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Filed under: community, innovation | Tags: Annie Reed, CAPTCHA, certificates of deposit, Chris Anderson, communities, FDIC-insured, Firefox, hybrid vehicles, Otis, Wolff Olins
When David Arthurs created the first hybrid vehicle, one of his steps to success was understanding that the power lost in braking could be regenerated to run the vehicle. It was simply wasted energy that ought to be used. Boring old Otis elevators (which, incidentally, is one of my favorite brands) uses the same concept in their newer elevators.
It was just a matter of time when we figured out how to make people to use their energy more effectively, whether by the cancer fighting screensaver from years ago to the more recent CAPTCHA method for digitizing old texts.
Chris Anderson (yes, that Chris Anderson) explained earlier this year that part of the new “Free!” economy has to do with labor exchange: having users do part of the work for an organization so that the end value benefits both user and provider with no monetary cost to the user. Further research indicates that this area of co-production represents a strong area for future organizational growth, an area that has been harnessed by progressive organizations throughout industry, whether it is a popular web browser, an up-and-coming brokerage, or a small dress shop.
The questions that are necessary to answer before embarking are:
- Is this work-sharing approach the proper approach for your brand and offering (it might not be), and
- If number one is a “Yes”—is this good for the community in which your brand lives?
Think hard if you said “No” on number two; you may be surprised.
Disclosure:
You may see that I like Zions Direct Auctions. I also work in marketing on that product, which means I may be a bit biased (but it also means I do something that I believe in).
Filed under: community, innovation, leadership, online media, politics | Tags: Alexander Hamilton, blogging, Christopher Long, communication, critical mass, Firefox, Gandhi, iTunes, NYPD, Patrick Pogan, Ron Chernow, Tienanmen Square, Twitter, Wikipedia, YouTube
I feel bad for Patrick Pogan. Three weeks on the job as a third-generation member of NYPD and he makes a mistake that he will feel the brunt of for some time. According to Newsday, during Critical Mass, Pogan stopped a cyclist, Christopher Long, and arrested him for:
… attempted assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
Long, court papers said, wove his bicycle in and out of the center lane on Seventh Avenue, disrupting traffic, then drove right into Pogan’s body.
[...]
Officer Pogan also said he suffered cuts on his forearms as he fell to the ground.
Perhaps in attempt to stymie Critical Mass, and definitely in an effort to restrain this rider, Pogan made a split-second decision; a split-second decision that landed Long in prison jail but soon after came to bite Pogan and the NYPD after more information surfaced. And, with the wonders of YouTube, you can see for yourself a different viewpoint:
Pogan was able to stop the cyclist, but can he stop the spread of information in a well-connected world? Doing a quick search on Google News reveals with polyglot illumination that this is proving to be quite difficult, whether in Dutch;
De NYPD heeft agent Patrick Pogan op non-actief gesteld. De 22-jarige New Yorkse agent is degene die vrijdag op Times Square tijdens een Critical Mass ride een van de deelnemers een forse bodycheck gaf. Pogan heeft zijn penning en pistool moeten inleveren, en moet bureaudienst doen zolang de NYPD een intern onderzoek doet naar het incident. De fietser blijkt ene Christopher Long te zijn. Hij heeft nog niet gereageerd, maar zijn advocaat zegt dat het filmpje ‘voor zich spreekt’.
Un policier new-yorkais se retrouve dans l’eau chaude en raison d’une vidéo publiée sur YouTube le montrant alors qu’il plaque violemment un cycliste vers la chaîne de trottoir afin de l’interpeller.
La vidéo a été tournée vendredi dernier par un touriste lors de l’événement Critical Mass, une randonnée de vélos organisée chaque mois dont l’objectif est de célébrer et de promouvoir les droits des cyclistes.
A New York City police officer was stripped of his gun and badge on Monday after an amateur video surfaced on the Internet showing him pushing a bicyclist to the ground in Times Square during a group ride on Friday evening.
More and more organizations, governments, and individuals who used to be in power are facing more and more the reality that there has never been a time that the common people have held as much power. And that power to communicate is increasingly becoming more difficult to stop.
Perhaps those in power need to take some old advice. Ron Chernow recorded in his biography of Alexander Hamilton (p 340) Hamilton’s words of advice that members of the newly formed Coast Guard should
always keep in mind that their countrymen are free men and as such are impatient of everything that bears the least mark of a domineering spirit. [You] will therefore refrain . . . from whatever has the semblance of haughtiness, rudeness, or insult.
This “domineering spirit” is increasingly finding itself of odds with the freedom of informational movement. Communication through the press was the linchpin of Gandhi’s movement, this free press drastically damaged the perception of China to the West with the indelible images of Tienanmen Square, and over two centuries ago, through pamphlets and protests the seeds were sown for revolution in the United States.
And today, that power is more than ever in the hands of the common person, and it is more than just a freedom to communicate. It is a power to activate, such as James Karl Buck’s well known Twittering story. It is the power to create, such as seen with Wikipedia, and blogs, and YouTube. It is the power to chose, such as with the auctions product I work with, or with iTunes, or Firefox. Ultimately, it is the power to have a true voice in politics, in consumption, and how you live your life.
Now, try and see if you can stop that.
Disclosure:
You may see that I like Zions Direct Auctions. I also work in marketing on that product, which means I may be a bit biased (but it also means I do something that I believe in).
Filed under: brands, marketing | Tags: Amnesty International, AOL, Apple, Beijing 2008, Brand Tags, branding, Discovery Channel, Evian, Exxon, Firefox, GE, Google, Greenpeace, Halliburton, Harley-Davidson, Internet Explorer, Marlboro, McDonalds, MSN, olympics, Oxfam, reputations, The Consumerist, Tibet, Toyota, Wal-Mart, Whole Foods, World Wildlife Fund
The Consumerist (read more below) reports on the 10 best and worst reputations in corporate America. As I looked at Google (best) and Halliburton (worst), my thoughts turned to Brand Tags, a cool site that decodes what big brands actually mean (as viewed by people who visit the Brand Tags website). As is often stated: companies don’t own brands, consumers do. That is, people will chose what a brand means and there is little that a company can say to change that image (often, it is up to what they do).
When looking at what brands are most often rated “good”, Firefox and Google are second and tenth after do-gooder Amnesty International and among Oxfam, Greenpeace, WWF (not WWE), Whole Foods, Toyota, and the Discovery Channel. MSN, AOL, and Internet Explorer were third, fifth, and seventh in the “bad” listings among Wal-Mart, Exxon, Marlboro, and McDonalds. Evian is “pure”, Apple is “cool”, Harley-Davidson is “wild”, GE is “light”, and Beijing 2008 has significant issues (as shown below in a sampling of the website’s output, misspellings and all):
Like most great Internet tools, this application is painfully open and honest. It strongly exposes brands for what they are; for what they are is how they are perceived in the consumers’ minds. If you are lucky enough to have a brand that is featured on this website, use it to change your perceptions (through your actions and offerings). If not, talk to your customers and hope that they are honest with you. These insights are invaluable.
