Stan Bush

Twitter - Stan Bush

Introducing "The S.T.A.N. Plan"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 13:04:00 +0000

What Is The S.T.A.N. Plan?

So, here we are. It's a little over a month before I 'officially' retire. I've had a lot of experiences. I've accomplished a lot. I've also lost my fair share. Honestly, my losses were caused by Lack of Focus. My successes were a result of good focus. Like many, I am obsessive compulsive with attention deficit tendencies. It's been a struggle overcoming this. I had to devise methods to help me. The S.T.A.N. Plan is one of them. It's also where everything starts

The S.T.A.N. Plan

Basically, I took my name, Stan to create a process. Before I start a project, I apply the S.T.A.N. Plan to it. That means, it must be:

Simple - easy to understand
Trackable - can I measure it's results.
Achievable - is it something I can actually DO?
Necessary - what are the rewards, or consequences of the project.

That's the start. All answers to the above must be "Yes". If they are, I feel like it has a shot at success. My next step is "The D Planner". I'll explain that in another post. Why? Because I'm following my "Area 51" method. I'll explain that in another post as well.

Contact Stan Bush

On the following networks:

Twitter - TheStan Bush

Social Media Is Like A Toilet

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 02 Apr 2022 15:44:00 +0000

Learn To Use It, But Don't Fall In

I know. That's probably not what you were expecting. You probably thought I would say everything online is in the toilet. Although I might feel like that sometimes, it's not really true. There are some very bright spots on Social Media. And plenty of fantastic people on each platform... BUT.....

There's Also Plenty Of Really Awful Things Too

Twitter especially. There are too many fake, anonymous, and/or cloned accounts. Spend 10 minutes there and you'll see. Pretty much, you're sure to find this standard thread pattern:

FlowerGirl: "I think Hydrangeas are beautiful."
Soil_man: "They are. Did you know there color can be controlled by fertilizer."
FlowerGirl: "I knew that. It has something to do with nitrogen doesn't it?"
Soil_man: "Sorta...but it has to do with the PH Level."
TheBlackPatriot: "Blue Lives Matter. White Hydrangeas hate blue ones. They should be dug up and destroyed."

Out of nowhere, the conversation goes off the rails. And by whom? No way to find out. Twitter sucks very badly. There's really no control over fake accounts. What should you do when this happens? Well, here's what I do... Take a look at the users profile...

Do they have very few followers?

This isn't always a good measure, as some real people don't care about followers.

Do all of their posts have the same combative tone?

Take a look at their stream. Is it full of arguments? Just block 'em.

Do they have a username like "@LordSplatAlot" or some other nonsense?

Most of the time fake accounts have some sort of username that they think is cute. Normally it's just offensive. Just block 'em.

But It's Not Just Twitter

It's literally every social media platform. There is very little real effort in verification. If anything, fake accounts are encouraged. Why? Because the platforms can brag about how many users they have. And they use those numbers to sell more advertising. At a higher price. So for them... fake accounts are like passive income. They don't do anything for it, but the money rolls in.

For Example:

Someone spoofed my mother in law. I reported it to Facebook. And what was their response?

"This doesn't go against our community guidelines."

I bet if it was THEM or THEIR family members it would be against the guidelines.

If there were a way to find out who gave that response, it would be an easy fix. Show up at their house with a baseball bat.

What Can You Do About It?

Other than getting off the platform...nothing. You could start your own network. Or you can look for a specialized network. One that caters to your interests. There are plenty of them out there. Just click this link and pick one of the directories. Social Media Site Directory Search

Or You Can Ignore The Bad Eggs

I can't tell you that will solve the social issue. But I can tell you that you'll be happier. You won't spend time trying to change the mind of Captain Anonymous. And that in itself is a win. Because if you ever engage, you'l regret it. Those people are just there to disrupt. They are Pro everything and Anti everything. They'll take whatever position they need to be argumentative. It's just not worth it.

And even when they are real people, it doesn't work. The anonymity of the internet gives them courage. You'll never convince them that abortion is wrong, gender confusion is a myth and excuse, and black lives have always mattered. If you want to talk about DNA, then yes... I understand your position. But otherwise, science says you're wrong.

And btw, I won't argue this in a thread. I'll be glad to go live and discuss it. But I'm not even going to reply to anonymous Joe, who just wants to agrue.

So... Don't Fall In

Find your circle. Engage with them. And most all... don't confuse Social Media for the real world. In the real world, you can speak directly to the aggressors. Online, they are just anonymous chicken shits trying to trigger you.

And for the record, if there are any comments... most likely they will prove my position.

Peace, Love, and Understanding...

I'll see ya'll down the road.

Contact Stan Bush

On the following networks:

Twitter - Stan Bush

How I Got Hoodwinked By The Internet

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 23:35:00 +0000

It was 1994. Everyone was wondering where their flying cars were. Except me. I had already physically seen Moulton Taylor's Aerocar. They were here. Nobody was buying. I should have taken that as a sign.

I should have taken that as a sign

I had been running online 'bulletin boards' for a few years. Prodigy, Mindspring, Compuserve and Delphi were losing ground to AOL. Probably because of the number of CD's they were sending. Nobody really cared about the online stuff, especially in Middle Georgia.

Out of the blue I got a call from the owner of a radio station. It was literally the lowest rated station in the area. The format was "New Adult Contemporary"(NAC). Sometimes referred to as "Smooth Jazz". This meant a bunch of Kenny G., Toni Braxton, and Dave Koz was being played to an audience that was more attuned to The Allman Brothers and Lynrd Skynyrd, Willie Nelson and George Jones, or Otis Redding and Gladys Knight. He was losing 30K a month. They needed a manager. I told him I'd never been in the radio business. He told me the person that recommended me had told him "He's the only guy I know that can fix this."

That's how I got a job in the Radio Business, was mentioned in Arbitron in less than 6 months, and that's how I wound up working online for the rest of my career.

Just in case you don't know, getting listed in the Arbitron was a big thing. The jackass music director was in the business for 18 years, and had never accomplished that.

That year, the Internet sort of became "a thing".

Nobody else in the area had picked up on it. In fact they all wrote it off as a 'fad'. Since I had some online experience, I knew they were wrong. But the buzz was there. And that's what marketing is all about. Everyone had heard that the "World Wide Web" had a bunch of Websites. But they didn't know what that meant. Since none of the other media outlets were doing anything online, I decided I would use it to pull the station from the brink of bankruptcy.

Value Added

I decided to give away 'websites' as 'value added' addons when someone signed up for our top shelf advertising package. We began to make some traction, although people didn't know what they were buying. But we still weren't profitable. Nobody in Middle Georgia was actually listening to us.

So I decided to tweak the format.

I thought about the phrases "Rock and Roll" and "Country and Western". I decided to drop the "Rhythm" association and use the phrase 'Jazz and Blues" instead. I began mixing Miles Davis and Mingus in with Little Wing and Little Martha. That change resulted in the first profit for the station in over 5 years. The station was sold, and I waited for the offers to come in to run other stations. That never happened.

What happened instead is the new owners switched it right back to NAC and dropped anything to do with the blues.

What happened to the Station?.. Well..they closed in less than a year.

Go figure.

Me. I Spent The Next 30+ Years On The Web

Doing stuff. Lots of it. For other people. People that did some good. People that did some bad. When I look back at it, I don't really have any regrets. Maybe it was a financial disaster, after all I never figured out how to monetize anything much. At least not for me. I was successful in helping others, but not so much myself. I suppose if I'd have had a business manager as a partner we'd have done fine. I tried that once. It didn't end well.

But it did end.

That's it for this post. There's a lot of stuff I could tell you about... but that's for another day.

Peace, Love, and Understanding...

Stan Bush

Contact Stan Bush

On the following networks:

Twitter - Stan Bush