I just uploaded the new Pandora app to my now working iPhone.
Pandora is simply amazing. My own, personal radio station? Now available anywhere I have a cell connection? Free?
Just in case my 1 1/2 days of iPhone music either finished playing or I get tired of Coldplay, I'll turn on Pandora. Perfect for my upcoming trip to Colorado.
The slow death of XM/Sirius has now begun.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Herbert
This may take some time...
Reminds me of a song I sing to Aidan when he is totally out of control impatient...about Herbert the Snail:
"have patience, have patience. don’t be in such a hurry. when you get impatient, you only start to worry. remember, remember, that God is patient too. and think about the times when others have to wait for you."
Reminds me of a song I sing to Aidan when he is totally out of control impatient...about Herbert the Snail:
"have patience, have patience. don’t be in such a hurry. when you get impatient, you only start to worry. remember, remember, that God is patient too. and think about the times when others have to wait for you."
If I Was Microsoft...
I would RUN, not walk, to my ad agency.
I would buy hundreds of30-sec. commercial slots to run over the next several days.
I would punch Steve Jobs in the gut with commercials showing how the failed rollout of the iPhone upgrades ruined business productivity. Remember how Vista was destroyed by the clever Apple ads?
Next, I would encourage my loyal customers to post MS-friendly comments on the iPhone failure article threads, like these:
iPocalypse? iPhone Can't Be Activated In-Store
I might even encourage a loyal customer to buy a URL like http://ibrick.com/ to chronicle the debacle .
I would buy hundreds of30-sec. commercial slots to run over the next several days.
I would punch Steve Jobs in the gut with commercials showing how the failed rollout of the iPhone upgrades ruined business productivity. Remember how Vista was destroyed by the clever Apple ads?
Next, I would encourage my loyal customers to post MS-friendly comments on the iPhone failure article threads, like these:
Apple's iPhone 2.0 update is failing
Software problems bug Apple's launch of new iPhoneiPocalypse? iPhone Can't Be Activated In-Store
I might even encourage a loyal customer to buy a URL like http://ibrick.com/ to chronicle the debacle .
Failure to Communicate
Technology has failed me the past two days. Yesterday, Melissa's laptop settings all reset to blank defaults including her MS Outlook contacts and email, Firefox bookmarks, and even her desktop picture...which (if I say so myself) is a beautiful shot I took on my stream in Colorado. After hours of trying to restore it, and getting only half of it fixed, she woke up and turned it on to find everything as it originally was...
Apple failed me today. I woke up excited to upgrade my iPhone software to the new 2.0 version. Apparently, I wasn't the only one. It is July 11th, Apple's big roll-out for the 2nd Generation and v2.0 in 22 countries. Apparently, I'm not the only one now with a beautiful, but useless Apple iBrick.
From a services marketing perspective, the most disappointing part of this is when I called Apple to receive technical support. My hope was that I'd be able to just restore it to the previous version.
So I called.
Automated voice answers.
Informs me that I will be transferred to a service agent.
Informs me that none are available.
Tells me to call back later.
Hangs up.
Is that what Apple calls Customer Service? More like Customer Disservice.
AT&T's response:
"There seem to be worldwide issues with this syncing process and Apple is working on it right now," AT&T Wireless spokesman Mark Siegel told ABCNews.com. "What we're telling our customers in the stores is once we have activated their account, we're urging them to go home [me: ie. leave you alone] and try syncing it later on iTunes. ... Apple is working on this problem."
My Response for those in the US: "Don't bother. Wait until the Europeans sleep." Maybe the servers will open up by then.
Friday, June 13, 2008
A chink in Amazon...
I'm sure that there are several, but I've always held Amazon.com in high regard. Perhaps because it is based in Seattle, where I grew up. They are just impressive. Much more impressive to me than Wal-Mart.
So, I was very impressed last Sunday when I used my iPhone to look up a new book to buy and saw that they had a beta site specifically designed for the iPhone browser experience. Smart.
It was so smart, I ordered the book and all the other books in my cart. I was so excited to read the four new books, I stepped out and paid for the 3-5 day shipping (vs. super saver free...I know, big spender).
Well, I thought they would arrive in 3-5 days from Monday...leaving the strong possibility that they would be here in time for the weekend. Since they tend to arrive faster than the 5 days, I've check my front door every day.
Today is Friday. No books.
Suddenly, I was afraid that the order didn't actually happen. I hurried to check the status...
"Shipping Estimate: October 21, 2008"
OCTOBER! Are you kidding me???
It seems that Amazon thought it would be appropriate to hold the other three, ready-to-be shipped, books until the new, soon-to-be-released Seth Godin book was actually released...in October.
Amazon should be smarter than this. I called to complain...the customer service rep wanted to explain to me that it was my fault.
First, I selected the " Group my items into as few shipments as possible" option. Second, I should have noticed the Shipping Estimate when I ordered them. (nevermind that it was in 4pt font on my iPhone)
I told the customer "service" rep that I don't want an explanation. I want my books. No one would choose to wait until October for books they could buy right now at the bookstore. Shipping in"as few shipments as possible" should at least include getting those now.
I canceled my order for Seth Godin's book. I'll order it later.
The other three books will arrive on Tuesday.
I won't make the same mistake again. But, Amazon should know better.
So, I was very impressed last Sunday when I used my iPhone to look up a new book to buy and saw that they had a beta site specifically designed for the iPhone browser experience. Smart.
It was so smart, I ordered the book and all the other books in my cart. I was so excited to read the four new books, I stepped out and paid for the 3-5 day shipping (vs. super saver free...I know, big spender).
Well, I thought they would arrive in 3-5 days from Monday...leaving the strong possibility that they would be here in time for the weekend. Since they tend to arrive faster than the 5 days, I've check my front door every day.
Today is Friday. No books.
Suddenly, I was afraid that the order didn't actually happen. I hurried to check the status...
"Shipping Estimate: October 21, 2008"
OCTOBER! Are you kidding me???
It seems that Amazon thought it would be appropriate to hold the other three, ready-to-be shipped, books until the new, soon-to-be-released Seth Godin book was actually released...in October.
Amazon should be smarter than this. I called to complain...the customer service rep wanted to explain to me that it was my fault.
First, I selected the " Group my items into as few shipments as possible" option. Second, I should have noticed the Shipping Estimate when I ordered them. (nevermind that it was in 4pt font on my iPhone)
I told the customer "service" rep that I don't want an explanation. I want my books. No one would choose to wait until October for books they could buy right now at the bookstore. Shipping in"as few shipments as possible" should at least include getting those now.
I canceled my order for Seth Godin's book. I'll order it later.
The other three books will arrive on Tuesday.
I won't make the same mistake again. But, Amazon should know better.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
F E A R: Emotional Marketing
I'm snagging this from Seth Godin's blog...it is perfect for my consumer behavior class and is a great example of how (shameless) marketers use the ever influential tool of fear to make a buck.
update
i have much to update on...it's coming...promise.
in the meantime, this captures what i'm thinking about these days...
friendly fire.
in the meantime, this captures what i'm thinking about these days...
friendly fire.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Ouch
What began as a typical day has become yet another time for reflection.
I called Melissa this morning from my office to tell her I was afraid the sudden pain I was feeling was eerily similar to the kidney stone issues of the past (six years ago, in fact). She went immediately into management mode, remembering the not so pleasant experience we both went through last time this happened.
Being my typical self, I thought about all the other things I had to do today (namely, teach three classes) that would be impacted if I went to the doctor or ER. She insisted on taking me to the doctor right away...
Turns out that my worst fears were true. I'm dealing with another stone. The good news is that I at least knew what was happening this time and Melissa was quick to get me to the doctor.
When you have something like this trying to leave, it hurts. When you are told to stop eating ice cream, it REALLY hurts!
I called Melissa this morning from my office to tell her I was afraid the sudden pain I was feeling was eerily similar to the kidney stone issues of the past (six years ago, in fact). She went immediately into management mode, remembering the not so pleasant experience we both went through last time this happened.
Being my typical self, I thought about all the other things I had to do today (namely, teach three classes) that would be impacted if I went to the doctor or ER. She insisted on taking me to the doctor right away...
Turns out that my worst fears were true. I'm dealing with another stone. The good news is that I at least knew what was happening this time and Melissa was quick to get me to the doctor.
When you have something like this trying to leave, it hurts. When you are told to stop eating ice cream, it REALLY hurts!
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Personal Brand Equity...
My Aussie friend Jonathan Marshall and I used this term back in graduate school at Arizona State...every day is another opportunity to either build your personal brand equity, or lower it. P.B.E. is MBA-speak for what people think of you.
I later found this article by a much better known thought leader, Tom Peters.
Jonathan and I were astonished that some people, even marketers, never thought about how they presented themselves. You are the most important product you could ever market. Whether trying to find a job (or keep it), get promoted, or land a deal (or a date).
Last week, one of my students suddenly realized that his personal brand equity took a dive when I called him out for sleeping in my (highly engaging, I'm sure) class {I told him to take a walk}. I know that he is an exceptionally bright student. I also know that he has a reputation for sleeping in class. In fact, there is a facebook group honoring this. Later, another student showed me the YouTube video of him sleeping through an entire semester of Astronomy. It is hilarious. And it is sad. Sad that someone as intelligent and talented as Eric is known for this.
To his credit, he is now staying awake and engaged. Good for him. His Brand depends on it...
What am I doing to improve my brand equity?
(Eric, i'd figure out a way to delete that video.)
I later found this article by a much better known thought leader, Tom Peters.
Jonathan and I were astonished that some people, even marketers, never thought about how they presented themselves. You are the most important product you could ever market. Whether trying to find a job (or keep it), get promoted, or land a deal (or a date).
Last week, one of my students suddenly realized that his personal brand equity took a dive when I called him out for sleeping in my (highly engaging, I'm sure) class {I told him to take a walk}. I know that he is an exceptionally bright student. I also know that he has a reputation for sleeping in class. In fact, there is a facebook group honoring this. Later, another student showed me the YouTube video of him sleeping through an entire semester of Astronomy. It is hilarious. And it is sad. Sad that someone as intelligent and talented as Eric is known for this.
To his credit, he is now staying awake and engaged. Good for him. His Brand depends on it...
What am I doing to improve my brand equity?
(Eric, i'd figure out a way to delete that video.)
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