why i love esquire.

my final brand campaign at the brandcenter imagined a new life for esquire magazine, giving it a younger-leaning edge while maintaining its attitude, flair and sarcasm. i never thought i would read esquire. or become an esquire guy. it seemed out of reach, or, well, not me. but strange things happen when you pick up a pub that tells you how to break a pinata. or absolutely reduce me to tears reading about one fallen soldier's journey home. and all the people who carried him there.

needless to say, i became a fan during the process. this morning, i sent my professor a link to a rather amusing article about teen stardom and instantly attainable celebrity. when finished, a box popped up celebrating my accomplishment. and i wanted to share it with you. because this is why i love esquire:

nine lives.

i seem to restart this blog quite often. when last i left things, i was a month into my last semester. now i sit less than a month from graduation and starting my new job. which means, theoretically, i can put more time into this puppy.

but time will tell. for now, though, i leave you with a video of my cat. because pets always win at america's funniest home videos. so why not here, too?

Change in the air(waves).

Last September, news reports predicted the influx of traditional advertising would highlight the upcoming political campaign. Sadly, they were right. Politicians are pretty interesting idiots sometimes. They operate knowing full well that voters rejected the status quo two years ago. They ignored that voters crave engaging messages in the places they are engaged.

Except for one – the one boldly energizing the country with change. Obama.

I’m not sure I’m an Obama believer. I don’t see incredible dimension or brilliant legislation ticking behind his words. I try to remove myself from the media hysteria surrounding “firsts”. But, damn, it’s hard to ignore his passion. He believes it at his core. He seeds that passion in speeches, communications and his younger voter base. Because it feels authentic. And rallying around a passionate cry for change just feels right.

On Saturday, I sent a text message to 62262 (OBAMA). A text titled HOPE. A text fired back immediately, welcoming me to the campaign and asking for my zip code. Another few seconds later I had updates and alerts about upcoming events in the days leading up to the Virginia primary. On Sunday, I received a news alert about Obama’s Maine victory. Mobile seems like a brilliant way to mobilize a text-drive nation of younger voters. Maybe, just maybe, he really understands his base.

Pundits and politicos continue to talk about the young voter explosion in Obama’s favor. For media analysts, this shouldn’t be such a surprise. He has the right message and he hits the right spots. He knows his audience and where media hits them. Unlike his competitors, he understands the complex web of touch points surrounding this hugely untapped and often ignored audience – one that can seize control of the electorate.

McCain, bowing to traditional tactics, has video and blog capabilities on his site. Romney employs YouTube, Facebook, Myspace and limited mobile messaging. And Hillary virtually copies Romney’s initiatives. What makes Obama different? With them, these tactics are add-ons talking to, not with voters. With him, though, it’s an authentic conversation, designed to unite and share.

McCain, Huckabee, Clinton and Romney (in his last days) revert to online video and television commercials to drive the vote. But Obama is, as his site says, everywhere. He’s online and off-line. He’s in print; he’s on TV. He’s on BlackPlanet.com, Flickr, YouTube, Twitter, Glee and more. And he’s texting. He’s leveraging the technological world and the community-based, social networking platforms to bring people together. To ignite change. To spread the furor.

Is it any wonder he wins every caucus that physically simulates the vast online community he owns? I don’t think so.

the political machine.

and so it goes. i'm sure by the time anyone reads this, the graphic above will show its age. it's a fascinating time to watch the political process at work. especially when it appears that the youth vote might actually mobilize and vote. as opposed to previous times when the youth vote moaned and screamed, but vanished when election day arrived.

virginia holds its primary in one week. it's clear i lean democrat. it's just how i've always aligned. but this is an interesting choice between a woman i've voted for before. and a man who, damn it all, offers a vision that's incredibly hard to not follow. how odd, it seems, to finally have a choice that's not the lesser of two evils.

we'll see how things go.

the world through new eyes.

i've been relatively silent the past few days. part of that has been a deluge of work in configuring details for the tap project. part has been the onset of a new cold. and part has been the newest member of the family. my sister is amazing at having boys. but on tuesday, january 29, she welcomed a girl. her name is addyson. she has poofy cheeks! and i can only wonder what kind of world she'll encounter when she's my age. twenty-six years from now. in 2034.

picturing myself.

i stole this from a "friend" on myspace. i thought it was an interesting way to understand my past and my life. or open it up to interpretation. i won't do all of them. just a few.

the rules:
1) Answer the questions below
2) Take each answer and type it into Photobucket (www.photobucket.com)
3) Take any picture from the first page of results and post.


1. The age you will be on your next birthday:


2. Your favorite food:


3. Your favorite color:


4. City where you live now:




5. Name of someone you love:



6. Your nickname or screen name:


7. Your current job:

talk about connections.

Part 1 in a series of good and bad CRM stories.

Thank you, Verizon FIOS. Our relationship started pretty horribly. Yeah, remember? I sought you out, read about what you had to offer, and we made a date. I was so excited. You promised me faster Internet speeds. And, oh, the TV options. The N! Three Nickelodeon stations, every news station I could imagine. Oh, man. I had found my soul mate. Then, you flaked on me. Bastard. Typical. As it got closer to our exciting, all-day rendezvous, you forgot. You “lost the date” or something like that. I don’t believe you. I should have dumped you then.

But you redeemed yourself. You called me and apologized. You sweet-talked me into setting up another date and still managed to give me the same deal. Then, when it was time, you called to let me know you were on your way. You brought me cable. You brought me Internet accessibility. You stayed with me until it was all working correctly. Six whole hours. And you never complained. The next day you called me to see if it was working. Not an operator, mind you, but the installer. Then you called me a month later to make sure everything was still ok. We may have had a rough patch, but we’re blissfully happy now.