Marobella's Branding SoapBox

Bring Back The Yugo

So much attention has been given to the meltdown of the mortgage market over the past year or so that 2 other credit markets not far behind, have been little talked about.

The first is the credit card market where people have been racking up debt that they can't afford and now the credit card companies are moving interest rates up and lowering your minimums without warning, sometimes under what you actually owe. And the 3rd market that about to fall apart is the auto market. People are having a harder and harder time getting loans and leases to buy a car. People with good jobs and good credit, even.

I mean, who actually pays cash for a car in full? Not many. So, with people not able to get a loan or lease and the credit crunch, people are going to be forced to pay cash for a car.
If public transportation isn't an option, then a car is a necessity. I predict the rise of the $5k used car market. Cars that are in the $5k range will be flying off the used car  lots. If people can't finance and most average Americans don't have a great deal of savings, they can scrape together $5k to buy a car. The risk is that it will require thousands of dollars of work in the subsequent years because it is most likely an older car with high mileage.

Something You Don't See Everyday

My alma mater, Bentley College in Waltham, MA is now known as Bentley University. I had heard this was a long time coming as the school made significant progress academically and with the resources of the school. I am proud to be a graduate of this school and thought it to be an interesting exercise in branding. The official word is that it will make the school more attractive to international students and the unofficial word is they can charge more per year. Just kidding, but I bet that is part of the allure.

Does this mean I get a new diploma and class ring?

Starting A Corporate Blog

Mr. Joseph Jaffe recently wrote about 10 Reasons Why Companies Should Blog which was a response to B.L. Ochman in AdAge, who wrote about 10 Reasons Why Companies Shouldn't Blog. In fact, I agree with Jaffe that B.L.'s article sounded like every empty excuse that a company makes to not do something that matters - simply because they can't, don't understand it or are afraid of commitment. In fact, I could have sworn I was reading an article written by a 'dead client walking'. Do you know what that is? That is the client inside of an organization that refuses to accept that the world is changing around him/her and will be obsolete in a matter of minutes.

The irony in all this is that the best companies with blogs are the ones that have limited resources (start ups) and understand the value in connecting directly with the marketplace rather than speaking at the market.

Writing a blog does take time, nurturing, reciprocation with the other bloggers/commenters and most of all patience. This is not if you build it, they will come proposition. It takes the time of a dedicated person on staff that understands the blog-o-sphere and how to navigate it, the etiquette and the connections that exist. That person becomes your brands ambassador to the blog space. They have to get it. The reciprocation is also critical, not being afraid to post on other company's blogs or respond to negative remarks. Even things as simple as understanding with a trackback is and how to use it....

The blog is the forum for brands to be transparent without spinning, show the flaws without being insecure and truly build relationships with customers, prospects, recruits and their own people internally.

From The "Are You Kidding Me? Department"

There have been many natural disasters over the past few years, some on our soil and some in other countries. Countless lives have been lost, families torn apart and history changed forever. After reading this quote in the Wall Street Journal from people in Greenwich, CT, I am sick to my stomach that the current economic meltdown could be related to events that took so many lives.

A deeper analysis was offered by local Democrat Ned Lamont, who in one fell swoop compared Greenwich’s money woes to the Japan malaise, Asian tsunami and the New Orleans flood.

“It really is a financial tsunami, and it could go either way,” said the multimillionaire telecommunications mogul who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2006. “It took Japan 20 years to recover from their buying binge. How long does it take us to work through excessive leverage? That could take years not months. This is our Katrina.”

You be the judge.

Where Is The Line Between Informed & Saturated?

Speaking with my wife today about the state of the economy and all that is happening with the bailout, credit crisis and the war. She sees the Wall Street Journal open on the table every morning and hears my grumbling every time there is a headline on the front page declaring the end of the financial world is upon us. Today, she told me that she would appreciate it if I stopped reading the newspaper, watching CNN or reading blogs. Some people are of the belief that the economy is a group-think phenomenon and that we can all will ourselves out of crisis and work together to make it better. To a degree they are correct. Wall Street is very much a psychological animal where a piece of news can have the sentiment of the street move in one direction or another.

If we believe what we read and hear, we are upon the next Great Depression, that we will spiral into despair and all of us will be standing in bread lines. I have to say it is hard not to freak out a little and watch your spending even on essentials, just in case something does happen. The fact remains that 94% of us are gainfully employed and are working hard to make ends meet. Yes, that number is higher than it was in the recent past - but I believe we are a resilient, intelligent society and will find a way out of this mess.

Will anyone be surprised by the upcoming holiday spending decline? Will anyone be shocked when retailers report smaller than expected gains on holiday spending?

Until the media straightens out, maybe I will get my news from happynews.com

3 Reasons Why Jerry Matters To Microsoft

The debate over the quick pull of the Jerry/Bill 'Connect' campaign is wonderful to watch. When the 4:30 second episode with the parsed moments made into :30 spots hit the air/web waves the buzz began shortly after. Here, I attempt to put forth why Jerry made sense for Microsoft.

1. Jerry Was The Trojan Horse - Many blogs have written about whether or not the 'Connect With Real People' campaign was pulled early because of bad feedback or was it a planned strategy by the brand and their agency Crispin+Porter. Sure, it wasn't on the air very long but it was around long enough to seed into our consciousness. The spots were so different and obtuse that we couldn't help ourselves in fueling a debate. Especially amongst the ad trade - everyone has an opinion as to why or why not it doesn't work. Here is the deal: Crispin and Microsoft knew that they had to do something dramatic to pull the attention and collective love for Apple in their direction. Just launching with a response to the I'm an Apple campaign wouldn't be enough. Having Bill Gates shopping at Payless and Jerry cutting his toe nails is shock value. Once the buzz rose, the campaign switches to I'm A PC. If you watched closely, you noticed at the end of the Jerry spots, PC stood for different things - Perpetually Connecting, To Be Connected etc. Think about it... The I'm A PC campaign had so many moving parts to it that there is now way that CPB and Microsoft could have responded that quickly to poor feedback. This is especially related to the Life Without Walls website that has deep ties to media executions including on MTV. This was a planned 1-2 punch and it was genius.

2. The 3rd Leg Of The Campaign Stool - With all the buzz about the I'm A PC and Connect With Real People, nobody has paid attention to the Windows Mojave experiment. This campaign attempts to reintroduce people to the Vista operating system without the stigma of the Vista brand. This is what they are actually selling, it is the activation element of the advertising strategy. Real people giving real feedback. Not so subtely reminding us to give Vista another look.

3. The Lore Of $10,000,000.00 - There have been rumors all over the web that Jerry Seinfeld was paid $10,000.000.00 for his appearance in the Microsoft campaigns. True or not it contributes to the overall buzz of the campaign. Sure, Jerry is a huge star but what has he done lately? He is all set from Seinfeld royalties and good for him if he was paid 10 stacks for his deadpan delivery of asking Gates to power down the robot. The point is that CPB wanted you to know what he was paid. It only added to the buzz, in fact I would bet that the buzz value wasn't far from what they paid for the campaign.

As Seen On Wirestone.com

Hello 'Stoners from around the US. If this is your first time to MBSB, welcome. If you've been here before, welcome back.

I apologize for not keeping pace on my posts, in advance. As you know, we've been busy creating amazing, insight-driven Targeted Customer Experiences that are kicking ass everyday all over the world. It is an honor to work with such a smart group of people.

So, please bookmark or feed MBSB and maybe I will try to write a little more often.

Peace.

"Hey Kids, Who Wants To Go To Iraq?"

It's that time of year in Chicago when you see all the billboards and airport dioramas that advertise locales for us to visit with our families. There is Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky and Berwyn, IL. Yes, everyone is trying to get our tourism dollar. So, I thought it only fitting that I find at least one tourism campaign to write about this Summer.

[Iraq Minister of Tourism Pictured Above, Seriously.]
From the NY Times today, comes a story about the Iraqi Board of Tourism. Now, I've worked on some challenging products that you struggle to find a differentiating value proposition and in addition, once you find that needle in a haystack, aligning it with consumer need (either overt or manufactured) is harder than eating a Bomb Pop on a 100 degree day. But, could you imagine having to create a tourism campaign for the country of Iraq, now?

As a side note discussed in the article, the Arabic word for "advertising" translates to "propaganda."

Even more interesting, the Tourism board held a user-generated contest to choose a winner of the Iraqi tourism poster contest. Do they have Illustrator and Photoshop in Iraq? Cool. One of the contestants chose to focus on the caves in Iraq as the site tourists would like to see. He proudly noted that there are 1,000 caves in Iraq.

I'm sure that Iraq is a very beautiful country in some regards and I mean no disrespect to the country we are losing our young soldiers to defend, but I had to comment on the "marketing challenge" of creating tourism demand for a place that is in the midst of a war.

If you were able to win this business and develop a campaign that encouraged people to visit Iraq during a war. You would win every new business pitch you ever had the pleasure of being a part of.

But, if I have piqued your interest and you'd like to take a trip. Here ya go:  http://www.tourismkurdistan.com/

Blog-O-Bitching About Blogger Outreach

Going on 2-years of writing MBSB and while it isn't one of the most highly trafficked blogs, it gets its fair share. I remember when I first started this blog, I was psyched when someone visited my blog for the first time. I was flattered that someone from somewhere would want to read what I had written. I imagine that most of my fellow blog-peers had that same level of acceptance and euphoria when they first started their blog, whether that was 3-years or 3-months ago.

Recently, I've noticed a groundswell of bloggers educating brands and the marketplace about "how" to reach out and pitch them, blogger outreach . There is lots of blog-o-bitching about brands that don't take the time to personalize a release or read the blog so that the content of the release can be tailored to that blogger. It seems to me that the volume is getting louder and louder as the mutual admiration society of influential marketing bloggers start to call themselves celebrities or rock stars. Come on, guys. This is your 'ol pal, Marobella giving you a reality check. We make ads, marketing and brand communications for a living. Sure, your name might be recognizable to a very small percentage of people in our business, but a 'celebrity'? Outside of our business who even knows who Alex Bogusky is? Now, that guy is a celebrity. That one was for you CR ;)

Like any other media, people will pitch us and like any other media we can choose whether or not it is newsworthy. Content is king and while most of our content comes from our minds and our perceptions on the business, it is nice to have people trying to tell us about their products and/or services. Hey, most of us are trying to get the very same coverage for our clients in other or the very same channels. What comes around, goes around. Sure, it might suck to not have a release tailored to your liking, but to demand that marketers send you dimensional pieces to woo your attention and carefully crafted words is going overboard, in my humble opinion.

I still remember that feeling when someone came to my blog for the first time, I suggest remembering that virgin feeling - it makes this all worth it.

Don't Ever Use Best Buy's Geek Squad.

Update July 7th: Well, Best Buy came through on their word and fixed my TV today. I am super-impressed and happy that they lived up and made good. It still seems there is a disconnect from Best Buy corporate and their people in the field, but good help is hard to find, that's for sure. The funny thing is that I write this email my neck is killing me (no kidding).

Update June 27th: Believe it or not, someone from Best Buy corporate read my Blog post and reached out to me today. He told me that he was looking into my concern and would be getting back to me. I am highly impressed that Best Buy is monitoring the buzz and even has cut through the red tape to tap me on the shoulder to make it right. I will update this space with the results.

From the "Are you kidding me?" department, comes a tale of frustration and strained necks.

I recently bought a flat panel from Best Buy the morning my old TV was fried by lightening. I wanted to have the TV mounted in my Rec Room where my children play so that they wouldn't be able to touch or break the TV. So, Best Buy gave me a good deal on the Geek Squad installation services. Well, you get what you pay for.

First, the 800# experience is by far the worst experience I have ever had. Far worse than getting transferred to India by Dell. It sounds like you are getting transferred all over the Country. You enter your phone number for "better service" and at every transfer you have re-give you information. Come on. So, I had to call them to schedule the appointment. This took 35 minutes. Then, once the they came to my house, they neglected to call in advance since they gave a 4-hour window. Therefore, I had to leave for work and my wife was at home. Once they got to my house, I talked to them on the phone and instructed them where to put the TV on the wall. Long story short, these idiots put the TV 3 inches from my ceiling at about a 60degree viewing angle from my couch. Unreal. It isn't even pleasurable to watch the cool, new TV I  bought.

When I got home eager to see the new TV and watch the Red Sox game in HDTV, I almost passed out. I couldn't believe these knuckleheads put the TV that high up on the wall. My first thought, was shit I knew I should have called a 3rd party to install and never trust a Geek to do anything except load software on  my computer. And then, I dreaded calling the 800# again. Well, another 45-minutes on the phone in customer service hell I re-scheduled to fix the TV.

They came to the house and proceeded to tell me that I would have to pay for them to remove the TV and re-place on the wall. What? You should be paying me for all the time I've wasted dealing with you people and the fact that my neck hurts now from watching the TV at that angle. You messed up, not me. I'm beyond pissed.

This is a perfect example of a brand that has done some things right with creating a great brand identity and then it falls down on execution. The customer service # and quality of service and satisfaction guaranteed should be part of their brand. Not just cool cars, pocket protectors and bullshit lip service.

So, I find myself using my public platform to steer people away from Geek Squad and maybe even Best Buy.

Motorola Now On Twitter: @MotoDeals.

Welcome to Twitter @MotoDeals. The storied brand, Motorola, is now using Twitter to drive e-commerce demand for their store, store.motorola.com. Full disclosure: Wirestone is helping Motorola find new and alternative channels to drive retail demand and after watching the success brands like Woot and Dell Outlet have been having from an ROI perspective on Twitter, we thought that this would be a great channel.

While Motorola has been in the news almost everyday, it doesn't take away from the fact they have great phones, accessories and software for anyone. Especially if you already have a Motorola phone, there is no better place to get deals and discounts on Moto stuff.

Spread the word, give them a follow and if you see something you like - press the buy button. Thanks!

Wirestone/Chicago Searching For Creative Solutions Leader

The Position:

Creative Solutions Leader

What We’re Looking For:

Are you a Sr. Creative leader that’s comfortable leading cross-functional, integrated teams with powerful ideas brought to life in relevant and unexpected ways?

Does your creative experience transcend both traditional and new media advertising vehicles? 
Are you searching for an agency that has a killer-culture, world-class brands and growing in the double-digit range every year?

If so, the downtown Chicago office of Wirestone is searching for a creative leader/director that’s comfortable working in a fluid, entrepreneurial environment which values teamwork, ideas that jump off the page and the blending of creativity with technology to connect with consumers in ways never before possible.  This creative position is perceived in our agency as one of the highest-ranking creative positions and comes with the responsibility of leading out on many of the most strategic, highest-profile engagements at Wirestone.

Our focus as an agency is to create Targeted Customer Experiences that activate our clients’ brand promises. Wirestone is uniquely listed in the Top 50 U.S. Agencies for both Interactive and Marketing Services agencies. Our clients cross many categories but have one attribute in common – they all dominate their respective spaces. Brands like Motorola, Jim Beam Apple, Microsoft, Intel, HP, Nike, Oakley and more.

Things We’d Like You To Have:

-    You’re more than a great writer or designer, but someone that understands the value your work creates for a brand and/or company. We’re looking for someone that can be a creative business partner for our clients.
-    The ability to present a portfolio that begins with understanding the business problem, a key insight, the marketing idea and how that idea was translated to the different marketing mediums.
-    A solid grasp on the role interactive, web marketing & social marketing platforms are playing in the new ways people are having relationships with brands.
-    Having both B2B and B2C experience is a huge benefit. 
-    A comfort-level juggling multiple large-scale, strategic assignments and leading integrated teams towards the most powerful solution.
-    You’re cool with traveling, as domestic travel is inevitable because our clients are located all around the country.
-    You have no problem leading virtual teams towards a common goal.
-    You can provide 7-10 references of other creative partners, people that have worked for/with you, ex-account partners and having ex-clients would be a lucky strike extra.

If our company and the position sound like something you might be interested in pursuing, please send your credentials and a link to an online portfolio to me.

Thank you for your interest in Wirestone.

Missed Opportunity at Indy 500: Speed Racer

Everytime Marco Andretti's Honda-powered car went by with the Indiana Jones/Blockbuster paint scheme I kept thinking that it was the wrong movie. I mean, they even made him wear a firesuit that looked like Indy's outfit replete with fake gun holsters. And, when they did driver  introductions Marco had a fedora on. I would love to know how much they paid him to do that.

But the real scoop is that Speed Racer should have had a car sponsored, not Indiana Jones. If you've seen Speed Racer, the parallels are unmistakable. In Speed Racer, they even drink milk when they win. I'd imagine that people who like auto racing and their kids would like the premise of Speed Racer - the media buy just makes sense. There are no parallels for the Indy movie on an  Indy car other than the name of the star.

I can even picture the car made to look like Speed's Mach 5 and the driver wearing a white helmet with an M on the front. There were plenty of drivers jonesing for sponsors and they probably could have gotten into the race for cheap.

My New Crack: Snackr

Because people weren't annoyed enough with me for always finding and sending them relevant articles, insights and case histories through Google Reader, along comes Snackr .

It is not for the faint of heart, but if you thought you were a knowledge ninja with Google Reader, this application takes it to the next level. I have a constant scrolling list of relevant stories linked to blogs, publishers etc. One click on the story and it shows you the highlights of the story and you can click through or email right from the synopsis.

I believe being informed and well-read is one of they keys to success and growth. I urge people  to never stop reading and become a voracious consumer of content - it will serve you well, trust me.

Gas Prices Are An Outrage.

This little blog will probably not do much to influence the price gouging from the oil companies, OPEC, the Federal Government, The Nigerians or whomever is responsible for the high gas prices. With all the finger pointing going on, it is hard to tell who is truly responsible. The oil companies blame the Government for not letting them drill off the Pacific coast and up into Alaska, the Government blames faceless foreign countries, the station owners shrug their shoulders and we get screwed.

It is also sad that it took me until $4.00 a gallon to truly get mad. And, I am going to do something about it. Living just west of Chicago, I have public transportation available to me. I am not much of a public transportation guy, but this has got to change. Other people in other Wirestone offices are doing much more than I can dream of doing. In our Boise office, we have started the Milestone Project that challenges people in our company to reduce their carbon footprint by riding their bike. Pretty cool. I am going to start smaller than that and try to take the train 2 or 3 times a week and go from there. Next year, both of our cars leases end and we are going to make significant changes to what we drive. With 2-kids, a step-teen and a dog we need something with some size and space. Hopefully we can get something good on gas and the environment along with space for everyone.

Another observation: Traffic seems worse than ever. More people seem to be on the road than ever before. Why? I thought we were paring back on gas and auto travel. It seems that people aren't mad enough yet. What will it take? $5.00? or $8.00 like in the UK? If we just stopped using gas, the prices will come down it is as simple as that. Guns and Butter, people.

Well, I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore.   

Things I Noticed In Iron Man.

There are a few things I noticed while watching Iron Man last night. First, the product placements were blatant - Audi, LG and Burger King. There was one missed opportunity for another product placement: When Pepper was downloading files from Stark's machine and Obadia caught her - he walked over and poured a drink from a carafe. He picked it up and and said to Pepper, "Tony always gets the best stuff." In that carafe was either bourbon or scotch - a high-end spirit such as Basil Hayden, Makers Mark or Jim Beam Black could have seized that moment. Also, a few other times in the movie, Tony Stark drank a brown spirit on the rocks.

Also, this was the first big movie that RD, Jr. has been in since he hit rock bottom. An awesome come back movie, no doubt. When he was riding in the Fun-Vee at the very beginning, they were blasting Back In Black with the lyrics - seemingly describing RD. Jr's life not so long ago.

Back in black, I hit the sack,
                          I've been too long, I'm glad to be back
                          Yes I'm let loose from the noose,
                          That's kept me hangin' about
                          I been livin like a star 'cause it's gettin' me high,
                          Forget the hearse, 'cause I never die
                          I got nine lives, cat's eyes
                        abusing every one of them and running wild

Hammer is now following you on Twitter!

I am complete. MC Hammer is now following me on Twitter. I reached out to him yesterday, and my man hit me back today. It makes me want to side step around my office singing 2 legit 2 quit. Hammer has been diving into the world of social media creating his Dance Jam webiste, which is like a virtual dance idol. I wish him the best of luck with that project.

Now, where did I put those baggy, polka dot Hammer pants?

Schwab Marketing to Generation X

I've always been a big fan of brands creating targeted customer experiences, especially when it is aimed at a generational segment. Oddly enough, it's still a rare strategy for big brands. I was pleasantly surprised to read on Marketing Daily that Schwab has created a new website that's focused on answering the questions of GenX (aged 29-40) about money, investing, debt and saving. Of course, the conversion metric is to get the person to open an account with Schwab, visit a branch or make an appointment. In all candor, I have been considering using Schwab primarily because I dig their new Talk to Chuck campaign and felt they understood where I am at in my life. This website, www.schwabmoneyandmore.com has put me over the edge in becoming a Schwab customer.

The entire site, including the content and feature set are all very insightful. For example, they have a little application that allows people to compare themselves to other people in the generational set. This, of course, plays off the "keeping up with the Pitts" mentality. However, it is very sticky and it leads to a leading question "How much do you think you need to open a brokerage account?" I answered 50k. The answer is "It doesn't matter". I am sure this is based on research that people think you need a ton of dough to get started with financial management people. Once they tell you it doesn't matter, they ask for your zipcode and guide you to the closest branch.

They've also done a nice job of building in a support/community area where people are asking benign questions about money and related issues. One question I liked, "Has anyone used LegalZoom?" It is a question I have been pondering myself - a couple of people answered the question and helped that person along. This plays into the altruistic sense of humans.

Couple of ideas for the site:

- I would have liked to have had a face with the branch closest to me. I still feel like I want to see the person I would go and talk with. Walking into branch and having the first person that greets me to become my money manager is a little sketchy to me. They could humanize the closing process of the conversion.

- I think they are going down the right path with pre-populated questions, but they seem light to me. I am GenX, have already owned a few homes, have 2 kids and am getting ready to put my 20-yr plan in place. I think that the questions were aimed at people younger than 37. Some more depth to the content would be great.

- There is no opportunity to scrape content or take anything from the site to share with my friends. I have many friends that could or would use Schwab. The viral, pass-along component of the site seems to be missing.

Overall, I love the strategy of taking the overall brand positioning of Talking to Chuck, making money more down to earth and conversational. The idea of creating a community that opens a conversation about money and makes it safe for GenX'ers to start the process is very cool.

Nicely done, Chuck.

Web 2.0 Overload.

On Epicenter via Web Strategist, comes the article about Web 2.0 Overload in advance of the Web 2.0 conference. The article raises some interesting thoughts about about the tipping point of information consumption. How much can one person handle? I guess it is like anything else, running, eating, work etc. Each person has their own threshold for capacity. With the right training, tools and discipline, one can consume more. Since I instituted Google Reader, I have bothered my friends and colleagues repeatedly with articles and posts they just have to read. With Twitter and Facebook, I have made my wife endlessly mad at me for having my face in my computer or iPhone seeing what the world is up to and not paying attention to my family.

Well, I imagine that only the most relevant and strong survive. It is like Darwin's theory only for Web 2.0.

How To Deal With New Yorkers.

This is a story about a City that has worked so hard to re-position their brand, but just can't seem to bring along one important piece of the equation - the people.

This past week I had the chance to spend some much needed time in the Big Apple. What was once home to me, ever so briefly, it has always had a special place in my heart. It had been a little while since I'd been there, so with the weather beautiful, the Red Sox and the Pope in town - it was juuust right.

I walked the streets and breathed in the energy, intelligence and buzz happening all around me. I had experienced the new credit card payment systems in taxi's, the gridlock seemed less because of the new traffic rules in mid-town, had a chance to see a good friend do stand-up at the New York Comedy club and had some great fare.

All was right with the world until I had to go back to LaGuardia to fly home. The energy of NY quickly turned violent and evil. It's like crossing into that area of town where you can just feel the negative energy. Well, that is LaGuardia - most especially when the weather is a little sour and they are about to close the air space so the Pope can land at JFK.

Well, when we finally boarded the United flight to Chicago, I took my seat in Economy Plus along with the other Premier Executives that couldn't get an upgrade. There were many foreign travelers on the flight it seemed and they were forcing the boarding process to be a little slower than normal.

After about 2/3's of the plane had boarded the gentleman I am about to speak of, boards the plane. He was a relatively non-descript man in his late 50s/early 60's wearing a nice suit with no tie. He was wearing glasses and was slightly balding with grey hair. He made his way about 2 rows on the opposite ahead of my seat. There was a Chinese female tourist sitting in his seat, I presume by mistake. He sees her and says with a strong NY accent - "YOU. OUT!" while using a hand gesture that motioned her out of the seat. His tone was rude and in full-out bully mode. She seemed confused, checked her boarding pass and left. Seeing this, I felt my blood pressure rise. But, with all the work me and Eckhart Tolle have been doing lately I decided to not let my ego get the best of me. I wish that was the end of the story. He kept barking at her as she exited the row and went to find her seat. He was saying things like "Nice try, stealing my seat." "I can see you wanted a better seat." So, finally I had to say something to him.

"You know, you could have asked her nicely and I bet she would have gotten up." I said.

"What did you say?" As he took two steps closer to me in my seat.

"I said, you don't have to be rude."

"Who do you think you are?" He said.

"I am the guy that is telling you that you don't have to be a dick." I said back in a sterner tone.

I said, "Only In New York."

"That's right only in New York." He said in a wise-ass tone.

"You seem proud of that, that's too bad." I said back.

After that he backed off and sat down into his seat. And from that moment on didn't say a word to anyone or even peeked back at me as he was getting off the plane.  I had to call the guy out for being a dick.  Would have I called him out if he was a 6'5" linebacker? Probably not. But I suspect a guy like that wouldn't have been rude to a lost tourist. This is what's wrong with New York. No matter how hard the city works to create a better experience with a cleaner City, better amenities and tourist-friendly programs - until New Yorkers start practicing some cooth and tact, people will always think of New York and New Yorkers as bullshit, rude and bullies. Too bad, because I love that City. So, the next time a New Yorker is rude to you, call him/her on it - they aren't used to it.