I love when I run across something hilarious with a Google Page Rank of 1. It makes me feel as if I have found something before anyone else. Such is the case with Dickipedia.
Word of warning – If you start reading this site, you may not stop laughing for a few days. Take in small doses…
In the 2007 Beat the Bridge Run, our small but dedicated 10 man team got 90% of us across the bridge in time (full story here.) While that’s pretty good, that is still leaving one behind and we don’t want to do that in 2008.
If you didn’t join us last year, you missed out on a fun Sunday morning. So now’s your chance to join the 2008 team. It should be a blast again. I mean, I hate running more than just about anything (except eggs) and I manage to get through this 5 miles and immediately start looking forward to next year’s race.
It’s easy to join "No Runner Left Behind." Just find one of the links I’ve conveniently dropped all over the post. A few clicks later, you’re on the squad. 6 weeks left – better start training.
Check out Trapster. According to the site..
"When you see a (speed) trap, report it by pressing a button on your phone, or calling a toll free number. Other user’s phones will alert them as they approach the trap. Trapster™ learns the credibility of traps based on how many users agree. It also learns the credibility of each user, over time."
If it works, cool. But I’d love to see the biz plan, who funded it and what their valuation was.
Ok, marketers: Here’s your project.
Now you see what the MLS is up against. It’s the equivalent of a European-wide Basketball League trying to compete against soccer in England.
But here’s the thing – For the first time in the 10 or 15 years the MLS has been around, I am actually aware that this is opening weekend. I actually am somewhat interested in catching a few games. I am going to be in LA and actually looked to see in the Galaxy or Chivas would be in town. Why? Several potential reasons. Let me know if you can think of others.
Since Seattle is getting a team next year, i want to learn about the league.Anyway, the point is that I am fully aware that this sport has HUGE marketing and logistical issues in front of it, but I am slowly coming around. And really, I’m the sweet spot for their marketing. A small % of the country would come watch them play in a high school stadium. And you have a huge percentage of the country that wouldn’t watch if they served free beer and pizza all game long. But people like me, who spend too much money on the Mariners, who irrationally go to a bar to watch a college basketball game, and don’t think it’s weird to take a charcoal grill out of a pickup truck when there is a restaurant right across the street, we’re the guys the MLS needs. Sports fans – people who are there for the experience more than the result. And I’m coming around, even though I know the product will not be as good as one I could see on channel 401.
Anyway, MLS starts up this week. Take a peek if you get a chance. And if that doesn’t grab you, start with some EPL and Champions League Games on TV, or even better, at the George and Dragon.
Here’s a pretty interesting ad based on an old awareness test you may have seen before. I saw this on Seth Godin’s Blog.
A few weeks ago, a friend pointed me to a blog called "Stuff White People Like." If you have a sense of humor and can understand wit and sarcasm, you’ll find the site hilarious. White people making fun of all the stupid things white people do. Instant classic.
It’s also obvious that it’s just a site where a few guys like you and I started writing a few gags for friends and family, and it kind of went viral. The site is still hosted on the WordPress.com domain, meaning they don’t even make any ad revenue on it. It’s just people writing because they like to write, like most of the other 40 million blogs out there.
Well maybe they are a victim of their own success. Or maybe the whole race issue has really gotten out of control. But a Houston Chronicle article says, "Race-related Blog Causes Controversy." The article gos as far as to say, "It’s the latest in a string of racially charged blogs that act as a virtual shrink’s sofa for those tackling the tricky topics of race and class.’
Good god. Are you kidding me? When did white people making fun of white people become "racially charged." The article’s author,
Now here’s good marketing. You take a product that is inherently boring, like tax software. And rather than being all professional, you sponsor a user generated comedy contest on YouTube. Now, I don’t know if it’s successful, but it’s certainly a smart attempt at reaching a younger demographic.
So check out the Turbo Tax Comedy Showcase. But don’t just watch. Make sure you interact. And here’s a good way to interact.
Maybe it’s because the new Yankees regime is headed by the Boss, Part Deux. Or maybe they just seem softer now that Red Sox Nation has taken over the mantle of "Most Obnoxious Fans Alive." But for whatever reason, the Bronx Bombers trip from Tampa to Virginia Tech to play an exhibition game and visit the student memorials certainly feels like altruism and genuine caring, not a marketing stunt. Amongst all the hate and rhetoric being thrown around the political fields these days, it’s nice to read something like this ESPN.com article.
Think about this. As long as Wyoming has been a state, it hasn’t mattered one iota what happened in their caucus. Heck, a caucus was simply a reason to get together in March and have a few beers and celebrate the coming spring.
It’s not a knock against them, it’s just nature. Being Wyoming, they couldn’t risk having a caucus in the middle of a January blizzard. And since barely anyone lives there, no candidates were coming to visit anyway. So they put some guy named "Joe" or "Steve" or "Sam" or something in charge of making sure ballots got printed. And Joe or Steve or Sam had to call a bunch of buddies, or just the same people from 4 years ago, and find a few houses willing to throw a few caucuses.
But not this year. All of a sudden, Wyoming’s 12 little delegates matter. And now you have a whole bunch of guys named Jack or Jim or something calling Joe saying, "Uh, I only have room in my living room for 12 people. On the latest evite, it says 237 people are coming…"
As my friend described it, it’s like being the kid in school who forgot about his science project, grabbed 5 leaves from outside and taped them to construction paper, only to find out everyone has to present in front of a live televised audience, and Hannah Montana and LeBron James are the judges.
Look at Texas, where the Democratic Party had weeks to see that there would be a huge turnout. Yet you have the biggest mess ever imagined, a caucus that people compared to a rodeo. You think those guys are the only ones who are going to be stuck with their pants caught in their lassos?
I mean, pretend you volunteered up to run your kid’s Little League tournament, and then 6 months later you find out the other teams will be from Iraq, Dubai, Pakistan, Iran, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia and the US teams will be coached by Brad Pitt, Bono, Rosie O’Donnel, David Duke and Louis Farrakhan. It’s not your fault. You aren’t prepared for this. It just is what it is.
So pity the poor guy running the Wyoming Caucus. And make sure you tune in.