ethanbeute

Marketing | Environment | Culture

Tag: Ethan Beute (Page 3 of 5)

What I Want in a Purchase

May 13, 2010 /

Says what it is.  Does what it says.  Solves your problem.  Exceeds your expectations.  That’s all I want in a purchase – how about you?

I really love to hike and to climb mountains.  I don’t do it as often as I would like, but I appreciate every opportunity I get.

Several times in fall or spring, I’ve been out in conditions in which snowshoes would have been a serious benefit.  I’d casually surveyed the market for several months, never quite serious enough to commit to a purchase.  A friend recommended the MSR Lightning Ascent.

MSR Lightning Ascent Snowshoe 22" Orange

MSR Lightning Ascent

It’s a serious product.  Cut from aerospace-grade aluminum.  Lightest in its class.  Heel lift to support steep climbs.  A “total traction” design with teeth around the entire frame.  In short, it was designed to serve my purpose in an exceptional way.  I also expected to have the shoes for decades, perhaps handing them down to my son should he want them.

I probably would not have dropped the full retail price ($260-300); I wanted them, but did not need them.  I did, however, find a pair at one of the finest little shops in downtown Colorado Springs, Mountain Chalet.  End of season – $105 off.  Um, OK.

Picked them up and took them out the same weekend for a visit to Horsethief Park and a climb to Sentinel Point with Matt Payne (side note: check out 100summits.com – a website he built from pure passion and no web design background to speak of prior to initiating the project).

The MSR Lightning Ascent performed beautifully on hard pack, soft snow, deep powder, ice, steep slopes and all else we encountered.  Though only about 3 miles to Sentinel Point, the elevation gain is about 3,000ft.  Much of that gain is in the last mile and a half.  The heel lift proved to be an extremely valuable feature.

Approaching Sentinel Point, west side of Pikes Peak

Approaching Sentinel Point on the west side of Pikes Peak

Said what it was.  Did what it said.  Solved my problem.  Exceeded my expectations.  That’s what I got in the purchase.

Worth noting: they have a similar similar design at a lower price point in the Denali Ascent and Denali Evo Ascent.

Here’s a photo set from the hike.

iPad to Save Magazine Publishing?

May 11, 2010 /

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to see Chris Anderson, editor in chief of Wired magazine, present an idea at Ad:Tech San Francisco.  He’s also the author of The Long Tail and Free.

Anderson seems to have a strong vision and strong voice for what’s going on and what’s happening next.

Chris Anderson Wired Magazine AdTech Ad Tech iPad publishing

Chris Anderson sees a future for magazine publishing; it's all about the tablet.

His idea involves Wired, Adobe, Apple’s iPad and a healthy future for magazine publishers like Conde Nast (Wired, Vogue, GQ, and loads more).

He’s presented this idea for a few months now, so I won’t belabor it.  Instead, I’ll share my version of it in bullet-point form.

  • The tablet is the “third great platform” (PC > phone > tablet)
  • The tablet is permitted by the movement of of storage and computing/processing off the local machine and into “the cloud”
  • The web lowers barrier to entry and eliminates scarcity so competition is wide open
  • If the tablet goes rich and dynamic, traditional media may once again be able to deliver their skills in a commanding way
  • Wired/Conde Nast is working with Adobe to establish new publishing process
  • They’re seeking the efficiencies of digital, but with the pricing of analog – need a new economic model to survive, tablet era provides opportunity to create new model
  • Magazines provide the height of production value – layout, design, photos, etc
  • HTML and browsers limit the reproduction of this rich experience online – the magazine is lost in translation
  • At present, Wired magazine and wired.com are produced and sold by two separate groups
  • In a new future, digital can be designed and sold in parallel with print, simultaneously
  • Same thoughts, same people, same process
  • Print, portrait and landscape displays all laid out at once
  • It can be made to be worth paying for, not “less than print” like HTML/browser reproduction, but actually more
  • For the first time ever, Anderson sees a 21st century magazine business

I don’t have the knowledge, foresight or even interest to judge whether or not the tablet will, in fact, become the third great platform.

I support the production values argument, but the web has proven “good enough” for most people.

I also feel strongly that new economic models for publishers based in yesterday’s media must be developed.  So many people take such great pride in not watching TV, not reading magazines and not subscribing to newspapers.  Example: “I just get my news from Google.”  Meanwhile, a disproportionately high portion of their media consumption online is provided free by television-, magazine- and newspaper-based publishers.  This can’t go on forever.

So: good luck to Anderson, Adobe and Conde Nast – I wish healthy futures for all content producers, especially ones pushing forward production and display.

HP Slate (their tablet) versus Apple iPad: engadget

Verizon and Google team to make tablet: gizmodo

Another take on his keynote speech: Mobile Marketer

Chris Anderson’s blog: The Long Tail

Chris Anderson on Twitter: chr1sa

Video Demo of Wired Magazine on iPad

iPad Billboard high over Union Square, San Francisco:

Apple iPad Billboard over Union Square, San Francisco, California

iPad Billboard over Union Square, San Francisco

Facebook Project: Neighborhood Community Page

May 6, 2010 /

For fun and for the love I have for my neighborhood, I started a Facebook “Community Page.”  It’s called Ivywild Neighborhood – Colorado Springs.  Please check it out and consider clicking “Like.”

Sign at Tejon, Cascade, Ramona and Cheyenne Boulevard marking the neighborhood

Ivywild Neighborhood - Colorado Springs

I seeded it with about 50 photos I shot on a morning walk this week; I grouped them loosely into themes.

My primary hope is to represent the many things I love about our neighborhood.  The neighborhood is more than 100 years old; it’s got mature trees and lots of character.  We’ve got a great Indian restaurant (Little Nepal), a family pizza joint (Panino’s), a fantastic brewery (Bristol), an innovative culinary experience (Blue Star) and many other fine establishements.

My secondary hope is that neighbors, visitors, local businesses, realtors and others might start posting stories, photos, reviews and other info about my ‘hood.

We’ll see how it goes …

Visit the page here.

Experience is Not Expertise

April 26, 2010 /

I came across Albert Maruggi‘s “Marketing Edge” podcast a couple years back in the iTunes store.  Albert’s a smart and likable guy.  He used to be in television and now does social media and public relations consulting with Provident Partners in Minneapolis.

I probably would not be on Twitter if not for his advocacy.  Admittedly, I don’t use it to its full potential.  Regardless, I’ve learned a lot from his insights, observations and guests … which brings me to the topic.

Albert Maruggi of Provident Partners and the Marketing Edge

Last May, I listened to his interview with Dr Paul Schempp, a professor at the University of Georgia and president of Performance Matters.  The focus of Schempp’s life and work is understanding what it takes to be an expert performer.  Consistent with this theme, he consults many world-class athletes on expert performance routines.

Dr Paul Schempp of Performance Matters - Author, Scholar, Speaker, Coach

Schempp’s ideas have been condensed and clarified into 5 Steps to Expert, his fourth book.  Though I’ve not yet read the book (I’ve got so much reading to do), I’ve listened to Albert Maruggi’s interview with Schempp a few times.  I heard it again last night.

A stand-out takeaway: experience is not expertise.  This point is raised in Part 1 (link below) and illustrated by an example involving a student teacher who became teacher of the year in California a few years later.  It seems obvious, but the distinction seems lost on many people.  In my view, the concepts are related, but not in a causal way.

Just because someone’s been doing something a long time does not mean that he or she is getting any better at it.  Many people achieve level of competence that feels sufficient … they settle … they stagnate.  They’re competent performers, but they’re not on the road to expert status.

A smaller takeaway: the gentlemen briefly discussed point guard Terrell Brandon, a two-time NBA All-Star.  I don’t know why, exactly, but I really liked that guy.


Give the podcast a listen.  It’s a good conversation on a powerful topic.

Here’s Part 1 of the Paul Schempp interview on the Marketing Edge

Here’s Part 2 of the Paul Schempp interview on the Marketing Edge

Here are reader reviews of 5 Steps to Expert at Amazon.com

5 Steps to Expert by Dr Paul Schempp


A New Low at High Speed

April 23, 2010 /

In case you were not yet aware: the US lags other developed nations in broadband and wireless infrastructure and services.  Our federal government is currently working on a National Broadband Plan to try to catch up – or at least to get into the game.

Sascha Meinrath, director of the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Initiative, criticizes the plan.  Meinrath says it’s “like entering a race and saying: ‘Let’s go for last place.’”  His organization is cited as the source of this info:  a 100-megabit broadband connection costs as little $16 per month in Sweden and $24 per month in Korea.  Meanwhile, service only half as fast costs $145 per month in the U.S.

Here’s a not-so-pretty picture from CNet News and the Communications Workers of America:

The US trails other nations in internet speeds

The US trails other nations in internet speeds

So, South Korea is among the leaders.  I’ve already taken an extremely indirect route to my point, so here’s a quick sampling of their many achievements in communication technology:

This leadership also comes with problems.  As illustrated in Frontline’s Digital Nation series, internet addiction among Korean teens and 20-somethings is a serious problem.  Kin to a young person falling off the face of the earth for a few days on a heroin bender, they disappear for great lengths into video games and virtual worlds by way of high-speed internet cafes (PC Bangs).

Now … a completely new low:

In Virtual Reality, No Child is Left Behind - by Greg Garvey

In Virtual Reality, No Child is Left Behind - by Greg Garvey

Here it is: a South Korean couple let their 3-month-old girl die of starvation, neglecting her in favor of raising a virtual child in a nearby internet cafe.  The real infant was fed once a day between “marathon sessions” in a “fantasy role-playing game.”  According to a police officer, the couple “seemed to have lost their will to live a normal life because they didn’t have jobs and gave birth to a premature baby.  They indulged themselves in the online game of raising a virtual character so as to escape from reality, which led to the death of their real baby.”

Isolated incident or microcosmic glance into the fallout of racing into all things high-speed, digital and virtual?  I think it’s more the former, but with overtones of the latter.  Regardless, this is a new low at high speed.

I’ve blown over a huge topic area on this one.  A few personal notes:

  • I spent much time as a child playing Atari, Intellivision, Colecovision and Nintendo (NES, 8-bit)
  • I find new technology interesting, exciting and challenging; I’m not an early adopter
  • To say that I strongly favor the real over the virtual is an understatement of high order
  • I’d probably be a Luddite if not for the fact that I help feed, clothe and house my family by working in marketing
  • I simply cannot afford to wake up ignorant of trends and opportunities presented by technology

Hopefully, these outrageous stories will give us pause before our perpetual hurtling into tomorrow at high-speed continues.

Note: “In Virtual Reality No Child is Left Behind” (image above) was created by artist Greg Garvey, whose digital work can be seen here.

What CNN Can Learn from The Daily Show

April 12, 2010 /

I’ve never been a regular viewer of The Daily Show; we’ve not been cable or satellite subscribers in years.  Since I fanned the show on Facebook, however, I’ve seen one or two episodes a week – embedded right in my news feed.

Observation: the show does a fantastic job of calling out politicians and pundits for changing positions and for all-purpose disingenuousness.

Here’s a recent example:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
Say Anything
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

In this clip, Jon Stewart sends up John McCain for suggesting he never though of himself as a “maverick” in an interview with Newsweek magazine.  McCain was begging for this parody; this is the same guy who ran a Presidential campaign ad in 2008 called “The Original Mavericks” and rode around in “The Straight Talk Express.”

Stewart runs through a list of stands on which McCain has doubled back.  Among them:  Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy, redistribution of wealth, intolerance, tax cuts, torture, cap and trade, the deficit, the Confederate flag and others.  To illustrate the first three position changes, Stewart tees up clearly sourced and date-stamped video clips – in the first, McCain takes a position and in the second, McCain contradicts that position.

In his rant on how ridiculous the “never considered myself a maverick” statement is, Stewart refers briefly to his regular modus operandi – tossing to a montage of clips in which the subject talks out of both sides of his or her mouth, generally for political expediency.  In this case, he decides the montage is unnecessary because of how embedded the “maverick” concept is in McCain’s persona.

These montages are a standard tool for the show – and they’re powerful.  They’re smart and useful.  They’re simultaneously hilarious and disheartening.

Regrettably, they’re also partisan, which limits their range and effect.  Michael Steele and the RNC lesbian bondage club incident provided days of fantastic material.  Whether it’s highlighting “ramming-cramming-jamming down our throats” health care debate talking points or using crowd shots from a wholly different event to make a Tea Party look bigger, Fox News is practically a constant stream of content ripe for Daily Show montages.  In contrast, there was a recent segment called “Tenacious O,” which lauds Obama’s incredible accomplishments … what can’t he do … does he ever sleep … “even Jesus rested on Sundays.”  Note: it was quite hilarious with an 80’s themed Obama-Biden montage in the middle.

Under the cover of satire and parody, Jon Stewart and The Daily Show call people out and hold them up for public review.  Scoff at this programming as simple entertainment at your peril; its reach and influence are strong … and young.  Fox News is paying attention (see end of clip).

The “watchdog” is a valuable function in service to an informed voting public.  Fact checking and credibility metering tend to be the province of smaller outfits.  Few large, mainstream media outlets have the willingness or ability to take on double speak so openly, aside from the seasonal reviews of political ads.

While there are many solid news organizations that tackle difficult and complex situations year-round, including corruption, waste and fraud, most outlets tend simply to pick up and cast wide the day’s sound bites and talking points.  If those words contradict what the same source said previously, there’s no criticism or even awareness.  We frequently get rote regurgitation … content providers playing friendly to stay friends and retain access to sources.

Idea: this could be a direction for CNN, who’s getting beaten very badly by both far-right Fox News and far-left MSNBC.  The original cable news network and current ratings laggard, CNN seems to want to hold the high ground with the guise of objectivity, distance and non-partisanship.

CNN, may I kindly recommend devoting some resources to drawing attention to politicians’ and pundits’ double speak, hypocrisies, flip flops and other sleights?

It won’t be as funny as The Daily Show, but it could have more range and broader effect.  It might also be sufficiently entertaining to help your ratings and revenue.

« Older posts Newer posts »

Posts by Category

© 2024 ethanbeute

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑