McLuhan’s cell phone
Also, they finally got my bio up. After all the back-and-forth, I got them a more conventional picture to use. And then they used the original one that they had nixed. Hunh. I’m still going to do a blog about the process and about the issue of personal branding in an organizational context, although I guess the focus is going to have to be a little different than if they hadn’t used this pic.
:xpost:
lullaby pit 
If the facts about pic selection warrant, would the new focus be about consistency and competency in internal communication?
If the facts about pic selection warrant, would the new focus be about consistency and competency in internal communication?
Well, that would just be contrary, wouldn’t it?
Well, that would just be contrary, wouldn’t it?
What I want and what I need
There’s a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon I love where Calvin is sitting at a wooden booth. A sign on it reads “A Swift Kick in the Butt – $1.” Hobbes walks up and asks how’s business. “Terrible!” Calvin responds. “I don’t understand it. Everyone I know needs what I’m selling.”
By catering to the perceived needs of Millenials, aren’t you also further ingraining what you yourself appear to dislike most about us: an expectation of having everything given to us?
You and Bri had a conversation about education October 15 and the Millenials’ dislike being challenged. You and I have spoken about an inability to think creatively or just plain think at times.
By having a limited amount of interactive processes for us on the labels, aren’t you nurturing more of the “I’m here, give me what I feel I deserve” mindset? I realize you aren’t going to make money by alienating a rising market base, but is it right, or even ethical, to play off what you consider flaws?
None of this in an accusing tone, mind you. It’s more of the manifestation of my hatred for all things advertising and marketing.
What I want and what I need
There’s a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon I love where Calvin is sitting at a wooden booth. A sign on it reads “A Swift Kick in the Butt – $1.” Hobbes walks up and asks how’s business. “Terrible!” Calvin responds. “I don’t understand it. Everyone I know needs what I’m selling.”
By catering to the perceived needs of Millenials, aren’t you also further ingraining what you yourself appear to dislike most about us: an expectation of having everything given to us?
You and Bri had a conversation about education October 15 and the Millenials’ dislike being challenged. You and I have spoken about an inability to think creatively or just plain think at times.
By having a limited amount of interactive processes for us on the labels, aren’t you nurturing more of the “I’m here, give me what I feel I deserve” mindset? I realize you aren’t going to make money by alienating a rising market base, but is it right, or even ethical, to play off what you consider flaws?
None of this in an accusing tone, mind you. It’s more of the manifestation of my hatred for all things advertising and marketing.
Re: What I want and what I need
Congratulations. You have successfully identified a core conflict in my life.
As you know, people can be pretty complex, and we can go through periods of intense self-conflict. I set out to dedicate my life to educating your generation. Sadly, that didn’t work so well. I was ill-equipped for that task, and as you know, I felt like my classes were dominated mostly by people who had no interest in learning or being challenged. They mainly wanted to be entertained, told they were right, told they were precious and special despite the fact that they knew little and had done less, and handed gold stars for showing up like they have been their whole lives.
No, this isn’t a fair description of everybody. I was fortunate to have some exceptions in these classes. You, Brianna, and Jason in the first semester class, for instance. But I quickly realized that I couldn’t survive when the rule was so daunting and the exception so small. And I, VERY obviously, wasn’t capable of reaching across the divide.
So what do I do now? Well, oddly enough, I’m back around to earning a living off of the Millennials. And while I wasn’t very good at fixing what’s wrong in the gen, my experiences have given me a pretty good insight into how they’re constructed. Which means that while I may not be able to teach them effectively, I do know a lot about marketing to them.
Am I pandering to the worst of things? Maybe, although not everything we’re doing is about simply feeding the beast. A LOT of our content is the sort of stuff that educates, informs, trains, builds skills, and taps into the BEST of the gen (Mills are extremely involved in community and volunteerism activities, for instance, and we’re building out programs that serve this impulse, as well). Is this line of work as noble as teaching? Of course not.
There are ways of interpreting what I’m up to these days very cyncially. There are other ways that fairly positive. And I can’t fault anybody for which they choose, because I have the same arguments with myself on a routine basis.
There is, however, a long-term vision here. And the end-game is something that almost nobody knows about and that I’m not going to talk about until I can get a little closer. I’m comfortable saying that if I can get where I want to be, in 5-10 years you’ll look at it and probably think, yeah, that works.
In the meantime, thanks for paying attention, and especially thanks for reminding me that there were some shining moments….
Re: What I want and what I need
Congratulations. You have successfully identified a core conflict in my life.
As you know, people can be pretty complex, and we can go through periods of intense self-conflict. I set out to dedicate my life to educating your generation. Sadly, that didn’t work so well. I was ill-equipped for that task, and as you know, I felt like my classes were dominated mostly by people who had no interest in learning or being challenged. They mainly wanted to be entertained, told they were right, told they were precious and special despite the fact that they knew little and had done less, and handed gold stars for showing up like they have been their whole lives.
No, this isn’t a fair description of everybody. I was fortunate to have some exceptions in these classes. You, Brianna, and Jason in the first semester class, for instance. But I quickly realized that I couldn’t survive when the rule was so daunting and the exception so small. And I, VERY obviously, wasn’t capable of reaching across the divide.
So what do I do now? Well, oddly enough, I’m back around to earning a living off of the Millennials. And while I wasn’t very good at fixing what’s wrong in the gen, my experiences have given me a pretty good insight into how they’re constructed. Which means that while I may not be able to teach them effectively, I do know a lot about marketing to them.
Am I pandering to the worst of things? Maybe, although not everything we’re doing is about simply feeding the beast. A LOT of our content is the sort of stuff that educates, informs, trains, builds skills, and taps into the BEST of the gen (Mills are extremely involved in community and volunteerism activities, for instance, and we’re building out programs that serve this impulse, as well). Is this line of work as noble as teaching? Of course not.
There are ways of interpreting what I’m up to these days very cyncially. There are other ways that fairly positive. And I can’t fault anybody for which they choose, because I have the same arguments with myself on a routine basis.
There is, however, a long-term vision here. And the end-game is something that almost nobody knows about and that I’m not going to talk about until I can get a little closer. I’m comfortable saying that if I can get where I want to be, in 5-10 years you’ll look at it and probably think, yeah, that works.
In the meantime, thanks for paying attention, and especially thanks for reminding me that there were some shining moments….