Maintain your (corporate) independence

The projected concept behind social networking websites is very appealing to me. Yes, you too can maintain your professional and personal relationships as easily as posting a sentence on someone’s profile! Friendships repaired in three seconds! Lost lovers reunite in two! It’s simply a result of the current age of instantaneousness.

I wonder when we got so busy. Somewhere between the innocence of childhood and the illusionary demands of adulthood, maybe. I say illusionary because I think as a society, we made a lot of them up to combat bad self-esteem. I don’t have to answer the phone every time it rings, I don’t have to buy something every time I see an advertisement, and I don’t have to be connected in every network. I’m getting very tired of the generalized belief that I should.

Take Facebook, for example. The appeal was huge, it swept the nation. I was caught up in it too, bribed by the wealth of information at my fingertips. I still use it, but not for the same purposes as before. I remember the day I first saw the ad on the sidebar that advertised something I had listed under my “Interests”. And like that, I came to the realization I’d been so naively ignoring: I was only a statistic in a targeted demographic, a non-human, consumer database blip. But that’s what’s so genius about social networking— we willfully submit ourselves to it. I have yet to see any real returns on my time investment in Facebook.

AdBuster magazine featured an article titled “Facebook Suicide” that I found interesting:

“By turning members into consumers who involuntarily advertise to their friends, Facebook hoped to extract profit from social interactions. However, by commercializing friendships, Facebook has irrevocably destroyed its image. Now a vanguard of the anti-Facebook movement is developing out of an increasing disenchantment. No longer a fun, harmless place to hang out, Facebook has become just another commercial enterprise.”

-Micah M. White, The Global Movement #77

I’m scared to think about the thoughts that are planted daily in the minds of so many Americans by media conglomerates— particularly younger generations. The distinctions between wants and needs have become so gray, we purchase everything on a whim just to save ourselves time. And all that saved time, where does it go? Straight to Facebook.

Happiness as Your Business Model

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In the business of being snubbed by big business

This is from a few days ago, but the consumer blog community has been in uproar over blatant snubs fellow consumers have received from big companies, particularly Target, Starbucks, T-Mobile, and Sprint. Blogger and marketing consultant Joseph Jaffe reminds these guys not to miss an opportunity to right some truly unbelievable marketing no-no's. I was particularly shocked over the Target and Starbucks consumer snubs, described by Jaffe in this brief clip (you'll have to follow the link because the video can't be downloaded):

Social Media Mistakes of Five Big Marketers

In this golden age of communication, how do these big guys think they can get away with this? They seem to be forgetting that their target demographics are made up of individuals-- who are constantly connected with one another.

I had a recent experience with Apple where I was snubbed twice by their customer service department. I placed an order for a nice shiny 24" iMac and printer that were damaged via shipping. Not only was I not notified of the damage, I wasn't automatically re-ordered a new computer, and had to complete the re-ordering process myself, which took an additional 7-10 days. This re-ordering process took place after I haggled with a customer service rep on the phone for 30 minutes, 29 minutes of which I was on hold. I then had to wait 24 hours for a "case number" and verification email. Only THEN could I proceed with ordering a new computer.

Following the iMac issue, I ordered an iTunes gift card from them several weeks ago which I only just received last Tuesday due to "loss in shipment". Not only had I not received this thing for weeks, Apple wasn't even willing to take the blame for the loss of the product in shipping, instead pointing fingers at USPS. As a reward, they received a three-page rager suggesting a total overhaul of their processes (along with a few choice words for the staff I spoke to).

On the upside, I got promoted to an Apple VIP after a long, ass-kissing phone call last Saturday following my letter. But the sad truth is that I'm one of the lucky ones. Big Biz snubs happen countless times a day to countless consumers. I'm hoping we'll soon reach a point where consumers are more united and loyal to each other than they are to brands that consistently slight them.

Weekend Recount

Friday started off with a bang when on my way to work at 7:45am, I fell over the curb into the street, causing my knees and hands to make painful contact with the asphalt below. My bag went flying, all its contents strewn about. At least two guys saw this happen, too, but they just watched me pick myself up, hands-a-bleedin', and collect my lunch, checkbook, purse, and mp3 player. I didn't even trip over anything, I just fell off the curb. I'm awesome!

Later that day, I saw the book signing of author Jessica Abel at Powell's on Burnside, who co-wrote with Matt Madden the book Drawing Words and Writing Pictures: Making Comics from Manga to Graphic Novels. I've seen the book and it's great, it's a really solid introduction to creating and making comics of all types. As a self-professed comics geek, this event was a must-see for me, and I'm really glad I went.

"GEEK"

I was invited by a friend who writes for Northwest Noise to see the band Intervision at Jimmy Mak's on Saturday night. The band had a great sound, reminiscent of Maroon 5 or Steely Dan, and played a lot of original, dance-inspiring tunes, include a few covers of The Police and Bob Marley. You can see NW Noise's exclusive interview with the band frontman, Paul Creighton, on their website.

Intervision

Sunday I golfed with my dad. That's about it. I have amazing short game. It's a Cinderella story, really.

I never saw this coming

People are so immature. I never would have seen the phallic reference in the movie title Hancock had I not seen this photo. There must have been a thousand other titles they came up with for this movie before they settled on this one. It's a great choice. I hope somebody in the Buena Vista Sony Pictures marketing department got promoted.

I stole this from Jeph Jacques

1. My username is _____ because ____

I have a couple usernames because I think I'm a lot cooler online than I am in reality. One of my usernames I made all the way back in middle school when I started using IRC. It's kcyan6, and I don't use it anymore, but personally I think it's awesome. I just got too many questions about what it meant. I didn't know usernames had to mean anything, but basically I took a word, cyan, added a random letter and number to it, and kcyan6 was born. Both dumb AND timeless. Bonus!

2. My name is _____ because ______.

My first name is Leslie because my dad liked it and my mom agreed. That's pretty much the story. I heard a rumor that I have a great-uncle named Leslie, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was true. I know more male Leslies than female. My last name is of Scandinavian origin, and has a double-vowel. My dad's side of the family is from Finland, where inventing words with double-vowels originated. Finns also invented cellphones, furniture, jam, and blond hair.

My middle name is Anne because of Anne of Green Gables. I've never read the book and I don't think my mom has either. According to Anne of Green Gables, the "e" on the end is very important.

3. My blog is titled ____ because ____.

Flying V and the Lost Secretarial Arts came from my twisted brain. Flying V was the name I was going to choose for my as-of-yet nonexistent design company, but I searched the government trademark database and found that it was registered to Gibson Guitars. I wonder if they'd still let me use it because I wouldn't name a guitar after it. Anyway, I decided to just use it as the title of my blog because I didn't think Gibson would care about that. Especially because the only time I would ever make reference to a guitar on the site would be to whine about how I wished I could play one.

The Lost Secretarial Arts refers to my current job as a personal assistant, administrative coordinator, and all-purpose office bitch. I say "lost art" because I suck at it. However, I did fix our toilet once when it wouldn't flush, and it still works. Did I mention my job is ridiculous?

4. My profile pic is ____ because ____.

A picture my sister took with her phone, which explains the quality. I like it because it's a pretty accurate depiction of my personality. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and with a little Photoshopping, I still think that's true.

You can find anything on the Internet

I never cease to be amazed by the wonder that is the Internet. Two days ago I found a site that you can mail a postcard to with a personal secret on it, and they'll post it on their site.

The above is true for me too, but I'm not afraid to own up to it. I even hover at work. You just can't be too careful these days.

So I enjoyed reading those. Although, some of them were really sad, in lieu of Father's Day...

Anyway, must go home and draw some thumbnails. I'm trying to land a job designing an album cover for a local band. Must not go to a place I like to visit often: Procrastination Nation.

Welcome to Portland

It's hard to like a city that's more wet than in the Amazon. It's June in Portland now, and currently 58 degrees. According to Weather.com, that's one of the coldest temperatures in the United States for this day. To top it all off, there is a nice grey covering of clouds in the sky, the ground is dotted with puddles, and you can't sit on any patches of grass within the city limits without getting a wet bottom.

Despite all that, I like Portland. We may not be home to Starbucks and Pearl Jam like a certain neighboring city, but we've got Stumptown and The Decemberists. And Sam Elliott, according to Wikipedia. Who didn't like him in The Big Lebowski (and can quote every line from the Dude)?


One of my favorite things about Portland, particularly since I am in creative business, is the abundance of underground art culture here. Zinesters and DIY publishers are common buzzwords thrown around in every independent coffeeshop from the Hollywood District to Goose Hollow. In fact, I recently had the good luck to discover a non-profit independent publishing resource center: the IPRC on SW Oak off of Burnside. This Wednesday, I'm participating in a Print Gocco workshop. If you want to know what gocco is, swing by the IPRC at 7pm, or look for my post this Thursday.

I grew up in Hillsboro/Beaverton area, but all my extended family are Californians, so I must like it here if I still live here. I also went to the University of Oregon (GO DUCKS), but after graduation everybody moved to LA. Where's the loyalty? What was all that about bleeding green and wearing shirts that said 'Go Duck Yourself'?*

All in all, Portland is a city dear to my heart, despite the crap weather 10 months out of the year. Where else can you grow three eyes from swimming in our beloved river, or keep up with the streetcar by walking beside it?

In the meantime, go check out GoSeePortland.com for more recommendations for what to do around Portland. We're so cool here, we don't even care.

*Still Available!

Blog Launch Party

Everyone is invited to my blog launch party. It's being held at my desk, at my work, during my lunch hour. BYOB.

Until I figure out how to make this site look ridiculously awesome, please direct all comments to the suggestion box under my desk. It's the cardboard box next the trash can.