White space is typically a term used in graphic design that means the space between elements in a composition. It’s often the mark of simple, clean, and clear design.

The past month we’ve looked at white space in new ways.

In “White Space (Part 1)” we note, as did Da Vinci, that “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Often complex ideas can be best explained by using metaphors or examples. By utilizing these techniques, we can all bring a greater understanding to what we do.

“White Space (Part 2)” looks at how the internet is creating another sort of white space. By having multitudes of information always available when we search for it, we can relax, clear our brains, and be ok with decentralized knowledge.

All of these approaches to white space lead to a hopeful reality for our emerging world:

Great ideas will win.

This is largely due to the technological changes happening right now, in real time. The internet is redefining “authority”.

Culturally, the playing field is leveling. It’s less about how much influence you can buy and more about how much influence you can earn. It’s about how good your ideas are and, of course, how well you communicate them.

Here’s why:

1. We’re in an opt-in world. Increasingly, we only consume the information and media that we want to. We self-select the influences we want to have and so we care more about what those people and brands say. Time-shifiting products like TiVo, DVRs, podcasts, other on-demand services, and even Google itself, mean that we get what we want when we want it. The role of interruption-based messages (like traditional advertising) is changing drastically.
2. Communities are evolving, and they’re going online. Instead of turning to big media outlets to tell us what’s happening and what’s cool, we are looking more and more to our hand-picked communities (or, as Seth Godin calls them, “tribes”). These tribes are developing online where we can create and digest tons of content, stay in touch with more people than ever, and essentially leverage our time, our expertise, and the value bring to the table.
3. All media is becoming “social media”. This means that we can engage with and/or contribute to the messages we consume like never before. Walls are down. Gatekeepers are dead. Ideas can spread with the click of a mouse or cell phone button. For example, if one of your Twitter messages is “retweeted” by a few folks and again retweeted by some of their friends, you’ve reached an audience of thousands within seconds. We have more potential for influence and power than ever before.

The real question is, what are we going to do with it?
Brody

P.S. A great example of this whole concept is that in a matter of days, over 1,000 people signed to participate 40 Days of Water, a Blood:Water Mission campaign to bring clean water to our neighbors in Africa. In the 2 days after launch, about 10,000 people had visited the special website dedicated to the campaign. All of this happened almost exclusively through social media and word of mouth. It’s incredible.

Wordswell had the privilege of building the website and software application that is supporting this campaign. You can sign up to participate by making water your only beverage for 40 days. Otherwise, if you’d like to donate to the cause, visit my profile page at http://40Days.bloodwatermission.com/brodybond.

Lawyers cheat.

Marketers lie.

Used car salesmen do both.

Teachers are the ones that can’t “do”.

Government workers have it easy.

Housewives have it easy.

Celebrities have it easy.

Doctors charge too much.

Financial guys are greedy.

Consultants b.s.

Politicians only care about getting reelected.

Pastors don’t do real work.

Mechanics rip you off.

Trash men are… trash men.

IT guys are dorks.

Realtors just unlock doors for you.

Construction workers are dirty.

Nurses aren’t doctors.

Do you ever feel like a victim to your own stereotypes about what you do? Smash them.

This year at the TEDx Mid-Atlantic conference, Joel Salatin said, “If we devote ourselves to sacredness in our vocations, the world will rise to meet us.” Do you see the sacredness and the dignity in what you do? What about in other people?

The humility that lets you see the value in everyone around you is the humility that will let you see the value in yourself.

Take the phrase “I’m just a…” out of your vocabulary,
Brody

P.S. If you watch the “Wordswell < :90 Update” video today, you’ll see we’re asking you “Why are most car dealership ads so bad?” and “What would it take for you to care about where you bought a car?” To access that survey, click on wordswell.com/cars.

You know how to get snow to stick to the ground really well?

Make it really, really cold. And keep it really cold for a long time.

Your sales and marketing tactics are like a snowstorm. No matter how ferocious your blizzard is, your strategy will not stick unless you’ve prepared the ground. You gotta keep it cold enough long enough so that your customer is willing enough to let your storm turn to beauty.

If you don’t prepare the ground, you’re wasting money with every flake that melts.

Here’s how to make it cold: Say the right things in the right ways. The “right things” are the things your customers care about. The “right ways” are ways that are a) surprising enough to get attention, and b) beautiful enough to earn credibility.

(Can you feel the B.S. meter going up these days?… it’s not just how you say it, it’s what you say.)

Here’s how to keep it cold: Say the right things in the right ways over and over and over again.

How do you know the right things to say? Ask. Ask your customers. Ask your sales people. Ask Wordswell to help you.

How do you know the right ways to say them? Ask. Ask your customers. Ask your sales people. Ask Wordswell to help you.

How do you say them over and over and over again? Strategize. Ask Wordswell to help you.

We define brand development as “telling the truth about who you are, faster.” But we should also add “…for the long haul.”

As soon as you change your set of promises, you start the freezing process over again. It’s ok to do that. Just be patient, like the last time.

brrrrrr.

brody

P.S. Wordswell loves to do brand assessments where we research your “stuff”. How good is your message and your media tools? What are your competitors doing? But really, all that only helps to assess the main questions:

• Do your customers know the promises your making?
• Do those promises matter to your customer?
• Do your customers believe that you can deliver on those promises?

Ultimately, do your customers/members/donors/stakeholders know you? Trust you? Advocate for you?

If so, great! Let’s run with that. If not, great! Let’s fix that.

Prices start at various four-figure amounts. Start 2010 with a Wordswell Brand Assessment.

We’ve been learning and experimenting (ok, playing) with Foursquare recently.

What’s Foursquare?

Basically, every time you go somewhere – your favorite restaurant, coffee shop, office, gym, appointment (anywhere that’s a destination) – you “check in” as being there. Typically, this works best with a GPS-enabled mobile device like an iPhone.

For instance, last night a friend, my wife, and I go out to dinner at Holy Frijoles, a Mexican restaurant in Hampden, Baltimore. When we get there, I launch Foursquare on my iPhone, it locates my position, and gives some probable options for where I am. I check in at Holy Frijoles, and voilà, the world knows where I am:

“I’m at Holy Frijoles (908 W 36th St, @ Elm Ave, Baltimore). http://bit.ly/3QuNYy“

Of course, my friends on Foursquare get notified about this (often through a text message, if they have that feature turned on). But my Foursquare updates are linked to my Twitter account. My Twitter updates are linked to my Facebook account. Soon, and through a one-click process, I’ve told my entire circle of influence where I am.

Great… another tool for over-sharing, right? Not so fast…

What happens if I went to Holy Frijoles every week? What happens if I went there so often that Foursquare claimed that I was the “Mayor” of Holy Frijoles? What happens if someone else wanted to chase that crown and started eating there more? What happens if I was proud of my position and started eating there even more to keep my title?

What happens if there was an incentive for the Mayor of Holy Frijoles? You’d be surprized what I’d do for a free margarita.

Meanwhile, everytime we’re “checking in” at Holy Frijoles, we’re personally vouching for that brand visibly through our entire networks on Foursqure, Twitter, and Facebook. Talk about word-of-mouth advertising (the free kind). Wow!

But what’s this whole business about being a “Mayor”? Basically, Foursquare keeps track of what you do, when you do it, etc. There are different point values you earn by doing certain tasks. For instance, if you go to a gym enough times in a month, you earn the badge “Gym Rat”. If you go to you gym enough, you’ll soon be the Mayor of the gym. For more information on this points system, Mayors, and badges, check out Foursquare’s web site.

Foursquare is a developing platform. The number of titles and badges available to earn is certain to grow. It’s a game. But it can be played (and won) by anyone – including your customers.

Now the question is, how is your organization going to become a prize?

Wordswell can help you coordinate a plan Foursquare for your business as part of a larger social media strategy. Drop us a line any time.

Wordswell has recently gotten some press.

First, Brody had a “tweet of the week” according to Bmore Media. See Brody’s famous Twitter update here.

Also, Brody was on the local news recently. WMAR-TV (Baltimore Channel 2) brought him in as a social media expert to talk about the plague of over-sharing on Facebook. Despite the horribly dumb look on Brody’s face at the beginning of the interview, it’s a good discussion on some social media theory.