Author Archives: loiswhitmanhess

Women-Over-40 Talent Show

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The FIRST Talent Show for Women Over 40!
January 21, 2014 — 7 to 9 pm
Stage 72 – The Triad NYC

Cheryl Benton, creator of “The Three Tomatoes” website and newsletter, asked if we could spread the word about “Tomatoes Got Talent.” It’s the first talent show dedicated to women over 40.

The event will take place at Stage 72 – The Triad NYC from 7 to 9 pm on January 21, 2014. It will showcase 10 over-40 finalists (singing executives, dancing lawyers, shower opera singers, piano-playing doctors, dining room magicians, funny ladies) who always wanted to perform. The evening will be a great showcase for talented women who will inspire others to never give up on their dreams.

Auditions will be held on January 11 at Stage 72 from 10 to 1 pm.

Cheryl is also looking for event sponsors:

Premium Sponsor, $1000. Here’s what you’ll get:

• Logo and link in four dedicated emails about the event to their subscriber base mailing list (15,000)

• A 25-word write up on the event page, with photo and link (website receives 30,000 monthly page views)

• Introduction and acknowledgement from the podium

• A dedicated email that is exclusively devoted to your company and sent to the entire Three Tomatoes mailing list after the event.

Supporting Sponsor, $500. Here’s what you’ll get:

• Logo and link in four dedicated emails about the event to their subscriber base mailing list (15,000)

• A 25-word write up, with photo and link

Sponsors will be featured in the left- and right-hand columns of the event page. See example from the recent event, “The Face“.

Contact: Cheryl Benton, cbenton@thethreetomatoes.com, 646-470-6693

The term “tomato” was used by Cheryl’s father’s generation. Instead of saying a woman was “hot,” they would call an attractive woman a “tomato.”

When Cheryl launched the newsletter, it was inspired by conversations with two of her best friends. “The Three Tomatoes” was a retro wink at “women who aren’t kids” anymore. They never use the terms boomers, seniors, or age.

Showstoppers

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Every year at this time, friends and family start asking me what I think will be the hottest products at CES.

There are so many this year, I don’t know where to start. I will be reporting from the show floor so expect to relay the greatest innovations as I find them.

I do expect a lot of attention on Samsung’s new 110-inch TV. The 110S9 features an ultra high definition (UHD) 800MP display. According to Samsung, the 110S9 will be targeted to high-end consumers in China, Europe, and the Middle East. Expect the unit to be sold here midyear. The 110S9 can be customized to individual consumer needs.

Industry sources said the unit is priced at over $150,000, although no one knows for sure. Samsung said they expect orders from companies, governments, and other enterprise customers before households.

What do you think?

CES and Me, Part Two

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It is very strange to be attending the International CES as a senior. After all, just 47 short years ago I was the cute, effervescent junior reporter who got all of the news scoops. My older men friends in the industry helped me succeed by getting inside information that turned into my page one stories.

There was no pillow talk going on. These guys were just friends, and I had plenty of them. Some were fellow journalists, others were owners of mom-and-pop electronic stores. The mom-and-pops were the independent neighborhood store owners.

Richard Ekstract, the Hugh Hefner of the electronics industry, labeled me “Queen of the Sweaty Arm Pits Crowd” because I found my calling amongst hundreds of retail entrepreneurs who I knew on a first name basis. I spent 11 years telling their stories, collecting news from them, going to their weddings and parties. I was in my element.

I didn’t know it at the time, but covering the retail beat all those years provided me with a strong business sense. I can deal at any level and know if something will work. The indie retailers taught me why a product sells and what it takes to get it sold.

It was great being a part of a segment of the industry that made things happen. When my retail friends walked into a booth at CES, you would think Frank Sinatra showed up. All of the manufacturers would lay out the red carpet and want to wine and dine them. I miss the excitement of watching all of this take place.

It’s a different world at CES today. Everything is impersonal. The place is so large that it’s like going to a foreign country. You have to learn a new language and customs every year. Everything changes very quickly.

I’m totally up for it, but i can’t possibly be as engaged as I used to be. At 66, I am not hanging out in lounges until two in the morning, nor am I participating in a round of shots. Unfortunately, that is where a lot of the business takes place at a trade show. I think back to the many nights when I had one or two hours of sleep and then had to get up early for a full day of business. What was I thinking?

I am no longer popular and very few people know my name. If I want to stay in the game, I have to make adjustments. I swallow my pride and watch others get all the glory. At the end of the day, I shouldn’t really care. It’s really about the journey, not the round of applause.

CES and Me, Part One

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From this: Laura Foti, then of Billboard Magazine, and me in the early days of CES

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To this: The years of walking the show floors of CES is embedded in every line

Forty seven years ago, I attended my first CES. I believe I am the only living soul who has attended every show. The founder, Jack Wayman, who is now in his 90s, missed one year due to an illness. There will be older people than me at the show next week, but no one with my attendance record.

Does anyone give a hoot? Not really. Ever since I started HWH PR 37 years ago, I really have been a Lone Ranger, promoting everyone but me. Before that, I was a trade journalist covering the CE industry. I was also a columnist for Home Furnishings Daily (HFD) for eight years, then editor of Consumer Electronics Monthly for three. During that time I was the top editor of CE Show Daily, the magazine that was issued every day at the show. I controlled the most important editorial coverage that was distributed on the show floor.

Those were the days. I would walk the show floor and exhibitors would call my name. Everyone knew each other. Even though 20,000 people attended the CES, it was like one big fraternity. Today, at 150,000, it has turned into a transient major city. People come and go faster than some folks change sheets on their bed. It’s no longer called the Consumer Electronics Show but rather the International CES because of the significant number of tech innovators who show up from around the world to exhibit year after year. The majority of the products shown now are not even in the consumer electronics category.

You have to be “strong like bull” to cover the entire show floor. Everywhere you turn there are gadgets and gizmos that are product category game changers. All of these innovators come together once a year in Sin City to strut their stuff. Who ever knew the world could be so creative?

I have been fortunate and privileged to be a part of this evolving world. When I think of all of the people I started with in this industry who are either dead or retired, I get very weepy. I am the last of the charter members who helped build this industry. I don’t need others to praise me. I have my memories to keep me going.

I plan to devote the next few posts to stories untold. Some of them are X-Rated, so stay awake.

From My Camera Roll

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The closer we get to New Year’s Eve, the more I reflect about my life and the people in it. Here are some digital mementos I wanted to share with you.
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Happy 91st birthday to Stan Lee, co-creator of Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and Thor.

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Naked Habits

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Ever since we decided to work remotely, my wardrobe of choice has been interesting. If I don’t have an outside appointment, I wear sweats, long t-shirts and jeans and tops. I thought I was being pretty casual until I learned that there are people who sit in front of a computer nude. Yes, naked.

A recent PayPal survey revealed that there are people who actually like to shop online in the nude. Must people would agree that there is no reason to be totally covered up but what is the purpose of being naked?

PayPal also said people prefer to sit in front of a computer in total freedom. That means nothing touching their skin. PayPal said there are several stages of risque online shopping behavior.

Thirty three percent explained they shop in their pajamas. The survey didn’t tell us what time of day or night they were shopping. Here’s another strange statistic: 15 percent said that they like to have an alcoholic beverage to help in their decision-making. Researchers didn’t dig deeper into whether people are naked in bed when they are doing this online shopping.

A spokesperson at PayPal said the only explanation they can give for the nudity is that naked shoppers believe that they could be more readily available to try on clothes through their computer or phone if they are already disrobed. That sounds insane to me.

PayPal thinks “there may be a certain lifestyle segment in the U.S. that drinks and takes clothes off, then lies on the sofa or in the bath (or elsewhere), in order to have the perfect online retail experience.”

I think this is more information than any of us care to know,

You Don’t Want to Mess with the Internet Mob

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Photo by: Protectportelos.org

My guess is that no one who reads DigiDame has ever had to deal with hate mail on the Internet. It’s not that you are so perfect. It’s just that you play it safe. None of you would ever post a comment on Twitter or Facebook that would have provoked a mob of bullies to track you down.

Justine Sacco, now the former communications director at InterActiveCorp (Barry Diller’s company), wishes she were one of you. I’m sure you heard about her In the last seven days. She was all over the news because of her foolish post on Twitter.

Just a few hours before boarding a jet for a Christmas trip to Africa, Sacco made one of the biggest mistakes of her business life. She tweeted: “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!”

Within minutes, Sacco started receiving the most damaging comments and death threats on Twitter and Facebook. She didn’t know about the reaction for the first eight hours because she was on a flight to London, her connection to Africa. When she arrived, she immediately saw the ruckus she had created. Sacco freaked and instantly wiped out all of her social media accounts. By the time Sacco reached Africa she had received word from IAC that she was fired.

This all happened within a 24-hour period. It was like a Twilight Zone episode. She enters the aircraft one person and gets off another. I am told that Sacco is filled with regret and can’t sleep or eat. She is totally humiliated. She tries to keep strong for her family but she can’t hide the ache inside.

We all make dumb mistakes. Sacco’s problem is that she chose the Internet to act like a clown. She forgot that she works for a high profile company where she is expected to display a certain amount of decorum at all times.

Many of the folks on Facebook and Twitter make comments that they later regret. However, they can get away with it because they are not in the limelight. I got whacked four years ago after I sent an email to a blogger trying to make amends for pitching him too aggressively on a client’s product. He shared my letter with a much-followed industry personality who scolded me for my actions.

Out of nowhere, I started receiving hundreds of emails telling me how pitiful I was. It was one of the darkest moments of my career. I was absolutely devastated by all of the anonymous people who came out of the woodwork to beat me up with their words. Apparently, there are thousands of people who are always on the Internet looking for a good fight.

My recommendation to Justine Sacco is to keep apologizing, seek therapy, and then move on. It takes a long time for the hurt to go away, but it does.

Smartphones Hurt Toy Sales This Holiday Season

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I remember being horrified years ago when I learned how many of my daughter’s pre-school classmates were being given Benadryl by their mothers just to get them to bed earlier. I felt this was abusive parental behavior. I really wanted to call the cops.

When I questioned a few of the mothers about their actions they tried to weasel out of it by saying they wanted the evenings to themselves after a whole day of caring for their children. These are the same women who couldn’t wait to get married, quit their jobs, and have kids.

Turn the clock forward about 28 years. Benadryl is no longer being used to calm the kids down as much. This drug has been replaced by iPhones and iPads. In the last year or two, parents are discovering that small and large digital devices are great soothing companions for young children. The same first time parents who swore to me that they would never allow their children to watch TV because they wanted them to develop their imaginations, just got their kids iPad minis for Chanukah and Christmas.

While I laughed myself silly behind their backs, I was quite pleased that they are encouraging their children to be a part of the digital revolution. An early child educator recently told me that gadgets and smart phones provide excellent creative stimulation while also helping to develop reading and motor skills.

I must say more and more parents are discovering that the positive side of the digital revolution far outweighs their so called isolation concerns. In fact the toy industry admitted that they had heavy competition this holiday season from digital products.

Here is a quote from the New York Times article linked above:

A recent survey of 1,000 parents with children between 2 and 10 found that more than half planned to buy a tech item for their children this holiday season. About two-thirds of those planned to give a tablet or smartphone, according to the survey, which was taken for PBS Kids, the brand of the public broadcasting network aimed at young children.

I am very happy to see that smart phones and tablets have replaced drugs for children. I wonder if these same adult children of today will be as kind to us when they become our caregivers.

One of the Hottest Products at CES

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After 47 years of attending the International CES, I am proud to say that the product a client of mine is showing has perhaps the biggest wow factor of the show.

Picture a tablet on steroids. The Westinghouse Interactive Whiteboard will be used by anyone who is in the presentation business. It will be available in screen sizes from 55-inch to 84-inch. To view the full capabilities of the digital whiteboard, check out this video.

This unit is not a consumer product. Schools, training, and medical are the target audiences. Back in the day, presenters used a chalk board to demonstrate. Today, everything is digital and interactive. Enjoy considering the possibilities.

The Secret to Happiness

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My friend Carlos Alayon recently shared this video with me. I am not sure why he sent it. Maybe he thinks I need to be reminded of what true happiness is. Regardless, I watched it. The video has a special message that is very appropriate on Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!