Who is Your Unsung Hero?

The Tour de France has ended. Carlos Sastre is on top of the world, as he has won the crowned achievement in cycling. While on the surface this looks like an individual sport, and glorious personal achievement, it is not. Beneath the surface there are many who helped make that happen. From the Soigneurs to the masseurs. From the mechanics to the medical staff. The supporting teammates who lay it on the line for them.

As Jens Voigt was quoted in a pre-race interview. CSC (Carlos’ and Jens’ team) was designed for Carlos to win. “One man to win, 8 men who will die on their bikes for that one man.” I would hazard to guess that unless you are into cycling the names Jens Voigt, Stuart O’Grady, Andy Schleck do not ring a bell. But these men, are the unsung heroes who helped Carlos bask in the glory of victory.

The NFL is not much different. Again, unless you are an aficionado, can you name three left tackles in the league? Can you name one--- on your favorite team? Yet, these guys are some of the highest paid players in the league. Why? They are the unsung heroes. Their job is to protect the blind side of the quarterback (for the large majority of NFL quarterbacks who are right handed), so that the quarterback can complete a pass without being creamed from behind. Who gets the glory—the quarterback who threw the great pass and the receiver who hauled in a fingertip catch. Who made it all possible--- that left tackle guy who no one knows.

Who is your unsung hero? At work? In your personal life? How do they tirelessly do what they do--- day in and day out?

Take a moment and stop to thank them. The rewards will be great.

A Bit on Chinese Numerology

So I just sent a Twitter on 8/8/8, the day the Olympics start…. At 8pm. Lots of prosperity.

So what about the rest of the numbers you ask? Here goes a shot, as there are always competing interests as to true meanings:

1. sure
2. easy
3. live
4. death
5. the self, nothing, never
6. smooth/flowing
7. fate/destiny (usually negative)
8. prosperity
9. long in time

Combinations are important as well. For example 14 = sure death, while 18 = sure prosperity.

What is your lucky number? How would Chinese numerical traditions apply?

For me — #3. Maybe that is why my motto is also Carpe Diem.

Sometimes advertising transcends

On rare occasions, advertising transcends the overt, and pulls an emotional heart string. Visa did that here.

Can't Say It Any Better Myself

So I will only post the link, as Thom sets up an incredibly powerful post.

http://thomsinger.blogspot.com/2008/07/do-right-thing.html

It builds nicely on being externally focused.

Are You Externally Focused?

Recently I have been catching back up on some old standby ‘life lesson’ nuggets. The ones I have been staring at recently share a common thread: the importance of being externally focused. This is one theme that is essential to being successful- both personally and professionally.

I wanted to share three quotes that help capture the essence:

“The tougher the negotiation, the more critical it is to understand that if
someone in the room has to feel okay, it is not you. If someone has to
feel not-okay, that is you.” - Jim Camp

“People listen to you for their reasons, not yours.” - Peter Drucker

“Great leaders understand the important role servant leadership plays in
helping others realize their potential.” – Dan Sanders

These can apply across all aspects of life. Your colleagues, your family, your customers, your partners, even your competitors.

Ask yourself:

1. Do you make others feel important?
2. Do you build their vision, their self esteem?
3. Do you treat others with respect?
4. Do you practice sound principles- return e-mail or phone messages, follow up on requests?

You can make the impact today. You can build customers for life. You can build enduring relationships. You can build a network of raving fans.

The rewards are great.

Ahhhhh, Isn’t Google the Nice Guy

As reported in major periodicals, including the Wall Street Journal, Google today announced that they are launching a new tool to measure Internet usage, intended to help advertisers find the best places to build their online ads. The rub for companies who sell that like comScore, Quantcast, and Nielsen, Google is giving it away for FREE. Isn’t that nice, Google wants to help the advertisers.

So while you read the surface of this and say, ahhhhh, the open development of Google strikes again for the benefit of mankind, think again. Google will have in their hands the power to craft where people visit, when they visit, and how much money to charge advertisers to go to the sites where they are directing you to visit.

Get real. Nice guys finish last. As we know, there is NO such a thing as a ‘free lunch'.

It's basic Economics 101: Supply and Demand Curves. The sweet spot in pricing and production is where those lines intersect.

Google is squarely aiming to control, yes control, both curves.

• Step 1: Build a brand so that you become the de facto place to look for information

Result: you now ‘own’ the supply, by controlling access to and use of

• Step 2: Build an analytics engine to report actual usage patters on the Web

Result: you now ‘own’ demand curve, by controlling access to and use of

• Step 3: Exert your control over both curves to move them further out, managing both supply and demand you your optimal gain (in this case to dominate the entire Internet monetization world)

Result: Nirvana- now they can buy any island with the jack (read $) they will make

Google will also be able to squeeze advertisers (mainly agencies who specialize in planning and buying media) out of the market in the extreme cases. Why do you need the creative black magic, if it can all be scientifically metricized (yes, I made up that word).

Complete control….. a side of Cyborg with your keyboard?

How to Monetize Internet Video

You Tube announced today that it is dropping its 10 minute cap of video posts in a trial for its partners. As the Silicon Valley Insider reports, this is all about trying to monetize videos… more time = more real estate to sell ads.

Once again, I dissent. This still is saying that engagement with the video, and interrupting (or intruding upon it) will be a good monetization strategy. It will not. The only thing this can lead to (in my humble and opinionated perception) is DE-scaling. Increased costs to store and deliver the long form video, without similar (linear or greater) increases in revenues. All in all a loosing proposition.

I do wish the test luck though… it will prove/disprove my hunch.

Try this idea on for size instead. Do not insert ads into the video; make ‘components’ of the video clickable.

Break a video down into visual components and make those retrievable ‘advertisements’…. What you ask?

Examples will help:

• You like the shirt the person is wearing, click on the shirt, and it takes you to the site where you can buy it
• You wonder what the person is drinking, click on the glass, and it takes you to the product page
• You wonder how they played that guitar series, click on the guitar and it takes you to a lesson site

What does this accomplish?:

• It reduces the intrusion of the advertising, and invites the customer to interact with the video
• It provides a qualified lead when someone clicks
• It is ultimately trackable and usable data

Yes, this is a technology shift, and requires some extremely smart programming so it can be seamlessly attached to the video, but is doable. Think about what programmers can hide in pixels of web elements. Think about how today computers can insert ads into sporting events (like behind home plate on the back wall) seamlessly.

This idea also shifts power in the model to the producers of videos. Great! That is what it is about. Empower the people to be creative, and help. User generated content. User generated advertising. User generated recommendations.

Companies like YouTube (and even Flickr could do for pictures) can be the software engine to enable, and the platform to deliver…. Similar to GoogleAds on your blog.

Now that can scale.