Archives for 2009

Photo of the day: Elevator in Use By Peabody Ducks

May 15, 2009 by Whitney Hess 1 Comment

Talk about being on brand. The Peabody Hotel never misses a beat when it comes to their world-renowned ducks. This is the sign they put in front of the center elevator just before the March of the Ducks. It’s so freakin’ cute and something you’d never see anywhere else that I just had to share. [Keep Reading…]

Photo of the day: You must be in one of the first five cars

May 14, 2009 by Whitney Hess 9 Comments

If you’ve ever ridden the 1/2/3 line on the NYC subway, you’ve probably seen one of these signs: Both the 145th St stop and the South Ferry stop have shorter platforms than the rest of the stations. That means that unless you’re in one of the first five cars, you won’t be able to exit [Keep Reading…]

Your target market cannot be everyone

May 14, 2009 by Whitney Hess 19 Comments

One of the first things I ask prospective clients is to specify their target audiences. Nine times out of ten they’re sure to respond, “We want to appeal to everyone!” I give the same response to them all: Try to make your product for everyone and you’ll appeal to no one. If a company doesn’t [Keep Reading…]

Photo of the day: Accommodating large parties

May 13, 2009 by Whitney Hess 8 Comments

While at the IA Summit in Memphis in March, a large group of us went out to dinner at The Majestic Grille. When I say a large group, I mean 60 people. We were split up at a bunch of tables, and I ended up at a table of ten. We all ordered drinks and [Keep Reading…]

Twitter’s Most Moronic Change: Removing @ Reply Settings

May 12, 2009 by Whitney Hess 84 Comments

I’m furious. Absolutely astounded and ready to scream. Why? Because Twitter just announced a drastic change to their service that will forever affect how people interact with the stream. They have effectively removed all discoverability of new people to follow and connect with, thereby destroying the very element that made Twitter the powerful networking tool [Keep Reading…]

Photo of the day: Cigarette vending machine

May 12, 2009 by Whitney Hess 11 Comments

On a recent trip to Pittsburgh, I passed this cigarette vending machine when I went to the restroom at Finnegan’s Wake (one of my favorite Irish pubs in town). It took me by surprise because they’ve been illegal in New York City for almost 20 years. I remember playing with the knobs as a little [Keep Reading…]

Being a consultant is like being an actor

May 12, 2009 by Whitney Hess 4 Comments

Last August, I quit my full-time job to become an independent consultant. Best professional decision I’ve ever made. But let me tell you the truth: it isn’t for everyone. Recently I was contemplating how to convey the complexities of consulting to people who are considering a career change (that’s a lot of Cs!). Suddenly it [Keep Reading…]

This email is bloggable

May 12, 2009 by Whitney Hess 2 Comments

Last month I got an email from Jonathan Berger, whom I had met briefly at NY Tech Meetup several months back. He just launched an online vintage marketplace called Market Publique and wanted to spread the news (I’ve already bought two items from it and it’s actually pretty rad). I get a lot of emails [Keep Reading…]

A blogger’s worst nightmare

May 11, 2009 by Whitney Hess 6 Comments

When you hit Save Draft and you get this message: WordPress Failure Notice: Your attempt to edit this post has failed. Please try again. Luckily for me, when I hit the Back button I discovered that WordPress had auto-saved the draft and none of my edits were lost. Still, perhaps they should consider using a [Keep Reading…]

Photo of the day: Elvis had cheap gas

May 11, 2009 by Whitney Hess 2 Comments

Elvis’s Automobile Museum at Graceland is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. More than 50 vintage cars in absolutely pristine condition. If you ever find yourself in Memphis, the cars and the house are not to be missed. Among the cars was this old Tokheim gas pump from what must have been the [Keep Reading…]