Spam and the potential of the good

There are a lot of misguided but likely intelligent people using their knowledge of the internet and email to rip-off other people. Are these people born bad or can they still be influenced to show an act of kindness rather than an act of unlawful behavior. I don't know. Can we influence their future behavior by providing some insight into goodness and its potential benefit for all.

I received an email from a spammer using a known credit card fraud technique.

Here is a different approach to just ignoring those who look to pilfer money through devious emails. I'm not saying that I only respond to spam in this way but it might make you think differently. Imagine the spammer being responded to only by goodness.
If you were surrounded by goodness, what affect would it have?

I know that this is a bit "Ra, Ra, Ra" cheerleader style - but perhaps it's what they need.

--- the spam response message starts here.

Dear child,

A better way to earn money, rather than stealing credit cards is to provide a service to someone who really needs help.
Get together with your friends who have also taken this wrong path and explain to them that you can use your brains for good and not evil.
Just because other people are doing what you are doing doesn’t make it the right thing to do.
If you can come together with your friends with a common goal of planning a good operation, rather than a negative one, you will make far more money.

Think about it. How many people do you know who need something other than money. Something like food or shelter, happiness, laughter, education, excitement, love.
What is that something?

Do you think you could get that something for them?
Rather than thinking, yes, I could get it if I had money – think, how can I use my smart brain to work out a way to get that thing that everyone wants through doing good deeds rather than bad ones.

All you need is one seed to plant to grow and produce many seeds. And when you plant those seeds, before you know it, you have thousands of seeds and plenty of food. If someone says it can’t be done, then prove them wrong through doing it – but you don’t have to show them – show yourself.

Look for the problems and look at how they can be solved through using your mind.

There are good answers to all problems – they just need careful thinking and planning. Plan to be happy and not sad for the rest of your life. If you continue on the path that you are on – you will be sad for ever. You will be happiest when helping other people for good.

If you think of something that is achievable, that is good for you and good for everyone else, then you are on the right path. And good for everyone else doesn’t mean that it helps other people do bad things. It needs to be something that is truly good for everyone. Can you imagine how that would make you feel inside.


Did you know that one small act of kindness has a huge amount of change on everyone around you.
Imagine what 2 small acts of kindness would do. Imagine what it would feel like to not have to worry about getting into trouble with the law or your family. You can feel this way by putting the bad things behind you and spending the next year of your life being good and being kind to people. Even to the people who you don’t know. The biggest and most powerful thing that you can control is your own mind. Even if all the people around you are bad – you can still be good and work out how to move towards other people who are good.

First you need to decide on who are the people who are not ready to receive kindness – and that doesn’t mean that you need to be mean to them – It just means that they are not ready and they may never be ready.

Look to your friends and family, look to your neighbors. Think about helping a lot of people by organising other friends to help.

Start a help group with people who are ready to receive kindness. Don’t place expectations on anyone – allow them to set their own tasks and for them to work out what the best good result is and challenge them to be the best they can at something that is good.

Paul Rand on logo design

I found many of Paul Rand's takes on logo design to be quite compelling. Especially the topic of dogs and crocodiles. It is also interesting to me that the word brand or branding is not used.
This is a great short video for customers considering having a logo designed.

Interview link

Paul Rand on design

Oh how I drool at Paul Rand's sense of colour and turn of phrase.
I would like his scissors.

Getting niched in the customer's mind

Creative ---->
adj.

1. Having the ability or power to create: Human beings are creative animals.
2. Productive; creating.
3. Characterized by originality and expressiveness; imaginative: creative writing.

n. One who displays productive originality: the creatives in the advertising department.
<---

OK, now it says that all humans are creative. That doesn't niche us very well then.
The other words attributed to it that we like are; expressive and imaginative.

More often than not, we are these things. Even so - most people and companies are expressive. Even a potato is expressive.
That leaves imaginative. we also like the word'animals'. It sounds more exciting to be imaginative animals.

While this describes how we see ourselves, it's not much use to our customers. We need to ask ourselves 'what's going on outside the marketplace rather than what's going on inside'.
'What business are we in?'
OK, in the mind of our target market - being primarily corporate marketing people who have worked with design firms before. We are a multidisciplinary design studio.
That might be too broad. To be properly niched we need to be specific and it might be wise to narrow it down even more.

Girling Design
id, print and web design by imaginative animals

The animals part adds a great point of difference. It makes me think of an interview with Steve Jobbs about Paul Rand and how he describes Paul Rands business methods. He calls his methods as having a clarity within the business relationship which is refreshing.



But more than anything, getting niched is also about associating your own business ideals with attributes that you aspire to having.