Thoughts

An Archive of sketches developing ideas.

We Doolittles have a two thousand year history of being soldiers. So spelling, w

We Doolittles have a two thousand year history of being soldiers. So spelling, which is a dainty thing after all, isn’t as important as killing people, breaking things, and blowing

Hallman Criticizes Hoppe

I’ve not run across Andy Hallman before. But he posted a blog entry today that is critical of Hoppe entitled A Libertarian Against Free Immigration. Andy States Neither in this

Agency Must Become A Consumer Advocate Rather Than Ally Of ‘The Man’

January 6th, 2010 Throughout history, innovative groups have formed an alliance with ‘The Man’. Bankers have done it forever. In fact, bankers don’t exist where they DON”T ally with ‘The

Women Dominate The Veterinary Field and Not Technology. This Isn’t A Mystery.

On Carpe Diem there is a posting that references a series of articles on the state of women in the employment figures. Primarily as a result of the disappearance of

Schiller Takes A Step Toward Capitalism 3.0

From an article in the NY Times. A Way To Share In The Nation’s Growth Robert Schiller, who I greatly admire, recommends one step toward Capitalism v3.0. Why? Because investment

Responding To 3 Posts On American Decline – A Letter To Lawrence Lux

Lawrence, Thank you for your work in the public discourse. Your moderate pragmatism is often both interesting to read, and wise. However, a post today entitled “Whos Talking About Sheeps

Losses Are Losses Regardless Of Size: Tiger Woods, Losses and Celebrity Endorsements December 29th, 2009 § 0 Comments Over on The Sports Economist, I found a posting about a UC Davis Press Release on the

The Threat Of Revolt, The General Strike, And The Myth Of Non-Violence

A tactic used by the vocal left is the threat of violence, or revolt if their needs are not met. The tactic of revolt is ancient. This modern version of

A Subtle Redefinition In Opportunity Cost

I am going to redefine Opportunity Cost from the difference between one choice and another, to include the opportunity of expending violence. Because that is the FIRST cost that they

Our Different Organizational Models Keep Agencies Digital Or Traditional

December 13th, 2009  Different agencies specialize in different services such as media, direct, digital, PR, or Creative, because the risk tolerance, organizational model, financial model, and in particular the model

What will be the biggest opportunities for agencies in the next 5 years? Displacement.

December 12th, 2009 § 0 Comments We see opportunities for all categories of agencies. Large traditional agencies will continue to dominate the world of the large multi-national, brand portfolio–based clients because they

Digital Versus Traditional: Capitalizing Creative And Execution

December 13th, 2009 § 2 Comments Aside from scale, the production work performed by most large agencies, is similar enough to be meaningless. Larger agencies must sell creative, and deliver and capitalize

Riddle: “If dropped toast always lands butter side down and cats always land on

Riddle: “If dropped toast always lands butter side down and cats always land on their feet; what happens if you strap toast butter side up on the back of a

Preservation Of Status Is A Resistance To Libertarian Solutions

I was listening to a lecture by Roderick Long this morning, entitled “The Moral Standpoint” which is part of the series “Foundations of Libertarian Ethics: A Philosophy Seminar” (Available from

About a Pure Theory of Marketing

Date: 2009 I’m the CEO, and one of the founders of Ascentium:  a 600 person, $100M mixed marketing and technology agency1 that we started in 2001. We’re one of the bigger

Toward A Pure Theory Of Marketing

Key Ideas: 1) Business exists in the sociological context. That means that companies, and agencies, are organized in order to sell according to both our assumptions about society, and the

What will the role of agencies be 5 years from now? The Same, More Specialized, Less Influence

December 12th, 2009  The short answer is that the current trends will continue. The traditional AOR relationship will increasingly face being displaced by agency teams composed of specialty firms who

What is the role of agencies in today’s marketing landscape? The Same.

December 12th, 2009 § 0 Comments Agencies play the same role they have for the last century. they create and distribute specialized content in an attempt to increase revenue, create and maintain

A Convert: Winterspeak and the Public Purpose Of Banking

Over on Winterspeak, I found another convert. ….a bank should be required to keep all loans it makes on its books until maturity. In under six hundred words he provides

Climate Data, Trust In Science, Secular Humanism, Truth, and Economics

The crisis over climate data has been met with numerous statements about preserving the “sanctity” or trust in the wisdom of science and scientists. As if our scientists were an