Joe Strummer Merchandise

1. Joe Strummer commemorative Telecaster.....$1,200.00

2. Joe Strummer Nikes.....$90.00

3. Knowing that Joe would think you were stupid for wasting your money......priceless

I'm Quitting Facebook Rap

Social Media ROI video

Don't abandon Traditional Media

I read a great post regarding the need to continue using traditional media rather than investing all marketing efforts in Social Media on Drury University's Social Media Certificate web site.

The author, Dr Jonathan Groves, makes a great point when he suggests that Social Media should be part of a broader marketing strategy that also includes traditional media.

There's a lot to think about with Social Media campaigns (consider the graphic below). However, traditional media sources still boast the largest number of consumers and should not be neglected.

Facebook Infographic (click the graphic below to see larger image)

Facebook Under Fire from MoveOn.org

MoveOn.org is actively targeting Facebook privacy policy and soliciting petition signatures in protest of recent changes.  It will be interesting to learn if one of the more established internet activist groups will be able to influence the world's largest and most popular social networking site to change course.  Stay tuned.

I don't always agree with MoveOn.org's views, but I signed the petition anyway and forwarded it on to my contacts.  I wonder how much MoveOn.org may benefit from taking such a hard line against Facebook?

More traffic to their site undoubtedly equates to increased donations and, here's the really interesting part.....MoveOn is using Facebook to spread their message.

Electric cars to save the automobile industry

General Motors announced last week repayment of the company's government loans well ahead of schedule.  The world's largest automobile manufacturer will now focus on expanding production of their Chevrolet Volt and other electric models.  The Volt is scheduled to be available to dealers in the fall of this year.

Not surprisingly, Nissan and other automobile manufacturers will also be introducing electric cars this fall.  According to industry experts we should see full scale marketing and manufacturing on a global basis by 2012. Including models from Porsche and other luxury brands.

Last year, when I purchased my Honda Civic using the Cash for Clunkers program, there was a great deal of skepticism regarding the program's possible impact on the automobile industry as well as the overall economy.  However, recent studies show that 90% of participants in the Cash for Clunkers program (including myself) would not have bought a new car if not for the rebates offered by the program.  I  am very happy to have increased my fuel economy by 20 mpg via Cash for Clunkers.  Reducing the money I personally spend buying oil from people who want to kill Americans is, in my opinion, an important benefit of the program.

Regardless of your personal assessment of the stimulus effects of the program, by keeping automobile manufacturers afloat during the recession, it appears that Cash for Clunkers succeeded in at least giving them a little time to retool their operations to produce the cars of the future.


I for one, can't wait to take my used Civic down to the Chevy, Nissan, Honda, etc. dealer in 2012 to see what they'll give me on a trade-in for an electric car.  It will be great to no longer have to purchase gasoline.  Whether the electricity I use to charge my new car comes from coal, wind, solar, etc. at least it will be produced here in America.

Interesting Facebook stats comparing 2009 and 2010

Apple's success helps power economic recovery

A recent cover story in Newsweek magazine proudly proclaimed, America's back!  The article referenced the success of companies like Apple as evidence of our economic turnaround.  However, I must admit I was more than a bit skeptical.

This morning on my way into work I listened to a story on NPR about Apple's record increase in net income for the first quarter (their fiscal 2nd quarter) of 2010 which does not include iPad sales.

Apple shares rose $14.68, 6 percent, to $259.27 in morning trading Wednesday. Earlier they hit $259.85, a new all-time high.

I wonder what next quarter's earnings will look like when they count all the iPad revenue?  Maybe we are on our way back after all......

Historic Tweets

MSNBC posted an interesting article on their list of historic tweets.

Send gifts to your Twitter friends

There's a new service available called Twegistry that allows users to send gifts of candy, flowers, Teddy Bears, etc. to their Twitter friends.  The service is in beta and not that impressive at first glance.

But, consider the possibilities.....

What if you were able to view a friend's online registry or wish list including products sourced from Amazon and/or eBay, etc.? How convenient would it be to have the ability to click on an item and have the product shipped directly to your friend using the information from their Twitter account?

No more wandering aimlessly through Bed, Bath, and Beyond with one of those crappy scanners!

Web publication wins Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prize for investigative journalism was awarded to Sheri Fink of ProPublica.org.

Excerpt from the NPR story on the awards.

ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative-journalism service, won one of two Pulitzers awarded for investigative reporting for a story on the life-and-death decisions made by doctors at a New Orleans hospital during Hurricane Katrina. The story was a collaboration with The New York Times Magazine.

Surfing v Swimming (Internet v Magazines)

Pages 3 and 4 of the April, 15th 2010 issue of Rolling Stone magazine contain 2 full pages of advertising for magazines in general.  The ad boasts that traditional magazine sales have not been negatively effected by the popularity of online publications.

That may be true, however if it is, why would magazine publishers spend their money on prime ad space just to toot their own horn?

(click on the photo below to read the full text of the ad)

Price Cutter Flag update

I stopped by the Price Cutter on East Battlefield this morning.  I am pleased to say that they have removed the tattered flag.  I just hope they don't wait too long to replace it with a new one.

Business should always keep spare flags on hand for times like these and should educate store managers regarding proper flag etiquette.  The US Code provided here by The Cornell University School of Law  provides very specific guidelines governing flag handling and display.

Price Cutter flies tattered flag

Nothing gets me more upset than when I see a tattered flag flying over a local business.

I photographed the flag below at Price Cutter Plus located at 3260 E. Battlefield, Springfield, MO on Monday April 5th, 2010.

I encourage everyone who reads this Blog to contact Price Cutter and register a complaint.

Great Moments in Viral Video

In September 2007 during a town hall forum, Andrew Meyer a University of Florida student,  asked Sen. John Kerry (among other queries) if he had ever been a member of the Yale University secret society known as  Skull & Bones.  UF security personnel felt that Meyer was being disruptive and decided to forcibly escort him from the hall.  The ensuing melee was captured on hand held video by members of the audience and found its way onto YouTube and other video sharing sites.  The video quickly went viral and the story was picked up by the major networks.

The video caused such a sensation that when The Yale Book of Quotations released its list of the 10 most notable quotations of 2007, Meyer's plea, "don't tase me bro" was chosen as the top quotation of the year.

How to keep cool in a siflingly hot classroom

Much like the rules in the movie Zombieland , you will have a good chance of surviving if you follow these guidelines:

1. Layers (dress in layers and be ready to remove a few)
   
2. Double Tap a beverage before and during class
3. Locate A/C vent (if one exists) and sit next to it
4. Get to class early (see previous rule)
5. Don't shut your eyes (you may fall asleep)
6. Make sure to wear a t-shirt if you're prone to sweating (this will save your dress shirts)
7. Remember it will be over in a few hours....stay calm.
   

I used these tips while in basic training at Ft Jackson, SC and they worked great!

Why blog?

In my previous post I discussed why I believe Steve McQueen wouldn't blog. However, just because I don't think McQueen would participate in the activity, doesn't mean I don't think blogging isn't great, it is (accept for the name).

Writing and reading blogs gives everyone the ability to share in the global conversation without filters, and has for many people, including myself, replaced the print media that used to dictate the subjects for, and contexts of, discussions.

Rather than public opinion being formed by news stories, media outlets are now reacting to public opinion when choosing what to report on.

An early proponent of blogging and all things internet, Al Gore
in his book The Assault on Reason, referenced blogging as an important way for the citizens of a democracy to keep well informed and share information. He argued that if you can't trust major media outlets to report the truth, then report the truth yourself.

Years ago, when Gore was the Vice President, I attended a speech he gave on the campus of Missouri State University. He told a joke that went something like this:

In a room full of Secret Service agents how can you tell which one is really Al Gore?
Answer: He's the stiff one.

Steve McQueen may have been too cool to blog, but not Al Gore, and that's okay with me.

Steve McQueen Wouldn't Blog

I was born on March 24th a birthday I share with one of my favorite actors and one of the all around coolest guys who ever lived, Steve McQueen.

Last night after my birthday dinner of grilled salmon and asparagus my wife and I enjoyed a nice bottle of organic zinfandel and I began to look for excuses to put off writing this blog post. The wine combined with my full stomach and the three Lowenbrau’s I drank while waiting for dinner to be prepared had pushed me into the dreaded, “I’ll do it later” zone.

As guilt washed over me for relaxing when I should have been working, something dawned on me. Steve McQueen would never blog.

Let’s face it, blogging is not cool. Just uttering the word blog alone may be enough to actually decrease a person’s coolness factor. Those who are cool and blog, do not enhance their coolness by blogging. The cool part of their personality is derived from some other aspect(s) of their life and then they blog about it rather than the other way around.

Often during conversations with my friends and family, who are very interesting, educated and well traveled folks, the term blog or blogger will surface, but unfortunately, not in a positive way. I’ve been smirked at and dismissed on many occasions for just mentioning the idea. While I would love to read the thoughts and musings these people would post they are basically just “too cool to blog.” As a result, we blog consumers are being deprived of some vast and fascinating knowledge bases.

So, the dilemma for me is, “how do we convince these people to dive in and participate in the new media without risking perceived damage to their coolness factor?”

I think we could start with the term “blog” itself. It sounds to me like a side effect attributable to an upper respiratory infection. The word “blogging” sounds like something you do with a group of buddies in a 4x4 after guzzling a six pack of Busch or a game played on an ice covered pond in a remote area of Canada involving some sort of long handled stick, a frozen badger liver, and six pack of Molson.

Why can’t we as PR and marketing experts exert some influence here and come up a better moniker? How did we get stuck with weblog, blogger, vlog, etc. anyway? Why can’t the brilliant people who created Sea Bass out of Patagonian Toothfish come up with terminology that would making blogging cool, or at least less un-cool?

What would Mad Men do for a client struggling with finding a name for an online journal that may be accessed by anyone on the planet (with an internet connection) in which a person could write anything they wanted for all to see, at no cost? Whatever hypothetical options the Mad Men might come up with, I have a strong suspicion blog would not be one of them.

For instance, as a kid I remember my parents purchasing one of the very first microwave ovens available in the US. It was called an Amana Radar Range. My father (also a Steve McQueen fan) was quite proud of the “Radar Range” he was able to purchase for his family. I’m not so sure he would have been nearly as proud of a simple microwave oven. Though no radar was actually involved in the cooking of the food, the name Radar Range was great and something a cool person could own and brag to his or her neighbors about.


The beauty of the old Madison Avenue days was that the folks inventing the technology didn’t get to name it. If so, Amana technicians might have labeled their invention a “table top electromagnetic radiation cooking device” or somehow reduced the name to a one syllable acronym. However, in the hands of the advertising experts the unit became known as the Radar Range. Amana’s parent company, Raytheon, accidentally discovered microwave cooking while conducting research on radar technology using magnetrons during WW II.

They knew that in order to sell it, they had to make it sound cooler, and they did.

Why can’t we do the same thing for bloggers?

In the case of Steve McQueen maybe we could call his blog an UOLBKWC or (updateable online list of butts to kick and women to ravish).

Regardless of the title, I’d love to read it.