Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Demi Lovato's naked marketing strategy.


Demi Lovato announced her new single "Body say" with topless cover art.
She also announced that she will randomly perform new singles throughout her new tour "Future Now".

With her plan laid bare we can see how this could be a excellent marketing strategy.

Performing random new singles in her tour makes sure fans light want to go to more then one concert of her. You never new when you might hear a new single so you have to go to every concert if you want to"catch them all".

Spreading the singles instead of one tour with mostly all the new singles makes the fans not spend all their excitement at once.

A burst of excitement can rise quickly and drops quickly too.
Slowly building up hype and excitement is therefore more effective in sometimes.

Start early in the development state with announcing what you are doing and let people join you on the adventure that leads to the final product.

This makes people feel that they are a part of the process, that they contributed along the way.
They become invested in the project.

Those fans also make more mouth to mouth advertisement because they want to share that journey with others.

By the time the final product is done many more people are ready to buy the product and you will have more fans.

Have a great day.

How to counter China's ban of Lady Gaga's music.


Image Source: Getty / Kevin Mazur

After Lady Gaga met the Dalai Lama she was blacklisted in Bejing because she was allegedly “creating confusion in the order of the online music market, and damaging the nation’s cultural security.”

This is of course because of China's hate agaisnt the Dalai Lama.

With this ban they don't only show that they don't value freedom of speech but also stop the people's right to listen the music they want.

Outrage is not the best solution here, as with all acts of hatred and hate speech.
Only more good conversations can make up for hate speech.

As long as there are more people talking about tolerance and compasion hate wil not have many victories.

Sometimes change will only come when enough people get togheter to express that they won't stand for something and demand change.

And I know that there are many people in China now that feel just the same.
Lady Gaga has a huge following in China.

Art is for everybody. Music is for everybody.
Art can't be stopped.

Stand up for art.


Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Why Lyft could become better than Uber.


Lyft has recently hired Qatalyst and is looking for deals.

Many times we suspect that something that seems stable and strong will always be with us.
Those are the things we don't think about anymore but things can change fast.

It is only in retrospect that we often can make sense of sudden changes although we believe that we knew it all along.

What we see on the outside isn't always a good predictor of what is going to happen.

Strategies of biding time and gathering resources to make change when the right opportunity is there is something that could be overlooked easily because it looks like nothing is happening.

Just like a chess player can sit for a while thinking in silence, it seems that he is doing nothing but he could have planned every move to win already in his head and that means that the game is already played before he moved the pieces again.


Biding time and planning ahead silently could give you the edge over your competitors.
Even in the Art Of War by Sun Tzu it is said that when you are busy look as if you are doing nothing.
So it could be done as a deceiving move that tricks the competitors to relax and lose their focus.

Sometimes it's better to not listen to people who are putting unnecessary time pressure on you and instead take a step back so you can see the bigger picture and can think clearer.

Have a great day. 

Monday, June 27, 2016

Was the decision of the supreme court about abortion correct?


The Supreme Court decided strikes down TX abortion law.
These laws had put extra requirements  on woman who wanted an abortion.

Many laws are there to create safety checks for our own safety and those of others around us.
We could try to remove some of those, what a supreme court can do, so some processes go easier, with less challenges along the way.

It is thus a trade-off of safety vs convenience.

And of course that line is drawn different for everybody.

And sometimes the law is used to achieve something that is against the best interest and well-being of people.

"It is beyond rational belief that H. B. 2 could genuinely protect the health of women," Ginsburg wrote.

Before we can decide where we want to draw that line we need to know what level of safety we want to have. 

The same counts for cyber and internet security. 
The more security you want to have on the net the more checks and slowdowns you will have to go trough. What level of security do you want to have and how much comfort do you want?

When something gets too difficult to achieve we find another way to achieve it.
Those other ways could have even more risks than the first way. 

Once again, Ginsburg wrote: "When a State severely limits access to safe and legal procedures, women in desperate circumstances may resort to unlicensed rogue practitioners, faute de mieux [for want of a better alternative], at great risk to their health and safety,"

We all need to balance one thing of against the other and most things have trade-offs.
This is how our brain works also. Neuron networks compete and cooperate like a parliament.

Exercising recognizing trade-offs in everyday life helps in making better decisions.

Have a great day. 

How to inspire people like Jesse Williams.


First of all. Wow. What a speech

When you a voice speak out for what you believe in.
Recognize that you are part of something much bigger. 

He recognizes his privileges and thanks the people who made it possible to  become who he is today.

He speaks out for the people who have been silenced.
Acknowledging the hard working people that made this possible.

When you have a stage, don't make it about yourself but use it to promote what you want to see more of in the world. 

Point to some real problems that you want to raise awareness about and that you want to get rid in the world. Use some actual news that you want to use as example. 

Point out the possibilities of change and create a call to action. 

Make the urgency of the matters clear. It's about NOW. 

Finish with a one-liner or slogan that is emotionally strong and easy to remember. 


So what do you want to see changing in the world?
Because you can create a change by speaking out.
By speaking out for what you stand and also for what you don't stand.
What is it that you will not take? That you cannot take any longer? 
Because you have the means to speak out.
But we use it mostly to entertain others instead to educate others.
And we all have a lot to learn and keep learning. 
So we can create a better future....

Together! 

Friday, June 24, 2016

The hidden dangers of a post BREXIT Britain.



Brexit. It's a catchy name, isn't it?
Politicians love catchy names and slogans too.
Trump used nicknames to insult Hillary.
Nicknames are catchy too, aren't they?

Heartless Hillary, Crooked Hillary, ...

It's easy to remember and it sticks in the mind.
We know what Trump means when he talks about Heartless Hillary or Crooked Hillary.
He is talking about specific accidents in Hillary's career and they come instantly to mind.

Anecdotal data is easy to remember, it's not the most accurate data to make decisions from but because of it creates a strong emotional impact it's easier to retrieve that information.

Using nicknames to insult the 'other side' is what all parties do.
Some are just better at it than others and some are better at hiding it than others.

The people on the receiving end of insulting nicknames and the people who identify with the group that person represent are much easier to be upset and enraged by it.

Two very strong emotions that create a strong impulse to action.
Most of the action most probably aimed at returning the favor.

On the one side being insulted reinforces our resolve to stay in the group we are in and to identify more strongly with that group. On the other side when we insult a group they are more likely to react strongly towards the group you are in....and the cycle continues.

Thus insulting creates cohesion in both parties what strengthens the power of those who lead the groups or parties.

There is one type of insult that is very dangerous and we have to watch out for.

I saw somebody on facebook say that Trump was "subhuman".

When you call a human being less then human you are dehumanizing that person.
When somebody or even a group of people is considered less than human all our human values and human rights aren't applied to those people and that situation anymore.

Now, it seems ok to do inhuman things to that person or group because they aren't considered "humans" anymore.

If you are interested in the social neurological nature of this you may want to watch this amazing talk from David Eagleman:



Now, what has this to do with the Brexit? 

The EU was particularly designed to make decision-making slow so counterproductive and harmful decisions could be spotted and stopped in time. Especially decisions that would go against human rights. So that when countries start 'throwing stones' it won't create a domino effect that results in international warfare.

When this safety mechanism is gone it's easier for people who want to create exactly that type of situation to make a profit from it. There is nothing like a conflict or war to make profits when you don't worry about other human beings at all. 

Those people would love to create fear of  'the others'. To do that they have to create an 'others' first.
That's why being insulted is such a great advantage for them. It creates a strong divide between people. It creates sides. It feeds into our tribal bias. 

It's not always easy to see what politicians are doing. They say one thing and do the opposite and more cunning politicians do both. They support both sides of the equation. They support groups that follow him, and groups against him or her, they both are for and against the same issue at different times. 

"But wait, now you are just confusing me! "

And that's the point. From the moment other people are confused what you are exactly doing you have put them in a mist where it is difficult for them to criticize you. You can get away with a lot more. 


It's not the time to be afraid of hidden conspiracies. 
The game is played openly and the people are being put in what seems a catch 22 situation.
Both sides work together to create the narrative that benefits them all and stops us from seeing that they are working together. 

Therefore it's important, more than ever, to understand how dehumanisation works and how we can spot it. It's important to understand how fear is a creates obedience and how confusion creates the ideal situation for cunning people. 

It is also important that I as a writer take a step back and let you know that when I say "them, they, those people.", those people are also people just like me and you. 


I can not stretch the importance of The Power of Empathy enough.
Let's take care of each other. 

Have a great day.