Not too far from our house there’s this small mom and pop convenience store. This store looks like any other convenience store that’s been around a few decades. But I only recently noticed their sign out front which includes the store name and what I assume to be their two big draws: “Milk and Adult Movies”.

Whenever I see the sign now I can’t help but laugh to myself. I just imagine some guy getting a call on his way home from work as a reminder to pickup the milk….and the movies. It just seems like such a wierd combination for a tiny store. Or maybe adult movies moved into the mainstream enough that we’ll start seeing them sold in vending machines alongside the Snickers and Fruit Pies.

I recently made a purchase at Fry’s for myself and an item I needed to expense for my company. I asked the cashier to ring up each separately. The first transaction went smoothly. But when I handed over the same credit card to purchase the supplies for my company, the cashier took my card, shook her head and said, “I’m gonna need to get my manager”. So I wait another five minutes for her manager to come over and check me and my card out to ensure I’m not trying to pass a stolen credit card. I guess showing my Washington State drivers’s license wasn’t enough proof.

At Nordstrom this situation wouldn’t happen. They wouldn’t assume I’m trying to pass off a stolen credit card just because I made back to back purchases with the same card. Fry’s has an outdated, idiot policy that made me feel like a crook. All because the employee at the end of the org chart didn’t have the authority to override a very stupid policy.

Do your employees have the authority to make changes on the fly when it comes to putting your clients and partners first? If not you could be pissing off some of your best customers.

I always feel uncomfortable when I see splashy ads created to recruit young men (hardly any are aimed at women) into the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines. One ad stands out which looks like a first person shooter video game. A buff warrior ascends a large metal contraption and comes face to face with a fire breathing lava creature. He pulls a huge sword from the floor and slays the beast which causes the crowd to roar as if you’d scored the winning touchdown. It’s powerful. It’s inspiring.

And it’s total B.S. If only wars were as simple as finding the magic sword.

But that’s not what I find most interesting about these ads. What I find interesting is how a young recruit decides that he wants be that hero who slays the beast. The payoff appears to be as much psychological as it is financial. A few years back the focus was less about the excitement of joining a large video game and more about getting your college paid for. Maybe it’s worth doing a cost/benefit analysis for joining the military.

Benefit:
Excitement
Learn valuable skills
Money for Education
Feeling of purpose
Chance to experience new country, cultures, people

Cost:
Possible death
Likelihood of major limb loss

For me, the many benefits do not outweigh the costs. Anything that may cost me my life I’m going to think twice about. I wish the military would show actual footage of fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan so these young recruits don’t think they are joining a big video game.

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Kathy Sierra has another excellent post about how marketers can build product that get “the nod”. That’s when one user recognizes another user or owner of a like product and gives that sly nod letting the other person know of his/her approval. She mentions how MacBook Pro users and Mini Cooper owners often get the nod.

This started me thinking about products I’ve purchased where I got the nod. No question, the Mazda Miata that I drove for barely a year provided a lot of nods although some people hated it and flipped me the bird about as often. I never received the nod for just carrying around my black iPod video. But the minute I put it in a Vaja leather case, I started to receive a lot of nods. When I returned from Germany in 1989 and wore Birkenstocks before they become the craze, I received many nods. Several people gave me the nod when I wore Grado headphones on the train connected to my iPod. My Timbuk2 messenger bag was another item that a lot of people asked me about and was found to be nodworthy.

But without a doubt, the product that’s brought on the most nods is the Xootr scooter I drove around downtown Seattle back in the dot com age. I had the least expensive model with wooden deck. But I couldn’t drive it a few blocks without getting the nod.

Why can’t other music services put together a website that’s as user friendly as AllofMp3.com? They have done a great job organizing the Top 500 Albums as chosen by Rolling Stone magazine. The list has introduced me to a few albums I’d never heard before like #19 and #89 to name a couple.

Eric has a website where you can download a few more videos and some audio recordings. What a great way to use YouTube to market yourself!

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Let’s hope this guy doesn’t take Amanda’s place.

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It’s pretty simple actually. There’s no way Microsoft can build an iPod killer. It won’t matter how much money they toss into marketing this new device. It won’t matter if they take out hours and hours of ads on MTV. It won’t matter if they sign the Rolling Stones, Usher, Madonna or any well know musician to hawk their device. It won’t matter if they add WiFi to it. It won’t matter if it supports more formats, has more recording options and ships with 100 GB capacity. It won’t matter if it works with Vista, WMP 11, or Media Center.

I don’t know how I can put this gently so I won’t try: Microsoft just isn’t cool and music is all about coolness. The Xbox is the only product I can think of that has the coolness factor. The iPod’s ease of use has been well documented. I don’t think Microsoft is capable of creating a seamless iPod-iTunes solution, but even if they could, it won’t matter. The iPod is hip. Microsoft isn’t. Windows users carry around iPods to distance themselves from the bland PC crowd.

Only Apple can create an iPod killer.

I feel like some companies go out of their way to make it hard for me to give them more money. Take QWEST for example. I have my local, long distance and DSL service with them. I finally decided to break down and get a phone that was made after 1985 that included Caller ID. But I’d have to pony up the $5.95/month with QWEST in order to make it work, even with the new phone. Since I use QWEST “paperless billing” I figured I’d be able to make this minor addition to my service. So I login to the QWEST website, find my profile and affiliated services. I located the “additional features” section of the site where I find Caller ID. I walk through the three or four screens to order this feature. But when I go to “check out” the page tells me the service can’t be added at this time and that I’d have to call them.

So I call the 1-800 number listed. No such luck as it’s after hours. I login to the site again to use the “web chat” feature hoping someone could help me tonight. Again, no luck. So I guess I’ll have to call them in the morning where I’m sure they will try to sell more features I don’t need like three-way calling or something called “Voicemail anywhere” for an additional $14.95/month? Huh?

Why do some companies make it so hard to give them money? When I want to change my DirecTV programming I can do it all online. Why can’t QWEST, my supposedly progressive internet provider do the same?

Ok, one of the best but probably my favorite among Whole Lotta Love, Thank You and That’s the Way. But my favorite video of all-time is this one.
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