Dr. Neil Hair

Quote of the day. If nothing else we still have the humour. After just one year of holding the Ashes for the first time since the 80's we go and give it straight back following a 5.0 thumping. The closest we got to unsettling the Ozzies (that would be the Australians not the Osbornes) were our 'Barmy Army' who sprang into song at every opportunity (British fans that spend on average $10,000 to fly to Australia, sit in the searing heat and watch grown men wear regimental whites walk around a pitch and hit small red balls with flat bats). Whilst we cant play sport (despite inventing most of the worlds modern games) we can at least have a good old laugh at our incompetence. How refreshingly British! Perhaps now is time to invent another game that is a complete mystery to everyone else in the world - not tell anyone how to play it properly, call it a world series and only let Brits play. But then that would be refreshingly American!

The French can be an ingenious race at times (lets not forget the outside cafe) and for the following I offer sincere appreciation. You have social networks - old hat, you have dating agencies - old hat, now you have (if youre in Paris at least) a site that puts people together that dont yet know each other - a rather nice brand new black chapeau! It got my little marketing mind thinking, if I join something like Facebook its because I want to network with people I already know. What about a network that allows me to join or meet others that I dont know. Rochester is SCREAMING out for something like this (at least from my perspective). Peuplade could catch on here - and lets hope it does, it wouldnt surprise me if this becomes the next big social scene, particularly for those of us whose main social circle in life (those you meet at university) has long since departed to other climes.

I came across a really interesting article on personal identity recently, and it had me thinking - who am I? I guess like the author of the article it depends on where you are when youre asked. When I'm in the USA I am English first, then British, then European (if really pushed though I prefer irritating neighbors to the French and Germans though this isnt always positively received). When I am in Canada I am from Oxford (as my experience with Canadians is that they never confuse my accent with that of an Australian and assume I am from England as they are very aware of the regional dialects - what with the majority of Canadians being first or second generation Canadan-Brits). When I am in the UK I am from Oxford first, south Oxfordshire second, and from Grove third. When I am in Grove, I am 'originally' from Grove but I 'escaped' relatively young (the subtleties of this point of difference for anyone from Grove or who has ever visited Grove will surely not go un-noticed!). When asked by someone 'who is Neil Hair?' I would point towards personality traits. I am a red head, I am married to Rose, I am genuine, I am friendly and outgoing, enjoy long walks in the park and toast world peace etc etc… but the point of this entry is: 'Who am I online?' Am I the same lad from Grove with all the usual traits? From the point of view of the marketer trying to know me this is of course the answer they want. But how do people change online - if they do at all? What differences can be seen in world of Web 2.0? I am personally a believer that your online identity is in most cases a truer depiction of who you really are (and there are lots of interesting studies on this that prove it). You tend to hold back less, you express your true intentions more clearly (unless of course youre trying to be tactful), it's you in the raw so to speak. Or is your online persona simply an extension of your existing off-line personality? More touch points for the marketer means we're ever closer to really understanding our consumers psychology. One wonders what 2007 will bring in terms of new tools and new techniques for peeling away the layers of our targets. Interesting times…