"
Yamaoka Tesshu, as a young student of Zen, visited one master after another. He called upon Dokuon of Shokoku.
Desiring to show his attainment, he said: "The mind, Buddha, and
sentient beings, after all, do not exist. The true nature of phenomena
is emptiness. There is no realization, no delusion, no sage, no
mediocrity. There is no giving and nothing to be received."
Dokuon, who was smoking quietly, said nothing. Suddenly he whacked
Yamaoka with his bamboo pipe. This made the youth quite angry.
"If nothing exists," inquired Dokuon, "where did this anger come from?"
"
https://www.reddit.com/r/philosophy/comments/3kzfeo/nihilistic_and_solipsistic_amoralism_dismissed_in/
Showing posts with label funny. Show all posts
Showing posts with label funny. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Sunday, August 23, 2015
How CS:GO's In-Game Economy Can Grow a New Generation of Players/Fans and Slow Down Hackers
I've written about Counterstrike and Valve before; most recently being about CS:GO not being ready for the Free-to-Play model. This article will explain how Valve has designed a system where they have created an in-game economy and added a secondary ranking system that has creatively solved the balance between wanting to grow the player base without flooding the competitive matchmaking system with hackers and griefers while growing wave after wave of new players.
Link to original article:
http://www.r4bb1t.com/2014/04/why-valves-csgo-isnt-ready-for-free-to.html
To address the secondary ranking system to get it out of the way; Valve implemented a experience-based ranking system as well as keeping the original skill-based ranking system. While the original system is important for the system to create balanced teams for matchmaking, the newer experience based system serves two purposes - to tell other players how long that player has been at it as well as slowing down the rate at which hackers and griefers can access the competitive matches to ruin it for others. Every account must hit at least level three to play competitive matches, which takes just under a day's worth of hours in-game to get through - this prevents people from just buying new copies and jumping straight into serious games. It gives the system a chance to slow down an individual account and assess what it is doing before letting it roam free.
Now, down to the fun bit:
While Global Offensive isn't free to play yet, the in game economy (briefly explained in link at beginning of article) has created what I would call a "free by referral" system. Valve's system creates a direct-dollar translation of value of items/skins/etc which while it can't be directly traded back for cash, it can be used for other items and more importantly, games in the Steam marketplace.
So, CS GO players that have been at it for a while who have accumulated a stock of items from drops can then theoretically trade it in for more copies of CS GO to give out to friends and strangers. I'd love to see the data that shows the correlation of Steam sales of CSGO with dumps of items into the Steam marketplace and bulk purchases of copies from individual players.
This means that players of any level can eventually earn enough in-game to purchase the game for others without spending another cent on the game, giving the general in-game economy a 'pay it forward' kind of vibe, which is fascinating on an economic as well as social science perspective.
On the other hand, it's generally used by these players to create 'smurf' accounts, basically accounts intended to hide the user's actual skill level. These smurf accounts are used as a vacation for high rank players and/or trolling purposes - while not quite as uplifting as the thought of buying other players copies, it is a real part of the CS/Steam economy.
There is something innately interesting about Counterstrike as a game. On the surface, it's another FPS game, shooting your enemy and winning. The level below that, there is an appreciation for the level of thought high-level players need to compete - everything from usage of sound to the in game physics of throwing a perfect grenade. The level below that is the most interesting - hidden deep past the actual gameplay is that fact that Counterstrike is actually a game about economy. If you ever watch a game, there is a bar at the top of the page that indicates one team's buying power over the other. It's an aspect that can make or break teams - if a player or two refuses to go along with the rest of the team in buying strategy, the opposing team can splinter and slowly rip the team's ability to buy effective weapons and body armor. The quick math needed to analyse the economies of both teams, deciding whether or not to save, partial buy, or full buy is amazing, and is a trait needed for leaders of these teams.
An explanation of how buying strategy affects the game in this video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyPKqovdNqI
Continuing on how CSGO is actually a lesson on economics, the actual marketplace and the buying and selling of skins is the world's easiest lesson on the principles of supply and demand. Watching new cases of weapons skins jump to the 20 dollar range in the first week from rarity and demand to seeing it sell for 10 cents a month later from the market being flooded with the same box will teach your child about the stock market and IPOs better and faster than playing with the real stock markets (see picture below).
The last point about the in-game economy is about how these items are part of the change in how sponsorships work- main sponsors now know what kind of viewership their money bought, and the community itself is now part of the funding for major events, with sticker sales contributing towards the prize money at this year's competition at Cologne. The quote below is from the CSGO newsfeed:
So, at the end of the day, this article is actually about how Valve and GabeN has basically tricked a bunch of people around the world into learning about how an economy works, and how good flow of currency can help individual teams in competition as well as the system and new players as a whole by combining the principles of capitalism and teamwork together. Absolutely silly and fantastic simultaneously... good job, guys.
Thanks for reading.
Link to original article:
http://www.r4bb1t.com/2014/04/why-valves-csgo-isnt-ready-for-free-to.html
To address the secondary ranking system to get it out of the way; Valve implemented a experience-based ranking system as well as keeping the original skill-based ranking system. While the original system is important for the system to create balanced teams for matchmaking, the newer experience based system serves two purposes - to tell other players how long that player has been at it as well as slowing down the rate at which hackers and griefers can access the competitive matches to ruin it for others. Every account must hit at least level three to play competitive matches, which takes just under a day's worth of hours in-game to get through - this prevents people from just buying new copies and jumping straight into serious games. It gives the system a chance to slow down an individual account and assess what it is doing before letting it roam free.
Now, down to the fun bit:
While Global Offensive isn't free to play yet, the in game economy (briefly explained in link at beginning of article) has created what I would call a "free by referral" system. Valve's system creates a direct-dollar translation of value of items/skins/etc which while it can't be directly traded back for cash, it can be used for other items and more importantly, games in the Steam marketplace.
So, CS GO players that have been at it for a while who have accumulated a stock of items from drops can then theoretically trade it in for more copies of CS GO to give out to friends and strangers. I'd love to see the data that shows the correlation of Steam sales of CSGO with dumps of items into the Steam marketplace and bulk purchases of copies from individual players.
This means that players of any level can eventually earn enough in-game to purchase the game for others without spending another cent on the game, giving the general in-game economy a 'pay it forward' kind of vibe, which is fascinating on an economic as well as social science perspective.
On the other hand, it's generally used by these players to create 'smurf' accounts, basically accounts intended to hide the user's actual skill level. These smurf accounts are used as a vacation for high rank players and/or trolling purposes - while not quite as uplifting as the thought of buying other players copies, it is a real part of the CS/Steam economy.
There is something innately interesting about Counterstrike as a game. On the surface, it's another FPS game, shooting your enemy and winning. The level below that, there is an appreciation for the level of thought high-level players need to compete - everything from usage of sound to the in game physics of throwing a perfect grenade. The level below that is the most interesting - hidden deep past the actual gameplay is that fact that Counterstrike is actually a game about economy. If you ever watch a game, there is a bar at the top of the page that indicates one team's buying power over the other. It's an aspect that can make or break teams - if a player or two refuses to go along with the rest of the team in buying strategy, the opposing team can splinter and slowly rip the team's ability to buy effective weapons and body armor. The quick math needed to analyse the economies of both teams, deciding whether or not to save, partial buy, or full buy is amazing, and is a trait needed for leaders of these teams.
An explanation of how buying strategy affects the game in this video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyPKqovdNqI
Continuing on how CSGO is actually a lesson on economics, the actual marketplace and the buying and selling of skins is the world's easiest lesson on the principles of supply and demand. Watching new cases of weapons skins jump to the 20 dollar range in the first week from rarity and demand to seeing it sell for 10 cents a month later from the market being flooded with the same box will teach your child about the stock market and IPOs better and faster than playing with the real stock markets (see picture below).
The last point about the in-game economy is about how these items are part of the change in how sponsorships work- main sponsors now know what kind of viewership their money bought, and the community itself is now part of the funding for major events, with sticker sales contributing towards the prize money at this year's competition at Cologne. The quote below is from the CSGO newsfeed:
"CS:GO fans had the opportunity to directly support their favorite teams and players and their response was unprecedented: thanks to crowd-funding with event stickers, the players and organizations received a total of over $4.2 million!"This means that as teams grow their fanbases, they can now feel directly involved with the amount of pull/sponsorship they will receive, a new addition to the world of e/sports and how that microeconomy works. This realization should further drive the reach of CS/Valve in the long run through the effective harnessing of self-interest in the respective parties.
So, at the end of the day, this article is actually about how Valve and GabeN has basically tricked a bunch of people around the world into learning about how an economy works, and how good flow of currency can help individual teams in competition as well as the system and new players as a whole by combining the principles of capitalism and teamwork together. Absolutely silly and fantastic simultaneously... good job, guys.
Thanks for reading.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
The Future of Korean-Japanese Relations Summed Up in 30 Seocnds
*Disclaimer: I know next to nothing about geopolitics*
My theory: The future of the relationship between Japan and Korea is more of a interest-based marketing question than a political, economic, or territory-based one since...
have more influence on the public opinions between the nations than Prime Minister Shizo Abe or President Park Geun Hye will ever have.
My point is that this stuff:
"In recent years, however, the relationship between South Korea and Japan has greatly deteriorated over many disputes, including the territorial claims on Takeshima, Japanese prime ministers' visits to Yasukuni Shrine, and differing views on history of Imperial Japan, during Korea under Japanese rule.
According to a 2014 BBC World Service Poll, 13% of Japanese view South Korea's influence positively, with 37% expressing a negative view, while 15% of South Koreans view Japanese influence positively, with 79% expressing negatively, making South Korea, along with China, the country with the most negative perception of Japan in the world."
from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan%E2%80%93South_Korea_relations
"In her speech to mark the anniversary of Korea’s liberation from colonial rule on 15 August 1945, Park called upon ‘Japan’s leaders to take a correct view of history and especially to take proactive measures acceptable to the comfort women victims of the Japanese imperial military while they are still alive’."
from: http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2014/09/23/why-history-is-a-problem-for-park-geun-hye-in-confronting-japan/
...basically matters f*ck all in the grand scheme of things in the era of globalization (much to the dismay of political analysts, bitter old folks, and war hawks on both sides), and I think the younger generations from both countries generally understand this fact and will eventually turn the old neighbor/extended family dispute into a much more arbitrary, productive, and friendlier one focused around shared interests and industries to improve the economic potential for both countries. China can come too.
My theory: The future of the relationship between Japan and Korea is more of a interest-based marketing question than a political, economic, or territory-based one since...
Pop Music
 |
| Pictured: The men(?) of Big Bang |
Anime
 |
| Pictured: Dragonball Z |
K/J-Dramas
 |
| Pictured: Rain (Bi) in Full House |
Martial Arts
 |
| Pictured: Judo |
and Videogames
 |
| Pictured: Tekken |
My point is that this stuff:
"In recent years, however, the relationship between South Korea and Japan has greatly deteriorated over many disputes, including the territorial claims on Takeshima, Japanese prime ministers' visits to Yasukuni Shrine, and differing views on history of Imperial Japan, during Korea under Japanese rule.
According to a 2014 BBC World Service Poll, 13% of Japanese view South Korea's influence positively, with 37% expressing a negative view, while 15% of South Koreans view Japanese influence positively, with 79% expressing negatively, making South Korea, along with China, the country with the most negative perception of Japan in the world."
from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan%E2%80%93South_Korea_relations
"In her speech to mark the anniversary of Korea’s liberation from colonial rule on 15 August 1945, Park called upon ‘Japan’s leaders to take a correct view of history and especially to take proactive measures acceptable to the comfort women victims of the Japanese imperial military while they are still alive’."
from: http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2014/09/23/why-history-is-a-problem-for-park-geun-hye-in-confronting-japan/
...basically matters f*ck all in the grand scheme of things in the era of globalization (much to the dismay of political analysts, bitter old folks, and war hawks on both sides), and I think the younger generations from both countries generally understand this fact and will eventually turn the old neighbor/extended family dispute into a much more arbitrary, productive, and friendlier one focused around shared interests and industries to improve the economic potential for both countries. China can come too.
Thursday, January 22, 2015
UX Design - Theory vs Reality (Summed Up in a Picture)
 |
| User Experience - Intended design doesn't have anything to do with the reality of usage |
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Weird Al Uses Every Obnoxious Business Buzzword Ever Created in "Mission Statement"
"Mission Statement," off Weird Al's new album (which just hit #1 on the charts thanks to a strangely effective online marketing strategy) does a wonderful job of combining all of the most over-used and stupid buzzwords in the business world into a light hearted song.
I'm going to subconsciously be thinking about this song every time I meet... I mean, 'interface' with a corporate representative from now on.
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Funniest Comments About the New Google Maps
I'm going to preface this with a statement:
I like Google. Despite all the recent news, Google products are still wonderful. My site is built on Blogger, I still use Gmail, and of course, the search engine was acurse gift from the gods. I felt the same way about Maps right up the new version came out. It's almost as if they took the control away from engineers and gave it to someone with an art degree and just told them to f*ck it up as hard as humanly possible.
I'm hoping the changes were rushed to mask changes to the not-so-well-hidden SEO game that was going on the Maps results for years, because otherwise, this was one of the worst-planned updates I've ever seen and I'd prefer to give the Google guys a bit more credit than that.
All I'm saying is, the person in charge of the new Maps changes has been living in a bubble, and should consider moving over to Microsoft, where I'm sure his inability to conceive what the rest of the world beyond his backyard is like would be appreciated.
Anyway, my favorite comments about the new Google Maps from: What's the stupidest change you ever witnessed on a popular website? (all comments copied as is)
1.
Removing the distance measurement tool from google maps.
2.
How do you switch to classic view? I didn't realize that was an option and can't figure it out after clicking around for a few minutes?
(Response) https://support.google.com/maps/answer/3045828?hl=en
3.
I like Google. Despite all the recent news, Google products are still wonderful. My site is built on Blogger, I still use Gmail, and of course, the search engine was a
I'm hoping the changes were rushed to mask changes to the not-so-well-hidden SEO game that was going on the Maps results for years, because otherwise, this was one of the worst-planned updates I've ever seen and I'd prefer to give the Google guys a bit more credit than that.
All I'm saying is, the person in charge of the new Maps changes has been living in a bubble, and should consider moving over to Microsoft, where I'm sure his inability to conceive what the rest of the world beyond his backyard is like would be appreciated.
Anyway, my favorite comments about the new Google Maps from: What's the stupidest change you ever witnessed on a popular website? (all comments copied as is)
1.
Removing the distance measurement tool from google maps.
2.
How do you switch to classic view? I didn't realize that was an option and can't figure it out after clicking around for a few minutes?
(Response) https://support.google.com/maps/answer/3045828?hl=en
3.
"Guys, so
there's this other navigation app people are using... Apple Maps. What
do we do about this? How can we turn our perfectly awesome app into
Apple Maps?"
"But sir? Isn't Apple Maps absolutely terrible?"
"Yes! But we must derive a plan to make our app equally shitty! Think people!"
4.
It's also crazy slow
(Response) Really want to be floored ? Try Bing maps... I swear it's instant. It's crazy. I just can't accept it.
5.
I just use Google Earth.
"But sir? Isn't Apple Maps absolutely terrible?"
"Yes! But we must derive a plan to make our app equally shitty! Think people!"
4.
It's also crazy slow
(Response) Really want to be floored ? Try Bing maps... I swear it's instant. It's crazy. I just can't accept it.
5.
I just use Google Earth.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
What Brands Would Survive in a World Without Advertising? (Reddit Discussion)
 |
| Add this stuff to your next plain cheese pizza slice and you'll see why Sriracha has an international fanbase. |
There was an interesting thread on reddit's /r/AskReddit (a main sub) yesterday:
If advertising was made illegal (print, TV, internet ads, etc. not the packaging), which products do you think would survive based on customer loyalty, quality, or word of mouth?
http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/28e1w4/if_advertising_was_made_illegal_print_tv_internet/
The results seem to match what I've been telling people for years: No matter how you dress it up, no matter how much you polish it, nothing really ever beats word of mouth and true value in the end.
Some of my favorite comments (copied as is):
Jiffy mix sells over 55% of all muffin mixes in the United States and they don't spend a dime on advertising.
user megobits
WD40
Ain't nobody seen an advertisement for WD40 but everyone's got a can in the shed.
user Einsatzkommando
The main cigarette brands. If putting death notices on packets doesn't stop people, no advertising at all certainly won't!
user TheWindBelow
Ain't nobody seen an advertisement for WD40 but everyone's got a can in the shed.
user Einsatzkommando
The main cigarette brands. If putting death notices on packets doesn't stop people, no advertising at all certainly won't!
user TheWindBelow
Pretty
much any type of doctor / physician. If I see an internist advertising
on a billboard, I probably will be less likely to go see them -0 but if a
friend tells me that doctor is good, that means the world to me.
Also probably colleges / universities. Again, the good ones wont advertise much and just survive on reputation.
user Best_Zyra_LAN
arizona drinks, they are very popular but i dont think ive ever seen a ad for them
user awesomo213
Q-Tips because the cheap ones will fuck up your ears.
user rwildhorseranch
That Sriracha sauce that everyone uses. That company has never advertised. Their product is popular because of word of mouth, and nothing else.
user ElDochart
Their product is popular because of taste in mouth, and nothing else.
user IJustNeedToMention in response to above Sriracha comment
My thoughts:
Also probably colleges / universities. Again, the good ones wont advertise much and just survive on reputation.
user Best_Zyra_LAN
arizona drinks, they are very popular but i dont think ive ever seen a ad for them
user awesomo213
Q-Tips because the cheap ones will fuck up your ears.
user rwildhorseranch
That Sriracha sauce that everyone uses. That company has never advertised. Their product is popular because of word of mouth, and nothing else.
user ElDochart
Their product is popular because of taste in mouth, and nothing else.
user IJustNeedToMention in response to above Sriracha comment
My thoughts:
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Learn Marketing to Other Cultures: Comparing Fashion and Attractive Features
Warning: Some Homophobia, Mild Racism, and a Hint of Adult Language in the Image Below:
In case you're adverse to looking at pictures (and for my own SEO purposes), an explanation:
On the left, you see an American hipster looking sad because he's being called a weak man who is attracted to other men (not that the latter part is any of our business) for his sense in fashion, and on the right, the Korean guy is being admired by those around him for wearing the same thing.
Why could this possibly be? [/DeadPan]
Someone I know said it's the black hair that makes the outfit complete and critic-proof, but I'm gonna go with: It's a cultural thing as to what constitutes "manly" and/or "womanly," and even within these cultures, the definition comes and goes in cycles.
Why is this important for marketing to other cultural groups?
One of the biggest hurdles in marketing for any business owner is considering and figuring out their demographics and how to cater to them. The challenge level gets increasingly higher the further the culture you are trying to reach is from their own - what might be considered polite in one country might be considered extremely rude in another, and much more relevant to the discussion at hand, someone who might be considered beautiful and fashionable by one group might be ugly and gaudy by another.
This means to any person interested in marketing to other cultures and using the right images, themes, and models to reach them, they must be willing to first let go of their own biases, accept the other culture's (just short of going full-native), and then learn about the cultures that have/had an effect on that culture, and so on and so forth. The important part here is to come in with the mindset that the culture will shape your style of marketing, not the other way around.
As incredibly obvious as all of this sounds, it's still something that is difficult to understand and more importantly, to predict the shifts as they happen. It's just a matter of opportunity cost in terms of time and effort spent going down that rabbit hole, so pick your own level of involvement.
That's all I personally have to say on the subject, but here are a couple of Examples, Articles, and Studies to build on this line of thought:
In recent western history until 1940 when marketing research pushed retailers and manufacturers to switch it up, pink was the preferred color for boys due to its more "intense" properties, and the delicate color blue was for girls.
Here are professional photographs courtesy of NatGeo of fashion and traditional clothing across the world.
A little comic relief: examples of when other cultures try to use English on their clothing.
Tufts website on the development of fashion in the US throughout the 20th century, divided by decade.
Thesis by an NYU student on the future of Asian fashion.
Preferences in facial features and their role in Cultural/Darwinian development - Clean-Shaven vs Bearded Men: one is preferred and considered more attractive than the other as they get rarer.
What is generally considered attractive regardless of culture and race?
Learn something new about how the world views attractiveness with the Wikipedia entry on Physical Attractiveness.
Does being attractive really affect your earning potential?
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
New Adwords Feature: AdBirds! Reach Out With Pay-Per-Cluck Advertising!
I don't know about you guys, but I'm super excited to reach out to a targeted market with Pay-Per-Cluck advertising!
Clever Viagra Ad Concept - Vertical Billboard
 |
| Does the billboard make you think of something in particular? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, euphemism, metaphor? ...Get your mind out of the gutter. |
Monday, March 31, 2014
Good Design Helps Sell: A Comparison on Sales of Books - Pride and Prejudice
Like many other articles on this site, the title is mildly misleading. Don't get me wrong - it's an article about how sales can be boosted by having good, clean, and theme-driven design + be something that any self-respecting business owner should consider a real and researched expense. The title is there to convince you reading this will improve your business/life/writing career, but it is a headline based off of mildly biased, semi-thoroughly researched analysis with a self-serving intention. If you're still interested, read on.
(My thoughts are bold, italic, and large)
The following is from reddit's /r/SmallBusiness subforum
Original post by /u/TransitionMarketing:
This screen shot depicts the overall sales of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice based on five different cover designs and spanning 20 years. This provides a clear look at the power behind design, marketing and understanding the current market.
Have a look at the screen shot.
Sales for this literary classic hit a small peak of sorts in 1995, but overall remained fairly low until 2009 when it surged in popularity netting more than double the sales in a single year.
Why? What happened in 2009?
The Great Pride & Prejudice Surge Of 2009
The Pride & Prejudice film was released in 2005. Which means that this probably did not factor largely in to the 2009 releases success. If anything one would have expected a surge in sales to occur within the next year (2006).
Instead we see that four years later, in 2009, demand for this novel more than doubled within twelve months. What was it about 2009?
Every market surge has a history. There may be many contributing factors to a sudden sales onslaught but one can always trace the reasons. This can often be a complicated process and one may wind up with many dead ends before coming to a reliable conclusion as to the cause, but there is always a cause.
In the case this surge in 2009 it is not so complicated. Have a look at the cover that sold so well. The cover couldn’t be the sole reason could it? Design doesn’t make that much of a difference right?
Wrong. It is all in the design. The 2009 release happened to coincide with another novel series which just happened to be gaining steam at the time. Perhaps you have heard of it. It involved an angst ridden teenage girl and her love affair with a vampire and a werewolf.
The Twilight Saga had recently become a huge hit. It had been hitting the theaters and was discussed everywhere. Low and behold if we look at the cover design of the re-release of the Twilight series what do we see?
Well now look at that. Something familiar about those colors and the overall feel isn't there? What an odd coincidence…
Make no mistake. This was 100% intentional and from a marketing and sales standpoint, it was brilliant. The brains behind the 2009 publication of Pride & Prejudice knew their market. They knew the consumer zeitgeist. They knew what people were reading and they moved on it.
Does Pride & Prejudice share any similarities with Twilight? Well the lead character is a girl and Mr. Darcy is a bit of a wolf… but otherwise to lump these two into the same category would likely cause Mrs Austen to roll in her grave.
Yet the design of the book managed to subtly do just that. The four books published in the Twilight series used three key colors and several basic design elements. This is obvious when comparing the four of them side by side as we do in the image linked above.
The demographic that Twilight was marketed to had, had their eyes trained – trained to look for this specific color combination and style, thus any other book with similar traits would automatically grab their eye.
What is more, the design team behind the 2009 version of Pride and Prejudice increased its book size to match the size which Twilight was published in. The result was a book that looked, for all intents and purposes, like it belonged to the Twilight series – one that could sit beside them and not look out-of-place.
Customers would be looking through the shelves of books and their eyes would automatically flicker what they knew and recognized. Perhaps some of them even thought this was a fifth edition to the series.
This is the essence and foundation behind branding and that is exactly what went on. Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series was branded with a very obvious aesthetic look. 2009′s Pride and Prejudice printing simply hopped on that band wagon and rode its coattails to success.
Design & Sales.
All too often there appears to be an underlying disrespect for solid design work. Few people – especially in the small business market place – realize the increase in sales that good design will get them. Instead the see the price tag that comes along with it and they balk at it. They cut corners, call in favors, hire rookies or try to do it themselves with all the “free online tools”. The result is shoddy and unprofessional design.
Graphic and Web design needs to be rooted in technical and artistic ability as well and an understanding of what is working in the industry today.
As we see in the example above, knowing the market and understanding design trends play a huge role in design success.
It is simple and it is truth. Good graphic design increases sales. Good design is worth the price.
(My thoughts are bold, italic, and large)
The following is from reddit's /r/SmallBusiness subforum
Original post by /u/TransitionMarketing:
This screen shot depicts the overall sales of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice based on five different cover designs and spanning 20 years. This provides a clear look at the power behind design, marketing and understanding the current market.
Have a look at the screen shot.
Sales for this literary classic hit a small peak of sorts in 1995, but overall remained fairly low until 2009 when it surged in popularity netting more than double the sales in a single year.
Why? What happened in 2009?
The Great Pride & Prejudice Surge Of 2009
The Pride & Prejudice film was released in 2005. Which means that this probably did not factor largely in to the 2009 releases success. If anything one would have expected a surge in sales to occur within the next year (2006).
Instead we see that four years later, in 2009, demand for this novel more than doubled within twelve months. What was it about 2009?
Every market surge has a history. There may be many contributing factors to a sudden sales onslaught but one can always trace the reasons. This can often be a complicated process and one may wind up with many dead ends before coming to a reliable conclusion as to the cause, but there is always a cause.
In the case this surge in 2009 it is not so complicated. Have a look at the cover that sold so well. The cover couldn’t be the sole reason could it? Design doesn’t make that much of a difference right?
Wrong. It is all in the design. The 2009 release happened to coincide with another novel series which just happened to be gaining steam at the time. Perhaps you have heard of it. It involved an angst ridden teenage girl and her love affair with a vampire and a werewolf.
The Twilight Saga had recently become a huge hit. It had been hitting the theaters and was discussed everywhere. Low and behold if we look at the cover design of the re-release of the Twilight series what do we see?
Well now look at that. Something familiar about those colors and the overall feel isn't there? What an odd coincidence…
Make no mistake. This was 100% intentional and from a marketing and sales standpoint, it was brilliant. The brains behind the 2009 publication of Pride & Prejudice knew their market. They knew the consumer zeitgeist. They knew what people were reading and they moved on it.
Does Pride & Prejudice share any similarities with Twilight? Well the lead character is a girl and Mr. Darcy is a bit of a wolf… but otherwise to lump these two into the same category would likely cause Mrs Austen to roll in her grave.
Yet the design of the book managed to subtly do just that. The four books published in the Twilight series used three key colors and several basic design elements. This is obvious when comparing the four of them side by side as we do in the image linked above.
The demographic that Twilight was marketed to had, had their eyes trained – trained to look for this specific color combination and style, thus any other book with similar traits would automatically grab their eye.
What is more, the design team behind the 2009 version of Pride and Prejudice increased its book size to match the size which Twilight was published in. The result was a book that looked, for all intents and purposes, like it belonged to the Twilight series – one that could sit beside them and not look out-of-place.
Customers would be looking through the shelves of books and their eyes would automatically flicker what they knew and recognized. Perhaps some of them even thought this was a fifth edition to the series.
This is the essence and foundation behind branding and that is exactly what went on. Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series was branded with a very obvious aesthetic look. 2009′s Pride and Prejudice printing simply hopped on that band wagon and rode its coattails to success.
Design & Sales.
All too often there appears to be an underlying disrespect for solid design work. Few people – especially in the small business market place – realize the increase in sales that good design will get them. Instead the see the price tag that comes along with it and they balk at it. They cut corners, call in favors, hire rookies or try to do it themselves with all the “free online tools”. The result is shoddy and unprofessional design.
Graphic and Web design needs to be rooted in technical and artistic ability as well and an understanding of what is working in the industry today.
As we see in the example above, knowing the market and understanding design trends play a huge role in design success.
It is simple and it is truth. Good graphic design increases sales. Good design is worth the price.
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Rabbit:
That was kind of fun and informative to read, right? Twilight did something positive for humanity...how awesome! Anyway, I am now going to ignore the entire point of his post for now, and just move on to how you had just read a not-as-subtle-as-intended rant and sales pitch from a marketing company.
That was kind of fun and informative to read, right? Twilight did something positive for humanity...how awesome! Anyway, I am now going to ignore the entire point of his post for now, and just move on to how you had just read a not-as-subtle-as-intended rant and sales pitch from a marketing company.
The user behind Transition Marketing's reddit account created this post to rant about the lack of willingness of businesses to invest in good design and offer next to nothing for a logo, and aimed it at the small business owners of /r/smallbusiness to try and create some cognitive dissonance - "Heck, if it can work for a Jane Austen book I was forced to read in high school, why can't it work for me," and "Oh man, if only I had paid my graphic design guy in money instead of tootsie rolls, maybe my marketing efforts would work."
Followed by: "Oh man, /u/TransitionMarketing sure knows what they're talking about and certainly hip with the design trends and stuff - even put up a infographic to back up the claims! I should totally shower them with 100 dollar bills first chance I get."
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Followup from user /u/gogoALLthegadgets
I'm sorry, but a 200 year
old classic does not start flying off the shelves (relative to prior
sales) simply because they ripped off the cool kid.
Pride and Prejudice was an inspiration for the first Twilight book (2005). In fact, the main character, Bella, even says it's her favorite book. The first movie released in November 2008. That's when shit got really crazy for Twilight. The cover change wasn't to capitalize on Twilight's success; it was to capitalize on their contextual affiliation with the main character - a character that every teenage girl wanted to be.
Also, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a re-imagining of the classic with hot-topic-of-the-year zombie fiction, also released in April 2009 bringing even more attention to Jane Austen's original.
It looks like the screen shot you pulled was from a NYMag article trying to make a point about how young adults are a lucrative marketing segment, so I'm not saying you're at fault here for making the assumption. It would be a better assumption, and more suitable to make your point, if it was a new book with no affiliation or relevance to the "cool kid". At least then you'd have anecdotal evidence that good design could provide a lift in conversion.
Pride and Prejudice was an inspiration for the first Twilight book (2005). In fact, the main character, Bella, even says it's her favorite book. The first movie released in November 2008. That's when shit got really crazy for Twilight. The cover change wasn't to capitalize on Twilight's success; it was to capitalize on their contextual affiliation with the main character - a character that every teenage girl wanted to be.
Also, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a re-imagining of the classic with hot-topic-of-the-year zombie fiction, also released in April 2009 bringing even more attention to Jane Austen's original.
It looks like the screen shot you pulled was from a NYMag article trying to make a point about how young adults are a lucrative marketing segment, so I'm not saying you're at fault here for making the assumption. It would be a better assumption, and more suitable to make your point, if it was a new book with no affiliation or relevance to the "cool kid". At least then you'd have anecdotal evidence that good design could provide a lift in conversion.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Facebook Prompts Remind You that FB "Cares About Your Privacy" :D
Does Facebook Suddenly Care About Your Privacy?
Article from TechCrunch:
http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/25/facebooks-privacy-checkups-remind-users-to-stop-posting-publicly/
Some blurbs from the article:
"Though a seemingly minor informational prompt, the addition arrives at a time when Facebook is facing increased competition with a bevy of mobile, social services offering more private sharing – WhatsApp being one which the company notably acquired for a mind-boggling $19 billion.
Earlier this month, Facebook also rolled out new private photo-sharing tools that offer an easier way for users to select specific people to share a photo album with via Facebook’s News Feed. The selector itself is reminiscent of Snapchat since it also lets you pick individual friends who can see your private photos."
"It’s also interesting to see Facebook shift its course to refocus on more private sharing in this post-Snowden era where users are beginning to feel more wary of the public nature of online sharing. Meanwhile, a new generation of users has been born into a world where their identities and private lives were already over-exposed by mom and dad while still in the womb and learning to crawl. It’s the perfect storm for a backlash against public socializing."
The Reality:
They just realized that by sharing your data with search engines they're bleeding value from their ad platform
:D
Article from TechCrunch:
http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/25/facebooks-privacy-checkups-remind-users-to-stop-posting-publicly/
Some blurbs from the article:
"Though a seemingly minor informational prompt, the addition arrives at a time when Facebook is facing increased competition with a bevy of mobile, social services offering more private sharing – WhatsApp being one which the company notably acquired for a mind-boggling $19 billion.
Earlier this month, Facebook also rolled out new private photo-sharing tools that offer an easier way for users to select specific people to share a photo album with via Facebook’s News Feed. The selector itself is reminiscent of Snapchat since it also lets you pick individual friends who can see your private photos."
"It’s also interesting to see Facebook shift its course to refocus on more private sharing in this post-Snowden era where users are beginning to feel more wary of the public nature of online sharing. Meanwhile, a new generation of users has been born into a world where their identities and private lives were already over-exposed by mom and dad while still in the womb and learning to crawl. It’s the perfect storm for a backlash against public socializing."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They just realized that by sharing your data with search engines they're bleeding value from their ad platform
:D
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
The Dream vs Reality of Work Automation Explained by XKCD
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| It's that "ongoing development" that really gets you. |
Another minimalist but eloquent observation on our interactions with technology by Randall Munroe - in this case, work automation. Looking at this, I think of the striking similarities between work automation and business development, where many start a business hoping to create a self-sustaining machine but end up years in development and reinvestment with no end in sight.
The commonly cited 80/20 rule applies to programming as well, where it seems 80% of your time is spent debugging the code rather than creating it. Nothing but years of experience and training can make automation worth it for most people whether in terms of work or personal endeavors... it's why people hire professionals with a proven track record.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Big Data Explained in One Funny Powerpoint Slide
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| "Everyone thinks everyone else is doing it. So, everyone claims they are doing it." Hilarious. |
Monday, December 16, 2013
A Rare Good Use for QR Codes - Tattoo Artist Job Application
Berrge Tattoo took out an ad in a newspaper to hire a new tattoo artist - a faint QR code to fill out and scan to access the application. I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, but you could probably fill it out in about 30 seconds with photoshop and do it that way. Regardless, very clever use for QR codes, and good on whoever thought of this idea.
It's too bad QR codes are darn near useless as a marketing option, but seeing things like this still makes me happy.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Social Media Explained by Donuts
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| G+ is also: "Why the hell do I need a Google+ account to comment on a video about donuts?" |
Friday, November 29, 2013
How Retail Sale Pricing Works
In honor of Black Friday, here's a simple picture to explain the intricacies of retail sales, and the importance of picking the right price point.
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| Unethical? Maybe. Effective? With |
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