Brand Against the Machine was a great book and a really easy read. I was just shocked by the informality of his writing. It's harder to understand humor mixed in with writing sometimes I think when you haven't had the chance to match up a face and personality with the writing. Maybe that's just me though. Anyways, great advice all around for big businesses and small businesses and maybe a little blue ocean in there when he was talking about how there's always room at the top you just need to figure out something new that your audiences want, a new solution to an old frustration. Eh? My only issues were with the celebrity section but that's just because America's obcession with celebrity is ridiculous and second of all it's hard for small businesses to link up with celebrities. But my main problem was the section about how your brand is always on. That is devstating. I know that is something that just goes along with living in a capitalist society that loves stability though. What if you just are in a bad mood and you want to be rude for a day or what if you just want to go out and get super crazy and drink the night away and a customer sees you out or something but it's not part of your brand? Michael I know exactly what you'll say to this but I wanted to write my concerns anyways! Haley every brand is different. If you like to be rude then have that be part of your brand like that restaurant where you walk in and they write mean things on your hat and you have to wear the hat during dinner and you don't know what it says about you. Why can't we just live in a society where you can be something different everyday. People can't handle inconsistancy that's why. I can't really handle that either actually so I don't know what I'm saying. But thinking about branding and the things that should be a part of a brand there are certain qualities that are valued above others like good communication skills and being personable. I wonder if these things have always been valued. I'm sure the answer is no. I also wonder if the things we value will change. I mean the basic fundamental personality archetypes that are priveleged over others- like extroversion! What if one day being super socially awkward was valued. Wouldn't that be crazy. I know for sure what I value even if times change. In a brand I want selflessness, honesty, kindness, humor, confidence, energy, openness, and creativity. I will ALWAYS value these above all else. I wonder if people actively think about what they value in terms of brands or they just go with their culturally manipulated intuition. Who knows!