Welcome to the 64th edition of The Three Things, the weekly update of three links, podcasts, videos, or books you can’t miss – from Howie Goldfarb (Blue Star Strategic Marketing), Joe Cardillo (Visual.ly), and yours truly.
For those of you new to this series, The Three Things arrives in your inbox on Sunday mornings (unless you don’t subscribe, but that can easily be fixed if you hurry over and enter your email address or add to your RSS feed) so you have some extra time to spend perusing the obscure content we’ve curated for you (and one another) before your week begins and deadlines, meetings, and work takes over.
Today we explore talent and dumb luck, the art and science behind language usage, and The New Yorker, one magazine that never let’s you down.
Imaginative Photographer Lands World-Tour Job at Coke
Howie on It Takes More Than Dumb Luck. For every Hollywood Star who makes it after being ‘discovered’ there are 100 who have friends, family, etc., getting them in the business. That said, they still have to be decent actors (ok Billy Baldwin doesn’t count, he only had to have a cute smile). So if you figure there are maybe 1000 working actors making it on TV and movies, maybe, maybe 10 of those were randomly discovered. Most who make it in any form have ivy league degrees, or major stints in theater. It takes more than just dumb luck. It takes talent (though luck helps!).
What I love about this story is that luck was involved. BUT holy COW he is talented and Coke would of been dumb not to take this obvious Brand Advocate and hire him! Dream job landed. Was he ‘just lucky’? You decide.
Words to Avoid (or Use with Care) Because They Are Loaded or Confusing
Joe on The Art and Science of Precise Language. Do you know GNU? If you’re not familiar, they are responsible for some very well used free, open source software. I bookmarked this post from them a while back and keep coming back to it, not because it provides the definitive version of over-used words like ‘content,’ ‘monetize,’ and ‘digital rights,’ but more because it asks all the right questions.
Unless you’re an intellectual property (IP) hawk or studying the law, you probably use many of these terms interchangeably (I know I do). For those of us in marketing, PR, and content it’s easy to forget that language matters and there is both an art and science to speaking and writing precisely.
The Thirteen Most-Read New Yorker Magazine Stories of 2013
Lindsay on Quality Content. I love The New Yorker. And not just for their insanely smart and funny cartoons. I can’t afford a subscription however, so I dip in and out online, or read it at my doctor’s office. I think in my next life I’ll be a doctor, just so I can afford The New Yorker. Anyhow, it’s a quality magazine, and every edition they publish has at least two or three really solid, thought provoking articles. I’ve had the above link open since December 23rd, so I don’t forget to read these articles. I actually tried to scan through and pick just one for you – but couldn’t. So, now you can curl up in a comfy chair, have a second cup of coffee, and enjoy. I’ll be doing the same.
Now it’s your turn. Is there a book, podcast, article, TV show, blog post, or story we should read?