Chair Potato is the New Couch Potato

After attending the ThinkLA Trends Breakfast (#ThinkTrends) earlier this week at the Beverly Hills Hotel, all I can think about is that I'm going to need a new chair. Right now I'm sitting on a dining room chair with an extra cushion and it still is not very comfortable. My office chair hurts my back.

Chairs were not a trend discussed in the "We Are Connected" theme by three dynamos of the Digital Age: Ciaran Bossum, Director of Digital Strategy & Brand Participation at Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles; Jonah Peretti, Founder and CEO of Buzzfeed and Co-Founder of The Huffington Post; and Dr. Jeffrey Cole, Director, Center for Digital Future at USC Annenberg School for Communication. Over 500 attendees were privy to the presentations, almost all of whom were clutching their smartphones and multi-tasking as the behavioral charts projected on room monitors said they would.

Bossum’s message focused on the shift in consumer behavior to multi-platform and second screen experiences. We watch TV while simultaneously multi-tasking and the primary content delivery vehicle is our phone. We are used to shifting across platforms from our big screen TVs to our laptops and iPads (sequential usage). Consumers are now comfortable purchasing on line, but we better be able to do it on our phones or the deal may be off.

Our social behavior is changing the way we use our devices too. We want to share our experiences with our friends by tweeting or posting comments with others watching an event at the same time (simultaneous usage), especially during live events like the Super Bowl.    

Peretti, who shared his hilarious journey from taking on Nike on “The Today Show” to his Rejection Hotline http://bit.ly/Ww83zW , is an expert on how things go viral. BuzzFeed is the first true social news organization that provides a pioneering mix of breaking news, entertainment and shareable content. Once thought of more for its humorist lists like “13 Simple Steps to Get You Through a Rough Day,” BuzzFeed recently hired Ben Smith of POLITICO as Editor-in-Chief and scooped the news media when President Obama visited Afghanistan.

Peretti encourages adding to humor to the mix. He compares the current social media landscape to “Publishing is now a Paris Café.” It’s okay to read Sartre and and pet the dog. He says it’s about fun and the human experience. 

Cole traced how the mass medium has shifted from radio to TV and now to digital viewing. When TV became the focus we started watching three hours a day. That time came at the cost of family conversations and reading a book or magazine. Now we have expanded our viewing time from 16 hours to 44 hours a week and he expects this will go to 55 hours. 

It was Cole's discussion about e-commerce and our use of the internet that made me think about getting a new chair. Cole said while we were reluctant at first to purchase online, now it has become such a part of our daily lives that we are making even the most mundane of purchases because we will get them in 48 hours. Amazon is pushing that delivery window to same day--order by 10am, receive by 6pm. Why go out in the rain to buy kitty litter if I can have it delivered to my door? Cole predicts that Amazon will deliver cars to our doorstep in the near future. 

Another point Cole made is that we can't escape the internet. For every hour we may surreptitiously surf at work, we spend three hours at home working. We sleep with our phones. Now we fluctuate between "FOMO—the Fear of Missing Out" to wanting to turn it all off with what The New York Times called "JOMO—the Joy of Missing Out."

So I ask you, is your chair comfortable enough to handle these digital trends? We already work from home and shop from home. I'm not sure I'll need a car delivered to my home, but I know I am going to need a better chair!

Print and Social Media Marketing: So Many Questions

I came across my job search notebook from 2006 when I was laid off from NBC and I'm amazed by both how much has changed and how much is still the same.

Six years ago Monster.com was THE job search engine, now I barely look at it. The first iPhone was released in June 2007. I was not using Facebook or LinkedIn, neither were my peers. Social Media Marketing and blogs did not even exist!

One question I asked myself then is still valid today: Do you think your current job will exist in five years?

Print was still a robust industry in 2006, full of car books, annual reports, magazines and books. The paper industry was not viewed as a public enemy. Home Entertainment was phasing out VHS tapes for DVDs. People bought books in real bookstores and from Amazon.

Now the print industry is getting back on its feet after a drastic decline in 2008. We lost some of the best printers in town over the past five years, but thankfully, many have remained as robust as ever. The Advertising Production Association of Los Angeles, my original social media marketing source, once with over 700 members has declined to 250 members and will mark 2012 as its final year. The paper industry has a tough job in convincing America that it is the sustainable resource it always has been.

My way of thinking about the future has changed. In 2006 I was asking myself "What do I want to do for the next 20 years?" Now I realize the old model of remaining with a company for the "rest of my career" is no longer viable. I have always been the loyal employee, working 5 or more years, but those relationships are no longer the norm. Now I want to focus on what is new and how I can contribute in a fresh way.

One question remains personal to me from 2006 and now: How can I help the print industry? Is there a function I can take on as the voice of the print industry that will help both vendors and buyers connect to what's next?

There are so many events offered for personal and professional growth. I wonder who has time to go to them all. And if one goes, what happens to that knowledge? I would like to be the person attending informative events and reporting on them to my industry peers. That's why I started Pinkyonthepulse.com. Can Print and Social Media Marketing work together?

One last question: What's next?

TEDxUCLA: Red Balloons Lead to Open Minds

When is the last time you allowed yourself a day of learning completely new ideas? The TEDxUCLA "Ideas Worth Spreading" event on October 27th lived up to its promise. TED (www.TED.com) is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. This was the second annual TEDxUCLA event and I couldn't have dreamed of a more interesting experience.

From the minute I pulled into the UCLA campus I knew I was in for a treat. Red balloons paved the path from the parking lot to the venue. I usually have trouble figuring out what building my classes are in at UCLA, but not that day! 

The real theme of the day was "OPEN" and I learned this important lesson before I even got to my seat. As I was walking to the building a man rode by on a double decker bicycle with all sorts of gear attached. I thought to myself, "There's got to be one of these oddball guys on every college campus." Inside, I saw a woman with a headset waiting to get in and thought "Geez, she can't even put her phone down for an hour?" 

They turned out to be Rachel Kann, an earthy, quirky spoken word poet and event emcee and Bobby "Tall Bike Bobby" Gadda, a bicycle activist and performance artist, both of whom entranced the audience with their independent, spunky spirits. 

The rest of the day was peppered with over a dozen unique, awe-inspiring takes on Science, Technology, Education and Design including a cardiologist who learned to be a better doctor by studying animal hearts and behaviors; a mechanical engineer with a PHD who explains science through comics; a professor of English Lit who brought Shakespeare to a maximum security prison with extraordinarily moving results; a scientist who studied cell textures to discover that cancer cells are softer than normal cells; and a law professor who challenged her students to view a case from all angles and helped free an innocent man.

Bookending the speakers were amazing multi-cultural performances featuring musicians, artists and our own time-lapse muralist Chris Rutterford, working in Scotland via Skype. Rachel lead us in a meet and greet stretch break and a kick-ass game of hot potato with 525 people from ages 20-80 tossing red TED beach balls around. 

Not an ordinary Saturday for me. I left invigorated and awestruck, clutching my red TED beach ball to remember the day.

SheSays LA: Step Left!

I learned early on in the digital age that there are two types of people: Those who love what they do and want to teach you everything they know; and those who don't want to teach you anything because you might move ahead of them. Luckily, the room was full of the former for SheSays LA's free event "Start Your Engine" last night at the super cool SapientNitro offices in Santa Monica.

Luz Plaza(@LuzPlaza) moderated a well-balanced panel of Start Up experts including Elizabeth Osder (@osder), SVP, Strategy & Business Development at JumpTime; Sheila Darcey (@art1st1c), Client Executive and Delivery Lead at SapientNitro (and a very gracious hostess); Kayla Green (@kaylagreen) Senior Global Account Director at iconmobile LLC; and Heather Seal (@hseal) Experience Designer at BLITZagency. I'm pretty sure Kayla and Heather will have new jobs before you finish reading this article--that's how fast moving this industry is!

Luz quoted a recent article in Forbes stating that women comprise less than 3% of top creative positions. Elizabeth wasn't surprised by that figure. She said she has often been the first woman to show up and she has the history to prove it. Elizabeth was the first female legally allowed to play in Little League!

What is it like to work for a start-up? Kayla described it as "fun chaos, like misfits in the wild, wild west." Heather said she took a risk and jumped in, leaving behind stability and a regular salary. Elizabeth likes to go where she will learn the most, not just for a better title. Sheila has taken on many roles in one company from HR to program management to the account side.

One recurring theme from the discussion was about taking risks with your career. More than one panelist talked about taking a step to the left, taking the road less travelled and having confidence in what you do. Sheila advised "You are a walking brand. Be influential in your message." The old school model of staying several years at one company or in one position is frowned upon. Now, two years is the average stint.

Luz asked the panelists to share the best advice someone told them. Elizabeth said "You're OK, you're in the right place." She joked "be willing to learn what you pretend to know!" Sheila said "it's a career, not just work. Leave the heaviness behind and have fun." Heather advised "You can do anything and go anywhere. Life is too short to be unhappy with your situation." Kayla paraphrased FB COO Sheryl Sandberg, "Don't climb the ladder, scale the jungle gym. Take a step left and right and experience the whole thing."

Thanks to SheSays LA and the four panelists for their inspiring insights into the paths they have taken.

Rate Me!

Do we have to rate everything we do, every service we are subjected to, every person we meet? Are any of these ratings really true? So much of the popularity of website like YELP and Amazon depend on our ratings. Are you going to go to a 1-star restaurant or read a 1-star book?

In the past few weeks I had to rate myself in my performance review, rate a series of speakers at a seminar I attended, rate an AT&T worker and review my brother's book.

I struggled with my self-evaluation. Last year I gave myself a slightly higher rating fancying myself as "a unique and beautiful snowflake." I received a positive, yet grounding evaluation. I marvel at those who give themselves and truly believe they deserve a 5. I know what kind of snowflake I am.

I attended a seminar in June on "Women, Wealth and Wisdom," in which the keynote speaker was a widely recognized spiritual leader and best-selling author. I was excited to hear her speak. While I marveled that she spoke without notes, I did not jot down any nuggets of wisdom. I felt that she eloquently spoke about "nothing." In the Q&A that followed, a woman who obviously admired the speaker, asked a question making broad generalizations about men in business. The renowned speaker artfully chewed her up and spit her into pieces for five minutes. Other much more inspiring speakers spoke throughout the day. When I filled out my questionnaire rating the speakers, I lied and gave her a 5. I didn't want to insult my host whom I admire. And I did learn a valuable lesson: don't believe the hype surrounding a public figure. The real 5 belonged to a female heart surgeon who literally had us all in the palm of her hand. I gave her a 5 +++.

After a mis-scheduled appointment with AT&T I was patiently waiting in my 9-12 window making sure I rushed to get everything done before 9 (meaning: get dressed). At 10:30 I checked online only too see the server was down. My guy showed up at 11. He got to work and told me he had to dispatch another tech to fix the phone line and he would go to lunch for an hour. Was that OK? Did I mention, this was a Friday and I was waiting to go to work? He finished up around 1pm. I gave him a 4 on his review. His supervisor called me to ask why I didn't give him a 5. Really? He was not "a unique and beautiful snowflake" either.

My brother was upset that someone gave him a 1 star review on GoodReads for his book, "Trading Manny." I had honestly just finished reading it and felt it had some great moments. While I agreed with some points in other reviews I didn't feel it deserved such a "hater" review. I wrote a review and gave him a 4. Unfortunately, my first and last name showed up. The haters are going to love that one!

So read between the lines when you see stars. Feel free to rate me but only if you are going to give me a 5.

Confessions of an Emmy Voter

It is my favorite time of year: Emmy Season! Since April I have been getting surprise packages in the mail. Every year I fear this will end and networks will go digital. I especially love to see the creative packaging since this what I do for a living too.

I am a member of the Television Executives branch of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences  http://www.emmys.tv/ --go figure! I worked at NBC for 13 years and I continue to pay my annual dues so I am eligible to vote for Programs.

I love TV and watching TV shows on a TV. I'm trying to embrace other platforms like my Kindle or laptop, but I am by large the traditional sit-in-my-lazyboy with dog on my lap kind of TV watcher. I still love Fall Launch (memories of my NBC boss saying every year, "This is the most important fall launch ever!" and she was right). The older I get, the more fickle I have become though. If I am not hooked after a couple episodes I move on.

There are a couple of shows I never started and wish I had like The Good Wife and Breaking Bad. I count on my friends and co-workers to keep me informed and will take buzz-worthy shows into consideration. Every year I have the same good intentions to watch everything I get in my coveted packages but I fall far short of my goal.

Here are some of the cool packages I got: a lunchbox from Food Network, ALL of Mad Men, a bunch of HBO stuff which is great because I don't subscribe, a cool dossier for Damages, a fun map of Portland for Portlandia and a douchebag jar from New Girl.

Despite my good intentions, I couldn't watch even a fraction of what they sent me. I couldn't even keep all the packaging and resorted to stacking them on a spindle.

My ballot has been cast and I'll find out on July 19 how my shows did. In August I'll get to do at-home judging for two program categories. I usually pick non-fiction specials because they are interesting and usually something I hadn't but should have watched. Had a tough time even picking 10 shows for best non-fiction series or reality series. Sorry Kardashians, just because you make a gazillion dollars over nothing does not make you Emmy-worthy in my book!

Plug Overload

PINKY is trying very hard to keep up with new technology. I admit to being a slow adapter. I have a TV that still plays VHS tapes. My other TV weighs 200lbs and is far from slim.

I can't listen to my iPod in my 2001 car because the plug always blows fuses. Just as well since I have an early edition iPod that looks like the cell phone construction foremen once carried. It would probably lower my MPG significantly.

I finally gave in a bought a Kindle Fire which forced me to get a portable WiFi gizmo since my 2004 iMac is cloudless.  And because I could no longer do anything but read email on said Mac, I upgraded to a MacBook Air. I soon found out that I needed an external disc drive too. PINKY does not want to think about how much keeping up with technology is costing.

The inside of my house is starting to look like my yard at Christmas when I have 25 lines of lights plugged into 2 outlets. Each gizmo has its own cord and charger, mostly USB compatible but often with oddly shaped ends. Four gizmos are plugged in simultaneously into one outlet. Often I wander from room to room with something that needs to be charged. I have a drawer of oddly shaped cords and plugs that I am afraid to throw out.

Part of the joy of new technology is it's portability. I can take it with me everywhere I go! As long as they are charged that is. Since they all have slightly different functions, there are days when I have all 4 devices with me and all their plugs. I even have a solar charger in my car in case of an emergency. Soon I will need a digital Sherpa to accompany me everywhere.

My friend recently remodeled her office in her 50's style ranch house similar to mine. She had a major problem with wires going everywhere and hated the way they all stuck out. She came up with the perfect solution to hide all those annoying cords (plugged into one outlet!)

The old guitar case trick works like a charm! Luckily, I have one of those too. How are you handling the wires, plugs and chargers in your world?