Mike Billeter (.com)

The Blue Man Group, Dr. Tobias Fünke & Me

2012-02-23T12:34:00.007-06:00

I love Arrested Development. For a lot of people who know me, that’s not news by any means. In fact, I love it so much that I’m recording a podcast about it with my friend Miles Rausch (and his “Hey, Brother” Bryce).

But for as much as I love Arrested Development, there are facets of the show that I can only appreciate from a distance. One such facet is Dr. Tobias Fünke’s desperate attempt to serve as an understudy for the Blue Man Group. Even though I know about the Blue Man Group, I really have no direct experience with them other than knowing they paint themselves blue (much better than Tobias does) and play awesome music on instruments made of PVC pipe and whatnot.

Fortunately, because of my cooler-than-me wife, my non-experience with the Blue Man Group came to a glorious end last weekend. Blue Man Group was in Springfield on February 18th and Lindsie and I were right there in the front (actually more like 300th) row, enjoying the spectacle that is a Blue Man Group performance.

While I’m not sure I’d pay another $28 each for our seats, which were about 10 rows back in the very top balcony, I will say that the Blue Man Group puts on a really entertaining, crowd-engaging performance that ended up being a lot of fun. For not saying a single word throughout the entire performance, they’re pretty funny. And listening to them play classic rock and pop covers on xylophones made of PVC pipe was nothing short of awesome. In fact, I’d probably pay more to see an entire concert of just that, but I have a feeling that won’t be in the cards anytime soon.

All that is to say, I now have a better idea of why Tobias is so desperate to become a Blue Man and, thanks to my wife, I find Arrested Development even funnier than I found it before. Which is an incredibly impressive accomplishment.

Best of all, my wife had a local clothing store print up the shirt you see up at the top of this post basically overnight. For all of you (sad, empty) non-Arrested Development fans, that’s Dr. Fünke himself, as a Blue Man on a blue shirt. Pretty funny, and cool of my wife to get that taken care of with only 36-48 hours to make it happen.

That’s all I’ve got. I’ll have more info on that podcast I mentioned later on (as far as when it’ll go live, etc.). If you haven’t checked out the Blue Man Group, it’s a fun performance. If you haven’t checked out Arrested Development, it’s an incredibly funny show that is absolutely deserving of your attention.

Thanks to my wife for a fun night and a funny set of matching shirts.

-Mike

Why I'm Excited for the New Spider-Man Movie

2012-02-07T10:10:00.006-06:00

The new Spider-Man movie, The Amazing Spider-Man, comes out on July 3rd. And based on the new trailer, I'm pretty excited.

Some people are wondering why they'd already be rebooting the Spider-Man franchise when the previous trilogy just ended a few years ago. The first, most obvious reason is money. They'll make money off of it, so to the movie studio people, it's worth doing.

The second reason is that, right now, the superhero movie boom is still alive and kicking. In another 3-5 years, things might settle back down. People might eventually get tired of seeing superheroes in capes and tights running around beating up bad guys and making witty puns and quips, but the superhero movie genre still has life left in it - hence, a Spider-Man reboot.

To be completely honest, I'm most excited because this new franchise doesn't star Tobey Maguire. I don't know a ton about Andrew Garfield (other than the fact that he played Mark Zuckerburg's taken-advantage-of friend in The Social Network), but I do know that just the scene where he's catching the car-jacker is funnier than ANY line from the original three Spider-Man movies.

And that's important to me. Because in the comic books, Spider-Man is a funny, funny superhero. Like, laugh out loud funny when he's written well. And in the original movies, Tobey Maguire was about as funny/witty as a wall. He got the "nerdy" Peter Parker persona down pretty well, but Spider-Man has always been a two-sided coin. Nerdy Peter Parker disappears when the mask goes on, and witty Spider-Man takes over. In fact, part of the reason it's so important is because one of Spider-Man's strategies with a number of his villains is to mock them and talk trash to them in order to distract and frustrate them. It takes them out of their rhythm and he eventually wins the fight as a result of the villain making a mistake out of frustration.

Instead, throughout three Spider-Man films, we had to listen to Tobey Maguire's nasal-y, whiny voice as he got tossed around by every bad guy he fought, barely surviving every fight. If it weren't for Spider-Man 2, I don't know if I would've really enjoyed any of the films from that franchise - and I'm a HUGE Spider-Man fan (although, I'll admit, the series' target audience might not have been those lifelong fans who would be more opinionated than the average moviegoer).

Either way, this new franchise looks to be really well done. The cinematography looks gorgeous and the whole movie just feels grittier and realer. I mean, Spider-Man lives in (and fights crime in) New York City. It's not exactly the land of sunshine and smiles all the time.

I'm excited. I guess that's what it comes down to.

New Opportunities, Once Again

2012-01-23T18:05:00.007-06:00

After five truly enjoyable months as the Temporary Web Content Editor at Evangel University, my tenure at EU has finally run its course. Thankfully I wasn't fired or anything bad like that; the woman I was filling in for temporarily just happened to come back from maternity leave.

As such, I'm now looking for work in the Springfield, Missouri area. Getting my foot in the door of the creative community here in Springfield hasn't been quite as easy as I'd hoped it would be, but that doesn't mean I'll be giving up trying anytime soon. I'd love to connect with the right agency, shop or firm looking for a skilled copywriter/digital media strategist/account strategist/any other fitting-enough job description-ist, so hopefully I'll be able to have some successful outreach here moving forward.

Until then, I'll be actively pushing people to my favorite little gem of a website, www.HireMikeBilleter.com and hoping they like what they see there. I know I like what I see there, but I'm probably biased.

If you are reading this and happen to know of any open opportunities (either in Springfield or just telecommuting), please don't hesitate to drop me a line and let me know. I'm interested in a wide variety of industries and subjects, so I really wouldn't be opposed to any new opportunities.

Thanks for your support, everybody. I look forward to throwing some less serious, more humorous/inspiring content on this blog soon.

-Mike

P.S. - Before I forget, I just wanted to say that working for Evangel here in Springfield was a really awesome experience. Just an entire college campus full of goodhearted people with a strong, Christian foundation. If there was a spot for me there, I'm sure I would've stuck around longer, but alas, 'twas not to be at this time.

Photo by photologue_np.

One of Many Reasons I Love "The Princess Bride"

2011-10-26T19:55:00.011-05:00

The Princess Bride is one of my all-time favorite movies. Probably a Top 5 All-Time movie for me, if not Top 3. Which is funny, because I spent about two years as a kid telling my mom I'd "never want to watch a stupid movie about princesses" before she finally thought to explain to me that André the Giant was in it. At that point, I figured it had to be at least kind of awesome.

Anyway, I could write an entire blog post (and maybe someday will) about how much I love The Princess Bride. The older I've gotten, the more I've grown to appreciate every single line of witty and humorous dialogue and every single facet of its timelessness and beauty. And that's me trying to sum up my love for it succinctly.

Anyway, Entertainment Weekly did some "reunion photo," which sparked an outpouring of Princess Bride fans asking for more than just a photo. So they released this "Oral History" where they talked with the film's director, the writer of the original novel, and most of the cast involved in the film. It's definitely worth the read, but I wanted to highlight one of my favorite things from the story/article/whatever it is.

It comes from Mandy Patinkin, who played Inigo Montoya, the man who spoke the now semi-famous line, "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." This excerpt from the EW story gives a good look at why the cast members from The Princess Bride were able to make such a magical film.

PATINKIN: Not a day goes by where somebody doesn’t come up and ask, “Can you say the line?” And I say it with the greatest joy in the world. I’ll often whisper it into a little kid’s ear so he’s not looking at my face, so he just hears my voice, because I don’t want to mess up the magic.

Isn't that fantastic? I've read so many stories and Wikipedia entries about actors who hate when people constantly bring up a single line or single scene from their careers, and here's Mandy Patinkin, grateful that people are so enamored with that character and that film. AND he goes out of his way to make it a magical experience for Princess Bride fans of all ages. Just fantastic.

Anyway, I love The Princess Bride. If you haven't seen it before, I'm not sure there's a single movie I'd more strongly recommend that you watch.

-Mike

Photo comes from the official Princess Bride website.

The Power of Passing

2011-10-07T13:46:00.004-05:00

Larry Bird was an incredible basketball player. There's not really any other way to say it.

Rather than ramble on about his various accolades and skills, I'm just going to focus on one thing for now: as good as Larry Bird was at scoring LOTS of points, he was also an unbelievably skilled passer.

Proof:

Watching this video led me to the realization that, sometimes, being the guy who makes the perfect pass at the right time can be just as effective as being the guy who scores the points.

I'm not sure exactly what that means in the business sense, but I do know there are lots of people in this world who are phenomenal passers but don't see how much value they bring to the table on a daily basis. I guess this is my way of saying that, if you're the kind of person who thrives on making the pass that leads to the big play, do that and do it as best as you can. And enjoy it.

Every big-time scorer needs someone to get him/her the ball. There's nothing wrong with being the person who sets people up for success. Especially when you end up on the winning team.

There's my cheesy inspiration for the day. Happy Friday.

The Incredible Mr. Flowers

2011-09-27T13:42:00.003-05:00

My friend Joey Ryan (and his band, the Inks) have a new video for their awesome song "The Incredible Mr. Flowers." The video is LEGO stop-motion animation, so you already know it'll be a fun one.

Enjoy, and feel free to share the video/song with any and all of your friends who appreciate good music. In fact, go ahead and share it with your friends who don't appreciate good music too. Who knows? Maybe this will help them start appreciating it...

Oh, and more info on Mr. Ryan and his Inks can be found at JoeyRyanAndTheInks.com. Happy listening!

Jobs, Dogs and Movies

2011-09-03T12:06:00.009-05:00

Now that we’ve officially settled in Missouri, I’ve got exciting news – I have a job! I recently started working with Evangel University (where Lindsie has just started grad school) as a Web Content and Marketing coordinator. It’s a temporary position as of now because I’m filling in for a gal who’s heading out on maternity leave, but it’s a fun opportunity and it’s been a blast so far.

From writing new commercials to working on website changes, I’ve pretty much had to dive in without even time to take a breath, but it’s been a wonderful experience and I couldn’t be more happy with the way things are going.

Also, the movie I’ve been helping to do some work on, Dust of War, is making some fantastic progress. They’ve added some stellar actors and they’re having a lot of fun on set from what it sounds like. The Facebook page is alive and kickin’ with over 1,200 fans now, and we’ve set up a Kickstarter push in order to raise the last bit of money Dust of War needs to finish the film out strong. Feel free to check it out if you want to be a part of a fun, independent, South Dakota film. (And don’t mind the dead body in the beginning of Andrew’s video…it’s just for show.)

That’s just a small update for now, but it’s nice to check in and let you know what’s going on.

Also, I’m starting to get along with my wife’s dog now. Soooo, taking all Mayan calendar predictions and hurricanes/earthquakes into consideration, that still might be the most blatant sign that the end is near.

Happy Labor Day weekend, everybody!

P.S. - My wife took that really awesome photo above. It's of Evangel's clock tower in the middle of campus. Pretty sweet, right?

Moving Time!

2011-08-11T11:19:00.004-05:00

It’s official. Lindsie and I are now residents of Springfield, MO and it has been great so far. Because we have about 4,000 things to do now that we’re officially moved and situated, this will be a short and simple update.

First things first, we have gotten all of our stuff into our sweet 3-bedroom duplex. We have some awesome neighbors who are both extremely friendly and extremely quiet, which is an fantastic combo in my and Lindsie’s books. And because we’re now in a sweet 3-bedroom duplex, we have room for everything and we can actually move around without bumping into each other. It’s great.

Springfield has been a wonderful town/community so far. I don’t think I’ve met a single rude person since we’ve been here and everyone seems to be generally helpful and excited to have us here. Not that Sioux Falls wasn’t pleasant or anything, it’s just nice to be a part of a community that has welcomed us so readily from the start. It’s kind of surprising how much of an impact that vibe can have on newly-arrived residents like us.

All in all, we’re sad to be out of Sioux Falls. It was a GREAT place to live for 7 years and it deserves a better post than this (which I’m sure it will get here sooner than later), but we’re excited to be in Springfield now and we’re excited to see what adventures unfold from here on out.

Anyway, I’ll post more info soon. For now it’s back to unpacking, organizing, re-organizing what I failed to organize correctly the first time and taking a little time to take a deep breath and figure out life in Springfield.

Photo by Doug Wertman.

Unbelievable Feedback for HireMikeBilleter.com

2011-07-26T10:55:00.011-05:00

Wow. So Jill Callison from the Argus Leader wrote an unbelievably awesome story (now archived, unfortunately) on me and HireMikeBilleter.com and the response I've gotten from everyone (friends, family, random people) has just been fantastic. Can't express how thankful I am for all of the encouragement and positivity.

Now I just need to make sure that positivity turns into a job down in Springfield. One step at a time. Thanks again, everyone (especially Jill)! And don't forget to check out the story she wrote by clicking here.

Doing Something Different

2011-07-22T09:33:00.004-05:00

In a few weeks, Lindsie (my wife) and I will be moving to Springfield, MO. Some of you might know this already and some of you might not. For those of you that didn't know.... surprise!

One of the biggest challenges we're facing right now is getting jobs. We have a place to live, thankfully, but we also need to be able to pay for that place to live. Weird how that works.

In the hopes of getting a job, I wanted to do more than just send my résumé to a bunch of places. A mass blanketing of a Microsoft Word document résumé isn't the worst possible way to apply for a job, but it's certainly not the best. Especially in an industry like marketing, where creativity is pretty important.

And thus was born www.HireMikeBilleter.com, a site that I'm hoping potential employers will see as a more creative way to share my work experience, social network activity, work/writing samples and references/recommendations.

So if you read this blog and happen to know anybody in the Springfield, Missouri area that might be hiring at the moment, feel free to send them a link to HireMikeBilleter.com (and don't be afraid to mention how much you like me).

Anyway, if you're able to help I appreciate it. If you're not able to help, I still appreciate you reading this blog and I appreciate that you're probably an all around good person.

Happy Friday!

-Mike

Why Clarity Is Key

2011-07-12T17:30:00.000-05:00

This post was originally written for my work blog over at ADwërks, so I thought I'd share it here too. Enjoy!

My wife and I recently made a road trip down to Springfield, Missouri. Unfortunately, we left from Sioux Falls around 8:00 pm. And it’s a 9+ hour drive.

The night we left, we ran into a problem. To make a long story short, some misplaced and incorrectly-marked detour signs added about 50 minutes to our already-9-hour drive. And since this all took place around midnight, our options for getting help were extremely limited (and I’m not even the stereotypical, never-asks-for-directions male that is portrayed in every travel-related movie).

All it would’ve taken was one or two more clearly marked signs. A few guideposts to ensure that we were on the right path. But there we were, wondering why the detour signs for I-29 S were pointing BOTH directions at a T-intersection.

However, even amidst all of the intense frustration and confusion, I realized that this scenario fits perfectly in the business world. Because, when it comes to sharing your message with your customers, it’s amazing how much a little extra clarity can do. Whether it’s encouraging them to pay for your product or service or simply asking them to support you on Facebook, giving your target audience clear, defined ways to accomplish a goal is essential.

If your Facebook page isn’t growing as quickly as you’d like, have you considered adding a “Like” button for your page on your company website? If your online sales are down, have you been sure to include a prominently displayed “Buy Now” (or similarly-messaged) button on your site? Small guideposts can make a big difference when it comes to keeping your customers on the right path.

Eventually we found our way, but it would’ve been much easier if things were clear the first time around. Make sure your customers aren’t suffering the same fate my wife and I suffered on our road trip. I can tell you from personal experience that clarity is, in fact, key.

-Mike B.

Childhood... and Captain America

2011-06-24T09:06:00.009-05:00

I've been a fan of Captain America since childhood. I was a fan of him at a time when almost every other comic book fan my age was obsessed with Spider-Man and the X-Men. I was even Captain America for Halloween in 3rd or 4th grade. My mom made an UNBELIEVABLY awesome costume simply from looking at one of my Captain America toys and putting something together from scratch. She's so skilled it's scary.

All in all, I'm a fan of Captain America. In fact, I probably rented the AWFUL (seriously...awful) 1990 Captain America movie (if you can call it that) a dozen times growing up.

Needless to say, I have been increasingly excited about the upcoming (and slightly higher budget) Captain America: The First Avenger film that Marvel will release in a few short weeks. And while I was happy to see one of my all-time favorite heroes getting his own feature film, I was a little concerned that, from the look of the early trailers, it might not be what I was hoping it would be (especially with the recent success of the Iron Man and Thor films).

Then I saw this trailer. And I was suddenly reassured that everything would be ok. And if that scene from the 0:32 to about 0:51 mark doesn't almost bring a tear to your eye, then you're tougher than I am.

I'll be there opening weekend. Hope to see you there too.

Fighting The Flood in Pierre, SD

2011-06-07T11:33:00.004-05:00

As someone who lives in Sioux Falls, SD, I've mostly only been indirectly affected by the intense flooding happening in the central part of the state (specifically Pierre and Fort Pierre). One of the ways I've been indirectly affected comes as a result of my friendship with Andrew Kightlinger, who is directing a movie called Dust of War. The movie itself will be filmed in Pierre, and that means they will inevitably be affected by this flood. And since I'm helping him a little bit with the movie, I'm affected by the flood.

Here's a great video from Andrew giving a tiny DoW update and then mostly focusing on some fantastic video footage of how residents of Pierre are coming together to fight this flood. It's amazing what people can do when they unite to fight a common problem that is affecting all of them. Definitely inspiring stuff.

I know I'm getting crazy with two updates in a row. Hopefully I can keep up this frenetic pace (or at least get back to once-a-week at most). Thanks for watching the video, and don't be afraid to pass it along to others. The more people who get a chance to see how great South Dakotans are when they work together, the better.

Thanks again!

-Mike

How To Create Amazing Stuff

2011-06-06T11:14:00.004-05:00

My former professor (and, I'm confident in saying, friend) Julia Pachoud Bennett posted this on Facebook and I very much thought it was worth sharing. Definitely has inspired me to share a bit more of my writing with confidence rather than reluctance. I hope it manages to move you to do something amazing as well...

So...what amazing stuff are you going to do? Leave a comment and let me know.

-Mike

The Trouble With Baby Names

2011-04-20T22:18:00.009-05:00

My wife and I are not expecting a baby anytime soon. In fact, we plan to wait at least a few years before we have a baby at all. This is a good thing.

But, for reasons I will never understand, my wife and I get into one specific baby-related argument on an almost-weekly basis. You may be wondering how, as two people who are both in agreement on the baby status of this marriage, my wife and I have baby-related arguments so often.

The answer lies in a name.

Or rather, the lack of a name. You see, my wife (the woman I’ve committed my life to and would die for without a second thought), seems to think it’s important that we not only discuss baby names for our minimum-of-two-to-three-years-away-from-being-born baby, but also that we decide on a baby name for our minimum-of-two-to-three-years-away-from-being-born baby.

Unfortunately, the names she prefers are names that I have NO desire to name my son or daughter. At all. Not because I dislike the names by themselves, but because most of the time I have weird connections with the names that leave me not wanting them for a baby name.

As a result, we fight about baby names. A lot. To the extent that I believe I’ve committed to at least 3-4 baby names I will never allow simply because I’m hoping that, two and a half years from now, my wife will have forgotten that name and moved on to the next name I don’t really care for.

My point is this: If you’re reading this Sir Jude Jonah Billeter or Amelia Ramona Eleanora Billeter, I’m sorry. Your mother won. I got tired of fighting her on the names and just let her pick all of them at once. Just remember, I was ready to name you something cool like Malachi or Xavier.

Of course, there’s no reason I can’t call you that anyway. Isn’t that right, Malachi?

Have any of you had this… “discussion”… with your husband or wife before? Did you come to an agreement, or are you still duking it out for naming rights? Let me know so I don’t feel like I’m alone on this island of bickering. And love. Bickering and love.

Photo by Alan O'Rourke. Thanks Alan!

"You Don't Know Bertha Constantine" (But You Should...)

2011-01-21T15:44:00.005-06:00

Hey everyone. It has been a little while since I’ve written on here, but I’m back in action with exciting news (and possibly a request).

A friend of mine named Andrew Kightlinger is a director. Someday he will be a big time, super famous director. But right now he’s a “setting the foundation for an extremely successful career” director and his film “You Don’t Know Bertha Constantine” is going to play a HUGE role in that foundation-setting.

I personally am excited about this film for many reasons.

The concept is unbelievable, which is why it has already won “Best New Screenplay” at the Newport International Film Festival and “Best Original Screenplay” at the Honolulu Film Festival.

The actors are fantastic (and one of them, Julia Pachoud Bennett, is my former professor at Augie, which is extra awesome).

As I’ve already mentioned, Andrew is extremely talented.

Now Andrew is trying to raise the final $5,000 he needs to finalize the film and send it out for other film festivals and stuff. And he is wisely using Kickstarter to help him finalize the whole thing.

My request is that you at least click over to his Kickstarter page, check out what he has to say and check out the sweet stuff you get if you donate. If you feel compelled, give money (whatever amount you please). If you don’t feel moved enough to give money, at least consider spreading the word. Whether it’s a tweet or a Facebook post or anything else you can think of, I know both Andrew and I would appreciate it.

To be clear, I have no direct association with this film other than a friendship with Andrew and the desire to see someone who is chasing his dreams find success. If you guys are down with that, your support is appreciated too.

I’ve linked to the Kickstarter page a few times in this post already, but here’s the embedded Kickstarter as well:

Also, if you have any interest in interviewing Andrew or anything like that for a blog or news story or anything at all, leave a comment to let me know and I'll connect you with him.

Thanks everyone!

-Mike B.

Conversations With My Wife, v1

2010-11-11T09:07:00.003-06:00

Me: "You know what's weird?"

Her: "What?"

Me: "Superman fights for truth, justice and the American way...but he's not even American."

Her: (Blank stare)

Me: "In fact, really...he's not even human..."

Her: (Blank stare)

Nothing like a good philosophical debate before bed. Poor woman. Why she let herself get into this mess, I'll never understand...

Photo (Superman) by Katherine Johnson. Thanks Katherine!

Do Your Ads Have A Purpose (Or Are They Just Filler Text)?

2010-09-22T09:35:00.000-05:00

Another blog post I originally wrote for the ADwërks blog, but wanted to share on my personal site too. Hope you like it.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua…

Be honest. You thought we screwed up, right? You thought maybe one of us ADwërkers blew it and accidentally posted filler text in place of a thought-provoking, world-changing blog post.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but it was intentional. We wanted to demonstrate a point. If the copy, content or ads you produce do so little to inspire movement or ignite passion that they might as well be filler text, then it’s time to consider a stronger approach to your messaging strategy.

To be clear, this isn’t a matter of copywriting. It’s not a simple question of “does this ad get someone’s attention?” It’s a matter of whether or not your marketing reflects your company’s unique qualities and aspects.

If you’re a banker, think about your bank’s latest newspaper ad. Now think about that same ad with a rival bank’s logo placed over yours. Would anybody (besides you) know the difference? If you’re in the auto repair business, would anybody notice if your radio spot had a different shop’s name voiced over your shop’s name? If the answer to either question is no, then you have a problem.

Because if the ads you run are simply filler text like lorem ipsum, it’s time you consider a new approach. One that gets to the core of your business and shows the world what makes you unique. One that shows people the aspects of your business that none of your competitors can copy.

There’s a reason we at ADwërks emphasize handcrafted marketing as our calling card. Because in this day and age, if it’s not unique, it’s not going to be noticed.

And if it doesn’t get noticed, it might as well just be filler text.

-Mike B.

Photo by Mårten Björk. Thanks Mårten!

How Do You Make A Good Offer GREAT?

2010-09-13T11:30:00.001-05:00

I originally wrote this post for the ADwërks work blog, but figured you guys might find it interesting too. Hope you like it!

Bed Bath & Beyond is smart. Sneaky smart, even. Here’s why.

This weekend, Bed Bath & Beyond held a special “Bridal Registry Wrap-up Party.” The purpose? Recently married couples could get 20% off the gifts on their bridal registry that nobody had given them at their wedding.

Naturally, my wife and I circled the items we “needed” and headed in to clean house and show Bed Bath & Beyond we meant business. But when we arrived, the Bed Bath & Beyond folks hit us with a double-whammy that lit our eyes up like a Christmas tree (and ultimately proved how in control they were all along)…

“You can actually get 20% off of EVERYTHING in the store today.”

Wait…what? Everything? Even if it’s not on the registry? Like…everything?

Yep. Everything. Thankfully, my wife isn’t a wasteful shopper, but we still ended up with numerous items in our cart that were never on our registry (like a new electric razor for me…jackpot). All because Bed Bath & Beyond gave the right offer to the right (target) market.

Think about it: a select niche of shoppers was already in a buying mindset and had fresh wedding money to spend. By expanding the 20% discount to every item in the store, Bed Bath & Beyond ensured that guests of the “party” (snacks and door prizes included) would grab at least a few items they may have never purchased or would have purchased somewhere else at a lower price.

By making their good offer great, Bed Bath & Beyond saw loads of overflowing carts pass through their checkout lines – with little more than a carefully disguised 20% off coupon.

The question is, what are you offering right now that, with a little planning and focused targeting, could take your offer beyond just “good?” Let us know in the comments below. And if you don’t have any ideas, give the crew here at ADwërks a call. We can definitely help you figure it out.

-Mike B.

P.S. – Always be careful in the Beyond section at BB&B…

Photo b y Rob Young. Thanks Rob!

Driving brand management (in the real world)

2010-09-07T10:00:00.002-05:00

I originally wrote this post for my work blog at ADwërks, but also wanted to share it here on my personal blog. Enjoy!

Imagine a perfect Saturday afternoon. You’re driving down the street when you look in your rearview mirror and discover that, seemingly out of nowhere, a large pickup truck is riding your tail and isn’t letting up.

Your blood boils. You’re already going the speed limit. In fact, you might even be going a few miles per hour over the speed limit. You think, “Why is this idiot so desperate to get past me?” Then you get over to let them pass and, as they speed by, you notice an “Anderson Construction” or “Jackson Bros. Plumbing” logo along the side of the truck. And you think to yourself, “Well I’m never using THOSE jerks in the future.”

Unfortunately, that’s what happened to me last weekend. Odds are you’ve experienced the same at least once or twice in your life.

As a business owner or manager, can you really afford to have drivers leaving such a negative impression of your business on potential customers? Of course not. But, for some reason, it happens more than it ever should as far as I’m concerned.

In an era where business owners are increasingly concerned about the next “viral campaign” or “engaging” on their Facebook page, maybe they should remember to train their employees on reputation management in other important markets like, you know, real life.

I know everybody can have a bad day and people are people, but if you’re going to slap your logo on the side of a truck and let employees drive it around town, remind them that they are no longer Johnny Anonymous. They represent your business now, and, unless your business doesn’t care for new customers, they should probably drive like it.

Think of it this way: A little bit of brand management from the start will do a lot to keep your employees from driving me crazy – and driving me away from your business.

-Mike B.

How about you: have you dealt with similarly frustrating experiences? As a business owner, have you trained your employees to represent your brand with class and professionalism? Let us know your thoughts on either question in the comments below.

Photo c/o nick@. Thanks Nick!

Tupac: The Thug That Danced Ballet

2010-07-26T11:22:00.007-05:00

When most people think of rapper Tupac Shakur, the first thing they think about is his music. His hard-hitting lyrics opened people’s eyes and ears to the perils and predicaments that inner city youth face on a daily basis in the U.S. by appealing to both the mainstream music world as well as the streets he represented through his music.

The second thing people think about when they hear the name Tupac (or 2pac) is his life as a “thug.” From the “Thug Life” tattoo across his stomach to a prison sentence to the drive-by shooting that took his life, Shakur firmly planted himself in history as someone who would be forever respected as a gangster and revered as a visionary in the rap industry.

What most people have never heard is that Shakur spent three years of his youth enrolled in the Baltimore School for the Arts, “where he studied acting, poetry, jazz, and ballet. He performed in Shakespeare plays, and in the role of the Mouse King in The Nutcracker.” That’s according to Wikipedia, but I also wrote a 22 page paper on Tupac in college and found that info in about a dozen other resources.

Which brings me to my point. On one hand, you have an idolized, revered and respected rapper who universalized the Thug Life mantra by which he lived. On the other hand, you have a gifted student of the arts who ultimately aspired to act in major films (as he had begun to do before his murder) rather than rap and who had not only studied jazz and poetry, but had even danced ballet in The Nutcracker. Upon first glance, it would seem there’s a major disconnect between the two.

While plenty of concepts could be discussed in this overview – don’t judge a book by its cover, the importance of image and branding, etc. – the one I’m going to focus on is this: behind every great and noteworthy personality lies another layer (or 3) that we may never have realized existed. It is within those deeper layers that the greatest people of a generation find their separation from "normal" society. It is more than a book and the pages inside the cover. The intangible details are the fibers that make up the paper itself.

With Tupac, the cover of his book was “Thug Life” and what that lifestyle entailed (danger, street respect, fearlessness). The pages themselves were his upbringing in the arts and his ability to convert a performer’s passion into an image that he went out and lived every day. The sinewy fibers of Tupac’s deeper layers were the fascination, respect and adoration for fine arts (which few people ever grow to love so wholeheartedly) as well as his ability to turn that fascination into a constant quest to prove and improve himself on a personal, internal level that the public never saw.

The question I have for you is this: What is the substance that makes up your pages? What do your sinewy fibers consist of? What is the focus of your heart that the outside world rarely, if ever, gets a glimpse of? If you don’t know, do some soul searching and find out. And then let me know in the comments if you’re willing to share.

My Word Is On The Line...

2010-07-23T14:47:00.008-05:00

Here's the deal: If there's one thing my thousands dozens of online friends, blog readers and Twitter followers know, it's that my taste in music is incomparable and that my opinions of music might as well be recorded as fact rather than personal belief.

Ok, that was two things.

Regardless, I like to tell myself that people appreciate my opinion of "good" vs. "garbage" music.

I'm not a huge fan of mainstream music, so I often tend to listen to musicians who, in my opinion, have talent but will need some time to improve. Sometimes these musicians reach mainstream status (for example, I first started telling people to listen to the rapper Wale in the summer of '07... which isn't that early, but early by South Dakota's standards). Other times, these musicians simply become one-song wonders, floating aimlessly through the void of my 14,000+ song iPod.

One rapper I've been talking about for awhile now is Add-2, a rapper from Chicago. I first started listening to him after he connected with me on Twitter (that story can be read here...) around Christmas of '08 and I was telling people they should be listening to him about 2 days after I gave his mixtape, "A Tale of Two's City, Vol. 2" a thorough listen. Since then, I've talked with him quite a bit on Twitter, shared his music with everyone I can, and actually do consider him a "friend" (at least in the sense of connecting from South Dakota to Chicago through Twitter on a semi-regular basis).

One of the reasons I respect Add-2 so much is because he's one of the few rappers I've listened to who has found the difficult-to-find balance of clever, witty punchlines and serious and enlightening insight on heavy topics and issues. Whether he's discussing a date that gets out of control (with hilarious results) in "Locker Room Stories" or taking an introspective look at the issues facing the youth of inner-city Chicago in "Chicago Kids," Add-2 shatters the stereotype of what most people consider to be "mainstream" rap. You won't find much "money, cars, clothes" from Add because that's not where his head is. He's focused on better things and bigger dreams. As he puts it in his fantasticly retrospective "Starter Jacket," "I hope the game don't change me, when I change the game."

Which brings us to the point of my post. Sometime in the near future, Add-2 will be releasing "Tale of Two's City, Vol. 4: Better Days." I don't believe I have heard a single song off of this effort, but I will put my firmly-established and nationally-respected musical reputation on the line when I say that "Better Days" will be an all-around fantastic album. I will be surprised, if not shocked, if this album isn't the last one Add-2 makes before a major label locks in a record deal with him (if he chooses to go that route).

So there you have it. I give you my word that this album, when it does come out, will be worth your valuable time. Mostly if you're a rap fan, but probably even if you aren't a rap fan. For now, I'll connect you to Add-2's MySpace page so you can sample some of his stuff for yourself.

Enjoy.

P.S. - I'll throw in two of my favorites from Add below. The first is called Superman. I advise you to stick around 'til the 3rd verse. That's when things get crazy. The second is the afore mentioned "Starter Jacket."

Here's "Starter Jacket"

My Writing...

2010-07-21T09:35:00.010-05:00

Well everybody, I'm about 10 days away from my wedding. If I could accurately describe how excited I am, I'd try. Unfortuantely, at this point, that would be a pretty fruitless effort. We'll just say I'm jacked beyond belief.

I realized that, after the wedding is over, I will have much more "free time" than I've had the past three months. Because when you are trying to pull off an elaborate wedding with only three months to plan it, you don't really have much free time.

I have decided to invest a much larger portion of this free time into my personal writing. For which reasons, I'm not yet entirely sure. I partially want to collect my poetry and a short story or two into a small book that I'd sell at what I believe to be a fairly low cost. I partially want to write a book that couples my writing with my future wife's excellent photography skills. And I partially want to work for Marvel Comics in some capacity in the next few years and, whether I'm an editor or a writer, I will need to have demonstrated a skill set in the craft of writing.

I have written a few short stories at this point, but the one I've probably worked hardest on is currently languishing in my computer's back alleys of folders and files. If I know you and you have ANY interest whatsoever in reading this short story (titled "Little Lucy"), leave a comment with your contact info and I'll most likely send it your way. I'm beyond the fear of sharing what I write (which is a good start), but haven't determined the best platform/avenue for sharing it with larger groups of people. For now, I'll share it through this blog and see if other people are interested from there.

As a warning, "Little Lucy" is by no means a pleasant story to read. It's pretty violent, pretty graphic, and somewhat terrifying. Just ask Hugh Weber. He's read it. He was...caught off guard. He swears the title character was based on his daughter. That's only 5-10% true though.

Like I said, leave a comment or hit me up some other way (email: mike.billeter at gmail.com, Twitter: @mikebilleter, etc.) and I'll most likely share it with you. However, if I don't know you and have never heard of you, I might not share it. Since it's not published yet, I'd rather wait to share it with complete strangers until I've had a chance to get it published somewhere online or in print.

Thanks everybody. Expect more writing (and personal thoughts) on this blog soon.

-Mike

Photo ("Shadow of a Writing Hand") c/o john norton. Thanks john!

On The Loss Of Innocence...

2010-07-15T14:32:00.013-05:00

I don't believe I've shared this poem on my blog yet, so I thought I'd throw it on here. I hope this kicks off a consistent return to my favorite blog written by me. The poem was written for a writing group. The topic was the cosmos. This is what I came up with. Some of you may have read this awhile back when I linked to it on Twitter. If that's the case, feel free to skip this post. Either way, I'd love to hear your feedback if you feel like sharing. Just leave a comment below. Thanks.

Twinkle, Twinkle...

The time was such a simpler one
when "Twinkle, Twinkle" had songs begun...
And up above our spirits ran,
or sometimes flew, with Peter Pan.
Straight on til morning, to Neverland,
imaginations never banned.

But somehow in that sad affair,
of growing up, we left back there
our "how I wonder what you are."
And traded it for dates and cars
and jobs and beer and cheap cigars,
And science to explain these "stars."

And as a grown man, full of days,
too old to be once more amazed,
tears well up in my faded eyes.
Oh, "how I wonder" why I cry.
To know that innocence has died
and been replaced with Wisdom's pride...

And weeping softly, 'neath the black
expanse above my porch out back,
my voice sings out, though not quite far,
a song, long buried in my heart...
"Twinkle, twinkle little star,
how I wonder what you are..."

Photo ("Milky Way and Shooting Star") c/o Andrew Curtis. Thanks Andrew!

Creative Music Video-ing

2010-05-19T09:16:00.004-05:00

My friend Joey Ryan and his band, the Inks, have decided to record and upload a new video of them playing their songs at various, cool locations every week. Simple, creative and (I'm assuming) pretty cheap, this first video definitely shows a fun side of the band and their ability to make great music without the need for stages, amps and sound systems.

Love what they did here and I'm definitely looking forward to the next one.

P.S. - This first video took place in the North Tower of the historical Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota.

Know Your Audience

2010-05-14T11:00:00.001-05:00

I originally wrote this post for my work blog at ADwërks. Wanted to share it on here as well.

Yesterday, the graphically-talented Mike Hay and I were brainstorming and concepting for a client’s magazine ad we needed to create.

We spent about five minutes discussing cool ad concepts, fun design possibilities and creative, punchy copy that would stand out from the rest of the ads.

And then we came to a realization. We were creating an ad in a style we would like to see in a magazine. Unfortunately, we were not the magazine’s target audience. Once we realized that, our entire creative process shifted and we came up with an ad that was much more fitting for what we – and more importantly, what the client – wanted to accomplish.

As marketers, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking about what we do or don’t like to see. We watch commercials that annoy us and we vow never to make a commercial like those. We see billboards that appall us and we promise ourselves we’ll never make a billboard like that.

In short, we think of how we want to be marketed to rather than how the target audience should be marketed to.

Remember: As advertisers, we are not marketing to each other. We get paid to help our clients reach the customers that love (or will love) our clients’ products and services.

Personal opinions and viewpoints are essential to coming up with new and exciting ways to reach a target audience – just make sure you really are trying to reach the target audience and not your fellow marketers.

-Mike B.

How about you? Ever created the “perfect” ad only to discover it really wasn’t “perfect” for the intended audience? Can you think of any national campaign efforts that failed miserably at reaching the target market? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Photo ("our chunk of audience at the heretic") c/o Jhayne. Thanks!

My Brother, The Rapper

2010-05-12T16:10:00.003-05:00

Sometimes you spend your whole life unintentionally influencing your little brother. Eventually you realize that he often likes the video games you like, he often likes the humor you like, he often likes the TV shows and movies you like...

And sometimes he even likes the music you like.

I'm not saying I helped create the legend that will someday be K. Billz...but I'm not saying I didn't either. Ladies and gentlemen of the Internet, I give you...

"Nugget Tuesday"

Why Sherlock Holmes Would Have Been A Great Marketer

2010-05-04T15:30:00.003-05:00

This post originally appeared on my work blog at ADwërks, but I wanted to post it on here as well. Enjoy!

I watched Sherlock Holmes this past weekend and it led me to an eye-opening realization about marketing and advertising.For those of you who don’t know who Sherlock Holmes is, here’s Wikipedia to the rescue. Basically, he’s one of the world’s most widely recognized fictional detectives, he’s eccentric but brilliant, and he uses sound logic and deductive reasoning to solve seemingly-impossible to solve cases.

In the movie, they base Holmes’s ability to solve a case on the various “clues” he sees that most people would never notice. He recognizes a woman was previously engaged due to the small tan line around her finger. He deduces that a certain individual is a professor based on some chalk remnants near his collar.

The important thing to remember is this: NONE of the clues he finds are hidden. They certainly aren’t noticeable to the casual observer, but they aren’t hidden or invisible. The difference between Sherlock Holmes and the casual observer is that Holmes is always looking for clues.

So, as a marketer, are you Sherlock Holmes for your clients, or are you just a casual observer?

• A casually observing marketer runs a billboard for a client’s new product or service because “that’s just what we’ve always done.”
• A Sherlock Holmes marketer gathers clues by conducting marketing research which can lead to better, more informed decisions for the marketing campaign.

• A casually observing marketer simply reviews his or her client’s website analytics and sends a weekly report on Friday afternoon.
• A Sherlock Holmes marketer labors over each facet of a website’s analytics in order to best determine areas of improvement that could make the site even stronger.

• A casually observing marketer tells a client to “get on Twitter” so the client can send links to its website and keep its followers up to date on sales and promotions.
• A Sherlock Holmes marketer uses logic to help the client determine if social networking is the right path to take. Then the Sherlock Holmes marketer deduces how a client can best connect with customers to strengthen relationships, establish brand loyalty and inspire movements.

These are just a few examples of how digging a little deeper for your clients can produce great work and, more importantly, build a stronger relationship with your clients and their customers. Remember, the only way you can pick up on clues that will help you improve your work is by always looking for clues that will help you improve your work.

It truly is elementary, my dear Watson.

-Mike B.

Do you do work with the careful eye of Sherlock Holmes? Do you have any examples to share of a time when you went from casually observing to digging for clues and finding success like Sherlock Holmes? Do you think Robert Downey Jr. was as awesome in Sherlock Holmes as he was in Iron Man? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

Photo ("Sherlock Holmes Statue") c/o shining.darkness. Thanks!

On Engagements

2010-04-26T12:38:00.006-05:00

After not-quite-five months of dating Lindsie Page, I decided I needed to marry her.

The truth is that, after not-quite-two months of dating Lindsie Page, I was pretty sure I was going to marry her. So waiting three more months was tough. Worthwhile and wonderful, but tough.

So this past Sunday, I did what any disgustingly-in-love man would do in my situation: I proposed to this lindsie girl (she prefers her name in lower-case, by the way). The proposal involved a love poem/letter, a walk through a gorgeous park, that love poem/letter hidden on a bridge (lindsie’s favorite), a beautiful sapphire and diamond ring and a tear-filled head nod of “Yes” in response to a very important question.

It was perfect.

Now the beautiful @lindsielynette and I have basically 3 months to plan and flawlessly execute a fun, exciting, and unique wedding. No problem, right?

Well, we’ll be grinding away on it (and enjoying each other’s company throughout the process), but it will be hard and it will be time consuming. And it will be completely, completely worth it.

Now, as a writer and as a blogger, I should be writing this in-depth, poetic description of my feelings and emotions as the leaves of my life change color yet again (kind of like I referred to in my last post). But I’m going to save that for later. For now I’ve got a wedding to help plan and a woman to be in love with while I help plan it.

I’ll be back with more soon, so for now I would just ask that you say some prayers that we are able to pull this wedding off in a way that fulfills both lindsie’s and my hopes and dreams. I have plenty of faith that God will get us there exactly how he wants to, but a prayer or two from you guys probably wouldn’t hurt.

Thanks for everyone who has congratulated me so far and I look forward to updating you all as we go. For now, happy Monday, and I hope you all have a great week.

-Mike

Changing Times

2010-04-16T09:09:00.004-05:00

I thought about starting this post with a super cheesy intro. Something along the lines of “As the seasons change, so changes life…”

Then I realized that was dumb, so I decided to just write the post instead.

Recently, my life has changed. I have left my former place of employment (Deep Bench) and have taken on a role at a different Sioux Falls marketing and advertising shop called ADwërks. My Deep Bench departure is on completely amicable terms and there’s no bad blood or anything, but I needed a change and ADwërks came to the rescue.

I’m excited for what I will be doing here, which is continuing on my path of writing (traditional copy, web copy, blog posts, notes that I think are funny but the rest of the office probably finds idiotic, etc.), social media and content strategy, and perhaps even a little bit of account coordinating while I’m at it. Although the work is temporary as of now, I think it will be a great test for me to see if I really know what I’m doing in this wonderful industry we call marketing.

Lately, between my relationship with my girlfriend and some rediscovery (or maybe just regular discovery) of my faith, I’ve really felt more compelled than ever to treat every day as a gift from God and an opportunity to work hard and show that I have some value to offer this world.

Where it goes from here is still uncertain, but the feeling I have right now certainly feels right. With my feet back on solid ground again (for now), I intend to get myself refocused in lots of areas. One of them will be in writing consistently. It’s possible I will be publishing a book of poetry/short stories, which should be extremely exciting. And if it doesn’t happen, I’ll keep writing anyway and probably try to share more of it here on the blog. I hope you are looking forward to it as much as I am.

Hope you are all are doing well, and I’ll be back with more soon.

Expecting Seuss...

2010-03-02T10:30:00.003-06:00

I’m not going to lie. I was really excited when I heard it was Dr. Seuss’s birthday. I was all ready to head over to Google and see what Seussian shenanigans they used to incorporate the Cat in the Hat and Cindy Lou Who into the Google logo (I mean, Cindy Lou Who Goo…gle. It’s too perfect…).

So imagine my excitement when, upon my arrival, I saw this:

Oh wait. Did I say “my excitement” up there? I meant to say my disappointment.

I guess the question is this: Is my expectation that Google will celebrate fun birthdays and holidays with clever logo designs merited? Is it fair that what once started as a fun (and usually rare) switch for Google has now become an expectation in my mind?

That’s pretty much all I want to know from you. I’m interested in the concept of something going from a pleasant surprise to an expectation that leads to letdowns.

It’s nice when you give your significant other backrubs. But when you give them every night and then decide to stop, is it fair for your significant other to be let down by the change? If your boss is nice enough to let you leave work every Friday at 4:00 instead of 5:00 and you come to expect that, is it fair to be upset when he asks you to stay until 5:00 a few months down the road?

When does a bonus become an expectation? Is there a solution for avoiding this scenario besides “don’t do something enough to let it become an expectation?”

I think it’s an interesting question. If you have any thoughts, I’d love to hear them in the comments. Or, if you’d prefer it, tell me your favorite Dr. Seuss story instead. Both or either is fine with me. I’ll make sure not to “expect” anything either way.

Why I Like Old Spice

2010-02-20T11:11:00.006-06:00

Yes, Old Spice is one of the few brands that actually makes me want to buy its products based on completely nonsensical commercials that I find hilarious. Seriously, 9 out of 10 times I don't buy a product based at all on its marketing. Sometimes I go so far as to NOT buy a product because of its marketing.

For example, I will never buy jewelry from Jared because when I hear "He went to Jared," I immediately turn the channel and punish the network running the ad by not turning it back for 30 minutes.

I'm completely serious.

Anyway, here's the Old Spice ad that, once again, I thoroughly enjoyed. I didn't laugh out loud, but the very end almost got me. I probably would have laughed out loud if I'd been around people, but you know how that goes...

Why I Love Basketball

2010-02-15T11:45:00.005-06:00

So this is the buzzer beater that the Augustana Men's Basketball team (the team my dad coaches) won on last Saturday night (2-13-10) after coming back from being down 16 with 5 minutes left. Unbelievable shot from Cameron McCaffrey - who had 17 of his 29 points in the last 3:29 of the game - and an unbelievable game overall.

Are You On Your Grind?

2010-02-11T13:28:00.007-06:00

I find inspiration in various places. Sometimes it comes from blog posts written by my peers. Sometimes it comes from reading great business (or, for that matter, fiction) books. And sometimes it comes from music.

One place I didn’t expect to find inspiration is in the intro track to rapper Killer Mike’s independent album “I Pledge Allegiance To The Grind, Pt. II.” On most rap albums, intro tracks are filled with self-promotion and self-adulation. But Mike (or Mike Bigga as he’s now going by), takes a different approach with his intro track. And I think it speaks not only to me, but to anyone who listens to the record.

(Please note: I’m going to paraphrase and censor/edit some of his words from the intro so you feel the power behind them without having to read a few more profanities than most of my blog posts contain.)

For the most part, here are the important elements of what Mike says in the intro:

“You see the grind believes in you because we know you believe in us, therefore we don’t BS you. I want to see whoever’s buying this record win and do great things. But the only way you’re going to do that is if you get up off your butt and you get in the act of DOING something.

You can NEVER lead if you only follow. If you sit around and you look at people and you wait for them to give you permission to do something great, you will NEVER do ANYTHING. So get up brothers. Get out on your grind.

Your work ethic will determine your worth, meaning whatever you get is determined by how hard you work to get it. There is nothing that can stop you from achieving whatever it is you want to achieve. And I want you to let our Pledge Allegiance To The Grind Part II be the soundtrack to your success.”

Keep in mind that Mike has an inspiringly commanding voice (both when speaking and when rapping) and you can tell that these words are strictly from the heart.

How he’s unique as a rapper is that, although he was signed to a major label and released a successful first record, he didn’t feel that career path would help him reach the goals he wanted to accomplish in his career. So he left his label to go back to his independent “grind” of making everything happen for himself, from album creation to promotion to every other facet of a music career.

So when you hear these words from Mike, you realize that he’s not just inspiring fans (or supporters, because, as he puts it, “if you’re familiar with the grind you know we don’t have fans, we only have supporters") to listen to his music. He’s inspiring them to work hard enough to change their lives.

He’s not saying they should listen to his music. He’s saying that he wants his album to be the soundtrack to their SUCCESS. Every track on the album is meant to push and inspire people to work harder. This album isn't a collection of songs. It's motivation to improve your life.

The point is that Killer Mike takes his inspirational words and hits his listeners in the gut with them right out of the gate. And you know they come from the heart because he’s gone through everything he tells them they’ll need to go through to reach success.

So what can we learn from this? Be inspirational to others. Let your life story be an example for others to follow. And if you don’t think it can be, do something to make it so. If you want to be remembered for anything, you have to do something worth remembering.

You have that chance to do that now. Today. Go do it.

P.S. – Here’s a link to the intro track. As a warning to you, there is profanity. Strong profanity. You’ve been warned.

Breathe

2010-01-27T14:02:00.005-06:00

Sometimes things change. Our worlds flip a little bit. Or just get harder. Or whatever.

We just start thinking too much. About everything. And, amidst all that chaos (which isn’t really chaos…it’s mostly just chaos we create in our minds) we forget to stop thinking for a minute. We forget to breathe.

That’s why I love the Alexi Murdoch song embedded above. As the chorus puts it,

So don't forget to breathe
Don't forget to breathe
Your whole life is here
No eleventh hour reprieve
So don't forget to breathe

Keep your head above water
But don't forget to breathe

We may keep our heads above water. Whether we’re frantically kicking and thrashing or calmly treading water, we can keep our heads up. But if we forget to breathe, then it doesn’t matter if our head is above water or not.

This world can drown us in much more than water.

Don’t let it. Spend a minute today taking a deep breath. Maybe take two. Just stop thinking for a moment.

And the next time you’re upset or confused or frustrated or panicked or lost, don’t forget to breathe.

A new direction, I guess...

2010-01-27T10:53:00.005-06:00

I'm in a strange place with my writing. I find that I rarely have the time I'd like to dedicate to my writing efforts. But I also know that I'll never improve if I don't make a habit of it. I've decided to try a new experiment over at a second blog I've started at www.mikebilleter.wordpress.com.

It's just a basic template and I don't intend to fancy it up until I decide if I like the direction in which it's heading. For now, I'll leave this site as Mike Billeter.com. I will be trying to post more content here again in the upcoming days, weeks, months and years, but it's possible my attentions will shift over to the other site depending on how it develops.

It's also possible that I'll want to scrap this site and jump to posterous or something similar for the sake of simplicity. I guess I just don't know at this point. I have many things going on in my head (for example, I'd love to keep this site as mikebilleter.com, but I can't stand Blogger's structure and usability after getting so used to Wordpress in recent months), and I'm trying to organize all of those things in my head right now.

For now, I think this blog will become a strange combination of work-related content (which people might not care much for) and personal content (things I find funny, poems I write, life contemplations, etc.) until I find a better way to clear all of this up.

I hope you enjoy the content that begins to show up again on mikebilleter.com. If you don't, I apologize and I'm open to any comments/suggestions/ideas as far as what you WOULD like to see from me on here.

Thanks for your patience, and I hope I don't let you down. All 2 or 3 of you.

-Mikey

Auto-Tune Cute Kids and Kanye

2009-11-11T00:27:00.003-06:00

Yes, yes and yes.

Oh...you want to make the Kanye or Charlie Bit Me sections into your ringtone? Great. Go here: http://thegregorybrothers.com/

Don't thank me. Thank the Gregory Brothers.

Am I missing something?

2009-10-20T17:25:00.010-05:00

Sooo...a few months ago the world went insane with the whole "swine flu" chaos. Twitter trending topics and Egypt's "Bacon Elimination" solution incited a mindset that H1N1 would bring about the apocalypse or Ragnarök or whatever other "end of the world" scenario you care to imagine.

Then, it wasn't that bad.

Cool. Awesome. Pigs won't kill us all. Life will go on.

But it's now Tuesday, October 20th, and I feel like I've read 2400 tweets in the last 2 weeks about H1N1. And nobody is panicking at all.

I'm seeing tweets about schools closing in Sioux Falls. I'm hearing about percentages of college students expected to come down with it in the next few weeks/months.

And we're basically just LOLing it off like it's not even happening.

I'm just curious as to what brought about the fairly drastic change of heart. I'm all about NOT getting worked up for things (mostly because forced panic is really off-putting). I just don't get how the entire world went crazy with swine flu fears a few months ago when almost NOTHING was happening, and now that way more people are coming down with H1N1, everyone's ho-hum about it like people are simply stubbing their toes or biting their cheeks.

To be clear, I'm all about making light of serious (or non-serious) issues whenever possible. Sometimes it's just necessary to maintain some sanity. As one of my favorite rappers, Gift of Gab, puts it, "life is insane, so insanity is a sane life." (I recognize that quote's not entirely fitting, but I think it's an awesome line and I wanted to include it.)

Regardless, I'm just looking for opinions on why this whole situation seems to be so trivial now when H1N1 actually does seem to be detrimentally affecting society at the moment. Is it simply because we now know people don't die instantly or turn into pigs and there's no reason to panic? Or is it just something people aren't taking seriously enough (and probably should)? I'm going with the former, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Image c/o bfishadow.

What Stan Lee's done for the comics industry...

2009-10-08T13:17:00.005-05:00

Comic Vine is running a contest to win a signed Stan Lee iPod. I'm not sure why he signed an iPod rather than something way more awesome like a picture of one of his characters or something, but I guess (unfortunately) something like an iPod would get more people to sign up and submit than something not as (technically) valuable as a signed image of one of his characters (for that matter, I'd even take a signed picture of him). Needless to say, anything signed by Stan Lee is better than not anything signed by Stan Lee.

That said, the submission requires a text or video description of what Stan Lee has done for the comics industry. Although text is typically my forté (much more so than video), I felt passionate enough about this one to throw it in video form. Hopefully it's not completely awful.

Anyway, here's my opinion of what Stan Lee has done for the comics industry. It goes a bit deeper than his list of characters he created/co-created or the list of important issues he wrote or cartoons he helped develop. It's much more than that. Here goes something...

Those are my thoughts. Hopefully Comic Vine agrees with me and sees my point. Because it's more than characters and comics...it's passion and community shining through in ways that had never been seen. To me, that's a lot more valuable, and it's why the comic book industry is what it is today.

As Stan would say (much, much better than I ever could)... "EXCELSIOR!"

Pepsi To Cease All Advertising... Now What?

2009-09-29T14:03:00.004-05:00

Did you hear the news? Pepsi is putting an end to all of its advertising and marketing forever. No more movie product placements, no more billboards and no more commercials. And with no mention of a social media budget, they are basically shattering not only the traditional media stigma, but every stigma known to the marketing and advertising industry.

Ok. So that’s not entirely accurate. Though a crazy concept, that idea simply comes from the ever-satirical (and never serious) online newspaper, The Onion. The “news” story can be found here and is worth reading in its entirety, but, for now, it has inspired a serious discussion in the Deep Bench office and we’d love to hear your take on it.

What WOULD happen if Pepsi pulled its entire, $1.3 billion (yes, BILLION) marketing budget and stopped running ads? Would their sales and profits plummet to depths not even Alvin could reach in search of the Titanic? Would Pepsi’s sales merely remain consistent or only slightly below where they were before? Or would sales, by some strange phenomenon, skyrocket (and steadily maintain that skyrocketed…ness)?

The questions are nearly mind-boggling. In the event that sales plummeted, would companies increase their marketing/advertising budgets after seeing how important marketing is? If Pepsi’s sales remained the same as they’ve been, would companies take note and cut off high budget media buys and traditional media efforts knowing the sales don’t drop?

Other questions could also be discussed. Would social media fall into the $1.3 billion budget cut or would Pepsi be able to aim an unprecedented and unparalleled focus at the social media space? What chaos would that incite? Would it finally be an opportunity for PR pros to earn their proper respect by demonstrating the true power of weapons like free media coverage and word-of-mouth efforts?

Or would Pepsi simply fall off the face of the earth entirely, left to suffer the fates of OK Soda and Pepsi’s gone-but-never-forgotten offspring, Crystal Pepsi?

What do you think? Weigh in with your thoughts in the comments below or join the discussion on our Facebook page. The topic is a fascinating one to us and we’d love to hear your insight on the concept.

Photo by laverrue.

This post was written by me and originally appeared on my work blog at www.thedeepbench.com.

Awesome look at AT&T's (accurate) predictions of the future...from 1993...

2009-09-24T11:41:00.000-05:00

via core77.com

AT&T had some pretty solid foresight as to what the future would look like. Although, as Marvel's Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada worded it on Twitter, "ATT predicts the future with remarkable accuracy 16 years ago, doesn't predict lousy coverage." So they do still have that issue to overcome.

This also reminds us of a post we did back in March (http://j.mp/1bIh5i) on Microsoft's vision for what they can achieve by 2019. As accurate as AT&T was with these predictions, hopefully Microsoft can pull it off too. Because Microsoft's predicted future looks amazing.

This post was originally posted by me on my work Posterous account at http://www.deepbench.posterous.com/.

AMAZING Photos From the Hubble Space Telescope

2009-09-10T14:35:00.008-05:00

These pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope (or whatever its proper name is) are stunning. Therefore, I recommend you take a look at them. I'll also post one of the many brilliant and gorgeous images that you can click to get to the rest of the photos. They're all worth viewing. Fo realz. Enjoy...

Good Morning...

2009-09-04T12:57:00.003-05:00

Don't know how many haters I actually have, but I love the sound and general message of this one from Cham.

I'll take a tattoo of a Captain America's shield – just for a week...

2009-08-26T15:48:00.002-05:00

The questions to this plink are as follows: If I could get any tattoo for just a week, what would it be? Where would it be? Would you consider getting it permanently?

It's a good question. And I'm happy with my answer.

It's funny this is brought up, mostly because I thought about a tattoo no less than half an hour ago. Fact is, I'd never get one. Not that I have ANY problem with those who do, I just have no desire to do so. At all.

However, if I HAD to get a tattoo for just a week (or permanently), I'd get a very small replica of Captain America's shield, similar to the one in the included image. Captain America has always been a long-standing hero of mine and the shield symbolizes so much more (both personally and pop culturally) than so many options I could choose to slap on my body.

As to where I'd place it...that's a good question. I'd probably want to go with one of my pectoral muscles. That way, I wouldn't see it all the time or all day, but when I did see it, I'd stop and think about why it's there.

In my head and my heart (and the heads and hearts of many others), Captain America's shield is a sign of strength, courage, bravery, pride, and a true adoration for this country and what those before us have have done to fight for our freedom.

It's powerful. And all of that symbolism can be encapsulated in one small, striped shield with a star in the middle.

That's what I'd go with.

Are You Making The Most Of Now?

2009-08-24T09:42:00.003-05:00

A few months ago I came across a song that made me stop and think. It’s not the greatest song ever, and it’s not the deepest song ever, but it has some thought-provoking lines and an upbeat tune, and sometimes that’s all it takes to rock my world.

Watch (or just listen to) this video. After that, I’ve got a question for you.

SUCH A TIME

My question is this: Do you make the most of every day?

In the first verse, Adams states,

“Some make it happen and they make the most, and some get shot down, forced to close…as long as I’ve got this breath to breathe, I’ve gotta get to livin’ my legacy…”

When you get to work on a Friday, is the above thought your mindset? Or is it simply a matter of “only a few more hours until the weekend?” When Monday rolls around, do you walk in the door to “live your legacy,” or are you simply hoping to survive the week?

The song’s title is “Such A Time.” The chorus simply states, “For such a time as this…right here, for such a time…”

This is a time when anybody with a blog or a Twitter account can change the world. So…will you take advantage of such a time as this, or simply spend your life “surviving each week?”

“Sometimes I feel like I’m doomed, I wanna give up, wanna go home soon… I lose my faith and jump off the track, don’t wanna wait I’d rather overreact now… Think ‘bout the next man and his joys and prize, and lose my voice and forfeit my pride…render me useless in a world of wax, but deep down I know I’m not all about that, no.”

I'm not really all about that either. How about you?

What do you do to keep your excitement and passion high? Is it the clients you work with, the projects you undertake, or simply the people you interact with on a daily basis? I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback, so leave a comment below or hit me up on Twitter.

NOTE: This post was originally posted on my work blog at www.thedeepbench.com.

-Mike

Via Plinky: What I just found in my backyard that I'm so excited about...(though 'tis only a dream...)

2009-08-18T12:50:00.001-05:00

My latest plink on a prompt that took me about 1.2 seconds to answer and needed no revisions whatsoever. My happiness and joy in its purest form, with no hesitation.

Marvel comic books. Old ones. From the 60s and 70s. A whole stash of them, buried in some kids 7th grade time capsule and clearly long-since forgotten. It's filled with various copies of early Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and Avengers comics from a time when comics were pure and characters were being shaped and molded into the eternally-living icons they have now become. Heroes at a time when the world needed heroes, and humans at a time when heroes needed a touch of humanity. The wonder and awe of my childhood wrapped into the yellowing pages of modern mythology.

They may not be metal themselves, but I'm glad that kid left them in a metal container. Good work, little metal detector...

Fascinating Story: "The Amazing! Incredible! Uncanny Oral History of Marvel Comics"

2009-08-17T17:36:00.007-05:00

It should be no surprise whatsoever that I love Marvel Comics. I do. Very much. I believe I've made that apparent over the past two or three years, both on this blog and on Twitter.

That said, this story/article/oral history of Marvel Comics is fascinating to me. I first came across it via Ryan Penagos (@Agent_M on Twitter), but it's certainly worth the read if you A) like comic books or B) enjoy reading the history of a company that rose to greatness, fell into bankruptcy and internal strife and disruption and rose from the ashes (like it's own Phoenix character), as told by the creators and editors that lived it themselves.

Tons of great quotes, but two of my favorites are here (from article writer Sean T. Collins)...

"While artists like Kirby and Steve Ditko added personal style and psychedelic flourishes to Lee’s soap-operatic stories, Lee became an in-demand speaker on campuses and a fixture in the comics’ letters column, painting Marvel as one big, happy family fans were welcome to join."

...and this (not necessarily good quote) from Executive Editor Tom Brevoort about Marvel at its peak...

"Everyone had expense accounts. Christmas parties became decadent affairs—the
hotel in Grand Central Station, big ice sculptures of Spider-Man, crazy DJs in a
control room like Professor X. It was an insane spectacle of excess."

The story does a great job of reflecting both the good and the bad, and it's seriously worth reading.

Here's the link one more time. Enjoy: http://www.maxim.com/humor/stupid-fun/83588/amazing-incredible-uncanny-oral-history-marvel-comics.html?p=1

On a final note, here's my favorite recent comic book image. It's a cover from an upcoming Captain America comic by Leinil Yu...

Do you find solutions (or just complain about problems)?

2009-08-07T17:44:00.006-05:00

I used to live in College Station, Texas. I now live in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Consequently, I don’t often run into old friends up here in Sioux Falls. So when my friend from College Station said his roommate’s band was playing in Sioux Falls and he was going to travel up with them, my excitement grew.

As a result, I ended up at Nutty’s North on Wednesday night to hang out with my long-lost friend and hear his roommate’s band (Flawless Escape…which was awesome) and a more nationally-renowned band called Flyleaf (which also rocked).

And then I realized something. I’m a hypocrite.

I often find myself complaining that I don’t particularly feel like there’s a “lot of stuff to do” in Sioux Falls. That, after having lived in larger “college towns,” the Sioux Falls landscape isn’t really aimed at engaging the 18-24 year old demographic in which I currently fall. That I wish I were in a city like Minneapolis or another place full of ways to have fun.

Here’s the hypocrisy: I’m not trying to change things. I’m not trying to make a difference. I’m simply complaining about a situation I’m fully capable of changing/adjusting. It’s just easier not to.

How often do we as marketing and social media strategists fall into that trap? How often do we complain that “We could do that campaign so much better!” or ask ourselves “What were they thinking when they made that ad?”

But do we follow that up by going out and changing things? Do we ever step up and say, “Their campaign is awful…let’s show them how we can do it better!”?

Because, until we’ve done that, we’re all just being hypocrites.

I mentioned earlier that I went to a concert Wednesday night. I’ll openly admit that I would have NEVER gone to the show if my buddy wouldn’t have been in town. But, while I may complain about a “lack of ways to have fun,” it’s obvious that this city has plenty of opportunities to provide for a fun night. It’s just a matter of whether I choose to whine about the limitations or choose to take advantage of (or create) those opportunities.

Learn from my mistake. Don’t be a hypocrite. Come up with solutions rather than complaints. That’s when change happens. That’s when we up the ante and transform the industry in a positive way.

And that freakin’ rocks.

How about you? Have you seen opportunities to improve (rather than complain) and then taken advantage of those opportunities? Have you done something fun lately that you had never done before and care to recommend it? Disagree with the post entirely? Let me know by leaving a comment below or hitting me up on Twitter.

-Mike

P.S. - Here's some video footage from Flawless Escape's performance at Nutty's North (straight killing it, fo sho)...

P.P.S. - That sick photo is by Barry Dolton.

P.P.P.S. - This post, written by me, was originally posted on my work blog at Deep Bench.

Impossible Captcha

2009-08-06T10:22:00.004-05:00

Can anybody tell me what the first word in this Captcha is? Because...seriously...

This is one that just came up for me on Facebook about 3 minutes ago. Like I said...seriously?

Latest Plink: Why 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' was kind of a letdown...

2009-08-03T15:05:00.001-05:00

Here's my latest Plink. It's on a topic I don't frequently discuss/judge/critique, but I wanted to answer the question. If you disagree, let me know. I'd love to chat about it. Leave me a comment or hit me up on Twitter at @mikebilleter. Anyway, here's the "movie that disappointed me"...

I'd come to expect a lot from the Indiana Jones series. The originals were some of the first "adult-themed" movies that my parents let me watch as a kid, so I've always had fond memories of borrowing my dad's VHS tapes and watching the movies over and over. The airplane propeller scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark is forever ingrained in my memory.

I also loved the Temple of Doom (even though many people don't) because it just ended up being the one I watched the most. Monkey brains, voodoo dolls, fire pits...it was as intense as any 8 year old could handle. I loved that.

Then when I heard they were making a new one, I was skeptical but excited. I'm by no means a film snob, so if there's action and some humor and some fun, it's hard for me not to be happy with it. Coming from a comic book nerd, you take your lumps as far as "bad movies" (Daredevil...which I didn't even hate, but lots of people did) and "good movies" (Iron Man, Incredible Hulk) go. I've come to expect that sense of needing to suspend belief so that, even if the movie is fantastical and unrealistic in the grand scheme of things, it can still be enjoyable.

But...watching guinea pig-sized ants and Caddyshack-esque gophers communicate like characters from a Disney/Pixar film and watching Indiana Jones survive a nuclear blast after being launched through the air at breakneck speeds in a 1950s REFRIGERATOR was just too much for me to handle.

I'm aware that voodoo dolls and arks full of demonic spirits that melt Nazi's faces off are by no means realistic, but at least the old films had the benefit of my childhood awe and mystification to help make them fun.

This one just seemed forced and paled in comparison to my hopeful expectations. I can only suspend disbelief so much (I mean...I actually enjoyed "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer"), but this one just pushed me too far in the off-put direction.

So, I'm certainly no film critic, but that's my response to this Plinky prompt. Sorry George Lucas and Steven Spielberg...I'm sure you're both crushed. I would be too.

Sioux Falls: A Creative Scene Poised for National Success?

2009-07-16T09:30:00.007-05:00

Have you ever been to Sioux Falls, South Dakota?

If you haven't, you're missing out.

Let me repeat that. If you haven't been to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, you're missing out.

Let's back this up a bit. In a New York Times story Sunday (July 12, 2009), the Times talked about the thriving creative community of Minneapolis and their efforts to unite a large number of their creative agencies in order to better highlight the creative talent Minneapolis features. Another interesting element to this movement is the fact that they are also going to emphasize this newfound unity in a website called "MinneADpolis, the City of Advertising" (http://www.minneadpolis.com/).

That's all information you can get from the Times story, so read that when you have a chance. But there's more to it than just the fact that they're working together to make things happen...

Minneapolis is tired of being overlooked as a hot spot and hub for the creative marketing, advertising and PR industry. There are numerous worldwide agencies located in Minneapolis producing great work every single day (and plenty of smaller shops creating equally impressive work, locally and nationally). Frankly, many of these agencies feel they are getting glossed over by people assuming the only good creative work comes out of New York, California and Chicago.

Now that's all fine and good. City pride, pride in local work and agencies, etc. Sure that's important. But what's more important is this:

They're actually DOING something about it.

Keep in mind, this isn't some happy-go-lucky, "we're all friends here" realm of rainbows and sunshine. These are all companies who directly compete for local clients as well as national and worldwide clients. Whether it's the larger firms going for larger clients across the country or the smaller agencies who are aiming high for those same large clients (as well as smaller, local clients), these 27 squads certainly have a reason to ruthlessly fight for every client they can get.

But they also recognize that connecting and working together will do more for their own agencies, their regional advertising and creative community, and the city of Minneapolis as a whole than they can achieve trying to scrap it out as individuals against NYC, Chi-Town, Cali and other major advertising markets.

Will there be problems? Probably. Will there be substantial success in the long run? Most likely. Is the creative community of Minneapolis attempting to do something that could change the game for "smaller" creative communities across the nation?

Yes.

Which brings us back to the beginning.

Sioux Falls is a fantastic place. Not only did CNN rank Sioux Falls as the 45th Best Place to Live and Launch in 2009 (citing that "it costs an estimated 45% less to open a business here than in New York"), but it's also been named Forbes' #1 "Best Small Place For Business And Careers"... FIVE years in a row (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009).

More importantly, between the stellar freelance community and strong presence of talented agencies, Sioux Falls is home to some of the most creative minds in this country (not region...country). I know I'm a little biased, but I genuinely believe there is an overwhelming number of extremely talented creative people who could do amazing work for major companies nationwide if given the opportunity. Yes, that was a ton of adjectives. They were all sincere.

So what's the point? Well, as we in this region know, the Sioux Falls creative community is a competitive community. We want to do the best work for the best people and companies here. We want to do great campaigns for the biggest clients on the eastern side of the state, the western side of the state and everywhere in between.

I just wonder, if we work together a little bit more, whether we could be doing great campaigns for the biggest clients in the country.

Do I think we'll be forming a "South DakotAD" group tomorrow and have national clients pour in by the dozens? No.

But we here at Deep Bench are willing to get the bus rolling now. Drop us a line if you want to come along for the ride and help us make our great creative community even greater.

After all...I did say that if you haven't been to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, you're missing out. It's up to us to make the rest of the world realize how true that is.

What do you think? Does Sioux Falls have a chance to become a national hub of creative work from creative agencies? Are we destined to forever be considered a "smaller market" compared to other major cities? Share your thoughts below in the comments, on Twitter, or on Facebook.

(Note: This post was originally posted on my work blog at http://www.thedeepbench.com/.

Photos by jennlynndesign.

Requirement #1 for a good day: Waking up

2009-07-16T09:03:00.001-05:00

Here's a list of my requirements for a good day. It's short and sweet and awesome.

Waking up
That's all it takes. After I wake up, I have it within myself to make the rest of it a good day or not. I typically choose to do that. Make it a good day, that is. I don't exactly choose to wake up.

(Optional) Listen to music
My iPod is basically a prosthetic limb in regard to my attachment to it, as far as I'm concerned. It's full of beautiful, beautiful songs and sounds for me to enjoy, so 99% of the time, just turning it on and hitting play is enough to put me in the right place for the rest of the day. While it's not *essential* to my happiness during a day, it certainly doesn't do anything to make my day any worse.

Why I Can't Stand "A Case Of The Mondays"

2009-07-06T18:01:00.015-05:00

If you’ve ever worked one single Monday in your life, it’s possible (and probable) that you’ve heard – or used – the expression “a case of the Mondays” to explain a bad mood on a Monday morning.

I can’t stand that.

Call me crazy, call me closed-minded, call me unsympathetic (or just call me reasonable), but it drives me insane to think that people let something as completely intangible as a certain day of the week determine their mood and attitude for 24 hours.

I’ll admit there’s a difference between having a bad day that is coincidentally on a Monday and an actual “case of the Mondays.” That’s understandable. But am I the only person that goes crazy when a conversation with a person on Monday morning transpires like this? –

Me: “Hey, how’s it going today?”

Person: “Eh, it’s Monday…”

Me: (While internally shaking my head and repressing near-violent anger) “Alright, well…I hope it gets better for you.”

Person: “Oh, it’s just a case of the Mondays. Things should be better tomorrow.”

Wait, what?!

You’re going to spend an entire day being in a bad mood based on the logic that it’s the first day to your work week? Seriously? Is EVERY weekend you spend that magnificent that it makes you dread your entire first day back to work? You’re going to let one day bring a depressing and dreary attitude into the workplace, to infect everyone with your negative, “my environment controls my attitude” outlook on life?

Uh-uh. No way. Leave that garbage at home. That’s what I say. You have a chance to make every Monday an exciting and opportunistic day for you if you choose to make it happen. Mondays are a fresh chance to kick off a great week and spread an “I plan to enjoy my day (and make it productive)” approach to everyone in your office. Why pass up that opportunity only to replace it with negativity? If you can give me one good reason, I just might retract this post and apologize for my errors. And maybe shave my head or something crazy.

Bottom line: This post was inspired by a Twitter offer from a coffee shop in Sioux Falls (which has been very, very good to the Deep Bench crew) called Coffea: “50% off drinks today for anyone with a ‘case of the Mondays.’” the tweet read. I love their approach. I love that they are using Twitter to create a tribal experience (Seth Godin-style) of insider information. Like a secret password or handshake that actually provides value to customers. I love that.

But I don’t love “cases of the Mondays.” So I walked in, and asked if I "could still have a discount, even if I consider a case of the Mondays to be a good thing." The response? “You know, if you think Mondays are a good thing, then I think you definitely deserve a 50% discount.”

I’ll say this: I respect and appreciate Coffea’s attempt to make everybody’s Monday a little bit better with a 50% discount (and I respect them even more for doing it with a social media approach). In fact, I’d even say that falls into Deep Bench’s “Do Good” aspect of our organization’s “Work. Play. Do Good.” mantra.

I just wish the rest of the world would try to approach Mondays with a slightly more optimistic outlook. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but I think wishful thinking is the small push that helps start turning the gears of change. So, from now on, I’m going to try to spread my “Positive Case of the Mondays” approach by sharing some positive thoughts, concepts, and probably music on Mondays just to add a little optimism to the mix and maybe create a little change.

Because really, why would you want to let an outside force like the day of the week affect your chance to enjoy an entire day’s worth of opportunities for success?

It’s that kind of attitude that almost…almost gives me a case of the Mondays.

If you agree or disagree with my mindset or analysis on cases of the Mondays, let me know in the comments below or drop me a line on Twitter at @mikebilleter. Although it’s unlikely, it’s possible I'm wrong, so please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts with me.

[Editor's Note: This post was originally written for and posted on my work blog at Deep Bench.]

How Would You Spend Time With Your Idol?

2009-07-01T00:01:00.006-05:00

If I haven't mentioned it on here before, I fell in love with The Gaslight Anthem about 10 months ago when Marvel Comics' Ryan Penagos (@Agent_M on Twitter) tweeted about their awesomeness and inspired me to pick up their (at the time) new album, "The '59 Sound." I then proceeded to listen to said album a few times a week for about 7 months straight. In fact, it hasn't left my car's 6-disc changer since I loaded it in there last August.

Beyond the obvious reasons that I enjoy them, such as their talent, their passion, and their overall sound, I also love the fact that I had frequently compared them to "Bruce Springsteen if he sang for a somewhat punk-rock band" only to later discover that he is, in reality, probably their biggest influence, that they actually grew up within a half hour of his hometown, and that they've mentioned their admiration and respect for him in numerous interviews and spotlights.

So I can't even begin to imagine how awesome this must've been for them:

the 59 sound - bruce springsteen & gaslight anthem( glasto )
by runawaydream

I mean...wow... The video came my way, unsurprisingly, courtesy of Agent M, and according to their website, "The Gaslight Anthem were also honored to have Bruce Springsteen ask to perform "The '59 Sound" with them during their set at Glastonbury too." I'd be shocked to hear that their response was anything other than "YES YES SWEET JESUS YES!"

My question is this: If you could spend one day doing whatever you wanted to do with someone you consider to be an "idol" or "influence" in your life, who would you spend that time with and how would you spend it? I'm not saying my official answer would be spending some time with Stan Lee talking comics - I'd like to spend a bit more time thinking about it before I make an official decision - but it's hard for me to think of a better choice off the top of my head.

So...who would be your "Do something with your idol" choice? Share your thoughts in the comments below or hit me up on Twitter at @mikebilleter. Look forward to seeing your guys' answers.

The Shaq Effect: Just how influential is the Big Cactus?

2009-06-25T08:50:00.004-05:00

So…the Oprah Effect. You’ve heard of it. How much she - and other celebrities - are affecting the social media realm. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing can be discussed in other places, but one thing’s for sure…it’s definitely a “thing” and it should not be ignored.

Take, for example, “The Shaq Effect.” The argument could be made, in fact, that the Shaq Effect served as the precursor to the Oprah Effect. His engagement with fans via Twitter and his Facebook Fan Page led to all kinds of buzz and excitement as his follower numbers skyrocketed and he enjoyed interacting with his adoring public.

But how can you really measure something like The Shaq Effect? Sure you could use detailed metrics of Twitter number increases and Fan Page fan statistics, but that’s way too boring and scientific. We’re going to go with something way cooler and more fun: screen shots and videos. Hooray!

Here’s the situation: At 10:40 p.m. CT, on the night of Tuesday, June 23^rd, Shaq tweeted this:

The video he’s tweeting about can be seen below. As the screen shot shows, it had about 340 views at the time of the tweet. That’s not bad. (Screenshot first, then video below that)

(Here's the video itself...)

Being the studious and curious thinker I am, I made a point to check back in at exactly 10:40 this morning. Here’s the number of views, exactly 12 hours after Shaq’s tweet:

And now, as of the time that this post was created, the view numbers are almost 35,000.

So…did the numbers spike so rapidly due to the video itself simply being awesome, or is it the fact that Shaq’s network of 1,372,200 people (at the time) rushed to view a video that inspired Shaq to want to play a guy in a game of horse for $1,000 (many of whom probably then shared it with THEIR networks)? Bearing in mind that the video had been posted since June 11 and only had 340 views in almost 2 weeks, I’m guessing Shaq had a bit to do with the view number increase of over 5,000% in a 12-hour span. Obviously there's more to this equation than page view numbers in the bottom corner of a YouTube screen, but this was simply meant to be an observation that happened to morph into a blog post.

Our question is this - Could any Twitter celebrity have made that happen or is it the sheer numbers behind the army of Shaq Twitter followers that made it happen? If Gary Vaynerchuk had thrown it out there to his 566,000+ followers, would the video views still have jumped to 20,000? If Chris Brogan had shared it with his almost 80,000 followers would his followers (and their networks) have gotten the video 20,000 views? On the flip side, would Ellen DeGeneres’s network of 2,100,000+ followers have taken the video to 40,000 views?

Or would simply landing on the front page of Digg have been all it needed to get there? Are you at all surprised that Shaq’s network didn’t get the video MORE than 20,000 views?

All of these many questions are questions that we’re currently debating in the office, so we figured we'd see what you have to say. We’d love to hear your thoughts, so fill us in on your views in the comments section below or on Twitter at @deepbench.

P.S. - We'd love to hear your favorite Shaqalicious nickname while you're at it, so let us know. Big Cactus, Big Diesel, Big Jabberwocky, Big Aristotle (my personal favorite) or one of the dozens of others?

UPDATE: As of a few hours after we posted this highly detailed analysis (around 6:00 on June 24th), it appears Shaq has been traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. According to TechCrunch, it's possible he found out about this trade via Twitter. On a side note, it is this writer's fear that, when Shaq gets to Cleveland, the potential combination of his HUGE personality combined with LeBron James' equally outgoing personality could cause the entire city of Cleveland to explode from a fun, passion, and excitement overload. Things could get crazy, folks.

Editor's note - This content was originally posted (by me) on my work blog at http://www.thedeepbench.com/.

Auto-Tune the News #5 (Trust me...it's brilliant...)

2009-06-19T10:16:00.004-05:00

This makes me so glad that I was able to hang out with this crew (The Gregory Brothers) for a weekend. Because they are absolutely awesome.

Watch it. Love it. Share it. You know you want to. And while we're at it, watch my all-time favorite below.

Also, here's their website: www.thegregorybrothers.com

Real Life Street Fighter Car Destruction Bonus Round

2009-06-15T09:25:00.005-05:00

Because, really...who didn't want to at least try this in real life after playing Super Street Fighter II?

Sorry if the embed doesn't show all the way. Just click the video and watch it on YouTube if that's the case. Hat tip to @RichGinter for the find on this one...

Are YouTube videos the website of the future?

2009-06-11T08:50:00.004-05:00

As firm believers in an innovation-focused approach when it comes to projects and campaigns, we were thoroughly impressed when we stumbled across the new BooneOakley website. Why? Because they are clearly bold enough to take a game-changing approach as far as corporate websites go. For the record, by website, we mean, YouTube video...website…thing. If you want to see what we’re talking about, take a look at the embedded video below and then read up on what this means for the future of websites and interactively engaging your audience.

It’s not easy to be one of the first to embrace a new effort. But based on some of their ad campaigns, it’s obvious that BooneOakley lives in the realm of telling stories through video. So why not embrace that medium with a website dedicated to telling a story through video? It’s a prime example of understanding where your talents lie and taking them to the next level.

Although there will definitely be people who A) Don’t understand this “website” and B) Don’t like this “website,” we definitely expect to see more and more of this type of effort in the future from other companies and agencies.

According to our Head Coach Hugh Weber, “You can go through a hundred agency sites and see 99 of them that are exactly the same. It’s another unique approach to ‘What is a website?’ A website doesn't have to be static HTML, it’s whatever you want it to be. I love that level of interactivity.”

Our question is this: what are your thoughts? Were you impressed with this new approach to an interactive “website?” Did you find it to be confusing or too different from the norm, or did you really enjoy it the same way we did? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below or hit us up on Twitter at @deepbench.

(Editors note: This post, written by me, was originally featured on my work blog over at http://www.thedeepbench.com/. Just so you know.)

So you can execute...but what's your strategy?

2009-06-03T00:09:00.005-05:00

A few days ago, I came across this great post from Valeria Maltoni on her blog, Conversation Agent. The post discusses the importance of execution. In fact, her intro sentence pretty much summarizes the post perfectly: “There's no amount of marketing budgets or number of social media networks you can throw at a product if what you're doing is executed poorly.” I absolutely agree with that sentiment.

But here’s my question. What if what you’re executing – the campaign itself – really isn’t that great in the first place? As PR-Squared mentioned in their recent “Uncampaigning” post, “even if you enjoyed their clever launch into the Social Media sphere, when was the last time you visited skittles.com?” Sure you can execute something and execute it well, but what if, in the long run, your lack of strategy does nothing more than create some momentary excitement.

Enter Seth Godin.

Although his post “Challenging convention” isn’t solely focused on this exact topic, an applicable assessment from him regarding the reason behind changing something just to change it is this: “Sure, you could invent a new kind of handshake or a new pricing structure. But if it catches on, do you win? Is it at the core of your business model?”

In my mind, that’s a great example of execution without strategy. Sure you can execute a plan. But what is the purpose of that plan? Why invest the hours in an attention-grabbing effort if the eventual results aren’t a part of your campaign’s core focus? If you aren’t utilizing a strategy, how do you even know what that core focus is in the first place?

To conclude, I’ll leave you with this example of execution without strategy…

In a recent Wired.com article titled “Homebrewed CPU Is a Beautiful Mess of Wires," they share the story of a man who, over an 18-month period of time, custom-designed and built his own 8-bit computer (think early Atari level capabilities) by meticulously connecting 1,253 pieces of wire to a wire-wrap board. It makes for a fun story and his creation will be featured at a “do-it-yourself technology” expo, but after putting all that work into this project (think "campaign" if it makes more sense), this is his closing thought:

“Why did I do all this?” he says. “I don’t know. But it has been a lot of fun.”

Although it may be ok for a guy working on a fun project in his spare time, it’s not ok to take that approach with clients who are paying you to execute with a strategy in mind (maybe along the lines of that aforementioned Skittles.com 2-day campaign). So make sure that when your next big idea or concept pops into your head, you take some time to plan a strategy around it before you execute. Your clients will thank you.

What do you think? Is execution the key to success? Is strategy the only way to make sure things are done right? If you think it’s a combination of the two, which brands or companies do you feel have done a good job of making both of them work in conjunction? Share your thoughts in the comments section below (preferably with a strategy behind them) or hit me up on Twitter at @mikebilleter.

(Editors note: This post, written by me, was originally featured on my work blog over at http://www.thedeepbench.com/. Just so you know.)

Are You A "Rock Star" In Your Customers' Eyes?

2009-05-31T18:00:00.004-05:00

(This post, written by me, was first published on my work blog over at www.thedeepbench.com. I figured I'd share it here as well. Enjoy. Hopefully.)

Ask yourself this question: “Do our customers consider us to be rock stars?” If you aren’t sure what I’m asking, watch Intel’s “Our rock stars aren’t like your rock stars” commercial, then read why the question matters.

Beyond just being funny, this commercial's message is deeper than it appears. Although it’s obviously overdone to add the element of humor (unless people really do wear shirts with Ajay’s photo screen-printed on them), the fact of the matter is that Intel uses the spot to distinguish its employees from employees in other fields. Although there are a large number of people in the world who don’t have any idea who Ajay Bhatt is, those that do know who he is most likely recognize and respect what he’s accomplished. And those same people are the ones working hard (for Intel) to create, innovate and become “rock stars” like him someday (in order to make life better for YOU, the consumer).

The question I ask is this. What are you doing to become a “rock star” to your customers or clients?

If you own a restaurant, how are you working to elevate your status from “that place makes decent hamburgers” to “SERIOUSLY…You have GOT to try these burgers!”? (Hint - It takes more than good food for the customer to have an amazing experience...)

If you run a retail business, what are you doing to take your customers from “I got my stereo here, but it’s cheaper to get it at Wal-Mart” to the point where they tell friends and family, “The customer service at [your store] was UNBELIEVABLE! It may not have been the cheapest place to get my stereo, but they were so great that I wouldn’t take my business anywhere else.”?

Basically, how are you engaging your customers or clients and making yourself (or your brand) a “rock star” in their eyes? If you’re not working to achieve that level of connection and engagement, why aren’t you? Frankly, if you’re able to answer the question “How is what we're doing making our customers' lives better?”, then you’re probably on the path to stardom in their eyes. If you can't answer that question, then you might want to develop a strategy to get yourself on the right path for rock star success.

Because honestly, wouldn't you rather be the rock star than the opening act?

What do you think? Which companies or brands do you feel are the rock stars in your life? Who do you know you can consistently rely on to give you a great experience? Who could do better? Let us know in the comments section below or hit us up on Twitter at @deepbench.

BBC Blast Studio: Control Machines in London (From Your Computer!)

2009-05-18T11:20:00.004-05:00

Have you ever wanted to control machines in a random room in London?

Well now you can! Courtesy of BBC’s Blast Studio, you can control one of four artistic devices (via your computer) that respond your keyboard commands in real time. (Here's a screenshot for you so you can see what I'm talking about...)

Want to play a song on a set of hanging colored lights that light up and make a musical tone when you type the corresponding key? Do it!

Want to decorate a wall with paints that you control? Do it!

Want to type a message and have it print out on paper inside the studio to be saved forever (barring any disastrous fires or floods in London)? Do it!

Want to drop goops of paint on some randomly big spinning thing in the middle of the room? Do it.

You control the room. From your computer. Very far away. If you don’t think this is fascinating and awesome, let me know why you aren’t impressed. That’s not meant to be said in a challenging tone, I’m just curious as to what people do/don’t like about it. I think it’s got great potential as projects like this down the line continue to grow and flourish. I mean, you’re controlling machines from your own computer at home. And they’re in LONDON!

Beyond being just cool as a concept, what does this mean for companies and brands down the line? Are there companies that could use this type of technology to better engage fans or customers? Is this the next step in the process of letting customers personalize their brand experiences? I’ve got a few thoughts but would love to hear yours. Let me know in the comments section or hit me up on Twitter at @mikebilleter.

Is YOUR passion contagious? (What I learned at Big Omaha...)

2009-05-11T14:01:00.005-05:00

When you think of tech and innovation conferences, it’s likely that the first place that comes to mind isn’t the Midwest. While Silicon Valley and the East Coast seem to be hot spots for those types of gatherings, we Midwesterners had a chance to gather for an awesome and exciting event in a place much closer to home than usual: Omaha, Nebraska.

For the millions of you East and West Coast readers who don’t travel much to our humble Midwest region, try to contain your snickers and smiles. While it may not be New York City or Los Angeles, Omaha has plenty of action and excitement of its own. This action and excitement was encapsulated in last Thursday and Friday’s FANTASTIC event known as Big Omaha.

Featuring some unbelievable guest speakers, top-notch facilities and rockin’ pre/post parties, Big Omaha’s goal was simple: “What happens when the country’s foremost creatives, entrepreneurs and innovators descend on one place? That place explodes. Which is precisely what we plan for Omaha…The energy will be impossible to contain. We will begin building communities, companies and friendships. We will inspire new thoughts and completely new ways of thinking. We will develop visions: personal, shared, and civic.”

They succeeded. Big time. With some unbelievable presenters sharing their thoughts on entrepreneurship (or Jason Fried’s dislike of the word entrepreneurship), success and failure (or Jason’s disdain for the concept of failing early and often) and how to maintain your company’s culture as your environment changes around you, as well as a glimpse of the fun and energy of Omaha’s community and the people that represent it, Big Omaha proved that the Midwest can be just as innovative and tech-savvy as any other region of the U.S.

Beyond the great speakers themselves (Gary Vaynerchuk, Micah Baldwin, Jeffrey Kalmikoff, Jason Fried, Micah Laaker, Ben Rattray, and Adriana Gascoigne), the guys putting on the conference (Jeff Slobotski and Dusty Davidson) did an unbelievable job of providing a great conference environment, engaging people with fun pre- and post-event parties, and keeping the show running as smoothly as a freshly-zambonied hockey rink.

Although I could take time trying to recap what it was that the speakers said (or, for more humor, I could recap my first lesson in driving a stick shift from the Omaha airport to downtown Omaha…which was a self-taught lesson, mind you), I’d rather focus on what I feel is the most important element of Big Omaha, and that is this:

If you believe in the creative community of your region and you believe that your region has plenty to offer the rest of the world, you can build an extremely strong and engaging event to reflect the brainpower and passion of your creative community.

Don’t think small!

Don’t think that because you live in a (relatively) smaller community, you can’t make BIG things happen. Dusty and Jeff felt like they could truly represent the passion of Omaha’s creative community and they did so with abundant success.

And I don’t mean that strictly in the sense of building a conference either. I’m talking about it in any form of life or business. There is NO client or project too big for you if you truly have the desire to work with someone great or do something amazing.

It’s up to you. Big Omaha proved that. Every speaker at the conference shared how he or she was blown away by what Omaha had to offer. But here’s the important part: if Jeff and Dusty hadn’t brought their passion to this project, those speakers probably might not have ever known Omaha had so much to offer.

That’s what you can do. Bring your passion to the table every single day. Show the world that you love what you do and that your passion is contagious. How could someone NOT want to work with a team of people completely thrilled with and invigorated by what they’re doing?

Big Omaha wasn’t just about Omaha. It was about taking your passion and turning it into everyone’s passion. From the people of Omaha themselves to the many visitors from around the country, it seemed like just about everybody was ready to up and move to Omaha by the time Friday night rolled around. How can you build that kind of excitement for your brand or your clients?

Most importantly, how can you build and maintain that passion for yourself?

P.S. - If you want to see some awesome photos from Big Omaha, check out our friend Aaron Mentele's shots in his flickr photostream. As soon as the videos from the event are up online, we'll link to those as well.

Did you go to Big Omaha last week? Share your thoughts on the event in the comments section below. What did you enjoy? What could have been done better? What did you learn from the experience? If you weren’t there, why do you wish you could have been? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so drop us your insight below or hit us up on Twitter at @deepbench (or hit me up personally at @mikebilleter).

From a Fiesta Agent understudy: How Ford's doing it right...

2009-05-05T14:17:00.009-05:00

Doing something unique is fun. Doing something really unique is really fun. And doing something that only about 120 other people in the entire United States get to do is just flat-out wicked awesome.

Luckily, last Tuesday, I was fortunate enough to be a part of Ford’s “Fiesta Movement.” No, I didn’t win one of the cars (which would have led to an entirely different post…probably just a video of me screaming and shouting for joy), but I DO happen to have a boss who DID happen to win a car. And, seeing as the 10+ hour drive from Denver isn’t all that fun on one's own, I was fortunate enough to have a boss who wanted me out there to help him film, stay awake on the drive back to Sioux Falls, and do all of the other cool things that assistant-ish employees get to do.

After an early morning journey with boring details, I eventually found myself in Denver, meeting up with Hugh and the other 7 or so “Fiesta Agents” who were preparing to go see their cars for the first time. After a lengthy drive out of the city, we pulled up to the raceway where the cars were waiting for their respective Agents. Hugh’s excitement at finally meeting Ruby (his name for his Fiesta……yeah…I know…) was like a kid who just found out Christmas was happening every day for six months. I couldn’t have punched the smile off his face. And I’ve got really strong fists (that’s me on the left…)

Needless to say, Ford did it right. Nothing around but racetrack and open air, and a set of brand new cars begging their owners to sit down inside them (and probably literally begging, because these Fiestas are the smartest cars ever…it’s almost creepy…more on that later…). After the initial introductions, Hugh handed out the soon-to-be iconic “Fiesta Hugh” shirts (crafted by none other than Deep Bench’s own up-and-coming graphic design phenom, Andrew Brynjulson (Bren-yool-son)), which you can see in the image below.

And then it got even more awesome. After a quick instructional session on the cars themselves, the Fiesta Agents got to take their babies out on the speedway track. Although the maximum speed limit was 55 mph, the curves on the course were insanely tight and they managed to make 55 feel like 85. Although I can’t drive a stick shift, Hugh absolutely dominated his test runs like he was Jeff Gordon himself (or whichever NASCAR racer is relevant these days).

After it was all said and done, we were on the road back to Sioux Falls, and that’s a different story for a different post. For a sample of what’s on the way, here’s this photo:

Onto the point of this post… I was extremely impressed with Ford’s ability to make this Fiesta Movement a true social media campaign throughout the entire day. Although there are a few (necessary) rules and restrictions, I was blown away with how open everything was to filming and photography. I was loaded up with two video cameras and one photography camera, and I was never once asked to put them down or turn them off. Whether it was instructional sessions or video-recording conversations between agents and the marketing crew, I was never restricted from taking photos or footage. They’re perfectly willing to let this be a living, breathing social media effort, relatively out of their control.

In my opinion, Ford is taking big steps (and potentially big risks) to ensure that it’s on the forefront of online/social media marketing efforts. This isn’t a crafted and scripted series of videos and tweets that Ford’s invested in to get positive brand recognition. These are real people, doing real things, with the only rules being don’t break the law and don’t destroy your car.

Oh, and share it with the whole world.

It’ll be a blast to see where this goes (mostly because I hope to be going along with Hugh and Ruby wherever it all goes). I have a feeling the Secret Missions and subsequent adventures will be a lot of fun. Luckily, Ford’s willing to let you be there every step of the way too.

What do you think? Do you think Ford’s taking the right steps by putting its brand in the hands of customers for the world to see? Would you rather see a different campaign or strategy from Ford rather than the Fiesta Movement? Let me know your thoughts and I’ll pass them along to Hugh. With no restrictions, we’re willing to try just about anything, so don’t hesitate to leave a comment and let me know what you'd like to see!

And here are some more pictures of the journey:

Why I'm sick of “How NOT to use Twitter” posts...

2009-04-15T21:26:00.013-05:00

If you’ve been on Twitter at all in the past year, you’ve more than likely stumbled across a "How NOT to use Twitter" story or two. Or twenty. (EDITOR'S NOTE: I posted this last night and came across this PC Mag article this morning which basically exemplifies my point) Although they often mean well, typically included in these “best practice” blog posts and news articles are tips like “Don’t spam your followers by always pushing content” or “Don’t reply to every single @ reply…it clogs up other people’s Twitter streams with your conversation that can be taken offline” or my least favorite (and most often heard/read), “Don’t tweet about what you’re eating for lunch.”

I’m sick of it.

People: USE TWITTER HOW YOU WANT TO USE TWITTER.

There, I said it. And I feel better. Now, many of you are probably wondering why I’ve gotten so angry (you see, anger is expressed in all caps when you’re trying to show it in a written format). The reason I’m so frustrated is because Twitter is SUBJECTIVE. It isn’t a 10th Grade geometry exam or a paint-by-numbers kit with a "right way" to use it. Are there ways you can annoy people on Twitter? Sure. But does that mean you’re wrong? Absolutely not.

I’ll support this by giving an example of my disdain for the “Don’t tweet about your food” rule. Here’s a series of tweets from fellow Sioux Falls Twitterer @theamillerryan, myself, and a third party who entered the discussion toward the end…

We went from someone (@taral) not even thinking about “one of [her] favorite treats” to being reminded to go out and buy them because it’s been awhile since she’s had them.

Why? Because Thea chose to violate this seemingly important “Don’t tweet about food” rule. In fact, she almost violated two "rules" because she also had a back and forth with me that could have probably “been moved offline” if it had gone back and forth one or two more times.

I know that’s a fairly extreme example. The point isn’t that someone tweeting about food inspired someone else to remember a favorite snack. The point is that this mindset of “I get annoyed when people talk about their lunch” somehow turned into a “Twitter tip on what not to do" at some point during Twitter’s evolution into more mainstream popularity.

Is it true that people might be annoyed if all you tweet about is what you had for lunch and dinner? Probably. Here’s the thing…they don’t have to follow you. So if you get irritated by someone doing it, unfollow them. Otherwise, stop complaining about it. And stop trying to turn what started as a good, free, open atmosphere into a caged and restricted realm that best suits you. It’s not about you. It’s about everyone else in the Twitterverse.

I follow people because I want to follow them. If they don’t follow me back, I understand. If they don’t provide me the value I’m seeking, I don’t follow them. I don’t begrudgingly read every tweet they send and wish they wouldn’t act the way they act. People say you shouldn’t broadcast. @amazonmp3 ONLY broadcasts, and I LOVE following that account. They offer me a service: unbelievable deals on (typically) good music. Do I buy an album every day? No. But you know what? I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the albums I’ve come across as a result of the @amazonmp3 account ONLY being a broadcast channel (duh duh duhhhh, cue Wilhelm Scream).

Now, to play my own devil’s advocate, I’ll admit that there are times when tips and best practice posts are completely acceptable, if not necessary. If one of the many bright minds in the social media realm is explaining to other social media entrepreneurs that “tweeting about food isn’t the best way to build followers,” that’s just good advice. The problem is that not everyone is trying to gain followers or provide wisdom and insight to other social media professionals. Some people just want to share their day with friends and family and not feel like they’re doing it “wrong.” If your goal is to become an influential Twitter user with a massive list of followers and fervent supporters willing to retweet every link you drop, then yes, you should listen to the “How not to use Twitter” posts. But if you’re a normal human being willing to share your life with willing followers, do what you enjoy.

The overall point of the post is this - Be who you want to be. Tweet how you want to tweet.

Just. Be. Yourself. That’s what made Twitter great in the first place.

There was a time when Twitter didn’t have “twitiquette” to tell people how to “do” Twitter. It was fun then. Hopefully that time hasn’t quite passed yet.

Why I'm excited for June 2nd...

2009-04-14T11:19:00.003-05:00

This makes me happy. And excited. And various other positive emotions.

P.S. - Courtesy of my good friend Mike Nelson, I was directed to this page that gives you a free download of the album's new single, "Funny The Way It Is." As usual, DMB is rockin' social media. No surprise, seeing as they've been encouraging social media since the early 90s by letting fans (actually, encouraging fans) to record and share live shows on the internet. Glad they're still at it 15 years later.

Who's YOUR all-time favorite fictional character?

2009-03-28T18:05:00.023-05:00

I enjoy reading books. I know that’s not terribly insightful, but don’t give up on me yet.

The truth is, I enjoy fiction of all types. Consequently, I’m a big fan of fictional characters. There’s a correlation there, I promise (side note: I can finally consistently spell “correlation” right on the first try). But, rather than just assume other people like fictional characters, I figured I’d ask the question “Which fictional character is your all-time favorite fictional character (from any medium - film, novels, comics, etc.)?” to my friends and followers in the Twitterverse.

I was excited by the great responses. None of them were repeated, and all of them were awesome. Obviously, I have my own answer, which I’ll reveal at the end of this post. But first, here are some of the great responses I got from people on Twitter, along with any links I could find to those characters (a few might be from Wikipedia, but you never know what other sweet stuff I’ll come up with).

So here we go…the people who responded, what their responses were, and my thoughts on their choices…

@miss_misery – Favourite fictional character? Bugs Bunny, he’s funny, brilliant, and usually gets his way.
-Rather than waste time explaining who Bugs Bunny is, I'll just embed a video that pretty much displays exactly why Jacqueline likes him so much. It’s a great call on her part. Also, I like that she spells favourite with a “u.” Not sure if it’s because she’s Canadian or because it’s just cooler that way, but I like it.

@jenimc – pippi longstocking
-Another excellent choice. While I didn’t read many of the Pippi Longstocking books or watch the TV show growing up, the description paragraph on Wikipedia alone makes me wish maybe I would have.

@LiterateKnits – that question is really difficult…but for me it’s gotta be Belle from Beauty and the Beast.
-As a sucker for Disney movies, I’ve gotta say that I have no bones with Erin’s choice. Although Beauty and the Beast was never my favorite of the films (that award split between Aladdin and Alice in Wonderland), Belle was a great character with some awesome qualities and a rockin’ voice.

@theamillerryan – I love Scout from To Kill A Mockingbird
-Quite possibly the most “classic” character on the list, Scout was an integral part of just about everybody’s adolescent reading experiences (I know if I'd been confronted by Boo Radley, I'd have probably just ran for my life, screaming). If that doesn't make her a good choice, I don't know what does.

@arosman – my first thought was Michaelangelo the ninja turtle, but after thinking, I would probably choose He-Man cuz he’s Prince Adam.
-There was no doubt in my mind that Adam would come through with a character straight off my own list of potentials, and he didn’t let me down. Although he gave me a fake-out with Michaelangelo first, Prince Adam (aka He-Man) was definitely a worthy replacement. After all…HE HAS THE POWWWWER!!!

@Kjdahlen – Sadie Hankshaw – a large thumbed hitchhiker from the Tom Robbins novel, ‘Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.’ Life changing.
-Much like I could rely on Adam to hit me with something that fit my tastes, I knew I could count on Kris to hit me with the deep stuff (no offense, Adam…I think Michaelangelo is deep in his own way too…for real…). Needless to say, this novel had a pretty heavy impact on the literary world when it came out, so it’s no surprise that it’s a life changing work. Also, one of my favorite bands titled one of its songs “Even Cowgirls Get The Blues," so you know it has to be a good book with good characters (the logic is infallible).

@brennifresh – Donatello. Brains and brawn. Understated bow staff. Comfortable in pink. Articulate. Patient. Sick wit it.
-I’m not sure I can do anything to improve that description, so here’s a video of Donatello, displaying many of Brenni’s listed qualities…

@damiella – Favorite fictional character of all time: Damiel from Wings of Desire (greatest film of all time).
-A bold statement from Margarita (though, with pink hair, boldness is not unexpected), Damiel is this guy from this movie, who is an angel in Berlin that happens to fall in love with a human and gets his whole world changed around. Just from the trailer alone it looks awesome. On a side note, apparently it was remade as City of Angels with Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan. We’ll take take @damiella’s word for it that this one is better, seeing as the remake had very little in common with the original.

@Djarum - Ahhh... Mine is most likely Dirk Pitt. No reason.
-Last, but not least, is Dirk Pitt from a series of adventure novels by Clive Cussler. Interestingly, you may have seen the character portrayed by Matthew McConaughey in Sahara, but apparently that movie doesn’t quite follow along with Clive Cussler’s original novel. Either way, the character seems pretty awesome and I just might have to check out a few of his adventures in the future.

So…those are some of the great responses I got to my “All-time favorite fictional character” question. I’ve gotta say that I was impressed not only by the variety, but the depth of many of the choices. I’m not one to judge, but I would have been sad to see Britney Spears’ character in Crossroads or Hannah Montana as one of my responses. To me, the above-mentioned results are pretty kickin’.

And now...my choice...

I’ve had a lot of time to think about this and, while I’ve made my decision, I must say that it came down to two. While there once was a time in my life when I would have said Spider-Man (hands-down and without hesitation), my passion for Spidey has diminished since Tobey Maguire ruined him as a character for me in the movies. Although I love comic book Spider-Man and 1994 Animated Series Spider-Man, the weak, whiny, and unfunny Spider-Man in the movies gave the rest of the known world the wrong impression of him, and that bums me out a little bit.

And as a result, my favorite fictional character of all time is Calvin (and, by default, Hobbes). To me, Bill Watterson’s Calvin represents everything great in the realm of humor, philosophy, and simple pleasure and enjoyment. Whether he’s careening down a hill while spouting the philosophy of human nature, pointing out the flaws of our society through a lemonade stand, making artistic statements through hilariously bizarre snowmen, or taking the simplest concept and making it hilarious, Calvin manages to keep me thinking and laughing, page after hilarious page.

In all honesty, those are the kind of people I enjoy spending time with in real life. I guess I can’t ask for much more in a fictional character. With that, here’s the final Calvin and Hobbes strip ever run. It ends with a pretty good suggestion for everyone (child or adult), and makes me wish I had a few more friends in the world who think like Calvin and Hobbes.

On that note...who is YOUR favorite fictional character? Any thoughts or comments on the ones listed above? I'd love to hear your thoughts, so leave a comment in the Comments section or hit me up on Twitter (@mikebilleter) and let me know.

Exciting times and life is good...

2009-03-16T09:45:00.007-05:00

Quick update for those of you interested.

I've had a fantastic last few weeks.

First of all, my dad's basketball team (and my former school's basketball team...and many of my closest friends' basketball team) is now in the Sweet Sixteen of the Division II NCAA Tournament. This is the first time Augustana College has done this since 1978-79.

We got into the 2nd Round courtesy of a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from my dear Montanian friend, Dave Foster. The court-storming and madly screaming celebration was a blast. And here's the video to prove it...

Then, we beat (technically "upset") the defending National Champion Winona State Warriors in another intense and completely awesome game. This is unbelievable and I'm very happy for myself, my friends, and my dad.

I also got to spend a bunch of time hanging out with my former roommate, and that's always a blast. Especially when his brother and his brother's friends are with us. It was random and funny and full of all kinds of delicious goodness.

I also saw Watchmen last week. I enjoyed it. I have a great many thoughts on it, but not being a movie reviewer, I'll refrain from sharing them. If you really would like to hear them, e-mail me and I'd be happy to share my thoughts in detail (bear in mind that I have read the book).

Also, we won the championship for our Adult Volleyball League two weekends ago. That was really fun too. And, in general, I had a great weekend with great friends the last two weekends in a row.

Finally, work is going very, very well right now. We're doing a ton of fun things and I'm really enjoying my duties as a writer and occassional project manager for Deep Bench. It's good working with my boss and enjoying what I do.

The bottom line is that life is good. I genuinely hope yours is too. And it it's not, come hang out with me and Hugh for a day. We'll up the happiness level in your life by a substantial amount, guaranteed.

Anyway, I'll be in Marshall on Tuesday to (hopefully) watch Augie make it to the Elite Eight and come out of this season with an unpredicted Regional Championship. And if it doesn't happen, I'll still have a great week anyway.

Why? Because I say I will. Take that, negativity!

Feelin' good, feelin' great...feelin' great, feelin' good, how are you?

FEAR THE FUTURE! (Or embrace it, Marvel Comics style...)

2009-02-27T15:45:00.028-06:00

The future is coming! For some, that's common sense. For others, it's a terrifying concept. With a future full of Terminators and living on the moon and whatnot, the advances of technology will continue to blow our minds in ways both good and bad. Of course, the aforementioned advances won’t be happening for at least ten or eleven more years.

So what do we have until then? Well, digital reading devices for one. Unfortunately, some of the people most equipped to capitalize on this ever-growing reading medium fear digital reading devices as if a Kindle were a T-800.

"Watch out! - It's got a KINDLE!"

Not exactly sure what I mean by that?

Watch this video from DC Comics’ VP of Marketing, John Cunningham, to see his thoughts on where the technology of the future will be taking comic books. Here’s a spoiler – he thinks items like Amazon’s Kindle (or Kindle 2, now) could bring about the downfall of the comic book industry. Imagine the tragedy of losing Thor to the Ragnarök that is the Amazon Kindle...

Oh wait, it’s only DC that fears the future, not all comic book companies. Enter: Marvel Comics. Why? Because while DC talks about the terror of losing comic books to digital reading devices, Marvel spends its time preparing for the eventual digital revolution. Just take a look at their Marvel Digital Comics section to see for yourself. Or, if you want to read one for free, click here and give a comic a read.

Now, Marvel doesn’t have any comics ready for the Kindle 2 or anything like that as far as I know, and I shouldn’t get ahead of myself (or themselves, really). The point of this post isn’t that Marvel has digital comics. The point is that, while other companies are woefully unprepared for the trends of the future, Marvel has taken an approach that will certainly guide them along the right path on the road to the future.

Fifty years from now, when we’re all using digital reading devices (just like 15 years from now we’ll probably only be using MP3 players or whatever comes after them), I’m inclined to believe Marvel will have made that transition a little bit more smoothly than DC could ever hope to. They’re already halfway there, with a huge library of comics floating around in the digital realm, looking for a home more mobile than your desktop browser.

Now, you may be wondering, “Why should I care about having comic books on a reading device I don’t even own?” That’s a good question. The point of my post is this: The future is coming, whether you want to accept it or not. If you’re a company that understands this fact, you’ll be in a good place down the line. If you’re a company that fears the oncoming technological advances of society, you’ll probably struggle as you get blown out of the water by those who do get it.

Be an innovator. Make change happen for you, rather than against you. Whether you work for a bank, a restaurant, a strategic marketing firm looking to help underdog small businesses reach their full potential, or a comic book company, be sure to keep your eye on the horizon for what could change your industry. Then, make it happen. I have no doubt it’s going to work for Marvel, and they will see plenty of benefit as a result.

It’s nice to know that, while Superman and Batman may be lost forever after the “dreaded” digital revolution that DC’s VPs apparently fear, the space kids of 2150 AD will be reading about Spider-Man and Captain America on their Mobile Hologram Projecto-Glasses or whatever reading devices space kids will have by then.

Seeing as every other invention from comic books comes true at some point or another, it makes sense that a comic book company would have the most insightful vision for the future. Doesn’t mean us normal people can’t come in with some foresight of our own along the way.

“Finally, robotic beings rule the world…the humans are dead…”

UPDATE - 5:09 p.m. CT: Of course, immediately following my posting of this post, I find that Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada has basically reflected my sentiments entirely. Click here to read his thoughts on the issue. While I can genuinely and honestly say that I had not yet read his analysis of the DC VP's opinion, it doesn't surprise me at all that he is optimistic about the future. Why not? Because Joe Q is awesome.

Pure awesomeness...

2009-02-23T15:21:00.001-06:00

Apparently, the once-awesome embedded video has been removed from wherever it was living. That's unfortunate. For the record, what was once here WAS "Pure awesomeness..."

Now it's just pure nothingness...

Why Michael Cera could become my least favorite actor ever...

2009-02-13T11:49:00.013-06:00

There are constant talks of Michael Cera not wanting to reprise his role as George Michael Bluth in the continuously-rumored Arrested Development movie.

Now, regardless of his status as an actor (having starred in and been in fairly successful films since leaving Arrested Development), I think that's pretty selfish of him. You know, seeing as he got his start on a TV show that the fans love with a passion and support wholeheartedly.

NOTE: I am well aware that I'm only giving my opinion/side of the story. I don't call him and chat regularly on the phone with him, so he could have a million valid reasons not to be in the movie that I don't know about. I just don't care. He's being selfish.

Anyway, my main thought for what his logic could be is this - perhaps he doesn't want to reassert any typecast he may have received as an awkward, geeky teenager. It's reasonable. Look what happened to Anthony Michael Hall.

However (and this portion of the blog is directed toward Mr. Cera), THE ONLY ROLES YOU'VE TAKEN SO FAR ARE AWKWARD, GEEKY TEENAGER ROLES!

I mean, honestly, if you haven't typecast yourself as awkward already, then reprising your most beloved role probably isn't going to make it any worse for you. I seriously can't see Michael Cera being anything besides an awkward kid other than the bad comic relief in an awful action film (just kidding, Surf Ninjas, you know I love you), or his other choice of going the creepy, stalker/murderer route in some suspense thriller. And that's fine, but at least be in an Arrested Development movie before you start creeping everybody out.

Bottom line - I'm probably wrong. I don't know all the details. I do know that I want Michael Cera to play George Michael in an Arrested Development movie. I also know that I don't want anyone else to play that role. If this is simply a matter of him being selfish, then I'm disappointed. And if he chooses not to do it, I'll say this - when I'm a famous movie producer or director, I don't intend to let him act in any of my films. So yeah...take that Michael Cera!

"Hey, whatcha tryin' ta say to me?"

Way to win, Coach!...You're fired!

2009-01-28T09:52:00.012-06:00

A Girls high school basketball team beat an opponent 100-0 last week.

Let me repeat that: A Girls high school basketball team beat an opponent 100-0 last week.

As a result of this situation and the outrage it caused amongst the opposing team’s players and fans (as well as home crowd parents and fans), the coach of the winning team was asked to apologize.

He refused. And then he was fired.

And I’ve got to say, I disagree with the school’s decision to fire him. I had this discussion with my roommates the other night and I’ve had the discussion with other people since then, and I honestly do not think the man deserved to be fired. In fact, I don’t think he even deserved to have an apology demanded of him by his own school. I hate to break it to the world, but what happened at that game is a little something I like to call REAL LIFE.

Before continuing, I’d like to at least present two different news stories covering the issue. I don’t expect you to read them, but understand that I’m not just making an ignorant post here. I’ve done some research into the issue and have a relative grasp of the situation.

LINK ONE: (I feel like this story is one of the most comprehensive analyses I've read so far).
LINK TWO: (This is an interview with a different coach who has been criticized in the past for dominating games and he shares his thoughts on what the 100-0 coach could have done differently).

Moving along. I understand the arguments. The winning girls didn’t need to be pressing, they didn’t need to be “shooting threes” when they were up 80-0. They should have toned it down and gone easy on the girls who were losing. They shouldn’t have played their hardest. They shouldn’t have given everything they could to be the best team they could, and they shouldn’t have played as hard as they could to improve their game and become the best players they could be. They should have performed worse because the opponent wasn’t at their level. In a game that both coaches agreed to play, the girls on the court who were winning should have been asked not to play to the best of their ability…because they were winning.

See where I’m going with this?

Tell me: if you own a business in America today, and you managed to be the most powerful giant in your particular industry, would you ever…EVER...give less than your best effort to create a better product, improve your current designs, and make your company a better company for your future and your employees’ futures?

No. If you did, do you know what you’d be? A company that never lived up to its potential. You’d be a company that had the potential to do great things and instead played down to a lower level because the competition was unable to keep up. Now, in regard to that statement, I understand that Microsoft and other monopolies (potential or legitimate) in history would be a great example of having to tone down their work in order to be “fair.” But that’s over an extended period of time, not one instance (such as this game).

If two companies were competing to make the best, most powerful, most innovative, most ____________ (fill in the blank) product, wouldn’t you want those two companies to give everything they could to make that one specific product? And if one of those company’s products just happened to completely blow the other company’s product out of the water, wouldn’t you be more likely to choose the product that dominated? Imagine this scenario with medicine. If two companies competed to make an effective cure for cancer in pill form, and one of the companies created a pill that obliterated cancer entirely while the second company only had a minimal impact on cancer, which one would you choose for yourself or a loved one with cancer?

And how would you feel if the company that could have made a perfect cancer cure didn’t give its best and ended up only making a pill that works at 80% or 90% efficiency? Would you feel like you’d been cheated? Would you feel like they should have done more to make it perfect?

Let’s look at it from another angle. People may think this is a drastic step, but for the sake of expressing my point, I’m going to throw it out here.

If you were in a war, human against human, in full-fledged, life or death competition, would you ever expect your general to tell you to lighten up just because you were winning? If you were a better trained army that performed its duties flawlessly, would you ever expect your general to say “Hey ladies and gentlemen…we’re really winning this thing, so let’s tone it down a little bit. Sure some of us may suffer as a result, some of us might be killed for not trying as hard as we could, but this is such a dominant fight in our favor that we should let up and allow them to take a few of our fellow soldiers down because right now this is just unfair.”

I would hope not.

Yes, I understand this was not a “war.” It was neither a real-life war nor a fictional pharmaceutical battle between two organizations looking to make a good product. But you know what? Those are real-life situations that could happen in the “real world.” And, considering sports are often considered to help build “real-life” skills like teamwork and leadership, why wouldn’t we admit that what happened in that game is a reflection of things that actually could happen in real-life?

Best Buy’s leadership would never say to Circuit City’s management, “We’re sorry you’re going out of business…we’ll go ahead and let up on our sales and our efforts a little bit to make sure you guys can make a few extra bucks before you go.”

The reason they would never say that is because THAT’S NOT WHAT HAPPENS IN REAL LIFE.

Now, at this point, most of you probably think I’m just a heartless jerk who doesn’t care about these poor girls and the fact that they lost 100-0, and if that’s what you think, I'm sorry, but I can deal with that. The truth of the matter is I’m not even saying that (if I were the coach) I would have done the same thing. I doubt I would have done the same thing. Not being in the situation, I’ll never know for sure. And, from what I've read, the winning team did some things it probably shouldn't have done. Not being there, this is simply my analysis of what I've read and what I've been able to determine from news reports. Bottom line, I don't know everything about the situation, and this is strictly my opinion.

But, what I do know is this. A basketball coach was fired for doing his job (winning a game) and then not apologizing for his win. I also know that the girls on his team who played their hearts out accomplished an amazing feat and, instead of being proud of their victory, they were made to feel ashamed of what they did. In fact, the leadership at their school tried to ask that their WIN be counted as a forfeit.

While I typically include lots of goofy links that are meant to be humorous, I feel pretty strongly on this subject. One of the reasons may be that my dad is a basketball coach himself and I can understand the pressure of always being expected to win and be successful as a coach. Maybe it’s because I’m tired of the world expecting everything to be fair for everyone at all times when the reality of life is that it’s rarely as fair and is never quite as ideal as our 3rd grade soccer leagues would like us to believe. Maybe it’s because I don’t believe a man or woman should feel guilty and be forced to apologize for doing his or her job to the best of his or her ability.

Regardless, I promise…PROMISE…I will be ready and willing to engage in a fair, intelligent conversation in the comments section of this post. I will not discount any commentary from anyone, whether I agree or disagree with anyone's opinion. I feel like this is one of those topics that should be discussed more in person than on paper or online, but I wanted to at least share my thoughts on the matter while it was fresh.

Finally, I’ll leave with two quotes from one of the articles linked to earlier in this post. The first is a quote from the winning school’s website posted by two members of the school’s Board of Trustees regarding their school’s “victory”:

“On Thursday, Covenant posted a statement on its Web site that said it "regrets... the outcome of the game with the Dallas Academy Varsity Girls Basketball team. It is shameful and an embarrassment that this happened. This clearly does not reflect a Christ-like [they are a Christian school] and honorable approach to competition." It was signed by Queal and Todd Doshier, chairman of the school's board of trustees.”

The second quote is in the same news story and comes from the coach who was fired because he didn’t apologize for his victory.

"I respectfully disagree with the apology, especially the notion that the Covenant School girls basketball team should feel 'embarrassed' or 'ashamed,' " part of the post says. "We played the game as it was meant to be played and would not intentionally run up the score on any opponent. Although a wide-margin victory is never evidence of compassion, my girls played with honor and integrity and showed respect to Dallas Academy."

Grimes also included the quarter-by-quarter scoring on his post: 35, 24, 29, 12.

At the end of his post on the Web site, which identifies him as co-founder of Flight Basketball, Grimes wrote, "So if I lose my job over these statements, I will walk away with my integrity."

Again, I welcome any and all comments and discussions on this story and I promise to be open-minded and willing to hear all sides of the discussion.

Why my hip-hop posse would be the greatest of all time...

2009-01-27T14:13:00.001-06:00

My hip-hop posse would be comprised of this group of people. My reasons and logic are all explained along with each person's name. Needless to say, this would be a posse the likes of which had never been seen. I can't wait 'til I'm famous and can make *most* of this posse a reality. Scratch that. Make ALL of this posse a reality.

Rodrick Jackson
He was my best friend in high school who used to make killer beats on his desk with a pen and he's one of the funniest people I know. And he's a very good rapper.

My little brother
He's become somewhat of an eclectic hip-hop/rap listener (which would lead to some unique styles) and he has no problem being bluntly rude if he doesn't like something. He'd be helpful.

Miles Rausch
Mostly because he picked me to be part of his posse. And also because I think he'd do a very solid job of keeping me grounded and humble. And he could build my website.

Hugh Weber
Because he would be a great source of humor. And he would build a marketing strategy that would make me famous before I even released my first single.

Andrew Hewitt
He's a good friend, he's very funny, and he wouldn't be afraid to regulate if people had beef with my crew. And he would look hilarious as part of my rap posse.

Robert Frost
His dope rhymes would make him an excellent ghostwriter if my creative juices took a hiatus.

Lindsay Fünke
Because she's a stone cold fox and she'd be all about my cash flow.

Bose: Rocking off faces (and gaining lifelong customers)...

2009-01-16T14:47:00.013-06:00

Yesterday, my Bose in-ear headphones went bad on me. The reason I went expensive and bought Bose isn’t because I have the money to afford Bose ear-buds and simply thought it would make me look cool. I bought Bose ear-buds because, as far as I could tell, it is the only company I’ve seen that gives you a year-long warranty rather than 90 day warranty.

For some reason that I don’t understand, headphones and I don’t manage to have relationships longer than 3 or 4 months. Granted, I listen to music and wear my ear-buds just about 24-7 for any and all activities, but it’s not like I swing from chandeliers on them or anything. I did, however, save all of the original packaging and the receipt, assuming they would one day bite the dust on me.

Anyway, not surprisingly, they died after five months (a record headphone survival length in itself, which merits an award on Bose's part), and I decided to put my 1-year limited warranty to good use. Bear in mind that I subjected my ear buds to NONE of the warranty-violating conditions (water, insects, lightning, etc.). I think I just wear them too much. And if that’s wrong, I don’t wanna be right.

So I called the customer service number, expecting the typical 7 minute wait before even talking to someone who might be able to help me. After only two “Push 1 for English” and “Push 2 for headphone products” recordings, I was directed to the waiting queue and was told that all the representatives were on the line. Again, expecting to wait, I put my cell on speakerphone and popped open the Daily Jumble online.

Imagine my surprise when, before I had even started on today’s Jumble, the line started ringing and a representative was on the line. After explaining the situation, he asked for my name (bear in mind, this is still only 1:30 into my initial dialing of the Bose 1-800 number...that's not very long), and confirmed my information based on my registration from awhile ago (a point I’ll get to in a second). Regardless, by about 2 minutes and 15 seconds into the call, we were all squared away with the information exchange. Time for the arduous replacement discussion and warranty haggling...or so I thought.

*For the record, I regret not remembering the guy's name. I think I was still in a temporary state of shock at how efficiently things had been going, but if I could remember the guy’s name, I’d give him a mad shout out here: "Thanks _____________."

And why's that? Beause then, ___________ immediately said, “Mike, I’ll be sending you an e-mail with the information you need on how to send your ear-buds back in, and we will replace them for you and send the replacement ear-buds as quickly as we can.”

To which I almost choked on my gum and replied, “…wait…that’s it?”

“Yes. Just go ahead and follow the instructions in the e-mail, and you should be all set. Anything else I can help you with?”

“Uhhh…nope. Is that it? Because if that’s it, then you just totally rocked my face off” (and yes, I actually said those words to him).

“I'm glad we could help. If there’s nothing else I can do for you, thanks and have a great day.”

Let's recap: it took THREE TOTAL MINUTES. That’s it. No sneaky, “we’re not really responsible so we’ll use this loophole” attempt. No being transferred to four different customer service reps. No hassle, period. And it was probably the most pleasant customer service call I’ve ever had to make (I don’t even want to get started on my iPod Photo quadruple-replacement fiasco). I mean…it took three minutes.

Now, obviously I should clarify that previously registering my product clearly streamlined this process, but it doesn’t take away from the impact Bose’s customer service had on me in the situation. Something I expected to be a 20 minute ordeal (minimum) and overall frustrating experience was over before I knew it even started.

Consequently, it’s likely that every set of ear-buds or sound system I ever purchase will be Bose (possibly for the rest of my life). I’d say that’s probably not a bad deal for them. A little extra touch on customer service just got them a lifelong customer.

Has anybody else had a similar experience with other companies providing stellar customer service? What about their efforts did you appreciate? The person? The results? The efficiency? What about the flip side? Any miserable experience that lost a customer for a company or product? I’d love to hear your experiences and thoughts on the matter. Who knows…your comment could save me some hassle in the future. And that would be nice.

Why Twitter comes naturally to me...

2009-01-05T13:33:00.031-06:00

I’ve moved quite a few times in my life. Basically, throughout my formative years, I moved four times (and five times total for six different locations). At age 6, at age 11, at age 12, and age 18, I moved to entirely different states and communities. From Houston, Texas to Fargo, North Dakota, to Long Island, New York to College Station, Texas, and having recently settled (and going on five years) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, it’s clear that the places are…diverse.

Quite possibly the last picture taken of me before my rigorous moving cycle began...

Now, the reason I’m telling you this is because I think these moves have resulted in a strong passion for social media and, specifically, a social medium like Twitter. Many of my friends seem to struggle with the concept of Twitter. Part of that is because I currently live in Sioux Falls, where we’re occasionally a few months to a few years behind many communities in terms of technology and things of that nature. Another reason, however, is that many of my friends don’t understand the benefit of having numerous friends in numerous locations.

This makes me think back to my days of junior high and high school. Specifically, the cafeteria. Now, most people grow up with their childhood friends and they sit with those friends every day at lunch from first grade through their senior year of high school. But, when you’ve left your childhood friends behind to move into uncharted territories, you don’t have the luxury of lifelong friends. The result? For me, it was floating around to various places and hanging out with various people. Different lunch tables meant different conversations, different learning experiences, and different elements of life to appreciate.

This process continued after I moved to Sioux Falls for college. Different class schedules on different days meant I was spending time with different people. Although I might spend a Friday night celebrating a victory with the Men’s Basketball Team, I was just as likely to turn around and spend that Saturday night hanging out with all of the theatre friends I made while taking Theatre 220 (an acting class…which was a unique experience in itself that I recommend everybody do at some point in their lives). Or, I may have just spent the weekend with my regular, non-acting, non-athlete friends and had a great time going to a Twins game in Minneapolis or hitting up a Joey Ryan & The Inks concert in Dinkytown.

Here I am, rockin' a Twins game with friends @Hale_Storm & @brennifresh

The bottom line – My life has almost always been a social one that involves many different people in many different places at any given time.

Enter Twitter.

Suddenly I’m presented with an online version of what my life has always been. Now, I can make friends with people in different states (which eventually lead to the realization that inspired this post), come across new people who live here in Sioux Falls, or I can reconnect with friends from the past, all in a much more direct and open way than I could do through Facebook or regular, old-fashioned e-mails.

Twitter is basically a huge win for me – it gives me the usual benefits of moving (new friends, new thoughts, new avenues in life to pursue), without the downside of moving (moving). That’s not to say I don’t intend to move again at some point in my life. Although it’s usually not easy, moving has been ingrained in my life as a necessary element. Especially when South Dakota ends up being colder than 32 degrees five months a year. The only thing that could be worse is if polar bears lived here too.

Social media does for me what moving used to do for me. It allows me to open new doors and new conversations, ultimately forming new relationships with people all over the world. In the last few months alone, I’ve been able to discover new music, new TV shows, and entirely new mindsets, all as a result of listening to others and sharing my thoughts with the world.

So, if you enjoy Twitter and other online media services, I'm curious - What do they do for you? How do you use a social network like Twitter? Is it strictly business, is it meeting new people, or is it a reason you can’t quite put your finger on? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so leave a comment and let me know what you’re thinking.

-“…said I dig ya baby, but I gotta keep movin’…on…keep movin’ on…”

Dude to Dad: One man's social media journey into fatherhood...

2008-12-09T14:06:00.026-06:00

I’ve had some exciting things happen in the last few days. The most exciting of which was posting this blog post about Marvel Comics’ dominant social media presence on the internet and then finding out that Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief, Joe Quesada, passed it around to folks at the Marvel office (I even have the tweets to prove it, here, here, and here) and THEN having the Marvel Twitter account tweet it for everyone to read.

That completely rocks my world. Especially since that was not even in the least bit an expected result. As a long-time comic book fan (if I could find my homemade childhood Spider-Man and Captain America Halloween costume pictures, I'd post them here), my head just about exploded.

Thankfully it didn’t, and I’m back to post again. This time, it’s about a social media presence on which I am actually working. The concept is called “Dude to Dad,” and it’s the brainchild of my friend (and future boss) Hugh Weber.

Hugh decided that, seeing as he’ll be a father in fewer than 100 days, he needed to soon make the transition from “Dude” to “Dad,” by the time his child was born. Unfortunately, many of the “books” you can buy regarding this subject are more or less based on helping the mother-to-be during her pregnancy and not so much based on being a not-crappy father.

So, Dude to Dad is Hugh’s real-life journey into fatherhood, and it will be told through videos, tweets, blogging, and the Ning-created social networking site, dudetodad.com. The videos, which I personally think are hilarious (I’ll embed the intro video below if you’d like to see for yourself) are a huge part, but another major area we’re focused on is the back-and-forth discussion taking place on the site’s forum section. We want to know what makes a good “Dad” (both from the male and female perspectives), how difficult it is to transition from the ever-enjoyable “Dude” phase of life (I promise that is NOT me), and any other bits of information Hugh (and all dudes to dads) should know during this terrifying journey into dadhood.

Find more videos like this on Dude to Dad

So what role do I play in this shenanigans-filled combination of humor, true-life experiences, and fellowship, cooperation, and unity of soon-to-be fathers? Well, as a 22-year-old with no intentions of becoming a father anytime soon, I will be serving as Hugh’s “Dude Wingman,” and representing the urges of “dudeness” that he will need to be overcoming as he makes his transition.

Also, on a more technical note, I’ll be serving as the social media presence, site maintainer, writing editor, rap song parody writer (you don’t even know what’s coming), and eventual video guest star. I'll also help maintain the Dude to Dad Twitter account and Facebook page, all in the name of helping dudes become dads. It’s going to be an awesome ride and I definitely hope you’ll join us for it. Dude, dad, dudette, or anything else, you’re welcome to join us at dudetodad.com today and contribute to the site, the discussion, or anything else to which you care to contribute.

I could use some backup in the realm of Dude Wingmen as well, so if you’re young and not planning on being a dad anytime soon (like me), help me come up with ways to challenge Hugh to overcome the pratfalls of dudedom (all with the purpose of helping him become a better father, of course).

Bottom line, this is a big project and I’m looking forward to taking it on and changing the way dads grow into fatherhood. I hope to be on the path from Dude to Dad someday, and I have a feeling that Dude to Dad will be the first place to which I turn for advice, guidance, and friendship. Especially if this initial run goes well for Hugh. I guess we’ll find out together as we go...

P.S. - I'll go ahead and embed the latest video (which features Barack Obama, by the way). It's a pretty sweet video if you ask me:

-Then to my knees and I begged the Lord please…let me be a good daddy , all he needs…”

Marvel - The most "powerful" social media presence on the web...

2008-12-04T14:08:00.064-06:00

Social networking and social media make my life fantastic. Hours of my day spent on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and various blogs are actually considered “work” for me. Concepts like this drive people like my dad (killer 'stache, pops) crazy because “it just doesn’t make sense.”

But it rocks my face off. And pays me dollars. What a great, great combo!

Consequently, many organizations have yet to grasp the concept of exactly what New Media can do for them. However, a few companies have managed to approach and enter the doors that new, social, and online media can open for them, and I’d like to point one out as having done this very successfully.

The company to which I’m referring is my life-long (metaphoric) friend, Marvel. Yes, Marvel as in Marvel Comics. Here’s why (and don't forget to click a link or two)…

The Marvel Twitterverse…

Marvel isn’t just on Twitter…it basically dominates Twitter. 80+ affiliates of Marvel (comic writers, artists, art directors, editors, online creators, audio and video production staff, interns (EDITOR'S NOTE: @ldnallen721, as formerly linked to on the "interns" link, is NOT an intern, she is a web developer...my sincerest apologies...I only know past interns like@nogs), Skrulls, and more...even Senior VPs!) range from light/moderate usage to downright living on Twitter (much like myself) in terms of the number of tweets they send out. Courtesy of @Agent_M (arguably the most active-online facet of Marvel.com’s editorial staff), the Twitterverse has been blessed with a bevy of benevolent Twitterers who are willing to share their lives online (and, consequently, draw me in even closer to the organization that is Marvel). Beyond that, the Marvel account itself (@Marvel on Twitter) is constantly present and available to share new developments, teasers, links, and, most importantly, the account actually ENGAGES Marvel fans by answering questions and sharing in conversations with its 2,500+ Twitter supporters (yes...that's Marvel telling me that it loves me).

On the flipside, I don’t know if the Distinguished Competition (DC Comics) even has a single Twitter account. If so, it hasn’t caused much of a buzz at this point as far as I can tell. Which is quite typical of them, but we’ll get to that later.

Bottom line, @Agent_M got on Twitter long before many people in general, and Marvel has reaped the benefits of being willing to let him encourage anyone and everyone to jump on and share a more personal side of the organization. They’re also wise enough to use Twitter to find stellar interns and other talented individuals in order to stay atop the comic book industry.

Marvel and Facebook/MySpace…

Another thing Marvel does very well is cover its bases with the older social networking sites like our dear friends Facebook and MySpace (both of which are networks you’ll quickly abandon once you spend a few weeks on Twitter). Not only do they use these sites effectively, but they also work hard to incorporate various methods of keeping fans engaged. For example, a Marvel employee might ask for questions for the weekly “MyCup o’ Joe" Q&A with Marvel Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada via Twitter. Those questions, asked for on Twitter, can then end up being asked in the Q&A which is featured on the website. This engagement takes you beyond having an interview shoved in your face and creates a conversation between the fan and the Marvel organization. As a comic book fan, having your question asked to Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief is just sweet (I mean…the dude goes on the Colbert Report all the time). The next step they take is putting these interviews up on MySpace, adding links on Facebook, and, most importantly, keeping all of these networks fresh and updated. Marvel works hard to accomplish this, which is certainly no easy task for a company that creates comics, movies and TV shows, video games, toys, exclusive interviews, exclusive art, and dozens of other things I could link to if I had time.

Bottom line: Marvel maintains a strong presence on various internet fronts. And that’s not even on the Marvel.com site itself…

The Marvel.com site…

Speaking of the Marvel.com site, just check it out. Marvel.com presents, provides, and shares as much content as any other company’s website you can find on the internet. From news releases to writer and celebrity interviews to wallpapers to games (and an entire site devoted strictly to kids), Marvel.com is vast, powerful, and full of reasons to keep coming back. Most importantly, the comments and replies are unrestricted. If you don’t like a certain comic, let that comic's editor know in the comment section of his blog. If you loved the Iron Man movie, share your thoughts on an Iron Man news story comment section. It’s all open (although I believe it might be edited to keep out profanity/vulgarity/etc.), and that’s what makes Marvel’s leap into the social media world even more impressive. Right now, in December, 2008, the number of companies willing to be that transparent is very small in the relative sense of how many companies in the world have an online presence.

The rest of Marvel’s depth…

Beyond these social and online media elements of the site, Marvel does plenty of other stuff to engage people. From the entertaining Mighty Marvel Podcasts (hosted by Twitterer @Suterman himself) to an EXTENSIVE Online Digital Comics archive (where you can read thousands of comics straight from your computer) to other cool, fan-interactive tools like @Agent_M’s CoverItLive liveblogging at some of the recent ComicCons (comic conventions…which are awesome…just ask Johnny Drama), Marvel is unafraid to dabble in all sorts of new technologies. This leads me to believe that they will continually be on the cusp of technology in relation to the comics industry and beyond. Which is awesome as a Marvel Comics fan.

Last (and probably least)…

This is the website for DC (Marvel’s largest rival): http://www.dccomics.com/

No, I’m not kidding. That’s it. For the company with the second largest market share of the comic book industry, that is what they consider an online presence (apparently they do a podcast, but I couldn't find them on Facebook or MySpace or Twitter). My instincts tell me that they MUST have a site revamp coming sometime in the near future but…if not…wow…

Even non-comic fans can agree - it's "Spectacular"...

Honestly, I challenge you to find companies with such an engaged, engaging, and innovative online presence as Marvel. I’m sure you’ll come across a few that can compare, but I honestly doubt you’ll find many that surpass Marvel by much. You may not be a comic book fan, but in an age when forming tribes, communities, and conversations is a key to business success, Marvel has managed to do so with a group of individuals who are fiercely loyal, with or without superpowers. On that, I commend them. And thank them.

So, if you have any examples of good social media efforts, I'd love to see them in the comments section. Disagree with my post? Let me know. Want to talk about comics? Drop me a line. I could talk about comics all day, so I'd be happy to discuss them with you. Share your thoughts and I'll be happy to respond, no matter what the topic may be.

And now, I’m off to go spend too much of my money on the non-digital aspect of Marvel - comic books.

“I’ve been browsin’, inspectin’…X-Men comics, you know I collect ‘em…”

UPDATE (12-5-2008): It has come to my attention that Marvel's Editor-in-Chief, Joe Quesada, is now on Twitter (@JoeQuesada). That is so awesome. Not that it was in question, but I will forever be making mine Marvel...

UPDATE 2 (12-16-08): As of today, DC has joined Twitter with the name @DC_Nation. A little late to the party, but it's still a better late than never kind of thing and I can commend them for starting now. They just have a LOT of ground to make up. Make mine Marvel, either way!

We may be alumni, but we're NOT old!

2008-11-20T17:42:00.059-06:00

For the past six months, I worked on a political campaign.

That is NOT, however, what this post is about. I’m just letting people know that my posts were few and far between (and for awhile, locked up) simply because I didn’t want anything I had written on my personal blog to be held against my unbelievable boss, South Dakota’s 2008 Republican U.S. House candidate Chris Lien. Not that I had much to hide, other than my thoughts on why comic books aren’t just for kids and why men shouldn't have to put down the toilet seat (although I’m sure someone could probably find some way to turn that into sexism in one way or another…good thing I locked it up).

I served the campaign as the official “New Media Director,” running the campaign’s blog, social networks, mass e-mails, and other online duties, and I’m now pursuing new ventures, not necessarily politically-related.

I do, however, plan to continue a career in social media and online community-building in some way or another. One project I will be taking on (as I rashly decided in a light bulb flash of excitement last night) should be a really fun one and I would love input from anyone reading.

The plan is to create a (NOT-officially named) Young Alumni Sports Fan Organization of some sort for my alma mater, Augustana College. Augie is small and it’s in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, so don’t feel bad if you haven’t heard of it. Many people haven’t. By many people I mean millions of people. In fact, more people have probably heard of the band Augustana than the school Augustana…the band, unfortunately, is in no way related to my alma mater.

Anyway, the project will involve engaging recently graduated alumni who still have that fiery, “Augieholic” passion for its athletic teams but aren’t able to express that passion because they are sitting next to 94 year olds that don’t like when people yell things like “That’s garbage, ref!” or “Aiiirrrbaaallll!” (seriously…a woman once chastised us for yelling “airball” at an opposing player because “it’s just so mean”…I wish I could say I were kidding…).

Since I'm not a student, I can no longer do things like this...

...but that doesn't mean I have to sit with people who watch games like this...

So...the plan is to get all of these “Past our Senior Year, but not quite in our senior years” students to sit in the same general location in the arena or gym rather than interspersed throughout the stands with James Naismith’s high school friends. The plan also involves creating a shirt, or various shirts, that have expressions like “Who needs class?...We’re alumni!”, potentially creating and maintaining an e-news letter, and, if we want to get really serious and it’s worthwhile, creating a social network on Ning for the group. We would also try to do real-life things like pre-game or post-game celebrations at a local sports bar on game nights (for football, pre-game tailgating, obviously).

I have every intention of making this happen and I’d be thrilled to see some comments with recommendations for which steps YOU would be sure to take if you were to create something like this. I’d also love to read your thoughts on what it would take from an organizer to get YOU involved in such an effort as a recently-graduated sports fan. Insight in both areas would be much appreciated and respected.

One great suggestion I received on Twitter came from my friend (and frequent blog-commenter) Holli, who mentioned that I should already begin discussing this opportunity with current Augustana College seniors in order to involve them next year. It was a great thought that I (hopefully) probably would have thought up on my own at some point down the line, but her input helped me rethink my approach immediately as the project, in my head, had been entirely alumni-centric until that point. While this won’t be an easy venture, I look forward to trying to make it happen and I hope you’ll be willing to share your thoughts on the matter.

I’ll be doing some more frequent posting now that I’m back in the personal blogging business, so I’m excited to get back in the rhythm of normal life. Hope you all are doing well, and don’t forget to leave your comments and thoughts!

“I’m takin’ it back to the old school, cause I’m an old fool, who’s so cool…”

An unlikely conversion...

2008-09-30T22:38:00.026-05:00

Growing up, I thought baseball was the most boring sport in the world. It took forever, nothing exciting happened, and when it did, I didn’t particularly care because I didn’t have a “favorite team” in the first place. It was basically a sport that was on when basketball wasn’t (which is probably one more reason I didn’t particularly care for it).

I still played it growing up, but enjoyed it about as much as I enjoyed pre-season conditioning in high school basketball. For the record, I did not enjoy pre-season conditioning in high school basketball. But I did it anyway. Needless to say, not having a team to support and not enjoying the actual playing of the sport left me quite jaded about baseball.

Also, I sucked at the Nintendo 64 Ken Griffey Jr.’s Major League Baseball in junior high (watch the intro, then skip to about 4:20 to see the gameplay and you'll understand), and that’s like…the best baseball game of all time. So that was always a degrading procedure when I’d have to play that game with my friends and lose 14-1.

After living that many years not liking baseball, you’d think I would have hated it by the time I was in college.

Well…I did. And, worse, I was in a region where everybody within 450 miles worshipped the same team. Always having been a guy who supported teams that nobody in the area liked (Arizona Wildcat college basketball ((and AZ Wildcat Softball)) and the Chicago Bears while living in Texas), it was mind-numbingly painful to see these Minnesota Twins-obsessed fans who were all infatuated with both a team and, more specifically, a sport that I truly couldn’t stand.

Those weird Twins fans understood (and loved) stuff like this...

Befriending the obsessed...
Well, turns out I ended up rooming with possibly the most Minnesota sports-loving person in the entire region (yeah…it’s like something out of a cheesy sitcom). I mean, my roommate could tell you the hometowns and high school baseball stats of guys who are on the Twins minor league teams. He knows the high school and college football stats for probably 90% of the Minnesota Vikings. He lives and dies with every Minnesota Golden Gopher touchdown, wrestling pin-fall, and hockey goal.

Although I clicked with him better than probably anyone on the campus of Augustana College, we were exact opposites when it came to sports.

But…after a full year of listening to him tell me about Minnesota Twins trades, players sent down to and brought up from the minor leagues, and season-ending injuries that would devastate the team, I realized that I knew the entire Twins roster without seeing a single game. I was also fascinated by the fact that there were individual players in Major League Baseball who, for one season, were paid almost half as much as the Twins ENTIRE roster's total payroll. And the Twins were still somehow playoff contenders.

So, I figured I should give them a chance.

The conversion...
It just so happened that I began to disprove my entire life’s schema about baseball. It might have been the fact that my roommate, who I genuinely enjoyed being around, watched games every night in our room and it was easier to just sit and watch them than it was to leave. It might have been the fact that all of my friends would sit around and have beers while watching the Twins play (and usually play some drinking game based on hits, strikeouts, runs, etc.), and I certainly wasn’t going to be left out of that. Or it might have just been the fact that I was tired of fighting a losing battle against Minnesota sports team-obsessed fans (just kidding, I still hate the Vikings).

Whatever it was, my roommate’s passion had rubbed off on me. I was a Twins fan. I’ll say it again: I was a Twins fan. Then, in the 2006 season (my junior year), the Twins ended up winning the A.L. Central Division and the excitement around that process basically cemented the fact that, from now on, I would be responding with “Twins, baby!” when asked which baseball team was my favorite.

There I am at the Metrodome, actually being a Twins fan...

Can he do that?...
Now, I justify my Twins fandom as not being a bandwagon jump (one of the most loathsome acts one can commit in the sports universe...I think the last sentence of that link's story sums it up nicely) due to the logic that I was never a baseball fan to begin with and, therefore, did not abandon a team I had once supported for a winning, locally-popular team. I simply began to truly appreciate the Twins and what they accomplish in Major League Baseball, as well as the efforts the organization puts into its regional fan bases to keep the connection with fans strong not only in the heart of Minneapolis-St. Paul, but also out in rural communities three, four, and up to six or seven hours away. It’s a group of hard-working athletes who do everything they can to win. It’s just about impossible not to respect them. And, consequently, it makes their success all the more enjoyable.

Unfortunately, the Twins lost tonight to the Chicago White Sox (a club I’ve grown to dislike) in a playoff tie-breaker game that would have made them Division Champions and thus would have gotten them into the American League playoffs. In a gut-wrenching, 1-0 loss, hundreds of thousands (and possibly millions) of fans had their hearts broken by an always-lethal Jim Thome home run that put Chicago ahead for the win.

So...now what happens?
Three years ago, I wouldn’t have cared (and probably would have laughed at the “whining” Twins fans who took their baseball just a little too seriously). Tonight, it just sucked. Straight up. Now, there is no doubt in my mind that there are Twins fans who are much, much more upset than me right now (it’s safe to say my former roommate is one of them). The problem is that, now, I empathize with those fans and I’m quite frustrated that I won’t be watching the Twins and supporting them in the playoffs, enjoying beers with my friends while the Twins tried to win the pennant, and celebrating the joy that can only come from that fiery passion that a sport ignites in the hearts of competitors around the world.

Instead…I’ll have to sit around waiting for basketball season to start. And for one of the rare times in my entire life, that does not appeal to me anywhere near as much as the thought of watching Justin Morneau hit a walk-off game-winner or watching Joe Nathan seal the win in the bottom of the ninth with a low fastball. It’s a weird feeling, but thanks to my friends, this region, and the Minnesota Twins, it’s one that I hope lasts for a long, long time.

But man…do I hate Jim Thome right now…

Have you had a similar experience? Let me know which team won you over (or lost your love) over the years. Which teams would you cry for in a championship loss or celebrate with ecstatic joy for in a championship victory? Do you even like sports? If not, which video game, computer operating system, or awesome book series won you over? Leave a comment and let me know so I can look into any and all of them. Maybe I'll be converted to those too...

Please help me with this...

2008-09-17T17:27:00.007-05:00

Somebody please explain this to me:

I acquired the above image from this site, which has listed multiple pictures of bad parking jobs (the specific blog post title being "Parking a Car Too Difficult For You?"), but I find it hard to believe that this was any legitimate attempt whatsoever by a human being to actually park a car. It looks like it was on the WCPO-Channel 9 News, so I feel like it is probably legitimate.

I would love any and all comments that might give some insight as to how this occurred. I posted a similar post a few months ago, but that was more for comedic effect. This one...I just need some explanation.

I promise you, I will not mock ANY response you post in reply to this. I will only mock the person who "parked" this vehicle. So...if you are the person who "parked" this vehicle...then I probably will make fun of your comment. Or maybe just you. Sorry.

Comic books are NOT just for kids...part 2

2008-08-13T16:05:00.006-05:00

This blog post is (also) for all the idiots in the world who think comic books (and other fantasy stories) are only for kids.

Ok, that may have (still) been harsh, but I needed to get your attention (again) without you immediately discarding the blog post.

First of all, read this post. Then read the one below.

This post will focus on the merits of reading literature that many may deem “childish” or immature. I can assure you that this is a somewhat ignorant outlook to take regarding the issue. Fortunately, brilliant philosophical and intellectual minds like the one belonging to C.S. Lewis are here to support me in my quest to prove that comic books aren’t “just for kids.”

Here’s Mr. Lewis with this quote on fiction:

“It is usual to speak in a playfully apologetic tone about one’s adult enjoyment of what are called ‘children’s books.’ I think the convention a silly one. No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally (and often far more) worth reading at the age of fifty – except, of course, books of information. The only imaginative works we ought to grow out of are those which it would have been better not to have read at all. A mature palate will probably not much care for crème de menthe; but it ought to still enjoy bread and butter and honey.”

-C.S. Lewis, from the essay On Stories

Comic books = ...dessert?
Now, I’m not going to sit here and analyze each line in the quote. I think if you take time to read through it more than once, it should make sense. But I am going to look at, and elaborate on, the last line of that quotation.

See, I look at that quote in a more specific way. This is my (or possibly Lewis’s in another essay or book that I can’t remember) interpretation:

When you are young (childhood age), you enjoy some form of desert (fill in cake, ice cream, brownies, etc…for simplicity’s sake, I’m going to stick with ice cream). As a kid, you enjoy ice cream whenever you can get your hands on it. At that same age, you may not at all enjoy meatloaf (substitute a meal you did not particularly care for in your youth). However, as you grew into adulthood, you may have, over time, acquired a taste for and enjoyment of meatloaf. This, however, DOES NOT mean that, in your maturing process, you lost your love for ice cream. In fact, it is quite likely that you will not only enjoy a meatloaf dinner, but you will also still savor the delicious sweetness of an ice cream cone or an ice cream sundae. While you’ve added to your palette, you haven’t necessarily “changed” your pallet.

This, to me, describes my passion for comic books. I have always enjoyed them. Since my youthful innocence when I would beg my mom to buy me Spider-Man comics in the grocery store as a kid, to buying them for $2.99 and $3.99 each every Wednesday at the comic book store, comic books have been an intellectual and mind-freeing medium of fiction that has consistently satiated my love for visual effects combined with fantasy storylines (and the “man I wish I could do that” factor in my life).

You may still enjoy THIS as a "grown-up"...

...the same way I still enjoy THIS as a "grown-up"...

The difference is, now (as an adult) I am able to enjoy so many more forms of fiction than I could in my younger years. I can read a 448-page historical fiction war novel, and be as captivated by the exploits of Alcibiades in Ancient Greece as I am with the Silver Surfer’s command of the Power Cosmic throughout the galaxies. I can be as blown away by the conclusion of 1984 and Of Mice and Men as I can by the deeply moving self-sacrifice made by Colossus in order to prevent the mutant race from being exterminated by a deadly virus.

Can you enjoy both?

To me, the comic book is simply one more medium that has remained on my palette as a form of intellectual stimulation. I refuse to “replace” it with a more “substantive” medium of fiction because I don’t feel it is necessary to do so. Can I read Great Expectations and decipher the themes and motifs within such a literary masterpiece? Yes, I feel that I am quite capable of doing so. Can I read Alan Moore’s Watchmen and find intense gravity and depth in Rorschach’s absolutist outlook on life or Ozymandias’s consequentialist attitude? Yes. Those themes (and more) are present in a work such as Watchmen. They are simply packaged in a visually-stunning comic book series/graphic novel. That, however, does not take away from the content of each page and each dialogue bubble.

So, my overall point is this: comic books, when given the chance they deserve, contain plenty of wisdom and profundity as long as they are well-written. Comics may be unrealistic fiction, but that doesn’t take away from the overall purpose of the writer’s efforts as a serious author. If a space novel or fantasy tale can be considered literature (and many of them are), then I find it hard to believe that comic books don’t deserve the same. Whether or not one thinks they are strictly for kids, the truth of the matter is that even if a “kid” can enjoy a comic book, there is often plenty of substance for a 22-year-old (or 42-year-old for that matter) to absorb and later reflect upon.

Unless you believe that name-calling and pretentiousness are the only ways to handle someone else’s passion for a literary format you have yet to examine. In which case, keep making fun of the people who read comic books.

P.S. - I understand that one argument against my C.S. Lewis quote may be “What if I never liked ice cream (fantasy stories) in the first place?” and I agree that, in such a case, comic books are probably not a fictional medium of choice for you. I can respect that. My point is that I should not have to defend my enjoyment of comic books due to the notion that they “are for kids.”

I’m also very much open to any discussion you may deem relevant in the “Comments” section of this post (or the previous one) regarding this subject. In fact, I encourage you to participate if you have any interest whatsoever. I’d love to hear some other sides/elements of this argument if you have any to offer.

I won’t be as rude as I was in the opening line. I promise.

"Spider-Man, Spider-Man...does whatever a spider can..."