JackYan.com
Jack and Aston Martin V8 Vantage Monaco street signs
Jack Yan: the Persuader blog
  Click here to go to home pageWhat I stand forMy stuffWhat others have recently saidMeet some of the coolest folks I knowDrop me a line Visit my workplace
> My stuff > The Persuader Blog


30.6.07

Further thoughts on Blair and the media 

is going to see if he can export his internationally. In 1997, he was able to sell the Party to the UK largely on , and and the Conservatives handed over a strong economy as they lost the General Election.
   Blair understands that image works, that few will inquire into the true substance. Major discovered that despite being the nice guy of and, in person, particularly passionate. A pity, then, that it never translated on to the screen as he was portrayed as the grey man. While there are questions over peerages with the Blair years, his best refuge is international politics. Regardless of the result, he has several things in his favour and he may continue to appear squeaky clean. Never mind that he has been the first PM to be questioned by the police in a criminal investigation—few but the diehard anti-Labour types seem to be passionate about that fact.
   While most elder statesmen, including a relatively young when he left office, go on and inspire people to do the things they did not do while leading their countries, Blair can hold his head up high and adopt a “man of action” image as a .
   For image’s sake, he probably doesn’t need full support from all sides in . It’s enough in the west that he has some support, namely from President .
   The fact he does not have voters or an Opposition to appease means that he can probably say things that are on his mind with less regard to .
   But, most of all, Blair understands that he is in a unique position as a former PM with expertise on spin. The man is portrayed as likeable by most western . If he is not successful, then it may not be a grave matter to his overall image: the media and the public are likely to put any failures down to Hamas and Fatah (or just the region in general, with no regard to its many cultures), not to Mr Blair.
   And then he might consider going on his speaking tours. Although I hope not. Too many leaders have gone down that route and Mr Blair has a genuine chance to show that he can implement his ideas after he leaves office, rather than merely talk about them. He also has a chance to prove that he is more than a master of spin, and that he genuinely cares about . This is a more lasting legacy than anything he could muster in his 10 years at Number 10. His final year in office may have been driven largely by his ideals—the Blairites will say that it was a genuine expression from a man who wishes to leave a true legacy; his critics will say that it was yet another exercise in image. History, one hopes, will judge him fairly and that he will encounter success as an agent for peace in Palestine.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

28.6.07

Tony Blair can walk the talk—if he chooses 

still seems to have that Teflon touch. The are being very respectful as he leaves office to take up a new gig as a ; the House of Commons yesterday gave him a standing ovation after ’s Question Time. The image of Blair taking his own luggage on to the train gave him an everyman’s appeal. For a man who was so heavily criticized toward the end of his premiership, he has survived particularly well. In the words of , ‘I knew when to quit.’
   I don’t know of too many leaders who can switch jobs like this while maintaining profile and momentum. And the probably needs a celebrity helming it—you can’t get better than a relatively young former PM who knows spin a little too well. I’m sure this was exactly what was thinking of when the idea about Blair taking up the post was first hatched.
   Regardless of whether I like the man or not—if I look back 10 years I firmly did not then, based on his interviews in 1996–7—he does at least address a complaint I have with so many . I see them leave office and go on speaking tours. They have fabulous ideas and you wonder: if they are so fabulous, why didn’t they do them when they were a national leader rather than an after-dinner speaker? Was the office that ineffective? makes far more sense today than he did when in office and his speeches are amazing.
   This time, Tony Blair may get a chance to implement some of these post-PM ideas, rather than just talk about them as his predecessors did.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

26.6.07

John Howard’s ‘national emergency’: an outsider’s view of Australia’s race relations 

[Cross-posted] Lucire’s Sylvia Giles has just returned from an assignment in Melbourne, Victoria, and blogged about the state of race relations in Australia. I trust Sylvia’s judgement (otherwise, why would she be writing for us?) and it was very sad to see that even regular from her random sample did not have good things to say about Prime Minister ’s . And I had been quite supportive of the PM and of , especially when they tried to back up alleged terrorist and trainee (in contrast to the laziness of our own Foreign Minister-outside-Cabinet, Winston Peters). Sadly, Sylvia gives us a lot of food for thought and may provide an answer to the age-old (well, age and a half) question, ‘Where the bloody hell are you?’
Post a Comment  Links to this post

How to lose customers: sign them up to dating sites 

[Cross-posted] Here’s one going around the , courtesy of my friend and colleague Patrick Harris in London. The basic story: dude gets bad service from company. Blogs about it. Company decides to get revenge by signing him up to heterosexual and homosexual , including writing derogatory profiles about him. He blogs about that and manages to do a reverse DNS look-up to trace the sign-ups back to the company. Company sends lawyers’ letters demanding he take the blog posts down and threaten to sick the cops on him.
   The company is Sky Handling Partners. Read more at Damien Mulley’s blog about this sorry case of bad relations. And bravo to Mr Mulley for his insistence in keeping his blog posts up.
   I hope the Gardai do get involved and haul this company over the rocks for . Mr Mulley, I hope, will consider dragging Sky Handling to the Irish courts for . There is plenty of evidence, willingly supplied by .
   Pissing off one of ’s biggest and longest-running bloggers is not a good idea, and providing him with the rope to hang yourself is a worse one.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

25.6.07

The justice system works: Roy Pearson loses 

Our long, international nightmare is (nearly) over. The works. Judge Judith Bartnoff found today that is not entitled to any of the damages he sought against a hard-working Korean family operating , a small dry-cleaning outfit in Washington, DC.
   Essentially, Judge Bartnoff, even applying a lower evidentiary standard, could not find that Judge Pearson had discharged the burden of proof and that , as I noted, is to be interpreted in the eyes of the reasonable consumer.
   She has not yet worked out the defendants’ claim about Pearson’s mala fides and vexatious , but the Chungs were awarded judgement and costs.
   The Washington Post has a copy of the PDF judgement here. I don’t think you need to be a lawyer or law student to read this judgement: it’s clear-cut and the case is, despite Judge Pearson’s claims, really simple. It also outlines all the facts, including what the rightly had to miss in order to make the story easier to follow.
   Consumer classes will be interesting next semester.
   But, more importantly, Judge Bartnoff has shown the world that the of the society does not really work in real life, something that Judge Pearson appears disconnected from. She may well have discouraged similar cases and has done the right thing not just as an officer of the court, but as an American.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

24.6.07

Time for Branding Governance 

My friend and Medinge colleague Nicholas Ind has, with Rune Bjerke, written a new called Branding Governance, which, at last, takes us back to matters of internal and .
   For the last 10 years, there has been a lot of externally focused branding books, particularly as the public became fascinated with the word—for which we have Naomi Klein to thank. The consideration of external and consequences of branding and their use as inputs into the antecedents may have probably contributed to some organizations losing their direction, so Nicholas’s and Rune’s book comes at a very good time.
   Nicholas told a few of us that Branding Governance is ‘more philosophical’, and his first chapter does reflect that thinking. I wrote, in response:

Since the late 1990s, I have been concerned at how the pendulum has swung toward the external, the sort of development that brought forward Cool Britannia. Focusing on the external had some academic interest: could identity be thought of as branding, and should the consequences of branding be considered at the expense of an programme that analysed the true internal talent of the ? I mean, at least that gave the programme some direction, even if it was at risk of dating more rapidly as there is nothing to suggest managing these outwardly directed would be any easier than those that were more introspective!

   Branding Governance is out now, from Wiley.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

Watch out, Beadle’s about 

I’ve had someone mention that I got some in the Herald on Sunday a few weeks back. So, will I respond, despite not having seen the article? Well, I already have—Lucire (the “master” edition), issue 23, p. 127.
   Hang on, didn’t that run in early May—which would have meant you wrote it in March?
   Well, yes.
   Call it an experiment that worked far too well, thanks to and willing , all of whom have now provided very useful proof of a theory that’ll fit very well with upcoming addresses on and 21st century . I instinctively thought I could bait someone in old media into publishing news on trivia—I didn’t know just how difficult or easy it would be.
   For those undergrads who attended my second AUT lecture in late March where this type of incident was discussed soon after I wrote my column, you’ll see the connection, though there won’t be a follow-up lecture this July due to the winter break (there may be one in August, to be confirmed). Rather than repeat a one-hour lecture here in case some of you are reading, I’ll quickly note that it also has consequences for the service above all others—the genius there is not so much that it exists, but it has become synonymous with an audience that wishes to have, or has, a media presence. Already the are being compartmentalized by —so which one is compatible with your ?
   I’m going to have to bite my tongue when it comes to criticizing American , when our gossip media, failing to apply due diligence, were so easily baited. But it does make the future lectures easier.
   In any case, it is an indication that the theories behind new media, individual empowerment and the being more representative of everyday life as democratizes hold water—topics touched on frequently here this year.
   It also highlights that in the age of the “commodification” (or commoditization) of media, the need to maintain high standards remains paramount—and that this is where the press will retain their support. Thus, using a rather different example than the first time this blog got some press—my viewpoints on the Jyllands-Posten Mohammed cartoons in The Guardian—we come full circle to a post written in January 2006. And how, in the age of citizen media, we have not learned too much.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

21.6.07

Be part of the virtual waka 

A quickie, since I was away at a meeting for the whole day yesterday and am doing extra work now.
   Here’s a way to show your support for Emirates , as forwarded by my friend Paul Sinclair:

We’d like Kiwis to head to www.supportwaka.co.nz to register their support for the team by typing in their name at the site. Supporters[’] names will be manipulated to form a virtual waka, which will then be sent to the team prior to the first race. An image of the completed virtual waka, using supporters[’] names, will be included in national press ads as the regatta gets under way on the weekend. We’ll also be sending a waka paddle, or hoe, to —engraved with as many names as possible. This will also be presented to Emirates Team .

   It’s probably the best way for those who cannot be in Valencia to feel a part of supporting the country’s yachting team—short of buying red socks. Not quite a One-style exercise, but still one that is participatory among the public.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

16.6.07

The world isn’t flat 

I received an interesting email from a publishing house that has released a book critically analysing—and in some cases debunking—’s The World Is Flat. Hang on, guys, I was only 20 pp. in when I wrote my blog post yesterday. And I do not get suckered in to any book too easily—as those of you who have read some of my 2006 posts know. But it’s interesting to know that some people are keeping tabs on this book and using the to get their own points across.
   It may be worth repeating, nonetheless, to get a fair and balanced viewpoint.

Thomas Friedman’s recent New York Times bestseller, The World is Flat, asserts that the international economic playing field is now more level than it has ever been. As popular as it may be, some reviewers assert that by what it leaves out, Friedman’s book is dangerous.
   The world isn’t flat as a result of , say Ronald Aronica and Mtetwa Ramdoo, business analysts and authors of a critical analysis of Friedman’s book. Globalization is the greatest reorganization of the world since the , says Aronica. But by what Friedman’s book ignores or glosses over, it misinforms people and policy makers.
   Aronica and Ramdoo’s concise monograph, The World is Flat?: A Critical Analysis of Thomas L. Friedman’s New York Times Bestseller, brings clarity to many of Friedman’s stories and explores nine key issues Friedman largely disregards or treats too lightly. To create a fair and balanced exploration of globalization, the authors cite the work of experts that Friedman fails to incorporate, including Nobel laureate and former Chief Economist at the World Bank, Dr. .
   Refreshingly, readers can now gain new insights into globalization without weeding through Friedman’s almost 600 pages of grandiloquent prose and bafflegab. If you read Friedman’s book, and were awed, you really should read more rigorous treatments of this vital subject, says Ramdoo.
   Aronica and Ramdoo conclude by listing over twenty action items that point the way forward, and they provide a comprehensive, yet concise, framework for understanding the critical issues of globalization. They paint a clear and sometimes alarming picture of the early twenty-first century landscape, and present timely information needed by governments, businesses, and individuals everywhere.
   Watch a thought-provoking 13 minute Overview on the Web:
www.mkpress.com/FlatOverview.html
   Read the recent interview: Aronica and Ramdoo pummel Friedman’s flat world back into a sphere
http://www.mkpress.com/AronicaRamdooInterview.html


   Back to reading. It is the grown-ups’ Harry Potter.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

The origins of Globalization 3·0 

One of the books I missed out on during the “missing years” caused by Lucire staffing issues was ’s The World Is Flat. I’m remedying that now and have started on the updated edition, where Friedman discusses the three stages of . I feel a bit in catch-up mode.
   Globalization 2·0, he submits, ended in 2000, a period where globalized, rather than . Globalization 3·0, which begun that year, saw the of individuals, not just to the Asian subcontinent, but also the of and other disenchanted men and women.
   I don’t disagree with this assessment, but I wonder when the forces began emerging. I believe they began happening in the 1980s: the kids who saw War Games in the cinema dreamed of reaching further than their neighbourhoods using their modems, for instance. To a child, that film had plenty of verisimilitude, and we missed the preachy ending.
   When the became reliable enough for us to start communicating across continents with our personal computers, then the empowerment began. It didn’t have to wait till email addresses became commonplace: those who really wanted to find that brave, new future were doing all of this through . We saw our father’s telex machines and telecopiers—the faxes of the generation before—and adapted the ideas to our own homes.
   When you consider that many inventions take 20 years to , Friedman is spot on.
   There must have been enough of us reaching that one point in the late 1990s and early 2000s for there to be this paradigm shift and it had to have happened gradually. The empowerment happened because we willed it to. What we didn’t foresee is how the baddies could use it, too, as we were far too —and that was what led to that crazy dot com boom. It wasn’t money; it was the idea that the world could be put together. ‘One fashion , one ,’ I once proclaimed, while ironically lecturing on the other hand about .
   But those ideals, perhaps frustrated as less idealistic people come online, remain to some extent. The break-down of the may mean nation brands will become little more than , their original meanings lost as corporations and individuals find other identifiers. I haven’t got to the part in Thomas’s book, but from the jacket I understand he believes will rise. He may well be right: as we become more mobile, too, we must find something to cling on to, as nationhood means less: a look at the international composition of the teams suggests that very clearly. Teams tend to be global and as we seek , we may find that from the people nearest us.
   Ten to one the boys at the Cup will be talking about sailing in Waitemata Harbour, whether they are with or .

PS.: So what happening today will be mainstream by 2027?—JY
Post a Comment  Links to this post

An oasis in Gaza 

My colleague Hasan Abu Afash over in —where they are having more than their share of problems, as I’m sure most of you will have seen—has started a website for typophiles and , in English and Arabic. He’s asked me to link it (which I have, from our company site), but I know he would welcome others who are interested in these matters to pop by and say hi. Hiba Studio’s URL is easy enough: www.hibastudio.com.
   John Hudson, the very well regarded Canadian , is one of the interviewees in the English section. I am afraid I cannot comment on the Arabic section due to a browser glitch (I smell a conspiracy here).
Post a Comment  Links to this post

15.6.07

Kiwi off to Miss England 

The will very likely miss the Kiwi connection on this one, but it deserves a mention. Starnow.co.uk, an English company founded by , is an official sponsor of Miss England, taking place at the end of this month. I sadly had to turn down their kind invitation to attend this year, due to judging the Cadbury Dream Model Search here the following week. It’s just too darned hard to do a string of competitions these days.
   In 2004 and 2006, StarNow clients took home the crown.
   One of the judges this year is Wellingtonian Cameron Mehlhopt, who will accompany actor and former actress and model, , on the panel. Cam and StarNow were featured in Idealog late last year, and the company just keeps on growing these days.
   According to StarNow, 60 of the 91 finalists are on its books.
   The winner of Miss England goes on to . I still have bad memories of the years a widowed and, later, hosted; the show has not been seen on our shores for some time.
   I’ll be interested to learn from Cam when we are both back in Wellington just how the pageant there is structured. The top prizes are, expectedly, more substantial than the ones here, but what interests me is the , and whether it will contrast the tall-poppy reaction some had to ’s win in late March: will the English, indeed British, media be patriotic? The qualities, perhaps, but what of the ?
   From that we may gauge where our are positioned.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

The Lucire reader forum is back 

In 2002, our Nigel Dunn very kindly set up a Lucire reader forum—which we then called StyleTalk, replacing a Yahoo! group of that name that had vanished into thin air.
   In 2005 and 2006, when we were going through some difficult times at due to staffing issues, coincidentally the forum was hacked, probably by folks in China and Korea, as far as our hosts could tell. In 2006, I believe we had a hard drive failure that killed the forum altogether, and given that phpBB’s notifications about updates weren’t arriving here (spam filters?), we left it. My own focus in the middle of that year was getting Lucire’s print edition back up to where it should be.
   We ordered a firewall and some insurance in case the hackers came back and, given that we seem to have a reasonably secure server these days (knock on wood), I asked Nigel if he could look at resurrecting the old forum again.
   This time, it would be called the Lucire Reader Forum—we are saving the StyleTalk name for something else—and we used the newest . Nigel says the old data and usernames are still in the system and when he gets some spare time, he’ll see if he can retrieve them, but for now, if you do wish to talk , , , and , you can surf to lucire.com/forum. Pretty empty at the moment.
   The difference always was that everyday readers could interact with team members at Lucire, including the publisher. You don’t get that sort of service at Vogue. I don’t need their brand of “mystique” at Lucire; the 21st century is about and openness, and the forum always provided those. Not happy with a story? Talk to the boss.
   A case in point was when Doug Rimington came surfing by one day in 2004 talking about . I happened to be there and invited him to join us at a fashion shoot. Since then, we’ve not only become friends, but Doug’s work has appeared in Lucire often. His work is better than what he witnessed that day in 2004.
   Stories were suggested and followed up, though the Isaac Mizrahi interview one reader suggested has yet to be done.
   We had around 400 members before the hackers got the better of us, and between them had racked up a substantial number of posts. I said ‘thousands’ elsewhere over the course of four years—I don’t think I was far off the mark, though every year we used to “prune” the forum, so I assume only hundreds of messages survive somewhere inside the old database.
   I have a few reservations about forums: I am not sure if they are as cool in 2007 as they were in 2002, but I could be proved wrong. There are some very lively forums for elsewhere, and we just hope that the old regular posters have not deserted us permanently. The action seems to be in in 2007, but the main reason, for me, is that readers have another medium in which to interact, and that cannot be a bad thing.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

14.6.07

Small businesses create eye-popping ads: 2009 

[Cross-posted] By 2009 or 2010, we’ll see some amazing, swish, but ultimately home-made and favour-using for through . These aren’t corporations targeting the web, nor are they adaptations of made for other . We’ll all marvel, and we’ll consider these campaigns the turning points; how they use the sort of we have seen on The Lord of the Rings and the like. They might even come from unexpected countries, probably nations with strong heritages like Brazil, or innovative places like India. The commentators in the will probably condemn them, and the global online audience will lap them all up. The monopoly that so far links big money with great advertising spectacles will be broken forever.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

Healey and Austin Healey set to return? NAC signs statement of intent 

A quickie as I dash out the door for a meeting:

Nanjing Automobile (Group) Corporation and Healey Automobile Consultants Limited, in conjunction with HFI Automotive Ltd, are delighted to announce their intention to collaborate with each other on the future development of the and and sports bearing their name.

   On the surface, this is good news and shows knows that, in order to grow, it needs strong .
   The down side is the potential, given the company’s relatively limited resources at present, of the appearing as the Sprite Mk V.
   More likely it’s a Austin-Healey 3000 successor that HFI has planned, but was stuck given that the Austin name is owned by NAC these days. Let’s hope so.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

13.6.07

Domestic speaking engagements 

Partly for me to sort this out in my head.

Cadbury Dream Model Search judging
Auckland, July 3–6, 2007

Business programme, tbc (do not have permission to publicize this yet)
Waitakere, July 8, 2007

Bananas NZ: Going Global international conference
Auckland, August 18–19, 2007

St Mark’s Church School 90th jubilee
Wellington, September 11, 2007

BrightStar: Location Marketing, Branding and Promotion
Wellington, September 17–18, 2007 (in the chair)

Alliance Party conference, speaking on achieving full employment
Dunedin, October 20, 2007


Eurotalks are slated late August (Medinge conference, dependent on staff) and late September (Romania, tbc).
Post a Comment  Links to this post

Olympic logo still cobblers; Wolff Olins will keep its £400,000 despite Times headline 

My friend Simon Young asked me what I thought of the 2012 . I have privately spoken to a few people about the controversial since news of it broke, and I’m afraid I join the mob dissing it. I hope Simon won’t mind my quoting what I responded to him with.

There was some article in The New York Times [correction: it was the International Herald–Tribune, owned by the NYT] this week about how it succeeded in creating buzz, but I think that’s bollocks. Nine-eleven also created a lot of buzz.
   No, this logo is awful. If you read what had to say at its announcement, you knew something was wrong without even seeing it. may have been behind it, but there’s a lot wrong—from the concept, the way it was done to the way it was launched. Rumour has it that the man behind the logo was in hiding. You don’t do that if you truly stood by the BS that everyone was spouting, from Lord Coe to the IOC to Tony Blair.
   Lord Coe’s statements took a leaf out of the ’s wankspeak book and I was puzzled by who wrote them.
   I don’t argue for conservatism for a logo that won't even be used in a big way till the event, but this hardly advances the game.
   There are far better ways to spend £400,000. I really doubt the rigidity of the .
   I know of no one at Medinge who thinks highly of this piece of trash, either.
   On the plus side, I am glad it does not play with the Union Jack and be stuck with red, white and blue.


   Note the bandying about of the word at the launch. I shudder when it is so misused.
   If this logo were so inclusive of London or the spirit, there surely would not have been such a massive outcry. All good , I argue, must strike a chord. The logos need not look great, but they must have some connection to the public and the way they interpret, or are expected to interpret, them.
   An inquiry has been launched today by Lord Coe over the launch, though I believe Wolff Olins sits pretty with the £400,000 fee despite The Times’ very odd headline in its online edition, ‘Coe may not pay for £400,00 logo’ (sic). I wonder if the old Grauniad proofreader is working for Murdochs now.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

11.6.07

Calling old pupils: St Mark’s 90th jubilee, September 2007 

A slight aside to the usual business-related and semi-personal posts: a fully personal one.
   My primary , St Mark’s Church School in , , is celebrating its 90th jubilee this September 11. As the last head of the old pupils’ association, those interested should let me know here on the blog or via my feedback form, or contact Margot Wilson at St Mark’s via its site.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

10.6.07

Lucire’s Elizabeth Mitchell interview, for the Lost fans 

Yesterday, we put up an excerpt of an interview with actress —better known as of . I have to confess that I am not a regular Lost watcher (shock, horror) but I have known of Elizabeth since she played opposite in Frequency. Since then, I’ve been a fan.
   I remember helping organize the shoot from Dunedin, sending ’s letters via PDF to Los Angeles during a break from filming in Hawai’i, so that the very talented Kevin Watroba could do his job freely. Very obligingly, knowing that it would appear in first, Kevin pulled clothes from Zambesi, but it’s the Erica Courtney that saw my jaw drop (check the prices—two of the pictures are in the online version).
   The article is in the current issue of , hence the excerpted version—sorry we can’t share the whole kaboodle at this point. The Lucire team has to eat.
   Elyse Glickman, Lucire’s US west coast editor, pretty much takes us through a journey of Elizabeth’s whole career with her and article, and I personally think it is better than my profile on Ashley Scott.
   Incidentally, I want to say a massive thank-you to the and fans who have posted some wonderful compliments about my article, here on this blog and at the CBS forum. It really means a lot to me, to know that I’ve helped Ashley, the show and their supporters. This is one of those times the internet is a nice place to be.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

9.6.07

Jericho renewed by CBS—as predicted 

Ashley Scott in LucireCall me , but I have frequently seen a connection between being covered in Lucire and some subequent good fortune.
   Last year, I interviewed actress (photographed at left by Andrew Matusik) and, soon after, a series that she was working on at the time, , got picked up by CBS.
   This year, with having cancelled the show, we ran an updated version of my article, this time online.
   I am happy to say that CBS has now ordered seven mid-season episodes of Jericho, largely thanks to fans who campaigned to get it reinstated on the network’s schedule (“hat tip” to Media Blvd.; additional report at Hollywood Reporter).
   OK, so maybe our timing is just impeccable, but I did predict something like this would happen last month.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

7.6.07

American judge reduces claim against Korean family to “only” $54 million 

[Cross-posted] Got this in the feedback form from my main site last night, from the law firm representing a Mom-and-Pop dry-cleaning outfit. If you recall, a Korean family was being sued for $65 million by an American judge because they lost his favourite pants. It looks like they are about to have their day in court, with an amended claim from the judge after outcries. Still, he wants $54 million—that’s some amendment.
   I’ll post more if Manning & Sossamon inform me of developments. My best wishes go to Jin Nam Chung and Ki Chung. No prizes for guessing what I want to happen, especially to . I think I share most people’s feelings, especially those Americans who feel Judge Pearson is giving their entire a bad name.

Update: $67 Million Dry Cleaning Case
On May 31, 2007, D.C. Administrative Law Judge, Roy L. Pearson, filed a Pre-Trial Brief in the Pearson v. Chung dry cleaner . In the brief, Pearson shifts the focus of his claims from his allegedly lost pants to claims related to signage in the Chungs’ store. One sign reads “Satisfaction Guaranteed” and another reads “Same Day Service.” Pearson claims the signs are somehow misleading and apparently continues to seek over $54,000,000 in damages from the Chungs. Pearson had previously sought $67,000,000 in compensation from the Chungs.
   Christopher Manning, of the law firm Manning & Sossamon in Washington D.C., represents the Chungs and made the following statement in response to Pearson’s recent actions: “Although it is always encouraging to see claims withdrawn, it is simply baffling that Mr. Pearson continues to assert that he is entitled to tens of millions of dollars as a result of two completely harmless, completely straight-forward signs. Mr. Pearson’s claims are not founded in common sense and are extraordinarily abusive towards the Chungs. As a result, the Chungs’ terrible ordeal continues. The Chungs’ decision to move to and build a business in America began with the classic . Mr. Pearson has turned that dream into an American nightmare.”
   Mr. Pearson’s lawsuit has cost the Chungs tens of thousands of dollars in costs. Donations to a defense fund set up by the Chungs may be made at www.customcleanersdefensefund.com.
   This case will be tried in courtroom 415 of the District of Columbia Superior Courthouse on June 11th and 12th beginning at 9:30am each day.
   All questions regarding the matter should be directed to the office of Manning & Sossamon at:

Manning & Sossamon PLLC
1532 Sixteenth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 387-2228 (voice)
(202) 387-2229 (fax)
chungdefense@manning-sossamon.com
Post a Comment  Links to this post

6.6.07

Interviews with LA successful start-up CEOs sought 

An alert from one of the Lucire team—Arabella Santiago, who runs BusinessBoomer.com:

Are you (or do you know) a in the area with some good advice on starting and running a business? We would like to them at BusinessBoomer.com.

   If you fit the bill, feel free to let me know here or surf on over to BusinessBoomer.com.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

5.6.07

AA has safety concerns over Holden Epica 

I am not the only with suspicions about the ’s (or ’s) safety. Steve Vermeulen, writing for the AA, makes several disturbing observations.
   He begins:

’s design and technical representatives were not able to offer an indication to how Epica compared with the Vectra in their in-house crash testing.

Given Holden claims to crash-test its cars extensively, then this probably means that the results will be bad for business, especially after the Barina (Daewoo Kalos) safety débâcle of 2006.
   Mr Vermeulen continues:

Active features are limited to ABS and Traction Control, no Electronic Stability Program (ESP) is offered.
   Given the Vectra at CDXi level offered ESP, as well as the importance Holden has placed on the VE and Korean-built Captiva offering ESP across their range, we feel the omission of the safety feature from the Epica range is a mistake.
   Holden’s department admits it was a difficult decision, but didn’t believe that the comfort and cruisey orientated buyer would push the handling envelope enough to justify including ESP. A feature that is included on range-topping models of even the most budget conscious of the Epica’s competitors.
   Perhaps Holden should’ve re-read their own 2006 press material that quotes TAC road safety manager David Healy on ESP technology: (source: http://www.holden.co.nz/press/article/78)
   “Consumers should vote with their feet. We are talking about (saving) 50 lives a year.”


   Sadly, it is more hypocrisy from Holden, which will only go to highlight the gulf between its billion-dollar Commodore and its rebadged Daewoos, damaging its extensively. As I have pointed out before (with subsequent discussion on a separate thread), this has negative consequences for the whole range.
   Mr Vermeulen even quotes Holden boss :

The lack of ESP in the Epica also underrates the word’s (sic) of Holden’s own Chairman and Managing Director, Denny Mooney, who when speaking of the VE said[,] “The decision to make ESP standard was easy because it’s the right thing to do for our buyers” (sic)
   “We hope this will create the momentum which governments and road bodies have sought to push ESP further into the mainstream.”
   A shame Holden doesn't feel making ESP available at any level is right for Epica buyers.


   I’m not sure if Holden’s marketing department is even listening to the boss or aware they once had a precious commodity in the Holden , which saw its most recent heyday at the turn of the century.
   The dark days of the 1980s are being played out again with Australia’s Own.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

Mazda risks MG bringing up the war 

[Cross-posted] We should have some confidence in the under —principally because its competition is worried. The closest rival, the Mk III, in pretty much every respect the better , has spawned a limited edition in the UK to coincide with the relaunch of the TF at last week.
   Limited editions and the British go together like Morecambe and Wise, but this quotation in Motortorque was telling:

“Since the demise of the MG TF and Toyota MR2, there is no longer a defined ‘roadster’ segment within the non-premium sports car market,” commented Mazda UK’s Managing Director Rob Lindley.

    gently reminded people that the previous had died and there were dangers about buying the resurrected car. It’s very subtle, but I am sure that the MD’s statement was geared to do that.
   However, it just shows that Mazda is concerned that a relaunched TF will snap sales up, and there’ll be Brits holding off buying an MX-5 because of the developments at Longbridge.
   I think has been very kind to Mazda given that it could bring up the war … oops, did I just write that? Whatever you do, don’t mention the war.
   I mentioned it just then, but I think I got away with it.
   ‘You started it. You invaded Manchuria.’
   Just kidding. But seriously, the connection could be sold to the British in a , -themed way. After all, the Republic of China was an ally, fighting the Axis powers in the eastern theatre.
   China is not some strange, nation, but one with connections to Britain—including a shared history of sacrifice during some of the 20th century’s darker years.
   I actually don’t recommend this tack, since MG needs to seek younger buyers, not just people with facial hair who watch Fawlty Towers. But I put it out there as an alternative.
   Actually, and —which NAC MG seems to be using—should be the basis of the efforts that should bring younger buyers in, especially those who don’t want to stretch to an MX-5. The fact that the TF is mid-engined must appeal to some.
   It may be a bit of a 21st-century -type audience, but these buyers can grow to plusher models as MG releases them.
   This method is also true to MG’s —value-for-money plus a sense of fun. It is already in the public’s consciousness—one very good reason for owning a brand with positive . I have said this all along about NAC’s smart moves when bidding for the remnants of MG Rover in 2005. It is interesting to see it play out, so far, as I predicted.
   Meanwhile, more recent speculation in the British is about the MG TF’s price, which by most accounts needs to be lower than it was when collapsed in 2005.
   In the blogosphere, , MG’s own blogger and the company’s quality boss, is rightly upset about the negative tone some in the British media have taken. He points out two alternatives in his blog, in some way reinforcing my own points that NAC didn’t have to reopen Longbridge, and that its boss, Yu Jiang Wei, should be applauded for pushing through its restart last week.

PS.: To those who do not know me, I should point out that no malice is intended toward the people of Japan in this post. Most of my Japanese friends know my sense of humour and how I use World War II as part of my jokes.—JY
Post a Comment  Links to this post

4.6.07

Hopes for the Brown era 

Is it me, or is the fact that the 666th post on this blog is about a little discomforting?
   The British Journalism Review’s recent blog post on Mr Brown speaks of the desire for the demise of -. We hope it eventuates. It may be a less flashy era than that of , which worked to overturn the hostile elements of anti- , but if Mr Brown is prepared to knuckle down and do a good job, there may be no need for spin, the refuge of the directionless. Flashiness may be remembered fondly by the masses, but Britons may not want presidential PMs. As the Review noted:

We hope Gordon Brown will want to mark a change of regime by insisting on a more straightforward approach from government spokesmen and ministers. and public alike would welcome a truce in what has become a damaging crossfire of misinformation: selective leaking and contradictory briefings by factions inside the party in power, and highly polished innuendo and personal sniping, rather than legitimate, fact-based criticism, by the media.

   I submit that , even a recognition of some foul-ups, would be a great start to a positive era. Or is that too much to hope for within ?
Post a Comment  Links to this post

Being the everyman 

I had thought twice about commenting over at the edition of Throng when my departure from Good Morning was noted, and my rather grim opinion of TVNZ reported. Quite fairly, I might add. But it was nice to get some positive comments from after I wrote my bit, especially intelligent ones such as Sarah, who wrote about the of and the nature of .
   Below is an excerpt of my reply to Sarah, which has some relevance here. The full reply is at Throng.

You are right that it is perfectly natural for a blogger to go online post-show, or even pre-show to get some opinions to share—what never realized was that this worked in their favour and, really, the negative posts I made about the show were very, very few during my tenure. To disallow mentions of my work was one thing, but a non-profit blog that usually promoted the show? …
   It was a case of over-promise, under-deliver.
   The , or, indeed, any major organization, have not caught on to the fact that the audience has fragmented—I agree with you fully. In such cases, there should be a strategy to create greater unity with the audience, not pissing off the talent or generating rifts. These ideas have been around - academics for well over a generation—which places some of TVNZ’s knowledge somewhere in a drug-hazed 1960s where Peter Sinclair is still boogying to the Chicks in black and white. should welcome bloggers who have connections to their shows, putting themselves as accessible, normal human beings who work with the audience. Indeed, we should be accessible, especially in a tiny country, and we should be discussing these issues on Throng and elsewhere.
   Right now, I only see embracing blogs as a major part of its programming.


   What can I say? I like being the antithesis of the wanker snob.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

Web publishing has changed 

I went browsing through the old Lucire Newsstand pages on our website (listing an index of competitors and related sites) earlier today after being emailed by Dylan Crawshaw at Cheek.
   Cheek is now listed, but as I surfed, I realized how much of Web 1·0 had gone. The numerous hobbyist sites and many older ones that started the same time did, in the mid-1990s. A lot of professional sites have turned into , while others have just simply vanished due to the changing situations.
   All told, I must have removed two dozen from the index. It’s a solemn reminder that not everyone is lucky in continuing , even in a low-cost medium like the web. It confirms that I probably made the right decision back in 2003 to add a print component to Lucire, even if internal issues kept us from having the swishest website in 2005 and early 2006.
   Since those Newsstand pages hadn’t really been touched since late 2005, a lot of the changes must have happened as blogs and mainstreamed—which means that not only need to adjust to the 21st century, but also who began in the first wave of the internet.
   What is apparent is that the audience continues to into smaller pieces, while the giants, serving everyday entertainment and enquiries, seem to be getting bigger still—the top sites being the Googles and YouTubes of this world. sites can only fight for the smaller shares—or seize upon something to make them appealing to a larger audience.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

2.6.07

Out of the One funk 

[Cross-posted] is a year behind on Life on Mars, and I note from a One ad just now that Derren Brown’s (pictured at left, by Mark Berry) Séance will air next week. I know we are necessarily behind the on British programmes, but I don’t remember us being this far behind since the 1970s. A three-year-old show? What is happening? Now with Cold Case, Without a Trace and other American shows on One, is this the end of the British influence on our networks?
   And people wonder why as a whole is doing so poorly. It’s simply not delivering what people want. I can say that with some more authority, having been an insider.
   Incidentally, having left Good Morning, my theory has been proven right: my profile is up. The results are in: May saw eight across the company—up on 2006, but down on some months in 2003–5 where we were seeing something written about us at least daily. (The idea that appearing on TV regularly enhances your profile is, I can now say, bollocks.) It is reaching the levels (measured in column inches and mentions) it was at before I began on the show; indeed, we seem to be returning, as a company, to pre-2004 levels, before we made some bad hiring decisions. I do seem to have rid myself of the negative influences in my life—and Good Morning, and whatever sickness TVNZ has, were the last.
   I love being proved right—it was a good lesson, reminding myself to stick to my guns, remembering that sort of magic that helped us get an international clientèle to begin with, and exposing me to seeing a bad that wasn’t paying me to fix it. It’s not every day I have that opportunity: while I have seen ill , I am usually called in after they have realized they need help. TVNZ has not got there yet and, in recent memory, is the only first-hand example I have of an organization I got to see over a period that wants to stay in its funk. It had more often been a -textbook theory.
   As to my personal profile, I believe the slip in press mentions was due to an energy mismatch here at work in 2005–6 and the fact that appearing on Good Morning took me away from building my appearances doing the things that mattered to me as a . From a - standpoint, it was not , to borrow from Johnnie Moore. Not that that was the intent: I had been promised by the network that I could promote Lucire, most of all, through the show. That promise, as those of you who listened to my voice post last month, was not kept.
   Furthermore, I cannot see, with hindsight, how the ‘You’ve Got Male’ segment was a dignified forum for a company leader. I say this with respect to men like Paul Sinclair, with whom I regularly stay in contact.
   When I think of interviews I have had with or the , the show went against the image I had built up as a .
   As each week passes, I feel more comfortable with my decision to leave Good Morning, and the positive consequences are coming up more frequently.
   My main regrets are endorsing the show to friends, getting caught up in it. I should have recommended that Laural and not appear, though it was a good excuse to catch up in Wellington. Jennifer Hamilton of Avidiva reports no increase in profile, bookings or ‘Oh, I saw you on …’ since appearing on Good Morning.
   You may see me on C4 in mid-July (to be confirmed), and there may be some news that could net some television attention in late June–early July. The key is to not get sucked in to negative organizations or be around negative people as part of my routine—and if I have to appear on a TVNZ , then it must be totally in line with my real job and personal mission.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

 

 

Note

Entries from 2006 to the end of 2009 were done on the Blogger service. As of January 1, 2010, this blog has shifted to a Wordpress installation, with the latest posts here.
   With Blogger ceasing to support FTP publishing on May 1, I have decided to turn these older pages in to an archive, so you will no longer be able to enter comments. However, you can comment on entries posted after January 1, 2010.


Quick links

Surf to the online edition of Lucire
  • More ramblings at the Lucire Insider blog
  • The Medinge Group
  • Jack Yan for Mayor
  • My Facebook page
  • Follow me on Twitter
  • My Vkontakte page
  • Book me for public speaking
  • Contact JY&A Consulting on business projects
  • Check out fonts from JY&A Fonts
  • Add feeds




    Add feed to Bloglines

    Individual JY&A and Medinge Group blogs

  • Lucire: Insider
  • Summer Rayne Oakes
  • The Medinge Group press room
  • Detective Marketing
  • Amanda van Kuppevelt
  • Delineate Brandhouse
  • Paolo Vanossi
  • Nigel Dunn
  • Pameladevi Govinda
  • Endless Road
  • Avidiva news
  • Johnnie Moore’s Weblog
  • Steal This Brand Too
  • The Beyond Branding Blog
  • Ton’s Interdependent Thoughts
  • Partum Intelligendo
  • Right Side up
  • Headshift
  • Goiaba Brazilian Music
  • Jack Yan on Tumblr (brief addenda)

  • +

     
    Check out the Jack Yan: the Persuader Blog swicki at eurekster.com

    Design Can Change

    No Spec

    Previous posts

  • The old blog is still here
  • My last post for this blog on Blogger (fingers cros...
  • History of the decade, part 11: man and woman of t...
  • Why Peter Jackson deserves a knighthood
  • History of the decade, part 10: 2009
  • The newer the program, the buggier it gets: a remi...
  • Any how-tos on shifting to Wordpress?
  • History of the decade, part 9: 2008
  • Research isn’t that important if you write in an e...
  • We are running out of time

  • Archives

  • January 2006
  • February 2006
  • March 2006
  • April 2006
  • May 2006
  • June 2006
  • July 2006
  • August 2006
  • September 2006
  • October 2006
  • November 2006
  • December 2006
  • January 2007
  • February 2007
  • March 2007
  • April 2007
  • May 2007
  • June 2007
  • July 2007
  • August 2007
  • September 2007
  • October 2007
  • November 2007
  • December 2007
  • January 2008
  • February 2008
  • March 2008
  • April 2008
  • May 2008
  • June 2008
  • July 2008
  • August 2008
  • September 2008
  • October 2008
  • November 2008
  • December 2008
  • January 2009
  • February 2009
  • March 2009
  • April 2009
  • May 2009
  • June 2009
  • July 2009
  • August 2009
  • September 2009
  • October 2009
  • November 2009
  • December 2009


  • Earlier entries at the Beyond Branding Blog
  • August 2003
  • September 2003
  • October 2003
  • November 2003
  • December 2003
  • January 2004
  • February 2004
  • March 2004
  • April 2004
  • May 2004
  • June 2004
  • July 2004
  • August 2004
  • September 2004
  • October 2004
  • November 2004
  • December 2004
  • January 2005
  • February 2005
  • March 2005
  • April 2005
  • May 2005
  • June 2005
  • July 2005
  • August 2005
  • September 2005
  • October 2005
  • November 2005
  • December 2005
  • January 2006

  • Donate

    If you wish to help with my hosting costs, please feel free to donate.