Category Archive

1. QS is overrated. Based on studies and conversations with my extensive “AdWords brain trust” it correlates less and less with ad position and bid price.

2. Quality scores of 8 and 9 virtually do not exist….

Do you ever feel like you speak some sort of gibberish that your neighbors don’t understand?

Do you ever feel like a member of a secret off-the-grid society?

In 8th grade one of my teachers assigned me to write a report about the United States and one other country. I chose India.

I’d never left the US and I’d never gone to India. Yet somehow India wasn’t all that hard to write about – I asked one of my other teachers a bunch of questions because she had been to India. I wrote about women’s colorful dresses and Hindu temples and all that. All the stuff a foreigner notices.

But writing about the US was tough. What can a fish really tell you about water? I did a pretty mediocre job.

Fast forward 15 years, Laura and I fly to Sao Paulo Brazil. Our first trip to an ‘exotic’ place. Utterly fascinating. Intense.

Old Media vs. New Media: Why the Concept of the “Control Ad” is obsolete [mc src=’http://maui.digital.s3.amazonaws.com/2011/clips/you-know-me-35-58.mp4′ type=’video’ width=’480′ height=’270′ skin=’stylish_slim’ autostart=’true’ controlbar=’bottom’ /] Privacy Policy

I’d been working at my first “real” sales job for a couple of months. Totally wet behind the ears. My boss scheduled a trip to Detroit to get me some sales training.

The morning of my trip I woke up with a start. It was 8:00am.

My FLIGHT was at 8am.

I lived 40 minutes from O’Hare airport.

What’s the first thing you think when you read that?

Does it trigger any impulses?

It’s just pregnant with possibilities, isn’t it?

I had worked at my first sales job for 18 months and had nothing impressive to brag about whatsoever.

One by one, every “deal” I had worked on crashed and burned.

But this one was different. A guy at U.S. Steel had called me in and I quoted a $1.1 million optical profiler project, a technology he had great difficulty procuring elsewhere. I was deliriously excited about the prospects of a $55,000 commission check.

The whole thing evaporated right before my eyes. I spent an hour on the phone trying to save the project from death. Then Wally called me in his office and informed me:

I’ve had the privilege of working with some of the most talented people in marketing today and it’s a thrill to just be in their company. Today I’d like to tell you something about the very best ones, that most people never notice.

Doncha just love these lyrics by the Traveling Wilburys?

I’ve been fobbed and I’ve been fooled
I’ve been robbed and ridiculed
In daycare centers and night schools
Handle me with care

Been stuck in airports, terrorized
Sent to meetings hypnotized
Overexposed, commercialized
Handle me with care…

Pretty much describes the state of most online marketers, doesn’t it?

There’s a great book by Don Miller called “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.” At the beginning of this book, Don suddenly realizes:

“If my life were a movie, it would be so boring nobody would ever care to watch it.”