Below are two videos that relate to Godin's ideas in Linchpin. For each video, leave three personal takeaways from them. Then leave two responses to comments from you peers.
Thanks. I hope you enjoy them.
Seth Godin - How to Get Your Ideas to Spread
Even if something is a great idea, it will most likely fail if you cannot successfully spread the idea. You need to build the popularity of the product. It won’t just happen by itself.
ReplyDeleteEverything will eventually be forgotten unless it proves itself to be remarkable. Although we love seeing new stuff, we will eventually stop caring unless it shows it is something amazing and one of a kind.
The successful way to promote your product is to focus on the "obsessed" people. They will buy the product and promote it for you to their friends and family.
If your ideas are remarkable they will stand out. We need to stop marketing to the people in the middle of the graph. We need to start marketing to the lower people. The geeks and the hard workers. They will pay attention, not those big CEOs. If you market something remarkable to the little people. BAM!! You win the game!!
DeleteI agree with your second statement. If something does not continue to grab our attention, we will soon lose interest because there are bigger and better things out there. Things have to be shown to us why they are remarkable and why we should care about it.
DeletePeople today get bored more easily then ever before, so I hear. If something new isn't constantly being produced, people will get bored with the old. A product needs to be able to keep peoples attention for a long time, like music. And I mean real music, like the stuff from the 80's.
DeleteOne take away I got form this video is the fact that even if you have the best idea of the world. It will not be successful if it is not spread to others. I really like how he mentions the slice bread and how it did not get popular until the idea spread to others.
ReplyDeleteThe second take away I got from the video is that advertisements are becoming unsuccessful. Television or other types of ads are no longer being effective. DVR has made commercials useless.
The last one I got is that consumers just do not care. We can ignore commercials and advertisements. They have way more choices and way less time. So consumers will ignore stuff. They will notice interesting things like a purple cow.
It's true that advertisements are become less and less relevant in people's everyday lives. Popular creations like Netflix have spoiled us to the fact that we have another option than to just sit their watching commercials. New ideas have to be made.
DeleteWe will notice a purple cow because who has ever seen a purple cow? We need things to continue to always grab our attention, because if they don't, they will never have our attention long enough to get us interested.
DeleteI am 100% with Godin on the idea that you need to be able to spread your ideas. I have had many ideas for student council that I thought were good, that didn't pan out just because not many people knew about it. Whether it was actually a good or not is beside the point.
DeleteI believe you can use the T.V.-Industrial Complex for anything you are trying to sell. You are going to have to put ads out there for people to find out about your product, you will then sell, then you will make more products, and then you will make a profit. It's a continuing circle that can be used for every product or idea.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how much more money major businesses make by making sure their site comes up first on a google search. It's very smart though. When I google something, I want to find the best source right away. I don't want to have to look through more then one page on Google.
I love how he looks at things that are successful. He talks about Tiffany and Company and Wal-Mart being the biggest success stories in the last twenty years. And he says the only thing they have in common is that they have nothing in common. I find that interesting because things don't have to be like everything else to be successful.
The thing about the TV industrial complex is that there are too many ads and too many choices now that we start to just ignore them. It doesn't advertise to the right groups all the time and it just doesn't help to show whats remarkable.
DeleteI also find it amazing how much money businesses make just by having their site pop up on the first page of Google. I can see how there would be some effect, but the fact that millions are earned from this certain function is amazing.
DeleteThe biggest thing I took away from this was the idea that we have less time then ever and more choices then ever. The thought that time is limited, and I know that options to fill your time are all over the place.
ReplyDeleteI have never thought about those two things with an advertising mindset before, though. If I need to get something out to people, I need to be sure that it is something that isn't gonna waste somebodies time. If it is going to wast their time, they are going to leave because time is limited.
One thing that I don't agree with that Godin said was the concept of consumers not caring about you (you as a producer). There may be a little truth to that, but at the same time, as a producer I feel that if you show the consumers that you care, they will turn and care back.
ReplyDeleteThe story of the Wal-Mart with the best employee that everyone loves is the perfect example. There is nothing special about Wal-Mart, thats no secret. Most of the time, too, there is nothing special about Wal-Mart Employees. Not to knock them, but working at Wal-Mart is a fairly easy job. But that employee showed he cared, and he made people come to see him. The "producer" showed he cared for the "consumer" and the dynamic changed completely. He was a linchpin, and that is what its all about, if you ask me.
I like the idea of focusing on the "obsessed" too. Its hard, in fact, nearly impossible to create something or have an idea that everyone will be happy about. If you focus on the people who are obsessed with your product, they will help reach the bottom of the barrel. They will reach down better then any advertising you can do. It is really the best way to go about it.
ReplyDeleteEvery good idea worth sharing is going to piss someone off. The people who are obsessed could be the people who are pissed off at you. Sometimes it helps to advertise to the people who would be upset by the product because it will get their attention and spread from them as well. Sometimes to share an idea you have to take the risk to piss some people off. But anyway you look at it finding the people who care or are obsessed with it will be the best group to advertise to.
DeleteYou could have the greatest invention in the world, but if you can’t market it the right way to people it won’t sell. Like he says, producers spend too much time perfecting the product instead of selling it the right way to make profit from it.
ReplyDeleteConsumers don’t care anymore. They have more options. If they don’t like one little thing about a product, they will go replace it with a different one. So, products need to stand out so they’re not replaces.
The product needs to be marketed as if it’s only about the consumer. Our favorite people is “me” so it needs to be put in perspective that it’s helping out the customer and making life easier for them.
I agree with you about the consumers don't care anymore part. There are so many different options and it seems like there is always something out there that is better. So why would we ever waste our time on things that are not remarkable or of the highest standards?
DeleteFirst Takeaway is that we have too many choices and too little time. So many things now are so much alike that there are so many choices. If we have so many choices we start to just ignore stuff.
ReplyDeleteSecond one is that the only way to get your idea to spread is for it to be remarkable. If it is different then people will notice it. The purple cow catches your eye. It is so good or so unique that people have to get it.
The third is that the people we need to direct advertisements to are the innovators and the early adopters. The group that actually cares about what you have to say. The otaku gives them that reason to want your product and it makes a big difference if those people can share it with all their friends.
I also really took away from this video that to get our ideas to spread we have to share them with the right people. There are so many products out there that really seem somewhat dumb but yet are constantly being bought because someone along the way knew how to get the word out to the right people.
DeleteThe first takeaway that I got from this video is that even if something is great, or if you have a great idea, no one is going to realize it until it is somehow spread to the masses. It has too become almost a trend so that everyone starts doing it or using it, and then people will figure out just how genius the idea was, like sliced bread.
ReplyDeleteThe second takeaway that I noticed was when he said that the only thing that some of the best selling things have in common is that they have nothing in common. What people want are things that are different, new, fresh, things that stand out among the rest. But also people want all the same things and general things, like what they sell at Walmart. It made me think that any business could be successful as long as they either created something remarkable, or created something that everyone needs.
The third takeaway that I got from this video is that we need to sell to people who are listening. We have to market our products or ideas to people who will actually care enough that they will tell their friends about it and then the idea will spread. Otherwise sharing it with the wrong people may cause it to die or have its success be delayed.
I like the idea of selling to people who are willing to listen. If you pay attention to the people who are paying attention to you. You will be able to sell more to these people.
DeleteOne thing I thought was interesting goes along with what I said in class today and goes back to the "how" and "why". People focus on what the problem is rather then ways to fix it. Same with ideas they see a problem but stop there rather then innovate a solution.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I liked was when he talked about how people like change, people like to see whats new because its new and everyone will almost always try something once. I feel that we learn through trial and error and we don't know until we try. If we can learn to get over the fear of failure then we can keep trying until we come up with the right idea.
I also found it interesting when he talked about who to direct things towards in marketing. You could have the best steak on the earth but you won't make a penny if you try selling it in an all vegan community. We need to learn when ideas are practical and to find the window of opportunity and grab it.
Its always interesting to hear generalizations about thing that are new and how people feel about them. People fear and hate it. People seek it out and love it. Either people are very fickle or we are talking about two different everyones.
DeleteA lot of people will buy a new product or pay attention to it just because it is something new. People like thinking they have the newest and best products- even if it's not the newest and best.
DeleteIf you have good ideas, but do not spread them, they are worthless. I didn’t know about how sliced bread wasn’t known about for so long! That goes to show that you have to be persistent with your ideas, because even if you fail multiple times, it doesn’t mean you’re a failure, it means you are learning.
ReplyDeleteI remember as a kid watching commercials and seeing all of the things that I “had to have”. It reminded me of the show “Malcom in the Middle” when Dewey was always watching the infomercials and they were telling him that if he didn’t get the product he would die. A lot of companies focused on kids as their aim, because kids are persistent, and if they think they need something, it will probably eventually get bought.
My third takeaway was what he said about having more money but not having enough time. I think this is so true. We are constantly being bombarded with ads and commercials, but we have gotten so accustomed to them that we simply ignore it. Even if something really interesting comes up, we are only interested for a short amount of time, and then it is back to normal.
I also learned that the riskiest thing you can do is to be safe. That was an interesting thought.
I know exactly what you mean about marketing twords children. Adults don't buy the cotton candy I make at the theater, kids do. Adults are great for business because they are always trying to keep up with their kids and what they will want next. This is a big reason why I don't wnat to have kids of my own. they're too expensive.
DeleteI agree with the last line, the worst thing you can do is play it safe. Take a risk! Put yourself out there! Even if you fail, at least you tried.
DeleteOften times I like to find things that are different. Weather its my taste in movies or the clothes I wear, I'm into what's different.
ReplyDeleteIt makes so much sense to market to the people who are obsessed. they'll market for you if your product is truely worthy of success.
I go crazy over otaku, when theres a new something out there, I drop what I'm doing to pursue it. If I can find out hoe to appeal to that side of a hundred people than I wont have to market on tv or in magazines.
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DeleteYou have to sell yourself and your ideas to others. Sure, you can have a great idea... but if nobody but you knows about it, what good is it to have this great idea?
ReplyDeleteI think the best thing someone can do is come up with a new idea and market it, but you need to make sure people know its a new idea. How many people will buy something from an infomercial simply because it's a new product?
I also agree with marketing to people who are obsessed. It's common knowledge- if you try to sell a video game to someone who doesn't even know what a video game is, you're not going to go very far. But if you try to sell to someone who plays video games for 24 hours at a time, you're going to be more successful.