PardonMyFrench

2012 A Wrecking Ball Year

Yeah this one is over.  It wasnt a good year.  However, I really believe that you get tested at just the right level you are at - kind of a cosmic thing.  You build up experiences at your current level which helps you face harder times down the line.  That's what 2012 felt like to me and that's why I'm using a Springsteen song to sum it up.

Usually I reserve  my loudest off-key singing at a Springsteen concert for Born to Run or Badlands.  Not this year.  It turned out to be Wrecking Ball a song originally written to memoralize the old Giants Stadium.  I noticed it subtlety show to show.  Then the words started speaking to me as the year went on as we took one blow after another.  Even started playing the album at the start of most work days.

Work World 2012

I've seen champions come and go. So if you got the guts mister, yeah, if you got the balls
If you think it's your time, then step to the line, and bring on your wrecking ball

2012 started off really really badly.  Most of my political worked rested on Michele Bachmann's run for the Republican nomination that ended in Iowa in January.  It wasnt like I didnt see that coming.  I started working on her campaign for congress for the 2010 race and helped her win the Iowa Straw poll but everything unraveled after that.  Once you lose a candidate in a primary season, you are (at least on the Republican side) done for the Presidential election and even though it was for the better, it still is a tough pill to swallow after running Senator McCain's Presidential digital advertising. 

I thought I still had one of my longest running clients, but either Mitt Romney or a senior staff member (I know who it is) had my fired from running digital for the RNC even though we as an agency were doing awesome work.  They were a favorite client.  In fact, Jacob helped re-tag all of their click through links in Google, campaign by campaign during bring your child to work day.  So by June 2012 it looked like a really bad ending was in store, but I had a ton of non-Political clients come through which is awesome and the political clients picked up, so guess what, 2012 ended on a good note and I feel excited heading into 2013.

Eric's Health World 2012

And all our youth and beauty, it's been given to the dust. When the game has been decided and we're burning down the clock.  And all our little victories and glories have turned into parking lots. When your best hopes and desires are scattered through the wind. 

Like a lot of married with kids guys that work at home, I had a hard time keeping weight off. And with the occasional binge eating that I've been known for, I wasnt the picture of good health but with my first diverticulitis attack in 2011 I stayed away from certain foods and loaded up with fiber.  Yeah that helped for a while until the middle of May and the pain returned; it didn't go away.  I was on antibiotics from May until the end of July.  I had a PICC line in my arm for the month of July.  I couldnt drink alcohol.  I couldnt eat red meat.  I couldnt eat anything with significant fiber.  No fresh fruits. No fresh vegetables.  No pool. No exercise. No fun.  3 separate hospital stays totalling 15 days. Our big vacation for the year in Spain was cancelled (yeah we had trip insurance).  It ended with colon surgery.

But I dropped 30+ pounds.  I started running again. I've gotten up to 6+ miles at a clip and I signed up for a run in Disney World in May.  Most weeks I run around 25 miles.  I cut down on red meat to no more than 2 meals per week.  I dont drink as much.  I feel good.  I turned a bad situation into a good one.

Family 2012 Recap

And hard times come, and hard times go And hard times come, and hard times go And hard times come, and hard times go And hard times come, and hard times go And hard times come, and hard times go Yeah just to come again

It was a hard year.  Cancer that didn't go away.  In laws that were in and out of the hospital. Jacob had a leg injury that kept him out of soccer for 5-6 weeks.  There was one point where Mary was in St. Claire's Hospital because her kidneys were blocked and I ended up in Morristown with a serious diverticulitis attack.  Yeah not kidding - 2 separate hospitals at the same time.  As I wrote above, we didn't make it to Spain so I ruined Jacob's chance to play overseas but it was for the better, because, well, I could have been in a serious state with a colostomy bag.

However, as usual we rolled with the punches although they definitely hurt this year.  We had a good time down the Jersey Shore and an awesome trip in Disney World (as usual). The kids dont even seem to remember that the Spain trip was cancelled. Perhaps the 6 nights we saw Springsteen, three of them right against the stage in the pit, helped us, well maybe they helped me.  The Giants delivered a Super Bowl and we celebrated with them by going to the parade in NYC AND the celebration at Giants Stadium.

You know what also helped me?  I read and analyze the Torah every week.  I probably study once per day.  It's good to get your brain working on something else.   It's good to read about biblical challenges because maybe your challenges arent so great.

Running also helps. Not just physically but mentally.  When you start running again, you are slow and cant run far, but if you keep going, you can build up strength and endurance.  When are you going for a 50 minute run, you need to schedule it, keep it high priority, and realize that 50 minutes isnt that long.  That is good planning advice.

It's good to have friends.  It's good to have family.  It's good to have people around you.  You learn who you can count on.  

We have a big Bar Mitzvah coming up. Other than that I don't have high expectations for 2013.  I'm just hoping for a good healthy year.  So raise up your glasses and let me hear your voices call. Because tonight all the dead are here, so bring on your wrecking ball.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Voter File Advertising = Moby Dick to Political Marketing Ahabs

Since the start of this political season, the rage among a lot of online political advertisers is buying online ads using matched voter file (that's taking the an email file and matching them with a publisher).  Nearly every ad buy I put together usually ends up with a discussion whether I want to use voter file matched cookies which I answer with umm no. Why would I want to use that garbage?  Their answer is, well, the CPMs are only 20% higher plus you know that you are targeting known Republicans, plus everyone else is doing it.  I don't buy that everyone is doing it, but...

My answer is still no.  Waste of money. Waste of time, plus SURPRISE I have more experience with political online ad buying, especially voter file marketing.  It's nothing new.

Now before I continue my bash let me explain that I have nothing against companies that supply the data to match, nor do I have any issue with Facebook's new marketing (I'm bullish on that).  I do think there is demand from newer political online marketers who only want to target known Republicans because that's how they've been doing it in direct mail since 1975.  Anyway, here's why it is foolish.

I started doing political advertising back in 2006.  Back then, we supplied AOL and Yahoo with Republican voter files.  I never successfully completed a match with MSN because they were too slow and required too much of either an upfront fee OR a large guaranteed ad buy. We used voter file marketing for McCain's Presidential run.  

The CPMs were higher and the results, well, let's just say that the results were not 20% better.  In fact, I got better results with running Google Display Ads fired off via keywords than any data file match.  So, it was a waste of money and certainly my time when I'd rather focus on content where my ads appeared.  Of course by 2012 with so many new targeting networks people have forgotten what worked or didn't work in the past.  So, if I don't like voter file marketing, what do I like doing:

ERIC'S FAVORITE 1:1 MARKETING TECHNIQUES IN 2012

1. Build your own retargeting audience in Google or AdRoll.  Yes build your own.  People that click on your ads, visit your website, donate, etc.  You know what?  Other than the money it costs to run ads, it's free to build your audience.
2. Build your own voter file targeting in FB.  Load up your own email list to FB and let FB anonymously match your files and build an audience for you.  Why is this better than the big voter file match?  It's YOUR OWN LIST and it's free.
3. Email marketing (yeah that still works real well)
4. Google Search - why?  These are people looking for your message or YOU.
5. Content Targeting  - match your choice keywords with content so your ads appear when the content makes sense.  You know why that works?  Because it is cost effective.
6. Facebook interest targeting - it's the best out there and cheap.

A pure voter file marketing campaign is the last thing I'd buy. If I had branding dollars, I'd move to partners like Twitter, Pandora, Hulu, and YouTube before I'd spend a dime on a pure voter file buy.  

Is voter file marketing all the rage?  I don't care and neither should you.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Hey Marketing Genius - Your Facebook Advertising Is Awful

To The Marketing Genius Running Bad Facebook Advertising:

I don't get it.  Your Facebook advertising is awful.  It's almost like you are 18 years old and just started reading a marketing 101 book. Or worse yet.  You are robbing your clients blind with high agency fees.

Yes, Google Advertising is hard.  It requires logical campaign design, optimization, and an understanding of search.  Perhaps you've given up with Google or your clients figured out you don't know anything.

Facebook isn't hard.  It's actually very intuitive and very easy to use.  Yes you can setup multiple campaigns and multiple ads.  You can use some bid management help, but at the end of the day, the platform is easy to microtarget people based on interest and demographics.  So there's no reason for the following lousy political ads....

Elizabeth Warren (Democrat for Senate from Massachusetts): I live in NJ.
 I'm a registered Republican.  Probably show up in the conservative bucket.  I don't susbcribe to multiple political accounts.  I should NOT be in your target.

Debbie Wasserman Schulz (Head of the DNC): Same as Elizabeth Warren targeting above. Just really bad ad targeting.

George Allen (Republican running for Senate in Virginia): The ad targeting was good.  I dont like the ad because it gave me the impression that his campaign is on life support...(snicker away)

Obama LGBT: Well the targeting is way off here.  Wrong political category (for the most part), wrong Presidential candidate,  and it is very easy to add in narrow interest targeting to find people in the LGBT target. However, not to be outdone, The Mitt Romney campaign (sorry) has the worst targeting

Now.  I'm not a facebook fan of Mitt Romney.  I was following him since 2008 but during the 2012 Primary I didn't want friends thinking I supported him, so I unliked him.  Plus, I found the posts not very informative.  They then hit me with a lot of ads which of course was the correct target.  That was fine but they stopped.

So now, I get served individual ads based on potential microtargets.  However, all of these microtargets are so easy to find, its inexcusable to not use them.  And, Facebook has matured so that just getting likes is not that compelling + it's not very helpful for your strategy if someone is in multiple micro targets or coalitions.

Romney Hispanic Target: Umm, I don't like Romney and I'm not Hispanic.   The Hispanic target is the ONLY broad match target under the Ethnics category.  CHECK THE BOX.

Women for Romney: Listen folks, Facebook was founded to help Zuckerberg get a date.  Use the gender targeting.  Try using something more than just a friend of mine liking the page for your targeting.

Young Americans for Mitt: I'm 45.  As young and immature as I like to be, I'm pretty sure 45 is not in the Young American target.  Use the age targeting.

So to summarize, I've been served ads meant for women, young voters, Hispanic voters, LGBT, and out of state liberal/progressive ads.  I can actually rationalize the Warren + Debbie Wasserman Schulz ads as testing into the active politics broad category but the rest of the lifestyle targeting by President Obama and especially Romney for President are just poor.  

I havent seen any more poorly targeted Obama ads but the Romney ads just keep coming.  It doesn't make any sense.  If you really want to build up facebook coalitions, why not try to put the correct demos in your coalition.  Sure maybe it costs you a little more money to add the demo, but doesn't that make the most sense to have the purest coalition as possible?  It's easy, try it.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

P.S. By the way, The Obama Campaign is still serving LGBT ads.  It's really a poor display of the lifestyle targeting available in Facebook and demonstrates that The Obama Campaign is not technologically savvy.

P.P.S Oh and not to be outdown by lousy facebook marketing, Romney is now targeting me with Hispanic versions of his ad.  Really, hit the ethnic targeting. Its there and available.

Go See The Amazing Spider-Man Now

Long time friends of mine know that I have a huge Amazing Spider-Man comic book collection.  I am only missing 15 books - 9 of those are from the first 15 books.  I do have my own copy of Amazing Fantasy 15 (the first appearance) show in this post.  Now before I give a small review, here are a few parts of the movie that don't exist in the Spidey mythology...

1) Curt Connors does not work for Oscorp.  He develops the serum on his own.

2) Gwen Stacy does not know Peter Parker is Spider-man 

3) Capt Stacy does figure out that Peter Parker is Spider-man

4) Capt Stacy is killed by Doc Ock, not the Lizard

5) Peter Parker's parents are not scientists, they are American spies

6) Uncle Ben is shot at his home, not on the streets of NY

7) Gwen Stacy while probably a good student is not a scientist

However, this movie is awesome.  Even with those changes, the movie stays true to Spider-Man and I do like some of the changes especially with Oscorp and Norman Osborn being behind the scenes directing things.  That part of Normal Osborn shows up many, many years later when Marvel decides to resurrect Norman after his death in Spider-Man #122.

The 3D effects are a lot of fun.  I saw the Avengers a few days earlier and while I liked the Avengers, Spider-Man was 10 times better. Why?  The reason I like Spider-Man so much is that he is just a nerdy high school kid that turns into something special but he still maintains all of the social issues that high school and college kids have.  Also, Emma Stone is an awesome Gwen Stacy whom I always thought was the best girl friend for Peter Parker.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

 

Did Governor Chris Christie Fall Asleep at a Springsteen Concert? No Way

So the past few days there has been a lot of articles written online about NJ Governor Chris Christie possibly falling asleep at a Springsteen concert.  Now my Governor doesnt usually need help defending himself, but I figured he can use a helping hand from a big time fan and NJ voter.   

As a big Springsteen fan it is IMPOSSIBLE for another big fan to fall asleep.  Even with what looks to me like crappy seats for Gov. Christie - I always go General Admission.

Bruce constructs his setlists with very few down times in the show and on this tour there are only two typical slow spots - Jack of All Trades and Rocky Ground.  However, right after those songs Bruce picks it back up again so even if by some odd chance Gov. Christie kept his eyes closed a little too long while taking in the soulful Rocky Ground he would have jumped back up on the next song anyway. And, this was one picture taken at a moment of time, so sure anyone of us can look bad with a quick photo.

Did the Governor fall asleep?  There is no chance but did he look asleep for what must have seemed like an eternity to the fan who snapped the bad picture?  Sure it's possible but even at that point the Governor would have been on his feet when Bruce and the E Street Band pulled out Rosalita (the very next song).

Rocky Ground into Rosie?  There is no way Chris Christie was sleeping at this Springsteen concert.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Edmunds.com: Email or Spam and Social Listening

On April 13 I received an email from Edmunds.com.  The email thanked me for subscribing to the Edmunds newsletter.  I received it about 9:30 AM EST and I was a little upset.  Sure it's easy to get my email and I get a ton of spam, but usually I just unsubscribe and move on. Not this time because most of the spam comes from unscrupulous types, not from a major brand.  So I sprung into action.

First thing I did was hit the unsubscribe link thinking it might be a one click unsubscribe.  If that link did the job the first time, I probably  would have moved on.  Unfortunately, Edmunds does not employ a one click unsubscribe.  I had to get another email with a link to unsubscribe again.  At that point I got a little upset and decided to let Edmunds know.

So I took to Facebook and Twitter.  I really wasn't expecting too much other than a place to spread my displeasure with Edmunds quickly.  However, they surprised me.  They did have their social ears on and reached out to me in Twitter and Facebook very quickly. 

A friend of mine who works at Twitter happened to call me that day and said "I found it very funny watching you take on Edmunds."  Well as I explained to my friend and to Edmunds there were only two reasons for receiving that unwanted email subscription - a friend added me or Edmunds added me.  It could not have been myself.

Well after some time and contacts with me via Facebook and Twitter it turned out that a few years ago I did signup for Edmunds but then unsubscribed.  I dont remember why but it seemed that Edmunds added me and a bunch of other previously unsubscribes this past morning in error.  Mystery solved....

However, Edmunds turned a bad situation into a decent resolution.  I was hopping mad when I got that email in the morning and figured with my social reach I could let as many people as possible know they shouldnt trust Edmunds with their contact information.  However, instead of sticking their head in the sand Edmunds reached out to me quickly and cooled off this hothead.  

I still don't like their two step unsubscribe, but Edmunds definitely took my issue seriously and resolved it in a professional manner.  Nicely done,

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Shackled and Drawn to Springsteen's Wrecking Ball

I just finished listening to Wrecking Ball from start to finish including the bonus tracks.  It's an awesome CD and rivals The Rising as his best release since Born In The USA (yes I wrote that).  To put that in perspective, my top 5 Springsteen official releases are Born to Run, Darkness on The Edge of Town, Greetings from Asbury Park, Nebraska, and The Rising.  So for me to write it's about as good as The Rising puts my love for this CD in perspective.

Now long time readers know what I do with half my working day or so (sometimes more) and my politics.  However, I think you need to put politics aside when you listen along unless you are as Bruce puts it "a fat cat on banker's hill".  If you like Darkness and the message there about the working, the working, the working life than this is your Darkness on the Edge of Town 2.0.  Anyway, onto the quick song reviews...

1. We Take Care of Our Own - you've heard it.  I wasnt impressed when I first listened to it but this has grown on me.  I moved it to a B.
2. Easy Money - This is an up tempo version of Meeting Across The River.  Unlike Meeting you wont listen to it thinking, oh how soon is Jungleland coming...This is an A.
3. Shackled and Drawn - Best song on the release.  It might be the best song since Maria's Bed and certainly is a top 10 since 1990.  A++ if such a thing exists.  If you dont listen to this song today over a dozen times, turn in your Springsteen fan card.
4. Jack of All Trades - It's a slow song and the first few times I wasnt impressed.  However, this is Factory 2.0 and I'd give it a B+.  You arent going to want to hear this live unless he changes the arrangement or maybe you do and use it to hit the bathroom or at least sit down.  It's a great listen on the CD.
5. Death to My Hometown - This is an Irish drinking song or sounds like it should be.  It's a warning to people to protect their own hometown or protect what matters to you. I'd give it an A
6. This Depression - It's hard to get excited about this song (see song title).  It's a song about asking for help or support.  The guitar solo in the song is worth the listen - it reminds me of Youngstown and you can see Nils soloing this on tour.  I'll give it a B just because of the music.
7. Wrecking Ball - No matter what Bruce says about this song, Wrecking Ball is a dedication to Giants Stadium.  He introduced it on the last concerts played at Giants Stadium and uses words to describe the stadium (wrecking ball, Meadowlands, Giants played their games).  I'm cool with Bruce trying to repurpose it because the studio version of this song is great and a Wrecking Ball can be used to describe starting over and change or "the more things change, the more things stay the same".  This song is an A.  One more fact on this song I just noticed.  The Big Man's sax is on this song.
8. You've Got It - It's not complicated.  This is I'm Going Down 2.0.  I love that song.  I love this song. B+ (yeah it's not higher because, well, this is a simple song).
9. Rocky Ground - A lot of religious/Christian themes in this song.  It's got great music.  It's uplifting.  It doesnt really remind me of any other Springsteen song - especially with the rap in the middle.....It's a solid B...I like it.  It's not as good as other songs on the CD that's all.
10. Land of Hope and Dreams - It's been around forever.  The studio version is great.  It's an A song.  When I hear it I see myself jumping up and down with Bruce towards the end of the song.  My only disappointment is I've heard this song over and over again for almost 10 years....However, The Big Man lends his sax on this track..
11. We Are Alive - Ever wonder what the dead think about after they are dead?  Well Bruce has heard them and tells you what they are thinking - no Ouija board needed. Its an awesome song.  A.
12. Swallowed Up - It's a bonus song.  It's no bonus.  Skip it.  Ignore it.  Even the genius screws up every once in a while.  I'm sure his European fan base will love it.  I'm sure the Human Touch fan base will love it.  Me? I'm hoping he doesnt it play it the three nights in NJ when I'm in the pit because I'm worried he might see my face... It's a F.
13. American Land - It's been around since the Seeger tour.  The song rocks.  It's about as American as you can get.  The studio version is great. A++

Don't walk but run to dowload or purchase.  This CD is awesome.  Springsteen returns to his Darkness roots.  So should you.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

P.S. One last note on Wrecking Ball.  Unlike Springsteen songs in the past, the liner notes credit a bunch of other non-Springsteen songs for providing elements to Wrecking Ball songs. Interesting....

 

Have You Been a Victim of The Newegg.com Scam?

A few months back I wrote this post wondering if Newegg.com is running a scam. To recap the Newegg.com scam, someone got my wife's credit card number, address, and email and then ordered a $1000 camera lens. I contacted Newegg.com and yelled at everyone I could speak with regarding their terrible fraud protection.  We received an email to setup a return which we did and when we shipped the item back to Newegg.com it was refused at Newegg.com's warehouse.  So I worked with American Express and put a block on Newegg.com to prevent them, their scammers, the people who try to scam, and even us from ever putting a Newegg.com charge on our cards ever again.  Amex did credit the scammed purchase.

Well you'd think after I wrote that story, Newegg.com would get their act together when it comes to people scamming them.  Unfortunately, based on the comments on my original post, it's clear that Newegg.com doesn't care that there is a scam happening with their platform.  I'd encourage people to just call their credit card company and place a block on Newegg.com so that no charges can be placed on your card from this subpar company.

HOW THE NEWEGG.COM SCAM WORKS

1. Somehow someone gets your credit card, name, address, and email.  Obviously getting your credit card is the hard part
2. This person orders a $1000 item and has it shipped to your house.
3. You get a strange email from Newegg.com alerting you to the scam order. Of course you think it is scam so you probably ignore it or maybe you think it is a "gift"
4. Then the item shows up at your door which you open and to your surprise you are now the owner of some item you didnt order, but to your bank credit card, it looks like you actually bought the Newegg.com scam item.
5. You then call into Newegg.com to tell them you didnt order this.  Of course to Newegg.com it looks like you did.
6. If you are smart and angry enough, you convince them it was the Newegg.com scam and you setup a return. They'll probably tell you that this item was the result of a scammer who got your card and was on their way to pick up the item at your house (don't believe Newegg.com but please call your local police).
7. You'll then setup the return, UPS will pick up the item and then about a week later you'll find the item at your house because it was denied acceptance by Newegg.com
8. Finally, at that point you'll be at the mercy of your credit card company.  American Express agreed with me and reversed the charge.  One of the commenters from my original Newegg.com scam post wrote that Wells Fargo agreed with Newegg.com and they are now fighting with Wells Fargo.

I wouldn't buy an item from Newegg.com. I wouldnt let a friend by from Newegg.com.  I wouldn't ever let a charge from Newegg.com show up on a credit card.  I'd put a block on my credit cards.  If everyone did this, Newegg.com would finally take their scam problem seriously and actually do something about it.  Read the comments on my original post.  You'll see there are tons of people that have been impacted by the Newegg.com scam.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Revisiting PMF - See More on Google versus The US Government

*******I wrote this post in 2006, I think.....Wow, I was quite the author back then.  I think with Google changing their privacy policy, I think this is an interesting post******

 

I lot of friends, including my wife, have said to me, "why are you so harsh on Google lately?" This kind of surprises me because I don't think I have been. Sure this is the third article I've written on Google as of late and you are probably wondering if I may dump blospot and pop over to Typepad instead.

Let me set the record straight. I love Google and the products that they bring to the marketplace. I also know a lot of people at Google and they are all great. Google also brings a ton of competition to the marketplace and, it didn't hurt that my former employer was part of the IPO group.

However, they are in it to make money, just like everyone else. Have you seen their stock price recently and their marketcap? It is outrageous. You know what else you need to learn about Google? How about their corporate mantra? Read #4 and #6. #4 is titled Democracy on the web works and #6 is You can make money without doing evil. Interesting huh? Let's see how democracy on the web and making money without doing evil has been forgotten or at least thrown out temporarily when it comes to making money.

Democracy on the web
First, Google decides not to help the United States Government in understanding how existing filtering on the web protects children from porn and predators. It IS a primary part of a ruling on the COPA act. Now, they are the only ones from the Big 4 that stood up to the Government. Some people think that Google is standing up to the US to protect individual freedom and who knows, first this data and then they hand over PII information on individual's searches.

Last time I checked, the US Government, the best Democracy on the great blue spot in the Milky Way protects our individual rights and not Google. And, you know who basically asked for the check on the existing filtering technology - The Supreme Court. Now lets look at the other side of the spectrum - China.

China and Google - Perfect Together?

China - the last time I checked was Communist. You remember those people, right? They were pretty popular up until 1989 or so, when Reagan's pressures finally led to the crumbling of the Soviet Empire and only really left Cuba and China as strong Communist nations.

Fast forward to 2006 and everyone loves China now a days because you guessed it - a billion or so people buy a lot of goods; that is when their government allows them to make some money. You know what the Chinese still practice - good old government censorship. 

Freedom of speech in China, the kind like we enjoy in the USA, does NOT exits. Hell, you can't even get a good search result without some form of censorship.

Now, Google decides to help the Chinese Government continue to oppress their people by making it easier to censor search results. No, not the Google. we can make money without doing evil company. Yes that Google; well maybe not the Google that originally wrote those words, but the Google that is now making a ton of money. Read this article from CNN entitled Google to Censor Itself.

I don't know about you, but when the same company decides to stiff the Democratic US Government in the name of freedom and then turns around and helps a Communist China continue their oppression, one has to wonder who we are dealing with. Maybe Google should re-read their Corporate Values Statement again and decide if they really want to make some money the free speech, democratic way which up until now has helped their stock grow from about $90 to $433.

Think I'm the only one that feels this way - check out Bambi's article over at CBS MarketWatch (require free registration) titled Google Shows Its True Colors .  Again, makes you want to move your blog to Typepad.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

 

My NJ Devils and NY Giants Get Social Media

My family just recently became weekend NJ Devils season ticket holders.  We've also been long time NY Giants season ticket holders (I split the tickets with my Uncle).  We are also Yankees fans and hit the occasional Somerset Patriots games.  Plus, my son attends Red Bulls games with his friends and we watch the occasional Manchester United game on TV (yeah we like sports).  One of the marketing strategies I've noticed is which teams and sports get social media and which ones don't.  The Devils and the Giants get social media.

FIRST THE GIANTS

The Giants have a mobile app where they load up behind the scenes videos and articles which I enjoy reading and watching.  They also really push using Twitter at the stadium and make regular in game updates on their Facebook page with pictures.  One little known social outreach was before the Giants season finale versus the Cowboys, star quarterback Eli Manning made 500 calls to season ticket holders.  How do I know this?  My Uncle got one of those calls, picked up the phone, and found  Eli Manning on the other end.  Talk about luck.  Eli was calling 500 fans to make sure everyone was loud at the stadium that weekend (my Uncle gave the tickets to a friend). They have one main problem which I'll talk about below.

THE NJ DEVILS

While the Giants are good at social media, the Devils are better.  They still hand out iPads at the game to "get Social"and regular push Facebook at all of their games.  They also encourage people to post pictures and tweet.  The Devils have done a great job pushing their Facebook page.  I havent found a mobile app (I dont think there is one) which I wish there was one to make it easier to read and share stories, but I know that takes some money to build one or an agreement with a provider.  They have the same problem as the Giants, but one thing I did find annoying is that when you search for their FB page you have to make sure you type in "New Jersey Devils" and not "NJ Devils" to get the official page and to make it just a little more confusing the official page is listed as "Ticket Sales".  I think a call into Facebook should help them fix it.

THE MAIN PROBLEM FOR GIANTS AND DEVILS

I think that both teams struggle to decide where their main information hub is.  For the Giants it seems to be Twitter but that's not the best place; it should be Facebook.  The Devils seem to be torn between their website where a lot of articles, videos, stories, schedule, and stats are stored and Facebook where people "get social".  I find myself going between the two and I think that's suboptimal.  Also, it would be awesome if there was a way for people to check into their seats similar to what's available in Ticketmaster for their games.

If I was advising the Devils, I'd make the leap into social even more.  I bet other local team are taking notice, so they need to keep pushing the envelope.  I don't think beefing up their Facebook page would be revolutionary enough.  I'd recommend (and yes it costs money) a Facebook App similar to the infamous Washington Post app where it would post stories, post updates to the reader's FB page, and even let people check into game events. The Devils social team should also spend a lot of time understanding Facebook's newly released Open Graph to understand the actions they could be publishing.

With that bigger push and a new designed App, the Devils could keep pushing the social media sports envelope open even more and finally make the leap into minimizing the over reliance of their website as the main information hub.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

P.S. A little more advice is to take a look at FB ads especially the Sponsored Stories, Page Post Like and Page Like ad formats to help spread their messaging.

The Art of Self Promotion - A Repost from 2005

***Note: I wrote this post November 11, 2005.  I thought it would be fun to repost.  Any edits I made tonight will be crossed out so you can read what I originally wrote.  Enjoy***

I was in New York on Monday and I ran into a friend that I haven't seen in a few years. The first words out of his mouth are "Eric you must be the most famous man on the internet". After what passes for blushing on my part, which doesn't amount to much of anything, I replied, "actually no, just good at a little self promotion and long term planning".

I worked for 10 years at AT&T and 5 years at Harrisdirect (the company formerly known as PCFN, DLJdirect, and CSFBdirect) and one of the key things I learned was you have to learn know how to build, manage, and plan for your self promotion, because at the end of the day, that's all you really have. A rumor I heard at AT&T led me to managing my self promotion, so here it is in its entirety.

When C.Michael Armstrong was named chairman and CEO of AT&T a Vice President walked into the PR department and said "make me an internet genius" and of course they did. This VP had AT&T's press machine in full press at his disposal and he ended up with plenty of speaking engagements, case studies, and press releases; even a few of these that he couldn't handle ended up on my desk. After a few short months, this VP becomes AT&T's internet czar.

So armed with this knowledge when I leave  left AT&T, I look for my own self promotion opportunities while at the company formerly known as Harrisdirect. Besides a little self glory, it helps with my own position as VP of Online Advertising Managing Director Channel Marketing because there is nothing better than generating a little free press for your employer while building your own reputation and getting good advertising rates.

While negotiating media deals, I notice that several publishers were willing to go beyond what I should be receiving based on my spend if offered to participate in case studies with them. I said "sure, but with one condition, my name is in the case study".

So, when you hit the link on the right for My Google News you can see the list of case studies, magazine articles, and press releases that I've participated in since 2002. All this with a little planning, quid pro quo, and an eye to the future. Oh by the way, never, never, do this without your own PR department and legal involved; play by the rules of your own company.

The self promotion has helped me over the years and it can help you too. So maybe the next time you are at a conference a friend will walk up to you and call you famous. Oh one more thing, that friend is Dan Lynn, co-founder of a bunch of companies and someone I should reach out to one of these days.  of the full service marketing firm, DigitalGrit.

Good luck with your own self promotion and a little PardonMyFrench

Eric

 

I Love Siri

Yes I'm in love with Siri.  I didn't need a new iPhone because I have a gently used iPhone 4 but I kept seeing the commercials and reading reviews online.  Plus my iPhone is always near my side while my camera, so I like the idea of having an 8 mega pixel camera close by. So I went online for a few nights right around 9PM to see if I could reserve one.  After a few tries, Jacob got through on my iPhone while we were driving back from dinner and he reserved it.  

I got my new white iPhone and it is awesome.  I already had upgraded my operating system on my 4 but I like the feel, brightness, and camera of the 4s. The battery life seems to be bad, but I read that's a glitch that Apple is fixing.  

However, Siri is awesome and well worth the money.  Sure Apple features some cool features like playing music and searching for locations nearby, but here's what I think is awesome and all done by speaking into the phone

1. I can schedule calendar appointments
2. I can set reminders
3. Siri can read my new text messages
4. I can reply to text messages by speech
5. I can send email by speech
6. I can call people by using their name, Siri gives me the option to choose which phone number
7. It can play different music

This kind of speech technology has been around for a while but nowhere near as good as Siri (see Google Voice)  However, with Siri I'd say she gets about 90% correct plus she can learn. For example, she knows when I want to speak with Mary, Siri dials her mobile.

If you havent upgraded in a while, go get the iPhone 4s.  If you have an iPhone 4 ditch it and get the 4s.  Rely on Siri to take care of the tasks outlined above.  She is awesome.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Is Newegg.com Running A Scam? Who Knows But Their Security Is Weak

This morning my wife received an email letting us know that an order was being delivered to our house from Newegg.com.  She asked me had I ever heard of them?  I said no.  So we Googled Newegg.com and found out it is an ecommerce website specializing in tech and equipment, so we thought it was odd that we received an email.  Mary thought it was a gift because we get a lot of deliveries due to the media we buy.

That was until we got the shipment.  It turned out to be a Nokia Lens for a camera but no camera was there.  There was a shipping order and no gift note.  It also appeared that our credit card could have been charged so Mary called American Express and I called Newegg.com.

Newegg claimed that an order was placed with my wife's credit card with the 4 digit code, our email address, and shipped to our home address.  This lens cost over $1100.  Of course this was fraud and I was furious.  Mary spoke with Amex and they quickly credited our account and put in a fraud investigation, plus canceled that card.  That left me with the morons at Newegg.com.  So without boring you with the details of call after call, here's where I landed....

1. This was fraudulent and placed by some unscrupulous type.  They were planning on shipping an item to our house to try to intercept it before we did.  The item called for a signature but out here in rural NJ where we know our UPS and FedEx driver only the most sought after items require a signature (iPhone, jewelry, etc)
2. This was fraudulent and a thief got our card and info but they were really stupid and used the billing address as the ship to address.
3. Newegg.com is soft on security and has serious security problems

Newegg wants me to believe that our card that is rarely used somehow got compromised, the thief then got our address and email, then purchased an $1100 camera lens, and shipped it to our house where the thief was going to intercept it after our UPS driver left it without getting a signature.  Wow - that's a mouthful.

Right an $1,100 camera lens?  Right they thought that the UPS driver would just leave it and then they'd drive up to a rural home and get the package that supposedly needed a signature before we did.

You know what I got out of the Newegg.com reps?  They are in the middle of a security upgrade that might be ready in a few months.  You know what I learned in Google?  We are not the first ones to have this happen to them.  

In fact here's a link to a post titled NewEgg.com is Soft on Credit Card fraud where the same story I experienced is written about.  There are over 120 comments with the same kind of scam.

I don't trust Newegg.com.  I think their security is minimum at best.  I think they have no credit card fraud protection and in fact based on the blog post above there is definitely something wrong at Newegg.com

I don't believe their story.  It seems way too far fetched.  A thief goes to all of that effort to order an $1,100 camera lens in the hopes they'd get it before we picked it up?  I think there is something wrong with Newegg.com.  I think Newegg.com's systems are suspect at best.  I don't believe Newegg.com has great security (their reps confirmed this with forthcoming security upgrade). I don't trust Newegg.com at all.  Who knows what kinds of people work there.

I wouldn't use them.  I wouldn't trust their site. I would never enter a single piece of personal data and certainly wouldn't use a credit card.  

Do I think Newegg.com is running a scam?  I don't know but I don't want to use their site and I wouldn't trust them with a single byte of personal information.  Newegg.com is not worthy of a site visit and is worthy of being federally investigated.  We are not the first ones to have this happen to them and I bet with their lousy security we won't be the last.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

 

Is Your Klout Score The New GCred?

I've been Googling my name for a while...way back towards my Harrisdirect days.  I always thought it was important to see what's being written about me because when someone is trying to figure out your credibility they Google you.  Way back then it was called G-Cred and I wrote a post 4 years ago about it (you know that reminds me, maybe I should start pumping out some of my best posts from years back).

Earlier this year I read an article about Klout and signed up; my Klout wasn't very high so I didn't pay attention to it.  However, very recently I was asked by a reporter doing a story on politics and social media, what I thought about using Klout.  Well, my reply was, once I can figure out whether someones Klout is conservative, republican, tea party, liberal, democrat, etc it's not the most useful in a primary race. Sure it can be used for non-partisan campaigns, but in the midst of a Republican Presidential Primary, not so sure.  

So I logged in again and I L-O-V-E it.  I like the fact something is measuring a person's social media reach.  It's kind of similar to a QB's Passer Rating with the main difference being that you don't have to be a person with a doctor's degree in math to figure Klout out.  I can actually see the results of working my social media and I even got some perks - one of them was signing up for Zinio which was a cool magazine app for your iPhone, iPad, or web.  BTW - you can use this link to get a $10 credit towards your first magazine subscription on your Zinio app. 

Then, I checked out some of their API notes and yes you can do some analysis and find people in an area who have high Klout.  Still not sure about using it today for Presidential Politics, but I think it is an area to explore.

I'm also not too sure about Klout's business plan or revenue making model going forward, but right now I don't care too much.  I'm generally interested to see the changes to Klout and it is kind of fun to figure out ways to improve your own Klout.  Is it the new GCred?  Well right now I don't see anyone replacing Google for determining a person's credibility but I do think Klout is a fun way to see how good your social reach is (BTW the average Klout score is 20).

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

 

Reading The Google Political Tea Leaves as of 9/30

A lot of political amateurs put weight into Google's ability to predict outcomes in elections based on search trends.  Personally, I've always used Google's search traffic as a trailing indicator of strength and of course as a way to capitalize on the traffic for marketing. Whether it is straight paid search, YouTube, or display ads in Google's display network a sudden increase in traffic offers opportunities to either defend your positions or increase membership/donations.  So let's take a peek at the last 90 days in Google Search for a few of Republican presidential candidates plus one more.

So what do I see?

1. You can see the double spike for Michele and Rick Perry on August 13.  Obviously that was the Iowa Straw Poll win for Michele and then Perry's announcement.  Both of those were tremendous fundraising opportunities
2. Perry's traffic really takes a steep slide after the announcement but in the past 90 days he has the most amount of search traffic (you can see the strength by the color coded bars). I don't know what their online advertising activities are, but from what I've seen it's zero.
3. There were two Perry spikes around the early and mid September debates.  Those were around the debate attacks he was getting around his HPV executive order and other points brought up concerning his conservative track record.  Those were defensive, rapid response activities  (that links to an old post on how to use search for rapid response) that were missed or fundraising opportunities for other candidates (see this clickz article).
4. At the end of September there are two very interesting spikes.  The first one is around Herman Cain and this should represent fundraising opportunities for him but like Perry, I haven't seen any online advertising since the Iowa Straw Poll.  To put the Cain spike in perspective the height looks a lot like the height for Perry's announcement, Michele's Straw Poll Victory, or Michele's announcement back in June (not shown on this chart). Cain should be getting a lot of donations now and names of people interested in joining his campaign - however, like a lot of these sudden spikes, he needs to capitalize on the short term opportunities.  
5. The other spike is the Chris Christie spike, which until this week the search traffic was pretty vanilla.  I personally don't believe my Governor is running for President in 2012 but that spike at least represents huge interest or the pressure he is under.  If they had a PAC advertising around his name this would represent a great opportunity to fundraise or gather names of potential supporters.
6. Finally, Mitt Romney's search traffic is uninteresting and represents his enthusiasm gap

Google search traffic is a trailing indicator of events that have occurred or are occurring in real time.  It represents good marketing opportunities if you know how to capitalize it.  Oh one final Chris Christie note, if his search traffic spikes to the August 13 traffic spike, you can pretty much be guaranteed that he opted to run for President.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric