Want To Sell Your Products Now? Here are 10 Incredible Ways

We all would love to have our customers buy right away, but there are so many options that people aren't always going to buy on the first visit or two or ten. However there are ways you can increase teh likelihood that they will buy.

Here are 10 ways you can try:

1. Make an emotional connection. Make your reader visualize they have already bought your product in your ad. Bring them into the action by telling them what results they have gotten and how it makes them feel. They'll already become emotionally attached before they buy.

2. Turn your ad into an article. It could be a story, or how-to article. This will lead them into your ad
without them knowing it's an ad. They'll already be interested when they get to your sales pitch.

3. Make sure you show your reader that they are getting a bargain. Tell them the usual price you sell
your product for is $99. Then tell them if they order today they can buy it for $69.95. However you better give them a deadline and keep to that deadline (say withing so many hours/days/weeks etc.) or else they will ignore any "deals" from you in the future and you lose credibility.

4. Focus on who your customers are. Direct your ad headline to your target audience. Your readers will feel important and belong to a select group of people who buy your product. For example; "Attention! Accountants, Discover A New Way To Increase Your Client Base!"

5. Brag upon your shipping department. Tell your reader how fast they can receive your product or service in your ad. Their buying decision may be based on how fast they can receive your product. They may need it by a certain deadline.

6. Summarize by using bullets to highlight your product or services benefits. Benefits are the key to selling anything, make them standout in your ad. You can use dots, dashes, or circles to highlight them.

7. Give a money back guarantee that surpasses a normal one. Instead of the normal timed guarantee,
give them extra back. Tell them they can keep the free bonus or give them double their money back.

8. Give them a gift! Tell your reader they'll receive surprise bonuses. This'll raise your reader's curiosity and make them want to buy so they can find out what the surprise bonuses are.

9. Let your reader know this specific package will not be offered again. You must create urgency so
people buy now. You may always sell the same product but not with the same bonuses or price. Again stick to the deadlines or you lose all credibility with the customer base.

10. Show how you are part of the solution, not part of the problem. Give them a couple tips in your ad that will help them with their problem. This will give your business credibility and gain your readers trust to buy your products or services.


These are just a few ways to help increase your sales. Mix and match, as you improve on these to fit your specific situation. Check back again next week for more tips and techniques.

Mahalo

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For more resources to help you with your Online Marketing check out

http://www.renspubhouse.com/business.html

********************************************************************

10 Ways To Increase Sales By Promoting Yourself

People will feel more comfortable purchasing your products if you give them a little information about
yourself or business. The information could be your profile, employee profiles, overall business history, education credentials, awards you've won, etc.

Below are 10 ways you can use to promote yourself.

1. Hold a free chat room class on a subject related to your business. You could install a chat room on
your web site or use a free one from another web site. Before the class starts tell them a little about yourself.

2. Publish a free e-zine. Use some of the extra space in your e-zine to write about yourself or business. This could be called "A Note From the Editor".

3. Publish a section on your web site called "About Us". With your information you could also include
pictures. This shows people your not hiding behind your business.

4. Write an article on your area of expertise. Include a resource box at the end of the article. You can add information about yourself in the resource box. E-mail the article to web sites or e-zines that accept article submissions.

5. Create and giveaway a free ebook. In the ebook include a section called "About The Author". Also,
include an advertisement for your business.

6. Participate in online communities like newsgroups, discussion boards, e-mail discussion lists and chat rooms. You will meet many people and in return they will get to know you.

7. Donate your time, products, or services to charities. You can list the charities you've contributed to on your web site. This will show visitors that you and your business care about others.

8. Promote yourself offline; teach a free class offline, speak at business seminars, join a business club or association. Assemble fundraisers for charity. These are just few ideas to promote yourself offline.

9. Offer free consulting to your visitors. You could do it via e-mail or phone. They will get to know you and feel more comfortable buying your products.

10. Publish information about yourself and business history in your ad copy. While people are reading it they begin to trust you and your business. Don't over do it though, you want to keep them interested in your product.



Mahalo.

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For more resources to help you with your Online Marketing check out

http://www.renspubhouse.com/business.html

********************************************************************

Do You Need To Attract People To Your Web Site ? 10 Fun and Cool Ways

Traffic is the key to sales in the online world. No traffic, no sales. No sales, no money. No money, no reason to be in business. So if you need fun ideas to draw traffic here are a few ideas you can try:

1. Offer people a free subscription to your newsletter or e-zine. Almost everyone is publishing a e-zine nowadays so it's important to give something extra with the free subscription. You could offer a free report , ebook, gift or advertising links when people subscribe.

2. Provide your visitors with free content like articles . Your content will be more attractive to your visitors if it's up-to-date or original. You could also offer people the option to reprint the content in their e-zine or web site.

3. Create a free online directory. The directory could be full of interesting ebooks, e-zines, web
sites etc. If people find your directory to be a valuable resource they will visit it over and over.

4. Give your visitors a free ebook. You could also include your own ad in the ebook and allow
other people to give it away. If you don't want to take the time to write one, you could ask other
writers permission to use their articles.

5. Hold free online classes or seminars. They could be held in your web site's chat room. The
idea of "live" information will definitely entice people to visit your web site. You will become
known as an expert on the topic.

6.Hold a free contest or sweepstakes. Offer prizes that are of interest or value to your visitors, like reports, ebooks or software. Most people who enter will continually revisit your web site to get the results.

7. Offer visitors an area where they can download free software. It could be freeware, shareware, demos etc. You could even turn part of your site into a free software directory. If you created the software, include your ad inside and let other people give it away. Open Source Software is good for this.

8. Offer free online services or utilities from your web site. They could be search engine submitting,
copy writing proofreading etc. The service or utility should be helpful to your target audience.

9. Offer a limited time free consulting to people who visit your web site. You could offer your knowledge via e-mail or by telephone. People will consider this a huge value because consulting fees can be very expensive. You could always offer products that are related to your service.

10. Create a free membership area to your online club on your site. People want to belong to something, why not your online club. You could also give away a free e-zine, discount products, advice for club members only.

Once people get used to coming to your site for your services, products etc., they will make it a habit. Keep it fresh, keep it interesting and keep it going.

Mahalo.

Going, Going, Gone to My Site! Using Online Auctions To Generate Web Traffic

There is a very sneaky, yet totally legal and ethical way to increase traffic to your web site. Using an online auction site to sell your products. As you may know, there are numerous online auction sites all the internet. Just go to your favorite search engine and type in "Online Auction" and you would be surprised at the results. People love these sites because they feel that they can usually find great bargains. For others it is just the thrill of the hunt and chase. The good news is if you have an online business, you can use them to increase traffic to your web site.

One way is that you could create an electronic book or report that relates to your online business, then auction it off at an online auction. This way you could increase traffic to your web site by placing an ad for your web site in the electronic publication. Some online auctions will even allow you to link directly to your web site if you enroll in their extended plans, usually for a monthly or annual fee. Once you get rolling, this can be an option you should explore. After you see what kind of traffic the site sends your way.

Electronic publications don't cost you anything to ship, as they are virtual assets. You send them via e-mail or allow people to download them directly from your web site. If you send it via email, make sure you have your web site address in your signature and direct them there if they need to contact you. Also if you have a newsletter, this is a good time to mention it in the email. If you have them download the item, make sure you have a way for them to sign up for your newsletter/announcement sheet on the download page. One way some people set up their auctions is to offer their products for a lower price. When they visit the web site you could offer them a higher priced product or a related back end product.

Did you know you could also get traffic from people who don't bid or don't get the winning bid? You could offer them what is known as a "Second Chance Offer" and then direct them to your web site after they have agree to purchase the item. You could also direct potential bidders to your site and allow them to download and read a free sample of the ebook or report before they bid. If they want more detailed information about the ebook or report, and they didn't bid/won, you could also direct them to your web site for a purchase.

You don't have a digital product? Well don't worry as you can also get traffic to your web site by auctioning a physical product, such as whatever widget your company sells. Print out your web site advertisement on a flyer or brochure then insert it into each product package you ship. You should also place your web address on the packing slip/receipt. Make sure you draw attention to it by asking for comments, or to contact you if they have any questions or complaints. Of course direct them to your site's "Contact Us" page for contact info.

It is very important that before you start auctioning any product on an online auction site, you should read the terms and conditions of the site usage. There are some auction sites that may not allow the auctioning of electronic products or directly linking to your web site where you have other products for sale. It does you no good to generate bad publicity by being banned from a popular auction site just because you didn't understand the rules.

All in all this is a great way to augment your other marketing methods. After all they have just bought from you in a trusted environment, so why wouldn't they trust you in the future? It may be a sneaky way to get people to visit your site, but if you take care of your customers, they won't mind at all.

So find something and list today!

Mahalo.

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For more resources to help you with your Online Marketing check out

http://www.renspubhouse.com/business.html

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Ethical SEO is The Only Way To Go!

It is amazing that even in this day and age there are still some search engine optimization companies and software developers use unethical tricks and techniques to artificially boost the search engine rankings of a web site. This dilutes the quality of search results and the accuracy of search results becomes questionable. Once this happens then searchers stop trusting the Search Engines, get frustrated and everyone loses.

The searchers lose as they don't get good, honest results. The web sites lose as they don't get visitors to their sites and their sales and profits plunge. The Search Engines lose as people stop trusting them and then go off to try something else. Why do you suppose there are so many search engines that have disappeared over the years? People stopped trusting the results, plain and simple. Why does Google keep it's top position regardless of the competition? Because people trust their results and they work hard to keep that trust.

For this reason, the search engines are continuously trying to trace out the spam techniques which webmasters might be using and penalize or ban them. They continue to reconstruct their algorithms to prevent spammers from flooding the results page with irrelevant or low quality content.
If you use a web site promotion tool that uses these unethical tricks and techniques, you'll put your web business at severe risk. Unethical tricks (“Black Hat Techniques”), might work for some time but they are not a good idea if you want lasting results.
For best and consistent results, use only ethical search engine optimization methods (“White Hat Techniques”), that use only techniques that produce lasting results and that don't offend search engines.

Search engines consider the following search engine optimization techniques as SPAM (DO NOT use or promote these methods):

automatically generated doorway pages
cloaking and false redirects
keyword stuffing
hidden text or hidden links
pages loaded with irrelevant words
duplicated content on multiple pages
misspelling of well-known web sites
unrelated and centralized link farms
other methods that try to trick search engines

You might get short term results with these techniques but it's very likely that your site will be banned from search engines if you use one of these techniques. You'll put your web business at severe risk if you use one of these methods.
Ethical webmasters use only ethical search engine optimization techniques that produce lasting results:

optimization of existing web pages, HTML code and web page contents
organic link building with related web sites
building a win-win-win relationship between webmasters, web surfers and search engines

Search engines want to find the web sites that offer the most value to web surfers. Our tools help you to build such a web site.

Ethical search engine optimization is about everyone winning.

Ethical search engine optimization leads to a symbiotic relationship:

Search engines: They win as they are provided with pages that are easy to understand and that contain the quality information that their visitors search for.

Searchers: They win as they are getting what they ask for from the search engines. They search for "green widgets" and get a page about green widgets.

Web site owners: They win as they are getting quality visitors who are interested in what their web site has to offer.

Follow the White Hat techniques, there are no shortcuts to lasting success.

Remember (to paraphrase anti drug messages): “Black Hat Users are Losers”.

Mahalo.


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For more resources to help you with your Online Marketing check out

http://www.renspubhouse.com/marketing.html

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The Smoking Gun (er..Needle)

So Brian MacNemee has bloody gauze, needles, syringes and vials that he claimed he used to shoot up Roger Clemens with HGH back in 2000-01. WOW! What a revelation!It is amazing that after all this time he has come forward with this evidence after he has been sued by the Clemens camp. Coincidence or a desperate act from a cowardly failed blackmailer?

Why didn't he come forward to Clemens with this stuff before all the shouting, claims, counter-claims etc. started? Why wasn't any of this offered to the Mitchell group as proof of his statements? Why didn't he say something before Congress got involved? These are good questions that he needs to answer, but I think the number one question he needs to answer is:

Why did you keep all of this stuff back before steroids/HGH was in the public eye and was basically a non-issue? Let's face it unless he was clairvoyant or psychic he couldn't possibly see that he would need it for a court case. There was no one hounding anyone about steroids back then. There was no Mitchell investigation, no testing, no one paying much attention. So why keep a bunch of stuff like this unless maybe the issue was possible blackmail? That is the only reason.

Brian says he kept it because he was worried that Clemens would deny use in the future, but why would he need to worry about that back then? Also did he keep the same material from the other players he injected?

This case gets fishier and fishier all the time. I mean it is as if there is a bunch of stuff coming up to prove that baseball wasn't only after Barry Bonds. It gives the racists something to crow about, and of course all the people who claimed racism when Bonds was being disposed, are now rushing to the same judgment as those who convicted Bonds. The exception is that Bonds is tied to a steroid lab through his trainer that refuses to talk (plus the testimony from Gary Sheffield and a Former Mistress) whereas Clemens only accuser is someone who was basically told “Give us Clemens or go to jail”. He admitted as much from the infamous phone conversation, yet the haters tend to ignore this and go on with their blind bigotry.

Oh by the way where is Bud Selig in all this mess? He can't be happy with what is happening. Here it is a few weeks before the start of Spring training, the good old “Rites of Spring”, when he should be gearing up the old Marketing Machine for the opening of the season.

“Opening Day” used to be the most magical words of the year when growing up, now because of all the scandals and over exposure of the players private lives and gossip sheets like ESPN and espn.com the sports world have sunk to soap opera levels.

Bud and his marketing group need to get on their high horses and grab the headlines with some positive images soon lest the season be known more for this episode than anything else.

Let's face it the “Mitchell Report” has been one of the greatest Marketing blunders since “New Coke”. It was supposed to be a fair and balanced report, yet it only focused on two informants so the report actually is skewed to people these two knew. It was supposed to prove MLB cared, but all it showed that they are so out of touch with their players and fans, as well as have no control over the sport. All it did was skew the perception that a low percentage of players were cheating, to one of a rampant underground drug culture that is so persuasive that no one is above suspicion anymore.

It is a shame that since Bud has taken over as commissioner that all we have is bad images of the sport. We have the Strike in 1994, and then the whole 1998 home run race which they marketed heavily, but now is a joke as it was the year that steroids took over baseball and now look at where we are today.

It is definitely a marketing and image problem and the fault starts at the top in the commissioner's office. Not that the player's Union or the owners are any less culpable, but it could have been avoided and now look where we are today.

Can baseball survive this as they have previous scandals? We'll have to see as there are too many entertainment choices these days, too many alternates to the “National Pastime” to think that it is invulnerable. A shame that this slick talking ex-used car salesman has destroyed the sport of our youth.

Mahalo.

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For more resources to help you with your Online Marketing check out

http://www.renspubhouse.com/marketing.html

********************************************************************

How to Buy Business Items From Online Auction Sites

- 10 Things You Should Know Before You Bid


So you have decided to enter the domain of Online Auctions to supplement your business supplies or there are items that are just too unique to find them in the local strip mall. Well the good news is that Online Auction Sites have matured enough as marketplaces that one can find business items along side the consumer products that made them famous. To protect yourself there is a few things that you need to know so you don't end up a victim of scammers, or overpay for items.

Here are your 10 Tips to help you have a pleasant successful auction experience:

1. Know the going price and value of the item before you bid. If the item is new to you or brand new, check to see what price others are charging for it. This can be done online by a quick check of your favorite search engine, look into catalogs, and/or a visit to your favorite store/merchant if convenient. If the product is used or reconditioned, of course you will want, and expect to pay way less than the retail value. This will give you a leg up and make sure you don't overpay, a common malady on these sites.


2. If the item's description or picture isn't detailed enough for you, contact the seller to get more
information or a better picture before you bid. You don't want to take a chance to waste your hard earned money on the wrong item, or something different than what you wanted. Yes this does happen often where bids are placed and items won, only to have the buyer realize that what they got wasn't what they thought they were getting. Ask before you bid.


3. Know the highest price you will bid for the item and stick with it. Don't get caught up in a bidding war; you may end up paying more than the item's worth. Don't forget to add in the shipping price when determining how much you are going to bid. Of course if you are looking at other Online sites to compare prices, you need to consider their rates for shipping and handling as well. Naturally if comparing prices from offline sites, factor in your travel time fuel costs, and if the item needs to be delivered or you can carry it out yourself.


4. Visit a few online auctions before bidding because some sellers auction the same or similar items in many auctions. Also if the seller has more than one of the items in stock, they might have more than one listing. Look at all the listings you might find a better price from the same seller if you are patient and do your homework. You usually can purchase the item for a lower price in a unpopular auction because there are less bidders.


5. Be knowledgeable about the time the auction ends. You also want to know how long it will take to ship the item to you. A lot of times sellers will specify that they may take a certain number of days before the can ship the item. If you need the item by a certain date, you'll want to estimate the time it will take to receive it. Of course you can always contact the seller during the auction to see if they offer different shipping rates for overnight service. The worse they can say is no, but many times they will accommodate you.


6. Read the payment options the seller accepts before you bid on their item. If they only accept
checks or money orders, it may take even longer to get the item because the payment has to clear. Steer clear if the only payment option is International Money Order and the seller is overseas. This is usually an indication of a possible scam. Try to protect yourself with either credit card orders through secure servers or other online payment services like PayPal. This way you are protected against fraud.


7. Look to see if the seller offers a warranty or money back guarantee before bidding on a product. You don't want to get stuck with a item that does not work, is broken or you're not satisfied with for other reasons (the old bait and switch is not as common, but does happen from time to time). Most have time frames for returns, and other conditions, but generally most will allow returns for legitimate reasons.


8. Online auctions will, sometimes, allow you to check the sellers' auction history. Check to see what other people's experience has been with the seller. Have other people complained about the their items, services or business practices? How have the complaints been resolved? You do have a right to know before you decide to bid. Also of those that have complained, what is their history, are they chronic whiners?


9. It's important to place a bid early in the auction to show other bidders you are interested in the item. If someone does out bid you, don't be afraid to out bid them. Remember not to go over your maximum
bid price. Of course almost all the auction sites do allow for what they call “Proxy Bids” which allow you to place your maximum bid up front, then the bid is incremented up as others join in the bidding. It is a tool that allows you to set your max bid, but sees that you pay the lowest possible winning bid. This way you don't have to continuously look at the auctions to see how you are doing.


10.Another reason to know when the auction ends; you can place a last minute bid. There is software that allows you to place last minute bids. This is discouraged, but not illegal. It is a process called “Sniping”. So if the item has more watchers than bidders, then perhaps a few “snipers” are lurking to come in at the last minute and grab the item. There may however be other bidders that may not be keeping track of when the auction ends or may not have the time to bid again. These are the best type of competition if you must have any.

Following these tips will help ease you through the process and hopefully keep you from being a victim of overpaying or worse. It is amazing how many items are actually up for auction, and who knows maybe you will start putting your products or services up for bis as well (yes it is being done, but that is the subject for another article).

Mahalo.


********************************************************************

For more resources to help you with your Online Marketing check out

http://www.renspubhouse.com/marketing.html

********************************************************************

How to Buy Business Items From Online Auction Sites - 10 Things You Should Know Before You Bid

How to Buy Business Items From Online Auction Sites - 10 Things You Should Know Before You Bid


So you have decided to enter the domain of Online Auctions to supplement your business supplies or there are items that are just too unique to find them in the local strip mall. Well the good news is that Online Auction Sites have matured enough as marketplaces that one can find business items along side the consumer products that made them famous. To protect yourself there is a few things that you need to know so you don't end up a victim of scammers, or overpay for items.

Here are your 10 Tips to help you have a pleasant successful auction experience:

1. Know the going price and value of the item before you bid. If the item is new to you or brand new, check to see what price others are charging for it. This can be done online by a quick check of your favorite search engine, look into catalogs, and/or a visit to your favorite store/merchant if convenient. If the product is used or reconditioned, of course you will want, and expect to pay way less than the retail value. This will give you a leg up and make sure you don't overpay, a common malady on these sites.


2. If the item's description or picture isn't detailed enough for you, contact the seller to get more
information or a better picture before you bid. You don't want to take a chance to waste your hard earned money on the wrong item, or something different than what you wanted. Yes this does happen often where bids are placed and items won, only to have the buyer realize that what they got wasn't what they thought they were getting. Ask before you bid.


3. Know the highest price you will bid for the item and stick with it. Don't get caught up in a bidding war; you may end up paying more than the item's worth. Don't forget to add in the shipping price when determining how much you are going to bid. Of course if you are looking at other Online sites to compare prices, you need to consider their rates for shipping and handling as well. Naturally if comparing prices from offline sites, factor in your travel time fuel costs, and if the item needs to be delivered or you can carry it out yourself.


4. Visit a few online auctions before bidding because some sellers auction the same or similar items in many auctions. Also if the seller has more than one of the items in stock, they might have more than one listing. Look at all the listings you might find a better price from the same seller if you are patient and do your homework. You usually can purchase the item for a lower price in a unpopular auction because there are less bidders.


5. Be knowledgeable about the time the auction ends. You also want to know how long it will take to ship the item to you. A lot of times sellers will specify that they may take a certain number of days before the can ship the item. If you need the item by a certain date, you'll want to estimate the time it will take to receive it. Of course you can always contact the seller during the auction to see if they offer different shipping rates for overnight service. The worse they can say is no, but many times they will accommodate you.


6. Read the payment options the seller accepts before you bid on their item. If they only accept
checks or money orders, it may take even longer to get the item because the payment has to clear. Steer clear if the only payment option is International Money Order and the seller is overseas. This is usually an indication of a possible scam. Try to protect yourself with either credit card orders through secure servers or other online payment services like PayPal. This way you are protected against fraud.


7. Look to see if the seller offers a warranty or money back guarantee before bidding on a product. You don't want to get stuck with a item that does not work, is broken or you're not satisfied with for other reasons (the old bait and switch is not as common, but does happen from time to time). Most have time frames for returns, and other conditions, but generally most will allow returns for legitimate reasons.


8. Online auctions will, sometimes, allow you to check the sellers' auction history. Check to see what other people's experience has been with the seller. Have other people complained about the their items, services or business practices? How have the complaints been resolved? You do have a right to know before you decide to bid. Also of those that have complained, what is their history, are they chronic whiners?


9. It's important to place a bid early in the auction to show other bidders you are interested in the item. If someone does out bid you, don't be afraid to out bid them. Remember not to go over your maximum
bid price. Of course almost all the auction sites do allow for what they call “Proxy Bids” which allow you to place your maximum bid up front, then the bid is incremented up as others join in the bidding. It is a tool that allows you to set your max bid, but sees that you pay the lowest possible winning bid. This way you don't have to continuously look at the auctions to see how you are doing.


10.Another reason to know when the auction ends; you can place a last minute bid. There is software that allows you to place last minute bids. This is discouraged, but not illegal. It is a process called “Sniping”. So if the item has more watchers than bidders, then perhaps a few “snipers” are lurking to come in at the last minute and grab the item. There may however be other bidders that may not be keeping track of when the auction ends or may not have the time to bid again. These are the best type of competition if you must have any.

Following these tips will help ease you through the process and hopefully keep you from being a victim of overpaying or worse. It is amazing how many items are actually up for auction, and who knows maybe you will start putting your products or services up for bis as well (yes it is being done, but that is the subject for another article).

Mahalo.

We Are in The Midst of a “Lack of A Crisis” Crisis!

We Are in The Midst of a “Lack of A Crisis” Crisis!
(or Crisis, Crisis, Who Stole My Crisis?)

Once upon a time television news, especially the major networks, were a trusted source of news and considered “must see TV” to find out what is going on in the world. Then of course came Cable TV and we were introduced to the concept of 24 hours news telecasts (but in truth they stopped the new news at midnight and picked up again around 6 A.M. Figuring nothing much happens during that time frame, and most people would be asleep anyway, so it really wasn't 24 hours). For the longest time these telecasts were of good quality, but then for some unknown reason, the heads of these networks decided that news should be entertaining. This was the beginning of the downward slide we see today. They dumbed down the newscasts and forced peppy preppy cheerleader newsreaders upon us. Luckily this came about the same time as the Internet was opened to the rest of us (originally it was the domain of researchers and academics) and we found we didn't have to put up with the brain dead newsreaders anymore. So ratings were falling off, advertisers were leaving the stations (or at least demanding to pay less for there advertising), and people were finding new ways of getting their news.

So how did these stations react? Easy make every little problem into a CRISIS!

Have you ever noticed how almost everyday we are involved, according to the nightly news readers, in a brand new crisis that threatens to end life as we know it? Only to have these stories being one off, and not only not the end of civilization, but just an isolated incident? How can these so-called “purveyors of truth” keep their jobs after all their lies? Why do people take it and not demand more truth in reporting of the news? Or is it no one is really watching anymore and so it all falls on deaf ears?

Of course when one station (they seem to rotate the announcing), announces a crisis, they all immediately follow suit (like lemmings to the seas) so as not to look like they are not “on the ball”. Then they all take turns trotting out the various “experts”, who for the most part sound as brain dead as the newsreaders interviewing them. Very little insight is ever given and each crisis seems to last about 4-7 days before the next one crops up without the previous one being solved, and mostly forgotten (until maybe next year if it is something cyclical like weather or price of gasoline/food/school supplies) by the stations ans for some reason, totally out of the blue the crisis seems to solve itself, as we find that the world is still here and life goes on.

Whew, I thought the lack of Okra crisis was going to get us for sure this time around.

Oh but it may be the snow crisis in Minnesota in January that will end civilization for ever. No? How about the er...uhm... what's next on the agenda?



Mahalo

Hockey Played “Old School”

Hockey is my sport of choice to watch once the temperatures fall below a certain point that causes discomfort and freezing of body parts. Of course growing up in Chicago we always had the Blackhawks to watch and cheer for, despite their constant disappointment via a deficit of championships.

Yet there we were religiously going out every night to the flooded area of the park and play until time to go home and sleep. In act one year when the teachers were on strike (they seemed to always strike in early January almost as if extending their Christmas vacation) we played from early morning until late at night and I got frostbite on my toes. Still it didn't bother me as I just became a goalie while wearing rubber boots after that for the rest of the season while mending. Ah the joys and fond memories of youth.

Yet here it is January 2008 and the NHL is putting on an outside game between real professional teams! I am of course referring to the game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres played in Ralph Wilson Stadium and televised on NBC. Yes it was a sight to see as Buffalo was enduring one of their typical January snow storms at the same time. It did provide for an interesting game and also triggered memories of times past.

It was of course a Marketing ploy and a good one at that as they did garner a lot of interest, over 71,000 paid to see the game live and braved the elements, and it did great ratings on TV. Now some might remember a couple of years ago that hockey was shown regularly on ESPN and ABC (both being Disney Corp properties) until the players were “Locked Out” for a year by management and they didn't play for a season. Of course at the time the interest in the US seemed to be waning, as the league kept expanding into “Non-Traditional Markets”. These included a couple of teams in Florida, one in Atlanta, and Phoenix.

This strike caused ESPN to cancel their contract and when the NHL tried to come back , only NBC came calling to give them a TV contract. NBC-Universal proceeded to exile the NHL to their sports station Outdoor Life Network (OLN). This of course had the sportswriters and commentators laughing and making fun out of this move as most people never heard of OLN. In fact most of the programming on OLN consisted of Bike Races like the “Tour De France” and Bull Riding. Of course us die hards found the station and enjoyed our Hockey. Though OLN and the NHL did a weird thing. They put the games on Monday and Tuesday nights. On ESPN they were on Wednesday and Thursday nights and that is what we were used to. On top of that NBC Universal didn't really market the games very much. It was as if they were ashamed to admit that they showed them.

Last year OLN changed it's name to Versus and still shows the NHL. Still the marketing of the NHL is very weak and even something as special as an outside game received very little notice. In fact during the Sunday Night Football game on NBC, they mentioned the game, but not the time! Even though the anchor, Bob Costas, was presenting the game. Talk about bad marketing, it is no wonder that they suffer at the ratings game. Even their best regular show (30 Rock) is flailing away because of their poor marketing. Hey NBC you've got intelligent wonderful exciting programming, yet you fail to let anyone know!

Hockey is a wonderful and exciting game, and it deserves better. Between the NHL and NBC they need lots of help getting the word out that it is being shown. It is a Catch-22 where they promote because they don't think enough people are watching, yet people don't know to watch because they don't promote. Instead they try to promote copy-cat, me-too types of shows that nobody really watches and yet they keep dumbing down to get a certain demographic that doesn't seem to be able to comprehend the brilliance and intricacies of intelligent programming (but that is another article).

Such a shame that the suits just don't get it and don't realize what a goldmine they are sitting on because of their short-sightedness and total lack of vision.

Hey NBC Universal, promote the intelligent stuff and the ratings will come back, keep marketing the crap and stay a “me-too, copy-cat network”.

Mahalo.

E-Voting and the End of Democracy

Another election year is upon us and once again we hear about the wonders and ease of E-Voting.

Of course we always want to try to find ways to make our lives easier and anything that decreases work or actually using our brains seems to be considered advantageous to society as a whole. Yes machines are wonderful, and they really do enrich our lives if we do use them correctly and don't abuse their power.

But amazingly the more we seem to progress, the worse we seem to feel about it. I think it is mainly because the more we let machines do the work and thinking for us, the less we feel in control of our daily lives. Too often we hear that someone can't do their job because “The Computer is Down”, when all we want is change for a dollar. Too many people are too lazy to understand the why they do something and just accept things as a given, yet when an emergency arises can't function as they are just ignorant as can be wen faced with technology.

Luckily I was blessed with being born with an insatiable curiosity about how things work, and a very inquiring mindset. I studied science and economics and have seen enough behind the scenes to understand how to read between the lines. I also seem to be a bit of a cynic, yet I like to give people the benefit of the doubt.

But I regress....

The issue of using Computers to register and count votes (AKA E-Voting) has been coming up the last few elections. It is a hot topic as proponents see it as a panacea to stop all fraud and get quick and accurate counts without worrying about uncounted ballots or ballot box rigging, so they can have the results NOW and get back to their mind-numbing “reality” TV shows. Yet the opponents to E-Voting tend to look at all the negative press computers get about viruses other attacks and use that as reasons to ever trust computers.

The truth as always falls somewhere in between these two extremes.

Yes computers are wonderful tools and yes they can be made to be safe and secure, regardless of what you hear in the press, computers are safe and secure. However there are those times when security is breached, but it is usually found to be linked back to some sort of avoidable human error that can be avoided in the future with smarter humans.

The main question one should be asking is who is coding the program for these machines, and who is verifying that the programs work as they are advertised. It is very easy to make it so that the user sees one result, yet when the selection is tallied the result the machine registers is totally different. Take a simple survey on a web site for instance. How difficult do you think it would be to offer up a menu of choices, accept the user input, show the user what they chose, along with cumulative results, yet the back end database actually registers a different choice? How would one know that the cumulative results are actually what has been recorded and not just something the programmer coded in to show? It is surprisingly easy to do , and unless one is trained very hard to catch. What makes you think it isn't being done now at your favorite site now? You don't and it is impossible for you to prove.

Now just think about that and project that to a National or Local election. It can be easy to turn in a “Test Box” with the correct program that actually runs honestly and everything in it is above board. Yet when the machines are mass produced for distribution, the code is altered ever so slightly and in such a way as to fool a comparison program looking for changes. Heck the only thing that has to really change is the code in the collected database that can say, strip out every so many votes for candidate “A” and divert them to candidate “B”. Again it is way to easy to disguise this code from sloppy inspectors and you only need to alter a few key districts to manipulate the outcome. And who would know after the fact, since all the voters saw the results they were expecting pop up on the screen, yet in the back end hanky-panky was running amok.

This is how easy it is to steal an election in the computer age.

And of course we haven't even talked about outsourcing the work and how a foreign government can control the election though their own software and back doors into the systems, but that is a worry for another day.

Yet not all is doom and gloom. There are ways to control the chaos. For one, the database designers and coders should not be from the same company so there can be no collusion between the two. Collection techniques could be made so that a third company can write a program that collects what appears on the voter's screen and is recorded into a different database. Have random collection of data throughout the day at the different precincts by bonded representatives of all interested parties. They come to the polling places and check up on the Election Judges anyway (Yes I have been an Election Judge may times in the past). Right now we rely on these people to go over paper ballots and counts if there is a discrepancy so why not train them on electronic means, or get younger people in who understand the technology and retire the fuddy-duddy Luddites.

E-Voting is coming, but it doesn't have to be the end of Democracy if we do it smart and don't leave it up to the political parties to design the systems.

Chin up America, there is always hope.

Mahalo.

Inflated Numbers, Inflated Egos

The New England Patriots are the best team ever in the history of the NFL!

Or so say all the pundits and talking heads and other no-life sports writers. Why do they say this? It is because they have gone the entire regular season without losing a game. They are 16-0 and that is the first time in history that a team has gone 16-0 in the regular season so they have won the most regular season games, ergo the “Best Ever”.

Or are they? Did they really do something historic (as in never been done) or are the numbers just artificially inflated ?

Are they the first team in NFL history to win all their regular season games? Well actually they are the fourth. So as historic as the 4th person to fly the Atlantic Ocean solo (who was that? nobody knows or cares).

Back in 1934 the Chicago Bears went 13-0 in the regular season before losing in the championship game in the famous “Sneaker Bowl” to the New York Giants (so called because one of the Giants assistants went and broke into a gymnasium and stole a bunch of sneakers because the cleats were slipping in the icy Polo Grounds field).

The 1942 Bears went 11-0 (again winning all the games in the regular season, shortened because of World War II) but again lost in the Championship game (back then they didn't have three rounds of playoffs before the championship game hence no chance at becoming 16-0).

The 1972 Miami Dolphins went 14-0 in the regular season and 3-0 in the playoffs to include the NFL Championship Super Bowl. They are therefore the first team to go all the way to the end undefeated. So they are basically the Charles Lindbergh of the NFL, and the Patriots are down there on the list.

So why are they making such a hoopla over this? Well there is first of all the egotistical notion that the men and women reporting sports wanting to be part of history as if because of the Patriots achievement, they themselves become important. They are living vicariously through the Patriots as some parents who force their kids into doing things that they failed to do in their youth.

Of course we all talk about the numbers, but again the teams in the past didn't have the chance to win that many games, so one can never really say who is the best ever just because we inflate the season and dilute the talent. There are many more teams today and of course some think there seems to be enough talent to field them. However there is definitely a big drop off in talent between the good teams and the average and bad ones. Plus the rosters of teams have expanded so more players suit up for games then in the past. Free agency does help as well as teams can stockpile talent and take the disgruntled players from other teams and rent them for a year to make a “Super Team” and then let them all go for salary cap reasons.

The game has also evolved as rule changes and equipment have changed the game for better or worse depending upon one's point of view (they changed a lot of rules to allow for more offense and therefore making more interesting and wide open games, in theory).

Also there are way too many improvements in conditioning, diet, supplements (legal and otherwise) and lifestyles today. For instance the athletes of old had to work other type of jobs in the off season and didn't have access to the wonderful exercise equipment that athletes have today.

Lets face it players that were considered “huge” in the 30's, 40's and even the 70's are considered way too undersized today. So it is tough to compare eras and decades in any sports. But that doesn't stop these sportscasters as that would require research and that is too much work for the so-called “journalists” of this day.

None of this is of course New England's fault, and I am not taking anything away from their achievement. They earned their success and should be proud of it and celebrate appropriately. They are the best team of this era and if they go on to win it all, more power to them.

Let's just not go overboard and disrespect history and what came first. Appreciate the past, live in the present and embrace future growth.

Mahalo.

Cheater's Proof

Well the Mitchell report has finally come out, and guess what? Yes there is cheating in baseball after all. Also Barry Bonds didn't cheat in a vacuum, he was just better at it then other players were.

Of course Barry's legal problems stem from the fact he allegedly lied to a Federal Grand Jury when they were trying to close down illegal labs like BALCO, not just from his use of the substances. There is a big difference between that and if he was just a steroid user. But enough time, energy and bandwidth has been wasted on this cretin so that's all I'll say about him for now.

The juicy part of the report has to deal with the other big names mentioned. There was Roger Clemens, Andy Pettite, Miguel Tejada (maybe Rafael Palmerio was telling the truth when he said he got the stuff from Tejada after all) amongst the active players. I man wow, who would have guessed it? Except of course rumors have been floating around earlier this summer about these three, so I guess the old saying “Wheres there's smoke there's fire”, rings true in this case.

Of course all the players on the list who would have been considered for the Hall of Fame, need to get the same treatment as Barry Bonds, and Mark McGuire are getting now. If there is an asterisk besides Barry's home run record, there there should be one next to Clemen's win and strikeout totals as well. If Barry's MVP's are tainted, then so is Clemen's Cy Young awards. Fair is fair and we all want to be fair.

The reason for the lack of outcry for these other players is mainly because they don't act like cretins to the public and press. Yes there will be gnashing of teeth and rending of garments for a week or so, but it will go away and become background noise until Spring Training. Then of course the media will storm the camps and besiege these players with ridiculous questions and try to trip them up. Then of course it will die down and the regular season will go along until June/July when the boring part of the season is upon us and a little mention will be made, then go away for the stretch runs.

Baring of course any major busts or a rash of failed tests show up.

The whole problem with this scenario is that it all hinges on the testimony of one person, an ex Club House worker from Shea Stadium. He was caught dealing in HGH and steroids, and part of his plea agreement was to give evidence to the Mitchell panel. It is known that players give money to club house personnel to run errands for them, (washing cars, filling up gas tanks, getting food and drink, etc.) and pay them with cash and checks. The canceled checks are one of the main pieces of evidence he has produced against the players. But one can never really know what he really got the money for, (and of course there is the chance that he is telling the truth).

The next few days are going to be fun and the “Talking Heads” are going to be wagging their tongues and making excuses for some players while trashing others. Ah yes these “Holier than thou” commentators really crack me up and I get a good laugh at them trying to justify their bogus indignation, bias and bigotry (especially ESPN anchors and talk show hosts both on TV and Radio).

Let's all sit back and enjoy the ride and join me for a laugh.

Mahalo.

You Can't Touch Me I'm A Made Man!

 

So Bill Belichek, head coach of the New England Patriots, just wanted a home movie of the Jets game last week, and look where it got him.

Bill known as the most sensitive, caring football coach in history just wanted to share a memory with his former assistant Eric Maginni. Let's face it what a better present than a video of a shared moment? After all this is why we all take videos of weddings, birthdays, graduations etc., is it not? Hey the camera man just thought the Jets' assistant coaches were doing a fancy dance, and he wanted to make sure he got the date and time right. He was just helping Maginni by giving him a light hearted video during the tense and rigorous experience that is the NFL season.

Yeah Right! If you believe any of that drivel, then I have a nice bridge in Brooklyn to sell you, or maybe some nice swamp land in Florida is more to your liking?

Belichek is known and criticized throughout the media that covers the NFL as a cold calculating fish. He is also described as a manipulative and arrogant jerk. He is very secretive about what is going on behind the closed doors of his office. Critics point at his blatant abuse of the injury report required by the league as a way of his tiptoeing around the rules (he puts everyone on the report to keep opponents guessing about the true status of his players' health). He does play by the rules in wearing “Official NFL approved Apparel”, but he cuts of the sleeves of his hooded sweatshirt so he looks like a bum on the sidelines (again obeying the rule of the law, but not the spirit of the law). His press conferences are boring and monotone, and he only does the because they are required, and he does the minimum time that the league allows. He treats the media as a necessary evil and doesn't allow his assistants to talk to the media. Of course he learned this from his mentor Bill Parcells, late of the Dallas Cowboys.

His history doesn't allow one to appreciate his character either. Within a day after accepting a job as the head coach of the Jets, he promptly quit and accepted a better offer from their rival the Patriots. But then again it might be that he knew the Jets were a franchise in disarray and decided that he couldn't live in that mess.

The issue at hand however is the video that one of his assistants was taking of the Jets sidelines during the game. What he was doing was taping the assistants signaling the plays for the defense, and then quickly panning to the scoreboard to record down and distance. This allowed the coordinators in the booth to compare the signals and the time of the game with the formations that the Jets were using. This give them the knowledge of what the Jets were going to do and allow the offense to change the play and take advantage of this advanced knowledge. Of course the quarterback has a radio receiver in his helmet so the coaches can send in plays. All they need to do is call two plays in the huddle (a common practice) and then once they have the defense figured out, shout a code word and allow the quarterback to change the plat at the line of scrimmage by “calling an audible”.

This is not the first time the Patriots have been accused of doing this. The Green Bay Packers caught this same guy doing this last year, and at least one other team has said they thought they saw this, but couldn't believe someone would be so brazen as to do this in the open.

Now watching the other team's signals and trying to pick them up is as old as the game. This has led to various ways to camouflage the signals including having multiple coaches/players sending in dummy signals to confuse the other team. In fact the offense now relies on radio controlled helmets for the quarterbacks. However the defensive captain doesn't get the same advantage. This may lead to the adoption of this equipment in the near future. The amazing thing is that many teams have complained to the league about the signals mysteriously going out during crucial drives while playing in Gillette Stadium (Home of the Patriots) as well as jammed signals between the press boxes and the sidelines. Hmm what a coincidence.

The rule is clear that a team is not allowed to record the signals of an opponent using any video recording device. Belichek's defense was that “He just misinterpreted the rule”. Right, sure Bill, whatever you say.

Of course the NFL came down with some minor slaps on the wrist as far as penalties are concerned. Bill was fined $500,000 (maximum allowed by league rules), which sounds like a lot, but considering his base salary is $7 million it isn't all that much (plus the additional $5-8 million he makes in endorsements, and one can see where this doesn't really hurt). The team was fined $250,000 and loss of a first round draft choice if they make the playoffs, or a 2nd and 3rd round choices if they don't. Big deal, the franchise is worth $1.5 Billion and they actually have made trades where they have 2 first rounders this year, so it doesn't hurt anyone except a current college player who will now lose money because they will not be a first round draft choice (a difference of millions in base salary and bonuses).

The team cannot pay the fine for Coach Belichek, but he all of a sudden he got a one year extension of his contract through 2013, and oh yeah an undisclosed amount of bonus money was included. A little fishy? Again a way around the rules? Well it does follow the letter of the law, but.....


The New England Patriots under the present owner Bob Kraft, has been held up as a model franchise, and has been considered the “right way to run a team”.

Of course Belichek is Kraft's handpicked coach. And oh yea he also has three Super Bowl rings (which is the NFL's equivalent of "being made") over the last 5 years and the Patriots are a lot of people's choice to win it all again this year. He has been labeled as a genius for getting the most out of players and being able to overcome devastating injuries by plugging in role players into unfamiliar positions and make it work (i.e. Troy Brown a receiver playing defensive back and doing it well).

Of course this seems to have galvanized the team into playing an almost flawless game against the Sand Diego Chargers last Sunday night. It was as if they were saying that “Hey we don't cheat nor do we need to in order to win”.

Last we heard the NFL was still looking into this situation, and it seems to be an open investigation. However this may just be a cover story to make them look like they are doing something, while already deciding that the matter is closed. Only the future will tell.

Mahalo.

The Fall of An Icon

Well the end of an era and a career is here.

Michael Vick (aka Ron Mexico) has plead guilty to conspiracy to engage in dog fighting. This after months of denying and parsing out the truth about his involvement in the criminal activity. Amazing that he actually thought that he would get away with it all, but of course his “friends” ratted him out big time and he had no choice except to try and plead himself to limit the damage.

So much for “honor between thieves”.

His co-conspirators have all issued statements to the court stating that Vick was involved in all aspects of the business (Bad Newz Kennels), including the execution of non-performing dogs, financing the operations, providing money to make and cover bets, setting up the fights and transporting the dogs across state lines to participate in dog fights.

He gave the usual press conference after the hearing and in a memorized prepared statement (denied of course by his attorneys) offered contrition and apologies. For someone who claimed not to be a public speaker, he did deliver a very well polished and measured speech. In fact he never sounded as polished even when he was in commercials and had do-overs to get it right. So his new speech coach who prepped him on this message (I am sure they practiced all weekend to get the head motions right) earned his or her money. I was almost moved by the performance.

Naturally he apologized to his teammates, the owner and coach of the Falcons, as well as the Commissioner of the NFL (Roger Godell). Also as in these cases he said he “found Jesus” (amazing how many people “find Jesus” after they commit brutal and heinous crimes. In fact the prison population in the USA is full of so-called “Born Again Christians). He also mentioned that he thought Dog Fighting was wrong (so why did he do it if he thought it was wrong?) and he was sorry for “everything he did”. Amazing none of this occurred to him before he was caught. It is easy to look contrite and sincere after the fact and right after being in court (kind of like it's easy to sound sick immediately after waking up in the morning, so if you are calling in sick to work, do it before that first cup of coffee/tea and shower).

Everything he did? Does this include everything or just a few things mentioned in the indictment? Was he sorry for the practical jokes he played in elementary school as well? It is noticed that he would not mention specifically what “everything” meant or contained. Of course he said this after mentioning “finding Jesus”, so does that mean he is sorry for doing that as well?

It will remain to see if he truly is repentant or if he was really saying that he was sorry he was caught.


For some reason he feels he will only be out of football for a year (as mentioned in his speech). Does he really think that people are as stupid as he is or just wishful thinking? First of all his sentencing isn't until December 10th, and his jail term and/or other punishment starts then. Does he feel that he will skip out on jail time and that the NFL will just open its arms and accept him back as a convicted felon as if nothing happened?

Sure people point to Ray and Jamal Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens (no relation) who also had problems with the law, but that was under a different Commissioner. Ray was involved in a scuffle at a bar during a Super Bowl weekend in Atlanta, where someone was shot and killed. The gunmen were part of Ray's “Posse” and they sped away in his SUV. Ray himself was never the suspected shooter, nor involved directly with the scuffle. All he was convicted of was obstruction of justice by withholding names and evidence from the police. However never was he mentioned as a suspect. He pled guilty and paid his fines and that was that. So his only real crime was not ratting out his old friends. However he did clean up his act and dismantled his “Posse” and has been a model citizen ever since.

Jamal was convicted of conspiracy to traffic cocaine. He was found guilty and served 6 months in prison. Again involved with an “Old friend” from his past. Once out he went back to football, but was never the same. The Ravens dumped him over the off season, and he is now “sentenced” to play for the Cleveland Browns (only true football fans will get that joke, so if you don't understand find a football fan to explain it to you).

Neither of these can be compared to Vick, as they were one off occurrences. Vick has been running his dog fighting ring for 7 years now. In fact he was planning it from out of College and organized the whole scheme.

He has only himself to blame ad these racist jerks and jerkettes who defend him and blame the government for his poor judgment and character are not doing him any favors. In fact his whole career has been one of poor judgment on and off the field (see previous posting). His character is not one of quality, and he has been lying all this time, so why are to believe his performance now? His words mean nothing and he has no basis for expecting anyone to believe him now. He has shown himself to b of low character and he sought those of the same ilk (birds of a feather?).

However people can change if they really want to and work hard at it daily.

It was reported that Part of the plea agreement was that he is now going to work with the federal government in cleaning up the dog fights. It was reported that he is going to give names and places etc so they can crack down on this heinous brutal activity. In fact they have already arrested a famous Rap Star and there is speculation that Vick gave them his name. It will be interesting to see what else is to come of this. There are a lot of people a bit worried right about now. And one wonders what they are thinking about Vick and if they are willing to gamble that they won't be named next.

Michael Vick he football player is done, however there is plenty of time for Michael Vick the person to change and become a productive member of society after he serves his time. We are a nation of second (and third and fourth and....chances) so it is up to him to change. This is the challenge and tribulation that really is ahead of him.

Right now he just needs to fade away and do the right things to get his life back on track. That will tell his true character as a man. Michael are prayers are with you, good luck and God speed on your rehabilitation.

Mahalo.

Me Too! (or The Death of Creativity)

 

Being on a multiple ezine lists one starts to wonder what ever happened to originality amongst marketers, in particular Internet Marketers. I get over 30 emails a day from these lists, and it is amazing how many times not only are the subjects are the same but the texts are as well. Yes I know I can just unsubscribe from these lists, and I do regularly but they make such excellent examples of what not to do and let's me see what the sheep are chasing these days.

I know the “latest greatest thing” is Affiliate Marketing, and that the person one buys the product from generally provides the marketing material (squeeze page, email and source files) but it is up to the individual to change it up so that their message stands out.

The ones that get me is where the Subject line reads “Don't buy XXXX until...” . Well I see the words “Don't Buy” and I immediately delete that message. I know they are each trying to say they have the best ad-on product or “special report” they are trying to hawk, but I (and I am sure a lot others) are just not buying from this negative message. Besides most of the so called “bonuses” are retreads that have been around for years or some other worthless thing like a “membership” to their site of duplicate and obsolete information.

Another one is where they all are best friends with “A 25 year old millionaire”, or “The Rich Jerk” etc. It is amazing how these show up every 6 months or so and again the message is lost.

I am surprised at the lack of originality from these self proclaimed “Creatives”. I guess they are living in Utopia, you remember how the people made their living by taking each other's laundry. That seems to be how these people are making money by buying the same stuff off of each other and sharing the lack of wealth between them.

Yes they are blindly following each and every fad and are just filling up the net with more and more useless junk. The sad part is each one of them think they are impressing me (and others on their lists) with their “amazing discoveries”, but I am just not buying into it. Occasionally a new idea pops up from one or two of the leaders( yes there are a couple who come out first, but soon the rest follow), and these do show what the new fads are, but soon they are buried in the hype and copycats.

I do admit I do love reading these emails as a source of amusement. However I don't think that the majority of the senders have that as their main reason for sending them out. Some do try to find out by sending emails that ask for opinions about what they should be sending out, but these are just tricks to have the readers write the emails for them. Let's face it, we signed up for your newsletter because we were interested in what you were advertising as the topics, not to be deluged by offers of old and overly abused information. Surprisingly I have never heard back personally from these people, but do keep getting their emails, including the occasional “reader survey”. In which I answer again as above.

I do believe that there are people making a living in this manner, but regretfully they are being lost in the shuffle of the lazy incompetent that are filling our email boxes daily.

Good creative people will survive, and the bad impostors and copycats will fall by the wayside, but regretfully they will be replaced by more copycat zombies. We just need to accept that this is true in all endeavors, offline as well as online, and just a fact of life and move on.

Mahalo.

Barroid, A-Rod and Glavine, Oh My!

 

Well 3 new milestones have been reached this weekend in the stat heavy baseball realm.

Barry Bonds, aka “Barroid” grabbed the career home run mark by hitting his 755th, and 756th, Alex Rodriguez reached the 500 mark (youngest to do so) and Tom Glavine finally got his 300th win (only 5th lefthander to reach that mark, 23rd overall). Congrats to all.

Baseball more than any other sport seems to care more about individual statistics. There are more stats in baseball than one can imagine.

Yes the baseball fans are ecstatic about these, but what does it mean for baseball in general? Basically not much. While Glavine and A-Rod are basically considered nice all around people, they are not exactly marketable commodities. They are so calm and reserved that they border on boring, as far as stars are concerned. Even though they both play in New York City (A-Rod for the Yankees, Glavine for the Mets), there was no really buzz around the country for these two players. They just don't excite anyone because of their lack of flash or controversy. So the milestones were passed without fanfare and another chance at marketing a sport in trouble went to the wayside. There should have been more done to promote these two good stories.

Glavine's fault is that he is a finesse pitcher instead of a power pitcher. He relies on placement and control to get his outs instead of over powering the hitters like a Roger Clemens or Nolan Ryan. People just don't get excited by these type of pitches as they are methodical and slow, yet they get the job done. He has been around for a long time and is just steady and luckily never has been on the disabled list in his career. So the marketability to the general public is negligible, as only purists (like myself) appreciate what he has accomplished in his career. The “casual fan” just doesn't care about the finer points and nuances of the game, just strike outs and home runs.

A-Rod hits home runs, but has never really clicked as he tends to be quiet and professional in his approach. The idiots in the press don't appreciate this and have labeled him “aloof” and distant. They can't stand or understand the fact that he just isn't a loud mouth or flashy kind of guy. Plus since he is the highest paid player in baseball, and plays for the Yankees, he is expected to shine in the post season. For some reason he has not lived up to billing in the playoffs, giving his distractors ample fodder to label him “soft” and a “choker”. So naturally with this type of personality and bad press he just isn't marketable as well.

The problem of course is that these happened the same weekend that Bonds tied the home run record. Of course a lot of sports writers claim that this record is the “most hallowed in sports”, but that is only to them so they have something to complain about. Barroid is of course under suspicion of having done steroids and is under investigation by the federal government for this, perjury, and tax evasion. The Grand Jury has been investigating for the past few years, and for some reason they keep it going without resolution (of course I think they are waiting for the record to be broken so they won't be accused of playing politics and interfering his breaking the record).

Barroid's trainer Greg Anderson is in jail for contempt for not answering questions about the steroid use by Bonds. The whole thing stems from a raid on a lab called Balco that was producing “Performance Enhancing Drugs” and the owner was convicted and sent to prison. He has said in interviews that tests performed by the authorities cold never keep up with the labs producing the drugs as they can always find ways to mask the drugs and beat the tests. Of course the main drug “Human Growth Hormone” (HGH) can not be detected by normal urine tests, and the Major League Baseball union prohibits blood tests that will detect the presence of HGH.

Of course dozens of minor and lesser major league players have tested positive and have been suspended, but many of these come from Latin countries where the drug technology isn't as advanced, and since these players are not as known, the media like ESPN doesn't mention them except in passing if at all. In fact many just have their names mentioned in scrolls as the main program are being aired. Then of course they claim that noon wants to know, but in effect if we aren't told about this, how can we care about something we don't know about? It's just that they market themselves based upon the major stars and don't care, so they don't feel obligated to announce it. Talk about censorship of the news! Tell us and let us care folks!

Barroid of course is famous due to his assault of this record so every move he makes is recorded (Barry Bonds picked his nose today, news at 11) and shoved down our throats. Barroid's other problem is the fact that he doesn't treat people right. He is known for his snapping at reporters and fans, even those that support him. Of curse this is one side effect of steroids, irrational quick anger. There is also the famous book out there from a couple of years ago, “Game of Shadows” that detail the information the government has on Barroid and others. This is the most damning evidence along with his ex-mistress talking about the steroid use and tax evasion.

There is the rub (as the English might say), in that we have the most prolific home run hitter in the history of the game, but baseball cannot profit by marketing his image or his achievements. I think that is why the commissioner Bud Selig looked like he just choked on a pile of manure when Barry hit the home run that tied the record. Now that he broke the record, the real fun starts. If he was a nice and contrite as he was during his post game interview throughout his career he would be a national hero instead of the pariah that he has become. Again the steroids he took to reach this mark is to blame for his actions off the field. Too bad as he just let his ego run away and now it is time to pay the piper.

Luckily for baseball, the game will survive and as long as MLB doesn't make the same mistake that the NBA did by changing their marketing strategy away from marketing the game and teams to marketing the individual players above the game.

Remember players come and go, but the game remains, so that is where their marketing resources should be focused and we'll still remain fans.

Mahalo.

..And I'm The Only One!

Woe The NBA!

Yes that line from the 1970's Disney production of A.A. Milne's classic “Winnie The Pooh” is what the NBA is hoping to hear from disgraced referee Tim Donaghy in reference to the betting/fixing scandal that has just emerged this summer. It didn't emerge from anything the NBA did of course, but from an investigation into mob activities by the FBI.

The scandal surrounds one referee (Donaghy) who owed an alleged mobster money from gambling. He supposedly made some calls to influence the “Over/Under” on games he was reffing in so that the mob could clean up on bets. The “Over/Under” refers to the total points scored by both teams in a game and is a popular bet both legally and illegally. He was able to keep some players form scoring by calling fouls on them (and maybe even get them out of the game either by having too many fouls early in the game, or having that particular player fouling out) to decrease the overall score, or if he needed to increase the score, allow for a team to get to the foul line more during the game to get more points on the board.

The commissioner of the NBA, David Stern, came out and gave a very measured press conference in which he kept referring to Donaghy as a “rogue referee” who was acting alone, and he was certain there was no others involved. The trouble with that statement was that one of the other charges was that Donaghy was supplying his mob contact with “info on other games”, what ever that was to mean. How could he possibly have “information” about other games he wasn't refereeing in if he didn't have accomplices? Let's face it, injury reports are public knowledge, so that can't be it. Personal problems of players? Well that pretty much is reported in the news as well so that's not it either. So what information could he possibly be passing on? No one is saying just yet and the investigation continues.

The NBA has a definite image problem that seems to not want to go away. First of all is the conception (or misconception depending upon your point of view) that the league has turned into a “Thug” league. The conception has emerged because as the players get younger and miss the development that college ball has to offer, the game has evolved into more of one-on-one street type of game. Some people like this sort of thing others are bored by it (like me if I want to see a street game, I'd go down to the local YMCA). Also the players on the bench (injured, inactive etc.) were dressing in clothes that were deemed “too casual”, and resembled “gang wear”. Stern took this in consideration and put a decree out that players not in uniform should wear suits and ties. This is of course response to the so called “concerned citizens” who think that by doing this gangs will disappear because they won't have their haberdashery models (yea like this made a difference).

The other image problem is that for years people have been saying that the games (especially the playoffs) are bing fixed to maximize the TV audiences, or to eliminate Stern's least liked owners. One of whom is the Dallas Maverick's owner Mark Cuban. Cuban tends to be a bit outspoken about the stodginess of the league and is trying to improve the game in other ways. Stern doesn't appreciate any criticism in the way he markets the league to younger audiences, even when it comes from someone who made billions through marketing to young audiences.

I have this same image of the league based upon watching on TV. I have never been a huge basketball fan. I watch during the post season as the regular season games seemed a bit boring and pointless to me. Of course growing up in Chicago we had the Bulls, and the Jordan years were exciting, but then again only when the intensity was ramped up for the playoffs. It was during theses games that I would see uneven refereeing. Calls made against one team were not called against the other. Also it seemed like certain teams were given advantages at the end of close games that allowed them to pull off miracle wins. One particular game was a Bulls-Knicks contest during the first Jordan “retirement” era when the bulls looked like they were going to pull off an upset and real ticky-tack foul was called on Scottie Pippen that allowed the Knicks to win the game and advance...hmm. But the game that soured me for good was a Laker-Trailblazer game where it looked like, again, Portland would advance t the finals and the Shaq led Lakers were going down in defeat, when all of a sudden the Portland center was being called for phantom ticky-tack fouls while Shaq was allowed to just barrel through, and take as many steps (called traveling or walking in the NBA rule book) as he wanted. Again the league really needed the Lakers in the finals to pull ratings, and guess what, they did! Imagine that, what a coincidence.

There are so many no-calls and ticky-tack fouls being called that how can the NBA be sure more refs are not on the take? The explanation is that these are “judgment calls” made on the fly. What is the use of a rule book if everything is subjective depending upon how the referees are feeling that day? What is the point of a rule book if a call is made one game, but not in another? Why have referees if they are not enforcing the rules? Just let the teams suit up and let it the players go if you are not going to enforce the rules properly.

The main problem is that the league office seems to tie themselves into marketing players not the game. They want to sell merchandise and shoes endorsed by these players. I guess they realize that marketing the game itself (like Football and Baseball) doesn't work as the public seems to think that basketball played by the rule book is boring and something we do in elementary school gym class.

The NBA is slowly going the way of the WWE as more and more people are recognizing the bad calls and obvious way the championship is being decided (by the league office once playoffs are under way). I mean they went out of their way to try and rein in the “Star Player” treatment and enforce the “Team”concept by having San Antonio win it this year, but it was so blatant that only a brain-dead moron couldn't see through the facade.

Yes there is a big problem in the NBA and I fear (for their sakes) that Tim Donaghy is only the tip of the old iceberg and when this trial starts, more dark secrets will be revealed and David Stern will be wincing once again in front of press row as he squirms for answers.

Woe the NBA, a great concept, but the hubris got them in the end.

Mahalo.

Ron “Ookie” Mexico (AKA Michael Vick) is Going To the Dogs

 

How disgusting is this?

Unless you have been living under a rock the past 24 hours, you know the story. Michael Vick the quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons has been indicted for Training dogs for fighting, being the money man for dog fighting tournaments across state lines, and killing dogs that won't fight in very disgusting and cruel manner (hanging, electrocution, drowning and repeatedly slamming them on the ground).

This is just another in a list of disturbing and stupid behavior this guy has been involved with throughout his career. There is the incident where he checked into motels with prostitutes, but using the name “Ron Mexico”. Funny as soon as this story came out NFL shops were inundated with requests for Falcon jerseys bearing the number 7 (Vick's uniform number)and customized with the name “Mexico” in lace of Vick's. Of course the NFL tried to bury the story and canceled all orders. Then earlier this year was the incident at the airport where he tried to sneak a bong disguised as a water bottle through airport security. According to the authorities it smelled of marijuana and had a false bottom. They confiscated this and he wasn't charged. Three months later he started to make a stink about getting his “bottle” back as he claimed to have valuable earrings hidden in the bottom. Funny how they weren't there, nor did he mention them at the time of the incident. And waiting 3 months to ask about them? Talk about a chowderheaded explanation, long after the incident was put to bed by the media. Oh yea here is the swearing at and giving the finger to fans as he walked off the field after a bad game.

You see Vick is considered hot property as far as marketing the game and getting sponsors. Vick as far as his talent is concerned, is a very talented and exciting player. He has the propensity to make exciting big plays when things go awry on the field. But alas one man a team does not make. The Falcons have been guilty of not putting a decent enough supporting cast for them to win the big games.

Vick has been hot property for Nike and EA sports amongst others. The NFL uses him in their promos to build interest. Regretfully none of these companies have stepped forward to distance themselves from this troubled athlete, like they have done other less popular/known ones. However there will be a backlash coming once more details of his involvement comes out in the coming months.

How about Home Depot? This is relevant as the owner of the Falcons (Arther Blank) is the CEO of Home Depot and since he is still supporting Vick, there could be some trouble as it might appear that he is supporting dog fighting and there could be boycotts of Home Depots around the country. But at the same time Blank has to be seen to be loyal to his most marketable player. This is the trouble with building a marketing program for a team around one player. In a sense he put all his eggs in Vick's basket, and he dropped it.

This disgusting behavior was made even worse as he continually lied to both Blank and the NFL about his involvement, embarrassing them and making them look like fools. So what does the NFL with their new discipline policy in place do? This isn't a misdemeanor, it's a Federal Indictment. Where is PETA in all this? Why aren't they taking to the streets and demanding the NFL and the sponsors cut their ties? Maybe I'm in a bit early and they are already doing this.

One can only hope justice is done and the idiots get their due.

Mahalo.

Er,Maybe the iPhone isn't the End All After All.

Ok the Apple iPhone has been out for two weeks now and the reality is starting to set in for users.

Yes, I do agree it does look great but still the problems are mounting up.

First of all there is the problem with the carrier (AT&T, formerly Cingular) and getting set up and activated. Then comes the highly restricted user agreement and realizing that they can shut you down if they feel that you are using the web services too much.

Second is the idea of being able to “browse the web” and viewing regular web sites instead of special built WAP pages. The pages are too small and being able to read any articles etc. one will get eye strain (or maybe get a magnifiers for computers like the ones in the movie “Brazil”). Plus to view the whole page one has to use the slide bars, so you don't get the whole page experience. BTW the slide bars aren't precise so you can get frustrated as you slide back and forth to find the spot you want to continue reading (or viewing the latest Paris or Britany pic). Plus of course is the absence of streaming audio and video built into the service.

Third is the screen itself. Yes touch screens are nice, but they tend to wear out. After a few months of service, there will more than likely be indents and worn spots from toughing the same buttons over and over again. If your hands are cold, wet, sticky or greasy, forget about being able to use the phone. The natural oils in people's skin will also affect the screen everytime you hold the phone to your face while talking.

This is not a comprehensive list, just the obvious ones. As people are using it they are finding that they have one again fell into the SJRDF (Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field).

Once again however Steve Jobs did a masterful job at marketing his company's new product. He is masterful at getting attention and making a market his through his force of personality. It is amazing how many of these so-called “journalists” in the media actual read his PR pieces instead of actually investigating the claims that his stuff is “revolutionary”. Just a little effort would see that these products are just his version of existing products. But I guess no one wants to seem “uncool” and actually do some work and tel the truth.

I will give Steve Jobs this much, due to his personality and marketing genius he has this way of dazzling the general public into actually believing his products are the first in a market. He is the best marketer since P.T. Barnum, and is an excellent practitioner of his methods in duping the gullible. Those of us who are resistant or have escaped the SJRDF admire his hold on these people while shaking are heads at the zombies (fanboys/fangirls) responding to his calls.

Yes as long as Steve Jobs is active, Apple Inc will thrive, once he is gone and retired, well......

Mahalo.