What’s one thing that’s NOT in your LinkedIn profile? One thing that’s NOT in my profile is this truth: I can’t tolerate watching myself on video. But in this case I made an exception. Because, well, this video is exceptional (for a few simple reasons). Check it out: Because I can’t help but dissect a […]
Technology
The Best Political Ad Ever
I know that’s a strong statement, but I’d only amend “best political ad ever” with a “so far.” Because that’s how good this video is. It blurs the line between traditional political advertising and content marketing, because it tells an incredible story in a little over a minute. And in doing so, it breaks the […]
Airbnb: When Content Marketing Looks a Lot Like Art
We’re used to seeing companies producing content marketing that sometimes looks too much like advertising. (Like this. Ick.) But, increasingly, I’m noticing another trend: Content marketing that looks a lot like art. Yesterday, I wrote about Chipotle’s creepy but awesome new marketing program, “The Scarecrow,” which hauntingly depicts a dystopian world that makes a heart-wrenching […]
SXSW 2014 PanelPicker: This Election, Cast A Vote for Simple
Every fall, the SXSW PanelPicker process turns prospective speakers into something akin to politicians in election years. I’m allergic to asking for votes for anything, but in this case my friend Tim Washer and I had a little fun with the idea. Here is our smear campaign to promote our SXSW 2014 Interactive Festival proposal […]
JetBlue: When a Marketing Slogan Is More Than Marketing Slogan
Most commercial air travel experiences are exercises in endurance, not anticipation: “I suppose vacation will be fun, but I really can’t wait to spend 6 hours bouncing around in a cramped tin tube getting there!” said no one ever. I would feel this way even if I didn’t hate to fly with a passion, which […]
#ContentTools: Effortless Storytelling from Disney’s New Story App
I love content creation tools that put wizard wands into the hands of Muggles. Instagram did this for photos, allowing mere mortals like me to create and share photos that were beautiful and expressive. Vine allows us to elegantly create short, 6-second videos through an intuitive interface. Takes is another neat mobile tool I particularly […]
Today’s Guessing Game: What Is It?
Remember AOL disks? If you owned a mailbox in the late 1990s or early-2000s, you know what I mean, because America Online‘s aggressive direct mail strategy probably distributed CD-ROMs and diskettes into it with irritating frequency. More than a billion disks were mailed between the late 1990s and 2006, when AOL stopped the mass mailing. […]
A Journey to ’25 Random Things’
Three weeks ago, William tagged me in a “25 Random Things About Me” chain letter. I’ve hung around with William a few times, but reading his list feels a lot like a peek at his diary: Here are his hopes, fears, and his profession of love for Twizzlers. I’m tagged again by Tim (“I’m a […]
How to Get Regular Updates of Annarchy
Since I don’t write here daily, it’s easy to miss new stuff on this blog. My friend Chris Brogan, guest-posting at Shannon Paul’s place, calls the content I create here a “craft blog” and distinguishes it from a typical blog that’s updated more frequently, with shorter posts. Understandably, Chris says, my essays here are “something […]