There are about 469,000 search results in Google for the phrase “is dead long live,” which only has meaning if you put the same word at the front and tail of it. We have all probably seen this in some form or another – “AM Radio is dead, long live AM Radio” and so forth. The phrase is commonly used by someone to state that a particular thing – service, product, industry – is no longer viable, or is on the way out. In a lot of cases, the person stating this is in a position to benefit or profit from the successor to whatever they are proclaiming as dead.

When I originally scrawled notes on my whiteboard on this blog post, I had listed a number of industries, products and companies that I felt were “dead.” After looking over those notes, I realized that these entities weren’t dead at all, they were simply dead to me.

Take for example the newspaper industry. Sure, sales of all major daily newspapers are going down. But in rural areas, newspapers thrive, as they are the main source of information. Before you start hearing dualing banjos in your head, this has nothing to do with the people themselves, just try to get DSL or broadband Internet more than a few miles outside of a small town in north central Wisconsin, let alone even a weak signal on your mobile device! As a result, the mediums of the newspaper and local AM and FM radio are successful in these areas. There may not be a Tribune Tower in the center of these towns, but the handful of people who work there are gainfully employed. Even if you are nearby the Tribune Tower, it's not that people don't read newspapers anymore, there may be simply less of them. With the exception of the day after the presidential election, of course.

As someone who remembers a time before email, I keep that in mind when working with my own clients at Dunkirk Systems, LLC in the strategy and decision-making process for their use of the Internet. I work with graphic designers who understand both print and online – why create a logo that looks good online that you can’t possibly put on a fax cover sheet in black and white? Understanding that people who are not technically savvy still have credit cards and if it’s easy enough they will buy from your Web site is important not to forget.

So the next time someone says something is dead, you need to seek your own meaning in it. If what is being called dead or dying is what you do for a living, you may want to explore it a little further – the alternative may not be too much out of reach. Or it may be still viable but just not for everybody.

Did you enjoy reading this? You are welcome to subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS feed or by email.

Business • (2) Comments • Permalink

To paraphrase what I hear often on Marketing Over Coffee, you are only as good as your house list. Maybe more people should be listening to that podcast.

As the year draws to the end, it is catalog season – that time of the year when our collective mailboxes are jammed with catalogs from companies you have and never have heard of and will most likely never buy from. But that doesn’t stop them from sending me catalogs, sometimes multiple copies, both to my home and work addresses. In what has become almost a mindless ritual, I rip off the back cover and inside order form, shred them, and put the catalog in the recycle bin. I had thought of creating a YouTube video of me doing this, but it doesn’t take much imagination to know what I do on a daily basis.

Some catalogs have a message on the back saying you can unsubscribe to the catalog by calling them or visiting their Web site. As this is not usually worth my time, I haven’t bothered. My mindset changed the other day when Lands’ End, who is already sending catalogs to myself and my wife at both my home and work address, sent one to my daughter. Did I mention my daughter is a baby? Sure she got some very nice presents by friends and family from Lands’ End, but was that an invitation to add her to their catalog mailing list?

I have since sent emails to Lands’ End asking to remove her from their database, and pointing out her age and general inability to shop from them, let alone read the catalog. I got back a generic message, indicating that since catalogs are pre-printed, they may continue arriving. This means I will be getting them pretty much every other day through February of next year.

Lands’ End is being singled out as an evil-doer as they sent my infant daughter a catalog. I happen to like their merchandise and have several items from them. I am fully aware the nature of the catalog business, but in these times of a tight economy, identity theft and overall environmental consciousness, maybe do an address de-dupe on your database and just send us one. Not that we’ll buy anymore from them, but for sure you won’t have me calling them evil on my blog!

Did you enjoy reading this? You are welcome to subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS feed or by email.

Business • (2) Comments • Permalink

Today, November 12, 2008, is the 18th anniversary of the original proposal for the World Wide Web. Submitted on November 12, 1990 by Tim Berners-Lee, it reads like a very modest proposal for a small project. It goes without saying its impact on the world, let alone CERN.

This makes the Web “legal” in the US. It can vote and enter into a contract. And it’s only 3 years away from its first legal alcoholic drink.

Thinking back to where I was that day, I was most likely working on an IBM mainframe consulting assignment in Providence, Rhode Island. It would be another 6 years until I was developing Web sites commercially.

If the Web means anything to you, especially for those of us who make our living off of it, it is worthy of a quick read. There are a few things in it that will make you smile, and a few things that will make you think, think about the vision back then and how it has played out in less than 2 decades from its original presentation.

Did you enjoy reading this? You are welcome to subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS feed or by email.

Technology • (2) Comments • Permalink

Today marks the 4th anniversary of my Internet consultancy, Dunkirk Systems, LLC. As I mentioned in my post last year about the 3rd anniversary it’s the day I was in business in the eyes of infamous Cook County, but in reality the business had been in the pupae stage for years.

When I went on my own, I made 2 statements about my business in general. I have never really talked about these much unless they came up in a conversation, so I thought I’d share them today.

Statement 1 – I don’t have to create every Web site

Where technically this is not possible, it is something that guides my business development. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of a new project, as well as the excitement of a prospective client. In the end a business decision needs to be made, and in some cases it is myself making it, and in many cases it is the prospective client. When one “gets away” I will think back on this statement, and realize there is a whole world of people and businesses that have a need for my services.

Statement 2 – If I have to do cold calling, I am shutting down my business

I don’t look at this as a cocky statement at all, rather one that truly reflects me and how I want to lead my business. Personally, I don’t like cold calling, both from the aspect of the one making the call and especially from the one receiving it. It is probably one of the most user-unfriendly ways of doing business! Sure, in some cases through cold calling people learn about something they didn’t know about before, and there are people who are extremely successful in business – and rich – as a result of it.

Beyond my personal disdain for cold calling, I feel there are plenty of other avenues available to me for business development. As someone who believes business is about relationships, I have been successful thus far through networking, referrals from existing clients and colleagues, as well as repeat business from clients. I also feel there are many other channels for reaching out to people as well, including blogging, Web sites, public speaking, authoring, conference panels, etc. This latter list I have only dipped my toes into, and is a body of water I am planning on diving in head first when I do.

So no big fanfare and no free coffee like last year. Next year will be 5 years, and maybe we’ll blow a few horns then. Now it’s back to work.

Did you enjoy reading this? You are welcome to subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS feed or by email.

Announcements • Business • (9) Comments • Permalink

Last night I attended Tech Cocktail 9, a long-running and highly successful tech networking event in Chicago, now branching out to other cities around the country. I met some new people as well as reconnected with many others. It was a very worthwhile event and thanks again to Eric Olson and Frank Gruber for organizing it.

As I left a few The Hot Iron cards around the bar as well as exchanged cards with a number of people, if you are visiting this humble journal for the first time – welcome! The Hot Iron talks about business and technology issues and topics, plus other areas which I call “diversions” as well as take-aways I get from books I have read. You are welcome to subscribe by RSS feed or by email, as well join in the conversation and comment.

To all new and long-time readers, I hope to see you again soon at a future Tech Cocktail, likemind, or let’s connect for coffee.

Did you enjoy reading this? You are welcome to subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS feed or by email.

Business • Technology • (0) Comments • Permalink