Just Think Vol.41
Marketing Buzz
Remember When?
Artist on the Rise
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Just Think Vol.41: The John Mayer Interview
By A. Evans
Twitter.com/AdotEvans
Disclaimer: As always, I write these articles to stimulate minds and to get the thought process in motion.... Please read the disclaimer twice on this article.
By now we have all heard about or have read the infamous John Mayer interview. The first time I read it I was confused about what he was trying to say and how he was trying to come across. I didn't want my emotions to interfere with logic, so I went and played called Call Of Duty (Gamer Tag AdotEVANS) and eventually went back and read the interview again. Now I'm still not sure what John was trying to say, but I think I have an idea.(That's a lie, I've created ideas that might explain) My question to you all is "What do you think John Mayer was trying to say in his interview that led to him using the ever controversial "N" word? Is an apology enough or should this be blown out proportion like a Tiger Woods scandal or Kanye rushing the stage during an acceptance speech? Which scenario is more offensive? A word that supposedly disrespects an entire race or isolated incidents that only involve a few individuals? Could it be the "N" word loses power if we all use it or does it still have the vibe of hatred and disrespect it once had?
What's "N" a word?
Whenever a Caucasian person or someone outside of the African American race uses the"N" word does it automatically mean they are racist? Or does the usage or intent determine the level of sensitivity? Since Mr Mayer used the "N" word with an "er" at the end do you think he was trying to imply something or was "Mr. Waiting for the World to Change" trying to deflate the intensity of the word, as well as the concept of having a ghetto pass since he has a nice African American fan base? What are your thoughts and ideas? Should people outside of the African American community be able to use the "N" word even when trying to make a point? Whats in a word? I won't voice my Malcolm X, Che Guevara, Paul Mooney views for the sake of staying on your good side(as if I cared), but as always I will dish out a dose of food for thought. I honestly feel that in 2010 we need to realize that words are merely sounds that have the power we give them. We write words and speak words, they are "OUR" instruments. Words are merely an attempt to describe us and our experiences. As humans made in the likeness of a higher power, how could we be subjected to the limitation of a word? We are soo much more...
I'm in no way saying it is OK for anyone to use hurtful and hateful words, or at least run around like Michael Richards, but what I am saying is if we continue to let the mere words of an individual upset us, then we might as well only use 5% of our brains.(Please read again)
On the flip side when does enough become enough? Sure there's nothing new under the sun but when do we at least try to evolve? When does using the "N" word and then publicly apologizing for saving face become expired? When does it become played out ? When does that type of behavior lead to national exploitation and criticism? Can it? Will it? Or is there a privilege or level of exception in America? Or should we just accept that there are some things in this country that are acceptable as long as you have money? Hey we can always blame it on the rappers and athletes right?
Final Thoughts
Aside from the usage of the "N" word John Mayer referred to his genitals as "White Supremacist" and then proceeded to name African American women he thought were attractive, of course they were in Hollywood. The way Mayer said these things was in the same fashion as John Turturro in Do "The Right Thing". It was so similar to the scene where Turturro looked at the average African American as inferior but looked at Prince and Michael Jordan as what a black person should be. Is that what Mayer thinks of African American women? Let me guess he has "Black Friends" so what he says is not offensive in any fashion or form nor does it seem a bit outlandish. If I said I had "Militant" private areas how would that be taken? What if Kanye said that in an interview what would happen? I see the tabloid covers already, tweets would quadruple, and Perez Hilton would start a petition. My point in bringing this up is to point out how these things are accepted in society (I mean it did get published right?). It appears even in 2010 things are a little one sided, how can you honestly promote yourself as a hippie waiting for the world to change and then make statements as such? Regardless of the words and or of its usage, it appears some people can get away with saying things while the rest of us have to kiss the ass of the people who are allowed to say these things, I for one think we need a "WHY Part 2" from Jada ... As Always Peace & Love
What Do You Think?
Marketing Buzz: What "ThugLife" Can Teach Us About Twitter
By Steve Canal
Twitter.com/SteveCanal
Twitter.com/ThinkGroupMedia
Advertising Age Article
This Ignored Demographic Shows What You Can Learn When You Look Beyond Social-Media Elites
While most in the social media bubble would have you believe that Twitter's output consists solely of links to "relevant articles," "breaking news stories," "unique insights" or retweets of all three (along with the occasional "what I'm having for dinner" tweet from the latest Asian-Fusion-locavore bistro) a look at Twitter's Trending Topics reveals otherwise.
While the aforementioned geek patter is certainly in there, it's generally dwarfed on the trending topics list by tweets about Disney Channel stars the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus (put out, one can safely assume, by middle-school-aged females) and tweets from another demographic, 20-something African-Americans tweeting in what can best be described as ghetto slang.
And what's fascinating is a.) how large and active this demo is; b.) how much their notion of how to use Twitter differs from that of the tech and media crowd; and c.) how much the self-proclaimed "Twitterati" like to pretend they don't exist. The Twitterati -- the digital/tech/social media specialists who "discovered" Twitter back in 2007 -- will grudgingly debate the existence of tweens on Twitter, as if there were a real possibility that 31-year-old programmers in Palo Alto were tweeting endlessly about Miley Cyrus -- but I have yet to see any mention of this young African-American demo.
And that's too bad, because the way these folks use Twitter is more universal, more inclusive and more fun than the way the experts generally suggest using it; most of their tweeting is around broad topics that invite clever responses, rather than current topics that invite the sharing (or, more accurately, showing off) of knowledge. As I write this article, the hashtag "#ThugLife" has been in the top 10 all week, and a poster on the Brizzly app describes its popularity thusly: "Users are tweeting their 'baddest' things they've done, as like a thug."
Which is sort of half right. The tweets are not serious nor are they meant to be taken seriously. They're jokes, and the hashtag serves as a sort of "can you top this" repository of over-the-top "thug" behavior.
So @Quenette_VA, who describes herself as a "college student & music lover," tweets: "I'll fil a zip lock full of baby powder & throw it into a crowd of crack heads #thuglife via @o_so_bad) LMAO!!!"
And @iPutYouOn, who says he is "Gods son...MyMothers child...and my Brothers Keeper," notes: "I just cut the sleeves off my snuggie #thuglife"
@Ghostwrita® of East Atlanta, goes for the literary allusion with "I read a Clifford the Big RED Dog book out loud in front of a group of Crip gang members. #thuglife"
The main thing to note here is that, unlike many of the Silicon Valley and Alley Twitterati, who take themselves and their tweets oh-so-seriously, this crew is having fun. The tweets are meant to be funny, and the funniest and most outrageous of them will wind up getting retweeted. Yet despite the fun and the humor, the flow of the hashtag is uniquely Twitter-like in that it mixes people who already know each other with strangers who are interested in the same topic -- or joke, as the case may be.
It's an interesting use of the medium, and the people participating in these hashtags seem to be getting as much value out of them as the Twitter-Is-a-Serious-Business-Tool types who busily append words like "Genius!" to their retweets of a fellow blogger's "Top 10 Reasons Location-Based Services Are the New Twitter."
So then why won't the powers that dominate the tech and business press admit that this demographic exists and that they use Twitter as much, if not more, than the stereotypical power user? Could it be because they're actually having fun with Twitter and that's a no-no? Twitter is, after all, supposed to be serious. So while the Twitterati trip all over themselves to point out the noble Iranian students using Twitter to further the revolution, a bunch of trash-talking 20-somethings from a markedly different social group are just not the image they want to project. Even if they do dominate the trending topics list week in and week out?
It's too bad, because there's a lot that both technology and marketing types can learn here.
To begin with, technology consistently evolves in unpredictable ways. And in the same way YouTube was supposed to be a place to share videos of your kids' birthday parties with grandma and grandpa, we now see how Twitter can be a way to share something other than "valuable links" or "crowd-sourced information." In fact, it can even be a passive medium; for every person posting to threads like #thuglife," I'm sure there's someone else just sitting back, reading the tweets and laughing.
That leads us to another valuable lesson, this one for marketers: People like to have fun and be entertained wherever they are -- even Twitter. Given that the conventional wisdom is that Twitter is only good for customer service, to share information or to run giveaways, the news that it's also a great way to entertain the troops is a real breakthrough. One that can lead to expanded use for the medium in more creative ways than just issuing press releases as bit.ly links.
Remember When?
By A. Evans
Twitter.com/AdotEvans
Before the era of PlayStation and Xbox, there were two gateway consoles that were very popular in the 80's. One of these devices might seem foreign to some of you, some of you probably had an older sibling, cousin, or uncle who had the first device to left, this dinosaur (Atari) was the gateway to the device to the right. It's crazy to think we found hours of enjoyment playing Asteroid, Battle Zone, Space Invaders, and of course Pong, but by far the game that everyone remembers is Pac Man.
Now for all you real "80's babies" you definitely remember the device to the right(Nintendo), this was the console that changed the way we would look at and play video games. Remember blowing into the cartridge to get them to work? What was your remedy alcohol, saliva, or did you go and buy the Nintendo cleaning solution? Remember when you first played Mario Brothers, Duck Hunt and all the games that would follow? Excite bike, Kontra, Blades of Steel, Mike Tyson punch out etc... For those of you who would like to relive these day simply go online and google Atari or Nintendo emulator and time travel back to your youth...The good ol days.
Artist On the Rise: Ben "CrushEndo" Marc
a.k.a. Crush
Music Producer/Songwriter/Vocal Arranger
www.crushmusicgroup.com
www.twitter.com/crushmusic
"Don't just hear it, Feel it!"
In a world flooded with so many self-proclaimed "beat makers", Ben "CrushEndo" Marc, better known as "Crush", is way more than just that. He has been producing music since the age of 16. Now at age 25, Crush has produced over 500 tracks for various artists and has also done an abundant number of ghost productions for major producers. After graduating from Florida A&M University, Crush felt it was time to further his music career, which led him to move to Atlanta, GA. "The music industry is a very rough industry to get into, so all I can do is to continue to make good music until it takes." His love for good music seems to be what continues to push this young producer as heard in each of his productions.
Crush founded 'Marc My Words Publishing' and 'Crush Music' in 2009, in an effort to give his creative works a home that they deserve. Crush's major work began when he executive-produced Hip-Hop artist Keith Units first project entitled, "Servn My Purpose". Raved by critics as "a breath of fresh air", (Indie Magazine), Keith Units and Crush went on to move over 10,000 copies. Now currently working other projects, Crush is showing a great deal of versatility with production in genres such as R&B, Pop, and Alternative.What many people did not know about this young music producer is that Crush is also an exceptional songwriter. "My definition of a music producer is being able to compose, write, arrange, and bring the artists voice and vision to life", states the musical savant. So far Crush has written over 40 songs for artists, many of which have been published, and there are definitely more to come. With a big smile on his face as he talks about future projects, it's obvious that CrushEndo's love for his craft is genuine."I'm currently working with artists in genres such as Country, Rock, and Techno. I just love music that much."
Look out world because this music genius is hungry and nothing will stop him from taking a big bite out of the music world. One thing you should remember though; Crush does not want you to just hear his music, he also wants you to "feel it!"
Grub Report: Burger Joe's
By Fabian
Twitter.com/TheFabe
It's a cold windy day and hunger is setting in. The question of the moment is Soul Food or Burgers? Either option sounded great,but time was of the essence. Opting for the latter choice, we went to Burger Joe's. Their menu has something for everyone: veggie burgers,turkey burgers,salads,ribs and even fish. Choosing to keep it simple, went with the Bbq bacon cheeseburger with fries. For the true burger fans and folks who don't care about eating "pretty" this is for you, word to the wise,keep some napkins handy. Burger Joe's may not be a large restaurant but the flavor and menu options certainly rival many. Check them out whenever you're in the area.
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Sincerely,
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CEO
Think Group Media, Inc.
www.ThinkGroupMedia.com
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