Interactive Video

Chad Matt and Rob have come up with a very cool way of using YouTube to create interactive videos.

I should just leave this alone

Color me Sadd...

An amazing team

Seriously - I have very little to do with this great things we have going. Thank you to all the great people in GB, NB, and Kirkland -

AC/DC is the world’s greatest band and I can prove it

They are the 2nd highest seller of back list albums, behind The Beatles.

AC/DC is still producing albums, hits and touring. The Beatles are not.

Look out world, here we come.

No, it's not 1992 - it's Halloween! The boys and I have decided on our Halloween 2008 costumes. The women don't stand a chance, these guys were classy – and clearly they have staying power.
I know what you’re thinking: Why didn’t I think of that? The answer is simple; you still have your dignity…

Yeah - this is why I love the Halloween Biz.

What's wrong with this picture?

Seesmic.com is just crap.

On the last day of my 35th year...

I needed something to make me feel young, cool and relevant. This was it.

Vote often, vote early!

Some local TV coverage for BuyCostumes.com and the local Halloween company who copied our paper mask poll.

Scouting for Camel Toads…

I know this article is nearly 3 years old, but some things just never stop being funny. It also reminds me that Iced Tea is the root of all evil.

Sell your house on MySpace?

Why not? I figured I'd take the opportunity to test MySpace as a place to sell things. In the process I learned there are a lot Real Estate groups on MySpace and since selling a house is all about networking I figured I give it a shot. You can check it out here: and if you have a MySpace don't be shy - befriend my house!

Lunch

Lunch tastes better when you eat it here...

Seriously, I'm testing...

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

Test #1

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

They're back...

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

Google's Lively view of the future

More on this later.

Another great widget from BC

Very cool Halloween widget!

Bringing Sexy Back!

I was chatting with a friend over dinner the other night about the growth of Sexy costumes in the Halloween Industry. We were discussing how Leg Avenue has kept their position as the leader in the category since the beginning. Much like BuyCostumes.com they had a key value proposition and also established their brand. I have yet to hear of a customer looking for a “disguise” or “Rubies” costume, but quite often I hear customers asking for Leg Avenue. Regardless if this was luck or a well planned strategy it worked. It will be interesting to see if licensed costumes change the game.

Social network overload

MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Google and Blogger - the list of social sites I belong to goes on and on. A while back I thought someone should create a "single" sign on or user authentication which would allow my Face Book friends to view my MySpace profile. I extended the idea to include a project which I cannot actually discuss, form a company I am very close to. The idea is let people pick their religion (social network) and then empower them to jump across other social network sites. If this idea takes off it will greatly reduce the number of accounts (I'll be the first to toss my Facebook in favor of MySpace), but the upshot is it will be much easier for me and others to interact with all friends, regardless of their religion. I read a very interesting article on this very topic here. and here.

New 5 Under 5 Widget!

Once again, BuyCostumes.com is kicking ass and taking names. (or at least selling stuff cheap).

Product first, everything else second.

I was checking out You Tube last night and noticed there was an original trailer for one of my all time favorite movies; Back to the Future (the first one). While I was watching it one think came abundantly clear; the trailer sucked. We all know the movie is an all time classic (if you disagree you are stupid and I hate you). It made me realize it’s not the marketing, fancy packaging or even the stars; it’s the product that counts. At the end of the day, if you have a quality product you will be successful. The rest just doesn’t matter as much.

The press train continues

Great article from the Freeman, read the intro here.

City can't afford to snub jobs

The story that just won't die...

New BuySeasons Facility.

A WillowTree development for BuySeasons, Inc.

Berghammer helped WillowTree Development, LLC create an environmentally sustainable, 360,000 square foot facility for the new BUYSEASONS, Inc. world headquarters. The green building components include regional, recycled, and low-emitting materials as well as water conservation elements. The online costume supplier and retailer’s headquarters also houses its call center, information technology and fulfillment centers in a park like campus setting.Location: New Berlin, WisconsinArchitect: Zimmerman Architectural StudiosDuration: 10 monthsScope: 360,000 Square Feet. Read teh article here.

I'm a fat bastard and now all Milwaukee knows :(

Okay, I’ve come to the conclusion that I am vain and therefore I must be punished. Why? Because vanity is a sin – and given all my other sins, I suppose if I’m going to be punished for any of them it might as well be vanity. So without further adieu, I present a picture that will be published in the Business section of tomorrow’s Milwaukee Journal.









Never mind the article, check out that chin! Fuck! At lease I’m not the only one in Milwaukee with a face made for radio…

Widgets, Gadgets, and Gizmos.

A few links to remember:
http://www.gadget-builder.com/
http://www.apexoft.com/gadgets.html
http://desktop.google.com/plugins/

Zappos - SXSW Presentation - Top 10 Lessons Learned in E-Commerce - 03 08 08

From: zappos, 2 weeks ago

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Powerpoint of presentation given by CEO Tony Hsieh at the 2008 SXSW Interactive conference.


SlideShare Link

iMemories – a good idea, or dying market?

Okay, a friend of mine turned me onto this site and I have to say I like it and hate it at the same time. Maybe hate is too strong of a word, but the best part of the model still manages to underwhelm me.

What I like:
While it’s unclear how the company plans to capitalize on the growing use of pictures, video and other digital media by today’s consumers, there is an opportunity to create a private virtual album whereby users can manage all aspects of their “digital” memories.

What I don’t:
In their own words: Protect, preserve and share your home movie history. Okay, what will they do when their customer base dies off? Even Polaroid announced they will no longer make their namesake product (oh, shit). What I’m saying is its lights out for the old (non digital) formats of media storage (photos and video tape). Not good for a company who relies on this old media for their survival.

Summary:
Clearly there focusing on the dying market first – not good since it’s an established fact that as a company grows it is increasingly difficult to change focus (see the myriad of catalog companies who tried and failed to migrate online). Net-net – I wouldn’t bet on them capturing the real opportunity; online digital asset (memory) management. While it is quite possible they will pull something off, even something big, I still give them less than 50%/50% odds of doing so. I call this a golden turd...

At least they're on You Tube!

Wisconsin weather sucks DONG

Okay, if you live in Wisconsin you know this time of year the weather can get nasty. But this has been one of the worst winters in the 17 years I’ve lived here. Snow, cold, and more snow. Yesterday it was sunny and 45 degrees, today it is supposed to snow up to 10 inches.

Two weeks ago I was in Playa Del Carmen and the weather was spectacular – I mean it was perfect every day. Warm, but not too warm, sunny but not blistering. Today, as I think about Playa I ask myself; why do I live in Wisconsin again?

Spy Fu - but is it true?

There are a lot of competitive intelligence companies out there (see previous posts under this topic) the latest is Spy Fu. The presentation is great; they seem to show you everything about the target companies marketing. What they spend, where their links come from, SEO results, paid results, the list goes on and on. My only questions is how accurate is Spy Fu? I ran the results on one of my competitors to see if it passed the smell test. So far the jury is still out…

Even the homeless hate Bob Donovan...

We already know Bob Donovan is a total douche bag, but what happened last night was just too funny, and underscores how this particular alderman is simply the foreskin of the political system (foreskin being the useless piece of flesh on the male penis which is usually discarded). Apparently Mr. Donovan was out getting his drunk on, er attending a meeting, when he spotted a homeless man taking a wiz on the ground. What ensued was apparently an altercation whereby Bob was bitch-slapped and reminded you don't pick a fight with a guy while he's taking a piss. Rather than simply letting it go as a lesson learned, Bobbie decided to hold a press conference this morning. Good job Bob, what's on tap for the remainder of the day? Perhaps saving other homeless men from evil companies who are trying to create local jobs.

350,000 installs. Games are good.

This Widget reminds me we should make a Halloween Game Widget.

Mask sales can predict the future!

The only thing I love more than selling costumes is using my companies Ninja skills to predict future events. Like the next President of the United States!

Knicker Picker Dot Com... More than just a catchy name

So, you fancy watching women try on Lingerie, but you've been busted one too many times loitering at your local Victoria's Secret. Good news old chap, our friends across the pond at Scene Stealer have come up with a web 2.0 site which solves your predicament, they call it Knicker Picker Not only will creepy old men and prepubescent boys find endless hours of entertainment, mainstream customers will rejoice in the slick way Knicker Picker bridges the gap between online retailing and the real world desire to try shit on.

Another great idea I didn't come up with...

Qtrax is bad ass and I hope it kills Apple. Free music, without jail? what's better than that? I suppose free music, no jail time AND a kick in the crotch to Steve Jobs. Where do I sign up!

The dirt:
After years of battling the illegal downloads it feared would drive it out of business, the music industry has launched a free and legal service which will allow internet users an unlimited number of tracks from a catalogue of 25 million songs. Continued...

Competitive intelligence part 2:

Competitive intelligence part 2: Elesha found this cool site today: Compete

BuyCostumes.com has ninja skills

BuyCostumes.com, the world’s largest online retailer of costumes and accessories, has 100% successfully predicted the next President of the United States since 2000 based solely on the sales of candidates’ masks.

This year we’re up to our old tricks with a few new treats. Consider the 2008 presidential election the only election that can be bought! Candidates: tell your supporters to don a mask to guarantee your turn in the White House! Supporters: this may likely be your best means of voting this year.

One Mask = One Vote. Buy a mask to cast your vote today!

Free competitive intelligence

In my quest for free competitive intelligence apps I came across quantcast, like Alexa only better?

Party Planning for Web 2.0

During my research for the perfect party planning/invitation website I came across the following sites:

• http://bestpartyever.com/ - odd site, but seems to have a little traction. Read an interesting review on the site here
• I also like Man Vite, a cool site - I used it last weekend in fact.
• The best site I've seen so far is My Punchbowl I like their web 2.0 features (like auto saving of invitee list) and the fact they let you know who has viewed, RSVP'd and who's email has "bounced" insuring efficient management of your entire guest list.

Viral Video

If BlueFly does something you can pretty much bet it sucks. I often ask myself why is this crappy company still around? While this post does nothing to answer that question, it does show that even BlueFly is capable of doing something cool. Check out the “grab it” icon on this video. And remember despite having a good idea BlueFly still manages to suck at everything else...