What’s Yahoo?

Google? Search.

Facebook? Social.

AOL? Media.

Twitter? Conversation.

Amazon? Commerce.

Yahoo? …Hmmmm?

Every single web company makes me think of at least one clear keyword that defines them, but Yahoo? For me it used to be “news”. Sure, there were other things related to it – email, search, etc – but that’s what it meant to me back in the day. What is Yahoo? Yahoo. Hmm. It doesn’t ring a bell. Or actually I should say it rings too many bells resulting in a chaotic sound instead of the one clear one Yahoo used to have. I thought about it again today when I read this post on Mashable. In fact, I was thinking about Yahoo’s future one year ago after I watched  this video on Techcrunch (above). Now, I’m left wondering what I’ll be thinking about Yahoo next year and where Yahoo will be next year…

Your take?

Andrea

Embracing Imperfection

Nothing and nobody are perfect.

You can aim at perfection, but what you have to keep in mind is that in the end you, your ideas, your creations will be born, live, change shape, form, and die in an imperfect world. There’s nothing you or anyone else can do about it.

Like many people, I spent most of my life aiming for the top, trying to reduce the number of mistakes, risks, or problems I would have to deal with. I devoted hours, days, and, in the end, years of my life to achieve goals according to certain standards.

Then, one day I came to a point where I realized that those thresholds are just simply irrelevant and actually counter productive. Sure, you could argue against this statement, but in my opinion those “certain standards” of achieving one’s goals actually reduce overall progress and flatten the wonderful nature of things which is dominated by an uncontrollable imperfection, which ultimately takes everything back to a flawless equilibrium.

Look at where you started from and think of the path you still have ahead. The fact that you are not there yet doesn’t mean you haven’t succeeded. If you slow down for a second, you’ll realize that success lies in each and every single step you take to move forward, in every time you fall, in every time you stand up again and keep moving forward.

I believe that success is itself a paradox because it restricts potential to the sole achievement of certain goals which, especially in today’s dynamic, ever-changing fast-paced environment, are nothing more than mere moments in time that neither belong to what has passed nor to what will be.

“But we need to measure something to know we are on the right path, correct?” Sure. Nothing wrong with that, but just don’t get stuck in measuring and end up forgetting the big picture. Temporary or mid-term achievements and even unsuccessful moments are all small pieces of the big vision.

You must look at the flow. We are all part of a unique, imperfect flow in which what’s official, determined and fixed it’s already dead and gone, old, far and surpassed. Nothing is perfect and nothing ever will be perfect. Perfection exists in being able to read through the imperfections and smartly move in synergy with the rhythm that moves the natural course of life. As a brand, an organization, and as an individual, think of how much you are in synergy with this flow. Stop for a second and switch off from the craziness that is imposed by the controlled standards we are often forced to embrace. You’ll be surprised at how much you are missing and by how much more you could achieve.

Andrea

Embracing Imperfection

Nothing and nobody are perfect.

You can aim at perfection, but what you have to keep in mind is that in the end you, your ideas, your creations will be born, live, change shape, form, and die in an imperfect world. There’s nothing you or anyone else can do about it.

Like many people, I spent most of my life aiming for the top, trying to reduce the number of mistakes, risks, or problems I would have to deal with. I devoted hours, days, and, in the end, years of my life to achieve goals according to certain standards.

Then, one day I came to a point where I realized that those thresholds are just simply irrelevant and actually counter productive. Sure, you could argue against this statement, but in my opinion those “certain standards” of achieving one’s goals actually reduce overall progress and flatten the wonderful nature of things which is dominated by an uncontrollable imperfection, which ultimately takes everything back to a flawless equilibrium.

Look at where you started from and think of the path you still have ahead. The fact that you are not there yet doesn’t mean you haven’t succeeded. If you slow down for a second, you’ll realize that success lies in each and every single step you take to move forward, in every time you fall, in every time you stand up again and keep moving forward.

I believe that success is itself a paradox because it restricts potential to the sole achievement of certain goals which, especially in today’s dynamic, ever-changing fast-paced environment, are nothing more than mere moments in time that neither belong to what has passed nor to what will be.

“But we need to measure something to know we are on the right path, correct?” Sure. Nothing wrong with that, but just don’t get stuck in measuring and end up forgetting the big picture. Temporary or mid-term achievements and even unsuccessful moments are all small pieces of the big vision.

You must look at the flow. We are all part of a unique, imperfect flow in which what’s official, determined and fixed it’s already dead and gone, old, far and surpassed. Nothing is perfect and nothing ever will be perfect. Perfection exists in being able to read through the imperfections and smartly move in synergy with the rhythm that moves the natural course of life. As a brand, an organization, and as an individual, think of how much you are in synergy with this flow. Stop for a second and switch off from the craziness that is imposed by the controlled standards we are often forced to embrace. You’ll be surprised at how much you are missing and by how much more you could achieve.

Andrea

Privacy

This is a video (below) that I directed, shot and edited for YouTube Play, a collaboration between YouTube and the Guggenheim Museum to unearth and showcase the very best creative videos from around the world. Leah D’Emilio worked together with me as producer adding her insights and helping me turn the concept I wanted to express into something magic.

The video is called Privacy.

Social media is one of the primary vehicles through which we interact with society. This is redefining the concept of privacy. My intention is to discuss how privacy is being redefined using the following 3 aspects of private self:

  • Watching others/sharing our physical self through video.
  • Written thoughts on personal profiles.
  • Private conversations in public spaces.

– With a Panasonic GF1 I recorded various angles of a woman’s body as she laid in a dimly lit room. It is a test of the viewer’s perception as to which part of the body she is being shown and from which perspective. She symbolizes our desire to watch others and how we become “naked” as we expose our lives online.

– The text scrolling along the bottom of the screen are real updates written by random facebook users who have kept their profiles public and therefore searchable on youropenbook.org. Using key search terms I was able to find very personal written statements from complete strangers who would probably never say what they wrote in public, yet their thoughts are available for public search.

– Finally, the third element of “Privacy” is the audio recording of a public space in New York City. The audio element of this project reflects how anyone can listen in on private conversation in the “real world”, paralleling the idea that anyone can “listen in on” what would be considered “private conversation” in the virtual world.

In this project the video’s role is elevated as the primary vehicle bringing these aspects together to discuss the future definition of privacy.

Privacy” will be examined by a jury of experts that will decide which works will be presented at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York on October 21, 2010 with simultaneous presentations at the Guggenheim museums in Berlin, Bilbao, and Venice. The selected videos will be on view to the public from October 22 through 24 in New York and on the YouTube Play channel.

I’m really interested in hearing your thoughts on “Privacy“. Feel free to share them here on my blog, via twitter @vascellari, on my Facebook profile or on my Facebook Page.

Andrea

[Communications Report] for July 29th 2010 – AndreaVascellari.com

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[Communications Report] for April 5th 2010 – AndreaVascellari.com

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  • The Collapse of Complex Business Models « Clay Shirky – Some video still has to be complex to be valuable, but the logic of the old media ecoystem, where video had to be complex simply to be video, is broken.
  • Report – Future of the Internet IV – In an online survey of 895 technology stakeholders’ and critics’ expectations of social, political and economic change by 2020.
  • Facebook Summarized In A Single Picture – The chart breaks down Facebook’s history as well as some of the most important facts and figures from the company. Included in the chart is information about the site’s user base as well as the impressive engagement levels that Facebook is able to maintain.
  • Study: Mobile internet traffic is set to grow 400% by 2015 – What does that mean? As smartphones become more commonplace, phone companies could start charging a lot more money to keep them up and running. But consumers may not go along willingly.

[Report] for January 27th 2010 – AndreaVascellari.com

Do you want to get these report-updates in real time? Subscribe to the live-report RSS feed! This feed includes only report related items. It’s not a substitute but a complement to my main RSS feed which still remains the official one that brings you all my blog posts.