A couple weeks ago I was having a conversation with my dad, because he will soon be in the market for a new TV. His last few TV’s were Sony, and that seems to be his go-to brand when looking at new electronics (cameras, video cameras, gaming systems, etc.). I’ve owned a few Sony products myself, and haven’t been disappointed, but I definitely do some shopping around before I settle.

My dad doesn’t take that approach, and doesn’t plan to when getting a new TV. I told him that he should check out other brands like Vizio, LG, and Samsung because he might be able to get more bang for his buck; Sony can be over priced sometimes. While trying to explain why he should shop around, he seemed very skeptical about the idea, so I simply posed the question “why are you so stuck on Sony?”. His response was not only eye-opening, but made me [again] realize the important thing about a good brand is.

My dad, in just a couple sentences, explained just what a brand should be, based on how his experience has been with Sony products. Many words came out of his response along the lines of: reliable, comfortable, long lasting, makes me happy, and so on. I immediately stopped trying to convince him on other brands, because isn’t this what we look for in a brand? We want something that has a great track record, and makes us feel comfortable.

There are advantages and disadvantages of sticking with just one brand, however, if that brand has been reliable for you, then you’re not exactly seeing the disadvantages of not trying something new. As a business owner, this is what you strive to be for your customers. It’s a package deal. It’s not just about your logo, or how your brochure looks. It’s about how good your products are, and how you connect with your customer base. You always want to know that your brand has been reliable and comfortable to your customers.

So my advice for shopping brands…. it doesn’t hurt to do some research, however, go with what you’re comfortable with. Be selfish. Don’t always worry what others think of a brand that you feel comfortable with. In the long run, nothing beats a reliable brand.

This year’s Superbowl is halfway in the books. Steelers are up 17-7…but that’s not what I’m here to talk about. I’m here to talk about ads! As you may have seen before, we like to talk about Superbowl Ads because it’s a big day for advertising.

Tonight, each 30 second spot will cost 3 million dollars, which is a record level as far as commercials go. As you can see from the title of this post, that’s $100,000 per second. Expensive, to say the least. What we’re wondering, here at Tridea, is whether this is a good investment? A lot can be accomplished with the amount companies are spending on 30 seconds. Of course, nearly 100 million viewers are expected to watch tonight’s broadcast, so some say the cost is justified.

Further, the Superbowl Ads are not only viewed once during the game but are then blogged about all over the internet. So in terms of getting people to see your message, well, it’s tough to beat that exposure. However, I am curious to see how people will react to these companies spending so much money when thousands of jobs are being shed each week.

When all is said and done, NBC will have banked a record $206 million dollars on the Superbowl ads. Could that money have been spent saving people’s jobs? Shoring up an ad buyer’s bottom-line? We’ll have to wait and see.

With the word of Steve Jobs’ medical leave from Apple well-traveled at this point, ten days after the news was announced, it’s time to take a look at what happened and what can be gleaned from this whole rigamarole. (Edit: SEC is now investigating his leave of absence.)

While the general consensus is now very conciliatory toward Jobs’ privacy, the knee-jerk reaction from many was, “What about my stocks/next-gen toys/updated version of Mac OS?” A bit selfish, to be sure, but with Jobs’ position and highly-lauded innovation talents, I can understand this. However, this sentiment didn’t decline with time, along with the level of interest in what was happening to Jobs. As Jobs himself says,

“Unfortunately, the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well…In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June.”

Fact is, guys, a solid and successful company does not rely on one person. This holds true whether the company is made up of 35,000 or three. For those of you who are part of a small team, you’re probably used to wearing a lot of different hats. A broad set of skills is a must for finding success in the small business market–but when one member falls out of the picture for whatever reason, what then?

Take the time to seriously consider this, from your perspective and the rest of the team: if you suddenly found yourself stranded on an island with no method of communication, what would be the impact to current projects, future endeavors, and internal processes? Your answers will help show you the areas lacking team talent overlap. For areas that wouldn’t be affected much by your absence, this is a sign that you need to focus on getting a handle on them–for what if it wasn’t you who were stranded, but the teammate most skilled in that area? Conversely, if you find that the company would be seriously set back on a project because you’re the only one the client has spoken with since day one, this should be a prime indicator that your company’s internal communications needs some work.

Key aspects to think about:

• What methods would your teammates have to access project-relevant files?
• Could communications with a client be picked up by another teammate fairly easily?
• Does your network consist of people who share the specializations you have (graphic design, coding, etc) who teammates could tap into during the interim?
• How would your responsibilities be shared or distributed among the other teammates?

Most important of all, does everyone on your team know the answers to these questions?

While Steve Jobs is Apple’s genius, he is most certainly not the only brick in the foundation that keeps the company steady. For small companies, we must strive to make our foundations solid as well, by strengthening the load we can carry.

I was pointed to this very good presentation on the background of what Obama’s team has done in the social media arena. They were highly successful in getting people engaged with the presidential campaign, so I wanted to post the presentation here. Enjoy:

I love gadgets. I’ve always loved gadgets. Technology is just something I’ve always wanted to learn about, play with, and utilize. And as such, my favorite gadget is the iPhone.

I use it for my RSS feeds, for playing music while on the go, for watching an occasional episode of The Wire when I’m waiting at the DMV.

I use it for making calls, for text messaging, and for emailing on my personal and business accounts. I use it as my camera for recording inspiration, documenting the world around me, and as a visual reminder for reference later on.

I use Shazam to help me figure out what cool song is playing when I don’t know who it is. I use Google Maps to figure out which subway to take when I’m exploring NYC.

I use the clock to wake up myself and my fiancee up in the morning. I use the timer for cooking ALL THE TIME, and on rare occasions, the stopwatch to record times.

So with all the use I get out of my beloved iPhone (which I call “Baby”) you would think I would want to protect it from harm. Yet, after 7 months of ownership, I haven’t gotten around to purchasing a case!

Yeah, I’ve never been a big fan of cases. I like my phones/gadgets to be sleek, stylish, and get in and out of my pockets easily. The iPhone has a sleek profile to it that I haven’t wanted to sully with the added bulk of a case.

However, John took the plunge and purchased the CapsuleRebel from SwitchEasy. In typical John fashion, he sent me the link and told me I should consider it as well. I added one to my shopping cart and almost pulled the trigger before I came to my senses and decided to sleep on it. The next day I decided against the purchase.

A couple of months later, I inquired with John as to how the case was treating him. “I don’t use it anymore,” he said, “I gave it to a friend. It’s too bulky for me.” I patted myself on the back for holding off. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that I still needed something to protect Baby with.

And then, out of the blue, Spoofee.com (my source for deals on the web) comes up with a half-off code for a company that sells a different kind of protective case for the iPhone. The InvisibleSHIELD by Zagg is a scratch resistant film that is applied over the iPhone and protects it from day-to-day wear. It satisfies my desire for protecting my Baby while not making it needlessly bulky and ruining it’s classy look.

So, there’s an invisibleSHIELD on it’s way to my door, and my phone will bask in near-undetectable protection from scratches and damage. Check back here soon and I will post pictures and my thoughts once I’ve installed it!