Yammer is good

If you are too involved with your work and, no matter how hard you try, struggle to live a life like a normal half-assed human being

http://www.yammer.com/

also, if we're recommening shit

http://www.blip.fm/

is the fucking mutts nutts if you are sat at your desk doing nothing.

Sporting Metaphors

I would love to write something here about how shite sporting metaphors are.

How you get some big hitting CSDs or CEOs who draw a footballing comparison to everything they do. And how fucking lame it is.

Someone once even told me that they were "like Roy Keane." True story.

Yeah, man! The Roy Keane of Marketing.

I wonder if Roy Keane likens himself to a Head of Data Planning?

The problem is that I can't slag sporting metaphors because it would make me a hypocrite. You see, I use them all the time. I know it makes me a complete bell-end. But it's really my favourite frame of reference.

And this morning, as I awoke with that familiar autumnal chill, I remembered that it's soon time for the NFL. Which, though I am loathe to admit it, is probably my third favourite sport, as I am something of a yankophile.

And I always find the old gridiron a good place for a DM analogy.

Currently, I'm mulling over the QB and his offensive line. For the four of you out there who read this blog and who might be unfamiliar with the concepts, a quarterback is the person who executes a play, and the offensive line are the fat cunts who get in the way of the defence, whose sole purpose is to knock the living fuck out of the poor old quarterback.

It's a natural analogy: quarterback = creative work/creative person. offensive line = client services and planners (ostensibly). defence = the forces of darkness that conspire to decapitate your concept. Or "clients" as they are sometimes known. ;-)

Creative work can only be executed correctly if it is protected by those around it. If not it will be trampelled all over. For a loss.

I imagine that, historically at least, the offensive line was strong in above-the-line agencies. That's why the work was so good.

In DM agencies it's been historically weak. Partly because the offensive line held the QB with contempt and rather enjoyed seeing him getting a stamp on the testes. But, you know, they'd give it a bit of a go.

But lately, it seems to be getting even worse. Lately, it seems that the offensive line are joining in with the defense. The minute the ball is snapped, the offensive line turn round and stamp all over the QB along with the defence.

Now I don't know much, but I know that even Joe Montana would have struggled to do anything brilliant in those conditions.

Work needs defended. Because there will always be people who would happily do a dance on its head. And those fat cunts aren't in the team because they make good quarterbacks. They are in the team to be fat cunts.

Where am I going with this? I don't know.

Does this post even make any sense?

I need a drink.

Pass me that bottle.