The Big Bald Blog

My Blackberry Storm Review

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Tue, 12 May 2009 17:19:00 +0000

Before I begin I want to give a word of thanks to Arnie who dropped me a line to see if I was OK and why I haven't been posting. It's funny how life gets in the way sometimes. Yes Arnie I am still alive and kicking and thanks for checking in on me.

Back to the Storm review. About a month ago it was time to get a new phone. Up until that point I had a Motorola Q and was very pleased with it. Based on everything I read, I had decided to get the new Motorola Q9c. But when I arrived at the Verizon store I was informed that the Q had been discontinued. I had a hard time believing it so I called around and verified that it was indeed being discontinued. This left me in a position where I was uneducated on just about every phone in the store. A friend of mine had the HTC Touch Pro and for several reasons, I won't go into, I had decided against it.

Because I have an Exchange server, I had a pretty specific set of requirements that my phone needed to have. With no Q available and not wanting the HTC, that left 2 choices. The Blackberry (which I have had bad luck with previously) and the Samsung Omnia. This is when the salesman at the store went to work on me.

The Blackberry Storm was the best thing on the planet AND it was on sale. If you bought one storm, you got the second one for free. What a great deal right? I told him that I was extremely happy with the Q and wanted the SAME functionality and Exchange integration. I was absolutely assured that everything about the Blackberry Storm would integrate seamlessly with our existing server environment. After repeated clarifications on this matter I ended up getting the Storm. I have never had a touch screen phone and, after all, it WAS kind of cool.

This is where the misery unfolds. Despite all assurances, it turns out the Storm doesn't integrate with an Exchange server like a Window Mobile device. You have to purchase additional software from RIM (Blackberry), set up separate admin accounts, create additional databases on the server and purchase additional enterprise licenses for each Blackberry in use. 3 days and countless hours of tech support later, the Storms were functioning. OK, it was a headache to get the Blackberry Storm working but after all that it has to work great.

NOT the case. As I started playing with my new Storm, I was excited about the number of apps that were available for the device. You know, the whole "kid in the candy store" thinkg got the best of me. I immediately proceeded to install a bunch of apps that were either handy or fun to use. It turns out that the OS on the Storm kind of struggled with some of the apps that were available. YouTube, Google Maps and others seemed to create some minor conflicts with power management and other areas in the phone. Pretty soon my phone started crashing and rebooting on a regular basis. I began reading some forums in an attempt at troubleshooting my issues. In the end, I uninstalled all of the apps bringing the phone back to the original configuration. This should have fixed it.

Again, not the case. Touch screens are cool, no doubt. However, I soon realized that I like buttons. About a week ago I went to dial a phone number and the touch screen number pad had crashed. I couldn't dial a phone number. I had to take the phone out of the case, remove the back cover and take the battery out to force the phone to reboot. I did this twice and the touch screen number pad began working again.

Aside from the technical problems, the email and SMS organization leaves a little bit to be desired. You can customize it a bit by separating the SMS and email messages but all of your sent messages go into your main message folder. Not the end of the world, you just have to sift through more lines to get at what you want.

I have talked to people that are pretty happy with the Storm. My guess is that they are simply a casual user. Below are some additional negatives as well as positives.

The WIN: The Storm's browser is fast and loads websites quickly, the voice dialing works reallly well and the screen size is outstanding for browsing, viewing pictures and reading emails. The camera on the Storm takes really good pictures and the threaded text messaging is great. The Storm has a TON of on board memory with the option for additional memory via the memory slot.

The FAIL: Touch pad dialing and typing is MUCH slower and cumbersome vs. a conventional keyboard, the Storm OS app conflicts and the horrible integration and setup. Even though the camera takes great pictures, it crashes frequently and takes FOREVER to "snap" the picture. Sending pictures is also a tedious venture at best.

Bottom line? I don't think I can recommend the Blackberry Storm to anyone. There are a variety smartphones out there that seem to function much better.

UPDATE: I was just on the Verizon website and discovered that the Motorola Q9c IS available again. There's a little salt in the wound!

The Best Pole Dancing Video. Ever!

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:22:00 +0000

Aren't bears the best? Happy Friday everyone.

Check Your Headlines Twice.

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:25:00 +0000

When you are designing something or writing copy, you might want to have someone else take a peek. After you have stared at something for so long you tend to miss the obvious.

Seems like a typical governmental move.

And what exactly did you think you were going to find?

Good luck with that one. They may be searching for a while.

Stop drinking poison will you!

Let me know if you have seen this guy.

Some ironic justice?

Uhhh. OK.

Sounds about right coming from the Government.

Must be a GREAT camouflage job.

Now THAT was unexpected.

Come on, seriously. Is this some kind of bad joke?

Thanks again for stopping by. Have a great week everyone.

Times Are Tough For Everyone

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:07:00 +0000

This financial crisis is forcing us to make tough decisions especially in the area of personnel. There is a risk that we might need to lay off ANDRE.

Some Internet Triva For Ya

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:14:00 +0000

In 2008 there were 28 million new domain names registered.
At the end of 2008 there were a total of 177 million Top Level Domains in existence
In order the 5 largest domain extensions were .com, .cn, .de, .net and .org
2008 represented a 16% growth in new domains. The largest ever.

177 Million didn't seem like a lot to me, given the number of people on the planet. I guess I assumed that everyone had a couple of domains. What IS big however is that 28 million new domains were registered last year. I don't think that the fellas at Rand, MIT and UCLA could have possibly envisioned the colossal entity that was in it's infancy.

Today, I think that it's pretty safe to say that the internet has changed the way we live our lives. Research, shopping, entertainment, work and so on. If you own a business, the real question is whether or not you are using the internet to maximize your business potential. It's not just for eBay anymore.

If you are still with me here on The Big Bald Blog, thanks for hanging around during this time of inactivity.

Be back soon.

Pops

The Advertising of Yesterday Part XXI

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 21:16:00 +0000

When Ted goes hunting NOW, he has all kinds of political pressure and government regulation to deal with. And running into Sears to pick up a shotgun and a box of shells isn't quite that simple anymore.

I have a collection of antique shotgun shell boxes that I have picked up over the years. Some of my favorites are from Montgomery Wards, Holiday Gas Stations, Sears and other similar retail establishments. These were the days when you could order a gun from a department store catalog and they would actually ship it to you. These were also the days where a shotgun was considered a "sporting good." Notice the logo, it says Sears Sports Center. Now, regulation has overtaken the firearm industry. Waiting periods, permits and licenses abound. But what came first, the chicken or the egg.

In the glory days of Ted Williams, there was little gun crime. People were responsible, and parents taught their children to hunt, shoot and respect firearms. This was also the time of the least amount of regulation. Today, it's cool to turn your hand gun to the side and quip about "bustin' a cap" or something. Today we have the most gun crime and the MOST regulation. Is there a correlation?

Here's the question. Is the regulation a function of society's breakdown or is gun crime due to the regulation of law abiding citizens acquiring guns? Perhaps gun crime is due to the natural development of a violent society and the regulations were too little, too late. What are your thoughts?

Hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 19:48:00 +0000

We apologize for the interruption in our normal blogging frequency. We will resume course shortly. At this time we would like to remind you to return you chair backs and your seat trays to their upright position. Thank you for flying with The Big Bald Blog.

Love,

Big Pops

Chrysler's Bailout Backlash

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 17:27:00 +0000

Here's a PR move that caused some unanticipated backlash. Chrysler, the recipient of 4 BILLION DOLLARS in bailout/bridge loans, decided to thank America. A nice gesture to say the least. However, it doesn't seem that Americans were very open to the thanks.

As it turns out, Chrysler placed full page "Thank You America" ads in newspapers across the country including USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. This is where the tomato and other produce flinging begins. It seems that the ~~forced investors~~ tax paying Americans didn't like the expense or the delivery of the campaign.

Over at the Chrysler blog, readers are not holding anything back. Comments like, Mr. Nardelli "Your resignation and the resignations of senior executives who have mismanaged the business would have been much more appropriate." and "Mr Nardelli, Fire your PR and advertising teams and execs immediately" seem to be the norm from the readers.

To put this into perspective, a full color, full page ad in the Wall Street Journal is about $250,000. A figure that is much more than the average taxpayer's salary.

A big BOOOO goes out to Chrysler for not having a "Thank You" press conference or publishing heartfelt letters to the various media sources and blogs. Hey Chrysler, just repay your loan as quickly as you can so we can get on with our recession will ya.

My thoughts: Thumbs up for the effort. Thumbs down for the execution.

Your thoughts?

"What I Found In My Email" Mondays. Vol.2 - Issue 28

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:23:00 +0000

Welcome to another, and long over due, edition of "What I found in my email Monday's." I know what your thinking - it's Tuesday. I know, I know but I really meant to post this yesterday.

I once heard a gender based driving assessment from an insurance agent. He said there are distinct differences in the types of claims between men and women. It seems that when men get into a wreck, they really GET INTO A WRECK. Meaning that men will destroy their car in one single catastrophic event. Women on the other hand will destroy their car one little piece at a time. A ding here, a dent there, knocking off a mirror, dragging along the side of the garage whilst backing out.

However the gentleman that perpetrated the caper featured below, falls into a completely different category. What category you ask? I don't know yet, but I am formulating it as we continue.

Here's the story:

An elementary school teacher ran over a mattress that had flipped out of a truck. Thankful that he didn't get into a wreck, he decided to keep going. Little was he aware that he had picked up a hitch hiker. As it turns out the coils from the mattress got tangled up and wrapped themselves around the drive shaft. The ensuing jumble finally whipped around enough to put a tear in the gas tank, the subsequent lack of fuel is what finally brought this vehicle to its knees.

He still managed to drive 30 more miles decently with a 60lb tangle wrapped around the drive shaft.

This genius complained that the vehicle had a "shimmy" when driving at high speeds.

This is what the dealership found

Have a great Christmas and a happy New Year everyone!

The Next Round Of Bailouts

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 16:09:00 +0000

I just read on AutoBlog.com that Bush has decided to greenlight the "$17.4 billion in low-interest loans to General Motors and Chrysler (Ford Motor Company has said it does not require relief at this time)." Props to Ford!

At this time I would like to extend a very special thank you to the UAW. Thanks for not supporting a reduction in the wage rages for those you represent (sarcasm intended).

For years we have seen inexpensive and high quality import cars flooding into America. These cars are built by hard working individuals for about 1/2 of what US union auto workers are paid. I don't understand how simple economics has escaped the big 3. If you are paying too much for labor which causes you to no longer be competitive in a market, why aren't you allowed to cut wages?

But let's also focus on the R&D and marketing efforts of the big US automakers. The way I see it, the US car manufacturers had a choice a while back. They could either research, develop and market fuel efficient vehicles OR they could have picked a different route. The alternate route was the one they ventured down.

"Hey, I got an idea, let's make the biggest, most inefficient vehicles that we can muster (Hummer, Suburbans, Escalades, Excursions, The Hemi, etc) and when gas peaks out at four something a gallon, let's panic."

The pain of $4 gas caused an almost overnight shift in consumer behavior. Unprecedented by most standards, this shift in buying patterns and lifestyle choices happened fast and will take a long time to change, if at all. People won't soon forget the $4 pain at the pump and have made changes in their driving and buying patterns that will last for quite some time.

Now that car dealer across the country have HUGE, unpaid inventory of trucks and SUVs that aren't moving, the juice on the floor plan is putting some out of business.

Granted, this isn't free money. The $17.4 Billion is in the form of low interest loans. But I ask, where do we draw the line? How big do you have to be to get bailout money from the Government? What about the lifeblood of our economy, small businesses? I am sure there are plenty of small to medium sized companies that are feeling the recession pain. $17.4 billion would go a long way if small businesses were allowed to get up to $500,000 in low interest loans. This means that 34,800 small to medium business would be able partake in a similar loan program that, in my opinion, would go much further in stimulating the economy.

I wonder how many people are employed by 34,800 small to medium businesses across the country. AND how much in taxes do those same businesses pay? Am I being ignorant or naive? Do you know of any small businesses that could use 500 large?

What are your thoughts on this whole deal?

Have a great weekend everyone.

The Digital Revolution

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 19:01:00 +0000

Yes, there were a couple of snags with the big switchover but I think we are going to make it through just fine.

S'more Really Old Ads

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:20:00 +0000

I just love the ads of yesterday. Features that were promoted as the latest and greatest are, by today's standards, obsolete or insignificant. Trends in society that are seen as distasteful today were prominent subject matter. Old ads featured technology that was "the wave of the future." In reality, most of the "tech" never really caught on. Although it is still happening today, (HD-DVD) it's nice to look back and see where we came from in the world of advertising.

I received the ads below in an email from my brother. I want to make sure I give credit where credit is due. As you can see, most of them are marked with www.strangecosmos.com, so I can only assume that they come from that site.

How nice, a carton of Chesterfields for Christmas. The perfect gift. Today, if you received a carton of smokes for Christmas, they probably wouldn't be wrapped, they would probably be Marlboro Lights and you probably had them stashed by the wheel chocks of your double wide.

Lard = Happy. I know this because I eat a can a week. Is this why they were so healthy back then?

I really had to study this ad to understand what was going on. It wasn't long after this before someone invented the pull top. You know the one where you pulled it completely off, threw it in the can and choked on it as you were slamming the beer?

Yep, tapeworms. Normally they are a bad thing to get. However, when they are "sanitized," THEN they are OK. This ad brings back memories. My mom actually had an original copy of this ad framed and hanging above the vanity in the bathroom. I almost had it memorized as a kid. I had completely forgotten about it until I saw it in the email. "Jar Packed - Easy to swallow - No danger - No ill effects."

I really debated including this one because of the nature of the ad, but I think it is a prime example of how the "AD Men" marketed products to women. I mean are you kidding me? Lysol as a personal hygiene product. I would be curious to find out what magazine this was featured in. I have seen many similar ads featuring a wide variety of products and advice come from magazines like The Ladies Home Journal.

So there you have it. Another look back at some ads featuring out-of-date values, ideology, technology and gender rolls.

Thanks for stopping by The Big Bald Blog. Don't miss a thing. subscribe to The Big Bald Blog today.

Christmas Lights

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:16:00 +0000

Wheww!!

I just finished putting my Christmas lights up. What a chore!

If you need any help with yours, just give me a call. I think I have it down.

What Kind of Person Are You?

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:14:00 +0000

"They" say that you can tell what type of personality you have by the way you write. To that I offer a sarcastic, "No Kidding?"

Yesterday a buddy sent me a link to Typealyzer. What is it you ask? Well, it's a neat little tool that analyzes your writing style and builds a personality profile based on how you write. All you have to do is enter your blog address and Typealyzer will do the rest.

So what did it say about me? It says that I am: "The independent and problem-solving type. They are especially attuned to the demands of the moment and are masters of responding to challenges that arise spontaneously. They generally prefer to think things out for themselves and often avoid inter-personal conflicts.

The Mechanics enjoy working together with other independent and highly skilled people and often like seek fun and action both in their work and personal life. They enjoy adventure and risk such as in driving race cars or working as policemen and firefighters"

Wow, that is pretty amazing. It is so close it's scary.

Enter your blog and let me know how close it is to your own personality.

Bloody Tryptophan - I am still tired.

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:50:00 +0000

Honestly, it's not the turkey, it's probably because I am out of shape and I did a lot of "lumber jacking" this weekend. Hefting large amounts of wood aside, all in all it was a great weekend to get away with family and relax.

Now that we've got the Thanksgiving traditions out of the way, Black Friday is behind us and the pumpkin pie is but a fond memory, we can start focusing on the commercial consumer success that we call Christmas. Yeah, I know, I can be a little "bah hum buggy" at times but I won't go there, this is supposed to be a happy time right?

Fine! Here's something that we can all get behind. It's Santa and his fictitious journey to deliver presents to deserving little bundles of joy everywhere. And guess what? NORAD, the North American Defense Command, is tracking the, jolly, fat man's progress. On Christmas Eve, there will be live video feeds from the Santa Cams around the world with Google Maps and Google Earth plotting the course.

"The tradition of tracking Santa began as an accident in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. ad for children to call Santa misprinted the phone number. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in Chief's operations "hotline." The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check radar for Santa making his way south from the North Pole.

This began the tradition of tracking Santa Claus, a tradition that has carried on by NORAD, when it was formed in 1958. This Christmas marks the 50th anniversary of NORAD tracking Santa Claus.

Last year the NORAD Tracks Santa Web site received 10.6 million unique visitors from 212 countries and territories." via

If you are not doing anything on Christmas Eve, make sure you log on and see when Santa in going to be in your neighborhood.

Happy Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 21:48:00 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! As I sit up here in Wisconsin I got to thinking about how nice it is to get away and spend time with family and friends. I am thankful for being blessed with opportunities like this.

Tell someone close to you this holiday season that you are thankful for them. Also let me know what else you are thankful for?

Have a great rest of the weekend.

Pops

The Bailout?

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:55:00 +0000

On the heels of the $750 Billion lender bailout, there is yet another proposed governmental bailout for the big 3 automakers in the US. It seem that when the Federal Government starts handing large sums of cash to businesses, high powered execs come running from the four corners to lay claim to their portion of the dole.

Someone correct me if I am wrong here, but the way I understand it, the proposed $25 billion for the automakers would be in the form of loans instead of a simple, one time, corporate welfare payment. There are many that claim bailouts equal more bailouts and questions of where it will end are raised. Proponents of the bailout say that it is needed to prevent an economic disaster of global proportions if the automakers go bankrupt.

So am I to understand this right? If we didn't bailout the lenders who made bad loans and bought bad paper, we would have been in much worse shape than we currently are? What if we loan the automakers the money and they can't pay it back? Aren't we in the same situation we were with the mortgage lenders?

Shouldn't a Government loan to the automakers be treated just like any other loan to any other business? The beauty of a capitalistic society is that you realize the rewards and the failures of being in business. If you do it right, you are rewarded. But if you do it wrong, you suffer the consequences. This very principle is why I opposed the lender bailout. Businesses start and fail every day and if you are proactive and stay ahead of the market trends, your business will thrive.

Until about a year ago we had it pretty good in America regarding the cost of fuel. BUT, when gas jumped to $4 a gallon, seemingly overnight, energy dependent Americans felt the slight twinge of panic. Instead of developing, marketing and pushing the largest SUV's like the Excursion and the Hummer, should we have been a little more proactive in decreasing our dependence on foreign oil through the design and development of fuel efficient vehicles? If you haven't seen it yet, check out "Who Killed the Electric Car." Now granted, there is quite a ~~liberal~~ spin in the movie but there are some very interesting points made about choices the automakers made.

What are your thoughts on the bailouts?

A Look Back At Some REALLY Old Ads.

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:04:00 +0000

For some time now I have been doing a series called "The Advertising of Yesterday." Most of the ads I feature come from a stash of magazines I have from the 60's and 70's. Most of the time it is quite interesting how our views, values and attitudes have changed over the last 3 or 4 decades.

The other day a friend emailed me about a post on Purple Slinky that featured some REALLY old ads that take us further back and REALLY demonstrate the evolution our society has undergone.

The author, Paula Mitchell Bentley has put together an excellent collection of ads that would never see the light of day in today's world.

Ahhh yes, the wonderful benefits of beer for infants.

Make sure you don't abuse your kids, light up first. I think that the use of babies to promote cigarettes was discontinued just a couple of years ago.

And to think that we are trying to stop our kids from watching TV. Between Xbox and TV, the parks seem kind of empty nowadays.

This one is my favorite. "How Soon is too soon? Not soon enough." It will help you kids "fit in" and gain acceptance during those pre-teen and teen years. They even go so far as to guarantee lifetime happiness if you start drinking cola.

I wonder when the word "chubby" made the transition to a derogatory term. It's now "plus-sized" thank you very much.

Yes, the all new safety razor. So safe that you can even let your infants play with it. Give this little tyke 2 or 3 more years and he will be ready for the stitching line at the textile factory down the street.

Out of all the ads featured, this is the most disturbing. It says that the revolvers are not toys, the shoot straight and they kill. At the same time they are promoting how safe they are and claiming that accidental discharge is impossible. I just happen to know quite a bit about these Iver Johnson revolvers. There weren't that safe. "Papa says it won't hurt us." Wow. Granted this and many other firearms ads, featured here, here and here, came way before the gun was designated as evil, but you have to admit this ad is reckless and irresponsible. A big Booooo and a thumbs down for this ad.

There are a couple of others included in her post but I think you are getting the picture. The point is that as we look back over time and see how advertising has evolved, we can paint a picture of how society has changed as well. Remember the Playtex "Cross Your Heart" bra commercials? Remember how they never use to show the bra on a woman? Instead they demonstrated it's features, advantages and benefits on a mannequin.

Today's television is a completely different story. All bets are off and so are the clothes. In 30 years, I wonder how we will look back at the ads of today?

Thanks again for stopping by The Big Bald Blog! Have a great weekend everyone.

The Advertising of Yesterday Part XX

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:32:00 +0000

Finding new angles to promote your product or service is essential if you want to keep your marketing fresh.

In 1965, Jeep decided to cross the gender barrier, well, sort of. In order to sell a 4x4 vehicle to a demographic that wasn't the typical SUV buyer in 1965, they decided to appeal to the emotional side of men. After all you want your wife and children to be safe, right?

The hook is the headline and the imagery. However, if you get into the real meat of the ad, you will see all the technical jargon that men feed on. The best part is the real message, "...have more fun this winter..."

Well played Jeep.

Rupert Murdoch - Media Needs To Reinvent Up In Here

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:39:00 +0000

CNET NEWS reports that Mr. Murdoch is accusing the media of digging themselves into a hole.

The media mogul accuses some traditional media leadership of "complacency and condescension." It is his opinion that newspapers are NOT going to become obsolete. Instead it's the "...editors, reporters, and proprietors who are forgetting a newspaper's most precious asset: the bond with its readers..."

With more and more content available online, I am having a hard time agreeing with his assessment but he does make some interesting arguments.

"It used to be that a handful of editors could decide what was news-and what was not. They acted as sort of demigods. If they ran a story, it became news. If they ignored an event, it never happened. Today editors are losing this power. The Internet, for example, provides access to thousands of new sources that cover things an editor might ignore. And if you aren't satisfied with that, you can start up your own blog and cover and comment on the news yourself. Journalists like to think of themselves as watchdogs, but they haven't always responded well when the public calls them to account."

He reinforced this by citing the famous Dan Rather incident when bloggers assassinated the story of Bush's National Guard service in 2004.

Rupert refers to "A recent American study reported that many editors and reporters simply do not trust their readers to make good decisions. Let's be clear about what this means. This is a polite way of saying that these editors and reporters think their readers are too stupid to think for themselves."

All that being said, I still think that even if you removed all the "offending people", we will still see declines in circulation and ad revenue. If Murdoch was sitting here in my office, I would tell him he is underestimating the power of online news and the increasing potential return for online advertising.

"Murdoch said newspapers can still count on circulation gains if papers provide readers with news they can trust." He added they will also need to embrace technology advances like RSS feeds and targeted e-mails. The challenge, according to Murdoch, will be to use a newspaper's brand while allowing readers to personalize the news for themselves-and then deliver it in the ways that they want."

RSS feeds, customized home pages, email? Hello? Is this thing on? This is already happening. This is exactly why ~~8-track tapes~~ the printed form of the newspaper is soon going to be a memory.

I DVR Therefore I Am...Not Seeing Any Commercials?

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:55:00 +0000

Ever since I got a DVR on my Dish Network system, I'll have to admit that I rarely watch live TV anymore. I record all kinds of shows, sometimes ones that I have never seen before just to see if I'll like them. When I am watching the shows recorded on my DVR, 99.9% of the time I will skip all the commercials.

Does this mean that I am not being impacted by the advertising that companies have so strategically placed? According to Informa Media the US leads the rest of the world in numbers of DVR's and by 2013, there will be more Digital Video Recorders in the US than Asia and Western Europe combined. J.D. Power and Associates says that over 44% of TV viewers now have a DVR. Wow, it feels pretty good to be ahead of the rest of the world on something. I knew being a couch potato was going to pay off sooner or later.

But back to the question. Are people that have DVR's missing out on advertising? Boston College reasearch says NO. As it turns out, brand information that is placed in the center of the screen is retained even with a "95% drop in frames" when a viewer "fast forwards" through the commercial break. “Even in fast-forward, consumers can focus in on a product logo or brand and that fraction of a second can later influence their references,” said Boston College marketing professor S. Adam Brasel. “It’s not like the advertising disappears when you use TiVo.”

I know I sometimes stop and go back if I see something ~~really cute~~ cool, manly or intriguing, but that's me. I try to never apply my personal habits in marketing situations or recommendations. I can be that free radical that everyone always talks about.

This brings me to my next thought. When developing a commercial, don't you think that we must now plan on and execute for the new DVR factor? Since the studies show that viewers are "scanning" the ads rather than skipping the ads, this requires us to reformulate brand placement. Bearing this in mind, here is yet another reason the commercials from the Truth group will fall short in a big way. Continuous and rapid brand messaging will be critical to get the essential short message across to the DVR viewer. Maybe even in a manner that would appear to be subliminal advertising during a fast forward. Remember Fight Club?

This is yet another example of how technology is changing the way we advertise. Do you have a DVR? Do you view the commercials when you watch a recorded show? Do you find yourself irritated when you can't fast forward live TV? These are the questions that the world wants to know. What say you?

The Advertising of Yesterday Part XIX

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:02:00 +0000

The elections are over, I lost, and we're back to business as usual. Since it's Friday it's time for a little Friday fun with the Advertising of Yesterday.

This ad from a 1970 issue of Outdoor Life, features the new plastic coated blades by Gillette.

Kudos to Gillette. In the days before double, triple and even quadruple blades there was the choice of a straight razor or safety razors with the disposable blades. These were the days of deep nicks and styptic powder. I am not sure that the plastic coating really made any difference but it was a valiant attempt on Gillette's part to move some blades. Fortunately we are much better off today. With lubricating strips, tilting head and multiple blades, we are able to get much closer shaves without the war wounds to show for it.

I remember playing with the safety razors as a kid, sans blade of course. I used them as matchbox car "picker uppers" in my imaginary auto salvage yard. Matchbox salvage yards aside, the one thing I remember even more was the little slot in the back of the old school medicine cabinets with a sticker under the slot that said "Used Blades"

What magical beast lived behind the medicine cabinet and why was he so keen on collecting used razor blades? Was there some kind of spatial anomaly or tear in the space-time continuum that sent the blades to some other dimension?

It wasn't until about 4 years ago I discovered the truth. I decided to remodel my bathroom at home and I had one of these old school metal medicine cabinets between the studs. I removed the screws holding the medicine cabinet to the wall and carefully peered behind the ancient structure. You know what I found? Not some cleverly crafted vacuum tube system to the unknown, but a pile of rusty razor blades sitting on the horizontal 2 x 4 support. My fantasy of finding the holy grail had been ruined forever.

What's the point of all this random rambling? I'm not sure. What I do know is that shaving for both men and women is a much more enjoyable venture today. Is it possible that it may have all started with the "miracle plastic coating" by Gillette? I think it may have.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Up-to-date Election Coverage

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:50:00 +0000

Here is the real time national election information as it comes out.

And because we are in Iowa, here is the real time Iowa election data.

Today Is The Day

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 14:31:00 +0000

Today is the day where you can let your voice be heard. Take the time and perform your civic duty. This is one of the things that makes this country great. Regardless of who you are voting for just make sure you get out and vote. Either way the vote goes, I pray that it isn't a close race. I hope it's a landslide victory for one side. We can't withstand another "hanging chad" re-count fiasco.

I apologize for the lack of posts, I have just been buried with the campaign. After this week we will resume our regularly scheduled blog programming.

If you voted early, in the comments let me know who you voted for.

Thanks again for stopping by The Big Bald Blog.

Sorry, I Couldn't Help Myself - Obama Supporters

noreply@blogger.com (Big Pappa) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:29:00 +0000

Her name is Peggy Joseph

Just in case you missed it: "It was the most memorable time of my life. It was a touching moment. Because, I, I never thought this day would ever happen. I won't have to worry about putting gas in my car, I won't have to worry about paying my mortgage, you know, if I help him, he's gonna help me."

Normally I try and keep politics out of the mix here on The Big Bald Blog, but Obama and his supporters scare me to death. From the advocates that I've spoke with, this example seems to be the norm rather than the exception. I guess it doesn't matter how you win, it's just that you win.

Here is the original broadcast.

OK, let me have it.