Disqus - Latest Comments for UnsatisfiedMind

Re: What's your vacation strategy?

UnsatisfiedMind — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 11:30:13 -0000

You forgot the third strategy... "Working from a Remote Location" ... I'm on the Integrated side, but i tend to perform more "email triage" than I should. Trying to live the mantra of "If it's important, they'll call", but for now, that means mostly that I read the emails but don't respond to them. Yet, that means my mind never really gets a vacation; I'm always distracted by the content of the emails, even if I'm not responding to them. Taking the next step, and getting to the "Check Out" vacation, is the goal...

Re: TechCrunch Giveaway: A Google Nexus S #TechCrunch

UnsatisfiedMind — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 14:58:16 -0000

I need this because the beat gift I got this year was Mad Dog McCree for the Wii....

Re: Am I missing the roses?

UnsatisfiedMind — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 13:07:35 -0000

Well, yes, about whether it's healthy to be hyper-focused on just one aspect of your life or whether we can find that mythical "work-life balance" we all talk so much about...

I guess my original point was simply that if you feel like you're "missing the roses" you probably are, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to stop and admire them a little bit more.

I think it's okay to focus on your job and keep "improving, tweaking, and beautifying" that aspect of your life, as I think that doing that probably gives you energy and happiness that reflects on the other areas of your life too.

Re: Am I missing the roses?

UnsatisfiedMind — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 09:34:05 -0000

This is something I've been reading about a lot recently, and I this article sums it up nicely: Balance is Bunk (http://www.fastcompany.com/...

You have to follow your internal balance. When you feel like it's time to invest in family/friends/community, it probably is.

Re: Monopolies, Retransmission Fees, and Screwing Customers

UnsatisfiedMind — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:03:28 -0000

Agreed, but I think this is just Step #1 in the substitution cycle.

I don't doubt that Disney could charge, let's say $25/mo, for unbundled access to their Disney, ESPN, and ABC family of channels. Scripps could probably charge $5/mo for Food Network & HGTV. NBC Universal might get $15/mo for it's set of networks. As a consumer, buying all these unbundled options is going to add up really quickly, and consumers will have a lot less choice because niche networks simply won't be able to acquire enough subscribers to continue to produce content.

As a Cablevision subscriber I can get access to to 290 channels for $80/mo. Sure, there might be 240 channels in my current cable package that I never watch, but every Cablevision subscriber is getting more choice for less money than we'll be getting in the initial stages of the unbundled world.

That's why I think the next stage after unbundling has to involve ways to bundle packages of consumers instead of packages of channels so that there is wide enough distribution to keep costs low and choice high.

Re: Monopolies, Retransmission Fees, and Screwing Customers

UnsatisfiedMind — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:00:08 -0000

I'm going to respectfully disagree with my NYU Stern classmate. I don't think Disney sees customers as the problem, they see the revenue potential of current digital distribution methods as the problem.

I think media content owners like Disney, Scripps, and Fox would very happily distribute directly to consumers (or through channels like Boxee and Roku) if those distribution channels offered an equivalent revenue opportunity to the existing cable/satellite distribution schemes.

There seems to be an opportunity in this space in being the firm that creates the exchange that gives consumers the choice between "dozens, maybe hundreds of providers" for entertainment content while also providing content creators with enough revenue to create high quality content without requiring exorbitant subscription rates for each of these providers.

Re: Your 49-second Marketing Challenge of the Day… : Never Stop Marketing

UnsatisfiedMind — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:21:32 -0000

You're right, this is a really cool idea.

My major gripe as a potential employer of interns is that I don't think the site gives me enough insight into how the process works. For example, is there a fee for posting an internship opportunity or searching resumes? Are the MS technology skills that the students claim to have verified by Microsoft in any fashion?

I get that Microsoft needs lots of students to sign up, and the site is geared to that objective, but as an employer, I don't think there's a lot of incentive for me to go through the registration process just to learn more.

-UM

Re: Speaking Tour…Sponsored by Microsoft : Never Stop Marketing

UnsatisfiedMind — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:07:02 -0000

Excellent, look forward to meeting you in NYC.

Re: Pizza Hut’s iPhone App Has Generated $1 Million in Sales

UnsatisfiedMind — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:00:27 -0000

I have the same question. How much of these sales does Pizza Hut think it would not have made if the iPhone app didn't exist? The MacWorld UK article that is the source for this story doesn't actually state that Pizza Hut is "seeing increased sales."

Re: Beta Testers, Arise! : Never Stop Marketing

UnsatisfiedMind — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:34:08 -0000

Jeremy,

Thanks for passing on the additional info from Allan. His perspective along with the details really help pull the story together.

Perhaps the most shocking thing to me is that the letter came from an unknown sales professional.

-UM

Re: Beta Testers, Arise! : Never Stop Marketing

UnsatisfiedMind — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:07:54 -0000

I'm having a hard time authenticating to comment. When I try to login with my Disqus profile it pops up the auth window, recognizes my credentials, but doesn't actually log me in.

Then when I try to post a comment using my username and password Disqus recognizes I have a profile, asks me to login, but then seems to post my comment as an orphan.

For example, I left a comment on your BMW of Annapolis post, but it doesn't show up with the existing comments.

Instead it's here, by itself...
http://jer979.com/igniting-...

Re: When 1 Sentence Can Hurt Your Brand… : Never Stop Marketing

UnsatisfiedMind — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:59:13 -0000

I agree it's a poorly written sentence, but I'd like to see the rest to get some context. Did Allan really give this salesperson permission to contact him in the future? Did the salesperson know that they had permission?

My first read of that sentence left me with the impression that the salesperson wasn't threatening to cut Allan off, but rather that they were trying to show respect that Allan might not want to receive uninvited communications in the future.

It's definitely poorly written, but I don't think it's intended to be negative.

Re: Beta Testers, Arise! : Never Stop Marketing

UnsatisfiedMind — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:32:07 -0000

Might just be me, but I get an "Bad Request (Invalid Hostname)" whenever I try to visit http://www.neverstopmarketi...

Re: NSM Design Voting… : Never Stop Marketing

UnsatisfiedMind — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:17:23 -0000

As the lone supporter of the dark background so far, I feel like I have to comment. I agree with you that the dark background is more dynamic and definitely catches the eye better than the lighter version. I actually think it would probably be easier to read (at least for me), but it's hard to tell from the small mockups.

Why not have the designer create both layouts and build them both into your site? Then let visitors choose which layout they want to see. A simple toggle button in the corner of the page would give people the ability to set the default stylesheet for NSM to whichever they prefer, so that they could see the site the way that they wanted to see it. You could set user preference to a cookie so that it would be remembered on future visits.

Re: Be Relevant…or Be Blocked. It’s That Simple. : Never Stop Marketing

UnsatisfiedMind — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:03:28 -0000

Jeremy,

Fair points, but I think there a distinction to be drawn between an event/group invitation and a wall post? If I lived in Los Angeles I'd likely have no use for an invitation to your event in DC, so you should know well enough not to send me an invitation.

But if I'm in LA and you post something on your wall such as "Hosting NSM breakfast in DC this month, let me know if you'd like an invite" -- well clearly that's not relevant to me as a guy in LA, but it also wasn't directed to me. Should I ding you for lack of relevance? I don't see why that's beneficial. Sure, I could ding you for it, but I think that's a short-sighted, and far too rigid, approach.

I think my issue with "relevance" or "value add" in social media communications is that it is hard to define those terms narrowly, because the nature of the platforms is such that they encourage more sharing, not less.

Being an effective member of a community demands flexibility. We'd never accept friends in real life who only want to communicate on their terms, why should we advocate it in the virtual world?

Re: Be Relevant…or Be Blocked. It’s That Simple. : Never Stop Marketing

UnsatisfiedMind — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:04:31 -0000

Does this really work for a personal microbrand? How do I know that what I post on my wall is relevant to you? Furthermore, how can I know whether what's relevant to you is relevant to the hundreds of other people that I'm also connected to on Facebook? If I tried to limit myself to posts that were relevant to my entire network, I'd lose all personality, and I'd lose all relevance.

For a business operating on Facebook, I see how this is clear. Businesses should have a clear brand message, and they should deliver it consistently.

For a person, where do you draw the line? It seems to me that this "lesson" ignores the "social" aspect of social media. If you can't appreciate that the people to whom you're connected to are multi-dimensional, and that you should feel privileged that they're interested in sharing with you many different aspects of their lives, you're closing yourself off from many potential opportunities to connect, learn, and grow.

How many of your Facebook friends really cared that you were wearing a Red Sox hat to the Nats game? How was that relevant to people following you because they want to learn about social media marketing? It wasn't, but people still read it and interacted because they appreciate that you are more than just a guy who Never Stops Marketing.

I think "be relevant (TO ME!!!)...or be blocked" is a sad and selfish way to approach social media.

Re: If Free is the Enemy of Good, Then Color Me Bad

UnsatisfiedMind — Thu, 28 May 2009 09:22:30 -0000

There are a lot of unanswered questions about the "new business models" that the Internet has created, especially when it comes to creative content. Your examples are NiN, Josh Freese, and Monnty Python are all interesting, but the one thing they have in common is that they are all established artists. So, first they can each clearly afford to experiment with new business models because they've already earned a tremendous amount from the old business models. Second, they already have loyal fan bases that are willing to consume their goods. The model that NiN and Josh Freese are using would not work nearly as well for someone just trying to break through the business. If Josh Freese was a no-name artist who hadn't already had big media success, do you think anyone would pay $1,000 to have him wash their car? Josh Freese is not "changing the way music business works", he's just selling his celebrity instead of his music. That only works when you're already a celebrity.

While the Internet may have rendered the old media mechanisms for building a band empire obsolete, it hasn't replaced the mechanisms with anything as potentially profitable, at least not yet.