Recession-> Regression-> Revolution

Consider the usual cycle of career development: College networking, The Career fairs, interviews, disappointments, appointment letters, the thrill of the hunt.
Consider the surprises brought in by the current economic situation: You're thrown out of comfort, being a middle aged person, this isn't what you want. But being someone younger, even a 28 year old, this is probably turning out to be a good thing for you, isn't it? Maybe not as secure or much of an ego booster, but surely is a bit of a different step.

The recession is having an impact that wasn't to be expected. Careers are blossoming in different places, people are becoming increasingly social, based on their needs and their new hunt for exploiting the job market. Companies are finding newer ways of increasing productivity despite axing thousands of employees, creating newer cost structures that help focus on the future. Home prices are at a low and people are moving in. I'm positive that seeing the current growth in the real estate market despite the heavy slide, it's looking a lot better on the outset than it was a few months ago.

A few months more and we'll see a lot more analysts and economists coming up with newer, more radical and different economic structures and policies. The government of the USA stepped in, and many people see it as an intrusion into the capitalist economy, but I see it as a much needed reminder of what money really means. The cash flow around wall street, easy lending and dirtier, murkier practices are washing away as everyone would expect, but now is the time when adopting radical changes will be easy for organizations.

The markets are changing, and the entire selling process is redefining itself. People want to save, want to learn how to save. They want to get out and learn more about jobs and companies, twitter about their smaller businesses, consultancies as well as network more with their peers. The slump that came in due to the onset of facebook and other internet based communication portals is seeing a slight relief. People are going to mixers, talking more to their managers and participating actively in Performance Management reports and trying to learn more about their future careers.

The middle class has been affected adversely, but the best part about our new global economy and the brilliance of social networking and media is that there are now more avenues open for better channels of creativity, self employment, improvement in services, costs and savings and a MUCH NEEDED wake up call for the youth. Where's the money you earned over the summer going? Do you need a new dress every 2 weeks? Can you discipline yourself, train yourself for this eventuality? Are you supporting your parents who've spent quite a while supporting you?


There's a murky overcast over many things that hasn't budged much, but being young and foolish I'm starting to see the rainbow already.

Marketing where you missed it: John Mayer

This is a new blog series about marketing brains whirring where you didn't see it. Today's catch is my favorite guitarist, John Mayer

'Keep me where the light is...'

You don't really see a man being more obvious about what he wants and how he wants it. John Mayer's music is popular in a variety of forms- the smooth voice crooning cheesy pop numbers about bodies, wonderlands, beds and comfort, the charismatic bluesman with his SRV licks and Hendrix covers and the Reggae/Soul vibe on his last studio effort Continuum. No wait, I forgot the new Twitter Radio show host, Tabloid fodder and quiet humanitarian.

But the Twitter side of it is really what's got him ticking the numbers on his following. JM has succeeded in creating a new image, of someone very conversational, throwing out new ideas for threads, discussions, twitter 'games' and interacting with his fans in unconventional ways. Currently recording a new album, he decided that it was too much to stake during these times to drop of a fan's radar. Not that it's the only reason for his obsession, but it is a rather strong plus side. Reading his thoughts on a daily, hourly basis help him create a new way of selling records and promoting live shows by giving the inside scoop. Recently, he even broadcasted his favorite music on iTunes radio late in the night.

Marketing in motion, and in a very textbook way. A brand needs to be ubiquitous, unerringly visible and draw a crowd on appearance. Information exchange is essential, but making it as personal as possible is the real mantra to selling it. What do you need? A platform for easy sharing of information, readily available feedback, an insane reach as well as crisp delivery matched with the right curiosity.
JM as a musician does the exact same thing. Before Continuum, he toured in Clubs in LA, broadcasting shows on youtube and MSN, generating a greater buzz about his new music. Before that, his live DVD 'Any Given Thursday' bring out his humorous side, creating another dimension to the brand. Classy logos, nice merchandise and a penchant for women the world wants to sleep with create controversy, curiosity and an amazing rapport with fans: Either hate, appreciation, love or genuine respect. (I fall into the latter, but more for the technical beauty of his playing combined with a great talent to fuse many genres together in a record.)

What's the point? JM has, in his own way, built a brand around his music, and I think rather purposefully. His sensibilities in his music prompt quieter album artwork and minimalistic CD packages. He matches his shiny guitar with shiny cruises in the summer, exploiting the Carribean seas to lend a vibe to his guitar playing, inviting fans to spend a week with him at sea (MayerCraft Carrier). He's marked his presence well and exploited his talent fully by selling it the right way.

A rather interesting case study to have, brand John Mayer.

BattleStudies Action Report: JM's blog: http://www.johnmayer.com/battlestudies/
JM Twitter page: http://twitter.com/johncmayer

Google in the ring: Why we love it

Why is Google in the dictionary? Why is it on every page on the internet in some form, be it minor searches to advertisements? Why is it a monopolistic search company who is now raiding cellphones (Android), Operating Systems (Chrome OS), Web Browsers(Chrome), e-mail protocols (Google Wave), Desktop applications so easily and gaining such mass support and a rabid following?

Google started the revolution with search. 10 years ago, 'alta-vista-ing' something because it was all pretty much useless. Search was never seamless, using sequences was knowledge to a few and never being as relevant as intended to be. Then Google came out, rather quietly for a while and then eventually capturing the market over a short timespan (love this link, hidden gem) and slowly capturing advertising, powering searches for other websites and becoming the most prominent website of our time.
We know what they did. They took on Yahoo! and Microsoft with Gmail, a surprisingly efficient email service, made file sharing easy with Docs, created open source platforms against MS Office, Photo editing with Picasa and became arguably the greatest intangible Goliath of our time.

Why do we love Google? Because it does the David role every few weeks. Google goes out and let's everyone know, 'HEY! We have a handle on this Web right here. And now, we want to be on your computer as a browser, as a desktop search client and eventually run the whole damn thing for you. And we'll do it better than Microsoft.' People gasp, there is applause from the rebels and the old people (read: tech blog editors) frown, smile and start pulling loopholes.
But Google gets the talk, pushes the stock and gets ideas from the people, when they start imagining what it would look like. Google is doing what everyone wants to do: Go up to the leading man, show them a finger or two and start a new focus, a new line, new innovation. Google made smart decisions by taking over the pioneers of many fields (YouTube stands out, so does Blogger) and followed up with massive beta projects, somehow never really missing their mark. It's run by arguably the smartest men in on the web industry and they've really created the sense of a team Google rather than an Eric Schmidt's Google. (Apple, Gates-era Microsoft, anyone?)
This is purely from the perspective of Google's PR and business ideology, the decision of creating mold after mold for their field of dominance and being as aggressive in their models in a much more competitive world than Gates was at his time, when Windows changed our lives and the exact opposite of the quiet,classy conqueror apple.

I can't take sides, I will always be someone who sees Microsoft as an incredible kingdom and Apple as a quaint European town but I see Google as a new promised land in a way. It's hard to predict what will happen with their new moves (Chrome OS could mighty well bomb) and what Windows 7 does to computers, but it's safe to say that Google is a team we love to root for and they surely play the roles of the monopoly and the underdog with some darned good conviction.