Brand Rankings of Luxury and Social Media Competence

I may work for LuxuryLab and therefore hold some bias, but this unprecedented study and subsequent ranking of 109 brands and their digital competency (especially related to the luxury industry) is worth checking out.

Download it here (after spending lots of time on our website where you can stay abreast of luxury news).

Still think I'm biased and trying to coerce you into yet another reading assignment you don't have time for? Then listen to AdAge, Jeremiah Owyang (overall guru, author of Groundswell and partner at Altimeter Group), or Hwanjin 'David' Choi, a Seoul, Korea based Tweeter who said something I don't understand about the Digital IQ Index but marks the first person I know of to spread the research internationally. (Serves me right, for my ignorant American bilingual nature. If his Tweet was negative, at least he was gracious enough to add the link.)

Whatever the case, check it out. If you do anything related to branding or online media it's truly worth your while.

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Awesome New Music Find: UK based master of fun, Jamie T.

The Most Beautiful Piece On Blogging That I Have Ever Read (Now Blogged About)

I've read literally dozens of articles warning people about the negative consequences of blogging. Bloggers are constantly blamed for regurgitating tattered and hackneyed products based on real journalism. Not only that, but critics of blogging believe that the advent of a many to many communication system is forcing us to teach our youth the difference between writing and writing, the bad writing you see online and real literature.

Every now and then I see a reputable publication sharing the opposite perspective, but prior to last month's copy of The Atlantic I hadn't ever seen a piece so beautifully advocating for the pros of blogging. Andrew Sullivan's "Why I Blog" is well worth the read, but for the sake of teasers, check out his introduction below:

"For centuries, writers have experimented with forms that evoke the imperfection of thought, the inconstancy of human affairs, and the chastening passage of time. But as blogging evolves as a literary form, it is generating a new and quintessentially postmodern idiom that’s enabling writers to express themselves in ways that have never been seen or understood before. Its truths are provisional, and its ethos collective and messy. Yet the interaction it enables between writer and reader is unprecedented, visceral, and sometimes brutal. And make no mistake: it heralds a golden era for journalism." -- Andrew Sullivan

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Conceptualized by the founder of NYC's Engine Room Recordings, Guilt By Association is a collection of popular songs covered by indie artists. Think Soft Cell by My Brightest Diamond and Africa by Lowry, whatever the case, these collections put a new spin on the guilty pleasures you've always loved and makes them cool to listen to. This is hipster sound at its best.

Devendra Banhart covering Oasis - "Don't Look Back In Anger"

Invention --> Expansion--> Redefinition

Telegraph companies did not invent the phone. Music companies did not envision the future of the mp3. Print media did not invent the internet. Although I haven't read it, that's my understanding of the basic premise behind John Seabrook's Flash of Genius: and Other True Stories of Invention.

It's almost always an arguably unpredictable outlier that sweeps in and changes the world as we know it. When change does occur though, the doors swing open and fear and instability invade. In our world of exponential information flow, the speed of change is only increasing. But take note, my friends. Video did not kill the radio star. Even today, in a world where video is on TV, DVD, video game consoles, and streaming on the internet as the projected lasting vehicle for optimum promotion, radio still exists. And believe it or not, radio play still makes one huge difference.

And so for everyone who says print is on it's last legs, I vehemently refute. New creations in the media world do not kill. Rather, they expand the amount of information that is delivered. The VCR did not stunt the movie market as originally predicted. Instead it spurred the creation of even more movies.

When the printing press came into existence at around 1440 people were afraid of the consequences. Plato's allegorical Thoth in "Phaedrus" warned against recording knowledge in books, saying that the printing press would destroy the oral tradition of knowledge and pedagogy. This was, according to Katheen Tyner, partly because he wanted to maintain control over how people understood and interpreted exactly what they were being told. But isn't losing an element of control something that the once few media voices are afraid of now that information is on a many to many scale?

Despite all the fear oral communication still exists and people still go to the movies. The advent of new methods for delivering media often changes the mission statement of the old medium, but I will argue that it's usually all for the best. Of course there's nothing good about people losing magazine and newspaper jobs, but this is part of the inevitable growing pains of change. Jobs will move and shuffle and products of the printing press may mean new or different things than they once did. These changes aren't bad though. Thoreau will always be Thoreau and good literature will always hold value.

The advent of new communication mediums have changed our society for thousands of years and will continue to do so at only a more ferocious pace. If I step back to look at the big picture though, I have faith. You can call me blindly optimistic but I would argue that, for the most part, we make these changes in our methods of communication because new mediums give us what we desire.

The virtual community of blogs, mp3's and streaming video stands atop many other means of communication. We made the choice to employ these mediums and moved in this direction because people are empowered, informed, and freed by new media literacies. Like the people who constantly improve the iPhone with the creation of new applications based on what was once desired but just barely unattainable, the advent of new means for transmitting information enable us to do more with our lives.

Now the only matter that's left is figuring out how to best adapt to these changes and use the power we wield in ways that improve society. That part begins now, and the most exciting facet of it all is that we're right in the middle of it. This is the new Enlightenment. May it go down in history as a time of beautiful change.

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Green River Ordinance approaches with cinematic songwriting and a grand, easy sound. Blare them or let them play softly in the background as you fall to sleep, but listen to them at some point or another.

Apex Beat: Introducing

Yesterday, in an absolute flurry of excitement, I began explaining my preliminary plan for a thesis topic and academic journey. In passing, I quickly directed all parties interested in "How Brands Make Meaning in the Modern Media Landscape" to posts threaded by obvious key words, as well as one random tag.

That tag was Apex Beat, and that's the name I have assigned this series of writings. If you see a post of that title, you'll know right away what it's about.

ON THE NAME'S ORIGIN

I've been told that the "Apex Beat" also known as "PMI" (point of maximum impulse), is the point where your heartbeat is most apparent. The name resonated with me immediately, and because it's directly related to strength, pulse, and heart, it only seemed natural.

And so it begins, my Apex Beat.

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For all you music fans, I recently interviewed DJ Haze a mixtape DJ and beat producer who has worked closely with The Game and many others. Haze mentioned that rap is dead because people are stuck in their expired ways for creating music. Southern beats are Southern beats are Southern beats, he argues, and so the industry needs a new face.

DJ Haze argues, and I think he is right, that the revival and resurrection of hip hop lies in someone who dares to be innovative. The new sound is a mixture of the best from not only multiple regions, but multiple music styles.

The Very Best already subscribes and applies this line of thought to their dance floor movers. Check out their mixtape below, and if you liked Vampire Weekend pay special attention to their "CapeKodKwassaKwassa" remix.

So Wanna...Know What Lauren Proctor Studies in Graduate School?

"What is it that you're studying at NYU?" The question in and of itself sounds simple enough. It's a non threatening way to make small talk, but the simple inquiry catches me off guard every time.

For starters, when people ask what other people are studying they usually expect an answer that can be given within a single breath. Marketing, English, Economics, or even Electrical Engineering. Simple, accessible, telling.

I, on the other hand, am affiliated with a program that's title alone contains enough syllables to make you dizzy. When I tell some people that I belong to the Gallatin School of Individualized Studies I see their eyes glaze over in what is either disinterest or absolute confusion. Those that stick with me through that part usually want to know what that means, and I used to think that actually knowing what I was studying would help me describe it to an outsider.

Now I realize that even though I'm beginning to solidify my topic of study, the good ole' twelve second elevator pitch simply leaves people confused and wondering again why I go to NYU. I'm tempted to print out business cards and hand them a link to my blog saying, "If you're really interested read this guide. If not, don't worry about it and thanks for asking."

For everyone who is still reading, here is why I go to NYU:  Within the next year and a half I want to become one of the leading scholars in how brands can make meaning in the modern media landscape.

What exactly, does that mean?  I'll talk a little bit about my theories this evening, but you can rely on periodic (or at least semi periodic) updates on my research right here.  All my posts will be filtered under "Apex Beat," as well as something like "Graduate School," "Marketing," "Brands," "Media," or something along those lines.

In the meantime, I'll tell you the foundation of my studies.  I am convinced that the new digital world in which we live is changing how we live and communicate (to a certain degree).  The media landscape is different than it was in the past, and this transformation is forcing brands to change how they relate and connect to people.

I'm not arguing that traditional TV spots and magazine ads will disappear, but lately I have seen the emergence of a new trend.  People are redefining how they relate to brands, and brands need, in part, to redefine how they reach people.

I want to be part of this revolution.  Not only that, but I want to help foster new ways for brands to create positive, meaningful relationships with consumers.  People shouldn't have to endure advertising, they should be able to enjoy it.  The push, pull of advertisers vs. consumers should be over, and the consumer should always win out.

That is, until brands figure out how to create positive communities and loyalties based on what they offer their consumers.  I believe that in the new digital world the best brands will succeed by creating content driven ideas that engage people at the core of their being and the essence of their passion(s).  In a relevant and meaningful way, brands will become the indispensable facilitator of the type of success people seek, and in doing so everyone will win out.

Brands will send messages in ways that connect consumers, and consumers will get what it is they want.  At least that's the goal formula I plan to crack in a year and a half.  

Stay tuned, and stay aware.  I'll keep you updated right here on this blog, again, under the tag "Apex Beat."

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Academic breakthroughs should be matched with ethereal beats.  Check out Dri, a chilled out female vocalist whose voice swims in the clouds above a dreamy set of musical landscapes.  Think Enya meets M.I.A in the most soothing, underground artsy way possible.

Dri - "You Know I Tried"