Bad Hedgehog

Mariah Carey wrote a poetry book. Here's a line from it:

I love my unicorn, he knows I am true,
My troubles go poof, my unicorn named Boo

I am reminded of the book Good To Great (highly-recommended read). In one chapter, Jim Collins explains the Hedgehog concept which is about discovering where three concepts intersect - what you can be the best at in the world, what drives your economic engine, and what you are most passionate about. Discovering your Hedgehog concept will help inform your business decisions by eliminating and affirming opportunities based on whether they fit.

Mariah Carey is a singer. She can hit some pretty high notes and make catchy pop songs. I don't think she is a poet. "Poetry writer" does not fit in her Hedgehog concept and therefore might be a bad use of energy and also damage her image.

I waste a lot of time on various online activities that don't really help me achieve my goals. Not all these activities are bad. Some of them just don't fit. Businesses do this all the time. What kinds of things might you be doing that don't fit in with your Hedgehog concept?

Be That Person

Do you ever get frustrated when there isn't that certain blog post out there about a particular topic? Maybe you could be the one to write it.

Ever wish that someone wrote that certain blog that discussed the topic you are most interested in? Maybe you could be that person.

Searching for that thriving community that you know doesn't really exist yet? Maybe you could think of a way to be the leader.

Twitter vs. Google Reader

One look at social media icon Gary Vaynerchuk’s Twitter account and he’ll tell you to keep social media simple. But do some devices make things easier or harder to optimize your search for quality content?

Clearly, Google Reader and Twitter don’t have much in common besides the fact that both boast quick notification or real-time updates. Taking a tour around Twitter can result in a whole new flow of information, friends, and lovers of your brand. You can filter through tweets that appeal and don’t appeal to you and choose whether or not to respond. It’s thread heaven for tweet-ups or web conferences now. Questions can be answered quickly because it’s quick format. Ugly interface, however.

Now, we examine Google Reader. Sure it’s really helpful to aggregate all of your blog and news content for your own personal Google account, but what about getting more out of your experience? You are so limited to what you can explore on Reader that perhaps RSS is really not simple at all. You see a number of entries pop up in the window. You read through them on the same page and think, “Is the blog worth a second look?” Perhaps that blogger was having a bad day and decided to rant instead of praise. Chances are you’ll remove their feed. After all, this is too much information and you’re crunched for time. Well, at least the interface has improved.

So for RSS, I’d hit up Twitter and check out what other people are promoting with links. Suddenly, you’re whole niche becomes a whole lot bigger and much more creative. My best content take-away has always come from Twitter.

What about you?

You Are Being Watched

Consequences still exist on the internet. You can hide behind a screen name and say whatever you want, but there may still be backlash against you. Tina Fey may even call you out.

(Update: We had a video clip up earlier today, but the television gurus took it off YouTube. Just follow this link to see about what Tina Fey said at the Golden Globes last night.)

People are monitoring what and who you are talking about. Many people and brands get Google Alerts whenever you use their name. One poorly worded criticism or overly passionate rant could get you blacklisted or hated. Maybe you should think twice before you post.

Gupta Good For Our TV Nation

The choice of Dr. Sanjay Gupta to serve as Surgeon General is inspired. Anyone criticizing President-elect Obama's decision to tap the CNN correspondent into one of our country's highest healthcare posts doesn't understand the nature of the position. Essentially, it is the Surgeon General's duty to educate the public on all public-heath issues, such as obesity, HIV disease, smoking dangers, and other various ailments.

In other words, he dumbs it down so us regular folk can understand why fatty foods kill you.

Gupta already does this in spades on television and as an insightful columnist for TIME magazine. He's perhaps the most prominent public health figure in our culture; a classier, better polished, more-reputable Dr. Phil, though I hate to make the comparison. Gupta's also one of the loudest voices continually stressing the importance of preventative care--staving off disease before it arises. What a novel idea, huh?

And if we need a guy to shame us into changing our eating habits and sedentary lifestyles, I can't think of a better authority figure than the reassuring and telegenic Gupta. Like any good doctor concerned with the health of his patients, Gutpa scolds you but never forgets to smile and stress that it's never too late to change. He's like the coolest guidance counselor you ever had in high school. And that's exactly what this fat and easily-offended country needs; firm but gentle guidance.

While we spend billions of tax-payer dollars overseas to fight an external threat to our security, domestically we're slowly eating ourselves to death. Does anyone else see this absurd disconnect in our leadership, or am I the only one?

Something needs to be done. Why not restrict fast-food ads to prime-time television or ban them completely on Saturday mornings? We don't allow Big Tobacco to advertise on television, yet heart disease kills more people than smoking-related illnesses, and nearly every commercial break at every hour during the day features a McDonald's or Domino's pizza advertisement. Do we really want the health of our nation's precious children to rest in the hands of corporate lobbyists petitioning their government???

I absolutely loved the section in the phenomenal Wall-E aboard the space station (coincidentally named Axiom) where all the humans were grotesquely overweight and relying on robots to do even the most basic of tasks while they remained blissfully motionless in their personal floating orbs. Of course I laughed, but it was a nervous, stilted laugh. Such brilliant prophesizing in a children's film could make anyone scared for our future.

So, if we live in a society influenced more by network television shows and celebrity gossip blogs than the New England Journal of Medicine, then perhaps a guy like Dr. Gupta is just what the doctor ordered.

Charlie Hobart is a Senior Account Manager at Axiom Marketing Communications in Minneapolis, MN. He also writes about politics, pop culture, and American lifestyles on his blog, The Chuck Wagon.