Crossing the Globe, from Austin to Cambridge to Gumbuzi, to Dig In to Experience Design

I find that a great part of the information I have was acquired by looking up something and finding something else on the way.
—Franklin P. Adams

Dear readers and friends, crowd around the table. Having you join our luncheon once again is the best find of all. I’ve invited new friends and old to share their fresh perspective. I hope you’ll enjoy getting to know them—leave them a comment, and come on back to share your thoughts around the Maximum Customer Experience Round Table!

Starting your lunch with a nice light Screwdriver? Be sure to read Watered Down from Chris Houchens at Shotgun Concepts first, or you’re likely to find your wallet and your drink lighter than usual. Minimum customer experience strikes again!

Meeting up at the Algonquin Hotel for our Round Table would be quite a salty experience, but not nearly as spicy as the Cambridge, Massachusetts East Coast Grill’s Hotter Than Hell Night from Becky McCray at Small Biz Survival. “People drive for miles and miles to get there… It’s an experience.” I love the company story, too, and one phrase stuck out that I’ve committed to memory: relentlessly friendly. Hell, yes! We need more of that.

If you need even more inspiring ideas for creating memorable Experiences, check out Fun Is Contagious. Ben McConnell at Church of the Customer Blog gives a quick rundown of the Alamo Draft House in Austin, Texas, but mostly lets them speak for themselves. And they…rock, sort of.

The rumors of Harley Davidson’s death have been greatly exaggerated, and they’re having a lot of fun suggesting where you might file their obituary. Yes, you can be irreverent, if it matches your company like it matches with Harley. Their perfectly targeted ad via Steve Portigal at All This ChittahChattah.

Words are funny things, with immense power to shape how people think of you. I speak Spanish fairly fluently, and it’s been a part of me for most of my life. When I recently decided to dive into French in earnest I began to notice little things about words, that prickled my conscience and tickled my Experience Designer’s brain. The coolest 7 min., 19 sec. of your day will be spent listening to Robert Krulwich’s words on why Shakespeare Had Roses All Wrong at NPR. (Don’t bother reading the text, just enjoy the podcast.) Come back after you listen and tell me you still don’t understand why I say your name is the most important ad you’ll ever write.

Last word: Should social media be part of your advertising strategy? Does it add to the Customer Experience enough to be worth your time and your dollars? Don’t decide until you read The Emperor’s New Podcast by Bob Hoffman at The Ad Contrarian, where he isn’t so much contrary as a mile ahead of the curve. And man, does he know how to have fun with his commenters.  

It’s a good thing Franklin P. Adams, founder of the Algonquin Round Table and provider of the quotation we started today’s fun with, wasn’t around for web 2.0. I’m sure he’d lose many hours in looking up one thing and finding something else on the way, as I enjoyed doing for this post.

Let’s do lunch again soon!

Love ‘em? Hate ‘em? Learn something fantastic as you clicked around? Think I missed the best one of the week? Please share in the comments!

Grow and be well,

Kelly Erickson

If you’re going to write, don’t pretend to write down. It’s going to be the best you can do, and it’s the fact that it’s the best you can do that kills you.
—Dorothy Parker

Previously, Mrs. Erickson and the Vision Circle (that’s you) entertained:

Announcing the Round Table

Commandos, Tweets, The Onion, and Google—Yes!

Tell Me a Story…

Your Big Mouth and Other Biting (Wit)

Misery, Money, Music