Gripes and Grins

I hate giving a lousy interview...

I first talked to Chris Sherman when he was just a dude with a little newsletter named search engine watch.  He was a huge fan of Bloomba (2004).  He totally got it.  He was excitable.  Nothing like the omnimedia pimp I imagine he is now.  I hate giving one of his reporters flat responses, but that's just what I did in this email Q&A.  Forgive me Chris.

Now this is quality marketing

I'm loving this story today.  In fact, I'm just loving any story that pulls one over on the media.  I don't hate the media.  I just think they take themselves WAY too seriously.  I love the reaction from Silicon Alley Insider... another web 1.0 pub that takes itself more seriously than their readers.  Seriously, folks, step back and appreciate the cleverness and DON't hate.  Kudos to Campfire.  I hope I get to work with these guys one day.

My 2-year-old can hit

I was in Seattle watching the hapless SF Giants struggle in an inter-league series. While I was away, my son Jack couldn't find anyone to pitch, so he did some tee work. Note that he is two, isn't wearing pants, but he is rocking the RedSox shirt. Elaborate box routine, but he still rakes.

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Techless Teens story in Gawker

Brilliant story and comment thread going on over at Gawker right now. Check it out: http://gawker.com/…rry-future

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Check your Comcast bill, save yourself $40

I'm no fan of Comcast, but I understand their position.  They are a monopolistic multiple system operator.  They provide me and my neighborhood with cable, phone and internet.  In the past I've bitched about their marketing techniques.  And, I've complained about crappy net connectivity and support and noted blog comments from their support that don't even get my name right.  A year can't go by where I don't feel like these guys are trying to get over on me.  The latest case in point? 

If you're a Triple Play customer, check your Comcast bill.  As you can see from mine below (with my wife's name on it, and the account/address stuff crossed out), Comcast slipped a non-descript $40 charge on my May bill.  They did this in April too.  When my wife called to understand the fee (they won't talk to me at this point), we were told that the charge was for a cable modem that we haven't returned.  Aparently, it's the cable modem that we are using right now.. for our Comcast Triple Play service.  We explained that we didn't want to cancel or otherwise change our account.  Surprisingly, we needed to explain the CS reps that we needed a cable modem for our Internet and VOIP phone service to work.  The issue was escalated, probably because Comcast CS reps and managers are cursing my names for previous blogs. 

As you can clearly see, the charge was added back in May.  I can't begin to explain why, but I'm going to have to call them again.  Stay tuned for another assinine explanation from the idiots at Comcast... Comcast: the company proving that AT&T is second-to-last in customer communications.

Follow-up on the BRM post

I got a DM response from Joe Marchese yesterday, and so I went back and looked at the comments to his story. http://www.mediapost.com/…lications/. Hilarious in the context of the post below.

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Birth Announcements: Joe Marchese bring new hot acronym to life!

BRM.  Forget the designer watches or auto club.  BRM is the next big acronym for us marketing guys.  Thanks in part to Joe Marchese's article this morning: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=105927

What does all of this mean?

This afternoon agency heads all around the globe are revising standard pitch decks, slathering buzz-word-laden PPT and Keynote presentations with this new super-acronym whose definition is so new, so unknown, that it will soon be co-opted and misapplied to a point where it is meaningless and tired.  But that's many months from now.  Today, BRM IS IT! 

As soon as this article was published, BRM was dripping from the hot-latte-hipster-breathless that loiter and huddle around Mac's in South Park, SOMA and University Cafe in Palo Alto.  Right now, a 50-year-old agency President bulging from gender-nuetral haute coutor is devising a complex BRM pitch targetting overwhelmed and sleepless marketing veeps like myself, hoping to translate fear of the unknown into hundreds of thousands in new client billings. 

By tomorrow morning, my desk phone (I don't even know the number) will be ringing off of the hook with flacks from try-hard agencies from LA, Chicago, NY, Pheonix and Mineapolis, screeming down the line -- "I'm ________, and I really need to talk to you about your BRM strategy... we've been developing and executing BRM strategies for Forunte 500 companies for the last 12 months (why is the BS timeframe always 12 months?), and we really think you need our consultation".... the cold, nervous panic in the calls revealing that BRM is a TBD acronym of importance, but the poor caller is 23, paid in peanuts, and pitching under fear of god and the afore mentioned 50-year-old puffy agency exec.

And, by next week, the big 4 agencies and the cool, slick agencies from Silicon Valley and Madison Avenue will be stirring the backlash, having added to the emerging definition and rebranded recent "social media marketing" studies as BRM.  The good firms really know how to rebrand -- they'll re-dress recent "summits" and "conferences" websites with the new term, doctor old photos, update their client's quotes, and call on college buddies to supply them with the necessary new quotes attributing success to their BRM strategies and services. 

Rejoice peoples.  It's not every day that a new buzzword is born!  Remember UGC? Remember Social Media?  Remember Personal CPM?  Maybe not.  But, BRM is here to stay!  Now, I'm off to join various BRM groups on Facebook and pre-register and submit my bio for the inevitable O'Reilly BRM leaders conference... don't forget to RT this and tag with BRM:)

Yep, that's what I remember about Condi Rice

I took a few classes from Condi when I was at Stanford.  Aside from watching future MSNBC hosts repeatedly make Condi uncomfortable, I do remember her affinity for condescending to thoughtful questioners that challenged her political positions.  After watching Condi restrain herself in the face of press questions for the last 8 years, I'd nearly forgot watch a prickly, nasty personality she can display.  Check out the big ego on Condi -- "No dear, your wrong... do your homework!"

Matt Lauer Interviews Elizabeth Edwards: What a dick!

Seriously, Matt Lauer is a dick.  He tells Elizabeth Edwards that not changing her Son's room for years after his death is "unhealthy".  Thanks for the verdict.  Wow.  Lauer is generally obnoxious, but he's never come off this bad.  And no one is noticing.  No wonder nobody watches this show anymore... after some forty years, NBC's pompous-ass-in-the-morning has become droll and cliche. 

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Cold Wark Kids at the Fillmore San Francisco

CWK were amazing last night.  It'd been awhile since I was at the Fillmore, and the last time I was there, I was much younger, much less "responsible" and my memory was generally bad due to my post-graduate studies in "liquid dynamics".  So, when I first arrived, I thought I'd mistakenly stumbled into Twilight book signing due to the overwhelming audience make-up of women age 18-38.  I sidled up the bar and purchased two stellas for $25.  WTF? Parking was only $6!  Aparently, the Fillmore side of Geary is a part of the EU, thus insulated from our flagging US economy. 

The opening band sounded as if they might sound good given any opportunity for a mic check, and a new bass player that showed any interest in being there... I think they were named the Barbarians, or so that's what CWK said.  At the very least, the singer and the drummer of the Barbarians (let's go with it) were working their asses off and trying to please the crowd. 

Just before CWK came onstage, the green team from this season's Biggest Loser sidled up to me and my wife and proceded to put on a dancing-east-of-eastbay-drunk-fireplug display repleat with obnoxious well-drink slamming and spillage. I managed to tune out the misfits and the general hipper-than-thou attitudes from the bed-headed skinny jean contingent.  I got through the agonizing intermission by noting the high potential for contact high and repeating over and over again "at least there are no LA-based-Fidora-and-EdHardy-tshirt-wearing-douchebags here tonight".  The wait was minutes, but the crowd made it hours.

Bottom line: CWK sounded terrific.  They'e great live and in a tiny venue.  This is what was even cooler: For the duration of Hospital Beds, Hange Me Out to Dry, Vacation, Something is Not Right with Me, Saint John, the band was relegated to background music.  The full-throated lyrics from the band were COMPLETELY drowned out by afore mentioned Pheremonal drunkstresses.  For a brief moment, I felt cool.  And then I realized that the only other men on the room were married, on their way, or sexually ambigous types experimenting with tight black hipster jeans, their sister's cardigans and the current version of capizios.  I went with it and had another beer because babysitters are expensive.  In the end, I was able to sit back and enjoy the creative performances of Every Valley is Not a Lake, Robbers and Every Man I Fall For. 

I left not wanting, but certainly wishing that CWK would have played Hair Down and Rubidoux.  After Vaction and Hospital Beds, those are my two favorites.  And, I was certainly wishing that AT&T could have managed to provide a connection and my stupid iPhone could handle true MMS.  For that reason, I give you my new favorite video: