Saturday, January 31, 2004
Great Books - Great Prices
If you're in the Montreal area. I came across, what seems like, a closeout book store. It's located on the top floor of Plaza Cotes-Des-Neiges (where the supermarket used to be). All the way against the back left wall is a huge selection of amazing business reads. I've come across Godin, Peters and discovered many more ranging from $3.99 - $6.99 and they are brand new. But shhh, don't tell too many people. Last week they were running a "buy 3 get one 1 free" special.
Online, I've discovered another amazing place: www.bookcloseouts.com - they are based in Canada, so you save on duty but they charge in US funds. Before you order from Amazon or Indigo, check it out - I've been pleasantly surprised to get something I was going to spend $30 on for $4.99.
Any others?
Online, I've discovered another amazing place: www.bookcloseouts.com - they are based in Canada, so you save on duty but they charge in US funds. Before you order from Amazon or Indigo, check it out - I've been pleasantly surprised to get something I was going to spend $30 on for $4.99.
Any others?
Friday, January 30, 2004
Fast Company Book Club Montreal Meet-Up
Not quite sure who's a member and if this is happening, but I saw this link: http://fcbookclub.meetup.com/. Click on through to the Montreal selection. I'd be curious to know if many people in Montreal would be interested in starting some kind of business book club? I know I have a lot of recent releases that would be amazing to discuss.
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
News On The New Seth Godin Book - Can't Wait!
"Baltimore PR firm hired to promote Seth Godin book
Portfolio, the business imprint book division of Penguin Group USA Inc., has hired Warschawski Public Relations of Baltimore to promote author Seth Godin's new book, Free Prize Inside.
The book will be released May 10, 2004. Godin is the author of five other books, including Purple Cow."
Source: SunSpot.net
Portfolio, the business imprint book division of Penguin Group USA Inc., has hired Warschawski Public Relations of Baltimore to promote author Seth Godin's new book, Free Prize Inside.
The book will be released May 10, 2004. Godin is the author of five other books, including Purple Cow."
Source: SunSpot.net
Monday, January 26, 2004
Leave it to AdAge for this ground-breaking piece of journalism
Love this title:
THE PORNO-IZATION OF AMERICAN MEDIA AND MARKETING
How Hard-Core Sex Stars are Penetrating Mainstream Culture
Lots of bigs shocks and surprises (all sarcasm, all the time).
Read the full article here. What's next? Gambling problems?
http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=39599
THE PORNO-IZATION OF AMERICAN MEDIA AND MARKETING
How Hard-Core Sex Stars are Penetrating Mainstream Culture
Lots of bigs shocks and surprises (all sarcasm, all the time).
Read the full article here. What's next? Gambling problems?
http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=39599
AdWeek's Top Interactive Agencies
Hey, go to:
http://www.adweek.com/aw/industry_reports/interactive/interactive_50.jsp
And check out who's making moves in the interactive world. Lots of people doing lots of stuff... with lots of money!
http://www.adweek.com/aw/industry_reports/interactive/interactive_50.jsp
And check out who's making moves in the interactive world. Lots of people doing lots of stuff... with lots of money!
Sunday, January 25, 2004
Seth Godin's Bullmarket 2004
To coincide with the release of his upcoming book, Seth Godin (in conjunction with Fast Company) is looking for some Purple Cows out there. The payoff? Here's what Seth says: "Anyone who can help an organization create a Purple Cow is fair game. We want to find companies and freelancers that help their clients be remarkable. If you are one of the 500 that are picked, I'll include you for free in my new eBook, coming out this May. I expect it will reach about a million people. This is going to be the one and only sourcebook for finding the catalyst an organization needs to create truly great stuff." Now, I have entered Twist Image. I can only hope we are Purple enough for His Purpleness. Think you have what it takes?
Enter here:
http://www.sethgodin.com/bull
Enter here:
http://www.sethgodin.com/bull
Silicon Valley Always Boomed (Never Busted)
In this article from the San Francisco Chronicle, journalist, G. Pascal Zachary, explores what’s next out of Silicon Valley. I always knew that once the dust settled and the Wall Street makers came crawling back with their tails between their legs that we would see what really happened – the next revolution. I’m not saying our world will turn into The Matrix (then again, I’m not saying it won’t). That being said, I believe, much like Tom Peters does, that the dot com era was under-hyped, and that we’ve only scratched the surface of how the internet, technology and pervasiveness of it all will change the way we work, play, live and even breath.
This article says: “Silicon Valley's next boom. The glory days of high-tech may be over, but rumors of the region's everlasting demise are greatly exaggerated.” Read about the obvious (Google’s monster footprint) and the not so obvious (nanotechnology) here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/01/25/INGFT4CVEU1.DTL
This article says: “Silicon Valley's next boom. The glory days of high-tech may be over, but rumors of the region's everlasting demise are greatly exaggerated.” Read about the obvious (Google’s monster footprint) and the not so obvious (nanotechnology) here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/01/25/INGFT4CVEU1.DTL
Rollover Menus Can Work But Usually Don't
Forrester Research is offering a research report (priced at $195 US). The brief says:
“Macromedia's, Microsoft's, and Jaguar USA's sites get rollover menus right. What's the formula? Expose submenus right on the home page, as well as in rollovers; build delays into the code that opens and closes rollovers; and provide consistent visual cues and behavior.”
Basically, for two hundred bucks US, you get a two page (yes, you read that right, TWO PAGE) report telling you that rollover menus don’t work (ok, most of the time they don’t work). If you know anything about usability and functionality, or if you practice iterative design, this is a no brainer… on the other hand… here’s the info:
http://www.forrester.com/ER/Research/Brief/Excerpt/0,1317,33737,00.html
“Macromedia's, Microsoft's, and Jaguar USA's sites get rollover menus right. What's the formula? Expose submenus right on the home page, as well as in rollovers; build delays into the code that opens and closes rollovers; and provide consistent visual cues and behavior.”
Basically, for two hundred bucks US, you get a two page (yes, you read that right, TWO PAGE) report telling you that rollover menus don’t work (ok, most of the time they don’t work). If you know anything about usability and functionality, or if you practice iterative design, this is a no brainer… on the other hand… here’s the info:
http://www.forrester.com/ER/Research/Brief/Excerpt/0,1317,33737,00.html
Saturday, January 24, 2004
Recent Great Reads
Finished a whackload of reading recently. Would encourage you to try these on for size:
- Whoever Makes The Most Mistakes Wins – The Paradox Of Innovation. By: Richard Farson and Ralph Keyes (thanks Tom Peters)
- The One Minute Millionaire. By: Mark Victor Hansen and Robert G. Allen (thanks Paul)
- I Can See You Naked. By: Ron Huff
- Hey Whipple, Squeeze This. By: Luke Sullivan (thanks Ros Baby)
- Think Naked. By: Marco Marsan with Peter Lloyd
- It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be. By: Paul Arden
- What Clients Want. By: Harry Beckwith (very special thanks to Rob Swick for this kind gift)
- Aha! By: Jordan Ayan
- Lessons From A Chief Marketing Officer. By: Bradford C. Kirk
- Whoever Makes The Most Mistakes Wins – The Paradox Of Innovation. By: Richard Farson and Ralph Keyes (thanks Tom Peters)
- The One Minute Millionaire. By: Mark Victor Hansen and Robert G. Allen (thanks Paul)
- I Can See You Naked. By: Ron Huff
- Hey Whipple, Squeeze This. By: Luke Sullivan (thanks Ros Baby)
- Think Naked. By: Marco Marsan with Peter Lloyd
- It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be. By: Paul Arden
- What Clients Want. By: Harry Beckwith (very special thanks to Rob Swick for this kind gift)
- Aha! By: Jordan Ayan
- Lessons From A Chief Marketing Officer. By: Bradford C. Kirk
Kazaa Owner Gets OK to Sue Movie, Record Companies
I just saw this posted on the newswire:
Kazaa Owner Gets OK to Sue Movie, Record Companies
Fri Jan 23, 9:10 PM ET - Reuters Industry to My Yahoo!
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A U.S. federal court has cleared the way for Kazaa file-sharing software owner Sharman Networks to sue the entertainment industry for copyright infringement, Sharman said on Friday.
Sharman, targeted by studios and record companies because its software is used to trade music and video files, has sought to turn the tables on the industry, accusing it of misusing Kazaa software to invade users' privacy and send corrupt files and threatening messages.
Studios and record companies had asked the court to throw out Sharman's countersuit, but U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson in Los Angeles declined to do so.
Sharman, headquartered on the island nation of Vanuatu in the South Pacific, said it would pursue the case.
Reuters/VNU
This is going to get even more ridiculous. I’m following this.
Kazaa Owner Gets OK to Sue Movie, Record Companies
Fri Jan 23, 9:10 PM ET - Reuters Industry to My Yahoo!
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A U.S. federal court has cleared the way for Kazaa file-sharing software owner Sharman Networks to sue the entertainment industry for copyright infringement, Sharman said on Friday.
Sharman, targeted by studios and record companies because its software is used to trade music and video files, has sought to turn the tables on the industry, accusing it of misusing Kazaa software to invade users' privacy and send corrupt files and threatening messages.
Studios and record companies had asked the court to throw out Sharman's countersuit, but U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson in Los Angeles declined to do so.
Sharman, headquartered on the island nation of Vanuatu in the South Pacific, said it would pursue the case.
Reuters/VNU
This is going to get even more ridiculous. I’m following this.
Roadtrip!!!!
The Power Within Sales Mastery
April 28, 2004
Toronto, Ontario
http://www.powerwithin.com/events_toronto.html
April 28, 2004
Toronto, Ontario
http://www.powerwithin.com/events_toronto.html
I'm Speaking... Join Me
IMC 2004 – Internet Marketing Conference
April 5-7, 2004
Montreal, Quebec
http://www.internetmarketingconference.com
April 5-7, 2004
Montreal, Quebec
http://www.internetmarketingconference.com
Richard Farson Makes My Day
Just finished reading Whoever Makes The Most Mistakes Wins - The Paradox Of Innovation. Authors Richard Farson and Ralph Keyes hit a major homerun. I shot them off an email describing my experience and, within a few hours, Mr. Farson shot me back a very cool email. Man, writers like him, Tom Peters and Seth Godin really make it all worthwhile!
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Seth Godin Blew Us Away
What a great day it was. We had over 30 people join us at Airborne Entertainment (thanks Andy) for an amazing afternoon of networking and listening to Seth Godin’s teleconference on Purple Cow (which is a must-read). We wound up donating over $150 to a local sheltered workshop and had a great day. Thanks to all who attended. And, thanks to Seth for some no-nonsense ways of getting us to think about how to make everything truly remarkable (or purple). I look forward to more adventures like this.
