Latest posts from Danny Brown

Enjoy the latest posts from Danny Brown, and feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments after the post.

The Consequences of Authenticity

Don’t you think it’s bizarre how we aspire to be natural, and yet to be natural takes an unnatural amount of work?

I recall reading a piece on actress and businesswoman Jessica Alba once, and how she was asked to do a photoshoot for natural skin. Of course, they wanted to plaster all sorts of makeup on her, just to make her look ?natural?.

She declined.

I wonder why we feel the need to put masks on, even when the ask is for fewer masks?

There are always things we don?t want ? or need ? to see. But for the most part, we should be confident enough in ourselves to open up, consequences be damned.

But maybe it?s the consequences themselves that put people off?

All too often, I?ve seen examples of people being brave and opening up and then being shot down for it, particularly on social media where anonymity and distance equal delusions of power.

It seems to me that we talk a lot about seeking authenticity, but only if it?s authentic by our standards.

Which kinda negates the whole ask to begin with?

The Danger of False Heroes

Have you ever looked around you – really looked around you – and saw your place in the world?

It could be your place in your own particular world or your place in the bigger picture.

It doesn’t really matter – all that matters is you take that look around you and recognize your place in it.

We live in a society that changes quickly and moves even quicker. It’s easy to get lost, swept away or side-tracked. Things we meant to do yesterday we don’t have a chance to do tomorrow.

We live in a world where our families are second to our jobs because industries are so frail they could be gone by the time you finish reading this. We go where the work is, and not always together.

While some things can’t change, others can. So let’s try.

Heroes Can Be Dangerous

In times of need, we often look for heroes to guide us through, or to make sense of what we?re doing. Yet heroes come in many shapes and guises.

False heroes offer little except hope that isn?t there. We know deep inside that these heroes are false, and yet we still follow them in the vain hope that maybe it?s us that?s wrong.

It isn?t. And you don?t need false heroes to guide you – true heroes are all around you.

They?re there in the eyes of the children you bear as they make their way from innocence to adulthood.

They?re in the parents that raised you to be who you are today.

They?re in the mirror, looking back at you every day.

That job you hold down to feed your family? These luxuries you give up to keep a roof over the heads of your loved ones? The sacrifices you make to put a smile on the faces of those you cherish?

You?re being a hero every day of your life. Realize that, and forget the false heroes – no-one makes a difference like you do.

Pay It Forward

The world is changing. The greedy are being found out for who and what they are and the society changers are coming to the fore. Be part of this.

Encourage people to greatness and show them they, and everyone else, have the ability to change the way we live – all of us.

The Pay It Forward Foundation started as a simple book idea – yet the simplest ideas offer the greatest scope for change.

Read the book; visit the website; digest the information. Encourage greatness in others and see the greatness in yourself.

Be a Showoff

Our world is connected like never before. Our parents could only dream of how we can reach others with the click of a button.

Our children will be the forebearers of the true social networks. Let’s use our connectivity now to set the standards for tomorrow.

If you like someone’s train of thought, recommend them to your community.

If you read a blog that inspires or makes you ask questions, share it with friends and colleagues and join the discussion.

If you have something to say yourself that makes you think, say it – we’re all listening and we want to hear.

We have the opportunity to help the good and the great rise to the challenges ahead.

Our leaders can’t do everything themselves – we need to be leaders as well.

Show off the words and the work of those who inspire you, and in turn, you’ll inspire others to learn from you.

Ours is a small world in a vast landscape. It’s up to us – to you – how well it sits in that landscape.

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Facebook Live?

As social networks continue to try to outdo each other with new features, one of the most popular additions has been that of live video.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram are increasingly putting the?focus on video content, with reports that Facebook could be video-only by 2020.

It’s understandable that video could become the de-facto method of content consumption due to the simple buy-in for the audience.

A video is visual, quick, snappy. Words require more thought and more investment by the reader (which is why I’m eternally grateful to the readers of this blog and your choice of consumption method).

The success of Facebook Live is a testament to how social network users are adopting video, not just as consumers but as users too.

Yet, as the last 12 months have shown, the instant production and gratification that video offers could also be its downfall.

Facebook Live and the Dangers of Unfiltered

Over the Easter period, Cleveland Police began a manhunt after a video of a murder was uploaded to Facebook.

Steve Stevens shot Robert Godwin, 74, and shared the video of the killing to his Facebook profile (initial reports suggested the murder was streamed via Facebook Live, but this was later corrected).

The video remained on Facebook for at least two hours.

After almost 48 hours on the run, Stevens killed himself when his car was cornered by law enforcement.

Just a few days ago new broke of a Thai father who hanged his 11-month-old baby on Facebook Live before killing himself.

The video was shared on his profile, and according to reports remained online for 24 hours (Facebook has yet to confirm the details of the time).

In March of this year, the rape of a teenage girl by six assailants was filmed and streamed live on Facebook. In January of this year, a special needs man was beaten and tortured by four assailants, and his assault was also streamed on Facebook Live.

Also in January, the gang rape of a woman in Sweden was also streamed via Facebook Live.

These are just some examples amid the growing number of crimes and assaults?streamed on Facebook Live and its peers?like Periscope and others.

There seems to be little way to combat it, either. As the examples with Steve Stevens and the?Thai father show, disturbing content can remain on the site for as much as 24 hours.

While its?content team does monitor the site for inappropriate content (and live streams can be pulled immediately),?Facebook essentially relies on the public to report such content for its team to review.

Unfortunately, while the review is pending, the videos are live on the site in full view of victims of a crime, or surviving family members of a murder.

Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has himself admitted it’s a huge problem and one that’s almost?impossible to manage given the amount of content uploaded to Facebook every day.

Given the difficulty of managing the medium, and the damage that can be caused because of that difficulty, is it time to consider how Facebook Live and others like it is approved?

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Facebook Live?

The biggest problem with trying to manage live streaming videos is that they’re used in so many ways that are good, and educational, and – in some cases – can provide vital evidence to a court of law.

Consider the killing of African American Philando Castile by a police officer in St. Paul, Minnesota, in the summer of last year.

Despite calmly obeying the officer’s instructions, and advising that he was in legal possession of a concealed weapon, Castile was killed when the officer opened fire.

Inside the car were Castile’s girlfriend and her four-year-old daughter. As Castile lay dying in the driver’s seat, his girlfriend live-streamed the aftermath, and that helped convict the office in question on manslaughter. That trial is still undergoing today.

Indeed, Facebook Live has been used to broadcast demonstrations against police brutality, government dictatorships, and even examples of corporations treating their customers with disdain.

Then you have the fun aspects of Facebook Live, with vacation moments captured in time. Heck, we even use it for The Friendship Bench launch events.

But do the “normal uses” outweigh the depraved and harmful ones? Do we need to look at how users can access Facebook Live, and should there be some form of delayed broadcast for checks to be made?

I posted a quick poll on Twitter, asking if it was maybe time to only allow news organizations and accredited sources access to Facebook Live, and the opinion was split down the middle.

https://twitter.com/DannyBrown/status/856982416036159491

Andrea Meyer shared her thoughts of the medium itself not being the “culprit”, so to speak.

The tool is not the issue. Needs a mechanism to stop quickly. Agencies & companies can share events in real time. Opt in function?

Over on Facebook, I asked some friends what could be done to try and minimize the use of Facebook Live for harmful purposes, given the difficulty of monitoring at such scale.

Suggestions ranged from limiting it to news organizations and delayed feeds, to simply limiting access and making video pre-recorded (although that could still be circumnavigated by uploaders).

It’s clear that video is here to stay, both live streaming and personal content creation. But as social networks start to experience the difficulties news organizations have faced in the past when it comes to censorship and what’s allowed on-screen, the growing pains are beginning to show.

I’m not a tech guy or developer, so I’m unsure of what could be done (apart from the unenviable approach of restricting access). I do feel something needs to be done, though.

How about you?

How would you solve the current use of Facebook Live and stop the kind of videos from the start of this post from being published (or staying published too long)?

You Don’t Have to Write About Marketing to Be a Marketer

The other day, I had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine who I first met via social media, but has become a close confidante and teacher.

We were talking about the various changes we’ve seen in the time we’ve known each other (close to 10 years now) and how these changes have impacted both our careers and the content we publish on our respective blogs.

While she continues to blog about marketing – but more slanted towards tech and how AI will impact business – I moved away from that a few years ago, to focus on more personal stuff.

I shared my thoughts on that decision in this post from April 2014, and I guess that’s culminated in the recent launch of my Turn Off the Overwhelm project.

As we talked, she asked whether I felt the move away from marketing-specific content had harmed me when it came to career choices, or “putting myself on the map more”.

After all, if I’m a marketer but I don’t blog about marketing, why would anyone hire me for a marketing role in their business?

While this wasn’t her point of view per se – she was simply asking as if from a hiring company viewpoint – it was a fair question, yet one I’ve never worried about.

Words, Like Clothes, Don’t Make the Person

One of the topics I consistently push back on is the “dress code argument”, where you can only be taken seriously in business if you dress for the part.

While I’m not advocating for cargo pants, tee, and sneakers for every job, to me it’s irrelevant what someone wears to do their job – the results come from the action(s) of that person, not their sartorial choice.

I’ve worked at some companies where the smartest dressed and – by association – smartest thinkers have been woefully underqualified, whereas the jeans and shirt wearer has brought home stellar results.

This isn’t the old boy and school tie network economy anymore. That died out a long time ago (except in some industries that seem destined to be stuck in the past).

Much like the presentation of an employee shouldn’t have a huge bearing on their ability to do the work, the words on a marketer’s blog shouldn’t dictate their ability to be a marketer.

I’ve been in marketing for over 20 years now, after gaining my marketing degree back in the UK.

During that time, I’ve been lucky enough to lead marketing initiatives for some of the most well-known B2C and B2B companies around, and privately consulted others on modernizing their marketing strategy and culture.

All this came from what I did for the company versus what I did for my blog. Not once in that time was I hired for writing something on my blog – while it may have helped in awareness of me, it meant squat when it came to the ability to do the job I was being scouted for.

Because, let’s face it, at the end of the day anyone can go Google strategy and tactics and use these results to publish something that makes them sound uber-smart.

Implementation and execution, though? Now that’s a different beast.

Marketing Isn’t Everything, But Everything is Marketing

And this is why, to my friend’s point, I don’t worry about my “prospects” when it comes to mot writing about marketing here on the blog.

My current role didn’t come as a result of the marketing content I was publishing here. If I was to leave that role at some point in the future, my next one wouldn’t be because of the marketing content I write here (probably because there is none these days!).

Instead, it’ll come from results I brought to my current role. It’ll come from references on past results at previous companies. And it’ll come because of the strategic ideas I share for the future of any new role and its place in the hiring company.

Marketing is a means to an end. It’s an important means, and you need to know your shit to be successful at it and bring the results you’re paid to bring.

But it’s just one facet of a far bigger picture.

The people stories that drive marketing, and the behaviours, interests, and intents of these people when it comes to services and products, are the dots that really start to connect everything.

Everything we do is marketing, whether we realize it or not.

The stories we share on our blogs. The behaviours we exhibit when sharing content, or consuming content. The simple act of what we stand for and what we fight against is us “marketing our preferences”.

All of these actions helps connect us with people that have the same outlook, or vision, or belief. Some of these people will be decision makers who want to bring our beliefs and viewpoints to their companies and help market it to their customers.

And none – or at least, very little – of that will come from blogging specifically about marketing.

Which, truth be told, is exactly how it should be.

If You Truly Value Blog Comments, You Have to Show Up

One of the topics that continues to do the rounds is that of blog comments.

Do they still count? Should blogs just switch off comments and become a content publication instead? Are comments even valued as they once were?

This follows the decision by many bloggers and content creators to close down their comments section, citing?all the conversation is on social media now, there’s too much spam, and it takes time to moderate the community.

For me, though, it?s less external issues that have caused these sites to close down comments, and more internal ones ? namely, the blogger (or blog owner) stopped showing up and caring.

I used to follow a lot of the blogs that closed their comments section(s) down, and something that became clear as they were getting close to that decision was the blogger was seen less and less in the comments.

Whereas before they?d been very active in helping build community and hold active conversations with commenters, now they were only replying to comments that praised them or their post.

That?s if they even showed up at all.

Instead of a thriving, interactive comment section, there was simply comment after comment without a reply, either from the blogger or other commenters.

In that kind of environment, of course blog comments are going to suffer ? after all, how long would you stay talking to someone on the phone, or in-person, if there was no reply coming back?

Not long.

Then there’s the “I’m too busy to do all the back-end stuff” argument, which – in fairness – has some validity. But to what degree?

You’re Busy, I’m Busy. And..?

I get it. We?re all busy, and we all have finite time in our days.

There?s only so much we can allocate to our blogs versus elsewhere, and remain effective on both sides of the coin.

But then isn?t that true for everything in life?

Don?t we make decisions based on what we want and how to get there, as opposed to giving up because the work to get there is a little more than what we want to put in?

Yes, conversations are happening on social. But guess what? People are complaining that there are less opportunities for conversations on social now the marketers and brands have taken over.

Yes, blog comments need moderation. But guess what? Do the legwork early on (blog comment policy, banning offenders, making the comments a fun place to be, etc.) and you?ll actually get a better community.

Yes, community growth needs interaction. But guess what? Interact and build that community, and you have a wonderful ?base? to build from when you do have something to sell, or need to get your message out to a wider audience.

It?s easy to blame social media for blogging?s woes. Much like blaming others for our own failings in life, scapegoats are more attractive than self-analysis.

But it?s not as clear-cut as ?all the conversations are happening on social media?. They may well be happening a lot ? but guess where that traffic will come when they want to see the source of that discussion?

Once that traffic arrives, if they find a comments area that looks as fun and inviting as a McDonald?s restaurant does to a food snob, of course they?ll leave immediately.

If, on the other hand, they see a blog that opens up to others, and ? imagine this! ? actively converses with them, they?ll stay. Comment. Reply. Subscribe.

Social media won?t ?kill? blog comments ? bloggers will.

But it doesn?t have to be this way.

Unless you let it be.