Tip o’ the hat to Peter Cooper for this link: Your name on toast.

It’s all about getting one’s attention in this over marketed world isn’t it? Crazy ideas just have to keep getting crazier apparently.

So says TechCrunch.

Yea right.

Is this anything like how TV killed radio and radio killed newspapers and email would kill regular post mail?

People never seem to understand that mass mediums don’t die.

Honestly, I’m always a bit surprised that authors with SO many readers and so much success make such ridiculous claims. Actually I take that back. I’m not surprised at all. Sadly.

I posted over on my blog at Curious Office early this morning about some thoughts I had regarding business plans I’ve looked at lately. Usually these types of posts relate more to my own thinking about what I’m doing and how I can improve our prospects with ImageKind. I think in any start-up you have this initial ‘grace period’ where you get to build and deploy your concept without necessarily being expected to know exactly how and what the market is going to say about your service. Most investors know you don’t have a crystal ball or the ones that do don’t expect it to work 100% of the time. But, as in any venture, there is finally a time to get on top of what’s really going to provide the results you’ll be satisfied with. Even after just a few months since launch I think at ImageKind we’re entering that critical phase.

This is really just another way of saying “what things do we need to do to really move the needle?”

As I think about the answers to questions everyone in our organization should internalize in a super crisp way I suppose I also realize that this Q&A exercise is pretty much standard fare for any thriving business.

Do we know what our unique place in the marketing is?
Do we know what things are driving new users to us?
Do we know what things we are doing that are keeping our traffic up? Or is it just happening on its own?
Do we know what marketing levers have impacts and which ones do not?
Do we know which products to prioritize? What should be merchandised?
Do we know where to find new customers?
Do we have a customer retention strategy that will keep our current customers in tact?
Do we understand how people find us? Where do we get our visitors? Why?
Do we know how to get in front of active shoppers in our sector?
Do we know how to take customers from our competitors?
Do we have a partnership strategy that will result in a better bottom line?

It’s ok not to have clarity on everything from the outset. But it’s important (for us) to be relentless in our search for the right answers to each of these questions. In my experience it is VERY easy to put answers in place for every one of these considerations but its another thing to have a high degree of internal confidence that your answers are right on target. I’m not interested in a marketing plan. I’m interested in the right answers to the tough questions.

My friend Marcelo Calbucci over at Sampa is starting to put together a new blog list that specifically calls out all the interesting Seattle tech blogs as a counter point to much of the daily reading we all consume which stems from the Silicon Valley.

I expect this list to grow quite a bit over the coming year so do check it out and forward your own blog to Marcelo for consideration!

http://blog.curiousoffice.com/?p=106

This is a post I just threw up about product merchandising which may not impress you with its prose but I thought the data collection provides an interesting competitive snapshot for our new start-up ImageKind.

http://youtube.com/w/?v=_dIya1aJJKA

I’ve integrated Adobe’s Lightroom beta into my photo workflow (alongside Photoshop of course) and it’s a seriously fantastic product. Wonder how I got by without it. And, my friend Steve Lacey over at Google points out they have a great podcast too. Indeed! Check it out. Great find.

Check out the pics of our recent tour to Walla Walla to sample some of Washington’s finest wineries to include Abeja, LeCole, Reiniger and Pepper Bridge.

I love the States but I have a rant. Driving back from Walla Walla this last weekend proved what I’ve always felt. Americans can’t drive. In particular, they don’t look in their rear view mirror and they don’t pay attention to signs like “Keep right except for passing”. Here, people are perfectly happy to roll down a two lane road side by side at the same speed…blocking both lanes and everyone behind them. Flash your brights on them and it means nothing. Worse yet, THEY’RE the ones who are insulted. Are you kidding me? Try that in Germany and you’ll get run off the road or ticketed. And that’s how it should be. Here, people force you to pass on the left OR right which is unsafe and unpredictable. Typical US drivers will parade along down a 1 lane highway for miles until a second passing lane opens up. Inevitably, they will all then move over to the left. People like me then pass them all going down the right lane. Ridiculous. And, one thing you can be sure of…90% of minivan drivers do not use their rear view mirror. The only way they’ll know you’re behind them is if you honk. Just don’t expect a reaction. They’re perfectly happy going 40 in the left hand lane and nobody is going to tell them otherwise.