In a short span of time today, two good examples of websites leveraging typically static pages:
Flickr error page from Right Half Chow
Icon Factory under construction from Idea Sandbox
More Clingy than Static
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Monthly Archives: July 2006
Where the Rubber Meets the Sidewalk
Remember that game where you said, “Step on a crack, break your mom’s back.”? It might be getting a lot easier to play in the future.
Rubber sidewalks go where concrete fears to tread.
(Found via Batesline)
Pull! 10 Signs You’re Shooting Down Good Ideas.
If you follow the concepts of the Wisdom of Crowds, the Generous Web, Mosh Pit Innovation, or Harvesting Collective Genius… you believe in the power of ideas “bubbling up.”
Yet, few companies create an environment conducive to idea sharing. In fact, most companies, bosses, and even employees TRAIN individuals NOT to share ideas by shooting down every idea tossed into the air.
Here are 10 signs you’re shooting down good ideas.
10. You know whether or not an idea is good based who proposed it.
9. You observe from a distance rather than being lead down a path to the idea. (a.k.a. The Sniper)
8. You believe every idea is improved with your input.
7. Listing the top 10 ideas from your department this year, half or more are your own.
6. Brainstorming means narrowing down to the best idea, instead of hearing all of them.
5. All ideas must be proven.
4. You only want BIG ideas.
3. You have no effective mechanisms to foster, collect, review, and implement ideas.
2. Your competition is your main source of ideas.
1. No matter how much you’ve talked about ideas, collected them, praised them, in the end you don’t use them. (Like a maimed duck, you let them wander off and die.)
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Update
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Paul Williams at Idea Sandbox shared some relevant advice in his April edition of Sand for Your Inbox. He included Matt Kingdon’s steps for “greenhousing” ideas (from the book Sticky Wisdom):
- Suspend – It doesn’t matter if it’s a good idea or not, don’t evaluate it at first. Hold your judgement. Be positive.
- Understand – Put yourself in the shoes of the person suggesting the idea. Listen. Ask questions if you don’t understand. (Supporting questions not barbed questions).
- Nurture – Add or build on the idea. Brainstorm more on how to make the idea even stronger. Add value.
Advertisers Who Can Stomach It
johnmoore (from Brand Autopsy) pointed out that U.S. Airways is rolling out advertising space on airsickness bags. Someone apparently misunderstood the concept of viral marketing.
Personally, I think johnmoore is being too harsh. Sure, it would be a horrible idea for CBS to advertise their new Fall lineup of shows on barf bags, but there are other marketers for whom this may be a perfect fit. So, below you will see an example of those I think could benefit from this advertising opportunity:
Feel free to submit your ideas in the comments.
Bloggers Who Have Influenced Me – Seth Godin
Illustration based on this Flickr photo by Mark Hurst.
Without a doubt, no other blogger has influenced my perceptions of marketing more than Seth Godin. Before I started reading Seth’s blog and books, I had a pretty narrow perception of marketing. I also had a narrow perception of career and business success.
Here’s what I’ve learned from Seth (in no particular order):
Permission marketing is more effective than interruption marketing.
Getting your message to sneezers is more urgent than getting it to the masses.
Remarkable gets remarked about.
Very good is the opposite of remarkable.
Perfection is the enemy of remarkable.
Survival is not enough.
There’s always a story.
How you tell it matters.
Treat different customers differently. (segmentation ain’t just for databases)
Ideas are different than opinions. (which lead to this)
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Seth is labeled as an agent of change. I find that appropriate since I can truly say he has changed the course of my career, which of course changes the course of my life.
Thank you Seth, for inspiring change. I, for one, have benefited from it.
3 Steps to Success
Success is simpler than you think.
Step 1: Be remarkable.
Step 2: Be visible.
Step 3: Be sustainable.
Success is harder than you think.
It’s a Good Thing I Don’t Get It.
I don’t get this.
But isn’t that the point?
I see a lot of critics of products and commercials say, “I don’t get it.” I don’t think that is a valid criticism. It leads to spoon-feeding. Making the message plain enough that everyone gets it. The problem is you end up with exactly that: a plain message.
Someone sees Picasso Pesto and Salvador Deli, and they say, “I get it.”
They also say, “I’ll get it from these guys… because THEY get it.”