Archives for June 2008

Pulling a Fast One

Posted on June 30, 2008 Written by Ike

The “Falsity in Advertising” award for the week goes to Disney’s DVD division, for their wonderful “Fast Play” technology. “Fast Play” is supposed to be a way of helping small children get the movie started with a smaller number of clicks. In practice, it serves to infuriate this parent because it locks you into a series of previews, and locks you out of jumping straight to the main menu.

Common sense would indicate that pressing “Fast Play” would take you straight to the movie. So “Boo” to Disney, for holding my family hostage for a barrage of previews and advertisements all in the name of “convenience.” My five-year-old does just fine inserting the DVDs, and didn’t need your tweak.

[tags]Ike Pigott, Occam’s RazR, Disney, Fast Play, marketing[/tags]

Filed Under: Marketing, Personal Tagged: Technology

Brevity

Posted on June 26, 2008 Written by Ike

{{myquote|There are volumes one can write about brevity, provided the author doesn’t understand how to properly employ it.}}
– Inspired by Chris Brogan and Liz Strauss on Twitter, where attempts at brevity sometimes succeed.

Filed Under: Communication, Language, My Quotes Tagged: Humor

Journalisim

Posted on June 25, 2008 Written by Ike

I like the Cranky Geeks, but the irony here is too delicious not to share. The title of this roundtable discussion is “Do bloggers need training in journalism?”:

At the very least, let’s get them spell-check.

[tags]Ike Pigott, Occam’s RazR, journalism, blogging[/tags]

Filed Under: Language Tagged: Humor, Journalism

Countrywide Acclaim

Posted on June 24, 2008 Written by Ike

I took a call from a telemarketer the other night. (My wife was walking, the kids were somewhat calm, and it wouldn’t crimp my style, so I took the call.) The man at the other end was asking if I would be interested in hearing about lowering my mortgage interest rate. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t bother, but I had the time and the curiosity.

I did think it odd that I would then be transferred to someone else. Not sure what the financial arrangement was, but I did end up with an agent for Countrywide Mortgage (which already has our note.)

The agent (Jason Cline) was professional and understanding, and ran a check on our credit. He then plugged in the numbers on conversions to 15 and 20-year mortgages. What I heard shocked me.

“To be honest, Mr. Pigott, there’s nothing we can do that would help you. The amount of your percentage drop would be so small, you’d end up paying off your house faster if you just applied the same amount on your current mortgage.”

In other words, what he said was “Despite what might be in MY best interest to move you to a closing on a different contract, it wouldn’t benefit YOU in the least to do so.” For all the talk about Social Media (and the marketing thereof), here were the principles in action. Put the customer and the customer’s needs first. Countrywide isn’t the first to do this — Progressive Insurance has made a nice living providing quotes for several competitors, even when those quotes beat their own. It’s relationship marketing, and it works because I now place Countrywide in a much higher level of trust than the rest of the pack.

So, Countrywide… if you’re listening, give Jason a big pat on the back. Maybe even a raise. I’m sure that for every one of me he lets go, you’ll get a couple who appreciate the integrity and transparency. You might not get them the first time, but you’ll get them the next time and every one thereafter. You sure got my attention.

[tags]Ike Pigott, Occam’s RazR, Countrywide Mortgage, economics, marketing[/tags]

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged: Economics

Carlin killed by Lohan and Spade

Posted on June 23, 2008 Written by Ike

That’s what KOIN-TV was reporting.

Right there, under the story about George Carlin’s heart attack, it says:

“Related stories: David Spade Ticketed
Lindsay & Sam Love Shopping“

In case they change the links, here is the screen capture:

I think the pressure of trying to compete with such earth-shattering news from other celebrities did him in.

Now, to mark the occasion of Carlin’s passing, I will not recite the Seven Dirty Words. He fought for my right to say them. It’s my choice not to.

[tags]Ike Pigott, Occam’s RazR, George Carlin, humor, celebrity news[/tags]

Filed Under: Language Tagged: Pop culture

Proud and Tickled

Posted on June 20, 2008 Written by Ike

I have to say that I am immensely proud of all the Red Cross disaster relief workers who have used New Media tools to share the word about what is really happening. You guys have really picked up the ball and run with it — and now more than ever it’s important to showcase what disaster relief is, and how it impacts the lives of those in need.

Go visit the Midwest floods online newsroom and see for yourself. There’s an impressive array of tools, from Flickr to Utterz to Slide to Facebook integration. Definitely check out the Google Maps disaster operations mashup.

I’m proud of you guys. Every one of you.

[tags]Ike Pigott, Occam’s RazR, American Red Cross, disaster relief, midwest floods, technology, Social Media[/tags]

Filed Under: Communication, Personal Tagged: Red Cross, Technology, Wordpress

Survival

Posted on June 12, 2008 Written by Ike

{{myquote|Survival is often under-rated, because we live in a time when so many end up succeeding despite themselves.}}

Filed Under: My Quotes