#AskGaryVee Episode 116: Is All Press Good Press?

and then you get to fire away my friend. – My name is Dave Zhang
@drzhang on Twitter. – (mumbles) nice!
– Might as well do it. – Don’t worry Zhang, if you watch the show
it actually pops up here it’s gonna get linked up.
– [Zhang] Ding! – Yeah exactly. (group laughs) – My question for you Gary is 10 years from now, – 10 years from now. – what industry will be going
through the most disruption? So what is it going to be like in the media industry 10 years from now? – So, 10 years from now, so first of all, and I
like to say this a lot, I don’t think I’m Nostradamus. I don’t like to predict. I will tell you this, I’m gonna take your question
in a different place because I don’t really,
I mean, all of them, which is really where
I’m gonna go with this. I think that Uber, Airbnb, you know, these companies that are
really disrupting markets. Like the hotel industry is
really disrupted by Airbnb. If you’re in the limo business, your shit’s in trouble
because of Uber, right? So, these companies I think most of us, most
of the people watching think that these are anomalies, right? We call them unicorns
in the tech, VC world. And I think people think
they’re so special. I actually think they’re the preview. I think that every single company that is in existence today, that is not 100% software
technology based first, is massively vulnerable. And I think 10 years might
be a little bit too early but if you told me 20, 30 years from now, like E-com I think is much
smaller than people realize it only represents 12-13% of all commerce transactions in the U.S. That means it has, oh I
don’t know, 88% to go, right? So I think there’s a lot of industries, I think on-demand dynamics, right? Like laundromats are I think in deep shit because I think I’m gonna press a button and somebody’s gonna do my laundry. You look at what Shyp is doing
and picking up people’s stuff and shipping it for them,
which I think bodes poorly for the FedEx store. I think you can really
kind of go on anything that hasn’t been disrupted by technology really going that route. And so, I think the last 10 years so much has happened, right? This didn’t exist 10 years ago. This literally didn’t exist 10 years ago. I think the next 10 years will stun people and I think people are
grossly misunderstanding the exponential growth of
technology and software eating up our society
and breaking the norms that we’re just accustomed to. I’d also throw one other thing, I think higher education I
think is stunningly vulnerable. And I don’t think it will
be disrupted in 10 years but obviously we talked
about this in a prior show, I think once the parents stop caring that their kids go to Harvard and Yale, which I think is only one
or two generations, again, I think education is an
interesting place to look at. – Great, thank you, thanks.
– Nice shirt, man. – Cool man, let’s go!

Nice to meet you Vayner Nation. (laughs) – What is your question Molly? – My question is I read an article in the New York Times recently. – Is that a newspaper? – It is a newspaper, but my
Mom sent it to me on Facebook. – Amazing. – So, it was called ‘No
Time To Be Nice At Work’ and it was all about how
the workplace is becoming a hostile environment now
because people aren’t civil to one another because of a
bunch of external factors. They’re focused on a bunch
of other different things. – Like what? – So people aren’t nice to each other because the pressure of day-to-day tasks, they’re thinking about something else when they’re in a
conversation with somebody. – OK. – How do you find– – What was the point of the article, like what was it trying to say? – It was trying to say that there’s always time to kind of like take a deep breath and say
hi, how are you, to somebody, which I think you do a really good job of. – Okay. – So how do you find the time to focus? We’re having a conversation right now, this is a great example,
but how do you find the time to focus, be nice to
people, stay in the moment, that kind of thing? – How do I personally? – Yes, you personally. – You know I don’t think I
really have any other gear. I truly believe like DNA and the way you were brought up is real. I truly look around this room and there’s different levels
of being a nice person in this room, it’s just real. It’s just a real thing, right? For me, it’s super easy. So here’s what I would say,
I think that one thing I like to say a lot is money and
micro-fame or real fame doesn’t change a person,
it just exposes a person. So the amount of people
that write me emails or see me in the street like,
“wow you’re…”, they’ll like send a tweet after they take
a selfie with me in the street and they’re like, “Wow, Gary
Vee’s a really nice guy!” Like, you actually get credit
for being a nice person the more exposure you get. Which I think is silly. Which I think is kind of
just a weird kind of dynamic. So, I think that falls in the
same realm as your question which is, you know, I
don’t think external things in the world, like 24/7 world, I don’t think anything’s really changed. I don’t think Gertrude is nicer or meaner because it’s 2013 and
not 1955 anymore, right? I really don’t think that, I
just think Gertrude’s a (beep) and like decided not to be nice just like she wouldn’t have
been nice 30 years ago. And so, for me, I don’t
even know any other Gary. As a matter of fact, I’m
probably a little bit weird the other way, which
is I’m so uncomfortable with negativity and angst,
things of that nature, that I attack it in reverse. A lot of my day is taken up trying to make sure that’s
contained and not happening. So, it’s just my default. I think there’s a lot of value in it. I’m stunned how many people undervalue a head-nod or a “hey”. For me, because as you guys
know I’m running around so much, so much of my stuff is like
a wink or a smile or a, it’s just I don’t have the
time, but it’s so nice. I think people really
value effort, and intent. And I think you can get away with doing so much of that stuff, with
such little stuff, right? And so, for me it’s easy
because my parents had sex at the right moment to give me my DNA. – [Kim] (applause) – Thank you, Kim. And,
– (laughter) and my Mom really parented me in a way to really value other people and all that kind of stuff. And so, I just haven’t
known any different. I love that I get like extra
credit for it now-a-days because a couple people
follow me on social media. But, for me there’s, ya know, and more importantly, and I
think you know this, and I think a lot of you know this and
some of you don’t know this, but it’s what’s more interesting
to me is I believe in it so much the level of which
I’m forcing it down below me, not just leading by example
but being pretty upfront with senior leadership of
how much it matters to me is I think helps our company. – For sure. – Cool.
– It does. – Thanks Mol. – [Group] (applause)

– I’m well! – I’m Merv. Fantasy Sports, the daily
fantasy sports market is blowing up lately. Draft Kings bought by Disney. FanDuel, partnering with NBC Sports. How do you think that
changes the game for us as fans and as marketers? Does it shift us more
to being fans of players instead of teams, and is loyalty gone?
– Ugh, Merv. That’s a good question! So, if Tom Brady’s leg fell
off his body today in the news, I’d be happy, right? I’m more than happy to say that. I understand how that’s
disgusting as a human being, but it’s the truth. So I’m just telling the truth. If tomorrow Tom Brady
got traded to the Jets, I would love him with all my heart. So you’re talking to somebody
who completely and utterly 100% all in, only roots for
the logo, not the player. Video games, sports memorabilia,
and now more than ever, Fantasy Sports has
clearly created a culture. I had a family event, unfortunately
a negative family event, Liz’s 99-year-old Grandmother passed away, we had a ceremony, and Liz’s
cousin was there, he’s young. And he’s a Seahawks fan. And we’re sitting in the
living room and Sports Center comes up and Peyton Manning comes up and he’s like, “Yeah, Peyton!” He’s like nine or 11. “Yeah Peyton Manning, the man,
I love you Peyton Manning!” And I looked at him and said, “You’re a (beep) Seahawks fan! “Like, you played each
other in the Super Bowl.” He’s like, “Yeah, but
I love Peyton Manning, fantasy, five-touch –” I was like this sucks. I hate the culture — like for me by the way, this whole
show for 116 episodes I say, “Don’t be romantic,
don’t be romantic don’t be romantic.” And that’s because I think this is like it’s a very deadly sin. In sports, I am outrageously romantic. It’s the one place where I think I’m the worst version of myself. And it is stunning for me how much I hate player culture where like you are a Giants fan, but you like a Cowboy player? It makes no sense to me. I’ve been in environments, one
of the great things that has ever happened to me on this
issue was, I was at a sports bar before a Jets game, because I
can never be in a bar setting for a Jets game, but before a Jets game, there was Giants fan wearing
an Eli Manning Jersey and the Giants were killing the Eagles. And a random touch-down
by DeSean Jackson happens and the Giants fan goes, “Yeah!” And I looked at him and said,
“You are a piece of (beep).” I’m like how in the world did he — He’s like, “DeSean’s on my fantasy team.” So, this was a game several years ago where the Eagles had a furious
come-back in the 4th quarter, and DeSean Jackson had
the kick-off and scored and the Eagles came back and won that game after being down by like three touchdowns. I was so happy. A happiness that I can’t even explain that that guy got it stuck to him
for cheering for a fantasy thing over his favorite football team. But that’s something I’m romantic about, so how do I think? I think most of the kids these days and even the grownups are getting re-wired to be more player-centric. I think that’s really
dangerous for the leagues. You wanna talk about
something that could happen in 10 to 20 to 30 years? I truly believe before I die, the five to 15 most influential
athletes within a league will go out and start a separate
league, and pull it off. Before I die. I believe that will happen. And I think that’s super interesting. Tie in question one to
question three on this episode. Because I think that they’re gaining disproportionate leverage. The cost of entry, of distribution
TV rights is changing. And I think there will
be smart business people that will come in and pay
them to go start that league and change the dynamics.
– Sure. – I think it’s a very
slippery slope for the leagues to go down this path. But they will because
the money is short-term and they’ll take it. Cool man, thanks for your question.

– Yes, Merv, you’re also month what, one, – [Merv] One and a half.
– two, one and a half? – Some newbies on the show! – Yes, absolutely. So one of things that I love
the most about being here is the hustle way of life. I think it’s amazing. – Okay. – What are your suggestions
when working with external partners, who you gotta work
with to get the job done, who don’t share your hustle? – You mean like the rest
of the entire world? – Yes, them. Exactly. – From an agency dynamic,
we’re stuck, right? You wanna look good in the sandbox which for people that don’t
understand, you work with a brand and you’ve got
four, five, six, three different agency partners
and it’s important that what a brand hates that we
work with is when the agencies are playing politics
with each other because their assumption is that we as
Vayner, are trying to get the money of this person,
and that makes sense. That’s a cynical point of view, that’s the right point of view by the way, 90% of the time. And so, I, and you may not
fully know this but some of the people that have been
here a little bit longer, I’m actually very aggressive,
like don’t go down that route, we’ll get ours by just
showing what we’re about. But it makes it frustrating for all of you that are in the trenches because I’m probably taking,
I’m probably pushing it even too far of like
“be nice to everybody”, even though they suck. Or you think they suck. – I don’t think they suck, I just said they don’t hustle.
– I get it, I think everyone sucks. And so, I think that it’s a balancing act. It’s a really fine, tight rope. I think letting your work speak for itself is a very smart strategy. I think the truth is undefeated. Meaning, I do think eventually
the truth bubbles up right? Now, you may have a
flawed judge of the truth. Like there’s a human
being that runs that brand that may not see it, maybe tricked, may have too much romance
for the prior world. Or logos over team players. And so, I think you have to
assess who the judge and jury is number one because that’s
just the real game. I think you need to build
a relationship, for real, outside of what’s happening
in the room with those people. Because let’s not forget they’re
just humans that work for a company, and I have
found that a lot of times they realize they stink too. Because maybe their company stinks and at least that gets you
aligned where you’re not mad at the person, you’re mad at a logo. Which I think often times
takes a lot of venom out of the situation,
makes it all more palpable. I think what it comes down to is good old-fashioned
communication, on all levels. Your own team. As somebody who’s a little more senior. One of the things that we
struggle with here at Vayner is the youngsters don’t
fully get it all the way they haven’t been through it. So they’re looking just at the narrow like this project isn’t done
at Thursday at 4, they stink! There’s a lot more going on than that. So I think communication
with your team, to the side, the different players, the client. Just communication,
communication, communication. – I like it, thank you!
– Cool, you got it. – [Group] (applause)

– Vayner Nation, my name’s
Jody Gowen, nice to meet you. – Nice to meet you.
– I’ve already met you. Alright so, we talk a lot about
press and the pros and cons of getting press, but even
in like bad press situations someone, like some troll will
always bring up the argument like, “Well, at least we’re
talking about it, right?” – Right, the thought of
all press is good press? – Yeah, what’s your thoughts
on that, agree or disagree? – Fundamentally disagree. Like if somebody said you’re a
murderer and a child molester if you think that’s good, if
you think that’s good press, you’re out of your (beep) mind, right? So like the thought that all press is good press is ludicrous. Everything matters contextually. It’s the same reason I feel
crazy about media in our world. Everybody thinks all
impressions are equal. They’re not, like the content matters. Like the way people
feel about you matters. If they think, I’m adamantly against that and I think that’s, I
think the people that say all press is good press are
people that get bad press. Like, I really do. I can’t wrap my head around
bad press being a good thing. Like. how? That completely does the thing
that pisses me the most off about media, it takes the
context out of the equation. Well you still reached 11 million people. Like really? Donald Trump’s getting a
(beep)-load of press right now, do we think that’s good? Who could possibly think that’s good? That’s a crazy thought. And so, I think that’s a massive misnomer. And I’m very disrespectful
to anybody that believes that to be true, Jody. – Alright, thank you! – You got it. – [Group] (applause)

or what’s gonna come out of my mouth. – I’m excited, I love improv. – Shoot, oh my gosh. What was either your first or your most embarrassing screen name? – Oh!
– [Group] (laughs) One of my AOL chat names
way back in the day was GeeNutz with a Z. – (laughs) – G-E-E N-U-T-Z. – (laughs) – That one is a good one. That is your answer Allison. Not bad for an improvisation. Good job, awesome.
– Yeah it’s great. Let’s clap that up.
– [Group] (applause)