Category Archives: Business – Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate Marketing – Why Now? Why Me?

08 Saturday Aug 2009

Posted by in Business - Affiliate Marketing, Route 53 - Life is A Highway

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

“No matter how much pressure you feel at work, if you could find ways to relax for at least five minutes every hour, you’d be more productive.”
– Dr. Joyce Brothers

When my mother asked where I was heading this week, I told her I was going to the Affiliate Summit. “What’s that?” , she said?  When I told her it was an advertising/ marketing conference, she looked at me oddly.  Not unusual for my mother.

“But I thought you sold tickets”, was her reply.

Telling parents what you do in this day and age is always difficult to explain if you are not a lawyer or a doctor and especially worse if you are involved in technology. My mother once asked me when I was an investment banker on Wall St. if I knew the teller at her local bank on the other side of the country. So you can see my mother’s confusion, or at least the difficulty that I have in trying to explain what I do.  In fact, it has taught me patience as well as an understanding of the need to break it down more simply.

When I told her it was like being an Avon lady except you could promote whatever you wanted online, you didn’t need to buy the product on consignment, and it was done strictly online, she pulled out her laptop and made me show her (I first sat her down with the video above). So after a 30 minute explaination of what affiliate marketing is, she was hooked and then started grilling me. Despite my mother’s “flightiness” she is pretty tech savvy for a 70 year old grandmother. In fact I would have to say she tends to be an earlier adopter of of retail than I am (as long as it is her idea). Not your typical geriatric mother, but she is one of the most productive people I know. So much so that she has started telling her friends about affiliate marketing and unfortunately they are now telling me daily about all the things they’ve helped to sell online for Amazon, etc.   I am amused though as these women are all widowed friends of my mother who have Facebook accounts and blogs about their health which they started via an elderly technology class taught at the University of San Francisco’s Fromm Institute. They used to share information with each other during their Scrabble nights and now talk about how much product they sold on the Web. I must caveat all of this again and say my mother is a bit unusual. She was the first to put alfalfa sprouts in our sandwiches as kids, she wears a wooden fish around her neck (just so you know she is a Pisces), and has had many successful business ventures (before they were called ventures) in the gifts, confections and tourism industries. My mother is always selling something whether it was personal alarms, water purification systems , or vitamins, I think I heard all of her selling tactics. Afterwards, my mom hit me because I have been doing this for over 10 years and had never put her onto this. Truth be told I did, but my mom never listens to me (but that is another story).

So why am I telling you this about my mother? Well recently I’ve been looking at the attendance levels at the Affiliate Summit (ASE09) and saw how it has risen. As a mentor to first time attendees I was also assigned to 2 mentees this year which indicates that there are many people getting into the industry or learning more about it. As someone used to say, “it is the economy, stupid”. My feeling is that if my 70 year old mom can do it, so can you.

And why do you need to do this? Right now everyone is trying to make up for lost income due to the recession and the biggest beneficiaries are MOMMIES. I hear about moms offering massage therapy, holding clothing sales in their homes or helping as a doula. Some moms are strictly going back to work and restarting their careers. My sister has restarted her speech pathology consulting again. Women from single income families are earning income in as many ways as they can. An interesting side note, many of these women right now would be still considered unemployed and not reflect against the rising unemployment rate. Mommy blogs and moms (check twitter) who have started businesses online are extremely successful. MyBargainBuddy.com and SunshineRewards are two companies started by moms who are very big in the affiliate marketing game, work from their homes and make a very comfortable living while mainintaining household. One mom, Tricia Meyer, of Sunshine Rewards, even has her young daughter video tape some of the video for her blog.

So now many people might thing that this industry might be mature and that they have missed the boat. Au contraire. The affiliate marketing world is ripe for you. Many large companies are looking for the lowest cost for acquiring sales during this down time as their marketing budgets are getting trimmed left and right. Affiliate marketing has long been the cheapest way of advertising online.
Secondly, social marketing in the affiliate world has not yet been fully tapped and my guess is that it won’t be for a while. This is because the power is in you,the individual. It is your ability, just like my moms, to influence people just like you do in the real world. While there may be people who think they can help you tap into people like my mom and help sell women’s shoes for example, they might have no idea how poor of a seller of shoes my mother might be. In fact my mother might be the best at recommending chocolates and movies, but if you’ve seen my mother’s attire, she is not the one who should be giving advice (sorry mom, just my opinion).

So if you are new to the game, and are looking for some way to make a little money, think about what it is that makes you an expert about something. Figure out how you can use that knowledge and help your friends and their friends fins what they need and earn you some income based upon referrals. For example, I spent quite a few years in the travel industry visiting the most luxurious hotels in the world both in the US and abroad. I have many people ask me where to stay and where to go and if I wanted, I could send them to my website and link them straight to those hotels , cruise lines, etc and make a profit, just like a travel agent. Travel and music (the industry I’m in) are two industries that people seek personal advice from people based upon individual opinions. Some other good ones are health and financial.

For more information, I suggest checking out some of my affiliate marketing links on the right. I would also do some reasearch and possibly attend Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas in January 2010.

It’s About Nothing!

11 Saturday Apr 2009

Posted by in Breast Cancer - A Loving Fight, Business - Affiliate Marketing, Route 53 - Life is A Highway

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

“Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason.” – Jerry Seinfeld

You might have noticed I slightly altered the tagline about this blog.  I’ve been debating it since I had a conversation with a good friend a couple of weeks ago.  He was interested to learn I had a blog and wanted to know what it was about.  We’ve shared many of life’s details that we haven’t shared with our own wives so he wanted to know more about the phenomena of blogs.  After I told him, he laughed.  We both love the comic, Seinfeld.  He didn’t have to say it.  He knew what my blog was about….

Below is a work of semi-fiction.  The names have been changed (or not). If you followed the show, Seinfeld, this blog entry might sound familiar.

 

seinfeld1

 

(At a Keith Urban Concert)

BUD: So you write these entries about your life in a blog and people read them?  I think that is pretty ballsy.  I think that is interesting.  Maybe I should write a blog too.

ROUTE53: Really? Well I can help you.

BUD: So, if you have any idea for a blog for me, well, let me know.

ROUTE53: I’m not sure if you can write about your legal clients, but I’d be very interested in something like that.

BUD: Well, that is attorney-client privilege so I don’t think I can.  Maybe something else.

[They listen to Keith play “Sweet Thing”]

ROUTE53: Well let me know if you come up with something.  Just tweet me.

BUD: Tweet you?  Is that like, give you a ring?

ROUTE53: Um …never mind.

BUD: I’ll read your blog and see if it inspires me.

 [Two days later BUD and Route53 meet at the local Peets]

BUD: I’ve been reading your blog.  Why do you do it?  It’s kind of public.

ROUTE53: I thought I’d write down my thoughts.  It keeps me honest with myself.

BUD: For what?  I mean, it’s kind of boring reading that you ate oatmeal again.

ROUTE53: It’s for me first, but if you find my life interesting, go ahead and read it.  You don’t have to.

BUD: So it’s a blog about your everyday life?

ROUTE53: Yeah, I guess so.  I’m getting old and have lots of thoughts.  Sometimes I want to step back and remember them.

BUD: Yeah, but eating oatmeal.  How could that possibly help you?

ROUTE53: Well, let’s say someday I get accused of a crime and the police ask where I was on this day and time?  I can read my blog and tell them I remember because I ate oatmeal with Flax seed and that night I was at a country music concert with you.  Well, because nobody would ever believe that story.

BUD: Come on, how hard is it to make it all up? It’s all fiction. Look at all the junk that’s on TV.
You want an idea? Here’s an idea. You’re a butcher. And you’re married. And your son is a vegetarian and you’re pushing him into the business.  That would be fun to read.

ROUTE53: Why should I care if my son doesn’t eat meat?

BUD: Because you’re a butcher. It’s only natural.

ROUTE53: But meat is not for everybody.

BUD: I know, but he’s your son.

ROUTE53: So what?  Besides you hit the nail on the head.  Look at the junk on TV.  It’s all reality TV.  Well my blog is reality me.

BUD: All right, forget that idea, it’s not for you….Okay, okay, I got another one. You’re bankrupt because of the recession and you auction your life treasures on eBay.

ROUTE53: Yeah and…?

BUD: And people buy your junk and you get involved in their lives wanting to know if your items are getting good homes

ROUTE53: What person who runs an auction on eBay gets involved in people’s lives?

BUD: Why not?

ROUTE53: So someone bids on some my old comic books and all of a sudden I’m
getting them to tell me their life stories?  I could see if I was a pharmacist because a
pharmacist knows what’s wrong with everybody that comes in.

BUD: I know, but online auctions are very popular right now.

ROUTE53: No they’re not, they used to be.  It’s all about Web 2.0 and social marketing

BUD: Oh yeah, like you know.

ROUTE53: Oh like you do, you’re a lawyer [Route53 Tweets the whole conversation]

[STEINBERG enters Peets]

STEINBERG: …And you’re the manager of Cirque du Soleil.

ROUTE53: [Looks at BUD]  You told STEINY about my blog?

[BUD shrugs his shoulders]

STEINY: Come on, this is a great idea. Look at the characters. You’ve
got all these freaks on the show. A naked Asian woman who contorts herself into a pretzel? I mean, who
wouldn’t tune in to see a headless man with an umbrella; a mute clown; underwater acrobats.

ROUTE53: I don’t think so.

STEINY: Look ROUTE53, web blogs aren’t about boring lives.  People want to read about the nuts of the world.

ROUTE53: I don’t think people will go for it.

STEINY: Why not?

ROUTE53: Look, I’m not about writing about freaks.  I’m writing my everyday thoughts about the people around me.

STEINY: Oh come on ROUTE53, you’re wrong. People they want to watch freaks. Look at Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. This is a “can’t miss.” [Queue laugh tracks and fade to commercial]

[Later that week at The Butcher and The Chef in San Francisco’s South Park]

BUD: So, what’s happening with your blog? You come up with anything new?

ROUTE53: No, nothing.

BUD: Why don’t they have Acai here?

ROUTE53: What do you need Acai for?

BUD: Everyone’s doing Acai in America.

ROUTE53: I know, my wife makes me drink an Acai shake every morning. You know why? Because people like to say “Acai.” “Excuse me, do you have AH-SAH-EE?” “We need more acai.” “Where is the Acai? No Acai??”

BUD: You know its crazy that first it was ginko biloba and now it’s acai.”

ROUTE53: “Don’t you know the difference between ginko biloba and acai?? You can’t order an Acai bagel at Noah’s Bagels.”

BUD: That’s not Acai, that’s Asiago.  It’s a Cheese.

ROUTE53: See, that’s a blog entry.

BUD: What?

ROUTE53: This. Just talking.

Bud: (dismissing) Yeah, right.

ROUTE53: I’m really serious. This is what I blog about, my everyday life.

BUD: Just talking? Well what’s great about that?

ROUTE53: Yep, that’s what my blog is about.  My life.  It’s about nothing.

BUD: No story?

ROUTE53: No forget the story. It’s about the people and it’s about sharing experiences with similar people who find me

BUD: You’ve got to have a story, don’t you?

ROUTE53: Who says you gotta have a story? Remember when we drove to Santa Barbara and Herbie broke down and we spent the night in King’s City in that creepy motel? That could be a blog entry.

BUD: And who is in the blog?

ROUTE53: Me, you, everyone.  I spend find minutes with someone and I’ll be writing about them.

BUD: Great, but can you fictionalize me?

ROUTE53: You?

BUD: Yeah. You could base a character on me, but not write about me, per se. 

ROUTE53: So, in my real blog, there’s a fictional character named BUD?

BUD: Yeah. You can call me Art Vandelay, the architect. There’s something wrong with that? I’m a character.  People are always saying to me, “You know you’re a quite a character.”

ROUTE53: And who else is fictional in my blog?

BUD: STEINY could be a character. STEINY..

ROUTE53: Now he’s a character. (Pause) So everybody I know now has a fictional side to them?  I don’t think so.  This is about my REAL life.

BUD: Alright, have it your way.  Write about nothing.

ROUTE53: Thanks.  You really think so?  Nothing? I guess I’ll have to re-title my blog again.

BUD: Absolutely nothing.

ROUTE53: So you’re saying, I continue to spend my days and write in my blog about nothing.

BUD: WE write about nothing.

ROUTE53: “We”? Since when are you my ghost-blogger?

BUD: (Scoffs) Blogger. We’re talking about the web.  You think Internet Geek Girl writes all her own material?

ROUTE53: You want to go with me to WordPress?

BUD: Yeah. I think we really go something here.

ROUTE53: What do we got?

BUD: An idea.

ROUTE53: What idea?

BUD: An idea for the show.

ROUTE53: I still don’t know what the idea is.

BUD: It’s about nothing.

ROUTE53: Right.

BUD: Everybody’s doing something, we’ll do nothing.

ROUTE53: So, we go into WordPress, we tell them we’ve got an idea for a blog about nothing.

BUD: Exactly.

ROUTE53: They say, “What’s your show about?” I say, “Nothing.”

BUD: There you go.

(A moment passes)

ROUTE53: (Nodding) I think you may have something there.

[ROUTE53’s apartment]

(ROUTE53’s explaining BUD’s idea to STEINY)

ROUTE53: So, the show would be about my real life. And one of the characters would be based on you.

STEINY: (Thinks) No, I don’t think so.

ROUTE53: What do you mean you don’t think so?

STEINY: I don’t like it.

ROUTE53: I don’t understand. What don’t you like about it?

STEINY: I don’t like the idea of a character based on me.

ROUTE53: Why not?

STEINY: Well it just doesn’t sit well.

ROUTE53: You’re my colleague. There’s got to be a character based on you.

STEINY: That’s your problem, buddy.

ROUTE53: I don’t understand what the big deal is.

STEINY: Hey, I’ll tell you what – you can do it on one condition.

ROUTE53: Whatever you want.

STEINY: I get to play STEINY.

ROUTE53: You ARE STEINY.

STEINY: I am STEINY.

ROUTE53: But you can’t act.  It has to be the real you.  This isn’t fiction.

STEINY: Phew!

[ WordPress reception area)

(ROUTE53 and BUD are waiting)

ROUTE53: (To himself) Acai, Asiago. Hey, excuse me, you got any Acai? No, not Asiago, Acai. (BUD doesn’t react) What’s the matter?

BUD: (Nervous) Nothing.

ROUTE53: You sure? You look a little pale.

BUD: No, I’m fine. I’m good. I’m very good.

ROUTE53: Why are you nervous?

BUD: No, not nervous. I’m good, very good. (A beat, then he snaps) I can’t do this! Can’t do this!

ROUTE53: What?

BUD: I can’t do this! I can’t do it. I have tried. I’m here. It’s impossible.

ROUTE53: This is just a blog.  We don’t even have to tell them.  You’re supposed to just write it!  Besides, this was your idea to be part of my blog.

BUD: What idea? I just said something. I didn’t know you were going to listen to me.

ROUTE53: Don’t worry about it. They’re just an internet social platform.

BUD: They’re men with jobs, ROUTE53! They wear Crocs and drink way too much Acai.

ROUTE53: I told you not to come.

BUD: I need some water. I gotta get some water.

ROUTE53: They’ll give us water in there.  In fact, they have free soda and catered lunches.

BUD: Really? That’s pretty good.

[ WordPress‘s Conference Room]

(The WordPress Network staff are all talking with ROUTE53 and BUD)

Staff Member #1: (To ROUTE53, laughing about one of his bits) The bit, the bit I really liked is your hiding in your cruise stateroom hiding from the horny 65 year old ladies. Now that’s funny.

ROUTE53: Yeah, it’s one of my favorite life events.

Staff Member #2: I was touched and felt for your wife’s battle with cancer and all the stories of other survivors.

Staff Member #3: I like hearing about how you make money on the web with affiliate programs

Staff Member #4: I think your life in San Francisco is worth reading about.  And the fact you drive a beetle named Herbie with a big “53” on it.

StaffMember #2: What about you, BUD? You have any funny stories?

BUD: (Quickly making it up) Well, possibly. I wrote an off-Broadway show, “Dos Hermanos.” ..Actually, it was off-off-Broadway. It was a comedy about two Mexican entrepreneurs.

ROUTE53: Oh, it was very funny. There was one great scene with the CTO- what was his name?

BUD: Pepe.

ROUTE53: Oh, Pepe. Yeah, Pepe. And, uh, he was making a Facebook Application.

Staff Member #3:Oh, he actually wrote code on the stage?

BUD: No, no, he tweeted it. That’s what was so funny about it.

Staff Member #4: So, what have you two come up with to talk to us about?

ROUTE53: Well, we’d like you to feature our blog.  We’ve thought about this in a variety of ways.  But the basic idea is I will just write about my life.

BUD: (Interrupting) May I?

ROUTE53: Go ahead.

BUD: I think I can sum up the blog for you with one word: NOTHING.

Staff Member #3: Nothing?

BUD: (Smiling) Nothing.

Staff Member #3: (Unimpressed) What does that mean?

BUD: The blog is about nothing.

ROUTE53: (To BUD) Well, it’s not about nothing.

BUD: (To ROUTE53) No, it’s about nothing.

ROUTE53: Well, maybe in philosophy. But, even nothing is something.

Staff Member #3:What’s the premise?

ROUTE53: Well, as I was saying, I would blog about myself, and, as an internet entrepreneur, living in San Francisco. I have a family, friends, and co-workers, which is all true.

BUD: Yeah, but nothing happens on the blog. You see, it’s just like life. You know, you eat, you go shopping, you read. You eat, you read, You go shopping.

Staff Member #3: You read? You read on the show?

ROUTE53: Well, I don’t know about the reading. Maybe blog about blogging.

Staff Member #3: All right, tell me, tell me about the blog entries. What kind of stories?

BUD: Oh, no. No stories.

Staff Member #2: No stories? So, what is it?

BUD: (Showing an example) What’d you do today?

Staff Member #3: I got up and biked to work.

BUD: There’s an entry. That’s an entry.

Staff Member #3: (Confused) How is that an entry?  If you Tweet that, will people read?

ROUTE53: Well, uh, maybe something happens on the way to work. And yes it would be more of a Tweet than an Entry.

BUD: (scratching his head)  No, no, no. Nothing happens.

ROUTE53: Well, something happens.

Staff Member #3: Well, why am I reading it?

BUD: Because you’re following me and you’re my “Friend”.

Staff Member #3: (Threatening) Not yet.

BUD: Okay, uh, look, if you want to just keep on doing the same old thing, then maybe this idea is not for you. I, for one, am not going to compromise my artistic integrity. And I’ll tell you
something else, this is the show and we’re not going to change it. We’ll just put this on Blogger (To ROUTE53) Right?

(A moment passes)

ROUTE53: (To Russell) How about this: I manage Cirque du Soleil……?

[Later at Peets]

ROUTE53: I don’t even want to talk about it anymore. What were you thinking? What was going on in your mind? Artistic integrity? Where, where did you come up with that? You’re not artistic and you have no integrity. You know you really need some help. A regular psychiatrist couldn’t even help you. You need to go to like Vienna or something. You know what I mean? You need to get involved at the University level. Like where Freud studied and have all those people looking at you and checking up on you. That’s the kind of help you need. Not the once a week for eighty bucks. No. You need a team. A team of psychiatrists working round the clock thinking about you, having conferences, observing you, like the way they did with the Elephant Man. That’s what I’m talking about because that’s the only way you’re going to get better.

BUD: . . . I thought the woman was kind of cute.

ROUTE53: Hold it. I really want to be clear about this. Are you talking about the woman in the meeting? Is that the woman you’re talking about?

BUD: Yeah, I thought I might give her a call. I, I don’t meet that many women. I meet like three women a year. I mean, we’ve been introduced. She knows my name.

ROUTE53: IT’S COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE!

BUD: Why? Maybe she liked me. I, I mean she was looking right at me. You know, I think she was impressed. You know, we had good eye contact the whole meeting.

ROUTE53: Oh, I forgot to call STEINY.

BUD: Wait a minute let me call her.

ROUTE53: No, no this is more important.

BUD: She might be leaving to work any minute.

 [BUD and Susan enter]

BUD: Hello, oh, hello. You remember, … Susan, from WordPress

ROUTE53: Of course. How are you?

SUSAN: Fine, it’s good to see you.

BUD: And this is STEINY.

SUSAN: Hello.

BUD: All right go ahead Susan, tell him.

ROUTE53: Tell me what?

SUSAN: Well, I, [phone rings]

ROUTE53: Uh, sorry, Excuse me one second. Hello.

TEL: Hi, would you be interested in switching over to TMI long distance service.

ROUTE53: Oh, gee, I can’t talk right now. Why don’t you give me your home number and I’ll call you later.

TEL: Uh, I’m sorry we’re not allowed to do that.

ROUTE53: Oh, I guess you don’t want people calling you at home.

TEL: No.

ROUTE53: Well now you know how I feel. [Hangs up]

BUD: Well, go ahead, tell him.

ROUTE53: STEINY, are you drinking that milk?

STEINY: Yeah.

ROUTE53: What’s the expiration date on that?

STEINY: April 1st.

ROUTE53: The 1st?

BUD: and SUSAN: The 1st?

STEINY: Um, Uh, ugh, …

SUSAN: Noooo… [STEINY throws up on Susan]

[Peet’s]

BUD: I never should have brought her up there. Should have known better. Should have seen it coming. I didn’t see it coming.

ROUTE53: I think SHE saw it coming.

BUD: You know she was behind the idea. She was going to champion your blog. That’s what I was bringing her up there to tell you. And she liked me.

ROUTE53: Look just because STEINY vomited on her doesn’t mean the blog is dead.  I can still write the blog.

BUD: What, are you crazy? It’s a traumatic thing to be thrown up on.

ROUTE53: Vomiting is not a deal breaker. If Jobs had vomited on Wozniak, Wozniak still would have given him Apple.

BUD: Well, write your blog about nothing.

It's About Nothing!

11 Saturday Apr 2009

Posted by in Breast Cancer - A Loving Fight, Business - Affiliate Marketing, Route 53 - Life is A Highway

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

“Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason.” – Jerry Seinfeld

You might have noticed I slightly altered the tagline about this blog.  I’ve been debating it since I had a conversation with a good friend a couple of weeks ago.  He was interested to learn I had a blog and wanted to know what it was about.  We’ve shared many of life’s details that we haven’t shared with our own wives so he wanted to know more about the phenomena of blogs.  After I told him, he laughed.  We both love the comic, Seinfeld.  He didn’t have to say it.  He knew what my blog was about….

Below is a work of semi-fiction.  The names have been changed (or not). If you followed the show, Seinfeld, this blog entry might sound familiar.

 

seinfeld1

 

(At a Keith Urban Concert)

BUD: So you write these entries about your life in a blog and people read them?  I think that is pretty ballsy.  I think that is interesting.  Maybe I should write a blog too.

ROUTE53: Really? Well I can help you.

BUD: So, if you have any idea for a blog for me, well, let me know.

ROUTE53: I’m not sure if you can write about your legal clients, but I’d be very interested in something like that.

BUD: Well, that is attorney-client privilege so I don’t think I can.  Maybe something else.

[They listen to Keith play “Sweet Thing”]

ROUTE53: Well let me know if you come up with something.  Just tweet me.

BUD: Tweet you?  Is that like, give you a ring?

ROUTE53: Um …never mind.

BUD: I’ll read your blog and see if it inspires me.

 [Two days later BUD and Route53 meet at the local Peets]

BUD: I’ve been reading your blog.  Why do you do it?  It’s kind of public.

ROUTE53: I thought I’d write down my thoughts.  It keeps me honest with myself.

BUD: For what?  I mean, it’s kind of boring reading that you ate oatmeal again.

ROUTE53: It’s for me first, but if you find my life interesting, go ahead and read it.  You don’t have to.

BUD: So it’s a blog about your everyday life?

ROUTE53: Yeah, I guess so.  I’m getting old and have lots of thoughts.  Sometimes I want to step back and remember them.

BUD: Yeah, but eating oatmeal.  How could that possibly help you?

ROUTE53: Well, let’s say someday I get accused of a crime and the police ask where I was on this day and time?  I can read my blog and tell them I remember because I ate oatmeal with Flax seed and that night I was at a country music concert with you.  Well, because nobody would ever believe that story.

BUD: Come on, how hard is it to make it all up? It’s all fiction. Look at all the junk that’s on TV.
You want an idea? Here’s an idea. You’re a butcher. And you’re married. And your son is a vegetarian and you’re pushing him into the business.  That would be fun to read.

ROUTE53: Why should I care if my son doesn’t eat meat?

BUD: Because you’re a butcher. It’s only natural.

ROUTE53: But meat is not for everybody.

BUD: I know, but he’s your son.

ROUTE53: So what?  Besides you hit the nail on the head.  Look at the junk on TV.  It’s all reality TV.  Well my blog is reality me.

BUD: All right, forget that idea, it’s not for you….Okay, okay, I got another one. You’re bankrupt because of the recession and you auction your life treasures on eBay.

ROUTE53: Yeah and…?

BUD: And people buy your junk and you get involved in their lives wanting to know if your items are getting good homes

ROUTE53: What person who runs an auction on eBay gets involved in people’s lives?

BUD: Why not?

ROUTE53: So someone bids on some my old comic books and all of a sudden I’m
getting them to tell me their life stories?  I could see if I was a pharmacist because a
pharmacist knows what’s wrong with everybody that comes in.

BUD: I know, but online auctions are very popular right now.

ROUTE53: No they’re not, they used to be.  It’s all about Web 2.0 and social marketing

BUD: Oh yeah, like you know.

ROUTE53: Oh like you do, you’re a lawyer [Route53 Tweets the whole conversation]

[STEINBERG enters Peets]

STEINBERG: …And you’re the manager of Cirque du Soleil.

ROUTE53: [Looks at BUD]  You told STEINY about my blog?

[BUD shrugs his shoulders]

STEINY: Come on, this is a great idea. Look at the characters. You’ve
got all these freaks on the show. A naked Asian woman who contorts herself into a pretzel? I mean, who
wouldn’t tune in to see a headless man with an umbrella; a mute clown; underwater acrobats.

ROUTE53: I don’t think so.

STEINY: Look ROUTE53, web blogs aren’t about boring lives.  People want to read about the nuts of the world.

ROUTE53: I don’t think people will go for it.

STEINY: Why not?

ROUTE53: Look, I’m not about writing about freaks.  I’m writing my everyday thoughts about the people around me.

STEINY: Oh come on ROUTE53, you’re wrong. People they want to watch freaks. Look at Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. This is a “can’t miss.” [Queue laugh tracks and fade to commercial]

[Later that week at The Butcher and The Chef in San Francisco’s South Park]

BUD: So, what’s happening with your blog? You come up with anything new?

ROUTE53: No, nothing.

BUD: Why don’t they have Acai here?

ROUTE53: What do you need Acai for?

BUD: Everyone’s doing Acai in America.

ROUTE53: I know, my wife makes me drink an Acai shake every morning. You know why? Because people like to say “Acai.” “Excuse me, do you have AH-SAH-EE?” “We need more acai.” “Where is the Acai? No Acai??”

BUD: You know its crazy that first it was ginko biloba and now it’s acai.”

ROUTE53: “Don’t you know the difference between ginko biloba and acai?? You can’t order an Acai bagel at Noah’s Bagels.”

BUD: That’s not Acai, that’s Asiago.  It’s a Cheese.

ROUTE53: See, that’s a blog entry.

BUD: What?

ROUTE53: This. Just talking.

Bud: (dismissing) Yeah, right.

ROUTE53: I’m really serious. This is what I blog about, my everyday life.

BUD: Just talking? Well what’s great about that?

ROUTE53: Yep, that’s what my blog is about.  My life.  It’s about nothing.

BUD: No story?

ROUTE53: No forget the story. It’s about the people and it’s about sharing experiences with similar people who find me

BUD: You’ve got to have a story, don’t you?

ROUTE53: Who says you gotta have a story? Remember when we drove to Santa Barbara and Herbie broke down and we spent the night in King’s City in that creepy motel? That could be a blog entry.

BUD: And who is in the blog?

ROUTE53: Me, you, everyone.  I spend find minutes with someone and I’ll be writing about them.

BUD: Great, but can you fictionalize me?

ROUTE53: You?

BUD: Yeah. You could base a character on me, but not write about me, per se. 

ROUTE53: So, in my real blog, there’s a fictional character named BUD?

BUD: Yeah. You can call me Art Vandelay, the architect. There’s something wrong with that? I’m a character.  People are always saying to me, “You know you’re a quite a character.”

ROUTE53: And who else is fictional in my blog?

BUD: STEINY could be a character. STEINY..

ROUTE53: Now he’s a character. (Pause) So everybody I know now has a fictional side to them?  I don’t think so.  This is about my REAL life.

BUD: Alright, have it your way.  Write about nothing.

ROUTE53: Thanks.  You really think so?  Nothing? I guess I’ll have to re-title my blog again.

BUD: Absolutely nothing.

ROUTE53: So you’re saying, I continue to spend my days and write in my blog about nothing.

BUD: WE write about nothing.

ROUTE53: “We”? Since when are you my ghost-blogger?

BUD: (Scoffs) Blogger. We’re talking about the web.  You think Internet Geek Girl writes all her own material?

ROUTE53: You want to go with me to WordPress?

BUD: Yeah. I think we really go something here.

ROUTE53: What do we got?

BUD: An idea.

ROUTE53: What idea?

BUD: An idea for the show.

ROUTE53: I still don’t know what the idea is.

BUD: It’s about nothing.

ROUTE53: Right.

BUD: Everybody’s doing something, we’ll do nothing.

ROUTE53: So, we go into WordPress, we tell them we’ve got an idea for a blog about nothing.

BUD: Exactly.

ROUTE53: They say, “What’s your show about?” I say, “Nothing.”

BUD: There you go.

(A moment passes)

ROUTE53: (Nodding) I think you may have something there.

[ROUTE53’s apartment]

(ROUTE53’s explaining BUD’s idea to STEINY)

ROUTE53: So, the show would be about my real life. And one of the characters would be based on you.

STEINY: (Thinks) No, I don’t think so.

ROUTE53: What do you mean you don’t think so?

STEINY: I don’t like it.

ROUTE53: I don’t understand. What don’t you like about it?

STEINY: I don’t like the idea of a character based on me.

ROUTE53: Why not?

STEINY: Well it just doesn’t sit well.

ROUTE53: You’re my colleague. There’s got to be a character based on you.

STEINY: That’s your problem, buddy.

ROUTE53: I don’t understand what the big deal is.

STEINY: Hey, I’ll tell you what – you can do it on one condition.

ROUTE53: Whatever you want.

STEINY: I get to play STEINY.

ROUTE53: You ARE STEINY.

STEINY: I am STEINY.

ROUTE53: But you can’t act.  It has to be the real you.  This isn’t fiction.

STEINY: Phew!

[ WordPress reception area)

(ROUTE53 and BUD are waiting)

ROUTE53: (To himself) Acai, Asiago. Hey, excuse me, you got any Acai? No, not Asiago, Acai. (BUD doesn’t react) What’s the matter?

BUD: (Nervous) Nothing.

ROUTE53: You sure? You look a little pale.

BUD: No, I’m fine. I’m good. I’m very good.

ROUTE53: Why are you nervous?

BUD: No, not nervous. I’m good, very good. (A beat, then he snaps) I can’t do this! Can’t do this!

ROUTE53: What?

BUD: I can’t do this! I can’t do it. I have tried. I’m here. It’s impossible.

ROUTE53: This is just a blog.  We don’t even have to tell them.  You’re supposed to just write it!  Besides, this was your idea to be part of my blog.

BUD: What idea? I just said something. I didn’t know you were going to listen to me.

ROUTE53: Don’t worry about it. They’re just an internet social platform.

BUD: They’re men with jobs, ROUTE53! They wear Crocs and drink way too much Acai.

ROUTE53: I told you not to come.

BUD: I need some water. I gotta get some water.

ROUTE53: They’ll give us water in there.  In fact, they have free soda and catered lunches.

BUD: Really? That’s pretty good.

[ WordPress‘s Conference Room]

(The WordPress Network staff are all talking with ROUTE53 and BUD)

Staff Member #1: (To ROUTE53, laughing about one of his bits) The bit, the bit I really liked is your hiding in your cruise stateroom hiding from the horny 65 year old ladies. Now that’s funny.

ROUTE53: Yeah, it’s one of my favorite life events.

Staff Member #2: I was touched and felt for your wife’s battle with cancer and all the stories of other survivors.

Staff Member #3: I like hearing about how you make money on the web with affiliate programs

Staff Member #4: I think your life in San Francisco is worth reading about.  And the fact you drive a beetle named Herbie with a big “53” on it.

StaffMember #2: What about you, BUD? You have any funny stories?

BUD: (Quickly making it up) Well, possibly. I wrote an off-Broadway show, “Dos Hermanos.” ..Actually, it was off-off-Broadway. It was a comedy about two Mexican entrepreneurs.

ROUTE53: Oh, it was very funny. There was one great scene with the CTO- what was his name?

BUD: Pepe.

ROUTE53: Oh, Pepe. Yeah, Pepe. And, uh, he was making a Facebook Application.

Staff Member #3:Oh, he actually wrote code on the stage?

BUD: No, no, he tweeted it. That’s what was so funny about it.

Staff Member #4: So, what have you two come up with to talk to us about?

ROUTE53: Well, we’d like you to feature our blog.  We’ve thought about this in a variety of ways.  But the basic idea is I will just write about my life.

BUD: (Interrupting) May I?

ROUTE53: Go ahead.

BUD: I think I can sum up the blog for you with one word: NOTHING.

Staff Member #3: Nothing?

BUD: (Smiling) Nothing.

Staff Member #3: (Unimpressed) What does that mean?

BUD: The blog is about nothing.

ROUTE53: (To BUD) Well, it’s not about nothing.

BUD: (To ROUTE53) No, it’s about nothing.

ROUTE53: Well, maybe in philosophy. But, even nothing is something.

Staff Member #3:What’s the premise?

ROUTE53: Well, as I was saying, I would blog about myself, and, as an internet entrepreneur, living in San Francisco. I have a family, friends, and co-workers, which is all true.

BUD: Yeah, but nothing happens on the blog. You see, it’s just like life. You know, you eat, you go shopping, you read. You eat, you read, You go shopping.

Staff Member #3: You read? You read on the show?

ROUTE53: Well, I don’t know about the reading. Maybe blog about blogging.

Staff Member #3: All right, tell me, tell me about the blog entries. What kind of stories?

BUD: Oh, no. No stories.

Staff Member #2: No stories? So, what is it?

BUD: (Showing an example) What’d you do today?

Staff Member #3: I got up and biked to work.

BUD: There’s an entry. That’s an entry.

Staff Member #3: (Confused) How is that an entry?  If you Tweet that, will people read?

ROUTE53: Well, uh, maybe something happens on the way to work. And yes it would be more of a Tweet than an Entry.

BUD: (scratching his head)  No, no, no. Nothing happens.

ROUTE53: Well, something happens.

Staff Member #3: Well, why am I reading it?

BUD: Because you’re following me and you’re my “Friend”.

Staff Member #3: (Threatening) Not yet.

BUD: Okay, uh, look, if you want to just keep on doing the same old thing, then maybe this idea is not for you. I, for one, am not going to compromise my artistic integrity. And I’ll tell you
something else, this is the show and we’re not going to change it. We’ll just put this on Blogger (To ROUTE53) Right?

(A moment passes)

ROUTE53: (To Russell) How about this: I manage Cirque du Soleil……?

[Later at Peets]

ROUTE53: I don’t even want to talk about it anymore. What were you thinking? What was going on in your mind? Artistic integrity? Where, where did you come up with that? You’re not artistic and you have no integrity. You know you really need some help. A regular psychiatrist couldn’t even help you. You need to go to like Vienna or something. You know what I mean? You need to get involved at the University level. Like where Freud studied and have all those people looking at you and checking up on you. That’s the kind of help you need. Not the once a week for eighty bucks. No. You need a team. A team of psychiatrists working round the clock thinking about you, having conferences, observing you, like the way they did with the Elephant Man. That’s what I’m talking about because that’s the only way you’re going to get better.

BUD: . . . I thought the woman was kind of cute.

ROUTE53: Hold it. I really want to be clear about this. Are you talking about the woman in the meeting? Is that the woman you’re talking about?

BUD: Yeah, I thought I might give her a call. I, I don’t meet that many women. I meet like three women a year. I mean, we’ve been introduced. She knows my name.

ROUTE53: IT’S COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE!

BUD: Why? Maybe she liked me. I, I mean she was looking right at me. You know, I think she was impressed. You know, we had good eye contact the whole meeting.

ROUTE53: Oh, I forgot to call STEINY.

BUD: Wait a minute let me call her.

ROUTE53: No, no this is more important.

BUD: She might be leaving to work any minute.

 [BUD and Susan enter]

BUD: Hello, oh, hello. You remember, … Susan, from WordPress

ROUTE53: Of course. How are you?

SUSAN: Fine, it’s good to see you.

BUD: And this is STEINY.

SUSAN: Hello.

BUD: All right go ahead Susan, tell him.

ROUTE53: Tell me what?

SUSAN: Well, I, [phone rings]

ROUTE53: Uh, sorry, Excuse me one second. Hello.

TEL: Hi, would you be interested in switching over to TMI long distance service.

ROUTE53: Oh, gee, I can’t talk right now. Why don’t you give me your home number and I’ll call you later.

TEL: Uh, I’m sorry we’re not allowed to do that.

ROUTE53: Oh, I guess you don’t want people calling you at home.

TEL: No.

ROUTE53: Well now you know how I feel. [Hangs up]

BUD: Well, go ahead, tell him.

ROUTE53: STEINY, are you drinking that milk?

STEINY: Yeah.

ROUTE53: What’s the expiration date on that?

STEINY: April 1st.

ROUTE53: The 1st?

BUD: and SUSAN: The 1st?

STEINY: Um, Uh, ugh, …

SUSAN: Noooo… [STEINY throws up on Susan]

[Peet’s]

BUD: I never should have brought her up there. Should have known better. Should have seen it coming. I didn’t see it coming.

ROUTE53: I think SHE saw it coming.

BUD: You know she was behind the idea. She was going to champion your blog. That’s what I was bringing her up there to tell you. And she liked me.

ROUTE53: Look just because STEINY vomited on her doesn’t mean the blog is dead.  I can still write the blog.

BUD: What, are you crazy? It’s a traumatic thing to be thrown up on.

ROUTE53: Vomiting is not a deal breaker. If Jobs had vomited on Wozniak, Wozniak still would have given him Apple.

BUD: Well, write your blog about nothing.

All's A-Twitter…It's Always On.

04 Saturday Apr 2009

Posted by in Business - Affiliate Marketing, Route 53 - Life is A Highway

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

       “My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there” – Charles Kettering, inventor

This marks the 5th year of the Web 2.0 Expo (3 years of the Expo and 2 years prior under a different name).  I have traditionally found this to be the best palce to meet the best minds in the tech social media industry.  It’s evolution is indicative of its name as when it first started people took notes on pad and paper  feverishly as speakers spoke.  Some brought tape recorders.  But over the past few years I’ve seen more and more laptops with people using voice recognition devices to help.  Laptops were everywhere and it resembled more of a college conference than a business conference.  People often held them like a cup of coffee and  dropped them and kept the nearby Apple store busy with servicing requests. This  year was  a little different as more people are now holding up their iPhones and Blackberrys and taping the speeches and then with a click of a button sending those clips to Youtube, Twitter, Facebook and Myspace instead of posting to their blogs and taking notes.

To be honest, the show was a little lacking this year and as one friend put it, lots of features with little business.  The question is what is Web 2.0?  Well it has many definitions:  It is the movement from static (non-interactive pages) into more interactive pages.  For many of you that means instead of looking at news page or a single page, it is more about communities and aggregation of information and content that is shareable.

So what does that mean?  It means for example that the newspaper that you used to have delivered to your house is no longer relevant not because it is killing trees but because the news is old by the time you get it.  The news on your newspaper’s website is old too.  For example, let’s say you wanted to see a show.  You used to check the newspapers for a review written by some paid journalist who got free tickets and that review might be old anyway or be written by someone you share little taste with.  You could also get that review on the newspapers website with comments from people who have also seen the show and maybe agreed or disagreed with the reviewer.  But now web 2.0 is different.  You can find a community such as Youtube where people have taped snippets of the show recently with their cell phone and made comment such as “the lead actor was out sick”  and receive the latest updates about casting changes, etc.  Just like this conference, people have already posted photos and comments and I don’t need to wait until tomorrow morning to read about it from some journalist who was not able to watch concurrent sessions.

Now back to my friend’s comment.  One of the wonderful things about Web 2.0 in the past was meeting the innovative companies such as Facebook, Google, MySpace, Twitter, etc.  Hearing from all of these companies which were aggregating communities of shareable content.  Well, that was seriously lacking.  All you found this week were those big named companies which were trying to show you that they had infrastructure and platforms to help you with that content.  What is exciting about that?    The irony is that the company that was most talked about and most utilized, TWITTER, was only 5 blocks away and nowhere to be seen represented at the conference.  Granted, they only have 30 people in their company and their business was overwhelmed by the people at Web2.0 who were sharing videos, photos, and “tweets” in large volumes.

So people of my generation and older always say, “Hey, what’s with the Twitter?  Why should I do it?”  I’m not here to try and sell anyone on Twitter, but my response is usually that if you are texting, using Facebook, Myspace, an iPhone, a Blackberry (or other smart phone), or have toyed with starting a blog, just get the Twitter account now and “wait for it”.  At the very least, protect your name.  If your name is Joan Smith, got to Twitter.com and sign up so you can save your vanity domain, www.twitter.com/joansmith.  At some point you might start to receive some “tweets” and become interested enough to find out how to make your “content aggregation” easier. In fact, if you find that I don’t update this blog enough, you can follow me on my tweets and you don’t even need to go to my Twitter to see it.  You can just look over in the right margin of this blog to see my latest Tweets.So now you don’t have to stay up late waiting for me to update you on my life.

My cousin’s kids follow me all the time.  In fact I learn a lot from them.  Of course some of these things I shouldn’t even know.  Seeing your cousins kids in sometimes compromising situations is some of the “bad” about this new social media.  Having to tell your cousin that you think their son or daughter has been doing some underaged drinking and posting it to their website is not my intention but my duty.  Anyway, they follow me to hear about the latest concerts and other news.  In return I get to hear all the new slang.  The latest one was, just 5 minutes ago, “Erik, you are so AO”.  AO?  Yes, that means “Always On”.  Well that is what Web 2.0 is.  It is always on and you can find what you are looking for all the time.

Now you are probably asking….but wait.  Why are you telling me this?  I thought you only wrote about hotel reviews, celebrity sightings and cancer.  Well truth be told is that I do have a job.  The last 10 years or so I’ve honed my skills as an affiliate marketer with traditional products and platforms.  But now Web2.0 and social media have created a new challenge.  Many of these social media businesses such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are trying to show they can make money and have been trying to do it through advertising.  Today the average user of Facebook spends 2.5 hours on it.  Pretty good advertising opportunity, don’t you think?  Well, now I’m working on some cool projects that provide completely relevant advertising content that is embedded and unobtrusive to the user.  Shopping via social media is like hearing about something cool from a friend.  When you talk to your friend, banners aren’t thrown in your face.  They usally tell you about something cool they saw or heard or di and then you follow up on it because it sounds interesting to you.  To me that is what collaborative filtering in social media communities is all about.

So how does a beginner begin to work with Twitter?  Just set up an account first and start playing around with it.  It’s pretty addicting.  I will follow up with another post on some great applications to make your Twitter experience more enjoyable.

All’s A-Twitter…It’s Always On.

04 Saturday Apr 2009

Posted by in Business - Affiliate Marketing, Route 53 - Life is A Highway

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

       “My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there” – Charles Kettering, inventor

This marks the 5th year of the Web 2.0 Expo (3 years of the Expo and 2 years prior under a different name).  I have traditionally found this to be the best palce to meet the best minds in the tech social media industry.  It’s evolution is indicative of its name as when it first started people took notes on pad and paper  feverishly as speakers spoke.  Some brought tape recorders.  But over the past few years I’ve seen more and more laptops with people using voice recognition devices to help.  Laptops were everywhere and it resembled more of a college conference than a business conference.  People often held them like a cup of coffee and  dropped them and kept the nearby Apple store busy with servicing requests. This  year was  a little different as more people are now holding up their iPhones and Blackberrys and taping the speeches and then with a click of a button sending those clips to Youtube, Twitter, Facebook and Myspace instead of posting to their blogs and taking notes.

To be honest, the show was a little lacking this year and as one friend put it, lots of features with little business.  The question is what is Web 2.0?  Well it has many definitions:  It is the movement from static (non-interactive pages) into more interactive pages.  For many of you that means instead of looking at news page or a single page, it is more about communities and aggregation of information and content that is shareable.

So what does that mean?  It means for example that the newspaper that you used to have delivered to your house is no longer relevant not because it is killing trees but because the news is old by the time you get it.  The news on your newspaper’s website is old too.  For example, let’s say you wanted to see a show.  You used to check the newspapers for a review written by some paid journalist who got free tickets and that review might be old anyway or be written by someone you share little taste with.  You could also get that review on the newspapers website with comments from people who have also seen the show and maybe agreed or disagreed with the reviewer.  But now web 2.0 is different.  You can find a community such as Youtube where people have taped snippets of the show recently with their cell phone and made comment such as “the lead actor was out sick”  and receive the latest updates about casting changes, etc.  Just like this conference, people have already posted photos and comments and I don’t need to wait until tomorrow morning to read about it from some journalist who was not able to watch concurrent sessions.

Now back to my friend’s comment.  One of the wonderful things about Web 2.0 in the past was meeting the innovative companies such as Facebook, Google, MySpace, Twitter, etc.  Hearing from all of these companies which were aggregating communities of shareable content.  Well, that was seriously lacking.  All you found this week were those big named companies which were trying to show you that they had infrastructure and platforms to help you with that content.  What is exciting about that?    The irony is that the company that was most talked about and most utilized, TWITTER, was only 5 blocks away and nowhere to be seen represented at the conference.  Granted, they only have 30 people in their company and their business was overwhelmed by the people at Web2.0 who were sharing videos, photos, and “tweets” in large volumes.

So people of my generation and older always say, “Hey, what’s with the Twitter?  Why should I do it?”  I’m not here to try and sell anyone on Twitter, but my response is usually that if you are texting, using Facebook, Myspace, an iPhone, a Blackberry (or other smart phone), or have toyed with starting a blog, just get the Twitter account now and “wait for it”.  At the very least, protect your name.  If your name is Joan Smith, got to Twitter.com and sign up so you can save your vanity domain, www.twitter.com/joansmith.  At some point you might start to receive some “tweets” and become interested enough to find out how to make your “content aggregation” easier. In fact, if you find that I don’t update this blog enough, you can follow me on my tweets and you don’t even need to go to my Twitter to see it.  You can just look over in the right margin of this blog to see my latest Tweets.So now you don’t have to stay up late waiting for me to update you on my life.

My cousin’s kids follow me all the time.  In fact I learn a lot from them.  Of course some of these things I shouldn’t even know.  Seeing your cousins kids in sometimes compromising situations is some of the “bad” about this new social media.  Having to tell your cousin that you think their son or daughter has been doing some underaged drinking and posting it to their website is not my intention but my duty.  Anyway, they follow me to hear about the latest concerts and other news.  In return I get to hear all the new slang.  The latest one was, just 5 minutes ago, “Erik, you are so AO”.  AO?  Yes, that means “Always On”.  Well that is what Web 2.0 is.  It is always on and you can find what you are looking for all the time.

Now you are probably asking….but wait.  Why are you telling me this?  I thought you only wrote about hotel reviews, celebrity sightings and cancer.  Well truth be told is that I do have a job.  The last 10 years or so I’ve honed my skills as an affiliate marketer with traditional products and platforms.  But now Web2.0 and social media have created a new challenge.  Many of these social media businesses such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are trying to show they can make money and have been trying to do it through advertising.  Today the average user of Facebook spends 2.5 hours on it.  Pretty good advertising opportunity, don’t you think?  Well, now I’m working on some cool projects that provide completely relevant advertising content that is embedded and unobtrusive to the user.  Shopping via social media is like hearing about something cool from a friend.  When you talk to your friend, banners aren’t thrown in your face.  They usally tell you about something cool they saw or heard or di and then you follow up on it because it sounds interesting to you.  To me that is what collaborative filtering in social media communities is all about.

So how does a beginner begin to work with Twitter?  Just set up an account first and start playing around with it.  It’s pretty addicting.  I will follow up with another post on some great applications to make your Twitter experience more enjoyable.

The Onramp Back To Work

25 Wednesday Feb 2009

Posted by in Business - Affiliate Marketing, Route 53 - Life is A Highway

≈ Leave a comment

 A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you’ve been taking.  ~ Earl Wilson, former MLB Pitcher

Sunset in the OC

Sunset in the OC

Getting back to work even after just a short vacation is tough.  Life these days in the mass communication, mobile, depressed economy world never lets you truly get away unless you make a strong conscious effort to leave behind the Blackberry, the computer, etc.  I found myself on our vacation clearing out my email box every night.  I just didn’t want to get back all stressed out from hundreds of emails.

Don’t get me wrong though.  I don’t take lots of vacations and I probably take on more than I should, but these days it is hard to get away from work for long periods of time and especially in this economy, nobody wants to leave their job for too long.  I did though enjoy the time with my family, especially my wife, to just get out of our house and put ourselves around different scenery.  Disneyland and Universal Studios can’t be more different than work.

Getting back to work these days is tough.  The economy has everyone up in arms.  Our company has had its own layoffs (some just basic performance and others merger and re-organization related) but more than anything everyone is always concerned about what they would do if they lost their job.  In this day and age most of us haven’t live through the Great Depression.  In fact, most of us had parents who were only children during that time, so we are only living through a time that is nowhere near anything that our own parents have never seen.  Or is it?  During the Great Depression unemployment was over 23%.  At the beginning of Reagan’s administration it was 7% and then now we are approaching 8%.  The difference is that we are also dealing with a decreasing value of the wealth that has been accumulated as well as a lack of clarity on how we are getting out of this mess. 

Even more worry is that I listened to our new President’s speech last night and I can’t say I’m as optimistic about what he had to say.  I really don’t see how what he is saying is going to create jobs.  I could see unemployment hitting 12%-15% before any kind of real job creation gets started.  The people need more relief and the local governments need more support in getting relief to everyone.

For me, with two kids in private school, mortgage payments, upcoming tax filings (oh and the California government is bankrupt), and a shrinking 401K,  I know I’m not that different from everyone out there who are just looking for a little breathing room.  I also understand and can see how the government might feel like I don’t need any help.  The uncertainty of the overall economy makes us all feel like we are one bad break away from a mini-disaster.  I hear about people losing their jobs and homes all around me.  I ran into an old boss the other day who runs the global financial industry practice for a major IT consulting firm and when I asked him how he was doing he said, “25% of my clients are going to jail, 25% have been laid off or shut down, and 25% are being nationalized, other than that, I just have to give a discount to the other 25% to make sure they keep me working”.   Did I mention that this guy is one of the most optimistic people I know?  Yes, he was smiling when he said that, but it still sunk in enough for me to write it here.

With all of this doom and gloom, I somehow went back to work and hit the road running.  I felt like I had pulled into one of those small rest stops off the interstate for about 10 minutes, tanked up, took a cat nap and jumped back into Los Angeles rush hour traffic without using my turn signal!  People were honking, giving me the finger and I was having to go faster than the speed limit in bumper to bumper traffic.  One day back in the office with a quick update from my colleague about the things she needed me to fix and I was back on the road.  Ironically it was only 30 miles from where I went on vacation.  Orange County is one of those isolated places.  A Republican stronghold in  Democratic California, it is pristine, everyone looks great, and people there still smile and ask, “How are you?” and say, “Have a wonderful day!”  Is this Stepford?  I mean these people seem to not have a care in the world.

I needed to speak at a conference on the Web 2.0.  Ironically these days I’m already thinking about Web 3.0.  When I got back from vacation I found out that I inherited the work of a couple colleagues who are no longer with the company.  My first thought was, “oh damn, now I need to start performing or I’m swimming with the fishes too!”  Suddenly all the relief I got from vacation was coming back like a head rush.  I didn’t pull an all-nighter, but close to it.  I sat in my room all night working on several new projects, putting presentations together and drinking Pepsi.  Early in the evening I did manage to take a swim in the hotel pool (my new favorite thing to do since a bathing suit is easier to pack than running shoes, shorts, shirt, iPod, etc.).  I took the photo above of a beautiful sunset.  it reminded me of Hawaii.

I somehow managed to get 3 hours of sleep, downed a cup of Starbucks and woke up a sleepy hungover crowd for an 8:30 am panel discussion. My all-night presentations seemed to be received well and I was back to work presenting my overnight work.  Somehow those presentations seemed to be pointing people in the right direction too.  Yeah, it was a productive night of work, but I sure hope that my road of life allows me to slow down again at some point.  I miss smelling the roses.   

Oh, and yes, I will be writing a review of the Marriott Newport Beach.  A magnificent spot if I must say.

Affiliate Marketing And Its Fight

11 Sunday Jan 2009

Posted by in Breast Cancer - A Loving Fight, Business - Affiliate Marketing, Route 53 - Life is A Highway

≈ Leave a comment

 Our success is a direct result of knowing how to market a brand and having the right people representing the brand. –  Greg Norman, golfer 

Lost among all the well known conferences going on in Vegas right now is the Affiliate Summit, a marketing conference for online affiliates and their networks.  So while on the other side of the highway, the Consumer Electronics Show, the Adult Video Network Consumer Show, and Internext take place, we are quietly having our annual meeting.

What is affiliate marketing?  Affiliate marketing is an Internet-based marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer by paying them some kind of bounty or revenue share based upon performance.  Its the same as a large company hiring a bunch of sales people to get paid for selling their product and they will get a commission. 

I have been in this business since the late 1990s when I first left my comfortable consulting position to join the wild and fast internet retail industry.  I joined a company called Reel.com which 6 months later was bought by Hollywood Video.  When I first started, one of the key investors, a venture fund, asked if I could start an affiliate program similar to what Amazon.com did.  Brashly I said sure.  If they could do it for books, we could do it for VHS tapes and these new things called DVDs.  I rapidly built into the 4th largest program on the Web behind Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and CDNow.  With over 250,000 affiliates it was like being the sales manager of over 250,000 sales people.  Each had their own quirks.  Some wanted more money, some wanted more hand holding, some had problems with other affiliates creeping into their territory, etc.  In the physical world it is similar to managing an army of Mary Kay or Avon door to door salespeople or those who used to have Tupperware parties.

The main difference is that almost anyone can set up as an affiliate.  most people do this as a side hobby to collect a little cash, but the people at this concference are mostly professionals who make a living at it.  There are many kinds of organizations who are affiliates.  Coupon sites, Loyalty companies, Shopping sites, fan sites, donation sites, etc.

The big deal these days is how to capitalize on social media and turn your blogs and personal social media pages into pages of casual affiliation.  Affiliate arketing has always been about B2B2C (Business to business to consumer) or B2C (Business to consumer).  I think with social media it is about to change to B2B2C2C or B2C2C in such that you the consumer are hlping to virally sell to other consumers.  How’s that?  Well just think for example how you buy things today.  If you want to go see a movie or a a record or a book.  Many of you might read a review in the news or a magazine, but there are many who buy that record or book at the advice of a friend.  Our job is to find those affiliates who are tastemakers and pay them for their heartfelt recommendations. 

Well that at least is my personal take on where things are going.  The key is building the right technology and processes for making that happen in the online world.  The conference that I am attending does rev up my juices each year and helps to reenergize my batteries to keep pushing forward in a much forgotten and sometimes ignred part of the online advertising world.

This conference is led by two individuals, Missy Ward and Shawn Collins who act as stewards for awareness of the industry.  Missy is also an activist in the fight against breast cancer awareness and has a site to make sure people in our industry support the cause.  It is called Affiliate Marketers Give Back.  Each conference ends with a little fundraiser for a fight to “Save the boobies” as Missy likes to call it.