animal curious

thinking back over the tv spots in the superbowl, most of the ones rated high by usa today had animals in them. what's that about? is it the time and we are looking for something softer? harder to like the spots that just had people in them?
the other day i was passing a huge house that was on fire as part of a training exercise for firefighters. people pulled off the freeway to stop and look and take pictures. flames at least 30 feet above the roof of the old 2 story house. and i wondered what that was about, fascination with a fire like that.
so writing animals into spots, pretty simple tho many of the spots in the superbowl were well written and thoughtful like the bud horse training ala rocky to be able to pull the wagon. and some just funny like the life water lizards dancing together. in most cases they hit an emotional note with people. and the fire was just plain fascination. so how do we combine those elements or understand what it is that strikes a cord with people and send messages that are fascinating and entertaining and thus reward people rather than interrupt and annyoy?

digital

i went bowling for the 4th time in my life. i was impressed with the digital read outs above the lane that told me i rolled the ball 16.2 miles per hour. the read out kept me appraised of my horrible score and i could interact by changing names and some other data. a long way from trying to figure out how to score on a huge piece of paper. but it was still bowling just in the digital age. so how many more uses are there for digital technology combined with old games and pastimes?
but the shoes haven't changed much.

fencing

i was working on repairing and replacing and adding fencing on my farm. the repairing began after a storm and when i inspected i realized how many areas of the fence over 25 acres were compromised. and as i was fixing things i thought about the importance of checking and repairing fencing on a regular basis; especially since a steer and a pony got out. to paraphrase frost, good fences make for good neighbors. but beyond that i thought of the old timers on farms around me. when the weather is bad; "too rough to work out side right now, good time to sharpen the saws." good idea to keep sharpening the saws and check the fence rather than scrambling to repair things that could have been prevented. much easier and more satisfying in the long run. and doesn't that pertain to work and relationships?
and as the thought, as simple and obvious as it is, crossed my mind, i looked up and saw the rainbow. no kidding. not a movie set. too corny even for most tv.

next book

looks like ian might be the only one still playing along but this is the next book on the list. great idea of moving from everyone thinking outside the box when the real difficulty is thinking inside the box/ like houdini had to do. more later.

brand gap(s)

for those of you who want to read the next book in our quasi club and have been patient with me (ian, kelsey, heather); i suggested the brand gap. simple but some really good ideas. i particularly like his 3 questions, "who are you, what do you do and why does it matter?"
also some good ideas on naming.
and i await your responses on other things or concepts that might be of use to you in this book.

what's bad for you?

we started a book club of sorts. picking a book and then discussing it here through comments and posts. this is the first one; "everything bad is good for you" by steven johnson. basically, he makes the point that pop culture is not dumbing us down, in some ways it is making people smarter. i found it ironic that johnson quotes a 2004 study from the national endowment for the arts; "...reading for pleasure had declined steadily among all major american demographic groups. the writer andrew solomon analyzed the consequences of this shift: 'people who read for pleasure are many times more likely than those who don't to visit museums and attend musical performances, almost three times as likely to perform volunteer and charity work and almost twice as likely to attend sporting events. readers, in other words are active while non readers- more than half the population- have settled into apathy." might be true but reminds me of the warnings and fears about magazines displacing and destroying newspaper and radio displacing magazines and books and television sounding the death knell of radio and the internet hastening the demise of all other media. it looks more like time spent with the internet and games etc changes things but ends nothing. still only so much time in a day; either fit more in or let something go. seems to be mostly fit more in. thus the multitasking.
but there is some reason why people often say the book was better than the movie. because they helped co author the book. hard to co author a movie when someone tells you what the character looks and sounds like. but maybe there is an element of co authoring games or is it all about the reward system of getting to the next level and sending dopamine through the circuitry of the brain? and are we co authoring at all when we get into games and have to figure out how it works as we go?

at any rate, is there a mass culture or a herd culture or both? does it make any difference when you are trying to develop and media neutral plan and strategy?
more to come(?)

education

i was looking through seth godin's book "small is the new big" and i was struck by the post on 'cogs'. he states, "the end result is that it's essentially impossible to become successful or well-off doing a job that is described and measured by someone else...the only way our country (or your country depending on where you live), your economy, and most of all your family has to get ahead is this: make up new rules".
"People who make up new rules continue to be in very short supply".

seems formal education tends to work in a linear fashion and aids a linear thought process. those most rewarded in life often think in a lateral fashion, making unusual combinations and connections. as more people become formally educated, are education and creativity headed on a collision course?