Thought and Bothered: Links of May 8, 2016

Up this week: Trumpology, the singular approach to urban planning, an evolution in musical leadership, glorious new food trends, good content, and pigeons.

1. Who's out and who's in? This marks the first full week of a presidential campaign where Donald Trump is the only remaining candidate for the GOP. If you, like me and a lot of other people, would like to start trying to understand how this happened, let the research begin/continue. We have before us a case of tribal politics (to that end, this theory of the outgroup is so fascinating), obvious racism, unbridled PR churn, and a lack of accountability. I'm not just talking about the GOP candidates here: A free press is designed to bring fact to oration, no matter how sensational. As Nate Silver so nicely put it: "Any time a demagogic candidate wins a nomination, it suggests a potential failure of political institutions, including (but not limited to) the media." Finding the free press lacking,  Trump's win was based on exploiting republican social grievances. It's feeding into and off of public pain And, to an alarming extent, his twisting of facts has gone largely uncontested by ratings-chasing networks, but that pattern is starting to change. Let's hope that sticks.

2. And since we're talking about racism and the impacts of policy on society, no matter how well intended, I came across this article on the negative impacts of the urban planning work of Jane Jacobs. For anyone who has studied or worked in urban planning (I did), you know Jacobs as a pioneer in rebuilding communities. In school we were taught her theories and methods, we praised her results and modeled ourselves after her example in our mission to rebuild Main Street, USA and bring economic redevelopment back to urban and suburban communities. Turns out the best laid plans won't accomplish the intended results without the correct policies and laws behind them, nor without community inclusion: that's policy. Design doesn't solve all. It's half the partnership, and - as with the most fulfilling arrangements - opposites attract. She got half the equation right. It's our job to do the rest.

3. On to content. In any story, I'm always more interested in getting to the why than I am in focusing on the what. I also love stories about the creative process, and about the intention of the artist, so it should come as no surprise that I love a podcast based on musicology. If you haven't been listening to Switched On Pop, I highly recommend that you join me in this obsession. This week they are talking about Beyonce's Lemonade, and about Prince... which is also just about all I've been listening to during my vacation week, and these artists have been heavily on everyone's mind (and heavy in conversational rotation). Fun fact: after their Grammy's performance, Prince was inquiring into Beyonce's true music knowledge and was impressed that she wasn't "merely" a pop star. But he did suggest that she learn piano. And on the weekend of his death, she released Lemonade, which includes a track where she is singing and playing the piano.

4. Speaking of music... Radiohead. Last week, Twitter and Reddit collectively lost their mind when all the band's social posts from the past were deleted. Tumbleweeds rolled through Radiohead's Twitter, Facebook, and even their website (gasp!). But WHY?! Speculation ensued. They effectively built content by removing all content, priming audiences to pay attention and creating a "clean slate" for their new album, which was released last week. Radiohead is not just a band. They are a business with a surprisingly complex corporate structure, complete with a sophisticated marketing strategy that consistently gets people to pay attention. So now the Radiohead Reddit can get back to analyzing the album. I need more time.

5. Google launched a report on the latest food trends based on search, and this is infinitely interesting. This will be great for anyone experimenting with food, or working to make relevant culinary content. Fun facts:

  • Jackfruit (#3 trending useful food) is a vegan pork substitute that we will all be eating soon.
  • Manuka honest (#4) is all you need for a hydrating, antibacterial face mask, according to my favorite facialist, Britta. 

6. Here's some bad news: your headlines suck. But they don't have to. Here's a whole list on every tip you can imagine to write better headlines, but I'll say that I think this post applies to social media captions, as well. The second-to-last infographic wins it for me. Now I'm going to tell my team to write 25 headlines for each article. They are going to love that!

7. Point #6 matters more because Facebook is changing their algorithm again, and this time it's going to prioritize quality content. Yep, that's right. So now, not only do your headlines have to improve, but your content has to get better, too. That means a few things, which Tim Cigelske beautifully capture in the link above. In summary:

  • Don't make unnecessary content. Say what you want to say, and say no more.
  • Don't make each paragraph increasingly boring. Pepper the good stuff throughout.
  • Get rid of your slideshows because they take effort to navigate, and that's annoying.
  • Preview the good stuff upfront.
  • Leave a treat at the end.

If you prefer the podcast, here it is:

8. Events! Have you ever wanted to see a pigeon ballet? Neither have I. Until now. Artist Duke Riley is conducting a performance over the Brooklyn Navy Yard on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights through June 12 and his performers are 2,000 pigeons outfitted with LED lights. According to the New York Times, "Despite clouds and chilly temperatures, the birds’ performance was a revelation, a touching unity of human and animal behavior, with sky, water and the city." On that note, et tickets through the Creative Time website. Your snapchat will thank you. Wear a hat.

9. And finally, The McKittrick Hotel is doing a new interactive party series called Supercinema. The first one is a Great Gatsby theme. You come as a character inspired by the film (book), and get a night of dancing, performances, and an open bar. It's on May 21, but space is limited. Gatsby Supercinema tickets are here.

Have a great week!

Thought Tips: Week of May 1, 2016

It seems to be a good moment to kick off something I've been meaning to do for quite a while, which is to create a weekly list of things I'm reading or seeing, talking or thinking about. It might be about content marketing, social media, urban planning or redevelopment, the food industry, women's issues, or a something else entirely, but I'm going to start listing some of these things because points of interest for me might be points of interest for you, too. I'll do this every week, so the format might change over time. Please give me feedback! Here goes.

  1. New York magazine is launching Select All, reporting on how real people are impacted by technology shifts (in their words, exploring "the weird and wonderful ways people express themselves on the internet and social media.") there's already some great content on there from Max Read and team, who kicked off the editorial experiment in November under the name "Following." This will be a good one to subscribe to if you want to consider user-impact to brainstorm creative or strategic implications of new technologies instead of slogging through technical details to try to artificially direct user behavior.
  2. The Serial team hired a community editor, Kristen Taylor, for season two and added content across social channels. “As we binge/stream asynchronously, it’s even more important to find ways to make clear that you aren’t listening/watching alone,” she wrote. Her last day on the job was sat week. Here's Taylor's Medium post on how she scaled the fan base - which was less viral but much larger in the second season - across social channels. Smart woman. 
  3. President Obama gave his final Correspondents' Dinner speech this weekend. The man knows his timing. (Please, someone, give him a show next year!) Check it out here. And to dig a little deeper into how unique Obama's comedic style is vs. presidents past, look no further than this little gem. 
  4. The Tribeca Film Festival ended last Sunday, and it was full of VR experiences this year (some mind-blowing, others profound, and one definitely showcasing the art of PR more than film, but I digress.) The films ranged from animations (you must see Allumette, on that note), to scripted narrative and documentary. The possibilities of VR are still being explored, and we continue to bang up against technical limitations while pushing the limits of audiences' capacity for navigating a new experience and not getting vertigo or throwing up. Yet VR's power to tell a, well, immersive story is undeniable, and nowhere is that more valuable than when you're trying to push a doc message. Here's a great piece on the challenges and opportunities of VR becoming an actual reality for documentarians. 
  5. Did you know that there are now nearly 5 PR people for every reporter in the US? Neither did I. According to Mike Rosenburg, that's double the rate from a decade ago. Most industry categories that are hiring journalists today are overwhelmingly PR, but also marketing and advertising. On that note, while it's not a requirement, I tend to look for writers with a journalism degree for my own team. So this is partially due to where the demand for their skills is coming from, but Mark makes excellent points about the economics of the whole business.
  6. And an event, for those of you in NYC. There's a zine exchange at Pioneer Works in Red Hook, NYC on Friday the 13th. Bring your own or just show up to see what's out there and get inspired by the latest in independent zone publishing. It's free to attend and $7 to play the exchange game if you don't bring one to the party. RSVP here.
  7. PHOTOGRAPHERS! May 2 is the last day to submit your work for the Emerging Photographer Fund via Fuji. The entry is on Burn Magazine's site. Non-photographers, the magazine's Instagram is pretty great.
  8. Don't hate me for this, but I saw Hamilton last week. It blew my mind and got me reading or re-reading all things about the production. So far, the New Yorker is offering up the highlights. For a look into how Miranda created it, read All About the Hamiltons. And for a look at the women in the story - both the actresses and the real women of the Revolution, so often overlooked by history - read The Women of "Hamilton". For a deeper look at the modern story of the women in the cast, Amy Poehler's Smart Girls also published a cool piece on Making Herstory on Broadway.
  9. I happen to be in Puerto Rico on vacation at the moment. It's interesting time to be here because it's during a great milestone in their financial crisis (today is their initial payday deadline) and there is much debate over their political circumstances and potential statehood. Even Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote an op-ed about the situation, channeling his inner Hamilton. 
  10. Okay, now the last thing! Brian McConnachie is relaunching the curated comedy magazine American Bystander. It. Is. Good. You can buy American Bystander #1 on Amazon, and even if you weren't a backer of issue 2 on Kickstarter, you can still pre-order there (or you'll be able to get that one on Amazon, too). It's an interesting way to use new technology to revive a print magazine that failed in the early 80s after one issue, but at least they'll have a good sense of their subscribers before they go to print. Aspiring zine makers, take note! This comic is from Issue 1. I can relate.
I would join that riot. 

I would join that riot. 

SXSW 2016... Nailed It

I just got back from SXSW (okay, I got back three weeks ago, but I've been busy), and it was amazing! Unfortunately a lot of my friends decided not to go this year because they felt SXSW had become too commercial and even overrated, but I have to say it was my favorite year so far, and it wasn't just because of the programming. I think it was mostly due to what I was looking for- I wanted to learn new things and meet new people.

So I decided not to go to any talks about things I already know about. I also decided to forego the day-drinking... THIS time.

And it worked out! Here's what I recommend to have the best SXSW ever:

1. Plan your schedule, prep your snacks

I took a new approach this time, and went to a talk in every single session block. Every. Single. One. That meant packing healthy snacks and a water bottle, and somehow convincing myself that it was okay to forego the amazing food trucks (and their long lines) for the less appealing lunch of garden salads in the Convention Center. It also meant being selective about the talks I would see, based on location. After the first day, I mainly stuck by the Convention Center and the Hilton, with the rare rickshaw ride to the Driskill for South Bites. I recommend Royal Blue Grocery for your snack stock.

2. Hold the line - odds are, you're getting in

I learned about MBA's Across America, which was incredibly inspiring, and saw I President Obama speak. And that was only Day 1! 

I still can't believe it came together because I wasn't anointed in the lottery to see the President's talk. When I got to the venue to see Casey Gerard from MBAs Across America, I was told that his talk had been combined with the President's, so it was unlikely I'd see either. Here's the thing I found that first day, which gave me a little more confidence to battle the long lines in the following days: those ushers will tell you the venue is full, and that no one else is getting in (and many people will then split from the line). But it's because they don't have an efficient way to track seating (somehow that scanner isn't giving them a real time tally of occupied seats), so once people settle, the ushers get a better idea of capacity. If you wait long enough, and you're not a dick, they will get you in. Let those quitters ahead of you bail from the line. You are getting in!

3. Epiphany tends to strike in uncharted territory

One thing that really awakened something in me was a talk called "Just Food: What Happens When We Start Over" with Josh Tetrick from Hampton Creek. This is a brand that I now love. They are making quality healthful food that is affordable to the masses, and moreover it's accessible because they are distributing in Walmarts across the country. As someone who grew up in parts of the South with and without access to quality foods and grocery stories, this is huge. (Also, if you're interested in what life is like in America without access, read this Atlantic article.) 

I had never heard of the Hampton Creek brand before SXSW, but I'm already evangelizing them at every opportunity. This kind of social-entrepreneur movement is profoundly important to where we are today, and where we will be tomorrow. I sat in the audience getting so excited about what I was hearing and what the possibilities for the future might look like. I felt that same way 10 years ago when I was in the audience at the Ethical Fashion Symposium for the first Berlin Fashion Week, when I realized I wanted to get into luxury marketing as a means to drive positive social change. Convincing people to do the right thing, the thing that's good for them and the world, is far more valuable and fulfilling than policy-planning could ever be. And now, the idea of teaching people to appreciate and therefore demand quality, healthy food options? Oh, man. Learning about issues that ignite something in you is priceless.

So there's another up-side to this approach to SXSW: you're more likely to have an ah-ha moment when you break away from the familiar and engage talks that you have a twinge of curiosity about, but no experience in. I'm now 100% interested in the food industry, and how storytelling can bring people into sustainable food patterns.

4. Be open to self-help your self

I caught Brené Brown's talk about "Daring Greatly". I had read her book by the same name, so this wasn't altogether foreign to me, but it was a great refresher on something that really inspired me the first go-round. It made me remember that we are all emotional beings who sometimes think, and that the brain really loves a story with a beginning, middle, and end. We are actually rewarded chemically when we come up with an ending so the lesson was: choose yours wisely! This is the opposite of "jumping" to a conclusion, and it's surprisingly hard to do. It's easier, however, when you understand that you're in a situation, and your brain is in overdrive, making up its own ending. She suggests filling in this blank, to put yourself in check: "The story I'm making up is..." Thanks, Brené.

I also learned that I am one of the rare (and probably not-so-desirable) "Rebels" in typologies of habit development, according to Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project, who spoke about her new research for Better Than Before. This means that I have a hard time meeting expectations imposed on me unless I can figure out how to want to meet the expectation. It means viewing undesirable tasks as a stepping stone to something I want. As for the bad things I want anyway, it means finding ways to hate them. This doesn't work as well for the other three categories of people looking to change their habits (you can find yours in her fun quiz here), but this is definitely how I quit smoking, cold turkey, 5 years ago, so I tend to believe Gretchen! This little talk gave me a big framework to think about why certain tasks are energizing while others are depleting, and how to create a stick-to-it mentality that rarely comes natural to me. 

So even if you're not a "self-help" junkie, you can learn a lot about yourself if you're open to these kinds of sessions, and it probably will help you out in the long run. If one tweaks your interest, there's probably a reason.

5. Ask questions

So, I've worked in Brand Publishing for years, and while I've been a part of teams that were pioneering new approaches, and have developed a content studio that churns out branded stories, to protect my clients I've had to learn the laws of copyright and how they impact the "brand as publisher" model. In essence, the laws of free press do not apply. At SXSW, I found out that while brand-to-publisher is a very tricky trail to blaze with all of the FTC restrictions, going the other way, from blog-to-brand, seems relatively easy (for now).

Okay, I need a minute to freak out here, because, to be honest, it blew my mind listening to this fairly successful beauty brand leader go on about their blog-based content strategy, which is no longer monetized as a blog but is under the marketing department, and constantly shows competitive brands they do not sell, without a thought to the legal risk of showing these brands without permission. I wish them the best but definitely cringed as the head of the brand sat on a stage at SXSW and brazenly talked about how brands like Chanel and Estee Lauder would "probably" welcome the publicity she was giving them by photographing them with her products. As though co-branding with a startup is an obvious delight for an established luxury brand. As though big brands have a track record of not going after copyright infringement. Why wouldn't that be a problem? Yikes. Okay, I'm off it.

But it did prompt me to ask the question in the Q&A, and to pay attention to other media outlets who are evolving into product brands. I think the laws and accountability for these groups will will become increasingly impacted as bigger brands are limited and (quite publicly) restricted in publishing freedoms. I'm definitely curious about this, and will continue to pay attention!

If you have a burning question about a talk, ask it! It will round out the conversation, and there are likely others in the audience wondering the same thing. But, more importantly, the thing you have a burning question about is probably the most important thing you will take away from that talk.

Which brings me to...

6. Take your take-aways

I heard Anthony Bourdain share his business model for creating great content (never get comfortable, it will never be the same format twice) and approach to authenticity - that of simply not giving a fuck about what anyone else thinks. He made a great point that most people in TV want to stay on TV for as long as possible. Not him! This was never his dream, and he feels he can always do something else with food and people. That inherently gives him the freedom to experiment and explore, and not compromise for projected ratings. Of course, this thinking can be quite reckless, but he's comfortable with that, and there's some great truth about quality, intuition, and authenticity in that message. (I'm a novice in all things Bourdain, but I really enjoyed his 10-second life story: "I was basically a 42 year-old fry cook who was coming clean after years as a crack head, and I wanted a different story for my daughter. So I wrote Kitchen Confidential, and within months I was on TV. And there you go." I need to read that book.)

I heard the Bushnell family (as in, Nolan Bushnell, inventor of Atari, and 4 of his 10 kids) talk about the future of gaming and entertainment. They are seeing the gaming and entertainment worlds trend back in the direction of physical spaces and real, human-to-human interaction, after decades in the virtual spaces. I have to say, this family is pretty incredible. 7 of the kids work in the industry, and their stories of growing up sound like they come from a modern Swiss Family Robinson. They all still gather on Sunday nights for a family dinner and game night. This is my dream scenario! In an effort to model them, I wrote down three of the family's favorite games and got them for my dad's birthday. Game night, here we come! (For the record, the games are Settlers of Catan, Set, and Codenames, which is my favorite so far.)

I heard an incredible talk on Race in America with Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates and PBS Documentarian Ken Burns. Afterwards they were signing books, and I got to shake their hands and thank them for their work (and I picked up Gates's The African Americans, which is as comprehensive a history as you could imagine). I heard another talk on Bro-culture and the importance of women helping women. They had so many great articles in reference that I will share with my group of ladies in creative industries.

I learned that 40% of food is wasted in America, most before it even leaves the farm because it doesn't meet sellable produce beauty standards. (I made a vow to start buying the ugliest produce on the shelves.) Then a lot of it is thrown out by grocery stores that have to abide sell-by dates, regardless of their accuracy. And it's too expensive for them to donate without knowing they will get a tax credit. There's some food for thought. (Ouch.) But now I know what my pro-bono work will center on this year.

I learned that Ira Glass only makes stories that he is personally interested in, and I learned how he developed his radio voice over years. (To avoid sounding like a person imitating a bad reporter, he read scripts as if he was doing it live and conversationally, for 5 years. Then he actually did it live.) He also said: taste and talent should be equally cultivated, so start making NOW. Which leads me to another great talk: I heard JJ Abrams speak about narrative with Andrew Jarecki, who just launched this sick content app called KnowMe which I absolutely cannot wait to try. Their point was that there are so many creators out there with all the gear to make great stories, and then there are people who don't bother because they don't have the gear. KnowMe is for the latter. And while storytelling - good storytelling - will always take time, they want to help bring a level of quality to the masses.

I also realized that, even though I've met her and her twin sister Radha before, Miki Agrawal is a bad ass. I caught a bit of her talk on fashion and cause, and was blown away not only by the social business she's started (THINX, which has ads all over the NYC subways that uses the until-now censored word: period, and makes me so proud), but I was inspired by her tenacity. She sets milestones, is courageous and disciplined; she meets the people she needs to meet, and just generally gets shit done. If you haven't read her book, Do Cool Shit, I recommend it.

And finally, I wasn't a total stick in the mud. I may not have gone day-drinking, but I enjoyed the night life! Before we headed back to NYC, we had the pleasure of seeing Willie Nelson live. That man is 86 years old and still plays the guitar like a superhuman. He was absolutely amazing, and I stood directly in the front row. The best take-away from the whole week? His bandana. I caught Willie Nelson's bandana, and no matter how much money my friends offer me for it, I (probably) will not sell it!

7. Bonus: PURSE TACOS!!!

Okay, I really owe this one to my girl Tamara. Here's the concept: you get great tacos at night in Austin. They are the best thing you've ever eaten. Then you wake up in the morning, starving and possibly too rushed/hungover to find a good breakfast. Her solution? Purse tacos. Order extra at night, wrap them up, and bring them along with you in the morning. It's as good as cold pizza (when you find excellent pizza), and it keeps the Austin food party going.

I'd be a terrible person if I didn't tell everyone that the best candidates for purse tacos can be found in the back yard at Lazy Lizard (formerly Gypsy Lounge). You're welcome.