New Orleans Saints, Plaxico, NY Jets, Baseball World Series Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, Elmo Lives!: What your organization can learn from tragedy and comebacks!
Posted by Romain Malaganne on Oct 25, 2011
Last week I wanted to write about what I have been doing with my life for the past 5 years. Sure I have been working and playing and enjoying life and riding this economic roller coaster… Business was good. Then not good. Then good. Family life. Personal life. Holidays. Life just continues on and on. But last week an historical thing happened in the world and I wanted to write about it but I ran out of time. If you were paying attention you might have noticed that after 5 years, the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was released from captivity in a prisoner exchange with the Palestinians. 1027 people, terrorists and murderers were let go in the exchange. This is a monumental deal for our world since never before in history has this ever occured. The reason why I wanted to write about this is because of what we can learn from the deal. Similar to what we can learn from tragedy in our lives, when bad things happen to good people, 9/11, tsunamis, hurricanes and you can fill in the blank. I try not to be political in my public life so I am going to maintain the status quo. Shalit was in captivity for 5 years, hidden below ground in a bunker with no access to daylight or the sun. On the flipside, there were many Palestinians and other prisoners who had been in prison for over 25 years. Of course many of them were murderers and involved in terrorist activities so you might think that all is justified. What I am trying to communicate is that the bigger picture is that 1 person is home after 5 years and the other 1027 prisoners are out of prison. (Some were deported and exiled and not allowed home according to the deal.)
Whether the deal was good or bad, we should all take a look at the situation and try to become better people, or as I like to put it, better business people, from the history lesson. What can I do over the next five years in business? Can I, SHOULD I just ride the economy and see what happens>
HELL NO!
What we need to realize is that none of us/ you reading this is in prison or captivity. (That is, I don’t think any of my readers are in jail. Right now? If you are let me know. I am curious…) What we need to do is ACT and contribute and recognize that the power to change for the better is within us all.
The Serenity Prayer is the common name for an originally untitled prayer by the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. The prayer shows up for wikipedia and over 2 million other websites. It has been adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous and I am sure some other programs.
The best-known form is:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
Gilad Shalit accepted his fate but then the Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu Israel Government made the deal. I am positive there were many other moving parts, Egyptians, politicians, government employees, business people, families, friends, journalists and more.
What I take away from all this is that I don’t want to squander the next five years of my life or my business. I am taking this opportunity to turn over a new leaf. Start a new campaign. Write down my goals and knock them off one by one. You should do the same. You should call me. We should discuss your internet strategy and your overall marketing strategy.
Now that that is over with, we can talk about sports:
1) NY Jets Plaxico Burress reflects on 3-TD game
If he survived jail and now is on top of his game and makes the world a better place then so be it!
2) Saints Dominate Colts, 62-7
NFL record set since the past 25 years
3)TexasRangers Take the Lead in World Series AgainstSt. LouisCardinals
http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/sports/mlb/rangers/102411-rangers-take-the-lead-in-world-series
But since some of my good friends are fromSt. Louis, I am rooting for the underdog…
4) Elmo lives!
Oh – want some motivational posters for your office? Look at http://www.Successories.com and buy something!
Call Raphi Salem at SalemGlobal Internet Website Marketing and Lead Generation today at 212-222-3292 or email him at info@salemglobal.com and we can grow your business together over the next 5 years…
Steve Jobs Gary Coleman RIP, Wall Street. Sesame St. NY Yankees, Jets, Giants Losers: What your business can learn from the Greats and Losses
Posted by Agathe Ducourau on Oct 11, 2011
Wow. What a terrible week. I mean I have no good news at all. Its all bad bad bad.
It all started off at my card game last Wednesday night. One of my poker buddies was looking at his iPhone and said, “so, Steve Jobs is Dead. What do you guys all think?” And I said “Really?!” I hadn’t heard that he had pancreatic cancer. I guess I am not on top of the news as much as I should be. Considering Steve Jobs was one of the most influential people of all time. I mean that. ALL time.
I then saw that even Stephen Colbert was getting in on the action. In his tribute to Jobs, he basically agreed with the world in the thinking that Jobs was a tech genius and visionary and that he deserved all of the Apple, Mac and iProducts for free for promoting them on his show. And guess what: he got em! http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/399182/october-06-2011/tribute-to-steve-jobs
But then I got to thinking, so many people are praising him. But only really as a tech genius and icon. I think I have to side with the people that basically say – “so what!” He was a smart guy. A visionary. In the right place at the right time. But if you look into his personal life you will see that he wasn’t a saint. In the made for TV movie that I saw about him and Bill Gates titled “The Pirates of Silicon Valley,” circa 1999, it showed a somewhat ruthless jerk who denied having a child with his girlfriend at the time…. amongst other things. http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1521418521/ Sort of similar to the way Jesse Eisenberg and crew portray Marc Zuckerberg of facebook in “The Social Network.”
The point is that he wasn’t a god, he was just a guy. There are plenty of other influential people in the world. Some are good. Some are bad. Most are neutral and innocuous. Though I do like the onion article “Apple plans to release Steve Jobs 2.0 in 2012. http://www.theonion.com/video/apple-announces-plans-to-release-steve-jobs-2-full,26293/ And lets not overlook the quote going around: “10 years ago we had Steve Jobs, Bob Hope and Johnny Cash – Now we have no Jobs, no Hope and no Cash!”
Speaking of the economy, can someone please explain theOccupy Wall StreetandSesame Streetmovements. I have read the articles, seen the footage and heard the news. But it still doesn’t make any sense to me. As an entrepreneur, I say get off your protest butt and get yourself an office and try to make some of your own dough. Stop blaming others and take some initiative and put some energy into doing some good and positive things. Take some action in a different direction and change the world. I have to say that Steve Jobs wouldn’t have occupied Wall Street. He would’ve sat at his computer for that amount of time and came up with a new product that made billions of dollars. He single handedlely stimulated the economy by creating and selling products all over the world. Who will be the next Steve Jobs???
Oh. Here is another cartoon I like: Steve Jobs arrives in Heaven and he is introduced to Moses. “Moses, Meet Steve. He is going to upgrade your tablets…” By the way – I can’t read the cartoonists names on the top right of the panel so I can’t give credit… you can see it here on my blog: http://websitestrategymarketing.com/cartoon-steve-jobs-meets-moses
In other sad news,Gary”Whatchoo Talkin’ Bout Willis” Coleman passed away at the very young age of 42. Coleman always had medical problems. Liver problems and whatnot. His early TV career as the most loved and adored kid on Different Strokes made him $100k per episode but his parents stole it from him. He recovered $1.3 million from a lawsuit but after 6 years was bankrupt again. He starred in some more TV and reality shows but his career was dead. And now so is he. If you get a chance to see Avenue Q, go see it in his memory. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw9oX-kZ_9k
People. I wish I could leave you at least with some good sports news but all localNew Yorkteams lost this week. Seriously.
Ok – so let me leave you on a positive note. Sure it was a SH$%^&ty week, but my favorite expression is that “when you’ve hit rock bottom, the only direction is back up!” And on that note, here is some Van The Man Morrison to cheer you up: http://grooveshark.com/#/s/Jackie+Wilson+Said+i+m+In+He/439j07?src=5 (Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven)
So Jobs is gone. Little Arnold Drummand is no more. The Yankees aren’t going to the World Series… What can your business learn from the above? Well. How about reality? Yes reality TV included. Reality says that life and business is a series of highs and lows. Your business might be riding high today and then tomorrow have money issues like Gary Coleman. But the main point is that you need to keep at it and never give up. You need to keep marketing yourself since the alternative is to close up shop. Sometimes consumers and the public will react. Sometimes they won’t. We can all be Steve Jobs with Apple and his iEmpire. But if you keep plugging away, you will be doing much better than your competition who just sits by the phone and waits for the money to come to him. You need to go out there and THINK DIFFERENT! Apple’s 1984 introduction of the Macintosh computer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYecfV3ubP8 Call RaphiSalemat SalemGlobal Internet Website Marketing and Lead Generation today at 212-222-3292 or email him at info@salemglobal.com and THINK DIFFERENT TODAY!!
Cartoon: Steve Jobs meets Moses
Posted by Romain Malaganne on Oct 11, 2011
In memory of Steve Jobs
Posted by Salem Global on Oct 7, 2011
The Jonathan Mak redesigned logo in memory of Steve Jobs that is going viral on the web. The artist created it with the words “Thanks, Steve”
Q4! Holidays, Yahoo! and ABC News, NY Yankees, Brett Favre, Seth Rogen Gets Married: What your business should be doing right now and what to learn from the big players
Posted by Salem Global on Oct 4, 2011
It is no secret that more sales are made during 4th quarter than most other quarters. The way business works, in retail and in wholesale, is that most consumers will spend more during the holiday season than all year long. People are not only in the giving mood or mode, they are also in the receiving mode. Most businesses work according to a fiscal year that starts January 1 and ends December 31. That means that Christmas bonuses are on their way and it also means that more money gets spent on consumer items. But businesses (and non-profit organizations also), are also caught up in this frenzy and thats why all businesses and professionals should be ramping up their online efforts right now. Year after year I tell my readers, clients and potential clients that now is precisely the time to not just be going online, but also marketing online. For some industries it is again really too late for long term growth and they can only focus on short term. These strategies include pay per click advertising and interactive PR.
Since its the beginning of October, you have to logically think that people will start their holiday shopping this month. Halloween and the onset of the colder climate is a wake up call for people to at least start planning their Christmas shopping.. What do you think Timmy will want for Christmas this year honey? What would be an appropriate gift for my little princesses this year? Last year you got them a Wii, a cellphone and a new car. So do you purchase brand new this year or do you purchase the updated version? Certainly iPads and iPods and iPhones will be and should be well stocked. I predict Apple will have had a BOOM year. And with the iPad2 you will have millions of people lining up in the streets to get theirs. Certainly this falls under the category of “updated gift” vs. “new gift.”
From my perspective, (that of an online marketing professional), I can see that the economy has improved. I know people and companies are bringing in more money and I know they are seeking to spend it. Now is the time that businesses will also invest in their own companies. Certainly new computers, technology upgrades and services will be purchased. With all of the excess that people didn’t think about in these years budgets, I predict that some of that money will go towards employees bonuses.
Of course I am an optimist and think that the world is going to be a better place in 2012. Technology is one indicator, but takes a look at peoples vacation schedules as well. Travel will be up in 2012 but it will start in the 4th quarter. More people will be taking Christmas and new years holidays this year than the past few years. And then when Winter and Spring Break roll around, people will be flying to all sorts of destinations. I think Priceline.com and competing travel sites will make major bucks this and next year.
And then there is real estate. I agree with all of the real estate geniuses that tell you the best time to buy real estate is in a down economy. So home and apartment sales will be up soon enough. Sure we all think we are in a recession because people are out of work and money is tight. But after that cork is released we are going to see big things happen.
Another example of Q4 getting better for some companies is this announcement of Yahoo! and ABC News partnering to bring more content to more households than ever before. http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9Q50DFO2.htm This is a complete win-win situation for Yahoo! which has been losing market share to Google since day one as well as facebook with its social networking empire growing daily. As for ABC News, they were just lucky. Yahoo! could have gone with anyone. Why they went with ABC is beyond me. I assume its because they were offering the most money…
I haven’t talked about sports in a while so let me just say GO Yankees! I understand they are the all-time favorite with 27 World Series to their name. But it seems like the Detroit Tigers are also playing pretty hard since they are tied at 1-1 in the ALDS. Also in sports, Brett Favre has a new job providing color commentary for Ole-Miss (Did I get that right?) Seems like he is also nervous having been used to playing instead of commentating all these years. http://www.lostlettermen.com/10-3-2011-brett-favre-broadcasting-debut-southern-miss/
Finally, in relatively no interest to most of you, Seth Rogen got married recently to longtime girlfriend Lauren Miller. http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/Seth-Rogen-weds-girlfriend-Lauren-Miller/8376757 What I love about this guy, (besides the fact that he is indeed funny), is that he engenders exactly what everyone says about the whole Judd Apatow fat ugly stupid guy gets hot beautiful girl. It just goes to show you that communicators, artists and writers can indeed compete with Jocks, Preppies and guys with money. I guess there is some justice in the world…
So what can your business learn from the above? Well, you might want to GET STARTED on your fourth quarter marketing already!!!!!! What the hell are you waiting for? Why haven’t you called me yet? You know you need help and yet you still just think about it and think about it. Well as the saying goes, “you miss 100% of the shots you never take!” If you don’t invest in your website or online presence, no one is going to call you. No one will email you. No one will purchase from you online. Sure people will call. Sure you will get some word of mouth advertising from family friends and colleagues. But the whole goal of business is to increase your profit by more this quarter and this year than last. Online is the final frontier so get with it. Small companies are competing with larger ones because they recognize that the Internet levels the playing field. If you need more advice, just email and call. We will figure out a budget and a strategy that will be a win-win for both of us. Want to know more about Yahoo! ABC News, the Yankees, Brett Favre or website marketing???? Call Raphi Salem at 212-222-3292 or email him at info@salemglobal.com today!
Bronx Toys Announces Surplus Due To Hurricane Irene At 2011 New York World Police & Fire Games
Posted by Salem Global on Oct 3, 2011
September 9, 2011 – Through the duration of August 26 through September 5, New York City played host to the infamous World Police and Fire Games. As many as 16,000 full time firefighters and law enforcement personnel from 70 different countries were scheduled to appear and compete in 65 different sports. Athletes and stars gather from all across the country to express the importance and compete in sporting events and games. Developing this report with other communities has never been more relevant, due to the fact that the games this year respectfully coincided with the ten year remembrance of 9/11.
Bronx Toys played a major supporting role in this year’s games. Bronx toys manufactures, distributes and retails unique, New York City-themed toys, games and gifts that are officially licensed by the City of New York. Their mission is to raise funds for the Police Foundation and Fire Foundations as these important organizations support New York’s safety and well-being. As a quintessentially New York brand, Bronx Toys are quickly becoming notorious for their ongoing support and contributions to New York as well as our police officers and firemen. As yet another step in accomplishing their goal and showing their appreciating and gratitude, they provided a line of World Police and Fire Games products that were available through the duration of the games. They became the official mascot supplier for the games and in preparation developed Siren, PAL, and Rescue who became the face for the 2011 World Games. Unfortunately, the appearance of hurricane Irene put a speed bump in some of the games and created a surplus in toys sales. This surplus not only hurt the sales of a company that has given so much to the city of New York but hurts the city itself, fifteen percent of the proceeds of Bronx Toys licensed goods go back to the City of New York. They’re a company that contributes to this great city and knows how important the people that protect it are. To Contact the people at Bronx Toys you can visit the Bronx Toys Contact page.