“Hey, it’s Chad” - The Stories (and rambling) of a 20 Something

In my AdAge readings I came across some stuff that I wanted to share:

A man actually LOST weight by eating a diet that revolved around McDonald’s food. Chris Coleson went from 281 pounds to roughly 195 since last December. His cholesterol and everything is healthier…all from eating those iffy looking “Mc” salad varieties, some fruit cups, and yes, even the occasional cheeseburger. He doesn’t want to be like Subway’s Fogle, which I think is admirable. Instead he wants to help out the disabled and some of his other causes.

Coleson’s liscense plate used to read “OLDNFAT” and now boasts “MCFIT.” I would probably copyright that if I was him.

So, Kudos to you Mr. Coleson for stickin’ it to the man, challenging the norm in dieting, and WINNING.

All this talk about FriendFeed, Facebook, etc. being the future of advertising/marketing is, well, DUH! When you combine networking with your friends with streaming updates of what they do (and what they think is cool) and cutting edge searching (watch out Google) you are destined for success.

Many social networking sites are allowing you to post what you like and dislike on your profile, what you just got, gave, or want, send trinket gifts (mini marketing), etc., etc., etc., ETC.! What this means is that the role of the “market maven” has been reduced to a much smaller scale. Friends look to friends for purchasing patterns and solutions. When I put on Facebook that I am a supporter of _______, I know that some of my friends will more than likely go “Oh, what is this app/group/fansite in Chad’s NewsFeed? Says he likes “Product A?” So do I! I want to add that too! I do this too with them, and this process repeats like a ball rolling down a hill. It starts with one and migrates through many people connected closely, through a “friend of a friend,” or even more distant. The point is that this digital-word-of-mouth-promotion MATTERS.

It’s self catering ads and marketing. You expose yourself to what you want and you “represent” only the things you like, align with, etc. That is niche as hell people. Word.

Mobiles apps, mobile apps, mobile apps. Oh the power you have. The first time I ever realized that software superceded the hardware was back in my adolescence when the Playstation vs. Nintendo 64 battle was in full force. How the gaming consoles worked in my friend’s and my own brain was simple. Nintendo 64 was newer and had more features than Playstation, but the games (many of them at least) sucked and the lag time between releases was sssllooooww. Meanwhile, the Playstation, with HALF of everything the N64 offered (2/4 controllers, 32bit/64bit graphics, etc.) was CONTINUOUSLY rolling out games with replay value that, well, forced dust to form on those gray “tri-pronged” controllers.

Apple’s I Phone and others are stuck in the heat of this notion as well and as more phones go “smart” and support web browsers, etc. you can certainly expect to see the same trend:

Yes, people like the best specs and biggest bang for your buck, but if you can’t have any software (or much) to enjoy these hardware benefits then who cares?  **The software controls the value of the hardware or platform.**

I can’t wait to see what’s next.

In other news I am still stuck on this whole graduating thing. I still don’t know where I will work, where I will live in the Big Apple, how quick I will get up there and blah blah blah.

It’s like a splinter in my finger. Always on my mind but I can’t do anything about it. It just has to work itself out on it’s own (cheesy metaphor?). In my case, I can’t do anything until I graduate except prepare and have preliminary plans…and that is killing me. I want out (of school), I want in (with a job), and I have to just be patient no matter what. I just want a few blanks filled in so I can feel better be prepared!

Twiddle on fingers, help is on the way,

– C