Qefal

Call me self-absorbed, self-centered if you want but there are very few things in life I find more boring that watching wedding videos.

I was recently submitted to one of such ordeals and all I wanted was for earth to swallow me.

I then remembered my brother’s wedding pictures… that was a great event, and an even better party but then again… watching the pics and video nearly put me to sleep. I had to something, I didn’t know what..

It’s incredible what you can do today with computers…  Here is how Spanish Weddings look nowadays…

Last night (whilst searching for Dr. Doom, our missing cat) I had to keep my mind busy and ended up reflecting about the troubles of the publishing industry.

It seems that every friend of mine that is somehow involved in the publishing business is struggling to cope with the new environment. Is the same story across the board, rising cost, less readers, less advertisers, people seem to have run out of ideas and businesses are going down the drain.

The fact that nobody reads seems to be a common complain.

The truth is, people read, a lot, more than ever before. They just don’t consume information in the old, traditional way, hence the business model has become obsolete and doomed to fail.

Nobody is going to come save the publishing industry as we know it.

Some of us (Seth too) believe the future could lie in micro-publishing. The creation of online magazines that cater to specific areas of interest and that zoom into an audience specific enough to be of interest to advertisers.

The advantages to the publisher? Many. Paper costs are reduced to zero, distribution is easy, fast, and, in theory, limited only by how good is the idea and its expression.

The logic is overwhelming.

Adapt or die.

Here is the last edition of Maeshelle West- Davies So Social Club. This is an evolving experiment, put together entirely by a community of contributors. I suggest you check it out…

May June So Social Club e Mini Mag

P.S. Dr. Doom was found this morning. He is grounded for life!

How to become more human by integrating the physical and the virtual world.

Generosity of spirit: Open Source

You need to watch this…

To know more:  Pranav Mistry

It happened yesterday on a discussion on LinkedIn TED. The subject: Are you doing what you are passionate about, or is your job simply how you support your lifestyle? Join the discussion.

Great people are commenting on this post. An interesting community is emerging.

Then, out of the blue we receive the following comment:

” My passion is giving back.  http://www.enginecompanyone.com/365/ “

As much as I love the concept of giving back to society and following a compassionate lifestyle I could not avoid feeling I was being exposed to some sort of campaign put together by an advertising company with the intention of increasing exposure and buzz.

I see nothing wrong when individuals use their creative talents to create a cause and at the same time raise awareness towards their companies and business, this is at the core of the concept of corporate sponsorship and much good has been achieved this way in the last century. However, nothing annoys me more that seeing marketeers and advertising types trying to exploit people’s goodwill.

Luckily, the public is not a brainless mass any longer. When this happens such campaigns tend to backfire, people spot a genuine lack of sincerity and the whole thing turns into a very embarrassing “social media blunder”.

Any company trying to follow this route should be aware of one very important rule: Be real, sincerity matters!

I am interested in your point of view. Please have a look at this link and write your impressions on the blog.

Most brands are new, they have products (at time brilliant) but they lack a story. Most of their advertising budget goes towards creating one. The results? well.. switch on the TV.

And then you have those brands who have a story, a great story, but for whatever reason they fail to link that story with the brand itself.

This used to be the case of Anadolu Sigorta, a Turkish insurance company.

The recent unveiling of their new advertising campaign shows how to turn things around.

In a masterfully produced ad, Anadolu Sigorta brings us to the very moment of decision that led the founder of the country, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, to the creation of a national insurance company.

The ad is in Turkish but it speaks an universal language. Speaks of honor and willingness to turn things around, speaks of reconstruction and national pride.

Turkey is a very proud country (too proud at times), so this campaign speaks to each and every single Turkish citizen. Very few people knew the story of this insurance company. Now we all do.

This is brilliant work, done by people who obviously cared and took pride in their craft. This could have been done in a cheesy and mercenary way, instead it is done with great style and dignity, matching the dignity of the moment.

It’s brilliant.