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Minimum Viable Personality (2011)

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Re: Minimum Viable Personality (2011)

#11

Post by ebiester »

bebna wrote: post #4

Aww, I hoped for a talk about presenting the minimal needed personality as an introverted coworker to his team.

That's both easy and hard.

It's not that extroverts are magically better than a neurotypical introvert, but rather that extroverts have had more practice. The irony is that I can see an introvert be quite extroverted during a D&D session, because it's a place they have practiced their social skills.

For neurotypical people, I don't believe in extroverts versus introverts per se, but rather practiced with a social group versus unpracticed.

For most people, authenticity and vulnerability is the way to go. I am a goofball, and I present as such. I've brought juggling balls to standup (and also juggled remotely) and people smile. (I'm not a great juggler.) My coworkers know that I don't watch much TV or movies because I don't like them, so they can do all the spoilers without worrying about me.

When showing your personality, it's about what to hold back rather than presenting something that isn't part of you. (For example, if your personality involves illegal activities, that shouldn't show up at work.) Personality should never be about presenting something you're not. Be you to everyone, just not all of you.

But don't try to be something that is not you.

Fortunately, the rest is just observation and practice.

Re: Minimum Viable Personality (2011)

#12

Post by ed312 »

asdgionbionio wrote: post #8
ed312 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Marketing absolutely works - and the great news is you can advertise or market your product differently to different groups of people. You may loathe them, but sales and marketing folks are in demand for a reason.

I don't dispute that it works. I claim that the fact that it works is a bad thing. It is actively bad for the buyer and, even for the seller, is probably zero-sum.

Why is it bad? People (or companies) become aware of products that may solve their needs. Marketing does not mean "shut off your brain and buy our product" - it can simply be to raise awareness. You still need to do your own personal due diligence on any product or service you purchase.

Re: Minimum Viable Personality (2011)

#13

Post by tosh »

As markets get more crowded and people’s attention span shorter it really helps to think more about branding and positioning.

Interesting read: Positioning, the battle for your mind

Re: Minimum Viable Personality (2011)

#14

Post by DanielBMarkham »

RodgerTheGreat wrote: post #10
asdgionbionio wrote: post #5

What are we doing to ourselves? If you were in the market for a new pair of shoes, what would be the sensible thing to do to get the best pair? Would you look at the glitzy ads, or would you try to choose something that is durable and comfortable for its price? Would you compare celebrity endorsements or spec sheets? There's no one in their right mind who would say the right way to buy a computer is to look at advert…

Social media seems to have created an environment where, more than ever, individuals apply the ideology of marketing to their entire lifestyle and thought process. You are your personal brand, and you must work to manipulate how others see you. The ad economy strives to turn everyone into an advertiser. Unfortunately, this philosophy of instrumentality is effective. How would we as a society put marketing back inside…

Yep. I tell people that Seth Godin won. Now everybody is doing whatever they can to create a tribe.

Unfortunately, while this might have been a great marketing strategy five years ago, it doesn't scale -- and it makes a horrible mess out of dialectical conversation.

Re: Minimum Viable Personality (2011)

#15

Post by swills »

keiferski wrote: post #2

This short talk by Steve Jobs communicates the same idea in a far more eloquent manner, IMO. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNYbcqyyj68 Edit: (long) transcript with minor edits by me: To me….marketing is about values. This is a very complicated world. It’s a very noisy world. And we’re not going to get a chance to get people to remember much about us. No company is! And so, we have to be really clear on what we want…

Ironically, the shoes that Steve Jobs wore along with his trademark jeans and black sweater were New Balance.

Re: Minimum Viable Personality (2011)

#16

Post by asdgionbionio »

ed312 wrote: post #12
asdgionbionio wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't dispute that it works. I claim that the fact that it works is a bad thing. It is actively bad for the buyer and, even for the seller, is probably zero-sum.

Why is it bad? People (or companies) become aware of products that may solve their needs. Marketing does not mean "shut off your brain and buy our product" - it can simply be to raise awareness. You still need to do your own personal due diligence on any product or service you purchase.

>People (or companies) become aware of products that may solve their needs.

Who doesn't know what Coca-Cola is? Who doesn't know what a Macbook is? Who doesn't know what Disney is? Who doesn't know that Ford makes trucks? Who doesn't know that Budweiser makes beer?

You have a theoretical justification for advertisement. If you actually switch on your TV, you will see almost entirely advertisements for products you already know of that are making a purely emotional appeal.

Look at these companies:

https://www.businessinsider.com/10-biggest-advertising-spend...

Every company is a household name.

Look at these ads:

https://www.adsoftheworld.com/collection/2018_super_bowl_com...

How many of them inform you of something you've never heard of? How many of them make a logical argument rather than just baffling you with bullshit?

Re: Minimum Viable Personality (2011)

#17

Post by shunders »

asdgionbionio wrote: post #5

What are we doing to ourselves? If you were in the market for a new pair of shoes, what would be the sensible thing to do to get the best pair? Would you look at the glitzy ads, or would you try to choose something that is durable and comfortable for its price? Would you compare celebrity endorsements or spec sheets? There's no one in their right mind who would say the right way to buy a computer is to look at advert…

Hardly anyone is capable of drawing meaningful conclusions from comparing specs and functionality between computers. Advertisements are the way the vast majority of people understand what products can do. There's a reason iPhone commercials focus exclusively on some single, insignificant functionality like a facial recognition emoji generator.

Re: Minimum Viable Personality (2011)

#18

Post by asdgionbionio »

shunders wrote: post #17
asdgionbionio wrote: post #5

What are we doing to ourselves? If you were in the market for a new pair of shoes, what would be the sensible thing to do to get the best pair? Would you look at the glitzy ads, or would you try to choose something that is durable and comfortable for its price? Would you compare celebrity endorsements or spec sheets? There's no one in their right mind who would say the right way to buy a computer is to look at advert…

Hardly anyone is capable of drawing meaningful conclusions from comparing specs and functionality between computers. Advertisements are the way the vast majority of people understand what products can do. There's a reason iPhone commercials focus exclusively on some single, insignificant functionality like a facial recognition emoji generator.

>Hardly anyone is capable of drawing meaningful conclusions from comparing specs and functionality between computers.

No one is capable of drawing meaningful conclusions by comparing advertisements.

A salesman is supposed to walk the customer through these sort of things. The problem is that salesmen at big-box stores like Best Buy are neither knowledgeable nor trustworthy.

Re: Minimum Viable Personality (2011)

#19

Post by NeedMoreTea »

dundercoder wrote: post #6
asdgionbionio wrote: post #5

What are we doing to ourselves? If you were in the market for a new pair of shoes, what would be the sensible thing to do to get the best pair? Would you look at the glitzy ads, or would you try to choose something that is durable and comfortable for its price? Would you compare celebrity endorsements or spec sheets? There's no one in their right mind who would say the right way to buy a computer is to look at advert…

While I agree wholeheartedly, I have found it’s not enough to have a great product, especially when you’re new and small. I loathe marketing, but I have no clue how to get around it.

Find a hobby magazine (those paper things) from the 80s or 90s. Doesn't have to be in tech. Look at any of the ads.

Most will be impressively boring and bad. There'll be a few stand out ones promoting style, brand, image over substance, the car ads that say nothing of the car but show 50 miles of empty road, the feeling you get from being the Marlboro Man etc.

We gave everyone enough awareness of marketing to feel everyone has to do style over substance. The brand must have personality, the image must convey the right feelings. Ugh. Everyone is an internet marketer/huckster A/B tester now. Yeah, but what does the product do? Who cares? Just buy^Wlease it.

I truly miss the innocence of small business ads of yesteryear. Many of them were even honest. Now you just need to have the right image - Theranos, Goop. I loathe what we've all had to become, just to stand still.

Re: Minimum Viable Personality (2011)

#20

Post by rexreed »

asdgionbionio wrote: post #5

What are we doing to ourselves? If you were in the market for a new pair of shoes, what would be the sensible thing to do to get the best pair? Would you look at the glitzy ads, or would you try to choose something that is durable and comfortable for its price? Would you compare celebrity endorsements or spec sheets? There's no one in their right mind who would say the right way to buy a computer is to look at advert…

In an era of replaceable products with almost identical functionality and equal lifespan, especially among software companies, personality breeds loyalty, which enables longevity.

Simply having functions and features is not enough of a guarantee you will survive when functions and features are easily copied.

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