The truth seems like a luxury lately. Yet it’s what can set us free.

Research suggests that we should preemptively prepare people to counter fake news.

The way people think about issues, from climate change, to GMOs, to the Black Lives Matter movement, reflect their preexisting worldviews. This leads to echo chambers that reflect the beliefs, values, and information that support what they already believe. Such affirmation, in turn, facilitates the spread of false and politicized information. But, there is a tactic that seems to work as a way to ward off false information. Scholars refer to it as “inoculation.”
Article: To Win Against False Information, We Must Play Offense.

The days of targeting media and products at people based on their age is over.

Millennials aren’t the only ones who know what’s happening. Gina Pell describes a new psychographic designation: perennials. They are “ever-blooming, relevant people of all ages who live in the present time, know what’s happening in the world, stay current with technology, and have friends of all ages.”
Article: Meet the Perennials

“How can I help?”

An organization’s purpose goes beyond just emphasizing the importance of serving customers or understanding their needs. It also puts managers and employees in customers’ shoes. It says, “This is what we’re doing for someone else.” And it’s motivational, because it connects with the heart as well as the head. It’s a company’s “philosophical heartbeat.”
Article: Your Company’s Purpose Is Not Its Vision, Mission, or Values.

A one-page content marketing strategy can help you gain traction.

Research shows that marketers with a documented content marketing strategy are more effective than those who lack a written strategy. Yet, only 40% of B2C and 37% of B2B marketers have written down a plan.
Article: Simplify Your Content Marketing Strategy with a One-Page Plan

What if the stuff we created never outlived its use?

Our modern industrial economy was based on a straight line—a linear progression of make, use, dispose. Design firm IDEO’s Tim Brown points to a new continuity mindset that relies on design for continuous lifecycles. Better for the planet. Better for business, too.
Article: We should design businesses like circles, not straight lines.

Employing hundreds of social scientists and data scientists, Uber is using psychological inducements and other techniques to influence drivers.

Even as Uber talks up its determination to treat drivers more humanely, it is manipulating them by engaging in an extraordinary behind-the-scenes experiment in behavioral science to get them to act in the service of its corporate growth.
Article: How Uber Uses Psychological Tricks to Push Its Drivers’ Buttons. 

There’s a perfectly simple principle from which humane politics are supposed to start: basic compassion for those who are suffering. 

Left or right, the moment you find yourself saying “they brought it on themselves”, you have ceased to practice the basic moral principle that should drive a politic for all: a deep compassion for people’s struggles and a desire to help them make their lives better.
Article: Compassion and Politics

Stop making it up as you go.

In less than 3 weeks Dan Green and I are going convene the next DIY Brand Camp learning circle. On April 26th we are offering a one-day survey of the four basic skills you need to succeed in digital marketing today. A great group is gathering and there’s still room for you. DIY Digital Marketing Camp, the Survey Course.

Playlist

Now that I’ve spent a few weeks being really specific about the music I like, Spotify is starting to feed me new artists I didn’t know whom I really like. Here’s an Easy Listening for Moderns mix “we” made this week: Wanna Be on Your Mind. (I was the one to suggest Marvin Pontiac, though.)

Image of the week

The marker drawings in the headers are by my freaking brilliant next door neighbor and friend, Jesse Duquette. When a wanna-be despot moved into the White House, Jesse started an Instagram feed. The mission of the the.daily.don is to “document this administration each day from the Inauguration to the Election”.

The work is crazy smart. Go, Jesse, go.

What’s Clarity First?

If you’re new to Clarity First, it’s the weekly newsletter by Clarity, the consultancy that helps mission-driven companies use their brand – their purpose, values, and stories – as powerful tools for transformation. Learn more.

If you get value from Clarity First, please pass it on, refer the DIY Digital Marketing Camp, the Survey Course, or simply think of Clarity when your organization wants to improve the effectiveness of its communications.