June 9, 2014

I'm crying because I didn't think of this

There are things I wish I would have created. Like the iPhone and Disney World.

Then there are things I'm happy I didn't create. Like sauerkraut and The Real Housewives of Wherever.

This brilliantly funny book falls into the former category:


I mean, come on. It's cute, funny, and so ridiculously simple. Like me. Except for the cute and funny part.

Can you guess from the title what it's about?

No. It's not about baby goats. Or Storck Chocolates.

It's a bunch of pictures of kids crying with captions explaining the reasons they are crying.

So simple. So brilliant. Like me. Except for the brilliant part.

It all started with the blog of a father raising his kids during the day while moonlighting in a creative field. Sounds a little familiar.

I'm inspired now to change the content of my blog. From now on, I'm going to go around to parks, beaches, schools, and church nurseries to make kids cry so I can take their picture and make up funny captions.

Wait a sec. Kids cry enough on their own. For reasons more ridiculous than I could ever invent. And that's what makes Greg Pembroke's book and blog so brilliantly simple and charming. Like me. Except for the brilliantly charming part.

As a parent of three creatures that can go from sobs to laughter and back again in less time than it takes me to forget what I'm looking for in the fridge, Reasons My Kid is Crying struck a chord with me and is sure to do the same for other child overlords.

That's what creators need to do. Create things that resonate with an audience. It doesn't have to strike a chord with every audience, but it needs to connect to some audience. And it's not always about the size of the audience but the loyalty of the audience.

I know there's an audience out there for my Naked Gun soap opera. A big, loyal audience, aged 18-49, that spends a lot of money on products they see in commercials.

But I digress.

Hey, how about my own contribution to Reasons My Kid is Crying?:




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