El Gaffney

Blogging for Two Years

Trust me, I can’t believe it either. But since it is a bit of a milestone, I thought I’d take this time to reflect back on my formative blogging years. (Apologies upfront, but please be prepared to see the word, blogging, at least 50x.)

Probably the first thing I learned was that it was “unrealistic” to use “dreams” as a strict theme for this blog. (Here is my first post. Note my first 4 had that word in the title.) More importantly, I realized I didn’t really want to limit myself that early. At the beginning, I was using this blog as an experiment, as a way to better understand the space (sphere). Learning is still the primary goal but it has now taken different forms, which I’ll touch on later in this post.

The second (in time and second biggest) thing I learned was regardless of theme, it is hard to sustain momentum in posting. At three months I briefly joined the 45% of people that give up on their blog after the initial honeymoon period. See. I think it’s safe to say I burned myself out; I had 27 posts in my first month. That was cut in half in the second month, and by month three I was down to 1 post. April was a complete drought, and then I picked back up in May and June (even changed the color of the site) only to stop blogging for about eight months until March of 2007. (So I guess this post should really be titled, “Having a Blog for Two Years.”) Anyway, since then I’ve been pretty consistent on a month-to-month basis.

I got my start contributing to the blogosphere at Fallon’s Planning Blog. Specifically, I found my niche in that team was presenting links to the videos, articles, and sites that were being passed around my young “professional” group of friends. The Inbox of Immaturity was meant to give people a quick look into the taste level of twenty-something guys and if not that deep, a quick break from work and the heady posts of others in the plannersphere. Posting almost weekly for the IOI helped me get into a rhythm and develop my voice.

It also inspired the renaming of my blog. No, it wasn’t always called El Gaffney. Likely only my parents and a few friends remember the days of Salvador Walleye. My Vonnegut obsession at the time, and the fact that I lived in Minnesota led me there. Man, did I think I was clever! (The renaming post should clarify.)

At this point, I must thank Aki (AKI SYSTEMS 2600) for starting that blog and opening up this world to me as well as being my most helpful teacher of everything Web 2.0. I also must thank Michael for deciding to interview me back then and showing me the potential of blogging for sharing ideas and making friendships.

Honestly when I look back over these couple of years, those have been the two greatest roles my blog has played:

1. A gateway to (trying) new technologies (for ex: twitter, del.icio.us, slideshare)
2. A gateway to (making) new friends (for ex: clay, whom I met in person last week – and confirmed is just as awesome as expected)

I had no idea what a catalyst this blog would become. Blogging has helped me stay interested (and perhaps become more interesting) and get involved in the conversations happening in the advertising industry mostly. And I am proud to have inspired other friends to create blogs.

What excited me most is I realize that I’ve only scratched the surface of what this blog can be and do. I look forward to more experimentation, learning, entertainment, inspiration (both being inspired and hopefully inspiring), and action. So it goes…with a plethora of pinatas!

(Picture from B-Mel on Flickr)

Tags: blogging, Friends, interesting

Paying Tribute to the Past

Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This is the first agency at which I’ve worked which gives the day off. I don’t have any major plans. I have a lot of things I should probably be doing from getting organized to running to getting a new Blackberry to watching/reading the many tributes to MLK Jr. I have also realized that my first post ever was on this national holiday two years ago. It was about titled, “Dreams.” My second post gave a shout-out to Google for its adaptable logos. Let’s see what they’ll do tomorrow.

Thankfully I know what I won’t have to do and that is answer any calls from the office asking where I am!

ADDENDUM: Here’s the Google homepage image on MLK Jr. Day 2008.

Tags: blogging, dreams, holidays, mlk

Get Grant’s Green

Anyone coming here for the first time may not know my affection for alliteration. But it’s well-documented. Regardless of your affinity for the technique, you should consider getting a copy of The Green Marketing Manifesto. Here is it in all its glory.
John Grant has been a source of knowledge and inspiration over my five years in the advertising world. His Brand Tarot blog has been linked to for a while (if anyone’s coming to the site vs. RSS). So I’m sure it will be a fantastic read. And it could not have come at a more appropriate time. Whether you’re tending to brands, starting a business, or making personal changes to promote an environmentally-friendly lifestyle, the green movement will have an impact on our future. As awkward as NBC’s Sunday Night Football half-time show in the dark was and as cheesy as their marketing of their “Green is Universal” initiative is, I appreciate the thought and, more importantly, action. But it’s clear that marketers especially need help from us in the agency world to figure out how the become more sustainable (probably how they define green in the first place) as well as how they communicate it (proving they believe it and aren’t just looking to cash in (make some green, anyone?) from the “hot thing.”)

Tags: blogging, books, green

Comment Victoriously

It’s hard to get people to comment. I usually consider a post a big success if I get two (since, of course, I can respond to each and bump it up to 4!). I know some of my fellow Gen GuY bloggers agree.
Last week, a very well-respected (especially in the planning world), -liked (he once received hundreds of comments after writing a heart-felt post about blogging), and -read (actually that’s an assumption; more appropriately would be “oft-read” on his blog and in Campaign magazine) guy named Russell Davies held a contest. The prize a copy of Mark Penn’s Microtrends dictated the challenge: Come up with your own microtrend(s) and leave them in the comments to be voted on by Jeremy from Penguin. (I linked to the Penguin site for the book rather than Amazon to show love.) I’m happy to announce I was one of the winners.

My favorite happened to come from John Dodds, another planner I have been inspired by. It was: “The Unwell – people going online, erroneously diagnosing themselves with worst case scenarios on the basis of symptoms and no knowledge.” So true. I submitted three and was talking with a few friends on Saturday night about them, and we all seemed to have a different opinion about which we liked most/least. It got a little heated with the Sake bombs flowing, so I thought I’d put it up to vote. (Plus, I like using Vizu polls as some of you know from the Flu Shot one I created – which probably supports The Unwell.)

Here are the descriptions:
Playground Papa’s – think the prom king from little children (movie) or joe from brothers and sisters (tv). Men who embrace being the primary caretaker and man of the house-hold chores but also make sure they stay manly. (This does not require any infidelity though the ex’s suggest it.) Also known as the triple P’s (add Progressive) and/or Soccer Dads.

Diversuburbanites – You won’t find diversity in major cities anymore, you’ll have to go out to the surrounding suburbs. And that’s what many recent grads and young families are going to do to have a more rich and multi-cultural life.

Thru-breds – People who grew up IMing, texting, blogging, etc. but now fail to use proper grammatical English in the traditional world. This slang/shorthand is not just used in emails but also infiltrates presentations, legal documents, and love letters.

I don’t know how much crossover there is between our blogs. But I’m assuming that only a handful of people that come here daily also read him regularly. Even if he’s got me totally covered, you may have not read his contest in time or you may not have had the time to consider or you may have felt you had to say something intelligent in his comment box. Rest assured—and I’m sure most of you know—you don’t have to feel that sort of pressure here. (I’m a couple days away from posting my next Inbox of Immaturity, which amongst other things will have an officer’s awkward pat down of a suspicious character on the street.)

So, if you have some microtrends to add to the mix, I’d love to hear them.

Tags: blogging, books, Friends, trends

Blog Action Day: greenmail

Every week or so since April 22, my friend Kim has sent out an email with, in her words, “some little easy thing you can do to help out the environment.” This week she sent the group #25. In honor of Blog Action Day, a movement set up by a few bloggers, which asks bloggers to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind – the environment – by posting about it TODAY, I’m going to post Kim’s first twenty-five green tips.

25. Don’t eat Chilean Sea Bass. Here’s a list of the best and worst fish to eat for the environment (and your health).
24. Use coasters made of sandstone, and other absorbent materials so you don’t have to wipe down tables. You’ll save lots of paper.
23. Go to the local farmers’ market. The produce is better and they don’t use fertilizers or pesticides which suck up more than 30% of the energy used to make food.
22. Move to Eugene, Oregon. Hydroelectric and wind power contribute over 85% of Eugene’s power, the city has biodiesel and hybrid fleets, and a really concerted effort and evaluation of all city activities for environmental impact.
21. Get one organic pair of jeans. The chemical process used to create soft, stonewashed jeans contaminates the water in Central Mexico (where more than 700 clothing manufacturers sell jeans to the U.S.).
20. Use ECOTAINERS. If your company or workplace has a kitchen and stocks it with paper cups, check and see how eco-friendly they are. There are cups called ECOTAINERS that are bought in bulk by companies and that are 100% compostable and biodegradable.
19. Seek out bamboo. For furniture, sheets, whatever. It’s a super eco-friendly material, the grass is renewable and very kind to the earth.
18. Buy a digital red bulb thermometer. Avoid the silver mercury bulb ones as mercury is a debilitating nerve toxin for your body and the environment.
17. Offset carbon emissions with Terrapass. It does a lot of other great things too, like funding clean weddings, car stuff, etc.
16. Search with Blackle. Powered by Google, it saves energy with a black screen.
15. Turn your receipts over and use the blank backs for notes. Then recycle.
14. Swap one product this week for a better earth-friendly product. Swap a
toothpaste, dish-washing detergent, or snack (organic licorice weirdly good).
13. Dust the little vents in your a/c, and you’ll save energy and money.
12. Turn your cell phone off when you’re not using it (especially when you go to sleep at night).
11. Try an activity/sport that puts you smack in the dab of mother nature.
10. Plant a tree in someone’s memory.
9. Don’t over-consume. Throwing away 2 aluminum cans wastes more energy than 1,000,000,000 of the world’s poorest people use a day.
8. Recycle more than cans and paper. Recycle your computer/laptop by giving it to charity, instead of throwing it away. The National Cristina Foundation will hook up your old PC or Mac with a nonprofit organization. You can also drop off your old cell phone at your local Staples store as part of a Sierra Club recycling effort.
7. Say bye-bye to junk mail here and save our forests.
6. Pat yourself on the back this week for being a part of this email (or reading this far down the list in this case) and doing your bits to make our world better.
5. When ordering take-out or getting food delivered, request no napkins or plastic utensils, unless you really need them.
4. When traveling, turn off your a/c when you check out of your hotel room.
3. Send potted flowers. Cut flowers dispose quickly. A greener option is to send potted flowers because they last longer, improve indoor air quality and can be self-watering.
2. Eat one less meat meal this week. Animal farming consumes tons of energy and water, is a growing source of pollution and leads to land degradation. Eat some sushi or a veggie burger.
1. Use a front loading washing machine when doing laundry. It uses way less water than a top load.

Even if you only incorporate 5 of these 25 suggestions into your life, you are starting to make environmentally-friendly changes/choices. Little things matter, especially when large amounts of people do them. Pass it on. Thanks Kim.

Tags: blogging, Friends, green