My last article was fun to write.
I am churning ahead here with a few more discussion points and some tips generated from my experience. If something resonates, please leave a comment or tweet.
- Simplify Solutions (aka, we are all lazy)
There is a wiki page about it, this principle of least effort. Wiki claims this is a building block to life as we know it.
Is this true? Are we constantly looking for the path of least resistance?
Obviously it boils down to a huge number of socio-economic conditions and everyone is different, but I would say yes to the majority. The majority is who I want to market too.
Example: If anyone uses the WordPress Yoast SEO plugin, they know about the Flesch reading ease score. It promotes writing at a non-adult level. This is the supposed best practice for web writers. Short and simple wins the race for leads and conversion.
I personally do not follow this Flesch reading ease guide when I write for CalvinAyre.com. I do follow it if I am grinding out copy and marketing spiel.
Another reason to simplify is because the products and services are available now. As in, made available over the last 5 years. The amount of copy and marketing resources on the web is huge nowadays -making work hacks now easier than ever.
A side bonus to be adventurous with these tools is if you learn a new tool and bring it into an environment that you know is kind of weak in the ideas category or bureaucratic, it will make you look good. Especially if it works out. Cheap grins all around.
Lament: Whatever happened to the pen and paper?
Tip: Put that thesaurus down and ‘stack’ up.
- Negativity Bias
You can read all about negativity bias here.
I am presenting this as a mini discussion on if workers in gaming anchor more so on negativity than positive forces. Is there a bias? I am from a neutral point of view because I am fearful of sounding stupid.
It is a bold discussion more for fun than anything.
- Gamblers don’t ‘feel’ their wins like they ‘feel’ their losses.
- Pain is more culpable a feeling than is positive energy.
- Negativity is more likely to happen in a gambling industry where pain is omnipresent.
The definition of the genesis of a compulsive gambler (lemon):
“You’ve just recreated the worst possible nightmare this side of malignant cancer, for the twentieth goddamn time; and you’re standing there and you suddenly realise, Hey, I’m still… here. I’m still breathing. I’m still alive. Us lemons, we fuck shit up all the time on purpose. Because we constantly need to remind ourselves we’re alive. Gambling’s not your problem. It’s this fucked up need to feel something. To convince yourself you exist. That’s the problem.” Walter Abrams, Two for the Money.
Question: Does your office feel biased towards negativity at times? Do you feel like this at times?
We have all seen Ghostbusters II. Where the negative energy of NYC was feeding paranormal activity and a marshmallow man siege. Negativity made that slime grow.
If you do experience negativity, you are not alone. Negativity is a magnet for attention.
At work this manifests in many ways. Nobody can deny it happening. I promise there is not one workplace in the entire universe that is free of negativity.
In writing, negativity manifests ubiquitously. It is huge.
Pain and suffering drives traffic. Look at the UK tabloids for a prime example of heartbreak, despair and human depravity selling ads.
Gambling is full of losers. That is the majority. Writers must remain cognizant of this and plug their noses sometimes before writing things.
If every headline on a poker news site was ‘Former FanyBoy Legend Loses another 1M, He Sucks at Poker, His 2 Kids Have No Shoes and His Wife Cheats on Him” I am very sure that site would be crushing it with traffic. Negativity sells.
#Anti-Tip-That-Nobody-Should-Do: You could just say ‘fuck it’ and start firing out trashy link bait and sending paparazzi to follow poker players around getting hammered in night clubs or outside their houses.
Real Tip: Be positive and follow people like Lynn Gilmartin on social media. For a daily dose of positivity and inspiration. If you are a Negative Nancy, at least call yourself out on it and understand your biases.
- Ch Ch Ch Changes
Change. Also known as a ‘delta’ to those in business and project management.
A Friendly Reminder:
Poker/gambling has the shortest memories anywhere. Accountability is at a minimal still.
Bad PR does not last longer than a few days. Just look around at the business. Look at all the money that has been stolen from people. Look at the money, period. Almost nobody involved has been accountable in areas other than reputation. Reputations heal. Especially if a fortune is buried off shore. This isn’t even a rant, it is just the truth.
Some of the thieves are probably still hero-worshipped to this day.
Yup. So don’t be so scared.
Buckle Up. Around this industry writers need to buckle up and be ready to roll with the punches. Be ready for change and be ready to make change. This can be nauseating or really fun, depending on how you look at it.
Example: Try working on something for day(s) only to have it not run because some boss somewhere doesn’t want bad publicity (read: the truth) to come out. I have been on both ends of this.
Change Management as a Practice.
Not saying I am an expert or anything, but from what I do know, I like. It seems one constant I see in new and old is a lack of understanding of change management. This is ironic in an industry with so many changes, mergers, acquisitions, collapses, ascensions. You name it, and it all morphs into a tech product in the end.
I can only imagine the change management folks over at Amaya these days.
Not only from a tech perspective, or a HR/Donald Trump, “you are fired perspective” but also others. Areas such as change due to innovation in technology. Or dealing with force major changes, such as government. This applies all the way down the work breakdown structure to the most granular of items.
Fascinating stuff really. To me anyways. Maybe change management it is unnecessary, but I do think it would help communication and organization.
The End
If you are a seasoned vet of the business or someone debating trying to be a live reporter for the first time it doesn’t matter, I hope you get a kick out of this.
But in all seriousness,
- Try to simplify your solutions, you will thank me later when you have.
- Don’t be so glum, chum. Try to be positive, at least more positive. Share some light.
- Embrace change.
