They Played Football Last Night

Friday mornings have now become a gentle reminder that the NFL played the previous night. In case you missed it (and statistically, you probably did), the Steelers beat the Rams.

In the greedfest that has become the NFL, the Thursday night games played since Thanksgiving are all presented on the NFL Network - a satellite only feed for subscribers.

Which means that 70% of the country couldn't watch even if they wanted to.

Now, I'm not a huge fan of either team, but had it been presented on any of the major networks, I would have watched last night.

And I bet hundreds of thousands of you would have done the same. Ironically, the writers strike have drained primetime of any watchable shows, with original programming exhausted several weeks ago.

So during a time where there is scarce viewing competition during prime time, when any NFL game would be welcomed, the games are played in relative obscurity.

For me, the only reminder that the NFL "lives" outside of the Sunday and Monday night schedule, are the sports headlines each Friday morning.

While I'm sure the owners are congratulating themselves over the additional revenue provided by the NFL Network, I think that they're earning a lump of coal in their Christmas stockings from many fans.

Enjoy the revenue while you can. You're developing a cadre of fans who are developing a "slow burn" over the decision.

And worse yet, like me, some are starting to ask "Who cares?".

Postulating on Airline Travel Tradeoffs

Is the government onto something?

I just recently heard that in an effort to reduce nationwide air traffic congestion, the government is going to reduce the number of flights out of JFK.

Hmm. I wonder whether they'll actually improve more than they bargained for? What if they also reduced the flights out of Boston, Ohare, L.A., Minneapolis, Atlanta and Detroit as well?

Let's see how this might work. Here's the potential upside.

1. Fewer delays, both departure and connections.
2. Fewer empty seats per plane.
3. Fewer lost bags? (Fewer flights with which to mishandle luggage).
4. Less airplane maintenance costs per traveller.
5. Lower fuel costs/passenger.
6. Safer ground operations (fewer runway incursions because of fewer flights).
7. Safer air operations (reduced burden on air traffic controllers).
8. More predictable passenger loads leading to more predictable inventories for service items (lunches, dinners for sale).
9. Better crew scheduling opportunities.

On the downside.

1. Less departure/airline choice
2. Probably higher fares (less capacity, fewer choices).
3. Cancelled flights might be tougher to rebook (fewer options).

If the "upsides" came true, as a passenger, would you be willing to accept the "downsides"?

37Signals (unintended) Advice to the Candidates

The guys at 37Signals blogged today about self-promotion. Seth Godin adds his two cents here.

While the original sentiments were designed to describe ways to promote your product, service or company, it strikes me that during Political "silly season" with caucuses only weeks away, that all the candidates would be well served by reading their posts.

Adherence to their advice might explain why some (non-traditional?) candidates have such a loyal following and are able to raise unbelievable amounts of cash.

An inside perspective of Goodwill

Many of us are familiar with the Goodwill store located on Watertower Rd in Menominee Falls.

Most of us only know the store from the outside - specifically the donations doors, where we drop off clothing, electronics, furniture, knick knacks and whatever other treasures are taking up space in our basements or garages. For many of us, we see Goodwill as the means to a charitable donations tax receipt. For the more saintly among us, donating is simply the right thing to do.

Recently I was introduced to Goodwill from a brand new perspective - the front door.

I have to credit my son, who currently works there, for opening up my eyes to what they have for sale. Our family is pretty well off and I admit that I've always held a bias against shopping there. I'm not sure whether I was "too proud" or "too snobby" or perhaps both.

All this time I was depriving myself of some fun. I've found that the Goodwill shopping experience is a little like an organized rummage sale without all the price haggling.

What Goodwill doesn't really advertise, is that they also offer new (overstocked) items from many of the Big Box stores. They pull off the garment tags, so you can't tell the store of origin, but nevertheless there are tremendous values for astute shoppers.

Other examples include stuff you need everyday. Just in time for Christmas they were selling AA battery packs for less than half the price of Wal-Mart! Who doesn't need batteries? Other recent purchases included a cell phone car charger and additional memory for a digital camera.

Last October we purchased some clothing for Halloween costumes there.

And remember that all proceeds go for a worthy cause. They also have an online auction store. Check it out for yourself.

Next time you're at Goodwill, try something different. Try the front door.

3 Marketing (Advertising) Pet Peeves

Three examples to prove Seth Godin's assertion that All Marketers Are Liars. (Within the book he actually he calls them "storytellers".)

Gripe #1: Bottled water
Yesterday I stepped off the treadmill and reached for a flavored water. As I quenched my thirst and cooled down from the exercise, I noticed the message on the front of the label. The product was "Naturally Flavored".

Spurred by a sense of well being I continued to read on.... The backside of the label contained all the "ingredients" in the water and the declaration: Contains 0% juice.

Huh?

How can something "naturally flavored" contain 0% juice? I didn't come across the word concentrate - just a bunch of chemicals...

I wonder whether the bottled water company has Marketing write the front part of the label and an attorney write the reverse.

Gripe#2: Car ads
Any and all TV ads for cars that contain the caption "Professional driver. Closed course."
Stop trying to sell me a driving experience that I can't possibly (legally) have!

Gripe #3a: Pharma ads
All ads for medicines that contain the phrase: "Ask your doctor if [insert drug name here] is right for you!"

As comedian Bill Maher points out.. "If you're asking your doctor for drugs, doesn't that just make him your dealer?" At what point in our history did we decide to start taking medical advice from Pharma companies over the advice of our personal physicians? If my doctor isn't willing to listen to your sales pitch, why should I?

Gripe #3b: Pharma ads
Ads for medicines where the potential risks and side effects are longer than the symptoms they're trying to alleviate.

I admit it. I am now officially a curmudgeon.

Skip this Ad

I've been noticing a plethora of landing page ads on some of my favorite websites.

You know, those full screen, unwanted, irritating, 20 second ads that interfere with your browsing experience. I can't imagine that these ads ever actually work - unless their sole purpose is to drive you to a "premium membership" (read: ad free, at additional cost) experience.

What's really happening, of course, is that Marketers are teaching me to immediately look for those 3 words that usually appear in the upper right corner of the "web litter"...."Skip this Ad".

And while the hosting sites must benefit financially (at least in the short term), I can't imagine that this tactic engenders long term site readership loyalty.

If your website includes the words "Skip this ad", it's time to think about what you're really accomplishing - continuing the work of B.F. Skinner..

As a typical reader, I can now recognize a site ad and hit the "Skip this Ad" link in under 1 second.

And I'm betting you can too.

Call Me Old Fashioned.....

Today, in my email was a friendly reminder from Plaxo, to select and queue my e-Christmas Cards for just in time delivery.

I understand the appeal of a service like this - first, it's FREE. Second, it's fast.

Its drawback of course is that it's lacking in sincerity. I have spent most of my life in technology and I can't think of any friends or colleagues who use e-cards.

I think people appreciate the effort made to send season's greetings "by hand". You have to purchase the cards (or make them yourself), hand write season's sentiments, address the envelopes, purchase and apply the stamps and mail them in time for Christmas.

And I for one, appreciate the fact that old friends and colleagues make the effort. It places value behind the words. The effort underscores the sentiment.

You simply can't accomplish sincerity with a mail merge.

Merry Christmas!

Closing the Vista Landfill.

This post on Gizmodo features a funny Microsoft error message that proves that landfills (real or virtual) have limitations.

My Tom Sawyer Moment

Late last winter, (in April for those of you NOT from the Midwest), I purchased a snow blower - virtually guaranteeing the end of snowfall for the season.

I was right. You're welcome.

Yesterday a big storm blew across the state and dumped about 4-5 inches of snow, sleet and freezing rain on us.

It was the best gift ever.

I fired up the snowblower and away I went. And I immediately understood why, in my old neighborhood, whenever someone got a new snowblower, they were so eager to "help me out" by snowblowing my driveway.

It's a LOT of fun.

Yesterday I found myself staring out the window, anxiously waiting for a couple of inches of accumulation before I could jump outside and get started. Mother Nature didn't fail me and soon I was blowing streams of snow into my neighbor's driveway, our lawn, into the cleared areas of our driveway and into my face....

Note to me: Check wind direction before starting.

I don't quite have the hang of it yet.

However, as a public service, I would like to share this fantastic experience with all my friends and neighbors. Next time snow is in the forecast, come on by and I'll let you have the time of your life, clearing out my driveway.

I'll even provide the gas.