What a delightful surprise it is to wake up to the announcement that Seth Godin released a new book. The book, We Are All Weird is a short manifesto that toutes the future of business and marketing as catering to the “weird.”
Initial thoughts:
This is something that I’ve been thinking about for a few months now, but it didn’t click until Seth Godin put it into a manifesto. This was a short, entertaining and though provoking read. It wasn’t of the caliber of Linchpin, but it was definitely more relevant to me than Poke The Box (I start too much, not enough).
What I learned:
While I’ve heard Seth mention many times the fall of the mass/factory and the rise of the individual, his focus on the weird is a unique extension of that. Everything he said in this book makes sense and the proof lies in the internet. Last week I wrote a blog post on how the future is going to be weird, which was heavily influenced from this book. There is weirdness popping up all around us and the future will only get weirder.
Just look at how kids act on YouTube. Teenagers willingly broadcast themselves acting goofy for the world to see and imitate. Kids today are being raised with worldwide public self expression as the norm, as opposed to just your group of friends.
On a side note, it’s kind of interesting that a book about the weird is definitely not for the masses. Many people who loved Linchpin or Purple Cow might not get this book at all. But for people like me, everything made sense.
Favorite Quotes:
“Force two: Rich allows us to do what we want, and we want to be weird. Only wealthy organisms are able to culturally diversify, and as human beings get richer and richer, our instinct is to get ever more weird. As productivity has skyrocketed, so has our ability to do what we’d like instead of merely focusing on survival.”
“Amplified creation, marketing efficiency and the support of tribes, then, are pushing toward one outcome: we’re getting weirder. Mass is withering. The only things pushing against this trend are the factory mindset and the cultural bias toward compliance.”
“Why did Napster captivate so many of us? Not because it could get us the top-40 tracks that we could hear just by snapping on the radio: it was because 80 percent of the music ever recorded wasn’t available for sale anywhere in the world, and in that 80 percent were all the songs that had ever touched us, all the earworms that had been lodged in our hindbrains, all the stuff that made us smile when we heard it.” – Cory Doctorow
“If you cater to the normal, you will disappoint the weird. And as the world gets weirder, that’s a dumb strategy.”
“Three (new) forces for weird Explosion of wealth Explosion in media choices Explosion in shopping choices That’s it. That’s enough.”
The Verdict: 9/10 – Must Read.
I do believe there is huge opportunity in connecting with and marketing to the weird. This book won’t be enjoyed or make sense to everyone, but those who get it will love it and walk away with a lot of ideas from it.
Find We Are All Weird on Amazon.
Connect with me on Twitter: @BenNesvig
