Disqus - Latest Comments for gerardmclean

Re: The art of cost estimating and whispering

gerardmclean — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 10:50:47 -0000

Same thing happens with design... print, digital... always...

Thank you for coming back!

Re: Allow a Custom Message with a Product in Shopp

gerardmclean — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 09:51:11 -0000

ARGHHH... too much coding too early in the morning.... I am sorry, really, not an idiot :-) THIS inputs-list not addons-list

Re: Allow a Custom Message with a Product in Shopp

gerardmclean — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 09:49:52 -0000

ok, sorry about the code thing... that is the string I am adding that doesn't work....

Re: Allow a Custom Message with a Product in Shopp

gerardmclean — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 09:49:22 -0000

<?php shopp('purchase','item-addons-list'); ?>

Re: Allow a Custom Message with a Product in Shopp

gerardmclean — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 09:48:37 -0000

this is cool and worked. But how do I add it to receipt? I tried adding in receipt.php and nothing.. it appears in the order listing and in the download, so we can deal there, but really want to be able to feed it back to the customer. Thanks!

Re: SXSW PanelPicker

gerardmclean — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 21:44:15 -0000

Thanks, Saxon! I hope SXSW books it!!

Re: Talk in Their Language

gerardmclean — Thu, 19 May 2011 07:47:12 -0000

Talking in a client's language is a tricky thing. We do a lot of soccer tournament stuff and we have vendors call and think they know what the soccer tournament market is all about. They use examples of rec soccer when we are clearly in the competitive market. Totally different animals, yet they persist in "demonstrating" their knowledge as if we will be so impressed we will buy from them. They are wrong. Sometimes (most of the time), talking in a client's language means "shut up and really, really listen to what they are saying."

A soccer tournament is not just a two-day league season and orange slices on the sidelines :-)

Re: The E Word

gerardmclean — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:10:38 -0000

I tell people I'm a Professional Hobo. The ones that cock their heads slightly, scrunch their eyebrows and ask, I have a conversation with. The ones who don't, don't matter and never will :-)

Re: The E Word

gerardmclean — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 08:42:24 -0000

LOL I get it now.. I never thought it would be too early for puns, but I was wrong! :-) Thanks for the bump back off the berm

Re: The E Word

gerardmclean — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 08:19:07 -0000

Really trying to put the Fruit Loops photo together with the article content. My associations so far are not kind :-) All joking aside, labels are mostly for media people so they can understand the complex world around them, bundle that up and deliver it to readers in pre-digested chunks. You call yourself whatever you want.. or nothing.

An interesting discussion over at http://blog.waxmarketing.co... @waxgirl33 and @WriteSourcing Tread lightly if you decide to weigh in; they're feisty! :-)

Re: Value Your Blog Real Estate

gerardmclean — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 09:51:45 -0000

Retail has done this kind of thing for years, almost to an obsession. If you are interested in fast-tracking your thinking on this, anything by Paco Underhill will get you there. http://www.pacounderhill.com/ Kinda dull, but worth suffering through.

Also another retail voice who is also very much in the social media space is Carol Spieckerman @retailxpert Her store front is I think more of a "cobbler's kids' shoes" as she is very much in demand, but worth watching. Sometimes -- many times -- the new ideas come from the old school sources.

Re: Value Your Blog Real Estate

gerardmclean — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 09:47:08 -0000

Clicking a Facebook Like does not take them to Facebook. They stay on your blog. I don't know what the larger benefits of a Like button is yet, but to not have one makes you look so March 2010 :-)

Re: 5 Reasons Artists Should

gerardmclean — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:45:51 -0000

What keep me from using Evernote aggressively is knowing that all that stuff is out there, stored on somebody else's server. If Evernote had a version that I could install on my own server, without any leakage, I would use it more. Right now, I mostly store stuff about what size each room in my house is, what size plumbing is used where, model numbers of my appliances so when I''m at the Home Depot I can look up dimensions and model number of things so I don't have to buy one of each size to make sure it all fits :-)

Re: How Not to Write a Book

gerardmclean — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:40:45 -0000

Those days are long gone, unless all my book publisher friends are dead wrong. For a good read on this, Jim Long (@newmediajim) http://vergenewmedia.com/2010/07/29/web-video-s... It's about TV/video but it still applies.

Anyone can WRITE a book. Just do it, which may have been Chris' point. But if your goal is to become a published author, that is a whole other thing. Hell, Trust Agents isn't very well-written. If it was submitted to a publisher cold without Brogan's celebrity, nobody would have picked it up. The writing is sloppy, the transitions are weak, the POV is confusing flipping back and forth between Julien and Chris.. not a great work. (I think Chris already knows this and has said this publicly. If this is news to Chris, I'm sorry.. I hope that appeared more "honest" than "mean.") But, it got published and continues to sell well because Chris has celebrity and authority. We look beyond his unpolished style. Publishers are less forgiving when it comes to unknown authors.

And I'll bet you are slightly wrong about "nobody knowing Stephen King..." The "official" story always backtracks as "coming out of nowhere" is a common story that always sells an author, blogger, artist well... Truth is, most have worked a lifetime of hard work and have a loyal following long before they ever make it big.

Re: How Not to Write a Book

gerardmclean — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:19:27 -0000

You forgot the first step: become famous first. Nobody buys books written by nobodies unless that nobody is dead. ;)

Re: Spice It Up

gerardmclean — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:05:38 -0000

Regardless of sales increases, Old Spice still dropped the ball ten yards from the end zone by doing nothing at retail. Had they done something at the shelf, who know how much more over 107% they could have gone. http://gerardmclean.com/old...

Re: Go Map Yourself

gerardmclean — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 07:18:35 -0000

I don't even tell my family when I am in town because most of the time business travel is wall to wall meetings. Folks who don't travel for a living don't understand so it is better to just not say than have hurt feelings. And I like IRL "mayorship" as well. But I can see the value of Foursquare and Gowalla for retail applications so I hope they make it.

Re: Old Spice Viral Video Campaign & Why It’s Brilliant

gerardmclean — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:21:13 -0000

Carol, it's all about completing the last ten yards at retail.
http://gerardmclean.com/old...

Re: Confidence and Conviction

gerardmclean — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 09:06:39 -0000

This same stuff can be applied to parenting. No parent really knows what they are doing, but if you don't exhibit confidence and conviction, you're dead in the water.

Re: Help Yourself

gerardmclean — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 17:10:55 -0000

That is very interesting. In a rush to protect them from the dangers of the world (bubble-wrapping playgrounds) we've created the next generation of kids who can't make anything. I've had a blog post knocking around my head forever about why it's important to make things with your hands. You've knocked it out of my head and onto the screen... (pretty sure there is some irony there...) Thanks!

Re: Help Yourself

gerardmclean — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 09:49:17 -0000

I studied English lit in college. I got a degree in English. I was going to have a brilliant career as a High School English teacher and later, an old, retired writer. But life had other plans and that just wasn't in the cards. Someday, I hope it will be.

But I learned how to write software by tearing other software apart. I learned how to be a graphic designer by studying design and typography, reading, watching and emulating the best (Black, McWade, Zeldman) When I run into a technical problem with PHP, Perl, WordPress, whatever, I Google the crap out of it and read mountains of books. O'Reily is my best friend. The sheer terror of failure is perhaps my single biggest motivator. Quoting Dylan, "he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled." Technology is merciless with those who don't keep learning. So is marketing. So is business. So is life.

And when people ask me how I know all this stuff, I say, "I can read, I can Google" and still many people don't get that most education and skill is obtained through constant curiosity and a drive to know how to do things. Most people want to be spoon-fed the answers or trained by their employer. "You didn't show me how to do that" "You didn't set up my preferences" "You didn't send me the email" and on and on and on. That crap drives me crazy. I may not be the smartest idiot in the room, but I sure know enough to not just stand there waiting for someone to tell me how to do something, accept failure and then blame it on anyone who didn't get the damn answer for me.

Chris, you have more patience with the lazy than I ever will. I don't know where you find the internal fortitude.

Re: The Assault On Anywhen

gerardmclean — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:19:09 -0000

Damn it, Chris, I meant it! Don't take this personally, but we have to now eject you from the Geezer Club. You can hang out on the lawn though; just come inside when you're ready. Your well-worn, comfy leather chair will be waiting. :-)

Re: The Assault On Anywhen

gerardmclean — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:51:14 -0000

Isn't this what we all wanted? To be able to work anywhere, anytime, space and time don't matter? It's all about me, what I want, what I need without regard to how I'm connected to you. We are or have raised a generation of folks who attribute the same level of selfish urgency and importance of running out of coffee to an earthquake in Haiti. (yes we have. I have two GenY kids, so bring it on if you think I'm crazy on this one.)

Always on, always ok to tap and ask, where you at, where you at, text me, where you at, text me, text me is an unintended consequence of flat organizations and social networks where a homeless non-customer has the same access to the CEO as does his own spouse. I exaggerate for effect, but you get the point.

It's about time you turn off, check out and recharge and deal with us on YOUR terms. Nobody is dying, the sky is not falling and you, Chris, are more influential in this space than most of us will ever hope to be. Start being arrogant and inaccessible. Your fans will get it; your fair-weather fans will leech onto someone else who feeds their needy nature.

And don't reply to this comment. Don't you dare! Really, being serious here. Manup and defend anyWHEN starting here by ignoring me.

And welcome to the geezer club; it was just a matter of time before you became a member :-)

Re: Writing Challenge #11: The Moral Point of View

gerardmclean — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:47:39 -0000

HA! It appears 11 days is the max time a blogging can go without blogging! Too funny to be coincidental!
http://gerardmclean.com/i-h...

Re: When This All Gets Cool

gerardmclean — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:01:29 -0000

Wow! I threw up a group from my old neighborhood on Facebook and forgot about it for a couple years... in the last 6 months, it got active... (Frogtown, St. Paul, MN http://www.facebook.com/gro... ) the potential now to do good is within reach... the long lead time puzzles me a bit, but.... you're right about the smaller neighborhoods, especially when the world gets larger, folks want to come back home....