El Gaffney

Inbox of Immaturity: The Art of the Tease

Man, since that New Year’s Resolution to write a post per week, week’s are starting to fly by. This isn’t the most thoughtful post, but I can’t help it that I woke up and all I could think about was this clip (that was featured on The Soup). So I brought back an old staple, the IOI, in order to present this gem – and a few others. Without further ado, Ray-J teaches up about the art of the tease (at about 2:30 in):

More stuff I’m digging this week:
- Conan spending NBC’s money
- Five year-old drummer doing System of a Down
- Parks & Recreation + Questlove + Wu-Tang
- Kind of like the Jersey Shore meets Pokemon (NSFW)
- And finally, a Jersey Shore compilation

Have a great weekend. Go Jets!

Tags: ioi, mtv

Filmed Brand Experiences

I’m very much in agreement with Zeus Jones that actions speak louder than words, so it’s always nice to see companies spending some time/money to do things for people (their customers, fans, etc.). To see them making good, creative use of the moments people’s lives intersect with their company’s products or services. To do unexpected and fun things with/for people. To make them smile.

One issue many clients seem to have with actions is their limited reach. “That’s awesome for those twenty individuals but what about the other twenty million.” Word of mouth is tough to track, especially offline. That’s why it’s helpful to capture these actions in picture of video form. To tell the story. To share it with a broader audience. To enable them to share in it and share it with others.

Experiences plus Content. When done right, it’s like Jay-Z and R. Kelly (the best of both worlds). When done wrong it can look staged (reactions rehearsed). It can look selfish instead of generous.

Here’s one I saw this morning that, in my opinion, works.

Red Bull is a company I’ve felt does this particular thing (amplifying experiences) really well. It creates real world events that, whether tens or thousands attend, tell a story to millions about their brand.

T-Mobile in the UK offers a couple examples of bring people together to do something and developing content off it. And, of course, there are the masters at ImprovEverywhere, who do this often – sometimes for (a bit of) good but mostly just for fun.

Brands understandably want to get credit for their actions/the experiences they provide. But let’s not let that become the driving force for doing.

Tags: brands, coke, improveverywhere, viral

Happy New Year

Or feliz ano nuevo, if only I could figure out how to do get that tilde over the n. Anyone know the shortcut in Wordpress? I probably have to get some “plugin” for a Spanish dictionary or something. I’ve got friends who know how to code and others learning code as part of their New Year’s resolution, and I’m trying to put a squiggly line over a letter. Oh boy. Ah, how about if copy it from the Internet? Oh snap…

Feliz año nuevo! (I’m not going back for an upside-down exclamation point. Sorry.)

But that’s not what this post is about. Well, it kind of is. I have been inspired by some blogging buddies to put some of my resolutions out there for critique, improvement, encouragement and/or to give others ideas since that’s what they’ve given me. Pay it forward. Man, that’s an emotional movie. Haley Joel Osment. Kevin Spacey. Helen Hunt and JBJ (as her alcoholic ex-husband).

Anyway, it’s great to be back from this…

Palmas del Mar, Puerto Rico

Seriously, though, I’m feeling re-energized both professionally and personally and am excited for 2010. (I’m going with twenty-ten, by the way.) And, as I mentioned, have decided to post five resolutions that have been floating around my mind over the last couple of weeks.

1. Blog Once A Week – First things first, I poppa freaks all the blogging. Okay, stream of consciousness may be part of it (as you may have noticed reading up to this point), though I plan on censoring myself a bit to make sure I’m coherent and my posts are fun to read (or at least tolerable). Long story short, this blog is approaching it’s fourth b-day and I’ve never really had a plan for it nor have I forced myself to post on a weekly (even monthly basis). I’m pretty sure I need a full post to outline the first point, but I can confidently say I need to post more. I enjoy writing and sharing (thoughts, not food or toys). So here’s the start.

2. Get Five Mentors – Michael K. is definitely responsible for this one. He surrounds himself with smart people with diverse experiences and seems to be constantly tapping their brains. He is, and his plans are, better for it. Right, Mike? I’ve had the fortune of meeting and working with some incredible people at this point in my life and have lost touch with too many. I need to identify and reach out to a handful of them as well as (hopefully) reconnect and start conversing with them more regularly.

3. Wake Up Early to Work Out Twice A Week – Thanks go out to Kevin for this one. He’s trying to run a 5K and become an early riser. For years I’ve talked about working out in the mornings because (1) I sleep pretty late as it is, and (2) It’s hard to motivated to get to the gym after a long day of work. It hasn’t happened. So this year I’ve got even less excuses. I’ve got a partner (my girlfriend) and a gym/pool in my building. Tuesday’s yoga. Thursday’s swimming. Tomorrow is the first test.

4. Develop Three Skills – This is a work in progress as I cull a bunch of my initial thoughts into a shortlist. It can be learning to do something completely new (e.g., boxing or cooking) or growing/reviving a current (stagnant) ability (e.g., Spanish or dancing). (Yes, dancing.) If anyone has any suggestions in NYC for any of the four listed, I’m all ears.

5. Get Better at Managing Money – This is a big and scary one. And that’s why I didn’t put it into the “skills” list and give myself an out. I hate thinking about and talking about money. But I’ve reached a point in my life where my hate (and guilt) for disliking (being overwhelmed by) money has surpassed the hate of money. It’s debilitating. I’ve realized I need to take control of my personal finances ASAP. (Don’t worry I’m not in any financial trouble.) This is something I’m thinking about sharing what I learn (about everything from saving to investing) or creating a business around.

I finished with a less tangible one and want to add one more to the mix. It is to meet more bloggers in-person. A couple years ago, I was more committed to meeting online acquaintances offline and want to challenge myself to do step that up this year – even if it’s reconnecting with blogging friends. So please stop by and say hi. All the best in this new year.

Tags: new years, resolutions

World’s Greatest Dad / LI’s Best Hypnotherapist

Unfortunately, there’s only so much room on a coffee mug. Otherwise, CafePress would be receiving a new order. Hey-oh!

Image Credit

My dad has recently been nominated in “The Best of Long Island 2010″ poll in the “Best Hypnotherapist” category. Rather than ask you to vote for him blindly though, I’ve decided to share a little bit about him with you…and then later in the post I’ll ask you to vote for him (Best of –> Health & Wellness –> #12 –> Dr. Vincent Gaffney, if you don’t want to read on). Here goes:

My father quit smoking through hypnosis a month before before I was born. One session and tapes. (Cassette tapes—now CDs and MP3s—that can be customized to help keep people on track and learn to practice self-hypnosis.) And he hasn’t touched a cigarette since.

He clearly has a reason to believe in the effectiveness of hypnosis. More general than this personal experience, however, my dad has always believed in the power of the mind to impact people’s lives. He’s taught me through conversations and, more importantly, by example that positive and focused thinking lead to positive actions and accomplishment.

It is all starts with the desire to change something for the better (e.g., quit smoking, lose weight, stop procrastinating, manage stress, fly on plane, etc.). This is non-negotiable. I’ve always admired that the first question my dad asks a new client is if they truly want to do/not do ‘x’. If they’re still on the fence, he kindly asks them to return when they’re ready to take control of this desire (and resulting behavior). Specifically, he works with the subconscious and conscious to change individuals’ directives to what they really desire and reinforce these new positive directives, respectively.

Over the years he’s helped countless people make the changes they’d never been able to make before. Whether they attempted cold turkey, countless diets and/or in some cases seeing a psychologist, the past is what it is. And when they come to see him, as he says, “There is no try; there’s just do.”

It’s not just a challenge for his clients. He holds himself to the same principle. This is the way he approaches his life and how he’s achieved his goals. This was his approach when he was an administrator at a middle school in Spanish Harlem and when he started his career teaching special education. This is how he was able to better the lives of his students and how he’s been able to provide more opportunities for my sister and me.

Now to answer the obvious first question: Has he ever hypnotized me? Nope. Then how do I know he’s any good? Because if commits even a tenth of a percent of the energy to improving their lives that he commits to me and my family, he’ll help them too. Boom.

So, while you may care to cast your vote differently for a World’s Greatest Dad competition, hopefully you don’t have a personal connection to anyone else in the running for LI’s Best Hypnotherapist.

Therefore, please go to Long Island Press Best of Long Island 2010.

- Click on Health and Wellness.
- Scroll down to #12 “Best Hypnotherapist”
- Check: Dr. Vincent Gaffney, Huntington

And while you’re there and if you’re so inclined, please also scroll to #21 “Best Acupuncturist” and vote for his business partner: Ronald Sandoval, Huntington.

Please note that while there’s no slashy award in this competition, I’ll always see him as a dad-slash-hypnotherapist and not other way around. But, as you can see below, his style is versatile…

Tags: family, new york, polls

Work to Live…Kinda Lavish

Please excuse the silence over here. I’m working my a$$ off (for those dolla bills, sort of) on some exciting, new projects (pretty much).

Seriously though, I have no idea how my buddy found probably one of the most ballin’ versions of me out there. I wish I could claim this as an alter-ego (Stefan style), but I can’t. Introducing: Seff tha Gaffla.

Tags: thisissoridiculous