marketing in traffic by brian branca

On this day in 1847, the Chicago Tribune began publication. With the decline in newspaper circulation & change in people’s media consumption habits; take a few minutes to imagine what they’ll be saying about the internet in 161 years. The manner in which we access & interact with it currently will be so foreign by 2169; people will have a difficult time comprehending how what we do now was the norm. They won’t have to access anything because it will just be there; on demand & ready to fly. Who knows, it might not even be called the internet by that time.

Your work space & internet activity will be more Minority Report than contracts, notes, laptops, & smartphones. Astronauts will have already traveled to & from Mars, hopefully our dependence on oil will be minimal, the city of Philadelphia may have won a championship (editorial addition – the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series in 2008)…let your mind wander for a bit. How do you think people will be interacting with each other & information more than half way through the twenty second century?

Too often we limit our options &, consequently, experiences with silly thoughts based on nothing but a particular preference or preconceived notion.  There is nothing wrong with going with your gut instinct, but we need to be open to the thoughts, opinions, & experience of others…especially those you know are or pay to be knowledgeable.  Because, to be honest, your gut could be terribly misleading.  Mine is whenever I think it’s a good idea to eat large burritos before hitting the gym.  Dummy.

I am not the biggest fan of pink &, until this weekend, never owned anything pink.  Did not previously consider it much past my initial thought of hell no.  While not fully fashion-forward, I am aware of trends, styles, seasonality, etc.  I am also aware that if you are a guy, own a pink polo, & pop your collar…well, let’s just say my thoughts on that belong somewhere like this. 

I stopped by Macy’s Saturday morning to purchase a new tie for a wedding I was attending that day.  Not having much time, I flagged down one of the sales associates (completely bypassing the very elderly lady…Lord knows she had no sense of style) & asked for help.  One condition…no pink.  It would not have taken a genius to observe I severely limited her options (I’d advise you stop by the men’s department in Macy’s…you’ll see what I mean). 

Ten minutes later we had two lame ties.  Time was running out (was heading out of town in 20 minutes) & I was nowhere closer to getting what I wanted.  Finally, I relented & she almost immediately added five ties from which I would choose. 

I chose & wore a pink tie & looked good.  What exactly was I thinking all this time?  I wasn’t; I’ve always thought the saturation of pink on dudes was just stupid.  There was plenty of external influences around to guide me in a different direction, but I was NEVER OPEN TO THEM.  While I don’t love pink ties as much as my Treo (your iPhone is overrated…nice keyboard), there is a much higher probability I’ll wear this tie again & buy another.

Editor’s Note: None of Brian’s friends or family are allowed to use he & his pink tie against him.  He knows you jerks have them, too…probably some pink shirts in there as well.  He also said he knows where you live…even if he hasn’t actually been to your house yet.