As a part of my agency, we own a teleprompter. Teleprompters are marvelous devices – even someone who can’t memorize their own name can look into the camera lens and read a script. It’s a great invention, but what it can do is to make someone who can act – but can’t think on their feet – seem as though they are something they are not. That’s why debates and interviews can be so revealing. And so it was at the Saddleback Church event. We’ve already learned that Senator Obama can give a great speech. We knew that at the last DNC convention, where he first emerged on the national stage. But giving speeches might help get you elected, but they won’t do much for you when you are being judged on your ability to make decisions that can affect the future of the world. [Read more…] about Obama’s Saddleback Shuffle.
A little blogging news.
I’m a big fan of blogging. Part of it is that I’m a writer – copywriting, techincal writing, correspondence, you name it. (Mrs. Digital keeps bugging me about writing the next Great American Novel. We’ll see.) Anyway, I’ve been gratified by the responses I’ve gotten, as well as the ever-increasing number of people that are reading my blog. Blogging is a lot like anything else you do – the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. One of the things I’ve learned, is that if you put a little work into promoting your blog with the blog aggregators and social networking services, you’ll dramatically increase the number of people that know about your blog – and if it’s any good, the number of people reading it. [Read more…] about A little blogging news.
Perception IS Reality.
What is real? That’s really the most fundamental question, isn’t it? If we can’t trust our senses, we cannot tell what’s real from what’s not. And that brings us, campers, to the true nature of marketing – perception versus reality.
I once worked for a guy who was a brilliant marketer – a true natural. His favorite aphorism was “Perception IS reality.” His point was that your view of reality is colored by your belief system and, therefore, your perceptions…ergo, perception IS your reality. It follows then, that it doesn’t matter what reality is – it matters only what your audience PERCEIVES reality to be.
Think about the implications of this for a second. They are staggering. [Read more…] about Perception IS Reality.
BAND-AID® Marketing.
My kid loves BAND-AIDs. She believes that, any time she’s wounded, a BAND-AID strip will make it better. I’m not talking about bleeding, here – I mean, if she sprains her finger, the dog steps on her foot, or if she has a stiff neck – a BAND-AID will fix her right up. My apologies to the fine folks at Johnson & Johnson, but that ain’t necessisarily so. Don’t get me wrong…adhesive bandages serve a useful purpose in the healing process, but they are not the one-size-fits-all, universal cure that my daughter would have me believe. (If they were, I wouldn’t mind our anual expenditures for BAND-AIDs, which seems to be a significant portion of the family debt, since she’s taken to putting them on EVERYTHING…) [Read more…] about BAND-AID® Marketing.
Georgia On My Mind.
Like many Americans, I went through school trying to pay as little attention to geography as possible. It was, frankly, my least favorite subject. I found it dry and boring. Unlike many Americans, however, in my years since high school, I had the opportunity to travel abroad. It almost instantly gave me an appreciation for a knowledge of geography, as well as a perspective on America and Americans you simply can’t get by staying here. I quickly acquired an appreciation for just how amazing The USA is, and gained a newfound respect for our Constitution, capitalism, and our way of life.
Since traveling to Europe and Asia, I have become convinced that a week or two abroad can change hearts and minds – and could perhaps be a cure for liberalism in America. One of the things I hate about the liberal mindset is their seemingly knee-jerk position that the USA is “evil” and automatically guilty when it comes to any international, human rights, or geopolitical incident. Take a few weeks in Europe or Japan, return here, and tell me again how you think we’re the bad guys. And I don’t mean that as a slap against any European or Asian country. It’s just when you get to see us through their eyes, you might find yourself taking a second look at how you see us yourself. [Read more…] about Georgia On My Mind.
The New! Improved! Episcopal Church! (Not.)
On my recent sojourn to the place of my birth, I had the opportunity to revisit the church of my youth. I grew up in the Episcopal Church – St. Mark’s Episcopal Church of Shreveport, Louisiana, to be exact. As a child, my parents had been searching – unsuccessfully it turns out – for a church home, when they enrolled me in the Kindergarten class of the school run by St. Marks. I came home spouting Episcopal theology. It occurred to them that the Episcopal faith was the only thing they’d not really explored among the mainstream Christian denominations. Soon, we all became card-carrying Episcopalians. [Read more…] about The New! Improved! Episcopal Church! (Not.)
Leapin’ Lizards!
I’m back from the family reunion, offspring in tow. Along the way, we made her first pilgrimage to the Mecca for women, young and old, a place called “Sam Moon.” What is a “Sam Moon,” you may ask? Sam Moon is a phenomenon in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. It’s a chain of stores that sell women’s accessories – jewelry, purses, luggage, belts, earrings, necklaces and the like, at wholesale prices. “Wholesale prices” is a term that is bandied about in the retail game, sometimes with a sense of mendacity that would make a professional liar blush. No, Sam Moon has got the goods. They are the real deal, the genuine article, the Real McCoy. But this is not a post about the wonders of Sam Moon, the upsetting of the natural order when it comes to baubles, bangles, and bright shiny beads. No, gentle reader, this is a story about awe, shared experiences, and fatherhood. [Read more…] about Leapin’ Lizards!
A technical note…
I am informed by my friend, web host provider, bon vivant, teller of tall tales and singer of sea chanties (let’s call him “Major Disaster”) that we have a failure to communicate with the fine folks that provide him with the dedicated server hosting. In short, the company he uses for dedicated hosting sold out to some new guys. He’s found the service provided by the new guys to be, shall we say, “less than optimal.” (I’d say more, but I think you can read between the lines on that one.) As a result, the Major and the old hosting company have come to a parting of the ways. The Major has already contracted with a brand spankin’ shiney new web hosting company (this is a good thing), so this blog (and the many fine websites we have created for ourselves and clients) will have a new home shortly. The downside is that there may be a slight interruption of service, as we get all the files transfered over. (Read: I’m not sure how long or how bad, but I got a bad feelin’ about this, Sundance.)
Of course, this couldn’t have happened at a worse time, as I am on vacation, at my family reunion. The box I do all my site management on is several hundred miles away. So if this blog goes away for a day or two (or three), rest assured, it will come back, hopefully beter, faster, (cheaper would be nice), and perhaps a little more bulletproof, this time around.
I am outta here…for a long weekend.
It’s family reunion time, and I’ll be away from the blogosphere for a bit. I have to make a pilgrimage to Captain Digital’s ancestral home – Shreveport – which is Hell-n’-gone from Amarillo (Centrally Located Between Two Oceans!™). The offspring (our Digital Mini-Me) is making the trip with me (should be fun), but Mrs. Digital has opted to stay behind and convalesce. I may – or may not – have a chance to log-in, tune-in, and write-on (this blog), so it may be a week or so before I’m expounding on whatever is bugging me. (Not to worry…I’m sure I’ll have plenty of stuff to write about, after dealing with my family for a week.) So enjoy the weekend. Lord knows, I’ll try to, between the scheduled spontenaity of the reunion, a 10-year-old on HER first pilgriage to Sam Moon (the merchandising Mecca for All Things Jewelry), and the joys of driving two-lane-blacktop for several hundred miles. Catch you on the flip-side.
(Why) Wonder, Woman?
My wife thinks she’s Wonder Woman. Not the cartoon character. Not the Lynda Carter TV icon. But she does think she’s invulnerable, super-strong, and impervious to pain. And she’s not alone. A lot of women that came of age in the 70’s and 80’s bought into that superheroine myth.
In the five decades I’ve been on God’s green Earth, I’ve learned that what you believe is every bit as influential regarding how you react to something as is the stimulae itself. In other words, the way you react to a given situation is largely going to be dictated by your belief system. Here’s an illustration that I think will clear things up…Three people are locked in a room. One grew up around an uncle who ran a snake attraction, and was used to handling snakes. The next grew up traumatized, as a favorite relative died on a camping trip, from a snakebite. The third has no exposure – positive or negative – to snakes.
A panel opens in the ceiling, and a snake is lowered into the room. One event: three dramatically different reactions. The first person says “Oooh, what a cute snake!,” and picks it up to play with it. The second person hyperventilates, panics, and attempts to claw their way out of the room. Third goes back to reading a book. [Read more…] about (Why) Wonder, Woman?