A Member Asks the Eternal Question - Feed or Newsletter?
August 2004 Archives
According to the legal resource Free Advice, blood tests were intended to determine if one or both of the marrying couple had a disease that may be passed on to their children...
This question has inspired volumes of medical research dating back to the 19th century. People who are visually impaired from birth appear to lack visual imagery in their dreams. It's believed that the parts of their brains that register visual information remain dormant...
ESPN25: 100 Best Seasons
As ESPN celebrates the past 25 years in sports, Page 2 celebrates those athletes who transcended their teams and sports, who amazed us with the greatest individual seasons over the past 25 years.The concept? Simple. Which athlete had the best season? We spent hours checking the numbers, analyzing their value, adjusting for the context of their stats (for example, NBA games see fewer points scored now than in the 1980s while baseball games see more home runs and higher ERAs)....
Manchester United FC, UK - 6 minutes ago
Manchester United is delighted to announce that it has finalised an agreement with Everton Football Club for the transfer of Wayne Rooney. ...
Macon Telegraph, GA - 6 minutes ago
... Lewis said. "But the simple mathematics of it all is he's just coming back to have fun and play football with his friends.". Billick ...
Yesterday a Georgia man ran into a telephone pole guide wire while his friend was leaning out of the passenger side window, and then drove 12 miles home with a headless corpse next to him. Upon arriving home the driver went to sleep in his bloody clothes, leaving the body in the car in his driveway, where a neighbor discovered it the next morning. Police found the driver asleep and visibly drunk, and later recovered his friend’s head from the accident site. The men, friends since high school, were drinking at a bar until they left after the victim claimed he felt sick. Police say they do not know why the man was hanging out of the car at the time of the crash, but this author conjectures that, based on their prior location, he was probably vomiting.
If you’ve ever been on a tour bus you’ve seen how satellite TV can reach a moving vehicle. But now that technology is reaching into passenger vehicles. Sure it’s fantastic for tailgating (why even go to the game?) but how on earth can the purchase even be reasoned with. The story mentions boats and RVs and those make a lot more sense since there is so much time spent idling. But driving and “watching” Oprah all the time doesn’t sound like a sane practice.
Rudy started out his speech in a grand and grandiose manner. He then drifted into the fear mongering, the spreading of distortions and the petty attacks that longtime New Yorkers have come to know and love.
So for the first time in a long time, President Bush made a reasonable and realistic comment on the ridiculously named war on terror. When asked about winning the war on terror, he explained:
"I don't think you can win it. But I think you can create co
The Desert Sun, CA - 8 minutes ago
... Basketball teams will take up residence in some of the halls. Sailing, a popular pastime in Greece, probably will benefit from the new marina facilities. ...
Clustering search engine Vivisimo is now being used by forum search engine BoardReader (http://www.boardreader.com/. ) I did a search for mulberries and got category results including trees, birds, peaches, wine,...
Why am I turning into such a baseball nut in August? Anyway, if your interest in baseball borders on the trivial, you'll love the Baseball Almanac at http://www.baseball-almanac.com . Not...
Minnesota Life pays 75 percent of health care insurance and prescription drug coverage for its retirees. The company also offers older workers a chance to ease into retirement by taking unpaid time off without risking their full-time benefits.
As the kids are going back to school -- and serves them right for being so darn youthful -- it is time for me to submit my own contribution to that traditional literary form: The What I Did on My Vacation essay.
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. -- A police officer from Marietta has lost a leg in a boating accident in West Virginia. Monday afternoon, Patrolman Rhett Walters fell into the Little Kanawha River in Wood County when the pleasure boat he was on hit a wake.
I like what Forbes is doing. I think they have great reporting with alot of original stories.
Here is what you could learn by reading the current issue of Forbes:
- Did you know all of the big planes used to fight fires have been grounded since May? There have been three fatal crashes in two years. The wings snapped off two planes in mid-air. One contractor has taken the next step and modified a 747. [Splooosh!, p66]
- 800,000 people will take Alaskan cruises this year (that's 25% more than the state's population). The summer popularity of the region lets the cruise lines will redeploy ships from winter destinations such as the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, the Panama Canal, and Europe. Carnival sends 16 ships and over 1/3 of their passengers now department from Seattle. [Cruise Control, p98]
- The cover story is about XM radio. What is amazing is about the article is what the National Association of Broadcasters has done over the years to squash innovation. Their latest maneuver is equally amazing. In 1995, Congress enacted a law that requires all digital radio to pay royalities to performers. The exemption for traditional radio was maintained and as well as the NAB's version of digital, HD radio. The law also made it illegal to broadcast local content, such as traffic reports and sports. The NAB argued that local stations would be hurt by competition from satellite ignorant of local tastes. "Never mind that the radio titans were knitting together nationwide networks to let hundreds of their own stations carry identical programming." [Broadcast Bullies, p140]
- Rexam is helping beverage upstarts with more than just packaging. To help build the market for both, they are helping companies with retailers, inventory, and distribution of the finished product. [Thirsting for Growth, p174]
- Finally, read about ADV Films. They are the leading distributor of anime in the U.S. There are starting their own cable channel and have started producing their own anime. [Why Grow Up?, p178]
Article Publishing Resources
RSS Latest News : Now Any Webmaster Can RSS - And Get Free Traffic
To keep up with my beloved Cubbies I usually use tv.yahoo.com, but sometimes I find that the site doesn't respond, or it only has a day's worth of sports listings....
Church of the Customer gives us more reasons to blog...
Why should you blog about your small business? Among dozens, if not hundreds of reasons, here are six:
1. They fan the flames of customer evangelism. They help humanize you and your organization.
2. They can function as an instant-feedback machine about your company and its products and services (because of the comments and trackback functions).
3. They compel you to Napsterize more of your knowledge, which attracts prospects thanks to the search engines which index your ongoing knowledge automatically. Attraction is easier than hunting.
4. The facilitate the spread of buzz if you're honest, authentic and write your blog yourself.
5. They allow you to have more conversations with customers and prospects than you could ever do in person.
6. They help position you as a knowledgeable expert in your industry.
(From Dana's Blog.)
Sending a legitimate email marketing campaign is increasingly getting more difficult and more costly to implement. When I sent my first email marketing campaign many years ago, I rented a targeted opt-in list, wrote the copy and hit the send button. That ease of use led to abuse by unscrupulous people and to the problems email marketers are facing today.
When deciding to send email marketing messages in today's climate, you need to be aware of at least these seven issues.
1. Sender ID
2. CAN SPAM ACT
3. Blacklists
4. Known Sender
5. Email Filters
6. Bonded Sender Program
7. Cost of Sending Email
These are seven strong reasons for any marketer to at least consider testing RSS advertising. Sending your message to a group of targeted opt-in consumers can be easy again - simply find a targeted opt-in RSS feed and hit "send". RSS shifts the power to the consumer and publisher. The nature of RSS and its one-click unsubscribe functionality makes this new marketing medium self-policing - no need for filters or government intervention. Turn to RSS advertising and return to sanity.
XM Radio’s "The ‘60s” stream is a prime example of what satellite radio can do that terrestrial radio can’t and never will. It takes chances - big chances - in the hopes of proving to subscribers that what they’re paying...
(adjective) lively, sprightly
You should absolutely guess on the SAT, but only in certain situations.
It can be hard to know which SAT prep tips are really important, so this article is going to give you the five most important tips to follow from now until test day.
The SAT, now and forever, tests each student's vocabulary. While the Math questions test a fairly small group of math terms, the Verbal questions can test virtually any word. Because there are so many words that could be tested, preparing for the Verbal sections can seem almost impossible. In this ...
Find Best Satellite Deals Blog/Website Find Best Satellite Deals RSS Feed Sponsored Message: DirectTV has a new programming offer that could be the extra kicker as you look ahead to your programming needs for the fall and winter ahead....
Newsweek: "He partied hard, then dried out and found a fierce determination. How George Bush was saved - and never looked back."
For the last several years, I've always felt that my own biggest flaw when it comes to leadership was my unwillingness to p
The latest poll numbers from the Wash Post show that while the race is still a dead heat, President Bush has already erased most of Kerry's post-convention bounce and increased his leads in the areas of security, leadership and the war on terror. He is we
Larry and Sergey's interview in Playboy revealed Google's "thin" management ranks. Less managers equals less time spent managing and the employees decide what to work on for themselves. Engineers can put themselves on different projects if they choose, ap
Source: Search Engine Guide - Yahoo! has long featured a variety of shortcuts meant to make finding information easier, but many don't take the time to learn what those shortcuts are. Find out what you're missing....
We're at NYU assembling our interactive cameras and wearable computers for tonights Konscious Convention broadcast. We'll have four crews in the field, one in Madison Square Garden. Also, three of us from Unmediated will be at Manhattan Neighborhood Networks monitoring the four cameras in the field, and chatting with participants that want to ask convention attendees and protesters questions. You can watch and participate tonight at 7PM EST by going to www.Konscious.tv. You can watch a stream of the live broadcast over at MNN from 7 PM to 7:30 PM EST. If you live in the New York City Area, you can tune into MNN and watch the live broadcast on Time Warner channel 34 or 78, RCN Channel 110 and digital cable channel 107. For more info on the system we're using, developed by Shawn Van Every, click here
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Whoever used Scott Peterson's home computer on the day he said his wife disappeared had decidedly feminine tastes, according to testimony in the double-murder trial this morning.
The Selling Method and Methods. Something I've struggled to learn and utilize all my life. So before give away a copy of an older book ( written in 1993) that I've found various nuggets of advice over the past few months, I thought I'd summarize the main thoughts. The book is "Soft Selling In A Hard World", Plain Talk On The Art of Persuasion by Jerry Vass.
Vass calls the book a perfect book for the bathroom-it's all about mechanics and methods and very light on theory. You can read on any page and profit, he says. In his preface he starts to set our minds right for the methods to be learned ahead. "The selling trade takes practice. Everything worthwhile does. Sex and selling are the only endeavors that the human being is expected to perform the first time without practice. By now you know the fallacy of the first illusion. The second illusion is even more embarassing."
Key points: Great salespeople need to suspend their ego to sell and just use proper mechanics; Few people sell well-15% of them make 85% of the available money; There are only three ways to make exceptional money-to work in a place nobody wants to be, to perform work nobody else wants to do, or to perform work that nobody else can do (selling); To get to the top in any profession or endeavor you must master the art of selling and persuasion; Selling is all about persuading the other person or group to do what you want in a way that doesn't appear to be normal selling; Selling is problem solving, not hustling; and Most salesperople need to stop talking, listen, solve probems and let the buyer make a decision.
The author who trained salespeople for Fortune 500 companies provide one drill that all salespeople need to do regularly I'm convinced. Sit down and write a 60 second television commercial (about 120 words) you will present on a national tv talk show selling yourself and the traits that would make someone buy from you, follow you, work with you etc. A variation of the short elevator speech. His critique of most presentations help us focus on what we need to do in our presentations: avoid the use of the word "I" and did you ask the Buyer to make a commitment or to take any actions that would move them closer to a commitment. In the end he says once you understand why someone might be persuaded by you, you should submerge the "I" and focus on the Buyer and the solutions you offer.
Methods: More Key points:
-Make representational statements about your product, service or idea and avoid puffery
-Sell Features by selling their Benefits and other Benefits
-Make a proof statement by stating the benefit, prove the benefit tangibly and apply the benefit to the buyer.
-Differentiate your product or idea from others
He then teaches the Seven Selling Moves:
Mission Statement, Probes, Listening, Opening Benefit, Isolate, Supporting Statements and Close; in the body of the book. He also identifes the need to be prepared to Cross-Sell or Back end sell once you have
I especially like the emphasis on Preparation and the Playbook section at the book where the reader is encourged to practice all parts of his/her presentation based on the selling moves abve. Writing down your 90 second close (25 or 30 words), for example, will stand all those who use the art of persuasion in good stead.
The Soft Selling strategy in summary according to Vass: Don't talk-listen; Don't tell-ask; Don't sell-solve; Don't pitch-probe; Don't leave-close. Vass highlights the following books in his bibliography: Gary Goodman, Reach Out and Sell Someone, Richard Lanham, Revising Business Prose; Jay Conrad Levinson, Guerilla Marketing Attack; and Tom Peters, Thriving on Chaos. The link above to the Vass book will also identify book others have recommened as useful and similar.
Do you have any other book on the art of sales and persuasion to recommend. Please use the comments section or send us an email at "salesbooks@rempelgroup.com"
See also the Vass website
Here's a link to view the details about Hoosier, ESPN's top rated sports movie.
Is it really that simple? RSS is now R$$, according to Wired News. The space is attracting lots of venture capital interest.
Everybody who has seen some of our pages know that I love lists. I could live on the heading, "Top Ten", someone once said. Well here's a list from ESPN on the Top 25 Best Ever Commercials (sports related of course). Enjoy.
Beach Volleyball photos caught a lot of attention. What makes these the top viewed photos at Yahoo? Do I really need to ask?
And there you have it - the first pictures of the upcoming Treo 650. More pics to come. Can you say Bluetooth and new backlit keyboard? (Thanks, Michael!)
(Okay, maybe this doesn't count as unmediated-worthy but I've been waiting sooooo loooooong for a single handheld I can both text blog and video blog from. That makes it count, right? -kc.)
The White House has finally come up with the twisted deceptions and familiar wordplay that will be central during the campaign's stretch run. You really have to give these guys credit. If you buy the language they use, they get your vote. If you don't, yo
Stampeders drummer Kim Berly singing "Wild Eyes" at Morden Corn and Apple Festival, August 27, 2004 about 6:00 pm. Saw this on the home video and decided the effect was worth a still. Have enjoyed the Morden show for the past two years in my quest to soak up some of the acts from the 60's and 70's still touring.
The crowd loved his set ending "He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother" at Morden Friday night. A great set of old Hollies (Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress probably the best of them all), two Gerry(Marsden) and the Pacemakers tunes and the Swingin Blue Jeans Hippie Hippie Shake song. He looks well preserved. Normally does an unplugged act apparently, but had backing from Gary Lewis's Playboys backing back this night and they got the tempo up. Great evening for memorable rock and pop hits from the 60's and 70's.
We've got a bit of video we might try and post somehow soon and start video blogging too. Looking for a streaming solution right now. Any suggestions on simple video blogging drop me a note please. Thanks.
Gary Lewis, son of Jerry Lewis, I believe, still out there, performing his hits from the 60's, Friday night (Aug 27) at Morden, MB. Just singing now, not drumming as I remember him. Lots of life and vitality still and the crowd young and old enjoyed. Set list included 60's radio material such as James Brown, The Monkees and the Playboy hits.
Best Sports Movies
Should have added this link as well to the previous blog item. I'm always looking for great movies to recommend with a sports theme. Here's a list of the best 25 sports movies from ESPN. Enjoy again!. Suggest others over at http://www.strictlysports.com/bestformovies/
in the comments areas.
Everybody who has seen some of our pages know that I love lists. I could live on the heading, "Top Ten", someone once said. Well here's a list from ESPN on the Top 25 Best Ever Commercials (sports related of course). Enjoy.
CoolBusinessIdeas, a Singapore-based business intelligence company which publishes a free, monthly e-newsletter that collects new business ideas and innovations globally, has expanded its reach to cater to an international audience. CoolBusinessIdeas has
On Sunday, October 3 at 10PM, we can get sick pleasure from viewing the excruciating pain ten people go through as they are featured in the Pax reality series Cold Turkey while trying to quit smoking. Of course, they are lured to the show under false pret
"Is that her leg or her arm?"
"I don't know. It's hard to tell with American women."
"Yea, with all that flesh showing, anyone could mistake an arm for a leg."
"Wait, is that her crotch or her hip?"
"Hard to tell with the positions these Ameri
The WSJ reports that three bank robberies took place in Davenport while both presidential candidates were campaigning in the city.
Playboy has an extract from the September issue interview with Google's Page and Brin, on their website. This link will take you to the extract, complete with adult content. Alternatively, we've pasted it below.
PLAYBOY: What does Google do that early
Some interesting speculation from person-to-person trading exchange, iBetX (groups of people who "bet" on a stock's performance).
They asked their users to make predictions on the movement of Google's stock.
* First day up or down - market shows Goo
I saw a news article about Icerocket -- it must be several months ago now, and I think it was in the Las Vegas Business Journal. At any rate, when...
http://firefoxie.net/. Fifteen steps to install and upgrade Firefox so it "feels" like IE. Steps include hiding the search bar, getting a Googlebar with page rank, upgrading the interface, some recommended...
As the popularity of blogs continues to skyrocket, so will the number of sites aggregating their feeds. Here's a good list of blog search engines currently in existence. I'm not sure I have any others to add to the list.
Do you?
Joi finds someone who has created a belt buckle that displays streaming search queries. Now that's...odd....
Very interesting. The full text of the patent. The short of it: the patent describes a system whereby contextual ads are delivered on a user's computer using software that lives on that computer - ie a toolbar, a browser, an aggregator, etc. While the patent is not filed by Google per se, many of the engineers named are employees of Google. This is
Why do we watch the summer games? For the stories, for the competition, for Olympic Spirit, for the events that bring out the best in us all. We watch because when our team wins it feels like we have won, like we are standing at the podium. Choking back tears welling up for love of the game and country. Then your wife hits you on the head and tells you to stop staring at the chicks wearing the red, white and blue tissues. IT JUST AIN'T RIGHT! [Full Post]
Passion of the Christ is out August 31st in DVD and Video. Please rate it in the Comments section at the bottom of the posts at our new Top 5 Recommended Movies blog. Is is a Top 5?
Amazon is taking preorders. Will it be flying off the shelf. I know I'll be an owner.
FullScreen Edition
Widescreen Edition
What 5 movies would you recommend for a Friday night at home when nothing else has got your motor running?
We've got a site up for Movie Recommendations at our Best For Movies site at http://www.strictlysports.com/bestformovies/
And no, it's not just just about sports related themes, even though some of them are dear to my heart.
Just a few up now. Take a look now and leave your recommendations in the comments section. Enjoy!
