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| MEME Delivery newsletter: A Slightly Different Perspective.
Welcome to the first issue of MEME Delivery, a quarterly newsletter I'm writing about business, life, and good stuff in general. Although I'm writing particularly for people in college and beginning careers I really hope this will be interesting to everyone I've sent it to, but you can unsubscribe if it isn't My thanks to: 1. Current Thought Currents: 2. Required Reading: 3. In the CD player: 4. What's Up With John? 5. Wish list. Ask and ye just might receive! 1. Current Thought Currents. Since starting my new company MEME Dispersal Unit, I have found myself continually expounding the concept of Memes. In short, a meme is a unit of cultural evolution which parasitizes your brain and forces you to propagate it, much like genes do to our bodies. Evolutionary biologists would say (excuse me while I mangle the theory ;) that we exist solely to host and propagate our genes. Your rich mental and emotional life, your opposable thumb - all that you are - exists to help you more successfully host and propagate your genes. Hence genes are often called replicators. In that scenario, however, our brains are really too big. They use too much oxygen, too much glucose, they weigh too much, and so on. People argue that we don't need such big brains to propagate our genes successfully as a species. So, in a 1976 book called The Selfish Gene Richard Dawkins proposed a second replicator, and called it a MEME (rhymes with gene) from the Greek word for mimic. Our brains are so big because this second replicator is acting upon us, mentally. Think about the saying, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." It's been around a long time! That saying has been hosted and propagated by countless generations of people. It is one meme in the religious meme-pool. Remember "the Wave?" Once that was shown on TV once it swarmed the country's sports stadiums almost overnight. For a more recent example, how many of you said, "Whazzzzzuuuuuuup?" to your friends? Why? Why did that stick in your mind? It's a good meme! It even mutated: Wasabi????, What are youuuuuuu doing???? The application in marketing is obvious. Marketing campaigns that do most of the work by themselves go deeper and cost less than campaigns that don't! At MEME Dispersal Unit we excel at assisting clients and agencies in building memetic campaigns and then propagating them on college campuses and in urban markets. This is an extremely powerful way to look at the world, and it is good to be aware of memes so you can protect yourself from the more insidious ones, like "smoking is cool." More about memes in following newletters. Now, on to the other memes I want to propagate! I attended an Iconocast event a while back here in San Francisco (if you're interested in marketing, particularly on-line marketing, then you must subscribe to the Iconocast - http://www.iconocast.com/newsletter.html. Michael Tchong is a buddy and he is also the man who probably knows more than anyone else in the world about online marketing. This is a great, great resource and it's funny, too!). At this event I had the distinct pleasure of seeing Tim Sanders speak. He is one smart guy and he's also really nice! He wrote the book Love is the Killer App, which I have listed in Required Reading. He gave an inspiring speech about the concepts he expounds in the book. I was so impressed that after his presentation I bought 5 copies, 1 for myself and the other 4 for friends I wanted to help with good business ideas. I have bought and passed on about 4 more since then, too. I wish I could put it into the hands of everyone I know and care about. More importantly, I wish everyone would actually absorb it into their brains! I won't ruin the read for you, but I want to tell you a bit about the book, since I think it's so important. One of the first things Tim ran past us was a Dale Carnegie quote from the depression and which seemed unthinkably nice at the time, during that dog eat dog business climate. Basically, it goes, "You will do better in two months if you take a genuine interest in two other people than you will do in two years if you try to get two people interested in you..." I suggest re-reading that... He then told a story of an insurance salesman in Manhattan who did nothing but work all week to find 4 people he thought would benefit from meeting each other. On Friday, he'd invite them all to a very nice lunch and facilitate introductions and discussions. If the discussion ever started to focus on him, or his work, he'd tell them they could call his assistant on Monday. This lunch was about them meeting each other. He introduced them, yet he never asked for any commission or inclusion on the business they did with each other. He made the introductions free and clear! Imagine how liberating that attitude was to those introduced! Although at first blush this doesn't seem like a good way to sell insurance, you can bet that after a little while word spread about this gentleman. Imagine it, after 1 year of doing this: 1 x 52 weeks in a year x 4 people = 208 people. These people met each other, likely found the introduction helpful, told their friends, and many of them wouldn't dream of getting their insurance from anyone else after such a selfless treat. Now imagine the word of mouth. Now imagine the numbers after 10 years! (Plan on your business taking 10 years to really succeed and your far less likely to be disappointed!) That is loyalty. That is what Tim calls "Lovecat" business style. It is also what leads him to say, "NSPS, dude! (Nice Smart People Succeed!)" Notice the saying again Nice, SMART, people succeed. Nice alone is not enough. Tim made the great point that knowledge, as my father always tells me, is POWER. The power to help others, the power to become more than just another face in the crowd of people we all do business with, the power to become indispensable to your clients and other business associates. Instead of taking the usual approach to business meetings, which seems to be "cow your clients into submission with PowerPoint slides" Tim uses knowledge to engage and inform his clients in ways that may only be peripherally related to their business with him, but in ways that are purely vital to their business and their interests. Tim also made the good point that if one wants to become truly informed one really needs to read. Not just USA Today and Wired, but rather one needs to read BOOKS, often hardback books, for that is the only place one actually gets a fully formed argument, explanation, and deeper big thought. Before a business meeting Tim does a lot of research to find an idea that could really help the person he's meeting with. He then finds a good book on the subject, reads it if he hasn't already, and shares the knowledge he has gained with the person he's meeting. This not only helps them out, but it also puts Tim into a totally different category than the vast majority of people they deal with on a daily basis. Tim becomes a sought after and appreciated resource. At the end of the meeting Tim gives them a copy of the book. Their own copy. And he suggests they read it with a highlighter and a pen, so they can read it interactively. Imagine how he stands out! Imagine how different a business meeting with him would be! Tim finally gave me the vocabulary to talk about business the way I have always tried and aspired to implement it. He gave me a way to talk about the people I admire and appreciate most, the Lovecats in my business life. That is what I hope to make MEME Delivery for you on a quarterly basis. A Lovecat update with great ideas, great perspectives and relevant knowledge to give you more power in your daily life. One critique of Tim's book is that it does, at times, seem a bit remedial, as though written for people with nearly zero social skills. That might be good in Silicon Valley, though! I also think that there is a "spiritual" dimension that deserves more attention, but maybe he wanted to leave something for a second book! 2. Required Reading Good for Business: Culture Jam by Kalle Lasn - This excellent book will challenge your current view on the world. It also challenges me every day in my chosen profession, and I am still not fully able to resolve the conflicts it brings up in my mind. Kalle Lasn, the author, presents some dramatic, amazing, incredible and well documented research on subjects we never hear about, including the incredible rise of the corporation and the noose-like control of the mass media. Given the recent corporate scandals and ripoffs this book is even more relevant than when it was published, in 1999. I do agree with almost all of the points in this book. That said, I don't think Kalle or myself disagree with capitalism, per se. I don't think this book is anti-business. I think this book is terrifying to business because it is anti business-as-usual. We need to change things. We all know that, but we rarely confront it like we do in this book. I encourage you, no beg you, to read this book this year. It has a message and a ray of light that is potentially one of the most important I have ever found. "Bowling for Columbine" and this book are great companion experiences. Reading On a More Personal Note: Ishmael by Daniel Quinn - One of my all-time most favorite books. There isn't much more to say. Yes, it does lean toward green themes and saving the earth, or rather, the humans, but it is amazingly well written and completely thought provoking. Essential. It fits extremely closely with Guns Germs and Steel's world view and will challenge your outlooks even further. If you read Guns, Germs and Steel, then Ishmael, then Culture Jam, go see "Bowling for Columbine" and then (re)-watch the Matrix I bet your circuits will fritz. I want to hear from anyone that does this in that order! :) 3. In the CD player The K & D Sessions - Kruder and Dorfmeister. Essential make out music, study music, chill music, good vibe music, and so on. Everyone to whom I have recommended this double album has thanked me for turning them on to it, so far! Back to Mine - Groove Armada. An excellent mix of Groove Armada's favorite music. I don't like the first song, but after that it is pure guava. Their remix of Al Green's version of the Door's song "Light My Fire" (how's that for postmodern?) is goose-bumps good. Anything by Groove Armada gets my vote. Goodbye Country, Hello Nightclub is also fantastic. musicforthemorningafter - Pete Yorn. This vocalist, whom I don't know as much about as I should, really delivers an album that you love to sing along with, that you can't get out of your head - but that's ok, and that just kinda feels appropriate to the times. I love his voice, too. Brushfire Fairytales - Jack Johnson. I just saw Jack perform at Ex'pression Center in our really fantastic auditorium and he was GREAT! Jack is a surfer (he showed up in flip-flops), and he's mellow and has a voice of gold. His guitar playing is precise and his musical timing is superb. He's a friend of Ben Harper and they sound a lot alike, in some ways. His site is one of the better sites I've seen, too. http://www.jackjohnsonmusic.com If you are thinking of getting a new sound system then check out my friend Win's company. I just got a new 5.1 system. It ROCKS, and it sounds like it cost $6,000+. It didn't. ".if you are looking for a Home Theater system that will kill a Bose, or Energy Take5 kind of system and not take up much more room, you owe it to yourself to have a look at this package."-Mike Knapp hometheatertalk.com. 4. What's Up With John I am still living in the Outer Sunset in San Francisco. October was fantastic for surf. I have been sore since the end of September from paddling so much. Huge barrels, blown out mush, fantastic glassy peaks, shortboard, longboard, it has been wonderful. Keeping my fingers crossed for the rest of winter (Spring and Summer were horrible, so it's about time for good surf!) As well, I won the Surfpulse Worst Wipeout contest with my funniest, scariest surf story. And, it's true! Read it at: http://www.surfpulse.com/surfco-wipeout-results.shtml. Milo is doing well. He comes everywhere with me, has been enjoying his vacations with friends while I travel, and is as one track minded about playing as ever. He does miss all our work friends and I think he sometimes feel like we're in solitary confinement working from home, but he likes the morning sunshine through the window and the couch corner he has claimed. His muzzle is greying, but he's still a puppy. Hmmm. MEME Dispersal Unit, the new company, has several clients and 2002 shaped up to be better, at least business-wise, than 2001. But, that's not hard! I recently visited some friends in Nice, in the south of France and in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. I relaxed hard. I also got a clear message that it's time to progress personally and spiritually. While I was at my friend's beautiful, cozy chateau in Nice (yeah, it was tough lounging by the pool, drinking Caiparinha's, chowing that wonderful bread and looking out at the foothills of the Alps - thank heaven for that experience! Thank you!) I started working on a book about the BIGWORDS experience. Consider this my plea to you to share your thoughts and remembrances from that time - BIGWORDS related and general dotcom related, too. If you've got some memories you'd like to share I would certainly appreciate them. More about that later. In Amsterdam I visited the headquarters of Greenpeace International - http://greenpeace.org (the Bhopal web site piece is utterly stunning and important to see - it is disturbing, but here is the link: http://www.greenpeace.org/multimedia/slideshow-view?item_id=21930 Half Life is also disturbing, and far too relevant...) and I am always impressed with their concern, smarts, guts and dedication. If you don't know Greenpeace I encourage you to check them out. They've grown up a lot since the days of the baby harp seals. The organization is run by unbelievably dedicated people who take exceedingly difficult, direct, NONVIOLENT, action on a number of issues that are truly global, truly BIG in their implications. They risk, and sometimes lose, their lives to make the world a better place on a daily basis. Just in case you couldn't guess, I am a supporter and I am definitely biased, but that bias is based on my personal experiences. On the general theme of making the world a better place, those of you who have never heard of Burning Man should really check out http://burningman.com and see if it seems like something you'd like. It's certainly not for everyone! But, I love it! It is a gathering that happens in the Nevada desert every year over Labor Day weekend. It's like a temporary, contemporary art museum, with contributions from large to small, excellent to shoddy and all of it is just amazing. The main points are radical self expression (there are no spectators, everyone must be a participant) and non-commercialism. Bring enough to share! It is a gift economy. Be good to each other! 5. Wish list. Here is an idea: put up a sincere wish list on your website, even attach it to your emails as a .sig file. You never know who could be able and willing to help you. It is totally possible that someone would be willing to help you start the non-profit organization you want to start, or know a way to get you that autograph you're just dying for, or whatever. I think we should all share these things with each other. I would LOVE to be able to help you out if there were something I could do with relative ease that would make your life better. So, Lovecats, here is my wish list. If you can help me, please do, if not No Worries! When I see your wish list I will do whatever I can for you, too! This could be really fun for all of us. * Hook up with friends that surf in Chile or Peru. I have become obsessed with South America and the long left hand point breaks there. I want to go there for as long as I am able to stay and just sit on one of those long, peeling (hopefully uncrowded) point breaks and surf as much as possible. I don't care if it's cold, I don't care if there is nothing else to do, I just want the longest, least crowded wave I can get. * Clients for MEME Dispersal Unit. You can visit http://memedispersal.com to get an idea of what we do, but the short version is that we are some of the best youth/college marketers around. We help companies come up with the "tipping" factor for their campaigns and then we help them implement on college campuses and in urban markets nationwide. Dick Hackenberg, my former boss at BIGWORDS, is working with me, as is Jeff Sherwood, the guy who brought me into BIGWORDS and who now has http://BIGGERWORDS.com. With about 150 smart and talented students, who are our campus consultants, on 75 of the most important college campuses in the United States, we are uniquely positioned to help create and then implement successful campaigns. I would especially like to help organic, green, progressive companies, where possible. I want to contribute more actively to making the world a better place with my work, too. * More campus consultants. We're constantly growing and looking for talented, in the know, opinion leaders at major campuses all over the US. If you, or someone you know, is a student and is interested, get in touch with me by sending an email to: CampusConsultant@johnbates.com. * Your thoughts, experiences, insights, etc. from the BIGWORDS experience and the larger dot com era. I would like to include as many relevant details in the book I am working on as I am able. *Venture capital for a venture that centers on a patented machine that acidifies irrigation water and dechlorinates effluent water on-site and on-demand in a safe, cost-effective manner. It also provides sulfur as a plant nutrient in readily-available form. That is good for treatment and reclamation of saline and/or sodic waters and soils, which comprise and compromise a significant percentage of the worlds irrigated farmland. It's also really good for golf courses. http://isweetwater.com/ * Spiritual suggestions. Yes, I am trying to clamber up to the next level of my own spirituality. If you've read a good book, visited an inspiring website, or have some other suggestion, I am all ears (or eyes, in email, I guess). Just FYI, I loved Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, I loved The Four Agreements, I do yoga with Rodney Yee's video tapes and I love that, too. With that I will wrap up this first installment of Meme Delivery. I hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday Season! Please feel free to forward this to friends, if you think they'd enjoy it. Finally, I welcome your feedback about the newsletter at MEME Feedbackand I apologize in advance for not being able to keep up with my email. I won't respond unless a response is needed, but I will be grateful for your feedback in all its forms. If you want to send me a personal email then click here: Personal email to John.
+++ Prior to founding his Memetic Consulting firm, MEME Dispersal Unit, John was a co-founder and the Chief Evangelist for BIGWORDS.com. There, John ran the full startup gamut initially raising funding while overseeing PR and Marketing. After setting up and handing off the customer service depart John crafted and led the college and guerilla marketing charge, which put BIGWORDS far ahead of their closest competitors for a fraction of the marketing budget. Before founding BIGWORDS John was the Director of Business Development and the Technology Evangelist for Skunk Technologies, a Santa Monica based Java distributed-object developer. Previous to that, he was Director of Online Services for Virtual Vegas, the first online entertainment Web site in the dot-com domain. John also co-founded RadioNet, the first radio show with a home page. He has lectured all over the world at conferences, symposia and in classrooms and has written about digital culture for many magazines ranging from Wired to Surfer. John graduated Summa Cum Laude from the UCLA Honors Collegium. Appropriately enough, John came to LA and his current career by circuitous way of his rock band. At the tender age of 20 John left Salt Lake City for LA with his band. They slept in their cars, went hungry at first, and finally achieved a modicum of success. (Find them on mp3.com! SLC Urge and Reptilian Space Dogs, you'll laugh really hard) But, you still had never heard of them until today. JB Let the waters settle
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