For Benjamin...in case you ever wonder

I am not sure how it happened, but I was granted the honor of determining my youngest son's first name. His middle name was to be a family name and subsequently he is named for one of his uncles. His last name, of course, was a given.

As a father and a writer, I'd like to think that there is universal significance in the names of my children. Despite having the pride of a father and the ego of a writer, I honestly have never been asked by anyone - not even my wife - the origin of my son's name. Benjamin, a.k.a Ben.

In a relaxed state of semi-conscious thought, I know exactly the origins of the name. It is as clear as the edges on a cloud. Having assigned myself the task of articulating it, however, is revealing the answer to be less coherent.

The most prominent Benjamin that I admire is, of course, Jack Benny. He was born Benjamin Kubelsky. Although we shared this earth for only five months (he died the day after Christmas in 1974 and I was born the previous July), Jack Benny was always a part of my life. He lived the life that I often daydream of having. Vaudeville. Radio. The advent of television. Jell-O commercials. He had it all.

Most people of my generation do not know or appreciate Jack Benny. Bob Hope? Sure. He lived forever. George Burns? Sure. He played God. Jack Benny? No. And why would they? He was long gone before the days of Desperate Housewives, Saturday Night Live! and YouTube.com.

But did you know...?

Jack Benny's band leader on his radio shows during its heyday was Phil Harris. Who, you ask? Phil Harris is perhaps better remembered today for looking for the bare necessities as the voice of Baloo in Disney's "Jungle Book".

A long-time co-star on Jack Benny's programs over the years was Mel Blanc. You may not recognize his name, but you know his voices. He is best known as the voice of such well-known characters as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Sylvester the Cat, Beaky Buzzard, Tweety Bird, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, Wile E. Coyote, Barney Rubble, Mr. Spacely, and hundreds of others.

Marilyn Monroe made her television debut on the Jack Benny program. A young Johnny Carson frequently guest starred on Jack Benny's television program. He was the king of situational comedy in the early days.

But, no, Ben is not named solely for Jack Benny. The decision was not nearly so simple.

The first book I remember reading as a child was Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amos discovered, edited and illustrated by Robert Lawson. The book was a humorous retelling of many of the significant events in the life of Benjamin Franklin. Filtered through the pages of a children's book, Benjamin Franklin was the ultimate founding father. He discovered electricity with a kite. He invented a stove. Nearly every time he spoke, he was quoted.

To this day, I am fascinated by Benjamin Franklin, although now I know that he was perhaps not the ideal candidate for a children's book.

Finally, there is the sound of the name. Ben. Unimposing. Peaceful. Tender. Classic. It is unlike virtually any other name in defining the personality of a stoic, intelligent, confident, soft-spoken individual. All qualities that I imagined in my child. I am sure there are exceptions, but I do not recall any dictators, generals, serial killers or henchmen named Ben.

I know Ben's place as the son of Jacob and brother or Joseph in the Old Testament. Aside from the historical connotations inherently absorbed by any student of literature I cannot honestly say that biblical influences were at play.

Having just re-read my attempt to answer the origins of my son's name, it occurs to me that I have just barely scratched the surface. Perhaps, I should revert to a simpler explanation: I just always liked the name.

When starting an online business, how do you decide what products to sell?

The options are literally unlimited and there are many schools of thought when considering what exactly to sell. Almost anything WILL sell online, but there are others factors that play into how WELL it sells online. I have a few universal guidelines that I follow when selecting product.

First, if the item or service is readily available in every community then I typically will not sell it. However, if you are specializing in the item or service and offering a comprehensive selection then the first rule may not apply. For example, do not choose products that are available from your local Wal Mart unless you have a comprehensive selection. For instance, do not sell four kinds of model aircraft just because you know they sell through Wal Mart. Wal Mart will be more convenient and probably cheaper. If you sell two hundred kinds of model aircraft and wish to become a destination for model aircraft enthusiasts, then go ahead.

Another rule of thumb I use is to try to find a niche. Find products or services that you allows you to virtually corner the market online. This idea helps when it comes to optimizing your site for search engines. For instance, if you are selling something totally unique and someone searched for it on Google, then you are more likely to show up at the top. If you are selling something as commoditized as books, then you are already climbing a steep mountain because companies like Amazon have a huge head start. Focus your offering so that you can stand-out in a very crowded marketplace.

Sell what you know or know what you sell. If you are an expert or enthusiast in a subject, then use that expertise when selecting what to sell. If you are not an enthusiast, then research what you want to sell and become an expert. Knowledge helps you narrow your focus and better anticipate what your customers will be looking for in terms of products and information.

Research the companies you depend upon for your business. If you rely on wholesalers to provide products, ask the hard questions. Are products always in stock? How long does it take to ship items? Does the company guarantee their products? Are customers generally pleased with a product after buying it? You will make a sale online based almost entirely on images and descriptions. Do the images and descriptions accurately illustrate what the product is?

When starting, keep in mind your intended customer. when attempting to attract the general public as a customer, I try to sell only simple products. If an item requires too much expertise to assemble or use, then I know my returns will be too high. Customers generally do not return simple items that work right out of the box. If your intended customer is specialized, then be sure your offering adequately communicates what is involved after the purchase so your customer knows what to expect. You do not want to have to handle tech support for every sale.

In summary, create a market for yourself that is unique. Know what you are selling and present it properly for your audience. Partner only with companies that will not hinder your business. Finally, make it as simple as possible for customers to know what they are buying before they buy and make it simple for them to buy it.

New School Selling - How not to be like the rest

Amazon lists 449,578 books on the subject of selling. I have not read all of them or maybe any of them, but I know they mostly say about the same thing. I know this because I have been selling for over 12 years and every salesperson and every buyer quotes these books. And every quote sounds the same. The message of these books is sound. No doubt about it. The problem is that both the seller and the buyer know this message. It is like bluffing in poker with all of your cards showing. How do you use a technique (or psychology) when you are transparent? You do not. That is why selling has become a numbers game where you search 100s of trees and still only find the low hanging fruit.

I am no rocket scientist (as I said I am in sales so that is one testament to my intelligence), but I have discovered a technique (for lack of a better word) that works. It can be uncomfortable.It can be difficult. However, it can be effective in allowing you to break out of the mold and increase sales.

What is the point of sales? Duh. To get the sale. Who is your competition? The other guy. But I am a better salesperson and not only is my product better but it is cheaper. Unfortunately, while all of this may be true it does not equate to more sales.

Your competition is not the other guy. It is status quo. The biggest hurdle to making a buying decision is trusting that you are making the right decision. Unfortunately, this often leads to an endless cycle of thinking about it. No decision is worse than a decision for both the buyer and the seller. Think about it. The seller has (false) hope and the buyer has not made the wrong decision. Ah, everybody is happy, right? No.

So what is this technique that has revolutionized my personal experience with sales? It is simple, really. I do everything that you do right up to the moment of the close and I ask for a NO. What? You are supposed to ask for the order, right? All the books say so. Yeah, how is that working for you?

By asking for a NO, you are changing the expectations and rules that govern how buying has worked throughout human history. In reality, the buyer does not want to say no any more than they want to say yes (status quo, remember?). But if you have positioned your sale properly, the jolt you just introduced to the equation will be so substantial that in most cases you will either get the sale or get to the root of the indecision and be able to address it.

The fact that you are pushing for a not only a decision, but one that does not help your cause, will show that you are comfortable with what you are doing and it will reinforce that you are offering a service and not just trying to empty wallets. It is a simple concept, but try it and let me know how it works for you. It certainly works for me. Good selling (and stop reading all those books).

How to use Paypal for instant creditability online

When starting a new online business, there are many questions that must be addressed. None is more important than: How will customers pay you? As a store owner, you have several options. You can use traditional merchant services, a "free" processor like Google Checkout, or Paypal. A word about each.

Traditional merchant services refer to the same type of credit card processing you likely use whenever you pull out your credit card at your corner store or the dry-cleaners. These services were designed for brick and mortar businesses and they're wary of online businesses. In fact,they often charge higher transaction fees for online businesses because they feel they are riskier in terms of fraud and charge backs. I personally do not favor partnering with companies who see my online operation as a liability.

Free processors sounds great, but sometimes you get what you pay for. If you're just starting out and only processing five or ten transactions a month, then perhaps this will work for you. This "free" service also assumes that you are using Google's adwords for advertising in order to get the processing free. In another article, I offer my thoughts as to why paying for clicks is a waste of money.

Most online shoppers believe that Paypal is simply how you pay for something on eBay. It has evolved into a full service online transaction company. People who do not have Paypal accounts can now use it to pay with their credit card. Online businesses can now easily accept credit cards and Paypal using the same account. It has simply become the standard for online payments. So much so that even Dell Computers and iTunes uses them for online transactions.

Paypal may appear to cost a bit more than other merchant services, but the credibility and ease of use far surpass the upfront cost differences. Also, prior to receiving approval on a merchant services account you have to set up a checking account through a bank that is in the name of your business. In most cases, the bank requires you to be incorporated as well. This can be time consuming and delay what you are trying to do.

Paypal can allow you to process credit cards and be up and running within a few days. In fact, if you manage your Paypal account properly you can minimize or even profit from using their service. Here is how: Paypal charges a fee for receiving payments of any kind. However, Paypal pays an interest rate (about 4.5 percent at the time of writing). Finally, if you link your Paypal account to the Paypal Mastercard (separate qualifications and waiting periods apply) and only use it as a credit card (as opposed to debit), you will earn an additional 1.5 percent rebate on purchases that are directly put back into your Paypal account.

For example: Sell a $100 item via your store and have Paypal as the processor. Fees are 2.9 percent plus $.30 equals $3.20. Paypal shows a deposit for $96.80. You buy the item for $70 and use your Paypal Mastercard to buy it from the drop ship supplier. Your charge for $70 earns you a rebate of $1.05 that is put into your Paypal account. Your net profit on the transaction is $27.85 and total net fees are $2.15 or 2.15 percent.

Unless you are Dell Computer with a billion dollars in credit card transactions, you will not find any merchant services company willing to give you as low as 2.15 percent for an online transaction, so this is the way to go. And this example does not even include the 4.5 percent money market that you will earn if you can leave your profits in the account for a while.

The author of this article is in no way affiliated with Paypal or any of the other services referenced in this article.

Perhaps Los Angeles is Magical

I grew up listening to Jack Benny on the radio. As a child, I memorized the "Who's on First?" routine. My favorite movies all had Jimmy Stewart or Cary Grant in them. It took adulthood for me to realize how unique this was for a child of the 1980s. But Dad was in the service and from 1983 to 1986 we lived in the Netherlands - where the only English language entertainment included listening to Armed Forces Network on the radio. I guess their budget for current entertainment was limited. I don't recall it being a problem for me.

Now I realize that perhaps I was born in the wrong time. Listening to 1920s radio re-broadcasts and watching old movies gave me an appreciation for the early days of American mass media. Oh, to have been a stagehand for Mack Sennett. To this day, no person in history enthralls me more than Irving G. Thalberg, a person virtually lost to American cinema history because of his lack of self-promotion. During the early days of Hollywood it seems not only was mass media revolutionized, but the participants were fully aware of their own roles. It was an amazing time.

It should be no surprise that as a youth one of my most prominent goals was to go to L.A. As a child, I never traveled further west than Denver. Though the mountains were more spectacular, it wasn't exactly the Hollywood Hills. My college years took me to Florida. Ironically, I didn't visit Hollywood, FL until after I had graduated and moved to Texas.

Flash forward several years, and 26 year old Paul has a real job, with a real reason to travel to Los Angeles on business...with an expense account, no less! In fleeting moments, I imagined loitering on Sunset Boulevard and being bumped into by Steven Spielberg only to have him say, "You're exactly the look I need in my new picture!" Since this seemed unlikely, I decided I was going to make the most of my first trip to L.A.

Of course, I knew absolutely nothing of the geography of Los Angeles. Today, I realize that EVERYTHING in L.A. is at least an hour from ANYTHING. At the time, I naturally figured that the best place to stay on my business trip was downtown. Every other big city I had ever visited featured a downtown that was almost always centrally located, so why would L.A. be any different?

My thought process was simple. I only knew of one hotel in downtown L.A. - The Westin Bonaventure. It is the same hotel where Arnold Schwarzenegger chased a terrorist through the lobby on horseback in James Cameron's True Lies. It also features the external elevators seen in the movie. Perfect.

While I knew nothing of L.A. geography, I did know enough to realize that it was not a city of mass transit. In New York, a rental car is a liability. In L.A., it is essential. Being on an expense account, it was quite easy to pass off a Mustang convertible for the trip. The receipt rarely states the specific type of car and everything in L.A. is more expensive.

Upon arriving in L.A., it is immediately apparent that this is a different world. First, it is always sunny although the quality of the sun changes gradually as the day progresses. In the mornings, the sun is filtered by a beautiful haze. Of course, to be seen as beautiful you must block out the knowledge that it is created from pollution. As the haze burns off, the city reveals itself as a collage of postcards and movie backgrounds.

The most unique aspect of the sun in Southern California is that you do not need sunglasses. Living in Texas, you instantly realize that sunglasses are a requirement if you simply want to see while outdoors. In L.A., the sun bathes you, but it does not invade your senses as if trying to incapacitate you.

Dressed in my best Magnum P.I. garb, complete with (mostly) green Hawaiian shirt and modernized with Birkenstock sandals, I headed out on the town. I hit all of the tourist highlights - Mann's Chinese Theater, Santa Monica Pier, Hollywood and Vine (best left to the imagination of yester-year), Rodeo Drive, Westwood (home of UCLA) and, of course Venice Beach. I even tracked down where Irving G. Thalberg is buried, although his tomb is unfortunately private at the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Mornings were spent getting in the required business meetings that served as justification for the entire trip. Lunch was spent on the town or at the beach. Afternoons were spent in the hotel napping or refreshing. Evenings were spent typically on Sunset Boulevard or other stereotypical hotspots more renowned for their iconic place in Hollywood lore than for their ambiance, including The Whiskey and the Viper Room.

It was during an afternoon recuperating at the Westin that I was touched, ever so slightly, by the magic of Los Angeles. It was one of those moments where you know nobody is going to believe you, but it doesn't matter because you were there. The best comparison I can conjure is that of getting a hole-in-one while golfing alone.

Resting on the hotel bed, I turned on the TV to find the Dodgers baseball game. Watching the Dodgers on local television is somewhat what I imagine to listening to the old Brooklyn Dodgers must have been like, as each was broadcast by Vin Scully. The time of the one-team career broadcaster has mostly passed now, but there are a few of the old guard left, including Vin Scully. I was never a Dodgers fan, but I knew the relationship of this man and the team. It was a pleasure to close my eyes and just listen.

By the seventh-inning stretch, I began to grow restless and decided to head down to the hotel bar for a drink before heading out on the town for the evening. As I was brushing my teeth, the now common-place sponsored trivia question flashed across the screen: "Who was the oldest player to get an extra base hit in the world series?" I didn't know the answer, but I was about to.

I turned off the TV and headed for the elevators. The elevator in the Westin Bonaventure is like a tube mounted to the exterior of the hotel and provides breathtaking views of sprawling city. The ride is smooth and quick as you descend into the seven story atrium and ground level.

I pulled up a stool at the The Lobby Court, a central cocktail and coffee bar on the ground level. Glancing up I noticed that the Dodgers game was on one of the overhead TVs, sans sound. The broadcast was just presenting the answer to the day's trivia question: "The oldest player to get an extra base hit in the world series was: Dave Winfield at the age of 41." It was interesting tid-bit, but without the sound on there was little point to watching a Dodgers game. I ordered a Corona and settled into my bar stool.

That's when I heard the voice. Initially, his back was to me as he took his seat at the bar beside me. He was talking to someone, but I could not see anything around his broad shoulders squared off further by an immaculate suit. But I knew the voice. I'm not sure exactly how, but I knew the voice.

If you have ever watched professional sports of any type and thought to yourself, if only given the chance I could...then you have not encountered a professional athlete in person. A professional athlete is a unique specimen among Homo sapiens. It is as though they were chiseled directly from the stone atop Mount Olympus. And Dave Winfield was no exception.

I have never asked anyone for an autograph, unless it was for my kids. I do not seek out celebrities and interrupt them during dinner to tell them why I am a fan. I generally like to be left alone and suspect that those who might be recognized in public would appreciate the same courtesy. But this was different.

I tapped Mr. Winfield on the shoulder and immediately wondered if I had made a mistake. This man was 6'6'' and played at 220 pounds. He was a former New York Yankee who once was (incidentally) involved in getting George Steinbrenner banned from baseball. He was in the Baseball Hall of Fame and owned a World Series ring. My fight or flight instinct gave way to sheer curiosity.

"Hello?" Mr. Winfield turned partially to discover the source of the interruption.

I held my ground. "Pardon me, sir, but you were just the answer to the trivia question on the Dodger game." I pointed to the TV to backup my claim.

"Really?" Mr. Winfield completed his turn towards me and a faint smile crossed his mustachioed square jaw. "What was the question?"

Now I had his attention. I proudly recited the trivia question that was not at all mine.

To this day, I do not recall the rest of the conversation except that we shook hands. It was a brief conversation centered on the singular subject of the trivia question. No autograph. No small talk. No further questions.

From the first moment of hearing his voice, I steadily became overcome by a warm, soothing rush of adrenalin. It is a feeling that only comes when you are experiencing a moment you cannot believe even while fully aware that it is happening.

For the next several days, the punch line of the story came naturally and consistently, "What are the odds?"

Review: The Virtually Indestructible GlowType Keyboard

Written April 10, 2008

First, the qualifiers. I was involved in the original design and marketing of this product by the manufacturer, Grandtec. Now we simply sell the item through e-Giftology.com. The home computer has one in use, but I use a laptop 99% of the time and do not actually use one now days. With that said, let the review begin….

Coolness factor: In my mind, this is why people buy it. It is blue. It illuminates. It is made of flexible, washable silicone rubber and is unlike anything you’re ever seen sitting on a desk. From this standpoint alone, it makes an excellent gift item.

Use factor: This is a love/hate issue. Those who love it…the feel, the silence, the comfort (no negative wrist angle as it sits flat)…those people will use nothing else. My oldest son falls in this category. Those who hate usually learned to type on a typewriter and migrated to computers only when absolutely necessary. Also, I find that those who type over 70 wpm have trouble adapting to this new feel. The learning curve is short, but people usually decide on the love/hate aspect within the first ten minutes and don’t usually change their minds with time. Also, if you just fried your keyboard with a Dr. Pepper, this keyboard is for you.

Use Note: Gamers love this thing. Office workers can run hot or cold. The younger the recipient the higher the love factor.

Cost: As keyboards go, this is in the middle. Sure you can buy a replacement generic keyboard for $10, but when in the market it is easy to spend $100 or more for some bells and whistles alternative that says Logitech or Microsoft on it. For cost versus value, this keyboard is near the top.

Longevity: If you never harm you current keyboard with drinks, food, or worse, then this keyboard adds only a bit to the equation. If you have ever turned your keyboard over and shaken all the nasties out of it, then this keyboard is for you. As for food and drinks, see above. In rougher environments, this keyboard will stand the test better than the alternative as its name suggests.

Official e-Giftologist stance: The Virtually Indestructible GlowType Keyboard has an audience. This audience loves it. Universal appeal can be limited. We don’t use a star rating for reviews, but you should not have difficulty predicting whether your recipient will like it or not.

Review of Animal Golf Club Head Covers

Written April 30, 2008

When you think of headcovers, you think of those yarny things that come free with your woods when you buy them. Or Rodney Dangerfield with his live-in golf bag in CaddyShack.

And then Tiger Woods hit the scene and changed the world of headcovers forever. Now a headcover isn’t going to change the political landscape, but it can improve conversation around the first tee.

Easily the most popular category on http://www.e-giftology.com/ is the animal golf club head covers. If only you would feel the quality through the pictures. Daphne’s Headcovers of Phoenix, AZ has adopted a philosophy of authenticity and quality akin to those of a F.A.O Schwarz teddy bear. And, yes, Daphne’s makes the Tiger for the world’s number one. And just about every other animal adorning drivers on any tour you’ll see on the Golf Channel.

First, the size. Each headcover fits up to a 490cc driver (nearly every LEGAL driver on the market). Basically, they are about the size of a human head so yours won’t easily be missed atop your bag. Using more than one may pose a challenge, but it has been done. The putter covers are smaller as are the hybrid covers, so perhaps there is a solution for a complete set.
Second, the guarantee. Daphne’s includes their phone number on a tag within the cover so that if ANYTHING happens to it while being stored in your garage then they will take care of you.
Third, the selection. Over 175 unique designs that allow you to incorporate your personality into your golf game.

Finally, the quality. Each headcover is uniquely designed to accurately represent the subject of its design. From fur tailored to feel precisely like the animal to eye design and nose texture these things are simply amazing. My five year old is constantly hitting me up for one to use as a cuddly at night. The lush design is not only eye-catching, but serves to truly protect your $800 Taylor Made that stills seems to slice too much.

The ultimate challenge for us is to communicate the quality via a simple web page. Customer feedback has been universally positive and normally includes a statement of shock related to the discrepency between the online description and the immense quality realized upon receipt.

Of all the items available on e-Giftology, these are easily the best value as measured to quality.

What makes the perfect gift?

Written February 2008

#1 Question for e-Giftologist founder, Paul Dumas: What do you think makes a good gift?

As chief e-Giftologist, I am often asked my thoughts on what makes the "perfect" gift. This is a complex question with many aspects that ironically have almost nothing to do with the actual gift itself. It would be great to tell everybody to buy a Johnny Light (the toilet nightlight) and be done with it. But, as I said, the actual gift itself has little to do with making it the "perfect gift".

A good gift is often defined more in terms of the relationship between the giver and the given and how the gift reflects specific qualities in each. For instance, if you are looking for perfect corporate gifts, you must ask yourself a few questions. Are the corporate gifts for customers or employees? Is the corporate gift for your boss? What would be the perfect corporate gift for your boss likely is different than what would be perfect for your employees or customers.

A good gift can also be defined in terms of what you're trying to say with the gift. If you are looking for great holiday gifts for clients, you need to decide what you're trying to say with the gift. If you are trying to say "thank you for the past year", then something of value and function would be best. A nice gift basket or coffee or cookies has proven to be a popular holiday gift for clients. If you're trying to increase your client's awareness of your company, then a personlized gift would be best that includes your company name or log. If you have a personal relationship with your clients, then the perfect holiday gift might be something more akin to what you would also get a brother or sister (although I would skip the socks and underwear route).

A gift can approach "perfect" status buy showing that thought was put into it by the giver that results in something unique, yet functional for the receiver. What does this mean? Wal-Mart sells a lot of baby car seats every year. Nice gift, but great gift? First, it is generic. Sure, the new parents may have registered for it, but let somebody else get it. A great gift would be something unique that relates to something generic. How about getting the Infant Car Seat Carrier from Flying Falcon for only $15.95. The gift is less expensive than a car seat, but added a new dimension of originality and function to something you know the new parents will get anyway. If you want to really enhance the perfect gift, have the item sent you and make it a personalized baby gift by sewing the newborn's name into the strap. Wow, you'll be remembered forever for that one. This gift will be kept for the newborn's own children. Way to hit a homerun. And you spent less than $20.

There is one thing that I have discovered that has absolutely no impact on making the "perfect" gift: how much you spend. I can show you an internet full of $500 velvet Elvis prints that my beloved wife would absolutely hate as a Valentine gift. See would much rather prefer than I spend $50 on a nice California Wine Country gift basket. My youngest son, on the other hand, gets more enjoyment out of a $.99 Hot Wheels car than most $50 video games.

Are you starting to get the idea? Now you know the thought process that we run through when deciding whether a product is offered on e-Giftology.com. Thanks for visiting and be sure to visit our blog and let us know what you think makes the perfect gift.

e-Giftology.com Launches Forum for Gift Ideas

Released January 13, 2008

New blog provides forum for visitors to share gift ideas and stories about the best and worst gift they have ever received or given.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jan 13, 2008 – DALLAS, TEXAS - e-Giftology.com today announced the launch of a discussion blog, a forum for visitors to share their gift ideas and experiences. Visitors to the site are encouraged to share their stories regarding their best and worst gifts of all time. The forum is: http://egiftology.wordpress.com/.

"We believe the key to the perfect gift has almost nothing to do with the gift itself or how much it costs." said e-Giftology founder, Paul Dumas. "With this in mind, we want to provide a community forum for gift experiences that anyone can review for ideas and direction. We'll start by asking visitors something specific and then let it evolve as the community grows."

e-Giftology chose WordPress as host of the blog due to the design flexibility and ease of use. e-Giftology with moderate and participate in discussions on a daily basis. In addition to the gift forum, e-Giftology will also use the blog to communicate directly ith users of the site regarding customer issues or ideas related to the site, specifically.

"When nearly all of your business is online, you must provide something unique to visitors or they will go somewhere else." continued Paul Dumas. "The internet is a crowded marketplace, so we differentiate ourselves through our interaction with visitors and customers. If someone has an idea or a problem, we want to know about it immediately."

e-Giftology is counting on this "personal" approach to online interaction to expand their community and ultimately their business. Ultimately, e-Giftology hopes the forum will provide an avenue for visitors to help determine what types of gift items are available for sale on http://www.e-giftology.com/.

# # #

About e-Giftology.com Founded in 2007, e-Giftology is designed to be a destination for all things gift related. At the core of the business strategy is an online store featuring unique, yet functional gift items to appeal to a wide range of people and occasions. Designed around the idea that shopping for the perfect gift is a science that relies more on the relationship between giver and recipient than on the gift itself, e-Giftology intends to create a structure whereby an online community will grow. e-Giftology.com is headquartered in Lewisville, TX. For more information, visit http://www.e-giftology.com/.

Beware the Pitfalls of Universal Health Care

Written August 26, 2008

It is election season and once again one of the hot topics is health care in this nation. Many have called for universal health care. I say, be careful what you wish for.

This article gives an excellent viewpoint from an educated citizen.

Of course, I have my own thoughts. Before I share, please allow me to state my credibility, er, bias.

First, I lived for over four years in a country with socialized medicine (The Netherlands - you know, windmills, tulips and wooden shoes). Every citizen had free health care provided by the state.

Second, I am an insurance agent who provides group health insurance to mostly small businesses in Texas.

This is what I know about the pitfalls of universal health care.

First, we must answer the question of who pays for it. The citizens do. In the Netherlands, the tax brackets start at 33.60% and top out at 52%. Imagine working until July to finally clear a dollar that you can call your own. Also, beginning in 2006, citizens of the Netherlands are REQUIRED to purchase health insurance at a rate of about 95 EUROS a month plus a percentage of income (about 4%). So much for Universal Health care. The system was going broke so they came back and asked for more.

Second, what does the state provided health care provide? Typically, a citizen has access, but the quality is limited and the lines are long. Forget about going to the doctor if you have a cold. You’ll be better before you get in. And yes, I know that the Netherlands is considered by some to have a better health care system than the US, but a HUGE part of their ranking is access. And as I said, every citizen has access because they are REQUIRED to pay for it.

Third, in order to support such a system, the overall quality reduces to match the funding. Basically, in the US you could expect one of the top health care systems (in terms of quality of care) in the world to reduce to the lowest common denominator so that we could fund it.

Well, what if we only required employers to provide health insurance so that the working class is always covered? This sounds awesome, especially in light of the fact that I sell group health insurance to businesses. The problem is that you cannot get blood from a turnip. As costs continue to increase, I see more and more small businesses cease offering health insurance because it is simply cost prohibitive. As if the small business owner didn’t have enough of a challenge competing with the monolithic companies for quality employees. Should we ask each small business to lay off one employee and use their salary to fund the health insurance? If you mandated companies to offer benefits, you wouldn’t have to ask….it would just happen. What would the unemployment rate be if every one of the 5.7 million small businesses with employees suddenly had to fire one employee?

So, what is the answer? We have to fix the economics of our health care system. It shouldn’t cost $125 to see a doctor for six minutes and say “ahhh”. The cost must match the service (and technologies) provided.

The other culprit is the drug companies. I used to be in electronics manufacturing and we used a process that basically called for economy of scale. If you made one of something it cost $100,000. If you made 100,000 of something it cost $1 each. Sure, drug research is expensive. Most of it comes from the private sector, as it should. However, government oversight can go a long way toward shortening the time between drug approval and generic equivalents. Drug companies should not be allows to fleece the public for 10 to 15 years with each new drug. The government should be able to receive a report (during FDA trials, for instance) that shows how much the research cost. Once the research is earned back in sales profits, then the government should be able to regulate the profit margins to a certain degree. They already regulate profit margins to health insurance companies. Why not regulate the margins for drug companies?
Too much government involvement, you say? Well, remember all of this started with someone clamoring for universal health care. How much government involvement do you want?

I’m sure I’m missing something, so please feel free to leave your comments.

The Value Proposition of Voluntary Benefits in Small Business

The employee benefit commonly referred to as Voluntary Benefits has unfortunately been misconstrued over the last decade due to over-simplified advertising and marketing, poor face to face communication and and emphasis on sales rather than solution providing.

In the early days, this benefit was often labeled “supplemental insurance”. While some of the benefits under the umbrella are supplemental by definition, many are not. I do not know of an employee who considers disability insurance to be supplemental. There is absolutely nothing supplemental about life insurance.

There are also those who make the leap from “voluntary” to “supplemental” to “optional” - and in their mind, optional means “unnecessary”. Usually, this leap is made by an employer who is disconnected financially from an employee group that operates under a distinctively different income level. Thankfully, my job is to explain, as gently as possible, where the fallacy exists.

If Voluntary Benefits are not “supplemental”, then what are they? Voluntary Benefits are a suit of products designed to allow an employee on an individual basis to reduce their risk based on their own needs.

Voluntary Benefits address four key areas of an employee’s risk:
1. Paycheck
2. Out of pocket medical expenses (deductible, co-insurance, etc.)
3. Catastrophic occurrence and critical illness
4. Life

First, the paycheck is an employee’s biggest asset. However, it is also their biggest area of risk if left unprotected. The average American cannot go a month or more without a paycheck. Voluntary Benefits include an option for short term disability insurance to replace lost income due to accidents and illness.

Second, out of pocket medical expenses and an employee’s risk associated with such expenses have increased steadily in the last decade as deductibles increase in favor of lower premiums. Also, a significant percentage of out of pocket expenses come from things that simply are not covered by health insurance. Travel expenses, lost time at work, and the fact that the bills are still due all contribute to this category of risk. Supplemental Health, Accident or Cancer insurance can go along way toward protecting an employee who is one incident away from financial strain.

Third, the catastrophic event. On the plus side, more people survive the first heart attack or stroke. On the down side, the financial burden that comes with such an illness is often enough to ruin even the best retirement planning. A solid Critical Illness plan can function as a living form of life insurance and provide cash at a time when it is needed most.

Finally, Life. In reality is should read “Death”, but for obvious reasons we’re all more comfortable with the term “Life”. Every working American with a family, a mortgage, a plan should ask the question: What happens if I’m not here tomorrow? Surveys show that employees prefer to purchase life insurance through the workplace than on their own. Some of this is due to an inherent distaste for the process of learning and searching on an individual basis. It can be intimidating and you rarely know that you’re making the right decision. A less spoken reason is that an employee is more comfortable having the premium taken directly out of their paycheck and knowing they have the protection. Worksite life insurance is protection. Individual life insurance results in another bill in the mail every month. It is literally that simple.

The Value Proposition of Voluntary Benefits:

Chances are any company with more than one employee has employees with different income levels, personal backgrounds and varying life stages. Voluntary Benefits provide employees the opportunity to address their individual needs while substantially enhancing the employer’s goals of providing value in their employee benefits plan. The value realized is in the eye of the employee, but the opportunity offered is beyond valuation.

Survey shows Health Care Costs #1 issue for Small Business

Written September 8, 2008

The small business owner and the average benefits specialist already know that the increasing costs of health insurance are crippling small business. The National Federation of Independent Business, a non-profit organization serving as a political advocate for small businesses in all 50 states and in Washington D.C., surveys its members annually to gauge concerns. For the 20th consecutive year, health insurance costs have ranked #1.

According to NFIB, health insurance costs have increased 129% for small businesses since 2000. Employees of Small Businesses pay on average 18% more for the same coverage as employees of large companies. On the surface, this makes sense if you understand risk and actuarial processes. However, small business represents nearly half of the private GDP and small business employs nearly half of the private sector employees in this country.

So, if half of working Americans work for small business, how is it that small businesses pose a higher risk to insurance companies than large companies? I am not a statistician, but it seems to me that insurance companies charge employees of small business more simply because they can. Is it no wonder that as recently as 2005, the CEO of United Healthcare (the largest health insurer in the US) was the third highest paid executive on the Forbes list?

The system is broken. I am all for democracy and capitalism, but when one principal suffers in favor of another it is time to look into changing the status quo. Thus begins the cycle of prohibiting the small business owner from fully realizing the opportunity for capitalism that this country had promised from day one.

What is the answer? No election will solve the problems. No amount of blogging will solve the problems. If you are a small business owner, you must get involved. Start by visiting NFIB.com. Learn what the issues are and how your congressman views them. Talk to other business owners. You do not have to be a lobbyist or run for office. But it is easy to add your voice to the millions of other individual voices so that they can be heard as one where it matters most.

What’s old is new again: Ride the Rail

Written July 24th, 2008

Gas has settled above $4 a gallon. Airlines are going broke while charging you for air conditioning. What’s old is new again.

Just a few short years ago, AMTRAK depended almost entirely on government subsidies to remain operational. In October, the Texas Eagle connection from DFW to Chicago was mostly empty. Passengers were mostly retirees or hobbyists who rode the train simply because they enjoyed riding the train.

As I type this, I am aboard the Texas Eagle leaving Chicago for the 22 hour journey to Dallas, Texas. The train is booked and as we talk with other passengers the reason they are here is quite simple: the economics of travel.

Personally, we took the train partially due to the economics of it and also because my boys have never ridden on the train. The trip has been unique, nostalgic and memorable for the kids.

In a way, it is great to see the trains full of passengers. It is sad that it is driven by economics, but trains have always been driven by economics in this country.

If you’ve never ridden a “real” train, go to AmTrak.com and see where you can go. Disney’s Monorail doesn’t count. Get out and see America.

Viewpoint of America as an American

Written April 9, 2008

Gas is pushing $4 a gallon and we own a Tahoe. The stock market considers a narrow loss “good news” and 99% percent of our retirement is being cashed out to pay off the Citi Mastercard. 80,000 jobs (of about 200 million) are lost and everyone loses 3% of their income almost overnight due to inflation. The average person on the street frowns because it is contagious. They don’t really know why when didactically challenged, but the frown let’s them feel as though they fit in.

What does it mean?

It means that since we didn’t all save $10 a month during the last decade(s?) of over-paid prosperity like we should have (by the way, that rainy day you keep talking about - that was today) we’re going to have to do what most of the rest of the world does on a daily basis: work for a living.

Oh, sure. You’ve been working five days a week for as long as you remember. Your W-2 says so. But have you been earning your keep? I spent almost 12 years being highly over-paid for a “job” where performance was so loosely tied to compensation that when a bonus didn’t arrive we complained. Know why I quit? I started to feel guilty about it. The pride I thought I should feel for having a high paid job wasn’t there - and what’s worse, I understood why and couldn’t take it anymore.

I’ve given myself a pay cut. Started two businesses. Work longer hours. And I am actually happier. Sure, the bills stress me out a bit more every month. We see fewer movies now than last year. But when I receive a dollar via the magic of the electron I feel something that I haven’t felt since I was 16 and working the drive through at Mickey Ds - actual pride in a reward for actual work.

As we moan and groan about the economy, maybe we should simply realize that we had it too good for too long and it is time to get back to what our grandfathers rightly perceived as the norm - roll up your sleeves, get better at what you do, and work.

Is it the right of every American who writes and reads blogs to have a mobile phone and cable TV? Are you entitled to two weeks paid vacation after decade of being over-paid? I had a boss once who told us that we could take a vacation any time we wanted - so long as we could afford it. It is a sound theory that could lead us at least partly out of our collective rut.

Now before your knee jerks, I’m not saying we’re lazy. Far from it. It takes a lot of effort to be on the lake by sun up. The gas for the boat, snacks, life jackets, skis all set. Effort. Plain and simple. I’m not saying we’re dumb, either. Programming a DVR to record every episode of American Idol (can you say 4 nights a week!) takes at least an IQ of 110, so we’re also collectively intelligent.

What if we stopped watching American Idol and used that time to research or at least consider options for being more efficient in how we work and live? I must say that since the Jericho finale, e-Giftology.com has received substantially more attention in the evening that it once did. CBS canceling the show improved my business. Thank you, CBS. I’ll add you to my Christmas card list.

What if for just one hour a week we:

Checked the appliances in the house to see which ones stay on when they shouldn’t / Put air in the tires of all our vehicles and checked the oil / Checked the weather stripping on all the windows and doors / Learned to program that stupid thermostat / Turned down the hot water heater just one notch / Wash the dishes by hand / Checked cell phone usage to make sure we have the best plan / Took one good look at all our bills at once to make sure everything is necessary or at the very least not superfluous

American Idol isn’t as good as it used to be anyway.

But you mentioned working harder…

What if, instead of stressing or complaining about the economy, we all had the following conversation with our boss:

Us: I know things are tight, but I have some ideas on how we as a company can be less susceptible to Fox News. I’d like you to OK measuring the progress of my ideas. If they work, I’d like to negotiate my compensation accordingly.

Boss: Huh?

Us: I think I know of methods whereby we as a company can save enough money where you can afford to give us all raises that exceed inflation.

Boss: How long have you been here? Not counting tomorrow.

Us: Most of us waste at least two hours of every work day drinking coffee, surfing the net, padding breaks, etc. You know and I know it. Let me focus one of those hours a day on these ideas and let’s see what happens.

Boss: You’re crazy.

Us: I’ll take that as a yes. I’ll have a summary to you by the end of the day.

Did you know that the average business of 10 employees can save over $1200 a year in office supplies by simply shopping between two different suppliers? Did you know that the average business can save over $1000 a year in utility expenses by simply implementing a written procedure for closing time? I have more, but I usually charge for these types of things.

What do I do to remain immune from the frown? Well, I have a solution in place for tomorrow and a solution in place for ten years from now - and neither of them leads to debt. I spend most office hours building relationships with other business owners and helping them confront the obvious. It pays the bills and I enjoy the notion that what I do is valuable to someone.

Concurrent with my “day job”, I have formalized my online business presence and created e-giftology.com. What was once MY eBay business, has now become OUR (thanks to growth) investment in the future. The nice thing about ecommerce is that you can manage it from just about anywhere and it does not require you to clock in. The dirty details can be done by hired guns and managing the bottom line is straight forward. Funny enough, economic factors can effect eBay or Amazon from a macrocosmic standpoint, but the specialty store with easily understood components and nimble decision making processes is basically immune.

So, what’s your point? You ask.

As I scroll up to edit…I’m not really sure. I do know that despite everything I am happier now in a “deep recession” than I was a year ago when everyone was buying everyone else lunch. And it has nothing to do with the price of gas.

Why isn’t there a standardized test for Presidential candidates?

We’ve all sat in a large room filled with silence as a teacher-like presence passes out a 4 x 10 sheet of paper filled with empty circles. We’ve all wondered if two #2 pencils will make it through the next 90 minutes. We’ve all wondered why our performance on 150 seemingly random questions could possibly affect whether the school gets a new playground next year.
Imagine this scenario played out on a town hall stage before an audience. Two participants sit on stage at desks, empty except a box of sharpened #2 pencils. The teacher in this scenario is Anderson Cooper. A sheet full of empty circles is handing to each participant. The test consists of 150 yes or no questions - three each from each state generated via an online mechanism that allows any and all US IP addresses to put in their ideas.

The participants, of course, are the Presidential candidates. The test is designed to eliminate spin. The test is given so that each candidate must answer on their own without campaign managers or speech writers manipulating the system to satisfy all polls. They are given 90 minutes to complete the test. At the conclusion, the tests are digitally reprinted in full on the cover of every newspaper in the land - doodle marks and all.

At this point, the candidates can spin all they want. The #2 pencil does not provide much wriggle room.

Wouldn’t you like to know the straight forward answers to following types of questions?
1. Is a military solution for Iran an option?
2. Will you set a timeline for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq?
3. Do you believe that past performance in the political arena accurately predicts future performance?
4. Is the economy more important than environmental concerns?
5. Is overseas outsourcing of jobs more a concern than efforts to retrain the American worker for more relevant jobs?
6. During your first 100 days as President, will you assign a task force to address why Detroit has a graduation rate of only 25%?
7. Will you create an initiative whereby every individual upon eligibility is mandated to consult with an individual Medicare specialist regarding gap and supplemental options resulting either in coverage or a non-election form?
8. Would you support an initiative to publish an annual audit of government spending to account for every dollar spent?
9. Your question here.
And on and on…

Imagine the conversations and debates that would arise from this simple mechanism. And to keep it equally biased for each side, allow Fox News to select 75 of the final questions and CNN the other 75 from the states’ pool of submissions.

If you are pre-empting a comedy to show this proceeding, you can also have Rush Limbaugh and James Carville take the test at the same time. Don’t let them sit too close to each other, though. I’m sure there would be cheating going on.

How the outsourcing of jobs increases jobs for Americans

Lou Dobbs, as he flies his helicopter to work each day, believes that since Microsoft’s latest optical mouse is made in Mexico and TVs are made in Korea and alarm clocks are made in China, America is being fleeced by the world. And you can blame whoever lives in the White House, regardless of his/her name. Convenient to have a platform from which to generate ratings, but my personal experience and general knowledge of how things operate tells me that this is bogus - and it assumes that the average American is barely capable of more than assembly line labor.

One example. I once worked in the world of electronics importation of products from Korea, Taiwan and China. We imported goods literally by the truckload and turned around and sold them to retailers throughout the US. The funny thing is the economics of it. A product manufactured in China for $5 sells to the importer for maybe $6. The importer turns around and sells it to the retailer for $12 and on the shelf sits a neat little gadget for only $24.99! Grab a calculator and show me how the outsourcing of this product hurt jobs and earning potential for working Americans.

Maybe we’re collectively barking up the wrong tree. What if the outsourcing of jobs is not actually the problem? What if the problem is the under valuing of the American workforce potential? Maybe instead of protecting jobs that are obsolete in today’s economy, we should make efforts to retrain America’s workforce so that the idea of working an assembly line is replaced by the idea of getting into service, sales, distribution and information content. Do you think UPS minds that the 3 million PS3s shipped to 35,000 retailers in the US were all made elsewhere? Do you suppose that all the stores selling the latest Mariah Carey album care where the disc was pressed? Who makes more from the disc? The maker or the seller? Where does iTunes fit into the discussion?

Can movie theaters, retail stores, cable and internet installation services, roofers, newspapers, bloggers, billboard advertisers outsource? Would you rather make the widget or make a living selling, using and servicing it?
Come on, people. America is supposed to the most advanced commercial society in the world. Let’s stop whining because we are not allow to push the green button on the injection mold machine. One foreigner pushes the button so that 10 Americans can have jobs getting it to the consumer. There is an equation I’ve never seen on CNN.

Just a thought I have nearly every day when I turn on the news using a remote made in China, assembled in Hong Kong and boxed with a TV from Korea. Suppose the manufacturers on the assembly line have a nicer TV than you do?

Why the Government Should Stop Google

Article written in 2008 after news of a possible Google/Yahoo! merger

I am not into big government. I’m not sure that anti-trust laws are good. I am sure that they are enforced selectively and not uniformly. I’m pretty sure that monopolies are sometimes good when it can lead to standards essential to our lives. I’d prefer that only the best manufacturer is in charge of making seat belts.

But the notion that Google may take over Yahoo! should make your spine tingle. The resulting Yahoogle will create an online economy totally controlled by one entity. You would have the #1 most visited site on the internet (Yahoo!, mostly for their mail feature) and the #1 search engine in the world combining. As a webmaster for an ecommerce site, I know that nearly 90% of our traffic is generated from Google searches. With the takeover, this number would approach 100%.

Google is already known to tweak their search system to favor whatever agenda they are pushing at any given time. PageRank is the religion of webmasters. What if they had total and absolute power over your online business…and there was not a thing you could do about it? Sure, Dell would survive. They have multi-million dollar ad campaigns in all media outlets. YouTube would still get traffic. As would MySpace. But what about the little guy? It would be like opening a gift shop in a prison yard. The shop might be nice, but for some reason not a lot of people get to visit.

Isn’t this akin to the day they closed the patent office because every thing that could be invented had been? And this was before the television or the integrated circuit.
In this internet age where anyone with an idea can find a voice via the blog, the short video, the publicity stunt…wouldn’t Yahoogle have the power to silence all the voices who couldn’t afford a six figure Adwords account?

I’m all for the American Dream and I do not resent a billionaire who becomes such through hard work, luck and innovation. I am not for the billionaire who parlays their success into a power play to control the largest public medium in the history of the world.

I find myself editing my language in the hope that the future Yahoogle won’t blacklist my site because of this post. How different is typing this post from writing a pamphlet in support of revolution in 1775 Boston? A stretch perhaps, but from a strictly financial sense I cannot help but consider the risk or the comparison. And the risk is real. Do not doubt that.

So as you consider who to vote for this November…encourage your local or national media to ask this question: Do you support a world where one entity controls the internet? If so, is that entity the government (that is supposedly representative of every American) or a corporation that appears to be immune to the law?

If one company owned 90% of the stock market, would the government step in? If one company owned the majority of the railroads, would the government step in…oh, wait. If one company controlled the telephone technology in this country, would…oh, another bad example.
What is the solution? Sure, Yahoogle can be the most used search engine in the world, but shouldn’t someone, somewhere, without a personal interest in the internet economy have oversight in how those search results are generated?

Shouldn’t any and all sites be allowed in…and let the user filter the criteria for their own searches? Wouldn’t it be great to filter, say, a search to include only the top 1,000,000 sites based in a particular country? Or, say, only sites that have been updated in the last week? Or sites over 1 year old? Give us the option of deciding which database we wish to search.

So spread the word and save yourself from never getting to see the next great thing. Remember, YouTube was not launched with a PageRank of 9.

Taking your neighborhood business online

I have been building small business websites for over 13 years. Thirteen years ago a neighborhood business website basically served as an online equivalent of the yellow pages. Call us to order! Now! Today, a neighborhood business website can often take a business national - and without the need for a bank loan. Unfortunately, most neighborhood business owners do not know how to optimize their internet potential.

So here is how it normally goes: We have this great shop that specializes in selling baby gifts. We cannot seem to keep the vibrating teething rings in stock. If we can sell these things online, just imagine how rich we will be. A credit card and a shopping cart and they are off and running. And six months later they have six orders to show for the effort. Where are all the customers? First, who are they? If you are not Mattel, people will not find you by accident. Second,the site attracts customers like a salesman waiting for the fax machine to print. Now what?

This is where the professionals come in. The neighborhood business owner consults the yellow pages (go figure) to find a company to hire for building the perfect online store. They are quoted $60,000 over 12 months to turn their site into THE destination for baby gifts. Twelve months later they have the best looking site money can buy and dozens of reports explaining why it only generated twelve orders. Renew now because it takes thirteen months to start seeing a trend.

To build a profitable internet business you do not want a graphic designer. Graphic design is for building a brand. Neighborhood businesses do not generate sales online because of their brand. Neighborhood businesses generates sales online based on increasing traffic and making it simple for customers to find products and place orders.

Time to hire an ecommerce pro. In the world of the ecommerce pro, graphics take minutes to create with Photoshop. Site design is based on proven architecture. I personally use eBay and Amazon for design ideas. Both are immensely profitable in ecommerce and neither breaks new ground in internet graphic design. Ecommerce pros spend 5 minutes on product and search optimization for every 5 seconds spent on graphic design. The sites typically are intuitive, simple and fast to load. The sites are typically focused and link HOW the customer finds the with WHAT they are finding (and ordering).

If your neighborhood business site is not seeing sales at least equal with what you do offline, then look into finding an ecommerce pro. If the pro begins the discussion with how neat the site will look, find another one. If the pro can show specifically what they intend to do to not only bring customers to your site but how those customers will find and order an item, offer them a commission of sales. Do not spend more than you are making. It is not neurosurgery, so do not pay for an surgeon.

A Dedication to Two Special Friends from 1992

Author's note: This is one of my earliest semi-autobiographical efforts for an English assignment in high school. I have intentionally NOT edited or updated it so that I could capture the voice of a beginner.

"A Dedication to Two Special Friends"

Darkness was interrupted by the points of light. The moon's reflection hovered on the surface of the ocean as a salty breeze maintained a pleasant atmosphere for the two young walking philosophers.

"What do you suppose love is?" Both of the boys were the same age and faced entering adulthood within the next year. Neither of the students of life had answered enough of the questions concerning their current life to be completely comfortable about entering their new one.

TO be continued.....

Writing Influences

I am often asked about my writing influences. This is the single most difficult question I am asked related to writing. The answer you don't want to hear is: Everything. As a lover of words and how they convey meaning, I absorb everything I encounter.

I am equally influenced by the latest Nike advertisement and my most recent reading of Hamlet. This being said, there are a few things that I do to make sure that I am not overtly influenced by any single source.

First, never read two books by the same author back-to-back. In college, I read every single published word by Ernest Hemingway in the order that it was published and pretty soon I was writing like a poor-man's Hemingway. The best way to avoid this is to always read at least three books concurrently. I tend to read one fiction novel, a biography and a variety of magazines at any given time. I have found that this allows me to reap the benefits without risking subconscious plagiarism of style or content.

Second, allow yourself to be influenced by more than the written word. In this century of multi-media inundation, it is more important than ever to absorb all forms of communication. Music, songs, movies, TV, advertising, magazines, blogs, novels...experience them all and you will find your style will define itself in unique and unforeseen ways.

Though it has been difficult, I have come to understand how style and voice develops. I learned much of what I know by studying the meaning of sound as best articulated by noted linguist, Noam Chomsky. It is akin to understanding why a minor chord equates to drama or sadness in music, and I revisit the subject often.

Philosophy of Writing

I am often asked my thoughts on writing. While the answer does not fit on an index card, I thought I would attempt to articulate at least some of what has occurred to me over the last 20 years.

First, my view of writing depends entirely on the type of writing. Commercial writing, whether it be ad-copy and product literature or for-profit blogging, dictates that the author intimately knows their audience. There is no room for Shakespeare on a soup can. At the same time, it is important in commercial writing to not cater to the lowest common denominator. The three tenants of commercial writing that I have learned are:

1. Get to the point. Your audience is rarely captive or ready for a commitment. Tell them what is most important and leave the fine print to the lawyers. Do not say in ten words what you can say in six.
2. Differentiate without alienating. We are a consumer world and there are more products and ideas than there are consumers. You must stand out. However, always keep in mind that a six year old boy will rarely ask his parents for a hot-pink cap gun.
3. Pay attention to detail. All too often I encounter packaging or web copy that looks like it was created in Shenzhen using translation software. ALWAYS proof-read using more than a spellchecker. And, yes, I know this blog has typos, but my commercial copy has NEVER had a typo.

Personal writing is far less restrictive, but I have developed (and ursurped) a few thoughts that have proven useful to me over the years. Most can be summarized by a quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald:

“You don't write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say.”

Note that Fitzgerald does not comment on the quality or merit of what you have to say. To me, the "what" is often far less important than the need to articulate something that itches in your brain. Most writers I have encountered or studied have been insomniacs. I suspect it is because their mind in on an infinite road to everywhere. Unfortunately, many young writers think that every word they write has to have merit or an external purpose. It does not. Sometimes, writing is simply a means of tricking your mind to end one episode and move onto the next.

I am not a big believer than you can choose to make a living writing. I think most writers who do manage are simply able to recognize the gems in their prolific volumes of otherwise pedantic musings. It is those who are unable to work through the pedestrian in order to discover the special who are forced to seek shelter elsewhere. If you do not believe me, try reading a first draft of any Ernest Hemingway book and study the evolution of the prose.

In the end, I enjoy writing because is has few dire consequences. It allows me to converse with myself and as a result expand my experience and understanding. If my writing happens to find an audience, then I suppose you could say I share Ayn Rand's view of altruism.