What's Your Google Relations?

This is an excerpt from the Wired magazine article The See-Through CEO by Clive Thompson:

"Online is where reputations are made now," says Leslie Gaines Ross, chief reputation strategist - yes, that's her actual title - with the PR firm Weber Shandwick. She regularly speaks to companies that realize a single Google search determines more about how they're perceived than a multimillion-dollar ad campaign. "It used to be that you'd look only at your reputation in newspapers and broadcast media, positive and negative. But now the blogosphere is equally powerful, and it has different rules. Public relations used to be about having stuff taken down, and you can't do that with the Internet."

So, here’s how this relates to video: A well-titled online video posted on multiple user-based Internet sites creates a lasting Internet search engine presence.

Author Greg Stielstra, who recently launched his own marketing firm, PyroMarketing, Inc., pointed out the online longevity of this video we created.

Having good ‘Google’ vibe is only a side benefit of the online video revolution—video needs to be presented to its intended audiences for optimal impact.

However, if “a single Google search determines more about how people and companies are perceived than a multimillion-dollar ad campaign,” it’s more icing on the cake.

So, go ahead, Google your name and company—what does Google say about you?

Ode to Final Cut Pro

This Wired article talks about a regular meeting of Final Cut Pro users in L.A., from Hollywood's elite to budding filmmakers. Apple's Final Cut Pro is gaining steam as the editing program of choice, and that's why we use it in post-production.

A Whole New Mind: Story

“In the Conceptual Age, however, we must awaken to the power of narrative,” Pink writes. “Story represents a pathway to understanding that doesn’t run through the left side of the brain.”

Story is the most critical of the six elements to our company.

I recently watched The Invisible Children, a documentary on the tragic war in Uganda. The documentary-makers told the stories of children forced out of their homes to sleep in shelters out of fear of LRA rebels, who kidnap children and force them to be child soldiers—producing emotionless, ruthless killers—before they even hit puberty.

The Invisible Children documentary is a prime example of video-based storytelling that gives birth to significance—the movement has mobilized thousands of people around the globe to take action against this desperate situation.

It wasn’t created to guilt people into action, it was to communicate the harsh reality and motivate people with resources to offer relief—by simply sharing stories.

Videographers, filmmakers, documentary-makers—whatever term you choose—all seek to impact the world with their work. When we’re able to grab a hold of stories and capture them in a compelling way, change will happen.

The question is: How will you tell your story?

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This is the third blog based on A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel Pink (Riverhead Books).

A Whole New Mind: Design

“The wealth of nations and the well-being of individuals now depend on having artists in the room,” writes Pink in A Whole New Mind. Pink writes, “Today we must all be designers.”

Pink is right: The aesthetics of commerce have never been more important. Look at today’s primary communication vehicles—websites, brochures, video, billboards, television, magazines, newspapers, blogs—design has become an expected part of our lives. Pink says, “Today we must all be designers.”

Pink exhorts designers to be skilled at both “utility and significance,” and we echo his comments when thinking about how design relates to video.

Video has the potential to serve multiple purposes, first by effectively communicating to audiences about a product or service (utility), but also holds great potential to communicate intangible ideas with tangible effects on people’s actions (significance).

Stay tuned for more on significance in the next blog.
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This is the second blog based on A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel Pink (Riverhead Books).

A Whole New Mind: Introduction

I’m reading A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers will Rule the Future by Daniel Pink. The book examines the ‘Conceptual Age,’ due to the rise of three A’s:

1. Abundance: Material abundance in the U.S. has freed people to search for lives of meaning instead of mere physical survival.

2. Asia: The outsourcing of many traditional analytical jobs overseas.

3. Automation: Technology is replacing workers at alarming rates.
The ‘Conceptual Age’ still needs traditional left-brained thinking (logical, analytical), but the increasingly important qualities of right-brained thinking (creative, abstract) are in high demand, creating “a whole new mind.”

My once bright, neon yellow highlighter is quickly running out of goo spent on provocative quotes. My brain is filling with inspiration, while my head continually bobs with subtle nods of agreement. The formula to thriving in this new era, Pink writes, is the ability to grasp and apply six elements:

“Design. Story. Symphony. Empathy. Play. Meaning.”

I’ve decided to follow my highlighter trail and pull Pink’s insights together to dissect how this impacts video production and its subsequent industries (advertising, film, new media, etc.). I’ll post relevant quotes and thoughts from each chapter.

I highly recommend you join me and give this book a read.