Category Archives: General

General, Marketing

The Superhero, the Producer and the Director

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When I was invited to a screening of The Space Between with director, producer and actor Amy Jo Johnson, I knew I was going to meet a superhero. Johnson was an original Power Ranger. (The first Pink Power Ranger to be specific.)

I ran into the Power Rangers once at Emerald City Comicon but they were cosplayers. Johnson is the real deal, both as a Power Ranger and an actress in general. Her dozens of TV and film credits include starring roles in Felicity, Flashpoint, and The Division.

The Superhero and The Space Between

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Customer Service, General, Technology

Fighting Back Against Package Theft and Porch Pirates

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I got a surprise when my latest shipment arrived from Amazon. Though their app has been providing delivery notifications for a long time, this one startled me.

Photo Finish

Screen shot of the Amazon app showing a package in front of the doorstep where it was just delivered.
Photo of a package at the moment of delivery

Not only did the app tell me when the package was delivered, but it included a picture of it in the place where it landed.

The photo was crude. You wouldn’t be able to identify either the package or the doorstep in a lineup. However, I recognized the location where it was delivered.

The photo was so bad that I wondered how it was taken. A typical police body cam would have done a better job, even while clipped onto an officer being dragged by a car. Still, it met the need.

I did take the opportunity they provided to “Tell us what you think about this photo.” I responded:

It’s a really poor quality picture, but still useful. Of course a better photo would be more useful if I didn’t find the package waiting for me.

I.E.: You can’t definitively identify the package or the location, but it’s a step in the right direction.

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General, Marketing

Selling Eclipse Glasses

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Eclipse glasses became nearly impossible to find a week prior to the Great American Eclipse. Since the glasses are the only way to view the eclipse safely, demand swelled and counterfeits abounded.

Amazon made the situation plain by flagging at least some of their eclipse glasses as :

Currently unavailable. 
We don’t know when or if this item will be back in stock.

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General, Marketing, Social Media

Historic Agreement between Washington Redskins, Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians

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For several years, the Washington Redskins, Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians and several other sports teams have been accused of team names that are insensitive to Native Americans. In a historic agreement, each team will change their official name and mascot simultaneously. The date for this change has not yet been agreed-upon.

Sports Teams Come Together

Navy Adm. James A. Winnefeld, Jr., vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Mr. Jim Folk, vice president of Ballpark Operations discuss the "Chief Wahoo" battle flag that was flown on the now decommissioned USS Cleveland for nearly a decade. This flag was given to Major League Baseball Hall of Fame Inductee and World War II Navy veteran Bob Feller on August 30, 2006. (DOD Photo By: U.S. Army Staff Sgt Sun L. Vega, Joint Staff)
Navy Adm. James A. Winnefeld, Jr., vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Mr. Jim Folk, vice president of Ballpark Operations discuss the “Chief Wahoo” battle flag (DOD Photo By: U.S. Army Staff Sgt Sun L. Vega, Joint Staff)

The three teams hope to set an example for other teams. Each will change their name, mascot, and logo. The Chief Wahoo logo has been particularly contentious and will be the first to go.

In some cases that will even include discontinuation of gestures, such as the Tomahawk Chop.

This will involve a complete overhaul of team marketing, including their social media presence. As previously mentioned, the logos are expected to change. However, the team colors will not.

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General

Emerald City Comicon Cosplay Photos

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Cosplay is a conspicuous part of Comicon (also known as Comic Con, ComicCon or Comic-Con depending on the locale) and other comic-oriented shows. Last year after Emerald City Comicon I didn’t have room to include nearly all of the cosplayer photos I took. Some of these photos have been burning a hole in my hard drive, so here’s to catching-up!

Lara Croft

Lara Croft, Tomb Raider, at Emerald City Comicon held at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle.
Lara Croft, Tomb Raider, at Emerald City Comicon

Previously the same day I had mistaken someone’s character as Lara Croft, because of the similar costume and guns.

It turns out that the look with two low-slung guns that was distinctive two decades ago isn’t that unique anymore.

I mentioned the confusion to this player, and she said “Yes, I’m Lara Croft, and check out these guns!” (Clearly she was as proud of her arms as her side-arms.)

The Bugs Attack ComiCon

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General, Marketing, Social Media

The Other Steve Case

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Usually I’m Steve Case the Xerox guy, or the Dell guy, or the JoeBugBuster guy. Sometimes someone confuses me with the other Steve Case, like the person who recently sent me this thoughtfully crafted invitation on LinkedIn:

Hi Steve,

I’m getting in touch as I’m really looking forward to your insights at South by South West (SXSW) in Austin next week and I’d like to connect with you on LinkedIn if that’s ok?

Good luck with all the good work!

Xxxx

The South by Southwest Connection

I’ve never even been to South by Southwest. In fact, when I worked for Dell and visited the Austin area a few times a year, I deliberately avoided visiting during SxSW. Flights and hotel rooms were painfully hard to come by as Downtown Austin hosted the festivities.

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