The People In Your Life

Hello, this is Zeubie again.

Someone wise once barked at me:

"People like each other tend to like each other"
(this also applies to dogs)

Look at the people in your life. Do you like them? Maybe not.

Then take an honest look at yourself. Do you see a correlation? Maybe not.

Wise people (and dogs) understand the correlation.

WOOF.

Race Against Time

Hello, this is Zeubie again.

I had a couple days free last week (you know, I am a busy dog) and read Race Against Time by Stephen Lewis. I wasn't sure whether I should be sad by this book or just angry.

I was going to do a book review, but this book warrants more than a review. It is about the AIDS pandemic in Africa and how we in the west (i.e. the rich nations) have made things worse.

Did you know:

• There will be 25 million children orphaned in Africa by AIDS by 2010?
• There is a new AIDS orphan in Africa every 14 seconds?
• The average age of a child who is in charge of a "Children Led Household" is 8 years old?
• The average African lives on less than one dollar ($1) a day?
• Children (even orphans) have to pay "user fees" to receive education and basic health care - even in the poorest nations?

I could go on and on... it is really sad.

BUT - instead of being sad (or mad) let's do something about it! Get involved. Help spread the word. Talk to a friend. Write an article. Help raise some money for this cause. Donate to The Stephen Lewis Foundation. My Gumpa has even published a book to help out. You can see it here.

So, we can get mad or sad - OR let's help be part of the solution.

I wanna help these kids...

What do you value?

Hello, this is Zeubie again.

One day when Gummy and Gumpa went out, I decided to think about the meaning of life and that led me to an important question: What do I value in life?

I really enjoy scarfing lamb cookies. Or when someone rubs my tummy, that feels nice too. I even borrowed Gumpa's iPod and listened to all the cool disco music he has.

This is a picture of me and my pet snake.

It is cool to have so many things, but what is most important to me are my doggie friends and my family. I can always buy extra lamb cookies (do you know I have made over $0.60 with my Google Ads?) or other things, but people and dogs are more important than stuff.

I sometimes think that we get so caught up in buying stuff (full disclosure: I have 11 toys), that we often forget what we value the most.

So, what do you value most in life?

Is Marketing Really Common Sense?

Hello, this is Zeubie again.

I wasn't sure what to blog about today. When I went out for a pee earlier, I barked at a few dogs I know and we talked about some of the ridiculous marketing we see everywhere. My doggie friends and I keep hearing that good marketing is supposed to be nothing more than common sense.

I dunno. Some companies are having trouble selling their products and they have no clue as to why. For example, a certain North American automobile manufacturer says there is no market for fuel efficient cars. Their answer to turning around their company financially is to make more large trucks and SUV's and subsidize the gas they guzzle for a year. Huh? Meanwhile, a couple Japanese car manufacturers cannot keep up with the demand for hybrid vehicles and are posting record profits. People are even on waiting lists for SmartCars too (they are cute like me!).

So, how did the North Americans determine there was no market for fuel efficient cars?

Some companies have no clue what a customer wants... or maybe their marketing executives secretly know what their customers want to buy? It seems like they don't know what a customer looks like because they've never spoken to one. I guess that's what happens when one sits in the ivory tower (or cottage) and doesn't get out much.


I also understand that companies need to advertise in places where their customers will notice what they are selling. I know of a few high tech companies that advertise in art galleries and museums. Do their customers really go there to see their advertisements? Oh yes, they love the software advertisement next to the Monet...

I think a company needs to ask their customers what they want - and sell that to them. And ask them what periodicals they read and the places they hang out. Advertise there. There is no secret to successful marketing and sales - it is nothing more than understanding your clients' needs and serving them.

I guess common sense isn't really all that common anymore...