Brevity is the Key (aka Why Twitter Works)

If you've been following the explosive growth of Twitter, you may wonder why it's grown so fast and become so popular. Well, let me add my opinion to the heap 'o opinions on Twitter.

First off, for those who claim it's a fad--don't believe 'em. Twitter is here to stay.

Many years ago, when I was a DJ at WQUE-FM in New Orleans (aka 'Q93'), our Program Director, Jay Stevens, used to review airchecks of the entire airstaff on a weekly basis. His favorite expression was, "Remember, brevity is the key." He constantly emphasized that he wanted all of his DJs to get their point across in as short amount of time/fewest words as possible. Ideally, he didn't want his DJs to speak for longer than 7 seconds (!) at a time, as he wanted us to get our listeners 'back to the music' as quickly as possible. While many of us at the time thought his philosophy was a bit extreme (not to mention the bruising of our egos), the growing popularity of Twitter has reminded me of him and that time early on in my broadcasting career.

The beauty of Twitter is that everyone has to get to their point quickly, i.e., cut to the chase. If you want to elaborate further and/or disseminate additional information, you can easily do so by directing folks to your blog, or a published article (be it your own or someone else's), video, audio, etc.

Simply put, it works. Twitter really has nothing to do with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). It has everything to do with how much information and media we all are now constantly bombarded with these days, especially since the expansion of satellite media services (DirecTV, Sirius radio), cable TV networks, and the Internet/World Wide Web, which includes e-mail, social media, text messaging and more, of course. Add the instant availability of all of this information via mobile devices such as the iPhone, BlackBerry, and it's a challenge for anyone to digest and sort through the constant stream of information and entertainment options.

Twitter condenses virtually all of that into short, 140 character maximum bursts, making it a 'quick read' to get up to speed on most things of interest to you, and then you can decide what you want to 'deep dive' into and explore further. Think of it as a new 'My Yahoo' home page.

The days of a single daily newspaper and 3 TV networks have long since fallen by the wayside, of course, and the emergence and current reality of information overload has challenged all of us.

Enter Twitter. It simply came along at the right time and place. Note I don't have any kind of equity stake in Twitter (although I wish I did!), or personally know Evan Williams or Biz Stone, the founders of Twitter.

In today's world, we all need to get our point(s) across as quickly as possible, because all of us have too many other data streams/information to get to and digest in our busy lives, and human beings still need to sleep, and do various other things with their lives in between that.

Thus, my old Program Director, Jay Stevens, was right, and, actually, way ahead of his time. Twitter is the brevity key we've been looking for the last few years.

That's Mark's Mark for today. Have a great week.

Two Kinds Of Jobs For This Economy

Seeing the news that Oracle is swooping in to buy Sun Microsystems after IBM pulled the plug on their attempted M&A reminds me of what a shrewd, sharp person Larry Ellison is. Since I've lived in Silicon Valley, opinions, both pro and con, on Ellison run a wide gamut.



Love him or hate him (or if your opinion on him is somewhere in between), you must respect him for how he's not only built Oracle into the powerhouse that it is, but for how he keeps it that way.



I know and have worked with many ex-Oracle employees over the years, and always remember this commentary about Ellison that one of them shared with me several years ago when discussing what really counts in the business world. I think it's always relevant, but especially so in today's economy.



I don't know if Ellison still roams the hallways at his Redwood Shores, CA headquarters, but at one time years ago, he did. When he was roaming the twin towers, he was known to approach an employee ad hoc and ask them a simple question: "I have two kinds of employees that work for me--those who make product, and those who sell product--which are you?"



Legend has it that if your answer was neither "I make product," nor "I sell product," then you were soon afterwards shown the door.



True story? I've never had an opportunity to confirm this with Ellison, but more than one of my ex-Oracle colleagues have sworn to me it's accurate, and that's sufficient for me to believe it.



Point is, in this unprecedented 'great recession' we're in, I think it behooves many (if not all of us) to consider that question, and determine whether either answer applies. If neither one applies to you, you may indeed have reason to be concerned.



In these times, being able to demonstrate that you make a direct, tangible contribution in helping to improve your employer's bottom line is probably the most important thing anyone can do to ensure their and their company's survival--not just now, but over the long term, too.



The point here is that people can easily lose sight of why a business is in business in the first place. If you're nervous about your job security these days (and who isn't), examine what your role within your company is, and whether you can confidently answer Ellison's question with either of his two acceptable answers.



If your answer is "something else," you may be finding yourself "looking for something else" in the not too distant future.



That's Mark's Mark for today. Have a good (and prosperous) week.

Perception Really Is Reality

I'm intrigued by the constant stream of 'news' and information regarding the state of not just the U.S., but also the global economy. When you really start to drill down and think about it, how much of what you read and hear is actually factual information, as opposed to opinion?

It's that constant stream of negative opinion, in my humble opinion, that is having great bearing on our current economic state. I'm not an economist, but when you think about it, if everything you hear about the economy is negative in tone, does that inspire you to spend any of your money? Granted, certain facts are indisputable, namely, all of the bad mortage loans various financial institutions made the past few years. That created problems, sure. But when you look at what's happened overall, it's mainly the perception by many that things are so bad, or, more so, going to "continue to get worse before they get better," as many pundits, so-called experts, even President Obama for that matter, proclaim, rather than facts, or reality, that's keeping the economy from recovering right now.

Separate fear and opinions from facts, and maybe the reality isn't as bad as some insist on making it appear to be.

I share this because a lot of what PR practitioners do is create positive perceptions. When people feel good about something, they're bound to follow it, spend money to buy it, view it, etc., etc. You get the picture.

When people's perception of the economy is that it's turning around/becoming better, only then will things actually, in fact, become better. People, businesses large and small, including banks, all need to feel the economy is getting better before they'll start spending money, loaning money, and thinking positive again. Fact is, until all of those parties actually start spending and loaning money, nothing will change.

Like I said, perception really is reality.

Well, here goes...something

Greetings, and welcome to my blog, Mark’s Mark. So I figured, hey, better late than never as far as entering the blogosphere. That said, thought I’d start off with what I believe in (courtesy of an e-mail from my dear Aunt Betty):

Things I believe

A Birth Certificate shows we were born,
A Death Certificate shows we died

In between, I Believe...

Just because two people argue, doesn't mean they don't love each other, and just because they don't argue, doesn't mean they do love each other.

I Believe...We don't have to change friends if we understand friends change.


I Believe....No matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I Believe...True friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.

I Believe...You can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.


I Believe...It's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I Believe...You should always leave loved ones with loving words..It may be the last time you see them.

I Believe...You can keep going long after you think you can't.

I Believe...We are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I Believe...Either you control your attitude or it controls you.


I Believe...Heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of consequences.

I Believe...Money is a lousy way of keeping score.


I Believe...My best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.


I Believe...Sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to help you get back up.


I Believe...Sometimes when I'm angry, I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.


I Believe...Maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them, and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.


I Believe...It isn't always enough to be forgiven by others; sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.


I Believe...No matter how bad your heart is broken, the world doesn't stop for your grief.


I Believe...Our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for whom we become.


I Believe...You shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.


I Believe...Two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.


I Believe...Your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.

I Believe...Even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.


I Believe...Credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.


I Believe...The people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.


I Believe.....You should send this to all of the people you believe in.


The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of anything.

And that’s Mark’s Mark for today. More, hopefully, to come.