Greetings from Moscow, Joshua Tree, Edmonton, and the ever-expanding list of places we are instead of the office. Those of us in Greenpoint are astral projecting to Canada to the tune of all 180 Rush songs, ranked.
When not adding to our playlists, we’re slowly embarking on the process of updating our website - which means writing stylized bios for our team members (dogs included, natch). We’ve also pivoted in our snack game to include a lot more sugary treats and cold brew in-office, in a (so-far successful!) effort to spike productivity.
On to the #content:
The Suits vs. Creatives Paradox
In case you don’t have your ear to the ground of media Twitter, there’s a new round of controversy over at G/O Media (nee Gizmodo Media nee Gawker Media). Tl;dr version - new owners means a new CEO who, according to a massive report in Deadspin, has marginalized or fired much of the company’s female leadership and replaced them with a bunch of his former co-workers. And it will surprise no one who has eyes, ears, and a brain that this CEO is an older white guy and all of his new hires are older white guys as well.
While the level of bias Deadspin is alleging is pretty shocking, the clash between the creative and business sides of a company is nothing new -- even for Gizmodo. And having been on both sides of the divide (and currently falling somewhere in the middle), we think a lot about how to make both sides of the equation coexist.
It’s not a novel idea, but we tend to think that a thriving creative business starts from an understanding on both sides that you can’t have one without the other - and a mutual respect for the kinds of skills it takes to succeed at each. That means including our salespeople in creative conversations and having our editorial team sit on sales calls. We don’t want anyone in a job they're not equipped to do -- but we fully believe that the more holistic understanding each person has of the business as a whole, the better they’ll be at making sure their work contributes to the greater whole. We’re small, so it’s easy enough -- but as we grow, we hope we’ll continue to overshare, and continue to understand that, while we might not understand everything our co-workers do every day, we’re confident they’re doing their best. Even the white dudes in suits/jorts.
Things are happening
We’ve taken our stance on social media filters here at LHC, and the blogger under fire for “tricking” her fans into thinking she was younger has us asking … “whomst among us…”
Our friends at Contently have a great piece on PSAs that are also great content marketing – proving that lighthearted content can still be effective and meaningful.
Hedge funds are trying to make profits on print newspapers, and how long can that possibly last?
To satisfy their niche consumer needs, this Aussie beer brand is making tea that tastes like beer for cricket fans staying up to watch the Ashes in England.
Not your grandma’s museum tours are disrupting the guided tour industry – check out a podcast about it by our very own Tallie Gabriel.
What We're Listening To
The Ohio folk trio is back with more nostalgic, poignant tunes that manage to hit you right in the feels you didn’t realize you wanted to be hit in. Lead singer Taylor Meier’s raspy voice paired with some slow crooning banjo make one take a step back and wonder what all the rush is about. Listen to it here.