Lately questions like these keep popping into my head. (What’s the word for that little fizzle of smoke that appears over exasperated cartoon characters’ heads?) I got to thinking maybe I was too busy at work, but an informal poll showed that it wasn’t just me. Some of the responses to my question: ‘Armageddon?’ ‘Overwhelmed?’ ‘Tuesday?’ And my favorite so far, ‘Middle Management.’

When I sat down to write this post a few weeks/dozen projects/hundred Change Requests ago, I was tempted by the thought that ours is a uniquely 21^st-Century dilemma. (What’s the word for when every generation thinks it’s the end of the world?) Then it hit me, plunk. Maybe, sometimes, there simply are no words.

As a copywriter turned small agency owner turned creative director, I’ve seen, time and again, that visual solutions to communication problems trump great copy, just about every time. (What’s the word for when you need a PPT chart to explain your job?) This is increasingly relevant to me as our clients’ products become increasingly complex—Fabric Computing, Optical LANs, Subsea Repeaters are just a few things I know far too much and far too little about—and the markets we play in become increasingly fractionalized and crowded.

The digital world lobs a sky full of arrows at us consumers every day. Companies need to find the most efficient way possible to help people understand their product and form an immediate emotional connection to it before, plunk, the next Skype message starts to blink. Enter the impactful visual. Maybe this is why the iPad is one of the fastest adopted technologies ever? I think it’s one of the first devices to deliver on the promise of making technology truly transparent—almost visceral. But, ultimately, maybe it’s just an all-around amazing visual experience. (What’s the word for when you go to look up directions on Maps on you iPad, then click to Satellite View, and 30 minutes later realize you’re exploring an underwater trench in the middle of the South Pacific?)

So, as I board a plane to visit a client and prepare to discuss whether a 60-second video should have more than 10 seconds of voice over copy attached to it, and the arrows plunk plunk plunk around my shield, I keep telling myself: Keep it simple, keep it visual.

What’s the word for that, again?

I’ve also been guilty of surreptitiously writing down titles that I plan to order later on Amazon. More recently, I’ve honored the signs posted around the store: “Find it here. Buy it here. Keep us here.”

In the most fundamental way, those signs spell out the enormous challenge facing independent bookstores. How do they compete with Amazon? As a marketer, I’m intrigued by that puzzle and have wondered if there is a viable strategy to ensure the success of wonderful businesses in the face of an industry giant.

Recently, I talked with Jeff Mayersohn, the owner of the store. He passionately believes in the future of physical books and that bookstore play an important role in the community. He’s also a smart businessman and has seen sales increase month over month for the past year.

To share some of Jeff’s wisdom, I wrote about his marketing strategy in my most recent blog post for the Forbes CMO Network.

Jeff ‘s story makes a great point about counterintuitive marketing. He took an insight that was not immediately obvious and used it to build a strategy that has given him an unfair advantage. That’s ultimately what the best marketing should accomplish.

The next time you visit PJA, I’d be happy to take a walk with you and visit The Harvard Bookstore.

Data exhaust is a new term for me, but the concept is relatively familiar. We all know that Facebook, Twitter, Google, Amazon and, if you’re really paranoid, the entire internet is following you and capturing your every click. And that’s largely what data exhaust is: the recognition that everything you do leaves information that can be captured and analyzed like the exhaust from your car.

I imagine we’ll hear a lot more about big data in the coming months. It’ll come in the form of updated privacy policies and user agreements. One of my favorite iPhone toys is Path. Unlike Facebook,  or most other social media tools, it’s about sharing your life with a small collection of close friends and family. One of the most distinguishing features is the user interface. Path recently sent out their updated user agreement and I want to read it for clues about where they’re going next. Will they use all their data exhaust to attract a buyer? Instagram made itself attractive to Facebook in large part because it’s so dead simple to make a good looking photo and share it with your friends. All that activity must be incredibly attractive to Facebook. I’m sure all the stuff I share in Path will also be attractive to someone. I’m just excited to find out who it might be.

I need to get back to something more concrete like the familiar and satisfying predictability of a project plan.