When Target Markets Easter

They cost slightly more than 76 cents a head -- literally. At Target, $2.29 buys 3 hollow Batman head "treat" containers. For Easter.



"Remember the "Jesus is my Superhero" Sunday School theme - what better post-craft activity than a Batman head hunt?


Like Sunday school edge? Go with theme #2: "Sacrifice one for the Team."

Cars? Theme #3 is perfect: "Win the Race to Jesus."




It's Christmas Stocking meets Birthday Party Favor Bag, with buyers trying to match egg-shape to kid personality, current interests.

Like it's critical to the Easter experience.

Does Forbes "Influential Twitterer" List Fuel Spam?

Study Forbes' Most Influential Twitterers but think before signing up -- these huge "Follower" lists may attract back-door “direct mail” advertisers.

Me? I clicked “follow” on several. Almost immediately, Twitter emailed – "new followers" for me.

That felt good for the same 3.4 seconds it takes to figure why you got the jewelry "party" invite.

What now?



#1 -- “Block” rogue Followers, an easy Twitter tool.


# 2 -- “Follow” sparingly. Know the best Re-tweets. Lurk via twitter.com.

Real solution:

Curtail Ads ... Or Catch next Rave. This one’s getting noisy.

Career Sense amid the World Wide Rave

It’s a welcome moment of career clarity.

Caught by David Meerman Scott’s “World Wide Rave,” my planned corporate re-entry should be as Corporate Storyteller, Information Packager, Brand Journalist, Narrative Marketer, or whatever new moniker next pops up.

It’s a job that requires social media enthusiasm, feature writing flair, editorial confidence, freelance-honed creativity, real-world business acumen, marketing know-how… and a decade of corporate client management experience to best leverage the rest. My background.

No lie.



Think free e-book, coming soon. Possible blog spin-off.

One small rave should do the trick.

I.C.U. -- But Now I don't

There’s an immediate kinship among I.C.U. patient families, everyone living hospital-staged dramas, individuals cast in supporting roles of various ranks.

Between 2-at-a-time bedside visits, I.C.U. sentinels befriend one another in the waiting room, chat by the elevators, share cafeteria breakfast tables. Personal concerns, blended.


Everyone flung into the same leaky lifeboat.


Yesterday, I received Dad’s post-surgery thank-you-for-being-there note. More than anything, I felt lucky. Ours was a happy ending.

But it made me wonder – what about those we’d left in the I.C.U. ...

Did they make it to shore?

Testing Information Confidence

Information Confidence:

Ability to find -- and use -- the right information.


What my teenager knew – midnight, Saturday:

(1) He’d left calculator under Oakland school desk after SATs - not his school
(2) Classroom number
(3) Teacher’s name on blackboard – not proctor
(4) Guy next to him played on school's basketball team, recognized proctor

Within minutes my son emailed teacher and principal, and identified basketball player (alas, no Facebook address)

Sunday, Principal emails “you can look” 8am Monday meeting offer.

Result: Calculator found, still under the desk.

How did you leverage your Information Confidence to solve a problem today?

Part of the Rave

It started with needing Air -- a break from Dad's hospital room. A walk to George Washington University’s bookstore.








Marketing fun-read.


Dad goes home. Back in California, I log onto David Meerman Scott's blog and tap free World Wide Rave download.

I resuscitate twitter account, tweet about free book and am immediately Re-Tweeted.

Now feeling "social," I decide to "follow" more. I add Patti Digh. She's just FollowFriday’d @CCSeed. (Richard Reeve).

Reeve’s top post today? Scott's Rave presentation format at SXSW Interactive Conference. Yesterday.

Dizzy? Or... are you used to riding Raves?

Social Media Means No More Excuses

Using iPod Touch as Kindle, I've just read World Wide Rave, by David Meerman Scott, downloadable free through Sunday.

It's a rally cry to tap low-cost social media as soft-sell communication tool, fostering relationships with would-be clients/customers by offering important information, free -- thereby building credibility and crowd-sourced internet buzz. All of which translates into business success while diluting traditional media and deep advertising budget power. 

True --  social media has amazing potential.

But what about this: Now when our ideas fail, products languish, careers stall... who's left to blame? 

_{Note: Sorry for the silence. Excuses... unacceptable.}