Consume *this* is a list of the articles, emails, podcasts and videos I find valuable (and I think you will, too!) as they relate to the understanding of communications, marketing and technology. With fascinating and blunt commentary from yours truly.
Random thoughts
We were off traveling last week. A nice and easy one-stop trip back to New York City. A few things that caught my eyes (and ears and nose…):
- Those landings at LaGuardia are rough. I think the LGA runway is one of the shortest in the United States. *Bang*. We’ve landed. No doubt about it.
- So much construction! When we first moved to New York in 2007, we couldn’t believe all the scaffolding. Feels like the amount of construction is back. Or maybe we’ve been away far too long. (Either way, new construction is a good thing for the economy?)
- Those outside, open housings to extend restaurants and bars into the street? They are starting to get old. Like, literally. I wonder what the maintenance timeframe is for those things?
- We stayed on the Upper West Side the entire time this trip. A little wary of the subway, however we just wanted to be close to places (and people) we are familiar with. It was nice.
Articles (and emails)
- How Technocrats Triumphed at Apple (link). “In Mr. Ive’s absence, the designers say that they collaborate more with colleagues in engineering and operations and face more cost pressures than they did previously. Meanwhile, the products remain largely as they were when Mr. Ive left. The gods have become mortals.”
A terrific, albeit wandering, article. Given all the restarts and inflection points and ‘pivots’ in Apple’s history, this seems to be telling the story of how Apple went from being a million dollar-company to a billion-dollar company (and, potentially, lost its creative compass along the way).
- Value Pricing Labor (link). “Hourly billing is 100% focused on inputs (i.e., the time you and/or your employees put in), and value pricing is 100% focused on results (i.e., achieving the client’s desired outcome as quickly as possible).”
As communications and marketing professionals, we’ve been trained to think about communications and marketing outputs rather than on business-related (and focused) outputs. Increased website traffic is great, however how does it lead to our business goals?
- Getting Together In Person (link). “We learned some new tricks over the last two years. Those of us who work in VC and startups can work remotely and get most everything we need done. But we have to remember the power of being together and do more of it. It really makes a difference.”
This past week’s trip was a good underline for this article from Fred Wilson. I just hope those that are making the corporate and community decisions are listening – we need to figure out specific reasons for in-person events.
Podcasts (and videos)
- Dua Lipa On Ambition And The Pressures Of Fame. (link). I don’t know much about Dual Lipa, however this NPR podcast episode was terrific. In particular, this passage, as she discussed her upbringing between Kosovo and London: “…being in a place where I felt anything was possible… I felt like I needed to be in London to make my dream a reality…”. (audio)
- Villarreal v. Liverpool. (link). For all the Champions League semi-final marbles. Liverpool is up 2-0, however the game is in Spain. And while Villarreal has lost its last two matches, difficult to count them out given their run this year. That other game? Oh boy. Wednesday will be a firecracker. (video)
- Fast Company: Dove teaches teens about toxic influence with deepfakes. (link). #DetoxYourFeed. We need more of this. (video)