Business

I have a proposal. One that might alter the face of Human endeavors forever, and it needs only your cooperation. When ever any company calls you or emails you, when you did not contact them first, Boycott! Whether they are offering you insurance, loans, website design or “the candidate of Read more…

I hear sometimes folks say “this is the Big Boys’ table now.” It is usually said to justify outrageously rude behavior and a very narrow, exclusive culture among the folks at that “table.” Hollywood likes to use “the Big Boys table” especially in thing like Espionage, or what passes for Read more…

I found this online, from a former Microsoft Employee. I think it explains a lot of things, except for why, under these circumstances, Microsoft’s stock value keeps going up (at a rate faster than inflation, that is). Truly, this isn’t — and never was — me. It’s some one else. Read more…

So you get a check in the mail. Most of the time you can tell it’s a check without even opening it up. So can any one else looking at it. Is this not a most serious security violation? The bureau or business that sent that to me needs to Read more…

I was 8 years old, more or less, when TV advertisers started to seem suspicious to me. I’d ask around, ask some questions of the adults and those who didn’t say something like “you ask too many questions” or “aren’t you the clever one,” instead of answering the question (also Read more…

With all respect to the Ginsu Knife (has been out of production for some time now) I tend to use the phrase “Ginsu knife advertising” to refer to a particular category of come-on that I put on the “to be distrusted” list. For those who don’t know or don’t remember, Read more…

You may or may not remember (or otherwise know) that one of the the first American Space Shuttles(1) to fly was the Enterprise. This was supposed to be a candy thrown to the Star Trek fans of the time. Problem here is that the Star Ship Enterprise (from Star Trek,1966 – Read more…

Quick thought: If *I* put out a product that worked as randomly, as poorly, as sporadically as your typical cell phone(1) or as, say, Microsoft Publisher(2)… I’d get into quite a lot of trouble. Question: why don’t they? Yes: my shortest post to date…   (1) I have a fairly Read more…

There’ve been some really bad marketing decisions made by really wealthy companies. For example: Pepsi, when they were doing their “taste of a new generation” campaign, had it translated into Chinese and it (according to article I read waaaaaay back then) came out as “brings your ancestors back from the Read more…

Amazon has a widely recognized symbol that is used on TV, on their boxes, on the internet… even used where Children can see it. They call it a “smile.” That is not a smile!  The best spin I can put on it is that it’s a smirk. Smirk: a one-sided, Read more…

Does it bother any body else that YouTube has a commercial for their commercial-free membership? That is, they offer a version of YouTube that has no commercials at start of or end of or even interrupting a video; albeit you have to pay for it. Advertising your commercial-free service? Does Read more…

I used to be a Barista, before the leading edge of the Recession (finally noticed by the news media around 2007) caught up with me and caused me to have to close that. It was great fun, until then. It was also depressing at times, because I was all about Read more…

There’s an old belief in the Advertising world that the more annoying an ad is the more “effective” it is, because people will remember it. I find this reprehensible. Even before I was aware of that fact, though, I had developed a tendency to avoid companies whose commercials and advertising Read more…