zwburger

[zwburger]

𝗛𝗼𝘁 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 🌶️ Social feeds should default to chronological settings, not algorithmic.

This would help curb the addictive quality of algorithmic timelines. Even if you’re given the option to toggle between chronological and algorithmic, most users won’t update the settings.

Entertainment-focused platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and increasingly Instagram are keeping you captive by feeding you content based on past behaviors. It plays right into the binge-watching culture Netflix enabled by releasing the entire season of “House of Cards” in 2013.

[zwburger]

Aptos is replacing Calibri after 15 years on the throne as Microsoft Office’s default font. It’s “bold, well-defined, directive, and constrained” (i.e. easier to read) and “embodies professionalism,” which its predecessor lacked.

If Calibri is a casual dot com era t-shirt, Aptos is a business casual, wrinkle-free, fitted button-up.

That’s 15 years of company after company using Calibri as its default body font within its brand guidelines. It‘s been a matter of convenience. Even if employees never read the brand guide, they’d be “on-brand” in their communications and quickly thrown-together sales pitches via Word and PowerPoint featuring masterful displays of clipart. But those days are over.

From 1993-2007, Times New Roman was Microsoft’s default, and it was reflected throughout brand collateral, but now, it’s the epitome of outdated.

How long until Calibri is thrown in the box of unused fonts and brands build their strategy around Aptos?

The reality is they’ve already started.

[zwburger]

If word count is not a ranking factor on Google, why do SEO consultants always recommend watching your word count…?

The simple answer is you have a better chance to fully explain the subject matter with lengthier content. You can cut out filler sentences and paragraphs during the editing process if they’re crap or irrelevant.

Keep 5 things in mind:

1. Create quality, searchable topics.

2. Consider the relevance to the reader.

3. Cover key points, and outline, if needed.

4. Give your words weight. Cutout filler.

5. Use proper formatting.

300 words or less for a blog entry or web copy isn’t recommended because it’s unlikely you’ll thoroughly cover the topic. Sometimes, it’s short and sweet, but it’s rare to be so concise.

That doesn’t mean hopping on ChatGPT and letting generative AI fill in the gaps with filler copy. It’s an effort in critical thinking.

[zwburger]

Build a foundation, then show people what you’ve built. The foundation is your brand, and marketing and advertising is your vehicle to drive interested traffic.

If you build it and tell no one, they won’t come. The average Joe wants to search for you on Google first, and if they find nothing, they’re moving on.

If you tell everyone but never invest in brand building, they will be confused when they show up, and they’ll never come back. There are too many options to market half-assed, and customers are much less forgiving than they were twenty years ago.

“If you build it, they will come” logic worked when people were driving the strip, going out on the town every weekend, and not distracted by backlit blue screens and hundreds of daily push notifications packing a dopamine punch.

You have to market, you have to have a digital footprint, and you have to have a solid brand.

[zwburger]

Copywriters maintain business as usual.

Generative AI fascination becomes obsession, becomes euphoric market bubble.

[zwburger]

Kvothe v1

Kvothe v2

Kvothe v3

[zwburger]

You don’t have to master generative AI, but if you’re not learning the ins and outs of intelligent apps and software, you’re behind.

Put AI tools into your toolbox so you’re not playing catch-up when you’re asked to manage marketing and advertising automation in the future.

Slapping “ChatGPT power user” and “Midjourney prompt expert” will be powerful keywords on your future resume, which is run through an AI bot to qualify you as a candidate.

ChatGPT, Bard, GrammarlyGO, Midjourney, DALL-E, etc., speed up and simplify thought production, just like machines kicked off the Industrial Revolution.

Regulation will be important, but adoption is inevitable.

[zwburger]

Everyone knows what the elephant in the room is...

[zwburger]

Twitter’s “unreliable, untrustworthy, clueless, a scam, the worst social network, a joke,” etc. But, there’s yet to be a mass user exodus from the platform, despite mud-throwing in every headline criticizing ongoing UI/UX and policy changes.

Even with Substack Notes and similar functionality on Mastodon, there isn’t an equal to Twitter and Twitter’s user experience (yet). Someone, somewhere, is brewing up a new platform to fill the void—but when will it launch? And will there be a sentiment shift before then?

Until major Twitter contributors leave the platform, advocate for a new social network, and take their user base with them, it’s unlikely the diaspora of current users will occur. Major advertisers will eventually crawl back if the average user never leaves.

[zwburger]

20 Years Later | Movie Remakes

Warner Bros. announced it’s bringing back the Harry Potter 🧙🏻‍♂️ saga as an episodic series on (HBO) Max, and now, Lionsgate is revamping the Twilight 🧛‍♂️ quartet as a retelling or new narrative based off the source material.

There are so many “other” award-winning novels (and book series) to option and so many scripts to green light, yet Hollywood continues to go back to the well of regurgitated past successes.

Next up, they’ll announce they’re creating a new series for Hunger Games 🏹 and we’ll be right back to the dystopian cycle of cinema.

*This is a Midjourney render of a young Harry, Bella, and Katniss from the novels.

[zwburger]

HBO is Going By Max Now

You can hate the rebrand but not mind the new logo. This could be said about Warner Bros.'s decision to drop HBO from HBO Max and simply become Max. This change will consolidate HBO Max and Discovery+ into a single streaming platform with three subscription tiers.

The optics on the rebrand have been defensive, primarily from HBO and Max Content Head Casey Bloys. In a statement to IndieWire, Bloys said:

"The same people who are concerned today about taking ‘HBO’ out of the name….were outraged that ‘HBO’ was put in the name in the first place, that it was called ‘HBO Max,'” Bloys told a room of reporters. “It was a lot of, ‘How was HBO going to be put next to ‘The Big Bang Theory?'” he recalled.

Maybe Casey was having a bad day or didn't listen to his PR team. But, to be blunt, Bloys' statement feels more like a sniveling elementary schooler than a department head of a multibillion-dollar media property.

Regardless, dropping HBO seems unwise, especially with its roots going back to 1972. The black and white logo screams premium and luxury, and HBO’s reputation for outstanding programming precedes them—whereas Max Originals could be described as iffy or meh.

But progress requires change, apparently, even if it's unnecessary.

What changed with the logo?

the previous “max” typeface was bolded to better resemble HBO’s weight.

an ode to HBO’s “O” fits nicely into Max’s “a” (if you stick with lowercase)

the purple fade is swapped for a fresh blue

The big change will be fully realized on May 23.

[zwburger]

10 Things to Remember in Content Management and Social Media

If you’ve eclipsed 3 years as a content manager or social media manager, here are 10 things to keep in mind.

1. Do not rely on generic Canva templates.

2. Be aware of your brand’s color palette.

3. Look past Page 1 of iStock, Pexels, etc.

4. Use ChatGPT to generate new ideas.

5. Learn Photoshop.

6. Continue learning for 2 hours per week.

7. Leverage freelancers and Fiverr.

8. Explore Midjourney and generative AI.

9. Be BFFs with your Sales team.

10. Recycle winning content.

[zwburger]

Marketing Strategist:

Crazy how the new account closed in 24-hours after downloading the ebook…

Account Manager:

I’m extremely good at what I do.

[zwburger]

Elon Musk on how to avoid headlines about the SEC’s $258 billion racketeering lawsuit and Twitter Blue’s verification controversy.

✔️ Swap the Twitter bird for Dogecoin’s Shiba pup after April Fool’s.

✔️ Label NPR as US state-affiliated media to piss off the liberals.

Brilliant.

[zwburger]

To optimize your strategy for search, everyone needs to work together. If not, you'll end up in the swamp, too. 🐊

[zwburger]

Initially, this post was Blazed 🔥 as a content experiment, putting a piece of breaking "branding" news into the Tumblr-verse.

It was meant to see how the Tumblr community would react to content that performs well on other social platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

Within 15-20 minutes of the boost, it was fairly unanimous among the commenters that this is not the type of content to Blaze. Also, it was interesting to hear Blazing on a poll will wildly skew your data because the community will act hostile toward a Blazed post. It begs the question of how effective the boosted option is on the platform.

After 1 hour, the promotion was "Extinguished" (nice one, Tumblr), and hopefully, Tumblrs are happy to not be fed "ad" or "hustle" content. It was an interesting response to a simple news item and poll, which caused immediate confusion.

Some thought the content was an ad company pushing the Pepsi rebrand, while another thought it was a promotional scheme, the equivalent of those YouTube pre-roll ads telling you "how to turn $25 into $250,000 overnight if you buy this course" type of thing.

As a Tumblr user, what do you expect from a 🔥 Blaze post?

New Pepsi Look and Logo

Hands down, this Pepsi rebrand after 15 years knocked it out of the park.

After some terrible rebranding attempts in late 2022 and 2023 by Kia and Nokia, this refresh by one of America's favorites is refreshing.

[zwburger]

New Pepsi Look and Logo

Hands down, this Pepsi rebrand after 15 years knocked it out of the park.

After some terrible rebranding attempts in late 2022 and 2023 by Kia and Nokia, this refresh by one of America's favorites is refreshing.