Letting Go Of First Impressions
A few years ago, I was looking at books on No Limit Hold 'em in the poker section of Borders. I picked up a rather advanced one that was written by David Sklansky and Ed Miller, who are very smart cookies when it comes to poker writing and are more than happy to throw their knowledge of more advanced mathematical concepts, as they apply to poker, into your face. As I stood there thumbing through...
PowerMilk
I realize that the American Dairy Association (is that what they're called? I'm not going to look it up) probably doesn't want to jump on the bandwagon of the latest "energy drink" craze, by if they want kids to start drinking milk to get calcium and healthy bones and whatever, why don't they create a version of milk that has caffeine in it? Call it "PowerMilk" and sell it in vending machines in high schools...
Peeps Marshmallows, Pre-Staled!
When I was in college, I lived with a large group of people. Among them, there was a girl who had a bag of Marshmallow Peeps around Easter. Someone found the box sitting open and unwrapped in a cupboard, and they asked her about it. Aren't these going to go bad? "I'm 'staling' them," she replied with a smile. She wasn't the first person to have this revelation. I remember discovering at a very young...
It's the End of the World As We Know It
People often try and conclude debates (particularly those online) by making grand statements about how the world is going to come to an end. For example: "If we lose our newspapers, it's going to be undoing of our civilization and we're all going to be sorry." This is an appealing way to try and get people's attention, because we've all been taught that the best way to get people to listen to you (and agree...
Please Sell Me A Lotus-Effect® Spoon
A German engineering company developed a spoon, to which even the most viscous liquids will not stick. You can dip it into honey, and they honey will roll right off without leaving a trace. The actual composition of the surface of the spoon is based on the properties of the leaves of the lotus flower. Even liquids like glue will roll right off the surface of the leaf. Here's the company website, as well as...
Las Vegas and Little Boxes
Three years ago, I went to Las Vegas for the first time, and I was very surprised at what I discovered there. Nothing worth talking about. I'm not the first person to venture into "The Entertainment Capital of the World" and come away confused about it how it developed that reputation. I've spoken to several other people who spent a few days in Vegas and, after wandering around on the strip and seeing a show,...
Are Companies Even Listening To Us?
I spend a lot of time shopping and spending money on books on Amazon.com. They do an absolutely great job making product recommendations to me. I've actually spent more money because their cross-selling algorithm is so effective at determining what I want. Contrast this with Borders. Borders made me get this annoying "Borders Rewards" card that they make me haul around on my keys to get discounts and coupons from them. As an individual, they...
Apple To The Rescue
Here's a recent status update from a friend of mine on Facebook: "If I've said it once, I'll say it a kazillion times...Apple is the BEST company EVER! Yeah, they're more expensive, but at least in this case, you definitely get what you pay for-it's TOTALLY worth it! Hooray, hooray!!" Apple fans rave about their products, and love telling their stories about great customer service. But is that really all there is to it? Is...
Another Use for Surveillance
Last night, my girlfriend and I were hanging around in Borders, looking for a book that she was interested in reading. After having looked it up in their computer, we spent about ten minutes wandering around the section it was supposedly located in, trying to narrow down exactly where it was. After a while, I started looking around for an employee to help us out, and I became aware of the black bubbles on the...
American Red Cross Commercial
I've always thought that if you were in Marketing or Advertising, that every single show on network television would suddenly turn into the Super Bowl. Instead of muting the commercials or ignoring them, you'd pay attention because you'd be looking for inspiration or critique the commercials for their effectiveness. As of late, I've been studying marketing concepts, mostly because of my interest in the value of Social Marketing, so when the television is on in...