So, I know this horse is pretty dead, but I think I am going to kick it one more time. As many already know, a few months ago Netflix angered their user base by breaking up and charging more for their services.

My wife and I were one of the many customers that canceled our account with them when they made these changes. The change on their part really made us ask how valuable was this service really to us. I know we would have kept on paying our $9.99 monthly fee without asking this question if they had maintained their usual course. However, once we did ask the question we realized that there was enough free streaming (hulu) and paid DVD (redbox) services for us to confidently walk away from our Netflix addiction.

I know the economy is struggling, but I was a bit surprised when I stumbled across a NPR story of an Idaho high school selling advertising on their test sheets. It has been over a year since this was reported and I am curious to know how successful this experiment of extreme personalized marketing panned out. Did it help bring in significant amount of funds, and did the advertising businesses feel that they where able to receive an ROI on their advertisements?

This is a unique case study and it makes me wonder how ethical it is to penetrate the academic veil. I know we have advertisements in the schools, like vending machines and other healthy alternatives =), but I wonder what damage we do when we start prostituting the actual learning environment. To me, having interruption advertising on the test teaches the kids that nothing is above the principle of making money.

If you are going to have advertising on the test, you might as well put advertising on the school toilet paper! You definitely would get more views, though you would be competing against the creative artwork and slogans found on the walls of the stalls.

cog-people

I have concluded that having a positive experience in corporate America depends largely on the people you work with. This was a lesson I relearned while working at CHG Healthcare as their Senior Web Marketing Specialist.

Today is my last day as I prepare to return back to school and receive a higher degree. . .of debt . The day was spent mostly receiving good byes and well wishes. I have worked with this team longer than any other corporate venture and there was a reason for this—they were friends, not co-workers.

backlinks03jpg Have you ever wondered what the web would be if it was run by lawyers? Nah, me neither, but I received a tiny glimpse of what it might look like when a friend emailed me Advanstar’s Terms of Use for Linking. My friend wanted to be sure that her company was compliant to Advanstar’s Gestapo like terms.

At first, I thought my friend was kidding. Then I read Advanstar’s terms. My favorite is:

“Advanstar may at any time, in its sole discretion, without cause, revoke your right to link to any pages on this Site. In such event upon request, you agree to immediately remove all links to this Site”

quit_job_01.jpg After almost a year working at Oracle I finally gave up cubicle land to focus on my own company. My business partner, Janet, and I have been burning the midnight oil in preparation for this moment. The long evenings and Saturday hours seem to have been a worthy sacrifice.

In my parting thoughts I must admit I have mixed emotions about my departure. Oracle, or more accurately the 8th floor in Salt Lake City, is an amazing company. The people I worked with really made my experience quite enjoyable. Doing what I did for the last year did get quite tedious. When you work with fun people it’s still tedious, but at least it is bearable.

My last day at the office I packed up a year of my life into a small cardboard box, and then my supervisor/friend, Darren, walked me to the door and wished me luck. I walked down the hall to the elevators for the final time wondering if I was the craziest man alive to give up such a great job and career.