Blog o' RAMA

Microsoft & Yahoo! A match made in ????

At RAMA we want to be more attentive to what is going on not only in Rochester, but the marketing world in general.  This potential deal for Microsoft to buy Yahoo! looks very interesting to me. 

Microsoft is clearly watching Google increase their reach through acquisitions such as DoubleClick, realizing they are getting left behind.  Up until now Microsoft has tended to "grow" their internet search capabilities inside the organization, without great success.  I would guess Microsoft is a distant number 3 in the search engine business behind Google and Yahoo!.  I would also think that Microsoft is worried about being outdone in the area of advertising revenue with the Google / DoubleClick merger when that happens.

I'll bet that Microsoft deciding to go after Yahoo! was a gut-wrenching decision for Bill Gates and company. Do you agree with me?  Let's get a dialog started on this.

AdAge Go Sit in the Corner!

A little ranting here - on behalf of those professionals who actually want to excel at what they do, including marketing.

A friend (member of our board - Jennifer Young) sent me a note about AdAge doing a scathing review of Seth Godin's new book, not out yet but many of us have advance proofs, in which they essentially said,"..."The Dip" is little more than hollow self-motivation pap, the sort of stuff that late-life losers spend hundreds of dollars on at seminars across the country in some desperate hope to pull their lives together. I'd say "The Dip" reads like a bunch of disjointed blog posts, but that would be an insult to the hundreds of bloggers out there crafting thoughtful, insightful essays about business."

Wow! Ken Wheaton and Matt Kinsley sound like two guys who still need Mommy to hold their hand when they cross the street! They were looking through The Dip (which takes italics, guys, NOT quotation marks), as if it's the Holy Grail or something. Exactly the kind of thing folks who don't want to do the work of learning how to accomplish a goal react when someone of some expertise says, "Just go do it."

I am not a huge fan of Seth Godin. I'm a fan, just not a huge fan. I am a huge fan of his writings, however. And, this particular book hits the proverbial nail right on the head! It's a, "Just go do it," kind of book. It includes advice on when NOT to keep doing it - because you're roaming around a circle that never ends. In fact, to quote from the book,"Quit the wrong stuff. Stick with the right stuff. Have the guts to do one or the other."

Matt and Ken want the 'secret' of what's the right stuff and what's the wrong stuff. They accuse the publishing industry of "slobbering" over writers like Seth, as if he's the greatest writer out there - when the reality is: the world likes Seth, so, of course the publishing industry is going to like him. It's never the writer, it's the audience. As long as smart people keep reading Seth, they'll keep publishing him. And, for the not-so smart readers who read him and think he's an overwinded blowhard, so be it. You're entitled to your opinion. Go read some pop psychology, if it will make you feel better.

Here's the scoop, folks. There are no answers. There certainly are no EASY answers. The advice to "Just go do it" is the best you'll ever get. If Seth had outlined everything step you need to take to build a world class organization, he would fail you miserably. It's NOT FOR HIM TO SAY what YOU should do. It's for YOU to figure out.

The book the AdAge boys tout, I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!: Daily Affirmations By Stuart Smalley sounds like Pop Psychology to me- real drivel, if you will. (no, I haven't read it - sounds too mamby-pamby for me.)

IF you don't know when to quit, you're NOT good enough. If you don't have a clue about when to persevere and when to pack up and move on, you're NOT smart enough. And, I don't really care if people like you. People liked Ted Bundy and Aaron Burr, and the Mayflower Madam - so what? Doggone it, does that make them worth paying attention to?

Here's the fundamental truth - as Lee Thayer would say, "If you want to be a success - don't fail."

Simple as that. The Dip outlines exact moments that you might want to be thoughtful about moving forward or quitting. Because sometimes - you're better off saying, "This isn't working. Let's do something else." And, it all happens in just under 80 pages. Ken's and Matt's author takes 352 pages, bent on convincing you... that good enough is good enough.

Let me think: in my time-strapped life which book do I want to read on the plane that will help me make a success of my business? And, as a leader, is it my role to recognize the right time to quit, or to motivate my partners and workers to be happy because they're good enough, smart enough, and people like them?

In the end, I want to be the BEST - not good enough. I don't much care if people like me - hard choices are seldom popular. As Seth says: "In a free market, we reward exceptional." As Lee Thayer says, "High-performance: hard. Mediocrity: easy."

Are you getting the message? Read The Dip. And then, read Lee's book, How Executives Fail: 25 Surefire Recipes for Sabotaging Your Career.

If you know Matt and Ken, send them a copy.

I Link, Therefore I Am

On Tuedsay, February 27, 2007, RAMA and WME Blogs will present
2 seminar/workshops in 1 day!

Entitled "I Link, Therefore I Am: Using Blogs and Social Media Proactively," the morning session will cover many blogging and social media basics and the afternoon session will get into the nut-and-bolts of building a Presence online using blogs and social media. For more details on the programs visit the EVENTS page.

Blogging 101 Morning registration starts at 8:30. Session starts at 9:00 and includes continental breakfast. Session ends at 11:30.
Cost: $69 for AMA members. $99 for non-members.

Blogging 201 Afternoon registration starts at 12:30. Session starts at 1:00 and includes refreshments. Session ends at 4:00. Presenters will be available until 4:30 for extra Q&A, if needed.
Cost: $139 for AMA members. $169 for non-members.

Cost to attend BOTH sessions: Members - $188. Non-members- $238. Includes ALL.

Board Members: $75 for the day. No student or volunteer discounts.

Join us the Airport Holiday Inn for the morning, the afternoon, or both!

For more information, visit our Events page. To register, click here.

Blogs and Marketing: A Match Made in Heaven

While many people still give blogs a sidelong glance -- not sure what they are or if they're worth the time and energy they take to maintain -- the business world is fast becoming blog-educated.

Blogs, or web-logs, for those who find the term 'blog' to be too ugly, are slowly being recognized as great marketing tools for small businesses. Actually, blogs are great marketing tools for all businesses, but for small and mid-sized businesses this new form of community building can be a true cost-effective marketing tool.

How? That's the 64,000 dollar question. Everyone remember that old show from the early 20th century? Very similar to today's show on ABC-TV, Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Contestants are asked a series of questions, each one more difficult than the one before, and each one worth more prize money.

For our purposes, the 64,000 dollar question is: how does a small company use a blog as a cost-effective marketing tool? We hope to answer that question on this blog, over time. Other questions will, no doubt, arise, and we will tackle them, also. One way to begin is by checking out Susannah Gardner's book, Buzz Marketing with Blogs for Dummies.

This blog supports the local Rochester, NY chapter of the American Marketing Association. We hope to reach out to the entire Upstate NY region, including Syracuse, Buffalo, Ithaca, and all the small towns in-between. We invite visitors to write to us, post comments, and visit weekly for event updates. We will be providing more About Us information in the weeks to come, and adding board members' logos and contact information.

Marketing, in and of itself, is anything but a solitary task. It's a collective endeavor. Blog O'Rama embraces the community aspect of marketing. The people part of it. The conversation. The creativity. Join us in uncovering new ways to market to your community.