O’Charley’s and Breaking Through the Barrier of the Background

The family and I had a great dinner experience at the O’Charley’s on Atlantic Blvd in Jacksonville this evening. Special thanks to Ashley, our waitress, and Tracy, the kitchen manager, for making us feel so at home.  We really enjoyed ourselves and plan on returning soon. 
Just a couple of thoughts from my experience…
 

We have lived [...]

Vatican takes stand against new Dan Brown movie…

The Vatican has denied access to Ron Howard and Tom Hanks for filming the new Dan Brown movie, Angels and Demons.
I wholeheartedly believe they have the right to prevent access if they should choose to, but I wish they would’ve handled it with a bit more discretion.
It’s one thing to quietly and simply deny the [...]

Permission Marketing and the Church

Permission marketing is one of the great buzzwords of internet culture, particularly e-commerce.  The general idea is that I ask permission before I take your email address or other information and bombard you with ads and content.  It requires that I take the time to establish a “relationship” with you where you are actually interested [...]

Before you hit “SEND”…

Great post from Seth Godin on double checking your emails before sending…
Some of my favorite points…
10. Have I corresponded with this person before?
11. Really? They’ve written back? (if no, reconsider email).
13. Am I angry? (If so, save as draft and come back to the note in one hour).
Ever have an email “disaster”?

The Church as a social object…

Building on this thought from Hugh MacLeod regarding free cartoons as social objects…
His policy is simple.  He posts the cartoons.  If you like ‘em, download ‘em.  Print ‘em out.  Put ‘em on t-shirts.  In Powerpoint presentations.  Whatever.  Just don’t try to use them to make a buck.  Keep it personal.  Here’s his thoughts…
For example, in [...]

Seth Godin is an Idiot…

Or How Going Negative is Entirely Too Easy!
In the ever elusive search for readers, it’s not unexpected that many will take the easy road and skew negative.  The target is almost irrelevant.  Like sharks to blood, people love the opportunity to pile on.
Plus, the alternative is too difficult.  Why should I attempt to provide useful [...]

Starbucks 2.0

Much has been made of Starbucks move to close all of their US stores yesterday.  Here’s a few of my random thoughts…

First off, I think it was brilliant and bold.  (BTW, that sounds like a soap opera featuring MIT students…)  A simple and effective way to make a statement and generate buzz.  On one hand, [...]

Fans pt.2

We have all grown increasingly skeptical of mass marketing and big budget ad campaigns.  Whatever trust existed has been eroded by time after time of over-promising and under-delivering. 
Fans can produce results that organizations only wish they could purchase. 
Because they believe in the organization, product or idea and have nothing to gain, fans are more believable and [...]

Fans

Fans are the one of the most sought after elements of every sports team.  They buy tickets and fill stadiums.  They cheer victories and mourn defeats.  They so closely associate themselves with their teams that joy and heartache can be found in every snap, every pitch, and every shot.
Fans create culture.  From specific cheers to [...]