No doubt that we are living in the year of – no, the DECADE of the “selfie.”
Selfies come in many different varieties:
the “best friends”selfie,
the “at the bar” selfie,
the “at the beach” selfie,
the “lots of cleavage” selfie,
the “new car / new house / new girl friend” selfie,
and the ultimate “death by selfie.” Click here for video.
Obsessed With Your Own Reflection ?
Greek mythology would call this an “obsession with our own reflection” based on Narcissus, a character in Greek mythology who became obsessed with his own reflection. Narcissus was renowned for his pride and drowned while trying to reach his own reflection in a pool.
Where did you go, 2014 ? Well, it doesn’t really matter right now. Let’s just take an honest look back at 2014.
What worked ?
What did not work ?
And what can we do DIFFERENTLY in 2015 ?
2014 || Facebook’s Movies – Year in Review – are all WRONG.
Those Facebook movies – Year in Review – are all WRONG. They show us smiling and happy – like this is all that happened during the entire year.
We all like to curate our lives and show the world our best pictures. Like all of our life is a constant string of “picture perfect” photo opportunities. Not !!!
I like to EDIT ALL of my pictures before I post them on Facebook. How vain and unrealistic is that ? It’s as if I’m pretending my life is a series of highlight reels when most of our lives are pretty average moments.
And we try to hide all of our failures. We try to hide all of those sad moments. Those moments when we fall. And then we fall again.
Why hide these moments ? Why deny these moments ? These painful moments are what make life real.
2014 || Maybe you’re measuring the WRONG stuff.
Just look at your Facebook page and what you want your friends to see. The new home and the new car. All of those Christmas presents. And those great abs.
What I really want; and what my children/grandchildren really want are fun memories. Just think about what you say when you are remembering a friend. You say, “Do you remember when we …?” You talk about the “good times.” Not all of your cool new stuff.
With your family, you can go to the Dollar Store; buy some $1.00 puzzles and have several evenings of entertainment. All for less than $10.00. Versus the hundreds (maybe thousands) of dollars spent on all of the newest electronic toys. Electronic toys that will be outdated in six months or less.
My children remember (as our best times) when we went to grandpa and grandma’s house at the lake and slept underneath their pool table and made a tent with sheets and blankets. Like we were camping indoors.
And grandma’s house was not extravagant. Grandma’s house was an extra wide mobile home on a wooded lot by Table Rock Lake in Missouri.
Looking back at 2014 – maybe you’re measuring the WRONG stuff.
2014 || Where did you FAIL ?
Cherish these “failure” moments. Celebrate your “failures.” Your “failures” represent those times when you stretched yourself. You tried something outside of your comfort range.
In 2015, fail some more.
Fail forward.
Fail often.
Fail faster.
Sometimes your celebrated goals just represent “playing it safe.” Maybe you succeeded because you weren’t as bold as audacious as you could be. Your “failures” may represent your BOLD and COURAGEOUS moments.
the mental tapes in their heads – 40 years from now.
If you’re a doubter, keep reading.
You’re wrong.
Just keep reading.
And did you know that ONLY 1 out of 5 mobile apps qualifies for …
… a “4 Canes Up Rating” on GrandpAPP’z Exclusive Seal of APProval List?
Let me explain why this is …
… important to you and me. As parents, we try to monitor our children’s (grandchildren’s) activities, their friends, their T.V. programs, and some of the websites they visit.
If you don’t do this, I recommend that you start today.
So we monitor much of their technology and T.V. and YouTube.
But I asked myself, how well do I know their game apps ?
Those noisy and annoying games on their phones.
We don’t know these apps very well.
Not very well at all. Sad but true.
My next question is …
… is there a rating system for apps that a parent or grandparent can trust ?
Answer: Not a rating system that satisfies this picky grandpa.
Are apps shaping the future of your children ?
And our future communities ?
I’ll answer with a question. If you are a baby boomer, can you finish this advertising jingle ? “Winston tastes good like a … ?”
Winston tastes good like a … cigarette should. You have not heard this jingle in 42 years (since 1972), and ALL baby boomers can still sing this cigarette jingle. Marketing firms are betting millions and BILLIONS of dollars that these games apps are influencing our children’s thought patterns and behavior. For the next 40 + years ! And these marketing firms will win that bet. These apps will control the thinking and behavior of your children for the next 40 years and more.
MOBILE APPs will dominate the way our children think and behave.
Mobile apps are the new Saturday morning cartoons. Do you remember Saturday morning cartoons with toy commercials and cereal ads? These cartoon programs controlled what our children demanded from us and what we bought for them.
Mobile apps are shaping the way our children thinkand how our children make decisions.
Just this morning my 4 year old grandson …
… Daniel, wanted to show his classmates the sharks on his new and coolest mobile app – Hungry Shark Evolution.Within 4 to 5 seconds, Daniel had the undivided attention of 11 of his classmates. Immediately there was lots of lively conversation and jockeying for the best position [pushing and shoving] to see the Hungry Shark Evolution app on grandpa’s phone. At the end of this commotion, the teacher was glad to see the phone AND his grandpa leave the classroom.
So, yes, what a 4 year old hears and sees for more than 6 hours per week (drive time with grandpa) DOES SHAPE the way he thinks and sees his world.
And, yes, we need a sensible rating system created by a parent and NOT by the entertainment industry. And NOT a rating system developed by our government.
So I am starting an app rating system for you today.
Grandpa rates apps from 1 to 4 with 4 being the best rating and 1 being the worst rating.
And the dreaded “Crossed Canes – !-X-!” rating is the VERY BADDEST and demands an INSTANT UNINSTALL from your mobile device.
So “4 Canes Up or 4-!!!!” is the best rating and “1 Cane Up or 1-!” is the lowest rating.
GrandpAAP’z Rating System applies the following user experience parameters:
fun meter rating
user engagement
background music
game sounds
# of pop ups
educational value
These results are NOT based on some double-blind scientific study. Because if we researched an app THAT thoroughly, the life of the scientific study would OUTLAST the effective life of the app. Remember, Flappy Birds lasted just two (?) weeks.
This new and innovative rating system …
… is purely subjective based on 6.25 hours per week of active observation and study of a 4 year old avid user (Daniel) who is a consumer of “all things gamified and appified.”I also sought some expert advice from two other seasoned app users and kid statisticians – an 8 year old grandson and an 11 year old grandson.
Now enjoy the FIRST EDITION of “GrandpAPP’z 4 Cane Rating System for Kidz Appz.”
The following One Cane Up 1-! APPz are educational apps designed to help with counting and learning the alphabet. They are rated only One Cane Up 1-! because they failed to fully engage our demanding user for more than several minutes.
Tiki Bear Phonics
Preschool and Kindergarten Learning Games
Counting Number
Preschool Learning Fun
Sight Words
The next group is …
… rated as Two Canes Up 2-!! due to some annoying sounds which create a less than pleasant driving experience for the adult. And, besides, who really wants an app that teaches your children to belch and fart ? I don’t. They learn that behavior quickly enough from their older brothers and friends without the help of an app.
Hungry Shark Evolution is totally engagingwith pleasant music and game sounds and some educational value.
When our app user, Daniel, is asked what he likes about Hungry Shark; he replies, “I like the Great White Shark. He eats jellyfish.” That’s a candid testimonial from a dedicated user.
So that you don’t miss anything from “America’s GRUMP-iest Grandpa” Please give us your name and email address below. Then hit the GREEN button.
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But. There might be some hope for those Bible Study Guys.
Our Neighborhood Is a Friendly Neighborhood
Welcome to our neighborhood on Panera Bread Boulevard in Florida. This is a real neighborhood. I’m at Panera Bread observing my “laptop-with-a-coffee” neighborhood and friends on a typical Tuesday morning.
it’s a friendly neighborhood
* * * * * *
Meet My Friends in the Neighborhood
It is 7:00 a.m. on this beautiful Florida morning. I arrived at 6:05 a.m. to write my blogposts, and I have already greeted and been greeted by:
Jim– the pleasant regional sales manager – who has daily morning and afternoon meetings with his sales guys
John– the general manager of this Panera Bread neighborhood – always greeting guests and spending some time with the Panera Bread neighborhood “regulars” like me
Joeand his two super coder geeks – all three are website developers for a major Fortune 100 Firm – and they always speak geek in short HTML phrases and are very helpful to the non geek neighbors
My real estate broker friendwaiting for his newest clients
My pediatrician friendwho enjoys his morning coffee at his favorite spot with his iPad and a book
Juan always greets me – a Panera employee who works hard on the drive-through food prep line
The maintenance guy – Jonathan – who comes straight to the Panera neighborhood from his night job at the Orlando International Airport
The smiling lady who is a employee for a consulting company in Missouri called Tim Miles and Company. We became acquainted because she was reading a book from one of my favorite authors – Gary Vaynerchuk – Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook .
A Pleasant Morning in the Neighborhood
And I have exchanged morning pleasantries with at least four other regular customers and friends in our “laptop-with-a-coffee” neighborhood.
It is really a pleasant and friendly work environment.
* * * * * *
Conspicuously Distant and Seemingly Rude
That’s why those Bible Study Guysare such an anomaly – so obviously distant, and they are such an awkward non-fitin our happy little neighborhood. This is really a modern day “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.”
These Bible Study Guys are setting to the left of me and less than ten feet away from me; and I doNOTknowONE person’s name. They are “regulars.” They meet at 7:00 a.m. every Tuesday morning and sit in the same place.
those Bible Study Guys are so RUDE
* * * * * *
Why Waste My Time with This Group?
The only time they have ever responded to me is when I tried to initiate conversation one morning.
After that failed attempt, why would I want to invest any more energyin them when the rest of the neighbor is so friendly ?
Distinct Brand Image
you create your own distinct brand image
I wonder if they are aware that they have created a DISTINCT BRAND IMAGEfor all Bible Study Guys – a brand that is unfriendly and distant in a very friendly neighborhood.
The rudeness of these Bible Study Guys is a direct reflection on the BRAND IMAGE and brand equity of the “Business of JESUS.” These Bible Study Guysare Brand Partners of the “Business of JESUS.” They are the only Brand Partners of Jesusthat some people will ever see.
So how do they impact the brand of JESUS ?
If I had to judge the brand of the “Business of Jesus” solely by these Bible Study Guys, I would say they have a distant and rude brand culture.
And the product they represent – Jesus – must also be distant and rude.
What’s the Point of my Rant?
The point: be keenly aware of your brand identity and that you have an impact on your brand (your company or whatever you represent) by what you DOand by what you DO NOT DO.
You may the only brand of your product that someone sees.
* * * * * *
Not a Neutral Brand Image
those Bible Study Guys are so RUDE
Your actions create a brand that is either ATTRACTIVE(I want to be part of your group) or UNATTRACTIVE(I don’t want to be a part of your group).
And you seldom create a NEUTRALbrand image.
* * * * * *
What Brand Do You Represent ?
You mayNOT always get to choose the brand that you represent.
What Is Your Brand Image ?
you choose your own brand image
But you DOget to CHOOSEyour BRAND IMAGE.
How’s your brand image ?
People are ALWAYS watching.
Bible Study Guys Represent a Quality Brand
The Bible Study Guyshave chosen to represent a quality brand.
I believe that these Bible Study Guysbelieve in their brand, but they are UNAWARE that they are the early morningBRAND PARTNERS of the “Business of Jesus” in their neighborhood.
And they have created a negative Brand Image for their product.
* * * * * *
As Brand Partners …
… they are (and we are) highly visible and always being judged.
– 
.
