Saturday, April 11, 2015

Spring Showtime

So we are about to enter the late spring show/conference season and there are three that I have marked on my calendar for importance and impact.  Events are crucial for networking and education, and if you are in the business, you need to make sure you are keeping up.  Coming up on the 29th of this month is the 28th Annual Mid-Atlantic Glass Expo in Maryland.  This event is always packed with the many from the region and rarely disappoints.  Then 2 days later is one that I simply cannot wait to experience.  I am getting to attend the iconic Garibaldi Glass Day on May 1st.  Being a glass geek, I love to see and learn new things.  What Garibaldi Glass does every year is simply brilliant, laying themselves out there to educate the industry and bringing so many stakeholders under one roof.  Being there in person has me excited beyond belief.  The final event on the schedule is the annual AIA Expo, this year in Atlanta.  While I pick on our industries over the top obsession for architects and their approval (we are like that needy child, desperate to catch the attention of the distracted parent when it comes to our need for love from architects) there is value to this show, because of the networking and new products usually on display. 

In the end, making shows or conferences a part of your yearly marketing budget is a must, and that budget absolutely must include GlassBuild America, as if you are not attending/participating in that show you are truly doing yourself and your business a disservice.  Obviously I’ll have a lot more to say on that event as we get closer, but it does boggle my mind when people skip it and then wonder why their competitors are gaining or passing them.

Elsewhere…

--  Heads up with your e-mail folks.  A very nasty and tricky virus is out there.  Basically you will get an e-mail from a recognizable friend of yours.  It will start off as “Hi, how are you and then ask, “have you seen this” and leave a link.  And that’s it.  That link is a virus to add to your computer.  And this virus is so tricky that you truly think it’s from a friend.  In addition another version has a link telling you to review “an invoice” and that too is bad.  Needless to say you have to be on guard with every e-mail now a days.  If it looks wrong or different it probably is…

--  Tremendous issue of Glass Magazine is out now, and once again the great team led by Katy Devlin knocked it out of the park.  And as I do each month, time to give props to the best ad of the issue and this one was a no brainer.  The new ad from General Glass International (GGI) was spectacular.  Just stopped me in my tracks.  That is what you want from a magazine ad that is for sure.  Congrats to all involved on that one.

--  Also congratulations to Rick Hamlin of Cupples on his new post as President.  Rick is a fantastic person and a true gentleman.  Rick for the last few years has moderated the Glazing Executive Forum’s popular “State of the Industry” panel with great care and style.  So happy that he’s continuing to be recognized for his talents.

--  Last this week, book review… I just finished “Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo!” by Nicolas Carlson.  It was solid, not quite as good as the last few books I have read, but if you want to get a feel for the way billion dollar companies make decisions, most of them bad, then you’ll want to read this.  There’s also great inside insight on the configuration of Boards and volatile shareholders and that insight is pretty enlightening. 

LINKS of the WEEK

Divorce papers delivered via Facebook?

Brilliant work by Burger King here.  Smart!

Watch the Iced Tea usage, it could be very bad for you.

VIDEO of the WEEK

Could this be real?  Dog and Child in opposite positions.  And these dash cams are really big in certain parts of the world.


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