Case in point, I had drained the oil pan and had moved on to the oil filter — which had been torqued on well past the “quarter turn hand tight” standard — and I didn’t have a oil filter wrench to get it off. I really never need one because the filters I use have a nut on the bottom for easy removal (another reason I do it myself). Since the filter that was on there was only one oil change old, I decided to leave it for now and mess with it next time.

So, moving on to the next stage of my project, I started swapping the spark plugs out. With some effort, I managed to get one changed, but wasn’t able to get the others out due to not having the proper tools. My issue this time was that I needed a longer extension for my socket — a part I had to borrow from a friend since my car was in pieces :).

The point to all of this is that something people seem to overlook is having the proper tools for a job. For a programming task, you need a project description, a goal, and time to execute. For a fully marketed website, you need proper keywords, content, and time for the engines to spider. Far too often I have seen both of these areas being neglected by clients who “just want it done in a week” or who aren’t willing to take the time to fully describe what they want. Sure, a site or special project might be able to be cobbled together in time, but that’s like changing your oil without changing the filter. Sure, it gets the job done, but it isn’t performing as well as it can or should when just a little bit more effort would complete the job.

Sound good? As an example, the article used a company called DYMO which is a manufacturer of label printers and the insight of the company’s Director of Web Marketing and CRM, Michael Klazema. In preparation to taking steps, the company gathered any and all website data and user surveys and took the time to really sit down and analyze the data. “A very significant percentage of site visitors were owners [of DYMO products], not new visitors or people contemplating to buy a new label printer. Nine out of 10 cases, going through our customer support calls and our online support section, were all related to the printer that they own or use,” says Klazema.

Klazema and his team took this information and launched a special section of their site devoted to returning customers. From here the steps began, step #1 was to determine how to personalize pages, this led to step #2 which is to determine what data would be required in order for a profile to formulate. Step #3 requires your website to allow users to register products.

Let them tell you what they “also have”. Step #4 and 5 involved using timely information that directly related to proposing products that they may have ran out of or didn’t know that they needed in addition to other products, and doing so without forcing the customers to provide any information. No one likes to have to jump through hoops just to get what they want.

The My DYMO site allowed users the options as to what level of information they were willing to give and therefore giving them the information and ability to purchase products based on what information they were willing to give.

Not to fear, the comeback ad is here and is taking over web pages with a vengeance! Marketers are now looking for a lower-cost for brand advertising and the banner ad fits the bill. “Display ads accounted for 22% of all US Internet advertising revenue in 2006, a 2% increase over 2005, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau.”, claims a November 2007 Press Release from MarketingSherpa.com.

Now you can expect more options from these types of ads than you ever could before. They are typically used to build a brand for a product or company rather than drive clicks and traffic to their site. Which would explain why their CTR rates are so low, and fortunately has enabled the price to drop significantly and allow variations of types of ads to emerge. This comeback ad has a spectrum of new types of ads in the mix, such as static display ads, animated ads, interactive display ads, video ads, and expanding ads. While sizes of these ads vary, the measurements of effectiveness have given display ads more of a reason to be re-used. You may not receive many conversions or a great ROI with these, but you have many tools at hand to find out more about the users who are clicking on your ads. You can follow them through the entire process of getting them to the purchase. Needless to say the online display ad of the early 90s was simply ahead of its time.

For example, think about any connotation when you read the following car brands: Mercedes-benz, Saab, Audi, BMW, Infinity,
Dodge, Jeep, Cadillac, etc… We are conditioned to develop our own stereotypes and biases to the products and brands that we buy. For the market today, most people think of brands in their minds as a hierarchy. And what you buy says more about who you are than you could possibly tell someone in a conversation. A new level of non-verbal communication has emerged.

Most of the auto brands listed above come from Europe or the U.S., but what happens when you see the brands Honda, Hundai, Kia, or Subaru. It changes your entire perception of that person driving those cars simply based upon what that identity that brand has been labeled. So considering how to brand your product should be at the very top of your list and a detailed change can create a massive effect. Changing the color from blue to red creates a feel of confidence versus the very calm and cool nature of the color blue. It outlines and defines what a customer or client can expect within the first few seconds of landing on your website or any other form of media for that matter, before they ever speak to you.

Obviously this is not to be taken lightly. You really want to visually show the client what is to be expected from your company before telling them in words. Generally speaking, in media, people prefer visual communication to auditory or kinesthetic learning. So why not adhere and make the most out of the identity of your brand?

Online marketing and communication are just the same. PPC advertising can allow your business to reach those who you want to let in the door, and keep those who you want out. By choosing keywords and adding negative keywords, you can eliminate the chance of an intruder into your domain.

By allowing a certain group such as geographical targeting, you can filter your customers down to a simple area of the country that you want to be available to purchase your product. You won’t be spending as much money as you would if attempt a much broader approach and just allow anyone to buy or see your ad online. Not to mention the ROI will be much more rewarding if you capitalize with a focus.

Decide who should and shouldn’t be allowed in and market your product based on the expectations of the revenue you would like to gain. Trying to advertise to people who are not interested will only make you spend way more money than needed. Find out who your target audience is and advertise to them your superior product. Unlock the door to mass revenue while simultaneously straining out the disinterested customers.

It seems that the music industry, being ingrained in its ways for the last 60 years, is a product of its own stubbornness. Up until the mid 90’s, the industry was a well oiled machine. You would have a band… a starving band… playing little gigs until you were “discovered”. Then, you’d sign a big deal, get cash advances, go touring, spend all of your money, owe the label your soul, and fall into stark destitution while the label continued to profit off of your brief but violently shining career since you never owned your own material. They had total control of the product from start to finish and it was this cycle that kept sustaining itself indefinitely… until the dreaded Internet.

All of a sudden people could have access to music, instantly. All kinds of music was available. People would download tracks just for the novelty at first, then they did it because they could. Suddenly you had the ability to listen to an entire CD before deciding to buy it. I can’t count the times that I heard a good song on the radio and promptly went out to buy the CD just to discover that the song on the radio was the ONLY good track on the disk. Alas, just another cog of the well oiled machine… Bait and switch if you ask me.

Anyhow, some artists saw what was going on and decided to put an end to this. Metallica, for example, actively sought out traders (THEIR FANS) and sued them into oblivion. These people were still going to shows and buying merchandise…. but the sheer fact that the boat was rocked and the machine upset was enough to cause widespread panic (*cough* Y2K anyone?). The overall result? It has been nearly 10 years since and I haven’t heard about anything from Metallica for a LONG time…

And so begins the DRM. That cursed three letter word that makes life for the average person a living hell. However, how else to charge $.99 for a 15 second MIDI ringtone of a song you already own on CD, and probably cassette TAPE for some of you. DRM is man made. Anything made by man can be broken by man. If someone IS NOT going to buy a CD, they are simply not going to buy it. No matter how much or how little DRM is on a product, people that have no intention of buying music simply will not. However, the industry still thinks it can control the gas leak in their machine by applying more DRM to products. LET IT GO… just simply let it go.

The easier you make your product to use by the consumer, the more you will sell. Period. Why do you think MACs are still a presence in the computing world dominated by the PC? They are EASY to use (coming from a PC fanboy nonetheless). The main problem with the industry is its sheer unwillingness to conform to the public demand. Simply offer low priced DRM free digital downloads, and watch your profits go back up — even if you’re selling cookie cutter crap like Brittney Spears, 50cent, or any band trying to follow some actual original ideas and throwing the word “MUD” in their name for credibility.

I see the music industry at a very precarious crossroads similar to the photography industry…only I think they may have driven a few miles the wrong direction. Take Kodak for example. Their bread and butter has been film for many decades. When their old analog format started to die off in the place of digital photography, Kodak saw the changing tide and adapted. They didn’t try to sue anyone using a Digital SLR camera out of existence just to try to sell a FEW more rolls of film before people realized that film was obsolete. They didn’t try 1920’s “protection money” style heavy handed tactics to force consumers to “settle” with them or be sued. Kodak adapted its business model and is thriving.

I’m not very sympathetic to artists complaining about the market these days. I, being a musician myself, can appreciate musical quality. Most of what I hear in the “mainstream” today compared to music of just 10-15 years ago is just not that good. Musically, almost everything is in the same key (or in the same derivative family), use the same chord progressions, use simple time signatures, and can easily be interchanged aside from the singers and sound the same as everything else.

Perhaps the slowdown in CD sales is that the product is just uninteresting crap? After all, there are only so many teenage girls to buy the next boy band cd or gangsta wannabes to buy something with lyrics that wouldn’t pass 3rd grade English standards. Perhaps it is the simple fact that the industry seems to be targeting 10-18 year olds who’s population numbers are shrinking compared to 40-30 years ago. No, that can’t be…. that would mean the big machine is grinding to a halt — that would NEVER happen.

Let’s don’t just pick on the labels though. Radio is struggling also. Radio is consolidating, and spreading out buying music venues and leveraging their websites as a resource to minimize their back sliding audience. They are trying convince advertisers there is a valuable audience that is still listening to Radio out there. For certain demographics or age groups I believe there still is a valuable audience. Not in the 12-30 years old market anymore. Consumers 30 and up seem to listen to the radio still. It hard to teach an old dog new tricks. However, young people in America have thrown out their radio’s and Jam Boxes and replaced them with I Pods and Cell Phones. Music file sharing in conjunction with Internet sites like Myspace and FaceBook have replaced radio all together. Most of the young people I have questioned say they never listen to the radio anymore. NEVER. The demographic is shrinking for young people in America and that is a fact.

Prince and Radio Head are giving away CD’s to promote live concerts and other merchandise sales. Big Bands can make more money on the shows and the merchandise without having to give any money to the Labels. Using the Web as the only form of distribution reduces cost dramatically and the whole world can buy your album on-line for a fee or for free. This seems to be the answer for big already established bands that have Name-Brand recognition.

Unknown regional acts struggle in this model. To give away CD’s and only profit from merchandise and touring will weed out the weak. Most unsigned bands are lucky to make $250 to $1000 per night playing live and a couple hundred in merchandise sales. Split that 4,5,6 ways and there is not much left. Try to save money while touring on this budget is difficult. An unsigned band still needs to record an album, pay for reproduction, and with any luck hire a producer. Let’s don’t forget the attorney, manager, business manager, PR company, and booking agent, web developer and graphic design.

The masters of the Internet and the Masters Internet Marketing are the one’s that will come out on top in this game. Bands being sponsored by more large corporations and utilizing cross marketing opportunities to get the most “bang for band or buck” will be another solution. I would not be surprised to see more companies like Starbucks forming their own labels and selling or giving away CD’s on-line or through existing retail chains to add a revenue stream, value to the franchise, and increase cross-marketing abilities. These sure are crazy times. I guess we will have to wait and see how it all unfolds.

This fun little conundrum is what I ran into earlier this week in diagnosing a page that just seemed to sit there doing nothing for about a minute before displaying error text that should have been handled by the error handler. Thankfully, Coldfusion is smart enough to only chug on a infinite loop like that for only so long before it gives up. Otherwise, something like this could have brought the server to it’s knees — and we would have been none the wiser.

Some symptoms to look for if this happens to you:

1. You have an error handler that doesn’t seem to be working
2. Your page displays cryptic error messages that don’t really make sense
3. Your page takes an exorbitantly long time to run before resulting in above behavior

I’m not sure exactly why, maybe it was because I was tired at the end of the day, but I found this particular problem rather amusing. Well, you’re also talking to a guy who managed to create a memory leak in a scripting language… (and I’m proud of that in a sick sort of way), but that’s another story for a different day….

The IAB has already had several Lead Generation Committee Member Companies endorse this document and as time will tell, I am sure that many more are to follow. One point that is definitely going to go to the IAB for this matter, is that by making standards for companies to follow, the efficiency level will grow exponentially. And since we all love the idea of receiving our information faster, this trend will catch on eventually, unless you consider leaving data untouched and allowing companies to develop new and innovative ways of data transfer and use, we might find that technology continues to be pushed to bigger and better products.

So, is it worth continuing the risks of consumer data to gain motivation to develop better products? Possibly, but if I were forced to make the decision, I’d have to agree that standardizing media for the security of all consumers is a good way to go.

Bottom line…I enjoy watching a good game and I know my s%!t. So…

…why do FoxSports and CBS and NBC and ESPN treat me like a freakin’ idiot? Do I really need an anthropomorphic gladiator bot to reveal the damn Prilosec play clock? Do I need a CG explosion to usher in the Kwell Instant Replay? Do I need those damn blue and yellow lines to show me where the ball is and where it needs to go? Do I need Industrial Light And Magic to inform me that it’s time for the Progressive Insurance Crunch Time two-minute warning? Do I need the combined forces of the London Symphony and the Moron Tabernacle Choir to cue me that Mike Tomlin has thrown the red challenge flag? And do I really need that annoyingly condescending and stupid on-field graphic to remind me it’s 3rd and 9? I KNOW IT’S 3rd AND 9 – I’M WATCHING THE f*%$ng GAME!

Why oh why has a football broadcast become the gridiron equivalent of FOXNews - playing to the lowest common denominator; the most stupid among us; the 21% who support GW? Won’t anyone give at least some of us a little credit?

The answer to that question, it seems, is going to be no until more of us speak out. Because a football broadcast is no different from a movie (Will Farrell, check; tits, check; explosions, check; surprise ending, check). No different from an ad for Captain Morgan (I don’t know about you, but I always stand like a dog peeing on a fire hydrant when I drink my Capt’n and Coke). No different from an interview response on O’Reilly (”sending our army into harm’s way to a country that is no threat to us, having WMD that don’t exist and are no threat to you actually protects your FREEEEEEEEDOM and makes you SAAAAAAAAAFER”). Everything these days seems to be designed to not lose the stupid ones. And that’s the point of this whole blog this week. Whether you’re talking football or FOXNews or a Gecko from Oxfordshire or another formulaic hollywood slopfest, no one anywhere has the courage or cojones (balls, in case any of them are reading, too) to play to anyone BUT the lowest common denominator. Because it’s easier to sell to stupid. Costs less to sell to stupid. Requires too much thinking and effort to sell to smart. Particularly if you’re selling beer or a war of convenience. Stupid is dealt with by the media and the corporate machine and by America as the demographic majority. And that really sucks.

That doesn’t mean, however, that any of us have to actually believe it. Or acquiesce to it. And that doesn’t mean we can’t buck the trend with friends, colleagues and client partners who we’re fortunate to know and work with and who are clearly cut from a different cloth (you know who you are). I believe that the true majority of smart, practical, sentient beings is out there - potential friends, colleagues, client partners, sports announcers (still holding out hope for Mike Greenburg and Mike Golic taking over Monday Night Football) - and all wondering the same thing. Why doesn’t anyone cater to us for a change?

This is where I cue the annoying NASCAR-type pointer that shows you the car number in case you can’t read numbers upside down or sideways - or more than likely read at all. This is where I tell Joe Theisman to shut the f*%k up. This is where I scream at the top of my lungs - WE’RE RIGHT HERE! IT’S FOURTH AND ONE, STUPID. AND WE’RE GOING FOR IT!

This is where I continue to believe in - and hope for - the best.

A few of the Brandwidth team (Tony and I) headed up to Cleveland to meet with an up and coming International Entertainment company specializing in live online events – a PPV model nonetheless (that’s Pay-Per-View for all you acronym haters). I’ll spare you the details of a great meeting with said company with a great idea and the toolset to make it happen. They need a story and distribution – the rest is there. More on that later.

We arrived the night before our meeting and were looking for something to entertain ourselves, to keep our minds off our families at home. So off to downtown we went. Soon we’re lost, driving aimlessly, although successfully, in circles. And the city is looking pretty good. In fact, it’s clean and it’s active and on a Wednesday night, there were actually people walking the streets, going in and out of stores and bars and other local establishments. It was looking promising. Once we realized we weren’t going to be the victims of some senseless crime in the dirty old streets of Cleveland, we snap out of it…Oh yea, what was it we were hoping to find…

The House of Blues. We pull over and ask a gentlemen for directions. Turns out we made a wrong turn or didn’t pay attention to the street signs. Whatever happened, we did another successful circle. Again, we pull over and ask another guy for directions. Same story from this guy, except this time as we’re paying attention to the street signs a car weaves in front of us and cuts us off – beeping their horn and hanging out the window. Suddenly we realize that it’s the guy that just gave us the directions and he’s leading us right to the spot. He either borrowed somebody’s car really quick or hijacked one. Either way, he went out of his to get us to The House of Blues. Cleveland experience one, a sign of things to come.

We valet park and hike to the venue. From the street, we can see the place is dead. We’re hoping at this point that the party’s in the back. We’re greeted at the door by the bartender who informs us the show for the night is canceled. As quick as he told us there’s no point in hanging around, he offers up the best spot in town and suggests a cab down to the flats. As we’re walking back to the valet, the guy reaches in his pocket and offers us our money back. We tell him to keep it but ask a favor, driving directions to the bartenders recommended venue for the evening. A few turns later and we’re in the money. Cleveland experience two, wow.

What’s in the flats? You’ll have to discover all the entertainment for yourself. Sorry, but it’s my pitch for Cleveland. It’s the least I can do in return for the hospitality. Suffice it to say, we had a blast and that bartender knows where the pulse of the city is on a Wednesday night. Cleveland experience three, fun and a nice distraction.

Surely you’re wondering how this could possibly be about marketing. It’s a beautiful display of something that can’t be bought and is infinitely invaluable. You could call it viral marketing if you want to, I’ll call it hospitality for the sake of proving a point. The point is that even if Cleveland put out a huge campaign across the Midwest touting how nice and earnest their citizens were, no one would believe it and no one would visit on that basis. It’s just something you have to experience. So was it marketing or just people? Who cares, it works. If we weren’t on a tight timeline, we surely would have stayed the weekend.

Although we didn’t get to rock out in Cleveland, suffice it to say that Cleveland Rocks! And thanks to all of the hospitable folks who guided us! We’ll see you again soon.

Most of the largest companies in the world understand the concept of branding and brand response. You as a consumer understand because you know the Corporate Identities of those who focus on branding. You know their products and what their products do. Most of the time anyway. So why will a large global company spend so much money and time trying to create a brand identity-awareness? Why will a local or regional corporation spend very little or no money trying to create a brand identity-awareness?

Sales is the reason why “for profit” companies exist. There is a product or service that can be sold for a profit to a market large enough to justify a corporate existence. Making it easy for the consumer to buy your product over the competition is what will make or break a great sales organization. A successful local, regional, or international branding campaign can give your company the upper hand in the sales fight. Understanding your customers needs and getting your value proposition in front of as many of your potential customers as possible is critical. Most clients that do not have a focus on branding and are missing an opportunity to increase sales. Branding can be accomplished in many ways. Some can be a little expensive (TV-Radio) and others are free (Community Relations). Finding a good marketing agency that understands the value of branding and how to accomplish it can help you increase sales. Believe it, brand it, sell it.

Normally, when you go to look up a domain name, almost inevitably the one you want isn’t available due to domain parking or prospecting. This practice isn’t all that bad, mainly because some industrious individual had the forethought to register something that was going to be the next big name or brand. Take www.ie7.com for example. Anyone who watched the trend of IE5 and IE6 could safely bet that IE7 was on the horizon. However, since Microsoft took their sweet time developing IE7, there was considerable lag time between IE6 and IE7. In the mean time, someone who saw this trend went ahead and registered IE7.com. Go check it out…it’s a prime example of what could happen if you miss your brand :).

What we have been noticing lately is that one day we will search for the availability of a domain name, go back the next to register it and it is suddenly gone. One or two I can leave to coincidence, but after about five I started getting suspicious. We checked the WHOIS information, and sure enough they were registered to the same people. This leaves me to one conclusion – someone at the site we were searching was either selling the searches or sniping domains in the effort to up sell them.

This interesting article in the Washington Post outlines what we have been seeing as well. ICANN is looking in to it, but finding “proof” seems to be the problem. I think the whois records and timing that we were noticing are proof enough, but we’re not a large international organization now, are we??

#1 - They Don’t Care
Good God, I can’t fathom. Actually and unfortunately I can. In the case of a monopoly, I can understand how this happens, outside of that, it makes me worried for the portions of the human race that participate.

#2 - They Don’t Know How To Fix It
Yes, some companies are so out of touch with their customers and the problems that exists with their products and services that they are at a complete loss in knowing how to fix their own problems. Or yours, for that matter.

#3 - They Don’t Know What Customer Service Is
“I’m sorry that our installer didn’t show up while you took a day off work and sat on your thumbs waiting. We can be there tomorrow between 1PM and 5PM.” Enough said.

If you work for an organization that has one or more of the above traits as a corporate culture…do yourself (your conscience that is) and their customers a favor and do something about it! There’s right and there’s wrong and you’re smart enough to know the difference. So do it.

Customer service is not just warm and fuzzies, it’s part of building a relationship with your customers. In every business, it’s people that make it; that being said, mistakes will happen. It’s the resolution of those mistakes that makes all the difference. That’s building a relationship built on trust - that’s customer service and that’s branding. Or is it?

Concepts such as this, a clear view of the problems, a determination to solve them, and having a strategy will help you to visualize the goal. Now altogether now, let’s pretend we are listening to our favorite teacher, Mr. Einstein, and say out loud what this is called…our “Formula for Success”. Now since we know what types of steps that are necessary in order to achieve our goal or success, let’s consider his actual equation for energy. Energy is the result of mass times the square of the speed of light. And since energy and mass are different forms of the same thing, they are interchangeable.

Ponder this thought in deciding what to do next with your marketing plan, if you are wanting a specific result, then you must develop a clear view of your problem first. Jumping into a problem head first will not only overwhelm you but it will cost you more time and energy to get out of the new problems that could have been avoided. Thinking pro-actively can eliminate further stress.

Our “Formula for Success” now has a clear understanding of what problems we are trying to solve, we need to remember that different forms of our well thought out solutions can be achieved by testing. For example, if you are trying to decide what topic for your promotional videos is the most popular, testing a few out and analyzing the data can help you decide what the best topic is for you to promote. If you are wanting more exposure to your website, then by testing different distributional ideas out can enable you to have a much more clear idea of what works and what does not.

Keep in mind that we are using our testing for our main goal which is to find your “Formula for Success”. Once you find out what works for you, you now have the strategy to achieve your goals. Roll with it and change your formula as you grow.

What I didn’t see alluded to anywhere in this story – or in any of the press this week about the festival – is how very little support (beyond Heartland), the film industry (or the broader production community/communications industry) get from the state of Indiana. In fact, the producers of Home Of The Giants wanted to shoot the film entirely in Indiana, but North Carolina offered the production millions in incentives while Indiana offered them $10,000. As a result, the film, with the exception of a couple of days of shooting exterior key locations, was shot in North Carolina. This, and the Governor’s recent veto of a film incentives bill that would have meant hundreds of millions in revenue a year (a YEAR - versus the $250 million one-time Super Bowl revenues the state fell all over itself to secure - and spent more than $1 million on in the process) is the real story behind Home Of The Giants. A story that really needs to be told since so much of the current efforts to bring production to Indiana centers around an industry that means more than $650 annually to the state (when you include commercial production, radio production, music production and corporate communications).

Indiana has one of the most respected film festivals in the nation, yet the industry as a whole gets absolutely no respect or real support from the state. That a one-time event like the Super Bowl is more important to the state than an entire industry - an industry to which we are all connected in some way shape or form – is a real shame.

For what it’s worth, Home Of The Giants is just the tip of the iceberg with regard to how myopic this state is on this particular issue – a clean industry that (no kidding) means $650 million annually in taxable revenues. Indiana has lost an additional $55 million in film business the last couple of years with films that had looked at Indiana and then went to more progressive states like New Mexico, North Carolina or Illinois. Included among the films lost is American Crime - a story about a high-profile murder in Indianapolis. The film stars Catherine Keener, it’s getting the kind of early Oscar buzz that could have lent some luster to Indiana’s production reputation and it is a uniquely Indiana story that is being told in California because the state wouldn’t support it with production incentives.

Add to this other uniquely Indiana stories that are slated to be told elsewhere, the veto of a bill that would have supported an industry whose annual contribution to the state would be 3 times that of a one-time Super Bowl windfall and a general dismissal of and disregard for an industry important to all of us, and you see how much more the IBJ could have said.

It appears the IBJ will be following up on the issue further, if the state allows. So stay tuned. And support your local film community. Visit www.imindiana.org for more details.

When Gutsy Gibbon (Ubuntu 7.10) was released on October 18th, I was running KUbuntu 7.04 (a version of Ubuntu that used the KDE desktop). I had a straight upgrade path to 7.10, and could do it over the net, so on Friday I sat down and started the upgrade process. After about 490MB later, my new distribution was downloaded and ready to install. The installation process didn’t take long at all, and I was up and running with the new operating system in no time.

The biggest problem I had was my video drivers. I had been running the propietary driver from Nvidia, (which needs to be built for your kernel), and wanted to switch to the version that came in the Ubuntu packages. My reasoning was that I could then use their software update feature to upgrade my kernel and drivers all at the same time without having to rebuild the video drivers EVERY time. After some time messing with this, I was able to get in and see all the wonders of Ubuntu 7.10.

Probably the biggest upgrades they’ve made are Compiz-fusion, a new version of KDE, and the Dolphin file manager . Compiz-fusion is a lot like the eye-candy effects of Vista, only a ton better :). Dolphin is by far my favorite. It replaced the KDE file manager with a much more intuitive interface and probably the best thing to cater to people who are used to Windows.

All in all, I’m very happy with the new distribution. Now, all I need to do is find open source alternatives to software I use at home so I can make the jump there as well!

At the ripe old, young, middle of the road age of 37 I have decided to change my life. In 2007 I decided to change careers from working in an industry that I no longer enjoyed, and for a company that treated me and my family poorly. Now I am for a company I love to work with, and doing a job I enjoy (instead of one I hate). With that in mind a couple of months ago I decided to change my life again. To focus on a better healthier lifestyle. Eating better, taking vitamin supplements, relaxing, meditating, acupuncture, going the Chiropractor, the Dentist. I mean I have been cleaning my life up.

The results have been less than positive to this point. I have never felt worse. I have been sick for almost a month now. First with the stomach flu, then a broken tooth, now bronchitis for two weeks solid. I am about to start round two of antibiotics. What does all this mean. Can it actually be bad to be good. Well, since I am not feeling great at the moment I suppose it can. I will say this though. Overall I have not been feeling well physically but mentally things are improving. These physical problems may just be a symptom of the past several years of unhappiness at work and a terrible diet coming back to haunt me. Now that I am taking the time to fix my issues the machine (my body) has decided it’s ok to break now. It is a painful process now but the future benefits will far surpass the temporary pain I am experiencing now.

I believe the same logic applies in business. Change is hard. It can cause short term issues that can really hurt. Doing the right things for the right reasons is the key to success. Staying diligent and never letting the fear of short term pain hold you back from decisions that will increase you chances of success in the future is critical. Diagnosis: Pain today = less pain tomorrow (I Hope)

Who are we to argue? The plain and simple truth of it is, there are any number of excellent web and search engine marketing consultants who can reasonably do the job for you. Your challenge is to find one with whom you manage to click – with whom you really can develop a relationship on which to build a “winning marketing partnership.”

Size. Talent. Experience. Personality. Vision. Budget. Expectations. Cut through all the platitudes, and it always comes down to a few key precepts. Whether you’re selecting a marketing partner, an accountant, a plumber – or a prospective client relationship.

The real challenge for any company looking for a marketing consultant is finding a “partner” you can “sit down with” – with whom you can “roll up your sleeves;” with whom you can “work elbow to elbow;” with whom you can “get down to business.”

No platitudes. No funky branded processes. No fads. Nothing fancy. Just a good, old-fashioned marketing partnership, done with a good, new-fashioned array of tools and technology.

Here’s to finding ships with partners and relations with clients.

The last time I played – with Adam and Tony from our office – I lost 38 golf balls. True story. Granted, a half dozen or so I lent to Adam, but in the final analysis, they were lost none the less as we whacked our way through the second longest golf match on record (unofficial). So perhaps you can understand my misgivings. Can you imagine playing “client golf” and actually losing legitimately! That is what I was facing in a very real sense as well as with regard to my moral imperative not to play golf as part of my business dealings. Ever.

But there are exceptions to every rule, and our match with the Liberty folks was going to be it. Just this one time, I told Adam, who actually didn’t seem to mind showing off my “game” in front of clients (Adam is, himself, a pretty good golfer).

So we hit the “links” (whatever that means) and, amazingly, something interesting happened. I only sucked a little (only losing 7 balls); we actually managed to get a little work done during the course of the day and we enjoyed some face time with a couple of guys who are really fun to spend an afternoon with (in the longest golf match in history (unofficial)). A totally enjoyable afternoon, I’m happy to report, was had by all.

Beer. Cigars. Bawdy jokes. Crashing golf carts into trees. Peeing in the woods. Spanning the globe for the constant variety of sport. Now I see what all the fuss is about. If I had known that “client golf” could be this much fun, I would have done it years ago. But as with many things, I almost let my predispositions get in the way of what was actually a thoroughly enjoyable experience. In fact, I can’t wait to go again.

Now, when the golf pro asks me what my handicap is, instead of quipping: “Isn’t it obvious?” I’m going to square my shoulders and proudly reply: “Twenty-two.” Because I’ve played my first game of client golf and I’m now officially official. I have become what I have claimed to hate the most - one of those “golfer guys.” Heck, I even bought a glove and one of those dorky sweater vest thingies. A pair of knickers and a driving cap and I’ll be set. Look out world, here I come. I am become death, destroyer of worlds!

Fore!

Just then, he faintly heard the shrill scream of a woman through the window.
“This woman”, Bamboleo thought, “Surely she needs the power of the dance.”

Boy Blunder had just hung up the phone, after convincing the client that they need to upgrade their email software (after accidentally rebooting the email server). Bamboleo stood up and exclaimed, “Come Sir Spud… The dance calls us to action!”

Boy Blunder and Bamboleo sprung into action. Leaving on their lunch break, they went in the direction of the screaming. When they arrived, they had found that an older woman had her cat stuck in a tree.

“Fear not kind woman, for it is I…Bamboleo!” said Bamboleo in a booming voice.
“Bambo who?” asked the woman.
“Bamboleo.” replied Bamboleo. “I am known as Bo.”
“Whatever. Who’s the big-headed pale kid?” replied the woman.
“That, good madam, is Sir Spud. Just do not ask him to do anything complicated.”
“Um…Ok. Can you help my cat?” asked the woman.
“Of Course!” shouted Bamboleo. “Let us dance!”

Bamboleo began to dance under the tree where the woman’s cat was stuck. Sir Spud had gone to get a ladder.

“What good is that doing?” asked the woman, beginning to get agitated.
“Good? The dance is everything! The dance is life itself… and it saves lives. I am to save your cat. Come! For I must dance!”, replied Bamboleo.
“No seriously… what are you doing?” shouted the woman.

Just then, Sir Spud had arrived with the ladder. On his way to the tree he tripped, and launched the ladder dangerously toward the cat. As it hit the branch, the Cat was knocked clear and began to fall.

“What have you done!”, exclaimed the woman frantically.

Bamboleo saw the cat falling and did a quick spin with a flourish, and caught the falling feline with grace and excellence.

“Your cat kind woman.”, said Bamboleo, handing it over to her.
“Get away from me you Psychos!” shouted the woman as she took her cat and ran inside.

“Come Sir Spud”, said Bamboleo triumphantly, “Our lunch hour has almost expired. We must retreat to the Majestic Tower.”

In the tallest room in the Majestic tower, you will find much more than meets the eye. In fact, this is considered the fortress of solitude for our main hero Bamboleo. He is known as Bo. During the day he listens to Spanish music and works on creating masterful code, but when trouble comes a calling, Bo goes salsa dancing.

Now, our hero wouldn’t be complete if he didn’t have his trusty and Irish sidekick with him… Sir Spud. Working alongside Bo to administer systems for Brandwidth, he is known as “boy blunder” around the office for his history of messing things up and creating a need for Bo to save the day.

Stay tuned for Episode 1.

Having a website and optimizing a few Key words does not constitute having an Internet Marketing Plan (IMP). Having the ability to sell your products on-line does not constitute having an IMP. Using Pay Per Click Advertising does not mean you have an IMP. These are all components to be considered when developing an IMP.

If your website has the ability to explain products, answer FAQ’s, and complete a sales transaction, then you have a virtual sales person. That is a great start. This sales person is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and never calls in sick! Unless your web hosting provider or Internet T-1 is down. We all know that never happens.

Most companies have sales people and marketing departments to support their sales effort. The same principle applies to your virtual sales person/ Website. It’s not enough to give one of your potential top performers part of the tools they need to be successful. You need to give them every tool you can to be successful. At the same time you have to set realistic goals and work on an all inclusive IMP to maximize the efforts of your on-line sales goals. You can create a successful IMP, implement it, measure it, and count on these revenues to grow month over month if you take the time make sure you have a real Internet Marketing Plan.