Most Inappopriate Job Post EVER

I'm not sure what they're thinking over at Arnold Worldwide. I know that they hire people they'd want to have a beer with, and collegiality is nice. Honestly, I never ever thought the state of anyone's nipples were EVER a criteria for employment (with a few entertainment industries excepted). Plus, do you really want to tell me that my job sucks before I even start?

The Buddy System

WARNING: I'm scooter crazed what with the novelty and nice riding weather. Plus, the product design of it all keeps me thinking about how you can really give people what they want without feature creep.

Top 5 Things I Heart About Buddy

1. It has a storage compartment in the leg panel big enough to tuck a small purse or use as a steady cupholder for a small coffee. No spills, no tipping!

2. The seat storage pops open when I press in the key, just like my car.

3. There are pre-drilled holes in the front to install a basket, should I want to.

4. The parts are plastic and lightweight, so Buddy can accelerate fast, despite being a 50cc (roughly like riding a big chainsaw).

5. The starter has a tiny bell to signal when it's engaged, so I don't flood the engine. It also serves an alert, should I hit the wrong button.

Buddy reminds me of TiVO - easy to use, not more than you need, gives you what you need to do well.

A Brad Fan Fest!

I got an email from the Washington Caps today with the following subject line:

Brad Fan Fest is July 12 Make Sure You Are There

All I can say is... aww shucks, fellas, you shouldn't have. I'm not that special.

Remind me why people think adding a first name to an email message (or subject line!) is "customization"?

Genuine, Accept No Substitutes

I've finalized my hipster dork gear (MacBook, iPod, tomtom, cel phone, bento box lunchpail, tattoo, knee-high boots, twitter feed - I'm making myself a little queasy) with a Buddy scooter from Genuine.

There are lots of fantastic reasons why I bought a Genuine - price point, colors, cargo space, 100MPG. Best of all - it has a 12V outlet and a place to hang your cel phone.

It's the teensy things that make a product really resonate. Vespa may have old school cool, and Kymco may be more resilient, but Genuine knows its market. Dorks need their gadgets, and never want to miss a call.

Enter To Exit

The other night I was at an ATM. That was the command given to finalize my transaction. It is so very zen that I can't even complain. I can only sit back and enjoy the symmetry and perfection of it.

One throat to choke

I must have missed the original meaning of this expression. But the other day, in a kickoff meeting, someone from one of my clients used this term when asking, essentially, who their primary point of contact would be. I sort of like it.

Why Don't Women Present at Conferences?

Liv posted twice to her blog, asking why women don't present at conferences, and what we can do about it. Everyone knows that this immediately put a bee in my bonnet. I made a lot of suggestions about how to encourage women to participate in communities more. Now I want to get into the why.

Simply but, It's not easy being a lady in America's misogynous society. If you want a career, you're too ambitious. If you speak up, you're being 'too aggressive.' If you kick ass and take no prisoners, you're a nutcracker. If you yell, you're unbalanced. And if you negotiate, you're somehow icky.

Human beings are adaptable - once you continue to fail when you behave in the way that successful men do, you realize that there's something up. For a while, you sit in a corner and shut up, or qualify and second guess everything until the cows come home. Women don't present because they're not encouraged to.

Women are consistently cited as building relationships and making connections. Use your personal capital to push the envelope a little harder, and toss out your fear of the b-word. It's ok to ruffle feathers and make some trouble.