Stormhoek Dinner in the Natural State Au Naturel

The Stormhoek 100 Dinners in 100 Days kicks off tomorrow in San Antonio. In a recent post Jason Korman kids us about being in the Natural State:

Perhaps most intriguing is the group planning to have their
dinner party 'in a natural state'. Well, who are we to judge?
It doesn't matter to us what you do (or don't) wear! We just
hope you have good conversation, and most of all enjoy the
wine! Although on reflection, they may have meant a party in
The Natural State of Arkansas … Well either way, we hope you
have fun guys. We're pulling straws to see who from
Stormhoek attends that one.

And there is going to be some great swag:

Hugh's first Limited Edition Print, a new Brochure, and a unique Guest List Print.

And yes, we expect our Beautifully Small and Very Remote Geek Dinner to be Great, Good Fun!

The Doctor On The Corner On The Square

Yesterday the Doctor was In! Serenity Inc. was having an event on the Square, and we had a chance to see Danny R. Watson in action.

We also had a chance to meet his lovely wife and daughters. We were starting to gather the kernels that will pop into Global MicroBranding.

Jump the Shark or Grow the Beard

Last Sunday we thought of the phrase "Jump The Shark", and looked it up on Wikipedia:

the tipping point at which a TV series is deemed to have passed its peak. Once a show has "jumped the shark," fans sense a noticeable decline.

And here is the opposite:

"crashed into the fried chicken stand" (also based on a Happy Days moment) and "growing the beard" (Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation).

Last Monday Robert Scoble posted on transforming Microsoft and Thursday we were in Little Rock at a Microsoft TS2 Event, and saw just what Scoble was talking about -- the upcoming products are cool, but the Microsoft presenter scornfully called the marketing department "Marketeers" and said "The Marketeers job is to just change the word and the numbers around like 2007 Office, they switch them around and then say here's your new name."

We all make daily choices to Jump or Grow, what is yours?

Lightning, Thunder, and Rain

Last night the Sky made love to the Earth with Lightning, Thunder, and Rain! A thunderstorm is like a Global Microbrand, it is a small brand that travels well. And today four customers called before we had even left home. And we talked with Peggy Freeman about naturally healing weather and airplanes, and with The Doctor, Danny R. Watson about kettle corn decommoditification, and with Skyler Greene about website coding. Smells like Global Microbranding, fresh and clean!

Stormhoek 100 Dinners in Mountain Home, Arkansas

Yesterday we spoke with Lead Park Ranger J. Mark Eddings, Jr. of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Little Rock District, Mountain Home Project Office about using Cranfield Park facilities for our Stormhoek Geek Dinner. Today, word got back that it was fine for us to enjoy the Stormhoek wine there, so all we need to do is finalize the date, pick our pavilion, pay the fee, call the caterer, and send out the invitations!

The Baxter Bulletin: Misty Olen Passes Microsoft Exam

We are always happy to get local coverage in the Bulletin, and returning to Google Analytics we see global coverage too. We have gotten some referrals from Hugh MacLeod's Global Microbrand Page and now we have had visits from fourteen states and seven countries. A small step in Global MicroBranding.

Google Analytics Calisthenics

We have been playing with Google Analytics the last week or so, and it is a lot of fun. First we loaded code snippets into the html code for TLCmagic.com and this blog and our Kid Quotes blog, and for the Twin Lakes Soccer Association site. Then we can go to the Google Analytics page and track things like visits and page views and locations and much more. The numbers are still low, and concentrated in Arkansas, but we have had visits from across the United States, and Canada and England too. When it comes to Global MicroBranding, you have got to start from somewhere!

Local MacroUnBranding ReBranded

We could not resist tweaking the site we designed for the Twin Lakes Soccer Association, and we came up with something more to our liking, something less Local MacroUnBranding and more Global MicroBranding. We like it like that!

Local MacroUnBranding

We just put together a site for the soccer league that our daughter Madison plays in. We did not design the name or domain name, nor the logo or tagline, just the look and feel of the site navigation, and we put in everything that the Board wanted to put in. It is all purely local, not a Global MicroBrand, just situated software for local folks who care about soccer the way parents in West Texas care about high school football. Is it Global MicroBranding to create a Local MacroUnBrand?

First Year Anniversary!

Yesterday we celebrated our first year anniversary in business as Twin Lakes Computer Magic. We thank the 103 Customers of the Year! For us the highlights were:

1. Starting in the first place
2. Working with Mary Carlson and Mick Lucenta
3. Opening the Office on the Corner on the Square at 101 East 6th Street.
4. The Christmas Season of Purple Beach Balls, Dickens on the Square, and Story Telling
5. The New Year focus on Global MicroBranding.

In the immediate future we have a website we designed going live and in May the Stormhoek 100 Dinners dinner that we are organizing. And beyond that we have plans of Design and Consulting. Thank you all!