Naked Nordic har bidratt til ANFOs artikkelserie “Byråets Stemme”.  Vi tar til orde for at kommunikasjonsbransjen trenger arkitekter, ikke bare håndverkere.   Link: http://www.anfo.no/?nid=20411&lcid=1044

Yepp - då det var dags för det första inlägget på ett annat språk än engelska. Givetvis föll valet på det vackra och poetiska språket svenska ;-). Eventuella klagomål i detta fall riktas till Klagomuren, där du blir hörd.

Så till dagens tema. Hur kan du veta om din blogg är populär och framgångsrik?

Det finns givetvis många olika metoder att mäta en bloggs succe på. Några av dem använder en kvalitativ tillnärmning medan andra är baserade på kvantitativa underlag. Man kan dock på ett förenklat sätt säga att en webblogg blir populär av flera olika anledningar - som:

• Trafik (sidovisningar, & unikt besök)
• Diskussioner (kommentarer, “trackbacks” & “linkbacks“)
• Positionering i sökmotorer (sido rangering - mät här)
• Läsartal (”feed subscriptions” & “blogroll” närvaro)
• Rykte - som egentligen är en mer subjektiv vinkling, baserad på vad folk tycker om en websida. Du är därför välkommen att lämna din kommentar nedan med din subjektiva åsikt om denna artikeln.

Detta var några enkla och väldigt korta punkter som kan hjälpa en att mäta en bloggs populäritet.  

Nu undrar du säkert om Nakeds blogg är populär och framgångsrik…? Det enda vi kan avslöja är att vi har vänt oss till Klagomuren och väntar på att bli hörda…;-)

If you’ve ever had a song stuck in your head, which is also called an earworm, you know how truly annoying it can be. A study conducted by James K. Kellaris at the University of Cincinnati worked with over 1000 participants to break down why songs get stuck in our heads. He found that 99% of the study participants had occasionally experienced earworms. Of these people, 73.7% were most likely to have a song with lyrics stuck in their head. 18.6% got ads or jingle earworms, and 7.7% got earworms of instrumental music.

The question remains of how to get a song out of your head, and although there is no one proven method, there are numerous suggestions to try. In all seriousness, some people, especially the elderly who may have reduced mental function, may get a song so badly stuck for such a lengthy time period, that they benefit from medications like Prozac. For most suffering with an earworm, there are many other ways to get a song out of your head without medication.

Though we might be deluged with ABBA, John Mellencamp, “It’s a Small World” or other simple but repetitive songs in our head, we can mentally turn these tunes down. Very consciously, turn the song down to a whisper volume in your head. If it gets louder again, keep turning it down.

Another trick to get a song out of your head is to go someplace where you can sing or listen to the entire song at full volume. We often only have a part of the song stuck in our head. Singing the entire song releases the brain from the repetition, and it works better than simply listening. It doesn’t matter if you’re a good singer or a truly lousy one. If you don’t have lyrics, you can get the lyrics to just about any song from many sources on the Internet.

If you really don’t want to sing, you might try either physical or mental exercise to get a song out of your head. Try a jog around the block, push-ups or pull-ups, or a few minutes of dancing to your internal song. Alternately, a mental puzzle might get a song out of your head. Play a challenging game of sudoku, do a crossword puzzle, try to solve a Rubik’s cube, or try solving a logic puzzle.

Many advocate having “antidote” songs to get a song out of your head. If you seem plagued with a particularly annoying song, choose another simple song with repetitive lyrics or instrumental simplicity to get a song out of your head. The one downside to the antidote song is it may become your next earworm. Some suggest having an antidote to the antidote in order to keep another song from getting stuck.

If you have to get a song out of your head often, consider some different music choices. First, keep the radio off. Repetitive jingles or play lists can become your next earworms. Second, choose to listen to complexly structured music. If you listen to a band like Rush, or a jazz band like Pat Metheny, you’ll have a hard time keeping up with the time signatures, since they change quickly. Modern composers like Phillip Glass, Bela Bartok or others may help to keep earworms from getting stuck.

Alternately, listen to music that is not Western. For example, gamelan music from Indonesia is so different from Western music that it can often confuse the brain and keep it from sticking on a particular song. Also choose songs without lyrics, as these are least likely to become stuck. Avoid simple instrumentals like the Pachelbel Canon, or the theme songs to films like The Pink Panther or Mission Impossible. The 1812 Overture or The William Tell Overture should also be avoided.

If despite these tricks, you do not get a song out of your head, a degree of acceptance about the matter may help the song go away sooner. Try to ignore the song, like one might ignore background music at work or in an elevator. Sooner or later, your brain will become engaged in something else, which will dislodge the irritating earworm. — wiseGEEK

Props to Anders for sharing the recipe, enabling me to delete «Sammen for livet».

Carrotmob is a non-profit organization that has been created by a guy called Brent Schulkin in San Fransisco. Its only purpose is to improve the world by helping companies embrace socially responsible choices. The primary focus being the environment.

Photo: Founder Brent Schulkin, an aspiring Renaissance Man.

The idea of Carrotmob rests on the notion that the companies won’t be able to resist the profits they bring.

Carrotmob recognizes that companies must make a profit and that is their top priority. Historically, this fact has meant that the environment has suffered, since companies have made more money by harming the planet. Carrotmob will put rewards in place that will make environmental responsibility the more profitable choice and do what Carrotmob wants, not because of negative pressure, or morality, or a boycott, or a petition… What they need is a big juicy carrot.

This is how it works in real life:

Carrotmob creates a large network of consumers. They form partnerships with other larger advocacy groups to use their research and infrastructure. Together they will identify opportunities for improving corporate behavior.

For example, let’s say there’s an environmentally harmful chemical in common brands of soap. Carrotmob then would approach several competing soap companies an explain the problem, to see which of them is willing to eliminate the harmful chemical. They will bid for support. Each company will raise the bar with how much good they are willing to do. Perhaps Company X pledges to remove the chemical. Then Company Y pledges to remove the chemical and reduce factory emissions 20%. And so on. The bigger the network, the further they will be willing to go. Carrotmob accepts the best offer. Company Y agrees to take the steps that are wanted, and then the network make it worth their while with a carrot: Everyone in the network buys millions of dollars worth of their soap, and in the process Company Y gains a wealth of reputation capital as well. The most responsible business decision also gets the most profit.

Consumer democracy using the language of businesses - profit!

Read more about Carrotmob here and their first and very successful stunt.

Photos: From the first Carrotmob campaign in San Fransisco, April 2008.

Time Magazine has launched their annual “Top 100″ issue dedicated to who they regard as the world’s 100 most influential people. The interesting bit, apart from the actual list, is that a number of people that are rather influential themselves, are invited to write profiles of the people in the Top 100. 

Silvio Berlusconi presents George Bush, Stevie Wonder writes about Mariah Carey, Desmond Tutu praises Peter Gabriel, George Clooney gives his views on Brad Pitt&Angelina Jolie. Well, I could go on, but you should check it out yourself. 

Så lurer jeg på om Senior Creative Strategist er litt kort. Kan jeg være direktør for noe også. Jeg ser det fungerer fint for andre selskaper med færre enn tyve ansatte, at det er rom for mange, veldig mange direktører.

Kanskje vi alle kan være direktør for noe og dermed vinne litt ekstra tyngde.

Gjermund S.

Senior Creative Strategist/Direktør for samfunnskontakt

(Jeg har ansvaret for kontakt med samfunnet)