Rain-Resistant Beach Balls!

 

Face It!

We laughed out loud when reading this page in Tom Asacker's Thought Piece "On Branding: A Visual Presentation." You can get the .pdf at http://www.acleareye.com/thoughts/ and enjoy other good stuff.

First Snow!

 

Broken Windows. Broken Business.

Brand Autopsy: Broken Windows. Broken Business.

John Moore reviews this new book:

"Michael Levine, author and media/PR expert, has just published a book, BROKEN WINDOWS BROKEN BUSINESS, applying the broken windows theory to business. Levine’s premise is that a broken window in business happens when someone isn’t paying attention to details."

UPS Restocks Beach Balls!

 

Do You Produce?

Seth's Blog: Do you produce?

Seth Godin asks a great question:

"Producing is not about making someting. It's about making something other people thought couldn't be done--or were too distracted to do themselves."

Courthouse Christmas Lights

 

Advertising Relevance

*Star In The Margin: Advertising Relevance

Michael Chaffin looks at the choices people make:

"The result is that every day more and more people are making their buying decisions based on something other than advertising, especially the “shove it down your throat when you’re not interested” variety. Instead, they seek-out and tune-in to people and places they believe are credible and have their best interest in mind…people like family, friends and travel agents…places like blogs, podcasts and newsletters. More and more, people are tuning out the interruptions and turning their attention to more objective and relevant sources of information."

Literacy Council Storytelling

 

Never Underestimate the Power of Fun

Creating Passionate Users: Never Underestimate the Power of Fun

Kathy Sierra gives her take on the Power of Fun:

"And human (mammal) brains are tuned for play. Evolution favored those with a high play drive, because play=learning, play=practice, and learning/practice=survival. Play--and laughter--sends a signal to the brain that "this is good, and it matters", which is why we're often more likely to remember especially funny things than neutral or annoying things."

Beach Ball Breakout!

 

Google: Ten Golden Rules

Google: Ten Golden Rules - Issues 2006 - MSNBC.com

How Google seeks to get the most from knowledge workers:

"The ongoing debate about whether big corporations are mismanaging knowledge workers is one we take very seriously, because those who don't get it right will be gone. We've drawn on good ideas we've seen elsewhere and come up with a few of our own."

TLCmagic Beach Ball Arrival!

 

The Needle, the Vise... and the Baby Rattle

Seth's Blog: The needle, the vise... and the baby rattle

Seth Godin brilliantly breaks it down: "Most ventures that want to grow do some sort of marketing. And that marketing can be divided into two things that work. And one that doesn't."

Plant Reflections

 

Business Porn (cont.)

gapingvoid: business porn (cont.)

Hugh Macleod gives a hilarious definition: "Business Porn is just like Ordinary Porn or Real Estate Porn, except instead of it being about the women we wished we could sleep with, or the houses we wish we owned, it's about all those cool, lucrative, exciting jobs and businesses that we wish we had, instead of the normal, tedious, schleppy crap most of us end up doing to pay the bills."

Holiday Decor

 

RadioShack’s Holiday Irrelevance

Brand Autopsy: RadioShack’s Holiday Irrelevance

John Moore comments smartly on Holiday advertising:

"If you are expecting a multi-million/multi-dimensional Holiday advertising blitz to make a brand relevant, then you should expect to fail. Businesses and brands are not made with heavy-up Holiday advertising. They are made with all the everyday marketing and business activities done in the many months before Christmas comes."

Swinging & Flying

 

In mapping our revolution, yesterday we went over to Bull Shoals to play and roast hot dogs and marshmallows! 

Mapping a revolution with 'mashups'

Mapping a revolution with 'mashups' | CNET News.com

This excellent article shows the direction of use of the Net:

"With such "mashups"--hybrid software that combines content from more than one source--digital maps are quickly becoming a centralized tool for countless uses ranging from local shopping and traffic reports to online dating and community organizing, all in real time and right down to specific addresses.

Online mapping is evolving into a historic nexus of disparate technologies and communities that is changing the fundamental use of the Internet, as well as redefining the concept of maps in our culture. Along the way, map mashups are providing perhaps the clearest idea yet of commercial applications for the generation of so-called social technologies they represent. "

Bud Bill

 

Beach Trees

 

Surf Bird

 

Shiny Curl

Wet Rocks

 

Big Rock

 

Misty Reflection

 

Eucalyptus Trees

 

Tall Trees

 

Overlooking Vallejo

 

This past weekend we flew out to Sacramento, drove to Fairfield, and then Stinson Beach for a Great Healing Adventure! 

Christmas Bauble Sneak Peak

 

Understanding Local Max

Seth's Blog: Understanding Local Max

Seth Godin points out the paradox and problem of the Local Max:

"Local Max isn't actually that great when you realize that Big Max is not particularly far away.

The problem is that to get to Big Max, you need to go through step C, which is a horrible and scary place to be."

As the leaves change, and the Christmas Season approaches, decorations appear on this Courthouse tree.