Grrrrrr....again.

That damn Hannah Montana! Now I have to explain why Miley Cyrus isn't wearing a shirt in the latest Vanity Fair to my four-year old. Because, you know, the TODAY show broadcast the soon-to-be infamous photo across the screen for almost two minutes straight. And my daughter, a burgeoning Hannah fan said, "Look mommy, it's Hannah with no shirt!"

What is it with these Disney artists? Or more to the point, what is it with their parents who knowingly allow their children to be objectified at such early ages. I mean, she's FIFTEEN. Do we really need to see her looking 25, draped across her father's leg as if she were his lover?

I'm really concerned. It seems these Disney girls hit a certain age (apparently that age is fifteen) and go off the deep end. Petra, I hope you like Miranda Cosgrove now because pretty soon, you'll be banned from watching her too. And just forget about the girls from HSM. They're absolutely off limits now. And the mermaid show? H2O? uh uh.

Perhaps SpongeBob Squarepants isn't so bad, after all. Even if he does sing about his idiot friends.

If you're looking for marketing insight....

...you're in the wrong place.

I've decided to separate the personal from the professional, mostly because my husband is horrified that I share so many details about myself with the world. And because I have pictures of the children everywhere.

So to allay his concerns (and some of my own), I've decided to make this my personal blog or at least the-blog-that-isn't-out-there-for-the-public-to-consume and let Beautiful Marketing take over as my persona to the world.

Family/Friends: I hope you'll continue to read this blog. I imagine I'll post quite a bit of content from the other blog here as well.

Professional Acquaintances: Go ahead and look at the other space. I'm just moving in and getting comfortable, but I think you'll find more relevant content over there. Unless you *really* want to hear about my daughter's latest poops.

So thank you for your understanding; enjoy my blogs.

Ah, the life of a short-timer

It should come as no surprise to many of you that I've resigned my position as Vice President of Marketing for a large marketing services firm. If it does, sorry, but I've tried to reach out to as many folks as possible; I haven't been as successful as I would've liked.

So you know, I've been offered another Veep Marketing position at a much smaller company. But I'll be running the show, something I coudn't do in my current position given the sheer size of the organization. This opportunity allows me to take the next logical step in my career.

In the meantime, I want to reflect on what it feels like to be a short-timer. It's unusual; once you give your notice you become George Bush and people treat you differently...like you don't count as much. Maybe I don't.

Overall though, it's been an interesting couple of weeks. Some observations:

• The initial swarm. I received a number of emails, phone calls and drop-ins from folks sad to see me go. It was touching. I guess when you stay at one place for 5.5 years, you're bound to make a few friends. But even folks I barely knew reached out. One person told me he was "crying on the inside, but happy for me". Another just sent me a message with the subject line, "bummer".
• Acceptance. Folks are in the acceptance phase right now. I've been asked to finish up a few projects, which I will do gladly, but for the most part, my team is trying to do business as usual and figure out how to work without me. My last day is next Wednesday so I certainly won't start anything new and my team is already reporting to someone else. So yes, I am working and yes, I am productive...but just not as much as before.
• Departure. My exit interview is next Wednesday and I fully expect to wrap up most of my work by Monday afternoon/Tuesday morning. And then what? I don't start in my new position until the 5th, so what do I do? Go to the mall? Sunbathe? Have the children play hooky? Sit at home and do a Deadliest Catch marathon? I.have.no.clue.

Anyhoo, I'll update you all on my whereabouts once I start my new job. Until then, please feel free to reach out. For some reason, I have so much more free time...

My last and final word on the direct mail incident

It appears the list for this last mailing was selected (and purged) prior to the removal of Rae Rae's name. I have since been assured that she will absolutely, positively, never ever ever receive another mailing from our favorite office supply store. They can *almost* guarantee it.

Alert: Personal post!

For those who care about my children (and yes, you all must), know this:

Rae Rae is *officially* walking. You heard it here first. At 11.5 mos, the child decided crawling is for babies and she'd much prefer to be a toddler.

And in case you have no idea what a Rae Rae looks like, behold this sweet, but mischievious face:

The phone stops ringing...

So, one day, your phone rings off the hook...literally. You have 15 people who need 15 different things from you at the same time, which is now. You don't eat, you don't pee, and you certainly don't sleep well. You go in early; you leave late. It's not good.

Then, something happens. You make the call. You proclaim, I will not do this any longer, and lo and behold, the phone stops ringing. You're no longer plagued by the constant nightmare in which you're being chased by a large pile of work and it gets closer and you think it will eventually consume you. You go to work late; you leave early. And you sleep. The blessed sleep of babes. It's amazing.

Now, it won't last forever, and you certainly don't delude yourself into thinking it will. But for now, it is the best feeling in the world.

What It's Become...

I have been thinking about Twitter a lot lately (have you noticed?), and realized that I'm so enamored with it because of what it's become for me.

Let me explain. When I first started using Twitter, I would write these random and completely unimportant Tweets: "I think I might go grab a cup of coffee," or "Just heard club remix of O Fortuna. Don't know whether to hate it or dance to it". I dipped my toe in the water with these fairly inocuous posts because I was curious more than anything.

But then I started to follow people and a strange thing happened: they started to follow me too. Now I don't have 20,000 followers like @scobleizer (nor would I want to, I think) but now that people read what I have to say...and I read what they have to say...we can have conversations (as long as they we use fewer than 140 words per message).

The point is, Twitter is not the speed dating version of the blog. It's so much more. Blogging is a uni-directional medium, for the most part. Twitter actually allows and encourages dialogues between people and is witness to conversations involving hundreds perhaps even thousands.

Maybe I'm exaggerating a bit and perhaps I'll be sick of Twitter in another six months. But what really stands out for me right now is that through Twitter I am exposed to so many different and interesting people (@newmediajim, for one) who are doing and saying tremendous things. If I weren't on Twitter, watching...listening, I wouldn't be nearly as caught up on social media trends, new tools and interesting (and real-time) stories.

Zappos

If you don't have a Twitter account or aren't sure what it is (hint: micro-blogging), visit www.twitter.com and sign-up today. And, if you don't follow @zappos on Twitter yet, you should because this online shoe retailer has embraced the medium more than any other company out there (sorry Jet Blue).

All Twitter posts (called Tweets) are written by the CEO himself, Tony Hsieh, who is doing some very interesting things to engage his followers:

Yesterday, Tony held a contest in which he gave away a FREE pair of shoes to an @zappos follower and ten of his/her friends. @rotkapchen won the prize (despite my direct pleas). Today, Tony upped the anty by offering two round-trip tickets to Vegas plus two-nights' stay, a tour of the Zappos office and lunch with him. How cool is that?

So what can companies learn from Tony? Social media outlets like Twitter are yet another way companies can connect with customers. The fact that I know Tony is currently at a wedding eating corn nuts is insane, but in a weird way gives me a better sense of the Zappos culture and makes me want to engage more.

After spending four days at the Forrester Marketing Forum, I am pleased to see some companies embracing and really leveraging social media. We'll see if Tony continues to Tweet - I mean, after all, he *does* have a company to run - but if he does, I'll be following.

Direct Mail Redux

So, Raya must be an exceptionally high-value customer according to our favorite office supply retailer. I mean, why else send her *another* high-end mailer with an offer to save $25 off her phone or online order of $75 or more.

What? Is the child buying office supplies when I"m not looking? Does she have an Easy button hidden somewhere in her crib? Because I can't seem to figure out why a company that is targeting SOHO business buyers believes my 11-month old daughter might be a good prospect.

For those who've followed this saga, I did, in fact, hear from the retailer after the first mailing and they promised to remove her from the mailing list (um, didn't work). I also received a letter from the list provider indicating she'd been removed there as well (maybe, maybe not). And while I understand how this happened - her name was linked to my and my husband's purchase behavior - and even though I am in the industry, it still bothers the shit out of me.

Hello Tweeple!

So I think the front row folks at the Forrester Marketing Forum really put the Twitter app to the test. There were five or six of us furiously twittering throughout the conference - a much more efficient way to record activities, share random thoughts and document key points made by speakers.

What I'm not sure about is whether there's value in turning those Tweets into blog posts. Are they more valuable as individual thoughts? Or do I grab all similarly tagged tweets and organize them into a cohesive blog post for this site? I hate to say it, but that sounds like too much work...
And I think there's something *pure* about the Twitter posts as they are. They're in the moment. Blog posts are generally (well) thought-out or planned entries. Tweets are random and in the moment.

I plan to blog as much as I can. But know this, I *will* Twitter often. So if you want to learn more about me - what I think and do - follow me on Twitter @michellebb

The long journey home

I just finished up at the Forrester Marketing Forum and am sitting in LAX waiting to catch the redeye. Yes, the redeye. Because I must find as many ways as possible to torture myself.

In the meantime, I'd like to say thank you to the folks at Forrester for putting on an excellent conference. The content was interesting and thought-provoking, but more importantly, the company was exceptional. I met so many bright and fascinating marketers. Seriously, there is no light bulb joke here.

I'll try and assemble a post of key takeaways once my brain starts fully functioning again. I will say this: many companies are on the path to "engagement" but so many more have a lot of work to do to get there. And based on the speakers' content from the past two days, the real challenge with "engagement" is me. And you. And all of the other consumers out there who want to dictate how, when and through which channel they want to "engage".

But it's so promising. LeapFrog is doing a great job mapping the Learning Path. Nike is engaging with their target audience through events and online communities. FedEx is sharing key moments of truth with their customers through an interactive Web experience. TopHat Cleaners has Gloria who knows everything about everyone. Dell - well - Dell is just building a single agency (not sure what that had to do with engagement). And Patrick Jordan has a lovely, engaging voice.

So more on the conference later. To my new friends, thanks for a great two days.

My experience with Starbucks

Did you get the Brewed Coffee Card in your USA Today yesterday morning? I did and I was so excited. I mean, you get a free Tall Pike Place Roast every Wednesday until May 28th when you visit your participating Starbucks retailer. Important note - participating retailer. I think you can guess where this is going.

I've been working hard and late here and desperately needed a cup of coffee in between sessions, so I went upstairs to the Starbucks in the hotel and waited in line for five minutes just so I could get my free coffee. I was so excited. I *Love* coffee and have an affinity for Starbucks.

Starbucks lady: I'm sorry, we don't take that (referring to the Brewed Coffee Card).

Me (looking up and around): But, this is a Starbucks, yes?

Starbucks lady: Yes, but we're licensed. You can go to the one across the street, if you want.

Me: But I just want my coffee. And I don't have any cash on me, just my card.

Starbucks lady: I'm sorry.

Me: Ok. Thanks. Bye.

Starbucks - listen up. This is *not* the experience you want your customers to have. I'm at the Forrester Marketing Forum and we're talking at length about designing for the user experience. This? Not the way to do it. I'm not sure how you bring franchisees into the fold and I really don't care. Design for me, please. I have an affinity for your brand and unfortunately, it's slightly tarnished now.

A Starbucks is a Starbucks is a Starbucks. And I want my free coffee. Now. Thankyouverymuch.

As if it weren't big enough...

EDITED TO ADD: It's highly unlikely it's broken. Apparently, even with a small break, my eyes would be bloodshot with big, dark circles underneath. Yes, it's mildly swollen and yes, it still hurts like a MF, but in all likelihood, not broken.

So yes, I will travel tonight and no, I won't be visiting the doctor beforehand. Should I start looking like Squidward anytime soon, I'll reconsider my decision.

_______________________

I think I might actually have a broken nose. Really. Petra and I went down for the same pillow at the same time and her head slammed against the bridge of my nose rendering me speechless for a short time and quite ill for most of last night. Nose pain? Excruciating.

I'm trying to decide now if I want to go to the doctor or just suck down enough Advil to get me through my trip today/tomorrow. I mean, seriously, what can they do? It's not like my nose is completely out of whack; if it is a break, it's minor.

What would you do? I agree. Advil, it is.

Isn't it beautiful?

It's my new couch, er sectional, and it will be here tomorrow (sometime between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.). Isn't it beautiful? Yay, me!

But I have to ask the question: Bernie & Phyl, why a four-hour delivery window? Are your folks just really bad at guesstimating how long it takes to get to a destination (MapQuest will tell you) or how much time it takes to set up a couch? Because I really want to be snoozing on that thing come 9am.

Forget it. Even a 1pm delivery won't destroy my good couch mood. I cannot wait for Sunday. I plan to lounge around on that thing and watch tv. And never get up. And make Natche bring me food. to eat. on my couch. while I'm watching tv. After all, the couch is leather and we're getting the excellent (and expensive) protection package that guarantees whatever I drop on the couch will come up with a quick wipe.

I. can't. wait.

Al, this one's for us!

I just read an article in Fortune Magazine about our favorite friend, Mr. Tequila!

Here's some trivia for you (in case you can't get the online version of the article):

• The wholesale total of tequila sales in the U.S. in 2007 was $1.6 billion, a 4.2% increase over the previous year (thanks to us, no?)
• Under Mexican law, the western state of Jalisco is the only region that can produce tequila
• Juice from the blue agave plant must make up 5% fo the ingredients to be labeled tequila
• 540 agave plants are cut weekly by the average jimador (farmer)

Makes you want a rude Cosmo right about now, doesn't it?

Pardon my brevity...

...But I'm blogging from my BlackBerry.

I'm home. Not working. Rae Rae has the croup and a double ear infection and is at present crawling all over me, snotting as she goes.

I don't recall Petra being this active nor this destructive. Rae Rae is just dangerous!

On another note, Petra is participating in the March of Dimes Wonder Walk today at school.Her coin race begins next Tuesday so if you have any extra coins laying around, please send them her way. Or, if you're a little mean-spirited (like I am) send dollar bills - you can sabotage another class by stuffing bills in its coin jar. It's all for a good cause - the March of Dimes.

I'll try and write again later...when Miss Monster goes to sleep.

Nuts!

Jericho has been cancelled. Again. After I did a 22+ episode marathon to catch up on what I thought was a pretty cool concept.

Argh. And when in the hell is Heroes coming back? My DVR said March 10, but *that* didn't happen.

EDITED: After reading a bit, it appears that Season II of Heroes is composed of the 11 episodes we saw in the fall, not the originally planned 24 because of the writers' strike. Season III, Villains, will start in Q4 of 2008. Shit.

How appropriate!

For whatever reason, I receive a Disney Character of the Day on my iGoogle page. Now, it's quite possible that I added it as a widget, thinking it was cute and fun, but I will never ever own up to actually putting it up there myself



Anyhoo, today's character is finally one with whom I can really identify. She is completely misunderstood and by all accounts a lovely woman maligned by a monarchy that felt she was too headstrong and aggressive (and really, what female senior executive isn't?).





So here's to you Maleficent. I think you're fabulous.

The City of Me

"Mommy, I got mail from the City of Me!", the young child proclaimed upon receiving a postcard from Al sent from the city of Petra, Jordan.

She also confiscated the postcards sent to Rae Rae and me, assuming that since her name was on them--all of the postcards were from the city of Petra--they were hers. And they did; so they are.

What do I do now?

I have "burnt" skin again. Not sure why. Haven't used BE cosmetics in over a week. Here are some possible explanations:

1. Used BE brushes to put on new makeup, but only after a THOROUGH washing. Could I be allergic to the material in the brushes?
2. Used new mineral makeup (without bismuth oxychloride). Could I be allergic to minerals? Probably not. Especially when I've had success with other mineral makeup (i.e., Arbonne)
3. Baked in a 105-degree sauna during Bikram yoga class. Could I actually be "burnt"?
4. Could it be a combination of all of the above?

To be honest, at this point I don't really care *what's* causing the sensitivity. I'm happy to give up everything. I just want my nice, smooth, burn-free skin back.

Oh and slight secant: BE customer service finally got back to me (a week later) and responded that they *loved* to receive new product suggestions from customers and that they'd *absolutely* share my bismuth-free product request with their makeup teams. Form letter much?