Strands of Genius: Why Everything Looks The Same, Twitter Poisoning, Workplace Wellbeing
Plus our thoughts on: Cows eating skittles
WRITING FROM | Isla Mujeres, MX
WORKING ON | Wrapping up work for the year, some new meetings
LOOKING AHEAD
Oct 31-Nov 19 | Isla Mujeres, MX
Nov 19-26 | Mexico City, MX
Nov 26-Dec 7 | Nashville, TN
Dec 7-15 | Beersheba Springs, TN
Dec 15-19 | Atlanta, GA
Dec 19-21 | Athens, GA
Dec 21-Dec 31 | Nashville, TN
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
Rosie and I are mostly recovered from whatever cold like thing got us but lots of people we know in UK and USA are coming down with colds, flu and yes, ‘Vid right now. The 4th covid wave is appearing and the upcoming flu season looks to be the worst for many years. Take care of yourselves, and get those shots as soon as you can.
We also discovered you can make microwave rice without a microwave, which Rosie said she knew but was a mystery to me.
THE THANKSGIVEAWAY
If you missed our earlier note, let us give you a quick recap:
At the end of this month, we’ll celebrate Thanksgiving, and as we discussed our end of year plans, we decided we wanted to do something to give back to our community.
So: for the month of November, we’ll be hosting a giveaway.
We’ll be featuring three creators as our guest curators this month, and in addition to each of those product-based giveaways, we’ll also giveaway three 1-on-1 consulting calls, which can be used sometime between January 15th & March 15th of 2023. You can use the time to get some input on a live project (we’re happy to sign NDAs prior), to ask us about our nomad packing tips, or to chat about whatever’s on your mind :)
If you’re a subscriber on November 30th, you’ll automatically be entered. But we’ll also reward you with more entries in exchange for sharing any edition of the newsletter. All you have to do is send an email to ashley@geniussteals.co — More details on how this will all work below :)
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
Meeting up with Chelsea and her family, feeling better, long walks, The Thief of Time, The Peripheral (AMZN), sadly not Blockbuster (NFLX) (I’m always open to a new sitcom but the first episode fell flat for me), Duolingo, The Adam Buxton Podcast especially the recent Richard E Grant episode, How Modern Media Destroys Our Minds (School of Life) YOU.
PAID ATTENTION VIRTUAL EVENT
We’re closing out the year with one last virtual event with our friend Maury / Heart + Mind Strategies where Faris will wax lyrical about attention and then have a moderated discussion about that and advertising and what’s happening on social media and politics and anything else people want to talk about.
It’s an open invitation and you can register here and by clicking on the image below.
SCHOOL OF STOLEN GENIUS COMMUNITY MEETUP! WEDS, 12p ET
:: THE LINKS ::
WHY EVERYTHING LOOKS THE SAME
Alongside various observers, we have been tracking and talking about this for a while. This Knowable article exhaustively catalogues the homogeneity across a broad swathe of domains including: Interior spaces, Consumer brands, Cars, Restaurant menus, Apps, Websites and more. This is obviously extremely important for the commercial creative industry, who provide services to help differentiate companies, or make them distinctive, or whatever (that argument is so boring I just can’t) because “business success hinges on differentiation” (or distinctiveness, or whatever). (Knowable/Medium)
QUICK AD BREAK! FOR US! PUBLIC SPEAKERS!
Hey by the way, speaking about commercial creativity, we had the pleasure of joining the conference for the Society of Digital Agencies (SoDA) a few weeks ago and it was great! We have really missed in-person speaking events with audiences on stages, rather than simply from behind a computer screen. It was so fun to be around likeminds and see what everyone is talking about now.
We spoke about three dangerous alluring sirens for digital agency leaders to think on: Technology, Experience and the Future and we got really delightful feedback. And we also ran a workshop on The Power of Play, where we covered why play is crucial to creativity, and gave participants 3 games to steal for their own workshops.
We can do this for you! We are already starting to field in person speaking requests for next year - so do get in touch if you think we can help provide inspiration through keynotes, workshops, facilitation or MC’ing your event. It’s both of us on stage in a seamless two headed gender diverse fun show that makes you think. Ask anyone who’s seen on (or we can provide testimonials).
OK, NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING
TWITTER POISONED
Jaron Lanier is one of the big technology thinkers of our time and has been way ahead of curve, accurately, time and again. (Be prepared for Faris to tell the story of how he got to have dinner with him at Microsoft Research, it is an anecdote about dreadlocks). He penned this op-ed about what Twitter seems to have done to certain main characters who seem to have radically shifted their publics personas in seemingly toxic ways. “I have observed a change, or really a narrowing, in the public behavior of people who use Twitter or other social media a lot. When I compare Mr. Musk, Mr. Trump and Ye, I see a convergence of personalities that were once distinct.” It certainly interesting to see how the game mechanics of the platform, the affordances, algorithm, culture and points, change behavior. “What do I think are the symptoms of Twitter poisoning? There is a childish insecurity, where before there was pride. Instead of being above it all, like traditional strongmen throughout history, the modern social media-poisoned alpha male whines and frets.” As someone who uses Twitter a lot, and if you use social media at all, it’s worth considering how it changes or has changed you. (NYTimes Gift Link)
WORKPLACE WELLBEING
Coming from the US Surgeon General is an interesting new report that provides medical support from the highest levels that “Work affects both our physical and mental well-being — in good ways and bad.” It goes on to explain that this is a current priority for THE SURGEON GENERAL OF THE USA because mostly workplaces are making people less well. “We can build workplaces that are engines of well-being, showing workers that they matter, that their work matters, and that they have the workplace resources and support necessary to flourish.
This 30-page Surgeon General’s Framework for Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being offers a foundation that workplaces can build upon.” This kind of thinking is often part of the consulting work with do with agencies, because to get the best work people have to feel safe and appreciated. Grab the full report to see more. It has a good model and very specific recommendations for business leaders to consider…although you can argue some of the issues with workplaces in USA is a function of the complete lack of employee protections laws but I digress… (US Surgeon General)
Strands of Genius is currently read by more than 13,000 subscribers & has nearly 40% open rate. Support us by becoming a member of The School of Stolen Genius, or encouraging friends or colleagues to subscribe. If you’re interested in sponsoring this newsletter, hit reply and let’s chat!
:: WHAT WE’RE THINKING ABOUT: COWS EATING SKITTLES ::
Did you know they feed cows Skittles in USA? They really do, it’s basically cheap sugar that is added to the feed as part of a ‘balanced diet’. Why not just use corn or sugar or high fructose corn syrup?
The answer is, of course, obvious, as it is the answer to almost every question concerning corporate behavior - it’s cheaper, so they do it, because they must at ALL TIMES MAXIMIZE shareholder value no matter what the second order consequences, and in the USA regulations are much looser than in Europe…>
People who have eaten produce from a farmer’s market or in Europe may notice that American produce is somewhat flavorless by comparison. Also, people in USA spend the least as % of per capita average income on food of any country in the world. Perhaps these things are all related, who knows.
"Long story short, less than 1 percent of the population produces food for the whole country. There's a massive disconnect between who eats the food and who grows the food - it's amazing to me how much people don't know about the dairy industry."
:: AND NOW: ILLUSTRATIONS OF INVISIBLE THINGS ::
:: HELP US SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS LIL NEWSLETTER ::
Just by being a subscriber, you’ll already be entered to win. However, we’ve also got a few ways for you to earn some extra entries, capped at 100 entries per person.
All you have to do is share a link to the newsletter in some capacity, and send an email to ashley@geniussteals.co on or before November 30th.
Here’s the scoop:
Sharing on social media = 5 extra entries, per platform. You’ll send a link to your post(s) to Ashley.
Sending an email to your team/department = 25 extra entries. We hope your team will thank you! Forward your email to Ashley for your extra entries.
Sending an email to your whole company = 50 entries. Damn, look at you willing to use that all-agency list serv. Thanks, we appreciate that! Forward your email to Ashley for extra entries.
We would like to grow our subscribers so obviously this is helpful for us and we are incentivizing that a little bit but we also believe that sharing is caring, that people we meet always tell us they find this newsletter unique and useful amongst the advertising industry, both broad and personal, and if you like it, wouldn’t people you like enjoy it too?
We’ll select winners on December 1st, and announce the winners on December 5th.
:: WHAT TO SHARE ::
We’re leaving that up to you. We’d love for you to share what you love about the newsletter, or why you read it, or what you appreciate about it — but just sharing a link will still get you extra entries.
We’ve flagged some of the more popular editions of Strands of Genius here, in case you want to share a past edition:
There was that edition where we explored grief, which included links about overcoming productivity dysmorphia, when a major life change upends your sense of self, and 3 questions to ask about trends.
Or the edition where we highlighted social media bans around the world, which included links about why community matters so much, retouching and influencer marketing, and shrinking The Gap (how the clothing brand lost its way.)
We covered the tough topic of abortions in May, and included links on big ideas in advertising, why Marvel is the most important cinematic innovation of the 21st Century, and why analogies are superpowers.
The newsletter we received the most responses to was when Rosie wrote about what it’s like working with a spouse, and included her favorite writings from Faris, including a post about America, Freedom & The High Cost of Healthcare, toxic nostalgia, how to get lucky, and Stone Junction.
And then there was a follow-up from Ashley, our Director of Operations, who wrote about what it was like working with a married couple, and included links on the nature of fame and attention, Italy’s B Corps, and the gay history of camels.
Or the time when Faris wrote about constraints, and included links on playing with brands, how tenderness and attention are related, and why we love the word ‘smooth.’
Rosie was a little nervous to send the newsletter where she talked about waning ambition, but it turned out many of you shared the same perspective. That edition also included links on why the return to the office isn’t working, the six forces that fuel friendship, and the first edition of the Warc Attention Economy podcast.
And there was the edition where we shared our favorite questions to ask, which also included links on being wrong, the insane cost of cars, and nine ways to channel stoicism to help your anxiety.
You can find and search the entire archive of Strands of Genius here, if there was an edition we didn’t spotlight that you loved and wanted to share :)
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If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
rockON,
faris & rosie & ashley | your friends over at geniussteals.co
@faris is always tweeting
@rosieyakob hangs out on instagram
@ashley also writes for deaf, tattooed & employed
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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based in Tennessee where our company is registered, our admin extraordinaire is based in Playa del Carmen, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)