December 14, 2009
· Filed under action, adapt, old, people · Tagged Blockbuster, Decade, disappearance, Hollywood Video, old technologies, Palm Pilot, PDAs, rental movies, VCRs
As the first decade of the 21st century comes to a close, I suddenly realized that this has been a decade of disappearing.
Things on the brink of disappearing:
Dictionaries – many will maintain that we will plunge into illiteracy (some will say “too late”), but look at the average high school student. He/she looks for spelling , definition, usage, pronunciation online. The book is useless. However, I still have the dictionary I won in 6th grade for the school spelling bee – don’t use it, but I savor the memory of the principal handing me this giant book, the smell of the leather as I cracked it open, the sense of accomplishment/superiority of having the “biggest dictionary”. Wacky…
Phone books - why do they still exist? My 80 year old aunt still uses hers – she was appalled that my children didn’t know how to use them. More parental failure – I still love my family.
Silly things disappeared
PDAs – I was there when the Palm Pilot was introduced; I missed the funeral.
VCRs – 20 years ago, as a poor college student, I rented a steel clad VCR for a weekend of movies at home with girlfriends. It was a big investment. Thought it was a cool idea – this weekend we streamed movies from Netflix on our Xbox hooked to our plasma. Yep, times change.
Fax machines – My first PR job I rocked the world by using the office fax machine to send a release to the state capitol press pool – it took 6 minutes a page. The release was about workers comp insurance – I don’t know why I remember that, but …
Maps – My 7 year old found a Thomas Bros. Map book in our garage this summer (while we were digging out the clutter) He had never seen a map. Why? His life is about Google. When his school friend moved to Virginia, he googled the city, its distance is almost 4,000 miles. My son hopes his friend moves back before his birthday this coming summer. Some things – like the loss of a friend – don’t change.
Big things disappeared:
A sense of security
9/11/2001 changed things permanently; security has been redefined. We are cautious and many are fearful. The summer of 2001 was considered a “slow news season” We were lulled into a sense of isolation and privilege. I remember watching the BBC in the middle of the night and seeing a report about Afghani refugees arriving in Australia and trying to stay in the country to escape the Taliban. Little did I know we would spend the better part of this decade fighting the Taliban, Al Qaeda and a myriad of new enemies.
Confidence
In the banking system, in health care, in our employers, in our schools, in our neighbors (who are they anyway?), in a way of life….
The decade of disappearing will disappear. As the next decade unwinds, we will lose silly things, laugh at the technologies and products that are the things we can’t live without, pray for our children, our family and our country and hope we make a mark that will not disappear with the passage of time
November 24, 2009
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged blessings, LA enjoy, thanks, Thanksgiving, US
Give thanks for all who do and serve and the blessings we share.
November 12, 2009
· Filed under Change, PR, action, adapt, advertising, business, data, marketing, measurement, people, social media, strategy · Tagged GPS, map, marketers, marketing, research, strategies, strategy, word of mouth marketing
The age old adage of asking for directions is frowned upon in some circles and in the age of GPS the directions are just presented to you. Unfortunately, the instant age of information marketers are forgetting one important component of their planning – a strategy – every marketers map.
Answering the bigger questions is still frowned up in some circles, but as markets are no longer expanding and providing limitless opportunities, marketers must provide the map, strategy to rally for success. Marketers can no longer afford to let the market guide their steps, but need to chart their own success with the startegy they can provide.
This is an interesting time for marketers – customers are narrowing, tactics are diverse and the rewards can be elusive, if the map is not clear. Take the time for the strategy and know the way to success.
October 20, 2009
· Filed under action · Tagged Afghanistan, Air Force, Air Force Academy, Army, balloon, boy, CNN, Iraq, joy, Marine, Marines, Mother Theresa, Navy, peace, service, war
My niece ships out for her second tour of duty soon & my son is applying to the Air Force Academy. I do not come from a family of service I find it hard to understand why these two would willingly put themselves in harm’s way for…us.
I was quiet last week as I examined a life of service – truly a life in service to others, putting yourself in harm’s way, going without so others may have some, interceding on behalf of those without a voice – amazing acts of selflessness.
During my week of reflection, the US watched as a reality show wanna be fly a balloon – toward an international airport -while pulling the heart strings of all who watched that their young son was inside. My 93 year old neighbor called me to pray that this little one survived. The boy did. We did not. We got caught up in the stunt. We wanted to believe that we were watching as a terrible accident was averted. We wanted to believe and now, we are angry. I think we got caught up in the stunt because we want to believe – we wanted to believe in others.
We can believe in the service of others. It is not as sexy as a celebrity mishap or tantalizing as the “race to save balloon boy”. It doesn’t play to the disdainful part of human nature – like gawking at a traffic accident. In service to others does play to the best part of human nature – using our time and our talent for the betterment of this life – our life.
You don’t have to be Mother Theresa – but thank God for those who are. Service can be as simple as needed. If you can do more, do more. I have a friend that before she does ANYTHING, she says “find joy in this” and she does find joy. From the foundation of others’ service, we can serve and find joy.
A foundation of serving is understanding those who have served before you. I hope I can do justice to the service of my niece and my son.
October 6, 2009
· Filed under Change, PR, action, adapt, advertising, business, marketing, people · Tagged blogger outreach, bloggers, disclosure, endorsements, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, FTC regulations, FTC social media regulations, Going Rogue, guidelines, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, media, social media policies, sponsored posts, WOM, word of mouth, word of mouth marketing
Here’s the Associated Press article…
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Federal Trade Commission will require bloggers to clearly disclose any freebies or payments they get from companies for reviewing their products.
It is the first time since 1980 that the commission has revised its guidelines on endorsements and testimonials, and the first time the rules have covered bloggers.
But the commission stopped short Monday of specifying how bloggers must disclose any conflicts of interest.
The FTC said its commissioners voted 4-0 to approve the final guidelines, which had been expected. Penalties include up to $11,000 in fines per violation.
The rules take effect Dec. 1.
Now for me…
Will traditional media be required to post when they receive free products to review for gift guides, etc. and give them to interns and other staffers? Will the media conglomerates be required to disclose that every news story, every newsmagazine on “competing” cable network show is part of their corporate umbrella? We have seen glimmers of this – when NBC covers GE they disclose that GE owns them, when ABC covers Disney, etc. The disclosures have not covered other broadcast or syndication agreements, but it would be crazy with the space and air time eroded by disclosure. The media business is very interdependent.
It remains to be seen how this will be enforced. It does expose ALL MEDIA who review products to disclosure rules. It has far reaching implications for how PR firms represent their blogger relations programs, how advertising firms represent their integrated advertising buys, how integrated media firms represent the relationship aspects of their programs.
Blogging did reveal the fantasy of impartiality that product reviews/placements have operated under across a variety of trade, broadcast and traditional print media. However, the FTC guidelines do unfairly burden one segment of the media community with disclosure rules that do not extend to other media – it’s that restraint of trade?
October 4, 2009
· Filed under Change, PR, action, adapt, advertising, business, data, education, marketing, measurement, people, social media, strategy · Tagged Nobel Foundation, Nobel Prize
I’ve always been fairly curious, so bringing that to whatever business I’ve been involve in has been easy. As I read that the Nobel Foundation will be announcing its award recipients across Twitter starting October 5, I was struck that even one of the most august organizations in the world was using social media to tell its story, why were companies still hesitating?
FUD or story? Although fear, uncertainty & doubt can be strong motivators in an organization, it can be a strangle hold on innovation and not the best way to manage a business for growth. So assuming FUD is not a factor, then it must be story. I have sat with many CEOs who have said “we just make ________ that’s not interesting”. It may not be, but aspects on making it, may be interesting to a small market – they would be a good target. A company’s story, customers’ story, your story are relevant and need to be told.
The Nobel Foundation will adding a new chapter to their story starting October 5 – follow its development at http://twitter.com/Nobelprize What’s your story?
October 2, 2009
· Filed under Change, action, adapt, advertising, business, marketing, people, social media, strategy · Tagged action, adapt, bouncing back, business, Hard work, re invention, reinvention, work, working
As marketers, many choices are made. What should the brand speak to? How will we execute? Who is our audience?
The biggest choice marketers make is not to engage with their audiences. You may not hear what you like to hear, but if you’re listening, you will be a better marketer for it.
I’ve worked with lots of senior management teams, who when faced with different information about their customers than they originally expected, would pick apart the process. I’m not saying that mistakes can’t be made, but the purpose to listening – is to listen, not decide.
The biggest hurdle is listening. I will now start.
September 29, 2009
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged adapt, business, Catholic, confidence, Consumer, consumer cofidence, expectations, faith, Going Rogue, LA, Los Angeles, priest, Sarah Pallin, stock market, stocks, The Conference Board
As the consumer confidence index dipped for this month and the media began to whir about the index missing expectations, I couldn’t help but take a step back. Really…look at it. Our confidence has expectations.
Now this is not about The Conference Board and their monthly gauge of consumer sentiment. Many businesses and industries use it as one of the metrics to determine their next steps. Our confidence has expectations.
Ou society, and as a result our institutions, have gotten so used to gauging everything: size of market, price points, graduate profiles for preschools, real estates estimates, etc. We gauge everything, but are failing to realize that despite all the gauges, a decision is a leap of faith. Confidence that if we try we could succeed. I was recently invited to a meeting for the Archidiocese of Los Angeles and carpooled with our Parish priest, Monsignor. (I was asked to ride with Monsignor, probably because of a comment about shaving my head and wearing a Def Leopard T-shirt…OK I have a history)
As we drove, we were catching up on things, creating options for world peace – you know the usual. We began talking about the Stock market – priests now manage their own retirement, just like us – and I was struck by the irony. This man, who owns nothing, makes a minimal salary, contributes to an IRA, just like the rest of us. That is the ultimate leap of faith. His confidence is not based on expectations. It is based on his deeply rooted belief that his path is correct. His confidence is not a leap of faith, but a foundation of faith.
Having spent my career working with a myriad of CEOs, some smart, some just faking it, I realized that all the gauges don’t guarantee anything and placing faith in the gauges is misplaced faith. But understanding your path, deeply committing to the path and making judgements based on sticking to the path and looking at gauges to see the wind direction, those build confidence and make the leap of decision-making much easier. CEOs have a tough job, especially when they don’t have a clear vision and rely on gauges to build a path, to set expectations, not point the direction.
Does your confidence have expectations? What happens if you miss expectations?
NEXT: My views on “Going Rogue”
