The JackB

"When you're in jail, a good friend will be trying to bail you out. A best friend will be in the cell next to you saying, 'Damn, that was fun'." Groucho Marx

Business

Should I Be Embarrassed?

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Back to follow up on Ten Years And Nine Months but unsure of whether to write about an uncomfortable situation.

Uncertain about whether it will bring clarity or irritation so I’ll tap upon the keyboard for a moment or two and see what comes of it.

Something happened which in theory I should have known was coming but knew nothing about and was caught off guard and am waiting to see how someone at a different level takes it.

In theory it’s a pretty good thing that I stumbled into through dumb luck and that might be how it is received and understood.

But it could be considered a misstep, this lack of awareness and it might reflect poorly.

I don’t think it should or it will because I have spoken about this in the past and laid out the groundwork that should protect me.

But should doesn’t mean will and I have mixed emotions and find this sort of unsettling.

I’ll roll with it and not show my card unless I have to, but the timing here is suspect in some ways so I am going to have to just roll with it and see what happens.

That’s what bothers me the most.


Impatient

It is hard to wait and see. Hard to accept I can’t do anything to impact this before tomorrow but that is the smart move…waiting.

If it goes as I hope no one will say anything about it and I’ll just be grateful for dumb luck and move on.

But, if they do speak of it in a negative way, well then I will do as I do to adjust and pivot.

That will be accepted or it won’t and I’ll have to live with the consequences. Should they ask I might quote Teddy and reiterate this is how I roll in some areas because I really do.

Better to try and fail than fail to try.

And so it goes.

The Greatest Mother’s Day Gift Ever

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Field of Sunflowers

Friends I stumbled onto the Greatest Mother’s Day gift ever today. Sadly this information comes far too late for me to order it for the mothers in my life.

squatty

 

Yes it is the Squatty Potty and as you can see I missed the deadline so proper pooping techniques will have to be provided by some other soul.

This might possibly be more exciting than the Mangroomer and maybe even the fine tool highlighted in Improve Your Marriage/Relationship Immediately.

Surely it is as useful as learning how to hard boil eggs.

Granted I am intrigued by bathroom products, because those of us who suffer a little digestive distress from the wrath of Chicken Vindaloo pay attention to these kinds of things.

It is why we brought you news about a bathroom revolution and even a story about taking your toilet to dinner.

The Greatest Mother’s Day Gift Ever?

Friends some of you might think this is a crappy post but I promise you it is the sort of useful crap you can learn from.

What you have here is proof that there is an unlimited pool of business ideas that people are pulling from various places on our bodies and though I may not be taking them ass seriously as I could we don’t know whether they are working or not.

Meaning that without looking into the books we don’t know if these products are thriving or failing. They may sound silly, ridiculous and foolish to some but to others they may be brilliant.

Smart businesses meet the needs of their customers and there may be quite a few in need of these.

When I work with my children on brainstorming I tell them to write down everything and anything they can think of which is no different than what I do professionally.

The main difference between the two is that the kids don’t worry about looking foolish the way adults do. They don’t set the same limitations upon what they share and what they think is possible.

Creativity is Critical

I am a writer and marketer by trade. Some would say that creativity is critical for my work and I would agree but I wouldn’t limit it my work because I see creativity as being critical to people in general. Creativity and imagination are things that help all people personally and professionally.

It is where we find new ways to do things and give ourselves more hope for the future. Is that goofy, screwy and cliche like? Yeah,  it is but there is truth there.

Our ability to try to see beyond our limits, to reach for the impossible and improbable and to vocalize those things is what will distinguish us from others.

Some of those dreams may not be realistic. Some may not be useful, practical, viable or necessary but I would rather seem them shared then swallowed.

Why?

Because I think there is gold in there. Won’t lie and say I don’t hope to be the one to come up with it but wouldn’t hurt for others to figure something out either.

It doesn’t always have to be something revolutionary like a smartphone either. Sometimes all you need is a simple tool that makes simple tasks easier to do for everyone.

What do you think?

The 69 Biggest Liars In Blogging and Social Media

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princessbride

I am forever amazed by how many smart people believe everything they read on the Internet and why they fail to question things that seem too good to be true.

Sometimes I open the spam I receive because I am curious to see what the fine folks of the world are promoting. Today I learned that if I take the right pills I can have a 14 inch penis.

Part of me wanted to buy the damn pills just to see if it would work but if it did I fear the problems it would create. You ladies don’t understand how difficult it might be to have to carry that sucker around. Sure you could roll it up like a Danish or wear it as a belt, but that is usually frowned upon at most offices and public places.

Could be fun to stand next to a Shetland Pony and tell him that he is nothing special, but I am not really into that and something tells me that it could make intimate moments more difficult.

Is It True/Possible/Real?

But there is not much value in growing a 14 inch penis with magic pills, aside from the wonderful SEO benefits and great blog fodder. More importantly I have a hard time believing that these magic pills really work.

I get the same response when I read some of the posts and newsletters from many of the Internet marketers who claim they have the perfect system for creating passive income.

I don’t believe it is as easy as it sounds and I don’t trust the hype and hoopla. Hell, I don’t trust some of the bigger names out there because what I have seen them sell is unsustainable opportunity.

Maybe I am wrong about them and about those pills.

It is possible. Wouldn’t be the first or the last time.

Open The Books

Yet I have this itchy feeling that comes from reading some of these posts where they talk about how much success they have. I look at what they are writing/sharing and start asking myself  if it is possible to make money the way they are talking about and try to work out the numbers.

Since I don’t have the opportunity to see their books I am forced to decide on my own if I think they have a separate revenue stream supporting the blogging because when they say they are earning big money I am trying to figure out how.

Are they really getting paid a huge chunk of change to act as a consultant and if so, how many clients do they have and how long are the contracts for? What metrics are being used to justify keeping them on board?

If they are in affiliate sales how much traffic do they have each month and what do they earn off affiliate sales? Do you know how much steady traffic you need to start to earn a buck, let alone several from that.

Are some people doing it?

Yeah, some are making it. I am sure of that but I don’t think it is all that many and I don’t believe it is as easy as so many like to present.

It is not Field of Dreams, where if you build it they will come here.

Why I Use 69 So Often

A reader asked why I use 69 so often. I suspect it is because they think it is sexual in nature, but that is not why.

It is ‘cuz I was born in ’69 and it is one of my favorite numbers, has been since I was a wee lad who would have been horrified at the idea of being around girls.

They were yucky and sometimes they still are, just ask my son.

Actually he won’t say they are yucky because he is not quite sure what to make of them. Almost 13 now and I suspect Mother Nature is starting to do things because his behavior/response to girls is changing a bit.

Little man doesn’t quite know what to do with himself around them now.

I encourage him to act normal and to think about what he does/says/reads.

Online Doesn’t Equal Truth

And that my friends is my segue to reminding us that it is not true just because it is online. It is easy to make a fancy looking website and to dress it up with authoritative text.

But it is not that easy for millions of people to make huge amounts of passive income online nor will every company that engages in content marketing automatically become successful. There is more to both.

Still I don’t expect to see these ads/marketers disappear because there is always a market for get rich quick schemes.

Is Your Elevator Pitch Current?

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listen to ‘Is Your Elevator Pitch Current?’ on Audioboo

When people ask you to tell them about who you are, what you like to do and what your goals are in life are you giving them the current story or are you stuck talking about who you once wanted to be?

He Was Wrong- There Is Money in Sex and Video Games

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A thousand years ago when your loyal host was a wee school boy he was told by a teacher that video games were a waste of time that would never lead anywhere.

The same man suggested that video games were no different than pornographic movies and that those who engaged in either pursuit were challenged. Had I been a bit older I might have asked him if he was calling me a deviant but I wasn’t so I didn’t.

Just to set the record straight I never said anything to him about porn. This incident took place when I was in junior high and the last thing I would have admitted to then was having looked at any sort of magazine that had naked pictures in it, aside from National Geographic.

Good old National Geographic was safe because it was considered educational.

Billion Dollar Industries

I wonder if he would remember that discussion or if it would be considered obnoxious if I told him his 19th century sensibilities were dated during our 20th century education and are even more ridiculous now in the 21st century.

Ok, that may not be fair but I have an issue with teachers who think it is their job to stomp on the dreams of their students.

So why did I include the  infographic that is located below the post here? You might suggest there was some idea of helping with traffic and SEO efforts and I would say that it is not necessarily the kind of traffic I am focused on.

But I would also say I find the information contained in this to be fascinating. $15 billion per year is an amount I can’t begin to wrap my head around. It is simply incredible.

From a business perspective I can’t help but play around with ideas in my head and wonder what I could do to secure a half percent of that $15 billion. That would be a very good year.

I also have to acknowledge that my views might be more Victorian in nature than I imagine.

Would I be willing to sell sex toys or open up a sex shop?

I am not sure and it has everything to do with my children. I need to think about this a bit. I try not to make knee jerk reactions.

And this my friends is part of why I love blogging. The chance to think “out loud” and figure things out is invaluable.

Big Money- Check it out

Adam and Eve sex toys graphic

Presented by Adam and Eve – Scandalous Facts You Didn’t Know About Sex Toys

163 Reasons Why Successful Businesses Are Not Based Upon User Experiences

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The 17 long time readers can tell you that I probably won’t share 163 reasons why successful businesses are not based upon user experiences but that you will benefit from those that I do share.

It sounds counter intuitive to say that successful businesses are not based user experience but the reality is that they are not. A successful business is based upon providing solutions to the problems/challenges its customers face.

Smart executives understand this and they build their companies around solutions to problems that exist in whatever marketplace they choose to operate in. That is the foundation and framework.

User experience comes after all this. It is only after you have identified the problem and created the solution that user experience comes into play.

Don’t Ignore The Users

Let’s be clear about this. I am not saying that you should ignore the users or that the user experience isn’t critical because it is. But it is not unlike taking a Kindergartner and placing them inside a high school class with the expectation that they will be able to do the same work as the 15 year-olds. It doesn’t matter if they have the world’s greatest teacher because the kindergartner doesn’t have the foundation they need to participate.

So what we are saying here is that the order of you do things is important. The first step is to identify the need and then determine how to solve whatever problem/challenge your prospective customer has.

Once you have the solution is when you need to figure out how to make it practical, easy and effective. Note that practical, easy and effective are not synonymous with cheap either.

If Johnny has a 30 mile round trip commute to work and needs to cut down on his monthly gas expense the answer isn’t necessarily going to be public transportation or a unicycle. That unicycle will certainly help him save money but it won’t get him to work and or home in a timely fashion and as a result will create other issues. That is not a good user experience.

Good user experience is a topic that really deserves its own post. How many times have you used something and wondered out loud if the person who designed and or built it had ever tried using it. I am willing to bet most of you have.

Success Based Upon Solution and User Experience

Those seven words are the secret to success. There is nothing unique or profoundly insightful there but there doesn’t have to be. Sometimes you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

What do you think?