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Sexism in advertising

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Bullying memes - Maybe you're more of a bully than you realize

Last Friday night an 11 year old boy hung himself after being bullied for a long time. Tonight BULLYING IS FOR LOSERS is trending world wide on twitter following this tweet:

As tragic as this event is, it is even more tragic how common they are. Everyday tens of teens commit suicide because of bullying. We all remember school, some of us were bullied. Some of us were the bullies. This has ruined so many peoples lives. It is easy for all to support actions against bullying in school, since it doesn't demand any change in behaviour from ourselves! But actions are needed in more places than just in school or just among kids.

 

ARE YOU A BULLY?

We might actually have participated in bullying more often then we realize. Internet memes are often at the cost of someone. Looking like a joke about someone we've got no clue who is, or someone we know who is, though we don't know him or her personally, like celebrities. People seem to think that just because they don't know someone in person it is alright to make fun of them, insult them, humiliate them and actually bully them online. But you know what, just because we don't know someone doesn't mean they don't have feelings. Or that they don't have Google. You'd be surprised how many celebrities actually google themselves. And actually do take it personally when their personality is being trashed. It is hard not to. 

We can take Britney Spears as an example. Or Monika Lewinsky. Or million others. 

So let's all show each other respect, also online, and also people we don't know in person. 

Peace!

Hjörtur

Last night I made a dream come true

It wasn't anything big. I bought a maple tree and planted it. Trees are usually not very big in Iceland (they say if you can't find your way in an Icelandic forest, all you have to do is stand up) but maple can grow to be quite big. It can become a tree where you can hang a swing in the branches, build a tree house in the crown, and you can even see it from a cross the street. So I've been thinking about getting one for some time. And last night I did. I bought a four year old tree which I can watch grow so that one day, my grand children can play in it.

Why is this such a big issue that I decide to blog about it? It's not. Nobody cares about that tree except me. It's just a reminder that it is important to have dreams. Dreams of all sorts and sizes (and prices). It increases the chance of some of your dreams actually coming true significantly, though some of them will never be. I have made many, many dreams come true but I'll never run out of dreams waiting to be fulfilled. So think about it, what dreams do you have? Which dreams can you start realizing today? It can be visiting a place only an hour drive away, going to a pottery class, riding a horse, tearing down that wall you don't need anymore, having a baby (or a puppy), painting the room green, or pink ... Pick one and make a dream come true.

Carpe diem
Hjörtur

ps. if this post inspired you to make a dream come true, no matter how big or small, please share it with us :)

What Do They Eat in Africa?

I got this question the other day. Well, actually, it was Googled and someone clicked a link over to my blog because he or she obviously though he might find information about what they eat in Africa. I was a bit surprised as I don't write about food, though I occasionally mention Africa. One of my posts apparently made it to the first page on Google for this query so there probably isn't much information about what they eat in Africa on the Internet. Part of the reason might be that they don't all eat the same. It's a pretty big continent, you know.

But what does this mean? Well, I could have convinced some that people in Africa all eat McGiraf burgers. Or canned hippos with ketchup. Or have nothing to eat. Or what ever I could think of. And if I portrait it in a semi-credible way the person looking for the information might actually believe this was the truth.

What is really a food for thought here is the question: Where does the knowledge of the next generation come from? The first four results on Google? That is a bit disturbing thought. Maybe it's not all that bad that Wikipedia usually takes second place in the SERP's. Try googling some questions and see how much sense the results make. You can post the results in the comments if you like.

Hjörtur

ps. this post went accidentally live before it was finished, which is why it may look different from the first time you saw it.

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The Best of 2008

Many of you are relative new readers to my blog, so I decided to list some of the best posts of 2008 here in one post.

Social media has been getting more and more of my attention. In the beginning of the year I told you a story about Target and how they thought they could choose not to participate in social media. They were very, very wrong. Many companies are trying for social media these days and the results are from disastrous to impressive. I listed a few good reasons for engaging in social media and  pointed out a  few common mistakes companies make in social media. ROI in social media is often hard to see but one the effective ways to use social media is for brand building.

While I do my best to keep the blog professional I've allowed myself to go personal, as long as it is related to the topic. My most personal posts have also become my most popular ones, like the one where I'm diagnosed with "insatiable curiosity" and specially the ones I wrote when the economy crashed here in Iceland: "Never Lose Your Spirit", "Surreal Reykjavik" and "What to Expect Next from Iceland". We are not desperate, though. After all, we own the most valuable mine in the world.

Other posts worth reading are like "Are You Never Too Careful" about the importance of making mistakes, "How To Sell a Baby" and "Do You Trust a Blogger".

I lost my Twitter virginity in April and have written a few posts on choosing the right avatar, how to get people to follow you and more Twitter related posts. If you're on Twitter - alot, you might like to take the Twittoholic test to see if this has become a problem.

In November I published my first ebook which is about marketing tactics and strategies during a recession. I call it "The Marketer's Magic Chest - Tips, tricks and tools to unlock the chains of recession." I'm working on a full size printed book on another marketing topic but don't have a publisher or a date yet. (So if you're a publisher, send me an email to greatopportunityforapublisher (at) scope.is ;) )

The plan for 2009 is to write better stuff and I'll be focusing more on value than volume. Hope you find good food for thought here.

Cheers
Hjörtur

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What To Expect Next From Iceland

Now that we are re bouncing from the shock of the financial crisis in Iceland, it’s time to focus on what’s next. First of all, it’s important to realize where Iceland is standing.

Last year, Iceland was #1 on UN’s list over best life quality in the world. The education level is high, 100% of all electricity and heating comes from renewable energy,  Icelanders have the longest life expectancy and one of the lowest rates of infant deaths rate. GNP has been one of the highest in the world and Iceland has in only few years become one of the richest countries in the world.

Even though the banking industry has now collapsed, we still have a very dynamic business environment with very talented young people, loads of energy, and great flexibility. Though we will be facing difficult times in the next years, I think we can afford it and that we will be very fast in rebuilding the Icelandic economy and creating an even stronger (not bigger, stronger) economy than we had before.

The Icelandic nation is a tough nation that has faced great difficulties through the years, facing the often merciless Atlantic ocean to make a living, surviving natural disasters, earthquakes, avalanches, volcanic eruptions, fierce winter storms etc. We are used to face hard times, fight them and survive. And when it comes to economic disasters like last week, we have great resources and the right spirit to rebuild ourselves. This will not break us, it will make us stronger.

WE'LL BE BACK!

Innovation is key at times like this and one of the things we need to be very aware of is that we will not be sacrificing our resources of nature and image for short term growth. Our image has been damaged enough, let’s not ruin the rest. We need to focus on building up industries that really give a good ROI, based on our greatest and most valuable resource, our creativity.
The fastest growing industries in the last years, excluding the finance industry, have been arts (Björk, Sigurrós, Arnaldur Indridason), entertainment (Lazy Town, film production, TV-commercials, computer games), software (TM, Kogun, RM Studio), high-tech (Gavia, Marel), bio-technology and medicine (deCode, Ossur, Actavis), extreme sports (Arctic Trucks, 66°N, Cintamani, Nikita) as well as our clean natural products (fish, Lysi, lamb, Skyr) and energy (Iceland New Energy, GGE, Reykjavik Energy). Not to mention the travel industry that is blooming – and just became more competitive because of the lower value of the currency :)

I think it is important to focus on the most valuable assets we have. Our creativity and human resources. Even though the banking system failed and 90% of the stock market vanished in just few days, we are still just as rich of creativity, energy, drive, intelligence and human resources – and even richer from experience. When you look at the richest countries in the world, they have become rich on their intelligence, not their natural resources. If natural resources were the foundation of wealth, Congo would be the richest country in the world. And they are far from it. Very far.

All of a sudden there’s a lot of talented people available. We need to create channels for those great minds to create something new, something that will grow and prosper. Now is the perfect time for innovation and startups. It will be exciting to see what Iceland will be bringin in couple of years as a result.

We’ve lost fishing boats at sea before. When that happened it left us with two choices. To stop rowing – and starve, or to improve our boats and weather forecasts and keep on fishing. This is no different. We’ll be back!

Hjörtur

Image: courtesy of Gísli Dua Hjörleifsson, aka Villimaður (check out his gallery, it's fantastic)

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Surreal Reykjavik

It feels surreal to drive the streets of downtown Reykjavik. The banks are lit up and people are working there. The logo’s are still outside the houses. The ads are still running saying how wonderful and trustwurthy the banks are. Range Rovers and BMWs are still filling the streets and the parking lots. Bankers in their suits walk the streets with heavy eyebrows. There’s a strange silence.

It’s like we know the system is broken, we know it’s gone, but we can’t see it. We can’t tell what’s real, what’s still there, and what are just the ghosts of yesterday, when Iceland was one of the richest countries in the world. A pale reflection of the golden age in Icelandic economy which is now going up in flames. Where’s the smoke?

The world is treating us like we’re dead. Bank accounts frozen. No buziness without cash payments in advance. No currency can be bought. The stock market is closed (not that I have anything left there). Imports have stopped because of closed currency markets and diapers, flour, sugar and other neccesities are selling out in the shops.

I would like to remind the world that the banks went down because of a chain reaction – that started in the US. I’m not going to tell you the chain of events, the intervention of politicians, the misunderstandings, the dispute with Britain where they used their anti-terrorist laws to confiscate Icelandic assets. I’m not trying to find someone to blame. But I would like to tell you that we still have a lot of innovative and prominent companies in Iceland, and you might actually get a pretty good deal there at the moment, as the Icelandic Krona is so low.

So if you want to seize the opportunity and go on a shopping spree, here are a few Icelandic companies that are still alive and kicking, like:

CCP (Eve Online) – online games

Stiki – Risk Management Studio – information security

Gavia – submarines

Lysi – fish oil for a longer life

Arctic Trucks – super jeeps (like the one Top Gear used to go to the North Pole)

And loads of other prominent companies.

People are well aware of the pshycological effect of the bank crises. For me, it’s the biggest shock since my mother-in-law’s sudden death. I fear that the society will be going through a similar cycle. We’re in stage one – the disbelieve and numness. When routine hits us and we realize that we don’t have our money and can’t pay the bills, start losing our cars and homes, then the real sorrow and sadness sinks in. And it happens at the worst time of the year, when the nights are getting longer and longer. In December we have 20 hours of complete darkness. That will be a very tough month. Suicides are already being reported.

The minister of education, Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, has sent an email out to all schools in the country with some guidelines on how to react. In the television ads are running reminding people that the most precious things in life – are free! Helplines have been opened. And people are being reminded that if you’re not one of those going broke, keep on spending like normally. The economy really needs it.
Let’s hope it works. I try do my share in all this with my new website and writing. I don’t plan to turn this blog into a blog about the financial crisis in Iceland. I will continue to write about marketing. But I might give you an update once in a while. You can also follow me on Twitter where I tell more about other stuff than marketing.

UPDATE: As some readers have requested, I've put together a list of Icelandic designers selling online. Check out the following:
The Naked Ape - fun wear
Kirsuberjatréð - with all sorts of stuff - order via email
Hanna 70 - Icelandic clothing
Steinunn - an Icelandic designer
Gust - Icelandic clothing
Birkiland - Icelandic design
Liborious - Icelandic design
Spaksmannsspjarir - Icelandic clothing
The Farmers Market - traditional Icelandic clothing

You can also check out series of Icelandic design and innovation on Trendhunter.

UPDATE: Following this, I wrote an ebook with marketing tactics and strategies to become a winner during a recession. You can check it out: "The Marketer's Magic Chest - Marketing tips, trick and tools to unlock the chains of recession"

Hjörtur

Disclaimer. I’m not getting paid for linking or mentioning the companies in the post. One of them is a client of mine and the others are just different companies that came to mind.

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Never Lose Your Spirit

As you may have heard, the economy in Iceland crashed yesterday. Banks are being nationalized, Russia is lending the government money to save them from bankruptcy. The splash is so big that it's heard all around the Atlantic but hopefully, it won't send a wave your way.

A few months ago it costed me 64 ISK to buy one dollar. Last night, it was 127 ISK for one dollar. That means all imports like gasoline, cocoa puffs, Pampers and other necessities are sky rocketing. The stock market has collapsed and it looks like I've lost a big part of my live savings. The future is unknown.

Lots of people have their loans in foreign currency, but income in Icelandic Krona. Those people are in immediate trouble since the loans are much higher now than the house or car they used it to buy - and the payments have doubled. The rest is going to be hit with inflation and increasing unemployment. Things are getting tough. Tough like I've never seen before. "So what you gonna do Charlie? - SMILE!"

I could crawl under a blanket and cry. I could lay on my back and die. But that's boring stuff. That's not inspirational or constructive for my 5 children. I believe that no matter what happens - never lose your spirit! Always remember what it is in life that really matters. Last night I realized that I had probably lost half of my live savings - and you know what surprised me? How little of a shock it was to me. After all, it was only money. My family is healthy. I've got a beautiful wife and five adorable children that mean the world to me, more than I ever imagined possible. That tells me I've got my priorities straight.

I like to look at every problem as a challenge. A challenge to overcome and to learn from. I look at every change as an opportunity. I like to look at the bright side of life. So what are the opportunities I'm seeing?

Well, I'm a marketing guy and I've focused on internet marketing, which is probably the only marketing branch where there is still a chance of increase. That puts me in the right spot in my field. So next month I'll be offering a two day course in "How to land on top in a recession - Internet marketing and tactics in a recession".

I also launched a new website yesterday which I call Túkallinn (2 cents). There I'm going to collect recipes to cheap but tasty food, ideas to cheap or free entertainment and good saving tips. Sounds like something useful these days (and if you have some tips or resources to share, email me. hjortur.smarason at gmail).

Regarding the currency, the low value of my Krona means that anything foreign I buy is very expensive. But it also means that anything I get paid in foreign currency is of great value. So my focus now will be on getting foreign assignments (hint, hint ;). I've been actively building up my international network on LinkedIn and Twitter for over a year now, which might come in handy. It would have been too late to start now. I'm also working on an e-book on Marketing tactics in a recession and am offering speaking events and courses abroad on internet marketing, social media and personal branding - open for booking now :)

It's important to realize that there are always opportunities. People aren't going to stop living though the economy goes down the drain. People just have to live differently. Figure out how and adjust. Those who do are the ones that survive.

Hjortur
ps. What ever you do, don't let it be your desperation you consult when making decisions. Oh, and SMILE!

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Tipping Point for IfTheWorldCouldVote.com

As you may know, I have a pet project with two of my friends which we call IfTheWorldCouldVote.com. It's a website where we give the world an opportunity to vote.

We launched the site in early June and got a pretty good start, with over 3.000 votes from almost 40 countries in the first day. It's been growing slowly ever since and on September 10th we'd got 20.000 votes. Since then the traffic has been growing fast and the word has been spreading. search.twitter.com shows an increase in mentions of the site and the number of blogs linking to it grows fast. It looks like we reached a tipping point now in September and last Wednesday night we reached 100.000 votes!

I think we will not reach our "insanely ambitious goal" of more number of votes than voted in the last US election. But we might reach a million. Possibly. To get there we need a little more publicity, so feel free to tell the world about our little experiment.

Bloggers from all over the world have written about If The World Could Vote:

Νίκη για το taxalia νίκη για όλους μας
¿Quién ganaría si el mundo votara Obama o McCain?
Εσείς τι θα ψηφίζατε; Obama ή McCain;
Global Vote for President
Politik | If the world could vote the US president
The US Presidential Elections
If the world could vote?
McCain campaign imploding along with economy
If the world could vote …
Entracte 65
Vote na Eleição dos EUA
Join the World Vote for the next US President
Promoçao através de acontecimentos populares
McCain or Obama?
Fun fun fun (se o mundo votasse nas eleições americanas)
Si el mundo votara, ¿Quien ganaria las elecciones en los EEUU?
Interessante
Presidente do mundo
E se o mundo pudesse decidir as eleições americanas?
E se o mundo inteiro votasse?
E se você votasse na eleição dos EUA?
Palin - Bush style
Link to entry: Speedlinking da Semana [7-13 Setembro]
Voto
Como votar em Obama ou McCain
If the World Could Vote
Eleições 2008
Maria Cristina
Political non-partisan Jib Jab
If you want to weigh in...
Statele Unite ale Lumii
Eleições nos USA. E eu com isso?
E se o Mundo votasse nas eleições Americanas?
If The World Could Vote
Other Things We Found Mildly Interesting This Morning…
E se o mundo votasse para quem seria presidente dos Estados Unidos? Pior que já tem!
McCain is a liar
Surpresa (2) - mais uma gralha do Público
معرفی سایت
Eleições nos USA
Surpresa (2) - mais uma gralha do Público
Se pudessemos votar...
If the World could vote …
Vote for the world!
Se o mundo pudesse votar
E se o mundo pudesse votar?
E se todo o mundo pudesse votar nas eleições americanas?
Vote Obama!
Querem votar nas eleições norte-americanas?
Parece que o McCain está à frente
The Bobolee Chronicles
If the world could vote?
links for 2008-09-07
Blah Blah Flowers
If the world could vote?
Wenn die Welt wählen könnte …
la Convention Démocrate
If the world could vote ? McCain vs Obama
Et si le monde aussi pouvait choisir entre Barack OBAMA et John McCAIN ?
News of the World
Et si le monde aussi pouvait choisir entre Barack OBAMA et John McCAIN ?
Si le monde pouvait voter
If the world could vote?
Si la terre entière votait pour les élections américaines…
wie man den Stau auf der Datenautobahn lichten kann
Barack or John - If the world could vote.
If the world could vote
Barack Obama     85.1%
This and That
Republican New Zealand
If the world could vote?
If The World Could Vote For US President
Reality Me
demokratie 2.0
If the world could vote
If the world could vote?
If the world could vote
Rich’s latest Tweets
Ef heimurinn gæti kosið
Wahl-O-Mat
Et si tout le monde pouvait voter ?
US-Wahl für Nicht-Amerikaner

If your blog is missing from the list, add it to the comments below and I'll add it to the list.

Hjörtur

 

The Economist Copied Our Idea

Our project, IfTheWorldCouldVote.com has been getting a lot of attention on the Internet all over the world. People seem to love the idea. The Economist loves it so much that they decided to copy it. Ok, it's not exactly the same. Their title is What if the whole world could vote. Even the map is the same, with the colours and the statistics and there's no reference or credit to us or our site.

But I've got news for you, Economist. We're living in the age of social media now. You can't get away with this. People will know and people will tell that you're copying our idea. So people, let's make sure everybody knows where the idea came from and where the world can vote. Digg this article, share it with the world, let everybody know.

So what's the count? We've been getting a lot of love from Spain, Poland, Portugal, Brazil, the US, Canada, and Iran, to name a few. All in all, we've got over 60.000 votes from 158 countries the world over. And it's actually quite ... interesting, to see how unanimous the world is. You can draw your own conclusions, but this is what the world looks like:

Vote for the original, the authentic IfTheWorldCouldVote.com and spread the word :)

Hjörtur

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