Duct Tape Not Included

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die is my favorite recent read, and I’ve read a bunch in the last few weeks.

Word of Mouth Marketing by Andy Sernovitz explains how to spread ideas, while Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good by Sarah Lacy tells the fall/rise of Web 1.0 and 2.0 through eyes of those entrepreneurs.

But Chip and Dan Heath’s book, Made to Stick, is the foundation of it all: how to successfully express your ideas in a way that’s memorable and inspires others to act. Their main framework (which like most communicators/marketers comes in a kitschy acronym) is SUCCESs.

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Simple: Your audience isn’t going to remember 10 take-aways, but they will remember one that’s simple enough to recall and to survive repetition. The trick is to find the ‘right’ one, and it’s not as ’simple’ as you may think. Idea creation goes back to your core message. Problem? The ‘Curse of Knowledge.’ It’s the inability to think from the recipient’s POV, if you already know what information you’re trying to convey.

Unexpected: Your message needs to surprise, provide more information or otherwise break the audience’s established paradigms. Most Web 2.0 savvy participants have seen dozens of logos/buttons with rounded corners, beveled 3D shape and a nice, shiny reflection. So making yet another rounded corner, beveled 3D box and nice, shiny reflection won’t get your logo noticed. See how much faster you read through the description the second time? Go back. I changed a few words, but I’m guessing most of you didn’t notice/care.

Concrete: Counterexample-

Ideas need to be concrete enough to understand and digest. The example above probably makes sense to math majors and engineers, but I have no idea how tay^rolf has anything to do with “peanut butter, jelly time.” The book has some lovely examples; mine comes from the 3G iPhone launch:

The lines around Apple & AT&T stores last week were bordering on ridiculous. You’d think the main goal was to “quickly and efficiently sell iPhones to everyone who wants one.” Nope. Because the two companies had different goals and seemingly no communication during the actual launch, customers complained. There was miscommunication (you can’t activate if you’re ‘flagged’ as a business customer but neither customer service staff knew that beforehand), long waits and server outages: both iTunes and AT&T activation. Apple wanted to drive as much demand through their stores are possible, so they had an incredible supply of 3Gs, while most AT&T stores only had a paltry 100 units or so. On the other hand, AT&T wanted everyone to sign up for service (and charge the $200 markup for those not upgrade eligible), so they bottlenecked purchase at the activation phase. If both companies could agree on a set of goals and convey them effectively to staff on both ends, hours of waiting and frustration would have been minimized.

Credible: The source affects if and how viewers accept ideas. You’re more likely to believe your comm professor than the Nigerian guy who’s emailing you about the millions inherited from some assassinated dead uncle. More intriguing is that ‘credible’ can change per circumstance. We ask for suggestions from friends but may rebuke endorsements from paid celebrities (are you really going to buy Lindsay Lohan’s new tights collection?). Conversely, we still read Perez Hilton to find out what celebrities are wearing, eating, dating and snorting as their drug of choice.

Emotions: By tapping into emotions, you can motivate people to listen and act upon it. How many of you feel a pang of guilt/pity when you see the adorable child on a Christian Children’s Fund commercial? How many even blinked when the news anchor told you President Bush attended the G8 summit to discuss poverty in Africa? I’m guessing the first generated more yes responses. Two reasons:

1. One vs. Many

• We can build a stronger bond with a single person than 12 million because we can’t quite grasp 12 million people. Is that 20 football stadiums? 200? They’re so far away. That one picture of a starving child really ‘drives the idea home’ and makes poverty/starvation a reality.
• It’s hard to imagine our $24/month helping 12 million people, but if it pays for school supplies, food and toys for a 8 year old Filipino child, sign me up (already done it ).

2. Emotions vs. Analytics

• Emotions bring people together by drawing empathy, while analytics cause us to reason and drive debate/argument. It’s a lot easier to get people to agree with you through emotion… on average.

Stories: Themes and story telling help engage and give context to characters. Great stories are often unexpected (David vs. Goliath), concrete (problem, solution) and emotional (go green! boo oil companies!).

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You’re probably thinking, why did I just reveal the entire book? I mean, didn’t I just write that I wanted to do a proper book review?

Well, I didn’t exactly write a review, more an abstract. Two, most of what I just wrote was covered in the 1st chapter! Turns out each concept is not so elementary, and finding an idea that covers all your bases? Even harder.

My goal is that you could just read this blog and walk away with some basic knowledge to start slightly altering how you communicate- emailing, calling, blogging, texting or otherwise. OR you could buy the damn thing and find out a lot more. Be entertained by the case studies (another term for stories) and use the handy outline in the back, when you need to reference something. (God, I sound like a saleswoman.)

Hope I did somewhat of a decent job. Now, it’s bedtime and then BlogHer tomorrow!

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Notes: Thanks to my amazing boss, Parry, who lent the book to me. Uh… it might be a while before I get it back to you, since I already have 2 other people interested in borrowing.

attenshun:

*cough cough*

baby skunks are cute.

my kitteh is stinky.

*bows*

*scurries off*

I had a dream

I had a dream that last night I was blogging about this fantastic book I’m reading. I could feel the adrenaline being distributed through my arteries as I poured myself into the post. The message behind the book. My interpretations. Relating to my own life.

It was so real that I came to work this morning fully expecting to find a draft there, waiting for me to hit the ‘Publish’ button.

But it wasn’t.

It was all a dream.

I dreamed about blogging.

How antisocial is that? Blogging? Not floating above an audience as usual or solving some randomly nonsensical relationship problem. Blogging. Hunched over a computer, sprawled on my bed, typing so fast that my arms could barely support my upper body and sweating in anticipation of getting all my thoughts out before they disappeared into an abyss.

Damn.

I can’t wait.

Pure Heaven… so far

So this weekend, in addition to the 3G iPhone cradled on my work station right now, I have a very new addition to the family.

Please welcome my new kittie!

She’s 2 1/2 months old, a brown tabby and just about the most adorable thing ever. Last Thursday, I went to the EastBay SPCA to look at kitties, and over the weekend, I picked her up (because I needed time to buy all her supplies and set everything up. Her bowls are ceramic cuteness).

I have her all set up in the bathroom for the week to slowly get her accustomed to her new home, but this morning, she was already pining to go out and explore the rest of the house. When we, boy and I, first brought her home, she always ran to the back of the toilet whenever someone opened the door. But I visited her a lot through the afternoon and night yesterday, so now she’s comes to me when I call (well the few times I tried) and nuzzles my hand. Also, she purrs incessantly, which made it that much harder to leave the house this morning. (I’m hoping that feeding her will force me to get up earlier in the morning, so I’m not always running ridiculously late.)

This is SO exciting. I’m a first time pet-owner and definitely first time mommy, so I’ll post more anecdotes and lesson learned as we move forward. Of course there will be LOTS and LOTS of pictures.

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One dilemma: I have no idea what to call her. Names are so hard because I want something that goes with her character but is also ‘profound’ or at least a double entendre (not the sexual kind).

Eleanor- like the first lady, but it sounds really old.

October- I LOVE this name and want to give it as a middle name for my future/potential daughter. However, a lot of people think that would be traumatizing to the child. So technically, I could give that name to the kitten. But she’s way to cute and happy to be a dark, brooding October.

… I’m stuck. What are your suggestions? I can’t keep calling her ‘baby,’ ‘cutey,’ or ‘it’ forever. So please comment below or email me with your thoughts. Gimme lots!

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This is when we just took her home. I hadn’t eaten all day, and I’m guessing Ty hadn’t either, so we stopped by Denny’s to pick up some food.

*crouch* She’s so sleepy…

Mobile Blogging Rocks…

As does my new iPhone. muahahahaha

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More details plus pictures later. :)  I can’t wait to be able to submit iPhone pics on my Tumblr again.

Enjoy the weekend!

Cheers.

iPhone and Piles of Moola

This is pre-coffee me, so please excuse the retardation. Somehow, I still manage to sound like a 14 year old despite the fact that my throat was dry and I was half-asleep.

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Things I learned this morning:

• Even the teeny AT&T store by my house in Oakland was packed this morning.
• AT&T stores only carried about 100 units.
• AT&T servers crashed this morning.  *Good job!*
• Jobs somehow managed to artificially boost demand again.
• Video is fun… but it just doesn’t make up for the fact that I wasn’t that guy standing in front, knowing he’s getting one. (I r not happy)

Charlene Li @ Girls in Tech Event

On Wednesday night, I went to a Girls in Tech event that featuring Charlene Li and her new book Groundswell.

I love her insights on social media and how to manage a company brand, how to transform your company to embrace customers and how to join the conversation. She spoke so fluidly on the topic, outside of pimping out her book. Her passion, and succinct, concrete ideas, really drew me in. I haven’t gotten a chance to read the book yet, but I surely will.

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Here’s a quick video of Charlene and the two most important insights of Groundswell/her experience.

Happy Friday!

What I Don’t Know

(via ~c4chaos- Thanks!)

Blogging is not ’simple.’ A blog is only as successful as its readers. This is a new category of what I don’t know (and there’s a lot). So what is this category? What does it offer? Why should you care?

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When I first started blogging with Xanga over 7 years ago, the concept seemed so simple. It’s an online journal meant to share my life, my interests and my updates. But blogging has evolved so much and so quickly since I was in high school. As I write more and in depth about topics that touch my life and some that don’t (thankfully my company has a great track record for health benefits and insurance), there’s so much to blogging that I just don’t know.

For example, I’ve started reading avidly again. Great! But what’s the right way to write a book review? How do I summarize the basic theme of each work by giving the reader only the key take-aways and convince him/her that it’s worth picking up? Where the best place to find a definition of “brand”? Certainly, HBR or Knowledge @Wharton would have some great insights, but I don’t particularly feel like shelling out $6.50 for the article (or rummaging through my marketing lectures to find out what my professors @ Wharton thought).

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“What I Don’t Know” is meant to be a series that answers questions about blogging. What are the techniques of writing a successful book review? What are the best resources for healthcare or social media or politics? Is Wikipedia always the right answer? How do we incorporate blogging tips and templates into our own voice?

Yes, a lot of this will be about how to write. How to successfully communicate. How to be succinct, yet descriptive. How to generate both questions and answers to them.

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Of course, I’ll call on a lot of resources, such as ProBlogger, PR-Squared, Andy Sernovitz, et al. My current read, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survice and Others Die, will help too.

I’ll also depend on you. What are your thoughts? Your best tools? Your loves and hates? Like I said, a blog is only as successful as its readers.

I hope you find this useful. And if you don’t, tell me why.

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Postcript

There are a few reasons I decided to start “What I Don’t Know.”

1. There isn’t enough time in the day to thoroughly research everything I want to write. Trust me; this isn’t a complaint. I LOVE blogging. I love sharing information and randomness(esses) with you. But we can create so much more value if we all share information. Remember, a blog is only as successful as its readers. (Have I said it enough times yet?)
2. Although there are themes, my blog includes a huge variety of subject matters. Most would say that I should either narrow my topic or start different blogs. I disagree.
   • First, this is my blog. Even though I greatly appreciate your feedback and readership, I still have final say over content.
   • Second, I want to cover a variety of topics. None of our lives are solely dedicated to one topic, so why should we have to go to different places to read about different topics. This blog focuses on what’s current, thought-provoking, entertaining and useful. You may not identify with every post, but I hope at least some (if not the majority).
3. There is a need in my life to categorize things, almost to the point of OCD. I like filtering information down to its essence. Since this blog is so broad, establishing categories helps you find what you most want to read. Want to find all the cool gadgets and designs I’ve been drooling over? Go to “sh*t i like.” Care to giggle and squeal at cute animals? Go to “funnnie.” Other categories, like social, stuff, pr/marketing, and just life give you more variety in the posts.
4. Lastly, I’m still learning about blogging. It’s intricate, tricky and I’m bound to make mistakes. I’ve already made many. Maybe this idea will die with the wind, but I hope not. Whatever happens, thank you for joining me in the journey.

Muah! Cheers.

I seriously have a stalker

Maybe there isn’t a shrine or russling in the bushes. Maybe I don’t have a creepy guy running around trying to cut my hair with scissors.

But I definitely have a stalker.

It’s been going on for a few years now, starting from random text messages way back in the day (like in college). All they said was “@-” as a symbol for a rose. No number. Just a rose.

Now, it’s phone calls. And not just any phone calls. Period phone calls. I call it that because it comes regularly. Every month or so, a rapid succession of calls usually during morning hours just to spice up my life.

Well… it’s kind of annoying. I mean, sure once, it woke me up and kept me from being late to work. But picking up the phone just to have it hung up is frustrating to say the least. Argh!

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So if you’re Mr. Stalker-Man/Woman, thanks for the attention. Maybe we can have coffee sometime, and you can discover that I’m not idol-worthy.

Until then… could you stop?

Thanks!

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On the positive side…

Year of the Rat x 2

(via the talented Jeff W.)

So the end of July marks my second Chinese zodiac rotation. If you know anything about the zodiac (and math), that would make me 24. Yeah, I’m still young, but the next rotation, I’ll be 36. Though 36 doesn’t quite mark middle-age, it definitely should mean that I’ve matured and become an ‘adult.’

In celebration (and utter dread), I decided to take this 50-things-to-do bucket list and tweak it to my own goals. The goal is that every 12 years, I’ll track what I’ve completed.

Looks like I’ve got a lot of adventures ahead!

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1. Set foot on each of the seven continents. Antarctica might be a tough one, but once you’ve reached all seven you can truly call yourself a world traveler.

• Europe (check), Asian (check), North America (check), South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia

2. Cross a country in a car. (check) - I love Europe

3. Ride something bigger than a horse. Trekking through the jungle on the back of a two story tall elephant will surely be something you remember forever.

4. Live like a local for a month. The experience of visiting native peoples will give you way more insight into another way of life than two years hopping from one backpacker ghetto to the next. (check)

5. Visit a “real” blues bar in Chicago. What better way to leave music’s commercialism behind and find the soul of the blues?

6. Learn another language. This is definitely a weighty and time-consuming proposition, but there are plenty of resources out there to ease the process. (check)

7. Go scuba diving and become a certified diver.

8. Travel India by train. With its extensive rail network, this mode of transport is the best way to see one of the world’s most colorful and diverse countries.

9. Climb one of the world’s summits. (Climbing to one of the 7 is just a tad too adventurous- read: high chance of dying- for me.)

10. Dive with a whale shark. Swimming with these gentle giants is among the most powerful wilderness experiences in the world.

11. Participate in a Carnival parade in Brazil. You haven’t had a good night out until you’ve been to the biggest party in a nation of big parties.

12. Dance Tango in Argentina.

13. Surf. It’s not about being a ripper but just catching waves.

14. SCUBA in the Great Barrier Reef. The largest coral reef in the world is a must for dive enthusiasts. It is the world’s most unique aquatic environment.

15. Publish an article about your travels. Part of traveling is sharing your experiences with others. Plus, getting published might be easier than you think. (check)

16. Volunteer abroad for a month.

17. Follow in the footsteps of your favorite travel book. What better guide than a book that inspired you to travel in the first place?

18. Take a bush plane ride into Africa’s interior. These lightly visited regions are filled with unique cultures and diverse wildlife.

19. Cross a glacier on foot. Traversing these fast-disappearing natural wonders is an adventure that future generations might not be able to experience.

20. Visit the source of one of the world’s great rivers. Great rivers, like the Nile, have humble beginnings.

21. Climb an active volcano.

22. Learn to sail. Before the Brothers Wright, everyone traveled by wind power. It’s still the most sustainable way to travel there is.

23. Follow your food from field to table. Most people in the world still eat what they have picked with their own hands. Why not get back to these basics?

24. Bathe in the Ganges. What better way to experience the spiritual heart of India?

25. Travel around the world. Sure, you could do this without ever setting foot outside of planes and airports, but few people ever truly traverse the entire globe. Round the world tickets are great for budget-minded wanderers.

26. Photograph an endangered species. Aside from an image you can keep for a lifetime, it will remind you, and others, how fragile life can be.

27. Participate in Burning Man . As they say: “Trying to explain Burning Man to someone who has never been is like trying to explain color to a blind person.”

28. Spend 24 hours in the jungle.

29. Learn how to make a national dish. What is the one and only thing that everyone has in common? Eating. (check)

30. Teach English in a foreign country. Sure, it’s a way to fund your travels, but also the experience of a lifetime. (check)

31. Attend a music festival in another country. (check)

32. Cross a country using only public transportation. See a country the way most of its people do: from the window of a bus, train, or ferry. (check)

33. Spend the night in a storied/historic hotel. You might not even have to leave town to experience a night of classic atmosphere.

34. Attend the Olympics. Whatever you say about the commercialism of the Olympic Games, they are one of the biggest events on the planet.

35. Meet your favorite (living) travel writer. They’ve inspired you; now thank them for it.

36. Travel to Germany to experience Love Parade. It’s one of the biggest festivals, attendance-wise, on the planet.

37. Partake in a Chinese Tea Ceremony.

38. Join a caravan in the Sahara. See how people can thrive in one of the world’s harshest environments.

39. Go to Oktoberfest. The meeting of over 6 million beer afficionados and drinking song singers is one of the biggest parties in Europe.

40. Stand exactly on the equator.

41. Be in the stands when two rival football teams play each other. Football (soccer) is a passion for most of the world’s population.

42. Visit the birthplace or gravesite of a cultural icon. Could be Che Guevara or Picasso or Levi Strauss or the guy who invented widgets; anyone you think is important. (check)

43. Find your version of “The Beach.” One of the best travel books ever inspired a generation of backpackers. Why not find your own version of untouched paradise? (check)

44. Enjoy a freshly rolled cigar in Cuba. Taste a hand rolled specialty close to its source.

45. Visit every major capital in Europe.

London (check); Paris (check); Vienna (check); Luxembourg (check); Dublin; Amsterdam; Oslo; Stockholm; Copenhagen; Helsinki; Moscow; Warsaw; Budapest; Belgrade; Monaco; Lisbon; Madrid (lo siento, Wii); Vatican City; Rome; Nicosia (Cyprus); Athens; Ankara; Zagreb; Bern; Prague

46. Watch an orchestral performance in Vienna.

47. Skydive. It is the ultimate thrill, unless you add a wingsuit, and actually fly. Really… not that amazing. (check)

48. Bike the Pacific Coast Highway.

49. Shake hands with someone who has truly changed a country.

50. Participate in the world’s biggest water fight during Thailand’s New Year’s festivities (Songkran).