Andy Wibbels

Video: Barbara Ehrenreich Tears into Positive Thinking

2010-07-13T22:18:40Z

Acclaimed journalist, author and political activist Barbara Ehrenreich explores the darker side of positive thinking, delusion, amorality, war and optimism as a form of social control. “How could [class and inequality] be a problem if anyone can be rich just by thinking about it?” Her words and concepts are illustrated by RSA Animate.

RSA Animate – Smile or Die « RSA Comment.

Harvey Pekar on Writing

2010-07-12T16:45:15Z

Famed underground comic book writer Harvey Pekar just passed away. His life was featured in the 2003 movie American Splendor based on his autobiographical comics series.

Here’s a little bit into Pekar’s view on his

As a kid, Pekar was almost as obsessive about comic books as he’d been about jazz. (And literature. And boxing.) All the same, he considered them a “second-rate art form.” Then realized something. “They’re words and pictures, and you can do anything with words and pictures. There’s no limit on what order you put ‘em in, or what kind of illustration you use. It’s not the fault of comics. I have access to the same choice of words as Shakespeare.”

The Phoenix

Why A Blog Won’t Help Your Business

2010-06-23T17:00:07Z

Veteran business blogger Rich Brooks unravels the ZOMFG BLOGS ARE MAGICAL fruit punch:

A blog won’t help your business. Just like that StairMaster gathering dust in your basement won’t make you thin. Or a hammer won’t help you build those shelves if you don’t pick it up. … When you start blogging it can be difficult, but you need to keep with it, and strengthen those “blogging muscles.” After a while, knocking out another keyword-rich blog post will be second nature, something you can do while watching the ball game, or after the kids are asleep, or taken care of during the work day. To start blogging effectively, you need to blog to answer the questions your customers have, and address the pain points of your prospects.

Much more on what to actually blog about and other key strategies: Why A Blog Won’t Help Your Business

How Pixar Installed the Creative Process for the Long Term

2010-06-23T14:34:29Z

Pixar is one of the few places I’d kill to work at. Their attention to creativity and extremely high product quality always blows my mind. I recently watched the opening of Up again and it is absolute perfection.

Pixar’s leadership knows that they have to put the creative process at the heart of their company – but also have to ensure it will survive long-after the original founders and staff have gone:

Pixar’s approach to creativity is striking for two reasons. The first is that the company puts people before projects. … Pixar starts by bringing in creative people and then encourages them to generate ideas. The second is that the company devotes a lot of effort to getting people to work together. In most companies, people collaborate on specific projects, but pay little attention to what’s going on elsewhere in the business. Pixar, however, tries to foster a sense of collective responsibility among its 1,200 staff. Employees show unfinished work to one another in daily meetings, so get used to giving and receiving constructive criticism. And a small “brain trust” of top executives reviews films in the works. … This system of constant feedback is designed to bring problems to the surface before they mutate into crises, and to provide creative teams with a source of inspiration. … Pixar also obliges its teams to conduct formal post mortems once their films are complete.

via The Economist

Jerry Seinfeld on George Carlin

2010-06-22T23:29:34Z

I always love hearing stories of dedication to virtuosity: that you do the best possible job and push you skills to the limit simply because it feels good to get better at what you do. Here’s an essay Jerry Seinfeld wrote eulogizing George Carlin’s after his death a couple years ago:

I called him to compliment him on his most recent special on HBO. Seventy years old and he cranks out another hour of great new stuff. He was in a hotel room in Las Vegas getting ready for his show. He was a monster.You could certainly say that George downright invented modern American stand-up comedy in many ways. Every comedian does a little George. I couldn’t even count the number of times I’ve been standing around with some comedians and someone talks about some idea for a joke and another comedian would say, “Carlin does it.” I’ve heard it my whole career: “Carlin does it,” “Carlin already did it,” “Carlin did it eight years ago.”And he didn’t just “do” it. He worked over an idea like a diamond cutter with facets and angles and refractions of light. He made you sorry you ever thought you wanted to be a comedian.

via NYTimes.com

WIIFM and Social Media

2010-06-17T19:59:22Z

The 3i blog looks at the classic What’s in it for me? stance and marketing via social media channels:

With the new age of social media, any type of outreach efforts must answer two questions to be relevant and impactful: “What’s in it for me?” & “How will it provide value to my network?”. … You must recognize that any type of outreach effort using these tools, or to people who use them, means you are asking that individual to SPEND their social capital by participating with you and spreading your message to their network of friends. That’s a lot to ask if what you are offering is only of value to the person you are asking. … There will come a time when the pure promotional use of social media will lead to a backlash against both the brands and the people participating if there is no REAL value for the network = information, customer service, input, etc. If you aren’t answering the second question you may end up being burnt when the tipping point comes.

via “What’s In It For Me?” is not the question in social media.

Agents for Dead Celebrities

2010-06-20T23:57:10Z

The ultimate personal brand lives on long after the person is gone. Great 60 Minutes segment on agents who represent deceased celebrities, artists, authors and athletes.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Crisis-Based Co-Dependent Leadership

2010-06-17T18:51:30Z

A LiveJournal post from Issendai outlining who you keep someone in love with you forever – or keep them as an employee – you create a sick system:

Keep the crises rolling. Incompetence is a great way to do this: If the office system routinely works badly or the controlling partner routinely makes major mistakes, you’re guaranteed ongoing crises. Poor money management works well, too. So does being in an industry where the clients are guaranteed to be volatile and flaky, or preferring friends who are themselves in perpetual crisis. You can also institutionalize regular crises: Workers in the Sea Org, the elite wing of Scientology, must exceed the previous week’s production every single week or face serious penalties. Because this is impossible, it guarantees regular crises as the deadline approaches.

via How to keep someone with you forever

Digital World and Social Media Changes What Is “Real”

2010-06-17T15:13:55Z

From Toby Bloomberg:

Here are 5 questions that might help you find the secrets to make your next social media magic act “real.”

1. What is real for our customers? Books. An eBook, an iPad or Kindle book or a hard copy ‘dead tree’ book?

2. What is real for our customers? Relationships. Relationships begun in childhood, at work, on a commuter train or from a tweet or blog post?

Grab questions 3, 4 and 5 at 5 Ways The Digital World & Social Media Are Changing What Is “Real”.

How MySpace Beat Friendster, How Facebook Beat MySpace

2010-06-19T14:22:18Z

Downtime, data centers and gross incompetence: