Gareth Cliff on... — Gareth Cliff
Gareth Cliff is known for his well-articulated and strong opinions about politics and current affairs. Hear them in his own voice here.
19
SEP
Communities: Real & Digital
People abuse the term ‘community’. A community is defined as “a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.” It doesn’t mean the million things politicians want it to. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram talk about their community – but we’re certainly not in the same neighbourhood and we don’t have much in common (especially if you look at your feed on Twitter)...
22
AUG
Gareth's Blog: Advertising is Alive!
Turns out we’re not just vapid and superficial.
Turns out we want more than 280 characters.
Turns out we like complex stories with lots of characters and plot lines.
Turns out we like interviews where people talk about philosophy, life and meaning.
Turns out we’re smarter than the media people thought.
For the last few years we’ve been told we’re in an attention economy. We are, but it isn’t for less and less - for soundbites and loud statements and #trending on Twitter - it’s for more. Marketers, pundits, speakers, writers and creatives want to make a difference, not just get your attention...
Turns out we want more than 280 characters.
Turns out we like complex stories with lots of characters and plot lines.
Turns out we like interviews where people talk about philosophy, life and meaning.
Turns out we’re smarter than the media people thought.
For the last few years we’ve been told we’re in an attention economy. We are, but it isn’t for less and less - for soundbites and loud statements and #trending on Twitter - it’s for more. Marketers, pundits, speakers, writers and creatives want to make a difference, not just get your attention...
18
JUL
Gareth's Blog: Changing Behaviour
I remember the school run fondly. My mom would load me, my brother, and sister into the car and take us on the 30-minute drive to school. The journey had a familiar routine - passing by the same places, chatting and laughing. Someone else was always in the car though - the radio. There was a DJ cracking corny jokes at the same time every morning, making a predictable prank call, playing the number one song on the charts for that day (in 1992, it was Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’, which meant that we all had to hear that song every day for months, so that it was tattooed on the inside of our skulls and infected our dreams), and someone reading the news headlines. Those morning drives were the context for my teenage years...
24
JUN
The Power of Podcasting with Gareth Cliff, Timothy Maurice & Ernest North
Online media was in its infancy in South Africa when we made the giant leap from terrestrial radio to start CliffCentral.com. Podcasting was almost unknown in South Africa and the naysayers predicted failure. Now, five years later, podcasting is the fastest growing medium in America (70% growth year-on-year for the last three years according to Edison Research) and gathering momentum in South Africa.
We’ve been collaborating with Brain and Brand expert Timothy Maurice and actuary Ernest North to assess the qualitative and quantitative effect of podcast audiences – what makes it different, how it adds value to people’s lives and how it is becoming a powerful way to connect brands to listeners.
We’ve been collaborating with Brain and Brand expert Timothy Maurice and actuary Ernest North to assess the qualitative and quantitative effect of podcast audiences – what makes it different, how it adds value to people’s lives and how it is becoming a powerful way to connect brands to listeners.
23
MAY
Gareth’s Blog: The Importance of Imagination
There aren’t a lot of ways we can still exercise our imaginations. So much of it is done for us now… great TV series like Game Of Thrones or movies like Lord Of The Rings do most of the imagining for us. People don’t read fiction like they used to (or they just don’t have the time to).
02
MAY
Gareth’s Blog: What’s next?
CliffCentral.com turned five on May 1st, a milestone for a small start-up that is now the leading podcaster in Africa. It’s amazing how quickly we incorporate new habits into our lives...
25
APR
Gareth's Blog: Podcasting by Numbers
How do you measure podcast audiences? The existing metrics don’t make sense. Soon we'll be sharing some powerful thoughts and insights on why podcasting is different, and it won’t just be me talking - it will involve both actuarial and behavioural science. Before we go down another new road, and just ahead of CliffCentral.com's fifth birthday, I thought it might be interesting to talk about podcasting by numbers.
10
APR
Gareth's Blog: Change my Mind
Should you vote? The truth is, I don’t know. That might sound surprising coming from someone who has always been a vocal supporter of democracy - so much so that for the last four elections I carried on like an unpaid employee of the Independent Electoral Commission, on radio, TV and in person...
28
MAR
Gareth's Blog: Milestones
They used to say that all roads led to Rome, but in the ancient world, you only knew how far you’d gone down the Appian Way out of Rome by checking the milestones - and venturing very far into hostile, uncivilised or unexplored territory was for madmen and exiles only...
14
FEB
Gareth's Blog: Know Thy Audience
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: Everyone is now in the media business. Every business is now by default a content creator and every business also has an audience - clients, customers, suppliers, international partners and their competitors. The content you serve them can be specific, targeted and relevant (and it should be, to make an impact) and doesn’t need to be mainstream.
07
FEB
Gareth's Blog: Helping you to Understand Cancer
Imagine leaving your doctor after receiving the dreaded news that you have cancer. The sinking feeling, the anxiety, the loneliness of that moment. If it hasn’t happened to you, then chances are that it has happened to someone you know and love. Some people don’t have to imagine. It’s gut-wrenching, terrifying, too much to bear. But you don’t have to go through this alone.
23
JAN
Gareth's Blog: Power to Podcasting!
Facebook just launched their first ever original podcast – Three and A Half Degrees – and if there was ever a moment podcasting became totally mainstream, this is it.
