Category Archives: Route 53 – Life is A Highway

Just ramblings about my everyday life. I often wonder if other people think these things too. Some day my children can read these thoughts and maybe the will say, “Hmm, so that is what dad was really thinking” or, “At least I would know what dad would do if he were in my situation”

Route 53 - Life is A Highway, San Francisco - Leaving your heart, San Francisco - Sports & Life

Is There Magic Inside? Or are there Particles?

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“You close your eyes and take a deep breath in through your nostrils and savor it” – Duane Kuiper (former Giant 2nd Baseman and current radio broadcaster)

There's Nick Inside

Game 1 and 2 are over.  The Giants were victorious in a game 1 that was labeled a pitcher’s duel and turned out to be a slugfest.  A crazy day as I got stuck in a meeting as the first pitch was tossed.  Others in the meeting had one eye on their iPhones and the other on the presentation.  Coughing and mumbling occurred when the Giants went down 2-0 but smiles broke out as the game was tied at 2-2.  it wasn’t a pretty victory, but at this time of year you take wins any way they will come.  Game 2 was more traditional..at least from the Giants way of thinking.  Something else went wrong for the Rangers.

“There’s __________ inside” is the tagline of the Giants marketing department.  Nicknames and other terms were inserted.  Magic, Freak, Panda, Orange and other fun terms were used over and over again.  Recently the word Torture was added to reflect the closeness of the Giant’s style of victory, as in   “There’s Torture Inside”.

As a long suffering Giants fan, I know those Cubs and Indians fans must be rooting for the Giants.  There are those who might say that given the Rangers are in their first World Series ever while the Giants are in their 4th since they moved to San Francisco, the Rangers should be an underdog too.  Well the experts were all picking the Rangers. This made the Giants the clear underdog. Not so fast!  Don’t those people know about Particles and Magic?  They are better than stats and scouting reports.

Now that Game 2 is over and the Giants have darkened the hopes of Rangers fans, there is an optimism that this team just might erase the ghosts of 1962, 1989 and 2002.  Two of those series, ended on fateful mistakes and great plays while the other (1989) was marred by an Act of Mother nature which made baseball seem very small in the greater scheme of things.

One of the morning talk show hosts on the Giants flagship radio station calls it “particles”.  The force by which all things come together and create destiny.  Was it particles that interfered and suddenly gave the Braves a case of the dropsies?  Was it particles that put a hole in the bat of Phillies slugger Ryan Howard when he had a chance to do something big? Was it particles in Game 2 of the World Series that caused the Rangers pitchers to lose the strike zone and allow 8 straight batters to reach base?  I’m not sure, but the catch phrases are everywhere.  From “Believe” (mantra sung to Don’t Stop Believin by ex-Journey lead singer Steve Perry who is a season ticket holder and attends games waving his towel) to “Torture” to “Magic” the team has captured the imagination of the City.

As a long time Giants fan who has been through all the ups and downs, seeing the baseball team I grew up watching on the brink of it’s first World Championship is a bit of an end game.  And this time it feels right.  I normally never count my chickens before they are hatched, but the particles just seem aligned now that I see it coming.  San Francisco has won championships in basketball and football in my lifetime and if you look back at the first championships of those teams it makes perfect sense why this baseball team should be the first.

San Francisco has always been the City that does it with style, with a bit of a twist, and in a new way with a dash of the old.  It’s businesses such as the Gap, Levi’s, Williams-Sonoma, Zynga, Twitter, etc. are model examples and their Championship teams are no different.

The 1974-75 Golden State Warriors won with the first black coach (Al Attles) who had a fading superstar (Rick Barry) that he taught to be a team player and a cast of young players (Keith Wilkes), local heroes (Phil Smith) and other outcasts  both young and old.  Attles was the first coach to use all the players on his bench such that I can still name them all by heart 35 years later.  The team was a heavy underdog to the team many thought to be the next big powerhouse in the NBA, the Washington Bullets, a team led by Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes, and Phil Chenier.  The Warriors used team chemistry, smarts and a great defense to win that series 4-0 for their first and only championship.

The 1981 49er Championship team was made up of a young scatter-gunned armed QB named Joe Montana and 3 rookie DBs (including Ronnie Lott) coached by a man they call the Genius, Bill Walsh.  Walsh would show the NFL the power of the short passing game.  Very few can even tell you the names of the starting RBs for the 49ers that year (Lenvil Elliot and Earl Cooper).  Walsh changed the way football would be played for the next 15 years.  The 49ers beat their long time roadblock, Dallas, in the NFC Championship game with a famous play known only as “The Catch”.  In the Super Bowl, the 49ers were again the underdog to another team making its mark, the Cincinnati Bengals.  In fact, it has often been said the jeweler had to change the etching in the MVP trophy to remove Ken Anderson (QB of the Bengals) from the trophy and put on Joe Montana’s name.  The 49ers went on to win the first of 5 Super Bowls with a 20-16 win.

Now to these Giants.  Here we are again.  Underdogs.  Historic names have played for this franchise.  McCovey, Mays, Marichal, Perry, Alou, Cepeda, Kent, Bonds…and yet no trophy.  52 years of futility (3rd longest in baseball).  Some might say the Giants do have superstars as they have a 2-time reigning Cy Young winner on their squad.  Yet in Game 1 it was the Rangers pitcher, Cliff Lee, who had never lost a post-season game that everyone was enamored with.  The thunderous power of Texas (where everything is big) is supposed to overwhelm the Team of Misfit Boys, the Little Train that Could, the San Francisco Giants.  I venture to guess if the Giants go on to win the World Series, there will be some tough decisions to pick the MVP. This team is truly a team and everyone will have contributed largely in their own way.  No superstars.  The pitcher who makes $18MM/year was even left off the playoff roster (Barry Zito).  A team has no room for superstars.  Maybe that is the message this team will send around baseball

Oh yes, particles or magic.  Was it particles or magic that Joe Montana introduced the Giants starting lineup on National TV before Game 2?  Was it particles or Magic that has all that crazy electronic trance music stopped between innings and put the 45,000 people into a happy calmness by singing Lights by Journey with Steve Perry conducting from his seat?  Was it particles or magic that MLB told the Giants to leave RF Jose Guillen off the post-season roster because he is being investigated for drug -trafficking, forcing the Giants to use Cody Ross (the eventual NLCS MVP)?  Maybe its the particles from the aroma (which was definitely present at a baseball game that made it smell like a rock concert) brought on by the old hippies attending the game: Neil Young (CSNY), Jonathan Cain (Journey), David Crosby (CSNY), Lars Ullrich (Metallica), or Bob Weir (Grateful Dead) that prevented Ian Kinsler’s 5th inning hit from going over the fence.

I’m not sure what it is, but I am living in the moment thinking it is destiny.  It just feels right.  As I sat there singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” with my arm around my son right before the Giants would start their big rally in the 7th inning of Game 2, I remembered the NBA Basketball Championship I shared with my father, the Super Bowls with my dad, and the World Series championship we never got to have.  I’ll share it with my son instead and it will be just as sweet.  I know I’m not the only dad in San Francisco who feels this way.

Route 53 - Life is A Highway, San Francisco - Leaving your heart

Why you should Root for the Giants

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“Is this Heaven?  No, it’s Iowa.” – Field of Dreams
Bill Neukom
Giants Managing Partner, Bill Neukom
Doc Brown
Doc Brown- Back to the Future
Many of my friends, knowing how big of a San Francisco Giants baseball fan I am have asked me what is going on with the Giants?  They hadn’t focused on this baseball team that today is waiting on the eve of the franchise’s first trip to the World Series since 2002.  It is only the team’s 4th trip to the Fall Classic since they moved to the West Coast.  They have yet to win their first World Series in San Francisco.  Ironically they are playing a team that is making it’s first trip ever to the World Series and facored to beat the Giants.
So who are these guys?  They really are the “Team of Misfit Boys”.  Everyone loves an underdog and there is nothing more lovable and underdog than this team.  They’ve taken San Francisco by storm because there is something for everyone.    People relate to this team on all levels.  75% of the starting lineup was not on the Opening day lineup.  These guys might wake up tomorrow and realize that they are in over their heads, but maybe it isn’t coincidence that their owner bears a striking resemblance to the crazy inventor from Back to the Future.  I guarantee you though.  The Flux Capacitor has nothing to do with this team’s success.
Affeldt
Game 6 Hero Jeremy Affeldt
San Francisco is a full of transients and this team truly represents that image:
  • a 10 year veteran first baseman who wears a red good luck thong making his first trip to the post-season,
  • the leftfielder – a former first pick in the amateur draft who was released and passed over by all of baseball before the team he rooted for as a kid picked him up,
  • a second baseman who limps around after being born with a club foot,
  • a right fielder the team picked up by accident, and grew up wanting to be a rodeo clown
  • a pitcher nicknamed the Freak because of his long hair and skinny small build that scared 9 teams to pass him up despite his dominating college career,
  • a rookie catcher who seems more mature than everyone on his team,
  • a centerfielder who spent 10 years in the minors before being diagnosed with ADD
  • a 3rd baseman who is overweight yet smooth as a cat that they call him Panda,
  • a shortstop playing with a torn tendon in his left arm, and
  • the dominating closer who took all the lessons watching his dad battle cancer over 5 years as a teenager and harnessed it into the most interesting character in baseball that is so full of life and has everyone in San Francisco sporting fake beard.
  • Oh and the team has relegated its 3 highest paid players to the bench

You can’t blame this city over its excitement over this team.  They represent the common man and act like us.  You’ll find them at night shopping at the local Safeway, getting coffee and donuts at the local donut shop before a game, or even eating dinner in some of the nice restaurants in the hotter spots in town.

October baseball is rare and the city is hungry for it.  Affectionately, Giants baseball is called torture (coined by Giants announcer Duane Kuiper) for the style of close games the team plays.  Giants fans live and die by the team’s success and failures.

What are Giants fans saying today?  Half of the diehards are saying to “Bring on the Torture”.  The other half are saying, ” Delicious”…..I can’t even explain this.  You just need to see the video from Giant’s reliever, Brian Wilson, to see what a nut he is:

So if you haven’t picked a side, vote for the underdog.  Vote for the little guy.  Vote for the crazy misfits who nobody believes will win (24 out of 30 ESPN experts are picking the Rangers).  Vote for the Beard, the Panda, Smiles, the Water Buffalo, Bweez and the Freak.  They’re playing for all of us underdogs.

Breast Cancer - A Loving Fight, Route 53 - Life is A Highway

Remember or Move On?

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This Time's A Charm

It has been a while since I posted here.  It doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about what to post.  I’ve been thinking, but I’ve also been living.  Right after my last post, my friend Donald passed after losing his battle with cancer.  What do you say when the best fighter loses their fight?  I told him once I felt guilty that since my wife was feeling okay that I felt like maybe it was time to move on.  I respected people like him, Lance Armstrong and others who continue to raise awareness and also inspire others in such a public way.  He told me there is no guilt and no shame. 

I’ve always been taught not to forget your past.  Don’t forget where you’ve come from.  Remember the journey and all the people that helped you along the way.  The cancer that my wife had and all the people who helped us won’t be forgotten.  They are special people,  but when the memory is an unplesant one, it is nice to not have to think about it.  As it was my wife’s illness, I think I take her lead.  She is moving on and I can tell would rather not talk about it if she can.

The problem is the disease still won’t go away.  You can’t escape it.  As I mentioned, right after my last post Donald, Wilhelm died, then my wife’s good friend found out she has breast cancer and two more relatives admitted that they have it as well. 

So maybe we can’t move on.  You can live, but you have to live with those memories and help inspire others.  We don’t have to inspire others by helping them directly with their fight.  You can help by showing them how to keep moving, keep breathing, keep smiling. 

And as a message to Amy, the wife of Donald, you will find your way to move on.  Do not feel as though you need to prolong his message.  It will always be there……”don’t ever give up.”

Breast Cancer - A Loving Fight, Route 53 - Life is A Highway

2 Year Cancerversary

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Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy – bronze inscription above the tunnel entrance to Disneyland

The Happiest Place on Earth
The Happiest Place on Earth

Today my wife and I had a brief celebration.  We quickly acknowledged the mark of the 2nd anniversary of her cancer surgery.  We smiled, shared a kiss and went off to work and taking the kids to school.  When she was first diagnosed I would see posts about cancerversaries.  I asked what that meant.  Was it the date from diagnosis?  Then I was told it was the date from when you had your surgery.  For the most part, most people are looking forward to their 5th cancerversary.  It is when they are considered in full remission as there have been no sign of additional tumors.  In a way it seems like a 5 year purgatory.

Two years might not seem like a long time ago but it does feel that way.  We have somehow been able to mentally put cancer behind us as best we can.  There are the daily pills, the monthly shots, the side effects, etc., but it all seems to be like raising a baby.  You have some memories, but it seems so long ago and you have new challenges and some of the old memories get thrown out the door.  Those sleepless nights, the mental anguish the weeks and days leading up to the visit to the hospital, and all the help and visits from friends the days after seem distant and mostly it is in our minds.  That said, we are surrounded by reminders every day during our  journey back to normalcy of where we have been and how fortunate we are.

We just got back from a family trip to Disneyland, the Happiest Place on Earth.  In reality it isn’t always that way.  The crying babies, the tantrums, the frustration of negotiating large crowds and the L.A. traffic are just some of the smoggiest problems that Los Angeles and the Magic Kingdom have to offer.  In the end, it might not be the Happiest Place for All, but it is still magical.

My children noticed the large amounts of wheel chairs and ill children at Disneyland.  The Make a Wish Foundation seemed to have a large presence this past week.  Then it happened.  As we rode on the the Grizzly Rapids ride at the California Adventure Park, we struck a conversation with a dad and his 3 sons who were riding in the same raft. The dad confided in me that the family had lost their mom to breast cancer at the beginning of the summer.  This trip was a small way to distract his sons before the school year got started.  The Happiest Place on Earth was suddenly transformed into a place of hope and faith.  When I told them that my wife was a cancer survivor as well, he asked how long and did the quick math.  I realized there that it had only been two years since my wife’s original surgery which took place 9/9/08.

After the ride was over, my 8-year old daughter was in a giddy mood.  She laughed that both moms in both families were too scared to go on the ride (my wife chose to stay dry).  It was my 10 year old son who nudged his sister and told her to be quiet.  He had realized what was going on and was attempting to be considerate.  My daughter suddenly realized the weight of the situation and actually teared up a little as the other family walked away.    What really hit me wasn’t the heaviness of the encounter in such a beautiful setting but not only did my usually unaware children grasp the meaning, but their show of compassion for such a young age.

I tried to get a read from my kids later on in the day, but they seemed to move on.  They had a great time running around and laughing at Disneyland, and I didn’t want to interrupt them.  In their own way, they had moved on from cancer as well.  Cancer had affected them , but in a good way. Having witnessed their grandfather’s death and their own mother’s struggle with cancer in their young lives has only given them a greater apreciation for living life to the fullest and taught them to put the past behind them while recognizing how precious their own lives may be.

We have three more years of purgatory, but I think in our minds, cancer is almost already behind us.  We are learning to live with cancer with an enlightened point of view.  Well 2 years down and the rest of our lives to go!

Route 53 - Life is A Highway, Travels: The Route 53

Only in San Francisco – Bay to Breakers

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Most everyone is proud of where they are from and holds dear to them many memories. 

As a native San Franciscan, I know there are many traditions and memories that keep the natives coming home.  Some traditions are gone and no longer can be shared with my children Playland, Doggie Diner, etc..  And yet some other traditions are even better than the past. No matter what, being a native of wherever you are from, you need to embrace change and thus the San Francisco Bay to Breakers is one of those reflective of the culture of the city it represents and what makes San Francisco unique.

The Famous Pink Gorilla

In it’s 99th year, the Bay to Breakers has become known as many things: The Largest Road Race in the World, The San Francisco Fun Run, The Biggest party in Sneakers…. but attracts all types. Where else can you see World Record Kenyans, costumed avatar runners, Centipedes (runners tied together who need to run in a circle at every mile marker), people pushing kegs, and yes, runners au naturel.

I’ve run the race approximately 15 times, my first coming as a 10 year old the last almost 20 years ago, but I took my son out to watch this morning in the chilly damp air in Golden Gate Park for a good laugh, some world class athletics, and a preview of our first run next year to cement his stature as a “True Native San Franciscan”. The race grew to as many as 100,000 runners back on the 75th anniversary and there were around 60,000 registered runners (an estimated 15K “fun runners”. 

Make sure to set your plans for the 3rd Sunday in 2011 for the 100th running and look for registration details here: http://www.ingbaytobreakers.com/

Please see attached photos for some of this year’s costumed highlights.  Don’t worry, I have edited this for frontal nudity!

Bay to Breakers is a party

Below is a link to my Facebook page with all of my photos (yes, including the nude ones) of the top runners, fun runners, costumed runners, etc.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=175734&id=688067623&l=b8188088e8

Business - Affiliate Marketing, Route 53 - Life is A Highway

Business Lemmings and Lack of Marketing Fundamentals

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Advertising is tax deductible, so we all pay for the privilege of being manipulated and controlled.
Noam Chomsky
US activist & linguist (1928 – )

Before I rant, let me just say 3 things:

1. Other than email marketing from an owned list, a well run affiliate marketing program is the best ROI marketing tool on the web when it comes to sales.

2. When it comes to customer aquisition, a well run affiliate marketing program provides the cheapest way to bring new customers or returning lapsed customers back to your business.

3. In the new world of social media and the fragmented web, we are finally at the point of peer-to-peer distributed marketing at it’s purest online form.

Now if you don’t believe these statements as fact, you (and your dog) can stop reading right here and talk to my hand.

Yesterday the State of Colorado passed a bill that caused Amazon, the so-called father of Affiliate Online Marketing to shut out its’ community of affiliate marketers on the Web.  Some say that Amazon could have fought the State and others say that Amazon was sticking by it’s principles, but I say this is all a silly excuse by Amazon like many other greedy companies to cut their costs.  They weren’t afraid that this might prevent them from having to do this in other states, but what I do fear is that this action will cause the many corporate lemmings of affiliate marketing to say, “we should follow Amazon’s lead” and drop our Colorado affiliates too.

A little over a decade ago, the lead venture capital firm , CMG Ventures, for my start-up specifically came to us and I was given money to “build an affiliate marketing program just like Amazon’s”.  Back then, a deal with AOL was worth something, eyeballs were worth something, and building a strong affiliate marketing program was worth something.  They were right.  a $10MM investment turned int0 a $100MM business just 2 months later.  I remember our acquirer marveling at how I had amassed 25K new points of distribution that drove 8% of our business.

While some might debate the validity of the analysis during those years, affiliate programs still were the unsung heroes of driving traffic for online companies which had no real name for themselves.  The new online “dot-coms” and their online affiliate partners dominated and created formidable foes for their larger “brick and mortar” foes.  The hope was to build a large enough network  that would help fend off the bigger brands once they entered the online world.  Other than email, the best marketing ROIs came from affiliate programs where contextual selling becme the key buzzwords along with collaborative filtering”.  Back then and today though, companies really struggled to figure out whether these programs were “brand builders” or “traffic drivers”.  I’ll address this in another post.

Now today you hear about Amazon dropping their affiliate marketing program in certain states because of taxes.  Are they turning  their back on the girl that brought them to the prom?  Are they putting man’s best friend out on the street?  Let’s get something straight.   There are alternatives.  They can charge taxes in those states and let those politicians see the inequities.  People understand.  How many times have you purchased something online where it said something like, “those in CA, VA, TX, and NY must pay 4% additional”?  Happens all the time.  Don’t tell me that Amazon couldn’t have imposed that strategy.  Not to mention at a time when affiliate marketing is now showing some oats with the power of social media marketing coming in to play, there is no doubt that affiliate marketing is beginning to feel it’s traction again.  This can’t happen in every state or else all affiliates will be living in another country or New Jersey (take your pick).

I’ve even had people in my company (you know the people who know little about your business but always like to send you links just because the follow Guy Kawasaki and Alltop which makes them a genius) send me the Colorado announcement and say “oops, looks like your Colorado affiliates are all going away.”   It just shows the lack of clarity as my current business doesn’t fall  under those same laws.  The rush to judgment like lemmings would easily spell the ending of affiliate marketing as we know it.  “Why would they do something like that then?”, I’ve been asked.

If you haven’t worked inside a large company, the phrases “customer ownership”, “brand dilution” and “incremental sales” are terms I’ve heard mentioned at almost every large company I’ve worked with.  There is no doubt that now that Amazon is a large firm and not just some online start-up that they might just feel they don’t need as much help from the online community helping to build brand equity and that they already own the customer because just about everyone online knows who Amazon is by now, is in their database, and is no longer an incremental customer (somebody who hasn’t purchased from them before).  They no doubt have done some analysis and figured what percentatge of those links from Colorado were already customers or could have come from links from somewhere else instead.  As much as Google is the big Brother of the Web, Amazon knows more about Web consumption behavior than anyone.

So you see, they have spent the last 10 years gaining ownership over your traffic that you sent them.  Your Uncle Charlie who clicked through your link in your blog and bout Sarah Palin’s book?  Yep, Amazon now has his email on file.  And likely knows his birthday and the last 8 items he looked at online.  That next purchase?  Yep, they don’t need your Colorado taxes and can pocket that 4% affiliate commission they aren’t going to pay out anymore.

Yep, Amazon is smart and they know points 1 & 2 stated above.  What they argue though is statement #3 and where politicians look like the greediest (and dumbest) of all.  Politicians are also to blame here.  So this is a new advertising tax, eh?  So now when I tell my friend via Facebook or Twitter about a cool book and add an affiliate link, that I should be taxed for opening my mouth?  Dear Mr. Colorado Governor, since when is giving advice taxable?  Are you going to tax every conversation on the Web?  Books have always been sold because someone told them it was good or because the NY Times put it on their Bestseller list (Oh so now we might want to get all those last taxes for those NY Times Best Seller referrals)!  Let’s have some common sense.

This just won’t happen.  People will lose jobs.  Measurable consumption will disappear.  Good, quality advertising techniques and methodologies will be left behind in the dust.

As we post this entry, the Senator from Colorado has said he will listen to those who will want to complain.  Let’s hope this is more action than just a political move.

Business - Affiliate Marketing, Route 53 - Life is A Highway

The Ugly, the Bad, and the Good from Affiliate Summit 2010

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Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, and the problem is I do not know which half

Lord Leverhulme 1851-1925, British founder of Unilever and philanthropist

 

I was recently asked to recap my thoughts on this past Affiliate Summit for colleagues in my Company as many are new to the business and we are going through a reogranization .  It was pretty remedial and I wished I could have elaborated more.  The industry has come a long way but it still has a long way to go.  The good thing is that it has been two months, so nobody will read this anyway.

When I posted before I left for the annual Affiliate Summit, I had lots of thoughts about the industry and its direction. And while the Affiliate Summit gave me many more things to ponder, I think many of the assumptions I had going in were answered or at least became a little more clear to me.  I have to say that I probably find myself on the more conservative side of the industry, but since I work in the more corporate end of the affiliate marketing industry that is probably where I get my opinions.  That said, as an affiliate marketer industry veteran like most in the industry, we are rogues, entrepreneurial thinkers, outside of the box workers, and sometimes just plain troublemakers.

This year’s Affiliate Summit keynote was delivered by Dr. Robert Cialdini, psychologist and author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.  I’d actually heard Dr. Cialdini before and thought his speech would be rather interesting with this crowd given that the last time I’d heard him was in a room full of MBA alumni in our local Commonwealth Club.  Online affiliates are a crazy mix of people.  Most are on their second careers.  I’ve met ex-lawyers, ex-dcotors, empty nesters, etc.  But if there is one way to describe them all in one, it’s tenacious marketers.  these people sell all day long and thus Dr. Cialdini’s speech while maybe falling on virgin ears to many was a rallying call to them.  “How can I influence people and make them buy from me?”  So why is this relevant and why am I rambling? Well one of the psychological influencing tools that Dr. Cialdini uses is to tell you the good news last.  And that is why I reversed the title of this entry to The Ugly, the Bad & the Good”.

The UGLY – Given that I’ve been in the affiliate marketing world for 12 years now I expect to see change.  How long is 12 years in this business?  Scott Jangro just received the industry “Legend” award which I think qualifies me as a dinosaur (my boss so aptly called me a relic).  Well there has been change, but we are still getting a lot of new people in the industry.  I stomp my feet and smile when standing in front of a big sign that says “Ticketmaster” and someone asks me what we’re selling.  There are lots of people new to the industry and patience (lots of it) goes a long way.  I actually think that the most interesting person I met at the conference was a new first time attendee that I met at the blackjack table at 2 in the morning (Yes the conference was in Vegas, and part of why this was Ugly).

So what’s ugly?  It’s that this industry has become more complex in its problems.  It still struggles for the respectability and recognition of the contributions that it provides to the online world, and many of the basic understandings of the industry are still questioned and not being practiced in a respectful manner.  This is not the fault of the industry but the greater understanding of affiliate marketing in general

THE BAD?  The bad is that while there is innovation, there needs to be more.  There appear to be a lot of businesses which are varations of others.  The exhibit floors are aisles of networks peddling the same things.  Everyone claims their network or platform is better than the next.  As a merchant one could just look at all those networks and say forget it.  In speaking with other merchants, many said that they couldn’t fathom the commoditization of networks.  Sure, some had unique propositions such as video or mobile implementaions, but there was very little else different between the models.  While the idea of belonging to multiple networks turns off many people because of the lack of control, publishers are left to play with many of them, not being able to really differentiate one vs. the other.  That doesn’t mean that merchants are any better.  The lack of representation from merchants such as Amazon, the leading merchant innovator, as well as traditional brand names leaves the publishers very little choice but to deal with the networks who try to act on the behalf of these merchants.  It also shows a bit of concern about the lack of interest by management of these companies.

 THE GOOD  Well for all the issues, there are still some cornerstones that enable the industry to thrive.  Affiliate marketing continues to be the most economical marketing online tool.  ROI driven companies are starting to notice how efficient  these programs are in terms of sales.  As Gary Vaynerchuk said, affiliates are the hardest working people on the web (the also are the hardest partying).  Many of the original pioneers in the business have done very well for themselves and many veterans in the industry (Todd Crawford) continue to innovate and develop new businesses to adress many of the problems that have plagues the industry for the last decade. 

The industry doesn’t  have as much low hanging fruit as it used to but there still exist lots of opportunities to innovate There are people still focused on financial gain or first mover advantage. We have to move beyond that.  As this past year’s speaker (@copyblogger) mentioned, those who work at it longer will win.  There is still a lot of opportunity to win in social media, feeds, APIs, etc.  when you combine with affiliate marketing.

In the end though, what makes the industry is the people.  It is one of the best parts about the affiliate market industry and as long as it attracts more smart and knowledgeable people. And if it retains the learnings of the past 12 years, it would become a staple in the arsenal of all successful online marketers and not just an afterthought.

Route 53 - Life is A Highway, Travels: The Route 53

Palm’s Place (Vegas)

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 The Palm’s Place (Las Vegas, NV)

 4381 West Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89103
Reservations:  L 702-932-7777  |  F 702-944-3257 | 
Herbie reviews the Palm's Place

The Palm’s Place in Vegas offers the perfect alternative for someone who enjoys the glitz and glamour of the Vegas club scene but likes to retire to the peace and quiet sanctuary that bigger hotels don’t offer, yet keeps the flair and sense of style that made Vegas famous during the Rat Pack years.   There is something about driving up to a hotel in Las vegas without seeing any cabs.  There is even more when you walk into the lobby of a Vegas hotel and realize there are no slot machines, gambling tables in sight!  The peace and quiet was deafening.  Oh, and you couldn’t smell a hint of cigarettes or cigars.

Upon a longer stay  you will also note there are few chambermaids (not sure if we ever saw one) blocking your hallways or chattering outside your room.  The front desk was very helpful with reservations and providing us with amenities into the nightclubs at the Palm’s Casino.

Originally designed as  condos only by the Maloof brothers, many went unsold and are used as hotel rooms.  Included among the amenities are a beautiful spa, a great restaurant, beautiful pool with cabanas, and a quiet bar.   Separated from the Palm’s Casino by a 300 yard indoor moving walkway which protects you from the Winter cold or the Summer heat, one has access to the casino, top concerts, movieplex and 4 top notch clubs (Ghost Bar, the World’s only Playboy Club, Rain, and Moon) without ever needing to step outside, deal with coat checks, valets, or taxis.  It should be noted that when makeing a reservation one should also check the Palm’s Place for specials which might get you priotity access to one of the clubs, spa credits, restaurant discounts and/or free drinks.  A recent stay in December 2009 netted $50 in restaurant credits, a free entry for two to the spa, and two drinks at the bar (the bartender served us another on the house)

Palm's Place Lobby

The Simon Lounge Restaurant looks over the pool deck which offers a very open feeling and probably some good people watching during the summer months.  The food while good probably isn’t up to par with what you would find at Caesar’s or the bellagio, but it was above average and with a $50 credit, we weren’t being picky. 

Palm's Place Studio Suite

The Palm’s Place rooms offer private balconies with views of the casino as well as the entire Strip as it sits on Flamingo across the highway (a $10 cab ride to Caesar’s).  Each room provides  a modern efficiency kitchen, spacious bathroom with jacuzzi bath and walk in rain spout shower. The jacuzzi tub is encased in frosted transluscent glass which seems to be the new architectural feature du jour (see the Thompson LES review) along with the rain spout shower (see Carneros Inn). 

As one who believes that cooking while on vacation is not a vacation, I am usually not a fan of condominiums, but this room was very well done.  I like full service resorts and hotels with great little amenities, stylistic design and great service.  The Palm’s Place is definitely an upgrade over the Palm’s Casino. 

Most of the rooms are designed as studio suites.  So they might not be large enough for many.  A note  about a condominium that is designed for a GQ bachelor.  The room had two flat screen TVs, a lounging area that you could sleep in, mirrored walls with New Century stone wall accents to make the room feel larger than it is.  There still is only one bathroom, one sink, etc.  The lighting is subtle and the room might feel like a night club even in the middle of the day.
View from doorway

There is a 2 bedroom option which has a unique feature of a soaking bathtub in the window overlooking the Strip.  You can’t get more fabulous that that!

Palm's Place single sink bathroom
Luxurious soft white bed
Breast Cancer - A Loving Fight, Route 53 - Life is A Highway

Running for my Wife

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Bronze medalist Joannie Rochette

For all of the plans we’ve made,
There isn’t a flag I’d wave,
Don’t care if we bend,
I’d sink us to swim,
We’re marching on,

 – Marching On by One Republic

As I watched Olympic skater carry the Canadian flag  tonight the words to the One Republic song, Marching On, came to my mind.  The courage of the young lady from Canada who performed her best just days after her mother died captured the heart of the whole world.    Marching on…..  People ask how she did it.  When asked, she replied that she was able to get into a zone and for those few minutes on the ice her focus was on competition and not on her own personal grief.  For Joannie, it was her 3 minutes of outer body experience.  The focus and determination needed to compete consumed her.  The same was for Lindsay Vonn suffereing days earlier from a shin injury.  As soon as her run was completed, she collapsed.  These stories repeated themselves over and over again.  There was the story of the cross-country skier who pulled herself out of the hospital to compete and get a bronze medal only to collapse at the finish line and be taken back to the hospital.

With these stories, you  can very much understand where Joannie  is coming from.  Finding that place to escape has been what has helped my wife and I move on past her cancer.  Escaping the day to day worries and immersing ourselves in other tasks has driven us for the last 18 months.  Yes there still are the monthly shots, the black and blue marks, the pills, etc. which remind you every day.  Monthly I catch a glance at her abdomen which is bandaged from her monthly shot and am reminded of where we’ve been and how far we’ve come.

Tonight it hit me when I logged in and saw that I had reached 2500 miles.  That is 2500 miles I’ve run since my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer.  I’m not sure why, but I decided early on that this was going to be my own cause and I was going to use our pain and will to survive to drive my exercise.  I remember being so grateful to her doctors that I vowed to personally contribute $.50 for every mile I ran to the hospital’s foundation.  I didn’t want to be part of a large walkathon or other event for a national plan, but I needed to make this my own personal journey, my own run for my health and for my wife.   This battle with my wife’s cancer was personal although I valued the community of survivors who gave words of encouragement and wisdom.

I can’t remember half those miles run.  I was running numb and hiding from my pain and my fears.  I remember some of those nights right after her surgery when I would put her to sleep and then just go for a run fighting back the tears at first and then those fears turned into energy fueled by my passion to not feel sorry and to start wanting to make a difference.  I understand where Joannie Rochette was mentally when she skated this past week.  Her inner strength and will to do her best under such extreme scrutiny and pressure in the face of such heartache was fueled by her passion and her will.

When we finished a recent vacation with our kids to our favorite resort, the hotel staff told us how they missed us.  We missed them too.  We had gone almost every year until we were given my wife’s diagnosis.  Why hadn’t we returned earlier?  I guess we just weren’t ready to truly resume our lives in a care free manner.  It has taken us that long to feel like we can celebrate our opportunity to move on in life.  We almost wondered if we had waited too long.  We sat out on our lanai as our children slept at night and felt the sea breezes on our faces and asked that question.  It didn’t matter.  We were just happy to enjoy our wonderful spot again together.  It was good to be in our happy place.

Cancer sites can be a very great resource for community therapy.  In fact we have made so many friends and are especially grateful to a friend in Hawaii who showers us with gifts and has really truly helped my wife as a personal confidante on many recovery issues.  Other than that, though, there has been a separate private struggle to return to normalcy.  The struggle is to keep busy, do the things you love and get on with the things you always wanted to do, yet find the balance to give back and show your gratitude to those who helped along the way.  My personal donation of running for my own charity and benefit for my wife’s cancer is  not a poke against the Susan G. Komen walk or the Avon walk.  For me, my wife’s battle with cancer was a personal matter and I wanted to give it back  on my own time and my own terms and for my own personal battle with the pavement.