2 Paragraphs On: Moving

This week, we at DDG moved into our brand new, yet not-quite-finished offices near Bo'ai rd in Taipei. The bathrooms don't have water, the tables don't have tops, but we're here and excited about the new location. Less than a few months ago I personally moved from the Songshan area to a new apartment near Guting station as well. It's closer to friends and work and has a patio area that can actually accommodate more than two people; unlike my previous place. 

There's something really wonderful about moving. It's a brand new beginning. A chance to start over and make some changes in both your environment and your life. It allows you to clear out clutter and reassess those things you may or may not need. It allows you to enrich the lives of others by passing on those unneeded items to friends or strangers who can put them to better use. It forces you to shift your perspective a bit by changing environments, interactions, and daily expectations. Moving gets you moving in a way unlike any other experience in life. it's exciting to be experiencing moves both at work and home this year.

2 Paragraphs on: Tesla Model 3

The Tesla Model 3 is here, and by the numbers, it looks like it's already a big hit. I was happy to see Elon Musk–in the launch video–pointing out that the car isn't just a fancy automotive alternative; it's a replacement. Everyone's had just about enough carbon monoxide poisoning–code named smog–to last us the rest of our short lives, and I feel confident that all of it's about to change.

Back in 2009 Tesla was barely on the map, and now hundreds of thousands of people are signing up to purchase a car that hasn't even been built yet–amazing. What we're seeing is the launch of a sea-change that is about to take place before our very eyes, and I feel it might happen faster than most of us can even imagine. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that in the next 5 years the death of the gasoline vehicle will be on the horizon. That might sound unfathomable to some, but 5 years previously, so did the idea that close to 300,000 people would be reserving a Tesla. Shit, 5 years ago I also wouldn't have predicted I'd be driving around on a Gogoro.

Welcome to the electric vehicle revolution. It's about time.

2 Paragraphs On: Barbie

Today I read – via Twitter – an extensive article on Barbie's new body, and the expected controversies to follow. Maybe it has something to do with being a man, but I just don't understand all the controversy. So there's a "plump" new Barbie? Cool! ( and like, so what? ) I personally think the "plump" Barbie looks more attractive, but I really don't think they're making her for me, or are they?

My little sister was a "plump" little kid, who had a mountain of Barbies. I never thought about it before, but I wonder if she had played with the bigger Barbie if it would have impacted her in a more positive way. We'll never actually know. But she also played with tiny rainbow-colored ponies, which don't even exist in reality, and somehow managed to grow into a very realistic woman. I think the new Barbie body types are just fine. If I had kids, I'd probably buy them the "plump" version.  But do kids need dolls to show them how humans should look in the first place? Maybe kids should be spending more time interacting with actual humans than tiny plastic replicas.

2 Paragraphs On: The New Coca-Cola Slogan

Most of my friends know that I rarely drink soda pop. But once in a great while, I do, and when that happens it's usually a Coca-Cola. My desire for a Coke tends to be ignited by the sight of those vintage glass bottles. They just give me that–feeling. You probably know exactly what I'm talking about and so does Coca-Cola, who just wrote one of the best slogans I've ever seen– "Taste the feeling."

The slogan works so well because it literally sums up what many of us now experience when we drink Coke; memories of good feelings we had while Coke was present. I think about when I was 10, watching a movie in the theatre, a party at a friends house, a backyard bbq, skateboarding after school, Friday night board games with my parents. I now avoid sugary drinks like the plague, and I'm not sure if Coca-Cola is a company I feel comfortable promoting–which isn't my intention here–but I have to admit, with one simple phrase Coke just ignited a little desire inside of me. I think I'll go taste some of that feeling this week.

My best and worst of 2015

2015 was a fairly good year for me. I gained some clarity and learned to balance certain aspects of my personality. I've gotten better at knowing what and who I should and shouldn't spend time and energy on. 2015 had it's challenging moments as well, but I overcame these and made another successful trip around the sun. Here's some of my best and worst of 2015:

Worst of 2015:

1. I seriously injured my knee a few times this year. It hasn't been the best experience. The injuries are a result of past abuse and current recklessness with my body. It set me back significantly in my yoga practice and caused me to worry about my body in a way that I never did before. Perhaps it's been a good thing in that regards. I'm not indestructible and as I get older being kind and careful with my body should be more of a priority I guess.

2. I had my first acupuncture experience. ( thanks to the knee injury )

3. I had a small tumor removed. ( thanks to all that sunbathing )

Best of 2015

1. This year I spent a considerable amount of time contemplating how to become a kinder, more generous person. As part of this effort, I randomly and anonymously paid for a few strangers dinners. Nothing boosts the ego more than random generosity followed by a self-promotional blog post. I know this minor sort of thing doesn't equate to being a kinder or more generous person, but at least I can say that I made some honest efforts. That being said, I have a lot of work yet to do in this area in 2016.

2. I finally made it to Lanyu island in Taiwan. The island is as stunning as everyone told me it was. As our boat approached, all I could hear was the theme song from Jurassic park playing in my head. It's, it's, an island! I was able to do some diving ( considered to be some of the best in Taiwan ) and spend quality time with some of my best friends. I regret not buying this really cool neckless.

3. I did a lot of riding on my fixie.

4. I began my new role as a Communication Strategist for DDG and updated my website to reflect this and other work I've done over the last few years. This new role has been both challenging and rewarding. I'm thankful for the opportunity to work with so many talented people and learn from the masters of Taiwan branding. 

5. I gave my first client presentation in Chinese. It wasn't bad, it wasn't great, but it was. I just have to remember not to use 很嚴重 in place of 很重要.

6. I hosted my first Greativities event and had a "great" time doing it.

7. In order to cut down on film expense, I picked up a used Fujifilm x100 and have enjoyed taking pictures with it this year. 

8. I did a week of Paleo diet, after which I decided I wouldn't eat meat, rice or noodles during my lunch in the future.

9. I received both Cheez-its and Triscuits from America. I ate both boxes in only a few days.

10. I bought the book Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, mostly because I love the hardcover book design, but I also enjoyed reading it as well.

11. This is one of my favorite quotes this year.

12. After nearly 4 years of long hair, I got a hair cut at biba solan. This action was the direct result of a sort of, personal brand audit after one of my dear friends humorously referred to me as Fabio. I think Fabio is just fine actually, but it was a great time to reinvent myself.  

13. I started wearing the same thing to work every day.

14. I read a lot of Sam Harris and even purchased his Waking up presentation from Vimeo. If you don't know who Sam Harris is you should check out his TED Talk and explore some of his books.

15. One of the best movies I saw this year was Interstellar. I'm not sure why, but this movie had a huge emotional impact on me. I know not everyone loved this movie as much as I did, but I was really blown away. I felt the music was amazing. It's one of the few movies I've gone back to see again in the theater. 

16. I bought myself a Gogoro Smartscooter and wrote an article about it.

For the year ahead I don't have a list of resolutions.
I just plan on continuing to do what I have been doing, perhaps with a little more guacamole here and there. 

Happy New Year everyone!

Singled Out - Why 7-11's new campaign is so sad

Yesterday 7-11 launched a new ad campaign entitled “Single friendly.” As someone who’s been happily single for over two years, I was pleased and excited to see a brand launching a campaign in support of Taiwan's single population. You might find it hard to believe, but single people can face an enormous amount of prejudice from cultural stigma and the media, so it’s always refreshing to see support from brands we know and love; and who can't say they don't love 7-11 on some level.

The first video I watched from the series ( below ) was hard for me to wrap my head around. Titled “Lesson 6" the story revolves around a sucker of a guy who apparently lacks any sense of self-worth.  His horrible girlfriend takes advantage of this by endlessly commanding him to rush to 7-11 to purchase whatever her nasty heart desires. The story culminates with us realizing that, although they've since broken up, he continues to serve as her personal shopping stooge, even as she requests two tickets to a show he's not even invited to; they're for her and a new boyfriend who's waiting impatiently in the car. In the end, our sucker shrugs it off. He's content with the satisfaction and pleasure he receives from buying things at 7-11; it's apparently the best thing going on in his life. Our 7-11 clerk observes all this, unbiasedly, and simply continues to do his job.

At first, I thought there must be something I was missing. Some kind of Taiwanese cultural humor I was losing in translation. After a discussion with some of my Taiwanese coworkers, I was assured that no, I wasn't missing anything, the story was as I had perceived it, and yes, it was super weird.

The rest of the videos in the series aren't much better. Each story delivers a somewhat dismal portrayal of a single person who's only bright spot in life appears to be his or her frequent trips to 7-11, where a caring yet disconnected clerk takes care of ringing them up. Cigarettes? Beer? Whatever makes you feel better about your sad life buddy. We're always open, so come back when you need more.

I just couldn't help feeling, after watching all these videos, that the main message is that 7-11 is a place for lonely losers, aka Single people. 

“I like being single, I’m always there when I need me.
”

— Art Leo

What an enormous missed opportunity for 7-11. The campaign name itself "Single Friendly" is actually brilliant in my opinion. I immediately liked the sound of it when I saw the words, so whoever came up with it was definitely on to something. I'm not sure what happened from there, but it's clear the execution took a more sinister direction. Perhaps they should have attended our Greativities workshop on brand personality first.

It's a well-known fact that more Taiwanese young people are staying single for longer. ( this is actually true for most of the world as well. ) There's rumor that the government sees this as a national security threat, which may have some influence, but the truth is that most singles are single because they choose to be that way. This was shown to be true even back in 2006 when the Bureau of Health Promotion conducted a survey showing that one-third of Taiwanese preferred to remain single. In fact, new research shows that single people don't feel lonely at all, and they might even be far less lonely than those who are married or in a couple. So presenting singles as sad and lonely not only appears ignorant but is ultimately a poor way to win them over as loyal customers. 

Imagine, instead of attempting to demonstrate how miserable and lonely the single life is, a series of stories focused on the positive side of being single; staying out all night with friends while making frequent 7-11 runs, the freedom to enjoy some quality alone time with a coffee or a snack, or even the opportunity 7-11 provides to meet other happy single people, which who knows, could result in a happy new relationship. 

I'm single, and I love shopping at 7-11. I have fond memories of using 7-11's excellent free wifi to skype with friends and family on Saturday mornings. I've even had a few great conversations with strangers I met there. That's what single friendly to me is all about, and what 7-11 could be all about.