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 Lately, the colloquial expression “kind of” proliferated conversation at a networking event that I attended. It was uttered and passed from one person to another, until I had heard it several times. It seemed like it was arising when people communicated under social pressure (and perhaps a drink or two?). “Kind of” is a cousin of those other irritants: “like” (which stems from “Valley Girl speak”) “you know,” “and so on,” and “or whatever,” to name a few.

American etymologist Bryan Garner (in “Garner’s Tip of the Day” from Oxford University Press) has heard it enough that he writes that “kind of” is a poor substitute for “somewhat,” “rather,” “somehow,” and similar adverbs. (He says that it properly functions as a noun, however, to signify a category or class in phrases such as “this kind of paper.” But that’s not the use that I’m observing, here.)

The sloppy adverb phrase (“kind of”) is the more common of these two uses, as in “I took the screwdriver and kind of pried the door open.”

Garner notes that if that wasn’t colloquial enough, there is a derivative usage. I even heard it recently on the local, nightly news! The derivative is “kind of a.”  

Garner says that “with this phrasing, not only is the ‘a’ unnecessary, it is also typical of” what he calls “uncultivated speech.” He says that “It depends on what kind of vacation you want,” is preferable to “It depends on what kind of a vacation you want.” (In the former example, here, the phrase functions as a noun, which is acceptable. The derivative “kind of a” Garner detests.)

Like most writers, I prefer silence to verbiage. I’d rather (not “kind of”) hear a speaker pause in conversation (especially if it’s to think) than hear him or her fill the air with sloppy colloquialisms. Most speakers are not stupid–I think they give in too quickly to the pressure to fill silence, without taking the necessary time to think about what have to say.

Do you notice yourself using “kind of” or “kind of a?” Pause when you think of them. You’re entitled to take the time to think and speak better!

Please write to me with your “pet peeves” of English usage! I continue to appreciate that Garner challenges to us to speak, read and write English as well as possible.

 

I’m always taken aback by people who assume that freelancing is a “get rich quick” career move. Recently, I met someone who defined “rich” as “making at least a hundred grand a year.” He defined “quick” as “within six months” of starting.

Viewing “riches” otherwise, however, as the marketing guru Seth Godin does in a recent blog, provides a mental checklist for the kind of “wealth” that  freelancers (in my experience) often desire. This kind of wealth would mean genuinely connecting with others over a long period of time. They might use one’s product or service over months and years, not days. This would not be about making a fast buck.

Freelance work enriches my life. It also enables me to enrich others’ by the alternative standards that Godin proposes. In the following statements, the bolded text is his. My thoughts follow, in parentheses.

 Enrich your world by creating value for others. (Write a blog or an e-newsletter that informs and entertains on a topic pertaining to your business.)

Enrich your health by walking twenty minutes a day. (Visit the local riverbank or better yet, a conservatory where plants and flowers bloom, even through a Canadian winter.)

Enrich your community by contributing to someone, without keeping score. (Share a nutritious lunch with someone who lacks one.)

Enrich your relationships by saying what needs to be said. (Speak to a somewhat difficult neighbour whose behaviour could risk others’ safety.)

Enrich your standing by trusting someone else. (Share some of your career experiences with a newbie freelancer, whose friendship you value.)

Enrich your organization by doing more than you’re asked. (Give something back to a mentor who regularly offers support to you.)

Enrich your skills by learning something new, something scary. (In 2015, write in a format and media that are new to you.)

Enrich your productivity by rejecting false shortcuts. (Read business building books to think and blog about current issues, instead of frequently repurposing others’ blogs. Note to self: the irony of suggesting that in this blog posting isn’t lost on me!)

Enrich your peace of mind by being trusted. (Hear a client say she’ll plan her work around your schedule, because she likes what you do.)

The connection economy pays dividends in ways that the industrial one rarely did. I can think of several local freelancers who contribute as much as I do, when I think over these points.

My call-to-action to you (even if you aren’t a freelancer) is to think how you can use your place in the “connection economy” to enrich your and others’ lives. In doing so, you’ll leave the post- industrial economy behind. The challenge is more demanding than ever, but so is the reward. (And that comes from me, although it sounds like Seth himself.)

[Bolded material posted by Seth Godin May 01, 2014]

Visiting Seth Godin’s What to Do When It’s Your Turn (and it’s always your turn)  (2014):

“Today we have the chance to do work that’s far more pleasant [than in our past] and involves more freedom. And the only one stopping us from doing this work – is us” (Godin 66).

In his most recent (self-published) book, marketing guru Godin argues that motivation, self-discipline, finding support, getting “in the mood” to do work are all excuses. They are mythologies that limit our capacities to step up and “take our turns.” He says: “It’s not about standing in the right light. It’s not about being in the right moment to let the muse arrive. It’s not about figuring out how to be comfortable enough to do the work. . . . In fact, we’re capable of creating work that matters only if we’re willing to be uncomfortable while we do it” (45).

Discomfort, fear, suffering, pain are part of every creative’s life. (And non-creatives’ lives, too). We should consider that opportunities to create something significant, individually and freely can make a difference to others. And make a difference to the world. We won’t always succeed, but as Godin says, “Failure is almost never as bad as we fear it will be, but it’s our fear that we feel, not the failure” (63).

Fear itself is what many of us are afraid of. It’s uncomfortable, off-putting and focusing on it makes it loom larger. When we try to fight it, we are in fact frightening ourselves, effectively harassing ourselves with fear. (Consider that most of us would never treat others in such a way, but we do it regularly to ourselves—fear mongering.)

But that’s not to say that notions of “courage” and “bravery” are any more real than the mythology of “motivation” and “getting in the mood.” So Godin argues. As creatives, we need to feel the fear but do the work anyway. (And no, the book with a similar title doesn’t address this problem.) When we acknowledge the fear, and then try to ignore it as best we can (distracting ourselves from it), the art of doing something valuable or influential feels possible. But no, it still won’t be comfortable.

Godin’s new book, What To Do When It’s Your Turn,  provides many insights on failure and fear in relation to creativity. Some of these I’ll feature in future blog postings and e-newsletters.

As you continue your creative work in this new year, ask yourself this? In what ways can you experience fear and the potential for failure without retreating into myths or creative paralysis?

Last week, one of my favourite marketers (and marketing analysts) Seth Godin wrote on the ethics of marketing as follows:

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“Placebos, manipulation and preying on the weak

Marketers make change happen. Good marketing can change governments, heal the sick and bring a new technology to the masses. Marketers spend money (sometimes lots of it), take our time and transform our culture. It’s quite a powerful position to be in.

Who decides, then, what and how it’s okay to market?

At a recent conference for non-profits, a college student asked me, “What right does a public health person have to try to change the behavior of an at-risk group?” That one was easy for me. How can they not work to tell stories and share information that will help those at risk change that behavior?

And then, just a day later, I heard the story of a marketer who intentionally bankrupts the elderly by loading them up with worthless ‘investments’. He said, ‘Hey, if it makes them happy in the moment and they voluntarily buy what I’m selling, who cares? I’m not doing anything against the law, and if it’s not against the law, I’m not going to stop.’

Shame.

Or the spam phone banks that steal brand names and generate tens of thousands of calls a day, tricking small businesses into buying fake SEO services, or the e-cig makers who market to kids, looking to build a long-term business based on addiction…

For me, the line is clear. If the person you’re trying to change knew what you knew, would they want to change? And so the placebo is ethical, because in fact, it makes people better when they believe. And the expensive wine is ethical, because it’s a placebo, purchased by people who can afford it. But the fraudulent penny-stock scam is wrong, because the withheld information about the fraud being perpetrated is a selfish lie.

If you’re okay saying to yourself and your family, “I tell selfish lies to the weak, the young and the uninformed for a living,” then I guess we need better laws. I’m hopeful, though, that we’ll figure out how to do work we’re proud of first”

(© Seth Godin, Blog for December 4, 2014).

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I want to go one point further than this, on the ethics of marketing.

We as consumers also need a heavy dose of common sense, preferably administered as we were raised by caregivers, to provide a crucial capacity for resistance in us. If you or those you know can’t financially afford the placebo (e.g. the particularly costly cortisone shot that rarely works or the expensive wine) but still give in to interpellation (in Althusser’s sense)  by the medical system, the education system, the church, the police, social structures, such as marketing and advertising, etc., then you likely will feel yourself victim to these forces. And I don’t think we should avoid the “v” word here, at least temporarily. There are many organizations (what Althusser terms Ideological State Apparatuses) that prey on the vulnerable or weak.

And if that happens to you, you shouldn’t stay the victim, but defend yourself, try to master (not repress) the lesson of exploitation and keep fighting. Fighting is the right metaphor for the psychological resistance we should provide to marketing and being “sold to,” not only by the shady, unethical kind. Why–because altruism doesn’t actually exist, even in good actions taken by good people (including good marketers) who may act because it makes them feel good to help or to justly “make change happen,” as Godin’s says. And I include all marketers like him (and me) in this. We need the acts of justice, to be sure, but not the assumption that they come without their own interests or agendas.

Continue reading “On ethics in marketing”