Gravity And The Internet

Driving through Berkeley, it's not unusual to see a beat-up old VW bus with a bumper sticker that says "Think Globally, Act Locally."

Unfortunately, if there's one thing we humans are not good at, it's thinking globally. We have a tendency to think very locally.  I see it every July in San Francisco -- people from New Jersey, dressed in t-shirts and shorts, freezing their asses off because they

Does Marketing Make You Stupid?

It's amazing how quickly otherwise intelligent people become knuckleheads when exposed to marketing.

I am often invited by clients to attend confabs about sales and marketing. Over the years I have met many staff members of these client organizations. Some have been in sales, some in operations, some in finance, some in manufacturing.

As many corporations will do, sometimes these clients will

How To Criticize The Ad Contrarian

Criticizing a cranky loudmouth is an iffy proposition on a good day. But on an afternoon when my clients are all whiny, and my back is acting up, and I'm running late for opening day at the ballpark, it's just not a good idea.

So I was a little miffed on Friday when I read a blog piece called Debunking The Ad Contrarian.

It was written by a guy named Ilya Vedrashko who describes himself as an

Just The Facts

Just The FactsSocial media maniacs are very long on assertions and very short on facts. For a nice, reasonable, non-hysterical (not my style at all) look at some of the facts undermining the preposterous claims of many social media zealots, here's a link to a piece called Social Media: How Much Is Too Much? from Stoltz Marketing Group, in Boise, Idaho.

VolvoA year and a half ago we said...
..."

The Failure Of Web Advertising

We're about 15 years into the internet revolution as a mainstream phenomenon and by any measure internet advertising has to be deemed a major failure.

While the web itself has been a massive success (influencing virtually every aspect of our lives) advertising on the web is mostly a bad joke.

Fifteen years into its mainstream life, television had created scores of powerful consumer-facing

An Apology To Everyone For Everything

My last post was called "I Ain't Apologizin' For Nothin.'" Just to prove that this is a fair and balanced blog, today I'm going to apologize to everyone for everything.

In this day and age, it's more important than ever to be proactive. So I want to take this opportunity to apologize, in advance, to everyone for everything.

I now understand that as a Blogger, I have unique responsibilities.

I Ain't Apologizin' For Nothin'

In honor of April Fool's Day... just once I'd like to turn on a press conference and hear this:

I'm not apologizing to anyone for anything.

You don't like what I do? Tough shit.

I'm not apologizing to my fans. I didn't murder anyone. I didn't steal anything. I didn't commit any crimes. I screwed a few willing women. So what? No animals were injured. The majority of men and women do exactly