Thursday, August 19, 2010

Storytelling Goes Much Further

Compliments of my pal Jim Lefevere at the Digital Strategist Blog, here is a short piece that tells a nice story....created by Pfizer of all people. It is very well done. Compelling, sincere and sparks a bit of curiosity.

Enjoy the piece.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Critics are Good, So Be a Critic

I absolutely love the Internet and the ease with which anyone can offer opinion, insight and even critique with a few simple keystrokes. It has empowered millions of voices worldwide, and will continue to do so for a long long time.

That is a beautiful thing. I have offered many many opinions over the years. Most of them delivered either here on this blog in longer form, or on Twitter in a much more abbreviated fashion.

I appreciate critics. One of the most fruitful learning opportunities in life comes from honest, direct critique. I have learned more from critics than I care to admit.

When does a critic cease being fruitful? The beauty of a critic is typically they are out there, perhaps a little brazen, known to be a critic, and because of their bold opinions, seasoned with reasoning, they earn respect and the public ear.

When you hide behind an alias and lob shallow insults with no reasoning, you cease being a critic and enter jackass territory. I guess good solid critique is always helpful. There is a lot of anonymous chatter online, and thus there tends to be some folks who feel being a critic requires no more than an alias and shallow insults.

This anonymous mud slinging really does not qualify as critique, rather it qualifies for no more than what it is, some shallow mope who has nothing better to do than hide behind a web site and throw cheap epithets at others. That is not transparency, nor is it helpful.

Pay attention to those willing and brave enough to offer honest, up front critique. Learn from it. Allow it to help improve you. The other stuff, ignore it and move on. Do not waste your time responding, it will only drag you down.