MTV Nation

Wow - a friend of mine sent me this poem recently. I don't read enough poetry, but I found this incredibly powerful. It's the long version of "no rest for the weary/wicked." One cursory note that occurs to me as I read it is how shallow and banal television has become by contrast - perpetual desperation for least-common-denominator appeal.

Unless you're in the mindset of watching "my show" at a certain time of day, TV can only become more obsolete. Some of the last hurrahs are in tivo-ing out commercials, growing screen size and quality -- 90" plasma, HD, etc., but as the web becomes more compatible with this technology and video takes an increasing foothold, more televisions will be out on the sidewalk each week.

Even with MTV...

Warning: It's not a single-read. At least it wasn't for me.

THE PULLEY.

WHEN God at first made man,
Having a glasse of blessings standing by ;
Let us (said he) poure on him all we can :
Let the worlds riches, which dispersed lie,
Contract into a span.

So strength first made a way ;
Then beautie flow’d, then wisdome, honour, pleasure :
When almost all was out, God made a stay,
Perceiving that alone, of all his treasure,
Rest in the bottome lay.

For if I should (said he)
Bestow this jewell also on my creature,
He would adore my gifts in stead of me,
And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature :
So both should losers be.

Yet let him keep the rest,
But keep them with repining restlesnesse :
Let him be rich and wearie, that at least,
If goodnesse leade him not, yet wearinesse
May tosse him to my breast.

George Herbert

Intentional Obfuscation

Marketing should be clear, focused, unobfuscated... Why would you want to confuse your audience about what you are selling?

When you want to sell on impulse and not confuse with the details.

There's a particularly ambiguous commercial that comes up and I've tried to pick out any clue of what it is about before the final seconds -- party supplies? dance lessons? a nightclub? No, it's the Illinois Lottery.

It makes me think they don't really want you to think about what it is they're selling, i.e. casinos double the rate of gambling addiction within 50 miles. For every dollar of gambling revenue the state takes in, there are 3 dollars in social costs. The top state for suicide, divorce, gambling addiction and men killing women is Nevada. (Those aren't in the commercial - btw.)

But how else can we pay to educate our children and grandchildren? It sure does look like a great party for the first 25 seconds.

A Moment of Silence

One quiet minute. Controversial? You bet.

As of today Chicago schools are mandating a moment of silence at the beginning of the school day. As in "stop talking." By a vote of 74-37, the house joined the senate in an override of the governor's veto(!) Does it seem at all ironic that this is a point of contention in government-run pedagogy?

The problem? You guessed it -- those kids might be tempted to do some praying or other contemplative activity on government time.

I'm not going to talk about "back when I was in school" because of course before the internet the world was a different place, but suffice it to say my chums and I wouldn't have thought a requirement to be quiet would ever be a shocker. The plan's opponents focus on the testy move from "you can" to "you will."

Our media culture makes a business of bandying about the offensiveness of exactly how casual we can be in speaking to both the vulgar and the divine. But the offensiveness of not speaking for a minute?

Mayor Daley came through in great form: "I believe we always have to move forward." Write it down.

Simplicissimus

I like simplicity. There's undeniable value in being overprecise and overconcise, especially in communicating something complex. Not because the people you're talking to are simple or can’t understand complex thoughts, but because there’s a true beauty in being able to communicate succinctly and well in efficient terms.

In English, the word “simple” doesn’t really lend itself to any convenient philological breakdown. In German on the other hand (where a refrigerator is a cool-cabinet and a glove is a hand-shoe), the word simple – einfach – means one thing, one subject, one stuff something is made of. When you want to keep something simple, keep it uncluttered. Find your main idea and stick to it.

When you see the single swoosh stripe on Jorge Posada’s chest and knee protectors (the only player without any other insignia showing) every time the camera zooms in at a Yankees game, you don’t have to know the Nike corporate vision or the layers in their marketing strategy. It’s just that simple statement of quiet strength and athletic style. The fact that you have so much in so little makes it all the more powerful.

As you're getting together your next presentation and see all that verbiage in your slides, think of Hamlet’s response to Polonius about "the matter that you read." "Words, words, words.” Cut out a few. Make the font readable from the back row. Speak your presentation instead of using it as a prompt. Your audience should want a copy of your notes, not your slides.