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Wednesday, May 19, 2021

A doubtful week

The week is downhill, in an interesting way. Who else is paying attention to Bill Gates, the last hero with clay feet? How sad that his ego outstrips his common sense. Suddenly we're paying close attention to Melinda Gates for the wise words. She at least is kicking his can to the curb, and has been working on the details for the last couple of years.

I ordered her book, The Moment of Lift, and for more "background understanding, added The Biography of Melinda Gate, by Andrew Stone. The former has not arrived, but the "biography" came yesterday. Andrew Stone is surely a pseudonym; English is less than second language for him, and composition is less than his understanding. I wrote a review, concluding I have been to a rent party with this purchase.

Speaking of moguls, I stumbled on the movie Jobs, and have watched it close to the end. There are several films about the man, and I wonder if any have attempted to burnish his image. I am not interested in the film to augment my understanding of Steve Jobs, but in the coincidence of simultaneously ordering a Square, that little Apple device that processes credit cards on a phone.

In a couple of weeks I hope to need to process cards at the Peninsula Flea, and decided to give the Square a trial run. For all my searching I could not find a headphone jack on my phone. The one tiny opening that might work was not large enough. Later Laura told me that is the reset port.

I called Square and had a nice conversation that concluded in the purchase of a reader for cards, as the operator concluded that Android or not, my phone had no headphone jack. I ordered a reader that wi-fi's to my phone. I'm waiting for it's arrival.

Perusing  the Square shop (called Square Up, which amused me), I saw the little Square was available in two terminals, the headphone type and the charger type. Wondering if the charger type terminal would have worked on my phone, I called the local Apple store, where the device is available.

The "specialist" I talked with could not have been more disinterested. It's so hard to have a conversation with someone who does not give a damn about understanding the problem and discussing solutions. So, I'll just wait for the new reader. I would have preferred reaching through the phone and shaking the dismissive specialist into a clerk with a job. 

And finally, 'splain this one to me, Lucy. Back in my show days, the drill was: I applied to a show with my resume and slides of my work. If accepted I paid the show fee and showed up on the appointed day with my best attitude, to make the show a success for the people who came, the people who put it on, and me. The people who put on the show were responsible for the venue and advertising. I retired in 2003.

Fast forward almost twenty years. I applied to the Peninsula Flea in the usual way, paid my fee and went to my loom to stock up. Suddenly I am receiving emails from a coordinator asking why I am not promoting my work and the show on my Facebook, the show's Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube....

No, no, no, no, no a thousand times to all of the above. Sometimes I wonder not only at the world we are leaving but the people we are leaving it to!

38 comments:

  1. I guess that, just like when people publish a book nowadays, they're expected to do all the promotion for it, not the publisher. Sucks, doesn't it?

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  2. Moguls are a breed unto themselves. Their rise and fall is always interesting. The same thing that drives them usually in one way or another contributes to their fall. I agree, the business model today is quite different and not always in a good way.

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  3. Your statement about the disinterested 'service' person really struck home with me. I like speaking to someone when I have a question or problem. That way I should know what the outcome is. I have had customer representatives who read from a script and don't know any more, tell me I don't have the problem I tell them I have, hang up on me, put me on hold for interminable amounts of time, lied to me to get me off the phone, and condescendently treat me like an idiot. What a way to conduct business.

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  4. straight forward and simple, anything beyond that and I am lost. Especially when it comes to shows. "Cash only" is how I roll. There have not been any shows for the past few years so that may be in the rear view mirror , as we trundle forward into online sites and shops and Etsy, which is becoming so corporate it is not fun anymore.
    Bill gates comes as no surprise. DIL used to work for him 25 years ago or so- power flirt!

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  5. Hari OM
    And there I thought Apple stores were the epitome of customer service. Not that I'd know. Don't touch apples (of any form) with a barge pole. I spew with you at the thought of having to be the promoter of the show (and all others attending)... hateful, but the way of things now. YAM xx

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  6. 'Specialist' stores are so often filled with arrogant know-it-alls. Or so it seems to my know little self.
    Promotion, and particularly self promotion, seems to be the rule now. Something I am not comfortable with. At all. Sadly people have (and continue) died in taking selfies in unusual/unsafe places for just that reason. My grumpy self thinks that this new necessity takes people away from the job at hand as well.

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  7. yes, the square device with the 'charger' thingy will work on your iPhone. that's what we have. actually, we have both. got the earphone plug one first and then the new one in 2019. it worked fine. and yeah, the people putting on the show are responsible for promotion though I'm sure individual artists do their own promoting through their social media accounts but this is the first time I've heard of someone being berated for not doing so. Screw that.

    apparently men are incapable of resisting the attentions of women. must be in their DNA, that Y chromosome, that and they let the little brain take over.

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    1. My question for the "clerk" was, will that charger configuration work in my Android.

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    2. hmmm. I don't remember if that particular Square is just for iPhones. you could call Square and ask them. I wouldn't expect the Apple people to know anything about the Android.

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  8. Oh to talk to a Human Bean!

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  9. No phone jack is an annoying thing. Somebody should mention that at the time of acquisition, but no. I hope you send Apple a strong comment/review about the lack of help. Those products are challenging enough without having to deal with rude idiots. Back in the day when I sold in fairs/fests/shows, the show promoters did all the advertising. Just what do they do for their money now??

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  10. Truth will out. Bill Gates, along with all the tech giants, will discover that their secrets are showing up.

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  11. I've been having some of those same thoughts lately Joann! I read more and more "professional" articles and books that have so many grammar and spelling errors I can't believe they were published. (not that I am without such errors, but I'm not a professional) When I reach out to a sales person or other business type I find only a portion of them seem to know what they are talking about or even care. As far as you promoting your work on social media, well these days people care about the bottom line of the money as opposed to the people. Sorry to sound so negative but I also wonder not only at the world we are leaving but the people we are leaving it to!

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  12. The Gates only interest me as far as their charity work and their support of initiatives to oppose climate breakdown. Other than that, I have no interest in them.

    This obsession with all things internet is crazy. Facebook is currently driving me and a lot of other people nuts because of all the ads that you can no longer delete.

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  13. Hmm, misspelling Melinda's last name on the cover of the book makes me unsurprised at the writer's other issues. Sounds like Mr. Stone wanted to make a quick buck.

    It's very unfortunate that you are expected to do your own publicity for the show. You would think that for a hands-on kind of sale the organizers would tend to follow old-school rules all around.

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  14. There are many shows near me that have the "artists" posting of facebook with things that they will be selling. I actually don't mind it since there are many whose work I have never seen.... and am tempted to go to some of the shows now!!
    If the promoter does things well... the artist's posting gets "tied" to the promoter's events page and if I follow that I get reminders etc.

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  15. Promoting the show is their job, not yours...you are paying, they should be promoting you.

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  16. I am mad/sad about Bill Gates; I thought better of him. Plus, it gives the right wing nut jobs more fodder. Ugh. I can't believe what they're expecting you to do! Way too much effort and time.

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  17. That demand that the artist put aside her art and take on the additional assignment of promoting said art is one reason it's perfectly okay with me that I never found a publisher and probably only 25 people have bought my books. I wrote them because I enjoy writing, not because I wanted to acquire a new career in marketing.
    And hats off to you for fighting your way out of that technological tangle.

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  18. I really wouldn't take part in a show that didn't earn the fee. If you have to do the marketing you may as well rent a popup space and go it alone. Seriously, I would demand a refund.

    As I would for the illiterate"book"!
    Yeah I'm annoyed, can you tell?

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  19. What does one get for the fee then? I guess it's the space. Seems like the people putting on the market should promote it.
    People on the phone when there is a problem are generally worthless. I have xfinity tv/cable, when it's out I never talk to a human. The voice either resets the box, or tells me what I already know, that there is an outage somewhere.

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  20. I listened to the entire audio version of the biography of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson and I came away with the feeling that he was a genius of the first order who was a flawed human being. Not a big surprise. I have not seen the movie. Obviously, his innate abilities did not include interpersonal skills. But, he did indeed change the world we live in.
    Which leads us to your last question- who knows? But there is little to be done about it now. The changes have occurred and will only intensify. Remember when we were promised that computers were going to do everything from save paper to solve the deepest mysteries, to give us more free time?
    Haha!
    Well, not so much.
    I admire you for being able to adapt to the technology you need while refusing to bother with the sort you don't.

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  21. I bought the audio version of Melinda Gates' book when it first came out. Enjoyed it. She is a smart lady. I am so disappointed in what has happened in her life. Mackenzie Scott has done some great things since her divorce. I expect nothing less from Melinda. I am reminded of what happened to my high opinion of Tiger Woods. It crashed. And I lost all interest in watching golf. I hope the philanthropy of the Gates foundation continues.

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  22. Yes, when my last gallery gave up the ghost, so did I. I gave up on Bill Gates, when I learned he stole the ideas for the Mac from Jobs. Then again, I liked that the marriage produced the Foundation and all those good works. Glad she we will be seeing the last of him.
    My hairdresser uses one of those. A great idea. Good for yyou.

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  23. I used to have Brad at the AT&T store to guide me through the technological world. Brad left to create apps and life was never the same again. Recently I found Benji at T-Mobile. What does Benji want to do? Get a job creating apps. He's breaking my heart.

    Love,
    Janie

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  24. The world has changed so much, self promotion is the norm now.

    The Epstein connection to Gates is sickening if true.

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  25. I haven't kept up with the Gates other than to know they're divorcing. I guess feet of clay is a common affliction, and maybe easier if you're rich.

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  26. If one can't spell the surname of their subject on the cover, it speaks volumes of the pages to follow.

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  27. Imagine promoting your work and the show on all those feeds and getting so many orders you can't possibly cope. THAT certainly wouldn't be good for you.
    I hope the show goes well regardless and that you sell plenty.

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  28. I just checked my android phone and it has a headphone jack, at the top where older style phones had antennas.

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  29. Seems to be some interesting commentary going on here. Hope the Gates split does not negatively impact their joint good works. So often it seems individuals who are credited with special abilities on which they obsessively focus seem to have sacrificed development of other aspects of their life, including relationships with people as are most desired and respected. Glad Melinda, as some other wives, is going to have an opportunity to create a new life for herself.

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  30. The people we are leaving it to....now that's the scariest part. Some of them are even worse than us!

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  31. Best of luck with the square! I do like the modern world, but it is so darn complicated.

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  32. Good will has gone the way of the do do bird for many large organizations but now they expect you to be a marketer for them too? Unpaid of course.

    Odd about your android, I know I had to hunt for mine. We need maps for these devices and things the little holies do and don't do.

    XO
    WWW

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  33. Yeah, Gates seems to be another 'charmer'. I can't say I'm wholly surprised.

    Self-promotion through various social media outlets does seem to be the order of the day. I wouldn't enjoy being pressed to do so, however.

    May all go well with Square!

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  34. How tiresome that they actually expected you to do all that promotion and advertising on social media.
    As for Bill, it's pretty disappointing. I expected him to be better than that with all the charity work they did together to help the world.

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