Wednesday Words

To Go Where Your VisionPoints, a few inspiration points for you and your business.

The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses—
behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road,
long before I dance under those lights.
—Muhammad Ali

Grow and be well,

Kelly Erickson

I Feel Just Like a Certain Prize-Fighter…

Yes, folks, it’s been 25 years since Roger von Oech wrote A Whack on the Side of the Head. I’m going to confess now, so you don’t go back through every one of my posts trying to find the one where I mentioned my age, do the math, and then pin me down to whether I really read it at that age…

Nevermind. Go back and read every single one of my posts. First one to find the post where I mention my age, and leave a comment here quoting that post, gets a copy of the 25th Anniversary Edition. Really. My age will only be mentioned in that post for one week, and then I’m taking the mention out, so after you read this, get going!

(Read the full post about ‘Because the Side of my Head Has Been Sore for 25 Years: Prize Time!’…)

I Love ‘Em But Their Website Makes My Skin Crawl!

After Today, You Can Have a Better Site Than a $250 Million Company

Disclaimer: Go Daddy is VisionPoints’ web hosting company. I think they’re superb. Their customer service is top-notch. That is a big part of Experience Design, especially in the beginning of a relationship with a company whose doors I will never set foot inside. If you’re just a little tech-y, but don’t have a resident tech guru, you’d never want to go anywhere else.

This is about their user interface (the website you and I see and try to use), a huge part of their Experience Design after the relationship is established, and about making sure you will never, ever put up a website like it for your business.

Breaking All the Rules

The site is a classic example of what not to do.

(Read the full post about ‘Why is Go Daddy so Gosh Darn Ugly?’…)

AKA How to Pass the “Are You Kidding Me?” Test

I love champagne.

I mean, ooh, I love champagne. The sexy crashing sound as it hits the glass; the musty, bready aroma of the good stuff; the omniscient, Zelda-Fitzgerald-feeling from a single, perfect glass.* Heck, I even love how you can take nearly-mediocre stuff and pour it with Guinness and get Irish heaven (otherwise known as a Black Velvet).

So when my local mega-liquor-store sends me their weekly e-newsletter with a $5 off coupon for champagne, I hit print and get ready to go, now. Boy, do they know me, I’m whistling.

On the way out the door, the fine print catches my eye: any purchase over $100.

No champers for this author.

Folks, this is 5%.

(Read the full post about ‘Tip of the Week: Put a Cork in the Fine Print’…)

There are so many different genres of dance that one can feel overwhelmed when he or she thinks of learning to dance. However it is not as complicated as it seems. Firstly, to excel at a certain style it may take years of practice, to be able to cope with several types of dancing is not quite as hard. For many people who enjoy a range of activities, it is much more beneficial to learn a little about each style and not a lot about just one. This is because the usual person in today’s world will be exposed and often “pressured” into dancing at a variety of events. Therefore someone may encounter hip-hop, ballroom, and break dancing styles all in a very short period of time. (Read the full post about ‘Dancing Styles & Dance Moves for Beginners’…)

Sometimes, Writing Things Down Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up to Be

Because everybody loves a good bed-headline once in a while.

I frequently suggest folks keep a pen and paper handy by the side of the bed for middle-of-the-night ideas. It cuts down on insomnia if you can just write down the Earth-shattering concept and roll over. Blogging friends Paul and Nick are big proponents of the pen and paper, also. Do they recommend turning on a light?

One potentially interesting title, no blooming idea what the subject was.

re: what?

Grow and be well lighted,

Kelly Erickson

Have you found the post where I make a reference to my age yet? Boy, do I want to give away a prize, but there’s only four days left to claim it!

(Read the full post about ‘I Know It Was Earth-Shattering! But I Lost It in Bed!’…)

We have all seen credit card advertisements on television, radio, magazines, etc. These ads always show ordinary people, living an extraordinary life. Just like we all want to do.

The message is clear, just use our powerful plastic card, and you can have it all, and have it now. Forget what you can really afford, just live the good life.

I saw a credit card commercial on television this past weekend that really started me thinking about the message they are broadcasting to America. The wrong message in my opinion. You have probably viewed the ad. A young couple’s television finally dies out. The wife tells her husband that it is all right to go get that new TV set. (Read the full post about ‘Regulations on Credit Card Advertisements Are Needed to Help Eliminate Debt’…)

When I started my blogging career I wrote a post about the pros and cons of wearing Open Toed Shoes– Back in 2004 there was a great deal of concern that open toed shoes would be distracting to co-workers who find the exposed toes as sexually distracting.

Oh what a difference four years can make. Forget the foot fetish. The issue now is all those breast men who must come to grips with women who dare to show a bit more of "the girls" then they used to.
Cleavage has become an office standard and there are plenty of people who say it is a sure what to torpedo your career.

(Read the full post about ‘At Work Do You Follow A No - Cleavage Policy?’…)

Did You Know That You Had Me at Hello?

After four cliffhanger video-emails, I reached the Tipping Point.

No, not that Tipping Point.

They were good, I’ll admit it. Charming, hesitating, intimate; stopping courteously before taking up too much of my time. Promising to sell me… something, right after telling me a few more secrets. Asking for my patience. Why, of course! Believably amateur. Slickly unslick. Each one had me hanging on the edge of my seat for something that never materialized, like the date who can’t get up the nerve to kiss me.

Four was my magic number.

(Read the full post about ‘Tipping Points Go Both Ways’…)

Is Holding Back Good for Your Business?

Infomercials do it. Long sales letters do it. 89-day e-courses do it. The slow come-on is not a new marketing technique. There are some times when it works, and some times when it makes for minimum customer experience. Tipping points can go both ways.

What are the limits of withholding?

I’m not old enough to have driven past them as a kid, but many of us have heard of these legendary teaser billboards (or seen modern knock-offs): a series of five or six little boards spaced out, planted on the side of the road, each with a part of a witty jingle ending in

Burma Shave images by R.

(Read the full post about ‘What Are You Withholding?’…)