Monday, April 30, 2007

Failure Doesn't Suck!

Sir James Dyson on getting it right after 5,126 tries--and how to move air at 400 mph.

I think this is an excellent example of persistence :-) I thought it was an interesting article and wanted to share it with my Digital Napkin readers. Enjoy!

Thursday, April 26, 2007

What the Hell is a Ziki?

I came across Ziki.com in my digital travels and thought I would test it out. It is very similar to other social networking communities but with a twist. Ziki, will actually buy Google, Yahoo and MSN keywords of your name or business and direct them to your Ziki profile where you can collect all of your online content.

Go ahead, type my name -- Randy Smythe -- into Google and you will see a sponsored link directing you to my Ziki website. I will soon be up on Yahoo and MSN as well. In my case natural search pulls up most of my content but it's still nice to see my name up in lights as a sponsored link. Best of all -- its free.

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Why is it so Hard to get the Last Dab out of the Toothpaste Tube?

Okay, I’ll take a step away from Web 2.0 and ecommerce ideas today to talk about toothpaste. As I was brushing my teeth this morning I realized that I was close to being out of toothpaste – why I hadn’t noticed the night before is another discussion – while I began desperately trying to get the last dab of toothpaste out of the tube I began to wonder why the toothpaste companies can’t produce a tube that will allow you to get the last bit of toothpaste? Of course the answer is they can but why don’t they? They leave it up to entrepreneurs to develop the little widgets that do the job for them.

From a marketing standpoint I would think “getting the last dab” would resonate with their customers. Each brand now has 5 or more different types of toothpaste – with baking soda, whitening, mouthwash, etc. – why can’t they modify their packaging to get an edge with the consumer. I would think most single guys wait until the absolute last moment before they buy toiletries why not pitch a new man’s brand with last dab gadgetry? I’d buy it – at the last minute.