AT&T Online Ad Attacking Verizon Is Misleading, Justifies the “There’s a Map for That” Ads

By now, you’ve probably seen Verizon’s “There’s a Map for That” TV advertisement, which is aimed at Apple’s “There’s an App for That” TV advertisements (picture to your left). As the only provider of the Apple iPhone in the United States, AT&T did what it thought of as the only thing it could to put a stop to Verizon’s damaging ads… they filed a lawsuit against Verizon, telling the judge to have the ads pulled. No dice. The judge denied AT&T’s request, but apparently, the company will get another chance in mid-December to argue its case.

Scrambling for a response to Verizon’s ad, AT&T did two things: first, it tossed Luke Wilson into a room and had him toss around some postcards that represented AT&T’s network coverage (no mention of 3G coverage—just “network coverage”), and second, it created interactive online advertisements. Good job, AT&T; attack on as many fronts as you can, within your advertising budget. However, I think AT&T’s arguments on why its service is better than Verizon’s are extremely weak and inaccurate.

Starting at the top of this list, we have Nation’s fastest 3G network. Great! Got that out of the way. Take that, Verizon! But, wait, what’s that asterisk? Oh, that would be a disclaimer stating “3G coverage not available in all areas.” This verbiage also appears in TV ads. Isn’t that what Verizon has been discussing in its recent TV ads? This first list item seems to enforce Verizon’s argument.

Second, AT&T has listed Talk and surf or download simultaneously as one of its network perks. This is true. Not much to disagree with here.

The next item on the list, Most popular smartphones, is blown way out of proportion. AT&T definitely has the most popular smartphone in the iPhone, but other than that, the wireless service provider doesn’t have a killer device; Verizon doesn’t really have one, but with the recent release of the Motorola Droid, that’s debatable. Overall, I think this line item should have read Most popular smartphone, singular.

And finally, we have the most misleading, gross misinterpretation of AT&T’s service—Access to over 100,000 apps. It’s well known that the iPhone has tons and tons of apps. However, I think it’s important to note that these 100,000+ apps are only accessible to iPhone users.

Overall, I think this ad is primarily speaking from the point of view of AT&T’s iPhone customers, which still only represents a minority of the company’s subscribers.

 

Note: I’m an AT&T customer.

Resources: Newsday: Judge rejects AT&T's bid to pull Verizon ads

A Single, Effective Way to Measure Social Media

A few days ago, a few people retweeted a blog post titled 100 Ways to Measure Social Media by David Berkowitz. After reading it, I felt inspired to use what little knowledge I have of social media to show you how I measure social media. I’m sure that others have already done this before, so feel free to apply what I’ve documented:

1. Open up an Internet browser that supports tabs and open all of the social media sites you actively use.
2. Grab a ruler and measure the distance from one tab to another. It’s ok if your tabs start disappearing because you have too many open. (NO CHEATING! I know some of you will use tabs like peopleofwalmart.com and icanhascheezburger.com. Don’t be dishonest.)
3. Take that number in inches and multiply it by how many social sites you have open in tabs.

For those that need help visualizing how I did this, I’ve posted a picture tutorial below.

Here are my numbers: 9 inches x 8 sites = a score of 72 social media measurements of complete bragging rights. Go ahead. Measure social media on your own and leave your score in a comment. Hell, post it on Twitter if you want.

*Disclaimer: Measurements may vary depending on your screen size.

Critics of President Obama, Since When Was Being Disrespectful an Appropriate Sign of Power?

President Obama bowed to Emperor Akihito on November 14?? This is a huge deal! Why would the United States, one of the world’s largest powers, show any form of respect to Japan—or any other country? I’m disappointed. It’s absolutely absurd…

… that politicians, who are supposedly the voice of reasoning and leadership for our country, are making a big deal about this.

Seriously. Who in their right mind thinks it’s a bad idea to show any form of respect while you’re a visitor on foreign land? The argument that people are trying to make of this is ridiculous. Just because Emperor Akihito’s father is the one who approved of Japan’s military attack on Pearl Harbor, people think we need to show disrespect toward everyone directly or indirectly involved. Some conservative guy said, “I don't know why President Obama thought that was appropriate.” Wait, so, showing disrespect would be more appropriate? Hm, that’s not what my parents taught me.

To put bowing in perspective, my wife, Yang, said this to me:

“In Japan, bowing is a greeting and showing of respect. In the United States and other Western countries, it’s probably seen more as a display of loyalty.”

If the critics saw President Obama’s bow as a showing of loyalty to the emperor of Japan, then that’s a culture fail on their part. Not being open or at least researching why a culture conducts itself in a certain way is just selfish and creates an unnecessary hurdle for future engagements. What was a showing of respect in the eyes of both parties might now be an embarrassing situation for both President Obama and Emperor Akihito—embarrassment toward the United States’ reaction and the international publicity that followed.

Think about it. If you had a Toyota Corolla that suddenly malfunctioned and you had to take it in to get repairs, would you be justified in treating the mechanics at the dealership with disrespect just because a problem happened that’s beyond their control? Absolutely not. And, if you did disrespect the mechanics, the relationship is tainted; you can’t trust each other. all of a sudden, you’ve got a $2,500 bill for what should’ve been a $500 fix. The same applies to this situation. If you don’t show respect to someone who deserves it or is in a position that is influential, you risk ruining future business, partnerships, and other potentially beneficial propositions. When people say it’s a bad choice that President Obama showed courtesy toward Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, they are either close-minded to the courtesies of other cultures or riding on a mysterious power trip. These people need to get over themselves.

Although I personally haven’t witness much change personally, it’s been less than a year since this guy’s been in office. Sure, some people complain that he isn’t doing as much as he should. But remember, it took ex-President Bush less than a year to show change in the United States, resulting in billions of the world’s population disliking him, for example, the guy from the shoe-throwing incident in Iraq.

I will admit, though, the picture of President Obama and Emperor Akihito is a little odd to me…

… I’ve never seen someone bow while shaking hands.

 

*Looking for this post in Japanese? A translated version of it is on my Mixi blog (Mixi account required). Thanks for translating it, Yang!

New Sound, Refreshing Lyrics from Lo-Fi’s Recently Released Album, Stereo Soul

Jazz. Funk. Blues. Breakbeats. Soul.

This is how the Japanese trio Lo-Fi describes their music. Even during singing breaks, the instrumentals by 5 (pronounced Goh; vocals and bass guitar), Yosh (drums), and Nori (keyboard) are ridiculously relaxing. After hearing that their new album, Stereo Soul, was available for download, I purchased it along with their previously released album, Low-Fidelity EP. To the left is a screenshot of the trio’s two albums in the iTunes Japan top jazz albums section. Sales of Stereo Soul, ranked #8, also saw increased sale of Low-Fidelity EP, ranked #18.

I listen to a lot of music, but Lo-Fi’s sound is completely new to me. What’s strange, though, is that the melody sounds familiar, but not familiar like I’ve heard it before; it’s more familiar like I should’ve already heard it. The drums and the keyboard are well balanced, but there’s also times when one of the instruments is deliberately the focus—almost like a solo but with background music.

A huge influence on whether or not I enjoy listening to the artist is whether I feel a connection with their lyrics. In Stereo Soul, the lyrics touch on topics like war, love, social issues, dealing with personal struggles, and friendships, which really draws me in and makes me want to listen. The words are almost like short influential pieces either from a personal view or from a broader perspective.

Just another proof of how social media really connects people and drives others to different experiences, I found out about Lo-Fi on Twitter through 5. Other than Twitter, the trio is active on other social networks, with accounts on Facebook, MySpace, Mixi, YouTube. They also have a website in Japanese and English, a mobile website in Japanese, and 5 blogs regularly both in Japanese and English. I think it’s great that they’re reaching out on so many networks and in two languages; that takes a lot of hard work!

I highly suggest buying Lo-Fi’s album—either on iTunes or on CD Baby. If you’re still skeptical, listen to the previews available on either of those music sites or watch the group’s live performance below. It was this artistic flavor—and this video in particular—that really turned me on to the trio’s music.

"Make That Change" is from Lo-Fi's Low-Fidelity EP, available on iTunes.

After listening to Stereo Soul from an amateur listener’s point of view, here’s how I would describe Lo-Fi’s sound:

Smooth. Social. Spoken word. Mellow hip hop. Familiar.

 

*Looking for this post in Japanese? A translated version of it is on my Mixi blog (Mixi account required). Thanks for translating it, Yang!

Is One College Athlete’s Preference Worth a University Losing a $3 Million Contract?

Marcus Jordan, Michael Jordan’s son, is attending the University of Central Florida (UCF) and playing on the school’s basketball team. Demand number one? He wants to wear Jordans because they hold a “special meaning.” This is absolutely ridiculous. One problem: adidas had an agreement with UCF to provide the school with athletic gear. Out of all the schools that have Nike as their sponsors, why did Marcus choose a school that adidas sponsors? I think this has more to do with a young, over-privileged kid wanting to stand out.

But what about the school? From reports, it sounds like they’ve been completely clueless as to what the big deal is about. They supposedly told Marcus that he could wear Jordans, even though the athletics program was in the middle of the contract with adidas. After the first game of the season where Marcus wore Jordans, adidas terminated its contract with UCF, and even then, UCF officials were dumbfounded about why adidas decided to cancel the agreement.

Will the university find another sponsor? Probably. I’m sure Nike is cooking up some kind of deal. But if UCF thought that by having Marcus would bring other athletic-gear companies to the table, why burn bridges with adidas? In cases like this, schools need to reinforce what’s best for the school and not take unnecessary risks just because a student wants to get his or her way.

In the team’s first game, UCF won, but did the Jordans that Marcus wore help his game? Let’s see:

• 1 point (0-3 from the field; 1-2 from the free-throw line)
• 0 rebounds
• 1 assist
• 1 turnover
• 3 steals
• 23 minutes

With numbers like that, the only thing he should be demanding is more practice. He’s got a long way to go to be like Mike.

Now don’t get me wrong; I enjoy watching and playing sports. But I just can’t stand the increasing number of spoiled, whiny athletes who only focus on themselves and don’t take their actions into consideration.

My point is, are young, unproven athletes right to wear and do what they want while playing on college teams, even if that means potentially damaging the integrity of the schools in the eyes of sponsors and the public?

Resources: nbcsports.msnbc.com; www.upi.com; ucfathletics.cstv.com.

United Airlines Provides Traveler with Horrible Customer Service Experience, No Eye Contact

Customer service is not about being a presence. It’s not about the customer always being right. It’s about being listening to customer and potential customer concerns and being respectful. I did not experience this on my most recent excursion with United Airlines.

Yes, United Airlines. Red, white, and blue. A company logo that symbolizes American pride. Flying the friendly skies…

… with a company that has no clue how to treat its customers.

I’ve flown United quite a bit in the last three years and accumulated a decent chunk of reward mileage—more than enough for an upgrade to Economy Plus to have six more inches of leg room. On September 16, 2009, I checked in for my flight to Tokyo and approached the United Airlines customer service desk next to the gate where I was set to board the flight. My plan was to redeem the points that I’d accumulated to receive an upgrade—something I’d been looking forward to for weeks after finding out that my mileage exceed the amount needed to move up.

A woman, probably in her 50s, greeted me, and I asked about using my points for an upgrade. Without looking up my United Mileage account to find out how many points I had, she looked at my boarding pass and said, “You can’t. You don’t have the right letter on your ticket.” Now, I never visibly get upset immediately, so I played it cool and said in a very calm, unaggressive tone, “But I have enough points for the upgrade.”

So she asked for my account number, took a quick glance and said, “No, you don’t have the right letter on your ticket. In order to get an upgrade, you have to have a ticket with a certain number on it.” Totally confused, I asked, “How do I know what letter I get when I order my ticket?” to which she responded, “If you bought this through an agent or Expedia, you need to ask them for tickets with [insert whichever letters she said here], which are more expensive.” I asked, “So I can’t get an upgrade just because I didn’t buy a more expensive ticket with a specific letter?” And then she says in a harsh voice, looking down at her computer:

“I know you’re not going to argue with me.”

Whoa. I was totally startled. This lady was being completely unreasonable and giving every reason as to why she couldn’t upgrade me, and then she throws this disrespect in my face. Without possibly getting kicked off the plane without even stepping onto it, all I could think of saying was, “So, in order for me to upgrade, I need to buy a more expensive ticket? That doesn’t make any sense.” “Her response? “To upgrade, you need to buy a more expensive ticket. If you want to upgrade, you’ll have to pay $115 for an Economy Plus seat or $650 for an upgrade to Business Class.” And then, she straight-up walked away…

Walked away!

All this happened with her making absolutely no eye contact with me. The closest she got to looking at me was looking at the person behind me in line; all other times, she was looking down at her computer or turning her face to the side. Written words alone could not explain how rude this woman was to me and how, from the beginning, she didn’t seem to care about anything I said. It was just a complete failure of showing any forms of life in United’s customer service.

So, I walked away. All I could do was tweet about my experience and call my mom. I was heated. Never in my life had I been treated with such disrespect. I only worked in retail/customer service for three years, and not once did I treat anybody like that. Not once. Not even the times when I knew a customer was wrong. Not even when customers yelled or swore at me. In this situation, there was no compassion in the so-called “customer service” that the United Airlines representative gave me.

After venting on Twitter and to my mom, I sat down, vowed to never fly United again, and listened to music to calm me down. Then, my name comes over the loud speaker to come to the customer service desk. A different lady has me come to the front of the line and says “We moved your seat. We have a family that wants to fly together. You still have a window seat, but it’s on the opposite side of the aisle.”

Yeah, I mean, it’s not like I chose that side for a reason. Don’t worry United. I enjoy opening my window and having the sun shine directly in my face. Eyesight is overrated anyway, right? I once again vowed to never fly United Airlines.

Re-enter headphones for a sleepless 10 hours sprinkled with various complementary drinks. I was determined to dispel my bad experience and arrive happily in the land of delicious raw horse meat and colorful Ferris wheels.

So, what’s this post about? Sure, maybe I was wrong and didn’t read the fine-print of the rewards mileage program—however misleading and contradictory it is to say “Free upgrade… if you buy a more expensive plane ticket”—but this is more about treating people with respect. I didn’t feel like a valued customer in the eyes of United at all.

Looking at what’s being spread around on the Internet, primarily fueled by social media, it looks like others are getting fed up with the lame, disrespectful customer service that United Airlines consistently provides. Good examples of these are Dave Carroll of “United Breaks Guitars” fame and the more recent track suit-wearing executive from Best Buy.