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Monkeys with Typewriters – Myths and realities of social media at work – A Review

John Horniblow — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:36:45 +0000

Monkeys with Typewriters – Myths and realities of social media at work.

There seems to be a lot of books that are be published about social media, the new digital marketing paradigm, and they are propagating as fast that the exponential growth of social media and networking. Most are, unfortunately, the non-descript how to do, or dummies guide to social media or how to use particular tool or a book rushed to print on hype. For the most part these serve their purpose but will be outdated by the time they publish or contain nothing more that are dry set of repetitive studies presented as a mind numbing, blunt string of wide eyed testimonies that say the “times are a changing”. I must say, save the print and spare me the drudgery please. Then I also must concede, I am not the target audience or buyer of such books.

Jemima Gibbons recently published book, Monkeys with Typewriters is quite different to those aforementioned book types. Its a new and refreshing read, a sparkling gem in a field of proliferating drudgery of “read this now and it will change your life” books. It also poignantly marks the period we are experiencing.

I must admit I do have a few books about digital convergence, digital economies and communications on my bookshelf . These are time markers that articulate what they see as present behaviours and guide future directions,: Being Digital, The Cluetrain Manifesto, Convergence Culture, Groundswell, and Secrets Of Social Media Marketing to name them. Monkeys with Typewriters is potentially another time marker, intelligently drawing upon history, the present and piecing together a jigsaw picture of trends. At it’s centre lies numerous informative and insightful conversations and stories. What’s profoundly different about his book is that is a narrative woven out of these conversations with about 50 thought leaders and practitioners the world of social computing ( and I must confess that I am one of the interviewees), written around their personal situations and personalities , their thoughts and experiences almost like investigative reportage. The actors in the narrative are drawn from a cast of influencers; startup CEO’s, corporate executives, academics, specialists, and noted pioneers in web 2.0. The narrative is structured into a framework of six defining trends or behaviors that mark the change in communications, information and the psychologies that are driving the flow of change. What it presents is a rich tapestry of current thinking and practices that harness the power of open information flow in the realtime web.

There’s no doubt, we do live in a time of somewhat profound and chaotic change in communications, knowledge and information flows. Borders are increasingly only geographical, businesses and countries are transforming and we are more connected than we ever have been before. Making sense of chaos and change is often quite hard as there are many factors at play. Monkeys with Typewriters is a must read if you want to make sense of the inter connectedness and how to behave in this new brave world.

As Jemima concludes in her wrapup about Wise Monkeys “Social media is not about technology. It’s about people, relationships, and conversations. The web is the enabler. If you can engage with and value this network and incorporate its collaborative properties.. then you are one step closer to business zen : an intuitive, harmonious and enlightened working environment.” I couldn’t phrase it better myself.

Here are some links to buy the book and Jemima’s Monkeys with Typewriters blog

Books for the New Year

MC Casal — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 08:38:11 +0000

Here comes the New Year with its load of good resolutions. Beside stopping smoking, registering to the ridiculously expensive fitness club at the corner and promising to celebrate Valentine’s Day elsewhere than on the sofa watching a pointless TV series, many have promised themselves to launch in a frenetic rythm of « useful » reading (free papers don’t belong in this category…).

Here I could discuss a never-ending quantity of books a good webdesigner, creative, strategic planner and any other person whose job is related to the Web and social media could purchase. No way! However I can share with you a few very interesting publications, which will bring you happiness and inspiration over the long winter nights.

I chose to build various themes, so that any one of you can quickly find one or more books to purchase or to offer.

The Great Masters, those worth reading once a year

BOB GILL

Buy on Amazon

BOB GILL - Graphic Design as a Second Language

PAUL ARDEN

Buy on Amazon

PAUL ARDEN - any book you find

SAUL BASS

It is very difficult to find publications specially dedicated to Saul BASS. Even his mythical DVD, in which he talks about his art of Title Design seems impossible to find. YouTube withdrew it for infringement of copyrights. Check out books compiling some of his works or the site listing his work on Title Design. The uncontested initiator of contemporary graphic design.

SAUL BASS

MARTIN PARR

For the creative mind, it is normal to get inspiration in every form of art – well that’s my point of view. Before even touching a computer (or before computers invaded our homes), I used to use miles and miles of film with a Kodak Instamatic and other cameras. Take your inspiration from photography! Martin PARR is one of those photographers you can’t get enough of!
Buy on Amazon

MARTIN PARR - by Val Williams

PAUL RAND

Buy on Amazon

PAUL RAND - by Steven Heller

Study cases, campaign cases

Looking at how others work is awe-inspiring. Looking at their creative processes, their briefs, their results… Here are three books, two of them being updated every year, which are real mines of information.

2 KILO – KESSELS KRAMMER

Buy on Amazon

2 KILO - Kessels Krammer

ART DIRECTORS ANNUAL

Buy on Art Directors Club

ART DIRECTORS ANNUAL

DESIGN IN EUROPE

Buy on Design in Europe

DESIGN IN EUROPE

Social Media and Marketing

Since everything is social now and we have the opportunity to get to read the marketing secrets of some of the biggest specialists, here is a sample of the huge amount of publications available.

THE TWITTER BOOK

Buy on O’Reilly

THE TWITTER BOOK - Tim O'Reilly, Sarah Milstein

PURPLE COW, THE BIG MOO

Buy on Amazon

PURPLE COW and others - Seth Godin

THE LONG TAIL

Buy on Amazon

THE LONG TAIL - Chris Anderson

THE TIPPING POINT

Buy on Amazon

THE TIPPING POINT - Malcolm Gladwell

The creative’s inspiration and reference

There’s always a need for a breeze of novelty and inspiration. Often looking at a combination of colors, a shape or an illustration is enough to get back into motion. Get inspired. Improve. Give a new interprétation. Innovate. All these images surrounding us nourish us in the end. Don’t forget : you are the sole master of your own style. Know how to work it without copying.

SERIALIZE

Buy on Amazon

SERIALIZE: Family Faces and Variety in Graphic Design

AN EYE FOR COLOR

Buy on Amazon

AN EYE FOR COLOR - Olga Gutierrez De La Roza

LOS LOGOS 1, 2, 3, 4

The logo bible in 4 volumes heavy as a ton of bricks. Compiled by Büro Destruct. A must have.
Buy on Gestalten

LOS LOGOS - Büro Destruct

OBEY

Let those who have never seen the world-famous red, white and blue portrait of Barak Obama cast the first stone at themselves ! Here is an essential book by Shepard Fairy, a brilliant illustrator, an inimitable style, a treat for the eyes.
Buy on Obey Giant

OBEY - Shepard Fairey

THE ART OF REBELLION 2

Buy on The Art of Rebellion

The Art of Rebellion 2 - Christian Hundertmark

From theory to practice

Here are a few books explaining the jobs in communications, advertising, graphic design and how to go from theory to practice. How to conceptualize, think, learn tricks, jargon and eventually become the 21st century’s Paul Arden. One important thing : follow the rules but think out of the box.

THE ADVERTISING CONCEPT BOOK

Buy on Advertising Concept Book

THE ADVERTISING CONCEPT BOOK - Pete Barry

THE BACK OF THE NAPKIN

Buy on Amazon

THE BACK OF THE NAPKIN - Dan Roam

HOW TO BE A GRAPHIC DESIGNER WITHOUT LOSING YOUR SOUL

Buy on Amazon

HOW TO BE A GRAPHIC DESIGNER WITHOUT LOSING YOUR SOUL - Adrian Shaughnessy

THE FUNDAMENTALS OF CREATIVE ADVERTISING

AVA Academia, publishing house, has many other titles that could be of interest to you. Don’t hesitate to have a look at all their publications.
Buy on AVA Academia

THE FUNDAMENTALS OF CREATIVE ADVERTISING - Ken Burtenshaw

THE ART OF LOOKING SIDEWAYS

Phaidon Editions publish magnificent, unique books. I recommand another one further down : A smile in the mind.
Buy on Phaidon

THE ART OF LOOKING SIDEWAYS - Alan Fletcher

DESIGNING UNIVERSAL KNOWLEDGE

I strongly recommend this book. To tempt you, here is a description in English : These questions formed the starting point of the research, which resulted in a report exploring the meaning of ‘universal knowledge’ as well as the process of collecting, structuring, designing, and publishing it. Designers and researchers from different fields have set standards for the classification and design of complex data collections and have thus exerted an enormous influence on how knowledge is communicated.
The report explores this topic as well as the possibilities of ‘universal design’ and presents new approaches to visualize complex information.
Buy on The world as flat land

DESIGNING UNIVERSAL KNOWLEDGE - Gerlinde Schuller

A SMILE IN THE MIND

Achat sur Phaidon

A SMILE IN THE MIND - Beryl McAlhone

We like the web from every angle

I’m really into webdesign. I’m also into ergonomy and usability. Books on theory are important but nothing is better than experience and online resources …

ERGONOMIE WEB

Buy on Eyrolles

ERGONOMIE WEB - Amélie Boucher

ONLINE SUCCESS : instructions for use

Buy on Taschen

ONLINE SUCCESS : instructions for use - Julius Wiedemann

TASCHEN WEB COLLECTION

Buy on Taschen

the TASCHEN

In brief…

If you don’t find a book to offer yourself or someone else on this list, come back next year. By then, I will have prepared another collection for your shelves… or to please your nephew.

.

Obama Taps into Public Discussions to Draft Policies

jhorniblow — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 08:29:01 +0000

In an unprecedented move, on his first day in office, Obama took a strong stance on transparency and clarity not just to the United States but to the world. The new president wants to know what people are saying and he will be using social media tracking and analytic tools to tap into conversations and alert to trends.

Obama said in his opening speech, the way to make a government responsible is to hold it accountable… and transparent so that the American people can know what decisions are being made, how they are being made and whether their interests are being well served.

In order to achieve this level of transparency Obama has instructed public officials to draw on what citizens know. This means finding new ways of tapping into the knowledge and experience of ordinary citizens and involving them in shaping the policies that affect their lives.

It’s widely recognized through social media circles that candidates used the web and social media tools to connect to their followers and organize their campaigns. Some of the results for Obama in the leadup to his victory are astounding:

Close to 500 million blog postings mentioned Obama
844,927 MySpace friends with 10,000 new friends on election day
144,000 followers on Twitter and following 168,314

Making sense of these numbers and drilling down to information which is useful calls for social media tracking tools such as Attentio, Nielsen-Online and BrandWatch. The need for such services is growing and in the coming year will become even more essential to any company or organization who has a need to know what people are saying. Another useful guide to reference isSocial Target to 63 companies who offer social media monitoring and analysis services worldwide.