konwersatorium3/pjwstk

Sunday, 17 April 2011

Mind Trics: Walt Dysney Creativity Strategy

People who knew Walt Disney said that there were actually three Disneys: the dreamer, the realist and the critic. The problem was however, that you never knew who of those three you would see at the meeting.

Walt Disney’s strategy of creativity was developed by Robert Dilts, one of the co-authors of Neuro Linguistic Programming. Fallowing the methodology of NLP cold ‘modeling’ Dilts made a behavioral model of unconscious thought processes of the creator of Mickey Mouse.

To learn this model you need to find three different places in which you will be using a different mindset. Three different places and three different mindsets are the most important key factor of this process.

Instructions

1. Dreamer

If you want to try out Disney’s strategy of creativity, find some nice place where you can fully become a dreamer. Find that favorite chair, sofa, or a coffee shop. The place should have some open space that allows you to forget about work, responsibilities and obligations. Let this be a space reserved just for moving into a dream world, free from the rational and critical thinking, which you can do somewhere else. Great artists are often called visionaries. This is because they think using images, they see in their mind pictures of things they want to create. Likewise, create a big, colorful pictures and watch them closely. When you are done dreaming will move to a different place with a different emotional state.

2. Realist

Sit at your desk or a place in which you usually work and become a realist. Focus on how to put in action what you imagined in the previous step. This step deals with the practical issues, try to divide the project into simple steps and analyze how to perform them. When you have finished you can go to a different place to enter a different emotional state.

3. Critic

As before, you should find a suitable place, which will be different from previous steps. When you become a critic, you focus on how to avoid making a fool of yourself. Analyze if that idea, the investment is good for you. The critic state is necessary to prevent you from taking the wrong decision, your responsibility is to ensure your safety. When you change into a critic you should check everything from the beginning till the end, paying attention to the weak elements and predicting what could go wrong. Reviewing the consequences and side effects. When you criticize elements of the project, remember that you are making it better. When the critic is satisfied you can go to a different place to enter a different emotional state.

4. Dreamer

Return to the space reserved for the dreamer. See how the modifications made by the realist and the critic changed your original idea. Will you achieve what you wanted to achieve when you first thought about it? What do you think about it now? Test as it looks. If something you like is missing or needs to look another way, apply relevant amendments. When you are done, move to the place of a the realist.

5. Realist

Include the corrections made in the previous step of the way of their implementation. When finished, go to the place of a critic.

6. Critic

Is there anything still to be improved. Think it over, again pay attention to all possible eventualities.

Repeat steps 4, 5, 6 until the dreamer, the realist and the critic are satisfied.

7. Combine it all now. You worked as three different people. Now please combine it all together. This can be done going through these three places in which you worked.

Now, you can turn your dream into reality.

Saturday, 16 April 2011

World of Silence – Deaf Movies

Every day we watch many movies with sounds, music, talking, but what happens if you see a film in which there is only sign language and a little bit music? Would you turn it off or switch to other movies with the sound in it? Do not do it. Try to watch these movies. They'll show true life of deaf. It may be interesting. Why? Because you know, life in the World of Silence looks different from life in the World of Sound.

Movies about deaf are popular in USA, but in Poland – no. Why?

I think because the people who can hear know little or nothing at all about the disabled people and exactly the World of Silence. People know about some disabled: physically disabled, blind, mentally ill, but what about deaf? They don't know much about them.

Now I'll present to you some movies about deafness and deaf people:

CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOOD, USA

This is a romantic-drama film about hard love between speech teacher and deaf woman. It shows that they can be together despite the difficulties, barriers...

Through deaf eyes , USA

Documentary movie tells the story of deaf culture in USA from the 19^th century to present.

DEAF LIFE, POLAND

"Deaf Life" is based on two major themes. The first one illustrates the problems faced by people affected by the dysfunction: isolation from the world of sounds, lack of understanding, sometimes scornful laugh ... The second topic of hearing proves that the lack of hearing does not constitute a barrier to their success, even dance.

SEE THE SILENCE, POLAND

Kasia is a sensitive teenager who dreams of becoming an actress. This is her story,which is the main theme of the new web series Fri: "See the silence. " The show presents her relationship with the family, contacts with peers, his first love. Actors do not use words, but are fluent in sign language.

And now please tell us your impressions after watching the trailers of the above films. What do you think is the difference between "normal" movies, except that the main language is sign language?

Word of mouth: Threats/Opportunities PART 3/3

As the last part of my presentation I would like to point out that although WOMM seems to have no weaknesses, it might sometimes give an opposite, to expected, result. Using WOMM may seem easy, a company just has to create a topic for discussion and the customers will do the rest themselves. Well it is basically true, but one has to remember that customers might not always react in the way a company would like them to. It is very important to use WOMM in a right way as it works every time either in companies’ favour or not.

The bad effect on the image of the company may have the unethical WOMM practices.
Nowadays customers are very sensitive and don’t like to be bothered by false information. Faking WOMM is not only ineffective but also unethical. Many marketers reject all tactics leading to deception, dishonesty or manipulation.

There are certain WOMM strategies that are considered unethical. Word of Mouth
Marketing Association as unethical lists these bellow:

Spam - Sending bulk or unsolicited email or other messages without clear, voluntary permission.
Comment spam - Using automated software ('bots') to post unrelated or inappropriate comments to blogs or other online communities.
Shilling - Paying people to talk about (or promote) a product without disclosing that they are working for the company; impersonating a customer.
Stealth marketing - Any practice designed to deceive people about the involvement of marketers in a communication.
Defacement - Vandalizing or damaging property to promote a product.
Falsification - Knowingly disseminating false or misleading information.
Infiltration - Using fake identities in an online discussion to promote a product; taking over a web site, conversation, or live event against the wishes or rules set by the proprietor.

Source: www.womma.org

Many of you probably have come across some of the unethical WOMM strategies. I personally hate getting spam to my e-mail.

What are your thoughts about unethical WOMM practices?
How often are you bothered by them?
Do they influence your attitude towards the company and its product?

Thursday, 14 April 2011

Japan is a REALLY strange country!

So... Now I'll present some interesting things about Japan, because I'm a Japan-maniac ;) My interest in Japan began when I was barely eight year old. And since then I have collected everything related with Japan. I really LOVE everything from the Country of Cherry Blossoms! Well... almost everything ;)

There are some strange things that are normal in Japan, but for Europe and USA not so!

Vending machine

In the picture above there is a vending machine. Why is this so different? Well… they are everywhere. Within a 3 minute walk I'll see at least 4. Some are sneaky and are hiding around the corner. Some have hot and cold drinks. I’ve even seen one of that vending machine sell regular size + large size drinks for the same price.

Some even make noises and it makes me feel that they’re taunting me. You can get coffee, tea, soda, juice and I haven’t looked but I wouldn’t be surprised if you could get soup and milk.

Umbrella machine

This is the same thing as vending machine, but... you can buy an umbrella when it's a rainy day and you just don't have an umbrella with. Now very popular are transparent umbrellas ;) I've one at home, I brought it a souvenir ;) Interesting, duh! BUT! Everything is available via vending machines: Drinks, hot drinks, hot food, t-shirts, used underwear, alcohol, cigarettes, toys, porn, and who knows what else...

Weird, but cute bentos boxes

Bento - is a meal in which a single portion is packaged. This is usually bought at a convenience shop, but it seems that the lunch prepared by a housewife for her husband or children to take with also qualifies.

Necktie USB Air Conditioning

http://www.thanko.jp/product/usb/cool/usbnecktie.html/

If someone works in a building without air conditioning, or the AC breaks down at some point they may appreciate this thanks to a product: It’s an USB-powered necktie that cools down with a built-in fan. Interesting... and crazy!

Sushi- the Japanese tradition.

http://www.joemonster.org/filmy/7123/Sushi_japonska_tradycja

This is pretty damn funny video showing how you should act in the Japanese sushi restaurant ;) I laughed really hard!!!

Boyfriend Pillow

Marriage is unfashionable for Japanese women. But of course they still like the comfort of a relationship. Even when they don’t have one. Enter an inventive product: The Boyfriend’s Arm Pillow. It’s the ultimate sleeping partner: It doesn’t snore, doesn’t make demands, is comfortable, and, as happy customer Junko Suzuki put it: “It keeps holding me all the way through. I think this is great because this does not betray me.” For me it's a strange idea...

And finally I present a 12 minutes video “Japan – The strange country” about Japan, it covers everything from strange cultural mores to equally strange economy. An interesting thing about it is the fact that the creator of caricature was Kenichi Tanaka, real Japanese! And he says: "By the way, please don't call me a racist, because I am one of short, small eyes Japanese." His motivation in creating the piece was to show a Japanese audience how strange they're to foreigners (UE and USA)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo2EBGVEsvk&feature=player_embedded

I hope you enjoyed!

I encourage you to comments and exchange information!

Word of mouth: Viral and Buzz Marketing PART 2/3

Although there are many types of WOMM in my presentation I would like to focus on two of them which are Viral and Buzz Marketing.

What are they and how do they work?

Buzz marketing involves an original, often wacky idea that is meant to generate publicity. It becomes more and more popular as traditional advertising just doesn’t get customers’ attention anymore. It becomes very challenging for marketing specialists to get customers to notice their advertisements. Consumers are getting better in avoiding commercials as there are too many of them all around. Buzz marketing has been created to get customers’ attention in an unconventional way.

Here is an example of buzz marketing created by one of the insurance companies.

And another one, many of you might have seen it as it took place in Warsaw. TVN created it in order to advertise a new series being released. There were several cars placed all over the city, all had the same writing on them with a telephone number. When one called the number, the voice informed that if you want to find out whether Adam found his dream girl you need to watch “Usta Usta”.

Here are the links to a few more examples of this type of marketing:

As far as viral marketing is concerned the way it works may be similar to buzz marketing although it is a little bit different.

The purpose of viral marketing is to create a content (often in the internet) that causes so many emotions that customers just can’t help themselves not to share it with others. Companies often release interesting videos on YouTube, share funny pictures.

For example TP S.A. released a video that is a parody of its competitors – Netia -
commercial. Probably many of you have seen it because some of your friends (as mine have) might have posted it on their facebook walls.

Here is the Netia commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeS75NoIhEs

and here is the TP parody:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYq-RJKk9YI

Here are a few more examples of viral marketing videos, that some of you might have come
across earlier if not I encourage you to watch them.

The questions I would like to ask you at the end of this part of my presentation are:

Have you come across any types of viral or buzz marketing?
Have you ever spread virals? (e.g. via fb)
Do you find this types of marketing effective? If so, what makes them effective?

Monday, 11 April 2011

Word of mouth: introduction PART 1/3

As we are exposed to advertising in more and more different and surprising ways, in my presentation I would like to pay attention to one of (in my opinion) most interesting types of marketing – the Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM).Before showing you what WOMM is and how it works, I would like you to answer a few questions:

How do you look for information about the product you have never used?

Whose judgment do you rely on most?

Research shows that 95% of customers’ choice of a product is based on an opinion of someone they know who has tried the product themselves.
Source: www.kevinharrington.com

You may ask what it has to do with WOMM? Simple, this is what WOMM is based on. WOMM is a kind of marketing that uses the fact that people like to take others’ advice before buying a product. WOMM is what people do every day unintentionally. Naturally when we went to a restaurant and enjoyed time spent there we often tell our friends about it, we encourage them to try it too. Or if you see a good movie you often recommend it to your friends. That is what WOMM is all about.

The purpose of WOMM is not to create opinions. It’s to make customers happy with a product and create opportunities to share this happiness with their surroundings. An important part of WOMM is reaching influential individuals, trendsetters, people on whose decision others rely on the most, and convince them that the product the company is selling meets their needs perfectly. Once a company does that, the rest happens naturally, people talk to each other and share their opinions about products they’ve used recently. Techniques that WOMM uses are based on consumer satisfaction, and that’s what makes it so
successful.

The basic elements of WOMM are:

Educating people about the products and services
Finding people most eager to share their opinions
Providing tools making sharing information easier
Studying how, where, and when customers share opinions
Listening and responding to supporters, detractors, and neutrals.

Source: www.womma.org

At the end of this part I would like to ask you:

What do you think about this type of marketing?
Do you think it is effective?
Have you ever bought anything or gone somewhere influenced by WOMM?

Sunday, 10 April 2011

World of Silence – deaf people. Part One.

There are always the sounds around us, from birth we are accompanied by different kinds of sounds. The barking of dogs, talking people, music... Can you imagine complete silence? There aren't any sounds, not higher or lower sounds, it's nothing!

Have you ever tried to cover your ears and stand all day without sounds? I bet you didn’t. You live with these sounds and they create you.

But there is a World of Silence next to your World of Sound! In the silence there live deaf people, the hearing impaired, hearing loss and deaf. They spend their whole life in silence, from birth until death.

And now, a small medical explanation of deafness: it is a complete inability to receive sounds. It can be congenital, acquired or genetic.

Congenital deafness - may be caused by, among others: the mother's disease during pregnancy (especially in the first 12 weeks of gestation), and toxic factors damaging the fetus (such as drugs, stimulants) and hormonal disorders.

Acquired deafness - caused by mechanical injuries arising during childbirth. It also causes factors in the further development, including: acute or chronic ear disease, infectious diseases, diseases of high fever (meningitis), antibiotics, chemical injury, mechanical and mental.

Genetic Deafness / Hereditary - when deafness occurred previously in other family members and depends on specific genes.

I'm deaf; I have very deep hearing loss in both ears, which was genetically caused. This strange thing because nobody in my family for several generations back had no hearing loss or was deaf. Doctors explained to me that I might have received the defective gene from my parents. I can "hear" sounds with hearing aids. I can normally communicate with people only through a long and exhausting speech and hearing rehabilitation. It took me almost 20 years before I learned to communicate so that hearing people think I'm just like them, but in reality I am not. This sometimes makes funny situations :)

Deaf can't hear sounds that is why they don't hear the speech, but they have their own language for communication, which is sign language, also called the language of butterflies, because it is very beautiful, full of dynamism and life as well as elusive.

Sign language has its own characters corresponding to the words. Sign language has its own individual grammar which is different from any other spoken languages and is the visual-spacious language. In Poland there are two sign languages: PJM - Polish Sign Language (PJM is from “Polski Język Migowy”) and SJM - System Sign Language (SJM is from “System Językowo-Migowy”).

What is the difference between the two languages? The first is the natural language of the deaf, it is a visual- spacious language, and the second is an artificial language which has most characters from PJM, but the grammar of the Polish language. I know that can be somewhat confusing.

Below I’ll show a couple of links to PJM signs:

PJM finger alphabet if someone wants you can learn it ;)

about grammar PJM i SJM with subtitles

---

a short PJM lesson

It might be interesting that in Poland in most provinces PJM is slightly different, and that is because the deaf continuously introduce new signs into their language. Later they distribute them at meetings, conferences, events and similar actions. Additionally, each country has its own sign language. You could say that there are as many sign languages as there are spoken ones. You'd probably be wondering how deaf people from different countries can communicate along? Fortunately, there is ISL, which allows you to communicate practically with all deaf in other countries, even China and Japan!

Now I will tell you briefly about savoir-vivre of the deaf, which can be in handy in the future if you get along with deaf:

-speak calmly, slowly and clearly, because some of the deaf can read the movements of the lips. --Stand in front of deaf people that show your lips. DO NOT cover the mouth, DO NOT turn away from a deaf person, DO NOT talk with pursed lips, DO NOT speak too fast because they might not understand you! Communication is MOST important!

-but if you don't understand it enough have a sheet of paper ready and a pen or write in a cell phone in the box at SMS.

-being in the room it is best to be in good light source, because they will see your lips or will be able to read in good light.

-or talk to you through an interpreter

If you knew this basis, the deaf will be very grateful to you for facilitating communication:)

Below there are a few humorous images of the website http://www.thatdeafguy.com/ related to the Deaf savoir-vivre :)

for the rest I am inviting you to look at the link above! I really recommend it!

And the Polish sites view this website http://www.szok-art.blogspot.com/ Leads it a deaf artist :)

Although the deaf can't hear, but many can achieve many things in different areas. At work, the arts, and even in music and dance. I'm not kidding! They are deaf dancers, singers and DJ's. In the Polish version “You can dance” a deaf boy: Damian Piasek was participating in the elimination. In German edition of You Can Dance the third place won a deaf dancer: Tobias Kramer. Here is a link to his performance at the YCD: http://www.clipfish.de/special/supertalent/video/3425342/der-gehoerlose-tobias-kramer-beim-supertalent-2010/

You may be wondering how they can "hear" music, you see they feel it by the vibration and rhythm! This is cool!

Deaf can also sing but in their sign language ;)