It probably comes under the law of unintended consequences, but apparently Google allows people to think they’re cleverer than they are. This is because someone believes they know the answer to something; but they don’t. They know they can look up the answer – and confuse that with thinking they’re smart. There’s a big difference. … Continue reading A reminder re ChatGPT…you don’t hire a hammer, you hire a carpenter
Category Archives: messages that matter
Even with ChatGPT, original writing becomes even more valuable
If it’s good enough for Taiwan, should New Zealand adopt some of the same ‘funny’ medicine? Taiwan has, for almost a year, adopted a Covid-strategy of “Humour over Rumour”. Within 20 minutes of false Covid news, the island’s government social media team rebuts and replies in a humorous way. It works on the premise that … Continue reading How about an injection of humour to go with our Covid vaccines?
Finland has a National Day of Failure. Yes, seriously…and as a country we often compare ourselves to, is it an idea we should embrace? For the past 10 years, October 13 is celebrated for failure, because (not unlike New Zealand?), screwing up is frowned upon by Finnish society. It was started by university students who … Continue reading Should we have a National Day of Failure?
…like requesting a picture framer to paint your portrait? There’s a reason we contract specialists to carry out specific jobs. We know they know their stuff. We back their expertise within their domain of knowledge. We’re confident their proficiency will deliver the best result the quickest. For example a General Practitioner doctor can help correct … Continue reading Is asking a designer to uncover your story…
The great temptation is to add more to our business narrative. We’re afraid that if we don’t mention every last little additional detail, we’ll fail to attract the last little potential customer. That’s like adding bling to an elegant suit – detracting and self-defeating Simple is better because extra is superfluous. This is because a … Continue reading Simple stories are simply better business
How do you counter bullshit? Around the world, attacking such hoaxes head on has repeatedly been shown to be hopeless, counterproductive. Well, there’s lessons for all of us in the way Taiwan’s dealing to Coronavirus misinformation. Instead of tackling fake news directly, the 23 million people country, (one of the few to have shoved the … Continue reading Fighting Covid fake news by being funny
Messaging and stories are going to be a key element of snuffing out Coronavirus over what will be a tricky target. Somewhere, but most likely spread, a bevy of government communications people are creating messages. You can’t envy their job. It’s no easy thing to nail important ideas so that all of us understand and … Continue reading ‘Stay home, save lives’ misses an opportunity to increase its impact – ‘Omne trium perfectum’
We should avoid using the term self-isolating. Instead we should use self-containing. Why? Because the language we use provides a feedback loop in our brain which can either be positive or negative. And negative or positive – our reactions are also contagious…much like Coronavirus. So isolate means alone. Isolate implies looking inwards continuously. Isolate suggests … Continue reading Andrà tutto bene – everything will be all right
A brand name by association can be a useful thing. Which is where Duckworth Lewis Accommodation has been clever in its nomenclature. This boarding house (formerly a pub) could’ve called itself Adelaide Road, Te Aro, Hospital Visitor Accommodation, or any number of lesser names. But, being located right beside The Basin Reserve (the home of … Continue reading A brand name that many will get…though some will go ‘huh’?