Category Archives: General

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.

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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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Customer Service, General, Marketing

5 Reasons I Visit an Inconvenient Coffee Shop – and You Should Too

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I pass several coffee shops and kiosks on the way to my favorite one. Certainly I could save a little time and mileage by stopping at one of those, but going the extra mile is worth it to me.

What makes Blue Steele Coffee Company worth the longer drive? In fact, how do folks know Blue Steele exists? They don’t do much marketing beyond social media postings on Facebook. Thanks to word-of-mouth advertising, they’re known for several things including their coffee, their service, and their history.

Personal Service

They bring me my food and drink. (They don’t make me listen for my order to be called the way fast food places and some coffee shops do.) That’s a big deal to me, especially if I’m meeting someone.

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General, Technology

How to Survive Naked and Afraid

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When Discovery launched Naked and Afraid in 2013, I didn’t plan to watch it. Survival shows are not new, and the provocative title didn’t appeal to me. Survivor, for one, has been around for more than fifteen years and was responsible for the concept of being “voted off the island.” Reality shows have been with us for decades. Naked and Afraid just sounded like more of the same.

For whatever reason, I ended-up recording the first episode, which was broadcast on June 23, 2013. The routine hasn’t varied much:

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Customer Service, General, Marketing

Emerald City Comicon draws 80,000 fans to Seattle

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When I previously wrote about comic book shows and their fans, I was talking about small-to-medium shows like the Jet City Comic Show. Their site states that “Jet City started in order to fill in the void for a quality one-day show for fans and dealers.”

Comic-Con International is the 800 pound gorilla, and Emerald City Comicon (ECCC) bears a strong family resemblance. This year they brought in 80,000 fans and took over the Washington State Convention Center in the middle of Seattle, despite the Department of Transportation shutting down multiple vectors into town. The DOT earned some jabs from Comicon attendees after declaring that there would be “no major events this weekend,” but it didn’t keep the fans away.

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