Your Thoughts—Are You Tired of Hearing About Social Media?
This is the third in my “Your Thoughts” series where I ask YOU to be the post author by adding your comments to finish a sentence.
Print In The Mix recently posted highlights from the Third Annual Survey of Top Marketing Trends, conducted by The Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG) and Anderson Analytics. In the second bullet, they note that “…social media, Twitter and social networking ranked as the top buzz words marketers are most tired of hearing.”
A closer look at the actual report (available as a PowerPoint download) revealed that the top three Most Tired of Hearing Buzzwords were, indeed, Social Media (29.1%), Twitter (14.8%) and Social Networking (7.5%).
I found this to be interesting and decided to get your thoughts on the matter. Please take a moment to help write this post by adding to the comments below and finishing the sentence,
I Am/Am Not Tired of Hearing About Social Media Because . . .
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthamm/2945559128/
Mr. Data and the Fine-Tuned Guitar
Once upon a time at The Company not so far away, there lived a database. We’ll call him Mr. Data. As a youngster, Mr. Data was one hot dude. He was squeaky clean and error-free. His records were pristine. Not a typo or undeliverable address could be found! Mr. Data was the talk of The Company and the envy of data everywhere.
When Mr. Data heard terms like UAA (Undeliverable As Addressed) or NCOA (National Change of Address), he would proudly chuckled, “Oh that nonsense doesn’t apply to me.”
So, instead of asking for regular updates, getting scrubbed and allowing critical database maintenance, Mr. Data frittered away his days. He spent countless hours watching Mr. Hero, the guitar. Mr. Data was lulled by Mr. Hero’s smooth and pure sound. He was mesmerized by Mr. Hero’s power and beauty.
He watched as Mr. Hero’s owner meticulously tuned him prior to each strumming session—first the sixth string, then the remaining five. Though he never really understood why tuning Mr. Hero was so important, he was intrigued by the owner’s dedication and determination to perfect tone.
Mr
. Data began to miss the good ‘ol days when his fields were tickled with entries and he was scrubbed from top to bottom. He wanted to be the talk of data everywhere, just like it used to be. Oh, those were the days! He felt unloved and deprived. He knew he deserved better treatment and he regretted not asking for those updates. What a young fool he had been. Mr. Data knew there was a better place . . .
Meanwhile back at The Company, sales were dropping, ROI was out of control, postage costs were skyrocketing, undeliverable percentages were unbelievably high, and serious consideration was being given to the benefits of direct mail.
Then one day Mr. Data simply was no more. He vanished, never to be seen again. Some believe he’s still out there somewhere, a vagabond in the dark night. Alas, The Company will never know.
The Moral of the Story:
Don’t lose your data to neglect. Data files that are not consistent, clean and accurate can cause delays in preparation, require additional expenditures for clean up, and may result in delivery problems. Quality and aesthetics may also be compromised. Your Mr. Data deserves better.
Photos courtesy PhotoXpress.com
Friday Fact—Offset Lithography
Offset Lithography (aka “Offset”), invented in 1796 by Bavarian author Alois Senefelder, is a printing technique where the inked image is transferred (or “offset”) from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface. The most common offset presses include the Sheet-fed Press, the Web Press and some Digital Presses.
Your Thoughts—A Sustainable Life
Sustainable design. Sustainable packaging. Sustainable manufacturing processes. The sustainable business. Chances are, you hear the word “sustainable” several times throughout your day. When the work is done, do you leave your sustainable manual on your desk, shut off your lights and go home? Or, do you carry your manual with you through all aspects of your life?
Let’s back up. This post marks the beginning of the “Your Thoughts” series. Every other week (or so) I’ll ask you to be the post author by adding your comments to finish a sentence. The success of my recent “If Print Were Really Dead. . .” post was overwhelming. Thank you to all who contributed. You have encouraged and inspired me to continue the process. . .
Now where was I? Ah, yes, the sustainable life. If you Google “sustainable”, you will find 63,400,000 possible matches. “A sustainable life” received 16,300,000 hits. By comparison, “life” showed 1,700,000,000 possible results. Is living a sustainable life gaining in popularity? Or has it reached its peak as merely another lifestyle trend that will meet its demise along with the Hippie Communes of the 60s and the Material Girls of the 80s? Think about what sustainability means to you. Do you live a sustainable life? Is it rhetoric or reality? Your thoughts are important, so please take a moment to help write this post by adding to the comments below and finishing the sentence,
“To me, a sustainable life means . . .”
Photo courtesy PhotoXpress.com
