I did not realize this! Houston Chronicle Opinion: Stand with Houston artists seeking pandemic aid, 2021-Apr-30 by Liyen Chong,Shayna Schlosberg and Jaison Oliver It’s unfortunate that despite our world-renowned reputation for performing and visual arts and diverse cultural offerings, Houston is not anywhere near the top of the list when it comes to public funding for the arts for major metropolitan cities nationwide. We are still severely underfunded, and Houston continues to trail its peer cities in this area. As of 2017 the City of Houston spent $6.70 per resident on arts and culture compared to Dallas’ $16.70 and Austin’s... Continue reading

I recently stumbled across the Reflected Best Self exercise. I particularly like the fact it recommends asking for feedback via email. I hope I can try it after Tony and I move to the next stage of our life. Harvard Business Review: How to Play to Your Strengths, 2005-January by Laura Morgan Roberts, Gretchen Spreitzer, Jane E. Dutton, Robert E. Quinn, Emily D. Heaphy, and Brianna Barker Used correctly, the RBS exercise can help you tap into unrecognized and unexplored areas of potential. Armed with a constructive, systematic process for gathering and analyzing data about your best self, you can... Continue reading

Over at Customer Commons, Doc Searls summarizes it beautifully... Customer Commons blog: The Dawn of i-Commerce, 2021-May-24 by Doc Searls Advertising is all guesswork, which involves massive waste. But what if customers could safely and securely advertise to the market they want? This is called intentcasting, and to some degree it already exists. (Here is a list of intentcasting providers on the ProjectVRM Development Work list.) Shopping. Why can’t you have your own shopping cart—that you can take from store to store? Because we haven’t invented one yet. But we can. And when we do, all sellers are likely to... Continue reading

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Taken May 2, 2021 in the Japanese Garden in Hermann Park, Houston. Continue reading

The iPhone SE fits in almost every pocket I own. If I could get a smaller iPhone, I would. I have small hands, and I love being able to run around without a handbag—my phone in one pocket and my keys in the other. I use a Speck phone case that holds my driver's license, a credit card, and a transit pass. I'm SO distressed that Apple may never again make a phone this small. I feel rebellious. I would like an Apple Watch, but it appears that it won't connect to a phone this old. I completely agree with... Continue reading

Instead of reacting to customer behavior, we can use publicly announced trends as a leverage point. LinkedIn has found that unemployment and improving options for online education are converging to drive a new wave of students. The managers of graduate and continuing education programs have the opportunity to reactivate the people who previously inquired. LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Blog: A New Wave of Students is Looking to Higher Education Now, 2020-Aug-27 by Michael Levine After the Great Recession of 2008, the number of students enrolled in Higher Education increased by 16 percent.... between 2007 and 2010... Many older adults enrolled in... Continue reading

I just realized that I've been making the dumb mistake of looking at someone's image when they're talking on Zoom. I should be looking at the camera often. Fast Company: How to do a better job of listening when you’re remote, 20-Aug-12 by Judith Humphrey Listen with Your Body Use your physical presence to listen. This goes far beyond using your ears to absorb what people are saying. Our entire body needs to convey attentiveness. For starters, turn to the person who’s talking on the screen and physically align yourself with them while they’re speaking. This makes a huge difference.... Continue reading

Lately, my social interactions have been restricted to immediate family and a few people who are nearly strangers, such as the people who hand me my take-out food. I really miss my friends, and I'm starting to realize I need to cultivate more interaction with the few people I do see. This article explains how interactions that fall short of 'making new friends' are still valuable. BBC Worklife: Why your ‘weak-tie’ friendships may mean more than you think, 2020-Jul-2 by Ian Leslie Gillian Sandstrom, now a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Essex, [decided] to investigate the extent... Continue reading

I debated whether to leave the word "inclusive" dangling in the headline of this post. Inclusive of what? Everybody that's different, although really that's an impractical approach. We're all different but some of us have suffered more discrimination. I remember in business school being told that people with red hair are "not a protected minority." A past history of discriminatory abuse has identified people to whom we owe reparations. However, a legal approach of tit-for-tat doesn't change people's behavior. Valecia "Dr. V" Dunbar has some interesting suggestions on how to reset the corporate acceptance of diversity. Inc.: Defund Corporate Diversity... Continue reading

According to Adam Ferrier, founder of Thinkerbell, our communications strategies should not be driven by the customers' wants and needs. They just want to be left alone until a need crops up in a specific category. Then they want efficient communication: Where? How little can I pay? To establish a brand image in people's minds, we have to assert the brand value before potential customers are ready to purchase. The needs and perspectives of the brand have to be front and center. As brands, what do we have to contribute? How can we best connect with people we can help? Continue reading

I have always thought about empathy as a trait people have in varying degrees, but now I see that it really is a skill you can build by being curious, then connecting with people who are different from yourself. Adweek: Advertising Has a Crisis of Apathy and Otherness, 2020-Jun-8 by Yusuf Chuku The answer to the problem of otherness is not sameness; it’s connectedness. Immersive, deliberate and compassionate connectedness. A connectedness between people that’s embodied in a willingness to embrace empathy. A connectedness to our cultural history, and by that I mean a relearning of American history. And a desire... Continue reading

I know all about selecting the correct target market for a product or service, but I've never seen a methodology for deploying for an audience that I can AFFORD. I wonder how much money I've wasted? I better not think about it too much. Bar & Line: How to Identify Your Audience, 2020-Mar-19 by Duncan Geere You have limited resources to reach people, and you need to deploy them carefully to maximize your impact. By identifying the goals of your project, you can immediately narrow down your audience further. Think about who's most likely to be do the things that... Continue reading

I'm not sure I agree with all of this, but it really calls 'one-to-one' marketing into question. In a good way. I'm a member of many loyalty programs, but I've never earned a reward for a referral. Rather than introduce my friends to a brand, I want to connect with the other people who appreciate the brand. We all have diverse tastes, and I like meeting new people based on one specific shared interest, not because we share a bunch of interests. LinkedIn: Why taste communities are the future of marketing, 2020-Jan-21 by Ana Andjelic Thanks to the Internet and... Continue reading

Creative Houston is a venture to support Houston’s creative economy by providing evidence and experiences that help creative professionals in their work and their lives. We publicize information about resources in Houston. We also foster a better understanding of how Houston offers a superior environment for making a living through one’s ideas. Since I started reading the writings of Ana Andjelic, a marketing consultant and sociologist, I've come to see Creative Houston as a "modern brand." Our goal is to leverage culture, build relationships, and spread awareness of a unique experience. Our customer is someone who has the time and... Continue reading

A membership program helps your customers become brand ambassadors, proud to share their insider status with the larger community. If customers can learn from one another, they can build something together. Being a member is much more satisfying than being a customer. The Sociology of Business: From Loyalty to Membership, 2020-Feb-11, by Ana Andjelic In the modern aspiration economy, consumers are fans, influencers, hobbyists, environmentalists, and collectors. Membership programs are designed for them.... The keyword here is not necessarily prestige and exclusivity, but identity and belonging. There’s a pure pleasure in the intimacy of consuming together, along with enjoying status... Continue reading

Currently, all these newsletters are monthly and free. Streams & Loops A newsletter about newsletters and more Sample Subscribe Creative Houston Sparks People, places and projects which show the relentless inventive spirit of Houston Sample Subscribe Free for now, donations appreciated. Health Guide USA Tips & Trusted Links Links and recommendations for reliable sources of health information Sample Subscribe Continue reading

I love the idea of being the lone dissenter so other people have an opportunity to dissent as well. The Atlantic: The Perks of Being a Weirdo, 2020-Apr by Olga Khazan Psychologist Solomon Asch is famous for his 'conformity experiments,' but he also studied how dissenters influenced group behavior.... Having just one person who broke with the majority reduced conformity among the responses by about 80 percent. Perhaps the participants in those trials felt as though they and the dissenter could at least be weird together. Interestingly, they were less likely to conform even if the dissenter disagreed with the... Continue reading

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I've been writing newsletters since 1985, the email variety since 2000, and I thoroughly enjoy it. It distresses me to hear people moan and groan about doing them. Maybe I can show everyone they can be fun. I'm also a collector of newsletters. I have them all sent to a... Continue reading

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Recomendo is "a weekly newsletter that gives you 6 brief personal recommendations of cool stuff," curated by Kevin Kelly, Mark Frauenfelder and Claudia Dawson. These are just a few words of advice that I had saved, which have become much more meaningful to me lately: “If all you did was... Continue reading

i hope you and yours are healthy or at least receiving good care. if not let me now if i can help. i am finding comfort in doing everything i can to keep everyone else safe. since i'm highly introverted, being alone never bothered me anyway, but i do miss... Continue reading

The DO Lectures: 'It's Just Me' Manifesto EXCERPTS: 3 Musts of a Big Idea. Does it capture my imagination? Does it make me intellectually curious? Does it offer me the opportunity for transformation? Good questions to ask. What unresolved conflict do they have. (Some goal they have not yet achieved... Continue reading

Based on the story spine and John Hagel's opportunity narratives and the 5 w's of journalism. Once there was a WHO. Every day they did WHAT (action). One day they decided... WHY (challenge). Because of that they took action (HOW). WHEN they did that, the result was... That led to... Continue reading