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The Drug That Fuels Gary Vaynerchuk
Gary really dumps some timely, no fluff thoughts on succeeding in a business in a bad economy – and why he likes it.
Crush It Music Video with Gary Vaynerchuk
This is all to raise money and awareness for the Caring House Project Foundation. I came with the idea for a “Crush It” song, worked with Clabo to write it, and produced by two Grammy talented producers in Andre Betts and Tim “China” Black.
The goal is simple: Build a self-sufficient village for the desperately poor in Haiti. I hope you’ll get involved with one measly .99 cent download….And please share this link. Every person counts. Thanks. See I can be very serious sometimes.
Digital Capital Week – Tech Cocktail DC-9 (Lux Lounge)
I helped out at my friend Frank Gruber’s Tech Cocktail event in Washington DC. Nothing funny here, except maybe some dude’s over the top waving near the end. But some really cool start-ups based in DC. For me, a video and film lover, Critical Past is pretty awesome. Check it out.
Solar Power Is Cool But Not The First Step
Don’t Get Caught Up In Solyndra
With more daily involvement in the energy management industry, the sexy draw of solar still dominates the news. And this is before Solyndra.
The idea that the sun can power your home or building is alluring. But what good is creating energy you allow to escape?
That’s the big problem.
So many buildings and homes are still massively deficient in sealing in energy, keeping it from leaking out.
There are a number of measures that can be taken to address the issue. It all begins with a proper assessment and diagnosis.
To simply say a home needs energy efficient windows is no better. Yes, a big industry. But anyone involved in energy efficiency knows that windows are rarely the most important energy waster.
Aesthetics are one thing but saving energy and money monthly is another.
And it’s more than better insulation or sealing. It’s making sure it gets applied properly, and in every spot that needs it.
That’s where a Home Energy Health Performance Assessment (HEHPA) comes in play. More might look at simply an energy audit, but fortunately more and more people are also concerned about health and comfort in their homes and building.
A HEHPA as delivered by a company like Energy Savers America pinpoints not only energy wasting issues, but also safety issues such as radon gas and carbon monoxide. And then it’s about eliminating hot and cold spots so families and office employees can enjoy all of the available space without wasting energy to heat and cool.
So don’t ignore solar, but certainly allow it to take its place in a process towards energy independence. By getting a thorough, scientific assessment and shoring up the identified weak spots – less solar panels will be needed to reach energy independence.
John McEnroe and Jimmy Fallon beer pong inspired this….
Yep, I saw the headline for John McEnroe playing Jimmy Fallon in beer pong and had to watch it.
But what I saw for the video ad prior to the beer pong video put a different kind of smile on my face. We’re talk Advertising Relevancy.
All too often in the relatively new world of video ads, they still have no relevancy to us. Let’s be real. Many of us watch some pretty random stuff – like Jimmy Fallon and John McEnroe playing beer pong.
But that doesn’t mean the ad played before the video we want to watch means diddly squat to us. In my case, it may seem like a good assumption that me being interested in watching two famous dudes play beer pong means I’m more likely to like Red Bull. Or the assumption might have been, since Jimmy Fallon is on late at night, I’m watching it even later on the web and I might need a caffeine-sugar rush to stay up even later.
In the tv world, those assumptions – that demographic profile – would be the best advertisers can really do.
But the good ole’ internet and smart folks are now asking at least one great question: “Is this ad relevant to you? Yes or No?”
They’re basically saying, “Hey man. We made an assumption you might like some Red Bull, but we could be wrong. If we are, let us know so we don’t bug you with another Red Bull ad.”
And from this question will hopefully come even more relevant ads. That means more targeted, meaningful ads for companies spending money.
For now, I’ll just click my Triple Video MySpeed slider until the ad is over.
Jimmy Fallon plays John McEnroe in beer pong
The Health Care Fix The Government Doesn’t Want You To Know About
Sounds pretty intriguing huh?
“The Health Care Fix The Government Doesn’t Want You To Know About.”
Okay, so maybe they do want you to know about it, and maybe it’s not a fix. But if they’re so concerned about rising costs – which will go higher because the government is concerned and involved now – then why can’t they INSIST on one simple thing.
I’m talking about one simple thing that will kill two birds with one stone.
In fact, it’s so damn simple. So damn obvious. I have to give it a little build up.
Ready?
The instant solution to lowering health care cost is stop mailing me a daggone invoice every month. I pay directly via the internet from my bank. Save the piece of paper. Save the envelope you mailed it in. Save the return envelope.
Since I can’t imagine I’m the only one my insurance company (BlueCross BlueShield) mails an invoice to every month, multiply that out. I’ll let someone smarter than me come up with some numbers.
Multiply out the ink wasted, the paper wasted, the postage cost, and the waste in time and money paying someone to oversee the whole process.
I looked on the form to see if they would bother to ask me, “If you would like to stop receiving paper invoices, please let us know.”
If it’s there, it ain’t obvious.
Add to the above wasting my time. If I get mail from my health insurance company, I’m going to open it. I feel like I have to.
So there you have it. Instant health care savings. And at the same time, I helped save millions of trees over time, and reduced green house gases and landfill waste.
And it doesn’t even need a Czar to oversee it.
FAST COMPANY magazine sends me their FINAL offer….Really?
I dig FAST COMPANY. It’s worthy of a little time each month. Always something I enjoy.
So when my subscription renewal was up, I hadn’t planned on just canceling it. BUT for “research” purposes, I decided to go for a little ride. All told it was a five month ride of Reminders to Renew, Final Chance to Renew at a Special Rate, Last Chance to Renew at this Low Rate, and finally a RUSH Last Chance.
Whew! That’s a lot of finals and lasts huh?
You probably already know this, but it’s important to remind ourselves how the publishing business works – in this case magazines. More than ever, they are reliant on ad revenue. The money made (or lost) from subscriptions is less important to an extent.
What is important is being able to show a Demographic Profile to potential advertisers that’s appealing. Think about it. Which would you rather have as an advertiser of a high tech device or luxury item?
A magazine offering you space with:
1. 500,000 subscribers with an average income of $40,000 – $50,000
OR
2. 300,000 subscribers with an average income of $100,000 – $150,000
Surely you’d want some more details than that. For example, if you were selling a product like gourmet steaks, it really wouldn’t matter if you had a demographic with income levels over $100,000. Yes, chances are they have the disposable income to buy your gourmet steaks. But what if they’re vegans? Game over. You’ve wasted an ad.
But this whole game of getting the “right” demographic of advertisers is why you may get these insanely low offers (should have saved a few) from magazines like Fortune or Forbes for 83% off the subscription price. They want you for your demographic profile and buying habits.
But let’s just look at the last two offers I got from FAST COMPANY.
Here’s Last Chance offer #1 for $13.97 for one full year:
It’s got some good ole’ Urgency, but here’s maybe the big takeaway from this post: Experience and just paying attention will help you get better deals in life.
And, NOT having to do something is a much better position of strength. I don’t have to subscribe. I want to get the magazine, but I don’t HAVE to have the magazine. I don’t want it bad enough. If you feel like you HAVE to have something or want it so bad, you’re going to panic a bit more, and pull the trigger on offers faster. Heck, you may not even wait for a second offer. But if you want the best deal (price, terms, or both) you’d better at least act like you don’t have to have it.
Watching Rocky II again, I remember Rocky and Adrian looking at a house. The realtor gives him a price, and while Adrian wanted to make the realtor work a little more, Rocky REALLY wanted the house. So he says, (insert Rocky voice) “Hey, dat sounds like a good price. Yo Adrian, I know a good deal when I see one.”
Now, let’s go on to the RUSH Last Chance offer, which came about a month later:
Holy cow!
One full year for $10 plus a 2nd subscription for FREE.
Now, digging into this a bit: FAST COMPANY throws an irri-Zistable offer out there to not only keep me, but add another subscriber who fits their demographic profile. And guess what, it worked.
I mean come on. It’s a fast, free gift to send to someone.
Now I don’t believe for a minute this would be their last offer, but I did end the experiment as I do believe their offer won’t get any better. Everyone has a bottom point.
What would I do differently? I would have made this offer sooner seems like it would make sense. But that’s just a statement. They’re not stupid. I’m sure they’ve tested the results.
So yes, in my case they wasted postage, paper, and time sending out the previous offer. BUT….
If on average, they get enough people to up their subscription at the $13.97 price, they’ve more than made up for the extra mailers to knuckleheads like me who drag out the process on purpose. But hey, I did this for research purposes for your benefit.
Let me pose this question:
“How can you use this information with your business or in just buying stuff for yourself?”
Share your thoughts.