Social Media Explained

I thought this was a rather amusing way to explain how each social media channel works.

Ah well, it’s a Friday – take it easy and have a great weekend, folks!

Lies, Damned Lies… And Infographics

The classic line about “Lies, Damned Lies… and Statistics” has always been used to describe the persuasive power of numbers, particularly the use of statistics to bolster weak arguments. Well, in this day and age of time-starved attentions, infographics have become the new way to bolster arguments.

Well, here’s a nice primer by way of Investopedia that shows you “How To Lie With Financial Statistics“. What you do with the knowledge… is up to you.

How to lie with:

• The Illusion of Precision – using decimals to create a sense of authenticity (e.g. 2% vs. 2.35%)
• Percentages – to mask the actual numbers (50% growth sounds impressive until you realize you started from $100, compared to, say, $10,000)
• Focusing on rates of change instead the actual information
• Spinning a chart is to choose the starting or end point so as to emphasize only part of the process (E.g. To stress an upward trend, start the graph in a deep trough. To make the graph look generally positive, just leave the downturn out altogether)
• Tricks with axes and scales (E.g. Presenting the sales figures of a stagnating company with the turnover running from nothing to $100, it is obvious that there is no growth or dynamic. On the other hand, if you chop off most of the y-axis, you can exaggerate tiny fluctuations so that things look like they are on the up-and-up.)
• Pictograms constructed to mislead. Even if one magnitude is only 10% larger than another, it can be shown in a picture as double the size. Thus, bulls that only marginally outweigh the bears at a certain point in time can look very dominant. Or, wads of dollar notes can be made bigger or smaller relative to the rest of the graphic to create the desired (misleading) impression.
• sampling techniques that can push the numbers up or down, as you please. If an investment firm conducts a customer survey, who is to know if they choose only those portfolios that have done well and cite their owners’ enthusiastic comments, and simply ignore those who are seething with rage at having been sold some dud?
• It is an endless procession. Medical companies can paint a bright picture by looking at relative changes rather than absolute ones. Construction companies can report on what has been built rather than what is occupied. Arms manufacturers can play around with their numbers and pictures so that the true market share going to alarming undemocratic nations looks reassuringly low.

Full article here.

 

 

 

Wishing you a prosperous Chinese New Year – Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Wishing all who celebrate (certainly at least a billion of you!) a prosperous Chinese New Year – filled with blessings of hope, joy and peace in the coming year! Above all, may this time also be a time of wonderful reunions and strengthening of family ties… perhaps, the most important blessing of prosperity in the end.

(Here’s my favorite Chinese New Year TVC to date!)

 

SOPA and PIPA – A One Minute Guide

Some of you might have noticed a little ribbon link on the uppe right hand corner of this blog site in protest of the SOPA and PIPA. What is it all about? Well, here’s a great one-minute primer by way of Fast Company.

Find out more and add your voice!

Entrepreneurship Defined

This is one of the best definitions of entrepreneurship that I’ve ever come across:

Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled.
- Prof. Howard Stevenson, Harvard Business School

This applies even within the context of an organization, as an intrapreneur. It’s a simple 25-word definition pares entrepreneurship to its essence and explains why it’s so hard. And so addictive.

Full article from Inc.com,  What’s an Entrepreneur? The Best Answer.

Have a good bunch of runs before the sun sets – Seth Godin (quote)

Here’s a great one to kick off the week by my hero, Seth Godin:

“Life is like skiing.  Just like skiing, the goal is not to get to the bottom of the hill. It’s to have a bunch of good runs before the sun sets.” – Seth Godin

Have a good week everyone – hope you manage to get a bunch of good runs in this week alone!

 

LG World’s Slimmest TV Viral Video

This has been making its rounds via social networking sites… The video is purportedly security camera footage taken from a consumer electronics store. In the footage, we see one particular individual behaving oddly, fully facing the camera at all times.

It is only when the individual exits the building do we realize the “punchline” of the video – with the brand and advertising message sitting quietly in full view of the viewer.

What’s pretty amazing is the concept and execution of the video – it certainly had a lot of people fooled into thinking that this was actual security camera footage and not a commercial of any sort. Not only that, the way it was uploaded to YouTube – from the title of the video (text in low caps – “smart thief caught on cam”) to the description of the video (“Take a look what this guy did in broad daylight!”)… everything was done to make it look as authentic as possible without a hint of marketing messaging. Even the brand placement and advertising message was something a lot of people missed… which, to me, makes this even more powerful.

Sometimes, less is more… and “quiet” can be pretty “loud”. If you check out the video on YouTube, it has already garnered more than 2.4 million views since it was posted (under what appears to be a pseudonymous account) on 28 Dec 2011 (as of this posting today – less than a month since the original posting date).

The Ultimate Guide To Business Cards – Print & Design (Infographic)

Here’s a really cool infographic by Businesscards.com developed with the main intention to address the common disconnects in branding projects between less technical small business owners and the graphic designers that they hire.

This really helpful guide is meant to walk business owners through the points in the creative process where they are likely to struggle the most.

Click here for the original link to the infographic.

The Future Belongs To The Curious

I got this via my Facebook timeline. “The Future Belongs To The Curious” – hell yeah! Stay curious, folks!

Also, I think the concept behind SkillShare is wonderful (check out What Is SkillShare here)! Lifelong learning FTW!

In A Complex Situation

I’ve been in a series of meetings over the past few weeks where I’ve come face-to-face with truly how complex a situation can be – whether it is an organization or the issue at hand. Here’s what I’ve learned: In a complex situation, people tend to simplify.

The brain thinks in terms of {constructs} – struggling to find some sort of method to the madness, or order out of chaos.

So, they adapt accordingly by:

1. Compartmentalizing things – or working out of silos
2. Resolutely focusing – which means they also ignore everything else
3. Telling a story – to link all the complex moving parts to make some coherent sense of things.

If your brand, situation, organization is far too complex – you can bet that your audience will tend to rely on one of these coping strategies. The questions to ask, then, are: 1) Which strategy would be to your advantage? and 2) How can you ensure you guide them to that and make the most out of it?