Ph.D. Pros(e)A blog on the intersection of academics & industry.

Ever since I saw the interview between Seth Godin and Loic Le Meur on YouTube,  I’ve been pondering what Seth Godin said about being the best at one specific thing. I know most of us are fairly good at different things (I know I try), but how often do we decide only to do that one specific thing we excel at. How many times do we just focus our energy on that one thing? It has made me wonder…

But while I’m pondering, here is an excerpt from Seth’s interview about why he’s not on Twitter. Either watch it (around the 9:13 mark of the clip) or read the transcript below. Then answer this question:  In our effort to be all things to all people (clients, family, coworkers etc) are we fragmenting our efforts so that we aren’t anything to anyone? While I still don’t buy the “jack of all trades, master of none” cop-out which says to me that multi-tasking is evil…I don’t know. I know there are multiple talents that we possess and can enjoy, but there is probably one that we do really well and need to develop. The kicker is when we can’t develop that one thing because we are trying to master everything else.  What do you think?

“I’m a huge fan of social software. I think that Twitter is the bomb. I think Facebook is wonderful, but they’re not for me. There are a couple reasons. The first biggest reason is as I wrote in The Dip, being best in the world at something is extremely valuable. Being 5^th best is not very valuable. Say you went to go out to by a video camera; you could have bought any $2,000 video camera you want. So the world [to you] was $2,000 video cameras. So which one are you going to buy? The best $2,000 video camera or the 5^th best $2,000 video camera? [You’d buy] the best one in any category…

The world doesn’t mean the whole world, just your world right now.

So I’m the best in the world at being me. I’m the best in the world at having a marketing blog…at least today…not forever. I’m the best in the world at writing the kind of book I write.

If I started using Twitter, I would have to stop being the best in the world at those things because I’d have no time. And I wouldn’t be the best in the world at using Twitter either, because there are people that are way better at it. Chris Brogan is way better at using Twitter than I will ever be. I’m late [in adopting it] and he has a knack for it and I don’t. I’d have to work too hard and I’m too insecure and it would mess me up. I’m a work-a-holic in remission, so I’d have to work hard not to do it wrong.

I picked my thing and I’m good at that and I enjoy being good at it. And I try to get better at it. But if I said… oh no I can do this and I can do this and I can do this…and I know how to bake… and I can do this…then all of a sudden I’m a wandering generality instead of a meaningful specific. And so my message to people is…if you want to be the best in the world at using Twitter to talk about Olympic Decathlons…go…do that. But don’t tell me that I have to go be mediocre at it just because you want to tweet with me. I’m really accessible. When people write me email, I write back. Every single person in the world that has ever written me an email, I write back…because I like non-anonymous direct private communication. It works for me. It doesn’t work for me to have anonymous people yelling at me. It’s just not interesting to me.

So I’m hearing from people, I’m interacting I’m learning from them. I am not saying I’m not interested in what these people have to say. All I am saying is I have no staff, I am who I am I. I’m not telling you how to do what you do, let me do my thing.”

Something to ponder for the weekend…here’s the video link:

Seth Godin Explains his latest book Tribe & Why He’s not On Twitter to Loic Le Meur at TED 2009

The classes I’m taking this semester are focused on communication in this new media world. Whether it is about how advertisers reach their consumers via online methods or how online technologies have changed communications, it has caused me to ponder a few things.

Take a recent class discussion. We were studying theories of the Longtail, proxemics, and presence. Now before you get all glassy-eyed on me, let me break it down.

In a nutshell the Longtail is how technology has changed what we sell, where we sell it and how we sell it. Take entertainment. Services like iTunes or Amazon have made it possible for artists and writers to make money on their creations that are perhaps long forgotten by the mainstream. Let’s say you liked Def Leppard (and what 80s child doesn’t). Let’s also say you have both Pyromania and Hysteria on CD, but you may really want to hear the “Rock of Ages Medley: Not Fade Away/My Generation/Radar Love/Come Together” as recorded live in Tilburg Holland. Well thanks to services like iTunes you could probably find it. That song isn’t mainstream (the head or top part of the normal distribution curve) but is considered to be part of the tails section of the curve. The theory finds the niche areas where businesses can sell back-catalog or b-side content to people that wouldn’t normally find it on store shelves.

Proxemics is how we recognize facial patterns and interpersonal distances with other people. You know when someone gets in your personal space and you feel uncomfortable? That’s proxemics. Para-proxemics is how we do that through some type of media lens such as television. So instead of listening to the weather guy talking to me in person three feet away, I see him on the TV screen talking to me. I can evaluate his position relative to me through the screen (and of course because he’s looking right at me I think he’s talking directly to me). Para-proxemics has also been a part of cinema studies for years.

Presence is relating to technology and content as if it were happening in reality. This is similar to getting so involved in a TV show or video game that you feel as if you are really there. It is either being transported to the place in your mind or being immersed in the experience.

Each one of these things has a role in this new media environment. Our class discussion also focused on social media’s role. And to be honest, it’s called new media but is it really new? Just like these theories aren’t new, they are just reapplied in a new area. Take the Longtail, isn’t it good ol’ market segmentation? Proxemics has been observed since man began observing each other. Presence was probably even experienced back when there was nothing much to do except watch clouds pass by. Or just think about getting lost in a book.

The same holds true for new media. It isn’t new at all if the truth be told. It is the same song, second verse. Instead of communicating face-to-face, we talked ear-to-ear with the telephone. Instead of writing a letter to a friend, we type one and then send an email. Instead of watching a concert live, we watch it on TV, record it on a VCR, and now record it on a DVR.

Social media is just an extension of what we’ve been doing forever. Most of the same rules apply. In advertising, a campaign starts with a brand and a marketing plan. That doesn’t change just because someone wants to start a Twitter account or maintains a Facebook page. The relationship isn’t new just because social media is the latest buzzword. The same thing is still taking place, but instead of it being in person, it’s on-line.

So forgive me if I’ve offended any social marketing gurus. I’m not sure exactly how these consultants “do” anything differently than advertising/marketing people have done for years. Getting a client to think about new methods of communicating with consumers and new ways to build relationships isn’t a novel idea. Sure there are people that are out there actually doing it, but the things we’ve learned about advertising and marketing in the past hold true whether your target market is found locally or in some online community. There’s nothing truly new under the sun. If you know the tune, just sing the next verse of the song.

8:42 pm Tweets from Lubbock

It is nice to see Lubbock on the map for something positive for a change. Instead of it being about the city arresting Chippendale’s dancers or its sometimes blustery wind and lack of greenery…this time it was for making a blip on the Twitter scene during the Super Bowl. Considering the fact the number of those tweeting from Lubbock pales in comparison to larger cities…this was pretty cool. Of course as you move through the game time line there is a curious change in the topic…

Let’s see it started out at 7:15 with the following string of tweets:

superbowlads
return
ad
thank
commercial
yeah
watch
ad
watch
ads
Hulu
commercials
safety

…and then at 8:42….

damn

…and then again at 8:49…

damn

This was the only four-letter word recorded from the twitterverse on the map. I’m not making a judgment here…I just find it extremely entertaining! Now that I think about it though, is this a positive thing to be noted for? Or do I need to file it under the Lubbock Negative News category! Your thoughts?

New York Times Map of Popular Super Bowl Words Used on Twitter