The World According to Bob

My thoughts after an exhausting, emotionally charged week. I am only writing to express what is on my mind – not for affirmation or debate. Just thoughts about a week in a year that I shall never forget.

George Floyd should be alive.

He is not alone.

It is not enough to say you understand because, if you are white, you cannot know.

That is the price we pay living in a largely segregated society for 400 years.

Building walls creates ignorance.

To stand against racism is not enough.

It is not enough to care.

It is not enough to support.

It is not enough to say I am not a racist.

We must fight it.

You can watch a racist and ignore their actions, or you can stand up and stop them.

You can say it doesn’t affect me, but injustice ignored is justice denied.

You can accept things as they are, or you can fight to make them as they should be.

You can close your eyes and hope for the best, or you can open wide those eyes and make an impact

You can leave this world as it was when you arrived, or you can make this world a better place for the next generation.

One of the most famous viral videos of all-time is “Charlie bit my finger” with 870M views, and that video and other early videos helped create an atmosphere of “I want to go viral”

So what does that mean anyway – going viral? Is it 100,000 views, 5 million of 870 million? There’s no hard and fast definition.

A video can get a million views because a brand paid to have it places on various sites, so if the video is seeded with paid support and emails and other means is it truly viral?

There is a certain mindset that failing to go viral means your social media campaign is a failure, and I don’t buy into that nonsense.

“Going viral” misses the point of brand messaging which is reaching the right audience and building a relationship with them by producing content that is useful and actionable for them. I can buy and spend and clickbait my way to a million views, but how many watch beyond 10 seconds and how many took action in a positive way towards my brand?

Every video you create is not a one-time shot at going viral, but an investment in a long-term relationship with your customers.

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I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time finding what to watch. My nightly routine is usually starting with the cable guide to see what’s on, and then I’ll switch to Apple TV and nose around Netflix, Hulu or Prime or get distracted by something on YouTube. If I can’t find anything, then I’ll do a Google – you know, what’s on TV tonight? Or what can I binge watch? And usually, I can narrow it down to a couple of choices, and if it’s a series, I’ll start binge-watching so I don’t need to do this whole process again at least for a few days.

If you are like me, you have a lot of haystacks to search to find the needle.

And that’s just TV.

Think about the 300 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute or the 5 billion videos watched on YouTube every day.

And then there are another 100 million hours of video watched daily on Facebook.

Not to forget, Twitter, Twitch, TikTok and the Gram. Or how about LinkedIn.

So as a content creator or brand marketer, how is a consumer supposed to find your content in all these haystacks?

For this complex problem, I offer a relatively simple A-B-C solution.

With due respect to Alec Baldwin’s character in Glengarry Glen Ross, I’m not saying “Always Be Closing.”

I’m talking about “Attention, Brand Value, and Call to Action.”

A successful digital video is one that captures the audience’s attention, delivers brand value to that audience, and calls upon the viewer to act. Action not in the form of a like, comment of share, but to say to themselves, “I learned something new and I need to try this product.”

To prove my theory, I offer three examples, but you can find many following the same basic formula.

Is the content memorable or shareworthy like Blendtek’s “Will It Blend” series?

Phinally! The Will It Blend? you’ve all been waiting phor! Watch Tom blend two phablets including the brand new iPhone 6 Plus and Samsung Galaxy Note 3. It’s…

Is the content something that the consumer associates with your brand’s value like RedBull’s live extreme sports coverage or action You Tube series like “Who Is JOB?

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I’ve been awful about updating this blog. Too busy. Too many demands. Too many distractions. Or maybe just not dedicated enough.

So here’s my pledge: one post a day. My thoughts on business, life, the world in general. A few adventure stories. Something that hopefully will interest you.

Not sure of the consequence of failing to post? Well, I guess I won’t have an audience!

Here’s my post for this fine Sunday morning: Mobile is the only thing that matters.

It’s something I talk about when I address groups about content and marketing. Creators and marketers have to think mobile-first, but I don’t rely on data to make my point.

I took the picture on the left in 2012 to show the diversity of New York City on the subway. Seven years later, I took the picture on the right.

The noticeable difference is people reading newspapers on the left compared to the number using mobile devices in 2019. I don’t even see a newspaper in that photo.

Times they are always changing. Adapt your strategy to meet the audience.

A story to go along with this story about a 20 percent increase in homeless people living on the New York City subway.

On Friday morning, I get on the subway followed by a man with beat-up red sneakers, torn clothes, and a ripped bag. He’s carrying newspapers and proceeds to try to sell them to the many commuters packed in the train car. When no buys, he yells some obscenity and exits the train.

Another man gets on wearing a sweatshirt the color of dirt and raggedy old pants. He walks thru the car asking for change, but no one gives. When he gets to the opposite end, he decides to perform some sort of Indian-type chant as a song and walks through the car singing loudly while sort of dancing. Still, no one hands over any money.

As he walks through the car, he spots a young woman with her purse on her lap. He approaches and says something untoward. The man next to her becomes irate and steps in.

“Why don’t you leave people alone?” he demands to know. “We’re hard-working people going to our jobs and no one here is gonna give you anything for your drug smoking habit.”

The homeless man looks shocked and begins to walk away, but then turns back and curses and threatens the man.

“Don’t you threaten me,” he says. The homeless man keeps walking.

I leave the underground thinking this has been quite a morning when I suddenly hear cars screeching and people shouting. Down from the intersection, another homeless man has walked into the middle of the street in front of fast-approaching vehicles. He’s wearing what looks like a plastic bag and holding up his hands in a stopping motion as cars skid to a halt just inches from his body.

One wonders if he really wanted them to stop.

Drivers curse and he moves on, trying to vanish in the crowd but still easy to see.

We try to go somewhere different every year. A new place to explore, a new adventure, new mayhem to make.

Inside the Pink Cadillac Diner in Natural Bridge, Virginia

So in 2019 we packed the Flex and hit the road to the south to the Great Smoky Mountains. We drove from Pennsylvania, stopped in Maryland to pick up our eldest daughter, traveled through a part of West Virginia, passed by the inspiring Blue Ridge Mountains, stopped for lunch at the awesome Pink Cadillac Diner in Natural Bridge Virginia, and continued all the way to beautiful Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Our cabin was located just outside of town, up a mountain and a very steep driveway.

The diner was a cool spot to stop, right out the 1950s complete with Elvis statues, neon signs and a pink Cadillac parked out front. Not to mention, the food is terrific. The Elvis burger is mighty tasty,.

The road trip took a good 12 hours with all the stops, but the scenery and the chance to travel through so many of our great states made the journey all the more worthy. I so much prefer to drive across the country compared to flying. There’s so much to see and so many interesting people to meet.

The video below shows more of the road trip. I’ll have more to share soon!

Monek Mayhem returns! Been on hiatus for a LONG time, but here we are on the road to the Great Smoky Mountains complete with snakes and pink Cadillacs

The World According to Bob

40 years in media. Even more in life. Still figuring it out.

I am not a racist is not enough

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Is going viral my goal?

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One post a day: mobile mayhem

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Homeless on the Subway

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Road Trip to the Great Smoky Mountains

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