Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

Yes, here we are at another Friday, and once again I’m fried, frazzled and frumped. (We’ll get to the gecko in a sec.) Thus, a little irreverence is in order. (After all, life really is too important to be taken seriously!) There might even be a business point here and there, but I don’t promise anything. So, if inclined to join me, pour yourself a libation and follow along:

Business: Oracle announced a lay-off. So what? Silicon Valley is booming again. And, this time it looks a lot more sustainable than the dot.com bubble. This is good for all of us - even the “non-techies.” These are the people who do all that cool stuff that (usually) makes our lives easier - from business application software to cell phones to home entertainment. Not to mention such leading-edge knowledge work is great for our economy as we compete in our newly flat world. Google alone has about 1,000 open jobs.

Life:
1. They’ve found a lost paradise in Indonesia - one so rich in wildlife that “finding new species is almost too easy.” Reportedly, the Indonesian government has already designated the region a wildlife sanctuary. And, Conservation International is working with government officials and the people within the greater Mamboramo Basin, which includes the Foja Mountains, to preserve the area’s incredibly diverse wildlife. (Click on the “finding new” link above to go to the NPR site where you can listen to the interview with Bruce Beehler of Conservation International.) Here’s hoping they don’t discover oil there.

2. I just saved a bunch of money on car insurance! Sorry, I couldn’t resist. But, those commercials and the ones with the little talking gecko really tweak my sense of whimsy and get my attention. I might even pick up the phone and call, if I wasn’t already a happy Geico policy holder for nearly 20 years. (I think this is advertising that probably does work - would be interesting to see Geico’s internal stats. We all want lower rates on car insurance and their commercials catch the eye.)

Biz point: See, this is how this customer loyalty stuff works. Geico has been great to me and here I am telling you about it. And, they’re not paying me to do so! They don’t even know about it.

Hmmm. Wonder if they’ve found new geckos in that lost Indonesian paradise, and do they talk?

Stuff: Molly Ivins exists. So does George Clooney. (Liberal, schmiberal. I also love P.J. O’Rourke and John Wayne. Go figure.)

Read more: GEICO gecko may be an especially apt image given the latest brain research