Herd - the hidden truth about who we are

Business with a PI (2)

pic c/o bingocardscreator.com

Not sure we've cracked the Woolies brief yet, chaps - the question behind a Purpose Idea is a "why?" one:

why does this business exist? what change does it want to bring to the world?

So go here. Read the text. Explore the site. I think their PI is pretty clear, don't you?

   

It’s important to bridge the unnecessary gap between the music business bigwigs who are saying we     need to see a return on investment, and the artists who are saying, “But it’s all about the music         dude!”

    Musicians should know their business, and the music business needs to start getting real about     art.

So more suggestions for Woolies, please

You lookin' at me?

Hat tip to Mark via Twitter for this discussion between neuroscientist Oliver Sacks and the RSC'S Michael Boyd on actors, acting and memory (yes, I know you meant to point to the Gladwell piece, Mark but I think this is better)

I particularly like this idea that actors have over-developed sense of empathy with other folk that goes hand-in-hand with their over-developed emulation skills [Sacks talks at length about watching De Niro play a character he had originally described in Awakenings]. Boyd says:

"I think good performers tend to be very open, to the point where they get dismissed as sentimental    creatures - there’s this horrible, contemptuous term “luvvie” used about the theatre. But I do think     there’s something missing in an actor’s persona, or maybe mind, about censoring out certain     emotions. They are “overreceptive”, and that can be troubling for them in their lives. People who are tremendously good at closing out the troublesome tend not to be brilliant performers.

There’s a valve in a brilliant actor that is “deficient”. They’re good at embodying emotion, but they’re not very good at shutting it out. I think that’s why there is something inherently unstable about the condition of being an actor that’s also creative. Brilliant actors who survive to have a career manage that “deficiency” extremely well and lead perfectly normal lives. I don’t want to discourage anyone from joining the profession"

Also, special prize for Oliver for getting mirror-neurons into a Theatre talk

"We flinch when someone else receives a blow, and neurologists have started to talk about “mirror neurones” in the brain, which make spontaneous representations of what is happening with other people, so you then feel these yourself. And it’s thought that the basis of sympathy - and, to some extent, imitation and incarnation - is partly due to these mirror neurones.

I think there are different levels of representation. Now, for example, with Robin Williams [who played Sacks in Awakenings], there were two clearly distinct stages. Before the filming, we went around together and he was charming, genial and brilliant. It didn’t occur to me that he was, in fact, observing me minutely. About three weeks later, we’d got into a conversation in the street, and I’d got into what I’m told is one of my characteristic pensive postures. I saw Robin was in exactly the same posture, and I had an instant feeling he was mirroring me. I then realised he was not doing so,but he had acquired and embodied my gestures, my postures, my so-called tricks of speech and idiosyncrasies. And it was startling, like suddenly having a younger twin"

Go watch the whole thing

Mashup of the year?

Pic c/o ytmnd.com

After the extended Adolf joke, try this one: Doctor Who vs. Monty Python [Hat tip Combom]

Yay!

Free gift: the latest trailer for the Christmas special Loads more great stuff at Combom's blog

You are not alone in your success

Seems I wasn't wrong...in reading Gladwell's new book as a Herd-tract: we do what we do with, by and through others

Wonder if he knows?

Social Media Specialist

Love Hugh's new series of cartoons which ridicule/celebrate* the madness of the folk gathering around social media.

Go Hugh!

*delete as preferred

Businesses in need of a purpose-idea (PI)

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Pic c/o freefoto.com

Odd that today we get the news that the UK retailer Woolworth's has gone into administration. I have fond memories of the long, wide and curiously empty aisles of this jumble of a store near where I grew up in North London.

Apparently the cause of the collapse is a sudden removal of their trade credit insurance  which meant that the business had to pay cash for any goods it wanted to sell and it simply ran out of road in cashflow terms; the death-knell seems to have been sounded by Camelot (the UK lottery operator) pulling its services out of the business.

But the problem goes back decades: having worked with Woolies in the past, it has always seemed the business' real purpose was to allow the competing buying departments to carry on doing what they wanted: video, music, pick-n-mix, household, kids clothes, toys, paint etc. The store assortment never really made any sense, the staff didn't seem to be driven by any particular passion and the marketing largely was forced to flip-flop around without ever really expressing the beating heart of the business.  In the end, I suspect the business was - like all too many retail chains who lose their way - a business driven by the property division.

Unlike Superdrug (once a sister retailer at Kingfisher plc) which we repurposed to be about sharing the fun of Health and Beauty (without the orange-faced salesgirls of rival Boots).

So here's the question to ponder while Gordie does his bit to protect staff and suppliers: what do you think Woolies' purpose idea should be? What idea would you suggest to drive it's revival?

Being Business-like

pic c/o duncancumming.co.uk

Meanwhile over here Johnnie is drawing our attention towards the old idea of "business-like"

He's on the money (as per) here, surely: it seems really strange - given all that's happened recently - to consider how we've imagined that behaving like a servant of the corporate machine is in any way a good or desirable thing

I wonder what we should be saying? Being humanly-connected, maybe? Or, just being human?

Social Media and Mumbai

Pic c/o Techcrunch

Terrible events in Mumbai yesterday and today. Interesting to see how we've responded.

For readers who don't use Twitter and Flickr (or read Techcrunch), it's worth seeing how this - among other social media tools - how this stuff is being used to flag  aggregate and follow what's going on. UPDATE review in Telegraph (Hat tip David Cushman via Twitter)

Social media clearly now a fact of life in terms of how the world experiences major events (for the first time this year the BBC used social media as a feature of their TV coverage of the 08 US Elections UPDATE today's lunchtime UK TV news bulletins on Mumbai include a special 'blogosphere' section).

Lots of interesting meta-comments prompted by the events around the web e.g. on Techcrunch - including a persistent theme of distrust of mainstream news media's agendas

Such as:

"TV and web media news can be “directed” and express certain point of views. In many cases TV media made mistake by providing false news. Through twitter and similar services you receive news by different sources (and I believe more sources than a reporter in the point of interest). Of cource someone can send “directed” news by twitter also. But there is large number of sources-users to compare and make your own opinion."

[from Pountzas Th.]

"I agree, it is terrible what’s happening. But we are ‘fed’ information that we’re ’supposed’ to see, and ‘interpretations’ we’re ’supposed’ to make.

Don’t take anything at face value. Too many ‘illusions’ being created these days"

[from Pete Moring]

But some interesting push-backs elsewhere that suggest some caution in the use of such sources: about for example the difference between reading about folks' impressions of what's happening and working out what's really going on: checking what the crowd feels is going on is not the same as producing verifiable facts.

On the one hand is the problem that most twitter posts are not primary data (from eye witnesses) after all but secondary (i.e. folk picking up on what they see on on Twitter and elsewhere); on the other is the question of whether the "real people" any more reliable witnesses than the mainstream media

One good example is the debate here about whether or not this guy is a terrorist

Can we really tell from appearences or are we just using our own (probably) stereotyped ideas about what a terrorist looks like? If I had to do a photofit not sure I'd do that well.

I'm not sure the real point about the role of social media in all of this (as e.g. I think Michael Arrington is arguing on Techcrunch) to draw from this is that we are warming up to challenge the mainstream on "the facts" (in a Wisdom of Crowds stylee) - individual witness accounts, aside - rather, it helps the mass of us harnesses our collective (HERD) awareness about what the 'breaking stories' are from the disturbance in the force that other people's tweating and blogging represents...

It's an old, old, Herd thing: pooling watchtower responsibilities

Being different

David has this great post - inspired by Randy Baseler- on the idea of setting up a differentiation function within business

I love the idea of a cross-functional team whose brief is:

    “what can we do, what do we need to do, to improve our differentiation?”

Tricky Third Album

Guess what I meant to say yesterday was better said, long long ago by Tony Parsons (above with a young Julie Burchill when they were both beautiful young things on the NME): [please excuse paraphrase]

   

A great first album is not that unusual: lots of bands do one great album and then disappear - a     band tours a lot and develops a really tight set of ten or twelve songs that it has really knocked
    into shape.

    The second album is normally written on the road, in a rush. So it doesn't tell you anything         
    about the quality of the band.

    It's only when you get to the third album that you know if the band is any good: the third album     has all the time and resources in the world thrown at it; all the boredom and the distractions of     success so the band have no escape.

Gladwell in London

Interesting evening last night with the gathering chattering classes to hear Malcolm Gladwell about his new book Outliers. Particularly as I have spent a lot of time recently  unpicking the alluring Tipping Point model that first made his name beyond the New Yorker magazine (nice but just not evidenced by the data). And he's all over the British press this week.

This is the third book tour I've heard him speak on so I've come to appreciate the gentle anecdotal style and narrative skills he brings to any subject. Lots of nice stuff throwing together plane crashes and cultural styles studies.

Can't help but think though that what he's really saying in this later book is that the idea of individuals achieve what they do independent of those around them - the heroic individual so beloved by Anglo Saxon culture and the US in particular - is wrong.

Which you heard here before, didn't you?

Depression and heroes

Congrats to Marcus Trescothick (above) - one of the finest cricketers of his generation - for his book, which details his own struggles with the depression that ended his international career. The book has just won a major prize.

Depression is a very common condition but ubiquity doesn't make it any easier to live with. Part of its impact is a debilitating social dysfunction: undermining our social selves.

If, like me, you've struggled with it, it's great to see someone you admire be so honest about their experience in this way.

While high achievers are prone to depression, the rest of us are, too. Some estimates suggest up to 15% of us at any one time, but it's hard to spot in those around you. But you cannot hide it from yourself.

Politics with a sense of humour

Whatever your personal politics, this little thing shows what a difference a sense of humour can make in drawing attention to your opponents' supposed weaknesses

An aphorism a day keeps the doctor away

Nice little campaign for School of Life derived from the shop window (creative by their neighbours and my old chums at St Luke's)

The campaign, unlike the shop window, has a frequent churn of posters and even encourages you to suggest your own

A dream client: not looking to the marketing to make up for the lack of interesting stuff in the business

Go here to register for your daily dose

The Revolution is just a t-shirt away

From those nice folk at Philosophy Football, based (as you will all know) on the Billy Bragg epic

Ideal wear for that "How the **** are we going to survive the recession" offsite. 

A good reminder that slogans, words and promises are not the point. Revolutions are about doing things, not talking about them and certainly not just berating everyone else...

(Also available, a number of t-shirts that might make your wait at US customs just a little bit longer, plus this one which might hasten things along, come January)

(Or this one for all your Gooner chums, featuring the Blessed "Dirty" Harry Redknapp as Clint)

That's Christmas sorted, then

History of innovation made cool

Pic c/o Nesta

From this excellent NESTA Download Market_failure_provocation_NESTA

By the very wonderful Will Hutton

Read, mark and inwardly digest (as my old Headmaster used to say)

Smart fish, smart people

Interesting piece here on fish and humans and the benefits of shoaling

Not new, but true....

I'm an expert get me out of here

British TV - like the US - is awash with pro-celeb reality shows.

With all the behind-the-scenes gossip, the tantrums and the big wet tears they are addictive.

But it is the audience's participation (in deciding how goes or stays) which is causing a stir.

First, BBC's Strictly Come Dancing and then ITV's Xfactor have experienced the popular vote going directly against the "expert" advice.

Most tellingly, John Sergent [above] - 64 year old former political journo - is a "self-confessed non-dancer" but the public keep bringing him back. Which the expert panel of judges don't like at all: "this isn't Help the Aged, you know?" says one.

Seems the experts think these competitions are about who's the best at the particular skill, whereas the public seem to know the show (and thus the vote) are about something different and broader.

The Guardian quotes Fanofdancing on the BBC discussion boards who notes:

   

"This programme is called Strictly Come Dancing not Strictly Entertainment. If it's a popularity        
    contest then why bother to have any dancing at all? People who think it's funny to vote for him are     spoiling the competition for those who are lovers of dance"

Clive Hurt, Ballroom dancing teacher says much the same:

   

"He is a good social dancer, but for him to go to the final would be like a pensioner competing at         the European athletics. It might be rather enchanting, but it wouldn't be right."

Doesn't this have echoes in marketing and politics: if something gets to be popular it's likely to do so for other reasons than it's early afficionados - the experts -think.

The experts would probably say that the Public weren't being very wise - were not very good at distinguishing good from bad ballroom dancers - but I think having seen JS at work, I think they're just playing a different game all together...

Doesn't this have echoes in all kinds of places: experts think it's their game; the crowd knows otherwise but we in marketing and management always go looking for experts...

Thinking by doing

Pic c/o Keith. Hat tip Tony.

3 times this week thinking by doing and Lego have collided in my little world. By thinking by doing, I mean getting down to do things rather than a. thinking about them before doing them b. prioritising thinking and talking over doing stuff. IMHO too much energy and effort going into these things in marketing management and politics.

First, over lunch last Sunday with the brilliant and delightful Cecilia (her experience there has stimulated some pioneering thoughts on why doing things together with customers is better than thinking it all through by yourself )

Second, at David Gauntlett's inaugural professorial lecture, 500 peeps found themselves playing with a mini lego set. It's a technique he's adapted as an alternative to Q&A methods for social research

Third, at Beersphere on Thursday with the lovely Rachel and her new colleague Tony: how planning has got stuck in the intellectuall (vs. practical) trap that dogs all kinds of strategy work. Worse, it's obsessed with messaging (not surprising given it's origins in ad agencies of the late 60s) and how much more fun being involved indoing and making stuff together ..(thanks to tony for the link to Lego Mario Making)

So next time you find yourself reaching for the communications tools or the strategic plan, why don't you reach for the little coloured bricks (literally or metaphorically)? Do summat!

Free gift: that Eddie Izzard Lego Star Wars thing again - why don't you pretend it's all about how useless talking is...

On the Alltop

Pic c/o Wordle.net

Very flattered to find Herd is included in Guy Kawasaki's Alltop aggregated lists of best sites, not once but three times: under social media, marketing and psychology

Yay! Wonder what I've done to deserve that...

Do the math

Pic c/o hwupdate.org

Ben Goldacre - Mr Bad Science - has a nice piece in today's Guardian on how poor we are at maths and how this can lead us to make pretty poor decisions about medicines. [Much better headline at Ben's blog than online, btw. Hence the picture]

Daniel Kahnemann's Nobel Prize-winning work (with Tversky) on our (ir)rational decision-making was as much based on work with scientists and doctors as with their patients. As John Allen Paulos discovered: A Mathematician Plays the Markets is the story of how he lost his shirt on Enron, World.com etc, despite being a brilliant mathematician.

Some obvious applications of this insight include:
Super-brainy sharp-suited city types who herd and flock vs. Warren Buffet
"Here comes the science bit"
How we overestimate crime rates
How we respond to rare but terrible events

Terrible or just Unlikely?

Child protection big in UK news at the moment.

These terrible cases lead to a lot of head-shaking and hand-wringing and cries of something must be done.

Interesting comment this morning from an academic (details tbc) on BBC R4 who has conducted a review of 2 years or so of such cases:

1. while these cases are terrible, the level in the UK is compatible with other countries
2. contrary to the impression given by the media, such cases remains really, really rare

Interesting how without comparative data, our perception of this kind of thing can get distorted

And how we still - even with the numbers laid out so - find it shocking that unusual things do happen.

Either way you look at it, our grasp of probability is not very good.

"Something must be done", we say...to reduce the infrequent occurrence of really infrequent events...

Free gift: influence and how things really spread

Earlier this year, Alex and I presented a description of how things really spread through human populations, based on what contemporary behavioural science tells us.

Now we've written it up for Admap and for the next month, you can Download BentleyEarlsAdmap*

For me, the neat thing about this is turns our obsession with influence and influencers and our assumption that marketing is something we do to people (or even with people - it's better understood as something we do to help their social interaction) upside down. And it explains why the stuff that we've been discussing as a community are so powerful - giving folk stuff to do together, helping them see each other, making their interaction more interesting...etc etc

Let me know what you think!

BTW if you haven't caught up with Hugh's latest go at the Blue Monster view of this thinking, then do so immediately. Here.

*Reproduced with permission of Admap, the world’s primary source of strategies for effective advertising, marketing and research. To subscribe visit www.admapmagazine.com.  © Copyright Admap.

Faster horses

Pic c/o Getty Images

Go here to read JP's latest musings on how we're having to fundamentally change our thinking in business. Not, it's worth noting because of the new technology, but because of the deeper shift that that technology represents and facilitates: the shift from making things in factories to making things with people. From creative to co-creative capitalism

Great stuff, as ever

Lessons from Obama - Leadership or Followership?

Don't see any slowdown in the "lessons from Obama" stories on- or offline.

Seems like his success has become the Apple or Nike of commentary in politics, media, society, marketing - you name it, he's a great hook to hang your prejudice on.

What I'd like to add to the conversation is this: lots of talk about him as a leader and what his leadership style will teach us - lots of debate during the election whether or not he was a suitable person to occupy the White House

BUT...(you felt that was coming didn't you?)

...very little about us.

You see we tend to look at the singular thing - and its unique or special qualities - to explain an unusual outcome; we love to project out there rather than look at the real causes of this unexpected state of affairs - us and our interaction with each other.

It's always been about us - as the man repeatedly pointed out

His campaign was built on facilitating us - what's 'yes we can' about if not this?

His programme is about us - and not about him

That's what the turnout levels so surprising - he got us to do his marketing for him

So, when you're asked to ponder his "leadership" qualities, try seeing it from our point of view - as followers

We follow each other all the time: vertically as in authorities and leaders we chose together but always and more importantly, horizontally in terms of the people we see around us. Copying by another name

Followership, though doesn't sound that cool in business - as if it's worth $billions in remuneration - so no wonder business schools don't teach it but prefer "leadership" instead

Followership doesn't sound as cool as "influence" - what the singular folk are supposed to do to us.

Followership doesn't sound the thing for addressing the big issues that we face; bring on individual heroics every time

But remember that dull and uninspiring 'followership' is what got us where we are as a species.
As that recent letter in New Scientist put it:

    "Many animals mimic each other's behaviour but we do it more often and with greater fidelity. Our     compulsive copying encodes collective knowledge into our society, and it is really our society that         possesses humanity's 'intelligence'"

Extraordinary individual that Obama is, extraordinary unlikely the path that took him to the Oval office, just remember it's our followership, of each other and of the ones we choose to lead us that make him so...

AOC2 is here...

Pic c/o the Great Armano

Oops, forgot to post on this

Drew and Gavin have done a great job in pulling together another charity compendium of bloggers' thinkpieces about the Age of Conversation.

Available here for download or order hardcopies (some probs with hard copies still being resolved by our leaders)

Well done to all of these boys and girls. 

Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Chris Brown, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Schawbel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Dave Davison, David Armano, David Berkowitz, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne & Todd Cabral, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, John Herrington, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kristin Gorski, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tim Brunelle, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem

Go get yourself at least one copy - a download today and a hardcopy for later, maybe? It's for Variety, the kids charity, after all

More half-thoughts on Binge Drinking

Lots of noise again in the UK media today re proposals by Commons Home Select Committee to persuade the UK government to outlaw cheap booze in order to reduce Binge Drinking

Some rough international comparisons here which point (inexorably) to the conclusion we highlighted earlier in the summer that binge-drinking is a socio-cultural issue. And yes, copying lies at the heart of it...

Paul Ormerod's study for the AA on the matter might be worth a revisit, methinks, for policy makers and their pals. Or maybe, just reading around the subject might help

Strong whiff of "something-must-be-done" politics though, isn't there?

[Of course, it's nice to know that the police who are behind the report are ignoring social explanations and preferring and old school economic analysis. Bless! Hope Obama has better advisers than this...BTW who was that shouty woman on the Today programme this morning?]

Recycling as a sales tool

Those lovely people at howies have got a great new promotion going about recycling your old denim (til Dec 1st in Carnaby Street)

Another great social gesture from a brand who knows what it is for...

Spot the Socialist

Meant to post on this over the last week or so, but didn't find the right moment. Reads particularly insightful now with a whole week's hindsight...

Like most non-American observers I have been struck by the repeated Repulican accusations that the Junior Senator form Illinois was a rabid (boo-hiss) socialist...spreading wealth around etc...

As this typically urbane New Yorker piece points out, the actual difference in fiscal policy was minor (4.6% of total tax burden) and affects only those earning whopping big amounts (as Barack himself pointed out repeatedly). And it's primarily created by letting the bush tax-cuts for the super rich lapse...

But it's not the inability to interrogate the policy details and 'do the math' that is surprising to  european eyes; no, it's the fact that a group of folk so keen on community and mutuality should see sharing resources and wealth around such a bad thing. Guess it's not about the thing after all...

I find this clash between the individualist and social traits in US culture repeatedly surprising - between self-determination, independence and collectivist conformist ideas. Socialism's just one pressure point.

While you ponder this, here's a new game: spot the American Socialist

"...we’re set up, unlike other states in the union, where it’s collectively Alaskans own the resources. So we share in the wealth when the development of these resources occurs"

"wealthy people can afford more...[]because they can afford tax lawyers and all kinds of loopholes, really don’t pay nearly as much as you think they do.”

"Here’s what I really believe: That when you reach a certain level of comfort, there’s nothing wrong with paying somewhat more"

PS none of these is a Democrat

The Economist on Social Media and airlines

Pic c/o Richard Turgoose

That normally sane guide to all things business seems to have missed the point entirely in its comments on the latest UK-based airline to struggle with its staff 'mis'-using social media.

While BA are happy to use t'web to transmit stuff to us, they don't like it when their own staff find it useful to air their dislike and disdain for customers.

Virgin Atlantic had the same problem with Facebook a while ago, you might recall...

So what does the Economist suggest: monitor, regulate and stamp out misuse.

Pretend the conversation isn't happening (when it will be somewhere), rather than bothering to do something about the problems which lie behind the kwetsching.

They just don't get it, do they?

Social origin of good ideas

Pic c/o Knowledge news

Nice piece that Gareth has pointed out to us from the Clay archives on how many innovative ideas seem to be bridging responses to "social holes..."

"People focus on activities inside their own group, which creates holes in the information flow of information across structural holes. People with contacts in separate groups broker the flow of information across structural holes. Brokerage is social capital in that brokers have a competitive advantage in creating value with projects that integrate otherwise separate ways of thinking or behaving.

Much of the paper is focused on structural holes in business settings, arguing that brokers create much of the value we associate with innovation"

Another example of how together we're smarter even than the smartest one amongst us...

A week is a long time in...

 Pic from coffee shop in Queens Park, Northwest London, earlier today Hat tip Ros

...geopolitics

One of the things that a number of folk inside the US haven't really got is quite how unpopular their country and its citizens have become in recent years. In some ways fairly so, in other ways less so (as we follow what those around us do and say)

And how unhelpful this unpopularity is to everybody concerned

In the last couple of days, 2 or 3 American friends have acknowledged to me how it's now no longer embarrassing to be American (and proud) outside the States; we too have changed our minds about you (as the picture shows)

Of course, each nation and grouping has to be prepared to defend its own interests (especially when these interests are threatened) but ultimately this is a connected world - economically, politically and emotionally. We're going to have to solve the very real problems we all face, together.

There's a sense here in London that our friends over there are led by someone who gets this.

UPDATE: nice piece at desedo on what it feels like to be young, American and newly proud