[...] You may be strongly (and subconsciously) tempted to do anything at all to avoid ever getting criticized again. Resist this with everything you’ve got. Nothing is more boring than inoffensive content. [...]

Degree- Bachelor of Commerce Majoring in Marketing & Management.

Major: Poli Sci and English, back when I thought I was going to be a lawyer instead of marrying an engineer.

Pissing people off, alienating them, or just letting them go because you stand for something, though–because you refuse to be all things to all people–is (I would argue) a smart thing to do, in addition to making you feel 100% better about yourself as a human.

@Even, I just threw a chair across the room. I happen to have the great fortune to have worked with a guy who was a major marketing exec at Coke. You make a good point–Coke was comfortable for people, and they moved out of that comfort zone and got slammed for it. I’ll counter, though, with two arguments–1) they’ve done a lot of sharp, memorable, interesting ads over the years, even if they’re not actually making anyone angry, and 2) you and I should both be so lucky as to have to solve the particular marketing issues coke does. Their product is a strongly-ingrained habit with people–and once you reach that point, yes, I agree, you’re playing a different game. But they still need to win new customers just like you & I do, and they do that by trying to put communication out that’s vivid and fresh. That kind of mainstream brand really does want to be all things to all people, and I confess that’s not something I know much about.

There was a drink company which changed it’s taste. It was called Coke it cost them, big time! Pepsi was happy though.

Aggression can be useful to get attention which may be important when entering the market.

We live in a world of rapid change. This makes reliability more valuable – witness the growth of franchises.

Comfort is just fine. It’s OK to stretch yourself but success is more likely when you know what you’re doing than trusting to dumb luck (which is what stretching yourself can amount to).

If you love what you do you will want to get better at it anyway.

If you get in a rut let your anger out – don’t post it, but let it out, move on and post that.

As for me. Two bachelors (one in, mostly, English Literatur, the other in Adult and Vocational Education. The one in English was worthwhile – the other simplify for the qualification.) Also various other Diplomas and such. My learning has largely been self-directed I’ve found the courses largely worthless – though I have made some good friends from some of them.

Double major English and Spanish, double minor theatre and linguistics—abandoned (because I’m also an idiot), after three years on acad. scholarship (people don’t value Free).

A few long years later, BFA (Bach. of Fine Arts) in interior design, minors in graphic design and sculpture (since it related not one bit to what I’d done before, I had to start over, and pay through the nose, too…). My senior thesis was on Kiki Smith and feminist art.

I’ve yet to get much brawling going on at my blog, just a flare now and then. I do get some silliness, which I see as a good sign. I do my best to avoid boring.

Unless it’s strictly necessary, I don’t stop giggling and joking in “real” life, so I like to see that in my online world, too. I wasn’t the class clown. I’m not much for broad jokes. I was the one who whispered an aside that got six kids falling out of their seats, with me sitting angelically in the center of it all. It’s a little hard to whisper an aside online, but I do my best. My favorite off-topic compliment is probably “coffee almost came out my nose.”

Another book up the Funky Business aisle, if you haven’t read it, is Freakonomics. Maybe not as much practical application, but a great, thoughtful, funny read on modern mad money times.

Regards,

Kelly

And no matter what my mom says, I’m using every one of them to this day.

Some Francophones here, excellent! I suppose I should have added that I was a history major, did my senior thesis on the use of etiquette as a social valve in Heian Japan. Now that I think about it, I could probably actually use that in my professional life.