Ann Handley reflects on her interview with BJ Novak and shares 10 nuggets he shared on how to be more creative.
10 Ways to Be More Creative: My Interview With Actor, Writer BJ Novak Read More »
Ann Handley offers 14 analog boosters: ways to slow down and engage with the world more fully and playfully.
14 A.I. Boosters for Humans Read More »
A version of this story appeared in Total Annarchy, my fortnightly newsletter that helps you be a better writer, storyteller, marketer. Get it in your inbox; you’ll love it. * * Has the pandemic made us more creative? I’ve been wondering this lately… Have the uncertainty and randomness of the past 18 months made us more resilient—determined to get through the insanity, to roll with the punches? And does newfound resiliency make us more comfortable taking a risk here and there? And doesn’t creativity require an element of risk? (^^ actual transcript from 3 AM Brain, lying supine and actively ignoring Right Shoulder, who since rotator cuff surgery acts like a real jerk at night—keeping everyone awake) * * * I checked to see what the Google Gods might say on it. From Dr. Michael Bloomfield, a creativity expert and researcher: If you look upon uncertainty as an opportunity for
Brilliant Creative on a Tiny Budget: 5 Examples from an Unlikely Source Read More »
When a franchise like 50 Shades of Grey enjoys crazy success, is it a signal that content doesn’t have to be good to be crazy-successful? Popularity is only one measure of success, of course. And for most of us in the content marketing world, it’s not a very good one. Yet popularity is still very often the thing that persistently defines value. (Witness the popularity of popularity lists.) On the one hand I get it, and on the other, I think it’s weird. Is it the goal for your business to have the most followers on Twitter? Or is it to attract more customers than your competitor? “Best” is rarely the same as “popular,” as Seth Godin has pointed out. And “most-read” is rarely the same as “most-loved,” as I’ve talked about here. “If you become popular it is always because of the worst aspects of your work,” Hemingway famously said.
50 Shades of Mediocrity: Does Content Have to Be Good, or Just Good Enough? Read More »
