I was reading an article on Fast Company about Participant Productions- the first film company to be founded on a mission of social impact through storytelling. But it’s no charity. It’s a pro-social commercial operation, a hybrid emblematic of the social-entrepreneurship movement. “Ultimately, the goal here is to build a brand around social relevance in media.
This is not amateur hour- Participant has already brought us the films Syriana (which took on the oil industry), Good Night, and Good Luck (McCarthyism and freedom of the press), North Country (sexual harassment), the documentary Murderball (living with a disability) which garnered a combined 11 Oscar nominations, with one win and An Inconvenient Truth.
And it was started by Jeff Skoll. Yes Mr eBay.
Why would a man with five billion bucks do anything like this?
Most of the world probably relates more readily to a retired millionaire who says, “What could I possibly do?” than to the one who says, “Let’s do something.” Yet the whole purpose of Participant is essentially to get people to believe in the possibility of change–and to dedicate their own resources to bringing it about.
Well I don’t have much but some passion and the tools of the marketing profession.
I believe in the possibility of change, and if you do too and want to do something about addressing your ad marketing debt - then please go sign up at karmacredits.org and get involved.
To shoot down the zen like call for humour in the face of rudeness and general dumbass behaviour of yesterday’s post, this morning I arrived at work shouty. Real shouty.
Australia’s Treasurer, Peter Costello, was quoted on the national broadcaster this morning saying “there is no point in Australia reducing their greenhouse emissions as we only produce 1% of the output”. WTF?
SO if we only produce 1% of the global deaths in custody we shouldn’t try to stop that? Or 1% of rapes?
His argument is Australia needs to get other countries to agree to reduce their outputs (er..heard of Kyoto bozo?).
If it weren’t for the sedition laws on this country…..
October 30, 2006, 8:30 am
Filed under: Get Friendly
A new friend of mine is going through a hell of a life change. After being safely enclosed in a domestic arrangement for over a decade, he’s now single and living in a share household. Along with the expected issues was one I hadn’t really considered: dealing with the utter destruction of his sense of personal space.
Being an attractive and charming lad he has had a few occasions of being literally besieged by female attention. He had tried a number of strategies to communicate his wishes and nothing was working. Eventually escorting one over eager femme to the door was his only option. All the while finding it increasingly upsetting to feel like he had to be rude in order to get the attention to stop.
The pain he was experiencing was real. It struck me that the root of what he was feeling was powerlessness, being out of control. And I had to share the only defence I know that is an ongoing strategy where everyone wins.
Be Funny.
So often the frustration of feeling powerless, of being out of control can lead to rudeness and anger. It’s a cycle that can be cleanly stopped by diffusing and diverting. You can tell someone that they’re being unreasonable and inconsiderate if you can make them laugh at the same time. Silly wins. Laughing at monsters means they have no power over you.
Gavin and I were having a “what’s that all about” conversation about the number of funny bloggers. I think that it’s a reflection of an innate understanding of power.
Creative people tend to shy away from the overbearing and inconsiderate, to be opposed to using force of any kind, and to not want to get involved in that kind of behaviour. So what’s choice that we have when we want our ideas to have weight? I think that the most effective is to be amusing.
Have you ever noticed how people will lean in when someone is telling a funny story, that the speaker can be quiet and also captivate a whole group of people? The person who is generating the laughter is the one who’s in control.
I like the discipline of response to a situation as opposed to a reaction. I do try to be funny when I’m peeved. Not that I’m perfect. Sometimes a perfectly timed, not really ironic threat of violence works too. Hi-YA!
When I was reading this Brandweek article about the short circuit between R&D and marketing leading to feature bloated non intuitive technology products, a lush example of getting it right sprang to mind.
Serene is not only only an utterly desirable mobile phone: discrete, a pleasure to hold, intuitive, full of good ideas and common sense, but you can also spend hours playing Star Trek tricorder with it. Silly and sensual? Practical and desirable?
October 27, 2006, 3:22 am
Filed under: Get Activist
Man I love passion with a purpose. This week there’s been a brilliant conversation, a sentiment and spirit that has been growing in momentum and seems to be about to flower.
I seriously cheered when I read Paul’s post this morning which is summed up by his lines:
Until we pick today to stand up for the good we can do, the power we have to empower, then we have only ourselves to blame. We have a burden to not accept the excuses and finger pointing, and purge and shun those with only one aim, to selfishly gain.
Today does seem to be a very good day to start things. Have just got back from a coffee salon set up by Emily from Conformists Unite. Conversation ranged from the viral spread of football chants to being a first time parent. Lovely to meet a circle of like minds. This will be happening every Thursday- so please come and join in if you are in Sydney.
Excitingly we were able to workshop an idea that came of this week’s blogsphere, office rants, an article that Gavin posted here, and a couple of my own posts and discussions. What really seemed to ignite a bit of a spark was the notion of “karma credits” (which is what I call the stuff I do for Embrace International).
Gavin already has had a number of people respond to his article “A W3C for Marketing 2.0″ who have put up their hands to make a difference. www.karmacredits.org has been registered!
“We’re in an industry where everyone is trying to scream the loudest, when all we ever needed to do was get close enough to whisper. “
I do so love a quiet word. I can’t what people are saying when they’re yelling at me. I just want to protect myself from that energy.
A shining example of people who are whispering in the right ear at the right time and using the intimacy they have with their clients is World Nomads, an online travel insurance provider, who are using e-commerce technology to take the hard work out of ‘making a difference’.
Footprints is their online fundraising mechanism designed to leave positive footprints all over the internet.
When you purchase a travel insurance policy you can add a small contribution to the policy purchase price. It’s that simple.
Don’t you just love the concept of positive footprints? A whisper of ‘wouldn’t you like to give back’?
In the shifting sands of the internet this is step in the right direction.
October 24, 2006, 6:46 am
Filed under: Get Friendly
Sometimes doing research for my job I come across a piece of truth and beauty. One example is this article “Kindness Counts”.
“It is vital that we use moments of kindness to help children learn how their behavior contributes to the welfare of others. Historically, we’ve done this very well with negative behaviors. We clearly specify what the child did wrong: “You have whined all week long: ‘It’s too hot,’ ‘The lines are too long.’” We share how it affects everyone: “You have made the vacation miserable for the entire family!” Then we add a tag line to drive it all home: “Are you happy now?” Yet, we toss off, “Thank you” or “Good job” when children are helpful.
The long-term impact of focusing on children’s negative behavior and how it affects others is apparent. It is one reason many of us are so clear about our own faults, undervalue our personal worth at times, and underestimate our value to others.
I give many presentations throughout the year to large audiences. Ninety-nine percent of their evaluations of my presentation are outstanding, but one or two attendees sometimes write a negative comment. I inevitably leave these sessions invalidating the positive comments and focus on the two negative ones. That is because like many of us, I have been systematically taught that my ineptness creates distress for others, and that my gifts simply benefit me. We devalue our strengths and helpfulness to others and punish ourselves internally over perceived mistakes.
By reversing this very powerful lesson, we can concretely teach the next generation the abstract values like kindness, helpfulness, and caring. These values are heralded by all major religions and spiritual traditions as essential skills that make a difference in the lives of others. Imagine a child growing up with internal guidance that says, “You are valuable, you make a difference, your gifts benefit others.” Noticing kind acts has the power to do just that.
Recent research shows that kindness counts in more ways than the obvious growth of morality. We are not meant to be completely independent nor dependent, but to give and receive in mutual interdependence. We all seek, on some level, to make a difference and live a life of purpose. As we give to others, we strengthen ourselves. As we receive from others, we allow them to grow. Every kind act, every contribution that we make, bathes our cells in a biochemical mixture of life-enhancing nutrients. The point is, being of service it is a biological necessity that is required for optimal brain development. Random acts of kindness foster the development of the higher centers of our brain.”
I love it for so many reasons, the most powerful for me today is as a result of a rant I indulged in over at CK’s blog. It’s just so easy to get really disspirited about the state of the world, but do we need a banner and a flag to wave to tell people about it? Sometimes definately.
Mostly I think that we just need to be kind to each other.
And notice each other.
And value the power we have inside of ourselves to make a difference- especially those who are blessed with the gift of being able to notice what’s going on in the world around us.
Have we all had to talk clients out of just this kind of approach? (talk about being blown away by an offer!)
You really can’t sell a thing to a prospect that you’ve blasted with a shotgun. (only some people, like the Vice President, can get away with it). Or blasted with anything. Really.
A sad day for Australian politics. Natasha Stott-Despoja, who remains the youngest woman ever elected to a Federal Parliament has resigned to spend more time with her family.We’re losing one of our most committed Senators and our loss is definately her young family’s gain. She received more press over her choice of foowear than her choice of words or causes and withstood a firestorm of media attention when she became the leader of the Australian Democrats. I wish that it were better known that she fights tirelessly for the rights of refugees, to give agency to young people and consistently speaks with compassion, intelligence and humility in a place that often lacks all three.
She celebrates the multitude of choices that come with modern Oz society. How great it would be if she, and women like her, were equally as supported in their choice for a public life and to have children
Natasha had no expectations of tenure: “My whole life will not be spent in Parliament. I think that’s really important, that people move on, do other things and come in at different stages of life. So I hope that maybe in some small way I’ve encouraged other younger people to get in and make a difference.”
Thank you for your service, and let’s hope that you you can inspire the in-house child care solution that is needed if we are to continue to hear young women’s voices and allow their passion to inform our Parliament. And our lives.
There are two knee trembling phrases that cause dinosaur marketers to show the whites of their eyes: “Ceed control to consumers” and “Share control of your brand”
How does a brand DO this? Is it really such a scary prospect? It’s all about redefining the nature of the communication and the relationship between the brand and the consumer. Start thinking of your consumers as you would your best friend.
You don’t ceed control to your best mate- that relationship just isn’t about power or heirarchy. You want to be in your friend’s their life, you want them to shine and have adventures and share their stories and their time with you. You want to be there for them and make their life easier.
Great friends make life easier and more enjoyable, they understand and anticipate. Brands need to think-: how am I adding value to my friends today?
Mother Teresa spoke often about the effects of being lonely and the crushing poverty of spirit that is caused by feelings of being unwanted- so much much so that she called this ‘the leprosy of the West’. A recent international study claimed that more than a third of adults are lonely.
There’s alot of talk that screens are taking over face to face interaction, and that culture is suffering as a result. David Armano’s fantastic post We Are Not Alone. Life 2.0 puts forward the notion that the growing suite of web tools allows us, through creating and connecting, to find out that others like us exist.
There is a now a place where we can find that ‘we are not alone’ and more. Screen life, online life IS ‘real’ life. For many (and there are many- over 450,000 bloggers in Australia alone) our online time informs and inspires our terrestrial activities.
