The Fame Equation
Earlier this week, Mashable published an admittedly brief social media analysis piece I wrote on Lady Gaga relating online conversation to her music’s consumption. The question I keep asking myself, and the question I continue to be asked, is why Lady Gaga?
One reason is that I’m fascinated how this ordinary looking, but otherwise talented female from New York, became the most popular star on the planet simply by being outrageous. Sure, she (possibly) writes her own music and has the talent to sing, but that’s not a differentiator.
What I concluded is that above all, Lady Gaga is really good at being famous. As a culture, we are attracted to fame, and there is something about her that is especially enlightening for many people. What is it?
My original article sliced apart fame from this cultural perspective. However, my regular writing style is not in line with Mashable’s content or audience. Having said that, below is the original, pre-Mashable1 edit fame analysis on this creature called Gaga.
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Fame’s appeal lies within its mystique: what it is and why it occurs remain relatively unanswered questions, besides the necessity of rapid, surrounding conversation. Ten years ago, even the most shocking entertainer’s rise to stardom was missing the accelerating momentum of social media, a crucial factor in today’s fame equation.
Lady Gaga has played a hand in manipulating fame to her advantage, recently emerging as arguably the most famous pop star on the planet. She wove her way through the charts by treating her desire to be famous as an art. She’s developed an image of shock artistry, wearing futuristic attire, sculpted hair styles and glittery makeup, completing a socially disruptive persona.
Few stars’ early footage has shocked the public as much as Gaga’s, then known as Stefani Germanotta, performing in plain clothes in a Lower East Side club in New York City, circa 2007. While her current shtick is that of a fame monster, more than a musician, her vocal skills are humbling. Local students attend these clubs with the intention of seeing unique, often independent talent, secretly hoping they are receiving a glimpse of the next big thing. Viewers of Gaga slamming on the keys, singing to the tune of the piano, certainly did.
Fame, at its core, is fueled by the artist’s demand for attention. Take one of Gaga’s earliest stunts: fed up with her ignorant audience as she played in a crowded, NYU bar, she decided to strip to her underwear. Hardly high brow, but a magnetic step in attracting attention toward her character, rather than the music. The next day, you can bet the almost naked, talented female pianist was a popular conversation among the influential New York music crowd.
We live in a culture where the fame-less public are attracted to the idea of fame. And, this fame-seeking desire is what makes Gaga appealing. It’s less her provocative, often outrageous performance, but more her implicit advocacy for individualism driven by everyday conversation.
- Ideally, I would have liked to have written an expanded version of the piece for a publication like the New Yorker or Vanity Fair. [↩]
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A Little on Less, Empty Space and What’s Not There
One of New York’s handful of Apple Stores is right across the street from my apartment. Given its location, I happen to walk by it every day during my city meanderings. The store design, like most of Apple’s offspring, is beautiful. Large, shimmering glass windows surround the edge of the building. An abrupt, spiral staircase snakes around the corner of the inside, where bright lit computer screens seem to be floating on each floor.
The most captivating aspect of the store is none of the above; it’s the little black sign hanging, flapping with the breeze, outside the front of the store. And, it’s barely a sign. It’s a metal cutout of the Apple logo. But, what makes it so appealing is what’s not there–the empty space. There is nothing appealing about it the sign, except the empty space. I can see through it. I find myself thinking about the sign more than anything else in the store, like right now.
Empty space is emotionally questionable.
Music, for me, works in a similar fashion. The songs I find most appealing, addictive and re-listenable have what’s called a “one drop,” a term coined originally for reggae music. In the one drop, the emphasis is entirely on the third beat of the bar while the first beat of the bar is completely empty. It’s the space between the notes that makes the rest of the song enjoyable.1
Empty space forces anticipation.
There is a stigma that doing less of anything feels ineffective. In fact, I think less, even if it takes more time to design, leverages emotional effectiveness.
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For other design anecdotes, I highly recommend seeing Objectified.
- This was popularized by Bob Marley’s drummer, while probably not invented by him. [↩]
White Light, White Heat: Another New York Morning
I grab the jet black jacket from the wall hook, jiggle the left pocket with my right hand to ensure my keys are there, throw my bag over my shoulder and walk swiftly out of the door into the brisk, encapsulating morning chill. The sun is bright, glowing the block and warming my face against the frigid breeze. The morning hustle, or whatever you want to call it, is apparent everywhere.
When my foot hits the solid pavement outside of the front doorway, I spend a few seconds absorbing the surroundings: the New York people, the New York air, the New York noise, the New York smell1 –the entire New York pill swallowed at once is an inspiring drug.
The average person’s morning priority is to begin moving their legs into a walking pattern towards their destination. But for me, walking becomes secondary to my music fixation. With my legs locked into the ground, stiff and rigid, I pull out out my iPod and browse to the day’s first song. I usually pick something loud and soulful–the only way to compliment a New York morning. It’s the grease to my wheels.
Music: begin.
The bass kicks. The treble screams. The lyrics bring the sonics together. Like a sedative, my legs loosen, the buildings around me melt and the surrounding passersbys become lost, ghostly silhouettes. I begin walking, moving closer to my destination, which is different every day. I like this city. But, I love this city–on music.
I move quickly. No one is timing me, but I still attempt to arrive early, just to feel ahead of schedule.
Where am I going? The destination is completely meaningless. Sometimes I have no destination in mind; other times, I do. But, it’s always one foot in front of the other, knowing I want to be one step ahead, two steps from there and ten steps from there. Ad infinitum.
The beauty of the situation is trapped inside own narrative, expressed here, that means nothing to anyone but me.
- I was going to add the New York dirt, but there is none. This city, especially on the west side, is immaculate. [↩]
Humor: Because a Joke is a Serious Thing
“I think the next best thing to solving a problem is finding some humor in it.” – Frank Howard Clark
One of those subtle jokes I’ve found myself at the end of over the years is being “the guy who takes himself too seriously.” In an attempt to lighten up, I’ve realized that humor is ignored as a skill1 in business. There are crowds of buzzwords highlighted as necessary personality traits for interviewing, presenting and selling that include being: interpersonal, analytical, empathetic, etc., but what’s ignored is the value of a witty and tasteful2 sense of humor. My conclusion is that by demonstrating tasteful wit you’ll have captured all of the above and beyond. This, of course, is easier said than done.
Wit proves mental agility and the ability to connect disparate and sometimes ridiculous ideas.3 It’s a character trait that proves you’re smart enough to get someone’s attention and humorous enough to make them smile. Wit is a derivative of charisma.
The following is a selection of benefits a strong wit can provide:
1. Wit distresses and lightens the mood of a situation. This allows people to relax and be themselves.
2. Wit is ironic. Irony gives you an easy way to say “no” to someone without sounding like a dick.
3. Wit is ambiguous and can play as a verbal hedge. If you say something witty, you can easily back out of it.
4. Wit can parody a third party. While not tasteful, bickering about someone behind their back is bonding.
5. Wit proves compatibility. If two people understand the same wit, it’s likely they’ll be compatible on other intellectual levels.
6. Wit is empathetic. By demonstrating wit, you are assuming another person’s understanding and feelings.
Being funny isn’t the same as being witty. I think of “being funny” as laugh out loud comedy, which in most cases, isn’t a method to close a deal. With wit, you might not cause a chuckle, but assuming the wit is understood, you’ll encourage people to think. It demonstrates an intelligence that not only challenges, but amuses.
- Humor is usually referred to as a trait. However, I do believe humor can be “improved,” thus crowning it a skill. [↩]
- The combination of “wit” and “taste” is important. With just “wit,” you may be offensive. With just “taste,” you’ll be boring [↩]
- This ability is always what makes articles in the New Yorker entertaining. Ridiculous themes, but connected through a underlying witty relevance. [↩]
The Ladder and the Elevator: Choose One
“I promise as much as a man can guarantee against fate.” – Michael Corleone, The Sicilian
The following is an admittedly simplified analogy of most of the disruptive career advice you can read online. I purposely simplify to make a point.
There are two paths. Choose one:
Path one: There is a ladder. It’s waiting for you, and for everyone else. You approach the first notch after stepping outside of a formal education. The notches begin with large spaces between them, slightly miniaturizing as you climb harder and longer. Professional advancement is reliant on someone giving you permission to move ahead, such as a boss or a peer. You trek ahead frustrated, climbing only as fast as time and fate allows. Or, as slow as the guy in front of you.
Path two: There is an elevator. You have to find it carefully, fearlessly and aggressively. It’s usually hidden behind the natural social groups hovering around your desired state, professional or otherwise. The elevator doesn’t imply working less hard than the climbers; it’s actually just the opposite. It’s a battle not to slip off and climb instead. The difference is that the elevator allows you to choose your own floor, reaching levels, heights and speeds out of reach by the climbers. The elevator doesn’t require permission. It only requires a choice–from you.
Before getting overwhelmed, thinking you’ve already fucked up, emailing your favorite writers with problems, questions and admiration, take the time to figure out the path for you. In text, path two sounds more fulfilling, and in my opinion, it probably is. But, it’s not for everyone. Success, depending on how you define it, can follow either way. There is no blueprint.
The common advice, including what I’ve given before when asked, is to start something. Really, just start anything.
I retract that.
Before starting something, make a bold choice between the ladder and the elevator. Even better: make the smarter choice for you, not your ego.
The Rear View Mirror: Hello Twenty-Ten
What’s frightening about hitting goals, rather than setting them, is that the process sets a trap for contentment. Meaning, we fall into a harmonious state of enough: you’ve accomplished something you said you would, or even better, that you thought you wouldn’t. I call it a trap because it’s an excuse to halt–at least temporarily–the forward momentum we’ve worked so hard to create.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t set goals. We should. To do so is ambitious, even noble. It’s the typical end-of-year conversation starter where our perfect reflection seems only another year away. A new year is the ability to start fresh, a true clean slate. It’s a way to make the people around you feel like they should be working harder and smarter too.
Goals are useful because they give us something to align our actions with, such as intellectual problems to solve, character flaws to overcome, harmful habits to crush, thick books to read, vivid screenplays to write, colorful paintings to stroke, pounds of fat to shed, rippling muscles to gain, strenuous laps to run, soulful songs to record, significant others to attract, exotic destinations to travel, interesting people to meet, boring jobs to quit and exciting careers to create.
Looking back on what I proposed as goals for 2009, I chose to strive towards running a profitable business, continuing my artistic expression and expanding my technical expertise, all of which I made attempts at. I started a business, but it’s not technically profitable yet (I’ll explain details when I can). I’m writing and sketching more, feeling somewhat artistic. And, I can proficiently discuss the more intimidating aspects of technology, although I still don’t actively program (nor do I want to). My personal measurement is that I feel happier and smarter than last year, which in the realm of things, is all that matters.
Looking forward, contrary to 2009, I won’t pin point exactly what I want to accomplish. It’s limiting. I have ideas, handfuls of them, in the back of my mind regarding what I want to do and where I want to be, but I’m keeping that to myself. Part of my method to getting there will be figuring it out as I go. That’s the lifestyle I’ve chosen, so I’m going to stick with it.
What I do want to do, and what I’d suggest anyone to focus on, is putting your thumbprint somewhere. Be able to specifically point to a meaningful project–a campaign, startup, book, album or whatever–and identify where your influence was. Getting a win under your belt isn’t necessarily the hard part; identifying why you mattered to its success is.
My philosophy is that goals should be those nagging things you never actually attain, at least 100%. It’s more of a search, or constant battle. Because, once you reach, grab and hold one, consider it gone.
The Year of Dead Celebrities: My 2009 Superlatives
It felt like every week this year another celebrity dropped dead, cramming headlines with obnoxious gossip about drugs, doctors and disorders. It would be wrong to say I didn’t care; I do, to an extent. However, it’s the mainstream media stretching content to its absolute thinnest strands, stuffing the public with fabricated details and tacky narratives, that makes me apathetic to another Hollywood, self-inflicted death. And, it can get in the way of the media I actually enjoy.
Luckily, the long tail has allowed me to filter out most of mainstream garbage. While the dead celebrities dragged along their share of crap, I found 2009 to be a stellar year for the media I consumed: mostly books (91 this year), blogs, film and music. Digging into the crates, the following is a brief synapses of my favorites.1
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Favorite album:
Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective
This album was my favorite for a very simple reason: it sounded new, unique and exciting. Animal Collective pushed every boundary of pop music. Instrumentation has no limitations, but few artists take advantage of this the way Animal Collective did. Every song is a lucid trip.
Runner up:
Them Crooked Vultures by Them Crooked Vultures
Contrary to mediocre reviews, this album was more than just a super group side project. What made it stand out from most of the alternative music I listen to is that it seriously, unrelentingly rocked. Few bands play rock and roll music anymore. Them Crooked Vultures do, hard.
Favorite book:
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
Bourdain’s written masterpiece doesn’t make you think too hard. It’s an easy, fluid read. And, there is nothing overly intellectual about it. He’s just a proud New Yorker talking about what he loves doing in a way that’s honest, funny and inspiring. It’s a noble, even rare way to treat your craft.
Runner up:
The Harry Potter Collection by J.K. Rowling
I know I’m late on this one, but I didn’t finish the series until this past summer. It’s genius storytelling and makes me nauseous to think the series was weaved from the mind of one person.
Favorite website:
The War on Mediocrity by Colin Marshall
I’m happy to have had the chance to work with Colin. I stand by the fact that I think his writing is a gem on the internet. Plus, as a creative, he focuses on his product and less (none, really) on self-promoting and marketing. Whether you agree or disagree with this strategy, it’s refreshing and admirable.
Runner up:
Philalawyer by The Philadelphia Lawyer
I’ve subscribed to Phila’s site for a few years, but only started diving in deep over the past twelve months as we started talking. Although I have no legal background, the general thesis behind the most intelligently hilarious writing on the internet is something I try live by: if you can’t laugh at yourself, everyone else will for you.
Favorite post:
MySpace is to Facebook as Twitter is to ___ by Cody Brown
This piece is a brilliant analysis on the current realms of social media culture. There is so much masturbatory, link bait garbage written on social networks that it’s relieving for a fresh voice to emerge. If you read it, you can ignore pretty much every other social media article written this year.
Runner up:
Distribution … now by John Borthwick
Borthwick successfully outlines an entire investment thesis in this blog post. It also sums up much of the technical philosophy behind Betaworks and the real-time web. Borthwick is a visionary, no doubt, but I think we’ll look back on this post in a few years and reaffirm that assertion.
Favorite film:
Inglourious Basterds by Quentin Tarantino
Who doesn’t have high expectations for Sir Tarantino? He’s a mad genius when it comes to violent, blood soaked film, and the Basterds didn’t disappoint. I often judge a film by how emotionally uncomfortable it makes me feel, and this one crossed the line many times over.
Runner up:
A Serious Man by Joel and Ethan Coen
There are aspects of this film I still think about, which is always a sign of quality, longevitous art. This film pokes fun, quite accurately, at aspects of my own culture and weaves them into a classically dark Coen storyline. Anything that makes me laugh and think at the same time is a winner in my book.
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Outside of my startup, the items mentioned above devoured most of my time in 2009. Feel free to leave your gems in the comment section.
And with that being said, whatever it is you celebrate, if anything at all, best wishes. See you in 2010.
- This is what I enjoyed this year, and in some cases, not necessarily what was started, produced, written or released this year. [↩]
Intern Wanted
I’ve recently made some exciting transitions for my company, all of which I can provide additional details with publicly when the paperwork is complete. In the mean time, I’m in the midst of (again) moving cities, apartments and lifestyle. Essentially, I’m adding some order to what’s felt like a chaotic trip over the past few years. It’s temporary, but it feels good.
As the new year approaches, I’m interested in bringing on a remote intern to assist and contribute to my projects. I’m not looking for an assistant in the most traditional sense. Really, I’m looking for someone to collaborate with me on my startup and some other projects I’ve taken on. The title of the position can be whatever you want.
The following is what I have in mind for initial responsibilities. Please note that we’ll be working together, at least at first, on most of these things:
- Producing market research by collecting and analyzing data on consumer trends;
- Creating and supporting a point-of-view on potential strategies, investments and ideas;
- Developing social media campaigns that target niche audiences and provide compelling content;
- Telling me when you think I’m wrong.
The descriptions are purposely broad because I haven’t completely figured out how this will work. The details are dependent on the type of person, their interests and potential time commitment. Ideally, I’m looking for a college student interested in entrepreneurship and emerging technology with superb writing skills that can devote a few hours per week.
While starting a business is ultimately the most rewarding entrepreneurial activity, I’m hoping to develop a mentor / mentee relationship close to the next best thing, and that I’ll get as much out of it as you will. I referred Ryan’s latest assistant, and as far as I can tell, it’s been a rewarding experience for both of them.
If this interests you, please send me an email that includes your experience, background, goals and internet presence.
Control: Scattered Scenarios of Technical Paranoia
An opening thought:
“Tools don’t get socially interesting until they get technologically boring.” – Clay Shirky, Here Comes Everybody
There are times when technology has more control over us than we do of it. The process is speeding up faster than you may realize.
Our culture’s relationship with technology–the combination of hardware, software and lines in between–is a dynamic I circumvent often. In fact, it’s so prominent it’s difficult for any of us to avoid thinking about. The world is now a screen where friends are volatile statistics, personalities are ever changing pictures and the intelligence we rely on isn’t our own.
How many meticulous email slaves do you know, allowing each threaded correspondence to control their daily schedule? What about Blackberry or iPhone addicts afraid to leave home without their beloved clunk of buzzing metal? In both cases, it’s less the fret of missing something and more an emotional emptiness following the absence of our name being called.
With technology, it’s painfully easy for a cause to become the habit. And, the victim is us.
Technical progression is marketing. Consider the Apple laptop I’m writing on: Even if it was the top model in the market (it’s not), it would not be as advanced as what’s technically available. Apple has me purposely waiting. My paranoid conclusion is that because companies are derivatives of the technology, they have a frightening amount of control.
The catalyst for these ideas derived from two different potential scenarios I’ve been thinking about:
1. Apple is releasing its tablet device as a way of training the market for a forthcoming laptop. The laptop I’m predicting will have dual screens instead of one screen and a keyboard / track pad. The purpose for the tablet training period is so Apple can test the viability of a standalone tablet device while observing user computing behavior on a standalone screen.
2. Google has released Wave as a way of training the market for the future functionality of Gmail. While Wave is discussed as being the ‘future of email,’ I inevitably think the most popular features will be transferred to Gmail and Wave will remain as a project-based collaboration service. Or, the two services will be merged completely.
Presumably, neither scenario is inherently bad for technology as a whole. My paranoia is directed at consumer freedom. While we feel like we are waiting for the ‘next big release’ of technology to be developed, the truth is that it probably already has. The companies are simply waiting for us, the consumer, to be ready for them.
It’s equally exciting as it is scary, especially when you consider what’s next. Because, it’s what the future holds, not the present, that deems the control dangerous.
A closing thought:
“Why not improve the brain? Perhaps in the future we can attach a little version of Google that you just plug into your brain.” Sergey Brin, The Google Story