Work At Home Dad - Ty Tribble

Solution Marketing - Information Mining

When you purchase concert tickets at Ticketmaster, you have the option of answering a few questions about your music, arts, and sports taste and Ticketmaster will send out email updating you on events that are of interest. I gave them permission to let me know when stuff I like is coming to town. Chances are if they do a good job with this, I will buy tickets to events that interest me.

This mornings email was titled: "Don't miss Megadeth"

Hmmmm. Megadeath? Admittedly I am a fan of hard rock from the Grunge era, such as Alice in Chains, Nirvana, The Screaming Trees, and Soundgarden, but I can't recall ever being a fan of Megadeath or Metallica, who I guess are categorized more as Heavy Metal.

In addition to the Megadeath suggestion, Ticketmaster took the time to put together a listing of other events that might interest me...

Leo Kottke? Never heard of him.
Ernestine Anderson with Houston Person? Nope.
Bill Engvall? Uh Uh.
Holly Near & Cris Williamson? Nyet.
Keiko Matsui? Sorry.
Craig Chaquico? Ummmmm No.

Who are these people, Ticketmaster?

Amazon is really good at mining information and giving solid suggestions based on what you purchase. As a customer, I want to hear about things that interest me. In fact let me know that something is coming (that is of interest to me) before releasing the information to the general public and I will feel special. I will buy and I will tell others to buy. I may even tell others to sign up for your updates and newsletters so that they can get the great deals that I get. Get it?

What is a Customer For Life Worth?

My wife and daughter are in Paris this week so this morning I decided to drive our Suburban to drop off my son at school, (I usually drive our other car). When I started to drive I noticed that wheels seemed to be pulling to the right, so after dropping off my son, I went to Discount Tire Co., where I bought the tires a little over a year ago.

Turns out there was a razor blade and a nail in one of the tires and the right front tire was shot because it had been driven on the side wall. My first thought was, "here comes a $400 bill". Would you believe they replaced both tires for free? I only paid for the additional warrantly of $22 per tire.

So this company gave me almost $400 worth of tires today, and driving away I thought about what that gesture is going to be worth to the company. There is no doubt that I will forever buy my tires at Discount Tire Co., which will no doubt be worth thousands of dollars to the company, and there is little doubt that I will tell a lot of people about my experience, potentially worth even more money.

Seth Godin, author of Permission Marketing calls this "sneezing". Whereas your experience with a product or service is so remarkable, you must tell people.

AAHHHHHCCCHHHOOOO! Discount Tire Co. 4 Life, Baby.

What Does Starbucks Really Sell?

What does Starbucks sell?

Most people would immediately say that Starbucks sells coffee, but I believe it is more than that. 7-11 sells coffee, but you don’t get the same feeling sipping coffee from a styrofoam 7-11 cup as you do from a Starbucks cup. There is a feeling you get when you enter a Starbucks. The stores are warm and inviting and the help is energetic and courteous. Starbucks business is not really based on coffee. It is based on the feeling that you get at Starbucks. Yes the product is good, but that is a must in any business today. Starbucks is a solution provider. When a person drives up to a Starbucks, goes in, purchases a coffee, and leaves Starbucks to go back into the world, they feel better for having done so.

Businesses today flourish by solving problems for people. "Solution provider" has a high tech connotation but it applies to every single business. I would challenge you to adjust your thinking and become a solution provider.

Being a solution provider takes the sales and recruiting pressure off of your shoulders. If you aren’t worried about prospecting or sales and just go about your daily life with a sincere interest in helping as many people as you can, you will run into folks that have problems. Not only that, but you will run into folks that have problems that your business has a solution for.

How easy is it to present a solution to someone when they tell you they have a problem and they are looking for a solution to solve it?

Bush - Kerry Debate

I felt that George W. Bush decidely won the debate tonight and I thought John Kerry won the first debate. Bush seemed to have a lot of passion tonight, while Kerry was much more measured. I have to wonder whether this election will be decided on the specific issues, or whether this will be decided on who is the better leader or commander-in-chief. I get the feeling that Kerry would change his position on issues based on whether or not he thinks the issue would help him win. Then I get the feeling that Bush could care less about polls and just wants to do the right thing based on his beliefs,

For a while I thought that this presidential election would be a difficult choice, but if you believe that the U.S. needs a decisive leader, it's an easy choice.

Mount St. Helens News Update

Let me save you a lot of time. Scientists have lowered the alert level from 3 to 2 and earthquakes have been lower in strength and less frequent. Scientists now say that a larger eruption is not imminent but it still could happen. They also say that Mount St. Helens remains unpredictible.

In other words, they have no idea.

Mount St. Helens Erupts Once Again

...waiting for the big one...

A small steam eruption is taking place right now at Mount St. Helens. The steam and ash cloud is moving slowly southeast. Earthquakes continue as the activity steadily increases. USGS suggest "somthing more" coming. This follows a steam eruption last night at 10:40PM. Scientists have measured a 100 foot bulge in the crater dome, leading some to believe that a larger eruption is coming. The question may not be if at this point, but when.

From The Seattle Times:

CASTLE LAKE VIEW POINT — Mount St. Helens continued to quiver and quake yesterday in a probable prelude to a magma-powered eruption.

"There's a lot of energy, and it's relatively close to the surface," said Peter Frenzen, chief scientist for the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. "The big question still is how big of an event will occur."

Mount St. Helens Latest News: Eruption Imminent!

The latest from The Seattle Times:

COLDWATER RIDGE VISITOR CENTER — A brief steam release yesterday followed by steady tremors deep within Mount St. Helens have led scientists to believe an eruption larger than Friday's 24-minute ash event may happen within days.

In a sharp reversal of earlier predictions, scientists say they now believe the volcano is capable of a substantial explosion that could create an ash cloud rising tens of thousands of feet and a lava flow from new magma entering the volcano.

I found this to be most interesting:

While scientists say an eruption, expected within the next few days to a week, is unlikely to eclipse the May 18, 1980, event, they do believe the volcano could hurl ash and rocks more than five miles — which would still be in the uninhabited area around the mountain. Last week's activity at the mountain is the most powerful since the 1980 blast that killed 57 people.

Based on the Volcanic Explosivity Index, which measures the power behind an eruption, scientists yesterday predicted a 50 percent chance of a new eruption reaching Level 2 on the scale from 1 to 10, and a 30 percent chance of a Level 3, according to a preliminary estimate from Thomas Pierson, a USGS hydrologist.

By comparison, Friday's combined steam and ash cloud measured less than 1 on the index, while the 1980 eruption measured 5.

Meanwhile the US Forest Service has evacuated the Johnston Ridge Observatory. This family picture was taken at that site in July.

Mount St. Helens Update: Earthquakes Increase Overnight

Well, I spoke too soon. Earthquakes increased overnight to similar levels experienced prior to yesterday's eruption, suggesting another small eruption is coming, perhaps larger than the one before.

From Kiro TV:

MOUNT ST. HELENS, Wash. -- Mount St. Helens quieted down after spewing a plume of steam and ash -- but only briefly.

Within hours of the eruption Friday, seismic readings suggested pressure was building again inside the volcano, which had been dormant for 18 years.

The article continues:

The earthquakes started Sept. 23 and grew steadily stronger, finally reaching a magnitude of 3.3 Thursday and Friday. After the eruption, they stopped for several hours, said Wynn, of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Then, the tremors resumed, hitting a one-per-minute pace, said Bill Steele at the University of Washington seismic laboratory. A couple exceeded magnitude 2.

A few more steam explosions are likely, Steele said, "until enough debris is cleared, and then there is a significant chance that lava could be extruded at the surface."

Tom Pierson, a USGS geologist, said officials will monitor the site "on a very intense scale until we can determine that the thing has really gone back to sleep."

Mount St. Helens Belched - Earthquakes Subside

Image from CNN

The eruption was described as steam with cold residual ash, the plume was said to travel 10,000 feet in the air and dissipate within 5 miles of the crater. It does not appear that magma made it to the surface.

The geologists are now saying that all seismic activity has stopped, suggesting that Mount St. Helens did her thing and will quiet down for now.

I am planning a return trip to Mount St. Helens next summer where I, (along with my family), will keep a detailed journal of our trip.

Mount St. Helens ERUPTS!

Time of Eruption: 12:03PM PDT

Lasted: 24 minutes

Described as "beautiful and breathtaking" by observers.

Light dusting of ash seen on cars in local towns. Geologists call this a cold ash eruption with no magma.

From The Seattle PI:

MOUNT ST. HELENS, Wash. -- Mount St. Helens belched a roiling plume of white steam and ash Friday, more than a week after a flurry of earthquakes first warned an eruption was on the way.

"This is exactly the kind of event we've been predicting," said U.S. Geological Survey scientist Cynthia Gardner.

Steam frequently rises from a lava dome in the crater of the volcano, which erupted with devastating force and killed 57 people on May 18, 1980. But there had been no eruptions in 18 years.

A few minutes after noon, the steam and ash cloud poured from the southern edge of a nearly 1,000-foot-tall lava dome in the volcano's crater, where a large section of glacier had fractured and risen as much as 11 yards since Thursday afternoon. After about 20 minutes, the mountain calmed and the plume quickly dissipated, heading south-southwest.