Yeah, you know what I’m talking about.

People talk about ‘work-life balance’ all the time but I find it basically does NOT exist. Not really.

When you take on a job, a career or a business, it becomes a significant part of you. When you do something several hours a day, in some ways you become it.

Should you have work-life balance... or balance within your working life?

It’s unavoidable, and there’s also nothing wrong with that!

However… that balance is something to find within your work rather than between your work and the rest of your life.

I’m telling you – you need ALL three to feel balanced:

Social – you need some form of the social element in your work, otherwise you’ll eventually find yourself in some form of hermitry (yes, that’s a word, I just invented it). Especially for those who are self-employed, if you’re not careful you’ll one day find yourself ‘going to work’ at noon, having video calls secretly in your underwear, and basically just missing out on a lot. Which The Oatmeal so aptly described. The social element is also important for self-expression and personal growth, so it’s basically something everyone needs to be successful.

Contribution – this sounds way too obvious to make the list, but really it’s not. Too many people stick with jobs where they cannot contribute, stop contributing when they’re bored with their jobs, or simply get lazy over time. Contribution is where true job satisfaction comes from, and we should jump at every opportunity to contribute in any way. That’s why we’re here. If you don’t currently feel you’re contributing enough, start looking for ways to do so.

Inspiration – if you don’t love what you do, you might slip into thinking this is some cruel joke. But deep down you know this is true. If you don’t find inspiration within your job, you’re probably in the wrong line of work. It can come in so many ways, and you should also provide inspiration to others in your working environment. It’s all a delightful, continuous give-and-take.

Think about your work environment and your everyday experience.

Do you have all three in equal measure, or are you lacking in one of the categories?

• If you lack the social element, you risk becoming a loner.
• If you lack the contribution element, you risk finding a dead end.
• If you lack the inspiration element, you risk getting bored and/or fed up.

When you have all three, you know life is going to be pretty sweet. Fun, fulfilling and always expanding in some great new ways.

There’s always a way to find all three without overhauling everything, so start making lists of ways to include all three in your experience.

Don’t settle for having work and life be an either/or proposition. You CAN have a life where all parts have equal meaning within themselves. Just start looking for ways to find and keep your ideal setup!

Do you know the secret behind every successful piece of advertising, media or entertainment?

Here it comes.

It is always, ALWAYS designed to be SPEAKING DIRECTLY TO SOMEONE SPECIFIC.

Whether that’s conscious or unconscious, it doesn’t really matter.

Some lucky people do it unconsciously via their close connection to their audience, others have to learn it some other way.

Take the very long-playing, very popular car TV show Top Gear:

If you don’t want to watch the whole clip, I’ll cherry pick the important bit from it for you.

The show’s leading host Jeremy Clarkson says he always thinks of his mother when designing his bits – someone who knows absolutely nothing about cars or technology or anything of the sort.

This is very, very important.

The result is a remarkably down-to-earth tone, appealing to a very broad segment of the audience.

Speaking to the core audience (mainstream, normal person) without alienating those with a deeper interest.

It makes for a very focused, very particular experience people can relate to.

The important thing is to HAVE a Customer Avatar in mind when you create advertising, media or any kind of content. Then the act of creation will flow from a place of connection to the audience, and you will almost magically end up with compelling content. I dare you to try it!

It is true that having a bit of an outrageous angle to your marketing can work wonders in getting attention.

It can make you stand out from a sea of me-too marketing, lukewarm offers and overcrowded markets.

However, too much of a good thing can be detrimental too.

Take this Lithuanian ad for a mineral water for instance (yes it is a real product, let’s assume the ad is too):

You have to admit it’s pretty funny, over the top and definitely wakes you up.

But two and a half minutes of this is a bit much, fatigue sets in at the one minute point or so.

The problem is, the clip sure is funny, but it’s so over the top it makes the product less believable.

Who cares, you might say, it did the job after all, and the piece has become a bit of a viral thing.

Well, if the purpose of an ad is supposed to actually sell more of the product, then I must assume there are better ways.

Looking at the Vytautas web site, they cite so many benefits they could easily make another video about how it alleviates stress, cures the hangover and re-hydrates you after sauna.

Maybe that’s their plan – get the eyeballs first, then do the actual marketing. If so, well played, Good Sirs.

A dash of the outrageous helps you get attention and grab your market by the eyeballs – just make sure you’re able to follow up with some real marketing and compelling offers.

I’ve said it a few times before, and I’ll say it again: if you want to see where the masses are going, keep a keen eye on the fashion industry.

Because they not only define the trends, they also tend to pick up on trends affecting their business much faster than many others.

Case in point: Ermenegildo Zegna, the fine Italian shop.

Zegna launches online... as they should!

(Click to see the app shot full size)

Now… where have we seen this before?

Countdowns, launch sequences, content drips leading up to a big hyped up event…

That’s right, internet marketers have been embracing the process for years, and now we’re seeing the same being deployed in many other industries, with quite sufficient gusto.

At the same time, some others seem to be dwindling it down a bit (read: Apple) so it will be interesting to see where the next success stories will come, marketing wise.

Pay close attention, folks!

Ever wonder how your life ended up the way it is now?

Ever feel like ‘this is it’ and you couldn’t change the course of your life if you tried – at least not very significantly?

Even sometimes feel helpless at times over ‘the forces at work’ in your life, making it much less than you know it should be?

A LOT of people feel like that, so don’t think you’re alone in this. Living lives of quiet desperation, and all that.

And if you’re at all familiar with the self-help industry, you know there are plenty of people telling you exactly what to do.

Just take more action, create clear goals, stay positive, eat raw food and sleep better.

Well, that’s all well and good but it all sounds like a LOT of work, doesn’t it? You already have a lot on your plate to begin with, which is the way you want change, right?!

Kinda makes you wish there was an easier way, doesn’t it?

Yes it does, and there is such a way.

I like to call it the Law Of Exposure.

What you get exposed to... colors your world!

Yes, it’s kinda sorta maybe related to the Law Of Attraction (heck, what isn’t) but that’s not the point.

The Law of Exposure (LOE for short) is what determines what grows in your consciousness, becoming thoughts and emotions and new realities.

Or old realities, as the case may often be, if you keep exposing yourself to the same things over and over.

Now if you’re stuck in that rut, you appreciate the path of less resistance.

In my opinion, nothing wrong about that at all. It’s how Nature works, so why shouldn’t you and I, too?

The only teeny tiny tweak to do is… Start migrating your exposure.

Meaning, do less of this daily:

• Watch television for hours on end, exposing yourself to values imbibed crime drama and bitchy ‘reality’ programming
• Read news headlines and actually believe the way they’re framed for your attention and raw emotional response
• Listen to your friends and colleagues who are convinced anyone trying to better themselves is an unrealistic fool
• Listen to music that is designed to simply ‘hook’ you using the basest of emotions, and even generate anger and other negative emotions

And do more of this daily:

• Spend ten minutes with a list of your very personal goals and dreams, editing and altering it and enjoying it (no-one will see, I promise)
• Listen to music that uplifts your spirits and creates mental orderliness (try some Mozart for a change, just a coupleof minutes will do)
• Have a conversation with someone you genuinely respect and whose view of things you know will enrich your life (you know who these are)
• Shut down all electronics and other distractions and just spend a few minutes alone with your thoughts. You’ll be surprised by what comes up.
• Go to a highly dignified place, such as a fine opera house or a historical site. Just observe the effect of the divine geometry on your resonance… (it’s there)

And many more things that are personal to you only.

Here’s the important part:

You do NOT have to change EVERYTHING. Just enough to change the sum of your daily exposure!

Surely you can do THAT, right?

Introduce just a couple of new experiences into your daily life, deliberately exposing yourself to something positive, and you’re quickly out of the rut. Soon you will want to add even more, and your life will never be the same-old’ again.

It happened again, and I couldn’t possibly let this one go by.

Nokia just came out with yet another innovation that SHOULD be market making – and I do hope it will be -  if they just get the marketing right.

The new Nokia cameraphone with stunning optics... yadda yadda yadda.

Judging by the launch though, looks as though the huge promise is not getting the treatment it deserves.

The announcement came as just a few minutes on stage, pulling out the new 41 megapixel cameraphone, the Nokia 808 PureView.

The result was an instantaneous explosion… of contradicting buzz:

Yes it’s great that it’s got 41 megapixels and new tech… sure hope Nokia’s back now…

AND…

Oh who cares about megapixels, this is another gimmick by Nokia, will be delayed and forgotten…

In other words, Nokia left it completely to the reporting public (yes I’m calling it that) to frame the message, what it means and how it’s perceived and perpetuated.

BIG mistake.

Could you even imagine Apple ever doing that?

The iPhone 4S came close actually, but that was just an incremental release of an already successful product.

There HAS to be a better way to package this. Let’s give it a shot:

‘NO MORE SMUTTY PICTURES!’

As a result of 5 years of ceaseless research no other mobile company is willing to do (Nokia spends 3X more on R&D than its rivals, and it shows)

The result completely transforms the experience of mobile photography and makes it ‘cool’ again!

• Over 5 times sharper than the latest iPhone: a stunning 41 megapixels (another industry first by Nokia)
• Zoom your pictures without losing any of the quality – no more fuzzy closeups! (a long time pet peeve of photo enthusiasts)
• Even three-time zooming leaves you with great quality
• Shoot great pictures in low-light situations: you get great snaps when it matters!
• Revolutionary oversampling technology combines 7 pixels into one: no more artificial, pixelated images!
• Shoot Full 1080p video with virtually lossless zooming and no-distortion audio

And then… you take those points and make it sing and fly!

Especially at an event that has a product launch per minute, you HAVE to make sure you get the messaging right.

Thankfully, Nokia still has a second chance to get it right during the runup to the actual market release of the device.

I do hope they’re paying attention to how it’s done right because it’s getting almost embarrassing to look at how they’re missing so many chances.

It’s ALL In The Framing

In this case, Nokia desperately needs to recapture The Frame – and not let bloggers or anybody else define it for them.

In the 1990′s Nokia got a nice head start thanks to a few breaks in technology and some bold decisions.

They were the number one in the world for almost two decades – and by many metrics still are!

But the perception has definitely changed, and you can’t really argue with that.

Over the past five years, they’ve let Apple and a bunch of tech journalists completely snatch the frame from them – meaning, letting them define what Nokia is or isn’t, how they’re relevant, why they’re doing what they’re doing.

Taking it back begins with making stronger statements, with incisive language, with their product launches. Sure, the product will speak for itself eventually, but if nobody gets it in their hands, the product is DOA.

With years of R&D put into these development projects, you’d think a little thought should go into how it’s perceived by the public?

Sure, Apple may even put almost too much attention on it, but that’s how they keep winning the hears and minds.

Market leadership is something you need to keep working on even after you have it. Giants can lose it, small companies can too. But it’s never too late to recapture the frame – becoming the leader is about making statements, and how you make them. Ready? Go!

Just in time before the iPad 3 rumor mill reaches fever pitch… let’s take a look at something practical. Something that works regardless of your iPad version.

This quickie post points to two trends unlikely to quiet down any time soon:

1. Content delivered and consumed via tablets; i.e. iPads mostly – the tablet is becoming THE dedicated platform for consumption
2. Content sold in small increments instead of giant umbrella products – allowing one to buy just the content you need and leave out the rest

Makes sense, yeah?

Now… you’ve seen those great screencam recordings of how to do things on your iPad, right?

No? Well truth be told there haven’t been that many as it takes a special setup to do it well.

Ed Dale has done us all a solid and created a video that shows exactly how to do it.

I’m off to the electronics store, you go and check this out in the mean time

If you don’t have an iPad, it’s probably no use reading on.

If you still think the iPad holds no additional value whatsoever, on second thought, do read on.

Recently I’ve really grown to love a particular iPad app because it truly makes use of how the iPad is different.

The magnificent Air Video app for the iPad

Here’s what Air Video does for me:

• I can go to a meeting downtown with just the iPad and stream a video in my computer’s library, on a moment’s notice
• I can watch any video on the iPad regardless of format – conversion happens on the fly!
• I can easily ‘mine’ my vast collection of videos for clips I need, which is otherwise difficult and time-consuming
• I can reach into a video collection downloaded from a video membership, and catch up on my education
• Any video I started to watch previously but didn’t complete – will next time continue where it left off (just like iTunes)
• Saves me tons of time from having to constantly convert and transfer huge video files onto the iPad

You see, the iPad is fantastic as a viewing device. It really, truly gets out of your way and showcases the content.

The Air Video app in action

If you have some downtime on your own, you can call forth a video to catch up on your viewing.

Or if you need to make a point using video to some others, you can do so quickly and easily with video on the go.

Being able to quickly and easily stream video from anywhere, just toting the iPad with an internet connection, has some incredible benefits – both business and personal. Give it a whirl and verify it for yourself!

PS. I’m sure there are even more benefits to Air Video depending on your particular use cases, so do leave a comment if you have something!

I could write about a lot of things that benefit any online business, but there seems to be one overarching theme things keep circling back to.

So riddle me this, my friend:

What is the actual reason why your web site exists:

• To look pretty and make you look good?

• To ‘get your name out there’?

• To make it possible for people to ‘contact you’?

• To ‘describe’ your products and services?

This is what comes up when looking at company sites who haven’t really thought about why they’re putting up a web site in the first place.

Pretty silly when you think about it, right?

photo credit: Micky.!

Instead – the real reason for a web site to exist… could it be… possibly… just perhaps…

• To make more money, for you and your business, at every step?

It’s now 2012, and so many people and so many businesses still dance around this issue it’s stunning.

Even the biggest newspapers in the world have finally come around and admitted they lost a decade and untold billions in revenue by not thinking things through first.

To make money ‘later’ is like choosing to have a child and deciding to ‘choose later’ whether you’ll support the kid. Nuts!

Sound familiar? ‘Just amass market share and the money will come…’

Unfortunately many startups as well as corporate divisions have gone down this path, and many more will before saner minds prevail.

If you’re in charge of your company’s online operations, here’s the thing to remember:

• Web design and web business are two different disciplines. Two entirely different competencies. Make sure you’re getting what you need.

If nobody in your web team has ever made a verifiable dime online in their life, they probably have no business trying to do the same for you. A business exists to make money, and you deserve the benefit of online business models that actually work. After 10+ years, they do exist. Go and find the people in the know.

“Hey Instagram, why is your mouth so big and your design so beautiful?”

- So I can eat my competition faster and faster! Ho Ho Ho!

Right, I’m mixing my tales but who cares. Here’s what’s going on.

Instagram the photo sharing app recently overtook FourSquare as the largest fully mobile social network.

15 million users… yeah, whatever. Point is, they’re doing great and people love to use their app. So…

Why exactly did InstaGram blow up in the first place?

You’d think that the 800 pound gorilla of photo sharing, Flickr (still love ‘em to death), would have snagged the self-evident crown of the King of Mobile Photo Sharing long ago?

Instead, a four-person startup (yes, still just four with the 15 million users) overtook and then lapped the Yahoo-owned behemoth, all the while singing neener-neener in their faces.

Or something like that…

photo credit: ohdarling

Now, if we look at things from the perspective of a marketer slash product designer.. things look a little different:

•  Instagram appeals to emotion – quick atmospheric touch-up to your mobile phone photos that tend to not look so professional anyway… makes all the difference. It makes you look good, it makes you feel good, it makes you want to share that feeling you had taking that snap. Folks, emotion sells – and I don’t care what it is you’re selling; personal status, attractiveness to the opposite sex, whatever the reason you share photos in the first place.
• It’s done for you sharing – you get a quick value add that you can share without tweaking and editing and all those things that are possible with more professional software… but you never spend the time figuring it out anyway. People want a service that hands it to them on a silver platter.
• There are no extra steps to take. It’s all very quick and in the moment – so you don’t lose that emotion – just take that snap, maybe apply a filter and a couple of words and buzz… out it goes. You get it now, hence the name. Instant gratification.
• Great name that sticks AND tells you what it does. With a name like instagram, it makes it sound like something you want to at least try once. And once you have, you probably won’t want to use anything else because of the other reasons counted above.

There it is. Go figure.

All based on principles well known by marketers, and mastered by those who actually use them to create and sell product like crazy.

The remaining question is…

Why indeed are marketers so rarely involved in the design of a product, since they know how to sell the final product the best, anyway? Something to think about for the holidays.