Skeptically Optimistic

Value of Twitter...

2009-01-18T20:07:00.000-08:00

Trying to get this thing going again. Seems I've been spending most of my time lately on Twitter. So have a lot of people. But Twitter seems to be running into a problem a lot of other Web 2.0 companies have faced for a while: When you offer a service/product for free, it's hard to make money off of it. It's very odd, because everyone sees the value in sites like Twitter or Facebook, but making money (aka, running a viable business) off of them is proving difficult. This is a subject that many others, including CenterNetworks blogger Allen Stern, have already explored, but wanted to throw my two cents into the discussion.

I think Twitter's biggest asset is their search site. Through this function, brands now have instant access to consumer WOM, providing endless opportunity to reach out to current and potential customers. Of course this is an extremely valuable function of Twitter, and one on which they can capitalize. This also is a very helpful tool for users as well. For instance, on the day Call of Duty World at War released, I typed in "COD5" on Twitter's search site and perused the results for valuable consumer feedback, ultimately making the purchase based on user response.

How Twitter goes about profiting off of this is up to them. They can go the Google route and start selling search terms. They can charge corporations a subscription fee while allowing common users to continue using the service for free. Regardless, Twitter is going to continue to be a viable tool for all who use it...now it's up to Twitter to figure out how to turn it into a cash cow.

Me, baby. Me

2008-05-19T11:13:00.001-07:00

The Public Relations Conondrum

2008-03-31T17:02:00.000-07:00

Hello all-

It's been a long time, and I don't promise anymore blogs in the near future (hey, I have work to do), but wanted to give some thoughts on the current public relations landscape and where I think it's headed.

There is a major fundamental problem with PR, and that is the fact that 90% of the population has no idea what PR even is. Some people think we write press releases, some people think we are image consultants, but not a whole lot of the general public has a true in-depth knowledge, or appreciation, for what we do, and that makes the PR function of corporate marketing very exependable. So you have to ask yourself why people feel this way. And the answer is actually quite simple. We don't tell them.

Guessing what advertisers do is really easy: They make ads. Sure, there is a creative process behind it and there's a whole other layer the public doesn't readily see (hint:branding), but for the most part, they simply make ads. And when you see an ad, you know. It's in your face. But the same is not true for PR. The whole point of PR is to make some company, or executive, look really good/smart/funny/whatever without the public knowing a PR team is behind it all. That CEO byline you just read in your favorite trade pub? Probably written by a PR team. That random product you just saw on Good Morning America that the host is raving about? Probably set up by a PR team. The list goes on and on and on. But there's also a catch 22 about the whole situation. Part of our value is our "stealth." The term "PR" reeks of manipulation and control, and people wouldn't be too happy if they found out how much of their media is influenced by PR. So we must remain in the shadows...

But this also makes us expendable when it comes time to trim budgets and cut costs because very few people see the real value in a well-run PR program. Part of it is our fault. We should be asking for what I call "ripple effects:" If a big story just ran, how much of a spike in traffic does the clients site see? How many sales were generated from that story in the NYT? We need to do a better job of marketing our services to our clients, and that starts with getting some hard numbers that relate what the PR team does to how well the business does. As for the public...maybe it's better for now we don't let them in. There will be a time when everyone is 100% open with everyone and there will be no need for us to be so discreet about our affiliations. But for now, it'll be our litte secret.

Online Security and Analytics: The Downfall of Civilization

2008-02-01T12:45:00.000-08:00

This blog post has been eating at my brain for a couple weeks now. Keep in mind, this is a worst-case scenario, but if John Battelle can throw out bold predictions of the future, why can't I?

We are facing a time in history like no other (at least in terms of media). The internet has opened a whole slew of opportunities and problems, both of which will come to a head to destroy planet Earth...seriously.

The online advertising realm is OBSESSED with audience metrics. How many page views did my advertisement receive? Click-throughs? How long? How quality? The list goes on and on. As online advertising continues to grow, so will the need for publishers to accurately count advertising impression. This drive will force companies to push the boundaries in online advertising measurement unti it happens.

The it is this. I was thinking to myself, "Logistics aside, what would be the best way to accurately track audience metrics?" Well, everyone would need to be easily (and uniquely) identifiable. Right now, websites track unique visitors by IP address. But what if 5 people are on the computer at a time? Or what if a family of 20 shares one computer, and thus one IP address? Then 20 people are counting as one unique visitor (by the way, I think tracking in terms of unique visitors is a terrible way to count impressions), thus horribly scewing impression numbers. The only logical answer would be to assign everyone their own personal IP address, like a SSN, that they will need to access the internet. No two people would be the same. Think of it as a digital fingerprint. The unique IP address would be stored by our government for your entire life. Everytime we access a site, that site's server would capture our IP address and delivered to advertisers (perhaps at a premium price?) so they know exactly who viewed their ad, how many times and when. Talk about the ultimate in consumer profiling. Advertisers could start to target consumers precisely based on the content they have accessed.

I know what you're thinking. "Jordan, this presents an immense security problem!" Exactly. Imagine having your SSN in the hands of every store you ever visited? Now that every server you access possesses your IP address, identity theft will skyrocket. Dirty server technicians will be selling IP addresses like Flaxseed oil for large sums of money to the highest bidder. Only it won't be like having your SSN stolen in real life. The internet is an endless landscape of faceless IP addresses. The government will have to eventually step in to curb the rampant cyber-crime, banning the internet from public use. This, of course, will cause an uprising among the general public. Rioting will break out in the streets, forcing military action. As a result, NATO will send in troops to protect the American people from their tyrannical government and prompt the US government to wage all-out nuclear war with the rest of the world. The nuclear fallout will be tremendous, ending all life on Earth in a matter of hours.

So you see, our need for accurate audience metrics must be stopped! Don't let the advertisers win! Arm yourselves! Destory Google's servers! Going back to the Stone Age is the only way to survive!

The Downfall of Sprite (or 7Up, or anything Lemon-Lime Flavored)

2008-01-30T11:56:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been a long time. My apologies to Jordan Tohline, whom I love very much, for not writing more often. He knows I have quality thoughts and is just dying to read them should I provide them. Onto the post!

I was just thinking the other day about foods/beverages I hate and foods/beverages I love. In my course of thinking, I realized I hated most foods consumed while I was sick. For example, if when I was 15 I ate some cherry ice cream, then vomited 1 hour later, I hated cherry ice cream from that moment forth (this is a true story...I ate, puked then rebuked cherry ice cream when I was in high school). So it goes without saying that I hate any and all citrus-flavored sodas. Why? They are the beverage of choice for sick kids everywhere. I always drank (and later puked) Sprite when I was sick. The logic behind this drink choice is baffling. Will Coke make you throw up more? Will Wild Cherry Vanilla Pepsi cause you to miss another day of school? Who knows, but I bet many scientists are studying this as we speak.

The same goes for chicken noodle soup and saltines. But not alcohol (funny how that works).

I promise I will post again tomorrow. The subject? How online security and analytics will become the downfall of civilization. Seriously.

One Shot, One Kill

2008-01-02T12:10:00.000-08:00

Hello all (and by all I mean Jordan Tohline and maybe Brian),

I came to a conclusion this morning on the BART that will have profound influence on my life from here on out. I need to do some creative writing. Just for grins. So every once in a while you will find some creative writings on this blog instead of my ponderings on the world of tech.

Today I will narrate a scene from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. I love this game so much that I've decided to narrate the thoughts and actions of my character, Leftenant Price, as he snipes Russian Ultranationalist Imran Zakaev with a high power sniper rifle from the 4th floor of an abandoned apartment building after the Chernoble incident.

And...scene!

Deep Breath. Relax.

My spotter throws a few last minute pointers my way.

Captain McMillan: "Remeber what I taught you...be sure to adjust for variable humidity and wind speed. At this distance, you'll have to adjust for the coreolis affect."

There's Imran. Have to wait for confirmation and weapon's free.

Captain McMillan: "Easy lad, wait for the wind to die down. Take him down."

This isn't going to be easy. Imran's standing amongst a throng of armed military who will definately notice if the man standing a few feet from them should happen to get shot in the face. My heart skips a beat. Squeeze. The kickback from the 0.50 caliber pounds my shoulder. Zakaev's forehead explodes in a convincing manner, I go a big rubbery one. The captain brings me back to reality.

Captain McMillan: "Shit! They're onto us! Snipe that bird to buy us some more time!"

I adjust the scope for the shortened distance and shoot the chopper staring us down. It spirals to the vacant parking lot below us. A quick dash to a window behind us and we rappel down to the ground in a few seconds. I think my heart is about to explode out of my chest. I can't help but grasp the innevitable.

They will find us in a matter of minutes. It's 2 versus an army.

The captain and I race to a field scattered with broken down cars and covered with knee-high grass. Tangos are running towards us. I quickly duck behind a car to avoid detection.

Focus.

I reload and aim my sniper rifle at the nearest target, focusing on his noggin'.

Goodnight. Squeeze. Silence.

To Be Continued...

New Template

2007-12-20T12:30:00.000-08:00

New template, and I'm pretty sure I hate it. I can't wait for Christmas break to start so I can start providing some quality blogs.

Facebook is Screwed

2007-12-12T13:04:00.000-08:00

I know I'm a little behind in getting this out, but just wanted to share my thoughts on the struggles that may be facing Facebook.

As most media-savvy people will know, Facebook launched an ad program called Beacon that looked to capitalize off of Facebook's users by posting recent purchase on their Facebook profile and alerting their friends of the purchase. This essentially turned every purchase you made into a walking billboard. It had hoped that this would draw big name advertisers to Facebook and finally help the social network monetize all of its users. Except, Facebook didn't ask the users if it was OK to leverage their purchases and it ended up pissing off a lot of people. Facebook eventually made big changes to the program, but this does show one important thing. Companies like Facebook and MySpace must realize that they can't do whatever they want with their user community. For the longest time, social networks were viewed as this gold mine of untapped dollars and all someone had to do was find a way to make money off of them. Banner ads tried and failed. So did Beacon. And so will many others, and here's why. Users don't want their profiles leveraged without their permission. Just because people use Facebook doesn't mean that Zuckerberg is free to take their preferences and sell them to marketers. This is evident by Beacon's failure.

Just my thought.

Lunch Break Blog

2007-11-28T13:03:00.000-08:00

Since my personal life has been dominated by the wife, I must now resort to blogging during my lunch break. I'll make this entry short and sweet, however, because I don't have all that much time.

I recently read an article in Fast Company that predicts the undoing of Apple. The company that could once do no wrong is now viewed as the company with the most to lose, and might be on the verge of disaster.

Mike Arrington at TechCrunch thought the FC article was a bit pessimistic, but did admit that Apple was going to fall short of its iPhone predictions (10 million phones in one year).

I don't know how I feel about Apple. I think the main problem I have with Apple is that people seem to confuse visual aesthetics with technological prowess. Many other devices perform better than Appple products (HP Laptops, the Zune, any mobile phone with a browser), but they have great brand management and people associate Apple with "cool," so people can't wait to snatch them up. Last time I checked, OSX wasn't installed on any enterprise company servers.

Looking forward to letting my brain waves convert into binary data for all to see (that means blog more often).

Hero of the Day

2007-11-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
First of all, it's good to be back online. My home internet connection was out for a while. Secondly, I'm now married and on full-time at work, which is a big-time joy ride. This post will be fairly short because there are video games to be played, but it should still be a good one.

I just got done reading a short piece on Mark Cuban, internet guru and fanatical sports franchise owner. In recent posts I've rained praise and criticism upon a wide array of public figures, so I find it befittng to keep the status quo around here.

I must admit, I have a huge man-crush on Mark Cuban. He often gets lost among the media for his NBA antics, but his genius is undeniable (which is why he is Maverick's owner is the first place). I was reading an article about a website that he sponsors called sharesleuth.com and immediately fell in love with his shrewd, and by shrewd I mean slightly unethical, business tactics. He hired a writer to investigate public companies and trades on the findings before the report is published, often short selling said companies stock because he knows the findings will cause the stock price to plummet. He won't disclose how much he's made on each trade, but I would venture to say a solid amount. If you know what was good for you, you'd stalk Mark Cuban and try to gain some of his genius via osmosis. Now, time for video games.

Big News

2007-10-14T22:40:00.000-07:00

So, this week is a huge week. I found out some big time news tomorrow which I'll talk about more after I find out for sure. I'm also getting married in 5 days! Wow, I've been waiting for this moment for all of my life and I can't believe it's finally here. More to com on this. Salude.

Tony Romo for President

2007-10-08T22:57:00.000-07:00

Man, I flip more than Hillary Clinton...ZING! I bet that burns deep down inside, Hillary. It's been a great sports week for me. The Boomer Sooners beat Texas in the Red River Shootout and made a nice jump up in the AP and USA Today polls, and the Dallas Cowboys made one of the most amazing comebacks on Monday Night Football in recent history (thought not quite as good as last years MNF game when the Bears broke the Cardinals' heart in true dramatic fashion) to advance to 5-0 on the season. You know what happened the last time the Boys went 5-0 to start the season? That's right...Super Bowl.

Now onto more "tech-minded" matters. It seems to me that Microsoft will not rest until it has officially acquired the planet Earth. Seriously, Bill Gates' crew has made an astonishing number of acquisitions in the past couple of years. For the fiscal year of 06, Microsoft made 23 acquisitions worth $649 million. That's a lot of Zunes. Speaking of the Zune, I think once I'm tired of my iPod I'm going to jump ship and start drinking the Microsoft Kool-aid. Apple's proprietary software is so frustrating and is going to screw them over in the long run. Anywho...I really dig Microsoft's business strategy. I'm a serious sucker for huge corporations dominating their respective markets. Apple is mere child's play when compared to the true strength of Microsoft.

Sorry for the abrupt ending, I'm getting tired and need to go to sleep. More to come on this manana...

Randy Moss For President

2007-10-01T21:47:00.000-07:00

Let's get real for a moment. Randy Moss is the most, I repeat, the most incredible wide receiver in the NFL. If you've been unfortunate enough to not be able to watch the New England Patriots this season, do yourself a huge favor and take an afternoon to bask in their deistic (is this even a word?) glory. They will go undefeated this season and they will win the Super Bowl. No one can stop them, not even Robert Goulet. In case you're wondering, yes, I am listening to Robert Goulet as I type.

I've been slacking huge ass in the blogosphere lately, mostly because I'm getting married and my fiance needs my support in these stressful times, so I must oblige. There has been a ton happening in the media, but the most intriguing morsel of news is the epic battle between Apple and the hackers of the world. As most people know, ever since the dawn of time, and by time I mean the release of the iPhone, hackers have been slaving away in their parent's basements trying to add "illegal" third party applications and migrate from the proprietary AT&T service. Obviously this had to piss Apple off because of they're fiscally advantageous deal with AT&T and their desire to charge people for added features. So Apple issued a security update a few days ago to secretly combat the hackers and guess what, it "bricked" the phone, which basically means locked up. The hackers are irked because their $600 phone doesn't work and they violated the iPhone's terms of use, so they're SOL. A CNet podcast described it as a game of cat and mouse between Apple and the hackers, which means it's going to get real awesome in months to come. And when I say awesome, I mean Robert Goulet. And when I say Robert Goulet, I mean Steve Jobs will soon be more hated than Bill Gates.

So Tired

2007-09-24T22:23:00.000-07:00

I was going to post something meaningful, but I'm too tired so I'll save it for tomorrow. It's going to be on the media's social responsibility. Oh, by the way, I agree with both the Washington Post and Tony Kornheiser. On a strictly constitutional basis, the Post was completely within its legal boundaries to post a harsh review of Tony. On the other hand, the law can not account for human relationships, so I think the review was in bad taste, legal...but in bad taste.

Tony Kornheiser v. Washington Post

2007-09-18T22:29:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: This story is about a year old, so my apologies for being behind the news curve.

So, I was watching Pardon the Interruption on ESPN360 the other day and decided to do a little background research on the hosts, Tony Kornheiser (pictured right) and Michael Wilbon. I discovered some fairly interesting blurbs on both hosts, including the fact Wilbon graduated from the Medill School of Journalism out of Northwestern, highly regarded as the premier journalism school in that nation, which I find pretty cool. I also discovered that Tony Kornheiser has had a long and fruitful career in media, from getting his feet wet at Newsday in 1970 to presently hosting PTI and Monday Night Football.

In my readings, I happened to find a few articles about a feud between Kornheiser and the Washington Post. First, a little background to put the story in its proper context. Kornheiser had been a long-time columnist for the Post, dating from to 1984 to December 2006. While at the Post, he was nominated for the Pullitzer Prize in 1997. Needless to say, he was no lightweight.

On to the good stuff. After Kornheiser's first game as a MNF analyst, Washington Post Style columnist Paul Farhi wrote a nasty review of Korheiser, criticizing not only his commentary: "He wasn't especially witty, provocative or insightful," but also his physical appearance: "He looked oddly washed out under the TV lights." This prompted Kornheiser to blast Farhi, calling him a "two-bit weasel slug." He later went on to call Farhi a "putz" in his own Post column the following Wednesday. The Post itself also received criticism from Kornheiser, who felt that the paper had stabbed him in the back.

In response, Deborah Howell wrote an article entitled "Unsportsmanlike Conduct" where she cried foul on Kornheiser's response. She, and many readers, felt that The Post shouldn't have gone soft on him, claiming that ultimately the papers' credibility would have taken a hit. Paul Farhi had simple words for Kornheiser: "Tony, grow up."

So here is the main question. Should the Post should have gone softer on Tony, possibly going so far as to avoid the subject and not offer a review of his performance, or do you think that the Post was right in offering a totally unbiased review, however harsh it may have been to a veteran staffer? I'll chime in on my own personal take in my next entry. Cheers.

You're Only Cheating Yourself

2007-09-13T22:01:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the fourth installment of Skeptically Optimistic. I feel like I'm starting to hit my stride as a blogger, so be on the lookout for some uber quality posts in the upcoming months. I'm also going to start promoting this bitch, so eventually there will be a larger fan base than Brian Fuller and Daniel Helm. Isn't that what this world is all about? Connecting, even on a digital level? I digress...

The title and topic of this blog came to me while I was laboring through my nightly jog. After running some interval sprints, I wanted to relax and simply enjoy the crisp, cool night air. But something kept nagging, some inner voice. "You're only cheating yourself." Where did it come from? Well, I'll tell you. It came from father Guthmann, easily the biggest influence on my life. A little back story for you. I grew up a soccer player. My two older brothers played it growing up, and, being the follower that I was, I really wanted to play soccer when I was old enough. So, at the ripe old age of 5, Istarted playing soccer and fell in love with the sport. My dad coached all of my teams until I was old enough to play club soccer (for those of you outside that soccer world, that's the 5th grade). As my coach, he was afforded plenty of opportunity to yell, scream and violently object to my level of play, so much so that he almost got kicked out of a game for yelling at his own son (that's me). As hard as he was, he was always a great motivator. There is one phrase that he used to say to me when I would slack off in practice that has stuck with me to this day-- "You're only cheating yourself." Holy hell did I hate to hear that. I didn't get it. back then I wasn't cheating myself, I was getting out of hard work, which was far more beneficial than the feel-good crap that my dad was feeding me. But now, as a 22-year-old "adult", it means far more.

Often times in life, we want to take the easy way out. I remember in high school my AP English teacher would assign us reading material, which we were required to digest and break down. I think I read only a handful of the classics and consulted sparknotes.com to aid with the rest. What do I have to show for it today? Not a whole lot except a basic plot overview of The Great Gatsby and high scores on my AP tests.

Many people sell themselves short and cut corners. Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone lived up to their full potential? That's why it's important to have a proper perspective on life's tasks. Even now I get assigned a lot of reading material that is vital to my growth in the PR world. True, reading about on-demand sales compensation management is not all that "sexy", but it's necessary. It's not like I'm getting quizzed over whether or not I actually did my readings (life isn't quite as strict as AP English), but I still do it. Why? Because If I didn't, I'd only be cheating myself. My clients don't care if I have a knowledge of their industry, but it will severely hamper my chances for success if I don't. When we as people get out of work, we feel like we've accomplished something. We feel like we have won! But, we haven't. We've lost. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs didn't become technology giants by skipping out of work, so how can we expect to be successful if we don't put forth our best efforts?

Moral of the story, don't cut corners. Don't take the easy way out. Don't sell yourself short. However you want to say it, don't cheat, because you're only cheating yourself. Until next time...

Free Speech for the Dumb

2007-09-11T21:39:00.000-07:00

First of all, let me say that I am usually not one to go on a rant about the First Amendment, but due to recent events, I feel I must throw in my two cents. I'll mainly focus on the magnificent shit storm surrounding the Jerry Lewis. For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past week or so, Jerry Lewis blurted a homophobic slur on national television while doing a 21-hour telethon for the MDA. GLAAD was all too happy to jump all over this one, not only denouncing Lewis' speech but demanding an apology. This is not the first time a prominent Hollywood figure has shown his politically incorrect colors (think Isiah Washington), and it probably won't be the last. But, that's not the point. The point is that every time some special interest group gets offended by someone's speech, they demand an apology. From the Christian Coalition to the ACLU, there is always a group lurking, just waiting to bust someone's balls. And every time, the offender plays along and offers a *cough* completely sincere and heartfelt apology on Oprah, Jessie Jackson's radio show and Letterman. I would LOVE it if for once the offender was to say, "You know what, I'm not going to apologize. I refuse to recant my statements. I can say whatever the hell I want." The major exception to this scenario is Marine General Peter Pace refusing to apologize for claiming that homosexuals are immoral (big props to him for standing his ground).

Prior restraint has been roundly rejected by the Supreme Court, yet everywhere we turn, people are trying to put a limit what American citizens can and can not say. Obviously I don't condone Lewis' actions, but he can say what he wants when he wants. I don't demand an apology from Kirk Herbstreit every time he says that the University of Oklahoma won't make it to the BCS Championship, however offensive and blasphemous his comments may be.

In closing, The freedom of speech is one of the most important tenants of modern society. To put constraints on what people can say is downright Un-American, and people everywhere should be doing everything within their power to keep it, even if it means standing up to the big bad GLAAD (no rhyme intended). In the words of Metallica frontman James Hetfield (pictured uppper left), "Free speech for the dumb, free f@*!ing speech." Goodnight.

Lazy Sunday

2007-09-09T14:35:00.000-07:00

Although I am tempted to quote lyrics from the SNL parody, I must refrain. I'm still having trouble deciding what this blog should be about. Should I make it personal? Political? Spiritual? A melting pot of random thoughts and ponderings? Who knows. For now, it can just be my ramblings. Maybe this next week I can delve into some more interesting subjects such as net neutrality and my disdain for Apple. Something has got to be done about my layout. I know basic html, but really lack the motivation to spend large amounts of time making adjustments. I wish I still had photoshop, at least I would know the pantone colors. On a lighter note, here is a picture of myself with the fiance the night of our engagement. This picture brings back great memories, even though it was only 5 months ago. More to come tomorrow. Until then, Cheers.

I Am Legend

2007-09-07T20:35:00.000-07:00

Hello potential viewers:

I have done it. I've broken down and got a blog. That's not to say that I haven't been blogging on various social media outlets such as MySpace and Facebook, but this is my first official blog. It feels like buying a new car, without the new car small. It coincidentally smells like my apartment...go figure. I must admit, I would never have joined the blogosphere if it weren't for Brian Fuller, a Senior VP in my office. So, whatever nonsense poors out of my fingertips, you have only him to blame. We are legion...