This is a sad little piece of news. Now I fully understand the futility of all my diet plans.

Technorati Tags: obesity, contagious, diet

It is still going on. The meme that Marc Rapp started on the Laws of design has garnered quite a collection of very good posts. So, for those who do not wish to go gallivanting from blog to excellent blog trying to follow the thread of excellence, here is a list which I lifted from Paul Enderson:

Marc Rapp @ Uniquely the Epitome : It’s the Law (at least for today)
Aaron @ miLienzo : What are the laws of design?
DT @ Design Sojurn : What are your Design Laws?
Jon Reil @ Another Day in Design : Ten Ways to Become a Better Designer
Mirko Humbert @ Designer Daily : Getting Rid of the Noise
David Airey : How Important are Laws of Design?
Asgeir Hoem : Laws & Principles of Design
Michael Surtees @ DesignNotes : Guidelines for Moi
Vivienne Quek @ Versa Creations : Are There Rules for the Creative Folks?
Paul Enderson : The Laws of Interface Design

Technorati Tags: creative design, custom designs

Recently, I watched an episode of Oprah where she had these 2 designers come onto the show and share their knowledge of interior design and landscaping. Basically, they were saying that if you wanted to sell your house, you have to make it look attractive and welcoming. Quite a simple idea, but it does run contrary to the way many people think. They think, “I am going to sell my house, I am not going to fix that”

That is so wrong. Imagine someone coming to see your house, and their eyes follow that crack, all the way from floor to ceiling! Well, you can kiss those premium pricing goodbye. Its a good idea to make your house attractive before selling so that you can maximize the value. Who wants to buy something that is old, run down and unattractive?

Now, here is a fun idea for you that will not only make your house more attractive to a prospective buyer, it will certainly raise the value of the property - Houston decks. Ideal for chilling with friends, perfect for that outdoor party and of course, for you, to sit and dream. Good idea.

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Technorati Tags: renovation, home improvement, custom designs

The biggest challenge facing professional marketers is the constant demand for creativity. That is fine when you are young. But as you grow older, many things happen that take the edge off your creativity.

I just saw a web site that listed some 22 Ways To Overclock Your Brain which was quite fascinating to read. So, if you have a need for some mental work out, go read that!

Technorati Tags: brain health, mental exercise, mental health

One of the biggest problems faced by the Internet generation is having too much information. While information is good, if there is no way to access them, they are of no value to you. The Internet has brought us some really strange experiences.

But one of the positive side effects of the Internet is the popularity of web directories. Because of web-based directories, we no longer have to be Hercules to flip through our local directories. In fact, we are no longer limited to just those directories. We have access to hundreds, thousands of directories. There are now specialized directories for almost every industry and specialized field.

Then again, with so many directories, it is only a matter of time that we will surely realize that the Strongest Directories are going to be the ones that help us organize all the other directories! So, if you have a directory of directories, and you have real people screening the listed directories, that will give you access to really good quality information. Many directories do nothing more than just list links. That is a really short-sighted and careless approach when it could be so easy give so much more value just by simply checking the links, providing some reviews and maybe even some news.

After the plague of information overload, it is time for us to get some quality overload.

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Technorati Tags: directories, online directories

When I first started out in advertising, you knew you were in the house even if you were blindfolded. Just use your nose. It’s the “cow gum” silly! Today, you have mounting sprays. Today, you have Macs. In fact, a lot of stuff we used to have in the agency are no longer found.

Here’s a short list as I can remember. See if you can add more:

• Darkroom
• Enlarger (to make larger negatives)
• Big glass table to do FA’s
• FA - Finished Artwork (the real stuff, not the ones in FHA, TIFF and all that…)
• Lupe

And of course, after so long, I finally encounter these three letters again: DTP. Yes, just happened to drop in on this blog and saw the words! Nostalgia for me, since I was the first one to introduce a computer to my first ad agency boss who was so fascinated by this “new” technology. Whew! Just remembering those times gives me goose bumps. Now, those were the good old days.

Technorati Tags: advertising, ad agency, desktop publishing, dtp

I did a very basic ten-part series on Good Leadership. Then now, I see this interesting speaker - Andy Cohen. He is a best selling author & professional keynote speaker who uses magic as a metaphor to drive innovative thinking in leadership management. Like most professional motivational speakers, Andy is dynamic, enthusiastic and brings real value to the program.

You can watch a video of him on the web site to see if you like his style of speaking. If you like what you see, by all means, invite him as a keynote speaker for your conferences or seminars, and he will bring with him a wealth of experience to your event and will challenge your assumptions in management thinking. Try something new.

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Technorati Tags: andy cohen, leadership, motivation

Sometimes, people resist change. But at other times, they go the other extreme - they change for the sake of changing!

If you read Ken Chee’s article on “If it aint broke, fix it?” he was talking about clients who were switching ad agencies simply for the sake of getting a “new one”. That is pretty strange. The reality is, in the world of creative marketing, new is not always better. In fact, the more familiar the team is with your company, product and market, the more creative they can be! At any rate, they will not be making silly mistakes that will cost you money.

So, next time, when you feel like changing your ad agency, go change a shirt first. If that don’t satisfy your craving for random change, then take a long hard look and weigh the pros and cons.

Technorati Tags: PC, CPU, online stores

When the PC first became a reality, I was dying to have one. Did you know that in “the good old days”, the cost of getting a Personal Computer was actually equal to a deposit on a car!? I never knew this until many years later when my mom accidentally revealed that my dad gave up his dream of getting a new car, because I wanted to buy a PC.

Well, if only we had websites like this censuspc.com site in those days. I would not need to worry about where to find good quality motherboards, hard disks, CPUs and other stuff at a reasonable and affordable price. I can even get a computer liquid cooling system at really great bargains. The first products to be marketed online were PC products, and so, this really is in a sense the mother of all online marketing. PC parts and hobby kits were the earliest and most hotly traded items online.

I really like this site for its clean look and wide selection. But I wish they were around 20 years ago. That would have really made those the “good old days”.

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Technorati Tags: PC, CPU, online stores

Well, there are gurus, and then there are money grabbing gurus. This is especially true on the Internet. So, when you find a resource that is neither full of BS nor money grabbing, you should hang on to it. But instead, I would like to share it with you. Silly me. So, head on over to AffiliateKB’s site and read this latest article on Master Resell Rights!

Technorati Tags: online marketing, internet marketing, guru

I have lots of family functions and we all get together yearly for Christmas and New Year celebrations. That was when I discovered that we were a family of Nikon D80! I had one, my brother had one, my sister-in-law had one, and we gave one to my dad as his Christmas present. What a coincidence!

But I think this is more a testament to the marketing and positioning that Nikon has so successfully used over the years. They have a good selection of cameras to suit users at every level of competency. For me, I like best the ability to take clear photos with no fuss. This is one thing we like to remind all you happy marketers out there - be consistent in your marketing.

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Technorati Tags: digital camera, Nikon, photographs, photography

Here is a shameless plug on behalf of one of my friends. We have all gathered together and decided to promote good health and healthy living by creating a health blog.

The first project we thought to do was about sprouts. For those who do not know what sprouts are, they are the first few days of growth of a plant. This could be from a bean or any other seed. Most commonly, the alfalfa and the mung bean sprouts are consumed and grown all around the world. But why listen to me when you can head on over to NurtureYourOwn.com and join in the small but healthy community there!

By the way, NutureYourOwn.com is part of the health network of www.checkup.com

Technorati Tags: sprouts, healthy living, health food