Internet Advertising.  How effective can it be?

I recently placed an order with Puritan's Pride for vitamins.  They have great deals, so I order multiples of each item to save money.  Makes sense, right?  
Sure!

What doesn't make sense to me is that ever since I placed that order, on every web site I visit, I see an ad for Puritan's Pride.  It makes me wonder what they're thinking.  Do they think that by inundating me with their ads for flax oil and red yeast rice, which I bought last week,  I'll buy another five bottles of each?  

I recently, purely out of curiosity, read an article about reverse mortgages and now everywhere I go, there's an ad for that, too.

This kind of marketing is like closing the gate after the horse runs away.  I for one am training myself not to even notice these ads.  It's amazing how easy that is.  It's a matter of focusing.  Anyone can do it.  Maybe when we all get good at this and they see that their marketing 'strategy' isn't working, we'll see a lot less annoying ads on the internet.

The worst ads are those that jiggle and shake to try to get your attention.  I just get the hell out of there when I see those.  There isn't anything I want to read badly enough to put up with that.

Have you noticed lately people - at least people in tv ads - are taking a tiny step back from technology.  I recently saw an ad for a big name pizza chain that advertised that you don't have to get onto the computer, sign in and order your pizza.  You can just walk into their establishment and pick one up! It seems they think this is a new concept.  We did that back in the 50's.

And this morning on the Today show, I heard that some musician, whose name I can't remember, made a new album On Vinyl, and it's gone viral. What's happening?  Who knows?  Maybe nothing, but I guess we'll see.

I've been pondering whether cable TV is going the way of the manual typewriter and the rotary telephone.  Our cable provider recently merged with another huge company which basically constitutes a monopoly, in this area at least.  Now the cable company swears that the $62 increase, from $135 to $197, immediately following the merger had nothing to do with these companies joining forces.  I'm having a difficult time believing that.

We're investigating alternatives for our TV reception.  There are a lot of choices out there.  These include indoor and outdoor antennae which are relatively inexpensive.  These antennae can be had for anywhere from $10 to $200 and can be installed with nothing more than a screwdriver.  There is no monthly charge; however, you may only be able to receive your local stations. Not to worry.  Go to HULU and for the small sum $7.99 a month, you can get the shows that your antenna doesn't pick up. Talk about saving money!  

There are satellite dishes, too, but in bad weather you may not have any service and in the case of snow, you have to climb up to wherever you mounted the dish and scoop the snow out of it.  There is also a nefarious company that requires a 2 year contract, gives you a fixed rate for one year and then triples your rate when that year is past.  Not gonna do that!

I wouldn't trade my cable for internet access, but I can definitely live without the TV connection.

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Update on the last post.  The utility company that raised every one's rates double and even triple, is now issuing refunds.  There have been more than 2,000 cases opened against the company with the Pa Utility Commission and this issue is getting a Lot of media and government attention.  It's a good thing.  I'm hoping the company involved will be prevented from selling energy in the Commonwealth of PA when it's all said and done.

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I'm not a believer in resolutions, but I do believe in intentions and goals and I've been thinking about what it is that I really want to accomplish.  First is to reorganize my work room.  (I never know whether to call it an office or a studio, so work room it is).  This is a huge job.  No kidding, insanely huge.  It will require moving many, many books to the shelves downstairs, giving many, many more away and moving a lot of craft supplies to the downstairs shelves as well.  

When my work room is organized, I plan to spend more time writing; also reading about writing.  Planning a novel or novella?  Maybe.  I have some stories started and a couple have the potential to be longer than the typical short story.  

My mother has lived in subsidized housing for the elderly and disabled for ten years.  Her apartment consists of a living room, kitchen, bath room, and one bedroom and measures 560 square feet.   It is connected on either side to other apartments which helps save energy.

Some time ago she received a telephone call from someone said they wanted to ‘renew her agreement with their company as her electric provider’.  She asked the person on the phone whether they were with her current provider and was told ‘yes’. 

Imagine her surprise when her next electric bill showed PA Gas & Electric as her energy provider.  That bill was $116.00 for the month of November.   More surprising was her January bill of $308.00.  I find it interesting that this increase happened after she called PA Gas & Electric in December to terminate her relationship with them.  It took them a month to make that switch.  During that time they more than doubled her rate.

In doing some research on the internet I found that PA Gas & Electric is actually US Gas & Electric and that they are based in Florida, not Pennsylvania.   Wherever they sell electricity they use a name that includes the name of the state they are selling in.  In PA, instead of US Gas & Electric, they are PA Gas & Electric.  In Connecticut they are CT Gas & Electric, and so on.  This gives the impression to potential customers that they are local.  

One of the things I found during her research is this film clip from NBC Connecticut which you can find here . 

It talks about a chiropractor’s wife, Mrs. Palmisano, who signed up with CT Gas & Electric (US Gas & Electric) and found that her electric bill increased by 

87% in one month.

From that interview:  “She was under the impression that the company had roots here in CT. What she found is that parent company is U.S. Gas & Electric based out of North Miami Beach, FL. The company uses the state’s name in each the 11 states where they operate. In Pennsylvania, they go by the name Pennsylvania Gas & Electric. Palmisano says with CT in the name, she thought it was a local company. It’s all perfectly legal, and some would argue even great marketing.

“Whether we’re local or not is not really that important,” said Doug Marcille, President and CEO of U.S. Gas and Electric.

“When asked if using the name Connecticut Gas & Electric implies they are somehow based in the state, he said no. “It just means that we’re selling electricity in CT using that brand.”

“Marcille says his company’s business model is to buy electricity for the current market price, unlike companies that establish a fixed rate by making bulk purchases in advance. He says that ultimately allows customers to save over the long term.”  

“But the Troubleshooters (“Connecticut’s largest team of broadcast journalists dedicated to investigative coverage. Ten investigators, including on-air and behind-the-scenes journalists, work with our viewers to get results, hold leaders accountable and provide consumer-oriented solutions.”) compared what Palmisano paid with Connecticut Gas & Electric, and what she would have paid with CL&P (CT Light & Power). In all but two months, she paid more with Connecticut Gas & Electric, and in February nearly triple.”

Be careful what you say and agree to on the telephone.  Sales calls are sales calls.  They are trying to make money for themselves and for their company, they are not helping you to save money.  Mom has switched back to her original provider and there is nothing that will make her change again.  Her advice to others?  If you get a sales call from anyone,  hang up.

I have been a slacker since the beginning of the month where my blog is concerned.  Not that I don't have anything to say.  I'm just not sure that what I have to say is worth reading.  But I guess I'll just ramble on.

I have a couple of pet peeves and this is one of them.  People no longer say 'thank you'.  Has it gone out of style?  How is it that people don't teach their children to say thank you at Christmas?  Even older kids seem to have forgotten that saying thank you is the appropriate response to a gift.  My mother actually stopped giving gifts to those who didn't acknowledge their Christmas gifts with a simple 'thank you'.  At the time I thought she was being a little hard headed, but now I see her point.  Problem is that the ones who don't have enough manners to say thank you are the ones I can't stop giving gifts to.  They're my kids!  And they were taught to say thank you.  What's a mama to do?
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Lately TV commercials have gone from ridiculous to a degree of stupid that is unbelievable.  Example: Insurance commercials.  A man sits with a bunch of little kids, who, by the way, have no idea what insurance is, and talks about things like swimming pools and other things that mean nothing.  I wouldn't buy insurance from that company for anything in the world.  

The same company shows 2 women shopping and the one has saved so much on car insurance that she can buy a 150 dollar purse.  The other stands in the middle of the store and sings 'Insurance find me money" at which point an old fisherman in waders appears and dangles a dollar bill from his fishing line.  Give me a break.  

Commercials seem to be trying to entertain.  But they don't bother to say why we should buy their product.  What makes them better than their competitors?  I refuse to believe that I should buy a certain company's car insurance so I can buy an expensive purse.

Those ads are right up there with the credit card company ads.  They're gonna give you 1-1/2% back.  Whoopee!  Really generous from companies that are charging, in some cases, upwards of 19% interest a month.  They know that the majority of people don't pay off their credit card balances every month, so their 1-1/2% won't mean much to the company or to the card holder.

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My most recent favorite commercials are from H&R Block and Turbo Tax, telling anyone paying attention that they will save you money.  Although we haven't used H&R Block in probably 20 years,I did use Tax Cut and Turbo Tax, respectively, for several years and let me tell you that it never worked that way for me.  

A few years ago we started taking our taxes to a local church which, as a fundraiser for the church, bring in church members who are accountants and tax preparers.  They are available to do your taxes, both state and federal, for free and they are associated with AARP.  The idea is that in exchange for getting your taxes done, you'll give a donation to the church.  Every year we give them nice a donation which is still less than the cost of Turbo Tax.  The last time i bought Turbo Tax it was around 50 dollars to buy the software to do those 2 forms.

The first year we went to the free tax prep at the church, we were a little skeptical, but we got a really nice refund.  Much more than we did previously with Turbo Tax or Tax Cut.  The second year we got an even larger refund.  And the tax preparers at the church file your federal return electronically.  So no more 15 dollar charge for that.  It's way worth the trip into town.
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The 49ers/Seahawks game was pretty bad, too.  I found myself asking whether the officials were paid off by the Seahawks.  Granted, the 49ers weren't at the top of their game with 3 turnovers.  But, there were a few calls, like the 5 yard penalty for running into the kicker that should have been a 15 yard penalty for roughing the kicker, that were blatently suspicious.  It sure looked like there was some favoritism going on.  I thought Harbaugh was going to burst a blood vessel a couple of times.

Richard Sherman's rant with the Fox sports reporter was something to behold as well.  Wonder what the coach had to say when he heard that one.  I did see that he apologized later.
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Wayne's Weekly Wisdom

I am a HUGE Wayne Dyer fan and have been for more than a decade.  The man has an insight that is amazing and I feel compelled to share today's email newsletter Wayne's Weekly Wisdom.  It talks about those resolutions we all make or have made in the past and failed so miserably to keep.  (To subscribe, or for more info and lots of options, go to www.DrWayneDyer.com .)  Below is today's complete message:

I resolve to live in the now.  Become free to immerse yourself in this moment—the now that’s called the present—because it’s simply that—a present to open, relish, nurture, play with, explore, and enjoy.

Forget about those New Year’s resolutions in which you decide on the first day of January how you will be conducting your life in September, some nine months later. Here’s why: any resolution that involves you making decisions about long-range upcoming behavior reinforces the self-defeating notion of living in the future rather than in the present moment. In fact, you can go about resolving until the cows come home, and you still have to live your life just like everyone else on this planet—ONE DAY AT A TIME. The important questions to be asking yourself are “How am I going to use my present moments this year?” and “Will I waste them in reviewing to myself how I used to behave, or how I would like to behave in the future, rather than resolving to live each day to the fullest?”

What you can do is set up day-to-day goals for yourself, and then resolve to begin living with present moment awareness for the rest of your life. For example, instead of deciding you are going to give up sugar for a year, resolve to go one day without eating sugar. Anyone can do virtually anything if it is for only one day. When you go for one whole day without eating sugar (or any other new behavior), you are a totally different person at the end of that day. Learn to let that totally different person decide on the second day whether he or she wants to do it again on this new day, rather than letting the same old person decide that it is only going to be difficult in a couple of days anyhow, “so what’s the use.” Always let the new you make the decision, and then you’ll be living your present moments.

You know how easy it is to give up on a resolution, and you may have attributed this to some character flaw or personality weakness. Not so! You give up on your resolutions because your mind resists the notion of trying to live your life in long stretches, when it is patently impossible to do so. It is simply a matter of asking yourself at the beginning of the day, “How do I want to conduct my life today?” Then very directly begin to carry out your goals for the day. When you get good at living your present moments one day at a time, you’ll see yourself changing right before your own surprised eyes. Remember, anyone can do anything for just one day, so tune out the sentences that keep you locked into your old self-defeating ways and begin to enjoy each day of your bright new year. 

 

 Happy New Year!

Here's hoping that 2014 will be a happy, healthy, prosperous, safe and creative year for us all.

I don't believe in making New Years resolutions because I've found that when I do make them, I fail miserably.  It's almost willful on my part.  Like some weird rebellion against myself.  So I ask you, what kind of sense does it make to sit for an hour with pen and paper or in front of my computer preparing a detailed list of things I need to change?  Right, none at all.

But I do intend, and I think intention is important, to put more effort into my writing (including this blog and my other blog The Scribblers Writing Group), my art, my leather work and marketing the things I make.  Hopefully I will learn more and become better at marketing.  If you want to see some of those things, you can see them here

Speaking of marketing, why is it that the people who develop television commercials seem to believe that the louder the spokesperson speaks, the better the commercial?  For some strange reason, I liked Billy Mays, but everyone else who tries to sell me a taco bowl maker or an Orgreenic frying pan, at the top of his lungs, I find offensive.  Thank God for the mute button.

It's like politics.  The more the person screams and the louder they scream, the more credible they are.  Really??  I don't think so.  Mute button anyone?  Now that I think about it, in 2014 I intend to pay less attention to politics.  Political ads make me crazy and I think I'll try to eliminate anything in my life that makes me crazy.  It can't hurt.


Happy New Year.  Have fun New Years Eve, but be safe.  I plan to stay home and watch the ball come down in NYC.  With any luck at all, Elton John will be one of the entertainers on New Years Rockin' Eve this year.