David G. Johnson

Recently I sat in a presentation by a friend of mine who spent some time talking about the “Meritocracy” approach to relationship with God.  This is the idea that doing things we think He will approve of will cause us to be looked upon with favor, whereas neglecting such things or (worse) doing things He disapproves of will cause us to be looked upon disfavorably. There are many religious traditions which brainwa… er, teach people this way, and I happened to be raised in one. Perhaps you’re familiar with this train of thought:

Today, I did something good! Now I get to take one step closer to God. Whoops! I did something bad too… hope He doesn’t burn me!

As with most things in life, there’s an analogy from either Monty Python or The Matrix. Python wins this one. Nobody could’ve said it better:

When will we ever learn?

Even after Twitter’s exposure in the news over the last few months — Mumbai terror attacks, the plane landing in the Hudson, etc. — I still get asked this question by people still trying to figure out what Twitter is all about.

Then, after rather ineptly explaining that it’s a service whereby you’re constantly answering the question “What are you doing?” in 140 characters or less for dozens, hundreds, or perhaps thousands of “followers”… inevitably the blank stare and the “What for?” ensue.

Well if you’re like me and you can’t seem to help people “get it” without spending lots of time (I recently was asked to teach the concept to a group of marketing students and it took over 2 hours), here’s an 8-minute clip from Twitter co-founder Evan Williams. He manages to do an amazing job of conveying the concept in a relatively short period of time.

And um… no guarantees. If your wife, husband, significant other, employer, business partner, etc still doesn’t get it after this… you’re on your own.

(Unless that is you’re looking to figure out how to use it for business. In that case, I’m ready to teach. Just head on over to the Epiphany Marketing site and sign up for updates. We’ll be sure to notify you when registration opens for our upcoming training course on social media for business.)

Oh… and if you’re already addicted to Twitter, be sure to Tweet This and follow me!

Now if these aren’t adorable and irresistible, then I don’t know what is! Here’s the live feed from the Shiba Inu puppies:

My website is now my 3-and-a-half-year-old daughter’s favorite site. (Sorry, Wiggles!)

Ever wondered what a “Credit Default Swap” is? Clark & Dawes from Australia explain… I guess they gave up on trying to do President Bush’s accent.

And now for something completely different in the battle for copyright controls on YouTube… When all else fails, give the content away!

While the Python troupe aren’t the first to make this move, they just might be the funniest! In all seriousness, this is truly something that could only occur in the 21st Century.

Let’s face it, everyone who has tried to fight “piracy” on YouTube has ended up smelling like elderberries. I’m all for copyrights (I own a bunch myself), but you aren’t going to stop theft on YouTube… nor are you going to win over any fans.

Python reacts in style… give it away (in higher quality, no less), but ask people to buy your stuff! Pefecto!

(Hat tip: copywriter Michel Fortin, via Twitter @michelfortin)

Here’s a remarkably simple analysis of how things got to where they are… from a pair of British comics.

As this was produced in 2007, it’s become remarkably prophetic!

Hat tip: Sara Hand.