I see what you did here.

From IMDB.com:

Watchmen: When A Win May Be A Loss

Although it took in $55.2 million at the weekend box-office, the news for Warner Bros.' Watchmen wasn't all that good. After reports came in of heavy pre-opening ticket sales on Internet sites, a theater count of 3,611 and a screen count of about 7,500, analysts had expected it to come close to or even exceed the $71-million opening gross for the previous Zach Snyder fantasy thriller 300. Moreover, sales fell off precipitously on Saturday and Sunday (the movie took in almost half its gross on Friday, including midnight screenings), and some pundits saw the result as an indication that the movie's appeal was limited to young adults who were fans of the graphic novel on which it was based. (Warner Bros. said that 65 percent of the audience was male and 54 percent older than 25.) They predicted that the movie, which some said had cost as much as $200 million to produce, would take a big tumble next weekend.

Whoever thought that Watchmen would pull huge numbers is not bright. Watchmen isn't a comic book that's been around for decades with multiple iterations. It's not a franchise like Superman, Batman, or X-Men. It's one graphic novel. From the 80s. With limited readers. There are no generational ties with Watchmen. At least not to the extent of said comic books.

Trying to compare Watchmen to 300 isn't justified either. Same director, sure, but did movie heads compare Schindler's List to Jurassic Park just because they were directed by Steven? No. While 300 was a technical achievement, Watchmen isn't. There isn't anything groundbreaking in Watchmen; it's just another adaptation.

Also, Watchmen was presented as a superhero tale, very dark, and very violent. I would venture a guess to say the general populace saw the previews and thought, "Hmm. Looks like an X-Men rip-off movie. That's dumb."

Lack of identity with the characters and source material should have been the first clue to the movie heads. Throw in the non-Watchmen movie goers who don't really understand the theme, and you have more non-recommendations.

Logo Fight: Re/Max vs. Rehava

Um... Re/Max, your logo is ugly. Quit going to court to fix your own problems. And the Rehava.com logo looks absolutely nothing like yours.

No one would ever get the two companies mixed up.

 

 

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Logo Fight: Re/Max vs. Rehava

via Neatorama by Alex on 3/10/09

Do the two logos look similar to you? They do, according to the trademark attorneys of Re/Max, a national real estate franchise. They're challenging the trademark application of a real estate startup Rehava, which has a new commission structure that is different than the established culture:

Adam Scoville, Re/Max's legal counsel, said he can explain.

First of all, both names start with "r" and have logos with accent lines near the letter "e," he said.

"It goes beyond that," Scoville added. "If you chop the top off of the 'h,' you (almost) have the 'm' in Re/Max. The next letter is an 'a,' and if you take the 'v' then you have half of an 'x.' "

Steve deGuzman, Rehava's broker-in-charge, said he doesn't buy it. He said the trademark challenge is harassment and a form of corporate bullying that will cost his firm thousands of dollars.

"It's a huge distraction, particularly for a startup and also in this kind of a market," deGuzman said.

He suspects the Colorado-based franchise is challenging the trademarkbecause of Rehava's controversial commission rebates, which some in the industry see as a threat to traditional compensation standards.

Link - via reddit

 

 

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From the files of "Huh?"

There's always time to launch your dream

Interesting perspective.

 

 

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There's always time to launch your dream

via Signal vs. Noise by David on 3/10/09

"I'd love to start a company / become a great programmer / write an awesome blog, but there's just not enough time in the day!" Bullshit. There's always enough time, you're just not spending it right.

Now that's some tough love, but I'm sick and tired of hearing "no time" as an excuse for why you can't be great. It really doesn't take that much time to get started, but it does take wanting it really bad. Most people just doesn't want it bad enough and protect their ego with the excuse of time.

This excuse is particularly depressing when it comes from students. Oh, I have so many classes. Oh, I have so much home work. There's simply no time to learn outside of school. Then you're doing it wrong!

Never let your schooling interfere with your education, someone clever once said. Being willing to sacrifice at the edges is one of the most important skills you'll ever learn.

I've received plenty of Bs and even Cs for classes that I was incredibly proud of because they came from hardly no time spent at all. Time that I could then spend on reading my own curriculum, starting my own projects, and running my own businesses.

And I did. During my undergrad, I created Instiki, Rails, Basecamp, and got on the path to being a partner at 37signals. Do you think I could fit all that and still get straight As and have lots of time left over for playing World of Warcraft? No.

If you want it bad enough, you'll make the time, regardless of your other obligations. Don't let yourself off the hook with excuses. It's too easy and, to be honest, nobody cares on the other side.

It's entirely your responsibility to make your dreams come through.

 

 

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The Closest You’ll Ever Get to Being Batman

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Just visualizing someone wearing that. Oh geez, where's the oxygen?!

 

 

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The Closest You’ll Ever Get to Being Batman

via Neatorama by Stacy on 3/3/09

You can actually zip this thing all the way up and then look out of mesh eye holes where Batman's eyes are. I think this is kind of cool as a hoodie, but when you add the face to it, I get creeped out. But if you're ready to go fight crime*, you can spend a mere $75 and be well on your way! The Tumbler will set you back a little more, though.

Link via Geekologie

*Do not actually go fight crime wearing this.

 

 

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Every Year Capital One Reopens My Account And XBOX Live Debits Money [Frustr...

I hate Capital One. The 2-times weekly "Pre-Approved" mailings really get annoying. So would this-

 

 

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Every Year Capital One Reopens My Account And XBOX Live Debits Money [Frustrating]

via Consumerist by Meg Marco on 3/6/09

Every year Erick gets a Christmas present from Capital One. They reopen the credit card he closed 4 or 5 years ago. At that point, Microsoft gets into the act and starts billing that account for XBOX Live service he canceled at about the same time.

Erick says:

A long time ago I joined xbox live. I then cancelled xbox live a bit later. Microsoft continues to bill me even though my account is cancelled and they can't even find me in their system. I had paid off and closed my CapitalOne card about 4 or 5 years ago. Every year at Christmas, however, I get a neat present from them. See what they do is re-open my credit account then allow the xbox live payment to go through. Then I have to spend hours on the phone being bounced between customer service and collections and explaining over and over what happened. I finally get in touch with someone who knows what they're doing. I get told "yeah that shouldn't happen". They reverse all the charges and tell me the account will be closed permanently now.

Next Christmas comes along. Wash...Rinse...Repeat.

Well, I was no longer at the job or address that they had on file for me this time. So I've been sent to collections on an unauthorized charge made against an expired card attached to a closed account.

Well excuse me, CapitalOne, for not calling to inform you that I had moved WHEN MY ACCOUNT WITH YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN BE ACTIVE!

This time I'm not messing around. I've sent a certified letters to their president and the attorney general's office for their state. I'm also going to be searching out lawyers if this isn't settled. I'm tired of this game.

Yay! Go Erick! Get 'em! You should also inform the attorney general of your own state, as they represent your interests no matter where the company is located.

(Photo:taberandrew)

 

 

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Spelling check isn't right if you're wrong

Mislead: to lead or guide wrongly; lead astray
Misled: Past tense and past participle of mislead.

In other words, I was misled when the post was misleading in it's title. Misled is what happened; past tense. Read it outloud if you must. Mislead is "lead" as in "leader," or more visually, "leed."

Allen Weiss: What the Young People Say About Social Media

Peace out!

 

 

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Allen Weiss: What the Young People Say About Social Media

via Marketing Profs Daily Fix on 3/2/09

Once upon a time I wrote a weekly column for an online technology magazine. When new Internet technologies and web sites emerged, I was tasked with predicting their fate.

Whenever I said something would take long to adopt (like e-books, for example), I got tons of hate email saying a) I didn't know what I was talking about, and that b) the upcoming generation would look at the technology completely different than we did and readily adopt it. That I didn't know what I was talking about wasn't surprising, but what was curious was this faith that once younger people came along, everything would change.

Well, last week I had the chance to talk to two classes of undergrads at a major university about Internet marketing. After explaining search engine optimization, web analytics, paid search, etc the subject turned to social media. I gave them the typical talk about listening, participating, having a dialog, giving up control, etc, and how social media is a big deal (you know, the standard rap about if you're not on a social networking site, you're not on the internet). Then I showed them the various social networking platforms and asked them which ones they participated in.

Now, just a bit of background here. These are juniors and seniors in a business school. When you look at them, you know these are the kids who aspire to move into the business world very soon.

So, the first class told me that MySpace was considered pretty passé, and they were all on Facebook and almost all on LinkedIn. When I asked about Twitter, however, only 4 (out of 40) in the first class used it.

I immediately posted a tweet about this and heard back from several people. Matt Collier, for example wondered whether many of them had even heard of Twitter (perhaps this was about non-awareness, rather than a disinterest in using this platform).

So, during the second class I asked this question again. It turns out almost everybody had heard of Twitter, but only 1 of 40 was using it. When I asked them why they were so disinterested, they explained they got most of this experience on Facebook and didn't see the value. Frankly, the general comment was "why would anybody waste their time on this?"

When I showed them what TweekDeck looked like, I got almost pained looks and comments about information overload (this from a generation that has grown up with information overload).

Now, some people think that when relationships and business are important, these people will flock to Twitter. Hmm. Business is important to them right now and they are obsessed with finding jobs and building relationships. So, what does this platform mean for their future?

Other people think this is about being "ahead of the curve". But whose curve are we talking about…the curve of people who are in business right now, or the younger generation that isn't living in the land of curves?

As many who heard me talk about this subject know, I have no proverbial dog in this fight. I'm not an evangelist of any platform, just trying to understand what is going on. But one thing I know is that you can't have it both ways. If you believe that looking at younger people give you an idea of what will be popular in the future, then you have to seriously consider what this group of future business people are saying about the technologies they feel are valuable to them.

So, what do you think? Well, it turns out if you're over 20 years old, what you and I think isn't relevant here. But look through a really objective lens (no evangelism, please), and what do you see for the generation about to enter the working world?

 

 

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Kansas City Shuffle

Rolled on over to Truemors and found this misleading snippet:

Eight Years Average Age for Cell Phone in UK

Albeit, it’s not uncommon for a toddler to get a kick out of punching the numbers and imitating Daddy with the phone he manages to grab off the table, but could things be getting a little out of hand when little Noah and Madison have to pick ten friends at the tender age of eight? According to a survey of 1,435 Brits, thirty-five percent of kids have a cell by the age of eight. One of the conclusions of the study was that the buying of ringtones helps kids learn money management skills, though one has to wonder if blowing cash on a cell phone for a kid that age sets a great example of that particular skill. How about deferred gratification and saving for college? Just a thought.

What's misleading? Just the semantics of the headline. Literally, the headline is saying that cell phones in the UK average eight years, as in are used/last for eight years.

The headline should be something more similar to:

Kids- Turn Eight, Get a Cell Phone in UK.
35% of 8 Year-Olds Have Cell Phones in UK
or just a little clarity-
Eight Years Average Age to Get Cell Phone in UK

True, it does seem a big incredulous to believe cell phones are lasting eight years. As far as eight year olds having cell phones, why? How about LEGOs, GI-Joe (now that he's international), or books?

Grasp the obvious.

I read a little snippet about how to present in a room full of Twittering people. As in your audience you are speaking to spends an extraordinary amount of time Twittering rather than watching you speak.

A lot of good points about why it's useful to have Twittering- people can "be there" virtually, instant commentary, and questions regarding the presentation content can be answered by a mulitude of systems.

From there the article started to go down the path of adopting more systems to enhance communications during a presentation (referred to as backchannel), and so did the comments.

When I was in school it was called raising your hand. Whiskey. Tango. Is that a completely foreign thought here?

If you want more participation from the audience, engage them and allow questions. Make being there worth it. If it was really important for someone to be there, they would be. 

Remember: You determine the level of your involvement.

Maybe not quite an atmosphere

Most people have bubbles. Small ones, large ones, and ones that could encompass small planets. But when everyone is in public spaces, there generally is "accepted public bubble space" (APBS) meaning everyone acknowledges a small space where you do not tread. This APBS shrinks and grows as the environment changes. At a bus stop it grows, but on the bus it shrinks.

Likewise in food establishments where food is prepared in assembly-line fashion (Subway, for example), APBS remains relatively constant within the confines of the establishment.

That means you do not need to follow your ever-precious, made-only-for-me-vegetarian-with-black-beans-bowl all the way to the register when there are obviously orders- meaning people- are before you. When you bump the next customer in a Ray Lewis-like action, it is also acceptable to apologize.

A slight bump is always present, as we forget that there are people around us in a public eatery, and we like to follow our food as it is prepared. It's natural. What isn't natural is the bump and no-arm hug as it becomes obvious the person in front of you is not moving, can't move, and you have to slightly ease back. In your selfishness to enhale whatever concoction you've ordered, you have advanced the line behind you, and they, too, have to back up because they are fully aware of the APBS.

No idea what I'm talking about? Short (9 mins) extreme example.

Bored of Directors

I was thinking why everyone is so ticked off at businesses today. Then scrolling through my blogroll, Seth Godin wrote this about the music industry. It fits into the puzzle of today's business environment.

Everyone wants to be rich. There are many definitions of rich, mainly some variation of financially independent. However, when those that are rich (CEOs of auto companies or financial institutions, for example) end up driving the business or industry into a tailspin, it negatively affects those who want to be rich. The non-rich lose jobs, cars, homes, etc. That is because the current elite will always have money, regardless of economic situation. Always have, always will. Those trying to make it up the ladder, or even trying to get to a ladder, don't have money to sustain themselves during an economic collapse.

Like the music industry, the labels are focusing on the industry, not the music. Obviously companies are in business to make money, I don't deny that. I argue that companies are focusing more on hording the big green rather than offering products and services people need or want. And companies that fail are because they lacked the leadership to do the right thing. WaMu's Kerry Killinger helped direct WaMu into a premier banking institution. His poor decisions led to the collapse of a terrific story. Where was his board of directors to say no?

I like how companies are ousting CEOs and leadership teams from failing companies. Yet I don't hear of companies replacing the BODs; they seem to be exempt from the problems and have no accountability. Heads of GM and Ford are raking in double-digit million-dollar salaries, and yet both companies have been posting losses. Last time I checked, if I fail to do my job, I get fired.

I've often thought that any publicly-traded company, the CEO's salary cannot be more than 4-6 times the average hourly worker in the company (bonuses based on profits. No profit, no bonus!). So if the average hourly wage $25/hr. ($52,000/yr.), Mr. CEO is limited to $208,000 - $312,000/yr.

That's a simplfied example, but apply the concept to recent events. Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford, has a salary of $2 million. That's 38 times the rate of the average worker, in my example. This doesn't include his bonus in stock, which accounts for over $18 million. In contrast, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, pulls in just over $600k/year, with additional bonuses of $300k. And Microsoft actually turns a profit!

Private Jets are Moot

For any leading businessperson, technology has allowed someone to be truly mobile. You can work anywhere, on anything. And setting up a mobile environment is a heck of a lot cheaper than a private plane.

 

 

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Private Jet Manufacturers Annoyed At Backlash, Claim Jets Are Practical [Private Jets]

via Consumerist by Meg Marco on 2/11/09

Did you know that private jets are actually quite practical? We didn't. The Wall Street Journal says that private jet manufacturers are angry at the backlash against private jets and are speaking out to "counter business aircraft misinformation."

From the WSJ:

In a campaign to begin Wednesday, Cessna Aircraft Co. will run an ad that says, "Pity the poor executive who blinks," and gets rid of the company jet. "One thing is certain: true visionaries will continue to fly."
...
"We think it's time the other side of the story be told, and that support be given to those businesses with the good judgment and courage to use business aviation to not only help their businesses survive the current financial crisis, but more quickly forge a path toward an economic upturn," said Jack Pelton, Cessna's chairman and CEO.

Another advertisement (shown below) reads, "Timidity didn't get you this far. Why put it in your business plan now?" (We assume that question is rhetorical.)

The backlash is hurting Cessna where it counts, the company recently laid off 4,500 workers because of the sudden drop in demand. Gulfstream Aerospace's spokesperson also defended the use of private jets.

"Do you really want a major executive to show up three hours late to a big meeting because of flight delays?" said Robert Baugniet, director of corporate communications for General Dynamics Corp.'s Gulfstream Aerospace, which makes some of the higher-end jets.

Cessna Fights Back On Private-Jet Trend [WSJ] (Thanks, Daniel!)
Cessna Launches Campaign to Counter Business Aircraft Misinformation (Press Release)

 

 

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Vote Now!

This is a cool gadget, and I think there are wider applications for a "portable" hand-powered laundry pod. Like in RVs- If you spill BBQ sauce on shirt, you can clean it quickly, instead of waiting until you get home. A little more effort in design could yield a power adapter for automobiles. Your kid has multiple soccer games and the jersey's dirty? Throw it in the laundry pod.

 

 

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Greener Gadgets TOP 50 Highlight: The Laundry POD, a portable hand-oporated laundry machine

via Core77 on 2/12/09

For convenience sake, Greener Gadget Top 50 Semi-Finalist Laundry POD, designed by RKS Design Team, combines the salad spinner and the laundry machine, creating a new way to clean our clothes while saving energy at the same time!

While re-engineering and re-designing a salad spinner, we learned resourceful women were buying salad spinners to wash their delicates. This sparked the idea that the salad spinner technology we innovated could be used to create a portable, hand-powered laundry machine that would be far more appropriate for the task, than a salad spinner. The Laundry POD combines innovation and eco-conscious style to save energy, water and answer the need for a quick, easy, eco-friendly way to do small loads.

Like this design? Wanna vote for it or leave a comment? Check out this entry or the entire Greener Gadgets TOP 50 Gallery and help determine the TOP 10 for live judging at the upcoming Greener Gadgets Conference.

>>VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE GREENER GADGET NOW!!<<

(more...)

 

 

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The Mark Cuban Stimulus Plan - Open Source Funding

I wonder how many business plans are going to be the equivalent to:

1. Steal underpants
2. ????
3. Make profit

Oh wait, there's twitter!

 

 

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The Mark Cuban Stimulus Plan - Open Source Funding

via blog maverick by markcuban on 2/9/09

Its easy to write about what the government or other people should do with our/their money. It's harder to come up with a course of action that I can undertake on my own that possibly, somehow could make a difference. My first inclination is always to try to look "for the next big thing". But the next big thing is just that, next. Its not now. Its Venture Capital. Its not self funding, renewal capital.

Rather than trying to be a Venture Capitalist, I was looking for an idea that hopefully could inspire people to create businesses that could quickly become self funding. Businesses that just needed a jump start to get the ball rolling and create jobs. Im a big believer that entrepreneurs will lead us out of this mess. I just needed a way to help.

So here it is. Some people will love it, some will hate it. It is what it is.  

You must post your business plan here on my blog where I expect other people can and will comment on it. I also expect that other people will steal the idea and use it elsewhere. That is the idea. Call this an open source funding environment.

If its a good idea and worth funding, we want it replicated elsewhere. The idea is not just to help you, but to figure out how to help the economy through hard work and ingenuity. If you come up with the idea and get funding, you have a head start. If you execute better than others, you could possibly make money at it. As you will see from the rules below, these are going to be businesses that are mostly driven by sweat equity.

I will invest money in businesses presented here on this blog. No minimum, no maximum, but a very specific set of rules. Here they are:

1. It can be an existing business or a start up.
2. It can not be a business that generates any revenue from advertising. Why ? Because I want this to be a business where you sell something and get paid for it. Thats the only way to get and stay profitable in such a short period of time.
3. It MUST BE CASH FLOW BREAK EVEN within 60 days 
4. It must be profitable within 90 days.
5. Funding will be on a monthly basis. If you dont make your numbers, the funding stops
6. You must demonstrate as part of your plan that you sell your product or service for more than what it costs you to produce, fully encumbered
7. Everyone must work. The organization is completely flat. There are no employees reporting to managers. There is the founder/owners and everyone else
8.  You must post your business plan here, or you can post it on slideshare.com , scribd.com or google docs, all completely public for anyone to see and/or download
9. I make no promises that if your business is profitable, that I will invest more money. Once you get the initial funding you are on your own
10. I will make no promises that I will be available to offer help. If I want to , I will. If not, I wont.
11. If you do get money, it goes into a bank that I specify, and I have the ability to watch the funds flow and the opportunity to require that I cosign any outflows.
12. In your business plan , make sure to specify how much equity I will receive or how I will get a return on my money.
13. No mult-level marketing programs (added 2/10/09 1pm)

Im sure I will come up with more rules as I see what comes along, if anything. 

As I find businesses I like, I will use the email address you provide before you post to get in contact with you. There will be a standard agreement, you can take it or leave it. Once I have done the standard agreement, I will post it here for all to see.  This will definitely be a work in progress. Maybe it leads to great things, maybe it leads to nothing. We will find out. Im not going to claim a minimum or maximum amount or total I will invest. Im not promising I will definitely invest anything. If nothing comes along that I think is viable, thats the way it goes.

Hopefully I will invest in quite a few businesses that will lead to something more

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I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.

This little quote from Lorrie Foster, The Conference Board:
"But the focus of marketing has evolved toward more strategic, value-added activities that can be quantified and linked to corporate goals. New approaches, methodologies and tools, and technologies are making it possible to link marketing investments directly to revenues and profits, holding marketing executives accountable for achieving expected results."

Note: If your companies marketing department isn't linked to corporate goals, you have bigger problems to worry about than ROI.

Utilizing technological marketing channels today, the quick launch and adoption of it, most of these channels are new themselves, breaking down traditional communication barriers. The hot-properties like FaceBook and Twitter don't even have a sustainable revenue plan, and marketing executives are expected to compute an ROI when using services like this?

Ultimately, ROI is reflected in EBIT. Finding the most successful method of increasing sales is a constantly moving target. Listing the entire properties a company could advertise with, just Internet-based, would be enormous. I'm not saying there shouldn't be ROI, because someone has to watch out for that marketing manager who has way too many events in luxurious hotels.

If companies had tremendous products, there wouldn't be a huge dependence on marketing. I think too many companies focus on the message and not the product.

Food for thought: Will the next version of a "Marketing Coordinator" position just be someone surfing message boards, social media sites, and Twitter, posting raves and shutting down rants? And how is ROI measured on that?

You must reboot at least 3 times.

I took a gander at Windows 7, as I'm sure people will be fawning and chastising it constantly in months and years to come. When you look at Windows vs. OS X, the interfaces are obviously different, and OS X has traditionally improved the computer user's experience. It's simple to use. Why is that? Because OS X focused on the end user first.

Windows, however, is a standard. Everyone uses it (80% can be everyone in this example), therefore everyone is familiar with it. I'm not saying Windows is perfect. And I doubt an OS X user will say OS X is perfect. If they do (on either "side") they are total fanboys and you should slap their Starbucks drink right from their hands.

But I don't really want to delve into a Win vs. OS X argument. What I want to get into is the fundamental flaws in approaching an OS design. If you want to make it simple, "simple" is not a code optimization issue. Because "simple" is defined from the user, not the developer. Case in point, the sample screen shot of Windows 7 (below) have a base-level usability error. The screen capture below shows what the user reads (in red) and the user action (in yellow). The blue arrow is where the action goes.

Even though Windows 7 is in Beta, layout issues such as this are why OS X users feel more comfortable. User design is first, then functionality. Windows has such a large user base (therefore slow to change), it's likely simple design changes would be met with backlash.

"I'm Famous! Gotta get me my 15!"

So what ever happens to stars of our favorite Super Bowl (er.. Big Game??) commercials? Like the Koala from CareerBuilder.com? Why, he splurges on a luxurious hot tub for him and his fellow Kiwis.

Just kidding. But the expression is pretty funny.

 

 

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Australian Heat Brings Koalas Closer To Home

via Neatorama by Queuebot on 2/4/09

Global warming has an upside!

"It has been so hot in South Australia for over a week…40+ degrees Celsius everyday – 104 F, very dry also. These are the photos of a little Koala that just walked into the back porch of a home around the way looking for a bit of heat relief. The lady of the house filled up a bucket and this is what happened!"

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Trace1138.

 

 

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Which comes first, the product or the marketing?

Seth makes a point that marketing comes before the product. However, that is a non-sequiter argument. The traditional (dictionary) definition of marketing is the transfer of goods from seller to buyer. Marketing is the combination of attributes commonly defined as Price, Place, Promotion, and Product (the traditional marketing mix).

As the Product is a component of marketing, the order of what comes first is irrelevant. In the marketing matrix (adding Who, What, Why, When, and How to the 4 P's), you can work whichever way you wish. Define who you want to target, where you want to, and how much you want to make in margin. Then decide what product will fit those decisions.

If you want to check out a marketing matrix, look here: http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/05/the_worlds_shor.html

 

 

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Which comes first, the product or the marketing?

via Seth's Blog by Seth Godin on 2/4/09

Well, if you define marketing as advertising, then it's clear you need the product first (Captain Crunch being the only exception I can think of... they made the ads first.) This great clip from Mad Men brings the point home. If the Kodak guys hadn't invented the Carousel slide projector, Don Draper could never have pitched this ad.

But wait.

Marketing is not the same as advertising. Advertising is a tiny slice of what marketing is today, and in fact, it's pretty clear that the marketing has to come before the product, not after. As Jon points out, the Prius was developed after the marketing thinking was done. Jones Soda, too. In fact, just about every successful product or service is the result of smart marketing thinking first, followed by a great product that makes the marketing story come true.

If someone comes to you with a 'great' product that just needs some marketing, the game is probably already over.

 

 

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Hehe... "High" Design

To quote Denis Leary: "Marijuana doesn't lead to other drugs. It leads to @#$%^&*~ carpentry." Or chemistry, glass making, or liquid dynamics. So parents, be forewarned. If your kid is constantly asking for a chemistry set, be cautious. Real scientists forget to eat.

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High Design

via Core77 on 2/3/09

There are certain products upon which people will lavish design attention, but will probably never apply for design patents on: Bongs.

Up above is a selection of Roor bongs. Roors--which are more "performance-based" in their design, according to this analysis--is what Michael Phelps was reportedly taking hits off of, and you can see an astonishingly large variety of them here. Unsurprisingly, most of the photos are rather hazy.

(more...)

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Happy Day! Oh Happy Day!

This is good news. And I'm heading over to the 'tex to see what they're all saying.

 

 

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Bangle: Bye-bye BMW (and auto design)

via Core77 on 2/3/09

According to Autoweek, legendary designer Chris Bangle, the man responsible for the much-imitated aesthetics of the BMW 7-series, is quitting the auto design industry to "pursue his own design-related endeavors."

In an interview with the man, Motor Trend mused that Bangle might be "The most influential automotive designer of the early 21st century." For those of you unfamiliar with him, here's a look at some Bangle news, opinions and accomplishments from the past few years:

Bangle on design, from Design Thinking Digest.

Chris Bangle at the TED conference, explaining that "Great cars are art:"

Bangle giving his personal overview of the BMW Design Group's exhibits at the Detroit Motor Show from '06:

Lastly, Bangle's basic bio is here.

For Bangle to quit the biz is horrible news for BMW, but may be great news for the design world at large. No word on what Bangle will be getting into yet, we'll keep you posted of developments.

(more...)

 

 

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Don't be "that guy"

Which guy? That guy.

If I wanted a pool table

 

 

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Materials-savvy designer turns senior project into a company

via Core77 on 2/2/09

As part of his senior year ID project, Australian Craig Nottage designed a transparent billiards table; now he's founded his own company in Adelaide, Nottage Design, and made the table a reality. A special combination of glass and resin provide the same resistance you'd get with felt, but are completely transparent; the tubing of the slick ball-return mechanisms are also exposed. At AUS $40,000 it ain't cheap, but it's nice to see someone turn a senior project into a reality--and build a company around it.

via slash gear

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A New Location for an Iconic Conference–and Here Come the TED Fellows

I so want to go to this Conference. Someday I will.

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A New Location for an Iconic Conference–and Here Come the TED Fellows

via BoomTown by Kara Swisher on 2/2/09

The well-known Technology, Entertainment, Design conference–better known to its techie fans as TED–will make its move from Monterey to Long Beach in California, starting tomorrow night.

It's a big change for the longtime gathering of digerati and others who have come to love its eclectic and outward-looking program, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

First held in 1984, Chris Anderson's Sapling Foundation bought TED in 2001 from its founder, Richard Saul Wurman. TED has since grown to include an international conference, TEDGlobal; media initiatives, including TED Talks and TED.com; and the TED Prize.

TED2009 is titled "The Great Unveiling." And BoomTown is glad to be attending after several years away, especially since I always learn something new at TED (and I have a lot to learn).

It certainly has a varied line-up of speakers again this year, such as Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates, neurological anthropologist Oliver Sacks, writer Elizabeth Gilbert, tree researcher Nalani Nadkarni, Web political phenom Nate Silver and many others.

But I am perhaps even more intrigued by the introduction this year of the TED Fellows program, initially 50 individuals, picked because of the "world-changing potential of their work."

They will be invited to participate in the TED community each year, and some of the fellows will come for longer stints to future conferences.

The fellows program is supported by the Bezos family, the Harnisch Foundation, private donors and Nokia, with additional in-kind support from Kodak, Lightscribe and One.org.

According to the press release, the fellows program was inspired by TED's Africa program in 2007:

"The TED Fellows program will focus on attracting applicants living or working in five parts of the globe: the Asia/Pacific region, Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Middle East, with consideration given to applicants from the rest of the world…The program focuses on innovators in technology, entertainment, design, science, film, art, music, entrepreneurship and the NGO community, among other pursuits."

Said Tom Rielly, TED Community Director, who is responsible for the program: "TED will help them communicate their 'ideas worth spreading' to a much larger audience."

Given the troubles all over the world these days, we could all use a much broader perspective.

You can read the longer list of fellows who seem to deliver just that here, but some of the first participants include:

• Erik Hersmann and Juliana Rotich, co-founders of Ushahidi.com, a Web site for citizen journalism, covering crises such as the Kenyan post-election violence

• Faisal Chohan, CEO of Cogilent Solutions and founder of BrightSpyre.com, the leading job portal in Pakistan

• Juliana Machado Ferreira, Brazilian CSI: Wildlife biologist who uses genetic markers to track, interdict and convict illegal songbird traffickers

• Gerry Douglas, founder of Malawi's Baobab Health Partnership, which builds touch screen terminals that allow non-doctors to diagnose, treat and correctly prescribe drugs for people with HIV

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!

I thought the Doritos' "Crystal Ball" ad was the best of the bunch. It was funny and unexpected. When is it not funny when someone gets nailed in the nuts? When it's you, of course. The Monster.com was ok, much better than previous years, and the CareerBuilder.com repeater commercial was funny, just because of the lady screaming before going into work.

GoDaddy.com continues to be dumb. And Teleflora was so busy explaining the boxed-flower gaff, everyone was going "Huh?" when the punchline came at the end.

Audi's commercial was good, but it will be difficult to top the "Godfather" commerical from last year. Pepsi had some good ones: "I'm Good" and "Pepsuber" (for the 5 people who still watch SNL). NBC's "LMAO" was, well, lmao. And the Hulu.com commercial was hilarious.

The dueling tire commercials, Firestone and BF Goodrich were both funny, yet I'd lean towards the Potato Head getaway topping the Moon Rover theft.

Budweiser Ads were not that fantastic, yet Bud Light was funny (not super-funny), with the exception of Conan's spot. Some people didn't get Conan's spot, but it was funny if you've seen foreign commercials with Hollywood stars.

The anticipated Transformers 2 trailer drew no excitement from me. I think the trailer had 3 cuts per second for a 30 second spot. Why not strap me in a chair, pin my eyes open and turn my brain into mush. Oh wait, Hulu's already doing that. HA!

Left hand, meet right hand...

Party A has a GMail account. Party B has a GoogleApps for Business account. Why on Earth would Party B need to be invited to join GMail? Both parties are already using Google services. It's like asking someone to switch from a 20-oz Coke to a 24-oz Coke. I guess the logic goes off domain names, not service providers.

Here's a good one

From Garr over at Presentation Zen- writing about inspiration.

Jack of all trades

Some of my favorite quotes & why:

"Your scientists were so preoccupied if they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."
Source: Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) in Jurassic Park.
Reference: During the lunch table discussion of the scientific power used to create the park and its inhabitants.
Why I like it: It is a great filter to make decisions, directly major ones. Look at the financial crisis- just because you can lend money to thousands of risky home buyers doesn't mean you should. Who did the SWOT analysis on that one?

"640 k ought to be enough for anyone."
Source: Anonymous, although incorrectly applied to Bill Gates
Reference: Hardware configurations in the early 80's, and the software to use said hardware.
Why I like it: A great urban myth that attributes Bill G. to a short-sighted quote. The quote, regardless of who said it (or if anyone actually did), serves as a reminder to look at the horizon, not at your shoes, when walking down a path. Myopic vision also introduces walls, restrictions, and a short-term solution.

"You determine the level of your involvement."
Source: Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), Fight Club
Reference: The Narrator finally catches on to what Tyler and his "Project Mayhem" initiative.
Why I like it: It applies to so many things. Political causes. Volunteer work. Paid work. Relationships. Learning. No one can make you do anything great in life. People can help you, mentor, guide, and support, but ultimately you are the one who puts in the effort.

And lastly, almost anything from Liar, Liar with Jim Carrey:
"Garage sale. $10 marked down to $6.50" - Referring to "antique Tiffany" frame
"I don't know whether to pet it, or scrape it off and bury it!" - About co-worker's bad toupee
"Did you see that? He struck the child." - His son was given "birthday" punches by his ex-wife's boyfriend (go ahead, read it again if you have to.)
"I have unpaid parking tickets. Be gentle." - Revealing his glove box stuffed with parking tickets
"Do you mind!? I'm kicking my ass!" - Beating himself up in a courtroom bathroom to avoid a trial, since he can't lie for a day (apparently bad thing to happen to lawyers)
"That's just what ugly people say." - Debunking the "myth" of "Real beauty is on the inside"

"Where will you be when you need [Ferris Bueller]?"

I'm compiling/absorbing/reading/experiencing a bit of social media right now. Kinda getting a feel for what is useful, and what isn't. I'm hoping that I'll be able to condense the main objectives and purposes in the coming weeks. It's not like it's new to me; I've used MySpace, currently responding to FaceBook emails, and I've had a Twitter account longer than Guy Kawasaki. But how much of it has benefited me or others?

The book I'm reading now during my lunch is about a third done. My Amazon.com order will have some more info to compile, but not necessarily relevant.

The main point of my commentary/observations (I hasten to announce it as advice or guidelines) will be based on the question (a broad question at that) - Why should I and what does it do for me?

A Google search will provide numerous blog posts and articles about that question, but they are pretty superficial and non-specific.

Best Episode Ever! 9/8 central. Live except on West Coast.

I was listening to the radio this morning (far better alternative to the beeping of an alarm clock) when one of the radio personalities started with:

"Did you watch Leverage last week?"

An promptly went into a mini-recap of last week's episode and the episode on tonight. About 15 seconds into her talk, I noticed no one was chiming in, agreeing. Then came the slip.

"Leverage is the best new show on TV." Or something like that. FYI,TNT, no one talks like that. I would think the original copywriters had something better, but I bet TNT's approval board said they liked this line better. It was a great ad until the mucked-up copy.

Oh yeah- I couldn't remember the name of the show, so I looked it up on TNT's site, and lo and behold, their "Quick Links" aren't so quick. Or linky. Awesome!

Another one from Guy Kawasaki

Loop-da-de-loop way of getting there- my bloglines, linked to his blog, linked to his post over at AmEx Open.

But here it is: What CEOs Should Be Saying

I enjoy the fact that Guy uses "bull shiitake" in his posts.

Where's My No Soliciting Sign?

Got an email asking if I wanted to do an "unbiased review" for payment.

Short Answer: Hell No. (Question is down below)

Long Answer: I don't think so, "F B" who doesn't have the courtesy of using his/her own name, less actually use my own (available on my blog).

Just because we live in the information age doesn't give you permission to be completely oblivious in solicitations. As a quick perusal of my blog will illustrate, I have no advertisements, no explicit product reviews or endorsements. I may like something and pass it along, but I do so without compensation for good reason.

This is where someone should read this book and this blog (for starters).

*Note to readers: don't actually click/copy the links. I do not know where they will lead you. Possibly to your nearest IT guy or Staples for Norton AV.

So here's the email:

Hello,

I'm writing to you to know if by any chance you would be interested in doing an unbiased review of our site on your blog http://lightemup.blogspot.com/

Here is some information about the site -
Moving home can be a very stressful experience. But this site will make your life easier by taking the stress and hassle out of moving home, and you save your time and money in the process.

The site is organized in a way to help you with everything you need to do when you move home so that you won't have to go through the pain of doing it yourself. They would guide you through every step of the move process with help and advice, lists of suppliers and easy online quotes. They also help with transfer or set up home services like gas and electricity online to save you from call centres and phone queues.

It will help you manage your move, reminding you of everything you need to do with the tools and information to do it .

Click on the link to see a snapshot of the website -
http://www.seoblogreviews.com/screenshot.py?param=b13213a2ab26477d4e04fc811ff93212

If you agree we will send you a payment for the review. More information about the site would be sent to you along with the payment. Please let me know if you are interested.

If you are interested please click here to receive your money:
http://www.seoblogreviews.com/acceptreview.py?param=b13213a2ab26477d4e04fc811ff93212

If you want to receive more paid review proposals, just click the following link:
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If you don't want to ever receive mails from us, just click the following link:
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If you have any questions just send a reply to this email.
Thank you

Reading Comprehension > Financial Statements

Read this (and come back).

Microsoft has been approaching the top of the corporate curve over the last decade. Meaning exponential growth slows. All businesses do this. Long-lasting ones adjust and reorganize, effectively starting at the bottom of the curve.

Enough of that, here's my point: MS had profits of $4 Billion and change. Four Billion. Not $4,000 nor $4,000,000. $4,000,000,000. Of profit- all expenses covered, salaries paid for, building leases paid, etc. (I'll assume it's EBIT, that is left out of the statement).

Revenues were up 2%. And consider they shipped a discouraging product in Vista and the massive push to web applications (which MS has none of), this is a good thing.

So why the panic? Why the layoffs? Because of the "power" of the dollar and Wall Street. Way to focus, guys.

New & Improved! Sort of...

Saw this (and watched the videos) and wondered why haven't they designed a vending machine that will lift the product to a non-bending region? (Yes, make it the ultimate laziness apparatus around.)

I must admit, grabbing something from a vending machine is completely awkward. Bending over in front of lots of people, crack showing, overstuffed backpack high-centered, some mean guy giving you a little push to send you over, etc., etc.

Just a thought.

Do you take requests?

Caught this Honda Civic commercial during the playoffs (pardon the ignorance, I don't waste time sitting in front of a television. I waste it sitting in front of the interwebs).

I thought it was creative. I thought it would be really sweet if they did the William Tell Overture (Lone Ranger theme), or something a bit harder (AC/DC, maybe?). Add in a bass line by cutting the lane down the middle- left side would carry one part, the right the other.

Then I thought more about the ability to hear the tune inside the car. When I'm driving, I have my own music I listen to. And isn't a "quiet ride" part of the expected quality of a car? Perhaps not Civics. Which leads me to my next idea- having a luxury car maker (Infiniti comes to mind first) that spoofs the ad by having its own luxury car travel down the same road, and not hear the tune. In all likelihood you would still hear the road song, but creative sound editing is not foreign to car advertisements.

Here's the commercial:

"You put the wrong em-fasis on the wrong sy-label." ( View From the Top)

Customer service in action. It's the least they could do.

4+4= 44? 16? 4? What's a ratio?

Here's a cool post referring to a site that explains, visually, movies and the way they will look based on the viewing apparatus.

"Do or do not. There is no try." -Yoda

I updated my blogroll. I trimmed down from over 120 feeds to a manageable 43. I'll probably eliminate a few more in the coming weeks, depending on how much I read. Like Mental Floss- yes it's fun, but I don't have the time to read 100 useless trivia a day.

I eliminated a lot the blogs I inherited from a feller in Idaho, a large number of photoblogs. I also chose Engadget over Gizmodo- really, how many extraneous gadgets do you need, whether you can afford them or not? I just like seeing what's coming out, I don't need to see them twice.

My technology blogs will probably get the axe, too. I don't have an Apple, thus I don't read TUAW, and a few other ones that are maxed at 200 unread posts.

Less junk is coming in. That's a good thing.

Big Vision

I was watching Apollo 13 the other day and a thought came to mind. Today we have no great vision to strive for. Maybe that's too strong, but what I'm getting at is right now there's no vision to go to the moon, end oppressive and dangerous powers, grand quests to discover new worlds. In the past, audacious goals have shocked and inspired generations. We need a leader with the incredible charisma and buy-in to announce a vision that will shift the paradigm of our history. Once the world was flat. We need something to that effect. (The US economy will be the first example that there is a vision, akin to Roosevelt and the Great Depression, but we are nowhere near the Great Depression levels.)

It can be argued the current exploration in the bio-medical industry is such a vision, with mapping DNA, cancer research, and the like. These are no less important, and ground-breaking efforts, but for the average person, it's hard to grasp the tangible result. You don't see a DNA molecule every night in the sky. It's difficult to connect with microscopic materials. Cancer doesn't have a face, but it's victims do. Basically our pursuits have turned towards a microscope instead of a telescope.

It can be hard to be forward thinking about history-making, but we are living in one right now with the Internet. While it doesn't have the nostalgic, Rockwellian feel as the family huddled around the television or radio during an important event, nor does it have a singular pivotal point, but the Internet is an important medium that has changed the world forever. In all the years of mankind we have explored and expanded, finding new territories and spreading across the globe. Now we are shrinking, decreasing distances to others through the Internet. Social media, news access, and personal relationships that have been brought closer with the Internet.

Hot Dawg!

Smashing Magazine is highlighting the supported features in CSS3 (Cascading Style Sheets version 3), which is pretty sweet. CSS3 is allowing for rounded corners in blocks, when currently only square corners is available. So everyone can be like Apple.com, only years behind.

New features include drop shadows, opacity, and my favorite thus far- font specification! Yes! Now web designers can force people to view fonts that are far superior to Arial, Georgia, Tahoma, and Comic Sans (shudder).

On the user side, that feature doesn't really apply to me, since I change my default browser display text I like, and whatever font is intended is a moot point.

On the downside, we are a few years away from total CSS3 acceptance. Plus IE users have roughly 50% of the browser "market". Also, as mentioned in the Smashing post, get ready for a lot of "I-do-it-because-I-can, even-if-it's-ugly" overusage.

So I'm keeping my square corners. I'm going web-retro before it gets in style. Now where are my .wav files at?

Becoming an Expert

Over on The Long Tail, Chris Anderson discussed his experience working for The Economist, and his current corporate efforts.

The 80,000 foot view: He changed jobs every three years until he came to Wired, which he then pushed himself to producing a book every few years. When he worked at The Economist, everyone was required to change jobs after 3 years.

Basically, he correlates Malcolm Gladwell's theory of that it takes approximately 10,000 hours to become an expert with the 3-year rule. Chris says if you dedicate 60 hours a week to your job, the 10,000 hours will take just over 3 years. Then move on to something new.

If you don't want to work 12 hours a day, then the "normal" expert rate would be almost 5 years.

If the 10,000 hour rule is truly accurate, I would think that colleges would need to overhaul the degree structure. In the Junior and Senior years, the time a student is actually in their program is roughly 900 classroom hours. Add the suggested 2 hours for each class hour for homework and studying, that comes out to 1800. So less than 3000 hours are spent honing your "expertness" for your career (hopefully). I would suggest the option of going right into the program instead of wasting time in electives like Political Science or Art. Or my favorite: Post-1940s Youth Culture through Media. That was a gem.