Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

The Differences Between Writing for Listening and Writing for Reading

“My tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth, I couldn’t swallow, I had cold chills,” is a fair description of what happens to many when they're about to make public remarks. Speaking in front of an audience is still one of the top fears Americans list, along with loneliness, and ahead of death (although “going broke” is quickly becoming a strong contender#.) Standing up feels like a set up for being rejected for many. Contrast the act of being in front of a group of expectant faces with the ability to edit oneself before posting to social media,... Read more →

How Great Brands Create Demand

Behind the story of a brand is a desire to solve a problem, often in new ways. Innovative companies don't stop there, they keep asking better “what if” questions, gaining insights on how to improve the product or service. Product use creates a feedback loop. To get more product in market and use, organizations create demand. The secret to establishing an enduring brand is a strong reputation based on deep relevance. It's a process of discovery for users of the product as much as it is for the producers. When relevance goes deep, it becomes shared meaning. Start small, build... Read more →

How we Live Fast & Slow

We often make decisions based on “good enough” information. Our brain is configured to make us act fast and without definite proof. Intuition uses what we call rules of thumb to select an item. The best experiences use this gut instinct to help us do the right thing easily. For example, the roundabout in many cities in Europe is designed to keep traffic moving, instead of stopping it. It works based on a simple rule of thumb — if anything comes from the right, you stop. Another example of a rule of thumb we use — if something feels too... Read more →

How to Evaluate Value

“The value of a thing sometimes lies not in what one attains with it, but in what one pays for it — in what is costs us.” [Nietzsche] Steve Jobs founded Apple to initial success. Then he got pushed out. So he went to his desert — i.e. NeXT — to build the actual operating system (OS) he thought he had, but didn't. Only when he was solid there (make it right), he was able to “rescue” Pixar (make it work.) Thus he got the funding and the energy in the form of intellectual, human, and social capitals to be... Read more →

The Nexus of Content, Commerce, and Culture

“Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people’s places.” [J.K. Rawlings] Content, commerce, and culture are three elements of the modern battlefield for attention — a scarce resource that costs us in energy. To the person who pays it, attention is a cost. What we “pay attention” to is as important as how we pay it. People don't seek content, nor they call experiences that way. Although we buy and sell things and we interact, we don't think of those actions in the abstract, as commerce.... Read more →

Why is Culture Important?

A few years ago, I had a conversation with The Center for Cultural Studies & Analysis#, a Philadelphia-based think tank that decodes how people determine value in products, concepts, and ideas. Working with companies like Disney, they study how apparently unique decisions follow certain shared subconscious patterns. Culture defines what things “should” look like in order to have meaning. And when it comes to receiving, remembering, and assigning value, vision trumps all other senses. They say[1], “the impact of culture on how we see and think of the world around us follows a logical and measurable sequence: Our senses detect... Read more →

What Data Cannot Tell us

“Subtracting your dependence on some of the things you take for granted increases your independence. It's liberating, forcing you to rely on your own ability rather than your customary crutches.” [Twyla Tharp] If there is a silver lining in the recent media focus on the Cambridge Analytica misgivings it's the attention the story has kept on data mining practices by social networks and the unmetered use by organizations to target people. Market researchers have been using the same techniques for years. But there are things data cannot tell us. Common practices Susanne Yada, a Facebook ad strategist says, “It was... Read more →

How to Create a Movement

In 1999, small groups of business professionals from different experience levels, industries, and types of jobs started getting together periodically to talk about the new economy. These groups of 4-5 people had never met before, worked in organizations and as solo-preneurs. Month after month, in many cities in the U.S. and around the world, they got together and invited their friends and colleagues to think together. Soon, the groups counted 42,000 members worldwide. There was no social media, just a listserv and something in common — a desire to share experiences. Small groups became a community, then became a movement.... Read more →