.
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What Does Pixar Know About Simple, Compelling Storytelling that Most Marketers, Advertisers, and Brands Don't?
A Lot! But, Skype and Google are Damn Good Pixar Storytelling Students Based on Their Viral Reunion Videos. Skype and Google recently published these two (2) brilliant, moving, and emotional stories on their respective YouTube Channels:
Which Pixar Storytelling Rules Do You Recognize in the Skype and #googlereunion Videos?
Let's compare notes. I see:
Rule #1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
Rule #2:You gotta keep in mind what's interesting to you as an audience, not what's fun to do as a writer. They can be very different.
Rule #4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day, ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally, ___.
Rule #5:Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You'll feel like you're losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
Rule #6:What is your character good at, comforatable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
Rule #7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard. Get yours working up front.
Rule #13:Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likeable as you write, but it's poison to the audience.
Rule #14: Why must you tell THIS story. What's the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That's the heart of it?
Rule #15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty leads credibility to unbelieveable situations.
Rule #16:What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What if they don't succeed, stack the odds agains.
Rule #21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters can't just write 'cool'? What would make YOU act that way?
Rule #22:What's the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.
The Art of the Pitch: Simple and Economic Equals Competitive Advantage
I, Marketers, Advertisers and Brands Fail 95% of the Time on Simplicity. Rules #5 and #22 are highlighted for a reason because I believe "simple" is a MASSIVE Differentiator.
Listen to Mitch Joel and Peter Coughter's Conversation and Invest in Art of The Pitch. If you're in the business of selling ideas (as I am), your career depends on reading/studying The Art of the Pitch. I'd selfishly prefer others in the professional services industry don't read Peter's book.
Why? I want the competitive advantages he teaches all to myself.
Peter Mentions "Simple" or "Simplicity" in The Art of the Pitch Almost 30 times. Here are key quotes reinforcing the importance of "simple":
(page 133) "Simplicity is what we seek. In the visual as well as the oral expression of our ideas."
(page 157) "Your presentation should be so simple that you can boil it down to just a few sentences. And notice that I said simple, not simplistic."
(page 32) "The audience's ability to assimilate and retain information is limited. You're only going to be able to make two or three kepy points. So make them and make them memorable. You need to this in as simple, spare and elegant a way as possible."
"As my buddy Tim Washer and I espouse, the number-one rule for video is to Keep It Tight. In other words, respect the audience’s time, and don’t expect them to invest more than 60 to 90 seconds in your online video."
"But in the case of this particular video, the story of Sarah and Paige was so compelling that I sat through the whole three minutes of it."
"As you know, an Internet minute is like a dog year… so a 3-minute video is really seven times as long."
The filmakers captured the essence of that complex, historical context simply. Understanding the context of that history lesson is one of many reasons why we root for and identify with the #googlereunion characters.
"If we don't make you cry, we fail. It's about emotion,which is bizarre for a tech company."
Emotional Connection. If Skype and Google continue creating and publishing these compelling, simple stories, we'll watch them. These brands may even earn our long-term trust about the roles they play in our everyday lives.