This is one of the performances I'm particularly proud of from my days of code for 12 hours straight up to the gig and then see what happens. I've been wanting to come back to this concept ever since and clean it up since I believe it has potential to be quite an entertaining repertoire piece. Someday...

My family and I were walking through Central Park over the weekend and talking about how much safer the city feels after Giulliani came in. 

What frequently happens when I'm in places where I feel nervous is I like to imagine the scenario and determine how I would respond to a confrontation.  When there's a gun involved, the universal answer 90% of the time is to do what they tell you--give-up the wallet/purse/whatever...  But the resistance to give it up tends to swell-up considering how attached you may be to the possession; which could potentially lead to foolish hesitation and reaction.

In my case this attachment comes from the uncertainty of how much of a process is involved with loosing my wallet.  So last night, I spent all of 10 minutes going through and documenting everything in my wallet and the process involved in turning-off/replacing each item.  I then emailed myself the document so I'd have access to it form anywhere.  This process also gave me the opportunity to decide if I really needed everything I carried on my person.  I made note of the neccessary items (lisences, CCs, insurance, etc) and realized I could leave the others in my checkbook, brief-case, car, or leave at home filed.

I'm not going to go around showing people my wallet or leaving it on buses; but I'm much more relaxed having a comprehensive knowledge of what the follow-up is to such an eventuality; and hopefully if I ever get "fronted," my mind will not be caught-up in uncertainty and can focus on making the right decisions in the moment.

Thanks to Corey for the link...
from:
http://www.xkcd.com/c273.html

What a gold-mine of information this conference is turning-out to be....  I was fearful after receiving free admission that I might be attending some kind of time-share pitch....  just the opposite... this is serendipity.

I've got so much information--I couldn't write-down my ideas fast enough; but I'll just review some highlights here.  Go here for more information on speakers.

Ron Belanger from Yahoo! did an inspiring presentation on the future of Search Marketing.  This presentation centered around understanding "Consumer 2.0"

Web 2.0 is all about collaboration and sharing
Consumers 2.0 are:

• over-worked
• over-whelmed
• addicted to leisure
• information junkies
• master hyper-taskers
• creators
• engaged (47% email to a friend)

This leads to "Participation Marketing"

• identify your best customers
• listen to them
• collaborate with them
• give them tools to share
• "Flip the Funnel"

Examples: Yahoo!'s campaigns with Shakira and Special K


Bill Wise of RightMedia (recently acquired by Yahoo) gave a quick, stupefying overview of online advertising and how the relationships btw Publisher, Advertiser,  Networks, and Technology have totally been re-arranged.  Where in models of the past, these relationship lines were clearly delineated, now we are in a truly open and transparent marketplace.  The big concept that stuck-out of Bill's talk was that of "Ad Exchanges."  They're still only being used by early-adopters, but this is where we're headed.  I need to do more research to completely understand the process, but basically any network can auto-bid for your click-throughs in real-time.  Check out more

Kim Malone, the Director of AdSense for Google, presented examples of Google's various services including: Cost-per-click (CPC), Cost-per-impression (CPM), and the emerging Cost-per-action (CPA) models.  She emphasized the importance of clarifying objectives.  Each of the models focuses on a different phase of the marketing process; to get to people's wallets (Action), you have to get to their minds (Awareness) and their hearts (Consideration) first.

Chas Edwards, of FederatedMedia.net,  gave what was to me the most inspiring talk of the day.  He presented about "Conversational Marketing" and what lies beyond Google, Yahoo, etc...   In regard to relevance, he talked about campaigns that use "author-assisted copy", "co-branding", and turning Ads into content.  (symantec example) 
Another example using RSS ads, shows that as people notice that the ad-space is consistently updating with relevant content, they pay more and more attention to it over time.  Another example went into co-branded, author-driven invitations to conversations where "human networks" are established.
Co-branding examples: Cisco, Ask.com enlists "Ask a Ninja",  Intel sponsors Digg Labs visualization app Arc!

The main thing I received from this presentation was that we need to Find the conversations that are happening and realize that the conversation is the customers, not ours; and that good conversations involve listening, not just speaking.

Babak Maghfourian from VideoClix.com gave another mind-blowing presentation.
This technology is a revolution as far as video monetization is concerned.  The software allows tagging within the video and provides analytics to the creator once the video has gone viral.  Please visit the site to see their portfolio.  Once you tag the objects in your video, the objects are tracked throughout the video and you can enable any kind of interaction you want: hyper-linking, mouse-overs, etc.  This info is then stored within the video file so it goes wherever the video goes.  Then whoever streams, downloads, or watches the video in any way has their interaction statistics, IP (regional info), etc captured and sent to the creator.  With this "lean-forward" model of advertising, the cycle between ad->content->viewer is completed so the viewer is connected back to the publisher.  Powerful stuff!

The next talk brought a real point of contention to the table.
Ted Murphy presented his organization: PayPerPost.com (a primary sponsor of the event) and the evolution of blog advertising.  The PayPerPost (PPP) model as he presented it basically recruits (pays) well-read bloggers to blog about specific topics.  Ted's presentation was quite inspiring as he discussed PayPerPost's marketplace where bloggers can search through offers from publishers to write about their products.  This all sounded very exciting to me on first blush and I couldn't wait to tell all my blogging buddies how they can start earning extra cash.  As I began to sober-up, I realized that this presents other issues, such as the perversion of the blogosphere.  I'm sure there will be examples of both honest posts that are being funded as well as perverted, contrived posts; I just hope that blogs that are sponsored are clearly delineated from those that are not.

Henry Copeland from BlogAds.com was coming from the opposite side of the spectrum.  He gave a history of blogs and advertising within them.  I never realized that it was in the '04 campaign that blogs really got going and how effective of a role they currently play in politics.  In his break-down of blog readers, they are:

• older
• richer
• more influential
• but most importantly, loyal....

summarized from the presentation:
In this day where we are leaving Media Monopolies; "marketing is like a cocktail party" (Chris Locke)--you really need to be interesting to get attention, not just in people's faces.  The blogosphere is made-up of sophisticated people who don't want brands flashing all over the place... this isn't AOL.
BlogAds.com ads emphasize the hand-made look, not "designed."  They are enigmatic and therefore invite clicks to solve the mystery.  The most designed ads get the least click-throughs statistically.

Some Case Studies:

• "Vote Carrie" ad campaign
• Audi A3 "Art of the Heist"
• Budget Rent-a-car's "Tale of Four Iterations" where they redesigned the ad four times til they found what worked

During the Q&A, it became apparent that Henry was not a fan of PayPerPost and he said it "makes him sad" (or something similar...)

~~~~~~

I'm afraid that tomorrow I'll get so much info I'll overflow...  hence the blog.  Genpo Roshi ended a big mind session at an Integral Institute seminar describing the zen concept of bringing an empty glass to your teacher so you have room for new teachings.  Roshi said it actually has to be a cyclinder; since you must pass on the information you've received to make room for more.

I was reading Seth Godin's blog the other day and he brielfy mentioned the "Future of Online Advertising" conference to be held in New York on June 6th and 8th.  He said that the first five that sent an email would receive free admission.  Considering it was already late in the day, I figured I had little chance to win keeping in mind Seth's large audience; but I sent a quick message nonetheless.  I guess others felt the same way for I was contacted the next day with the news that I had won the free admission.  I quickly checked flight prices (which are very cheep right now) and realized I had a credit with Travelocity.  So it looks like I'll be in New York from June 6-10.  Hopefully I'll be able to use my blog more effectively after this!
 

Check-out GreenDimes.  Once you sign-up ($4/month or $36/year), greendimes uses their resources to get your name of all direct mailing lists and catalog lists that they can.  They even send you the paper-work with pre-paid postage for the mailing lists that require your signature.  You can also enter specific catalogs you want to stop receiving and add other names to your account for your roommates or past residents--it's like an online junk-mail manager.

Usually this is something that you wouldn't want to pay for since you could do it for free if you did all the research yourself.  But greendimes puts your money towards reforestation projects since junk-mail wastes so many resources.  The break-down is that they are basically responsible for planting one tree per month on your behalf.

What a great business plan, you get a great cheap service and get to feel good about where your money is going as well... it's win win!

Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad company just released their latest podcast entitled: Disclosure & Compliance.  In this video, Robert discusses with his staff the importance of Full Disclosure in a business.  This topic is exemplified by the fact that they have decided to film their meetings and make them public to the Rich Dad online community.

In my on-going search for Integrity, Kiyosaki's ideas continue to intrigue me.  As much as financial freedom is a great idea, the principles that Robert speaks of about how to get there are more about walking your talk than anything else.  He has stated that he encourages his employees to start there own businesses so that they will actually know what they're talking about when they advise people how to get rich.  These ideas would scare most business owners because of the risk that comes with it; but living on your edge is all about learning to manage risk and learning what failure can teach you.

The Rich Dad company's business model to me is very simple; they want people to learn what it takes to become rich.  They want people to push themselves to get there because it will make a better world.  They want people to move beyond this insidious entitlement mentality that's putting our economy on such a slippery slope.  This is just what I see, and this is what I'm inspired by...

I bought my terrapass today.  I came across the company a year or so ago and thought it was a great idea but I didn't follow through.  Now, as the proliferation of global warming education has become more widespread, buying this pass was a no brainer.
    It's pretty simple...  you put in the model/make/year of your car into their online calculator along with an estimate of how many miles you drive per year.  They then provide you with the appropriate "pass" which you purchase to offset the amount of carbon you're putting into the atmosphere by driving.  The money goes straight towards alternative energy projects such as wind, biomass, etc.  You also get a window decal and bumper sticker to show your concern and help spread the word.  They now also provide options for offsetting your damage done by flights and home energy usage.
    Finding ways to address these growing environmental issues never falls into one solution; it involves many small steps in different directions--whether you replace your light bulbs with color-corrected florescent bulbs to cut down on consumption or find the right initiatives to help fund.  It's the development of our general awareness that allows us to take these steps in the first place.

We can all agree that the most common definition of vegetarian refers to someone who doesn't eat meat.  But if we go a little deeper into the etymology of the word vegetarian and even vegetable we find: from Late Latin (c.300-700) vegetabilis "animating, enlivening" and further back Proto-Indo-European (~5500 yrs ago) weg- "to be strong, lively."  So please allow me to go so far as to say that vegetable could be defined as "a lively food" and a vegetarian as "someone who is strong and lively."

It is one of my primary goals in life to find a diet that enables me to give my highest gifts for as long as possible.  If my own experience and trusted research is proving that meat protein and fat can help me acheive this goal than I would like to say I want to be a vegetarian who eats meat.

My nutritionist Seth Braun of High Energy Health coaching gave me a copy of this life-changing cookbook bible: Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats.

It was edited by Sally Fallon, who is the head of the Weston A. Price Foundation.  Weston Price traveled the world in the 20s and 30s studying the nutritional habits and dental structure of native and industrialized civilizations.   The non-native cultures were found to have lower lifespans and dental degeneration while the native cultures were the opposite.  The foundation website states: "Dr. Price's research demonstrated that humans achieve perfect physical form and perfect health generation after generation only when they consume nutrient-dense whole foods and the vital fat-soluble activators found exclusively in animal fats."  The foundation continues to do research on the cause of heart disease, the dangers of soy, and the value of animal fat and lacto-fermented beverages.

I want to emphasize that this is not your average vegetarian cookbook.  This is the result of decades of research about what keeps people healthy.  This book cites resources that challenge the common notions that animal fat and red meat cause heart disease.  According to the research: vegetable, soybean, canola, safflower, and similar oils should be avoided in favor of animal fat, olive oil, and tropical (coconut, palm) oils.  The book descibes how and way native cultures throughout history have managed their diet.

It begins with a 70 page introduction describing in-depth what we all should know about fats, carbs, proteins, sugar, milk, etc.  It will truly blow your mind.  If you're skeptical, I will personally buy you a copy if promise to invite me over for dinner.

I chose to eat meat because, as physically demanding a life as I've chosen, I felt it was more responsible than being a lazy vegetarian who wouldn't get the nutrients I needed.  As I walk the long path towards becoming the ideal practitioner I so often vision, I want to open myself to every possibility so I can find what will work best for now and every now to follow. This book offers a beautiful peak to aim for as I walk...

Look out...