Happy New Year
Reply
I Need Your Help
I’m looking for stories about good oral health care habits. I’m also interested in challenges you may have had with gum or teeth problems. I will keep everything confidential. Write to me at loisw@hwhpr.com.
The reason why I am asking is because our agency, HWH PR, has just been assigned the Water Pik account. We will be pitching a sophisticated line of Waterpik water flossers that make it much easier and more thorough to floss.
Water Pik will be making a donation for each pink model sold to “Hope Lives,” during October’s Breast Cancer Awareness month.
Part of our education plan is to inform everyone that more than 50 percent of the U.S. population lives with some form of gum disease. It’s clinically proven that the Waterpik Water Flosser is 50 percent more effective than traditional string floss for improving gum health, removes up to 99.9% of plaque from treated areas, cleans three times deeper than regular brushing and flossing and removes hard-to-reach bacteria and food debris that cause bad breath.
So, if you have any interesting stories that can help our pitch, I just might help you get a deep discount on the pink Aquarius™ Water Flosser which retails for $89.99. Or any other color you may desire.
Thank you
Duck, It’s A Drone
For most of our lives, we were careful not to get hit by a car, bicycle, or motorcycle while walking outside. Now, we have a whole new concern, drones. To learn more about a drone, read the balance of this blog post and then google the word “drone.” If you don’t, you just may get knocked over by one.
A drone is a remote-control aircraft. See above. These flying objects used to be toys, but now commercial enterprises, as well as hobbyists, are flying drones in record numbers. They retail from approximately $400 to thousands of dollars. This used to be a sport for those interested in aviation, but now the person who has everything is jumping in on the action. Drones are the new Harleys, you garner a lot of attention. To make matters worse, companies like Amazon are testing drones to make deliveries. This is not science fiction. In the next year or two, drones will be showing up at your front door delivering your new pair of shoes.
What’s wrong with all that? Drones are not regulated. That means drones can be flown anywhere and at anytime. It is just a disaster waiting to happen. In fact, a helicopter recently flying around New York almost collided with a drone. Drones are capable of flying a few thousand feet high and a mile-and-a-half away. Click here for more information.
My friend Andy Pargh of Palm Beach, Florida, flies drones. He graciously invited Eliot and I to visit him during one of his flying expeditions. Andy explained that he is all for regulations because he knows of too many near-misses. “The industry is growing so fast,” Pargh said, “there are too many careless people who can spoil it for the serious flyers.”
Andy explained that drones are divided into three groups, the hobbyists who build their own drones as a sport, the weekend user who adopts all new technologies and businesses who will use drones as a means for transportation for shipping goodies or taking aerial pictures with a GoPro.
Andy Pargh
Lying Vs. The Truth
I just finished reading a new study about the ethics of lying by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The reason I found it so interesting is because I’m in the hype business. I emphasize the positive points of products, services, and situations, That means I underscore certain things that deserve special attention., especially in the tech business,
Just because I shape story lines, doesn’t mean I’m lying. I think I would be lying if I didn’t point out certain characteristics that deserve to be spotlighted. I can’t help it if the average person doesn’t understand the difference between lying and editing the truth to prove a point.
I hope you watch this video because, while it doesn’t exactly focus on what I am talking about, it does delve into the world of people lying versus the telling truth. I have come to realize that we all have difference interpretations of what the truth is.
Click here to read the Fast Company magazine story.
The GoPro Phenomenon
I own three GoPros. I bought one for myself and received two others as presents. I couldn’t wait to own one because I thought I would walk around recording everything I saw. I liked the idea of having a record of all the events I attended.
Then reality set in. This wasn’t going to be a simple edit job. This was serious, dedicated, and sophisticated work. I gave up my desire to be a GoPro user immediately.
It turns out that the GoPro is really meant for those who truly live an active lifestyle. like extreme sports enthusiasts. It’s very important for them to review their every move plus share it with others.
This past week, the New Yorker magazine did the most remarkable article on the GoPro Gestalt psychology. I loved reading it because it talked about the many go-getters who use a GoPro and why. The article said, “In the past five years, videos posted by GoPro owners have attracted half a billion views. On the GoPro channel on YouTube, videos average about half a million viewers each.”
I have included a link to the story because I thought you would want to read why “We are all a camera.” Click here to read the article,
CES Publishing Reunion
It all started 46 years ago when the guy all the way to the right created a publication company for audio and video magazines. Tonight, approximately 25 of us, (out of hundreds) who worked for Richard Ekstract over the years, gathered at Saloon. on the upper Eastside of NYC, to celebrate the good fortune we all had being a part of the tech industry.
When a restaurant or bar is dark, this is the kind of photos you get. Regardless. here’s Marcia Grand, Orit (never uses her last name) and Francine Port.
I would post other photos from the evening but they are way too red to enjoy. We all started out as kids. Now some of us are grandparents of teenagers. It didn’t matter. Friday night we were all kids again working for a maverick who helped make technology business the wonder it is today.
Meet Jack Ma
I trust that every DigiDame reader has heard of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group. The company experienced the biggest U.S. initial public offering yesterday with shares at $68 a piece. Alibaba raised a total of $21.8 billion.
Alibaba is one the most valuable Internet companies as of yesterday with a market capitalization of $168 billion. The Hangzhou, China-based company is on the new York Stock Exchange under the ticker BABA.
Alibaba was co-founded in 1999 by Jack Ma, a former English teacher who has become one of China’s best-known businessmen.
Watch the videos for a behind-the-scenes look at this remarkable company.
The End Of An Era
My friend Ben needed more time to address yesterday’s topic. He was busy today doing “new business” so his input tomorrow should be quite interesting.
I normally would be so intolerant of someone else telling this next story. I have no patience for people who dwell on self-absorbing, trivial details. This time, I can’t help myself. Neither can Eliot. We were very sad all day today because we had to give up our blue 1989, 560 SEL Mercedes. This limo-looking automobile had given us 25 years of great times.
Huffing and puffing at 124,000 miles, my long-time devoted carrier. was beginning to show old age. In the last year, Eliot and I got stuck twice on
a highway because the engine just shutdown when it overheated. The interiors were slightly deteriorating and the bumpers sported scratches thanks to New York City garage attendants.
Because this car was so old, we had to live without cup holders, USB inputs, and remote control keys. None of the modern day conveniences were available then.
I was getting increasingly nervous riding around in a car that was decades older than any other moving vehicle on-the-road. At this point in my life, I don’t want to put myself in uncomfortable situations.
It’s difficult to believe that we will never ride in that car again. I keep telling myself that it’s only a hunk of steel. It doesn’t have a heartbeat. That doesn’t seem to matter. We didn’t sleep well last night thinking about the departure of our dear friend. Tonight we are talking about buying it back.
We won’t do that because we know that we made the right decision. We also won’t be buying a new car to replace the old one. It’s now time for us to become part of the Uber or Zip Car generation. We need to embrace the new options the digital age affords us. No more $500 New York garage fees, insurance costs, and expensive repairs.
We are going to miss you old buddy. You were worth every cent.
We’re Not Done Yet
Image: Cosmos Kramer
Jerry Lewis was on the Jimmy Fallon Show last night because he was in New York for a Friar’s Club honor. He said that he got the chance to take the subway for the first time in 50 years.
At one of the stops, a young guy gets on the train wearing a complete white leather outfit, high boots, rings in his ears, nose, chin, and eye brows and his hair was spiked green, blue, orange, and pink.
He saw Jerry staring at him and said, “What’s wrong old man? Haven’t you ever done anything outrageous in your life?”
Jerry replied, “As a matter of fact, I have. I once had sex with my parrot and thought you might be my kid.”
Now for today’s blog post.
I don’t claim to be a career expert. Actually, let me retract that. Maybe, I am an expert on seniors in the workplace,. After all, I am one. I have positioned myself in the tech industry the same way Joan Rivers was viewed in comedy, a unique character that is loved and hated at the same time.
Look, we all know, I’m no Joan Rivers, the same way Dan Quayle was no Jack Kennedy. However, I do go out of my way (like Joan) to insert myself in projects and become vital to its success.
Most people my age would never think of reinventing themselves or re-examine what they truly have to offer others. I try not to laugh too hard when I hear one of my contemporaries say that they have a lot of experience to share with the younger set. “I have been doing this for decades,” they claim. “I have a lot that I can teach.”
As far as I am concerned, those are the worst words a senior person can express. Young people today do not want to learn from older folks. They want to emulate and mimic the current stars (the big money makers) in their industries. Yes, there are exceptions to the new rules, but by and large, seniors have to adopt new practices.
I always talk in the future; what has to be done and what we need to do to get there. I spend countless hours thinking of innovative new approaches and creating big idea that are almost impossible to achieve. Sometimes, I over promise, but the results are always better than what my “play it safe” counterparts would promise. I enjoy big goals and like to make things happen.
I also go overboard complimenting the younger people I work with. Everyone needs encouragement and it is my role to provide that inspiration and energy. I don’t make it up. I just look for the personal assets and emphasize them to the respective individuals.
We all have our own ways of doing things. I hope those that absorb my words can read between the lines and apply them to what works for their careers. Don’t let the number of our age dictate our future.
Tomorrow: my friend Ben tells us why I am full of shit. We will learn his side of the story about being a senior in the workplace today.
Seniors Need To Reclaim Worth In Workplace
Image: menshealth.co.uk
In the last few weeks, I have spoken to several men friends who are losing their jobs after being at their companies for decades. Of course, my dear pals are either in their 50s, 60s or 70s. My heart sinks for them because I know they feel they have lost their identities. They say not, but I know better.
I just celebrated 48 years of working (September 9, 1966) and there is very little I have not seen in business. I feel we are a point in time when seniors are getting persecuted because younger folks, who have positions of authority, feel more inferior about themselves than ever before.
Young people in business today are all striving to be the next Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Cuban, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Elon Musk. If they are not billionaires by 40, many start to feel desperate to make it happen. They look around at the executive team and want to rid themselves of seniors who might recognize their deficiencies. They also want to surround themselves with young people who might offer up the “secret sauce,” code word for a successful formula.
I have analyzed this many times in recent years. I do have many suggestions for seniors who want to stay in the workforce but you are going to have to return tomorrow to read my recommendations.
In the meantime, I want my friends to know that their forced exits have nothing to do with them. While they may be devastated now, they are going to be deliriously happy very soon if they join the entrepreneurial workforce. Thrilling times ahead. Just stick close.
DigiDame 