The Artful Dragon

How Perfect Is the World?

2009-03-01T16:19:00.008-06:00

Think of it!

I was out complaining about the cold weather and I began to think of how perfect it is.

Our planet goes up and down in temperature by something like 130 degrees F. Why is that perfect? Because with a decent coat and a decent bathing suit, we can survive in that band.

Mars, Venus, the Moon and as far as we know the Universe have wild swings of temperature. For millions of dollars, I guess that is now billions, (proving my age believes a million is a lot), we could get one or two people to survive in little space crafts for short times but we are not going to be running around on the moon in our bathing suits. Then there is the oxygen we survive on. Not in those other atmospheres. We live in a precious environment. Let's all pray to our favorite deity or force that our leaders will wisely start to think of the planet as requiring loving intention and attention.

Merlin, The Magical Curly Dragon

Photo credit: Ocean.Flynn

Are those guys using MS Excel?

2009-02-24T09:08:00.004-06:00

"...Microsoft is reportedly asking laid off employees to return portions of their severance pay that the company apparently overpaid.

TechCrunch has an item stating that Microsoft has contacted some of its former employees and is asking them to repay the software giant for overpayment on severance due to the company's own miscalculations. Indeed, the report said that not only has Microsoft apparently overpaid some of its former employees' severance, but the company also underpaid some of its recently laid off workers. ED: I still have a copy of Visicalc that I could loan to our friends in Redmond and an old mechanical calculator slated for my donation to the Smithsonian. Just drop me a line where to ship it.

In what has to be the cruelest letter of the day, They went on to say: "This letter is to inform you that an inadvertent administrative error occurred that resulted in an overpayment in severance pay by Microsoft. We ask that you repay the overpayment and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience to you."

Inconvenienced? Really. Does mom have to take back last nights dinner so that the billions and billions in the MS coffers won't feel abandoned by that $26 overpayment or even if it was a $2,600 overpayment?

Nobody asked me. But I am a magical dragon and I've conjured up a much better plan. There would be a fabulous PR bonus to my plan, adding a free prize to the magic, for Microsoft and it Board.

Here it is: Instead of laying off 5,000 people, Microsoft has a real opportunity to create an R&D lab with the affected employees acting as it's own cell, MS and the cell agree to cut cut salaries in half and encourage their people to see what great software they can develop over the next 2 years. (Hint, maybe they could fix Excel first!)

Since MS has to pay around 50% in taxes, the real cost to MS is 25% of the employees pay. The employees would get a stake in the outcome by first making up the lost salary from the first profit dollars from the software sales. And, a percentage of ongoing software royalties for ten years.

Microsoft last month announced plans to lay off up to 5,000 employees, including 1,400 the company let go on Jan. 22. If this issue of miscalculated severance pay is an indication of Microsoft's handling of its initial round of layoffs, then folks in future rounds have cause for concern. More cause, that is, than being laid off -- as asking an unemployed person to return payment is truly adding insult to injury.

The recession has taken its toll on even the mightiest of technology companies. Companies such as Microsoft ... bellwethers of the technology sector -- have taken hits and suffered embarrassing exposures such as this reported."

Methinks, that arrogant companies don't get embarrassed. They exploit by making cuts and causing fear so that the employees still employed work twice as hard. And they innocently say, 'everybody is doing it' Sadly, Merlin

Photo by Mel B

pURLs, Junk Science or Panacea?

2009-02-20T12:54:00.011-06:00

It warmed up a few days and made me think spring had sprung. Turns out, I just learned that, that pesky groundhog spotted his shadow and we are treated to an extra six weeks of cold and snow.

Lot of bantering going on about pURLs. Those are a URL personalized to the recipient.

Mine is http://Merlin.ArtfulDragon.com.

The long and short of the banter is, if the pURL didn't work, it is the offer or the creative.

I think that is shortsighted.

My experience has been that pURLs work better in emails than in postcards and it is because of inertia. A purl in an email can be clicked with little effort and has higher acceptance, if the offer is valid. Thus a pURL may get a great response. It doesn't mean that the recipient will memorize it, just that they will buy the offer. If they do click the pURL, then in the order confirmation, it would be wise to ask the client to bookmark the pURL for tracking of their order or for future orders.

With a post card, the offer has to be very good, the creative has to be very good - not from a beautiful side but a compelling side, just to evade the trashcan. Next it goes in the desk or in a basket of things to get to. Then, it has to be gotten to before the expiration date. Worse, it has to be manually typed and half of the people wouldn't perhaps know what that means, where to type it, add spaces, etc. And of course, the post card can not be an instruction book on entering URLs. It's too small for that, it has to sell the offer in that little space.

I bet many people don't know the term URL let alone pURL, they just know where to type www.cnn.com and get some news. They might study it and take the time to try it, if the offer is good and, of course, they have a need the offer can satisfy.

Something like: To save $5 on my $25 product, go to; http://Merlin.ArtfulDragon.com, your order form will be automatically filled out and your $5 discount will be applied. Sorry, does not apply to phone or mail orders.

The other point made is that if an offer is sent, and business goes up but no one put in the long pURL, it doesn't mean the offer failed or even the pURL. There is a very good chance that the client has bookmarked your URL and it's just easier to go click the bookmark. Finally, there is a very good chance they will call up and say the pURL doesn't work and they want to order by phone and get their $5 off.

In summary pURLs will gain in acceptance and become ubiquitous but it will take time. In the meantime, they will work best in email campaigns. They won't work at all if the offer is weak or the creative is not supportive. There has to be a "free prize, inside." Finally keeping in mind that one should not cast pURLs before swine, it is mandatory that you know your list. In other words, no matter the price, no matter the prize, no matter the cause, no swine will order a George Foreman grill. Merlin Poof, it's done!

Photo: martinvarsavsky

A Rare Recommendation

2009-02-14T08:47:00.004-06:00

No Less than Seth Godin commended The Blue Sweater and he is extremely picky. It will be released on March 5th and is available as a Kindle book as well. Seth also reminded us that we are all reviewers and wonders if we will replace paid reviewers. Yes, Seth, as we continue down the path of Social Media a mere mention on Twitter, etc. will sell more books than the NY Times, in my humble opinion. We are already more solvent.

The Blue Sweater is the inspiring story of a woman who left a career in international banking to spend her life on a quest to understand global poverty and find powerful new ways of tackling it. It all started back home in Virginia, with the blue sweater, a gift that quickly became her prized possession�??until the day she outgrew it and gave it away to Goodwill. Eleven years later in Africa, she spotted a young boy wearing that very sweater, with her name still on the tag inside. That the sweater had made its trek all the way to Rwanda was ample evidence, she thought, of how we are all connected, how our actions�??and inaction�??touch people every day across the globe, people we may never know or meet.From her first stumbling efforts as a young idealist venturing forth in Africa to the creation of the trailblazing organization she runs today, Novogratz tells gripping stories with unforgettable characters�??women dancing in a Nairobi slum, unwed mothers starting a bakery, courageous survivors of the Rwandan genocide, entrepreneurs building services for the poor against impossible odds. She shows, in ways both hilarious and heartbreaking, how traditional charity often fails, but how a new form of philanthropic investing called "patient capital" can help make people self-sufficient and can change millions of lives. More than just an autobiography or a how-to guide to addressing poverty, The Blue Sweater is a call to action that challenges us to grant dignity to the poor and to rethink our engagement with the world.

Oh, No, we didn't print it and are not paid and will not be paid. I just loved the power of a sweater to move people to do good things. Reminds me of how remnants of cloth from Saints and better have been at the center of good deeds, forever. Merlin

Working With Young People

2009-02-11T19:34:00.004-06:00

Recently we were welcomed as a partner in developing projects with students from The Dunwoody Institute in the Twin Cities Metro area of Minnesota. We added some stodgy old entrepreneurs plus some great digital technology and a team of magical people to a great institution with wonderful dedicated educators and and hard working eager students. Working together with these students in a time of economic tragedy kept this Dragon from catching the depression gnawing away at our spirit. Why? These students are very smart and very talented and they want to become the leaders of tomorrow through hard work. In the end, we have felt more fortunate getting to know them than we thought possible. As one last piece of advice, I offer; Don't get caught up in the fear of the economy. You are all gifted. To paraphrase a line from my shoes, Just do it!, start running. Keep in mind that Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and a host of others, came out of school running for glory.

Thanks,

Merlin, the Magical Dragon.

Photo by Kurokami

Well Known Children's Book Author Makes Video!

2009-02-07T12:51:00.004-06:00

Maia Haag, who just won 2 more prestigious awards, is the Author of a series of Personalized Children's Books. She just introduced a fabulous new title, called: "The World According to: (your child) where a child answers a series of questions, draws illustrations and the content is published as a lovely landscape book authored and illustrated by a child you love. While her clientele include movie stars and Senators, most of her clients are people who just love children and love books. In the about the author section, Maia can include a picture of the child and the parent or care-giver can write a personalized message to the child. I did it with my child and it is simply something she will treasure for ever.

Anyway, I see that her creative juices have driven her to produce her first little video and I thought you might enjoy seeing it. AD

Thinking of a New Web Application?

2009-01-27T19:34:00.005-06:00

"50 Essential Strategies For Creating A Successful Web 2.0 Product"

Seriously, 50 brilliantly described stratagies. Here is how I commented:

"This is wonderfully written. No one should think of building any web application, actually any software without reading and understanding these principles. I venture to say that anyone going to a CEO or a board of directors would use this piece to be sure there is a buy in of the project and an understanding that, if a cheaper project is mandated, the run time costs are forever impacted."

Written by Yamin Malik, Online Strategy Manager at Youpark.com, a very intersting Danish company. These guys are pros and they have people who write in clear interesting ways. I don't know any of them but you should. Click the title, especially if you are doing a doctoral thesis on WEB 2.0! AD

Photo by Seier, Seier, Seier Photos

Creativity and Stretching the Sweatshirt!

2009-01-27T14:24:00.002-06:00

What does it mean to be creative?

You could watch the most non-creative, linear-thinking, do-it-by-the-book cop work to solve a crime and you'd be amazed at how creative her solutions seem to be. Creative for you, because you've never been in that territory before, it's all new, it's all at the edges. Boring for her, because it's the same thing she does every time. It's not creative at all.

For me, creativity is the stuff you do at the edges. But the edges are different for everyone, and the edges change over time. If you visualize the territory you work in as an old Boston Bruins sweatshirt, realize that over time, it stretches out, it gets looser, the edges move away. Stuff that would have been creative last year isn't creative at all today, because it's not near the edges any more.

This gives you two useful tactics for problem solving:
1. If you want to be creative, understand that you'll need to get to the edges, even if the edges have moved. Being creative means immediately going to the place the last person left off.

2. If you are "not creative," if you are the sort of person that gets uncomfortable being creative or has been persuaded you're not capable, don't worry about it. Just stretch the sweatshirt in your spare time, watch the creative things other people have done, keep up with the state of the art. Then, when you do your "not creative" thing, most people will think it's pretty creative indeed. AD

Thanks, Seth! Photo by Lightgazer

This is fascinating!

2009-01-14T10:43:00.001-06:00

The End of TV Ads? Not so Fast.

The advent of DVR technology struck fear in the hearts of advertisers worldwide. Suddenly, viewers were able to fast-forward through TV commercials! A sad truth quickly emerged: when given the option, consumers love to hit that FF button. Now, let's (ahem) fast-forward to today. Are we witnessing the demise of the TV ad? Well, not necessarily. New research is showing that, with the right kind of ad, fast-forwarding can actually enhance your brand messaging. Yep, you heard right.

These researchers used eye-tracker technology to observe viewing behavior as subjects fast-forwarded through TV commercials. Here are some of their (somewhat astounding) findings:

Fast-forwarding viewers actually pay more attention during commercials than those watching commercials at regular speed.
Fast-forwarded advertisements still create brand memory, even with a 95% reduction in frames and complete loss of audio.
Fast-forwarded commercials can positively affect brand attitude, behavioral intent and even actual choice behavior.

But pay close attention here: there's one fact that every marketer simply must know to make brand marketing work during fast forwarding. (Drum roll, please):

The attention of fast-forwarding viewers is heavily limited to the center of the screen. To grab their attention, advertisers must place simple, eye-catching brand information dead center.

The Po!nt: TV ads won't die, they'll morph into another form. "Marketers can counteract the negative effects of DVRs by ensuring that their advertisements are heavily branded, and that the branding is centrally located," these researchers conclude.

It's like speed reading on TV! AD

Source: "Breaking Through Fast-Forwarding: Brand Information and Visual Attention," by S. Adam Brasel and James Gips. Journal of Marketing, 2008.

Could anyone say it better than Seth?

2009-01-12T08:03:00.005-06:00

In the mood

Songs about romance don't tell you how to make out, they merely encourage it. It's not the data that people seek, it's the mood.

If all we needed to do great work was information, our problems would be over. The internet is the greatest repository anyone could imagine... if you want to know how to do something, the Net will show you how. Anything.

The how, of course, is not important. Books and songs and movies that have an impact work because they motivate us to take action, not because they show us exactly what to do.

Did you not have enough information or expertise to start a successful business during the last boom? Or the boom before that? Are you so ill-informed that you are unable to make a profitable sales call, unable to answer the phone, unable to persuade someone to join your cause? That's unlikely.

We don't have a knowledge shortage. Far from it.

I get very annoyed at pundits who criticize a book for not having enough proof, not enough data, not enough rigorous case studies. I am disappointed at people who hesitate to start something important because they're just waiting to learn enough or know enough or to figure out the answer.

It's like the annoying kid at the magic show shouting, "I know how you did that trick!" Of course you do.

The question isn't, "how do you do the trick?" The question is, "do you feel like doing the work, taking the risk, making a stand and getting it done?" If you don't know how to do the trick, go look it up. Get a tutor. Figure it out. That's the easy part.

You already know how to deliver excellent service that blows people away. You just don't feel like it. Your organization has the resources to buy that machine or enter that market or change that policy. They're just not in the mood.

If I accomplish anything on a good day, it's helping you change attitudes. I'm working hard at getting you in the mood to do the things you already know how to do. I think that's what your boss/the market wants you to do as well.

Wonder How a Dragon Talks?

2009-01-08T10:23:00.002-06:00

Me too! But, every time someone tries to record me, I melt the machine. Seriously though, I added a service called Odiogo, which converts our posts to little podcasts. I did it because some people,~ me - retinal surgery~, have trouble reading and it makes the posts accessable orally. I hope it will catch on because the net, no matter how trite, should be available to everyone. AD

Want FREE Pulicity for Your Book?

2009-01-06T17:03:00.004-06:00

Well you've written your book and you want to sell it! How? Promotion. Try these two sites. AD

www.authorsden.com
www.jacketflap.com

Worry about what tie to wear with that jacket?

2009-01-04T16:58:00.002-06:00

Proving once again that I am going to offer design tips, I bring you Kuler.com The best part is it is free. You can download a tool that lets you pick on color pallets right inside of Photoshop, Illustrator, In Design. The tool can be used to select complimentary colors from a library or you can build your own with the color wheel. AD

Fonts gone wrong?

2009-01-04T15:36:00.006-06:00

Photo by Robrt Scoble

I actually received an email from a client who said that I don't give enough technical information in my blog. 'Tis true. But, I hear from many who think my meanderings and marketing posts are informative and, at some base level, entertaining.

Anyway, I thought about it and decided to do a piece on design and see if it would gain traction and make me famous. Here then is a primer on typefaces and fonts. When designing, a font choice is critical to the success of the piece. Is it open and friendly or heavy and depressing. Those little characters can brighten a piece or doom it. Oh, and when designing, don't use a lot of fonts, it hurts our eyes and ruins concentration.

With thanks to Design & Print, give some careful thought to your choices. Otherwise, you can wind up making a pretty subject unintelligible. AD

Do Ads Work?

2009-01-03T10:28:00.004-06:00

From Seth Godin, we sometimes hear the obvious but his conclusion is dead on. We often hear the "budget is not available", especially in these times. What one needs is to be careful that they don't make their own troubles worse by cutting the wrong expense. Anyway, here is Seth's sage advice. AD

"If the local bank were offering a sale on dollar bills, ninety cents each, how many would you buy?

Most rational people would say, "I'll take them all please." Especially if you had thirty days to pay for them.

So, why, precisely, do you have an ad budget?

If your ads work, if you can measure them and they return more profit than they cost, why not keep buying them until they stop working?

And if they don't work, why are you running them?

The time-tested response is that you're not sure, that ads are risky, that you can't tell. And for some sorts of products and some sorts of ads, you'll get no argument from me.

Digital ads are different (or they should be). You should know cost per click and revenue per click and be able to make a smart guess about lifetime value of a click. And if that's positive, buy, buy, buy.

And if you don't know those things, why are you buying digital ads?

When Amazon was at its key growth peak, the mantra there was $33. They would buy unlimited ads, of any kind, as long as they generated new customers for $33 or less each. There was a risk that $33 was too high a number for the business to sustain, but the ads were no risk at all. As long as they came in under that number, there was unlimited money to buy them.

How often do you hear the marketing person say, "that's a neat idea, but we don't have the budget this year"?

Shouldn't she say, "We have an unlimited budget for ads that work"..."

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T15:32:00.003-06:00

We want to wish all of our readers, clients and competitors the Happiest of New Years. With the tumultuous 2008 behind us, we are hopeful for serenity, calm and a brand new start. AD

Photo by Rosemanios

Buzzing at the Edge

2008-12-27T15:12:00.007-06:00

What Artists Can Teach Everyone About Social Media!

Chris Brogan brought us just the best guest post about artists and their use of social media by Amrita Chandra. While talking about marketing and all things scientific, what truly excites me is that Buzz can make a man more than a President, it can define a generation and capture every strata of society. Read this, you won't be sorry. AD

Planning, a Witch's Brew . . .

2008-12-24T18:05:00.004-06:00

People wonder why I don't like planning meetings. I do like meetings, if there is a reason. If we are getting together for lunch and want to laugh and be merry, I'm all for it. If we are going to review numbers that are a quarter old, I think the presenter gets 15 minutes and the rest is Q&A. 'Why were sales off?' ' We're in a recession!' 'No kidding, when did that happen?' 'A year ago.' 'Why did we drive a hundred miles to be reminded of old news?'

I like my meetings. Mini meetings, very tightly focused and we listen to the smart people on the line and they are willing to tell us what is wrong or right.

What troubles me, during times such as these, is that our classical training is so limited. We learned to look out for 5 years, make plans, models and then work the plan. Of course we deliberately under-planned and overworked and if we hit the numbers, it was 1. luck or 2. somehow the books were cooked. Yet, our politicians wouldn't give the automakers any money until they had a good plan down on paper. The problem is, in most good plans there are only a few variables. In this time, there are all variables with wild swings. The automakers had to agree to solve their problems by March, 09. Fabulous, as soon as they get that job done, let's pull them off cars and have them cure cancer by June.

Don't get me wrong. If a team of doctors are going to separate conjoined twins, I want them to have planned and practiced everything.

Holding a meeting to review what could be said in an email, probably not good. They are interfering with productivity improvements.

So, if meetings are needed, it is short and tightly controlled, a crisis or it's a sociable gathering. Crisis will require that planning horizons will get shorter, from years to months, and from months to weeks. Measurement cycles will get faster. In turbulent times, people need more frequent information and better insight delivered more quickly.

We're headed for a time when we need to know how many units sold in the last hour, not last year. We need to know what they clicked on and how they left. We need to know which offer is working so we can improve that in real time. I want to concentrate on those metrics that we can gather minute by minute and mine in real time.

That is my five year plan. AD

This Is Such Good Advice!

2008-12-20T08:36:00.003-06:00

Two ways to deal with "no"

Brought to you from Seth Godin, with a clarity of thought and an elegance of prose:

You could contact the organization that turned you down and explain that they had made a terrible mistake, the wrong choice and a grave error. You could criticize the vendor they actually selected. You could even question the judgment of the prospect and try to teach them to make better decisions in the future. And, while you're at it, challenge the fairness of the decision-making committee itself, and explain how a more fair process would have favored you at the same time it would have helped the organization that turned you down.
Or
You could be more gracious than if you'd won the work. You could send a thank you note for the time invested, you could sing the praises of the vendor chosen in your stead and you could congratulate the buyer, "based on the criteria you set out, it's clear that you made exactly the right choice for your organization right now." That doesn't mean the criteria were right, it just means that you're not attacking the person for being an impulsive lunatic. You could even outline what you learned from the process and what you'll be changing in the future. And you can make it clear that you're in it for more than just a sale, and you'll be around if they ever need you.
Couple questions:
1. Which one will make you more likely to be invited back, or to be the backup if the first choice fails?
and
2. Which one will increase your word of mouth at the same time it improves your organization's feeling about itself?
It's a no-brainer, I think. So how come the first is so common?

That Last Post Was So True. . .

2008-12-17T14:32:00.003-06:00

From the wilds of Seattle, we hear:

"Don�??t you sometimes wonder if marketing is not just putting a product into a popular theme and saying the same thing over and over again in a socially acceptable way until it becomes accepted as a requirement or a fact?

For example; over and over again we hear about how corn based ethanol is a necessary "green" ingredient for our gasoline. The facts are that it is not efficient, that it has caused food prices to climb all over the world, and that the amount of corn required to fuel a car for 19 seconds would feed 91 people for a year.

So, is not the lesson learned here to, quite simply, ignore the facts to get people to buy whatever it is you want to sell by presenting it in a socially acceptable light?"

We had a counter point from an anonymous source wit an interesting link explaining that Terry and I may be wrong. So to give it the proper positioning, I am including it here.

It's About Buzz!

2008-12-17T09:46:00.003-06:00

It's not about marketing by interruption anymore. Pitching a product is becoming increasingly difficult. We are becoming as hard to reach as the companies are after they have our money.

Radio, forget about it. IPods and satellite coverage are taking over. Even if anyone listens, they use the opportunity of commercial INTERRUPTION to get a drink or dispose of one. Television? TIVO Malls, ON-Line shopping. Newspapers folding daily but not folding the papers, the company. So, what do we listen to? Each Other. Social networking. Twitter, Linked In, a host of others. Now business and pitch-people want to go there and use it as a megaphone to interrupt our social conversation.

"Why are you talking to me, here?"

"Because I want to sell you a new car!"

"I don't want a new car and, now, if would, I'd be less likely to buy yours, because you interrupted me without permission."

So, here's the deal pitch-people all. It isn't what you say to me. It is what people are saying about you! The buzz. We tell each other what we see, what looks cool, why not to finance with the big refrigerator company, who itself had to get a bailout. Do something cool, make something relevant, take the corn syrup out of our kids schools, help people. We will notice and will buzz about it. And, when we do try to talk to you, and you hide your phone number, put us through the agony of your phone tree, play lousy loud music in our ear, answer our e-mail and tell us to go look at your Gee Wiz website that has no useful information, we notice and use a lower class growly buzz about that. Imagine, you spend billions to holler at us and when we try to call you, you make it impossible. How silly is that?

With all the extra money you will save, hire some people, make something cool, stand behind your product. People will notice and buzz.

If you don't understand, you will waste a lot of money and we will tell you to buzz off! AD

How Cool Is This?

2008-12-16T18:57:00.004-06:00

A good and very helpful friend, Peter Shankman has just won the Mashable "Open Web Award" for Social News, joining co-winners, in other categories like Google, Netlog, Share This and others.

Peter works tirelessly getting sources for reporters with his "Help A Reporter Out" series of emails matching sources to reporters.

A worldwide speaker, extremely well connected (look he will even help the Magic Dragon) and well informed.

Every day he is sponsored by very interesting people and companies and we order from many.

You may do well by joining the "HARO" ranks. Just make sure you follow the rules! AD

Go first!

2008-12-14T09:41:00.002-06:00

Set the agenda by showing up first

Seth says it best!

If you want to win an Academy Award, it's clear that you need to release your movie at the end of the year. Early movies don't get remembered, don't get nominated, don't win.

But for most marketers (and job seekers) most of the time, being first is an advantage.

First competent mover advantage is real. The first person with a great product or story that matches the market establishes the narrative, sets the bar and forces followers to conform to her specs. If you've got the good stuff, going first means you've set a standard... the consumer now has to abandon you to choose someone else, which means pain and admitting an error. People hate to do that. (Evidence: Pownce).

Sure, there's the advantage of sniping in an auction situation. Last bidder in an auction always wins, right? But there's no reason that an impressive marketing effort can't lead to an implied topping privilege. If they like you, they can always bring you their final best offer for you to consider.

Applying for a job, or to college, or visiting a client to pitch a project--in each case, going first is a significant advantage. Why, then, do so many people wait until the last minute? Why do we insist that this is a strategy, not a mistake?

Fear, of course. Procrastination. It's easier to wait. The impending deadline gives us the energy to overcome our sales call resistance, forces the committee to get its act together, pushes the project up the priority list. Those are all fine reasons to wait. But don't pretend it's good marketing, because it's not. AD

I Cringe That I Quote Seth So Much . . .

2008-11-27T08:28:00.003-06:00

It's not that I am a lazy dragon, quite the opposite, actually. It is that he says it so well. He recommends that we buy handmade items from people you like. I have a suggestion for little dragons. www.iseeme.com This company makes personalized children's books and they are made right here in the USA. In the interest of full disclosure, they are Artful Dragon customers. They guarantee complete satisfaction, even if you child spills grape juice on the book, they will replace it free. They have heritage value. All my little dragons have them. Here is a code for free shipping, FSD150 and if you buy in the next few days, the Author will sign the book.

Holiday shopping guide

The decisions you make with your hard-earned money this year will have more impact than ever before. So put your money where your mouth is.

Here are a few ideas to consider:

1. Buy handmade items from people you like.
2. Don't buy gift cards. It's lazy and sort of dumb.
3. Don't buy from big brands or big stores that don't care about you, or that act in ways you don't applaud. There are very smartalternatives in almost every category.
4. When in doubt, buy digital items. Even better, give a donationand make many people happy.
5. Realize that when you're going to buy from Amazon, buying from a lens with a red ribbon on top will earn significant money for charity with no effort on your part.

I Hate Our Phone System . . .

2008-11-24T15:57:00.002-06:00

I just read a piece about phone answering systems and it was dead on. When I call a company and it starts out by saying: "to continue in English push 1," I know it isn't going to go well. In the piece, the caller was told to push 9 different times to move through the tree. At the end, it told him the company was closed and he should call back after 10 AM.

The payoff was explained so simply that I have to share it. There is only one reason to answer the phone and that is to make the customer happy. If you can't do that, don't answer.

But, if you are going to ignore this sage advice, don't put on an endless tree of choices or hoops to jump through because the only time we are fire breathing dragons is when we are caught in the endless phone tree.

Have the machine say, you reached me, please leave a message; beep. Trust me, it is better. AD