There Are Still Good Tradeshows

This week has been busy with a nice little tradeshow here in San Jose,
Photonics West. As I walk down the aisles, I keep hearing two things
-- comments about how the bad economy is not hurting this industry and
comments about how this show appears to be very successful for the
companies that are exhibiting here. Admittedly, real ROI can't be
measured until it all turns into orders, but this certainly looks
promising.

The overall traffic reminds me of MacWorld in that it's much, much
better than I expected or would have predicted. So, is it just these
shows, these industries, or are things just not as bad as all that?
Personally, I think that it's the right show and the right industry --
and even then, I don't think that the print pub advertising sales
people are having a good time, evenwith the crowds and the optimism.

"Must Have A Rolodex of Journalists"

Whenever anyone parses through a list, they always start by setting up filter criteria that define what is interesting and what isn't. If you're looking through a list of job postings, maybe it's listings that include the word marketing, Web 2.0 or SaaS. And in the same way, you also use filters to determine items that you use to filter out results -- intern, associate, engineer.

Recently, one of those flags that really makes me laugh is the "Must Have a Rolodex of Journalists". Say what you want about PR and the evolution of communication that takes place, what really sets me off about this one is what it says about the opportunity -- and about the expectations that the hiring organization has for the person stepping into that role.

Quick flashback to my post from December, PR and 'New Media' - What's in Your PR Wallet? -- How do bad PR people get created? By setting the wrong expectations from the start. With the "Must Have a Large Rolodex" listing, what the organization is basically saying is "we want you to cram yet-another-mediocre down a bunch of journalists throats."

What happened to the "we've got such an awesome product that we're being bombarded with inquiries and we need guidance in managing this traffic and our message?"

I know the economy is bad and finding a job, much less THE JOB, is tough. Personally, I'm looking for an opportunity and an environment that's excited about the product, because I'm thinking I'm thinking that the position isn't defined by expectations that are doomed from the start. Good luck with that.

You Could Probably Hear The 'Doh' From Where You Are

Here's a quick update on a previous post -- a post correction/addendum. In my A brief history of the financial crisis post, I referenced an article by Michael Lewis. Then, as I was clicking through Amazon, trying to secure some last minute Christmas gifts, I noticed my Amazon search history and the "you might also be interested in" section. Since I referenced the link to Liar's Poker, the book mentioned in the article, Amazon reminded me of all of the other books that Lewis has written. In case you don't remember who he is, one of these book titles might jog your memory.

Panic: The Story of Modern Financial Insanity
The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game
The Real Price of Everything: Rediscovering the Six Classics of Economics
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
The Money Culture
The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story
Losers: The Road to Everyplace but the White House
Next: The Future Just Happened

If the sort order seems a bit chaotic, it's just following the order that came up when I searched Amazon. When the artwork showed up, it was one of those -- Oh, that Michael Lewis! And that was about the time when you heard the 'Doh'.

Happy New Year 2009

Rather than start out the year with a marketing post that I've been working on, I wanted to wish everyone a happy new year. Do you have New Year's resolutions? I don't usually do resolutions because the whole concept seems a bit strange to me -- if you've made a decision to change something that doesn't involve coordinating with a group or other calendar limitations, why would you delay the implementation of that change? Today is the day to begin following the path that leads you to the better you. Well actually, yesterday was the day.