life is good, make it better

Is crowd sourcing the future of retail?

2010-09-16T14:11:00.000-07:00

Everyone has heard of Threadless - but were you aware that Threadless has been partnering up with various well-known retail brands (such as Havaianas to crowd-source out the design for other products as well?

I found this infographic a few days ago and imagine that other companies will be following suit (if they aren't already):

Some companies I can think of right off the bat I'd like to see embrace this idea:

Nalgene or Sigg (water bottles)
Chrome/Timbuktu (bag companies)
North Face (or some other winter jacket company)
and any company that makes iPhone cases. Most of the designs are always horrendous.

Grumpy Bear, Volume 1

2010-06-22T10:26:00.000-07:00

He does not like his travel arrangements:

Mario Brothers is a cultural phenomena

2010-06-20T11:01:00.001-07:00

but so much more so in Japan:

OK Go is at it again

2010-06-17T10:12:00.001-07:00

After their amazing Rube Goldberg machine video, they come out with this (as always, gotta pop youtube out - thanks blogger):

Specifics about the video: "The fastest we go is 172,800x, compressing 24 hours of real time into a blazing 1/2 second. The slowest is 1/32x speed, stretching a mere 1/2 second of real time into a whopping 16 seconds. This gives us a fastest to slowest ratio of 5.5 million. If you like averages, the average speed up factor of the band dancing is 270x. In total we shot 18 hours of the band dancing and 192 hours of LA skyline timelapse – over a million frames of video – and compressed it all down to 4 minutes and 30 seconds! Oh and don't forget, it's one continuous camera shot."

Star Wars meets Adidas

2010-06-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

Polaroid's Comeback

2010-06-07T14:30:00.000-07:00

Recently Lady GaGa was named the 'chief creative officer' or something of the sort (she evidently has given some 'quite good' suggestions for the brand).

I just wonder if anyone in today's society could produce Polaroid images that look like these.

Tropicana Commercial

2010-06-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

nice commercial from Tropicana that brands their product pretty well

Fashion Foto Friday - Two Days Early (or Five Days Late)

2010-05-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

iPad dress (or, the first step toward the human race becoming cybernetic whores):

at least it's not this:

though i would consider a pair of these pants:

Repurposed building facades

2010-05-24T08:23:00.000-07:00

very cool idea for projecting onto building facades

Projection on Buildings from NuFormer Projection on Vimeo.

Not usually a fan of beauty contests

2010-05-12T08:54:00.000-07:00

...but it looks as though the Miss USA contest is updating it's image for the 21st century by featuring the contestants in lingerie.

This might be the smartest thing Donald Trump has ever done.

Music Video - "Darling, It's Alright" - Francis and the Lights

2010-05-07T07:35:00.000-07:00

great use of lighting here

Cupcakes!

2010-05-07T07:10:00.001-07:00

I'm not a huge fan of cupcakes, but I'd buy them if they came with a cannon:

Ray Ban Commercial

2010-05-06T08:48:00.000-07:00

here's another commercial, this time for Ray Ban, via YouTube (once again, embedding doesn't really work here).

Inspiration in a Bottle?

2010-05-06T07:46:00.000-07:00

Interesting commercial from a consumer goods company. It's a Thai advertisement, and I guess that they run a little long over there (perhaps there's a different TV format over there). Not sure how good this will look embedded here, so you might want to watch it in YouTube.

Beautiful commercial though (I won't spoil it)

Superhero Fashion

2010-05-02T11:35:00.000-07:00

Lot's of Google images here, though some seem to originate from the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit circa May 2008

Logos and Che Guevara

2010-04-22T08:34:00.000-07:00

I recently finished a book on the famous Alberto Korda image of Che Guevara - and how it became a globally recognized icon. I won't get into the politics of Che (except admit that I have a Che poster in my closet) - because he means something different to everyone. However, the commercialization of the Che brand is an interesting narrative. And he wouldn't be the icon he became without Castro's fantastic branding/public relations machine.

Korda's original photo:

Notice how much more powerful it becomes with a little cropping:

Jim Fitzpatrick's famous poster version of the image might be just as well known (if not more so). It's interesting he renounced the intellectual property rights to his work, unlike most of the other opportunistic 'communists' who use[d] Che's image for their own gains (notice the "F" for Fitzpatrick in the lower right corner):

I own Naomi Klein's No Logo - and it's gathering dust on my shelf since I haven't read it yet (but I should get around to it). It's leftist and anti-globalization too (much like Che) - so it should be interesting to get a different POV on branding/logos. Here's another rendition of the famous Che image, but with a little corporate commentary:

And just something to keep everything in perspective:

Lady GaGa

2010-04-21T08:29:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I love Lady GaGa - so when I found this piece in the NYTimes blogs I naturally checked it out and fell even more in love.

Check it: Lady GaGa + MOCA + dance = love.

Additional profits for Parker Bros and Milton Bradley

2010-04-19T16:04:00.001-07:00

In my previous post I mention closure, and so I went Googling for images that represented the visual concept. During that process, I stumbled upon the following image:

The design reminded me of a Scrabble board - so I wondered if anyone had tried out this idea before.

Yes,

But inspiration seemed lacking. Though these two bags might be nice for a travel/game bag/tote - I thought someone would've done something better.

This is a Scrabble box that has been repurposed. They get more points for creativity, but the rigid design seems a little impractical.

Something like this seems a bit more expressive, and originally I thought the letters were attached but if you look closer - they're little plastic sleeves. It looks like they go around the entire bag (not sure what the full count is though). It's an interesting idea, but it still feels a little lazy - you're essentially just paying for someone to sew letter holders onto an otherwise ordinary bag for you. Some handy do-it-yourself'er could replicate this fairly easily.

Whoa! Now this (but with Scrabble letters instead of keyboard ones) seems like it could be a fantastic idea! The wood tones of the letters would make it look a little softer - you'd just have to go through quite a few pieces to cover the entire purse. But with the number of Scrabble nuts and quirky teachers out there - I think you'd have a nice little product.

Anyone have thoughts on how to attach the letters though?

Monday is for selling out

2010-04-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

images stolen from the creative criminals blog

m&m's now offers customizable candy - ad by FHV BBDO amsterdam

this one looks like it was done with microsoft publisher or any other generic word document maker - i like the tutu effect the tear-off phone numbers create.

ad by BBDO dusseldorf

this last image reminded me a lot of the concept of 'closure' that we discussed in my graphic novels class during college (yes, i took a comic book class, and yes, it was awesomer than you imagine). so i went looking on Google for some other closure images to use for a follow-up post, but instead walked away with a totally new idea for an additional blog post. maybe i'll come back to closure, or maybe i'll leave that up to you... (no? the pun doesn't work?)

the photo blogging stuff is definitely here to stay - which should add some life and color to the blog and hopefully continue to inspire future posts.

Sunday Inspirationals

2010-04-18T18:54:00.000-07:00

(as with the previous YouTube videos, I can't get the embedding to look just right at the moment - it seems I'm going to need to adjust the template or switch over to wordpress)

this second one might need to buffer a second:

Nike Music Shoe

2010-04-18T08:34:00.001-07:00

seen at ideas are awesome (for some reason, this blogger template doesn't like youtube videos - will need to click on the video and watch on youtube for full frame).

Fashion Foto Friday - Girls on Bicycles

2010-04-16T13:22:00.001-07:00

Here's the first installment in a new "series" (which in this blog's case, typically means one or two posts before I forget about the blog again), Fashion Foto Friday. I'll take fashion photos that I find appealing for whatever reason, talk about them a little (try to be clever), and post links to some sources for further viewing. This week, girls on bikes!

Girls on bicycles, is probably most embraced by the blog Copenhagen Cycle Chic. A wonderful photo blog of girls on bicycles, it features everything from artistic images like the one above to more everyday photos like these:

Though most people probably think of girls on bicycles to be the hipster's domain, this next photo suggests otherwise:

I think it's an interesting juxtaposition.

The next two are photos I took myself of a bicycle parking garage in Amsterdam. It was a surreal experience seeing a structure like that filled with bicycles. They also have dedicated bike roads, separated from the street by a small median (I guess for cyclist safety). My friend was standing in one and was almost hit by a woman because he wasn't paying attention.

I hope that eventually the bicycle becomes more the most popular fashion accessory, talk about sustainable fashion! I did read recently that the Department of Transportation would like to make urban areas in the United States more bicycle friendly - so let's hope something comes out of that!

Start Blogging

2010-04-16T13:08:00.000-07:00

Not too long ago, the FCC ruled that bloggers would have to start disclosing when they received compensation for a product/service review. Why did they do this? Partially to protect the public from greedy bloggers out there in the blogosphere ready to talk about whatever someone pays them too. And partially because the practice of paying bloggers has become so prevalent (I have spent thousands on promotional campaigns for clients via blogs - and it is money well spent if you know where and how to spend it).

There are multiple other streams of revenue you can generate with a blog - such as CPM advertising models (for banner ads and such) or just Google Ads. There are services like BlogAds, but unless you're running a giant blog network - there's no point in giving them a cut of your ad revenue - when your blog is good enough, advertisers will come to you.

Then there's affiliate marketing. Talking about a particular industry? Most retailers and e-commerce sites offer affiliate programs. You'd probably have to carry some legitimacy to make money of it - just linking to lots of products doesn't add much value for the reader. But if you can describe an honest experience with it (and get that blog post some traffic) then you can create an extra source of income.

Of course, before you attempt to monetize a blog - you should have something authentic to blog about. You won't succeed at forcing yourself to blog about something you don't care. But if you choose something you actually enjoy, regardless of how crazy that thing is, you can find people who enjoy it just as much as you do and will become loyal e-Pals.

Quick SEO Tip

2010-04-15T09:01:00.000-07:00

I consistently encourage my clients to embrace Google Webmaster Tools for their SEO campaigns. It provides a great deal of free information, and makes bringing SEO work in-house a lot more feasible (from the get go or eventually down the line).

Here's a blog post from SEOMoz that talks about some of the stuff you should be doing with it.

SEOmoz | SEO Health Checks - Regular Housekeeping Tasks for Your Website's SEO

MBA Update

2010-03-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks,

Now that life has started to slow down a bit (well, not so much 'slow down' as 'fall into place' I suppose - I'm actually a bit busier than normal) I'll hopefully be back on the blog grind. I'm going to shift the focus of this blog away from pure SEO and more a holistic view of marketing and advertising, and some intermittent thoughts on design.

Oh, and I was admitted into Vanderbilt's Owen Graduate School of Management. I currently plan on enrolling there this fall - they have a great blogging community already (Owen Bloggers) that I'll probably get involved with, depending on how much free time I end up having (despite the fact I anticipate very little free time).

In the meantime, here's another great blog that serves as a pretty good source of inspiration for me. I'll probably put them first in the blog roll, once I get around to updating it.

Ideas Are Awesome! Very visual, which makes it easy to breeze through.

-Dan

Profile Posting

2010-01-26T10:41:00.000-08:00

One way to create links for free is to create links within profiles. For example, you have a Google profile that has 'dofollow' links - which means you can get a link from Google.com/howevertheysetuptheirprofiles. That'll pass some value, right? Sure!

There are also plenty of niche sites where you can set up an account/profile and link out from there as well. Whether you're linking to an interest, your company website, or just blatantly padding your profile with links only for SEO purposes - they'll still count as long as they're dofollow (so sorry all you Twitter & Facebook fans).

For example, I set up a profile on this page that has to do with medical/health issues because my client I link to from that profile page is in the medical field. It's a pretty easy link to get - and as long as the profile page is read/indexed by Google - it'll pass some value. How much value is a matter of debate, but we have seen rankings go up from profile page links alone.

But it is a great, white-hat way to obtain links (so long as you aren't spamming the profile links). It's even more white-hat if you actually participate in the forums or the site you sign up for, but then you're starting to get into the realm of internet marketing instead of just generic SEO.

Local Based SEO

2009-09-10T08:12:00.000-07:00

Local based SEO refers to one of two things - either the Google Local Business Center (LBC) or geo-targeted searches. For example, if I searched for "raleigh auto mechanics" I'd see the LBC results with the addresses/phone numbers for 10 local mechanics somewhere on the first page of search results - and I'd also see regular web pages as well.

Many of those sites will be other directories like the YellowPages.com or SuperPages.com and so forth - which isn't what I'm interested in, because if I was just looking for those types of listings, why not just click on the Google LBC results with the map right there?

What I might be looking for though is a national chain store finder, or a local guy's website that details the services he offers, costs, hours, etc. These are going to show up in the regular search results. And for Joe the Raleigh Mechanic, that's about the extent of what he can do on the web (after he puts his site in the LBC too). But if it's Joe's Nationwide Mechanic Company, now we've got to rethink the strategy.

I've posted on local business SEO before, but yesterday while doing analysis for a client I noticed something new: drop down menus on the homepage for popular/large geographical locales.

Usually these "find a location" links either involve you entering your ZIP (which Google can't do) or having some obtuse map tucked away on some inner pages of the site. While a "enter your ZIP to find the nearest WHATEVER" button might be a little more direct (and possibly quicker) - it's not the best practice from an SEO standpoint. Then again, hiding your locations from users AND search engines isn't a great idea either.

Now, the drop down doesn't guarantee that the national company shows up in the LBC, or even the top 10 results for the search - in this instance they showed up #10 for one keyword and #14 for another (with the "raleigh" modifier). If you had a map on your homepage, you'd probably see similar results if you had links to all the same locations (though text works better than images).

Obviously, it helps a lot to have links to your Raleigh location(s) directly off your home page - and I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of chains start moving in this direction. I know I'll be advising another one of my clients to do this on our conference call tomorrow.

Where do old websites go to die?

2009-08-25T11:43:00.000-07:00

Recently I've stumbled upon a couple of golf websites, GolfHoles.com and ExoticGolfPutters.com. From an aesthetic standpoint, both of these sites look like they're circa Microsoft Frontpage 1999-2001, though the latter looks vaguely reminiscent of.... the movie Alien? I mean, neon green text on a black background? Seriously?

But I digress - I mention these sites not to criticize these small, single man operations, but rather to point out how the web is changing (or has already changed). Now, I'm not going to wax poetic about how great life on 14.4kbps dial up internet connections was because it wasn't. But back then, people were amazed by the idea of connecting with other people. Whether it was a car part, a line of code for a program, a tip to help with your golf swing - there was a web community (and even a website ring) that was focused on even specific niches (such as car models, code languages, etc.)

Now most of the sites you find along these topics are monetized sites run by a group of guys who figured out how to turn their hobbies into a second income OR a company that does the exact same thing. Neither of these options is inherently worse than the "for the love of the game" option - and doesn't imply a better/worse user experience either.

BUT it does mean that instead of connecting with an individual - you're now connecting with an organization/company - and that is a very different conversation.

Tiger Woods Timeline

2009-08-04T23:16:00.001-07:00

In honor of the exact match URLs post I did yesterday - I purchased the .com website Tiger Woods Timeline.

The keyword volume tools I use suggest that it's a pretty popular search term (probably more so during golf season, but oh well). By building out the site with a bunch of content related to Tiger Woods career and the rest of his life (which is pretty easy to find, I'll just need to rewrite a lot of it) I think that I may be able to capture some of that search traffic.

It'll be an interesting experiment to say the least.

Exact Match URLs

2009-08-03T11:26:00.000-07:00

The other day I wrote about localized SEO - and there's another point I'd like to expand upon here. This may not apply to all markets, as NewYorkGroceryDelivery.com is going to have a lot more competition than say, OntarioGroceryDelivery.com, but if you're trying to rank for the term "New York Grocery Delivery" - you'll have a leg up on on BigAppleDirect.com (or whatever some generic grocery delivery company in NYC is called).

That is because you have an exact match URL. So if I'm trying to dominate the Ontario, California water treatment services market and I'm trying to compete with a company like Culligan in the Ontario, CA market http://culligan.com/local-dealer/ca/ontario/ (notice the URL does feature the location and feed off the water treatment power of the Culligan.com domain) - I'd be better off with something like OntarioWaterTreatment.com or whatever - however, that could get tedious as maybe I'm selling water softeners, water filters, or delivering those 5 gallon bottles of water that you see in so many offices. In that case, something along the lines of "OntarioWater.com" might do - because then I can have separate pages for OntarioWater.com/Filters etc. that'll still match the keywords in the URL - though they won't necessarily be exact matches.

For local SEO - this is definitely a leg up. Even for national SEO, depending on the market, it can also be a big advantage. If I Google "lawn mowers" - by the second page you'll notice what is essentially a parked domain (an inactive one that is just used for traffic purposes) - lawnmowers.com. This site outranks millions of other pages, including Troybilt, Husqvarna, Lowe's, Home Depot, and others - simply because it has an exact match on the URL. Granted, it doesn't outrank Honda, John Deere, or Toro - but those three companies are all actively implementing SEO campaigns as well.

Why Chris Anderson Is Right

2009-07-29T09:50:00.000-07:00

Recently Chris Anderson (Editor of Wired Magazine) has been making the rounds in the various news sources - I saw him on the Colbert Report, heard him interviewed on NPR's Marketplace, and then read another interview with him in Spiegel. Most of this press has to do with his new book - 'Free' - that basically says that the price of online content will be (and is being) driven to zero.

That doesn't mean that it'll be completely free - just that there will be free and paid versions. For example, on a streaming video site you could pay a monthly membership to avoid commercial interruptions, or watch the same video for free with a commercial intro (or even breaks at certain points within the show). I agree wholeheartedly with this notion.

However, in his Spiegel interview Anderson mentions that 'media will become a hobby.' This seems a little asinine at first glance because well, the news is the news! Trusted source of journalism, accuracy, hard hitting investigative reporting, etc! In many cases, this will likely still be true (then again, TMZ.com did break the news that Michael Jackson was dead - hours before the news networks would later confirm it). Does this mean that TMZ is as accurate? Well, in this case, yes. In all cases? Doubtful.

In another example is the recent Yahoo-Microsoft deal, which the NY Times wrote about today. However, as early as last Friday, some sources were reporting that the deal was basically done. Yesterday, it became clear that the deal was official and would be announced. Of course, the actual announcement only came today - so is the NYTimes really 'behind the time' or are they just waiting until they can 'officially' report the news (after everyone else is already aware of it?).

Because I follow other search people on Twitter, I found out about this news relatively early in the cycle (and snickered at the people trying to jump on the news bandwagon later - c'mon, if we're all working in search, you should've known about this a little sooner than today people). And Anderson mentions that the people he follows on Twitter (within his industry/interests) are the same type of people who will socially link stories to their friends/followers that he'll also trust as well.

So for announcements like this, I think the news is dead as the go to source. I still think that they'll be a good place for insight and analysis on some issues that very few are qualified to address (ie - international politics, etc.) - but the question is - how many people truly care about that kind of news?

Think Globally, Buy Locally

2009-07-29T09:22:00.000-07:00

When I buy stuff off the internet, and I buy things off the net very rarely - well, actually, most of the stuff I buy is groceries and gasoline, the occasional movie ticket, and going out to eat/drink with friends - but I digress.

When I buy stuff off the internet, I'm looking for a good deal - whether it's a DVD box set, renewing my Xbox Live membership, or buying a new lens for my digital camera - on a product I don't need immediately (I haven't even watched all the DVDs I already own).

When I buy something in person, I'm looking for instant gratification. I want it now. I need new running shoes, probably 100 miles ago, so I want them now because I don't want to break my routine.

Of course, having lived in the same area for the past 8-9 years - I'm pretty familiar with where I should go to buy new running shoes. So let's pretend I move somewhere random, like Lemon Grove, California or somewhere a little less random, like Houston. Now I have no idea.

Rather than search for 'running shoes' (where I am going to get a bunch of national results - which would be fine if I knew exactly what pair/size shoe to buy) I'll search for a term like, 'running shoes houston' - which will pull up a list of local stores with the local business results map and some other websites (usually for stores selling running shoes in Houston).

However, let's take this one step further. If I'm a national chain (with at least one store in Houston) I want to be on that list. But I also want to be on the list for Las Vegas as well. Now, depending on the number of stores I have - I may be able to do this on a city by city basis - but that's going to end up becoming a very tedious process if I have say, more than 1,000 stores (which a lot of chains do).

How do I approach the task then? Should I buy 1,000 domains? (eg - houstonstore.com, lasvegasstore.com, chicagostore.com, etc)? Or maybe I should just make sure that each store location has it's own page on my corporate website and is listed in all the pertinent local directories (yellowpages, etc.) so that we should up in the Google LBC?

The answer is, there is no single strategy that's best. You have to consider what you're trying to rank for, how strong your brand (and website) is nationally, and how tough the competition is locally. Good luck ranking for 'coffee shop' in New York City - but ranking for 'coffee shop' in Rural, Ohio should be a bit easier.

Interactive Marketing, or, BOOM goes the dynamite

2009-07-22T10:57:00.000-07:00

These days, I get a bit of my information/analysis about marketing, and interactive marketing in particular, via my Twitter account (twitter.com/loosebricks) and today I received an update that the new Forrester Research 5-year interactive marketing forecast is available.

Long story short, it looks as though "advertising is going to change forever" (of course, people have been saying for the last 20-30 years that soccer will catch on in the United States, and that has yet to happen). But I do believe that a lot more interaction and customer engagement is going to take place online.

The full report can be read here but if you don't have $1,999 to plunk down on it, try reading an introduction to the report by Forrest Research VP Josh Bernoff. The big idea is that "overall advertising budgets will decline. Yep. With dollars moving out of traditional media toward less expensive and more efficient interactive tools, marketers will actually need less money to accomplish their current advertising goals."

Look at the auto industry for example. They've pulled out of (or severely reduced) their spends on just about every form of advertising. And their brilliant new idea? Sell the cars on eBay. I just can't wait to take my first virtual test drive!

SEO v. Marketing

2009-07-08T15:23:00.000-07:00

So not too long ago I ran into a couple of former marketing guys who now run a marketing/branding consulting company. I started talking to them about SEO and they joked about whether or not I was a black hat SEO guy (I'm not). But essentially what they came to say, and what I agreed with, is that SEO for the sake of manipulating rankings is worthless because it doesn't really form a connection with the users. Engaging content, awesome products, and authentic experiences do (iPods/iPhones/Blackberry, GI Joes/Transformers/LEGO, Nintendo, GooseBumps/HardyBoys/Nancy Drew/Harry Potter, etc.).

Here's a good blog post by some marketing whiz that says this a lot better than I could.

I found that link from the blog of another digital marketing whiz, Dave Churbuck (who does the digital marketing for LENOVO). He has some great stuff, but I'll let you find it yourself.

The moral of the story is, one shouldn't be thinking of SEO only in terms of ranks & traffic - but what it actually does for the user, which is help them connect with something that they want/need/will come to love.

SEO Campaigns

2009-07-05T21:47:00.001-07:00

So my last post was about the basics of SEO - and now this post will cover how to create an SEO campaign:

Read this: http://www.best-seo-blog.com/2009/06/seo-strategy-document-how-to-write-an-seo-strategy/

'Nuff said.

SEO

2009-07-05T21:38:00.000-07:00

The first work related post of ... the blog.

The basics of SEO are:

Accessibility (or site architecture) - can search engines crawl the site well, is everything as close to the first page as possible, is everything on the site unique. Good site architecture is a good first step in SEO as it makes the site easier for the search engines and users.

Quality content - Does the content provide some sort of value to the user? Does new content provide additional value? Does it attract links naturally? How can I improve upon the content? What differentiates my content from that of my competitors? This is basically marketing/branding/product development for those of you business minded individuals.

Link Building - What pages need links to rank better? Where can I find good quality, authority links? Can I optimize these links? Can I create additional link bait?

Those are the three main points of SEO - coupled with keyword research and targeting (that's basically knowing your audience and targeting your site to those people). What keywords can you target (and actually achieve rankings for)? If someone clicks on your site, are they going to have an authentic experience or are you just trying to capitalize on the traffic and leave them wanting?

Then of course, you need to track and report all this data. How is your linkage growing? Is your content working? How well? What can you improve upon? How is your site architecture holding up (is it getting your entire site indexed?). Etc.

This is my job. Joy.

Matchmaker matchmaker, make me a ... ?

2009-06-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

So I signed up for Match.com last night. I had (and have) been using the free service, OkCupid, but I think that Match might have a couple of advantages or benefits over OkCupid, despite its costs (it's $108 total for the premium account for 6 months, or $102 if you get the second tier account, or you can pay something like $35 for one month or something a little more than $18 but less than $35 per month for 3 months).

Though the cost can be seen as a potential drawback - I actually see this as a good thing for a couple of reasons:

It means that the person must have at least a little money to spend on this, so there's no freeloaders or people without jobs.
People with money are generally employable - which means that other people (and not cats) also like this person.
They're interested in actually pursuing a relationship with someone they meet online (unless they don't mind throwing money away) whereas on a free site, you tend to find a lot of flakes who aren't necessarily as sure about putting a foot in the water of online dating.

I'm sure there are other perks that I haven't noticed just yet - but I'm ready to get back in the dating game so I'm hoping that I can meet some interesting people, and sooner rather than later would be nice.

And if I don't meet anyone in 6 months, I can get another 6 months free. But I'm not so sure that this is a guarantee for my benefit, or a subtle way of telling me that if I can't find someone in 6 months, it's because I suck.

The Future of Search

2009-06-18T13:25:00.000-07:00

Unless you live under a rock, or are addicted to the crack rock, chances are, you've seen and/or heard of the new Microsoft Search Engine, BING. Oh wait, I mean "decision engine." That being said, Bing is essentially exactly the same as the old Microsoft Search Engine(s) - just rebranded. Sure, it has a couple new cool features - like being able to preview videos in the video search (and sometimes bypass filters at work) - or being able to see when the price of plane tickets will go down (which is nice, if you have a very flexible travel schedule - but it won't tell you the cheapest ticket to find today).

And then just this week, a new "decision engine" was launched by one of the co-founders of Flickr, and this "decision engine" is called Hunch. This particular decision engine works basically like a quiz engine - yes, just like those annoying quizzes you see on Facebook or signed up for on OKCupid.com three years ago. Though Hunch has some potentially more useful capabilities, I'm sure it'll be dumbed down just like Twitter.

But what decisions ultimately come down to is the data available. When you buy a car, it's not (at least I hope it's not) because a website told you - this is the best car. Rather, it's because you were able to compare the specs of the car you chose to other similarly priced cars (after you've figured out your car budget) and determined that you like this one's safety, reliability, fuel economy, number of cup holders, engine power, and aesthetics.

Or when choosing an MBA program, it isn't because a website said - this is the best MBA program for you. It's because you spoke to alumni, current students, researched career placement/advancement, looked at starting salaries of graduates, courses offered, other opportunities offered, name recognition, and so forth.

Perhaps when all of this data is compiled into one place, then you'll be able to use a "decision engine" - but even if all this data is put into one place - ultimately, how different is an Accord v. a Camry, or Harvard v. Yale? It just comes down to emotion, and no computer is going to be able to help you make that decision. You'll have to rely on the best decision engine available to you - your brain.

Exciting Time in Sports

2009-06-15T09:11:00.000-07:00

So, the past week (and the upcoming one) are an exciting period in sports. Yes, I know that college basketball has now been over for a little more than two months, and that college football and the NFL won't start for another two and a half - but the summer isn't necessarily a complete dead zone (a la Verizon) for sports fanatics.

This past week had probably the 2nd best hockey game I've ever seen, with a thrilling Stanley Cup Final Game 7 between the Penguins and the Red Wings. For those of you wondering, the best game ever was the Miracle on Ice, the thrilling 1980 medal round game between the USA and the communist USSR hockey juggernaut.

Then there were the NBA Finals, which was the 4th NBA title for Kobe Bryant (though one could make the argument he should have been co-MVP with Gasol) - which even though the Lakers won the series 4-1, change a few plays and the two teams are still playing with the Magic up 3-2. It would've been better had the Cavs made the finals, but that's because I'm a homer for all Cleveland franchises.

The MLB draft took place - and the Cleveland Indians landed my fellow Tar Heel Alex White, which I'm super stoked about because the Indians could always use more pitching (though right now, I think they could use more of anything they can get their hands on). Dustin Ackley, now the UNC record holder in career hits, went #2 overall to Seattle - so it was pretty cool to see two Tar heels go in the first 15 picks.

And then finally, this week, we have the US Open. While one can't expect for their to be the same level of drama as last year's - it should be a pretty exciting event to watch. Will Tiger resume his major form? Or will Phil rally around his wife's cancer and play the tournament of his life? Or perhaps someone completely different (but not Sergio, because he can't win for shit) will emerge victorious from the field (perhaps Rocco Mediate gets his, one year later?). Regardless, I'll be following the PGA leaderboard all weekend long.

Whine and Cheese

2009-06-09T19:16:00.000-07:00

I am sick and tired of people who don't understand basic principles of business attempting to attach their own thoughts of what business "should" or "should not" be to the internet, a product, a brand, or anythingelseinthefuckingworld.

Recently, I've read a lot of complaints comparing SEO consultants or "Social Media Gurus/Experts/Etc." to SNAKE OIL SALESMEN.

Having grown up in the South, I understand the negative attributes associated with the so-called snake oil salesman. However, because I was raised by a pair of intelligent parents, I also possess the ability to discern when I'm being blatantly lied to.

There is a proverb used by Obi Wan Kenobi in STAR WARS, and probably elsewhere, that goes: "Who is more foolish: the fool, or the fool who follows him?"

The point is: if you can't tell when you're talking to a snake oil salesman, then kudos to him for every jar of snake oil that he sells you. Sure, maybe *his* ethics are questionable, but if you travel around a little bit, you'll discover that there are plenty of people who are more than happy to rip you off if you're willing to let them (even if they are offering you a legitimate/necessary service).

Yes, it'd be nice if we lived in a world full of unicorns and rainbows and sunshine and sprinkles - but we don't. There are people who will try to take advantage of the ... less than savvy - and if you're one of them - whose fault is that? Certainly not theirs.

How Will We Tip Strippers?

2009-05-29T15:25:00.000-07:00

So I regularly read the Freakonomics Blog (It's one of two, the other being the irreverent MCM + KJD) and there was an interesting post about the future of cash money, or rather, a future without it. The article doesn't really say much, except for another diatribe against the penny (I'm with them there) and then points to an article in Wired about where money is going.

I should note that I recently lost my debit card for the first time in my life. Without cash, what would I do? (Of course, getting cash without my ATM card is a pain anyway). I still have my credit card, but I like using cash for getting the bartender's attention ASAP (Franklin is a flashy mofo) so I don't see the bills going anywhere just yet. Maybe we should cut out all the coinage though.

Everyone Loves Raleigh

2009-05-24T23:29:00.000-07:00

Apparently enough to make it the #1 relocation destination in the United States. Raleigh beat out Austin (TX) at #2, and Charlotte (ha!) came in #3. Charlotte is kind of a surprise given the collapse of the banking industry, but maybe some people decided they could get a great deal on some foreclosed suburban ex-finance guy's home?

You can read the whole Forbes article here (to see the actual top 10 list, you'll have to click on the "In Depth" link after the first or second paragraph).

Coincidentally, I sort of hate Raleigh - which is why I still live in Chapel Hill.

Business Cards

2009-05-08T11:16:00.001-07:00

I just can't seem to regularly update this blog! But here's what my new business card is going to look like. The company I work for, El Toro Interactive, has an obvious bull theme. Thus, we could've gone with either bull riding or bull fighting. The artwork for bull fighting is much better (I actually have a real bull fighting poster that I picked up in Grau du Roi, France hanging in my home) - so we decided to use that for our business card. We're heading to a conference in Seattle in a few weeks, and we wanted a card that would really stick out from the rest of the industry (and within the internet/interactive industries, there's quite a bit of creativity) and leave an impression.

If you think that card is awesome, wait until you see our new company t-shirts.

The shit is going to hit the fan again

2009-04-16T12:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afteroon on the radio I heard a commercial for a local company, 'Triangle Pool and Whatever' - 'Raleigh economists say that the economy is going to make a rebound this summer, so now is the time to buy a new pool or spa. Pay nothing now! No interest for XYZ months!'

I had to laugh, because I figured that the whole, buy on credit, pay later phase was kind of nipped in the butt by the economic recession.

I get that the pool company needs to make its money, but where's my pool payment plan if I lose my job?

MBA Update

2009-04-08T09:44:00.001-07:00

So I decided to defer admission to South Carolina for a year to work on business ventures (and to set myself up a bit better financially to take at least two years off). I may reapply to some of the other schools I was rejected from (which means retaking the GMAT and taking some math courses to improve the quantitative aspect of my applications) and apply to a few new schools as well.

My interest in marketing has grown substantially (I no longer want to completely abandon the field) and I think focusing on that (as I know quite a bit more about online marketing) aspect of my business school applications might help strengthen my candidacy. I'm also a lot more interested in e-commerce, as I've worked more closely with our clients in that respect. (I know Simon has a pretty solid e-commerce program too).

Of course, if my start up actually takes off, I may never need business school (but I'm not holding my breath). Until then, I'll try to add more posts here regularly - about the progress on my book, perhaps some editorial pieces, and other stuff to try to get more people here reading and commenting (thanks to those of you who have, by the way!).

Tiger Woods

2009-04-08T09:22:00.000-07:00

A number of years ago, as a bright-faced, take-on-the-world college freshman, I wanted to write an editorial piece entitled: "Why Tiger Woods should be hit by a bus" for my college newspaper.

I never ended up finishing that piece, not only because my editor was a little more pragmatic than me and wouldn't have let it been published anyway but because I would have felt even worse if Tiger Woods was actually hit by a bus (and wielding cosmic powers like that would've gone straight to my head).

My point was that (and still is to some extent), that enough with "the hype." There was so much press surrounding Tiger in 2002/2003 (and before, and after) and I was tired of hearing it all. Great. Tiger was winning EVERYTHING. Fantastic. In a sport that I didn't really care about at the time (and for the most part, still don't).

Tiger Woods was the Harry Potter of golf. Especially if you grew up in golf country like I did. Other sports have superstars, but Tiger Woods was the lone supernova of the golf world. Just like Harry Potter was there for a few years (now supplanted by the Twilight series).

Now that I am older, wiser, and more sober than I was during my college years - I realize that Tiger Woods and Harry Potter have their purposes in life. Harry Potter, whether or not you like the book or the hype, has probably led to numerous kids who've fallen in love with reading and books because of the book series. Though you can complain about *what* these people are reading, you can't really complain about anything that leads to kids reading.

Likewise with Tiger, you could have complained (as I did) that he wins everything and makes the sport uninteresting to follow. But now I watch him play (when I never had before) because I want to see him dominate the sport. And if he doesn't win, it means that someone else rose to the challenge - someone else whose golf career I can take an interest in (such as Rocco Mediate).

After last year's epic victory on ONE GOOD KNEE - it's hard root against Tiger. Of course, I feel bad for every kid out there whose dad thinks his son is going to be the next Tiger, but some kid(s) out there might come close. Hopefully they won't have to grow up with the same hype though.

Simon Says?

2009-03-02T22:24:00.001-08:00

So I thought I was done with the MBA application process (and to a large extent, I still do think I am done) but then I received an email this past weekend from the Dean of the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester.

Now, I know this wasn't intended as a personal note - he probably cut/paste the same message to anyone who had started an online application but hadn't finished said application. Actually, he probably didn't even have to do that! Some sort of email program probably did it automagically.

But I figured, hey, if the Dean at least *acts* interested, it has to be worth looking into. He encouraged me to apply (and I received an application fee waiver earlier, so I wouldn't be spending anything more than the time on the application) and mentioned a lot of the notable alums from their "Early Leaders" program - and it was quite an impressive list. (I have yet to see any such list from USC).

He's supposed to put me in touch with some alums/current students as well as the admissions department. Of course, having already been accepted into an MBA program, I think I'll feel a lot less pressure if I go through another application process. I'd also appreciate an honest assessment from the school's admissions department on my chances of being accepted - but I don't know how plausible that is. My GMAT is on the low end of the average score spectrum (the low end of the the middle 80%) and my GPA is right at the bottom of the class average. Granted, I write kick ass essays, and will have good recommendations (but everyone has good rec's) - so outside of scores and statements, it'd be the interview and how I present myself.

I'm just waiting to hear back from them now (though the Dean did send me two follow up emails later in the day after my response, so at least I know he is interested afterward).

USC Update

2009-02-19T12:04:00.000-08:00

So, the University of South Carolina IMBA program begins in FIVE MONTHS!!! Those aren't really exclamation points of excitement as much as bewilderment. I have so much to do to prepare. Fill out forms (FAFSA, academic common market, change of address), terminate my lease, transfer my utilities (or cancel them), find a new place to live in Columbia, etc.

I might need another suit too, since I just have the one right now... alas, I'm not looking particularly forward to the suit wearing.

I'm also trying to get my own side business running that I can maintain easily while a student. I'm thinking if I get this off the ground I can pay my way through school (and even come out with some savings!)

I've been reading a lot lately - but I think I might have to put the books on the backburner because I don't think I'm going to have much time to work on mine once I start class.

MBA Updates

2009-02-05T14:09:00.000-08:00

Ok - so SMU said no, but USC (the University of South Carolina) said yes - which means, Columbia here I come! I'm debating between pursuing the Chinese track (which requires an additional year of study abroad, which could be fun, but the Chinese language is also a more difficult) or the Spanish track (I already have some Spanish background, and it will certainly continue to be useful within the United States and Latin America).

Additionally, USC is ranked higher (in the recent Financial Times survey) than both SMU *and* Notre Dame (Colorado isn't even listed). It was also ranked as the #2 international business MBA program IN THE WORLD. So it's not like South Carolina isn't a good program. Sure, it could probably benefit from a couple changes here and there, but with the added bonus of receiving in-state tuition via the Academic Common Market, there's probably not going to be a better deal for me.

MBA Monday

2009-01-19T10:30:00.001-08:00

"Dear Dan,

Thank you for your interest in Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management. Your application was thoroughly reviewed by the Admissions Committee, and a decision was made based on the relative strength and quality of your credentials in comparison to this year's applicant pool.

We regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you a place in the Class of 2011."

A very polite way of saying no.

It also turns out that South Carolina has no set date for informing applicants (after checking on their website) so I sent a brief note to my interviewer asking for a general idea of when I could expect a decision. About 45 minutes later I received an email from someone in the Office of Career Management asking to arrange a phone interview. She said this is a common practice for applicants with 'limited' work experience. I suppose this is good because it means that my application is still being considered.

I'm preparing an outline of what to talk about so that I'm ready for any questions about my career to date (such as 'job hopping'), career goals (short term, long term, etc.), and my application in general. I will ace this interview tomorrow at 1:30 PM.

I also need to send a follow-up note to Southern Methodist University as well andclarify some issues with my application.

The waiting game...

2009-01-15T06:44:00.000-08:00

So today I hear back from Vanderbilt and South Carolina regarding whether or not I get accepted... I'm hoping for some good news, and I'll probably be refreshing my email inbox every two minutes until I receive my notification letters. Work productivity will probably be pretty low today...

SMU

2009-01-14T13:29:00.000-08:00

So I visited Dallas yesterday to interview at Southern Methodist University's (SMU) Cox School of Business. I was actually quite impressed with the campus and the people. Everyone was very friendly, I don't think I walked past a single person who didn't say hello. Of course, I was wearing my suit (and no one else save the professor was) so I probably stuck out as a prospective student (that and the fact that the program is sort of small, so everyone knows everyone).

I really enjoyed the class I sat in on, and was once again able to answer (correctly) a question that the professor posed to the class (which hopefully makes me stick out at least to the student ambassador, though I hope that the professor was so taken by my mad skills that he walked up to the admissions director and was like, 'let that kid in').

What impressed me the most though was the students involvement in other services that the program provides, such as their "Business Leadership Center" where students can take seminars on all sorts of subjects - to either get a taste of a potential class to enroll in, to supplement their own coursework, or just to get titles such as "Dean's Circle" on their resume. SMU also has the American Airlines Global Leadership Program (AAGLP) where they pay just about all your expenses (sorry, bar tab not included) and send you abroad for two weeks after your first year (to Europe, India, China, or Latin America) to learn about businesses working in those countries (or from those countries). It's a graduate requirement, which I think is pretty interesting (most schools have no required international component). Also, the Dallas area is apparently very much behind SMU and a lot of executives serve as mentors for the MBA students, which is pretty helpful when you're trying to build a business network.

I could definitely see myself at SMU.

Waitlisted!?

2009-01-09T11:18:00.001-08:00

WTF mates!?

So I received my admissions decision from the University of Colorado's Leeds School of Business MBA program. This time [thankfully] I wasn't denied [rejected outright] by the admissions committee. I was told that my application was "not as competitive as the current batch of candidates they are currently admitting" on the basis of my quantitative skills (GMAT score and collegiate math scores). They suggested I retake the GMAT or enroll in a finite math class ... ugh.

My hopes are that the three schools remaining all take me (hehe) or at least a few of them do, leaving me with a choice. I think the equation would look like:

Acceptance Letters from Vanderbilt + SMU + South Carolina != Attending Colorado even if Accepted.

On Golf | Golf as a business tool

2008-12-30T11:05:00.000-08:00

I grew up in Pinehurst, NC (the golf capital of the world... though we traded the golf hall of fame to florida for the right to host the U.S. Open from time to time...). Everything about this town is related to golf (or the supporting service industries). Even the weather feels compelled to cooperate, as it was a cool 70 degrees on Christmas day and over the weekend following Christmas (so I'm sure there were quite a few elated golfers who got to try out their new toys).

Which is why it is only appropriate that my client at work is a well known golf entity. On their website, they offer tons of information on golf courses and golf equipment. In fact, it could be said that before you hit the golf course, you should check out their website for lots of free golf instruction videos, tips, and tricks. Can you tell who my client is yet? ;)

What has really surprised me though is the number of websites popping up that devote themselves to 'teaching golf as a business tool.' Not only are these people now self-purported experts on using golf as a business tool, but they also quit their jobs to become full-time 'business golf consultants.' I'm not sure that I understand this phenomena at all, as I always figured this was sort of intuitive.

Business is about networking. Golf is similarly about networking (to get on the best member-only courses, tickets to events like the Masters, etc.). If the number one rule of business is trust (or forming meaningful relationships) - then isn't golf just a natural extension of that? Don't cheat, play fair, and have a good time. No one wants to golf with a super serious player, but likewise, if they just want to get drunk, they can do that at a bar instead of a golf course. I don't understand why anyone would need to pay somebody to tell them how to effectively use golf as a business tool. What, give away free branded golf balls? Golf tees? Perhaps even putters for higher-level executives?

This is probably why the economy started to sputter, because people came up with dumb business ideas like this.

Owen

2008-12-28T10:40:00.000-08:00

Well, even with Christmas behind us, the MBA process keeps moving along. I received an eVite to a 'Coffee Break' session hosted by a current Owen student (the Vanderbilt business school) and I went. It was just one other prospective student and me, and it was a nice informal chat (and free Starbucks latte) about all things Owen. It was nice to speak with her and get her honest feedback about the program. The only thing she said she wished was better was the school's approach to sustainability (particularly the environment) but she added that the school was working on addressing that subject (they've brought in a top professor in the field, which is surely just the tip of the iceberg).

I think the event was quite telling too in that Vanderbilt was the only university that reached out like this, whereas most other schools are content to have impersonal information sessions or participate in an 'MBA fair' type of deal. Owen just seems a bit more personal, and this event really cemented the school's place a the top of my list.

Now all I have to do is just get accepted....

Das X-Mas

2008-12-25T10:51:00.000-08:00

Due to the downturn in the economy, we regret to inform you that Christmas will be canceled this year. Instead we'd like to offer you 'Christmas Lite.'

I wonder how many people got in touch with "the true meaning" of Christmas this year with tight financial situations? My family exchanged modest gifts, but spent a lot of quality time together (my older brother was stationed abroad last Christmas and is finally home in the United States for good... unless he happens to get deployed to Iraq for one last tour). I ended up buying myself a few presents, including some new ski clothes for my upcoming trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and some DVDs that I absolutely could not live without (the 4th season of the Office, the 2nd season of 30 Rock, and a used copy of the Bourne Ultimatum). After all, it is better to give AND receive, right? (And doesn't that count double when you're giving and receiving the gifts yourself?)

I bought only books (with the exception of one fleece) for my family. Not so much because they're bookworms, or that I singlehandedly wanted to bail out the book industry, but because they're presents that I can also enjoy! (As I can read the books later, or first, depending on which family member got the book - some of us get to do our reading quicker than others...)

Overall, it was a good Christmas. Hopefully the ski trip will be a blast, and will be followed by acceptance letters from all of the other business schools I've applied to (South Carolina, Colorado, Vanderbilt, and Southern Methodist.. though I won't interview there until January 13th).

Merry Christmas everyone!

Hump Day Humor

2008-12-17T07:29:00.000-08:00

This cartoon is courtesy of the Cartoon Bank.

Tuesday Tunes

2008-12-16T11:46:00.000-08:00

Guess if I do a 'regular' type of post every day, I'll have a little more incentive to post on a regular basis. Tuesday Tunes will be a lyric section (because lyrics sound so much better than poetry - and probably sell a lot better too).

Without further ado, I present to you:

'A Song for Victoria' (circa summer 2005, during my emo phase)

I know this girl baby she is so fine
And I like to dream one day she’ll be mine
It gets so lonely around when she is gone
How can she make one week feel like so long
We’ve only known each other for three days
But already she’s got me frazzled and frayed
I am falling apart at the seams, so it seems
Because now she’s always in my dreams
So this is my love song for me to say
All of the things my demeanor betrays
So many words that I have to say to you
All these words that I am afraid to say too
I’d like to think that you’d make me laugh
You’d make me cry and bring tears to my eyes
And we would tell each other little white lies
Because we’re not perfect and that’s alright
When we know that our future looks so bright
We would lie in bed thinking how lucky we are
That we were each other’s shining star
Our love the ember that created the spark
To light up a world that once seemed so dark
And this is how I’d dream we’d be
If we were together girl you and me
This is how every night I dream of you
Please tell me that you dream of me too

MBA Monday

2008-12-15T12:08:00.000-08:00

MBA update: invited to interview at Southern Methodist, so I'll be in Dallas sometime soon. Also, denied admission to UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School, which means I'll be leaving the beautiful golf courses of North Carolina behind. However, there are probably some fantastic golf courses in Columbia (SC), Nashville, and Dallas. And when the the ground isn't covered with snow, I bet Boulder, Colorado is a lovely place to golf too.

Hump Day Humor

2008-12-10T15:05:00.001-08:00

This golf cartoon is courtesy of the Cartoon Bank.

Jonas Blackburn

2008-12-09T12:58:00.000-08:00

So it appears that re-using old, previously hidden writing pieces is easier than generating something new. This is an excerpt of something I wrote during high school (hugely inspired by Catcher in the Rye). It's obviously rough, but I think it contains some decent imagery and ideas.

-----------------------

He stopped walking and looked around him, not merely glancing, but actually looking. He was standing in the middle of a long gray hallway, a hallway he walked down many times everyday whose walls were decorated with pictures of people long since dead; pictures of various classes and distinguished individuals who had graduated from the school since 1767. The school boasted about the faces that stared out from those deteriorating pictures and how among them there were Senators, Congressmen, millionaires, two Presidents, and every other blueblood dream. He thought the pictures and the walls fitting for the school because they represented the dead and lifeless spirit of the place. Gray walls and pictures from the past were all that the school was made of; every hall the same, every room the same, and every student the same. They all shared the same gray dreams.

They all came from the same background and shared the same futures. They came from wealthy white families and would take over their father’s business or marry some blueblood’s daughter and take over her father’s business. The school boasted of its diversity in their brochures but the only differences were what luxury cars the students owned. Mayflower Academy, named after the ship that brought most of their families to America, had been a breeding ground for bluebloods since her inception, and nothing would ever change it.

Students filed through the hallway to their afternoon classes in expensive blazers and pants or equally expensive skirts and blouses. He just stood and stared at them. Every single student looked the same. They all sounded the same, talking about the trivial aspects of life. He could hear parts of people’s shallow conversations. No one here cared about anything important, only about making a lot of money in ten years, much like the outside world. A life lived for the future, seemed so shallow and gray he thought to himself. A few students bumped into him as they walked by, some on their cell phones and others too preoccupied with making it to the next class on time so that they could learn groundbreaking economics theory that would allow them to start the next giant industrial conglomerate. Only one student who bumped into him even acknowledged the fact, with a barely audible apology. Everybody ignored him and the rest of the world as they were only preoccupied with themselves. He really felt no differently, so just as shallow and gray, he walked out the front doors of Mayflower Academy.

The cool autumn breeze was blowing outside. The maples and oaks were losing their leaves of red, orange, and yellow and littered the well-manicured bright green lawns of the campus. He stopped walking after a few steps and watched the leaves dance in the wind. A gust of wind would sweep a pile of leaves up and throw them into the sky, like children do when they are playing in their yards; and then slowly the leaves would float back down to the ground, only to be thrown back into the air by another gust of wind. A cluster of leaves tumbled across the lawn and down the hill toward the pond at the edge of campus. They looked like a flock of birds racing through the sky, except that these leaves had no particular place to go. They’d skip through the air, tumble to the ground, and get back up again. The smell of autumn filled his nose and the breeze blew through his coarse blond hair and left his blazer flapping in the wind.

This is life he thought to himself, not what goes on inside those gray walls. The trees, leaves, and water; life. Not the same people, walking down the same halls, and doing the same thing every day. Not just living life as an empty shell with a predestined occupation and fate. He ripped off his black tie and threw it into the wind which carried it a few feet across the lawn where it fell crumpled in a pile of silken pity. He let his books slide from under his arm and fall to the ground. He walked the direction the wind was blowing him, slowly coming upon the edge of the pond. He stared at his reflection.

He was almost a man, or at least the reflection was almost a man. His rugged jaw was diluted in the gentle ripples the wind made in the pond. The reflection’s blue eyes stared at him, taunting him. He saw something in his reflection, in those blue eyes, a glimmer that said his time here was over and that there was something greater in life for him to be doing than being the prototypical All-American boy. His father had made sure that he would be great at everything he did, not for his own personal satisfaction but because his father knew that how he grew up would reflect upon the family name, and that is all his father was concerned with. That is why he spent so much money sending his son to football, basketball, and baseball camps. He was one of the only kids he knew who had his own personal trainer – and thanks to that fact he was the standout athlete at Mayflower Academy. He led his football team to the state championship his junior year, and won two state championships for the baseball team.

Local newspapers were forecasting that this was finally his year for a basketball championship and he would have his trifecta of athletic championships. He was blessed with exceptional genes, he knew this, and so did many big Division I colleges. He had been recruited by many schools to play for them, but his dad would not hear of it – he was going to Harvard, just like his dad had, and that was that. He looked away from his reflection down the road toward town, and Jonas Blackburn made up his mind that he would finally leave and do something more with his life, or at least do something that he wanted to do.

No Youth Is An Island

2008-12-08T10:57:00.000-08:00

The following is an essay I submitted for a Vanity Fair contest, sometime during the 2005-2006 academic year.

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Every year the city of Chapel Hill closes off a portion of Franklin Street for a Halloween celebration that consists basically of 75,000 costumed youths parading around in varying degrees of sobriety, some of them not parading so much as stumbling. I went last year for the first time and I felt something while I was there. It was something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, and I don’t think any of the 75,000 other people there could either. Franklin Street felt as if everyone was taking one last collective breath in anticipation of something, but no one knew what it was that they were anticipating.

We, the youth of America, breathe it in the air and it gives us goose bumps on our arms. We live it and among it, letting it permeate and pervade in every pore of our society and culture. We were taught it in history class and told to write about it in our college admission essays. We see it every time we turn on the television, but it never ceases to amaze that CBS promotes it as much as MTV, the high priest of commercialism. We hear it when we listen to the radio, in the rap songs laden with sirens, gunshots, and gangsters but also on Bible-thumping flag-waving country music stations. It is impossible to avoid, unapologetic, and more relentless than Les Miserables' Javert. It is the idea of the rugged and self-reliant individual living the American Dream. And it is fading. Fast. Everyone loves to call America’s youth fat, lazy, stupid, spoiled, disillusioned, and apathetic. But America’s youth is waking up from the dream to realize that there is a crack undermining it, a contradiction that allows 75,000 people to get together and get drunk but once the party ends it is back to every man for himself. No man is an island John Donne wrote in his Meditation 17, yet our culture seems to be leaning towards further isolating ourselves from one another when all we need to do is pull together just a little closer. United we stand, divided we fall. We can all feel the fall coming, but being young and still inexperienced we’re unsure of how to catch ourselves.

Mount Rushmore features the faces of four presidents who we’ve come to associate with all the rugged and respected virtues of Americans. They were honest, brave men who did what was right even though they knew the risks. Declaring independence from the most powerful empire on Earth? Abolishing Slavery? No single man, not even a great one, could handle such tasks alone. Washington and Lincoln both had generals to support (and who supported) their causes. Jefferson sought help from James Madison and others when writing the Declaration of Independence. Mount Rushmore unwittingly celebrates the lost step in America’s thought process. We praise and remember the individuals who acted upon the will of the nation while simultaneously forgetting both the ideas they embodied and the fact that they alone were not the founders of America. We forget 56 people signed the Declaration, we forget the names and dates of Revolutionary and Civil War battles, and we never knew the names of the soldiers who fought in them or the wives who supported them. But we know Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, and Roosevelt. Either we don’t realize or choose to ignore the reality that their greatness was born out of the actions of everyone. Americans knew something was amiss and they fixed it, together.

Since Mount Rushmore was completed there has been maybe one president, FDR, who would merit a spot on the mountain. Of course this is due largely to a lack of events with great leaders to immortalize. The Civil Rights movement’s champions were all assassinated and then there was Korea, Vietnam, an impeachment, an oil crisis, recession, and the end of the Cold War - nothing quite worth glorification. After World War II Americans seemed eager to move out of the city and into the suburbs so that they could get their own backyards, Cadillacs, and all the new wonders that a powerful economy was willing to sell them. Americans had become complacent consumers – there was no more rallying around worthy causes, ask the hundreds of thousands who remain slaves today, the millions with AIDS in Africa (and the millions more who will get it), or the third of the world’s population that lives on less than a dollar a day. We tell ourselves, those aren’t our problems, so we can sleep at night. We rationalize it with logistics, repeating our reasoning over and over again so that we convince ourselves we’re right. “I am only one person; what difference can I make?” Everybody loves the cowboy but no one wants to be one, not when he can buy the specially priced DVD/CD box set at Wal-Mart for $19.95 and get the experience in digital surround sound.

America’s youth is waking up and realizing that there is something wrong, that even though the American Dream might be coming true for some of them, there is something about the way that it is coming true that isn’t sitting right in our stomachs. Ironically enough it is the President of the United States who is unconsciously waking us up. He represents us and our voice; after all we did vote for him, though some people named Al Gore take exception to that. Bush is the epitome of American cowboy, complete with boots, horse, and hat. Yet the situation in Iraq shows that maybe the cowboy should have taken the time to round up a bigger posse before he went riding in guns a’ blazing to make things right. The mismanagement of Hurricane Katrina relief wasn’t his administration’s fault because ‘no one in the White House really knew what was going on’ when the rest of the world was tuned into channel 6 in awe of the terrible destruction. We might be fat, lazy, and stupid American youths but we’re not that stupid. These aren’t problems that are thousands of miles away in a country that we can’t locate on a map; they are problems in our own country, affecting other Americans just like us. I didn’t go to Iraq, but my brother did; and our mom was pretty happy to have him home again. Not everyone’s mom is so lucky. Two things you can’t get at Wal-Mart are second chances and sons.

America has taken mindless consumerism too far, creating and marketing things that we don’t need, things that we aren’t really sure exactly what they do or what they’re made of. Even lifestyles are advertised, glorified, and packaged in 12 ounce aluminum cans. A redeeming virtue of commercialism is that it built a large marketing machine that was used for charitable purposes, bringing in millions of dollars in donations from viewers. Famous actors, athletes, and two ex-Presidents solicited donations. They reminded us to keep in touch with humanity, especially our own brethren. The question is; will we stay in touch with one another? Will we continue to donate our money and our time to help the victims rebuild or will we go back to the living room couch, waiting to see which individual triumphs in the new season of Survivor? Donne’s Meditation 17 ends with this thought: Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

No man is an island, yet we Americans are not yet willing to exert the effort to rope together the islands of individualism that we have spent the past fifty years building, adding fancier and fancier additions as fast as the corporate world could provide them. The youth of America thinks the way the 75,000 people on Franklin Street felt, willing to consume to the point of excess, and still anticipating something more. We know that there is something more to be had, and we can’t quite put our fingers on it. But we’re getting a better idea of what it is. We’re thinking for ourselves and not about only ourselves. We are headed in the right direction. John F. Kennedy once said “Our task is not to fix the blame for the past, but to fix the course for the future.” We do not need to blame anyone, even if they are at fault, for the wrongs that we faced yesterday and face today. We should not rally together only after a disaster; we should be rallying everyday, making sure we all get to live the dream.

I am reminded of a story from Halloween night, where a student I know was left without a ride home by his two roommates; yes, he could have been a tough individual and walked home, alone, in the dark. But how hard would it have been for his roommates, or any one of the 75,000 people on Franklin Street, to ask him if he needed a ride?

So Dan, Tell Me About Yourself

2008-12-04T12:22:00.000-08:00

I have discovered that the South is starting to rub off on me. No, I don't like NASCAR. And I don't like country music, grits, hunting, or moonshine. And I also don't like talking about myself. I'm fine writing about myself (that is what my book is about) but when I'm asked questions like, 'tell me about a time you led a team' or 'what does leadership mean to you?' I find stumble for answers. Not because I haven't done these things, but because I'm trying to figure out exactly HOW to tell my story in a manner that shows I'm competent, but not cocky. Perhaps I should practice more, but I'm not sure how much it'll help as nothing ever compares to the real thing and the fact that the interview can determine my future.

Ah well, Vanderbilt has a lovely campus and seems like a program I could definitely see myself attending.

MBA Interview Trip

2008-12-01T09:44:00.001-08:00

So as you may have noticed (though *anyone* noticing anything on this blog would be considered a surprise seeing as how there is very little here to lead me to believe that anyone would come read this drivel) I have been absent as of late.

My first MBA application was due October 24th (for UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School). Afer that - I had to hit the Nov. 15th deadline for three programs (Colorado, South Carolina, & Southern Methodist) and the Nov. 17th deadline for another two (Notre Dame and Vanderbilt).

I received interview requests (which is typically considered a "good sign") from Colorado, South Carolina, and Notre Dame. I arranged my own interview for UNC and Vandy, which only leaves SMU up in the air... and they apparently have a very low acceptance rate for young applicants so I'm not feeling super great about my chances there.

This week I'll be visiting Vandy (in Nashville) and South Carolina (in Columbia) - so I probably won't be blogging much this week either. Then next week I have an interview in RTP with a ND alum (who is now a VP of something-long-and-convoluted at IBM) and a phone interview with the Colorado admissions committee (because getting to Boulder with the holidays and work was going to be a logistical nightmare).

And then - the week of Dec. 15-20 I'll hear back from UNC and ND regarding my admission - so hopefully I hear some good news before Christmas!

Eventually I'll have my life back and be able to dive into my book, which has been sitting at around 25,000 words for quite some time now and needs some loving.

Turkey Ball 2008

2008-11-27T09:52:00.000-08:00

Well - it's that time of year again. Luckily I managed to lose a little weight before Thanksgiving so I didn't have to worry too much about packing it on over the holiday. Hopefully now I can survive Christmas....

Since most people do the "what I'm thankful for" thing on Thanksgiving, I guess I'll give it a go:

My family - both of my parents are doing a good job of sticking to their diets, and their addiction to dancing has allowed my parents to really start to notice the weight loss which is good for both of them. Also, my brother (a U.S. Marine) will finally be home in December for good and serve the rest of his duty in NC (near home), assuming we stay out of any additional conflicts between now and 2010 (I'm hoping we don't invade any other countries).

A new president - I think this goes without saying.

My health - I've lost a little weight and hoping to get back in shape before:

A VACATION - For the first time since May of 2006 I'll be going on vacation in January 2009 to go skiing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming! I'm super excited, but I need to do some calisthenics and such so that I can get the most out of my trip. Skiing out west is pretty tough on the legs!

And finally,

FOOTBALL. This season hasn't necessarily been 'pretty' per se - but it has been a good year for the NFL (and the Carolina Tar Heels didn't do *too* bad in the ACC either). The Falcons are redeemed, the Patriots have been knocked down to 'mere-mortal' status, Brady Quinn looked good in the two games he played (and the Browns will finally get a new coach who understands how to manage a game after this season), Brett Favre sparked a lot of excitement in New York, and... pretty much anyone can win on any given Sunday (except apparently, the Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals). Parity makes the games typically pretty exciting, so I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks when the teams start to fight it out for the few playoff spots left.

Funny cartoons

2008-10-15T07:04:00.000-07:00

As those of you in the western hemisphere are probably aware, today is Wednesday, or 'hump day' as I like to call it (and yes, I giggle when I say that). The problem with Wednesday is you're only halfway through the week. Or conversely, if your week hasn't been terribly productive, you're *already* halfway through the week. But with football still a solid three days away, I need something to help me make it to my chance to sleep in and enjoy the weekend, which is why I turn to funny cartoons. I thought this one was particularly relevant, so here is the first cartoon in my answer to the ever-present "wordless Wednesday" series I see on so many blogs, which I shall call HUMP DAY HUMOR:

Online MBA

2008-10-14T08:21:00.000-07:00

Last night I submitted part I of my MBA application to UNC - Chapel Hill, leaving me with the essays, recommendations, and interview (which I'll have this Saturday). I've applied early action, which means that if I get in I am expected to attend (which of course I will). My GMAT scores were okay - I beasted the verbal section (89th percentile) and the analytical writing assessment (87th percentile, with a perfect 6/6) but my quantitative score was pretty low (only 53rd percentile). There are schools that offer a no GMAT MBA, but most of these tend to be online MBA programs.

Though I think the online MBA has a lot of benefits that the traditional MBA does not, such as the flexibility of being able to take the classes whenever you want and wherever you want, I still think that the live and in-person networking opportunities presented by an on-campus MBA program outweigh the additional costs (such as moving, having to leave the work force, etc.).

If I had any blog readers, I would ask what you think!

Welcome to space!

2008-10-09T07:52:00.000-07:00

Hi! My name is Dan and I'm an ~~alcoholic~~, or rather, I would be an alcoholic if I did not have so much to do with so little time. I'm currently in the process of applying to a couple of full-time MBA programs in hopes that one of them is gracious enough to accept me my money.

The motto of the blog, 'Life is Good, Make it Better' is my motto in life. That's why I'm interested in sustainability and sustainable development, and what I plan on studying if/when I enroll in a MBA program.

Outside of my interest in business, I am an avid runner (when my knees aren't slowly crumbling to dust a la Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and a writer (I consider my current work, a memoir, to be a cross between Catcher in the Rye and Animal House).

I am currently employed as a 'whatever I'd like my title to be' at an Internet consulting company. It is the sweetest job in the world.