Ageism in America - From The Bottom Up?

by Jared on November 28th, 2007

A DC friend of mine was recently featured in the Washington Post about his initiatives to advance the rights of youth in this country.

The basic premise of the article is that youth in this country are sometimes forced into very specific age roles and, as you can imagine, this piqued my interest.

As we’ve seen, particularly with 20-somethings, as the soon as you put someone in a box, they are going to fight to get out. As you can expect, the article brought out some interesting comments from WaPo readers.

Regardless of what you think of him, however, you have to give Alex some serious credit for building an incredible organization. A very insightful 20-something following his dreams and his passion; we should all be so lucky.

Also, to get more information on the National Youth Rights Association - Goto www.youthrights.org

Technorati Tags: Alex Koroknay-Palicz, NYRA, washington post

Bitch Fight at the Wal-Mart Coral

by Jared on January 25th, 2007

Even though I am already on a high from officially mailing in my acceptance agreement and deposit to Vanderbilt/Owen this morning, leave it up to AdAge to make things yet more interesting….

They are reporting that ex-marketing executive Julie Roehm is filing a lawsuit against Wal-Mart for defamation and failing to uphold the terms of her compensation agreement.

You’ll recall that Roehm got the boot when her cavalier and forward-thinking style failed to impress the Bentonville-based illuminati. Tasked with making their marketing image more fashion forward to compete with Target, Roehm was deemed to be to radical for Wal-Mart’s tastes and was not-so-politely shown the door (along with the ad-agency she had brought with her).

Roehm is now fighting back citing that the mega-retailer made “false and malicious statements” about her to the press. This is the woman who tried to bring a fresh perspective to Wal-Mart and was written off for not conforming to their culture.

What the hell did they think was going to happen? That she would strap on a blue vest and come to work in a mini-van?

As far as I am concerned, Roehm may have not accomplished what Wal-Mart had wanted her to do but I can safely say that this is a hell of a sideshow and Roehm is working it like the master she is.

You go, girl!

Bloody Superstitions

by Jared on November 14th, 2005

So much of what we do in marketing may be science but many times, a lot of what we encounter in marketing challenges does rely on sheer dumb luck. In that, we try to find ways to control fate through various means - the favorite of which is reading superstitions.

Yeah, its silly and because we might not be as jadded as many of our Gen X counterparts, I do know many people that are seriously superstitious, to the point of mania. We’re talking reading horoscopes all the time, not walking under ladders, etc.

For me, I am not a die-hard astrology fan, but I do start to see what they mean in certian circumstances. In fact, I am usually creeped out by one particular astrological occurance - Murcury Retrograde.

For those of you who are not familiar here is a great breakdown by Jan Spiller:

THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA

Mercury Retrograde cycles occur approximately 3 times a year, 3-1/2 weeks each time. From the point of view of the Earth, it appears that the planet Mercury is going “backwards” in its orbit.

What is physically occurring is that Mercury is “slowing down” in its elliptical orbit around the Sun, and because the Earth is continuing to spin on its axis, Mercury “appears” to be going backward.

When this astronomical phenomena occurs, there are predictable, marked effects in our experience on Planet Earth.

HOW IT AFFECTS US

In astrology, the planet Mercury rules the conscious, logical mind. When the planet Mercury goes backwards, our thinking starts to go “backwards”- into a reflective mode.

During the time period of this phenomena, we all experience certain psychological effects in common: inattention, confusion, reversals of decision and then getting back on the “right track” again; unexpected, emotionally-charged miscommunications with others and the necessity of repeating actions more than once to get them “right”.

If you are unaware of the cycle, it can be frustrating. If you are aware of what is going on in the atmosphere, you can greet the inevitable “glitches” with a sense of humor.

Oftentimes, things you do under Mercury Retrograde have to be repeated. If you have your car repaired, you may have to take it back to get the job done properly.

Because your thinking is not in its usual bent, creative ideas that occur to you under this cycle will often not seem viable when Mercury goes into direct motion. It is best to wait until after this cycle is over to enter into agreements with others or to present new ideas.

Physical arenas that are ruled by Mercury seem to go haywire at this time: computers, telephones, printing, all fields related to transportation or communication are particularly vulnerable to malfunctioning during the Mercury retrograde cycles.

Long story short people? Now untill December 5th don’t be surprised if your electronics break, your good ideasl fail, or you are prone to make rash desisions.

I have already had several things happen today that are hinting that murcury has my face on a dartboard somewhere. I am optomistic though, but just thought you should know ;).