Category: Uncategorized

Posted on

Wanna Buy A Hat?

…otherwise known as “marketing with both eight barrels.”

Rachel Lyra Hospodar is a ridiculously talented artist across a number of media: paintings, prints, clothing, hats, you name it, she does it.

She creates.

One of the challenges in making a living being truly creative, however, is that if you are creating something that is novel, no-one knows to look for it. If the world has never envisioned “an emotionally informative and yet strangely accurate street and transit map of San Francisco and its environs,” no one will ever Google it. That’s where the “getting the word out” part of the process needs to begin.

So, what’s Rachel doing? How about…

Are you using all the tools at your disposal to get the word out about the cool stuff that you’re doing? You could be. None of the tools and techniques that are being used as part of the Medium Reality global microbrand are expensive, or difficult to do. None of them require any arcane knowledge. They just require a dollop of commitment, week in and week out.

Now, go buy a hat.

Bonus scene:

Nigel Tufnel: [on what he would do if he couldn’t be a rock star] Well, I suppose I could, uh, work in a shop of some kind, or… or do, uh, freelance, uh, selling of some sort of, uh, product. You know…

Marty DiBergi: A salesman?

Nigel Tufnel: A salesman, like maybe in a, uh, haberdasher, or maybe like a, uh, um… a chapeau shop or something. You know, like, “Would you… what size do you wear, sir?” And then you answer me.

Marty DiBergi: Uh… seven and a quarter.

Nigel Tufnel: “I think we have that.” See, something like that I could do.

Marty DiBergi: Yeah… you think you’d be happy doing something like-…

Nigel Tufnel: “No; we’re all out. Do you wear black?” See, that sort of thing I think I could probably… muster up.

Marty DiBergi: Do you think you’d be happy doing that?

Nigel Tufnel: Well, I don’t know – wh-wh-… what’re the hours?

source: IMDB

(disclosure: rachel is not a client, is a friend, and this post is uncompensated and unsolicited. however, i think the smarts and energy that are being put into making “medium reality” a real reality are phenomenal.)

Posted on

Go Vote

Heinlein said it best:

“If you are part of a society that votes, then do so. There may be no candidates and no measures you want to vote for … but there are certain to be ones you want to vote against. By this rule you will rarely go wrong.

If this is too blind for your taste, consult some well-meaning fool (there is always one around) and ask his advice. Then vote the other way. This enables you to be a good citizen (if such is your wish) without spending the enormous amount of time on it that truly intelligent exercise of franchise requires.”

Posted on

Hey, Look Over There!

Ga. It frustrates me when people do this.

Seth writes:

Picture_10

“Check out this chart of the traffic of fotolog.com. They’re now 33 in the world. What’s neat is that the progression from one place to another was pretty linear. No miracles, no interventions, no tipping point or inflections.”

Now, that’s just flat out false as soon as you pull back from the picture a little bit. The picture above shows a six-month window.

Here’s their graph over the last year.

Fotolog1ayr

And the last two years.

Fotolog2byr_1

There actually is an inflection point. A significant one.

So…does anyone know what Fotolog did in on March 1st of this year that fueled the rocket ride? It looks like the site took a hit for a couple of weeks, then came back with a vengeance. Site redesign? Easier-to-use tools? New awareness campaign?

Now the funny thing is, I totally agree with Seth in principle on this point he makes:

“The mistake bloggers often make (actually, all marketers make sooner or later) is the believe that being popular is its own reward. That once every one does their line dance or visits their restaurant or wears their fashion or reads their blog, then it will be popular for being popular.”

A great customer experience, combined with a product for which those customers have a need, will fuel the sustainable, steady, solid growth. It’s unfortunate the example that was chosen doesn’t support that concept with facts.

UPDATE: Per my response to Seth’s comment below, I added the red circles in the charts to highlight the point where something appears to have changed in Fotolog’s business, moving the trend from “flat” (which it had been from 2002 – February 2006) to “growing” (which it’s shown from March 2006-November 2006).

Posted on

Please Join Me For A CRM Webcast Today

Click here to enroll

On Monday, October 30th (which may be “today,” depending on when you read this), I’ll be presenting a webinar on “CRM and Web 2.0,” sponsored by the CRM Association (CRMA). (No, I didn’t title the session.)

I’ll be co-presenting with Charlene Li and Lisa Stone. Here’s the blurb:

“Join the CRMA as we discuss how marketers are incorporating blogs, podcasts, rss and other new technologies into their CRM initiatives to improve interaction with customers and prospects, and discuss how your company can use these tools and strategies to positively impact your relationships with customers.”

The details:

Topic: Upgrading Your CRM Strategy with Web 2.0
Date: Monday, October 30, 2006
Time: 12:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time / 9:00 am Pacific Standard Time
Event Number: 711280327
Event Entrance for Attendees: https://crm-essentials.webex.com/crm-essentials/onstage/g.php?d=711280327&t=a
Call in tollfree phone number: 866-469-3239
Alternate Call in phone number: 650-429-3300

Click here to enroll

My slides are embedded below, and also available here.