Monday, March 16, 2009 at 10:26AM In light of my last post, which touched upon "language," I present to you:
The entrepreneurial linguist. . .
And the entrepreneurial linguist. . . (once again)
Saturday, March 14, 2009 at 12:52AM 
The language in which a person speaks creates the ethos in which they exhist
Thursday, March 12, 2009 at 9:03AM 
As they say it's the simple things in life that make it all worth it - and last night I was reminded of that.
I have been on a particular list serve for some months now. I've been really impressed by it as the discussions are lively, thought provoking and on many occasions the conversations provide awesome resources and great insight.
A few weeks back the CEO of one of the most prominent non-profits in the country put out a request for bloggers on the list serve. He described the positions they were hiring for were bloggers to give career advice for their online audience. Well I figured since I've definitely been through a few careers myself (including a non-profit one) and I've been blogging for two years, so why not send an email stating my interest for this opportunity (not really expecting to hear back from them).
Well a couple days ago I received an email from them stating that after reviewing 250+ application for their career guide positions, they we’re really impressed with my background and would like to move forward with me into the second round of the application process. Very cool.
As part of the process they asked for writing samples about various issues around the non-profit world. I pretty much had my ideas about what to write, nonetheless my gut feeling told me to reach out to some of my friends and explore some more ideas.
Now it's often true that we are all busy - and sometimes we're so busy with being busy that we don't have time for other people (i'm definitely guilty of that). But what is cool is when you reach out to friends and they reach back (immediately) ready and willing to help out.
In the grand scheme of things this not a big thing, but its still very important. Many of them provided some insights that I may not have thought about if I didn't speak to them. As a result of their help I am feeling a whole lot more comfortable about my writing samples that I'll be sending off.
My point being is this: knowing you have friends that care about you enough to reach out to you and help when you ask is very, very cool and should not be taken for granted.
In our own crazy and busy lives we sometimes get caught up in the grind and forget the small things. But try not to forget or overlook how important our friends can be to us. Its always good to know that on some level you have people that got your back.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009 at 12:25PM (Warhol-ism for the 21st century)
image by Vosica
. . .is the intersection of trends within business, culture and technology.
Convergence is about:
Helping brands develop their own unique system that takes
and translates that into
commercial means that affects, impacts or transforms the world.
Convergence marks the new business ethos of the 21st century. This is our approach to developing unique ideas and strategies to give brands unequivocal advantage in today's competitive marketplace.
Saturday, March 7, 2009 at 10:50AM 
Image by fanpop
Nowhere is there a better example of the convergence of culture and the commercial world than the works of Andy Warhol. Today as we look at his creations, better known as pop art (fine art meets commercial illustration), you can comfortably debate the merits of his status as a 20th century artistic icon.
So why discuss him now?
A conversation of Warhol's work, from the late 60's to the early 80's, is relevant today because of the unique way in which he took two opposing worlds and bridged them together.
In today's marketplace creativity is literally bursting at the seams, yet we are struggling with how to translate that into new commercial means. Therein lies the challenge: how to develop new and creative business ideas as the market changes, evolves and re-configures itself; in the process, leave behind deteriorating old business concepts and models that are becoming less and less viable. New opportunities are abundant to construct contemporary relationships between culture and the commercial world.
Warhol presents a unique and interesting historical template in walking the tighrope between these two distinct arenas.
An interesting quote from him:
"What's great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coca Cola, Liz Taylor drinks Coca Cola, and just think, you can drink Coca Cola, too."
With this statement Warhol touches upon the idea of democratization - everyone, no matter who you are, has the opportunities to enjoy the same things. His observation of this cultural idea becomes particularly acute in today's environment as the internet has, on innumerable levels, democratized the marketplace. It has created unprecedented opportunities for anyone to impact the market.
So the question now becomes - how do we embrace Warhol-ism (but for the 21st century)? What's the process for taking today's creative culture and today's market realities and translating that into commercial opportunities, just as he did over 30 years ago?
We have a few ideas. . . (stay tuned).
