What's Eating Jdavies?

Obama's Impact on Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 12:16:00 +0000

Some thoughts on the Obama strategy - from a campaign to a presidency and how it contributes to marketing and brand management:

On marketing basics ---

A Branding exercise: taking advantage of a simplified message and singular purpose!McCain's mixed messages and multiple 'product features'
vs Obama's singular offer: Change
Placement (Segmentation and the proper distribution channels)
Promotion (Key presence in important segment touch points, managed exposure), Positioning (Change, Owning it first!),
'Price' (Just One Vote! Creating a value proposition that is only available 'right now'.)
Projection and Results-planning for a product mix (Targeted expense and strategy to key states, cities), etc.

As a case study ---

Excellent example of effective online, viral strategies and PR Management
Power play. He now controls a huge database of voters - key power item for years to comeand grassroots reach that can be used to pressure Congress and influence public opinion
13 Million 'influencers' or started seed for a viral campaign
Positioning yourself for success - setting expectations properly,
pwned the Clintons without alienating them
Effective fund-raising --- who says marketing is only an expense center???

On Management ---

Exercise in leadership, seizing the moment, and timely action
(re: clinton and mccain attacks)
Good case for people management and a handling power struggles (re: party politics)

Any books written yet about this? Publishers will capitalize on these for sure!

Obama's team vs Clinton's

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Sun, 25 May 2008 05:17:00 +0000

Any election campaign is a mighty beast of a marketing challenge. From mere branding of the main banner campaign, or simply branding of the candidates, to detailed segmentation, profiling of state demographics and ultimately budgeting media buys and strategies vis-a-vis the projections, the whole campaign is a marketing exercise.

This is what got me very interested in the 2008 democractic primary battles between Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama. It's a battle of wits. A battle of product qualities: on one hand one who is a "fighter" and another, a candidate of "change". These one-word associations that came to define their campaigns are not accidents - they are predetermined modes of character that aim to highlight the product. What's interesting is, as with any battle between competing brands, one will end up a clearer winner in the end.

Somehow, Obama's largely Internet-based and new media campaigns have outpaced Clinton's. Could it be the young demographic that supports him which fueled the quick spread of his videos and speeches? Or is it merely a tactic that was not as exploited by the Clinton campaign?
As it turns out, it's not just strategy but the message, something is new about the campaign, in the way it was managed like a community event, ground-up but on a nationwide scale. Is this success a question of the message (the product as it is 'essentially' placed, that is, "change") or is the success of the Obama campaign really due to the management behind the campaign. It's easy to attribute it to both, but which one has a bigger effect? Is it the money - Obama having more in his war chest? I remember from the book Freakonomics, however, that it isn't decidedly sure that once you have more money - you correlate that to winning an election (that's only half the story).

Nedra Pickler, has an interesting article about the Obama team out-organizing their Clinton counterparts. There it's laid out how the Obama campaign has sustained the campaign (aka managed the funds) while Clinton had to lend her team her own money. The article outlines the people behind the Obama campaign and talks about their key strengths.

We've all come across the claim that a good product will sell itself. Or that one product if good enough will not require a lot of marketing but will largely advertise its own by sheer referral volume or popularity.

Well guess what, I don't buy that. Not all online sensations for instance got big by sheer luck. You think there are no marketing teams behind such viral campaigns? There are companies that capitalize on the initial surges of such phenomena to sustain them and plan how to most efficiently schedule the exposures.

And so I end with Obama's team. Much a great character he is whose message a lot will buy, you got to give it to his staff for making it happen. Certainly, he would have mark his leadership on key points in the campaign, the famous address on the issue of Rev. Jeremiah for instance, wherein he wrote his own speech. But ultimately, without the staff capitalizing on the grassroots movement and the enthusiasm of the supporters, and planning effectively, America would not have known that such a product call "change" was even available.

Why the Philippines is getting Poorer?

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 02:30:00 +0000

About a month ago, I received an email asking "Why the Philippines is getting Poorer?"
The email highlights the perks, the budget & the expenditures released by the Commission on Audit as the key measure of the apparent failures political system in the Philippines.

Here is where my expertise comes in. I don't think the politics in the Philippines is failing. Like managing any brand, you do not kill it and stop selling immediately after it registers a downtrend. You look at statistics that tell you why the situation is getting worse.

The system as it is, the political institution, is not problematic. It is however suffering from structural deficiencies that managers are supposed to have.

From the brand management & marketing perspective - here are the problems I see with the political system in the Philippiens:

No strict financial control measures to determine success rate and return on investment per congressman (We need an indexable measure or rating!)
No accountability because there is no efficient public monitoring system to track
their expenditures --- if any of our congressmen who mismanage funds work in a private company they'll get sacked precisely for that
No parity or cohesiveness between budget allotment and overall target or priority of the country (I don't want to touch on the amount, since surely there are administrative costs considerations) We should all be directionally correct at least in what we want to achieve as a country. As it seems to me, we do not share a common direction yet.

Unity in direction is foremost. And you have to create organizational & social structures & programs that take everyone in the same mindset. We can disagree with everything in politics, but at least we should be targeting the same path which should be a quantifiable target.
In fact collorary to above is whether the Philippines actually has a coherent marketing & business plan --- branding should be top down --- the President's vision should trickle to all priorities of all sectors (swarm or hive concept)
Perks are fine - marketing people receive perks but for perks to work without damaging the financial integrity of the system, BUT they should come from outside of the financial system
That is, infusion moneys, lobbying or special interests are financially acceptable since they do not cripple the internal budget. --- By not coming from within the system they do not put pressure on the budget. ---- Please note that I do not support permissive corruption or lobbying with direct cash contribution - you don't take from main cookie jar - you take cookies outside the jar.
Lobbying through active private sector sponsorship of Government programs instead of direct cash contributions should be encouraged. That way, the savings on programs is realized by not spending on planned programs. In marketing speak, this is Ex-Deal. Barter. Zero expense, or co-branding.
Last point - who watches the watchers? Meritocracy will not happen unless the system is observable thru pre-set and quantifiable performance. Whether these measures are set is beyond me. (Maybe? If they are set, then maybe it's just an image problem. I for one know many of our government managers in career positions have these measures, specially those in GOCCs)

In layman's terms, this means there should be an independent body able to track performance. The Commission on Audit (?) But what punishment do we give for bad performance? We need actual measures that are beyond words.

Numbers don't lie & data will need to be respected - that should be the mantra. Unfortunately, most Filipinos are not familiar with the concept of measurement of performance metrics. It will take a generation to institue familiarity with the discipline of asking for actual accomplishments in numerical terms.

Until the country is prepared to see through the veil of promises and realistically elect officials on the basis of measurable accomplishments and not campaign rhetoric, we will just be dreaming for a vague Philippines, and we won't even know we got there even if we did.
Main Point: We don't need politicians.
What we need are managers.

Hire me! jdavies for the '10 elections!

(Img via PCIJ)

RSS for Marketers

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 02:10:00 +0000

This site is now optimized to display nicely using iPhone's smartRSS newsreader. Here's a direct link to my newsfeed:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/WhatsEatingJdavies

Most websites with voluminous content need an RSS newsfeed to effectively give subscribers a quick snapshot or digest of the latest headlines or topics. RSS is not a new technology, but is recently gaining popularity among geekier users, top companies & organizations. From a marketing standpoint, the use of RSS is more a technological move than a branding strategy. Unless the brand is tech-centric and positioned to tap the online, tech-savvy market, I would presume most marketers will not mark it urgent to implement.

Generally however, marketers who dismiss will cite that the total user base may not reach a significant tipping point where non-use would be detrimental to the brand. Most often than not, this view of late adaptation of certain technology makes the brand a reactionary product - something I support only if the brand from the very beginning is positioned as a profitable number 2 and not gunning for market leadership as a matter of strategy.

It is my view, being reactionary to technology and justifying it because it "doesn't immediately pose a significant gain" doesn't mean some things don't have to be done. Too much reviewing of past data is not always a good thing: We have to be forward-lookers sometimes.

Googling "Marketing"

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 02:21:00 +0000

I googled the keyword "marketing" today and here's what I think are important things to notice:

The Wikipedia entry on top.
Google has 'Viral Marketing' as the second most relevant term.

Two things with certain implications to marketing:

Does your product have a wikipedia entry?
The wikipedia community will take down any biased posting, but if you would like a historical placement on your company, this maybe something to look at, not for marketing but for PR.
Have you implemented any Viral Marketing Program?
While not a requirement, and such a strategy maybe applicable to certain markets only, if google has it on top, shouldn't you be considering it if you have online presence?

On Marketing Accountability

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 13:57:00 +0000

What works and what doesn't? If we choose to do the same thing that works, are we not accountable for lacking innovativeness?

I recently received an email from Warc.com selling me a report on practices & metrics that make marketing profitable, among other details on marketing efficiencies.

While I do not plan to buy the report, I must agree the questions it seeks to clarify are very important to marketing professionals. Some questions are easily answerable by experience, while others remain debatable and largely dependent on implementation monitoring.

Consider the following:

Which business goals make the best campaign objectives?
Is pre-testing worthwhile?
Is it better to focus on loyalty or penetration?
Does a surround-sound media strategy actually work?
Is television becoming less effective?
Which are the most useful marketing metrics?

The email suggests that the report is a practical guide to what works and what doesn't (italics mine). We all have common beliefs that have stuck because of prior learning, but I think some questions do not need extra analysis. Sometimes, with enough budget, or enough time, or enough information, or lack of any of those three things I mentioned, we can make a marketing decision entirely based on risk analysis.

For instance, while I think pre-testing does have its merits in avoiding wastage, it can take time, and whatever effect it has on current projects will have to be considered. In other words, my take on this is case-to-case.

In the end, we are all accountable for our projects. Do we delay projects if only to ensure we are armed by the best move in the market? Or do we push for early launch?

Seems to me that while the study will be a good read on the markets are driven, and will surely have powerful insights based on quantifiable data, how potential situations will tend toward disaster, ultimately have to considered in light of the situation or the choices available in the market more than by statistical precedence. That is, is it playing safe, or pushing forward? How much of a risk do we bet our careers on?

If you are interested, order here.

iPhone Rebates and Credits

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 05:53:00 +0000

Thinksecret.com banners the Apple decision to give its iPhone early adapters a $100 credit after dropping the iPhone price $200 just two months from its release.

I've always thought that the price drop is premature, and could have waited at least a month even if they want to push for Christmas. In an earlier post, I figured Apple would definitely have in mind the possible negative backlash on the opinion. As it turns out, a $100 credit is on the pipeline.

The goodwill is planned to effect Apple stock price, more than basic revenues from physical goods. Apple is technically not giving away any money - even if it appears to be so! The credit is going back to the Itunes store (which effectively means Apple still gets your money back in revenues while increasing sales in other products)

From the accounting books point of view, they will merely transfer actual $$$ from iPhone revenue to Itunes store revenue when you buy using the credit, no revenue loss, save perhaps for a percentage computed for unrealized iTunes sales. Which of course can be a negligible cost-of-sales.

If the customer doesn't want to use the non-cash convertible credit to purchase Apple, it can always be sold on ebay for say, 80% the face value. Apple still gets the money back when redeemed! Instant hype over what seems to be a freebie.

Now that my friends is brilliant!

On Planned Price Drops

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 04:49:00 +0000

Apple drops the price of it's iPhone 8GB from $599 to $399, a few hours after announcing the launched of the new iPod Touch.

The usual breaking news from Apple just makes one think about marketing principles. Is it too early for a drop? What were they thinking?

My two cents on planned price drops:

1. Consider base's negative opinion on a price drop.
Is it negligible and will have no adverse revenue impact?
Apple had this factored in for sure.

The brand is too strong to get a backlash.
I would hope they don't overdo the price-slashing -
it might erode the premium positioning.

2. Is the goal primarily to speed up market share
and stay ahead of competition? Seems to me
the rationale of Apple at this point.

3. Is it being done to maximize average revenue along product lines?
That is, is the new volume from the new $399 8GB being used to compensate for low sales in the 4GB model?

4. Is it to early for a price drop?
I would have waited until October for the Holiday Season.

5. No rebates for the one who bought the iPhone just 2 weeks back.

6. Is the price drop and marketing share being used to cement positioning of the brand?

I think there should be a law to protect consumers about that. But regardless, the volumes should make it happen. An interesting point is whether Apple is spreading itself too thinly by launching multiple devices? My bet - it doesn't matter at the moment because they have prime mover advantage and they are the clear market leader.

What? No iPhone Stock?

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 04:30:00 +0000

Mike Schramm noticed that an AT&T store he visited does not prominently display the iPhone.

He proceeds to explain that the iPhone sells seven times more in Apple stores than in AT&T stores.

I think it's a hasty argument pinning the reason why Apple sells more than AT&T just because the iPhone is not displayed in the one store that he visited. One store or two, doesn't hold significance in marketing, imho; I'm talking percentages here, buddy.

Interestingly, there is a point about product presence in the point of sales, and that is pretty basic. No product, nothing to push, no sale. We never know, it could just be a supply problem - or a deliberate push toward selling other phones with other plans for that store. Numbers might be needed elsewhere in the chain of products.

I think it needs to be determined whether AT&T has an active policy or script that determines the next device to push in the event of no stock scenarios. How many potential iPhone customers can be converted to buy other products? Is the iPhone the first offer to the customer, or is it more efficient to let Apple handle all the advertising, and sell it as gravy?

Product Substitution & Unexpected Usage

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 11:18:00 +0000

The Dailymail reports of 'four tiny orphaned hedgehogs are snuggling up to the bristles of a cleaning brush - because they think it's their mother'.

It's easy to imagine such animals have poor eyesight, or that they mistakenly think it's their mother due to the texture.

Relating this to customers however, and in my branding experience, I wonder how this process, which seems to me wreaking of product substitution could be exploited marketing-wise.

How much of any product is potentially a substitute for other products? While we could never easily predict whether the products we create will be used for exactly the same purposes we intended for it, it's an interesting insight to know that a process of substitution has happened before in marketing history: Listerine, for instance is not initially a mouthwash but a surgical antiseptic.

As wikipedia furthers:

It wasn't a runaway success until the 1920s, when it was pitched as a solution for "chronic halitosis", the faux medical term that the Listerine advertising group created in 1921 to describe bad breath. By naming and thus creating a medical condition for which consumers now felt they needed a cure, Listerine created a market for their mouthwash. Until that time, bad breath was not conventionally considered a catastrophe, but Listerine's ad campaign changed that. As the advertising scholar James B. Twitchell writes, "Listerine did not make mouthwash as much as it made halitosis."

As a marketer, having been busy ensuring current campaigns remain successful, I must admit I fail to seize this opportunity a lot of times: Do we have systems in place testing our current market for unexpected usage habits or metrics? While most companies will admit having an automated monitoring or reporting system in place for current project is a good thing (something most of us have), sometimes a simple pivot chart on raw data may reveal something new - precisely a gem that we just might miss.

Creating New Products vs Replication of Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 11:01:00 +0000

I've come across a link on digg selling "Zombie" action figures.

The site features monstrous renditions of the Hulk, Thor, Wolverine, and Magneto, among other popular characters.

It prompted me to ask whether us, marketing professionals should focus on creating new products (innovative) or more on replication of previous ideas that are already successful and just needs a few tweaks (distinctive).

The choice of either being early in the game, or being distinct from current offers will certainly have pros & cons. While the overall strategy may differ from company to company, due to various circumstances, I wonder if one beats the other, or one product creation paradigm is subscribed to more by marketers.

In my mind I have the ipod (not the first portable, digital music player), Microsoft's Surface, Snapple, Evian (first in category, correct me if I'm wrong) etc, as examples. Which one? Hmm...

Mind Mapping Meetings

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 23:22:00 +0000

Can't keep up with the many topics covered in a meeting? Fed up with reading long minutes? Well, focus only on the action plans and the ideas that matter - Try mind mapping.

Mind Mapping is a method of tracking concept (or tasks) as they are being created in a logical, flowing manner. In other words, it's a simple way of capturing concepts in 'logic bubbles' and freely assigning which concept is related to another.

One way I try to do is to visualize the meeting agenda as if it is clusters of circles. Each main idea or concept expands to many more circles linked relationally to it. Further detail leads to more circles while unrelated concepts or out-of-the-agenda topics get a separate circle each.

The main circles are called 'parent' and each small circle is a 'child' - naturally ideas can be merged or married to each other - very helpful in exploring combination of ideas. Once the idea of parent & progeny is clear, you can get fancy with your mind maps by drawing trees & branches growing out from the "root". Experiment with various shapes to indicate relationships, etc. How fancy it is depends on your imagination.

I use this method to ensure our meetings keep within the agenda. Similarly, this ensures that any out-of-the-box ideas stand on their own and will not muddle the main topics at hand. If they are worth exploring, then I can zoom in on them instead.

Good for brainstorming sessions and creative action plans. Here's a list of mind mapping tools that I recommend:

Bubbl.us - online mind mapping web 2.0 application using bubbles. Easy to use, just use [tab] & [enter] keys. One limitation though: it does not allow merging or marrying of ideas. Good for quick maps on the fly!
OmniGraffle - Mac only. Diagramming & charting software. Shareware.
FreeMind - a free open-source program available for Linux, Windows & Mac. Highly recommended.
ConceptDraw MindMap - an expensive but powerful software for integration with MS Office. Available for Windows & Mac (8-28).
Keynote, Powerpoint, or Word - A bit clumsy, but works. Use text boxes & shapes+text, arrows and lines and just cut, paste & edit.

In the absence of software, drawing on a pad is an old school but still effective method of mind mapping. I recommend free-flowing discussions and free-flowing maps to ensure that even out-of-the-box or out-of-agenda topics are not left out but explored throughly if necessary.

Fanboyism as a Marketing Model

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 00:01:00 +0000

We've all heard of the the fanatical devotion of Star Wars fans to the original trilogy and the Jedi way of life. The same goes for obssesion of the Elvish-Speaking Tolkien fans and cosplaying fans of anime in toy conventions.

Fanboyism is best defined by Wikipedia as an obsession typified by absolute loyalty to a single fannish object. Blindness to competing or dissenting opinion is often a symptom if I may add.

Somehow, to us non-cosplaying folks, who are a mere one sci-fi film removed from these consumerist cousins of ours will most likely be the first to say, "Ok, that I can't do", or in some cases, whisper silently, "Yay, weird".

From the branding point of view however, nothing can be more flattering than seeing a 30-year old man wearing your brand t-shirt or a business partner using your corporate giveaway card holder. There isn't much difference there - they wear our brands. So how come some people dismiss fanboyism as a negative thing?

What's intriguing is that fanboyism is a great tool of big brands like Apple, the Hollywood franchises, and the video game industry that it's hard to ignore fanboyism as a merely a modern sociological complex brought about by the triumph of the brand. In fact, I think no brand can be more successful than having to it's credit, a cult following. A community is built on it and it creates the momentum for endless stories being told to people, or in the most common extreme case of all: living the brand. It's free advertising, free retention programs.

If we create products that are so in-tune with the needs of our customers, we create loyalty. It's 101. Yet somehow, as experienced marketers, do we not, in our struggle to launch products on time, typically create inferior products and merely upgrade later, knowing full well that the built-in defects do not hold a significant problem to revenue? After all we can upgrade customers, right?

Supposedly, and mathematically it seems, it's more profitable to create multiple versions and add value in time. That is, beyond just planned obsolescence, we unconsciously create planned defaults, undercutting value to the just-enough. Loyalty is a must for repeat revenue and fanboyism to me, should be the ultimate realization of any Loyalty campaign.

It's in this sense that I am making Fanboyism as a marketing model by using it as a measures of customer loyalty. I think this stems from the fact that personally believe that, "Loyalty" of customers is overrated. It is too arbitraty and needs to be defined. You see, we seem to define loyalty in terms of subscription period, or total purchases, or satisfaction alone; I think this is lacking teeth.

We have to define what is loyal and understand what is the exact level of "stickiness" or elasticity of our relationship with the customer.

I have seven levels of customers affected by three variables:

3 Variables Characterizing a "Loyal" Customer

Dependency - How much the customer needs the product
Satisfaction - How happy they are about the product performance
Compulsion - How likely are they to talk about it
(both negative or positive opinion)

7 Levels of Loyalty/Degrees of Fanboyism

Hostage - Has absolute dependency on a product. Not satisfied, not compelled to talk about the product, and without any real choice or substitute hence continues to buy without fanfare, and without enthusiasm.
Adherent - Dependent & satisfied but not compelled to talk about the product. Ask him and he will talk positively but will not do so unless prompted.
Advocate - Never reluctant to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the product. May not be fully satisfied, in fact, advocates have temporary relationships because they are the hard-to-please, informed customer.
Patron - What is regarded as 'loyal' is actually static. Repeats orders & has predictable purchase habits. Dependent & Satisfied but does not actively talk about the product, and will not have much to say. In other words, he is a happy camper who keeps to himself and merely buys.
Defender - a customer who actively talks about the product positively because of high satisfaction. Not completely dependent on the product but sticks to the brand because of high satisfaction.
(+-) Evangelist - a boon or bane. Will talk about the product regardless of dependency or satisfaction. Past customers, Paid product reviewers, would be in this list.
Devotee or Fanboy - represents the culmination of three factors of maximum intensity. Blind to product flaws, absolutely loyal and evangelizing. Essentially, an adherent, a defender, and an advocate rolled in one.

The most profitable of all the types will undoubtedly be the Devotees or Fanboys because not only do they tell about the product, they purchase repeated and predictably as well.

Revisiting the Future of Ads

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 00:01:00 +0000

While shuffling through the mess of my old pile of links & bookmarks, I happen to see one glaring link that I used to visit for years but have not been visiting for the longest time.

The site: adverlab

Interestingly, I remember having referred the site to my blogkada, Toni, who works in the advertising industry and it's such a shame I haven't visited it. The site features the latest trends in advertising technology and features commentary on the possibilities of using the future technologies for today's marketing needs.

Much of what's in the site are not available in the Philippine market, or may not as of yet be applicable (re: Second Life, since the market is not yet significant, Although gaming is an increasingly significant market here). However, it's worth a look for building ideas for own branding efforts.

In-Game Advertising

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 13:27:00 +0000

I've recently posted about receiving advanced invitation to test a local version of the game Warrock.

The game is in full play now and was launched about a month ago, much to the fanfare of the first-person shooting game fans. I knew back then that despite some balance issues in the beta version, the game will be a hit sooner or later in the Philippines.

What's interesting to me is looking at this picture from the launch of the game:

If you have that much people playing a single game and centered in one spot, while it is an opportunity itself to sponsor the event traditionally, that is, booth setups (I've heard Intel & BayanDSL sponsored the event) you must know that there is a bigger opportunity in-game.

Consider, for instance applying the scenario of Second Life by getting real-life products within the game world. I'm talking about labeled guns (Blast), free branded uniform mods for users (Oakley, Nike, Levi's), In-game Billboards in real-life maps (think of a post-apocalyptic EDSA)
among other things. What brand managers should realize and in this case ABSi, is that there is an opportunity to gain revenue not just from the traditional channel of subscription but thru advertising as well. The opportunity is not just in-game per se, there's the opportunity to advertise prior to logging in with Warrock's weapon store.

Do I sense some enterprising modder ready to setup an in-game branding company? Talk to me. With a targeted base as this, captured and all in-game, let's see which local gaming company implements this first.

Advertise

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 12:25:00 +0000

I'm opening this blog to advertisers.

Opportunities:

Relevant embedded keyword links and text links at the end of the post. Contact Directly.
A vertical web banner on the right-hand panel, 30KB, negotiable size. Contact Directly.
Paid reviews or advertorials ReviewMe or Contact Directly.
Free Reviews: I will review books, videos, similar business improvement products. Contact me for my mailing address. Just send me a sample and I will post a link. I am subjective on my reviews but will not write negative opinions. At the very worst, you get a link.
I am open to other ideas and business opportunities.

Digging for Brands

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 09:33:00 +0000

What is "digg" and what can companies get by being on the front page?

Here's a quick primer for the confused. In short, it is a digest of the best links in the Internet according to tastes of users of the site. Users rummage through a pile of links and "dig" up links that work for them - essentially a democratic vote. More votes, more diggs, and the site is unearthed. Your site gets digged, you're popular.

For one to get to the main page, one's website has to be uniquely interesting to millions of people at the right time, and believe me it's that hard to get to the top. So much so that it's a gem for SEO people if they can get a relevant link on digg and people talk about it.

What does it mean for your business online to be linked to and accessed by thousands of people at one time? Here's my quicklist:

Sudden jump in your site's popularity, possible cross-linking
Bloggers may talk about you & email their friends
This may translate to some returns if you have content
Free unsolicited comments for your brand manager
1000 new sign ups for that hour
Website crash if your hosting company can't take the bandwidth

In short, your 15 minutes of fame. What one does with that is something I believe is similar to having no "sustaining campaigns". Without a sustaining campaign, you're just the flavor of the month and you don't capitalize on the big opportunity. In other words, 'what next' should be part of the strategy.

Getting dugg is just the same as having hundreds of people on your booth. Everyone likes to touch and see, but hey, how to convert that to money?

Permission Marketing & Google

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 09:16:00 +0000

This is a link to an old video, more than a year ago of Seth Godin talking to Google employees about permission marketing.

For the uninitiated, permission marketing is a term in e-marketing wherein marketers have to ask confirmation from the prospective customer before they send advertisements.

Solicited Email, mailing lists, and software updates allowed from EULA (End User License Agreement) & registration, are some real life examples.

The idea is not new; for years we know of fishbowls in trade show booths where we drop the business cards. However, applying the same to e-marketing allows unobtrusive and more targeted ads.

The video is a long download, but worth watching. Seth's speech is not an organized workshop, it's a speech wherein he just tries to make a point and tell a story. In a way, that's the bottom line. He wants the brands to tell a a story. A lot of jargon, but if listen along it's worth the watch.

Download

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 13:08:00 +0000

Here's a list of useful files that I have used
and you can download for free:

Powerpoint Templates
Keynote Templates
Royalty-Free Transparent Icons for Presentations
Table Backgrounds
Presentations
Business Forms (PDF)
Other Documents

These files are free to use, provided you link back or thank me.

Warrock

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 03:22:00 +0000

I'm currently playing an alpha release of Warrock an online first-person shooter/strategy game that looks quite a cross between Counterstrike and Battlefield 1942.

The game is a faster-paced version of both and free to play, well at least so far. The game is a partnership release by ABS Interactive & Bayan (formerly Bayantel) the same group it seems that release Tantra. This games shows promise and from what I've read was a huge hit in Korea (?). My only gripe at the moment, aside from the game hanging on certain points (about 1 in 20 chance perhaps) is the prevalence of cheaters in the game. Undoubtably, this being in alpha release, game exploits and cheats cannot be helped. That's the case with just about every game.

What's good and comnforting to know is that people from ... well my sources tell me, (so they say) that this is being address of surely why won't they... it's for them and the community's own benefit. If you cheat in-game ur gonna get dropped automatically! Ha! Now that's swift justice... and its just fair. Cmon, how could you enjoy a game based on killing other guys, if they don't die in the first place LOL...

*crossing my finger but I think, seriously think, Warrock's going to be a huge hit here in the Philippines!

Fox News - Faux News

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 00:34:00 +0000

http://noquarter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/03/fox_news_crazy_.html

Manu Ginobili is on Fire

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 02:56:00 +0000

As of this writing, Manu Ginobili has made 5 three-point shots in the third quarter alone.
How fantastic is that?

Game's live now. Spurs vs Magic, San Antonio home boys are up 67-59,
with 10:51 remaining.

--- ok now, Manu just drove past Darko and scored a lay-up and one. Free-throws in.
--- Just got his 6th 3 Point shot, and then ran for a fast-open court fastbreak play, with yet
another 3 point play driving thru traffic.

Helen Thomas: What Planet Is Cheney Living On?

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 02:47:00 +0000

Excert from a Helen Thomas article:

Sometimes you wonder what planet Vice President Dick Cheney is living on.
Last month, speaking of the war in Iraq, Cheney told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in a prickly interview:

"(The) bottom line is that we've had enormous successes, and we will continue to have enormous successes. It is hard. It is difficult."

Anyone keeping up with the daily news from Baghdad knows that few people in the last few months -- especially those in the military -- are bragging about big successes to quell the violence in Iraq.

Even within the White House, Cheney seems like a man lost in his own little world.

- Or interestingly, possibly one who is in control. (jdavies)

via Boston Channel

Gen. Wesley Clark, Iran and Other Secrets

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 01:42:00 +0000

Interesting revelations in this interview. A must read.
If you want to see the underpinnings of US Policy and politics, read this.
Interview excerpt <- this link. Via Democracy now:

AMY GOODMAN: Do you see a replay in what happened in the lead-up to the war with Iraq -- the allegations of the weapons of mass destruction, the media leaping onto the bandwagon?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK: Well, in a way. But, you know, history doesn’t repeat itself exactly twice. What I did warn about when I testified in front of Congress in 2002, I said if you want to worry about a state, it shouldn’t be Iraq, it should be Iran. But this government, our administration, wanted to worry about Iraq, not Iran.

I knew why, because I had been through the Pentagon right after 9/11. About ten days after 9/11, I went through the Pentagon and I saw Secretary Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz. I went downstairs just to say hello to some of the people on the Joint Staff who used to work for me, and one of the generals called me in. He said, “Sir, you’ve got to come in and talk to me a second.” I said, “Well, you’re too busy.” He said, “No, no.” He says, “We’ve made the decision we’re going to war with Iraq.” This was on or about the 20th of September. I said, “We’re going to war with Iraq? Why?” He said, “I don’t know.” He said, “I guess they don’t know what else to do.” So I said, “Well, did they find some information connecting Saddam to al-Qaeda?” He said, “No, no.” He says, “There’s nothing new that way. They just made the decision to go to war with Iraq.” He said, “I guess it’s like we don’t know what to do about terrorists, but we’ve got a good military and we can take down governments.” And he said, “I guess if the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem has to look like a nail.”

So I came back to see him a few weeks later, and by that time we were bombing in Afghanistan. I said, “Are we still going to war with Iraq?” And he said, “Oh, it’s worse than that.” He reached over on his desk. He picked up a piece of paper. And he said, “I just got this down from upstairs” -- meaning the Secretary of Defense’s office -- “today.” And he said, “This is a memo that describes how we’re going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran.” I said, “Is it classified?” He said, “Yes, sir.” I said, “Well, don’t show it to me.” And I saw him a year or so ago, and I said, “You remember that?” He said, “Sir, I didn’t show you that memo! I didn’t show it to you!”

AMY GOODMAN: I’m sorry. What did you say his name was?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK: I’m not going to give you his name.

--- oh yes, digg that.

Beryl in Ubuntu and Apple

noreply@blogger.com (Jdavies) — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 14:34:00 +0000

I've come across a video of Beryl animation on youtube, wherein task-switching
is done by a 3D cube that turns. This feature is similar to how Sun Microsystem's Looking Glass allows 3D manipulation of various windows.

Here's the video:

Interestingly, this 3D feature is also available in Mac OS X, at least not by task-switching but when switching users. With the upcoming release of Leopard (which I will definitely upgrade to), one can expect the "Spaces" feature to operate similarly. Last I've heard from ThinkSecret is that Apple will allow up to 16 desktop spaces --- cool. Although what I'd like myself is to see these spaces in 3D, with an option to turn it on or off, depending on the machine's hardware capabilities.

I guess I'll just have to see...