The Hype Cycle

Anyone else out there getting tired of clarion calls for the death of the agency in favor of consumer-generated-media? Here's an excerpt from Gartner's hype-cycle. We're just about at phase two right now. So this isn't to say that CGM is without merits, just that we are a long ways from understanding how to use it properly.

1. Technology Trigger
   The first phase of a Hype Cycle is the "technology trigger" or breakthrough, product launch or other event that generates significant press and interest.
2. Peak of Inflated Expectations
   In the next phase, a frenzy of publicity typically generates over-enthusiasm and unrealistic expectations. There may be some successful applications of a technology, but there are typically more failures.
3. Trough of Disillusionment
   Technologies enter the "trough of disillusionment" because they fail to meet expectations and quickly become unfashionable. Consequently, the press usually abandons the topic and the technology.
4. Slope of Enlightenment
   Although the press may have stopped covering the technology, some businesses continue through the "slope of enlightenment" and experiment to understand the benefits and practical application of the technology.
5. Plateau of Productivity
   A technology reaches the "plateau of productivity" as the benefits of it become widely demonstrated and accepted. The technology becomes increasingly stable and evolves in second and third generations. The final height of the plateau varies according to whether the technology is broadly applicable or benefits only a niche market.

The media has been claiming advertising and marketing are dead for decades. As I commented on one blog - if necessity is the mother of invention then our greatest innovations are often born at the point of failure. We can either toss our hands in the air and quit or work through this disruptive new medium and understand how to use it in a professional and productive way.

It won't be a short process or an easy ride but I think it'll be worth it.

Event & Celeb Marketing

If any of you are interested in event/celeb marketing I might have an "in" for you here. It wouldn't be account planning but it looks interesting nonetheless.

A list of account planning blogs

For your daily reading, here's an exhaustive list of account planning blogs. But whoa horsie, that's a lot to keep up to date with. Do we really have time to read over dozens of blogs a day that might or might not have updated their content?

No, not really.

My favorite agregation service thus far has been the new Google Reader. I open this thing up like I do my Google News. Here's a hint, once you get it set up type ? (yes that's shift-/) on the window for a list of keyboard short cuts. Think of it as being like gmail for your favorite blogs & websites.

Here's some of what I've been reading. (just another cool feature of Google reader)

Changing faces

This is cool and wouldn't it be cooler if we could identify all of the works of art that this came from. It was posted on YouTube.

Here is a second one as well.

Graduation Day

I was really excited and honored to be able to participate in your graduation yesterday! It was a wonderful ceremony - somewhat in need of more creativity - but still a nice traditional occasion. I want to tell all of you who graduated how proud I am of you and honored to have been able to have met you and worked with you during the past nine months. You are awesome!

My only regret was that I could not meet your parents and see from where you came!! Anyway, it was fun and now for those of you who are looking for the full time gig or an internship, it is time to move in to high gear, unless you want to take a summer and have fun before you work for the rest of your lives!

Thoughts on How to be Interesting - The Guardian

I picked up a link out of the planning blogsphere today that I thought was a good read.

Guy Browning on how to be interesting (The Guardian)

"The more interested you are, the more interesting you become. In the same way, the more boring you are, the more likely you are to find everything else boring.

Interesting people can generally find something to interest them in boring people, but boring people are still bored by interesting people. The quickest way to interest someone is to be interested in them. If you sit next to someone and listen to them, and ask questions and generally appear riveted, they'll go away thinking you're a fascinating individual, even though you've said virtually nothing."

As being interesting is one of those keys to being an effective communicator in our field, I thought it worth a re-post.

TV Week Preview: Cavemen

We all knew this was coming, its just a damn shame the original actors are gone. The dialogue is somewhat amusing but it's hard having no Joe Dyton (the original Caveman's screen name)

Here's the clip

Also worth a look, if you're a fan of Steve Jobs, here's the October conference where a 28 year old Jobs introduced the 1984 commercial. I'll give him this, the man has always had a flair for the dramatic.

Yay!

I'd like to add a book to the "Books to Read" section: The Flight of the Creative Class, by Richard Florida.

and here is an interesting ad-guy blog:

http://eschenck.typepad.com/ernie_schenck_calls_this_/

LET'S START!!

Come on Folks.... This is ON!
waiting for your postings now......