Archive for the ‘Opinions’ Category
Because of my last post many people asked who I voted for and what I believe. So here goes…
I believe in everyone having affordable health insurance. We are a nation of individuals, but without healthy citizens we are not a healthy nation.
I believe in raising our top tax bracket to 48% for those who earn over $5 Million, and to 38% for those who earn over $1 Million; eliminating tax havens and loopholes for people to skirt paying taxes.
I believe in using that money to fix our failing public school systems, but actually busting the teachers union which I believe is one of the impediments to that. No child should be forced to deal with incompetent teachers because a union makes it impossible to fire them. I then believe in doubling, that’s right, doubling teacher pay. Not administrators; I believe they should be paid less than teachers. I want the compensation to match the responsibility and respect teachers should command in our society. The first step however is you have to eliminate the union that drags down and forces out competent teachers, and protects those who should not be teaching our children. I believe that administrators should have the ability and right to expel any student they deem, and has proven themselves dangerous and threatening to other students and teachers. Education is not a right of a populace but a privilege we are afforded to avail ourselves of, and that teacher safety and student learning outweigh an individuals right to disrupt it.
I believe that anyone earning less than $40,000 a year should pay no taxes as I believe that shelter, food, and health care are basic requirements in any healthy society and that amount of money covers that base level for a year. I believe in reversing the Bush Tax cuts so that capital gains taxes go back to 28% if the money is taken out of a company in less than 5 years, and 14% if over five years, as this will encourage long-term investing in companies you believe in, but for those who speculate they pay a penalty.
I believe in drastically shrinking our military as it is currently beyond bloated as it was setup for cold war or deterrence, not fighting a “concept” or “ideology.” Therefore I have no problem with the sequester that will kick in with automatic across the board 20% cuts top our military spending on January 1st. I believe in further reducing it by 10% and using that money to massively expand the Peace Corps in which my mother is currently serving. I believe the only way you fight an ideology is demonstrating the good will of your nation, and not bombing people into submission. All of that does is instill a hatred that manifests in more militants opposing our country and its ideals. As I grew up overseas in Europe, the Middle East and Far East I believe I have a much better handle on our foreign policy and what is needed than those put in charge of it who have a nascent understanding of inter-cultural differences.
I believe anyone should have the right to marry. As a person who is not married with a kid in an open relationship I do not know why anyone would WANT to get married, but they should at least have that choice.
I am against abortion, but believe it is not my choice to make a law against what someone else can do with their body, and believe it is a violation of our Fourth Amendment rights to do so… and am therefore very pro-choice.
I believe that Global Warming, aka Climate Change, aka Not-Sticking-our-Heads-in-the-Sand-to-Science, is being influenced by man, and that the overwhelming evidence suggest that it is. I believe investing in the economy to combat climate change is good business, and good moral ground to stand on. I support massively increasing the taxes on Oil companies to make gas so unaffordable that clean options become more viable. I believe in funding this investment off of the Oil and Gas companies. I believe Natural Gas is a sham and that the hydraulic-fracking fluids used to extract it are decimating our natural water supplies.
I believe in protecting our wildlife, our national parks, and our wilderness, as we have but one planet and it would be a real bummer to kill it.
That is what I believe is good for our nation, our populace, and ourselves.
When pitching business remember that we are inherently storytellers. Connecting to the emotional is imperative. We do not tolerate Powerpoint presentations, and we have inherent ADD when being sold to. Tell a story, and captivate them in the first 60 seconds.
I’ve lost count of how many pitches I have done in my career as a creative in advertising, but my track record when appealing to the emotional aspects was probably over 90%, and when saddled with an ungodly Powerpoint deck closer to 20%.
All the technology details of the “how it will be done,” can be worked out later. As long as you know you can do it, ignore talking about it. If they are interested they’ll call you back and you can explain it all later.
“If a story is not about the hearer he will not listen. And here I make a rule – a great and interesting story is about everyone or it will not last” – John Steinbeck, East of Eden
Tell them… no show them and have them FEEL why you are the right choice. All the other stuff is just superfluous.
I have being going by the name “Sean X” for so long that I sometimes forget I have a last name. But for those who are so inclined to know, my full legal name is “Sean X Cummings.” I often get asked where the “X” came from, as if to indicate that its presence in my name was Read the rest of this entry »
Why the QR code is failing
Posted on: August 6, 2012
They have become the standard violator appearing on advertising; in the corner of print ads, across billboards, on buses, or in pieces of direct mail — even peppered throughout this article. You’ve seen them; that little block of even littler squares. Unfortunately the technology behind QR codes was not invented for advertising and marketing; we are just co-opting its usage, and it shows.
From the relative lack of public understanding of what they even are, to the dearth of creativity in their usage, the QR code is destined to become just the little box that geek built. But if it does go the way of CueCat, only we are to blame. Here’s why. Read the rest of this entry »
10 Reasons to LoveHate Google
Posted on: April 19, 2011
Such a strong word
It is a company that is loved, and yet surprisingly hated — if not despised — by some. It is the friend whose little strange habits and quirks we once cherished. But now they annoy and grate on our nerves. It is a company that we have held up as a shining beacon of hope — the giant killer. The company that could stand against Microsoft and the great evil empire.
But alas, the company is but the latest victim of the same pedestal on which we elevated Microsoft years before. Beware that pedestal, for it provides a perch that only looks downward. Sometimes when companies ascend to it, they start to believe they are separate, better versions of humans.
They start to believe their own hype; in that moment, they become lost.
There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance, between self-assuredness and hubris, and unfortunately Google is straddling that line. Why the perceptive shift in attitudes toward Google? What has the company done other than bring us fantastic tools? Tools, like Android, that have changed entire industries. Tools, like search, that have provided insight into the most remote corners of the world. Why is the simmering of discontent Read the rest of this entry »
Chrysler ran an ad on the Superbowl in 2011 for the Chrystler 200, that embodied their brand, repositioned it, and grittily carved out a niche. “Imported from Detroit.“ It was quite possibly one of the most brilliant stances taken by a car company, for reasons I will explain below. In disservice to that ad USA Today rated the Ads in the Superbowl based on a panel of viewers via second-by-second responses to ads during the game. The ranking for Chrysler 200? 44. Huh? It has be gnawing at me for weeks, so I finally decided to rant about it.
Let me explain…
Chrysler 200: Imported from Detroit
WARNING: If you are easily offended please do not read. And if you plan on chiding me for my rant after reading, I gave fair warning. So don’t blame me, blame your lack of being able to take direction. Read the rest of this entry »
There are hundreds of brands that continue to be stuck in the “old way” of thinking, pre-Web 2.0. Some survive because they didn’t jump on the next fad, and some perished because they did. Many brands are starting to get it, but for many it may be too late and Web 2.0 has passed them by. It’s time to take a look in the mirror and figure out why your company Read the rest of this entry »
I have been a vocal critic of the way most agencies are structured. However, many of the structural problems agencies face are a direct result of clients. Agencies have struggled for years to change the agency/client dynamic. They have actively experimented with ways to bring the client what they need, while still producing work that serves a higher purpose.
Chiat/Day and Crispin Porter + Bogusky have been changing the agency landscape structure for years by innovating, experimenting, tinkering, and attempting to produce the best work in a flawed environment. Unfortunately, most agencies are not that bold, and many of those ideas and structural changes have failed. This failure isn’t because they weren’t innovative, but like the nimbleness of an oil tanker, the clients’ inability to change — or the glacial pace at which they do change – has forced many agencies to survive in a structure that produces neither the best work nor the most profit.
Such is the issue with service-based industries; they are only as good as Read the rest of this entry »
The current agency model is broken. I know it, agencies know it, but luckily for all of us, clients haven’t realized it yet.
After more than a decade of working for an agency and an additional six years on the client-side, I have come to several conclusions, none of which are pretty pictures for agencies unless they change. You see, agencies need Read the rest of this entry »
Paid Search Traffic Share Down 26%
I almost do not know where to begin to debunk this story… for technically the story is accurate in the statement “The share of search traffic coming from paid listings is decreasing at the expense of organic traffic.” I love analysts… most of their ignorance comes from only having the “theory” and none of the “practice” of doing what they so analyze. They report the numbers, but none of the context. Yes, Paid Search “share” has declined as a part of overall search traffic. But why? Analysts tend to avoid the “why,” because they have no idea Read the rest of this entry »
