Other Stories Archive

If all goes to plan I should be a crippled, but ecstatic wreck in exactly 60 days!

Having had a month off in January due to colds, coughs and a chest infection, I’ve been back pounding the streets of south-west London and Richmond Park.

Jet-lagged from a recent trip to Redmond, I woke up at 4.34am this morning and was out by 5.30am, covering 6 miles in about an hour around Richmond, Mortlake and Barnes. I had bought a load of posh running gear (no tights!) in Seattle which kept me warm as it was about freezing. The sorry looks on people’s faces as they chip ice from their windscreens are priceless, as are the paper boys and milkmen who glance back startled, wondering what the commotion is coming up (relatively) fast behind them.

I’m doing the Jeff Galloway technique. He advocates running and then walking. Very simply I run for 3 minutes and then walk for 1 minute and then repeat. It’s not cheating either, it’s sensible! By mile 20 I’ll be overtaking those poor b*ggers who’ll take months to recover……legs crossed. I’m aiming to crack 5 hours now, anything to finish!

On March 9th I’m doing the South Coast 1/2 Marathon which should be excellent preparation too!

So far together we’ve raised over £1500 which with Microsoft’s “Match It!” pledge means £3k, which in $$$ is well over $6000 – Not to rub it in about the exchange rate or anything 🙂

I appreciate everyone who’s sponsored me so far. Special thanks to Lee, DaveN, Rob, Jamie and Michelle who have been so generous and cracked the £100 barrier. But thanks to all of you as ev’ry little helps!

I had a check up and blood test today at UCLH and have been told to come back in four months as all is well, although I will have to have a colonoscopy later in the year.

Others are not so lucky and that’s why I’m doing this!

Check out my JustGiving page and please sponsor me whatever you can:

http://www.justgiving.com/melcarson

Guy Phillipson from the IAB’s letter in Media Week last week was long overdue or at least put into words my personal feelings towards pop up ads…

By pop up, I don’t mean rich media, whizzy display ads that fly all over the screen when triggered by a user. I mean the 200×200 boxes of gubbins that some publishers STILL think is a good idea for the internet perusing population.

When I’m out and about, and get asked what I do at cocktail parties or cricket matches, when I say I work in online advertising I always, every time, get asked if I’m the guy responsible for those pesky pop ups!

Our entire industry gets tainted by the only negative thing users remember. They forget, or just don’t know, everything they do online is paid for by all the other great advertising platforms and products we peddle.

Sales people are to blame too. I remember getting pressured constantly as a traffic manager at BTLookSmart to take the frequency cap off pop ups so they could hit targets.

Reminds me of a great story of a sales guy who complained that whenever he clicked on one of our house ads he “got a pop up!” He said that it was a negative user-experience because “people hate pop ups!”

I had to waltz over to his desk and explain that he was by far the biggest dealer in the infernal things, and that he wasn’t seeing a pop up when he clicked on a house ad, but that he had screwed his IE settings and that was a new browser he was seeing – albeit shrunk to 200×200!

He stared at his screen, then back at me and barked:

“Well I don’t even know what a browser is Mel!!!”

I rest Guy’s case…

Erm…”Way to go you Giants!!!”

Out of all the commercials we liked:

The Doritos Ad – 2nd Quarter

Will Ferrell in the Bud Light Budweiser commercial – 4th Quarter

Check ’em all out here: http://www.myspace.com/superbowlads

NO! Not me!!!

I’m talking about Mike, a 46 year old father of……………….SEVEN!!!

He pinged me a couple of days ago after he read my marathon post!

“Chronicling one unfit, overweight, middle-aged man’s attempt to run the London Marathon 2008” – My favourite post so far is this one because I know exactly how he feels!

Check out his One Fat Man blog and give him all you support…..after you’ve supported me!

Phil Collins once told a story about how a bloke who lived in his village in Sussex knocked on his door asking for a loan. They poor guy had fallen on hard times and needed a few grand to see him though some debts. He promised to pay Phil back so, not knowing the guy at all really, Phil wrote a cheque never expecting to see the money again.

A few years later there was a knock on the door and the chap handed back the money and thanked Phil for helping him out. Collins’ faith and trust in human decency and honesty was enhanced, and it was as much a revelation for him as it was for the guy who asked for the money.

This morning I was walking through Victoria Station and ordered a black americano (marathon training!) from a very nice girl behind the counter at Cafe Nero. As her colleague was busy making it, I searched in my pockets for what I thought was a couple of quid, but slowly realised all I had was 75p. I apologised and said I didn’t have enough money. She shrugged and said it was OK.

As I walked off red & embarrassed she called me back and handed me the coffee! I explained I had no money and showed her the 75p. She smiled pointed at the tip cup (lined with coffee beans – nice touch!) and started serving the next customer.

I explained I’d be back tomorrow with the money and she said OK!

How often does that happen? What great customer service? Such a small gesture, but it set me up for the day, prompted me to write a post about trust and honesty and how it can be inextricably linked to business.

And now if anyone searches for something to do with Cafe Nero online they may well see this post and get a very positive impression too. 

Small, human gestures and nice touches can make all the difference – I don’t think we make enough of the these days! 😉

Having had the dreaded lurghi for the last few weeks, it was touch and go whether I’d give it a stab, but after a couple of successful jaunts around Richmond Park, I’ve decided that by hook or by crook I will cross the finishing line on April 13th!

I’ll be running for the National Association for Colitis and Crohns

Some blub from my JustGiving site:

“I’ve had Ulcerative Colitis, which is a bit like Crohn’s Disease, for 11 years.

I take 8 pills a day but have received fantastic support from the NHS and my family and friends.

It can be a debilitating condition and although I’ve not had it too bad (touch wood!), I have met many people who have had to put up with chronic pain, considerable inconvenience, and in some cases, major surgery – so I guess this is my way of honouring them and paying back some of that support and goodwill!

NACC will receive your money faster through JustGiving and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

If you can spare some dosh then please dig deep and sponsor me online.

For every £1 you donate Microsoft will match it! Yes that’s right! Microsoft will match £1 for £1 any money you donate!!!”

I had thought £7,777 was pushing it, but when I found out that Microsoft would top up the fund, £15k didn’t sound too unreasonable….

Please sponsor me here: http://www.justgiving.com/melcarson

And thankyou!

Victoria Derbyshire on 5 Live has just interviewed three blokes who replicated the D-Day landings at Omaha Beach using a camera and and some wicked digital smoke and mirrors – the video is quite fantastic, and shows up the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan which employed over 1000 extras and probably cost a whole bucket of cash!

[youtube:http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WRS9cpOMYv0]

I was ushered over to Affiliate Window’s blog today, and had to duck the spitting feathers, as they launched a sortie against Tradedoubler in an effort to maintain air supremacy of the affiliate skies.

It’s all about a print ad they ran a couple of months ago which has eerily (or should that be errorly) been replicated by the folks in the office building I can see from where I’m sitting right now!

Check out the ads below and then check out the post!

These AWIN boys don’t hold back in a game of “spot the difference!”

Register Here to see Seth Godin in action at 7pm GMT:

“In this brand new presentation, bestselling author Seth Godin outlines 14 trends that are changing businesses forever. He talks about how the new marketing landscape represents nothing short of an industrial revolution, and highlights the organizations and brands and products that are taking this new world by storm. By the end of an hour, Godin will have you looking at the world you live in very differently… the new rules create new winners (and losers) and there’s no time to waste.”

The last time Seth was “Brought to You by Search Engine Strategies” it was in Toronto and I nabbed a free book – The Dip – a short but incisive bible about when to quit when you’re ahead and even if you’re not!

Anyone who style’s themselves as “an author of change” has to be worth a squiz – so get registering! 🙂

I know it’s only January, but I’m off to Morocco with herself for some R&R!

I’ve been ill with coughs, colds and the rest for nearly three weeks, so it’s time to shake them all off with lashings of tagine and…erm……..leather!?

No email or internet for 4 whole days!!!

So will I cope?

Oh – I think so 🙂