momorantings

To say that these are challenging times for non-profit arts organizations is probably an understatement. We're still struggling with the after effects of the global economic crisis. Previously viable business models are imploding. The elimination or severe reduction in government funding has resulted in a very quick need to replace public support with private funds. And who knows what is around the corner. But, artists and arts administrators are a resilient bunch. One of our strengths is our never say die attitude. We confront each challenge head on in a "show must go on" fashion. We are inherently hard working. To make it in this field requires years of rebounding from rejection. When the going gets tough, we redouble our efforts. After years of struggle, the fight in us undoubtedly begins to wane, as we contemplate the permanency of the current climate. And this isn't necessarily a bad thing. In moments of crisis, we ring the alarm and all hands arrive on deck to ...

A number of articles recently proclaimed the economic benefit of restaurant reviews. Not unusually, many of them cited identical assertions that could be traced back to the original press release. Being something of a sceptic regarding both the reporting of academic papers and the power of anonymous recommendation, I emailed one of the authors at Berkeley to try to understand if what was reported was what he had claimed. He pointed me to this article by way of a good summary. My logic is that better restaurants will be fuller because they are better restaurants and that any ratings they garner will follow that and not vice versa. I also believe that people are more likely to pay attention to the views of trusted friends or proven professional reviewers than crowd-sourced averages and, having consulted an old professor of mine, I remain unconvinced that the study has proven any real causality. We both agreed that to do so would require a longitudinal study of the relation between a re...

About a year ago, I began designing a graduate certificate program for American University focused on technology issues in arts management, and this past summer, I taught my first course focused on the intersection of technology and marketing. To open the course, I asked students to read Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point , which if you haven't read it, describes how social epidemics evolve, providing a great platform to discuss word-of-mouth marketing and how technology can be used to ignite a movement. Early in the book, Gladwell discusses "The Law of the Few," which boiled down is a riff on the 80/20 principle - 20% of the people are responsible for 80% of the work. As marketers, we latch onto this principle, as it correctly argues that if we can identify and cultivate relationships with a select group of influential people called "connectors," then our returns can be maximized. One connector can be worth his we...