This is my attempt to create some interesting musings, uberservations and, perhaps, insights on both my personal and professional life.

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Wednesday, March 23, 2005

Yesternight Part Deux

I was thinking LAST (it sounds ridiculous…LAST) night about my son’s word: yesternight. I am still touched by its logic, its simplicity, its sheer brilliance.

We can expand upon this word though. We can take the seed and grow a tree. There’s more we can do with “yester.” Yesterday – sure…we use it all the time. But, open the mind: yesternight, yesterweek, yestermonth, yester-christmas, yester-summer, yester-Monday, yester-weekend, yester-birthday.

I am looking to change the way our society speaks, starting with the injecting the word “yester” into our vocabulary on a more regular basis. “Yester” is more accurate, more descriptive and its fun to say. Would rather say “last week” or “yester-week?”

Yester. It spills out of your mouth with ease.

The other thing about saying yester is that you sound smart when you say it. Think about when someone says “the days of yesteryear.” Sure…it sounds a BIT pretentious, but you have to admit. It also sounds smart.

So, start sounding smart, and start using “yester.”

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Two Quick Things

Two quick things on this Thursday afternoon...

1. I need to share with you the genius that is Nicholas Henry Krozek. The boy is brilliant. He is constantly creating and using new vocabulary in daily conversation. My favorite word that he has created, though, is "yesternight." Yesternight is way more clear and descriptive than "last night." Yesternight just makes way more sense. Think about it. Last night? What is last night? There is no such thing as last night. Nights just keep going on and on...I don't know of a last night, do you? If there was a last night, we wouldn't be here anymore, because, afterall, it would be THE LAST NIGHT. And just to think, Nick is only 4 years old - the kid's got it going on!

2. The other thing I want to high-light to you KroBlog readers is that "Spring Break Shark Attack" is on CBS this Sunday night (3/20), 9pm Pacific. This made-for-TV-movie is sure to be brilliant. It's going to be like Jaws, but x 100, and the sharks will look even faker and the people on the beach will be even dumber and drunker. Watch it - it's surely a modern day classic.

Wednesday, March 09, 2005

Traditional Agencies Just Don't Get Paid Search

My buddy Bill found these insightful gems from a traditional agency regarding what works and what doesn't work in paid search.

Some people still don't get it. Incredible.

"We've seen a shift in perception and performance. We were bullish on the idea [PPC] originally, but disappointed with the results out of the gates," said Ron Belanger, VP of search marketing at Carat Interactive. "We expected traditional search conversion rates, but what we got was much lower."

What? You are in a unique category. Conversion rates in PPC ads are on average 10 t0 20 times higher.

This one is priceless:

“Some advertisers have found contextual ads to be useful in certain situations, for certain clients, or when used in certain ways…”

Huh? I have no idea what this means...

Bill says, "I would like to see some of this data:"

“Goodman said he includes contextual ads as part of the mix for 75 percent of his clients. In his experience, the core keywords that perform best in search are the ones that perform worst in contextual. In contrast, Goodman said the "tail words" -- keywords that have less volume but still draw incremental traffic -- can perform more than 200 times better in contextual than in search, in some cases.”

Brilliant! This guy deserves a medal:

"Sell as much as you can, as cheaply as you can, and when you exhaust that channel, you move to the next."

For more ridiculous insights, go here:

http://www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3488886

Monday, March 07, 2005


Mini-Kro Posted by Hello

Thursday, March 03, 2005

Kroblog Goes Down Town

I spent the last few days in NYC. I had a wonderful time – both professionally and personally. I attended a conference called SES where we explained the complexities of paid search optimization and showed dozens of soon-to-be customers why, and how, our unique portfolio approach is the only way to maximize the benefit (ROI) from a paid search investment. The event was great for Efficient Frontier.

Despite the chilling weather, I managed to get out and see some folks. I had a great dinner with my Aunt Louise and Uncle John (they treated, thank you very much) and the next night had another great time with my buddy Brendan from business school. We went to a great sushi restaurant on 43rd Street at Broadway. The name of the place is Haru. I guess there’s a few of them around the City. Try it the next time you’re in NYC. Great food and great atmosphere and great service – the trifecta.

After dining with Brendan, I went off in search of some souvenirs for the family. I picked up some solid New York chachkis – sweat shirts, t-shirts and magnets. With the wind chill, it must have been 10 degrees. I was prepared with multiple layers of clothing, hat, and gloves, but still the cold wind went right through my cloths. Nonetheless, it was a nice way to spend 30 minutes, walking around Time Square with tourists and New Yorkers alike, seemingly oblivious to the sub-freezing temperatures, enjoying the night.

After purchasing the goodies for the family, I ventured off to an MSN party at The Park on 10th Avenue and 18th Street in Chelsea. It looked like a great spot to spend an evening dining and drinking. I was a bit late, and the fiesta was breaking up. When I arrived, only a handful of very drunk people remained. I had already made the trek downtown, so I decided to grab a beer before I traveled back to my hotel in Mid-town. I went to an un-intimidating dive bar called Red Rock West Saloon on the corner of 10th Avenue and 17th Street. I highly recommend this establishment to anyone.

I entered the bar to the rocking tune, “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey (one of, if not THE, greatest band to hail from San Francisco). The crowd was a good mix of 25 – 35 year olds. It had a good vibe. The two bartendresses were dressed to kill. The blond gal wore tight leather pants and a red lace bra with massive cleavage. The auburn haired drink-pourer was covered up quite well up top, but wore black leather chaps (complete with exposed buttocks), fish net stockings and a g-string. Both women left little to the imagination.

The casual reader might believe that the reason I am penning this event, for all to view for eternity, is to highlight a unique personal experience staring at scantily clad women pouring sloppy drinks. But I think the reason the night was so memorable, was because the patrons of the bar were so casual about these women.

It was nice to be in a place where the saloon was so obviously using sex appeal to attract patrons and the patrons seemed almost removed from the fact that the bartenders were practically naked. That’s what this world needs more of…nudity with comfort…nudity without groping.