Andy Boyer

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Category: Personal (Page 29 of 48)

9 Not Well thought Out Predictions for 2009

December 31, 2008 /

In no particular order…

1) Facebook will start charging $10 – $20 a year for company Pages, and no one will mind. Every small business has to pay $10 a year plus hosting for a web url, why shouldn’t they pay a yearly fee for a Facebook one?  Other companies like YouTube, MySpace and Twitter will attempt to follow suit.

2) Seattle sports:

  • Mariners’ youth movement is fun yet painful to watch.  Bedard and Washburn are moved to contenders in spring.
  • Since the Bidwill family owns the Cardinals, they make a huge off-season mistake and plunge themselves back to the NFC West cellar.
  • The Seahawks meanwhile make a brilliant off-season acquisition, and climb back through a weak division to 9-7 and the NFC West title.
  • UW football beats UCLA and guarantees Steve Sarkezian “hero status” for a year.

3) Layoffs at WAMU, Microsoft, Starbucks and other large companies create two phenomena:

  • A greater number of qualified, highly educated, intelligent, white collar professionals than ever apply for teaching credentials.  The Teacher’s Union immediately works to figure out a way to stop this from happening.
  • With a lack of full-time jobs and everyone fearful of the stock market, people turn to entrepreneurship, opening coffee stands, noodle trucks, photography studios and more.

4) Some state goes nearly bankrupt, and teachers and public workers get paid in IOU’s so that there is cash for welfare and unemployment checks.  This finally makes a segment of the voting population ask if things are out of whack.

5) New industries asking for government bailouts:

  • Ski Industry:  If Global warming is real, and the US is responsibile for Global warming, then the US government should pay reparations to the US ski industry for screwing up their climate.
  • Major League Baseball Players Association:  They’ve never needed a reason before, so they’ll ask for the fun of it.  And threaten to strike if they don’t get it.
  • Green Technology:  Anyone who invested in a green company, bought a green car or acquired a green investment fund when gas was $5.00 a gallon now wants money back, blaming the US foreign policies for bringing prices back down to a reasonable level.

6) In a change, a number of ordinary line workers employed by the UAW are caught in an expose detailing some sort of extravagance.  Since its not an executive scandal, but ordinary workers living lavishly on tax payer money, we see a huge backlash toward more bailouts.

7) A perfect storm of rising dollar and great airline deals make it cheap to travel to Europe – cheaper even than Asia.  Tourism booms to Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania.

8) With oil at $40 a barrel, this ridiculous winning streak the state of Oklahoma is on finally comes to an end.  Florida 59, Oklahoma 35. 

9) Thanks to the Sonics debacle and the host of other circus events coing from City Hall, people actually CARE about City Council elections this year, and a highly qualified pool of moderates and business people come in to take some of the spots. 

Got any predictions of your own?  Put them in the comments section below.  Happy New Year.

Happy Holidays

December 25, 2008 /

Dear Santa:

This year I would like an additional 15 hours a month.  I certainly think it’s a reasonable ask, since if you would just give me an extra 1/2 hour a day, I could really do a lot more for mankind.

First off, I’d write on this blog more often, and while that doesn’t seem like it’s really going to benefit society that much, follow me on this.  If I write more, more people will continue to read.  And if more people read this, I’ll feel better when I look at the traffic numbers.  And if I feel better after looking at the traffic numbers, I’ll be less grouchy at the end of the week.  And if I’m less grouchy, I’ll be able to spread that joy to all your loyal subjects, or customers, or whatever you call them.

Now before you say no, hear me out.  Because I don’t need all 15 hours to write.  So, I’ll make you a deal.  Give me 5 to write, I’ll donate 5 to charitable causes, and give me 5 more to deal with work stuff – not the boring work stuff – but helping employees and clients to make sure they are all in a good mood too.  So then, that 5 hours you give me would pay itself forward to a lot of people, and then they’d all be in a better mood too.  It’s really a sound investment on your part.

This isn’t a whim, and I have the logistics all figured out.  With the exception of one weekend in Las Vegas that really shouldn’t count, I have not been awake between 4:30 and 5:00am for a long time.  So, all you need to do is let me repeat that 1/2 hour every day, which would then give me an extra 1/2 hour of sleep.  So, instead of my normal bedtime, I’ll go to bed 1/2 hour later, since I know I’ll get it back.  See, the plan’s simplicty is it’s greatest attribute.

So look, have one of your guys run the numbers on this, because I think you’ll see this is a win-win-win Xmas present.  More content on the blog, more smiles from the author, more smiles from everyone 2 degrees away, plus a healthy benefit for a charity (you can even choose the charity.)  It sure beats a BB Gun.  Let me know what you think.

Yours Truly,

Andy

Happy Thanksgiving

November 27, 2008 /

Well Happy Thanksgiving, aka “Shopping Season Eve”.  I thought it was a good time to remember the early days of Thanksgiving, as described by my Grand Papa Ernest.  Grandpapa swore that his Grandpapa’s Grandpapa was there.  With a giant glass of Wild Turkey in one hand, he would gather the kids and happily relive the tale of the first Thanksgiving….  

You see, one day word came to Plymouth Rock that a Macy’s had opened in New York.  None of the men knew what a Macy’s was, but the women swore that they simply could not be caught at New Year’s in a gown that was not from this glorious place.  Tales of lavish rooms filled with every kind of merchandise imaginable excited the oldest and youngest women in the town.   And all their freshest inventory arrived the 4th week of November.

Now the trip from Plymouth to New York was at least a day in each direction.  So for a full day of shopping on Saturday, the women had to leave on Friday.  At first the men saw no problem with this, and they approved the plan that the town women had come up with.  

But on Saturday, after a full day of no one fixing them a meal, the men were singing a different tune.  They were hungry, then hungrier on Sunday, and when the women returned, the men were drunk on wine and whiskey, with no food in their bellies.

So the next year, the town elders decreed the women would not be allowed to travel to Macy’s.  One of Macy’s marketing people read the Plymouth blog in which this was discussed, and checked with other towns.  Plymouth was not the only town in which the women were flocking to Macy’s, and what seemed like sure success seemed in peril.  The marketing guy realized something must be done.

Being a man of the world, the marketing man knew quite a few Native Americans.  He quickly struck a deal with one of the chiefs.  The chief had been working with the Macy’s buyers for months to get their hand crafted moccasins and shawls into the fall season, but to no awail.  In return for Macy’s carrying the merchandise, the tribes would reach out to their pilgrim friends.

The tribes would invite the men and women of each town to a giant feast, to be held the 4th Thursday of November.  There would be way way way too much food.  And so in an act of kindness, the tribes allowed – almost forced – the pilgrims to take the leftovers home with them.  

With a house full of leftovers, and tons of extra ale and wine, the men pilgrims suddenly realized an exciting three day weekend might be had.  However, their wives, who were now stuck in town, had given them a long list of demands and chores.  

The men were not pleased, and quickly convened a meeting to discuss options.  With all the food and drink, they certainly could allow the ladies to go to New York.  But they might not make it in time.  

A few of the unmarried men said they would be happy to see this Macy’s and lead the group.  Thus they quickly organized a giant horse and buggy-pool.  They left at the break of dawn, combining the buggies together to make colorful super buggies, and played their musical instruments to pass the time.  They did not stop until they reached New York, where they saw many other caravans and combined them together.  They quickly ended up in a long line, where they proceeded straight to Macy’s.

The men were home and happy.  The women were shopping amidst a mass of chaos and frivolity.  The Native Americans had goods in the store.  And Macy’s never looked back.

My Grandpapa swears his Grandpapa’s Grandpapa was that marketing guy from Macy’s.  I suppose we’ll never know for sure.

A Few Random Unconnected Thoughts on Media Consolidation

November 25, 2008 /

A few things are nagging at my brain about the state of the media.  I feel like I just need to throw them all out on a piece of pixels and see what comes out the other end.

  • The TV, Radio and Print industries are all getting killed since your traditional big spending advertisers (Automotive, Retail and Financials) have hit skid row.
  • People are moving from print version of newspapers to online, which is causing a further cutback in the need for local reporters.
  • Radio networks are becoming more consolidated.
  • It’s become easier and less expensive for TV news organizations to re-purpose their video content on their web property.
  • Talk radio stations can take their exclusive content, turn it into podcasts, and extend its reach.
  • Sports writers are guests on radio shows.  Radio guys are doing TV.  And TV Web sites have written content.
  • The rise of blogs gives more voice to independent writers and amateur broadcasters.
  • The general; distrust of the American media drives more people to seek out alternative media and new voices that are not tied to corporations.

In the end, it feels like there are not enough ad dollars to support 4 local TV stations, a bunch of radio stations and 2 local newspapers.  But they are all covering the same stories, just through a different medium and slightly different lens.

To me, it seems like a natural evoultion would be for TV stations to absorb newspaper writers, and then further consolidate with radio stations.  We could see broadcasting brands develop locally around political perspective or area of excellence.  One station may focus on business and economy, while one focused on social issues.  But the stories would be covered expertly and distributed by video and text.  Teams of reporters could work together to produce short form 30,000 foot overviews and long form, deep dives.

I just think a perfect storm has developed, and media is going to have to change.  There’s less money than before, greater ways to publish, and an audience with more ways to consume the same data.  This leads me to believe media could change significantly very rapidly.

Like I prefaced in the beginning of this, I can’t figure it out for sure, but am certain something has to change.  Do you have any ideas?

Conversations from years past

October 27, 2008 /

I was down Tucson this weekend, where old storytelling and reminiscing eventually led to amazement about everthing that has changed in the last 8-10 years.  In fact, it lead a few folks to put this list together, and I’m sure it’s incomplete.  

But on October 26 2000, if someone had shown you a newspaper for October 26, 2008, would you believe any of this could really happen?

  • US engaged in year 6 of a land war in Afghanistan
  • US engaged in year 6 of a land war in Iraq
  • Tampa Bay in the World Series
  • UW and WSU combined 1-14 record
  • The Sonics play in Oklahoma City
  • The US government pays $750+ Billion to US financial institutions – with Bear Stearns, AIG and WaMu basically out of business 
  • Gas at $3.09 a gallon – and that’s 30% CHEAPER than it was 6 months ago
  • 45 year old Jamie Moyer pitches game 4 of the World Series, while Freddy Garcia, Ryan Andersen and the rest of the “untouchable” Mariners minor league pitchers are out of baseball.
  • An unknown African American Illinois state senator is going to be elected President
  • The US President, Senate and House are all about to be a Democratic supermajority

 

Comparing the World Series to the US Presidential Election

October 23, 2008 /

I’m sad to say, I have no allegiance to either team in the World Series this year.  Which really kind of stinks, since I am desperate for something to root for.  (BTW, thank you Arizona Wildcats for pulling together a respectable football season and keeping me from sports harakare.)

So here I am, trying to decide who to support.  I mean, it’s 7 stupid games.  It shouldn’t be that hard to pick a team.  And through my logical analysis and emotional introspection I’ve used to try to pick a team, it suddenly dawned on me that this World Series is a microcosm of the US Presidential election.

Let’s look at the Phillies.  They have been a part of Major League Baseball forever, but yet have never quite been a team that everyone likes – or hates.  They aren’t the Cubs, Yankees or Red Sox, even though they’ve been around just as long.  They have produced some great players (Mike Schmidt, Larry Bowa, Tug McGraw), but also have some “not so special moments” (like Pete Rose crushing Ray Fosse in an All-Star game.)  And even when doing well, they’ve managed to annoy the press (Steve Carlton).  Basically, they’ve been around forever, and have gone through both good and bad years.  A few years ago, it looked like they had the big prize won, but then suffered an unexpected defeat to a team who ultimatley proved to not be worth supporting (Blue Jays).  Now they have a new squad with new people (Howard, Utley, Rollins, Hamill) but are still perceived as that “old” franchise with the ornery fans.

Now let’s examine the Rays.  On paper, this franchise is way too young to garner baseball’s greatest prize.  I mean, it’s quite an achievement for them to even make it to the final two, but can someone show me anything they’ve accomplished before 2008?  I know they had a lot of draft picks and a few experienced advisors, but until this year, these guys were simply idealists with a dream, and where heaven only lived on a whiteboard.  They have no real history, save for a few veterans who have never achieved any similar level of success anywhere else.  And yet, now Tampa Bay has die-hard, almost obsessive, fans who will shave their head and other body parts to support their team.  Every young fan – plus old fans who love a fairy tale story about achieving greatness in record time – has become a loud, proud Rays fan.

Now let’s look at how they got here.  While the Phillies breezed through their National League Primary, I mean Playoff, the Rays had to go to the late innings of Game 7, going toe to toe with an experienced, veteran, old school franchise that simply wouldn’t go away, even though it was apparent that they wouldn’t win.  In fact, the Rays had a chance to knock the Red Sox out in Game 5 – up 7-0 in the 7th – but then inexplicably the Red Sox had one huge run, and managed to make life complicated for everyone involved, until finally succumbing. 

So what do you think?  Who do you vote/root for this World Series….

Random Music Review – The New Keane CD is Great

October 15, 2008 /

I’ll remind everyone that I have no musical ability, and my tastes are rarely shared by others.  With that said, I think the new CD from Keane, Perfect Symmetry,  is going to take them from their current status of “Someone I have heard of and kind of like,” to “Total World Domination.” Check it out on Rhapsody or your mp3 download of choice.  I’m on my 3rd run through the CD.  Good stuff.

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