Popping sounds can stimulate, stir, startle, or even scare us. They are signals and celebrations that shake us from stillness.
It might be the pops of musical notes, the creations of pop culture, the popping off of political pundits, and even the pops of gunshots are not just heard, but they are felt throughout our bodies and beings. They awaken reactions within us and generate physiological responses both positive and negative.
We’ll discuss a few in this week’s Four P's… popping up and popping off the page.
SOMETHING PERSONAL: Pop! Pop! Pop!
"There's a happy feeling nothing in the world can buy."
Yes, the holidays are one of my favorite times of year. The food, the family vacations, the spirit of mirth and jolly, all of it. People are in better moods, the economy gets a bump, work slows down (after speeding up), the sweaters get sillier, and presents are given! And while some may find the holiday music to be overwhelming and annoying, I can't get enough.
Whether you binge on Christmas tunes on LiteFM or go caroling with your neighbors, the songs are always familiar and nostalgic. Personally, I grew up learning the songs in elementary and high school chorus class. We'd perform Christmas medleys for our parents and recorded for posterity (or maybe a decade) on their clunky VHS camcorders. I got into it.
I loved that my Jewish friends also had to learn and perform these songs. I loved that our Honors Choir would put on holiday shows around the neighborhood, entertaining underprivileged and disabled students at nearby schools and visiting the elderly at assisted living facilities. I loved that I got to dress up as Santa Claus in those shows and hand out toys.
I still know every word, every note to all of the songs. I've carried them with me ever since, from work holiday parties (where I kept the Santa Claus costume surprise cameos going well into my late 20's), to making my kids listen in the car while driving them to school. And while my children are growing up to respect all religions while not specifically following or adhering to any one theistic doctrine, I hope they, too, will always love the spirit of the holiday season.
SOMETHING PROFESSIONAL: Pop! Pop! Pop!
That’s the sound of your "NFT is a Bubble" bubble popping.
In the course of normal conversations with clients, colleagues, prospects, and personal friends/family, I've occasionally been met with some skepticism, as well as a few recurring questions about my growing interest in the NFT and Web3 space for brands.
The first question: “Are NFTs a cash grab? Or worse, fraud?”
Whether limited and unique, or more open-edition collections, NFTs have real value. Investors have had their fair share of investment successes and failures, as well as experiences of fraud. Criminals can hack into an account and resell under someone else’s name. There are literally millions of NFT transactions taking place in open, verifiable marketplace resulting in successful transfers of cryptocurrency and digital assets. But for those who see NFTs purely for the profit potential, they are only looking at 1% of the opportunity.
The next question: "Aren't NFTs just a fad whose bubble will soon burst?"
There is no doubt that the speculative race to buy and flip some early NFTs has given some this impression. But if you look beyond the art, the image, the video or the NFT moment itself, and think of NFTs as tokens or keys that unlock access to some experience, offer enhanced opportunities to learn, engage, be entertained, etc., then this model is only going to get much bigger, and fast.
What about this one, from brand marketers: "Is the notion of becoming more decentralized really a good thing?"
There are extreme examples of use cases for NFTs and blockchain experiences that truly represent a decentralized model, but as more brands, agencies, sports leagues, art galleries, etc. get involved, the technology platforms they use are providing more centralized management and organization than you realize. And some are quite seamless, simple and safe. This is never going to be as decentralized as some want.
"Isn't this all going to be regulated and shut down, anyway?"
The horse has left the barn at this point, but I did happen to (re-)watch the Congressional hearings on crypto last I expected it to feel like watching my grandparents try to fly a drone, but it was remarkably positive. The United States has an opportunity to lead on innovation and not over-regulate here. They recognized an obligation to keep smart talent in the United States. They talked about digital being always on, always accessible, and how that's important for those who may not have access to banks. They talked about ensuring that stablecoins are backed by 100% USD reserves and that bigger, established institutions can be involved, too. But banks are definitely nervous. The media largely doesn't get it. And those who aren't yet educated about these principles need to be slow-walked through the process.
And the trickiest one: “Are NFTs destroying the environment?
The early environmental impact of cryptocurrency has been, well, not great. Bitcoin mining and the Ethereum blockchain burns a considerable amount of power, so many are worried that NFTs will also be environmentally taxing. But we expect the future to be better and brighter with newer, more energy efficient blockchains. Even now, NFTs represent only 2% of the gas fee consumption on Ethereum, and some NFTs are supported by other blockchains such as FLOW (Dapper's chain), WAX, Solana, and TEZOS, which are less environmentally taxing. Additionally, Ethereum is already in the process of moving from a proof-of-work model to a proof-of-stake model known as Ethereum2 to significantly reduce the energy consumption.
NFTs aren't going anywhere. The same people who asked why they need a Facebook page or YouTube channel a decade ago because they "already have a website" might be skeptical again now, but the marketing playbook is actually quite similar: strategy, creative, technology, and community will increasingly leverage NFTs as fundamental tools for progress.
SOMETHING POLITICAL: Pop! Pop! Pop!
Not all pops are welcome and positive. On November 30, American students were once again the victims of a school shooting. While some may be numb to this, as a parent of school-age children, I often think about whether this could happen in my town. And the answer is "Of course. Why not? Guns are everywhere. In this latest incident, in Oxford, Michigan, a 15-year-old murdered four of his classmates and injuring seven others. His atrocious parents were also charged with involuntary manslaughter because the murder weapon was a gun purchased by his parents as a Christmas gift to the teen. I mean...
Unfortunately, we've been here before. The most famous case was the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, where a mother purchased an assault weapon and made it available to her deeply troubled son. She was not tried or prosecuted, because Nancy Lanza was the first person murdered on that horrific day.
Whether or not these weapons are purchased for fun, for sport, for defense... none of it makes sense to me. But some of these cases are happening in some of the safest suburbs in America. But the fact that they are being purchased for underage children at all, let alone those with mental health issues, is a crisis. It's a parenting problem. It's gun problem. It's an ammunition problem. It's a mental health problem. It's a legislative problem and a constitutional problem. And they're all addressable.
The shooting actually occurred on the same day that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated California’s restriction on magazine size to ten rounds. The Michigan shooter used two 15-round magazines in his deadly rampage, so one must ask if the state had had a similar restriction to the one in California, which had been the law for the nation during the now lapsed federal assault weapons ban, would more people be alive and uninjured today?
A recent trial in federal court in San Antonio over the mass shooting at the Sutherland Springs Baptist Church that left 26 dead revealed how sick some parents are. In that case, the parents of the shooter Devin Kelley said they had no reason to suspect it might not be safe for him to have an assault rifle, even though Kelley had been accused of rape in high school, had been kicked out of the military, had spent a year in jail for fracturing the skull of his infant stepson, and threatening his wife with a gun, and had escaped from a mental facility where he had been placed for evaluation after his arrest. In modern America, there is an acceptance around supplying guns to children. This has to end. But given the most recent copycat attempts (thankfully thwarted), we know there will be more.
I'm glad I live in New York, but the difference in states on matters of gun policy is huge. Kyle Rittenhouse is a free man (boy?), a hero to some, and many states are passing laws to prevent a police officer from enforcing any federal gun control measures. In 2008, the Supreme Court shit on the Constitution and created an individual Second Amendment right to have a gun in the home for self-defense, ignoring the language of the Amendment that called for a “well-regulated militia.” That will now likely expand in a case heard last month to say that you have a right to carry the gun outside the home.
Yet other states, like New York and California, are working hard to improve gun safety measures... and seeing greater reductions in firearm violence as a result. Hmmm. It's almost like gun safety laws protect and save lives.
Pop goes the Right's twisted narrative.
SOMETHING PRACTICAL: Pop! Pop! Pop!
Throughout my over-four decades on this planet, few people in popular culture have had a more profound impact on my life than President Barack Obama and singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen.
In the summer of 2020, Springsteen and Obama spent a few days chatting with one another in Bruce's studio in Colt's Neck, N.J. I listened to the podcast when it came out, and just recently finished their accompanying book, Renegades. On the outside, these two men have very different backgrounds and experiences. But they align on a shared commitment about identifying, discussing, and proposing ideas on how to fix America’s challenges and work towards a brighter future. They’re connected by lofty ideals, a vision of a united country, their belief in the promise of the future. But they’re also connected by their past experiences, and by the promises that their country may not have lived up to.
In Bruce's music (of which I proudly know nearly every word, every note), he sings as much about unfulfilled hope as Obama talked about throughout his public career. Both men articulate their vision of the American dream, and it is not rooted in fame or fortune (and in doing so, they achieved both). Valuing money does not bring feelings of satisfaction and wholeness in life. Both men knew this. Life satisfaction and fulfillment – things that money simply can’t buy – can be found elsewhere. Being a good friend. Being a good neighbor. Becoming a valued member of your community. Being a good husband, being a good father, being of service to others: these are the ways to redeem, to save yourself. These are the things – not capital gains – that are truly important, the ingredients that’ll add up to a full, meaningful life. These are Bruce and Barack's lessons shared.
Right now, we’re bombarded with advertisements. Social media invites you to compare yourself to others, to compare your wealth to theirs, to compare your material possessions to theirs. But Springsteen and Obama strive to put forward a different set of values – a way of looking at what’s important that has nothing to do with money.
The messages are hard to reconcile with other things we see, hear, read, and experience now on a daily basis. Two recent articles from The Atlantic have me seriously believing that America's best days are behind us. That the end of a superpower is here. That the American experiment has failed. They are cultural, social, political, and individual failings from which there may be no return.
America Is Running on Fumes: In film, science, and the economy, the U.S. has fallen out of love with the hard work of ushering new ideas into the world.
Are We Doomed?: To head off the next insurrection, we’ll need to practice envisioning the worst.
So to read the words of two of the most popular icons of the last 50 years - a black man from Hawaii and a white man from New Jersey - strive to tell a new kind of American story is the best possible medicine against these deep wounds. But is it enough? Through music, through politics, these two want to bring together a divided country and help the nation rise up as a whole. But is this even possible in this day and age? Unification may be impossible, but is cordial respect still on the table? The idea of "them-versus-us" has become the guiding principle of modern society, and we have our own filters to block out the other side.
For the Boomers and even older Gen X, it's probably too late. So hope rests with us with Gen Y, Gen Z and our kids (Generation Alpha) now. Obama points to the fact that, in the last few elections, voters aged 35 and under were overwhelmingly in favor of a united vision of America. So even though the America we see today seems to be defined by division, maybe the America of the future will be better and brighter and more unified.