Published on
August 31, 2005 in
Weblogs.
Kathy Sierra writes some great stuff on the collaborative blog, "Creating Passionate Users."
"You ARE a marketer. Deal with it." begins by reminding us how practically the whole world scorns marketers. (Think "used car salesman" for an over-generalized image here.) Then she points out how the "open-source/cluetrain world" is causing "Old-school" marketing to give way, leaving us all to be — that’s right — marketers.
I thought of totallly ripping off her chart comparing traditional marketing side-by-side with what she calls "Neo-marketing" but thought better of it. You can go study it yourself, if you’re interested. Some of the contrasts she draws, are worth mentioning, however, such as:
- In Old-school marketing, marketers have the power; in Neo-marketing, users do.
- Old-school: one-way broadcast; Neo-marketing: two-way conversation
- Old-school: uses deception to sell; Neo: depends on transparency
- Old: bullshit; Neo: authenticity
- Old: 30-second spots are king; Neo: word-of-mouth is king
- Old: get the customer to believe in it; Neo: You believe in it
Is the company you work for still hopelessly "Old" or are they climbing aboard the "Neo" train (hopefully before it leaves the station)?
One of the "Old marketer" commenters on the post offers a rebuttal worth reading, if only so you yourself can refute him, point by point.
Another commenter offers a sobering thought that rings true: "The dispersal of the marketing function over the whole of society doesn’t make it any less unpleasant; on the contrary, it makes it nastier, because not only do we have to put up with marketing from others, we now have to put up with the marketing we do ourselves."
Published on
August 30, 2005 in
Friends.
Chloe Bubbles Esther Williams Tanis
We decided to get together at Lisa’s to sample our catch. Lisa provided the entire spread and everything was delish.
No group photos this time though, ’cause though Pam got there first, Dan called in his regrets at the last minute — too much birthday on Friday, I guess. Greg came and left before some people showed up (his band, Los Cobras, had a gig near Paw Paw.) David and Rhonda got stuck in traffic on the south side of town and arrived more than fashionably late. I got lost (and this is my own neighborhorhood, mind you. WTF, it’s so confusing up where Lisa lives!) And Bob came even later than that.
So the only suitable pic I got was of Chloe. She had lots o’ fun, too.
Thanks, Lisa!
Published on
August 28, 2005 in
Music.
The San Francisco-based band, Recliner, on Insomnia Radio podcast #31. (Yeah, it’s from June. Yeah, I’m a little behind in my listening.) Good tunes.
Hey all my art director/designer friends, here’s your chance to design that super cool logo you’ve always wanted to do that no company would ever buy.
Buzz Machine’s Jeff Jarvis points to the Blogads logo contest. There’s a grand in it for the designer whose creation is deemed winner in an open source forum soliciting comments on the entries.
And here’s the best part — they don’t want some pretty, sterile, pleases-everybody-and-so -speaks-to-nobody treatment. They want something, I don’t know — original, raw, gritty, homegrown, not safe ("edgy," as marketers around my workplace are fond of saying, with no apparent understanding of what that might be).
See the spec and registration here. Submissions close on Sept. 9. So hurry.
Published on
August 25, 2005 in
Friends.
Tomorrow is Dan’s birthday …
… but he’s taking the day off. So we celebrated tonight at Blue Water Grill.
Boing Boing founder Mark Frauenfelder reports on GQ Japan‘s interview of him as someone in the ‘top position in the world of bloggers.’ The article offered four keys to Frauenfelder’s success:
1. Persistence. "The readership of a blog is proportional to how frequent one is able to update."
2. Curiosity and fun. The four core writers for Boing Boing have "curiosity (that) is twice that of most people" as they daily search "magazines, newspapers, nerdy trade publications, and the internet" for fresh content. Interestingly, there was never any intent to make a profit from Boing Boing; its writers are driven more by the fun of it than anything else.
3. No compromising to advertisers or readers. Speaks for itself, I think.
4. Community is key. Communication with other bloggers has been the key to increasing the readership. By trading links with other blogs, communication becomes much more active, and traffic to and from the site increases.
A-ha. That’s what this blog’s been missing. Community. Gotta work on that.
Published on
August 19, 2005 in
Friends.
Helpin’ Dan land the big one
About a week ago, the creatives on our team at work decided it would be fun to make our own version of a day away. So we rented a fishing charter out of Grand Haven and set out to catch the great chinook.
We caught nine salmon and one sheep’s head (whatever the heck that is), which David threw back. Of course three of the biggest got away, including one that David swore would have been charging the boat had he not let it off the line. Dan took home the prize with one that musta weighed in at around 20 lbs.
Many thanks to Captain Brian and his Dad/First Mate Terry of Sea Flea Charters for a great day of fishin’. Go check out the rest of the photos and see proof that our team, while notorious for causing strife and unrest, actually can get on quite swimmingly. Oh, and don’t forget, comments are open and I always appreciate gettin ‘em.
Published on
August 15, 2005 in
Friends.
Back: Dan, Kathy, David. Front: Pam, Lisa
More on this to come …
Published on
August 10, 2005 in
Life.
Dave Pollard wonders:
What is the one thing you most want to do in your life, that you haven’t yet even started? Look at your to do list. Or think about something you really want to do, that you haven’t dared to even put on your list. Starting an intentional community, or your own business. Asking someone for a date. Going someplace you’ve always dreamed of visiting. Learning something that would let you love what you do for a living. Walking away from something that has caused you too much unhappiness. Reconnecting with someone you really miss. Healing your body (exercise, diet), or your spirit (meditation), or a broken relationship. Why haven’t you started?
Why, indeed? And where to start? (Yeah, I realize this is something of a theme with me.) He goes on:
If it’s a huge and imposing task or leap, break it down into manageable pieces. Make the first step small, pleasurable, and easy. Some early research, a phone call, a conversation.
You have to start somewhere and you have to start now is Pollard’s point. Or you never will. Read the rest of the post yourself. Good stuff.
Back: Daughter Sus. Middle: Daughter, Meg; Niece and
Goddaughter, Laur; Laur’s cuz, ‘Lana. Front: Radar
What do you call it when cousins are good friends — including the cousin’s cousin? Girls havin’ fun!
