Friday, March 27, 2009

Maybe your industry's failing because you chose not to innovate.


Sorry Sally, but when was the last time you spearheaded anything remotely innovative?


I love love love this post. Mark Newman kills it. Yes everyone is in the throes of The Greatest Depression of Our Times but not everyone has bailout or bust syndrome. No one is predicting the collapse of cell phone providers. I have yet to hear of anyone worried that their iPod warranty will be moot if Apple folds. McDonald's is doing just fine thank you very much. Innovation and value are still prized.


No one is escaping unscathed right now, but newpapers aren't folding because of the recession. They're failing because of Craigslist. And Ebay. And the green movement. Car companies need bailouts because they locked themselves into union contracts and produced SUVs when gas was at $4 a gallon. Magazines were cannibalized by blogs.

The old ways stopped working about a decade ago but supposed prosperity kept lame ducks afloat. Now, to bastardize Warren Buffet, the tide is out and it seems everyone chose to skinny dip. This contraction is survivable, stagnation is not. So make something new, do something interesting, show us a trend we can't predict. People want a connection, a compelling reason to part with their money...so why not give it to them?

Friday, March 6, 2009

In the "win" category...the recession has totally validated Gen X early 90's slackerdom.



Fear not Gen Xers. Your Cocaine and Cobain fueled wanderlust, hatred of the suburbs, and refusal to buy into the Baby Boomer's American Dream have finally paid off.

Owning a home is now nothing but a giant albtross of impending
unemployment . Reaching for the pension and gold watch after 20 years on the factory floor is but a dream. Job hopping is smart and everyone's running a small business called their career.

So dirty beanies off to a generation who's has felt ignored and maligned for far too long. I'll let one of your own summarize it with a rant no one from the "Gossip Girl" generation could ever top...

"We moved to San Francisco and Brooklyn and Mission Hill. We jumped from job to job. Put off marriage. Never bought a place. And we never heard the end of it. We were drifters, they said. Layabouts. No respect for work and real estate or the value of a good pair of cufflinks. But now, in the cold glare of a recession, everything looks different: We've got no house to lose, no career to dash, no school-aged children in need of pricey Wii gaming systems. Not recession-proof, exactly, but recession-resistant, at least."


Well said, slacker.