Synergy and the importance of discussing

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Amplifying how cheap and small the cooper is by guerilla marketing.

http://netdna.webdesignerdepot.com/uploads/paper_art/5.jpg

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It’s not always as it looks. Great use of 3d.

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Changing the perspective

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Sounds that are not normally noticed

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Characters building a brand

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What have you been inspired by lately?

The problem today is that industries still work under the old traditional economic idea of ‘choice under scarcity‘. When there is a limited amount it gets expensive. We have to choose where to spend our resources (money).

The part that has changed, compared to earlier, is that information no longer is limited in this digital age. We have an abundance of information. Now we have to choose where to spend our resources (attention). One of the ways of reaching peoples attention is using Word of Mouth (WOM), a specific message that is accessible and spread by users.

The cost of copying digital information is reaching zero and we are moving towards externalities and alternative economies. New technology’s deflationary force is nothing new but the speed at which this is happening causes a problem for companies trying to adjust to this new economy.  Unfortunately this fast shift has made a lot of companies try and keep the obsolete economy of ‘choice under scarcity’ by limiting the access to information and thereby causing a shortage. This limiting has mainly been done by lobbying and creating laws to protect their outdated business strategies. We are moving away from traditional economies and towards an attention economy despite the friction caused by some companies.

This new economy benefits from Word of Mouth spreading. Compared to spam the reaching out of information by WOM becomes personal and thereby receives attention. The value is increased by sharing the product and a big mass normally amplifies the effect and usability of the product.

Free is the future of business. A few examples of this employed as business strategies could be giving away free razors (to sell disposable blades), free cell-phones (with a monthly plan), free programs (with an upgrade option) to name a few.

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Business models of the ‘free’ economy:

• Freemium
  Giving away basic model for free. People paying for premium normally pays for other 99% of people
• Advertising
  Free in exchange for some of your attention
• Cross-Subsidies
  Free product that will get you to buy other products
• Zero Marginal Cost
  No appreciable cost to anyone
• Labor Exchange
  Free in exchange for work. E.g. answer questions
• Gift Economy
  Free for everyone, money not only motivator.

sources:
Free! Why $0.00 is the future of business
The importance of viral marketing

Attention is the key to mind control. Focus enough and count the number of passes that the white team makes in the video.

Many have wondered what the secret to mind control is. The secret is there if you focus enough.

Mind control is basically an ability to hide messages in what is not consciously taken in by someone. This is a lot of what advertising tries to do with various results. An example of this hiding, is the use of signs and words that our subconscious might pick up.

virgin sex subliminal. Spelling S-E-X. Coincidence? perhaps. Other examples of hiding images in logos: the arrow in Fedex, the bear in Toblerone and a few more.

The concept behind subliminal ads and mind control is explained in a good way by McLuhan’s  Tetrad (Laws of Media). Basically what it says is that there is figure and ground. Figure is an area of attention and ground is the rest (”inattention”). Hold on, this gets complicated if you haven’t read McLuhan.

The effect that ground has changes our conception without us noticing it. Once the ground is pointed out it becomes figure and very easy to notice, e.g. the feeling of your seat at this instance. As we have noticed it’s very easy to spot the ground once it has been pointed out, but not before.

Everybody experiences far more then he understands. Yet it is experience, rather than understanding, that influences behaviour, especially in media and technology, where the individual is almost inevitably unaware of their effect upon him.
-McLuhan (Understanding Media, p.318)

Derren Brown shows this very clearly in this movie where he manipulates two persons working for an ad agency to think what he wants them to think.

But how far can we take this “manipulation” of minds. Where does the limit between accepted manipulation and too much manipulation go? Many people think adding a single frame in a movie or changing the billboard in a sporting arena digitally to a commercial message is going to far but accepts music affecting and manipulating our mood in commercials.

I find mind control fascinating, especially since it’s very linked to advertisement. Comments?

My blog will focus on the same areas as I do on twitter:

Transparency – Net Politics (piratpartiet), Copyright, Integrity
Social Media – Integration, Technology, Web 2.0
Cultural Patterns – Design, PR, Marketing

But who is this person blogging to you?
I’ll make use of some descriptions others made about me and my group-work

translated to English?

Flexibel Ifrågasätter ofta men är blixtsnabb på att anpassa dig till gruppens ståndpunkt (även om den är motsatt) och stött den stenhårt och entusiastiskt… ett riktigt grupproffs
Effektiv Skicklig på att arbeta smart och inte lägga ner jobb på onödigheter
Med God Självdistans Vågar sticka ut och går att skämta om dig
-Anonym

*Initiativrik och drivande i grupparbetet. Positiv med mycket tålamod.
*Upplever att du, som jag, ibland har svårt att ta kritik som vi tycker är obefogad
-Anonym

Du har alltid kritiskt granskat arbetet på ett mycket positivt sätt. Ditt kritiska öga har fått våra arbeten att bli mycket bättre! Du skriver bra texter och är en superkul person att jobba med!
-Anonym

*Otroligt kunnig
*Inte rädd för att säga vad du tycker och tänker
*En person som alltid gör ditt jobb och gör det alltid så bra du kan
-Anna