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We Are All Copycats

Lawrence — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:28:29 +0000

In 1892, deafblind Helen Keller was accused of plagiarizing Margaret Canby’s “Frost Fairies” with her short story, “The Frost King.”

After being acquitted, Mark Twain wrote her a letter of support.

(Source: Mark Twain’s Letters, Vol. 2 of 2; Photo and excerpt, via.)

… Oh, dear me, how unspeakably funny and owlishly idiotic and grotesque was that “plagiarism” farce! As if there was much of anything in any human utterance, oral or written, except plagiarism!

The kernel, the soul — let us go further and say the substance, the bulk, the actual and valuable material of all human utterances — is plagiarism.

For substantially all ideas are second-hand, consciously and unconsciously drawn from a million outside sources …
– Mark Twain

As an entrepreneur and artist — forget that, as a human-being — I simply improve upon existing ideas just as how Facebook toppled Myspace and Myspace over Friendster and so forth.

There is, alas, no originality. We are amalgamations of everything we see, eat and are exposed to. Perhaps, I did add my tiny personal touch, but I am still a result of everything before me.

Twain continued in the letter …

In 1866 I read Dr. Holmes’s poems, in the Sandwich Islands. A year and a half later I stole his dedication, without knowing it, and used it to dedicate my “Innocents Abroad” with.

Then years afterward I was talking with Dr. Holmes about it. He was not an ignorant ass — no, not he; he was not a collection of decayed human turnips, like your “Plagiarism Court;”

And so when I said, “I know now where I stole it, but whom did you steal it from,” he said, “I don’t remember; I only know I stole it from somebody, because I have never originated anything altogether myself, nor met anyone who had.”

Copycat? Yeah … and I’m okay with that for we all are. We can’t unlearn something learned. So, I guess the question — if you’re interested — is whom you copied from.

Sincerely yours,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. My Pinterest WordPress Plugin project is near completion. I intend to get it soon. Follow for updates!

The Art of Lasting Impressions

Lawrence — Mon, 07 May 2012 21:55:07 +0000

Last week, I was asked to photograph a number of items for Wedding Style Magazine. Grace Ormonde (editor-in-chief) was very kind to put me up at two ridiculously awesome hotels – Montage Beverly Hills and Beverly Hills Hotel.

I’ve had my share of awesome [and bad] hotels, but these two stood out in interesting ways. When it comes to five-star hotels, we already know that it’s all about service. No surprise there.

As an example, there are no ice vending machines like at Hilton or Holiday Inn. You have to ring them for it. Granted ice did magically arrive each afternoon, my ghetto roots found that bizarre. Should I phone them to iron my socks? Oh wait, there’s an ~~app~~ service for that too.

Peak-End Rule

When I got home, my friends asked about my trip. I scarcely remembered any of the amazing amenities and outstanding services because both of the hotels were quite comparable. Nothing stood out … It was like comparing apples to apples.

What I did remember were two very insignificant things. And these were the highlights of my trip.

Montage Beverly Hills
When the valet pulled up my car, I thought the attendant left his cap on my dashboard.

His response was, “We recall that you have a photo shoot. It’s hot outside, so we thought a cap and bottles of iced water would help.” Wow. I don’t wear caps and I like my water at room temperature, but nevertheless, thank you, sir.

Beverly Hills Hotel
This hotel had a leg up since I got to see celebrities every night. However, the real lasting impression were the little plates of delicious cookies that they left at turndown service — not the making of my bed, closing of curtains, restocking of ice … just cookies.

Some places give pieces of chocolate or mints, but this place had freshly baked themed cookies (e.g., citrus theme, nut theme).

This brings me to the peak-end rule.

According to the peak-end rule, we judge our experiences almost entirely on how they were at their peak (pleasant or unpleasant) and how they ended. Other information is not lost, but it is not used.
–Wikipedia

Considering my experiences at both locations, everything was on par, except for those peak pleasant moments. While they’re still apples to an apples, they’re just served on different china now.

Weddings are quite similar. Sometimes ceremonies are late or the cakes didn’t have the right shade of white, but that’s not what people will remember.

In brides’ eyes, it was either the most magical [or worst] night in their lives … and the details were insignificant.

Under Promise, Over Deliver Differently

If you’ve been following my blog, then you should be familiar with the idea to “under promise, over deliver.”

As we learned earlier, what if everyone over delivered in the same ways? Your thoughtfulness would be canceled out.

The bottom line is to be generous with service, but to deliberately deliver something differently. It’s all about the finishing touch.

Sincerely yours,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. At Beverly Hills Hotel, I told the concierge that there was no ironing board in my bungalow. “We can take care of ironing for you, Mr. Chan.” Err … sensing my hesitation, he continued, “but we realize that some guests prefer to add their special touch.”

Sorry, sir, to be waited on hand and foot seemed so weird. Yeah … special touch was exactly what I was going for. Thanks for the save, dude.

P.P.S. I’ve been very fascinated with Pinterest. I was thinking how much simpler it would be to share if there was a Pin-It button under every photo. Would you be interested in WordPress plugin or some sort like that — rather than having to program it for each picture?

Should You Post Same Content on All Social Media Profiles?

Lawrence — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:51:01 +0000

About a month ago, I had a conversation with Mike Hanline at SXSW regarding Instagram and how we use it more than other platforms while traveling. It’s quick, easy and visual.

So, if I loaded a photo (or link) on one platform, should I repeat it on all of them?

Facebook Like Page
Facebook Personal Page
Twitter
Youtube
LinkedIn
Google Plus
Instagram (@tofurious)
and all of the other networks like Flickr, 500px, Tumblr and so forth.

What if someone sought to follow you on all of your sharing platforms? Wouldn’t it be tiresome if they saw the same messages repeated and in the same exact ways? I get it though. Some follow you here, while others there.

Plus, it’s especially easy and more convenient to repeat on sharing apps like Hootsuite, Buffer and Ping.fm.

However, let’s look at this “Social Media Explained” meme. We laugh and share it, but there’s wisdom behind the photo.

Be Conscious and Deliberate

Share selectively. Some links or photos do not need to be shared on all platforms. Each platform has different features. And I implore you to use them accordingly. I’m not going to get into this here; in fact, I had to write an entire book on it.

Reward followers. If someone followed you on all platforms and realized that you only shared, let’s say, a photo on Instagram and nowhere else, what a treat! It’s something special that is privy to only those on that platform. Suckers who aren’t on it get left out.

Introduce differently. I understand how you might have all sorts of followers everywhere. Think about introducing the subject matters differently. Change up the introduction. Or …

Change the call to action. What is it that you expect users to do when they receive a message? Decide how you want them to react.

Vary the timing. Another approach is to stagger the posting. Since not everyone reads every tweet anyway, feel free to share on different platforms at different times. Or combine with any of the aforementioned to make it more unique.

What Do You Think?

There is no right or wrong answer. It’s all dependent on your social media goals. So, now that you are more wise in sharing, feel free to share this article with friends through selective platforms. :)

Sincerely,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. Off to Miami for a wedding. It’s going to be a stormy 80 degrees … sounds oxymoronic.

To Make Each Day Count

Lawrence — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 21:34:08 +0000

Some time during its relaunch, Julie and I went to watch Titanic in 3D. I was reminded by something that Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) said –

… I got everything I need right here with me. I got air in my lungs, a few blank sheets of paper. I mean, I love waking up in the morning not knowing what’s gonna happen or, who I’m gonna meet, where I’m gonna wind up. Just the other night I was sleeping under a bridge and now here I am on the grandest ship in the world having champagne with you fine people. I figure life’s a gift and I don’t intend on wasting it. You don’t know what hand you’re gonna get dealt next. You learn to take life as it comes at you… to make each day count.

At first, the quote struck me as a pursuit for efficient production. Like the slogan carpe diem, we should seize the day and maximize our efforts toward our goal — whatever that may be — to make each day count.

In retrospect, I found the message to be befuddling. For example, how is sleeping under a bridge making that day count? I guess it does count if Dawson’s goal was to wake up each morning and not know what’s going to happen … and with air in his lungs and blank sheets of paper to draw on.

So, it got me thinking. Dawson seemed pretty happy, even until his very end. I know that Titanic is fictional, but why can’t we pursue a simplified life such as his – to truly pursue what it is that we want out of life?

I guess it all stems to first knowing what you want from life. I know that priorities change (e.g., having a family), but ultimately, what one thing makes you happy? And are you pursuing that?

Don’t wait until the end to realize your dream.

Make It Count

#Nike #makeitcount

Happy Friday,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. Life is a lot like a business. Without a clear goal, we get distracted and lose sight of what makes us happy (e.g., new cars, new gadgets, etc.) … or success for a business.

Create the World’s Simplest Business Card

Lawrence — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 09:35:17 +0000

How many social media channels do you have now? At least three, I bet. Likely more.

The funky part about all of social media URLs is that they’re usually inconsistent. Just take a look at a few of mine. Try reciting those to prospects without making their heads spin.

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tofurious
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tofuriouspage
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/tofurious

So, I’ve decided to consolidate. Imagine how simple and pretty the following business card draft looks! Simple and minimal.

Want to learn how to create link redirects like this? This is the only beginning. You could redirect anything!

(this tutorial is for Apache (Linux server), which is probably most of you)

301 htaccess Redirect

It requires a minimal bit of server knowledge, but I’ll walk you through it. There are WordPress plugins that do 301 redirects, but this is how you code it.

1. View Hidden Files

You need to change your viewing settings on your computer to be able to see an .htaccess file (because they’re hidden by default).

Instructions for PC
Instructions for Mac

2. Download / Create .htaccess File

Login to your server via FTP. If you see an .htaccess file (e.g., image below), download it and open it with a notepad / text pad application. Otherwise, download this file. Use this file if you’re on WordPress.

Unzip the file, then we’re going to edit it.

3. Edit .htaccess File

Once you open the file with Dreamweaver or equivalent, change the links to fit your profiles. The following codes are written within the general file. If you’re using WordPress, skip to the next example.

Redirect 301 http://tofurious.com/t http://www.twitter.com/tofurious

Redirect 301 http://tofurious.com/f http://www.facebook.com/tofuriouspage

Redirect 301 http://tofurious.com/p http://pinterest.com/tofurious

(a) First, change the prefix to what you want the shortcut to be. For example, “http://tofurious.com/t” or “http://tofurious.com/twitter” or whatever you want.

(b) Next, change the suffix to the destination URL. For example, “http://twitter.com/tofurious” or even “http://www.google.com/” if you want.

For WordPress users, use the following as a reference.

RewriteRule ^t$ http://twitter.com/tofurious [R=301,L]

RewriteRule ^f$ http://www.facebook.com/tofuriouspage [R=301,L]

RewriteRule ^p$ http://pinterest.com/tofurious [R=301,L]

(a) First, change the prefix to what you want the shortcut to be. For example, “^t$” means “http://tofurious.com/t.” You may change it to “^$twitter” if you’d like, which would mean “http://tofurious.com/tofurious.”

(b)Next, change the suffix to the destination URL (link before “[R=301,L]“). For example, “http://twitter.com/tofurious” or even “http://www.google.com/” if you want.

4. Save and Upload

I would suggest changing your existing .htaccess file to .htaccess2, so that you have your original file. This way, you could revert back to the renamed file if anything goes awry. Afterward, upload your newly saved .htaccess file to the root directory of your website.

Test! If it doesn’t work, then either the .htaccess was not edited correctly or wasn’t uploaded to the correct directory on your server.

Cheers,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. I recently saw a business using this same concept. My friend invited me to John’s Incredible Pizza (suped up Chuck E. Cheese’s) and I saw their social media card. Look familiar?

P.P.S. Spring is here! I found some rabbits in this field of mustard flowers! I felt a bit like Katniss Everdeen.

Visual Eye Candy – The Next Big Thing

Lawrence — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 04:53:00 +0000

On the rare occasions that I get to hang out with John Michael Cooper, he always has interesting stories to share. One time, he parted an analogy of a naked man.

Imagine that you’re looking through a book of beautiful women … flipping page after page. However, right in the middle will have a photo of a naked man. What’s going to happen?

You’ll stop because it doesn’t belong there. And then you’ll continue … In the grand scheme of things, you’ll spend more time per page on that man than on any of the beautiful women.

I get it. Things that stand out will get more attention. As photographers, we understand the importance of negative space to emphasize the subject.

Let’s see how we apply this strategy to our businesses.

The Rise of Visual Eye Candy

If you’ve been observant of the shifts in social media, there’s been a high emphasis on visual real estate. With the help of smart phones with amazing cameras, Facebook, for example, has 250 million photos uploaded each day. Wow.

Instagram

One of the reasons why I love Instagram — and maybe the reason why it’s so popular — is because of it’s emphasis on photography.

The app is designed in such a way that it only allows users to only view one whole photo at a time on a mobile device, which means minimal distractions.

Additionally, it has just enough space for you to read an excerpt of the photo caption.

Facebook

In the past, posts would be hidden over time and / or piled on top of by the onslaught of newer posts.

With the integration of Timeline, nothing is hidden. In fact, everything is shown … from the moment you signed up.

I guess, in a way, it’s Facebook‘s attempt to beautify the web.

Pinterest

Speaking of beautification, Pinterest seems to be on the same route as Facebook.

Similar to Instagram, Pinterest has a mosaic of visuals with tiny excerpts.

For those who study their Google Analytics, I’m seeing increased traffic from Pinterest. It hasn’t surpassed Facebook or Google, but we’ll see with time.

But then again, this blog is more about marketing than eye candy. Maybe I should change that because you know how the saying goes …

Looks Attract

“Looks attract and personality keeps,” I preached in high school. Over a decade has passed since immaturity, so I’ve evolved my language as well.

Like with dating, looks attract and flirting engages. But it’s the live, real-world behavior that makes ‘em fall in love … or vanish.
–Lawrence Chan
Social Media Marketing for Digital Photographers

So, before prospects get to explore one’s potential, it’s pertinent that users hook viewers to read his or her blog posts, articles, updates, etc.

To do so, it’s a matter of eye candy for everything.

Facebook

In a sea of text updates, ads and buttons, an easy way to stand out is to simply add a photo(s) to important posts. Gucci is a good example.

That’s not something I’m going to skip just as how I won’t gloss over the naked man in the book as mentioned earlier.

Blogging

One aspect in the art of effective blogging is a prudent balance of text, negative space and photos.

So, forget what you learned about syntax in this situation. It doesn’t apply here. Look at some of my single sentence paragraphs! I would have been reprimanded for those by my English teacher.

Isn’t it easier to read when no paragraph is longer than three lines? And the inclusion of photos help put a breaker to the behemoth amount of text, right?

It’s like, “Whew. I’m going to stop for a respite because of these naked mannequins on the street.”

… before I continue walking down the street or reading this blog.

Lastly, no more gigantic photos – they don’t fit in everybody’s screens (remember Instagram) and they’re not bandwidth friendly for mobile devices. The concept of less is more applies here too.

More Candy

So, add breakers. Post strategically. Hook readers. Use eye candy. Sure, this may be common knowledge, but not common practice.

Speaking of candy, I am loaning my book on Kindle to one person every week. Read here for details.

What’s your favorite candy? Comment below.

Lawrence Chan

P.S. All this sweet talk reminds me of Taiwanese shaved ice desserts! Ever have one of these?

When United, Magic Happens

Lawrence — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 20:00:56 +0000

Murmuration – noun – (rare) a flock of starlings

When the industry works together, who knows what can happen.

Why Pinterest is Here to Stay

Lawrence — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 17:41:52 +0000

First, there was MySpace. Then, there was Facebook. Eventually, Twitter popped up. Instagram (@tofurious) hopped on board. Google decided to play with Plus. And now, we have Pinterest.

How do we keep up with all of these things on top of blogging? Simply put – you just do. In fact, you have to. While more social media platforms will continue to spring up, Pinterest is here to stay.

There’s one interesting feature about Pinterest that sets it apart from all of the other social media streams – it’s not a stream. In a way, Pinterest is not designed as a web or news “feed.”

Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and etc. are all streams. Newer news is syndicated on top, which naturally pushes older news below. Therefore, if you miss a segment of the day, all of that news is theoretically replaced with more current events.

Pinterest, on the other hand, keeps all of your “pins” or images in an organized pin board. Although the images are updated, your board stays in the same place.

This Pinterest profile acts like a landing page that is representative of you. And what better way is there to express your interests, thus transparency? It also helps that millions of people are on it (and increasing very quickly).

Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.
- Dr. Seuss

While it’s difficult to maintain a presence on all of these social media platforms, it’s critical to have a clearcut strategy, which is what I emphasized in my book Social Media Marketing for Digital Photographers. Platforms will always change, but rules for engagement and evangelism remain the same.

Cool Links:

See you on Pinterest,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. You can read about the interview of Ben Silbermann (co-founder of Pinterest) and my post on “The Joy of Failing Forward” here.

P.P.S. My book Social Media Marketing for Digital Photographers is now available on Kindle! And very soon, it will be available in Spanish. Sweet!

Social Media Marketing for Digital Photographers is on Kindle

Lawrence — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 17:35:14 +0000

So sorry for taking a while, but Social Media Marketing for Digital Photographers is now available on Kindle!

Thank you for the support :) And hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it for you all!

http://goo.gl/OlGAU

The Joy of Failing Forward

Lawrence — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 00:40:04 +0000

I had the privilege of going to SXSW again for their 2012 Interactive technology festival. It was everything I expected: wicked. A more accurate word would be serendipitous, which was their theme for this year.

Nike Fuel Campaign at SXSW 2012

One hot topic was the interview of Ben Silbermann (co-founder of Pinterest) conducted by Chris Dixon (Hunch). Silbermann shared his story and the reasons behind Pinterest. One interesting fact that I discovered was his determination to succeed (or embarrassment to fail).

Not Knowing When To Quit

Before Pinterest, Silbermann worked at Google. He left Google to launch this startup.

For the first nine-months, he only had 10,000 users, with a few of them active on a daily basis. Afraid that Google won’t give him a job again, he continued with this project.

Nielsen reported that Pinterest had 16.1 million unique visitors in January [2012] in the United States alone, double the number it had in November.
– New York Times

There is no such thing as instant success. It takes hard work and perseverance. Angry Birds, for example, was the 74th attempt at a successful game; now it’s ubiquitous. Can you believe it? I might have quit after 73 attempts.

Lisa Kudrow (commonly known as Phoebe in Friends), in another panel, talked about the many failed webisodes and television pitches in her industry.

They all talked about failing forward – learning from your past mistakes and using them as stepping stones. Ultimately, failure isn’t fatal.

So, whether you’re a full-time or part-time photographer, it’s not an easy gig nowadays. Learn from your own mistakes and those made by others. Be positive and keep moving forward.

What’s one lesson you learned from a mistake?

Sincerely,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. Pinterest went through dozens of designs before settling on their white tiled look. Here are some screenshots from the past few years – 2010, 2011, 2012.

P.P.S. At SXSW, I got to meet some really cool people!

Here’s me and Guy Kawasaki – be Enchanted.

Here’s Anthony Bourdain from No Reservations – one of my favorite shows!

And lastly, a panel of wickedly cool tech and VCs! From left to right: JR Johnson, Tim Ferriss, Chase Jarvis (CreativeLive), Gary Vaynerchuk and Tony Conrad.