#129: The Thunder Rolls
It's Monday! It's Monday.
If you’ve never seen the original video for Garth Brooks 1991 CLASSIC The Thunder Rolls, I’m not surprised.
For those that might not know, the video for this one is hard to find online, given Mr. Brooks feelings on sites like Youtube.
Don’t ever say I don’t do anything for my subscribers.
CULTURE THING:
People tend to react more strongly to hypocrisy when it includes criticism or negative judgement. Someone boasts about being a live music supporter but is found to never go to gigs? Hypocritical, annoying, but not really worth getting angry about. But, a right-wing politician condemns homosexuality and attacks gay rights, but is then found to be engaging in homosexual activity themselves? Appalling. People react strongly to perceived injustice, so hypocrisy like this will get them very angry and demanding retribution.
Similarly, people are far quicker to notice and call out hypocrisy when it goes against their own beliefs. A politician you oppose promotes family values but is caught having an affair? Hypocrite! Drum them out of office! But if it’s a politician you support? Gutter journalism! So he’s not perfect, give him another chance! There are more important issues to worry about etc.
It’s only wrong when YOU do it! The psychology of hypocrisy (The Guardian)
MARKETING THING:
53% of organizations use freelancers to create content.
56% percent of people trust brands over traditional media and news outlets.
75% of readers want articles they read to be under 1,000 words.
83% prefer article and video content formats the most, despite the hype for flashier content formats like podcasts and infographics.
I steer clear of marketing sites that use Buzzfeed-style packaging around commonly-known data. The whole thing feels scammy to me. In the race to win SEO and PPC battles against competing agencies, it has become much harder to sift through the nonsense to find actual information that can help your business grow. These stats are legit and credible and really fun to send to that one guy on your team who swears he knows everything about marketing because he gets the same Adweek newsletter we all get.
25 Useful Content Marketing Stats That Are Actually Credible (Contently)
MUSIC THINGS:
How To Get a Record Advance Without a Record Deal (Ari’s Take)
Companies like The Music Fund are trying to shift away the predatory nature of record label contracts by offering ways to do concepts like advances without owning all of the royalties. This is a good conversation with the CEO about it, but if you write about the music business, I wanna hear from you. Shoot me an e-mail with your thoughts?
I bought a lot of music during last week’s Bandcamp Friday. Here’s a few of my favorites:
DJYung$avage - Dallas, TX. Chopped and screwed music is so fascinating when well-executed. I came across this by accident but enjoyed it enough to drop $ on a bunch of mixes. I don’t even know if buddy is 21 yet, but I’m looking forward to seeing where he goes with it.
Had to cop the new-ish Ohmme on vinyl, because duh.
I copped everything Australian band Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever has released to-date because 1. I grew up around white kids who introduced me to music w/jangly guitars at a very early age and 2. I used to shoot dice with Sub Pop folks during P4K weekend in the merch tent, I trust what they put their stamp on.
HOW TO HELP BLACK LIVES IN 30 MINS OR LESS:
When it comes to taking the steps needed to create a racially equal America, I’ve heard from many well-intentioned non-Black people over the last two months that one of the most daunting things for them is trying to figure out what they can personally do make things better.
Some folks see these massive issues as a significant problem that cannot be defeated, so they struggle to figure out what one person can do, which leads to them not doing much other than posting to IG. Some of that is not wanting to seem like you’re doing too much, some of that is fear your intentions will be misunderstood.
What if I told you that for only 30 minutes a week, you can help black lives no matter where you are or how much money you make? Here’s how:
Carve out 30 minutes in your calendar this week. Call it “Being A Better Person Time” or “Set a Good Example for my Kid” Time, whatever works.
Click a link and make a call or donate or sign a petition. Just do one thing in that 30 min window.
This weekend, share the above link with your three closest friends and say, “Hey, I’m (calling/donating/signing a petition). I’m worried about how things will be for future generations, so I’m doing something about it. If you’re interested, here’s the link!” If you have a group chat, drop it into your group chat!
Repeat the following week for as long as you can. Do it while you online shop, do it while you’re on an annoying call, hell, you can do it while you poop, I genuinely don’t care! Whatever it takes! It is the absolute least that you can do, but you’ll get a sense of accomplishment and the knowledge that you at least did SOMETHING to help. You have a vision of who you want to be, right? That ideal version of yourself that does the right thing when given a chance and leads by example? This is that chance. You can do it!
BONUS: You won’t have to lie to your kids or grandkids about being on the right side of history! You can be all like, “Children/Grandchildren, we don’t tolerate that racist shit in this house. If anyone says otherwise, send them to me.” and you’ll sound all tough and cool, and your kids or grandkids will respect and love you and not want to be racists…guess what? That means less racist people in the future!!!
Look at that. It turns out you had a bigger impact than you thought the whole time!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
(A bunch of guys who owned slaves)
Reminder to paid Office Hours subscribers: You have access to The Junto - a private Slack channel for the forever curious. The name comes from Ben Franklin, who started the first Junto back in 1727 as a “club for mutual improvement”.
Members of the Junto club were avid readers and intellectuals involved in their individual improvement and that of society. The Junto was a launching pad for many public projects. Out of the meetings came proposals for the creation of the first lending library, the Union Fire Company, the University of Pennsylvania, volunteer militia, Pennsylvania Hospital among other public projects.
Doesn’t that sound like something you want to be a part of?
I don’t have delusions of grandeur. I know that a private Slack channel won’t change the world. However, I know very well that there are a lot of forever-curious people who read this newsletter and after years of searching for a place to belong, I realized that it was easier to just make one. Who knows, we might mess around and stumble on something big? Also: when we have a suitable COVID-19 vaccine, Junto members will be invited to live events I curate in a few cities.
If you’re a paid Office Hours subscriber, check your inbox for an additional e-mail from me with the link to access the Slack channel from last week. Thank you again for your continued support!
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Office Hours is written and created by Ernest Wilkins.
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