PoolHouseRed

I listen to a lot of NPR, so I have been thinking about the whole firing of Juan Williams thing a lot.

I really don’t remember any specific story or analysis that Juan did, so I don’t have much opinion of him. And, I also recognize that the specific events that lead to his being fired was not the first conflict between him and NPR…we dont know the whole story.

In the end I dont really think that NPR should have fired him. Instead I think NPR should have engaged him in a public conversation (get him on Talk of the Nation, do some town hall stuff, interviews, a TAL…etc…) about some real issues:

• How is it appropriate to be honest about something that seems bigoted, discriminatory or whatever. For him to say “I get nervous on a flight with Muslims” is just true. The issue is what do we do with that. Does he think that is ok? Or does he fight that tendency he has to categorize and generalize? Is he coming to this from an (unfounded) string of logic, or is this an emotional response? How can we have a rational, helpful conversation about this stuff?
• Next, It would have been interesting if they had a conversation about the role of opinion in journalism. I don’t for a second buy this idea that any journalist or news organization is unbiassed and just “presents the facts”. So what if there was a conversation abut how to understand bias in news. What are the appropriate ways for reporters and analysts to give their opinion? Perhaps if there was an accepted way (such as a blog, specific show, etc) for them to give analysis based on opinion they would be more able to leave bies behind in a news reporting situation because they have an out let. Perhaps not. At the very least if we, the news consuming public, had a way to know what a reporter really thought we would have a starting place to evaluate what they say.

Any way, if Juan, NPR an FOX had been able to engage those (and other) issues it might have helped us as a news consuming people think through some hard issues. In the end perhaps Juan would still have left or been asked to leave, but at least it would not have degraded into yet another he said, she siad, i dont like you, give me my free speech, left, right, yelling match in a big yelling match.

There are going to be lots of challenges as I try to build a base of clients who i am working with. Here are a few:

Today’s Tasks:

• bike ride
• blog post
• 2 client proposals
• CCCA sectional workshop proposal
• client meeting
• video shoot

Its not all going to get done, but it feels good to be doing stuff that is steps toward actually getting this freelance thing off the ground.

I think the big struggle right now is priorities. I don’t have my web site up, a business card, nothing, but im dong stuff for clients (which is good!) A lot of it is a matter of time management. Between working at church and the canopy tour there are not a lot of hours left.

Recently I have started doing more freelance work for people. I hope that someday this will evolve into a little company that helps people solve problems, does some design work, equips people to impact more people and make the world a better place. I think it would be good for me to blog about how its going. Perhaps somebody can learn from my experiences, but mostly i process things well by writing. So, here we go…

…blog management company. Actually, I am sure that this exists already, but thats ok. I know a lot of people who feel like a blog would be helpful to their company. They probably have some good things to write about, and the discipline of blogging would be good for them. But they get a bit hung up on the technical stuff, need some accountability to get them started, and need some help learning to be creative. It seems like there would be an opportunity for somebody to start a company that specializes in helping people do this. You would help people plan a blog (why? what? who is if for? do we really need one or are we just trying to keep up with the times?).  Then help navigate the technical aspects of a blog. As an on going role you would help keep them accountable to writing, and help them come up with content ideas. Perhaps they could even just send you text files and you could post it to the blog so the formatting could be good, it could be proofed, stuff like that.

part 2 in the musicians marketing series i guess…Recently a couple of musician friends of ours had a small show at our hose. We probably had  15 people here. I have been thinking about house shows a lot, and how they can fit into a musicians overall plan to connect with fans. It seems like they can be really effective…but first some negatives. I guess the big negative is size. with only 10-50 people at the show its not like you are connecting to a lot of people…and your not going to sell very many albums to the people at the show. So, financially it is (short term) not very profitable. Especially if you have to travel a lot to get to the show. House shows are kind of style limiting to, its a lot simpler for an acoustic singer songwriter type to pull off then a metal thrash band with 2 guitars, 3 percussionists, bass, keys,  a cow bell and speaker stacks 10 feet high.

now some positives I have been thinking about:

• having a house show forces you to find one true fan, somebody who will host
• The host has to find people to come, so they are doing some work for the artist, but more important then that the people they bring are filtered. The host will pick people who they know will like the artist (the host’s reputation is on the line after all)
• The small venue makes it so the artist can talk to each person…more connection, hopefully more committed fans.

That’s it, just some quick thoughts. Making a connection is still the key, and giving those new fans ways to continue to follow, find new music, etc is still important just like a big show.

The other day I hung out with some friends at a pizza place during open mic. My friend is a musician, so he played a few songs. It was great. People responded well, he had the crowds attention, a lady even sought him out to tell him that she liked his music. I wonder though, from a pure marketing perspective was their any value in it? Nobody really knows who he was, they don’t know how to get his CD, his web site, or probably even his name.  So, I have been thinking, how can you turn people at an open mic into fans? How do you find a way to reconnect with them? Some ideas, not all good, but still ideas:

• At the most basic, say your name and web site
• Have some business cards or postcards to give people who you get to talk to
• wear a shirt with you web site on it so that people will see it
• collect email addresses
• give away a demo to everybody who wants one
• give away anything that will identify you
• be so good people have to notice
• play the same place a lot so that people get some repetition of your name.
• give people money
• get to know the owner of the place so you can come back and play your own show
• be really intentional about talking to people who respond well
• do something crazy so people have to remember you
• take pictures and tell people they will be on your website (then put them on your website) so people will want to see themselves.
• pick one person who responds well and do everything you can to connect with them, block out everybody else, make sure they leave as a super fan.

Thats it. any other ideas?

There are lots of things i could enjoy doing with the rest of my life, but if i could have a dream job i think i would want to be an idea person…also known as consultant. Here is how it would work: I would work either for an organization doing interesting things, or work independently for several organizations. Whenever somebody had an problem to solve they would come to me, and i would help them figure out the solution. Then, if the solution sounds interesting then I would get to help implement the solution. If not, they get to find somebody else (hey, its a dream job remember!).

I think that often the most interesting part of design is solving the problem. I like the process of trying to come up with new ideas and new ways of looking at a situation. I like trying to see the big picture and pulling unrelated things together.  I like coming up with lists of solutions and then trying to pick the best one. But sometimes I get a bit stuck on the implementation part.

Is anybody hiring?

Dear Republicans, Tea Party, and other Conservatives,

Your mad, we get it. I don’t blame you for standing against something you truly oppose…I probably even agree with some of your concerns. But you’re not scoring points with me. If you want me to buy into what your doing this is what you should do:

1. Start saying you have some concerns about the current legislation, that you think its a bad idea, give your reasons. Then, move on, acknowledge that for now whats law is law.
2. Focus on one of your concerns: how much this is going to cost and that it will raise insurance rates in the long term. Let us know that you are going to try to find a solution for this part of the problem by figuring out how to deal with the cost of health care.
3. Right now, today, start figuring out a way to start working on the next issue in health care: costs. Bring together a diverse group of people from lots of backgrounds to start coming up with some new ideas. Do something big and innovative. It can even line up with your values. Find new ways to make market forces work in heath care to do what markets do: lower cost and increase quality. Find innovative ways to deliver health care, focus on preventative care. Do something great. Work with everybody, prove you can rise above your party affiliation.
4. Now, you have something to stand on. Instead of just retelling a story of fear (of course it would come back to story and marketing right?) you can tell the story of how you did something great, and how you want to take a new crack at insurance reform. Repeat step 3 with insurance reform, we might even end up with something better.

The other day i tried to make a drinking glass out of a glass coke bottle. Kind of like this. Its super easy, all you need is a bottle, a blow torch, something to score the glass with, a sink full of water, and some sandpaper. I have seen them sold for up to $45 for a set of six. So, this seems like another opportunity for some micro finance. It would be interesting if somebody could develop a business that is based around a coop type model for making and selling various upcylced glass products and use it as an economic development tool at the same time.