Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

Steve Goodman

Maybe it was because I grew up in the shadow of the Windy City...but I'd like to think that my love of Steve Goodman came from more than that. But, it was certainly his Chicago-centric songs and sense of humor that attracted me...and tens of thousands of others.

Maybe it was because he is one of only two contemporary musicians that performed a shout out to my hometown of Kankakee (bet only my friend Tom Teuber can name the other). But, I think it was the wry smile and the supressed giggle whenever he performed.

We lost Steve on this day 27 years ago at the age of 36. "Cool Hand Leuk" he used to call himself, mocking the disease that robbed us all of this amazing talent. Like Otis Redding, I can only imagine the songs and magic he could have created with a little more time on terra firma.

There are so many, and as the baseball season winds down, the obligatory "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request" comes to mind.

But I so prefer "The Lincoln Park Pirates" for this Music Friday, which I remember playing for one of my daughters as we scoured Chicago neighborhoods for her new crib a few years ago. She chose Wicker Park...but not because of the song.

I think.

The Most Popular of the Past Five Years

I started this blog five years ago today. My first post got two views. Today, they get more.

But it's interesting what moves people to share my blog with their friends.

Not surprisingly, one of the most viewed posts had nothing to do with the industry I blog upon...but my thoughts upon dropping my youngest daughter off at college.

My thoughts on the 2007 passing of Dan Fogelberg was another magnet. I got a lotta action on a post about TSA...but I think it's because the image showed a women hooking her bra. Likewise, another post scored high because of the image of a buff guy. Hmmm, should I start adding images of skin regardless of the topic?

One of my rants that could be a business for somebody was another winner (but I haven't seen the beta yet).

One of my Air Laws hit a nerve...as Number 13 chastised those that bogart power sources in airports (but I woulda thought it would be Air Law 1).

I opined on the state of convention food. A lot of people shared that one.

But the one that got the most page views over the past five years was when I went off on a TSA proposal that, during the last 60 minutes of flight, would have forced us all to put away our books and computers so the flight attendants could see our laps.

Guess I need to go off on TSA more often...

Loving Where You Live

There are those towns in America that get a bad rap. And, I refuse to list them...because, in my job, I've been to many of them. And, guess what? I like every one of them.

As I told the assembled at the Fargo-Moorhead CVB Annual Breakfast yesterday, it's because these towns always exceeded my expectation. As Fargo did years ago for me. And, because of that, I always look forward to my visits.

Following my presentation, the CVB presented a number of awards to area individuals and organizations that advanced the destination in a number of ways. One was Alexander Wagner, a professor at North Dakota State University that had assisted in bringing the International Conference on Discrete Simulation of Fluid Dynamics to Fargo. A group that has, over the past 20 years, met in such destinations as Beijing, Geneva, Kyoto, Nice and Oxford. Last year, they were in Rome.

When Alexander got up to accept his award, he told the crowd that, to his international colleagues, Fargo was seen as an "exotic" destination. And, they're still talking about their visit in glowing terms to their friends.

My favorite part of his speech, however, was when he playfully chastised the crowd for not always realizing what a fabulous community Fargo-Moorhead is. He explained that he could have moved anywhere when he left Germany. He chose Fargo for its beauty...and for how wonderfully the air smelled. Yes...sometimes it is the simplest of things. And yet, the most important.

We all need an Alexander Wagner in our communities to remind us of just how cool our town is.

Thanks to Cole and the gang at the FMCVB. It was a great morning!

Bill Geist: Father of the Bride

Sunday is typically the day when this blog experiences the fewest views of the week. Which isn't surprising, as I rarely post on Sunday and you should have better things to do. So why did this Sunday see one of the highest numbers of visitors ever in almost 5 years? Could I have really struck such a chord in my presentation at the International Downtown Conference that morning?

No...that would be hubris talking. Instead, it was because the "other" Bill Geist (the one on CBS Sunday Morning) nailed one of those segments that rang so true to so many...driving viewers to Google to find out more or see it again. And, in doing so, hundreds found me, too.

My eldest daughter was married the weekend after 9/11, ten years ago this month. I relived some of the same sentiments as I watched Bill's segment online yesterday, remembering that surrealistic time when everything about our world had changed. And, yet...it hadn't, as here were two people getting married four days after the attack on America.

We Bills have several things in common. Both of us began our careers in suburban Chicago media. We both have enjoyed success with segments on top-rated TV programs (he national, me local). We're both authors. And we both have daughters named Elizabeth (though, his goes by Libby while mine prefers Liz).

He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame that I claim as mine. We've never met (though we occasionally e each other). And, yet, like most fathers of brides, I feel I know him very well. As do the millions that welcome him into their homes every Sunday. And, those who watched him as he watched his daughter get married.

Congratulations Bill (and Libby)...and thanks for sharing your lives with us.

Trying Something Different

At the risk of sounding like a motivational speaker, you should really try something different this week. Something outside your industry, your circle of friends or your comfort zone. As long as it doesn't put you in serious danger, fresh experience is what life's all about.

This marvelous gig with which I've been blessed puts me in a position to present and network at a lot of industry conferences. But they are almost always tourism conferences.

Until this weekend...when I presented at the International Downtown Association annual convention in fabulous Charlotte. And I scored a two-fer in my "try something new" mantra, as the presentation was completely new, customized for an audience I've never spoken to before. But, better yet...I learned a ton, sitting in on other sessions covering a world that is both parallel to Destination Marketing yet using significantly different tools and tactics.

Thanks to Bellevue Downtown Association's Leslie Lloyd and everybody at the IDA conference for welcoming me in your world. The work you do on behalf of our destinations is crucial and I have a new respect and admiration for you all.

And, I gotta do that "new and different thing" more often. You should too.

Love Has No Pride

While it's not her best performamce of this classic...there is simply something so cool in the harmonies that power this appearance at the 25th Anniversary of the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Concert at Madison Square Garden. Backed by David Crosby and Graham Nash, this version of "Love Has No Pride" haunts.

And it merits a "Music Friday" feature.

Do Online Reviews Render Brands Irrelevent?

It's a fascinating concept from Stik.com's Nathan Labenz on the gigaom blog.

Basing his premise on an article by Umair Haque, he shares a chilling thought: Brands succeed best in the absence of information. The internet (and consumer review sites in particular) offers a flood of information. Thus, are brands nothing but sinking sand?

As Nathan says, "People are talking about brands on social media sites in ways that brand managers can’t control and often can’t even detect." He then offers up an interesting dilemma. Take a hotel chain that doesn't enjoy the benefit of an overarching image of quality that a Marriott or Hyatt command. There will be hotels in the chain that get 5 star reviews. There will be hotels in the chain that get 2 star reviews.

There goes the brand...even though it is likely that only a handful of outliers are screwing it up for the others. Best Western has wrestled with this conundrum for years...resulting in their recent launch of Best Western Premier. And, regardless of (or maybe because of) the chain's schitzophrenic brand identity...the Premier hotels are simply amazing. And, it is a cool move by a smart brand.

How are reviews causing disruption with your brand identity? Probably more than you'd care to admit.

And, thanks to Dolly Bhasin for the catch!

Ooops...Someone Did it Again

They got this cool idea to rename themselves. And, then, they announced it to the world. And, then, they realized that they hadn't bothered to secure the Twitter handle.

Oh...it gets worse. The person that does own the Twitter handle uses his platform to talk about dope and his ex-girlfriend.

Lest you think we're talking about a clueless little start-up here, we're not. This is what befell Netflix this week.

Today, it's way more than just securing a URL for a name change...it's grabbing handles on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Foursquare, Scvngr and every other Social Media site that has a glint of opportunity to it.

And then, Some Comments Give Us Pause...

Often, the online comments to a news story exude a degree of clarity that today's reporter can't (or won't) provide. Sometimes, those online comments show the stunning ignorance of today's populace.

And sometimes, they just plain sting.

For your consideration, a comment to a story that the Champaign IL City Council has reaffirmed its support for its County's Destination Marketing Organization in light of neighboring Urbana's ham-handed abandonment:

"CVBs are dinosaurs. The council should have surveyed several trade show managers before making its decision -- the response would surprise them. Trade show managers no longer need CVBs in order to do their research. And they are smart enough to know that CVBs are biased emissaries and take that into account when solicited."

While I can cite a lot of professional meeting and trade show planners that rely completely on DMOs...the words of this post make me pause.

They should make DMOpros pause too...

Lowell George

It's so like him to walk onto the stage late...but Lowell George was an amazing force of musical nature. Taken too soon at the age of 34, he headed the outfit known as Little Feat.

This rendition of "All That You Dream" smokes. And seems a perfect offering on this Music Friday.