I don’t usually embed video into my blog posts (and here’s the link in case something snafus), but Stephen Colbert’s interview with Obsessive Branding Disorder author Lucas Conley the other night was classic.
Takeaway for marketers: Just watch!
Do people really hate Vista? Or have they simply bought into the idea that Vista sucks?
Ars Technica reports on the Mojave Experiment , a Microsoft initiative to try and scrub the stink off of Vista. It’s a tried-and-true piece of marketing welded to one of the snappiest chunks of Flash you’ll see this year.
Well, this is an interesting addition to the conversation about music piracy.
Takeaway for marketers: Are you weighing the costs and benefits of control or scale?
I recently had to (yet again!) replace an iPod that crapped out on me. There they were: 160 gigs of music and movies and podcasts and games, unavailable behind the dreaded red X — which I’ve seen far more often this year than the dreaded Blue Screen of Death .
So when I received an email from Apple asking me to provide feedback on my Apple Store experience, I was happy to comply. Please to enjoy my response to their open-ended comments question:
(1) “Genius Bar” is SUCH a blitheringly snotty and pretentious bit of nomenclature, as is “Head Genius” on the business card of the gentleman who helped me. Unless you’re Einstein or Stephen Hawking, “genius” should NOT be used to refer to a customer service drone. Puh-leeeze.
(2) The ONLY reason I received service at all was because I threw a complete fit about having spent 4-1/2 hours in the car before arriving at the Apple store, only to be told I’d have to come back TWO DAYS LATER to handle a five-minute warranty replacement of my iPod (the third iPod I’ve had to replace in less than a year — how about making some more reliable products?)
(3) The Apple Store I was in would not have been as crowded if not for masses of people dealing with iPhone troubles (once again: how about making some more reliable products?)
I’ve been a PC guy forever, and every time I consider going over to Apple, I have some sort of issue with my iPod that takes me into the store, where I’m reminded that I’d rather deal with the hassles of Vista than the pretensions of Mac fanboys.
Not that all Mac users are pretentious fanboys. Hey, some of my best friends use Macs. But … well, you know what I mean.
We’re entering the dog days of August, traditionally a time for muggy weather, back-to-school shopping, absurdity in political campaigns and some of the greatest news stories you’ll ever see.
Like this one about the Montauk Monster posted over at National Post.
With the Weekly World News no longer publishing, thank goodness we have the Web, Newsday and blogging to keep stories like this alive.
Happy August!
