Ellen’s advice for college graduates
Ellen DeGeneres offers advice (”don’t take anyone’s advice”) in a commencement speech to Tulane graduates. Funny and uplifting.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Vigilantes Rick roll telemarketers
Everyone has had it with the vehicle warranty calls. Oklahoma authorities have filed several legal actions to stop the annoying telemarketing pitches. Their counterparts in other states have tried similar tactics. The feds have gotten involved.
Yet the calls — “This is your second and final call notifying that your vehicle warranty is about to expire…” — continue unabated.
Michael Silveira called out the big guns, the Wall Street Journal reported. He Rickrolled them:
So last week, Mr. Silveira began calling back an auto-warranty company that has become the focus of an Internet crusade. He left it voice-mail messages that contained nothing but a recording of Rick Astley’s 1987 hit song “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
Using phone numbers for Auto One Warranty Specialists Inc. that users posted to a Web site called Reddit.com, Mr. Silveira joined dozens of activists who have peppered the warranty company with messages including elevator music, threats and offers of rude services.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Newspaper nips ‘net on noodling news
I’m an Internet junkie, and love to find funny, bizarre and up-to-the-second reports by surfing from blog to blog. This week, a couple of my favorite stops have posted about the incredible phenomena of people WHO FISH WITH THEIR HANDS!
It’s called noodling. And if you’re from Oklahoma, this probably isn’t news to you. As a card-carrying member of the mainstream media, I gotta say been there, done that.
Don Mecoy
Business News
NPR on the Chickasaw Nation
Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby and U.S. Rep. Mary Fallin cut the ribbon during ceremonies for the first building to be completed at the American Indian Cultural Center & Museum in Oklahoma City, Oct. 10, 2008. BY STEVE GOOCH, THE OKLAHOMAN
National Public Radio, as part of its series of reports on Indian tribes titled “We Shall Remain,” focuses this week on the Ada-based Chicksaw Nation. The tribe owns casinos, a bank and a chocolate company. The money produced by its business ventures allows the tribe to offer its members universal health care, extensive child care and other benefits. Gov. Bill Anaotubby is the main source for the story.
When I first came to work for the nation, there were 25 employees, maybe one or two more, and we had a budget of somewhere around $1 million or a little less, primarily federal funds. We’ve been able to increase our revenues from, at that point was basically nothing, to now we have available to us somewhere around $750 million a year. Today we have 10,500 employees.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Remarkable commercial freezes time
I wonder what the budget for this two-minute production was. It’s an impressive work, but I’m not sure it makes me want to buy anything.
The first time I saw this, I knew it was an ad; I just didn’t know what the product was. Turns out it was produced by Philips to help sell a new line of HD televisions. If you’d like to see a higher resolution version (or see some “behind the scenes” takes), go to the company’s Web site.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Sale whale
I use Twitter. It can be a valuable tool, and has helped me land a couple of stories sooner than I would have before I started spending some time with my tweeps. But I’m not always a fan of Twitter, particularly the marketing that takes place so frequently. Here’s a suggestion from Matt Haughey about what companies should do before they spend a lot of time thinking about their social media agenda:
So maybe instead of getting your company on twitter, paying marketers to mention you are on twitter, and paying people to blog about your company, forget all that and just make awesome stuff that gets people excited about your products, hire people that represent the company well, and when your stuff is so awesome that friends share it with other friends, you may not even need “social media marketing” after all.
Perhaps the best, most concise primer on how to market through social media is www.howtousetwitterformarketingandpr.com.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
2001 AIG commercial
When you look up “irony” on the Internet, this is what should appear.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Bankers magazines fold
Another victim of the cratering economy has emerged. A company that produces magazines aimed at bankers has suspended operations and is looking to sell off its assets, the New York Times reports.
More than two dozen employees who worked on the magazines — Trader Monthly, Dealmaker, Private Air, Corporate Leader and Cigar Report — are on unpaid leave
Luxury advertising has declined sharply as high-end companies’ sales have suffered. Also, Richard Skeen, who was the president of sales and marketing at Doubledown through December, said that advertising to bankers and encouraging them to spend money became “incredibly out of vogue.”
“It felt kind of yucky and funny, like you show up to a party in a ’70s outfit and it’s an ’80s-themed party,” (sales and marketing president) Mr. (Richard) Skeen said.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Emerging cell phone issues
Consumer Action, a non-profit national consumer group, has highlighted five emerging cell phone issues likely to affect consumers this year.
1. Continued early termination fees, with only minor relief for some consumers.
2. Little change on overage fees of up to 45 cents a minute.
(You may be able to avoid this problem by using the free service “Over My Minutes” to get warnings when you are near your monthly ceiling on cell phone minutes.)
3. A jump in mandatory cell phone contract extensions as more young Americans use cell phones.
4. A backlash against out of control texting fees.
5. A shift away from scandal-plagued international calling cards for immigrants.
This list and a streaming audio recording related to it are available online.
Don Mecoy
Business News
Ode to Steak ‘n Shake
I really like Steak ‘n Shake, which opened a store in Edmond just four years ago. The burgers are very good. The fries are excellent. The shakes are to die for. My kids clean their plates when we dine there.
But Roger Ebert (yes, that Roger Ebert) loves Steak ‘n Shake. No, he adores Steak ‘n Shake. He grew up eating at the company’s black-and-white shops. How much does he cherish the 75-year-old chain? Read on:
If I were on Death Row, my last meal would be from Steak ‘n Shake. If I were to take President Obama and his family to dinner and the choice were up to me, it would be Steak ‘n Shake–and they would be delighted. If the Pope were to ask where he could get a good plate of spaghetti in America, I would reply, “Your Holiness, have you tried the Chili Mac or the Chili 3-Ways?”
There’s a whole lot more at Ebert’s blog, which has become a regular staple of my Web surfing fare.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
