SOCIAL/AGENDA

Go Green for More Green: 5 Eco-Friendly Ways to Add Value to Your Home

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 17:03:40 -0400

Go Green for More Green: 5 Eco-Friendly Ways to Add Value to Your Home:

toluca lake houses, toluca lake homes, hollywood hills homes,

Writing Past Wrongs

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 14:36:24 -0400

Writing Past Wrongs:

LA psychologist Arlene Drake discusses non-dominant handwriting for adult abuse survivors.

Tinker Hell?? Tweak Your Facebook Promotions for Best ROI

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 13:15:00 -0400

Everyone loves automation. We understand. It’s less work. Templates are easy. Just set it, plug in the next batch of data, and then forget it.

Word up: Facebook promotions don’t work that way. Running a successful ad campaign in particular does NOT work with the whole robo-ad thing. You can’t just wind up and unbind. You need to monitor, tweak, analyze if you want to succeed.

For our L.A. client KnitCulture, our ad images just weren’t cutting it. We experimented with attractive women wearing the product vs. a bright colored brand logo we knew our client’s buyers would recognize. Guess which one won out? Hot chicks. Every time. We also tried drawings or hot girlz vs. photos. Photos did exponentially better.

We went from this:

To this:

Once we changed out our images, impressions doubled.

The second change? We added an end date to our promotion: e.g., “Hurry! Ends xxx date”. Sounds cheezy right? Well it is - a little. But I know myself. I’m a procrastinator. If you don’t give me a hard deadline, it’s going to get done…eventually. But our clients can’t wait. Every day costs them money to run a promotion, so we need to get bodies in the door quickly. Turns out the best way to to do that is to go all ticking clock on your prospective buyer. It works.

Literally overnight - after we’d already seen a surge from the upgraded photos - we got a quadrupling of impressions after inserting an end date for the promotion.

The Result: 1400 new likes and 500 new email subscribers in a week. For a couple hundred bucks in ad cost! That means our client can sell to 500 new people every WEEK in their newsletter.

Lesson? If your promotion isn’t ADding up, don’t be a stinker; go ahead and Tinker. You’ll be saved by the Bell.

A Touch of First Class: Ramsey Shilling Offering Prime Houses for Sale in LA Canada

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 17:12:04 -0400

A Touch of First Class: Ramsey Shilling Offering Prime Houses for Sale in LA Canada:

Ramsey Shiling now offering prime refurbished property in LA Canada.

The Fixer is In: View House an Awesome Hollywood Hills Real Estate Value

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 16:58:08 -0400

The Fixer is In: View House an Awesome Hollywood Hills Real Estate Value:

3+2 fixer with a view of Lake Hollywood is an amazing value.

Serving Up Neurofeedback: My Luv Hate Courtship with Tennis

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 16:29:46 -0400

Serving Up Neurofeedback: My Luv Hate Courtship with Tennis:

An L.A. writer tries to improve his tennis skills by using a personal neurofeedback trainer.

NEW DESANTIS HOLSTER FITS AVAILABLE FOR SIG SAUER P938!!

Sat, 11 Aug 2012 20:03:40 -0400

NEW DESANTIS HOLSTER FITS AVAILABLE FOR SIG SAUER P938!!:

Some of DeSantis’ most popular holsters are now available for the Sig Sauer P938, including Superfly®, ProStealth and Sof-Tuck.

Get Your Shakespeare On: 5 Tips for High Drama Home Staging

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 02:15:15 -0400

Get Your Shakespeare On: 5 Tips for High Drama Home Staging:

Ramsey Shilling, los angeles real estate broker offers 5 tips for successful house staging.

Kilim Rehab: Confessions of a Rug Merchant

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 13:30:22 -0400

Kilim Rehab: Confessions of a Rug Merchant:

Dekor now offering killer kilim rugs los angeles.

New DeSantis Holster Fits Available for Springfield XDS .45!

Sat, 04 Aug 2012 14:29:52 -0400

New DeSantis Holster Fits Available for Springfield XDS .45!:

DeSantis introduces new fits for Springfield Armory’s XDS .45 with some of of it’s most popular IWB and belt holsters including: Superfly®, Nemesis, Sof-Tuck®, Pro Stealth™ and more!

Snapshot of the Past: Effective Tools for Childhood Trauma Therapy

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 13:20:38 -0400

Snapshot of the Past: Effective Tools for Childhood Trauma Therapy:

LA psychologist Arlene Drake discusses her unique trauma therapy for sexual abuse survivors.

What does the War of 1812 have in common with SEAL Team Six? Plenty.

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 19:29:10 -0400

What does the War of 1812 have in common with SEAL Team Six? Plenty.:

Smoke rising from a conflagration in our capital. New York under siege. Major US ports under attack. We’re talking of course about the War of 1812 - the last attack perpetrated by a foreign power on US soil.

For Houses in Glendale, Ramsey Shilling Never Fails

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 19:14:43 -0400

For Houses in Glendale, Ramsey Shilling Never Fails:

You can stop looking for the best houses in Glendale. Ramsey Shilling has found your retreat that won’t have you retreating from all the perqs.

Two Stories, Four Beds, Endless Views

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 19:03:49 -0400

Two Stories, Four Beds, Endless Views:

Ramsey Shilling is on a rockin’ roll with some incredible Glendale houses for sale!

Short (and Saa-weet) Sale: Ramsey Shilling Is Your Sugar Daddy for Sherman Oaks Homes

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 21:00:06 -0400

Short (and Saa-weet) Sale: Ramsey Shilling Is Your Sugar Daddy for Sherman Oaks Homes:

Ramsey Shilling offers the finest Sherman Oaks homes.3+2 townhouse open this weekend!

Mind Your Manor: Distinctive Hollywood Hills Homes Open This Weekend!

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 14:37:37 -0400

Mind Your Manor: Distinctive Hollywood Hills Homes Open This Weekend!:

1940s gem among Hollywood HIlls Houses open this weekend!

Put an End to Endless Therapy. Buy a House Instead.

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 14:24:28 -0400

Put an End to Endless Therapy. Buy a House Instead.:

Arlene Drake, a sex abuse therapist from Los Angeles disputes the effectiveness of traditional talk therapy.

Insta-Strategic Mercurialism and Other Principles of Strategic Dynamism

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 03:21:00 -0400

On June 10, the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors, comprised mostly of millionaires and large political campaign contributors appointed by the state Governor, fired school President Teresa Sullivan citing business efficiency principles known as “strategic dynamism”. Faced with an open faculty rebellion, the Board reappointed Sullivan on June 26. So, what drove them to this ill-conceived firing in the first place? Here’s a guess…

For those of you not paying attention to the rancor unfolding at the University of Virginia (the University formerly known as the nation’s best public school) you are missing out on a virtual seminar of cutting-edge, ultra-dynamic business efficiency principles in action!

By implementing management tenants of “strategic dynamism”, Rector Helen Dragas and her allies have proven they can “bring the wood” as well as the rod right into the board room. The sweeping decisiveness of the Board’s decision to fire President Teresa Sullivan (and them reappoint) without consultation with anyone connected to the University proves they are truly rad’ among b-school grads.

Strategic dynamism is merely the tip of the ice pick now penetrating the soft heart of academic paradigm corroded with moribund ideals like consensus and “buy-in”.

What follows is a sampling of the latest business terminolgy that should inform every management maven faced with an crucial, life altering decisions that must be made before lunchtime:

Insta-Strategic Mercurialism - The business leader, faced with insufficient information to make an well-reasoned decision must instantly choose a path and boldly lead his team down it, even if lined with barbed wire and trip-wired bombs. Who has time for “research studies” and “committees” when you’ve got a dinner date at the governor’s mansion?!

Stategeneric Homogenization - This principle demands business leadership ignore conditions specific to the organization they lead and impose his/her strategic vision anyway. Don’t hedge. Great leaders never shy away from breaking out the sledge hammer to slam that square peg through a round hole.

Assessmaprogramic Judgementalism - The brilliance of idealogy is the quick, formulaic answers it provides without being weighed down by messy, annoying thought processes. Business judgements based on moral superstition and something you heard on “Squawk Box” while shaving are so much more efficient than all that back and forth thinking that academics do.

Improblamatic Calculationessment - Others may not appreciate the sheer precient genius of your snap decisions. Don’t waste time offering explanations of what you were thinking. Minions don’t understand brilliance when they see it and besides, history will eventually prove you right. Especially after everyone forgets what you said in the first place.

Kneejerkalistic Improvasationalism - The business leader must be prepared to make bold decisions based on an article or two emailed from a collegue. After all, if you don’t jump on the next lastest thing now, you could be missing out on the wave of ineffectual, soon-to-be disposed of business management techniques. But at least you can say, “I was into that before anybody”.

Platatudistic Jargonalism - When a business leader is questioned about his decisions, s/he must give clear, concise answers that communicate nothing and mean even less.

Topdownalistic Impositionalism - Obviously, if you’ve reached the top, everyone below you is inferior and just waiting to be told what to do. Just like dogs, your charges are begging you to exercise fiat powers to “show them the way”. And if they object, just show them the door.

Mojomatic Awesomeness - Every business leader needs to possess that je ne sais quoi quality of leadership “mojo’. This intangible quality allows some people to effortlessly lead others - especially when they surround themselves with sycophants and colleagues whose potentially embarrassing personal information they hold for future use. Ergo, if you’ve got the mo’, every decision you make is totally awesome by default.

So don’t shy away from tough business decisions. Great deciders like Pol Pot learned to make efficient, snap judgements in their sleep! A few Reichstags have to be burned now and again for great leadership to propagate seemingly improbable ideals.

Don’t think; do!

Gregory M. Fields is a UVa GSAS grad in the profoundly unprofitable subfields of Russian and Chinese studies. He currently owns a strategicofabulous, dynamistically awesome social media and e-commerce consulting agency.

Tuscany on the Pacific: Ramsey Shilling Just Moved Heaven A Little Closer...

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 21:36:27 -0400

Tuscany on the Pacific: Ramsey Shilling Just Moved Heaven A Little Closer...:

Fanta-Sea. Ramsey Shilling offering awesome Malibu ocean view property. Come sea!

ParaShoot: New DeSantis Paracord Will Bring Out Your Inner BoyScout

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 21:33:29 -0400

ParaShoot: New DeSantis Paracord Will Bring Out Your Inner BoyScout:

DeSantis now offering a cutting edge survivalist gear.