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I must constantly remind myself that very few of the people who "Like" my Facebook page (ideabookfb) actually see my posts.
Facebook's apparent algorithmic manipulation of posts certainly seems to drive revenue for FB (through their "Boost Post" advertising) and I don't, for a second, knock them for that. But this "we choose who sees your posts" mentality (by a magic formula that we can't tell you about), seems to reduce the platform to an unpredictable game and therefor, not a serious marketing solution.
I like Facebook, I just wish they would allow others to like me.
Be well, Chuck
Do you use Facebook to promote your organization? Read this important post about using images, links, and text...
I have been wondering why the posts I create using images, links, and text on my Ideabookfb Facebook page seem to "reach" significantly fewer readers than those without images and links.
So I tried an experiment prompted by an article by Shelly Palmer, a Tech Expert for WNYW-TV in New York. He posed that Facebook posts created using text, images, and links reach far fewer of your potential readers than those without images. And, if you read through Palmer's article, it appears the folks at Facebook agree (with the expected provisos).
In any case, I did a simple (albeit unscientific) test of my own and what he says certainly seems to be the case. If you've made the same mistake as I have (using images with my text and links) I think you'll find this quite interesting.
Here is that information...
Palmer's article, Facebook Reach Data: Do The Numbers Lie? Here
To be fair, I don't believe the numbers "lie" but I do think, if you are not aware of this issue, the way it works is counter-intuitive and something I wish had been made more clear.
A digital book versus a hard copy, to me, is the difference between a thought and a statement.
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A BIG design world lawsuit
The creative world is not without its controversies. Design is opinion and those who have strong opinions often disagree.
But I was surprised to learn of the lawsuit type designer Tobias Frere-Jones has filed against Jonathan Hoefler for, "not less than $20 million."
The name of (arguably) the world's most prestigious type foundry is, "Hoefler & Frere-Jones." Though the name would lead one to believe it was a partnership between its principals, it evidently is not. And that, as it turns out, is the rub.
I am certain of one thing: on the face of it, Jonathan Hoefler looks very bad...
Google Search (01/18/2014): "Jonathan Hoefler" about 28,100 results; "Tobias Frere-Jones" about 39,200 results
The Complaint... Here
Hoefler's attorney responds... Here
Tobias Frere-Jones on Wikipedia... Here
Jonathan Hoefler on Wikipedia... Here
The New York Times: Typography Partners Part Ways in Money Fight... Here
My most recent post about the firm... Here
Interesting fiber art by Ruth Marshall at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden...
(Looks a bit like vector drawing from Adobe Illustrator.) Here
Is your design worth stealing?
What follows is a fascinating example of how one group of artist's pulled parts and pieces of the work that preceded them and recast it as their own. It is not about relative unknown, in this case it is a side-by-side, shot-by-shot comparison (by StooTV) of George Lucas and Steven Speilberg's "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and 30 other adventure films produced between 1919-1973.
My point is, questions of intellectual property are complex. When does borrowing become stealing? When is imitation, transformation? What is the difference between the idea and the expression of it?
StooTV's Raiders of the Lost Archives... Here
In a TEDTalk based on his book, Steal Like An Artist, Austin Kleon says, "There is no longer good art and bad art, there's just art worth stealing and art that isn't"... Here
An aside, two more interesting, related links...
Some behind-the-scenes footage from a Japanese television production (NHK), The Pioneers of the Visual Revolution... Here
A massive collection of Steven Spielberg-related materials... Here
Daniel Gordon glues printouts of pictures of stuff to the stuff itself--why is it so interesting?
I point you to this because it I love the idea of seeing real life through a paper veneer. To me, it's a metaphor for graphic design.
Example 1... Here
Example 2... Here
Example 3... Here
Have you seen my InDesign Ideabook?
315 template files in 19 different categories -- Everything from brochures, newsletters, and direct mail to packaging, calendars, and books (one CD works with both Mac and PC). Use two or three files and you'll pay for the entire book and disc...
For Adobe InDesign Here
For QuarkXPress Here
Gen�s Carreras creates brilliant, simple designs using shapes, colors, and theories
Gen�s Carreras counts among his clients, Sony Music and Fast Company. A while back he gained attention by creating a collection of posters, each of which explains a philosophic idea-he calls them "Philographics."
Philographics... Here
The book... Here
Gen�s Carreras' website... Here
As we all know, in the software support world, a "specialist"...
...could typically be defined as someone who knows more about the subject in question than the person who answered the phone. So when they say, "Let me pass you on to a specialist," they really mean, "This is a little over my head, let me get someone who knows more."
The problem has always been, you've got to go through triage before you get to the specialist and to get back to them you've got to go through triage again and somehow convince the first level person that you need the second level person. (Without sounding condescending.)
I don't know if there's a way around it, but it is a huge time waster for all involved.
Photoshopping today into yesterday
This is a powerful idea. Chino Otsuka has taken a series of childhood photographs and Photoshopped her current self into them. It is done so subtly, you'd think they were mother and daughter.
Chino Otsuka... Here
Chino Otsuka discusses her motivations for creating the images... Here
Otsuka's website... Here
Who is viewing your marketing message and how much do they really know and care?
I was commenting that I wasn't "feelin" the graphics from the new H&R Block ad campaign. It is a rather plain-looking border (everything is "flat" these days) with a clown-like bow tie symbol. I not only didn't understand the style, I didn't understand the bow tie reference.
When others began to speculate what the bow tie might mean, my interest was piqued and I dug a little deeper. I discovered that, if you look close, that the spokesperson for the ads, H&R Block preparer Richard Gartland, is wearing a brightly-colored green bow tie in the four spots that make up the campaign.
And that reminds me of how important it is to avoid getting stuck in the account cocoon. Where you see the whole of what you're doing but others don't. Where you, because of your daily involvement, see nuance that the average viewer (who sees a single spot on one occasion) does not.
I forget where I heard this but it has always stuck with me: When creatives present full page newspaper ads to a group, they typically hang or project them on a wall. The problem with that is that standing six feet away from an ad and holding a newspaper in your hands 12 inches away is a very different experience.
My point is, we've got to continually remind ourselves of who we are trying to reach-who they are, where they are, what we can realistically expect they understand about our subject, and how involved they will actually, realistically, become in it.
The campaign... Here
Details about the campaign from Adweek... Here
The agency is Fallon... Here
A Staggering, Eye-Opening NEW Email Marketing Statistic:
73 percent of all Email Marketing Statistics are worthless drivel. (1)
(1) I made this up.
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