Comments for Strategy+Art = Influence

Comment on The Man Who Lived On His Bike by michaela

michaela — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 22:36:38 +0000

I think that the creator was not only doing it for his father, but also to show that what people tend to do in their car can also be done on a bike. I think that in a way he was showing that people do too many things at once when they should be focusing on one thing at a time. I actually found the video to be funny and eye opening in that people try to do too much because of this need to save time. In the video he pretty much does stuff that we all do, but because it’s on a bike we think it’s just for entertainment and not to be taken seriously. In a way he was probably trying to be funny and based on the ending I can see that all involved did have fun, but I think that it would be unfair to say that he didn’t have any other intention behind it or that he didn’t have another message he wanted to convey.

Comment on Multitasking Lowers Productivity by michaela

michaela — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 22:09:16 +0000

I honestly don’t know. I don’t want to make excuses but when you’re a college student who works two jobs, and has to deal with younger siblings and a sick Grandma it’s hard to decide what to give up. I guess I wish I was done with colleges so that I could just focus on work and family, but that isn’t going to happen for a while. As it is I’m supposed to be working on my midterm, but instead while researching I find myself remembering that I have other things due today too. And so I’m definitely someone that multitasks.

However, the blog actually reminded me of something one of my professors talked about and that is “there is no such thing as multitasking”. He would argue that technically to multitask one would need to be able to do several things at once productively, but that is impossible because our brains can really only focus on one thing at a time. I told him that I certainly believe that I can multitask, such as doing homework while checking my email or how when I’m helping a friend move I’m technically exercising too.
But again he said that I could only really focus on one thing at a time and instead maybe went back and forth. Either way, what I can agree with is the fact that multitasking does lower productivity.

Comment on Twitter Your Career Away by Matthew Bassett

Matthew Bassett — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:00:31 +0000

I would strongly agree that when using media like twitter, or facebook, the writer needs to understand the magnitude of the audience potential. Clearly you can say what you want, but if you are in a position that could cause negative publicity to yourself or organization, you have to believe that is it a possibility.

The other interesting part of this, is that is seemed that this author was in strong opposition to Lara Logan, so writing something that can be portrayed as vulgar, even f the intentions were misread, could backfire tremendously as we can see. It is a possibility that Lara and other opponents of Nir’s used this to get him out of the industry.

Comment on Savvy Marketing Video by Matthew Bassett

Matthew Bassett — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 05:54:01 +0000

I like this ad, i saw it some time ago and wasn’t sure how real it was, or whether it was put on by Apple as a form of advertising. It is interesting to see how people use media to get their messages across. I was not aware that the band made this video after their music equipment was stolen; it is fun to see people get creative in the music industry and put out things like this.

I think for Apple this was an extremely great advertisement that they did not have to pay for. Getting a million views within a couple days, was great public image for the band and Apple.

Comment on Consumer Appetite for Media Insatiable by Ashley L. Folsom

Ashley L. Folsom — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 05:39:09 +0000

I think when a person is by themselves…access to a phone is like a security blanket. If they would be otherwise in an uncomfortable situation, a smartphone can help people forget about their worries. I do however think it creates a more inhuman interaction, but it makes us cherish old forms of media like personal letters or cards.

I think people have been predicting more technological advancements= more technological communication for years… Look at the Jetsons, or Terminator movies which have been around forever. It’s a give/ pull society…we go from one fad to the next..but just like 80′s trends and Atari games get brought back into current culture, so do concepts we miss… Like old fashion communication. Give it a few years… I bet someone will invent or re-market an old trend that will bring back old school communication lines. Then again,who can truly predict the future?

Comment on The Hacker Way by Ashley L. Folsom

Ashley L. Folsom — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 05:21:09 +0000

I think this letter was more intended to prep its investors, rather than win a bunch over. If a bunch of shareholders jump ship after the first beta test a company releases, that’ll be harder on the company than the actual beta test release.

Anyone who has a Facebook account knows that Facebook has a tendency to throw out a complete change of coding and formatting, and just put users into a new program while it’s still in Beta phase. This is not new news. Sometimes those developments work, sometimes Facebook has had to pull their “new design” out and bring back the old by popular demand. Anyone who is considering being a potential investor or shareholder should know this about the company.

Being that social media is an ever evolving and continually growing being that thrives on its consumer needs, I don’t think Mark Zuckerberg *could* promise an outline of the future, because the demand of the market is ever-changing. I think Mark Zuckerberg promised exactly what he knew he could, which is showcasing his history of success through this constantly changing expectation driven segment of the social market.
Is his theory of throwing people into a new Beta phas without warning the best? No. But the risk of jumping ship to another social media venue is too high, (otherwise Google+ would be #1), and not only does Zuckerberg know that, but Facebook users do to.

I think if Zuckerberg were to try and promise *how* he plans a great company future, it would sound more like a presidential campaign promise that he might not be able to live up to. This however, sounds more like a promise to stay innovative, which in social media, is probably the most steady promise an investor could ask for.

Comment on The Man Who Lived On His Bike by Ashley L. Folsom

Ashley L. Folsom — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 04:40:38 +0000

Sounds to me like this was an artistic montage to his father by basically illustrating what you tend to give up with that much dedication to something like mass amounts of bicycling. If anything, I think this is meant to spotlight those who do long distance bicycling and illustrate the basic things we forget about that are incorporated into our everyday lives.

Comment on Consumer Appetite for Media Insatiable by Jieyi Peng

Jieyi Peng — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 08:49:36 +0000

This discussion really makes me think how Media has impacted my life. First, I have to say media like internet, smart phones have brought lots of convenience to my life. For example, I can access the information that I want easily, and especially I am studying abroad now, internet and some web messengers provide more convenient ways for me to chat with my families or friends in my home country. On the other hand, I notice that since I have Smartphone, I have spent more time on media than before because Smartphone allows me to get the access more easily. Most of the times that I need to wait in line or bus stops, I usually surf the web, check my emails, or check on some social media sites through my Smartphone. Because sometimes I see people around me are doing the same things or sometimes we don’t know how to start a conversation, I just feel like these things could help me kill some waiting time. However, for communication way, although we have more ways to chat with to people now, I still prefer face-to-face communication rather than texting or emailing because I feel like face-to-face communication can cause less miscommunication.

Comment on Citizen Rights to Record the Police by allisonsjothun

allisonsjothun — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 00:51:39 +0000

I agree that citizens should (and do) have the right to record what public officials do, and like the article said, this action is protected by three Constitutional Amendments. While I think it’s obvious that this officer was in the wrong (and he knew it), I think she acted a bit irrationally. It was hard for me to listen to her speak as the video progressed, she was allowing too much emotion into her voice. While I was not there, and don’t know exactly how I would have acted, I think she could have been far more effective in convincing the police that she was within her rights if she would have kept her voice at an even tone. In my opinion, she began to sound very whiny. Then, when she began to cry, I think she really lost her credibility. If she really felt she was doing the right thing, she should have remained strong through her arrest.
I absolutely would risk an arrest if I was standing up for something that I believed in, especially if I were not in the wrong. If people don’t do this, how will awareness be raised?

Comment on The Man Who Lived On His Bike by Quanah Pike Polichetti

Quanah Pike Polichetti — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 06:09:12 +0000

If it was meant to promote biking, it did not do the trick in my book. This is the message I got: it is ridiculous to try to live on a bike. At some point you have to utilize camera magic or stop pedaling.