The Long A.A.R.M of Steve O...

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Aimless

Assemblage of 

Rambling 

Musings of an over-caffeinated, slightly ajar yet well-meaning writer/content creator and strategist.

Before I get to today's A.A.R.M., I wanted to make reference to the title. It is merely my very SEO-unfriendly title I use from time to time when I just want to spout off on anything that's on my mind. 

Dell Redux

Tonight, during Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest on ABC, Dell will release its first ad since going private. As you will see it's a very nostalgic approach playing up the not-so-small role Dell had in helping many now-famous companies become successful. It also speaks to perhaps a new approach from Dell re: going after a B2B market. 

Personally I like it for it touches on, at least attempts to, the emotional quotient inherent in all of us. Will it be successful insomuch as driving sales? Obviously only time will tell.

And as you can plainly see it's a far cry from the old "Dude, You're Gettin' A Dell" spots from many moons ago.

Can We Talk?

An article in The Atlantic caught my eye a few weeks ago, specifically the title. 

The article, as the subtitle references, is about an MIT psychologist by the name of Sherry Turkle. Ms. Turkle is in fact also a professor at the prestigious institution and the reason the article resonated so much with me is because I am, and have been a long proponent of the art of having a conversation; of actually speaking with someone either face-to-face or via the phone. 

I prefer face-to-face and with things like Skype you can of course do this without being in the same room let alone the same country. But the phone is not a bad second option. 

Here's an excerpt from  the article with some key points highlighted:

"The conclusion she’s arrived at while researching her new book is not, technically, that we’re not talking to each other. We’re talking all the time, in person as well as in texts, in e-mails, over the phone, on Facebook and Twitter. The world is more talkative now, in many ways, than it’s ever been. The problem, Turkle argues, is that all of this talk can come at the expense of conversation. We’re talking at each other rather than with each other.

Conversations, as they tend to play out in person, are messy—full of pauses and interruptions and topic changes and assorted awkwardness. But the messiness is what allows for true exchange. It gives participants the time—and, just as important, the permission—to think and react and glean insights. “You can’t always tell, in a conversation, when the interesting bit is going to come,” Turkle says. “It’s like dancing: slow, slow, quick-quick, slow. You know? It seems boring, but all of a sudden there’s something, and whoa.”

As a contributor to Forbes I am presented with many opportunities to speak with people within the marketing and advertising world. Nine times out of ten I prefer my initial conversation to be an actual conversation, usually over the phone. 

And I will tell each and every person I speak with that I prefer to do "this" - to have an honest to goodness conversation as opposed to one via email or some other non-personal medium. And when I tell the person on the other end of the line of my preferred M.O. they are always grateful and appreciative for the chance to exchange in real dialogue. 

Here's hoping we NEVER lose the art of conversation. 

Sitting Ducks

I've been reading more and more about what is commonly referred to as "Sitting Disease." It is essentially a result of sitting too long during the day, be it for work or leisure. 

Image Source: juststand.org

As one who sits a good bulk of his day this scares the you know what out of me. There's a great piece I want to share with you from a site called primaldocs.com. Click on the link to read the full article and here's some snippets:

• Long days of sitting are linked with increased risk of heart disease, excess belly fat, chronic inflammation, insulin resistance, and diabetes. The metabolic changes predisposing us to these conditions happen quickly, within 24 hours.
• Fortunately for the desk jockeys, former NASA researcher Joan Vernikos, who studied the negative effects of sitting and how to counteract them, presents evidence for a sitting antidote in her book Sitting Kills, Moving Heals. Vernikos’ research found you can counteract the negative effects of sitting by standing up. A lot.
• To combat the negative health effects of sitting disease, do the following:
• Find an online alarm or alarm app that goes off every 20 minutes, reminding you to stand. Sitting and standing 35 times in a row does not deliver the same effect as spreading it out in regular intervals.
• If possible, work against gravity more vigorously at your 20 minute intervals by squatting or doing squat jumps.
• Move in your chair and maintain good posture with shoulders back as much as possible.
• Incorporate “non-exercise” activity throughout the day, such as reaching for things, bending, kneeling, walking, lifting, and so on. Basically, avoid what is convenient for what is more active.

Brier Beware

My last topic in this issue of The Long A.A.R.M of Steve O comes via my friend David Brier. Like many other friends I have made over the last x number of years, David and I met online - which sounds like met via a dating site or something. 

It was not a dating site I assure you but David and I "hit it off" as we share a lot in common, most notably our experience and passion when it comes to the world of marketing and advertising. 

Recently, as in today - December 31st 2013, David posted his latest brilliant SlideShare presentation The best business slideshare of 2014 for brands and entrepreneurs.

You notice the fact that David, quite boastfully, proclaimed this presentation as being the best of 2014 despite the fact that we are not yet in the year 2014 - at least not in the US.

Well to know David is to appreciate his brashness as well as his knowledge and he is in high supply of both and it's one of the reasons we get along so well. 

Yes, his title is tongue-in-cheek... or is it?

Here it is below. Enjoy and have a safe, wonderful and blessed New Year!

The best business slideshare of 2014 for brands and entrepreneurs from DBD International

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The Long A.A.R.M of Steve O...