I find anger inspiring. Am I strange?
No, seriously. Recently I have discovered that disagreement boosts my creativity sky high. I actually noticed it when visiting certain forum - I realised that I find posts I generally agree with extremely boring, but statements I want to argue with make me think like crazy.
A useful piece of self-awareness, if I've ever seen one. At least I can be grateful for all the shouting matches I've been through.
I also enjoy writing angry-ish articles (as you've probably noticed if you've read more of this blog). An obvious consequence of boosted creativity, I suppose.
Just to make it clear - angry doesn't necessarily mean rude (I have another outlet for that). I can even get away with G rating most of the time :).
It's impossible to look around and NOT TO get angry, I'm afraid. I think it's ok - if you channel your anger, it helps you change things.
My recent favourite anger source is unethical advertising. I'm right after publishing a full-fledged article titled 'How not to fall for bullshit advertising' (bullshit spelled BS for censorship reasons) and I'm actually quite proud of it. I think I will work some more on the subject. While ranting is extremely pleasant, I also have some solutions in mind - I'm researching the subject of ethical, decent advertising. We'll see where it gets me.
A note to you, dear reader - when I'm angry, I tend to be funny, so if you feel like being entertained, do check one of my Squidoo rants. So far I have been publicly spewing venom at the Internet, job interviews, apocalypse scares, halloween and Internet users' inability to criticise.
I also write 'nice' articles', but rants are so much more interesting!
Showing posts with label marketing bullshit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marketing bullshit. Show all posts
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
200 views!!!
Guess what, I'm getting there. I've just hit 200 views on this blog and I believe it deserves a little dance.
No, I will not host a giveaway to celebrate that. In theory I should, as here I'm allowed to use all the dirty marketing tricks to get traffic/money/fame/villa in Jamaica but guess what - I simply can't digest the language I would have to use. Ooooh, what an opportunity, giving things away for free, just to express my joy, no, it has nothing to do with getting traffic, nothing whatsoever.
But 200 views is cool. Even if these are just accidental 'hit and run' views. The Blog to Make me Money is serving its purpose - it doesn't make me a penny, but it's a lovely dumping platform for all the ad-ish links that would need some skillful lie to place elsewhere.
Oh, if you need some backlinks, my offer of placing them here is still open. Review for review is the current rate.
Dear 200, keep coming.
No, I will not host a giveaway to celebrate that. In theory I should, as here I'm allowed to use all the dirty marketing tricks to get traffic/money/fame/villa in Jamaica but guess what - I simply can't digest the language I would have to use. Ooooh, what an opportunity, giving things away for free, just to express my joy, no, it has nothing to do with getting traffic, nothing whatsoever.
But 200 views is cool. Even if these are just accidental 'hit and run' views. The Blog to Make me Money is serving its purpose - it doesn't make me a penny, but it's a lovely dumping platform for all the ad-ish links that would need some skillful lie to place elsewhere.
Oh, if you need some backlinks, my offer of placing them here is still open. Review for review is the current rate.
Dear 200, keep coming.
Friday, 27 May 2011
The Truth
I seem to have a problem. A true problem. With the truth.
See, it's so bloody unpopular these days.
There's marketing, there's political correctness, there's being entertaining and putting on a show. None of it has any resemblance to the truth. All of it is based on manipulation. And all of it is extremelly traffic-generating.
It looks like people simply want to be lied to, they love it.
I have to confess something. I find it difficult to tell a direct lie. It's not that I'm not capable of it, it's only that I'm terribly conscious of what I'm doing and terribly uncomfortable throughout the process. Looks like a bit of a conundrum, really. See, I've decided to steer clear of payroll employment so that I don't have to lie to people every day (yes, this meat mincer is the most exciting product you can have, it will truly transform your life, and yes, I'm having a wonderful time at this four hour long business strategy meeting, and yes, your ideas are so enlightened, my dear boss - you know the type of lies).
So I moved to online income to escape it all but... it looks like nothing really changed. No bullshit = no traffic. Ehh...
Funny thing, I seem to be in the minority, you know? Nobody else seems to mind. Quite depressing, really.
See, it's so bloody unpopular these days.
There's marketing, there's political correctness, there's being entertaining and putting on a show. None of it has any resemblance to the truth. All of it is based on manipulation. And all of it is extremelly traffic-generating.
It looks like people simply want to be lied to, they love it.
I have to confess something. I find it difficult to tell a direct lie. It's not that I'm not capable of it, it's only that I'm terribly conscious of what I'm doing and terribly uncomfortable throughout the process. Looks like a bit of a conundrum, really. See, I've decided to steer clear of payroll employment so that I don't have to lie to people every day (yes, this meat mincer is the most exciting product you can have, it will truly transform your life, and yes, I'm having a wonderful time at this four hour long business strategy meeting, and yes, your ideas are so enlightened, my dear boss - you know the type of lies).
So I moved to online income to escape it all but... it looks like nothing really changed. No bullshit = no traffic. Ehh...
Funny thing, I seem to be in the minority, you know? Nobody else seems to mind. Quite depressing, really.
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
The language of marketing
I'm sure there's many doctors, professors and other big fish of the marketing world, who can all justify the fact that marketing uses the language that it does. I'm sure all the rules out there are well researched, have enormous impact on sales figures etc. etc.
I'm only wondering how does it bounce off against a normal, living, flesh and blood creature. I'm thinking - are people really THAT stupid?? Can it be???
But I'm racing to the point before giving you any background.
I've signed up to Irish Opinions quite a while ago, as a way of getting some much needed cash. It's one of the numerous pay-for-your-opinion portals that pays you for answering questions like 'What do you think of this particular brand of cheese?'. Oh, they pay. I must've cashed about 4 Tesco vouchers by now. They pay much less than they promise in their ads, but they DO pay, unlike many other portals out there.
The surveys are mostly boring. Sometimes unbelievably boring, rarely mildly interesting. I'm at the bottom edge of their popularity spectrum because I commit the crime of not watching any TV, but that's just my private little grudge, you don't need to agree with that. The thing, though, I find really, surrealistically, out-of-this-world insane is the sheer absurdity of some questions, which is closely connected to the language marketing uses these days. Let me give you an example:
How exited are you about this particular design of a cheese packaging?
Exited??? About cheese packaging? FFS! Is there anyone there, anyone at all, who gets excited by cheese packaging??? (For the record, I'm making the example up. I was never actually asked about cheese packaging. But I was asked about very similar things, using exactly the same vocabulary).
Just how pitiful your life would have to be for you to get excited about cheese packaging???
The only person whom I can imagine as mildly excited by any product's packaging is the one who actually designed the thing, and only if they really like their job. Which is quite an alien concept to me but what the hell, there are various sorts out there.
It looks like the marketing guys assume that all of us lead that kind of life, because this type of vocabulary crops up again and again in all kinds of marketing activity.
The disturbing detail is this - if it didn't work, would they bother still doing it?
Is the conclusion - yes, it works and we really do go for that kind of bullshit - sound and correct?
If so, I really think we deserve the Armageddon and hope like hell the Doomsayers of 2012 will be proven to be right.
I'm only wondering how does it bounce off against a normal, living, flesh and blood creature. I'm thinking - are people really THAT stupid?? Can it be???
But I'm racing to the point before giving you any background.
I've signed up to Irish Opinions quite a while ago, as a way of getting some much needed cash. It's one of the numerous pay-for-your-opinion portals that pays you for answering questions like 'What do you think of this particular brand of cheese?'. Oh, they pay. I must've cashed about 4 Tesco vouchers by now. They pay much less than they promise in their ads, but they DO pay, unlike many other portals out there.
The surveys are mostly boring. Sometimes unbelievably boring, rarely mildly interesting. I'm at the bottom edge of their popularity spectrum because I commit the crime of not watching any TV, but that's just my private little grudge, you don't need to agree with that. The thing, though, I find really, surrealistically, out-of-this-world insane is the sheer absurdity of some questions, which is closely connected to the language marketing uses these days. Let me give you an example:
How exited are you about this particular design of a cheese packaging?
Exited??? About cheese packaging? FFS! Is there anyone there, anyone at all, who gets excited by cheese packaging??? (For the record, I'm making the example up. I was never actually asked about cheese packaging. But I was asked about very similar things, using exactly the same vocabulary).
Just how pitiful your life would have to be for you to get excited about cheese packaging???
The only person whom I can imagine as mildly excited by any product's packaging is the one who actually designed the thing, and only if they really like their job. Which is quite an alien concept to me but what the hell, there are various sorts out there.
It looks like the marketing guys assume that all of us lead that kind of life, because this type of vocabulary crops up again and again in all kinds of marketing activity.
The disturbing detail is this - if it didn't work, would they bother still doing it?
Is the conclusion - yes, it works and we really do go for that kind of bullshit - sound and correct?
If so, I really think we deserve the Armageddon and hope like hell the Doomsayers of 2012 will be proven to be right.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)