ANDREW TEMAN

"Words tend to fill the mind. Pictures tend to clear it."

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:09:50 -0400

“Words tend to fill the mind. Pictures tend to clear it.”

- - Magnificent Ruin

Just hanging out on the edge of the roof, 30 stories up.

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:03:29 -0400

Just hanging out on the edge of the roof, 30 stories up.

Sell your ignorance.

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:48:54 -0400

Sell your ignorance.

The secret life of super heroes.

Fri, 10 May 2013 11:30:00 -0400

The secret life of super heroes.

Olympic Gold. (at Liberty Mutual)

Fri, 10 May 2013 10:11:41 -0400

Olympic Gold. (at Liberty Mutual)

Our @MerrellOutside work spotted on the Green Line. (at MBTA...

Thu, 09 May 2013 18:30:01 -0400

Our @MerrellOutside work spotted on the Green Line. (at MBTA Government Center Station)

“I guess people are just cropping out all the...

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:15:35 -0400

“I guess people are just cropping out all the sadness”

nevver: The Designer Says Simple, sound advice.

Mon, 06 May 2013 09:49:39 -0400

nevver:

The Designer Says

Simple, sound advice.

Today's Social Media Tips

Mon, 06 May 2013 08:59:30 -0400

Two quick thoughts on social media for this Monday morning.

First, we need to stop checking boxes, and start thinking a bit more. Or maybe it’s that we need to start thinking a bit less. Not quite sure.

Either way, I see far too much social media “strategy” that goes like this, and it needs to stop.

List out all of the “current” social media platforms that we an think of (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Vine, etc).
Try and find/make things to put into each bucket.

We need to cut that shit out.

Instead, start with an idea, a goal, or a desired outcome that you want your brand and messaging to have when someone encounters it. Now go out and make things that drive towards that outcome. You’ll figure out which channels/platforms to use, and which to ignore.

Second thought, is that we need to consider social media as being bottom-up as much as top-down. Maybe even more.

What I mean by that is this:

Top-down is explicitly driven by the brand and pushes the user to do something. Think contests and calls-to-action, that sort of thing. Brand tells user what to do, when to do it, and where to do it. If you rely on this method, there’s a good chance that you and your brand are inherently uninteresting.

Bottom-down is creating awesome products and experiences, that have talk-value naturally built in. Your brand becomes social because people want to talk about it, not because they’re part of some Pavlovian Facebook experiment. Strong, confident, secure brands and strategists love this approach and do it well.

Blue skies in Menlo Park at the Facebook mother ship. (at...

Wed, 01 May 2013 15:28:42 -0400

Blue skies in Menlo Park at the Facebook mother ship. (at Facebook HQ)

Take a position.

Wed, 01 May 2013 14:17:26 -0400

Take a position.

Rooftop at Twitter HQ.

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:17:03 -0400

Rooftop at Twitter HQ.

Spectacular day on the Google campus. (at Googleplex)

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:45:47 -0400

Spectacular day on the Google campus. (at Googleplex)

Italian models and Italian cars. Fashion shoot in front of our...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 11:48:33 -0400

Italian models and Italian cars. Fashion shoot in front of our hotel. (at Hotel Majestic)

"Splitting normally works to resolve unbearable ambiguity: when we feel unable to tolerate the..."

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 06:26:11 -0400

“Splitting normally works to resolve unbearable ambiguity: when we feel unable to tolerate the tension aroused by complexity, we “resolve” that complexity by splitting it into two simplified and opposing parts, usually aligning ourselves with one of them and rejecting the other.”

- The Psychology of Unity After Tragedy - via The Atlantic

414 steps up over the streets of Florence. (at Campanile di...

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 03:08:12 -0400

414 steps up over the streets of Florence. (at Campanile di Giotto)

Breakfast of Panini Bollito and red wine. (at Nerbone)

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 04:49:48 -0400

Breakfast of Panini Bollito and red wine. (at Nerbone)

Lighting some candles for home today. #Boston. (at Opera di...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 06:31:05 -0400

Lighting some candles for home today. #Boston. (at Opera di santa Maria del Fiore)

Good morning Amsterdam. (at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS))

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:43:00 -0400

Good morning Amsterdam. (at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS))

"I earned what they said I wouldn’t, I got it the way they said I couldn’t…When..."

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 10:47:57 -0400

“I earned what they said I wouldn’t, I got it the way they said I couldn’t…When y’all was askin permission I just stepped up and took it.”