TERRIBLE TWOS
THE IDENTITY ISSUE: FACEBOOK ASTROLOGY
What does your Facebook profile picture really say about you? Why did you choose it, and is it even you?… The psychology behind these photos is the current hot topic, with the ‘face’ you put out into the ether the best, and most modern display of those character traits you go by.
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1. THE JESTER
The eternal comedian, this Facebooker shows no shame and has a laugh while doing it. Carefree and unselfconscious.
2. THE PRO
An aspiring actor (or simply someone who takes ‘profiling’ very seriously), this Facebooker’s wants to be seen in the right light. Thank you for going to the trouble of getting a professional headshot!
3. THE ETERNAL TRAVELLER
An avid jetsetter, this Facebooker travels far and wide, keeping us up-to-date with their every move and, in the process, putting the ‘tag’ feature to ample use.
4. THE POSER
Trout-pouting, peace signs and awkward leaning, these Facebookers know what they want and usually get it. A profile trait of the younger, vivacious set. ‘Tech Genners’, perhaps?
5. THE PROUD PARENT
Welcome to the profile shots of mums and dads who hide behind the grins of their new little Gen Z’ers (or, pet for that matter!). This family-minded, time-poor set use Facebook as a way of keeping their extended entourage in (virtual) touch with their busy lives.
6. THE MYSTERIOUS ONE
These Facebookers want to be a part of the action, but are keen to keep their ambiguity…. With their often cryptic, incognito shots, they leave us wondering what’s what and who’s who – just the way they like it.
7. THE ARTIST
These Facebookers are super-arty, experimenting with light flares, photo-montage and strange cropping techniques. Their creative touches provide that much-needed visual break from the line-up of same ol’, same ol’ profile photos.
8. THE MEMORY LANER
The Memory Laner just can’t seem to leave the past behind. Generally Gen X’ers, they continue to share their fondest memory with us. We love it!
9. THE LOVERS
This Facebook couple take PDA (personal displays of affection) into the offline world. Kisses, cuddles and everything else in between, it’s time to get a room (one without a webcam).
10. THE ART DIRECTOR
Do you know your better side? These Facebookers do. For a photo that has been conceptualised and executed, but made to look casual. Shot from above and slightly to the side (not to mention occasional retouching!), they only ever put their carefully composed face on show.
11. THE CARICATURISTS
Its a fact, online avatars/caricatures usually reflect the personality of their creators. Be careful what you upload!!
12. THE 50+
Enough said really. These Facebookers generally struggle to upload a profile photo. It’s often your mum or dad trying to befriend you online.
CS
THE IDENTITY ISSUE: ONLINE, AND OUT THERE!
It seems that everyone is willing to ‘put themselves out there’ on the www these days. Our every move is being recorded and scrutinised by an ever-expanding audience of anyone who is willing to click on and check us out, and our online identities, and the many facets that contribute to our online personas – real or fabricated, are being used against us as marketing tools in a satirical commentary and profiling trend. It has become such common practice to be putting our faces out into the www ether that blogs and brands the world around are taking advantage, commenting on our online personae and identities with a variety of hilarious outcomes.
Every online-savvy person is aware that Facebook is about presenting an ideal view of yourself and your world to genuine friends and assorted acquaintances. Some people, however, may take their profile picture too far, with professional glamour pics, “trout pouts”, and tanned-chest close-ups all popping up in your daily feed. Beer brand, Victoria Bitter, has launched a clever, social-media campaign via Facebook, calling for people to stage an online profile intervention to save mates from superficiality in the form of ‘profile posing’. Listing 18 clinical conditions, from ‘Hollywood Headshot’ to ‘The Mirror Jockey’, you’re bound to pick out a few repeat offenders amongst your online circle of friends.
Refinery29.com, one of the web’s leading authorities in current fashion and style trends, recently enlisted the help of renowned body language expert, Patti Wood, to tell us what our signature photographic stance might be revealing about ourselves. Having combed the www’s favoured street-style sites, a number of poses were singled out, including such gems as ‘The Walk Away’ to the ever-so-popular, ‘Red Carpet’.
The Awkward Lean (theawkwardlean.tumblr.com) is a site dedicated to documenting the phenomena of the favoured fashionable pose of girls around the country: Leaning. The origin of the pose itself is unknown, but The Awkward Lean is filled with snaps of young ladies submitted to the site by the bucket load. The well-rehearsed tilt, complete with hand on hip and hair flick, is a must-see on this tongue-in-cheek site, and don’t be surprised to see some of Sydney’s ‘finest’ amongst the crowd.
What does your pose say about you?! KM
THE IDENTITY ISSUE: BRANDED AWARENESS
Post-GFC aftermath, the world is awash in what’s been dubbed ‘the new normal’. Frugality, nationalism, and social connection are all dominant themes, so when consumers do spend, they’re increasingly looking for dependability, offering, value, quality and, hopefully, longevity. They’re also after control. In still uncertain times, customers like to know who they’re dealing with, what they’re getting, that their loyalty is appreciated (and rewarded), and that the relationship is an authentic one.
Here at eskimo, we’ve compiled a hit list of what this means for brands.
Define your POSITION
Never more so than now, brands without a strong rationale or lacking in substance won’t stand the test of a promiscuous and savings-obsessed consumer crowd. Time taken to know your position against competitors, to articulate your brand’s market differentiation and customer benefits, the role your brand will take, and establishing a clear set of behaviours will ensure your brand is both relevant and real. Two key criteria in trying times.
BIG on personality
We mentioned it above, but we can’t say this loudly enough: Be interesting. Have something to say. Be bold when you need to. Dare to stand out. Know when to speak with expertise and when to have a laugh. Brands with personality are those we remember and make an emotional connection with. And we all know that once we’re in love, money’s no longer the only consideration. Bypass the price wars with competitors through the addition of some good old-fashioned ‘brand value’.
Keep IN TOUCH
Keeping in touch is about building a sense of a genuine relationship between you and your customer. It’s about authenticity – about connectedness. The importance of the service component, being communicated to, made a part of a club, and at the same time, treated in store and online as a unique and remembered individual, cannot be over-estimated. Keeping in touch with your customers translates to staying top of (their) mind.
Remember, in an era of information-overload, your communications, as much as your product, should bring benefits. Make it meaningful.
SURPRISE
In a world of online shopping and a strong Aussie dollar, consumers can ‘access all areas’. The key to success in this market is not necessarily playing as safe as you once used to. We’re not so very far away from everyone else, any more…
Be it in product design or service style, consider thinking of new ways of doing things. It’s all about cut-through in the market.
REWARD like you mean it
With the rise of ‘loyalty’ cards and programs, ensure that yours stands out from the crowd of email spam that’s currently on the rise.
It stands to reason that if you keep your customers interested in you, the higher the chances will be of their remaining loyal. Following that logic, a well-pitched, product-price combination remains a core, ‘entry level’ requirement to customer retention. All rewards on top of this should be about saying Thank You to your loyal customer. Understanding that their individual contribution matters to your success, and speaking to them in ways that acknowledge this fact by giving them something in return either through a sense of community, content that informs and inspires, price promotions, advanced access, or anything else that will appeal.
Be generous and genuine in this process, and your Rewards Program will stand out from its competitors. KR
THE IDENTITY ISSUE: THE NEW PUBLIC PRIVACY
Are you of the mindset that living a public life online has benefits, or do you take the firm stance that a trend towards sharing everything will negate what makes us individuals?
The following video by ABC’s Hungry Beast is a great look into this very contentious issue, and definitely worth a watch.
What’s particularly poignant for me is Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt’s statement to The Wall Street Journal that he foresees a future wherein every young person could legally change their name on reaching adulthood in order to escape their online past. Welcome to the new world!
Regardless of your viewpoint, every week, 23 exabytes of information is recorded and transferred onto the web. It looks like we’re moving exponentially towards this existence, whether we like it or not… CS
THE IDENTITY ISSUE: UNPLUG FROM THE PRESSURE
“A slender wire has become the highway of thought”, observed The New York Times in an editorial published 14 September 1852. “Messages follow each other in quick succession. Joy spreads on the track of sorrow. The arrival of a ship, news of a revolution, or a battle, the price of pork, the state of foreign and domestic markets, missives of love, the progress of courts, the success or discomfiture of disease, the result of elections, and an innumerable host of social, political and commercial details, all chase each other over the slender and unconscious wires.”*
To think this was written over one hundred and fifty years ago! With a couple of adjustments, these words remain as relevant today as then. So why is it that in these times we feel so particularly afflicted by the pressures of communication?
The answer lies in the many avenues of ‘attack’ that now exist. Channels of communication have expanded immeasurably since 1852, and it seems we’re all now armed with multifarious means of getting in touch with one another, providing content, and expecting response.
The trick, of course, is to manage your own use of these same channels of communication (think security and self-control here!), managing others’ expectations of your availability and, by default, responsiveness.
Worst-case scenario, we suggest you simply unplug and escape to one of our favourite de-connection destinations below…KR
*Source: William Powers’ Hamlet’s BlackBerry, available through HarperCollins.
THE IDENTITY ISSUE: XY + XX = XOXO
Once upon a time (apart from a few brave mavericks), the ‘rules’ in fashion were well and truly drawn. On the one catwalk, men. On the other, women. What’s taking place now is an exciting, global collision course – the intersection of both sexes ‘becoming one’, as it were; a veritable petri dish of gender-bending, unisex, and man-style that places personality first and foremost.
It’s a brave move, steadfast in its refusal to play the traditional gender game. And while it may cause confusion – even consternation – for those not inclined to dress in this androgynous manner, what’s important here is the wearer’s freedom of expression – of strength in self-awareness, and if fashion is the conduit to announcing your identity to the world on any given day, that can only be a good thing.
And even though we may be witness to a rise in unisex dressing, of a new fashion ‘math’ in which the sum of all parts appears to be no greater than one, the truth is that, beneath all this criss-crossing, the multiplication of those choosing to forge their own, unique path will never create a ‘one size fits all’ genetic make-up.
In fashion’s chromosome playground of XX to XY and back again, self-identity is everything. SN
THE IDENTITY ISSUE: NAILING YOUR IDENTITY
Let’s face it. Your identity encompasses all aspects of your being, and in this stream of fashion-conscious world in which we live, even your fingertips are in on the act.
What does your hue say about you? As always, those couture aficionados at Chanel have it nailed, releasing the must-have shades of the season that are bound to sell faster than Lanvin for H&M. Let your fingers do the talking with Graphite, Quartz, and Péridot, a rock ’n’ roll melange of shiny, sheen-like wonders that announce your style savvy – even before you’ve uttered a single word.
Thanks to Karl and his crew, you’ll never put another foot (or fingertip) wrong as you navigate the world, your ID style-imprint sealed with a daub of designer DNA, fluent in a language foreign to none: Chanel.
Really looking forward to this.
An Australia brand that has needed a good tweak for sometime now.
Comment by Zoran Konjarski — July 5, 2011 @ 7:02 pm