BIO
http://myspace.com/thestr8sounds
http://pluperfecter.blogspot.com
Music composer. Film maker. Music video director. Digital artist. Social media specialist. Web usability analyst. Pacifist.
http://pluperfecter.blogspot.com
Music composer. Film maker. Music video director. Digital artist. Social media specialist. Web usability analyst. Pacifist.
Sibling Topics (section a) (2009) and K-CoreaINC.K (section a) (2009) - Ryan Trecartin
I'm a huge fan of Ryan Trecartin and Twitter links to his videos on YouTube and articles on Artforum. Love the color and sound dynamics plus the great use and misuse of video editor transition and art distortion effects.
General Web Content
I once saw an ad for paperclips in an office supply catalog. It was funny seeing how the copywriter had to struggle with saying something unique and compelling about a lowly non-descript paper clip. On and on he eulogized, praising and accolading the bent and twisted wire that held paper stacks insurgently together, against their will, with ruthless intent and supple skill.
Music Videos for Abandoned Art Galleries
In a recent issue of Artforum, video artists whined that the average person, with magical user-generated content, is collectively, in online social media, usurping the fields of film experimentation, cultural deconstruction, and art rebellion.
At issue: the music video, art film, visual media installation.
Collage. Cut up. Repetition. Pop iconography. Anti-consumerism. Malfunction. Noncommercial intent. Copy and paste. Mix and mash. Absurdity. Anarchy. Mundane/sublime. Default settings for anti-art.
What used to be avant garde provinces and techniques are now overtaken by the unwashed masses, doing it because they're bored, not even intending to produce art or innovation.
Shall we weep and mourn our loss of privilege and power?
Shall we give up and say there are no more video frontiers, thanks to YouTube?
When did artists suddenly begin to lag behind the fans, and whose fault is this, if it indeed be true? What lament is going to turn things around for us? Or do we need action?
Sonic Notice: If you make computer/electronic music, and also music videos, even what are known as installations and multi media minstrel tra la las, then...
I'd like to look at and listen to (see and hear) what you're doing.
The "read" in this "thread" is this: my eyes and ears are tuned into you if you know what I almost mean.
Dada is the official artform of anarchy. Only extreme art is real. Imitation is lost and forgotten before it begins to exist. Xenakis: "I exist only when doing something new."
Ping me.
At issue: the music video, art film, visual media installation.
Collage. Cut up. Repetition. Pop iconography. Anti-consumerism. Malfunction. Noncommercial intent. Copy and paste. Mix and mash. Absurdity. Anarchy. Mundane/sublime. Default settings for anti-art.
What used to be avant garde provinces and techniques are now overtaken by the unwashed masses, doing it because they're bored, not even intending to produce art or innovation.
Shall we weep and mourn our loss of privilege and power?
Shall we give up and say there are no more video frontiers, thanks to YouTube?
When did artists suddenly begin to lag behind the fans, and whose fault is this, if it indeed be true? What lament is going to turn things around for us? Or do we need action?
Sonic Notice: If you make computer/electronic music, and also music videos, even what are known as installations and multi media minstrel tra la las, then...
I'd like to look at and listen to (see and hear) what you're doing.
The "read" in this "thread" is this: my eyes and ears are tuned into you if you know what I almost mean.
Dada is the official artform of anarchy. Only extreme art is real. Imitation is lost and forgotten before it begins to exist. Xenakis: "I exist only when doing something new."
Ping me.
FAIL and FAKE as AESTHETIC OF NEW MEDIA
All man-made things are necessarily artificial, like music. Natural painting is a sunset or galaxies colliding. All else is fake. All art is fake. All writing is false. All thought is hair spray. All hair is phony. All alls are bad. All this is making me thirsty for 12 more cups of coffee. Keep making digital thingamajigs and post them to the web and DESTROY the Mainstream Interslavement System. Down with celebrity. Rise of You and Me.
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SEO Resources
Here's a list of information on search engine optimization (SEO).
Online Resources
Google Webmaster Tools
Google SEO Starter Guide [PDF]
Google Webmaster Central blog
Google's Inside Search blog
Matt Cutts (Distinguished Engineer at Google, in charge of web spam) blog
Search Engine Land
Search Engine Journal
Search Engine Roundtable
SEOMoz blog
Brad Geddes / Certified Knowledge blog
Traffick: the Business of Search blog
Webmaster Radio FM [podcasts]
SEO Book blog
Google Blogoscoped
Search Engine Watch
State of Search
SEO Chat [forums]
Local SEO Guide
Stone Temple blog
Recommended SEO Books
The Art of SEO – by Stephen Spencer, et al
Search Engine Optimization Secrets – by Danny Dover
Marketing in the Age of Google – by Vanessa Fox
Get to the Top on Google – by David Viney
Landing Page Optimization – by Tim Ash
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Google Search Results Without URLs?
This has to be one of the worst developments I've ever seen regarding search engines.
If Google actually makes this change of removing the URLs of listings, you won't be able to spot a malicious, spammy, or poor quality domain, and you'll waste a lot of time visiting websites that repulse you, but somehow got a high SERP ranking.
Many people, and especially web savvy professionals, look at the URL (web address, starting with http://www. ) to decide if a webpage or website is worth visiting.
Let's hope this test is abandoned and never implemented. Otherwise, the Age of Blind Web Navigation is upon us.
http://searchengineland.com/google-testing-search-results-without-urls-158127
Here's what search results without URLs looks like:
SEO and Social Media Presentation
Learn how SEO and social media can work together to achieve your business goals. Find out the secrets of Google-compliant search engine optimization. Discover how to leverage the core values of social media: sharing and caring -- to gain a strong competitive advantage.
If you're a beginner with little understanding of computers and online marketing -- or you're the head of IT at your company -- you'll learn all the basics and new things you've never heard before.
Watch me do a quick SEO (search engine optimization) diagnosis on the websites of large, prestigious companies, showing you the SEO errors they need to fix, and how to fix them.
Take back to your company a wide array of practical, down to earth tactics that can boost your search engine rankings, drive qualified traffic to your website, and interact on social media to establish your industry leadership and become top of mind choice.
No droning on and on in vague generalities.
Easy to understand explanations, step by step tips, and specific examples.
No droning on and on in vague generalities.
Easy to understand explanations, step by step tips, and specific examples.
Co-presented with Randy McDaniels, President, McDaniels Interactive (Pekin, IL).
Mark your calendars now.
Peoria Public Library, North Branch.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013 from 6 PM to 7:30 PM.
SEO Joke
So this SEO expert walks into a bar, nightclub, tavern, saloon, dive, speakeasy, pub, lounge, honky tonk, roadhouse and orders a beer, brew, lager, ale, stout, cold one, drink, alcohol, liquor, liquid refreshment, intoxicating beverage and notices, spots, sees, looks at, identifies, recognizes, gazes at, surveys, pays attention to, picks up on his radar, stares at, observes a really beautiful woman, lady, gal, chick, female, girl, dame, lass, broad, widow, sweet young thing, opposite sex, floozy, temptress, sister, bimbo, ma'am, flirt, skirt, blonde, vixen, vamp, diva, princess, matron, hot mama, fox, babe.
That was a joke, quip, gag, laugh riot, wisecrack, tomfoolery, jeer, chuckle generator, humorous saying, funny remark, josh, kidding around, tease, jape, spoof, jest, spree, silliness, gambol, verbal frolic, goofy statement, LOL.
Unreadable Website Text: Light Gray on White Backgrounds
Do NOT use light gray text on a white background, even though almost every web designer is doing this.
It is horrible, this trend of faint text that is almost impossible to read. If you want people to be able to read your text, make it solid black, or at least a dark color on a light background. Light colors on light backgrounds are unreadable. They make you look like an amateur.
It is horrible, this trend of faint text that is almost impossible to read. If you want people to be able to read your text, make it solid black, or at least a dark color on a light background. Light colors on light backgrounds are unreadable. They make you look like an amateur.
http://www.advmediaproductions.com/blog/grey-text-and-a-white-background-what-happened-to-readability-of-type/
What are they teaching in the web design schools and seminars these days?
What on earth is the point of making your text so "subdued" or "subtle" that it appears to be erased, vanishing, illegible?
What are they teaching in the web design schools and seminars these days?
What on earth is the point of making your text so "subdued" or "subtle" that it appears to be erased, vanishing, illegible?
http://www.goodexperience.com/tib/archives/2005/05/things_that_nee.html
I know one excuse. Some designers hate words. They want their pretty unimaginative pictures and fancy boring design elements to get all the attention. The text is just a nuisance to them. They don't like to read. They like to look at colors and illustrations and photos.
Here's the worst example I've ever seen....
http://www.globalsiteplans.com/internet-marketing-services/search-engine-optimization-seo/
I know one excuse. Some designers hate words. They want their pretty unimaginative pictures and fancy boring design elements to get all the attention. The text is just a nuisance to them. They don't like to read. They like to look at colors and illustrations and photos.
Here's the worst example I've ever seen....
http://www.globalsiteplans.com/internet-marketing-services/search-engine-optimization-seo/
UNICEF Doesn't Understand Social Media Interactions
I've been managing social media marketing for clients for many years now, having started my own blog in 2005. I've seen just about every type of bizarre social activity you can think of, but this one shocked even me.
This statement by UNICEF is rude, ignorant, and disrespectful:
"Like us on Facebook and we will vaccinate zero children against polio. We have nothing against likes, but vaccine costs money. Please buy polio vaccines at unicef.se. It will only cost you 4 € but will save the lives of 12 children."
Here's why I consider this to be a terrible use of social media:
(1) It's wrong to imply that liking a Facebook non-profit page does nothing financially for the organization. I am a trustee of a non-profit, and our grant writer has stated that likes, shares, and comments on Facebook help the organization to acquire grant funding. Social media interactions indicate that the non-profit is reaching out to the community and the community is responding and engaging with the organization.
(2) Getting more likes, shares and comments on Facebook will increase a Facebook page's Edgerank, which means Facebook will distribute that organization's status updates to more people. Thus, clicking Like helps the organization reach more people with their messages and appeals.
(3) It has been proven that a person who engages with a website in any way is more likely to buy something or donate money, than someone who does not, and is just a lurker. Clicking on Like is one step toward more participation and should not be disparaged.
(4) Many people support a non-profit by other means than donating money. Some people are barely surviving financially, but have time to volunteer. This UNICEF message is an insult to those who contribute time and work to the organization.
(5) Many people don't trust charities, in terms of how donation funds are handled. They see huge salaries for the administrators and only a tiny percentage of funds going to the needy people.
(6) Attempting to scold, shame, and guilt trip people into donating money to your organization is a rather unimaginative and desperate methodology. It can make you look greedy and putting too much value on money. If the administrators are receiving incredibly high salaries and perks, this is going to look really bad for the organization.
(7) "Give us more money, dammit" is not an effective fundraising approach. Donors are more willing to give money when they are told exactly what is being done with donations, with photos and financial audit reports to prove it.
(8) It almost sounds like UNICEF is being gleeful about how liking them on Facebook will not help them give medical treatments (vaccines in this case) to children who need them. This odd mixture of stern gloating, a blend of scowling and chortling, can be easily misinterpreted as misanthropic.
(9) A negative message may be effective in some cases, but people in general respond better to positive appeals. When you explain how funds are used, and how even a little bit of money goes a long way, people will typically feel good about donating.
(10) When a person clicks Like or Share, or posts a comment, at a non-profit page on Facebook, that person is far closer to donating money, or volunteering, than a person who does not interact with the non-profit organization. So we should not dismiss social media interactions as being of no value.
Some Facebook users have stated that they like this UNICEF message. I get the impression that the fans are a bit hostile to social media and want to see it debunked. Others seem to potentially be jealous of how some Facebook pages get a lot of likes, but they do not, so they want to see likes as trivial and worthless.
Still others may be the types who really trust what charities do with the donated money, and think that money is the only thing that helps a non-profit. Thus, they don't really know how non-profits operate, nor how much they depend on PR, volunteers, and good will.
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Top 5 Reasons Why Aliens Will NOT Visit Planet Earth
(5) There are far more fascinating places to visit in the universe.
(4) Our technology is focused on war and entertainment, two things they've evolved beyond any need for.
(3) We've ruined our planet with toxins, radiation, and political parties.
(2) We don't live long enough to really learn anything and be interesting to them.
(1) We don't taste good.
http://science.slashdot.org/story/13/04/26/1834226/why-well-never-meet-aliens
(4) Our technology is focused on war and entertainment, two things they've evolved beyond any need for.
(3) We've ruined our planet with toxins, radiation, and political parties.
(2) We don't live long enough to really learn anything and be interesting to them.
(1) We don't taste good.
http://science.slashdot.org/story/13/04/26/1834226/why-well-never-meet-aliens
Technology Articles on The Peorian
I am honored to announce that I've been invited, by fellow Peoria Historical Society trustee Kevin Kizer, to be a contributing author for The Peorian online magazine.
A section for Technology has been created for my articles that will deal with social media, web content development, and SEO (search engine optimization -- driving qualified customer traffic to websites). Other Peorian authors are also invited to fill up this Tech category with their own articles.
Here are the articles I have written for The Peorian so far:
Creating Web Content Related to Breaking News
Use Social Media for Urgent Announcements About Flooding
Like Farming: Gaming Facebook for Fans
Facebook's Secret Benefit: Psychic Relief for Criminals
How to Identify and Defeat an Internet Troll
Here are the articles I have written for The Peorian so far:
Creating Web Content Related to Breaking News
Use Social Media for Urgent Announcements About Flooding
Like Farming: Gaming Facebook for Fans
Facebook's Secret Benefit: Psychic Relief for Criminals
How to Identify and Defeat an Internet Troll
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Worst Mistake You Can Make in Web Design PODCAST
Listen to internet radio with Vaspers SEO and Web Usability Show on BlogTalkRadio
The "We-oriented" website is probably the most horrible type of corporate website.
Company-centric websites are full of news, events, and fluff, but fail to explain how any of it benefits the customer. Often there is no guidance on selecting the best product for a specific customer situation.
You've seen websites that were so busy strutting around, bragging about their company that you couldn't figure out which of their products was best suited to your situation.
You've see websites that were cold, aloof, dismal, with no photos of people smiling as they used a product to solve a problem, enhance a lifestyle, or satisfy a need.
Here's why you should not focus on your company or even your products, but on customer needs.
Make your website more prductive in achieving business goals. Communicate how your products solve customer problems -- and how your company is differentiated from competitors.
SHOW NOTE: A web designer calls in to my show and adds some great remarks about incorporating a blog into the website, using Facebook, obtaining web content, and related issues.
I Ate the Bones - a "feel bad" ad campaign
I really like this KFC ad campaign "I Ate the Bones" promoting their boneless chicken. Funny and memorable way to get their point across.
Sort of a "feel bad" strategy. I really can't stand most of those dumbed down "feel good" commercials, with no good reasons to choose a brand, just balloons and music and jumping around ecstatically.
If all a product does is make you feel good emotionally, or it enhances your lifestyle which makes you feel good, I can see using a "feel good" ad campaign.
But when you offer no solid logic as to why your brand is better, using a "feel good" ad campaign is a cop-out. You can't tell us why your brand is better than the competition? Why don't you try asking satisfied customers?
I'm going to spend a huge amount of money on your product, and all you can communicate to me is the "good feeling" I'll have as an owner? I'll feel good, based on what?
Do your homework. Talk to your customers. Find out what differentiates your brand from your competitors. If you're offering something new, but your competitors also offer the same thing, use some imagination to dramatize your new product.
This "I Ate the Bones" campaign is a great example of creativity that focuses squarely on the product, in a light-hearted, humorous manner.
JC Penney CEO Ron Johnson is Out, Good Riddance
Terrific news. JC Penney CEO Ron Johnson (formerly of Apple and Target) has been fired. Former CEO Mike Ullman is back in.
Ron Johnson clearly had no clue how to run JC Penney.
His incredibly stupid management of the retail giant nearly killed it. Whenever you see a business change from discount coupons to "everyday low prices," it means "no sales anymore." Johnson got rid of popular, high-quality brands and replaced them with cheap, sub-Walmart merchandise.
What's really bizarre is Johnson had no online marketing strategy. For a supposedly "hip" innovator, this is a very strange blind spot for Johnson.
The JC Penney website is a terribly inept, unappealing, dull. When you visit it, you have no idea what it is. It looks like some spammy link farm. The central slide show is annoying and boring. There is nothing happy, glamorous, or exciting about the website. It might as well be selling auto parts. I did notice that there is suddenly a discount coupon on it.
That faint grey text on white background, the commonly encountered curse of modern web design, makes their website a pain to read, but at least they do use dark black text in several spots.
http://www.jcpenney.com/dotcom/index.jsp
Sales staff at JC Penney went from friendly to hard to find, prices escalated as quality nose-dived, and Johnson's plan to serve ice cream and free haircuts for kids was a completely idiotic idea, especially for people shopping for clothes.
"Does this XL shirt make me look fat?" I asked. "No, but the ice cream you're eating is making you be fat," my sidekick replied.
It's good to see Ron Johnson go. Maybe now JC Penney can regain its position as a leader in mid-range merchandise, great discounts, and cheerful customer service.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-34227_162-57578528/j.c-penney-ceo-ron-johnson-leaving-company/
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/bomb_dropped_on_ron_I7N4uXl6Ek3EVldgVjZvkM
http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-ron-johnson-is-destroying-jc-penney-2012-10
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/04/08/ron-johnson-penney-ceo/2064723/
How to Identify and Defeat an Internet Troll
My first article for The Peoria online magazine: "How to Identify and Defeat an Internet Troll."
These nasty individuals are the sadistic ne'er-do-wells of the digital realm, the misanthropic misfits of information age.
Unlike a normal person, when a troll enters an online discussion, he is not seeking truth or clarification. He usually doesn't even know how to debate in an intelligent manner. All he wants to do is inflict pain, ridicule, and humiliation on a targeted person.
Encountering an internet troll can be a disturbing, even frightening, experience for someone who has not had to deal with one. It can be an unexpected event, a strange twist that takes the discussion to a whole other level. You are taken off guard and find yourself struggling to defend yourself, instead of exploring a topic.
Encountering an internet troll can be a disturbing, even frightening, experience for someone who has not had to deal with one. It can be an unexpected event, a strange twist that takes the discussion to a whole other level. You are taken off guard and find yourself struggling to defend yourself, instead of exploring a topic.
READ MORE:
Google Getting Rid of Search
Google has announced that it's getting rid of Search.
Google seems to be in a Grim Reaper mode lately, abandoning Google Reader and other beloved tools. Search is yet another Google product that just didn't cut it. They plan to start erecting giant "G-libraries" with Dewey decimal card catalogs and microfiche.
Press release: "Retro is the way forward. Old tech has proven to be more reliable than new tech. Internet search was a great idea, but has proven to be very glitchy. People just never got the hang of using key words. Plus, most people can't spell very well, so we used up a lot of resources with Suggest and other crutches."
SEO will be replaced with CCO (card catalog optimization).
Press release: "Retro is the way forward. Old tech has proven to be more reliable than new tech. Internet search was a great idea, but has proven to be very glitchy. People just never got the hang of using key words. Plus, most people can't spell very well, so we used up a lot of resources with Suggest and other crutches."
SEO will be replaced with CCO (card catalog optimization).
Benefits of Boredom for Greater Creativity
Tap into the powerful energies and abundant resources of the Impetus of Having Nothing to Do.
Are we losing the ability to daydream? Have we let prayer slip away? Is blissful contemplation a relic of the past?
Just as pleasure causes pain, and socializing causes loneliness, and gluttony causes hunger -- now consider how boredom causes productivity. Silence, solitude, inactivity, and inward stillness spur great achievement.
http://readwrite.com/2013/03/29/the-iphone-killed-my-creativity
http://readwrite.com/2013/03/29/the-iphone-killed-my-creativity
Achieve business goals with Vaspers Advanced Technology Show
Your host Steven Streight aka Vaspers the Grate rips the lid off the mysterious secrets of the internet in Vaspers Advanced Technology Show on BlogTalkRadio.
No fluff. No schmoozing. No goofing off. Just practical tips and deep insights you can use for your business right now.
Episodes thus far:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/vaspers/2013/02/17/basic-principles-of-seo
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/vaspers/2013/02/20/20-common-mistakes-in-website-design-1
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/vaspers/2013/02/22/how-to-use-social-media-for-competitive-superiority
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/vaspers/2013/02/23/secrets-of-web-content-development
(05) Big Mistakes in SEO
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/vaspers/2013/02/24/big-mistakes-in-seo
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/vaspers/2013/02/27/interview-with-matthew-david-on-html5
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/vaspers/2013/03/01/ken-zurski-on-radio-technology-and-steamboat-disasters
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/vaspers/2013/03/10/internet-trolls-and-how-to-defeat-them
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/vaspers/2013/03/10/astronaut-scott-altman-on-working-in-space
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/vaspers/2013/03/14/how-trolls-use-mind-control-to-tear-people-down
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/vaspers/2013/03/18/worst-mistake-you-can-make-in-web-design
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/vaspers/2013/03/19/toxic-troll-comments-influence-weak-minded-people
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/vaspers/2013/03/20/loren-feldman-on-social-media-hucksters-and-tech-lemmings
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/vaspers/2013/03/28/interview-with-jordan-cooper-of-blenderhead-media
AARP Sucks
AARP is now airing a very stupid TV commercial.
AARP is the American Association of Retired People. Some say the letters stand for Always Against Real Progress.
I was quite annoyed at the AARP commercial where a senior citizen is stopped by a state trooper who asks for the driver's license, proof of insurance, and AARP membership card -- thus implying that if you don't have an AARP card, you could be in trouble with law enforcement and maybe go to jail.
Now AARP has a TV commercial which shows a stream of strangers knocking on the door of a senior couple's home. They are pestering the seniors with sales pitches and even invading the interior of their home and dancing on tables and other nonsense.
This is a gross misunderstanding of customer psychology on the part of AARP. Elderly people don't want strangers banging on their door, trying to con them into buying junk, or entering their home and prancing around.
It's a great example of what I constantly refer to as "we, we, we all the way home" mentality that is commonly exhibited in websites and other marketing. This ignorant TV commercial is presenting the AARP discount from the perspective of AARP, instead of from the customer's perspective.
Far better would be to show the wife sitting at a table with a big pile of cash. Husband comes home and sees it. "Where did that cash come from?" he asks. She replies, "It's the money we're saving, thanks to our AARP discounts."
I was quite annoyed at the AARP commercial where a senior citizen is stopped by a state trooper who asks for the driver's license, proof of insurance, and AARP membership card -- thus implying that if you don't have an AARP card, you could be in trouble with law enforcement and maybe go to jail.
Now AARP has a TV commercial which shows a stream of strangers knocking on the door of a senior couple's home. They are pestering the seniors with sales pitches and even invading the interior of their home and dancing on tables and other nonsense.
This is a gross misunderstanding of customer psychology on the part of AARP. Elderly people don't want strangers banging on their door, trying to con them into buying junk, or entering their home and prancing around.
It's a great example of what I constantly refer to as "we, we, we all the way home" mentality that is commonly exhibited in websites and other marketing. This ignorant TV commercial is presenting the AARP discount from the perspective of AARP, instead of from the customer's perspective.
Far better would be to show the wife sitting at a table with a big pile of cash. Husband comes home and sees it. "Where did that cash come from?" he asks. She replies, "It's the money we're saving, thanks to our AARP discounts."
Most "Noble" Profession in the World?
Some blogger posted "Most Noble Professions in the World". It's weird that she considers only three professions to be "noble": Teacher/Educator, Doctor/Healer, and Writer/Orator.
I wonder if she has offended the Artists, Farmers, Homemakers, Babysitters, Musicians, Composers, Laborers, Engineers, Architects, Actors, Dancers, Pastors, Chefs, Mechanics, Police, Fire Fighters, Historians, Carpenters, and Diplomats.
Lists like this seem frivolous to me. It's like "Most Important Tools in the World" or "Most Interesting People of History." It's highly subjective and based on personal definitions.
What is meant by "noble"? Why is a teacher more "noble" than a plumber? In what way is a novelist more important than an electrician? How is a doctor more "noble" than a farmer? If you have no food, you won't need a doctor, you'll need a grave digger. At least that's a "shovel ready job."
Just because someone classifies a profession as "noble" does not mean there aren't horrible people in that profession.
Hundreds of years ago, the parasitical nobility and in-bred royalty despised merchants. Then the merchants became richer and more powerful than the princes, dukes and earls.
You might consider marketing to be "not noble" -- until you need to sell something. You might think lawyers are sleazy -- until you are accused of a crime or falsely arrested. You might look down upon factory workers -- until you realize they made most of what makes your life pleasant.
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1Qu1JF/arkarthick.com/2013/03/20/most-noble-professions/
I wonder if she has offended the Artists, Farmers, Homemakers, Babysitters, Musicians, Composers, Laborers, Engineers, Architects, Actors, Dancers, Pastors, Chefs, Mechanics, Police, Fire Fighters, Historians, Carpenters, and Diplomats.
Lists like this seem frivolous to me. It's like "Most Important Tools in the World" or "Most Interesting People of History." It's highly subjective and based on personal definitions.
What is meant by "noble"? Why is a teacher more "noble" than a plumber? In what way is a novelist more important than an electrician? How is a doctor more "noble" than a farmer? If you have no food, you won't need a doctor, you'll need a grave digger. At least that's a "shovel ready job."
Just because someone classifies a profession as "noble" does not mean there aren't horrible people in that profession.
Hundreds of years ago, the parasitical nobility and in-bred royalty despised merchants. Then the merchants became richer and more powerful than the princes, dukes and earls.
You might consider marketing to be "not noble" -- until you need to sell something. You might think lawyers are sleazy -- until you are accused of a crime or falsely arrested. You might look down upon factory workers -- until you realize they made most of what makes your life pleasant.
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1Qu1JF/arkarthick.com/2013/03/20/most-noble-professions/
Jesus film by Pasolini
My favorite movie about the life of Jesus is the one by Pasolini, the avant garde film maker, entitled "The Gospel of St. Matthew".
http://www.amazon.com/The-Gospel-According-St-Matthew/dp/B00000I21Q
Made by a non-religious person who respected the themes and questions of faith, this film is more Biblically accurate and authentic than any Jesus film I know of. Too many producers of historical films change dialogue and modify events to suit their own egos, imposing their "vision" of a story, rather than being faithful to the story itself.http://www.amazon.com/The-Gospel-According-St-Matthew/dp/B00000I21Q
Wikipedia states:
Pasolini read all four Gospels straight through, and he claimed that adapting a film from one of them "threw in the shade all the other ideas for work I had in my head."
Pasolini's film does not embellish the biblical account with any literary or dramatic inventions, nor does it present an amalgam of the four Gospels (subsequent films which would adhere as closely as possible to one Gospel account are 1979's Jesus, based on the Gospel of Luke, and 2003's The Gospel of John).
Pasolini stated that he decided to "remake the Gospel by analogy" and the film's sparse dialogue all comes directly from the Bible.
Given Pasolini's well-known reputation as an atheist, a homosexual, and a Marxist, the reverential nature of his film was surprising, especially after the controversy of La ricotta.
At a press conference in 1966, Pasolini was asked why he, an unbeliever, had made a film which dealt with religious themes; his response was, "If you know that I am an unbeliever, then you know me better than I do myself. I may be an unbeliever, but I am an unbeliever who has a nostalgia for a belief.
Pasolini employed some of the techniques of Italian neorealism in the making of his film.
Most of the actors he hired were non-professionals. Enrique Irazoqui (Jesus) was a 19-year-old economics student from Spain, and the rest of the cast were mainly locals from Barile, Matera, and Massafra, where the film was shot (Pasolini visited the Holy Land but found the locations unsuitable and "commercialized"). Pasolini cast his own mother, Susanna, as the elderly mother of Jesus. The cast also included noted intellectuals such as writers Enzo Siciliano and Alfonso Gatto, poets Natalia Ginzburg and Juan Rodolfo Wilcock, and philosopher Giorgio Agamben.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gospel_According_to_St.Matthew(film)
Your Relationship to the Now
How are you and the Present getting along? Are you ruining the current moment with regrets about the Past -- or fears about the Future?
If you could live your life all over again, I can almost guarantee this: you would probably mess up even more. Why? Because you'd be arrogant about what you know now, and it would cause you to be too aggressive, leading you into more trouble and failure.
If you wish your future to be exactly as you dream about it, you'd probably be miserable. Why? Because your dream of a perfect future might be a lot more problematic than you realize. The things you hope to have might backfire on you.
So it's best to remain in the now. It's all we really have anyway.
Learn from the past, look forward to a bright tomorrow, but invest in the current moment. Do your utmost to make today as perfect as possible.
Painful introspection and dark dismay about your history can be very good -- for a while. If it compels you to make a new beginning and get on the right track. But if it drags you down into depression and hounds you like a ferocious demon -- that's not good.
Face the facts about your past mistakes. Scold your former self for being so stupid, selfish, or too trusting. Then move on mentally with renewed vigor and joy. You're still alive and relatively free.
You can make the final chapters of your life beautiful, with the help of God, the support of friends, and continued self-awareness.
Be here now means, quit condemning yourself for what you did long ago. Stop beating yourself up for a dumb action yesterday. Quit slapping yourself silly for past behaviors.
Where are you? You're right here. What time is it? It's right now. Then act like it. Act like you are right here, right now. You're not the exact same person you were years ago. You've achieved new realizations. Life is a journey with many weird and unfortunate side tracks. Get back on the good path and stay on it.
You don't have to live any tomorrows before they arrive. Keep your day of death in mind, but use that realization of your mortality to spur you on to make the most of the present moment.
Be here now. Do something right now that is positive, and keep doing it with each successive moment. Say goodbye to the past and later on to the future. Say hello to the now and turn it into a wonderful event.
People can improve. Some can even experience radical, positive transformation.
I'm cheering you on.
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Google Glass augments your reality
I understand that you need help coping with your environment. It's such a drag having to make decisions based on the limited contents of your mind. It's not your fault you have trouble with reality. You just need to have it enhanced, expanded, engadgeted.
If only you could have a wearable computing device that guided you through the twisting trails of your life.
Google Glass computerized spectacles will augment your reality and help you navigate through the world.
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Blenderhead Jordan Cooper the Tech Stupidity Destroyer
Jordan Cooper. Harsh language at times, but very smart analysis. He's pretty good at exposing stupidity in the corporate, media, entertainment, and technology sectors.
I'm a Blenderhead fan for sure. Agree or disagree, your mind will be sharper when you encounter his.
http://blenderhead.me/
UPDATE: Here's my BlogTalkRadio interview with Jordan Cooper on Vaspers Advanced Technology Show.
QUOTE
Is the new Myspace just a really ingenious advertising ploy to promote Justin Timberlake’s career?
The real reason you’re not on Facebook anymore has nothing to do with privacy or data, it’s because you don’t have any friends.
Go to any small business owner with your new-fangled application and most will respond the same exact way. “F the tools. Just do it for me.”
Give these small businesses as much information and as easy-to-use applications as you’d like, it still won’t make a dent. Nothing will make up for the physical time and effort needed to actually utilize it.
Small businesses don’t want your software. They want you.
Yes, it’s not scalable. Yes, it’s not replicable. But it’s what they need.
Google Glass and smart watches will run into the same societal issues as bluetooth earpieces ... wearable technology is not about style or design but how others are disturbed by it, and none will be successful when its usage makes you look like a crazy person.
The notion of having a so-called “right” to appear in Facebook news feeds is based upon a false assumption that everyone who subscribes to your updates (or “likes” your page) actually gives a f about everything you post. Get it through your ego-maniacal heads already. They don’t.
Groupon was built and operates like a Ponzi scheme.
http://blenderhead.me/
UPDATE: Here's my BlogTalkRadio interview with Jordan Cooper on Vaspers Advanced Technology Show.
QUOTE
Is the new Myspace just a really ingenious advertising ploy to promote Justin Timberlake’s career?
The real reason you’re not on Facebook anymore has nothing to do with privacy or data, it’s because you don’t have any friends.
Go to any small business owner with your new-fangled application and most will respond the same exact way. “F the tools. Just do it for me.”
Give these small businesses as much information and as easy-to-use applications as you’d like, it still won’t make a dent. Nothing will make up for the physical time and effort needed to actually utilize it.
Small businesses don’t want your software. They want you.
Yes, it’s not scalable. Yes, it’s not replicable. But it’s what they need.
Google Glass and smart watches will run into the same societal issues as bluetooth earpieces ... wearable technology is not about style or design but how others are disturbed by it, and none will be successful when its usage makes you look like a crazy person.
The notion of having a so-called “right” to appear in Facebook news feeds is based upon a false assumption that everyone who subscribes to your updates (or “likes” your page) actually gives a f about everything you post. Get it through your ego-maniacal heads already. They don’t.
Groupon was built and operates like a Ponzi scheme.
The only reason anyone publicly complains about getting too much e-mail or celebrates “inbox zero” is just to show others how incredibly important and busy they are.
Facebook is losing popularity with teens due to social media’s inherent cycle of narcissism and depression.
The hypocrisy of so-called data-driven marketers who cherry-pick metrics as proof at their own convenience.
RSS never caught on in the mainstream because it requires people to do something they’re not used to – thinking for themselves.
Practically none of the folks I know in tech-geek circles are on Facebook anymore. Some have even jumped off of Twitter after their developer API crackdowns and media-centric focus. Tumblr is thought pretty much as a haven for memes and immature nonsense. Pinterest is pointless and full of bored housewives. Instagram is just a bunch of horrible wannabe photographers.
Some have even sworn off Google for search engines like Blekko and DuckDuckGo on the notion the Mountain View company has betrayed their “don’t be evil” mission statement. In all these instances, they’re jumping off the ship at the same time the entire world is coming aboard.
We have plenty of companies these days banning Facebook at work, yet the same exact ones installing software like Yammer or Salesforce Chatter which mimic the very same user experience. If it looks like a duck, acts like a duck, then it probably is a duck.
Companies are primarily sold by these social business software firms on the fact that having a familiar interface will increase employee adoption and usage, but with functionality that supposedly “empowers the enterprise”.
From what I’ve seen however, these are essentially tacked-on features, none of which are intuitive or work too well individually, but as an aggregate look like an impressive suite to chief executives (who of course, in sweet irony, won’t be the ones actually using it anyways).
You’re talking about folks who operate at glacial speeds, where it takes countless meetings to decide on some of the most minimal, unimportant things. Social business software purchases will continue to thrive in environments where the corporate culture rewards looking good over being good.
END QUOTE
Internet Radio Interview Tips for Podcasters
Here's some good advice from BlogTalkRadio on interviewing people on an internet radio podcast show. I'd add "Don't waste time joking around and jabbering about trivial nonsense. Get right to the meat of the topic so your audience gains value immediately."
It's fine to spend a few moments loosening up with random talk about the weather or favorite sitcoms. "Are you disappointed about The Office ending? Do you hope The Farm with Dwight Shrute will be a spin-off show?" might be a great opening just to get the ball rolling.
But often the bantering back and forth is tedious, prolonged, and not very funny.
I've listened to a lot of tech interview podcasts where I got absolutely nothing out of them.
I've listened to a lot of tech interview podcasts where I got absolutely nothing out of them.
Questions were fluffy stupid junk like "What is your biggest wish?" or "What part of the country do you like best?" when the person being interviewed was a CEO of a tech company and MAY have had some interesting insights and expertise to share.
The big mistake a lot of internet radio tech shows make is acting goofy and trying to tie in with pop culture. If we want pop culture we'll tune into Entertainment Tonight or Jay Leno or The View.
Trying to be hip and trendy and cool is usually an exercise in futility. You may attract large numbers of fans, but they'll tend to be dumbed down and won't understand the technical discussions that you eventually get to in your show.
If you think your audience is brain dead, by all means yak about frivolous garbage.
If you think your audience is brain dead, by all means yak about frivolous garbage.
But if you have intelligent fans and want to provide them with good information, valuable tips, and deep insight, stick to smart questions that will hopefully provoke smart replies.
Customers First is the Correct Business Model
Seth Godin says: "First figure out who you'd like to do business with, then go make something just for them. The more specific the better."
Too many times, a business finds or develops a product, then tries to find a market for it.
Too often, someone starts a business because they lost a job, don't want to work for a boss anymore, and have a passion about something. Plus, they want to make a lot of money. More money than they'd ever make working for someone else.
That's just about the worst scenario you could possibly imagine, but it's extremely common.
So the person starts a business, happy to be free from slaving away for a manager. The business is based on hostility toward bosses, desire to get rich quick, and enthusiasm for a service or product line.
See what's wrong with that? The product comes first. The customer is secondary. What should happen is you discover a need that customers have and then go find or make something that meets that need.
The first thing I would ask a new business is "What is the unmet need that you fulfill?"
If they start yakking about "great product at a fair price", I know they're going to fail. Anybody can say that. That's not how you differentiate your company from competitors. If you can't say something totally unique, that none of your competitors can say, you're doomed.
And that unique statement needs to be customer-centric, not company-centric.
What is the unmet need? How are you going to fulfill it? What makes your fulfilling of that unmet customer need a compelling proposition? Why should anybody care what your company does? What makes it so special, in terms of value to customers?
Look for an opportunity to provide benefit. Then develop a deep expertise on how to solve a certain set of problems. Solve those problems better, faster, smarter, more economically, more creatively, with greater skill and finesse than what the competition is doing.
Keep the customer and her problem in mind at all times.
Not your product. Not your company. Not your vision. Not your dreams. Not your ambition. Not your brand. Not your staff. Not your credentials.
Focus on the ever-changing landscape of customer needs, aggravations, disappointments, frustrations, desires, hopes, and dreams. Know what people want right now -- and what they're going to want 5 to 10 years from now.
Product First, Customer Secondary is the road to ruin.
Product First, Customer Secondary is seen in most stores and websites.
As I often say, it's "we, we, we -- all the way home."
Our great blah blah blah. We this and we that.
Too many times, a business finds or develops a product, then tries to find a market for it.
Too often, someone starts a business because they lost a job, don't want to work for a boss anymore, and have a passion about something. Plus, they want to make a lot of money. More money than they'd ever make working for someone else.
That's just about the worst scenario you could possibly imagine, but it's extremely common.
So the person starts a business, happy to be free from slaving away for a manager. The business is based on hostility toward bosses, desire to get rich quick, and enthusiasm for a service or product line.
See what's wrong with that? The product comes first. The customer is secondary. What should happen is you discover a need that customers have and then go find or make something that meets that need.
The first thing I would ask a new business is "What is the unmet need that you fulfill?"
If they start yakking about "great product at a fair price", I know they're going to fail. Anybody can say that. That's not how you differentiate your company from competitors. If you can't say something totally unique, that none of your competitors can say, you're doomed.
And that unique statement needs to be customer-centric, not company-centric.
What is the unmet need? How are you going to fulfill it? What makes your fulfilling of that unmet customer need a compelling proposition? Why should anybody care what your company does? What makes it so special, in terms of value to customers?
Look for an opportunity to provide benefit. Then develop a deep expertise on how to solve a certain set of problems. Solve those problems better, faster, smarter, more economically, more creatively, with greater skill and finesse than what the competition is doing.
Keep the customer and her problem in mind at all times.
Not your product. Not your company. Not your vision. Not your dreams. Not your ambition. Not your brand. Not your staff. Not your credentials.
Focus on the ever-changing landscape of customer needs, aggravations, disappointments, frustrations, desires, hopes, and dreams. Know what people want right now -- and what they're going to want 5 to 10 years from now.
Product First, Customer Secondary is the road to ruin.
Product First, Customer Secondary is seen in most stores and websites.
As I often say, it's "we, we, we -- all the way home."
Our great blah blah blah. We this and we that.
Rarely are the words "you" and "your" used. Look at us. Trust us. Check us out on Facebook. Sign up for our newsletter. Visit our store. Buy our junk. Tell your friends about us. We. Us.
Instead of a company telling you what you can achieve, you're told how great the company is. Instead of being told about benefits of a product, you're told how great the product is. It's made of this and that, it looks so nice, it is supported by a great team of smart people.
But you? Who cares about you? You're just a wallet that opens up.
Let the customer guide every aspect of your product and business operation. Do everything in terms of what they want and like. Use their words to describe your products and the problems they solve. Use their testimonials in your advertising.
Interact with customers on social media. Don't just grind out sales hype and company news like most of the morons who think they're doing "social media marketing." Get back to the Core Values of Social Media -- Sharing and Caring.
If you put the customers first, they'll know it. It will make them feel good. Your sales and service and customer relations will induce a real euphoria in the customers, just as intense as a drug high or a stiff drink of booze.
They'll be anxious to do business with you again.
Not just for your great products, but for that good feeling they get when you treat them with dignity, kindness, understanding, patience, and true compassion.
Instead of a company telling you what you can achieve, you're told how great the company is. Instead of being told about benefits of a product, you're told how great the product is. It's made of this and that, it looks so nice, it is supported by a great team of smart people.
But you? Who cares about you? You're just a wallet that opens up.
Let the customer guide every aspect of your product and business operation. Do everything in terms of what they want and like. Use their words to describe your products and the problems they solve. Use their testimonials in your advertising.
Interact with customers on social media. Don't just grind out sales hype and company news like most of the morons who think they're doing "social media marketing." Get back to the Core Values of Social Media -- Sharing and Caring.
If you put the customers first, they'll know it. It will make them feel good. Your sales and service and customer relations will induce a real euphoria in the customers, just as intense as a drug high or a stiff drink of booze.
They'll be anxious to do business with you again.
Not just for your great products, but for that good feeling they get when you treat them with dignity, kindness, understanding, patience, and true compassion.
They'll leave the encounter with a glow, a radiance, a joy that drives them back to you again and again...and makes them tell everybody they know about their experience with you.
Main Causes of Business Startup Failures
"I recently lost my job. I've decided to start my own business." That's actually a common statement. Sometimes people don't have any foundation upon which to build a business. They're just tired of working for other people.
You need to read a lot of books and blogs and websites before you try to start a business.
You have to take time to develop a real specialty, not just a passion. Too many business failures were strong in enthusiasm and weak on best practices and deep knowledge.
According to management experts, quality gurus, and turnaround specialists, most start-ups fail due to:
* lack of genuine expertise
* lack of good, innovative, customer-centered business concept
* failure to understand the market / industry
* bad bookkeeping and financial reporting
* hiring family members
* lack of competitor analysis
* managerial mediocrity
* focus on profit, instead of customer solutions
* poor customer service
* bad employee relations
* poorly planned advertising
* bad website design
* bad social media strategy
* not differentiating your business from competitors.
According to management experts, quality gurus, and turnaround specialists, most start-ups fail due to:
* lack of genuine expertise
* lack of good, innovative, customer-centered business concept
* failure to understand the market / industry
* bad bookkeeping and financial reporting
* hiring family members
* lack of competitor analysis
* managerial mediocrity
* focus on profit, instead of customer solutions
* poor customer service
* bad employee relations
* poorly planned advertising
* bad website design
* bad social media strategy
* not differentiating your business from competitors.
PHOTO at top of this post: ceiling lamp at the Lariat Steakhouse, Peoria, IL.
They have delicious food and a very classy, cozy atmosphere. A good example of a successful business, the Kouri family has been operating many restaurants in the area for several decades now.
