Maurilio Amorim

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  • Narcissism, Social Media, Christianity and Me

    I knew I was in trouble even before I began reading a very thought-provoking post on social media by Mitch Joel, Confessions of a Narcissist brought to my attention by Mike Hyatt.  The title alone was convicting. In his post, Joel unplugs from the Matrix long enough to see what we have often feared would happen: a feeding frenzy of the cult of ME. Social media has empowered narcissism to a new level and given it legs to run amuck. He poignantly writes:

    The true destination for most of our online endeavors really are the new media equivalent of the biblical statues that were presented as deities. These digital shrines that we create to ourselves.

    narcissism, social media, christianity Maurilio Amorim

    The post hit  a nerve with me. Intellectually I know that social or any type of media is inherently neutral. Unlike some who believe Facebook, and Twitter and whatever new social network a 19 year-old starts tomorrow are the new paths to destruction, I realize they are just tools. They serve us; however, we feed them.

    I think Mitch Joel is right. We are narcissistic. No, I am narcissistic. Too often my interaction with people is more about me than anyone else.

    But what if those of us who claim to be Christ followers decided to redeem our social media footprint for a cause greater than the pursuit of notoriety?

    That’s the same question we should ask about the pursuit of riches, influence, knowledge or anything else in our lives. I’ve been fortunate to have known people who made millions so they could give away millions, some who are influential so they could speak for those without a voice. But am I pursuing an ever-growing online audience for their sake instead of mine? Are you?

    If you have followed my blog for any length of time, you have read my diatribes on the pitfalls of bad strategy, or the lack thereof, in projects, businesses, and churches. Some of us even have a sophisticated business strategy for our social media presence, but what about a faith one?

    What kind of impact could Christians have if we were more interested in helping a world in pain than in how good we look to our digital friends? That’s the question I’ll be wrestling with for the next few days.

    How can we redeem our online presence without becoming weird, obnoxious or confrontational?

  • What Do Your Client Gifts Do for Your Brand?

    Since we started The A Group 9 years ago, we have been giving Christmas gifts to our clients: expensive cookies, designer pen, leather notebooks, engraved pad-folios to name a few. However none has elicit the volume of feedback through notes, calls and lots of social media mentions as this past year’s gift: The A Group branded Snuggie. We sent them to clients in the cold North as well as in sunny Florida along with our Christmas card also featuring our entire team wearing Snuggies.

    None of us could’ve predicted such a warm reception (pun intended) nor some of the coldest weather in recent history. Here’s a few lessons from this year’s Christmas gift:

    • This was not the most expensive gift we have ever sent, but it was the most original
    • We are a professional but fun company and the branded Snuggie said it all
    • In a sea of cookies, pop corn and candy our gift stood out like a blue smurf (or an Avatar Na’Vi if you prefer)
    • The combination gift, card and stickers (on the shipping box) told our clients that execution matters and we took the idea all the way through.
    • People who would never buy a Snuggie because of the ubiquitously hokey commercials but who secretly wanted one, now are able to enjoy it guilt free.
    • Our clients bought into the fun and shared their favorite A Group Snuggie moment. Here’s a few of my favorite shots

    Sal Sberna watching football with his Snuggie

    Jenni Catron and her favorite puppy share a snuggie moment

    Mac Brunson in deep prayer and meditation on his A Group snuggie.

    What was a memorable gift you received from a business partner?

  • Art for Art’s Sake

    So art is subjective and it’s supposed to evoke feelings, thoughts, or just a simple “hey, this is not the ordinary, so look at me” type of reaction.

    This slide show is of some of the most unusual sculptures from around the world. I haven’t decided on a favorite, but I’m pretty sure it’s not the big thumb from Paris. Ah, the French should stick with food.

  • In Defense of the Techno Slut

    Lately I have gotten a lot of “feedback” from friends, family, associates and even complete strangers on my obsession with technology, as some have labeled it, specially my ongoing usage of Twitter. Since I syndicate my tweets (what we call a twitter post) on my blog, my Facebook page, and Plaxo, I can see how, for a non web-savvy person, it seems that I’m spending most of my days updating these sites with seemingly trivial information. Even, Gwen, my lovely wife, emailed me the other day with the indicting words, “if you have time to twitter, than you have time to . . .” and so it began my “honey-do” list. The truth is that it only takes a few seconds per post. I estimate that I might spend a total of 5 minutes–on a busy tweet day–on my social network posts.

    First of all, I’m in the communications business. I own a media and marketing firm whose job is to help develop communication strategies for our clients, helping them to be as effective as possible in what they do. Technology is often the best conduit for those strategies. Frankly, I’m tired of people who, like myself are in charge of communicating with culture, commenting, denouncing, or plainly dismissing tools they don’t understand or have never even used for themselves. Think about it as a child who affirms that he hates broccoli, but has never tried it once.

    Secondly, there’s an objective, quantitative side of testing new technology. It’s called results. No matter what world we live in, whether market place or non profit, we are compelled, if not required to maximize our impact, to have the greatest return on our investment–investment not only of resources, but also of time and personal equity (relationships). I can pontificate all day long that I prefer a clean, streamlined design for a website which I happen to do. But that’s not always what works. Recently my company “junked up” a home page that was not performing to our expectations. Traffic improved. Unfortunately “preferencentricity” (term I coined to reflect judgment solely based on one’s point of view and tastes) has a way to hijack meetings and projects when outspoken and yet misguided people speak out of ignorance, fear or prejudice.

    Since I began Twittering, traffic has increased on my blog as well as on my corporate website. I have met some great new people as well, just to name a couple of benefits.

    Finally, I like gadgets and technology. I really do. As a matter of fact, things with buttons, touch screens, and cool shiny lights make me happy. When I run or ride my bike, I carry on me a GPS, a heart rate monitor, a cadence meter and a wrist watch that controls my iPod as well. I’m a techno slut after all. But at the end of the day if the new technology doesn’t deliver, it’ll be gone and I’ll be looking for the next big thing that will help my clients and me to reach people.

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