Author Archives: Steve Mays

The Good Shepherd

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I think a lot of movie goers will hate The Good Shepherd, a story about the early history of the Central Intelligence Agency, starring Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Alec Baldwin, William Hurt and directed by Robert De Niro (I didn’t recognize Keir Dullea and Timothy Hutton).

I was lost and confused for much of this story. I found the plot very complicated and difficult to follow. But I really liked the movie. I came away with the sense that this is what this world is really like: you don’t know what’s really going on, whom to trust. This ain’t your standard Hollywood spy story. Skip it unless you willing work pretty hard for almost three hours.

I’m still searching for an explanation that will untangle the plot for me.

If bitten by a dog, stand perfectly still

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I emailed a story about how to avoid getting bitten by a dog to my blogging vet pal, Dr. T. Everett Mobley, thinking it might be fodder for his blog (it wasn’t). Here is a portion of his reply:

“I have had a few very severe wounds, as well as many minor ones. Fortunately, most dogs in my situation simply want me to go away, so they bite and let go (pretty soon, anyway). The part about not jerking back is absolutely true. However, one’s first experience probably won’t allow you to avoid that reflex. Unfortunately, I am now able to stand still (while yelling at the top of my lungs) until the dog lets go. The crushing is much more painful and damaging than the punctures. Adding a tearing component is certainly undesirable. Afterwards, I sometimes have to lie down before I fall down.”

Restroom Automation

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Restroom faucets, soap dispensers and towel dispensers are now equipped with motion detectors. Scott Adams is anxiously awaiting the next innovation in restroom automation.

“I assume developers are already working on the last mile: A robotic arm to unzip my pants, grab my unit, then do the holding, shaking, and repackaging. I’m too busy to do that stuff for myself.

The Autopee device (it needs a name) would be problematic because every guy is built different. Somehow it would need to know the dimensions of what’s behind your zipper so it didn’t accidentally neuter you. …You’d also have to tell the Autopee how much shaking you want, ranging anywhere from two quick flicks to a happy ending.”

If you are not reading the Dilbert Blog, you are missing some of the smartest, funniest writing anywhere.

Why social media is important to marketers

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I don’t know how old this info is (or how accurate) because I can’t find the original post, which is somewhere on the Church of the Customer Blog. Bart Cleveland includes these factoids in a recent post at Small Agency Diary (AdAge.com) to underscore why social media is important to marketers:

  • By March 2006, 84 million Americans had broadband at home, a 40% jump from 2005 figures
  • By March 2006, Pew estimated 48 million Americans were regular online content creators
  • By the end of 2005, 139 million people in the world had a DSL (broadband) connection
  • In 2005, $6.7 billion worth of digital cameras were sold in the U.S.
  • About 41% of all cell phone owners use them as content tools
  • By the end of 2005, just over 1 billion people were online — that’s 1/6th of the world
  • Asia represents the world’s most populous online segment
  • By July 2006, 50 million blogs had been created and their number was doubling every 6 months
  • About 7,200 new blogs are created every hour
  • By 2006, 10 million people were listening to podcasts in 2006; by 2010, it’s expected to be 50 million people
  • About 100 million videos are viewed every day on YouTube; about 65,000 videos uploaded every day
  • In 2006, MySpace had over 100 million registered members, most of them from the U.S.

Talent more important than size

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That is one of the lessons of Web 2.0, according to AdWeek’s Bob Greenberg:

“Long before they became global behemoths, the great (advertising) agencies of the past were small businesses built around people of uncanny creative ability. What’s amazing is that our competition in the future will come from exactly where we started: small teams of creative geniuses with ideas galore on how to capture the hearts and minds of consumers. Only now they probably don’t work in agencies. At the same time, they have a fully democratized means of content distribution that doesn’t rely on captive audiences. Lesson No. 2: Talent is more important than size.”

Rose Bowl announcer talking about bloggers?

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TV on in the background. Last couple of minutes of the Rose Bowl. I thought I heard the announcers say something about “the bloggers will be out” if Michigan loses. Did I hear that correctly?

I have no doubt there are a shit-load of fan blogs for every college and pro team, so I’m not sure why I would be surprised the subject would be mentioned in the broadcast. Can any of you sports fans enlighten me on this? Have bloggers become enough of a factor they get mentioned in such high-profile broadcasts?

Weblogs vs. the New York Times

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Which will be more authoritative in 2007, weblogs or the New York Times? The question (“The Long Bet”) was posed back in 2002 as part of something called The Long Now Foundation. Dave Winer’s explains:

“My bet with Martin Nisenholtz at the Times says that the tide has turned, and in five years, the publishing world will have changed so thoroughly that informed people will look to amateurs they trust for the information they want.”

Not sure who will win the wager but there’s little question the publishing world has changed and blog are having some impact.

Golden Globe nomination for Sheryl Crow

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Sheryl Crow received (a couple of weeks ago) a Golden Globe nomination (Best Original Song) for her performance of Try Not to Remember from the film “Home of the Brave.”

The movie tells the story of returning Iraqi war veterans who have to adjust to life again. I had not heard the song but just watched/listened to a “behind the lyrics” video at TMZ.com. A pretty –and heavy– song.

Looking back at 2006

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This blog is first and foremost a personal journal. A place for notes on what I’m reading, watching and thinking. I took a few minutes to click and scroll back through 2006:

I posted on podcasting with some regularity and tried my hand at it with Dr. Domke’s Living Healthy Podcast.

I am more fascinated with blogging than ever and persuaded our company to start a blog. I’d like to think I played a small, behind-the-scenes role in the launch of the best veterinarian blog on the net.

We did some interviews: Ben Brogdon (Original cast of Best Little Whore House in Texas); Dan Shelley (Executive Editor of Digital Media for WCBS-TV); Dan Arnall (Business Editor, ABC News) and Kevin O’Keefe (Lex Blog).

Kasie had a birthday and I (almost) had my first cigarette.

I was overcome with Mac Lust and bought my first Mac and became a “slider” (someone that slides back and forth between PC and Mac).

I read, wrote and thought about radio. I discovered that politics matters to me more than I thought.

Blogging and surfing cut into my reading time. I only read 24 books. I came up with a couple of good ideas for screenplays that had everything but the ending. Fortunately, Kay was able to provide those.

I discovered the formula for The Perfect Day; I came to grips with the reality that I am not a team player; I worried about how much I worry; I watched two good friends build a tree house and concluded that work is your real life.

I’m blessed with a few good friends; one great partner; two sweet pups; the best job in the world and high-apple-pie-in-the-sky hopes for 2007.

“Edwards turns to non-tradtional campaign model”

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So reads the headline at WashingtonPost.com. I mention it here because Edwards was one of the keynote speakers (video) last July at Gnomedex, a tech conference held the last couple of years in Seattle. Politicians don’t usually court such a geeky audience. Looks like he might be the first major candidate (since Howard Dean?) to take a serious stab at harnessing some of the new media elements for his campaign.

When it came up in his Gnomedex appearance that he didn’t actually write his blog, the crowd jumped on him. Be interesting to see what he does with his official website.

Update: Just popped over for a look at his blog where the latest news was their ranking (#4) on YouTube. I sampled a few minutes of video from last night’s town hall meeting in Des Moines and realized that he (and other candidates) no longer have to rely on MSM to show a few seconds of an appearance in a newscast. They just post everything. At least, everything positive.

Of course, someone will ask, “But who’s watching YouTube?” And the answer is not “everybody,” but “anybody.”

Do you think there is any chance in hell that Edwards will pull a bone-head stunt like “macaca?”

If not apparant, I should emphasize that my interest here is media, not politics. I’m eager to see what role bloggers and podcasters and YouTube and other forms of social media play in the 2008 (and all future) election.