http://12gurus.com/blog Innovate with Integrity (TM) Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:18:05 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en [From one of ours.] I am speechless. I feel as if I am stuck in a box. Marcel Marceau, the world's Mime, has achieved pure silence. When they found him, his face was white as a ghost. "Say something! Say something!", they shouted, but they knew it was futile. He wouldn't make a sound. Now, it is ... http://12gurus.com/blog/50-tonight-is-a-night-to-remember-marcel-marceau/ Many websites request you enter a "password". Taking the phrase apart, they're asking for a "word" that allows you to "pass" into a secure area. So why do they complain when you enter a "word"? They're half-right: a single* dictionary word is easily guessed and easily hacked. They should ask for a "passcode". We'll ... http://12gurus.com/blog/49-pass-on-word/ Cheap computers are coming to rural China.  Like the fax in the USSR, but faster, this will empower and encourage free thinking. Censorship will be futile. There's no need for bullets, communism will die from bytes. Can your product change the world? http://12gurus.com/blog/48-there-goes-communism/ "Nails and More" "Mailboxes, Etc." "Not Just Nuts!" Who has seen "More" and thought, "That's what I'm looking for!"? Has anyone ever looked under "Etc." in the phonebook? When I'm buying candy, do I think "A nut store that sells other things"? These are lame names. Where's the story? http://12gurus.com/blog/47-and-more/ Your interactions with customers define their perception of your product’s quality. The best designers in the world cannot overpower a jerk salesman or inept tech support worker. People will become confused, and things will break – they will call. Having a knowledgeable, empowered person to take their calls is what ... http://12gurus.com/blog/46-connect-with-your-customers/ "This gift certificate is valid for 18 months, followed by a 6-month grace period, after which it will expire." It would be efficient, technical, and correct to say "24 months" or "two years". However, it wouldn't be more human. By giving a grace period with their gift certificates, Amazon.com is saying, “you’d better ... http://12gurus.com/blog/45-18-6-24/ "Gurus" around the world are blogging on why people don’t make the logical choice to switch from incandescent to “compact fluorescent” bulbs. This is retarded. Since when do people make logical choices? Nobody hires us to help them reason with consumers – you have 3 seconds to convince some overworked, under-informed ... http://12gurus.com/blog/39-how-many-marketers-does-it-take-to-get-you-to-screw-in-a-light-bulb/ “Remember, it’s not a TiVo unless it’s a TiVo." So says the woman on the radio commercial selling that brand of digital video recorder. I wonder if her script was Xeroxed on a Toshiba copier, or if she refreshed her throat with a cold glass of something from her GE Frigadaire. Maybe ... http://12gurus.com/blog/38-its-not-unique-unless-its-unique/ There are many messages out there telling you to click for a prize. They're digital Ed McMahon's. You don't believe them, and you wouldn't share them with friends. Here's an e-mail that's different: Dear all: In honor of World AIDS Day, Bristol-Myers will donate one dollar to the National AIDS Fund ... http://12gurus.com/blog/37-good-spam/ You should remove all pets and birds from the area. You shouldn't re-enter the area for fifteen minutes after you've sprayed. These instructions on the Raid brand bug-killing spray make it clear: It's poison. Don't inhale it. So why does their label advertise it has an "Outdoor Fresh" scent? And why (try to) give it ... http://12gurus.com/blog/36-why-make-poison-smell-nice/