Separated at birth – Engelbert Humperdinck + Gene Simmons

Once a week I receive a concert update email from Ticketmaster. This morning I opened it up and saw Engelbert Humperdinck‘s photo THINKING it was Gene Simmons. I’m thinking… “Wow, I didn’t know Gene Simmons was touring.” I guess there is a huge resurgence after his successful run on the Apprentice. I’m definitely going to check out this show. Will he be singing songs from his latest release Ass****? Could he actually sing “Waiting for the Morning Light” live? Or will he dive into the KISS catalog?

Upon closer examination (When I clicked the link and was taken to the Ticketmaster site) I noticed it wasn’t Gene Simmons at all. Oops, my bad. I have to say the resemblance is uncanny.

Obama or Clinton – Who has the better splash page?

Forget about the two remaining democrats for now – let’s ask the all important question – who has the better splash? The splash page is what you see when you first reach a Web site. In both cases, the primary goal is to get you on the mailing list. The good news is that they both drop a cookie so you never see the page again.Let’s start with the splash pages. Both use traditional colors – red, white, and blue. Let’s workshop the splash pages:

Hillary Clinton’s splash page

Info
Requires first name, last name, email and zip code. They obviously want to know who you are and where you live. Important for getting the word out. Once the form is complete, you are redirected to the homepage.

Tagline
“Help make history” – Somewhat confusing. Does it refer to the history that will be made because it’s a first for a woman nominee? If so, that message is really more about Clinton. You can help HER make history. This tag line appeals to some but not all.

Design
Traditional non flashy design displaying Hillary’s three quarter photo. Generally photos that are shot under the chin looking up are a no no. The face does point in towards the message and that works well. The logo “Hillary for President” is confusing as it also shares this tag line “Help Make History.” There are no styles attached to the form. The GIANT submit button is a bit overkill. It’s red. It doesn’t need to be bigger than the logo.

Overall
The design is very traditional and old school.

Barack Obama’s splash page

Info
Only requires an email and zip code. This tells me the Obama camp understands the internet much better. You can add your email and zip and still remain anonymous. In all fairness, Obama uses a rather large button as well. However, Obama’s says “Learn More” which may encourage a click. Also, unlike Clinton’s splash page, you are first taken to a “Thanks for joining the movement” page then redirected to the homepage. Good feedback for the user.

Tagline”
Change we can believe in” – Obama’s tag line appeals to all. Everybody can get behind this type of inspirational message.

Design
The overall design is pleasing to the eye. The bold use of blue works well and helps to frame the message. There is a clear distinction between the logo “Obama 08″ and the inspirational tag line “Change we can believe in.” The black and white photo of Obama and his family is tastefully done. The vignette also allows the photo to breathe and bathe in the whitespace.

Overall
The design is more web 2.0 and much cleaner.I give this round to Obama. Simply on design alone.

Clever bathroom signs

These are only a handful of clever bathroom signs I found over at the toilet sign blog. I imagine the possibilities are endless…

Extreme cycling on one wheel!

This kid is amazing! The fact that he’s doing it all on a unicycle is unbelievable.

Starbucks finally switches to free Wi-Fi!

Starbucks ditches the overpriced T-mobile Wi-Fi service for free AT&T service and I couldn’t be happier. A smart decision no doubt made by once again CEO Howard Schultz. More from this Associated Press article:

SEATTLE (AP) — Starbucks Corp. and AT&T Inc. will start offering a mix of free and paid wireless Internet service in most of the global coffee retailer’s U.S. shops, beginning this spring.

The move announced Monday ends a six-year Starbucks partnership with T-Mobile, which did not include free Wi-Fi and charged higher fees than AT&T will.

Starbucks said it will give customers who use a Starbucks purchase card two hours of free wireless access per day. More time than that will cost $3.99 for a two-hour session. Monthly memberships will cost $19.99 and include access to any of AT&T’s 70,000 hot spots worldwide.

Nearly all of AT&T’s broadband Internet customers, about 12 million, will automatically have unlimited free Wi-Fi access at Starbucks, the companies said.

The deal boosts the number of AT&T hotspots in the U.S. to 17,000 — the most in the nation.

Two hours free per day. Now that’s fair. It makes sense to charge more to patrons who wish to call Starbucks their office. Freeloaders!

This is a huge blow to T-mobile. But moreover, what was Starbucks thinking? Most modern food retailers offer free Wi-Fi to entice customers into their restaurant. Starbucks was exploiting their customers. Cheers to Howie. Glad to see you back at the helm!

Also see:
Starbucks Sleeve
Jackhole goes to Starbucks
Do Starbucks corporate employees get free coffee?
Akeelah and the Bee and the Starbucks employee

Cluebag alert – Email etiquette

Email is a necessity when it comes to communication. Here are a few of my tips from the cluebag:

If you reply to an email, don’t start a new topic without changing the subject.
Suppose you get an email titled “Meeting to determine the next meeting.” Everyone can chime in and give their two cents. Sure, maybe Bob can make it but Sally can’t. Perhaps several action items are added to the list – great! DON’T HIT REPLY AND ASK WHO IS VOLUNTEERING FOR THE UPCOMING BLOOD DRIVE WITHOUT CHANGING THE SUBJECT LINE. What’s worse is the fifteen new people who reply to this email. Every five replies a new subject is added WITH THE SAME SUBJECT LINE!

How do you expect me to find your email about the “Impending new project deadline” when you fail to CHANGE THE SUBJECT! I guess I’ll just spend 10 to 15 minutes hunting down your email. Better yet, I’ll call you on the phone and ask if you sent the email to me so I can be the fool. Oh, you say, you sent it on Tuesday at 4:39. Ah. Now I able to find it. Not because of the subject line – Meeting to determine the next meeting – but because I had to phone you and ASK YOU.

Don’t send an urgent, time sensitive email without any additional communication
Let’s suppose for a moment that I receive an email titled “Bake sale moved up one hour.” I’m knee deep in work and only periodically checking my email. The bake sale is in full swing when I receive a call asking “Where are you, the bake sale started 20 minutes ago?” I’ll tell you where I am – I’m planning on wrapping up what I’m working on because the bake sale STARTS IN 40 MINUTES! How about a friendly 8 second call letting me know about the time change. Better yet, how about taking 11 steps, passing by my office and “THE BAKE SALE TIME HAS CHANGED!”

Don’t send ridiculous jokes or chain letters
I really don’t care if a terrible plague swallows up the earth if I don’t immediately forward your email to 20 of my friends. It’s a shame too. I’m sure my friends would really enjoy reading your silly email. Also, I’m not going to send money to some joker in South Africa because of his pathetic sob story about his millions of dollars temporarily tied up. I don’t care. I use email for communication with friends and colleagues.

Roughly 10 years ago I finally had to write a “STOP SENDING ME JOKES” email to a longtime friend. I don’t think he took it too well. Even after sending that scathing email, he would occasionally send me a “THIS IS REALLY, REALLY, FUNNY” email. Unfortunately he was not always right. And that’s putting it mildly. I was forced to create a filter so I wouldn’t get sucked into reading more nonsense.

On the other hand, I do sometimes look forward to certain joke emails which actually ARE funny. I guess there is a trusted source for everything.

Come on people, time to get the clue bag. Reach deep and grab a clue! A little etiquette goes a long way. Where’s the love? How about a little consideration for your fellow neighbor.

Young Ones – Can’t get it out of my head

“Look – Just watch what I do”…I love this song and can’t get it out of my head. The video has a really nice low-fi quality to it. The best part is the Bobby Brady look-a-like with the “Incredible Hulk” shirt on. That pretty much makes the video for me.