Mid-August Update
Balancing strategy stuff and summer stuff
I’m not really at the lake, but wouldn’t that be nice? It was a busy week for “real” news, so my focus on “work news” was off a bit. But, as we gear up at work for a new client engagement (focused on product strategy) and a “live” event in October, my focus is turning towards broader leadership development topics and, at the same time, how to build a product for a distracted, over-stressed audience.
Personal Leadership
You Are What You Pay Attention To - This is a very powerful essay by Ezra Klein. Many good points about the power of media - all media, but specifically social media and the internet - to shape how we think and what we think about. Ultimately, a reminder that our attention is, in fact, ours despite Silicon Valley’s best efforts to steal it.
The Value of Interim Assignments - A staff engineer’s take on the value of interim roles. Good insights here that apply to marketers and product leaders, too.
Digital Culture and Storylines
- Pausing, as if you didn't feel old already - The online manners and mannerisms between GenZ and Millenials (and the rest of us) are becoming clearer. This Atlantic article might make you feel even less interested in being part of current online conversations. Again, the medium is defining the conversations we’re having.
- Reddit and Token Time - Crypto is kind of going through a shakeout right now, so a lot of strategists are not paying much attention. But, this announcement from Reddit is an example of the real building that’s happening while the dust settles. Keep on the lookout for more of these quiet advancements of a tokenized future.
- Remote from Where? - Want to move to Topeka? This article gives a good overview of economic incentive programs being offered by smaller cities to entice tech workers. Find your next hometown via Makemymove.com.
- Are We All Influencers Now? - Longish read on the way influencer culture is seeping into all of our jobs as we try to build our personal brands. Most of us do it as a way to grow our network and raise visibility. But, are we trying too hard? Does it matter?
Digital Strategies for Brands
- Brands and DTC - Every CPG brand should be considering their DTC strategies right now. Shopify shared out some lessons, benchmarks and data from their user base. This stuff will show up in a lot of slidedecks this fall.
- Data Tracking, Deep in the Weeds - Your boss may ask you about this at some point, but yes, your favorite app’s “in app browser” is collecting all the data when your users are clicking on web links. Here are some details, and here’s some (great) analysis.
- Arby’s Has the Displays - Tipped off on this story from a while back by @timbrunelle about a guy who bought a TV that only displays an Arby's menu. So, this sort of stuff is what Brands need to be doing on social media now? We went through this with Blogs, with Myspace, with Facebook, with Twitter and Instagram. Its cute and all, but still gimmicky. Dance, brand, dance.
- NFTs for Brands - If i was 23 and a tech optimist again, i’d probably be all in on NFT’s and other sorts of tokens for brands and communities. If you’re into that sort of thing, now might be the time to get back into it as the “crypto winter” seems to be in full effect. here’s a nice overview of how brands are working with NFTs. A bunch of dumb executions, but you will get some inspiration here.
- Once a Food Marketer… - I like how Ingredient is presenting their ideas for marketing food brands in 2022. Looks like they’re releasing episodes(?) over the course of the year. Also, gotta try this Cookie recipe.
- Gallery of High Performing Facebook ads - From Biddyco, a company that makes a shitton of Meta ads each month. Good to see what’s working.
Data and Data Issues
- Reminder of Post-Cookie First Party Data - Share this (From Shopify) with your executives or your clients when they ask about Cookies and what’s going on with Google.
- Signpost from the Future & Facebook - So how will American culture respond in the future when bad laws (driven by a minority with a specific moral ax to grind) are enforced by a semi-trusted police force and helped by a data overlord like Facebook? The Tech business should be in front and driving better data policy. Also, if your favorite platform is driven by ad dollars, you're part of the problem.
Misc
- UX designer rages against arbitrary menu design choices in Mac OS Ventura. They’ve got a point. Glad the experts are watching these things, i guess.
- The Path Out of Polarization - Frances Fukuyama writes about the ways we, as a society, can come out of this current period of polarization. Basically, he's looking for a Hail Mary: “... that is, a realigning election in which one party decisively wins control of both houses of Congress and the presidency and holds on to power through two or three electoral cycles.”