The Art of the Insult

Posted on January 31, 2008 Written by 5 Comments

I’ll come back to this after some reflection, but for a quick end-of-the-week read, here is a piece of brilliantly pointed writing from Slate.com’s review of Meet the Spartans:

Isn’t it massive consumer fraud to charge $10.50 for a barely hour-long movie? Perhaps, but it would’ve been unforgivable to make Meet the Spartans any longer than an hour. This was the worst movie I’ve ever seen, so bad that I hesitate to label it a “movie” and thus reflect shame upon the entire medium of film. Friedberg and Seltzer do not practice the same craft as P.T. Anderson, David Cronenberg, Michael Bay, Kevin Costner, the Zucker Brothers, the Wayans Brothers, Uwe Boll, any dad who takes shaky home movies on a camping trip, or a bear who turns on a video camera by accident while trying to eat it. They are not filmmakers. They are evildoers, charlatans, symbols of Western civilization’s decline under the weight of too many pop culture references.

Feel free to weigh in with why you think this is (or is not) good (or funny) criticism. (I love the line about the bear.) I’ll come back to this theme later…

[tags]Ike Pigott, Occam’s RazR, Meet the Spartans, movies, movie reviews, writing, criticism[/tags]

Filed Under: Language Tagged: , ,

Three Essences of Writing

Posted on January 31, 2008 Written by 12 Comments
Parallelogram

Good writing sometimes happens by accident — but writing well is a function of discipline and purpose. Know what you want to say, know what you don’t want to say, and get there with minimum delay.

My Kung Fu background introduced me to a conscious outlook: that every person exists in three realms, the physical, mental, and spiritual. I say “conscious” outlook because deep down I already felt that way, just never expressed it as such. Our connection to those realms involves the three parts of our person: body, mind, and spirit. Perhaps no single spiritual or religious tradition can “own” that thought, as it exists in so many cultures and histories.

Extending the notion to the process of writing, we have three planes of comparison, three axes by which we can measure improvement.

Physical writing: More than just the layout of the words on the page, the physical aspect of writing is revealed in the way it sounds as you were to read it. Short sentences set tone. Punctuation dictates. Rhyme, rhythm, and meter matter. Even unspoken, the visceral nature of the written word may echo in the mind of the reader.

Mental writing: Beyond mere words, this is the exercise of deciding which concepts must introduce your grand conceit – which ones bridge as evidence – and which ought to close the argument. The selection of individual words for both denotation and connotation is part of the mental realm.

Spiritual writing: Good writing informs, great writing elevates. Often, it does so through the use of analogy and metaphor. The introduction of a concept through the prior understanding of something else builds up the reader instead of tearing him down. Parallelogram It also stretches the most out of communication – like teaching a child about a parallelogram by showing a rectangle that leans.

Good writing stands out. Great writing sneaks up on you; it makes you smarter and wiser, it inspires without calling attention to how. Great writing pleases the ear, the brain, and the soul.

(Thanks to Rich Becker for the post that got me thinking…)

[tags]Ike Pigott, Occam’s RazR, writing, Kung Fu, language[/tags]

Filed Under: Communication, Language, Philosophy Tagged:

I’m no longer a blogger

Posted on January 30, 2008 Written by 26 Comments

I’ve had it. I’m done. Don’t want to deal with it any longer.

As of this day, I am no longer a blogger.

I’m tired of the hassles of “coming up with something for the blog.”

I’m tired of explaining to people what a “blog” is.

I’m tired of others jumping to conclusions about what I write, or how it should be written, or whether I should have comments, or a list of pretty blogroll links.

So today forward, I’m no longer blogging.

I am Isaac Pigott, but you can call me Ike. Lots of people do.

I am a communicator who likes to figure things out, and share what I’ve learned. Sometimes, that involves “writing.” But I am not a professional writer.

I will continue writing for a website called “Occam’s RazR”. Just for fun, I will also be the site administrator. But I will not be a “blogger.” Not sure what that word means anymore, because it either has no relevant context or too much baggage. I will also continue contributing regular essays over at a website called “Now Is Gone,” at least as long as they will have me. I may write about blogging sometimes, but I’m not a blogger. (I spend more of my day sending e-mails, but that doesn’t make me an eMailer now, does it?)

Because I am open to ideas and opinions, I will allow some of you to contribute to this website. You can comment on the various essays I write here. I will be happy to facilitate the publishing of most of them.

What I won’t do is continue using the word “blogger” as a noun. A “blogger” is a writer. Well, some are. The standard isn’t necessarily a high one. I also won’t use the word “blogger” as an adjective. “Blogger” ethics, “blogger” relations; most of the time, it is a useless modifier that either demeans, demotes, or lowers the expectations thereof. Like people with websites are somehow in need of a different set of ethics than anyone else. It’s a little condescending, if you ask me.

There. I feel better. I hope that clears away any lingering expectations you might have as to what this website is, who I am, or why I write.

[tags]Ike Pigott, Occam’s RazR, blogging, writing, communication, language[/tags]

Filed Under: Communication, Language, Personal Tagged:

Social Media Power Suit

Posted on January 29, 2008 Written by Leave a Comment

“Social Media is like a power suit: either get it tailored just for you, or look like everyone else who bought off the rack.”

- Ike Pigott

(from a post at Now Is Gone)

Filed Under: Communication, Marketing, My Quotes, Philosophy Tagged: ,

One Size Fits None

Posted on January 29, 2008 Written by 3 Comments

(In an effort to provide a place for the Social Media Curious to dip their first toe, Ike continues a series of articles aimed at those who are looking for very basic context.)

Social Media is like a power suit: either get it tailored just for you, or look like everyone else who bought off the rack.

If you’re considering some type of Social Media initiative for your organization, and you decide to proceed, do so with this warning. There will be some degree of real work involved. Whether it is you, or someone you hire, you want the work to fit your goals and needs.

Here’s a very topical case in point. There’s a guy named Chris Brogan who you will no doubt become more familiar with down the road. He brings people together, and does it in new ways with new tools. Once you’re up to speed and feel comfortable with the terms and concepts of community-building, add him to your reads.

Yesterday, Chris was exploring a new way to get people integrated into Twitter — a microblog platform that is as hard to pin down as it is easy to use. (We’ve covered Twitter before here on Now Is Gone.) As a way of helping others find value more quickly, Chris offered the notion of “Twitter Packs,” a convenient bundling of people that one could quickly add to get a flavor of what Twitter can be about. Others, like Shannon Whitley, immediately started working on ways to make mass-additions (and mass-deletions) more automated. It’s a giving community, to be sure.

A Little Too Giving.

That may be a problem. Chris offered up a means for finding people with similar interests, professions, locations, and traits… but are those individuals going to add the same value for you as they do for someone else? Chris wasn’t egotistical enough to think he would know the answer, so he created a Twitter Packs wiki that anyone could edit. Within hours, there were hundreds of names sorted across many divisions. And within hours, there were cries that it had gotten too clubby, too cliquey, too clunky, and too crowded. Others were disturbed that specialty lists were being added that had the potential for mischief and pranks.

Beyond any of the other complaints, let me add this warning. When it comes to Social Media, you want your own work, not someone else’s. It’s nice to be democratic and let others self-select into such groups, but that can create some real friction later on. Take a gander at those gaggles, and you’ll find geese that are guaranteed to ruffle each others’ feathers. Catch a little too much ruffling before you start finding your own level of value, and the experiment will backfire.

Additionally, I’ve noted before that Twitter takes on a different look depending upon how many people you choose to follow. Are you really intent on sticking close with a small group, or are you okay with just periodically dipping your hand into a flowing river of opinions and observations? Are you using it as a de facto RSS reader, or do you want to engage in open conversations? And how will you go about configuring your Instant Message and SMS options?

A Custom Suit

I’m not totally down on Brogan’s Twitter Packs idea – maybe just the execution. And maybe it has more to do with my view that Twitter can be a very instructive tool for those trying to get a feel for online communities. Start with a couple of people that you know and follow them. Interact. Then periodically, see who they are also interacting with. If you see someone interesting, add them. The network grows the best when you catch the value for yourself, one at a time.

Don’t worry about reciprocal following for now. If someone does start following you, it is good form to at least check out their stream and find out why. Add or don’t add, it is up to you. The point is to get an understanding of community dynamics at different sizes and levels. You need to feel your way to that point.

Finally, from a practical level, your Social Media needs are unique. Trees may look the same from the top, but have unique footprints and their own root networks. If you plan to have a Social Media consultant do the building for you — ask some questions about how they are building that network. What kind of research are they using to get there? How long have they interacted with or monitored the people you want to reach? Or are they just pulling a template pack off the shelf and plugging it in to your goals?

If you don’t understand how vibrant and useful communities are built, you won’t be certain if your company’s new suit is off the charts, or off the rack.

(Ike Pigott regularly blogs at Occam’s RazR.)

Filed Under: Now Is Gone Tagged:

Wal-Mart’s Vision

Posted on January 28, 2008 Written by 9 Comments

I didn’t set out to become a customer service benchmark. It’s just the product of being a consumer with a blog.

Those of you with glasses might know the name of those little oval pads that rest on each side of your nose. I’m too tired to look them up. But I needed one on Sunday, because one of those little pads tore completely free, rendering my glasses quite painful. I managed to get it back on long enough to make the drive to Wal-Mart, which was going to be my best bet on a Sunday afternoon.

I was surprised to see the Vision Center open on a Sunday, and gravitated there instead of the pharmacy section. The woman manning the desk didn’t notice me until I got right up to the counter. I pointed to the empty rack where the oval pads would be, and noted that the tiny circular pads would not fit my glasses.

She asked to see them, and I handed them over. Maybe out of reflex, she peeled the straggling pad off the hook and tossed it into the trash. She walked back into an office, rendering me blind for a couple of minutes. It dawned on me that if there were no compatible pads in the store, I would be in for a challenge getting home.

She came back with new pads installed, and refused to allow me to pay for them. “You needed those, and we didn’t have them in stock,” she said. “Don’t tell anyone, I don’t think I was supposed to do that.”

She fixed my glasses, and refused to charge me for that. Did I mention that I didn’t get my glasses at that vision center? I might just get my next ones there, though…

Wal-Mart? Are you listening? Promise me she won’t get into trouble!

[tags]Ike Pigott, Occam’s RazR, Wal-Mart, marketing, customer service, eyecare[/tags]

Filed Under: Marketing, Personal Tagged:

Man on the Street

Posted on January 25, 2008 Written by 2 Comments
TV reporter

“Well, I’m no astrologer, but it seems to me that getting back to the moon is really important, because, you know, there are so many hungry people who could use all that green cheese.”

TV reporterThe above is a fabrication, of course, but is it fundamentally different than one I saw this morning on CNN? The “CNN Express” interviewed a single person about a proposed economic stimulus package. The answer, paraphrased, was “Well, I’m no economist, but it seems to me that that amount of money really won’t have a great deal of impact in helping those who need it.”

Hell – the economists themselves argue about the importance and impact! Why drag average people into the discussion, unless the goal is to play to a sense of populism or vanity (see people just like you!) I’m not really a fan of “man-on-the-street” interviews. Loathed gathering them when I worked in news, and don’t enjoy watching them now at any level.

First, the assignments are usually afterthoughts, which means that those assigned the job have other things to do, and want to knock them out as quickly as possible.

Second, there is a horrible selection bias. Many of those who might have something to say simply don’t – most likely because they know they aren’t experts. That leaves us to cajole those who either don’t know what they don’t know, or don’t care.

Third, there is an insidious selection bias. In most circumstances, the “rule of magic threes” applies, where you must return with at least three people in the soundbites. Diversity sheepWithin those three people, you must come back with at least two political parties, two genders, two socio-economic levels, and two ethnicities. Which means that you either go in search of stereotypes, or you immediately dismiss people you might ask on the street because you’ve already “filled that slot.” Faux diversity. Most news directors will proclaim at this point that there is no such directive in the newsrooms. Most reporters I know are nodding their heads right now, and understand what would happen if they returned with three soundbites from people who looked alike.

Fourth, rarely do the individuals you ask have a perspective that has not already been shared in the news. It’s an echo-chamber, designed to fill time. The exception I can think of off-hand is reaction to an event where there has been no news cycle, like “what did you think of the debate/game?” Once there has been a news cycle addressing the issue, the personal perceptions start to become colored with what has already survived the media filter.

Fifth, peer pressure stifles the most interesting opinions. Ask someone off-camera for an insight or what they think is important, and you may get a fantastic opinion that launches your story in a new direction. It may spur you to find an expert or someone with a vested interest that brings a new direction to the debate. The opinion might be perceived as unpopular, though, so the same person asked on-camera will refuse to share it.

Finally, we’re never told how many people were approached to share their opinion. Did the first four people you asked say yes? How many locations did you target (typically just one)? Are you showing us the opinions of three out of seven who said yes? Were you turned down by eight people, or eighty? Even with such a small representative sample, I can glean some important information from knowing how many people turned you down.

The practice isn’t going anywhere. Local news remains desperate to shoe-horn local people into every newscast, because people like seeing themselves or others like them. Across all levels of broadcast news, the business model has not matured and caught up to the realities of more competitive options and lower-cost alternatives. Man-on-the-street is cheap to produce, and it fills the time between the commercials.

Hey — everyone is allowed to have an opinion. But not all opinions are news. Confusing the two is somewhat dangerous.

[tags]Ike Pigott, Occam’s RazR, broadcasting, television, news[/tags]

Filed Under: Communication, Personal Tagged:
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