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Some synonyms...aren't

3 interesting things to share, one common theme. These pairs of words are often interpreted similarly, though they may in fact be quite different: 

1. Seth Godin on luxury vs premium

2. Seth Godin (again) on bravado vs optimism
3. Ev & Biz on profit vs value (skip to about 3:45)

Posted May 20, 2009
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Troopers

Earlier this evening, when I was at the checkout of my local Target, I encountered quite the trooper of an "associate."

When my $5 coupon for my water filters rang up as a $10 discount, she went berserk. I was entirely content to take the cash register's side, but she launched a crusade to deny me that convenience and proceeded to hold up the line until she terrorized the extra $5 out of the machine. While I could've used a small victory, righteousness wasn't on my side. As I was fleeing the store, I thought to myself:

"How much are they paying this woman? Sheesh."

Of course, her behavior was a better reflection of her character and not her paycheck. I think we've all encountered such troopers at one point or another, whether it may have been in retail, corporate, or some other setting. Our relationships with troopers are quite interesting:

For a lot of us, troopers are big-headed showoffs that burden us with unwanted expectations from our superiors. Sometimes we can't help but wish for someone to put them in their place.

Yet as a fellow trooper, our comrades can be powerful forces of inspiration.

And as leaders, we can never have enough troopers in our ranks.

...for all the unpopularity they suffer, troopers remain both extremely dedicated and misunderstood.

(photo credit: deepblue66)

Posted May 17, 2009
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Don't screw up your apology

The screwup in question: KFC's free grilled chicken offer, as featured on Oprah.com. As we've seen with franchised food chains in the past, there were stores not honoring the offer. With these stores come angry customers.

KFC's apology can be seen here:


I can't help but think this might have looked good on paper to the execs, but there were a few points that killed it (not in the Gary Vaynerchuk way) for me.

1. The exec was too happy in his delivery, to the point where it seemed he was very disconnected.  
2. Too much pitch and not enough apology. Don't spew nonsense like America "clearly" loves the great taste of your product if people couldn't even get their hands on it with your coupon. 
3. The remedy did not come until after 30 seconds into the video, which for me screams insincere. 

The YouTube rating and comments speak to KFC's fail, which is being capitalized on by one of their competitors. EPL can teach them a few lessons on sincerity and has the stones to call them out on their shenanigans.



Posted May 12, 2009
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Price DX

It's madness, this gadget world we live in.


Everything's been shrinking for so long now that I can't remember the last time something actually got bigger.

Unfortunately, the price tag for the new Kindle DX is also bigger at $489 (vs the regular Kindle's $359).


image via Geek_Tonic

Posted May 6, 2009
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Save Chuck!

One of my favorite TV shows, Chuck, is on the verge of being cancelled. Since it is 2009, however, we know that people aren't content to accept this kind of news and instead prefer to take matters into their own hands.

Fans pulling stunts to try and convince networks to renew TV shows is nothing new. We saw this when hordes of people sent Mars bars to the networks to save Veronica Mars and cans of nuts for Jericho, but the efforts to save Chuck are the most sensible yet.

It all started with a fan by the name of Wendy, who made the connection between the show and one of its sponsors, Subway. She launched a campaign to get fans to purchase $5 footlong subs the day of the finale (today) to show support for the show. What what better way to do it than to support a sponsor by purchasing actual product?

This move got the attention of Zachary Levi, who plays Chuck on the show. While it is of course in his interests for the show to have another season, he lent his support to the movement very graciously and to the delight of many fans. The videos below show Zachary leading a legion of fans (in the UK, no less) to purchase the sandwiches, and even making a few of them in the process. Even if you're skeptical that this might be an evil corporate PR stunt, I don't believe he could have feigned the humility and genuine appreciation towards all the fans as well as the folks working the Subway. The guy's a real class act. 

You too can show your support with a tasty $5 footlong. Tuning in to the finale tonight at 8pm on NBC would help tremendously as well.



Here's hoping the show sees a third season!

Posted April 27, 2009
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It's all Moot

According to TIME, the world's most influential person of the year isn't Obama or Oprah.


Instead, that title goes to Moot, 21-year-old college student and founder of 4chan.org.

It's like 2006 all over again, when you were TIME's person of the year.


Update: It turns out the results were gamed, though I don't believe that changes the spirit of the results much, if any.

Posted April 27, 2009
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Hurting the brains of shoppers


Posted April 23, 2009
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Brand humor

Posted April 23, 2009
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Google profiles are not the answer

Google profiles have been around since 2007, but profiles are just now being shown on the results page of Google searches.


After reading the TechCrunch article on this, I agree that Google is introducing more frustration into an already fatigued space. Since we are active on different social networks and have different presences contributing to our personal brands, even just one more profile to maintain can be a big deal. I'm not sure how I feel about Google encouraging (I use that word loosely) you to care about your Google profile through its inclusion in their search results, but the value to effort ratio here is not where it should be.

One of Google's biggest weaknesses is upkeep and making sure their information stays current. Ever follow Google Maps to a destination only to find that it doesn't exist anymore? Precisely. But we live with that because no one else does a better job...yet. Many of us default to Google for so many things to the point where we fail to consider that Google may not be the answer.

A better approach to presences is just around the corner. Stay tuned. :)

Posted April 21, 2009
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Twitter chatter

When was the last time you went a whole day without hearing or reading about Twitter? How does that make you feel? Either way, trying to see the peak of the media's love affair with Twitter is proving just as difficult as seeing the bottom in this economy, perhaps more.

Over the last few days, Ashton Kutcher beat CNN to 1 million followers. Oprah joined Twitter. Shaq was around to tell her she was doing it wrong. 

This party's just getting started.

As Twitter dives deeper into the mainstream, I can't help but feel excited. Yes, the ranks of people sick of Twitter are growing as well, but that's just validation through disgust. What's interesting is that, technologically speaking, Twitter's core offering is so handicapped. How is it that, business model or not, they got to where they are today?

The secret sauce is the user experience. As a startup entrepreneur, I know all too well that it's laughably unfeasible to out-engineer Google. At the same time, I think startups can leverage the fundamental philosophy of competing on user experience as opposed to rocket science and outmaneuver the deadly combination of geniuses and resources. The easier something is, the more people will do it. More people doing it means more haters and more noise, but that's a welcome problem to have from a business perspective.

Posted April 20, 2009
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