Just how individualistic and independent are we? Far less than we think according to neuroscientist, Jonah Lehrer.

In an article in Wired, Jonah uses sharp graphics to paint before and after snapshots of social networks. Each diagram sheds light on the profound influence people have on the happiness, obesity and smoking habits of friends and relations. We extol the virtue of personal responsibility, but peer pressure is a far stronger force:

Subcultures and Self-Segregation

Walk into any coffee shop, bar or church and you’ll find self-segregation. Like-minded people hang out together. No surprise there. What is surprising, however, is the subconscious influence that arises, and keeps arising, after your single, conscious decision to join. You don’t realize, let alone question, the extra calories, cigarettes, depression or happiness that originates from ongoing exposure to any particular social network.

Free Will Lost?

Free will is a philosophical can of worms that I’ll save for another entry, or treatise. Putting the question of free will into more immediate focus, what do these findings mean for commercial communication?

Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point examines the role that people play as nodes in a social network. But there’s a big difference between deciding to see a movie or buy sneakers because of a friend”s influence and changing the course of your life, health and happiness without even knowing that you’ve made a decision. I have a feeling that this research is just the tip of the tipping point.

Tipping Point examines the role that people play as nodes in a social network. But there’s a big difference between deciding to see a movie or buy sneakers because of a friend”s influence and changing the course of your life, health and happiness without even knowing that you’ve made a decision. I have a feeling that this research is just the tip of the tipping point.

Does anyone really know what social media strategy is? After countless books, blogs, tweets and actual human interactions, my opinion is that no one really knows where this is all going.

Sure, there are plenty of people retweeting articles about the Top 10 tools, strategies, or mistakes companies make in the social world. But the truth is always more complex. There isn’t a single right way to do anything. What works for Zappos today won’t work for your coffee shop, dry cleaners or non-profit tomorrow.

An article by Pat Law, How to Tell if Your Agency is Bullshitting You About Social Media, had some nice, though not revolutionary, ideas. For example, if your agency/consultant lays out a panoply of social media tools without first breaking down your particular needs, you’ll likely waste time, money and the potential for authentic engagement with your clients. That’s as true for social media as any other business-level strategy.

Nick Tang had the best comment to the article:

And the best way to get great content is to take a long view approach to building your social media brand. It may not be as simple or as instantly gratifying as getting 10,000 followers in two days. However, the results of fewer but stronger relationships will pay dividends down the road.

The tools for monitoring, targeting and creating social messages will continue to shift under our feet. And if you’re a gadget guy like me, it’s all too easy to fall in love with the latest, greatest gizmo. But keep your eye on what it takes to win the long-term prize: Consistent, engaging content that customers care about.

As far as toys go, Legos played THE definitive role in my childhood. Countless hours were spent rummaging through a Rubbermaid bin of bricks inherited from my elder cousins. My little brother and I built, destroyed and rebuilt entire towns from nothing but the random parts we plucked from this bin and previously demolished projects.

So it’s with a tinge of skepticism that I’ve watched Lego grow more and more specialized. With more set-specific pieces coming out each year, I never thought much about Lego”s business strategy. As a budding builder, I felt these specialized pieces restricted their utility. I needed more 2×3 blue bricks, not preformed components

The New York Times had a thoughtful article on the business side of Lego. For example, when you license products to Indiana Jones and Star Wars, are you limiting the child’s imagination?

To some extent, I”m guessing many kids wouldn’t have even considered Legos in the first place. They’re probably action figure enthusiasts at heart. The true Lego fanatics are probably still as excited at the possibilities of a new trash truck opens up to their town than a bunch of weird looking bricks from some 1980s film franchise.

More than anything, I was shocked to hear what Lego sounds like. “Back in my day”, I made the bricks sound like whatever I wanted. It only made sense that the company culture would be equally flexible.

The ”heartlessness” of Lego shouldn”t come as a total surprise. A few weeks ago, they nixed the inclusion of a YouTube “We Are Spinal Tap” video in a commemorative DVD because it didn’t fit their image.

I don’t know about you, but my Legos would have preferred mock rock over a George Lucas marketing machine any day.

Last year, I had the good fortune to attend Quantum Digital”s “Marketing Innovation & Discovery Summit” as both marketer and photographer. Topics ranged from the swarm behavior of modern consumers to the latest in companion, social media and mobile marketing. E-marketing may grab all the headlines, but the sophistication of direct mail is no less remarkable.

Gutenberg Goes Digital

For centuries, the fixed costs of creating and installing unique plates for a job accounted for the bulk of printing expenses. To get the most bang for their marketing buck, companies printed mass messages in large volumes. That was then.

Today, technological advances have revolutionized the cost structure and capabilities of the printing press. Not only can digital presses print more vividly than off-set, they also print more flexibly. Trading rigid plates for a wire frame PDF, the digital press can add or modify content modules in real-time to achieves a level of personalization typically seen only on a website.

Speed is the New “Big”

So where do direct mail and e-marketing intersect? “Speed is the new ”big”” was a common refrain among speakers. Companies, big and small, compete on the basis of their adaptability, personalization and speed to market. With new tools, like digital presses, the only thing separating the small from the large is the strength of their strategy and the speed of their execution.