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How to Undo Reverse-Wrong Zig-Zag Marketing in 5 Easy Steps

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I’ve Been Thinking about . . .

Personal Branding logo

. . . about a conversation in college.

“Susie B., ” I said. “I envy you.”

“Oh, really? Why?”

“You’re the kind of person who knows exactly where you’re going. You move through the alphabet from A to B to C and so on. Me? I have to go from A all the way to Z and then I land on B just like you. Then I’m off again to Z before I can find my way back to C again.”

. . . about the interview question.

“Where do you see yourself in five years?”

The right answer is NOT “It depends.”

. . . about a recent comment from a friend.

“I’ve never seen you do anything in a straight line. You’ll always be such fun to watch.”

On good days, I think of it as creative, flexible, and original. On not so good ones, I think of it as chaotic, undisciplined, and unrefined. I’ve learned you go with what you got — manage to your strengths and shore up your weaknesses.

For me that means, stopping often to figure out what I’m doing wrong.

This time it’s serious. I’ve been doing Reverse-Wrong Zig-Zag Marketing.

No wonder folks don’t understand.

If you’re having a problem defining your brand, turn the page and read on.
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Net Neutrality 9-04-2006

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Net Neutrality Links

I’m adding this link to the Net Neutrality Page.

Kohl May Be Key to Net Neutrality

Herb Kohl does not face a lot of political pressure this year.

[ . . . ]

So the question is not whether Kohl will be scared into doing the right thing on any particular issue.

The question is whether he will be persuaded.

Anyone who has ever talked with him knows that Kohl takes issues seriously. But he is a confirmed moderate whose career has been defined by caution — and, of course, by the fact that he is a very wealthy man who can and does fully finance his own campaigns.

What persuades him? More often than not, a desire to do what’s best for Wisconsin.

[ . . . ]

Internet users in Wisconsin and across the country are concerned that the telecommunications bill pending in the Senate represents a massive giveaway to cable and telephone conglomerates that want to establish monopoly — or cartel — control of Internet service in communities such as Madison, Milwaukee, Mellen and Manitowoc. If the corporate giants get their way, the most fundamental consumer protection — the network neutrality requirement that currently ensures equal access to all sites on the Internet — will be lost. And with it will go the vision of the Internet as a tool for democratizing communications and opening up the public discourse.

Kohl, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee for Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, can play a critical role in the debate. Indeed, his reputation as a moderate who works with Republicans could make him one of — if not the — most essential Democrats in the looming fight. As of now, Kohl has not taken a stand on the telecommunications legislation in general or on the particular question of Internet neutrality. . . .

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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NET NEUTRALITY PAGE

Net Neutrality 9-03-2006

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Net Neutrality Links

I’m adding this link to the Net Neutrality Page.

Outpouring of Support for Net Neutrality Sweeps the Country

From Buffalo to Fayetteville, Orlando to Seattle, the outpouring of public support for Net Neutrality comes as the Senate’s August recess ends, and members return to Washington to consider a major overhaul of the nation’s telecommunications laws. In response to the events, four senators — Mark Dayton (D-Minn.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), James Jeffords (I-Vt.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) — issued strong statements in support of Net Neutrality. Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) pledged his support for Net Neutrality in August, after being questioned by a constituent at a public event.

In each location, local citizens urged their senators to place the needs of the public ahead of the interests of phone and cable lobbyists — and to oppose any legislation that lacks enforceable Net Neutrality protections.

[ . . . ]

More than 750 diverse groups have come together as the SavetheInternet.com Coalition — including Free Press, MoveOn, the Christian Coalition, Gun Owners of America, U.S. PIRG, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Library Association, Consumers Union, Common Cause, Craig Newmark from Craigslist, musicians REM and Moby and others. The SavetheInternet.com coalition collected over 1 million petition signatures online in support of Net Neutrality.

The House has already passed a bill without Net Neutrality. A bill introduced by Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) — HR 5252, which could reach the Senate floor in September — fails to provide meaningful or enforceable Net Neutrality protections.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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NET NEUTRALITY PAGE

Net Neutrality 9-02-2006

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Net Neutrality Links

I’m adding this link to the Net Neutrality Page.

Comcast Provides Preview of Net Non-Neutrality

. . . I have to wonder if a recent gripe from a Comcast cable modem customer, plus a story I read in this morning’s newspaper about Comcast blacklisting The Well, might be providing a sneak preview of what one of the biggest players has in store for us all.

A reader who is a Comcast broadband customer had a disturbing experience recently. “I’m at a total loss about how to handle this situation,” the reader wrote. “An e-mail to me from a friend got bounced apparently by Comcast. He resent it to my G-Mail account so I could see it. It said that his message was “Blocked for abuse. Please send blacklist removal requests to blacklist_comcastnet@cable.comcast.com’ among other stuff. So apparently there exists a Comcast blacklist that I cannot control that stops e-mails and that requires my correspondents to ask to be permitted to send me messages.”

[ . . . ]

Yes, there’s no question that all of this is far more easily explained by the remarkable incompetence Comcast has long displayed (see Comcast Seems Clueless About Blacklists) in the e-mail arena than some malevolent plot. This is a company that has never been able to properly support its own broadband customers, much less innocent third parties impacted by its random actions. But that’s just the point. Is there any reason to believe that non net-neutrality would make Comcast any better at handling such issues? . . .

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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NET NEUTRALITY PAGE

Net Neutrality 9-01-2006

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Net Neutrality Links

I’m adding this link to the Net Neutrality Page.

Note To Telcos: Please Get Better Shills

. . . Now, we have Sonia Arrison, who works for a think tank that is funded by telcos. Last month she was claiming that if net neutrality legislation came to be it would be the end of the internet, while then trotting out a freebie about how muni-WiFi would also destroy the internet (ignoring, of course, that almost every muni-WiFi effort nowadays is structured in an almost identical manner to the deals her telco funders got for copper and fiber rights of way — and, in fact, that telcos have now started bidding on muni-WiFi contracts themselves). This time, however, she’s flipped the argument we’ve made here around, saying that dishonesty from the likes of Google proves that net neutrality legislation isn’t needed. There’s just one problem: it’s her side which seems to be acting much more dishonest. She calls it a “scare tactic” by Google to suggest that there would be a two-tiered internet where people might not be able to get to Google. She might want to go talk with the heads of the telcos that fund her think tank, because they’ve all made it clear that they would love to force Google to pay extra to reach their subscribers. . . .

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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NET NEUTRALITY PAGE

Great Find for the Mind: A New Measure of Intelligence?

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As I Charge My Brain

Business schools are all looking for ways to add innovations and right-brain thinking to their curriculums. Tufts University is looking for a new way to gauge intelligence.

Great Find: Toward a New Measure of Intelligence

Permalink: http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/aug2006/id20060803_891819.htm?chan=innovation_innovation+%2B+design_the+creative+corporation

Audience/Topic: Anyone with an interest with innovation trends in business

Content: Robert Sternberg at Tufts University is looking for a new way to measure intelligence. In this BusinessWeekonline article by Romy Drucker, we find out the details of just what that means. Here’s a quick look.

BETTER PREDICTOR. Sternberg defines intelligence as mental activity devoted to “purposive adaptation to, selection, and shaping of real-world environments relevant to one’s life.” It is no wonder, then, that he believes the university should think about education “in terms of skills that matter.”

His research indicates that when applicants’ creative and practical intelligence are quantified and considered together, there is a substantial increase in the admissions committee’s ability to predict academic success in the first year of college.

He also thinks that the modifications in the Tufts rating system will have the effect of admitting more students who reflect the institution’s values of civic engagement. Given the research correlating test scores with socioeconomic status, the reforms should also help admit a more diverse class

To check out the whole article click the title shot below.

Toward a New Measure of Intelligence

I’m off today working with clients on creativity and innovation. We’ll see whether that helps my own intelligence factor!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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