Celebrate Africa Day through culture and music
Africa is home to more than 1.5 billion people, and each country, community and person has an incredible story to tell. Through the power of technology, artists and cultural institutions are using online platforms to share their stories and engage with new audiences.
This year, we’re hosting the Africa Day Benefit Concert in collaboration with MTV Base Africa and Idris Elba. We invite you to tune in at 7 PM CAT this evening to experience a musical homage to this amazing continent, and its next generation of pop stars making headlines across the world.
The concert is the culmination of Africa Month, which we’ve celebrated through YouTube Music and Google Arts & Culture. We’ve hosted a live performance by Sauti Sol, a talk on theLeading Women in Music, and the launch of the projectÈkó for Show: Explore Lagos. Music unites Africa, and we hope the concert tonight will bring Africans and people from other parts of the world together to celebrate the continent’s roots, rhythms and records.
As we celebrate Africa Day today, we invite you to explore the continent’s rich cultural heritage through curated online experiences on YouTube and Google Arts & Culture. We hope Africans and people from all over the world will be inspired by these activities that bring together the continent’s roots and rhythms.
Folding@Home: milioni di computer per combattere il COVID-19
Recensione Jabra Evolve2 30: le cuffie per lo smart working che supportano Microsoft Teams
What B2B Marketers Can Learn from Stand-Up Comedy
Stand-up comedians need to make a connection with their audience. It starts with getting attention, then stoking interest, developing a rapport, and ultimately provoking a reaction.
To do it right, you need empathy, knowledge of your audience, creativity…oh, and a spark that makes you unique.
B2B marketers: Does any of the above sound familiar? I’ve been a professional marketer and an amateur comedian for over a decade, and it’s surprising how much the two inform each other.
Here are just a few lessons that B2B marketers can learn from standup.
Keep It Real
In the early 19th century, standup comedy depended on wordplay and absurdism. For example: “Take my wife…please!” or “The other night I shot an elephant in my pajamas… how he got into my pajamas, I’ll never know.”
As the art form of standup has evolved, however, personal observations with a unique point of view (more on that later) have become more popular. Here’s a classic bit from Ellen Degeneres as she dissects the minutiae of her life:
For marketers, keeping it real means being honest and sincere with your audience. It could even mean not being afraid to show flaws or own up to mistakes. Look for ways to bring the audience behind the scenes to meet the people behind the brand.
I like the way Stacey Marx from AT&T Business brings her personal life into her content, as in this post, “Gold Medal Advice: SMB Lessons from a World-Class Coach.” The personal touch elevates the content and makes it unique.
Adjust to Your Audience
Telling a marketer to know their audience is like telling a comedian to… well… know their audience. It’s not a radical new technique; it’s part of the toolkit. At the same time, it’s easy to think of your own culture, background and thought processes as universal. That’s one of the reasons comedy can be so hard to translate.
One famous example is when Jimmy Carter told a joke to break the ice at a college in Japan. He was gratified when, after a brief translation from his interpreter, the crowd erupted in laughter! It wasn’t until later that the interpreter confessed that what he said was, “The president has told a funny story. Please laugh.”
For marketers and comedians alike, the only way to truly get in your audience’s head is to do the research. Putting out the same message for audiences with different cultural backgrounds is a path fraught with peril.
This Jerry Seinfeld bit — a superbly clever American Express commercial — illustrates the point precisely:
Alternate Storytelling with Quick Jabs
John Mulaney and Mitch Hedberg are two of my favorite comedians, and for wildly different reasons. John is the master at telling longer stories, taking a few minutes to set the scene, not rushing to a punchline. Here’s an example (with some strong language, be warned):
On the other side of the spectrum, Mitch Hedberg is the undisputed master of the one-liner. “I don’t have a girlfriend. But I do know a woman who’d be mad at me for saying that.” Or, slightly longer, “One time, this guy handed me a picture, he said ‘Here’s a picture of me when I was younger.’ Every picture is of you when you were younger! ‘Here’s a picture of me when I’m older.’ Woah, lemme see that camera.”
Just as there’s room in comedy for the Mulaneys and Hedbergs, there’s room in marketing for both long-form narratives and short, punchy taglines. Invest the same energy into each one, and you’ll resonate with a wider audience.
Develop a Unique Voice
In the ’80s, there was a brief stand-up fad of weird, extreme voices. For example…
Thankfully, it was a short-lived trend, but it does illustrate how memorable a unique voice can be. Anyone who has heard Bobcat Goldthwait, Gilbert Gottfried, Judy Tenuta or Sam Kinison will never mistake them for someone else. On the flip side, the junkyard of comedy is strewn with the careers of bland comedians who were indistinguishable from each other.
In marketing, it’s easy to slide into a kind of homogeneous, safe, “professional-sounding” corporate speak. Don’t make waves, use — I mean, utilize — the right jargon, and you can avoid offending anyone. The problem is, you’re also unlikely to avoid affecting anyone, too. Make your brand voice personable, lively and unique, and you will have something no competitor can copy.
Serious Business Can Be Funny
All of the above can help you as a marketer address, connect with, and affect your audience. But there’s one other thing that comedians do that marketers should do more often: Be funny. There’s plenty of room in B2B marketing for actual comedy, and those who do it well tend to be rewarded. And hey, if Intel can do it, so can you.
Want more B2B marketing tips? Check out our report on the State of B2B Influencer Marketing.
The post What B2B Marketers Can Learn from Stand-Up Comedy appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog – TopRank®.
Samsung amplia la sua gamma di Smart Monitor
Ayos HCS: un Home Connectivity Server per gestire il proprio network
Iliad, ecco le nuove offerte Flash 120 5G e Giga 80
Instagram down in Italia: cosa è successo?
Tekken 7, riparte il torneo Online con molte novità
WhatsApp, i messaggi vocali accelerati disponibili per tutti
Come Rendere La Consulenza Finanziaria Più Attraente Per Gli Investitori Più Giovani
La prima volta che ho sentito la parola “Bitcoin” è stato nel 2016, dopo che ho chiesto a un compagno di classe del mio corso di cinese la domanda un…
L’articolo Come Rendere La Consulenza Finanziaria Più Attraente Per Gli Investitori Più Giovani scritto da YOUR_DIGITAL_VOICE! proviene da Assodigitale.
Google News Showcase, now on desktop
Last year we announced the launch of Google News Showcase, our product and licensing program that pays publishers for bringing their voice and curation into Google’s news products. Backed by a $1 billion investment, we’ve so far launched the product in the U.K., Australia, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Czechia and India. Ninety percent of the publishers signed up for News Showcase in more than a dozen countries represent local, regional or community newspapers.
Since we launched, we’ve also released new features like Extended Access, which gives News Showcase readers more opportunities to read select paid content from our publisher partners to show them the value of high-quality news.
Today, we’re announcing a few new features for News Showcase. First, we’re rolling out News Showcase for desktop users of Google News (via news.google.com/showcase). Now every user of Google News, regardless of what device they’re using, can see enhanced story panels from our News Showcase partners. This feature is available in the eight countries where we’ve currently launched News Showcase.
Here’s how readers and publishers will see News Showcase panels working on desktop:
Most people will see News Showcase panels right on their Top Stories page, the first page they land on in Google News. Here, right below the top stories of the day, we’ve added a new carousel containing the latest News Showcase panels from publishers they already follow, as well from publishers they might be interested in.
4 things to know about Google Photos’ storage policy change
Six months ago, we announced a change to our High quality storage policy that allows us to keep pace with the growing demand for storage and build Google Photos for the future. On Tuesday, June 1, we’ll start rolling out this change so that any new photos and videos you back up will count toward the free 15GB of storage that comes with every Google Account or the additional storage you’ve purchased as a Google One member.
Before this happens, we want to recap what we announced back in November — and share a couple new things — to make the transition easier.
Your existing High quality photos and videos are exempt from this change: Any photos or videos backed up in High quality before June 1, 2021, will not count toward your Google Account storage. These photos and videos will remain free and exempt from the storage limit.
You have a personalized estimate of how long your storage may last:Your estimate takes into account how frequently you back up photos, videos and other content to your Google Account. We estimate that more than 80 percent of you should still be able to store roughly three more years of memories in High quality with your free 15GB of storage. As your storage nears 15GB, we will notify you in the app and follow up by email. If you don’t see an estimate, you may not have uploaded many photos and videos to Google Photos, you may be close to your storage limit (making it difficult to predict how many months your remaining storage will last) or your account is provided through work, school, family or another group.
Pixel artists show what ‘progress’ means to them
Photos by Natalia Mantini, MaryV and Tim Kellner
In her latest piece, “A gente mora por cima e abaixo do perigo,” June Canedo documents her family’s immigration from Brazil. “The many lessons from my home place and family, which I interpret into objects, are markers of my movement,” she explains. “Often forward but with many detours along the way.”
Kevin Espiritu’s Epic Gardening grew a business online
Kevin Espiritu never expected to be a gardener. As an accounting student at UC Santa Barbara, he supported himself by playing online poker. “When I graduated,” he said, “I didn’t know what I wanted to do.” Kevin spent looking at screens, playing professional poker and video games, and realized he needed to do something to “reset” himself. When his brother came home from college, the two decided to spend a summer gardening.
Epic Gardening began as a blog where Kevin shared the cultivation techniques, strategies and tools and he had acquired. And from this garden, Kevin grew a thriving business. At Epic Gardening, he cultivated an enormous social media following, including over 1 million YouTube subscribers. Epic Gardening aims to educate 10 million people worldwide on how to start their gardens right in their backyards. I sat down with Kevin to discuss where his passion came from and how he grew his audience.