Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

You Are Free to Use Your Mobile...Kinda

The FAA has finally made official what it has been hinting over the past few months. Use of small mobile devices will be permitted onboard commercial flights during taxi, take-off and landings. Laptops will still be verboten at altitudes under 10,000 feet.

But don't go whipping out those iPhones and iPads quite yet, boys and girls. While the FAA is down with the concept, each of the airlines will now need to prove to the agency that their fleet can withstand the increased bombardment of radio interference to which their planes will now be subjected.

The FAA expects most airlines to be compliant (and allow mobile device use) by year's end.

And, HealthCare.gov was supposed to work on October 1.

I won't be holding my breath.

Pranking Smart

Visit Indy has always had one of the most creative video strategies out there. St. Elmos is one of my all time favorite restaurants.

Put the two together (with the mascots of the Pacers, Colts and Indians)...and you've got the makings of a great Halloween season prank. And be sure to scroll down to also watch Hugh Jackman and Sugar Ray Leonard sample St. Elmo's amazing Cocktail Sauce (which is smartly available for purchase...unlike Taco John's Potato Ole seasoning).

So...what prank are you planning for tomorrow?

The Revenge of the Passenger

The majority of today's airlines make it tougher and tougher for their customers to like them. They know we have to fly...and, outside of the modest comforts that elite fliers receive, they find increasing ways to make our travels miserable.

And, more expensive.

Given the cost of changing a ticket, there are often times when eating a flight makes more sense. And, according to Chris Elliott, it's happening more and more.

What is more telling than consumers learning the game is some of the comments that the smarter ones among us offer up:

“Why should I spend any of my precious time on hold to cancel the ticket when I get absolutely nothing out of it? To do the airline a favor? Do you think they would do me any favors?”

"I checked in and picked my seat on the flight I wasn’t going to make, and confirmed it. That way, they couldn’t resell my seat."

Revenge of the Passenger indeed.

There will come a time when an airline will see the opportunity to emerge as a consumer-focused carrier. The biggest question is whether those of us that suffer at the hands of today's carriers will have already sworn off air travel all together.

Marking Their Territory

Why some of us are drawn to certain professions is often a mystery. Not for artists, so much. But, what is it that makes us want to be Destination Marketing Professionals, Hoteliers, Restaurateurs and the like? Is it an innate desire to be in service to others? To make them smile? To help build memories that last a lifetime? Probably.

So what is it that draws the men and women who crisscross this country, spray paint can in hand, working for Diggers' Hotline?

It must be channelling their inner alpha male dog that just must mark everything he sees.

Including beautifully coordinated and weathered flagstone when a couple of orange flags would have done just fine.

Thanks a lot, Sparky.

Halloween Mummies

We missed these guys last week in Madison, and we're kicking ourselves.

The return of a horn-based R&B Funk band...with dirty lyrics? Hell yeah.

As a lot of y'all are celebrating Halloween a little early, we offer up Here Come the Mummies on this Music Friday.

And, yes...it's NSFW.

 

That's One

The practice of awarding 11th place participation ribbons has always burned my butt. While I understand the concept of boosting a child's self-esteem by not letting them think they are losers, a little reality goes a long way.

My first grade teacher couldn't handle me...so the school punted and packed me off to the second grade. In November.

Instantly, I went from head of the class to runt. And, a runt that had 8 Crayolas the size of my thumb on my first day in my new classroom when everyone else had graduated to 64 with a sharpener. You can imagine what the result of my colorization of a Native American head dress looked like compared to my classmates' masterpieces on the wall.

The next day, it was a handwriting test. Again, all of our efforts were posted on the wall. Chet Klimas got an A+. I got a D-.

I vowed that day that I was gonna get an A and beat Chet out as the handwriting king of Mrs. Clark's 2nd Grade. And, by the end of the year, I did. And, Chet and I became friends.

My point is that being forced to realize that you're not perfect is critical to winning. My friend Jon Schmeider (Huddle Up Group) recently opined in his weekly e-mail about his fears for a generation that doesn't appear to value competition (click on "The Inclusive Mentality" here). It's a chilling read.

Today comes word that a Texas Football Program has announced that it will no longer award ribbons for participation. In a statement, KYA Football said that "giving participation medals or trophies isn’t sending our children the right message. Life does not give you a participation job or medal. Life makes you earn everything you get."

Hell. Yeah.

Can we all return to reality now?

I Love This Industry

Travel and Tourism can be a cutthroat business...and, at the same time, the most sharing culture in the world.

And, the most caring.

In most industries, a competitor's tragedy is an open invitation to poach. In Tourism...not so much.

Which is why I so love this industry.

Check out this video...featuring 20 State Tourism Directors urging consumers to visit Colorado.

Yeah.

It's Not Obama...it's the King, the Colonel, Ronald and Wendy

If we're going to point a finger (because that's what Americans have de-evolved to), it should be toward the fast food establishment.

So suggests my friend Reyn Bowman in a fascinating blog on how corporations failing to charge consumers what it costs to deliver a product (which includes paying a living wage) is at the heart of how broken the system has become.

What was that old oil commercial line..."You can pay me now or you can pay me later?"

I'd so rather pay 68 cents more for a burger than give it (and more) to the government.

Karla DeVito

Best known as the foil in Meat Loaf's classic "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" (and this is the best ever video of the song), Karla DeVito is one of those rare talents that inexplicably never broke through.

Partly because there was a weird "one female per playlist" thing going on in mid-80s radio (and Pat Benatar kinda beat her to the punch). Partly because she came from musical theatre (as did Meat) and her somewhat over-the-top performances didn't necessarily jibe with the sensibilities of "true" rock critics. And, she married Robbie Benson...and most people said WTF.

Kind of a cred killer...but, hey, love is love (and, truth be told, he's a lot cooler today than he was then).

Sadly, there are so many unheard Karla songs that deserve attention. On this Music Friday, we offer up one of her best, as she covers Jim Steinman's "Heaven Can Wait."

Through a Different Lens

A few weeks ago, I was traveling on a Sunday afternoon for a Monday client meeting. During the layover at DTW, I wanted to check on the progress of my Green Bay Packers as they battled the Cincinatti Bengals in the Queen City.

Usually, the NFL Mobile App offers up the chance to listen to the radio play-by-play from both the host and visitor's broadcast team. For some reason, the Green Bay feed was unavailable, so I clicked on the Home Team crew.

OMG...these guys were horrible, interjecting snide comments about the Packers' play and overly praising their own players. I mean, it was probably the most over-the-top, unprofessionally biased account of a professional football game that I ev......

Oh, wait. Is that what opposing fans think of the Packers play-by-play crew? Certainly not, I thought. Our guys are totally professional and would nev....

Oh, hell...of course they do.

Just a cautionary tale of believing that everyone reporting sports, news or the local hog prices is telling it to you straight.

Everyone has their own lens...and most of us gravitate to the lens that is less challenging.

Try this for the next week...listen to the other side. And realize how biased your side must also sound...