Quote: Friedrich Nietzsche

The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.

Red Balls Connected By Lines

Check this out: http://goo.gl/L5fqf

The link above reminds me of Coca-Cola’s Stick Hand Toy. It may only be good for 30 seconds of entertainment online, but overall I like the idea of using small sites like this to enhance your brand. Imagine how useful of a marketing tool this could be if instead of red balls they were Pepsi logos. As always… comments are welcome and email subscriptions are strongly encouraged. Also check out @AfterThePeriod and “Like” us on Facebook.

Facebook’s New Money Maker

Facebook is offering its promoted post feature to individual users. I was shocked and confused when I saw the pop-up below my post. This seems like an odd strategy for Facebook. It appears they are becoming more and more desperate to generate revenues for their frustrated shareholders. Businesses promoting post as a marketing effort is one thing, but only real social media junkies would even consider it paying a minimum of $7 to promote personal content on Facebook.

It’s stuff like this that make me wish more people were open to Google+. As always… comments are welcome and email subscriptions are strongly encouraged. Also check out @AfterThePeriod and “Like” us on Facebook.

Creating the Prefect Password

I’m not embarrassed to admit that I listen to National Public Radio. Not sure when I started tuning into NPR, but one day I did and I found that I liked all the unusual segments they have. The other day I was listening to NPR while driving and a segment came on about creating the prefect password. I found it interesting because they had some Ph.D on the program sharing statistics about ATM pin codes and online passwords. The only figure I remember exactly is that 10% of all ATM PIN codes are 1234. The guy shared lots more like that. I tried to find that specific segment, but I couldn’t. The link (here) is an older NPR story about the same topic but it isn’t as good.

That segment really got me thinking about my own cyber security. NPR convinced me that I needed better passwords and a way to create truly random passwords. So, I created an Excel spreadsheet.

Random Password Generator

As always… comments are welcome and email subscriptions are strongly encouraged. Also check out @AfterThePeriod and “Like” us on Facebook.

QE3 and Alternative Currencies (Bacon?)

By now you should have heard that a third round of quantitative easing (QE3) was announced on Thursday by the Federal Reserve. I was disappointed and angry when I heard the news. It seems Bernanke and his ban of economic theves waited just long enough for the news about the audit the fed bill to die down. That bill is currently on hold in the Senate. Without a doubt the long-term effects of the Federal Reserve’s latest “easy-money program” will far outweigh any of the short-term rise in the stock market.

Right now I cannot think of a worse situation for Americans to be in. The upcoming elections pins two candidates against each other that are either fiscally conservative nor interested in fixing our countries monetary debacle (not the mention foreign policy, wars, abortion, or immigration). Both will attempt to improve the status of things by simply shifting around the tax code. I don’t see this as a strategy for success.

Economic forces have been set into motion, and QE3 will just act as a catalyst. The USD will beginning to decline in value and the price of commodities will increase once again. After our dollars are near worthless, people will have to seek new ways to pay for the things they need. As necessity dictates, barter will become increasingly more popular. Eventually, people will understand how to use alternative forms of currency to survive. I have my fingers-crossed gold coins will make a return. Other types my arise too. It wouldn’t surprise me if digital currencies like Bitcoin become more popular. Google might even make their own version. I found this interesting marketing piece from Oscar Mayer. As a clever marketing ploy, Oscar Mayer is giving a man bacon and are seeing if he can make it cross-country using only bacon as currency. No cash, coins or cards… just bacon.

As always… comments are welcome and email subscriptions are strongly encouraged. Also check out @AfterThePeriod and “Like” us on Facebook.

Coca-Cola: Sticky Hand Toy

When it comes to social media and internet marketing, Coca-Cola might be the best in business. Coca-Cola does a great job of keeping their product fresh and current. Really great social media marketing is about creating something that can be shared. Coke has done something really cool with http://astretchyhand.com. If you go to the site you’ll see a little elastic rubbery hand that is meant to simulate a toy. It’s a waste of time, but it’s fun to play and see how the hand sticks to the edges of the browser window. This kind of internet marketing might not directly lead to sales, but its something people will share. As always… comments are welcome and email subscriptions are strongly encouraged. Also check out @AfterThePeriod and “Like” us on Facebook.

Marketing Research on Facebook Wall Posts

Facebook is super important for marketers– that much we know. There are several different schools of thought about what works best on Facebook. Buddy Media published a study examining what strategies work best on Facebook. The study can be accessed by clicking the image below. I read it, and I recommend it to anyone that is interesting in social media marketing strategies.

 

As always… comments are welcome and email subscriptions are strongly encouraged. Also check out @AfterThePeriod and “Like” us on Facebook.

5 Tips on How to Win an Argument

From time to time you may find yourself in disagreement with someone. This happens all the time. Two people just simply do not see eye to eye on something. There is nothing wrong with it– it just happens. Sometimes disagreements lead to arguments. If you want to win arguments, then I have 5 tips to help you win.

If you want to win an argument…

1.) Don’t be the one that starts the argument. Starting an argument puts you in a vulnerable position because the other person gets to take the first swing at both your argument and plead their case at the same time. I know it isn’t always possible to let the argument come to you, but if you must start, then do so by making broad strokes.

2.) Show your opponent respect. Never name call or belittle the other person. There is nothing wrong with disagreeing, but name calling just isn’t professional. Make sure you let them finish their entire point before you respond. Also, remember the golden rule and be friendly throughout the whole exchange even if the other person is being rude.

3.) Listen more than you speak. Understanding your opponent’s strategy is the key to victory. How will you know how to counter if you’re not listening to what they say? Also, getting the other person talking can provide excellent opportunities to strike. The more they talk, the more likely they are to start talking in circles and entrap themselves.

4.) Recover gracefully. If you state a fact wrong, then admit it emphatically right away. You do not want the other person pointing out all your mistakes. Own up to it if you made a mistake. It’s ok to admit your mistakes because you understand your whole argument. Winning in the end is what counts.

5.) Make your points simple and to the point. You don’t want your whole argument build on complex rhetoric. Stick to simple easy to understand thoughts. A real good way to drive this home is to ask your opponent a series of simple questions that they can not refute. In doing this you make sure the other person receives your message and they begin to think they thought of it.

As always… comments are welcome and email subscriptions are strongly encouraged. Also check out @AfterThePeriod and “Like” us on Facebook.