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And Somtimes More Like This:

From our friends at RocketBoom.

Society

Think about the two largest booms to hit the bicycle industry over the past century.

• WWII
• Lance Armstrong

The first was an international travesty, and the second an international success. I am sure that just about any industry could come together long enough to spin an obscure life story into a winning piece of marketing. Look at what this same concept has done for Subway’s Jared Fogle. The Yellow LiveStrong bracelet turned an idea into a fad, and even made it’s way to the height of US politics during the 2004 elections.

How can your industry make headlines with a positive spin?

Marketing

A salesman friend of mine needed some help entering a new market which I happened to be familiar with. His business is luxury suites at major sporting events, and the target market is those who can afford the annual dues on such a facility. His focus was going to be generating sales in a particular town which I know well, and I told him I could offer some pointers on who to contact. When he finally contacted me for the information that I had promised I was fairly busy and did a quick Google search for top contributors to a local politician’s campaign.

I did not think much of it at the time, but when he wrote back thanking me I realized that this was a fantastic resource for salesmen. The fact that I could narrow down “top” contributors was especially useful in this particular situation, but there may be hundreds of other useful applications for this kind of information. Political campaigns are notorious for having a wealth of information about their constituents. In fact, you may be surprised how much they know about you.  From for-profit to non-profit this could open many new doors for you.

Business, Marketing

Tom Hicks has not made many friends on the opposite side of the Atlantic. He and co-owner of the Liverpool soccer team George Gillett have been approached by Dubai International Capital on a potential buyout. Hicks is being painted as the major roadblock to the transaction which appears to have a great deal of traction at Anfield.

After only months of owning the team, Hicks made a Franchise valuation of GBP 1 billion. The sum simply appears to be pricey given a purchase price of around GBP 200 million less than a year ago. In defense of Hicks, this is Dubai we are talking about. Arising from a mideast flush with oil capital, the offer may prove to be a lucrative ROI for Hicks and Gillett. It may be important to remember that Dubai is playing a major hand in bailing out many major American financial institutions. Perhaps a wiser play may be for Hicks to leverage the position he currently has to secure more lucrative future investments that hold high barriers of entry.

This may be the perfect time for Hicks to land a major international oil deal.

Business, Society

In 1504 Christopher Columbus and his exploratory crew found them selves in a quite a dismal situation. Landing at what would become Jamaica Columbus and his men were running out of supplies. Typically locals would assist the Europeans, however, mounting animosity towards the visiting explorers was leaving them to starve in the tropic heat.

Columbus, relying on a German mathematicians findings realized that an eclipse was pending in the near future. With precision, the Italian told locals that if they did not comply he would take the moon away. The threat was passed over as empty until the moon did actually disappear from the night sky. Begging for the return of the moon, the locals agreed to aid Columbus and his men; saving them from certain death.

Marketing, Society

It is disappointing that the United States continues to be at odds with Iran. The sticks utilized against that country would certainly be better replaced by carrots. Diplomacy and partnership between the two countries may in fact be the most rewarding victory to be had in the Middle East.

As one of the oldest civilizations in the world Persia is prone to regime change. With the Islamic Revolution and fall of Reza Shah decades in the past, the younger generation may be the one to look to for international change and understanding. As a recent Foreign Policy article notes, a 17 year old girl asked a visiting Iran-American “what is it like to live in a theocratic state?”.

Who is misleading Iran more: Bush or Ahmadinejad?

Society

Its a good thing the markets are closed today, otherwise the price of Oil may have jumped to an all time high after massive explosion at a West Texas oil refinery. With limited numbers of refineries in the world, and all working at capacity there is little room to spare for tragedy. As Katrina once highlighted the holes in FEMA response, we may now wonder what infrastructure is available to reroute crude oil production.

The explosion, which sent a special effects worthy plume of toxic smoke skyward, was met by response from the Environmental Protection Agency. Apparently the Dallas area branch sent an agent to the area several hours after the explosion. In a region known for oil production one can only wonder why the closest EPA agent is over 300 miles away, and response time is left to the follies of commericial air travel.

Society