Tag Archives: Reality checks

The Tools

I got into one of those conversations a couple of weeks ago.  You know the ones:  something is so obvious to you and yet you don’t seem to make your point clearly.  No, the conversation wasn’t about politics although it does seem as if most political conversations would fit my description.  This one was about buying search ads but it just as easily could have been about Facebook, Twitter, or any number of other easily accessible digital tools.

At one point, the other party mentioned that they could do what I and a couple of others who are assisting them are doing on their behalf far less expensively either by doing it themselves or by hiring a “kid” part-time.  Putting aide that in essence a consultant is part-time help, I remembered the old joke about Henry Ford and Tesla identifying a problem area in 5 seconds – it’s $1 for making the mark and $9,999 for knowing where to make it.  A good thing to keep in mind and let me explain. Continue reading

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Filed under Consulting, digital media

Where Did You Learn This Stuff?

From time to time I chat with folks who are just starting their professional lives. One of the things many of them discover pretty early on in their job searches is that they have spent a lot of money obtaining a degree that might not qualify them to do much. This isn’t something new: my degrees are in English and Education which have, on the surface, very little to do with a career in traditional and digital media, sales, and sports.

The question I get asked a lot is “how did you get to where you are?” – what was my career path, etc. Inevitably, the specific knowledge one needs to advance down a particular road comes up and then the question becomes “where did you learn this stuff?”. Good question, and not as simple an answer as you’d think. Continue reading

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Filed under Helpful Hints, Reality checks

Keep Your Finger To Yourself

We have something from the trademark world this morning. There is a group within the US Patent Office called the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. They’re the folks who figure out if some piece of intellectual property – a name, a slogan, a design – is protectable by a trademark (I’ll pause here whilst all the lawyers out there rush to correct me).
Recently they refused to approve a bottle design on the basis that it was “scandalous,” which is pretty rare. I think they got it wrong and here’s why. Continue reading

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Filed under Helpful Hints, Reality checks