Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

How Do I Hate You? Let Me Count the Ways

Those of you that are familiar with our 14 Air Laws know that I'm pretty down on many of the people with whom I'm forced to fly. Beyond clueless, these self-absorbed goofs make the experience so much worse than it needs to be. But, then again, it's all about them, now, isn't it?

But the type of airline passenger we hate the most hasn't made the Air Law list...yet.

It's the stinky one, according to a new survey by Travelocity. 45% of us hate being next to someone with bad hygiene. 30% hate people who are coughing and sneezing and 15% of us hate jumbo-sized people that hang over the arm rest.

I hate you all...but I'm just not sure that I can bring myself to establish Air Laws against things over which you don't have much control.

So, I guess we'll all have to endure you without the Air Law Marshals roughing you up.

Pity, that.

The Things You Learn When You're Ripped Off

A friend of mine recently drove to Denver to visit friends and family. While there, her car was jacked.

A few days later, an eagle-eyed cop saw a car with a window bashed in, took a closer look and...yup, it was Judy's car.

Once returned, Judy posted the following on her Facebook page:

"Among items taken from my car: rear speakers, about a dozen CD’s (Miles, Brubeck – Pulp Fiction soundtrack), WI registration, proof of insurance, license plates, my Mom’s handicapped sign, large cooler, fave water bottle, free WI roadmap. Among the strange items that don’t belong to me but were left behind: assorted home-burned CD’s, spotlight, fake police badge, empty juice can, and small tools. Go figure!"

Amazing what the perps put in the car that they had just appropriated. I'm guessing they'll miss the CDs, spotlight and (especially) the fake police badge.

But probably not for long...

But, are they groovin to the Miles Davis CD?

New Titles for Everybody

In our never-ending quest to rename jobs to make them sound better (like "sanitation maintenance engineer" for "garbage man" or "petroleum transfer engineer" for "gasoline attendant") we've gotten to a point where it's kinda hard to understand just what all of us do.

And, yes, I'm fully aware that the job titles here at Zeitgeist aren't very traditional...but they make people smile (and they are not at all PC).

I saw this one the other day...and if it wasn't for the logo, I'm guessing I'd really have to stop and think about just what a "Mobility Assistant" does.

The Man Who Planted the Seed

Many of my friends and clients have asked how I got started in this crazy business. They've heard me tell the story of a conversation in a bar (hey, ain't that where the best ideas are born?) at the 1995 Mid-Winter Conference of IACVB (now DMAI) in Kansas City.

It was a conversation between me, DuPage County CVB CEO Skip Stritmatter and then-Chicago Southland CVB CEO David Ferguson. We were talking about the consultants that were then in play in the DMO space. And, while the two primary players at that time were good...they had never spent time in a CVB CEO Chair. Thus, the three of us discussed, they lacked the understanding of the unique politics that often played a role in effective DMO management and governance.

Which got me to thinking. Which propelled me to launch Zeitgeist a few months later.

I see and talk to Skip often. But David? He moved on to another CVB out east...and then, at least for me, dropped off the grid when he stepped down there.

Imagine my surprise as I absentmindedly stepped onto an elevator in Waco on the way down to the Texas Association of CVB's Legacy Awards Luncheon when a voice says, "Bill?"

It was David...on his way down to receive the Legacy Award for his work in the 70s to launch TACVB, T-Net and a bunch of other stuff.

It was so great to see him...and to be able thank him for planting the seed in my head that became Zeitgeist.

And for those of our friends that had lost track of him since his last DMO post, he's in real estate in San Antonio. And loving life.

There is life after DMOs.

Peace, Love and a Blanket

40 years ago tomorrow, something simply amazing was about to happen on Max Yasgur's farm in upstate New York.

40 years ago next Monday, my Mom was gloating because she had heard about Woodstock before her Rock n Roll son (but, then again, my Mom was pretty hip...and still is).

And 40 years ago next Monday, the picture on the left was taken among the carnage of the single biggest rock n roll event to date. And the photo ended up on the cover of the 3-disc soundtrack of Woodstock.

Which meant the woman in the picture had to admit to her Mom that, uhhhh, yeah, she was there.

Great story about the couple that had no idea they were about to be the iconic image of the iconic cultural event of the Summer of Love.

The Hubris of Claiming First

It's a fairly common trait of humans to want to be biggest, best, fastest...first. It's that whole Hierarchy of Needs thing, I guess.

But, when your claim is so out in left field that you're in a completely other ballpark?

In a recent news release, the Maastricht Convention Bureau announced they are now utilizing Twitter and Facebook. They also claim that, "worldwide this is the first site of a convention bureau effectively making use of web 2.0 and social media marketing techniques."

Errr...not quite.

In my friend Martin Stoll's latest ranking of DMOs utilizing Twitter, he's tracking over 350 DMOs maintaining accounts. DMAI recently announced that roughly 150 of their DMO members have Facebook accounts. I'm fairly certain at least a few maintain both...and have for months.

Or maybe I'm reading the quote wrong. Maybe the MCB is claiming that they are the first DMO in the world to do it right.

Don't know if they're playing on attending the DMAI Annual Convention...but, if they do, I'm thinking there''ll be a throwdown.

Thanks to my friend Sharon Linton of the Meydenbauer Center for the catch.

Small Town

As John Mellencamp said:

Educated in a small town
Taught to fear Jesus in a small town
Used to daydream in that small town
Another boring romantic, that's me

Yeah, that's me. Raised in a small town and now living in a much bigger town. Like a lot of us.

But there are times when I find myself back in a small town and there is that tinge, that "oh, shit, I'm home" feeling that I had when I returned to my hometown a few weeks ago, swung by the old haunts and caught up with an old friend over a couple drinks too many.

I had that feeling in the early days of this blog as I watched a small town Halloween celebration in Punxsutawney PA. I had that feeling when I walked the streets of Grand Marais MN earlier this year.

And a Twitterer that I saw there (but never met...long story) just tweeted a link to his 1:17 condensation of the 6 minute 4th of July parade there.

There is just something so perfect about a 6 minute parade in a small town.

And I think I wish I had been there...

Are We Really That Unhappy?

Recent study from Prince and Associates reveals that 83% of wealthy people would end their marriages if their finances deteriorated dramatically.

So, what...they're only staying with their mate because of the fiscal hit they'd take if they left?

That's just sad.

Thanks to Iconoculture for the tip.

Blast from My Past

Totally in my own zone as I stepped out of the hotel elevator yesterday in Chicago's North Shore. In front of me were three girls in purple. Kenyon College purple.

"Whoa...Kenyon," I blurted. They turned, smiled and asked, "You know Kenyon?" We were, after all, hundreds of miles from Gambier OH...and Kenyon is not exactly a household world. Except in the world of Swimming, where the men's team has won 29 consecutive Division III National Championships. The women's team has won 22 of the last 25 National Championships.

And when they turned, I saw their team t-shirts. Swimmers... in town for this weekend's TYR Invitational at Northwestern.

"I was recruited to swim at Kenyon," I said. They gave me that fishy look and probably thought it was a pretty cheesey attempt at a pick-up line. "In fact," I continued, "I was your team's first coach, when it was still a club sport before it built enough cred for the College to establish it as a Varsity sport."

Now they knew I was bullshitting them. Until I said, "yea, I coached the team after I quit the men's squad and before Coach Steen took over." Their eyes finally registered recognition, as Jim is still the coach; the rock god of all swim coaches. One of them said that she was sure one of her teammates' mother had been on that first squad, but she didn't know her maiden name.

They smiled broadly. I wished them well. It was one of those totally surreal moments that happen every once in a while on the road.

And remind me why I love this gig.

Backing In to an Accidental Career

My friend and fellow blogger Reyn Bowman (who recently announced his upcoming departure from the helm of the Durham CVB), recently posted on how he got into this crazy business of Destination Marketing.

He said he "backed into it." I think most of us did.

I had spent ten years in radio in the Chicago Metro (yeah...that's me at the mic). When I got caught in a family power struggle between owner and his son at my last station, I was out on the street. And, my hometown CVB took a chance on the kid that certainly didn't know squat about tourism or economic development, but knew marketing. And, I guess, I took a chance on trying something way outside my comfort zone.

The rest...is my history.

How did you back in?