Contrary to popular belief…and I’m willing to go out on a limb about this…the world will NOT end in 2012 when the Mayan calendar ends.
But I repeat myself, and will again. THE WORLD WILL NOT END IN 2012!
“How can you be so certain, Eric? There are signs EVERYWHERE!” people gasp and stare at me like I’m a complete idiot.
Let me just say that I’ve lived through dozens of “end-of-the-world” scenarios. So have you. From Y2K to the rogue planet Nibiru’s supposed passing in 2003 to aliens coming to take us to their planet to the flurry of ‘end-of-days’ stories from religious texts.
There are no more floods, volcanoes, earthquakes, plagues, wars, etc. this year than say…oh…1918 when there was a global pandemic killing nearly 20 million people, a World War going on, volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and more.
We just have better forms of communications today. A cartoon at XKCD.com shows that twittering was faster than the seismic waves of an earthquake. We hear and share everything we see and read about without verifying it’s authenticity. Snopes.com is a good place to check for crazy rumors, stories, emails, news, and photos like this.
With movies such as 2012 that show global disaster, many people believe everything written in the script. From solar flares, to polar shifts, and crustal displacement. Poor NASA was so overwhelmed with questions they made a special site to answer questions. If you have any, you might want to check it out as well.
To wrap up, we all will die. Worrying about it happening at some specific date takes the joy out of living today. And even if I am wrong…and I’m not…shouldn’t we all use the time given to make the most of our lives and the days amazing?
Okay, that may have been harsh. Just read a cool article over at Mashable.com about “The Future of Ad Agencies and Social Media.” And it verfies what I’ve been seeing and experiencing myself.
With innovation and collaboration happening so fast, creatives and strategists have to really stretch to use all the tools in ways to reach people in new and interesting ways.
The billboard is dead. Long live the billboard! But how?
The article is part of a series supported by Gist.com, (a really interesting site that does what I’ve been dreaming about, and that is tying all your contacts and networks together.)
The “Gist” of the article for ad agencies is:
Software in the form of apps and clouds is a more effective tool than simply media
There is no ‘average’ buyer, and groups and niches form a tighter mass purchasing behavior
Transparency is still important and growing. Don’t try to fool people into buying.
Location Campaigns are growing in effectiveness with targeting tools
Display ads are growing and evolving now that people can ‘pick’ their ads
Stay tuned for MORE interesting info about ‘Targeting’ your buyer.
I was checking out the bulletin board at Starbucks this morning and a poster for a music performance had the ‘old style’ tear-off strips to take along. But then I noticed the QR code on the strip! Genius! I whip out my Smartphone and instantly can find out everything about the bands, venues, dates, and more!So, with a few more clicks, I can add any of them to my facebook, calendar AND go sample some of the music before my Mocha Grande is ready.
After watching the media frenzy of the Old Spice Guy, I really started wondering how you could leverage all the social media to spread information, creations, and ideas. The amazing actions by people speaking at TED.com really inspire me to do more…create more. Today, with the help of a friend, I’m spreading a message to several social networks and my personal blog. What you are reading now, and the image attached is showing up on facebook, twitter, linkedin, my blog, and on posterous. Are you keeping your ‘gifts’ to yourself? Time to let them out to the world.
