Standing Out: Seth Godin

After watching a string of commercials during a show, have you ever sat there looking at the television and though, "What were those commercials about?" You just saw them, why can't you remember them? In February 2003, Seth Godin, a blogger and entrepreneur who thinks about digital marketing outlets, gave a talk to TED about standing out. If you have a product that you want to sell, you don't want it to be in one of the commercials that you just forgot.

The problem with the mass marketing approach is that it is pushing "average products for average people" as Seth puts it. If you want your idea to stand out, it needs to be something remarkable, meaning that people actually remark about it.

The key is to sell to the people that are listening, the innovators, because the worst thing you can do is be safe. Seth states, "People who can spread ideas, regardless of what those ideas are, win." No matter how "off the wall" your idea may be, if you can spread that idea around, it will catch on.

Otto Rhowedder invented sliced bread. However, he was too worried about getting the patent as opposed to spreading his idea, so it became a failure. It wasn't until Wonder found a way to spread the idea around that sliced bread became the best thing to compare every other invention against. Silk, a soy milk that doesn't need to be in the refrigerated dairy section, put their product in the refrigerated dairy section. This tripled their sales.

Bike Night in Albany

What: Albany Bike Night
Who: Pacific Northwest Riders
Contact: www.pnwriders.com
Where: Los Taquilas Mexican Restaurant 2525 Santiam Hwy Albany, Ore.
When: Every third Wednesday at 7p.m.

It’s the third Wednesday of the month, approaching the hour of 7 p.m. assuring that the bikes would be pulling into Los Taquilas Mexican Restaurant in Albany, Ore. any minute, and the newly revived Albany Bike Night would be under way. With the gathering starting late in the evening, it ensures that anyone who is interested in joining them for dinner has plenty of time to get there.

The Pacific Northwest Riders are a group that does not believe in discrimination against brands. With the Corvallis Bike Night organizer, Brad Lawrie, owning both a Triumph and a Kawasaki, and other members riding Ducatis, Yamahas, Triumphs and Kawasakis, any bike is welcome. Even if you don’t have a bike, show up in your cage (car).

Brad says that he wanted an opportunity for local riders to meet up and possibly put faces to bikes. This way, when you wave to a fellow rider, you may be waving to a friend. However, when he first started the Albany Bike Night, it just didn’t get the turnout that he was expecting. Another forum member, Jason Wood (hrothgarbike), wanted to start it back up, and moved it to Los Taquilas.

Although there were less bikes in attendance than the Corvallis Bike Night, as rain clouded the forcast, the ones who were there were diehards. Brad rides year round, commuting from Corvallis to Tangent each day on his 2007 Triumph America.

Erik Rowly is also a Triumph rider, commuting year round from Albany to Corvallis on his 2006 Scrambler. He also wears a full body leather riding suit, sweating it out in the summer, but keeping his skin off the road.

If you want to meet some local riders, maybe even throw together a ride and have people that are willing to go with you, you owe it to yourself to go to at least one of the Bike Nights to meet some of the Pacific Northwest Riders. Bring a bike, bring a story, and most importantly, bring yourself.

Brad Lawrie
Organizer of Bike Night

Ducatichick (Anna Garrison)
Regular attendee of Bike Night

ThesomberlainV70 (Erik Rowly)
Regular attendee of Bike Night

The Skewed News View

International news is getting pushed to the side as U.S. news takes up 79 percent of the coverage. The majority of that news coverage is concerning American celebrities, because "covering Brittany is cheaper." In February 2008, Alisa Miller gave a speech concerning the skewed view of the news from the standpoint of America in Monterey, Calif. to the members of TED.

During this same year there was massive flooding in Indonesia, South Korea was promising to dismantle it's nuclear weapons, but news coverage of the death of Anna Nicole Smith trumped all of these other events. The news coverage of her death was 10 times greater than that of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports.

Local news is only touching on about 12 percent of international news, most of that being taken up by news from Iraq. Alisa states, "I know that we can do better, and can we afford not to?"

Modern Zombie Survival

As we are heading into the last half of October, zombie season is quickly coming upon us. Lee LeFever at Commoncraft.com has some excellent ideas as far as tips for survival from his video, "Zombies in Plain English". First of all, you need to watch your back, as anyone may become a zombie, even your beloved uncle Dan. The main ways to recognize a zombie is by their dark eyes, pale skin, off kilter shoulders and limping walk.

Once the zombie has been identified, it is time to make a decision as to whether you want to run or fight. If you decide to run, don't take refuge in your house. Choose a place such as Costco that is fortified and will actually have some rations for you to survive on. You can also run to a higher elevation, as zombies will have tendency to slow down and become brittle in the colder weather.

If you are going to fight, "kill the brain, stop the zombie" as Lee warns us. Use of either decapitation or shooting them with a large caliber bullet in the head are the two best options. Decapitation can be done with an axe, machete or chainsaw. Incendiaries may be used as well, but be warned that a flaming zombie is even more dangerous than a normal one.

Also, once a zombie has bitten you, antiseptic is worthless. Infection is a definite, so if your friend is bitten, it is time to man up, look your friend right in the eyes and kill him. It has been forecast to be a high number of attacks this season, so make sure that you plan your escape route and have provisions ready. It may not hurt to become proficient in the use of a hand weapon of some sort, such as a sword or machete, just to increase your chance for survival. Be wary and keep your eyes peeled for the undead.

The Next Event

The event that I am going to cover is something that I just went to last week. I am going to cover Corvallis Bike Night, put on by the Pacific Northwest Riders. It is held each first Wednesday of the month at American Dream Pizza in downtown Corvallis.

The organizer of the event, Brad Lawrie.

P.J. an attendee.

Dan an attendee and owner of a rare motorcycle selling website.

What kind of people attend this event?
Who organizes the event?
Where is the event held?
When is the next event?
What kind of bikes are going to be there?
Are there any other events that people can attend with this group?

Meet Boon Kruger

Boon Kruger is a stoic individual with a deep commanding voice. He has aspirations of becoming a television anchor or sports broadcaster for ESPN. In order to accomplish this goal, he is currently working as a co-producer of the sports show for KBVR, the Oregon State University television station, having been a reporter for them last year.

Boon feels that he would be great at being a sports reporter, as he has a love for all sports. He participates in football, basketball and baseball to name a few.

He has lived in Albany, Ore. for most of his life, graduating from West Albany High School. Boone is currently participating in the degree partnership program, being dual enrolled at OSU and LBCC. He decided to stay close to home to attend school as it puts less of a financial burden on him.

Boon stated that his dad has been a huge influence in his life. "He has been very supportive and a good role model for me" He feels that his father has taught him good values and the importance of working hard. Boon shares a lot of his beliefs and views of the world with his father. He has also been influenced by friends and his football coach, each having an effect on Boon's life in some positive way.

How Full is "Not Full"?

At a glance:

What: Overflowing classrooms

Where: LBCC campus

Who: From a teacher's and student's perspective

Contact: LBCC Registration office

With more difficulty finding parking spots and fewer seats left in the classrooms, many students are wondering if they are going to fit into their classes. Josh Higgins, an LBCC student has noticed that his calculus class was so full they had run out of chairs. All of the registered students showed up, along with everyone on the wait list and a few people who were just hoping to get into the class.

LBCC has made efforts to place students into classes even if the classes have nothing to do with the student’s major. The reasoning behind this is that students are still able to meet all their credits, allowing them to still get their financial aid and be eligible for early registration. Karelia Stetz-Waters, Technical Writing instructor, said that during In-Service week and the first week of school, she received emails informing her of classes that had some possible space in them. This way she could pass this information on to students who may still be looking for a credit.

Karelia says that from a teacher’s standpoint, they have had to be a little stricter with dropping no-show students so there is room in class. She has only used the teacher's power to drop students once or twice in seven years of teaching. In one class alone this term, she is dropping four students who hadn’t shown up for the first two days. She had a student waiting in the wings that really needed to get into that class. Karelia took the student’s name and number and can now call her to deliver the news that she can take that class.

Despite the fact that classes are full, just hang in there. The administration and the faculty are trying to make room for you. Be willing to keep an open mind and give Underwater Basket Weaving a try. You never know when that skill may come in handy.

Josh Higgins

LBCC student

Karelia Stetz-Waters

Technical Writing Instructor

LBCC Writing Department