5 reasons to get up in the morning

1. Mediocrity isn’t going to set its own standard

So your life’s a bore, you haven’t thought of anything remotely interesting for the last 6 months, your brain feels like it’s in deep freeze and everybody acts like they don’t really give a shit. Nobody needs you and you’re not making anyone’s life any better.

But… somebody’s gotta do it. I mean if it wouldn’t be you occupying the earth with your nonsensicality there’s a risk that the world would be taken over by crab people. Someone has got to set the standard for amoral normality.

Be mediocre… it’s necessary!

2. Everybody needs to picture a worse alternative

There’s always room to fill that gap! The less interesting you are, the more other people will feel better about themselves around you. Having no real hopes, expectations, perspective, friends or desire to live is actually helping your fellow man a lot more than you think.

Be crappy… it makes us happy!

Filed under: Life teaches us...

another view of recent conclusions form neuroscience experiments

I discover all sorts of things in my RSS reader and this particular article attracted my attention due to the shocking title: “Poor Children’s Brain Activity Resembles That Of Stroke Victims, EEG Shows”. 

Makes you go ‘Oh my God, save them, I’ll donate, I promise!”. But anyway, I looked into more than just the title and this is what I found: 

“The researchers discovered a dramatic difference in the response of the prefrontal cortex not only when an unexpected image flashed on the screen, but also when children were merely watching the upright triangles waiting for a skewed triangle to appear. Those from low socioeconomic environments showed a lower response to the unexpected novel stimuli in the prefrontal cortex that was similar, Kishiyama said, to the response of people who have had a portion of their frontal lobe destroyed by a stroke.” 

Now… this may just be me, but this how I see it: a bunch of scientist flashed moving pictures at a small horde of 9-10 year-olds and the one from the poorer families didn’t exactly hurry to react to them. Which should apparently mean they have lower brain activity. Um… wrong! How about kids from underprivileged families just… don’t care about your moving triangles?! How about you show them a giant Mars bar? See if their brain activity improves there? 

I do know that these people supposedly know what they’re doing. But it just seems reasonable to assume that… sometimes lack of creativity and early response to stimuli can come from lack of motivation. Extended to a general lack of hope, even in the case of children that we’ve gotten used to see as the great optimists of the universe. Maybe they’re not doing well in school and being poor has something to do with it, but before thinking that it’s damaged their brains isn’t it in plain sight that they’ve simply been raised with and under a different perspective? One that may very well limit not speed but the will to respond to whatever people unable to really help you may ask. 

And for things that seem to not be affecting us personally, here’s what’s been going on:

Filed under: Laid about opinions, Life teaches us..., Non Daily Happenings, Of the immediate real world, The times , development, motivation, poverty, study

the inevitability of trendiness

Yes, it finally happened, like we all knew it would.

And speaking of me being an Apple buff, here’s one negative thing about what is probably the most powerful thing in the world:

“…no matter how amazing your brand message is…No matter how beautiful your product is…No matter the level of customer service…your customers will want a real say in what they purchase and even what your product should be. Don’t be shocked when it happens either. Take it as an opportunity to learn. Let it soak in for a minute. Let their voices be heard and see if what they want might actually help you the next time you engage them.” -> by Matt Binkowski of Jack Morton, after analyzing Apple’s fight to keep its software “private” for sales’ sake

And to further this opinion, take a look at this insightful piece of “now”-coherent writing.

Also, check this out:

“Given the “pro-social” mentality of younger consumers, cause marketing is likely to keep growing. The 2006 Cone Millennial Cause Study found that among consumers born between 1979-2001, 61% feel personally responsible for making a difference in the world—and 78% believe that companies have a responsibility to join them in this effort.” – from an article by Liz Bigham

I’m looking into experiential marketing partly because of the day job. Yes, I do however think it’s fascinating and the reasonable step in marketing strategy for any company. Any up-to-date self-respecting brand is already using it and has a long time before it became a topic of discussion, anyway. That is, before respecting the consumer was actually a trend.

However, it all ads up to the same thing: not just companies, but everybody has to go with the flow. Of course we’ve got a soft spot for the past. Hell, I adore Bob Dylan (speaking of which, kudos to one of the world’s better people, Julie White that gave me The Bob Dylan Chronicles, volume I for my bday). And he loved folk music. It is the past that builds us, but it builds us for the sake of the future and it is ludicrous that after all our efforts of reaching and achieving that somehow target some distant time, we could, still, not give a damn about the future.

There’s no common sense towards growing steadily, proficiently, responsibly in what we do. Especially with Romania. It doesn’t happen with people or companies. We’re all just focused on meek, scanty, selfish objectives that have nothing to do with the world around us. And we are in fact the world. Not the cars, not the buildings but the spirit of the era. And we connect from trees, leaves and the rain to everything alive and more real than superficial name-tag elegance.

And, also ludicrously, marketing is probably one of the best examples out there. Because it changes, it evolves, it switches course, anything to grow and stay alive. Talented marketers should be nothing more than elegant fighters, pushing everybody else forward, telling you who to be and what to want, so long as you’re not capable of deciding. They find ways to interact and keep you connected, hook you so badly that any woman in love could take a hint. Brands are probably like women anyway, all trying to get married to the same man: the consumer.

Right… Far too late for my gibberish now. Off to doing.

Filed under: Laid about opinions, Life teaches us..., The times, To Dos , change, evolution, experience, hi5, marketing, trends

pe langa celelalte lucruri, de ce e totusi bine si cum facem sa si fie

Lucrez la o firma mica si cu multe fete unde am venit de la o firma mica si cu multi baieti.

De fapt am sarit din firma mica-n firma mica, sunt cam la a4a. Am ramas tot timpul prin advertising. La inceput imi doream, apoi mi-a disparut interesul direct dar s-a lipit cumva domeniul de mine. Sunt un bun copil al capitalismului invatat fortat, probabil. Sunt interesata de modalitati de promovare neconventionala a unor produse pe care nu am de gand sa le folosesc si de posibilitatea de a face oamenii sa-si intoarca pe trotuar capul spre ceva ce… am gandit cu mana mea.

Sunt un pasionat brand advocate pentru Apple, pro-micro-media si hotarata sa inteleg trendurile mai degraba decat sa le adopt. Sunt de fapt mult prea plictisita de ceea ce pare a fi de multe ori inovatie pretinsa, pana imi dau seama ca s-au facut totusi pasi mari in comunicare.

De ce cred asta? Pentru ca vad uneori ca adv-ul incepe sa genereze aceleasi rezultate ca si omul asta. Si iata cateva exemple:

Nu tin minte in momentul asta daca am citit vreodata sincerity in vreun text corporate despre the brand values. Cred si sper ca, dupa mult mult timp, vazuta de la distanta, evolutia domeniului va indica directia asta. Cred ca se va investi in rebrandingul advertisingului ca domeniu dintr-o industrie a sclipiciului si tandrelor mistificari la limita mintitului cras, in ce se voia a fi la inceput: cea mai estetica si clara metoda de simpla informare. Bine, asta era pe vremea cand produsele erau produse si lumea le cumpara pentru utilitatea lor. Si-asa minimalismul e pe val si probabil cateva concerne uriase vor inghiti productia “produselor” ca atare. Nu vom mai cumpara mare lucru fizic. De aceea nu va mai trebui sa advertizam lucruri practice pe post de iluzii. Vom advertiza iluzii pur si simplu. Realitati virtuale, plecate din ever-popular-ul gaming si din the movie industry.

Cat timp poti sustine ca un detergent e magic? Si cat timp se va merita sa investesti intr-un brand care iti trebuie si alte resurse in afara de resurse umane?

Productia fizica de masa trebuie sa moara. Pentru ca da, razboaie sau nu, petrol sau nu, trecerea se va petrece la un moment dat si sunt 2 variante: fie sa nu mai aiba nimeni nimic (incalzire globala, topiri, etc.), fie sa avem cu totul toti si sa cumparam… si mai mult. Drogurile au potential sa devina la fel de outdated pentru ca distributia de realitate 3d va fi legala.

Serios, cat mai e pana la traficul cu plug-in-uri?

Incetam sa fim oameni. De fapt incetam sa fim creaturi vii si asta poate sa fie bine sau rau.

Smith din The Matrix avea dreptate. Rasa umana are fix comportament de virus. Asta se poate schimba pentru ca nu TREBUIE sa consumam resurse ca sa existam. Si poate va veni un moment cand nu o vom mai face. Si atunci being eco-friendly ca fi outdated (sa reluam, ca si industria si drogurile). Partea buna e ca aproape ne vom separa de corpurile noastre – ceea ce fiecare religie de pe pamantul asta incearca sa faca din noi. Partea proasta e ca… cel mai probabil n-am sti ca facem asta, nu am sti de ce si ne-ar fi groaznic de dor de ele. Metafizic, bineinteles.

Mda… si viitorul va suna… cum?

Filed under: Laid about opinions, Life teaches us..., Words mainly , advertising, consumption, future, innovation, Resources

the power of example and the will to change

I read my last post and found I don’t like the tone of it.

There’s something to admire, about people like Nelson up here and you’ll understand if you read this article. Another way to grasp the same thing is to take an overall look at this man’s postings or at this wonderful and revolutionary piece of writing.

There’s something to moving forward without being bitter that doesn’t just push you further, but also brings up the rear. Here’s your soundtrack for this post:

Don’t stride to be alone. There’s nothing to it. Smile and get others to walk beside you. Don’t offer them anything in return. Don’t even pretend to be doing so. Be yourself SO LONG AS you know that it is YOU that builds your self. You’re not stuck in whoever you are. You can be better and you can be more positive, you can be better, do things better, love and laugh more.

It seems, it seems to not have a point and be difficult. But you may find that happiness generates happiness, in people as well in peoples. We need someone to push us from behind a great deal of time. But we do have the strength to act and be willingly, and without help.

Listen to the second one of this man’s songs and watch the happiness on his face while he plays:

You know what? Whatever you’re doing it should be making you happy. It doesn’t have to be easy, it doesn’t have to keep you warm ALL the time, but somehow you have to know deep inside that you WANT to do it, you want to be your self, acting the way you are ALL the time you are in fact your self.

It’s not really what you do so much as who you are. Do what you are!… that’s my advice to you. If you’re caring, do something that only someone who really cares could stand. Find that one thing you’re proud of and turn it into a daily activity. It doesn’t have to be pin-point. And here’s an example. I thought I loved literature and wanted to be a journalist so I could write. Then I realized I could get more into creativity by doing copywriting. And then came across that neither was in fact appropriate. There was something so artificial about it it made my guts hurt. And now I’m into… event planning?!… and I like it because I realized I didn’t like the writing as much as producing the story. I love authoring. And authoring is more than writing, more than concepts or words strewn about. It’s generating, producing, giving birth to something real, that exists outside of you. And I find that I can do that by creating… user-experience. Which coincidentally gives me a perfect place on the… professional market.

It’s not the stories, it’s what they do to people’s imaginations. Therefore, it’s not the events, or organizing them. It’s trying to generate a whole other lifestyle, a better one, for whoever is willing to adopt it for a few hours. And in their memory and in real life you’ve created something outside of yourself that has the power to reach and change.

Find out what you LOVE to do. And you’ll probably go through a lot of things you though you loved before finding one you could stick to. Don’t be afraid of rethinking and starting over. They’re the best things about life: that you can, in fact, be whoever you want to be. And having been a certain way so far is only a poor excuse to stay that way.

I just can’t make the world a better place without your help, really.

Filed under: Laid about opinions, Life teaches us..., Personals, To Dos , change, doing, life, living advice, love, Nelson Mandela, power of example, professional advice, role model, stories, writing

another reason

for the world’s compelling lack of reason. I think you need an NY Times on-line account to read that, but get one if you don’t have one already, definitely worth it.

Look… I don’t get most of the shit going on out there. I know there’s people fighting wars, I know most of them, if not all of them are for financial reasons. But somehow I also get that the force driving people in completely different sides of the globe is essentially another than ours. There’s only so many thing you can get from watching the news and our western commentators bring eastern reality to our ears.

It is, however so much easier to put it under one’s eyes. And you can see below:

This happened yesterday. In front of an embassy. Not somewhere far, along some desperate borderline, not in one of Bob Dylan’s dreams or songs, it happened in a crowded place, in front of an embassy. You know, those places that look so peaceful and official when you see them in movies. The ones that make you feel like smoking a good cigar.

I’m not trying to point out that the world is horrible, or twisted, or how lucky we are just for being in this shitty ass country instead of ravaged Afghanistan. I’m just saying that people all over the world are different. They do different things for different reasons, for however ludicrous, slaughter also has some reason behind it. So it’s best not to “attack” the world with reason, but with a sort of humane quality. It is also true that being different and all, we’re still all human. And that should count for having something in common. It’s easy to be judgmental, hurt, disturbed here and now and forget all about afterwards.

However by deeply understanding and assuming these differences and everything that comes with them we might not change anything here that would help there, but we can damn well live to be more relaxed, opened and real as people, as individual persons in touch with themselves and the entire world and possibilities around them.

Filed under: Life teaches us... , afghanistan, death, difference, terrorist attack, war