My wife and I had two weddings on back-to-back weekends this August fulfilling our cultural duties on both sides of the family. It made for a busy but very exciting August. The first wedding was a semi-modernized Hmong wedding (we condensed it from a 3-day event to a single day) and the second day was an American wedding in Bloomington, MN.
On a humid and sticky Friday evening, I roamed away from my commercially hipster Uptown neighborhood that borders two nationally renowned art museums to witness what was perhaps one of the best independent exhibitions I’ve come across. The “Impermanent Public” exhibit in North East Minneapolis examined a new evolution of street art through the work of local, national and international artists.
While some street art communicates messages through destructive means, this exhibit focused on artists using organic materials and non-destructive methods to relate with the public and our shared spaces.
If you’ve ever seen a pink “X” on a tree or a vibrantly painted pothole, you might want to think twice on whether these markings are art, public services or maybe a combination of both. Minneapolis-based artist Nathanial, was shocked to discover how fast the city reacted to his glowing dots on potholes, sidewalk cracks and loose screws on sign poles. Some of Nathaniel’s collection displayed before and after photos of fixed problems in the city’s urban landscape as a result of his tagging system.
Phil Jones's Light Post Ads
Other artists at the exhibition included Andrew Casey, Lee Walton, Light The Underground and Phil Jones. Whether you love or fear advertising, Phil Jones, a day practitioner in the field exercises his talents through bolder public expressions that bring smiles to South Minneapolis communities. He sometimes posts OFF switches on lamp posts and his work at the exhibition included paper advertisements on light posts that would make anyone chuckle.
Austin O'Brion and Mai Chao Vang at Impermanent Public
I’m not a qualified art critic or writer on the topic, but as a pedestrian and civic-minded person, am thankful for what the “Impermanent Public” brought to our community on Friday evening and hope to see more similar exhibitions in the future.
“Now, the Web is enabling the market to converse again, as people tell one another the truth about products and companies and their own desires.” – The Clutrain Manifesto
The dark cloud of brand crisis can turn up quickly when customers feel angry, betrayed or dissatisfied. Organizations have become increasingly vulnerable to behaviors such as NWOM (negative word-of-mouth) and boycotts because of the social web. In Pete Blackshaw’s post on defensive branding, he notes “the digital landscape is littered with social-media roadkill.” 1 Twitter, Facebook, online forums and blogs have enabled customer conversations to share truths about companies with the world. While successful brands have leveraged these virtually free conversations to drive unprecedented growth, there are a rising number of companies falling as victims to negative customer expression online.
Here are a few examples of brands faced with tarnishing expressions from angry customers (read more):
The growing voice of customers through Web 2.0 technologies like blogs, forums and social media has made brand reputations more susceptible to destructive word-of-mouth and negative opinion. This shift of empowerment toward the hands of customers has brought many humiliating service failures to the surface and established a critical need for understanding broken buyer-seller relationships and getting brands back on track.
In my next blog posts, I am going to explore the following issues tied to solving this puzzle:
"Psychologists have established that to most people, the prototypical leader reduces uncertainty and promotes stability, emphasizing shared goals and group identity to preserve the status quo. The stereotypes of creative people are at odds with that definition; the very act of advocating unproven solutions can be seen as rocking the boat."Matt Palmquist
This research caught my attention because of its stark contrast to recent trends pushing leaders to spearhead innovation within their companies. While I think this quote refers more to senior managers than it does senior leaders, the corresponding article brings some interesting points to the surface that warns creative thinkers to proceed with caution when climbing the corporate ladder. The very nature of creativity is born from demand for positive change and it is often the case for any change to be challenged by the steady beat of the status quo. Click here to read the full article text.
Austin O'Brion