Dreams and Dremaing Big

With goal setting past me at this point, seeing that I don’t keep them very well I have moved on to making sure I at the very least attempt my dreams. Keeping up with my personal life lately has been a roller coaster that even my wife cannot figure out. One day I am saving the world with Rock For Hunger, another I am leading a revolt for job seekers and Gen-Y. Tomorrow I am running a Marketing Company that has serious dollar implications involved. Then comes the studio work and the music. Oh and did I mention that I also pull a 9-5 to survive?

Wearing so many hats, it is hard to keep focus and determine what hat to wear at one given time. I was even called an over-promiser and under-deliver this week. Damn. In taking a look back now, maybe I have, maybe I haven’t. In certain aspects, yes I have under produced. This being in my own personal company and my musical aspirations. I think that I have over-performed in pulling weight in Rock For Hunger and the 9-5.

So to get back to dreams. What do I want to accomplish when push comes to shove? Where is all this hard work taking me to? Am I happy with where it is going?

I’m pretty happy. Great wife and family. Bills paid, no more debt. Good (not great) 9-5. What is missing? I think what is missing is that fire, that desire to push harder everyday to get what it is that I want out of life in the end. That is to be happy, travel and have quality time for myself and my family.

Chris and I have decided this week that we are going to start realizing our dreams. We have committed to a new project that will encompass our lives in the coming months and hopefully years to come. Details on the project won’t be revealed until this weekend when we make it official. I can say that it involves all the ingredients that are encompassed in my dreams. Travel, family and changing the world.

It takes a lot to change your mentality from the traditional 9-5, dinner, tv and sleep to pursuing something that you believe in so much that you are willing to sacrifice and make a commitment to something that is bigger than you and will have a great impact on your future, your career, the lives of others and your life in general. And hey, if it has to do with Gen-Y entitlement and me wanting to be the boss of my life, then so be it. I am ready to accept the responsibility of my life in my own hands.

Dreams. This is the power of life. Dreams make for marketing plans, big studio movies, comeback albums, open social, new job opportunities, new homes and other endeavors. It’s time for you to dream, get that new idea and make it happen. Even if it means going out of your comfort zone.

Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

-g-ro

YPulse, Stephen Colbert and Generation Me

YPulse is quickly becoming a great resource for me and keeping up with teen and college marketing. Although it has been a second or 2 since I have been through, I walked in today and found out some great stuff that I had to pass on.

First has to do with this whole ABC and Facebook partnership. Looks like ABC will have an application, widget what have you that will keep you in the loop on election information. Sounds good, but what person on Facebook wants to get their information from the robots on ABC News? YPulse responds with:

“Given Stephen Colbert's popularity on Facebook, I'm kind of surprised they didn't partner with Comedy Central. Maybe they could have created an app that was both funny and informative. Given Stephen Colbert's popularity on Facebook, I'm kind of surprised they didn't partner with Comedy Central. Maybe they could have created an app that was both funny and informative.”

I agree with going in a direction that already has a captive audience in an already closed social network. The Stephen Colbert for President group has over a million members (actually 1,509,443 members) and is growing despite South Carolina having shot down the dream before it got started.

Another dropped ball by the front runners of the social networking takeover. (Still unsure of how I like this Beacon thing though.)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next to note is the upcoming YPulse College Mashup Conference. It is going down from January 31^st through February 1^st in Santa Monica, CA. Speakers are to include:

Stephen Friedman (GM of mtvU)

Ricky Van Veen (co-founder and editor-in-chief of Collegehumor.com)

Jean Twenge, author of Generation Me

Career expert Penelope Trunk (Brazen Careerist)

College music expert Graham MacRae from Warner Bros. Records

GOOD Magazine publisher Ben Goldhirsh

And so many more

Get the full scoop at YPulse.

Any sponsors out there who wanna lend a hand in getting me out there to cover the event, be sure and let me know!!

-g-ro

60 Minutes of Disaster. Millennial Report Part 1

Last week a segment aired on 60 minutes that featured professionals and millennial representatives

speaking on our work habits. I waited to post this until I felt comfortable discussing it and getting backlash from people and sites that I read everyday and respect. But the madness has to stop. Not everyone works in NY and DC. Not every kid graduating college is getting a $100,000 consulting job.

I believe that the piece mislead the general public on how we work. I have expressed this before to many peers and industry folks but I believe that some of the myth are true, but it is in very extreme cases. The problem though is that these cases are the ones that hit the mainstream and make headlines.

What are these problems you ask?

1. Laziness
2. Helicopter parents
3. Need too much time off
4. In need of praise for every task including the small ones
5. No need for business attire
6. Lack of work ethic
7. No respect for elders and management
8. There are more and they follow the same guidelines

Below are my responses, albeit opinionated, and some great articles from Employee Evolution, Penelope Trunk, Rebecca Thorman, and my sister from another office (or cube), Rosie.

Ok, I for one can state that we aren’t lazy; we just don’t want to be bothered with busy work. Give me something that has meaning, I want to make a difference in the company and in the world. To move an object from point A to point B with no inherent purpose other than keeping us busy while on the clock is absurd. How about trying to get more business through the door so that we don’t have these downtimes? Up that marketing budget fella.

Helicopter parents? Are you kidding? If this is really happening, why would you hire them anyways? If they need mommy to hold their hand at the interview, which I’m sure they don’t (another exaggeration) then why would you entrust them with a nice salary, window office and important clients that mean big bucks for the company. Instead just say thanks for coming and get a kid who can Go Get without the hand holding.

Who the hell actually has mommy call the office to negotiate salaries? Maybe it’s a NY and DC thing. In Florida we handle business ourselves, with coaching and guidance form our parents. That’s what they are there for, right?

Lack and work ethic and time off goes in the same category. We work smarter, not harder. It’s not my fault that I can manipulate a computer to get my day accomplished in 4 hours and it takes someone else 8-10. I bust ass every morning to meet clients needs, the needs of sales reps in the office and that of my boss. If my task list is done before lunch, why not go home and start that company that has been on your shoulder for some time now? If there is work to be done, then we do it. Checking Fantasy Reports is a reward for keeping our data in line, clients happy and revenue flowing.

Business attire. I work in an office for the 9-5 grind. I never leave my desk, nevermind the office (aside for lunch whether good or bad). If I am starring at a computer screen and yapping someone’s ear off on the phone, why can’t I do this in jeans and flip flops? Give me 3 good reasons, I bet you can’t. And please tell me that the 3 piece that you had dry cleaned is comfy in your crappy corporate desk chair. It’s not, not even if its Armani!

The praise thing. I like it, not going to lie. But it’s more to understand if I am doing things in the right direction. If I am not, tell me I suck too.

No respect for elders and co-workers. Not that we don’t respect you, we just reciprocate what you throw our way. If you're an ass and want to halt my development, learning and monetary climb than I am going to be an ass right back. See ya when I get that promotion and you’re still in cubicle 365.

All jokes aside, we want to embrace our elders. There is no better learning tool than someone who has been there before us and been through the ropes. Even though times have changed we can always learn a thing or 2, so remember that when the punk kid asks you a dumb question, we only want to learn.

Job hopping. This is not a millennial problem; this is an everyone problem (we are just more vocal about it). If my job sucks, I’m going to find something better. That’s why companies spend thousands of dollars every quarter on job boards pumping their positions. They are selling better opportunities to us at every corner. How can you fault someone for bettering their environment?

This concludes Part 1. I still haven't touched on entitlement and the entrepreneur spirit of Gen-Y. Man, I'm just getting started today!!

Jay-Z, Viral Marketing and Local Bands

This is part 2 from Wednesday’s post on Jay-Z and his newest release, American Gangster. After thinking about what Jay did in efforts to market his release with that of the movie of the same name I thought about how local and indie bands could jump on this promotional strategy.

1.Use local events as selling points. Quick example: Release a short EP loosely based around the Florida Music Festival and use Axis Magazine to ride the coattails of this festival. Everytime someone searches for FMF, use some creative search marketing to get your new album to rank high in the Search Engines. Create a new Myspace page with keywords in the title and URL, create short commercials on YouTube, have Craigslist postings selling the CD and even asking for volunteers to help sell it or pass it out at the Festival. Create events for its release on every platform there is. Then, once you have dominated the search rankings, you will leave Axis no other choice but to throw an article your way about the album, its marketing, hopefully your showcase in the festival and even an album review. Now you are getting the exposure of playing in a great festival, the press that goes with the mad being distributed to everyone in attendance, and everyone online who wants more info on the festival.

2.Use holidays to your advantage. Create events around holidays and make them an event instead of just another show. Halloween is obviously easy as costume parties are great. Make it memorable so the casual bar hopper remembers your band and what you did on that holiday. Having an Easter Bunny mascot hanging out chocolates with your band’s name on the wrapper, Special Green CD’s on St Patty’s Day, having a retirement group do a dance video of one of your songs to promote on YouTube for Veteran’s Day. Get creative and create something with a lasting impression.

3.Incorporate local business. Writing a song about a favorite hang out, bar, restaurant or store can get the establishment involved in the promotion of your band. The local store may play the song on loop all day and sell your CD’s at the counter. Give away free stickers, buttons, CD’s; give away their stickers, coupons or promo material at your shows. Not only will customers be exposed to your music but you are creating free advertising for the business and may just convert some employees into fans and better yet street team/salespeople for your music.

4. Use the movie effect. Rappers have used these to generate interest in mixtapes for years. Try having parodies of titles, goofy bonus songs and even viral videos that compliment the latest blockbuster movie.

5. Controversy sells. When a new law is passed, many people research it online. Having a song, video, concept that goes along with this law will get your ban extra exposure and may even make you an authority on the law in question.

There are countless other ways to cross promote your product with that of other products. The key is to react fast. With a movie release you can find the release date, weeks if not months in advance. You want your product’s marketing to launch before or at the same time as the product you are trying to promote off of. Being ahead of the curve gets the early adopters to site you as an authority on the subject and can get press involved if they find your work good and buzzworthy. Be fast, be creative and be heard.

If your band wants to get heard louder, faster and with more impact, email me to schedule a consultation.

-g-ro

Jay-Z, Smart Move With American Gangster

Jay-Z is back, oh, but you already knew that. Man, I’m late on this breaking news thing. American Gangster came out 2 weeks ago and landed Hov with his 10^th number 1 album, tying Elvis for 2^nd all time number one albums. Not bad for a trapper turned rapper.

Jay is a marketing genius; there is no doubt about it. He has a plan before it becomes a plan and sometimes the public doesn’t even notice it. Shawn Corey Carter’s last album, Kingdom Come was released with a video paid for by Budweiser. Remember the car chase with Dale Jr? Yea, Jay didn’t cough up a penny for that. He got sponsors, big ones.

New album, American Gangster. Do you think it is any coincidence that it dropped only a week 3-4 days after the movie of the same name dropped and landed at number 1 in the box office? I think not. Yea, Jay says it is loosely based around the movie, the movie inspired him, blah, blah. Jay worked around a deadline made by himself to get the album shelved at the height of marketing paid for by the major movie studios. Everytime the film was mentioned, a tag line about the unofficial soundtrack was mentioned. Jay was everywhere the movie was. Every interview with Denzel had a question about the Jay-Z album and their thoughts on it. More free press.

This is the ultimate hustler. He not only runs the baddest label in town, Def Jam, but has refueled Roc-A-Fella with a position to succeed just in time to make the 4^th quarter king a few bucks and keep his name in that elite John Elway staple. Freeway just dropped Tuesday. Beanie Siegel is next. Kanye is still the king and making headlines through tragedy and triumph.

You want to know what is even funnier from a new media standpoint? This was all done without a Myspace or Facebook campaign. No YouTube battles. No Twittering necessary. It was done through old media and the big corporations pulling the big bucks. Late night TV shows, TRL, MTV and BET. Movie studios, XXL, Rolling Stone.

I don't surf the net
No i never been on myspace
Too busy letting my voice vibrate
Carving out my space

-Jay-Z “Beach Chair” from ‘Kingdom Come’

Pastor Brian with Rock For Hunger in Orlando, FL

Click to Play

Pastor Brian, founder and Pastor of the First Vagabond Church of God, took a few moments out at a Monday nigt Rock For Hunger feeding to talk about Rock For Hunger, our recent benefit show and concert that featured 24+ top Orlando local bands and also how young people are getting involved in making the Orlando community a better place to live in. To stop by one of Pastor Brian's sermons, you can find him every Sunday at 1pm in Blanchard Park. He is also with our group every Monday night at the Downtown Orlando Post Office. Thank you Pastor Brian for being an inspiration to  all of us and the great number of those in less fortunate situations that you speak to every week and on a daily basis.

Lunch With Joel

Today I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with online recruiting guru, Joel Cheesman, founder of Cheezhed. I reached out to grab a quick bite while he was in town for the Recruiting 2007 Conference and Expo. Lucky for me this meant an escape from the office for a few to rack the brain of someone who gets SEO in the recruitment field. Highlights form the talk included:

Use localized video-This will be a great addition to both RollettMarketing.com and the Orlando JobSpot. Thinking of doing a weekly show for both websites.

Leverage off the power of large domains like YouTube and Myspace. I always knew this but it makes a little more sense now.

Long tail is huge. If 2 people that need jobs are searching for “customer service part time near airport” and cannot find a job that suits them, I have failed as an SEO expert that is writing job descriptions. This is data that your webmaster needs to supply, even if you have to use a stick to beat it out of them.

Rethink Podcasting. I have been opposed to podcasting ever since I heard the word. Even with my recording background, the thought of someone listening to me talk on their iPod just didn’t sound enticing. What the hell, I can record the hell outta some music, so why not give it a shot.

Facebook Apps are useless for job seekers. There is still that wall up between job seekers and their social networks. All apps have failed and show no signs of innovation, viral capability and focus. Plus, no one markets them on their own sites. Imagine if Career Builder had links on their homepage? But they don’t and their app sunk to the bottom of the barrel.

Employers need to smarten up. Sell your positions. As a job poster I can only do so much to spruce up your crappy driving position. Make it sound enticing. If when you are posting a job online and think the job sucks, what will the job seekers think?

Their needs to be some responsibility on the part of the employer. If all you want is numbers in the door, so be it. But if you really want to grow your company, have a better bottom line and maybe get that Christmas bonus, start taking some pride in how and who you hire.

I’m done for the day. Joel it was awesome finally meeting you. I hope that we gave you some insight into the localization of job boards and the power that can be obtained from not having to always get the red tape from corporate. Anywho, its time to Rock For Hunger. Hunger Banquet tonight at UCF!!

-g-ro

The Newest Member of the Rock For Hunger Team

Mylie Rollett.

Get tix for the big event at Rock For Hunger.org.

To see the extensive list of publicity surrounding this monumental Orlando community event check out the R4H Blog.

See you Saturday!

G-Ro

25 Indie Music Resources

Mashable kicks ass. Like serious ass. I used to keep them a secret. I though if no one knew about Mashable, then maybe I would be the coolest kid at camp. Now I can't fight it, they are everywhere. And they still have the best news that is updated more than a bad storm in Florida.

One of the best things Mashable does is the ToolBox. This lists the best of a certain topic pertaining to any number of topics. Today they dished out the top 25 Tools for the Independent Musician. This list includes many things that I use as well as services that I have plugged and would endorse in the future. Check out the article and keep kicking ass Mashable.

-G-Ro

Jumping on the I Hate Prince Bandwagon

Who does this guy think he is? Just because he has sold a go-gillion records, made un-makable amounts on money and can change his name from Price to a symbol back to Prince again, doesn’t meant hat he has the rights to take on fans for liking his music so much that they actually not only buy the CD, but they dance to it, listen to it in their cars, get tattoos and make stickers of the famed symbol and embrace one of the planet’s most recognizable rock stars.

Where does this guy get off? He is not only taking on YouTube and Pirate Bay but now fan sites that cite his lyrics and host pictures. God, if I had one fan site where people loved my music so much they would make pretty banners, signs and quote my lyrics, I would be a happy camper.

(Just in: Price has announced plans to “reclaim the internet,” oh boy!)

According to Rueters.com, the sites have vowed to unite under the banner "Prince Fans United" and take the matter to court if necessary.

"We strongly believe that such actions are in violation of ... freedom of speech and should not be allowed," said a statement from the three sites -- www.housequake.com, www.princefams.com and www.prince.org.

As of right now he is not suing any of the sites and has not gone through with his YouTube threats. This doesn’t mean that his image is cleared by any means. Just by reaching out to destroy loyal fans, he may impact the future buying power of the Price army.

Whereas now most bands coming up in the scene rely on YouTube, Myspace, Absolute Punk and other community style followings to catch a break and create a fan base, larger artists are shying away and looking down on anyone that is trying to “steal” their precious copyrighted music. Now I’m not saying that it is ok for fans to steal music from artists, I am saying that without fans and their allegiance to the music and the artists, there would be no fast cars and rock stars.

So this is a cry to all you major label artists;

1) You can’t stop the internet so stop trying.

2) Major labels are losing badly and you are part of the cause. Take charge of your own career and stop relying on suites who can’t comprehend the power of the new media and what it can do

3) Embrace change –first there were records, then 8 tracks, then tapes and cd’s. It’s time to give way to the MP3 and its been here already for 7 or so years (old Napster is at least that old). Jump on the party ship, it will be boatloads of fun and

4) Embrace the fans who care so much about your music. There has never been a better time to communicate with your fans. Create a blog, respond to messages, create videologs, whatever just be a voice for your band. Look what it has done for Fall Out Boy, Gym Class Heroes and any other Myspace Gen band.

Have fun with this one folks!

Create Magazine Kick Off Party This Friday -Rockin 4 Hunger

Create Magazine and Rock For Hunger are bringing you the official Rock For Hunger Fest II Kick-Off Party and Award Ceremony this Friday at Backbooth in Downtown Orlando. We will be giving out the 1st annual Rock For Hunger Awards that include:

Band of the Year
Future Stars of Rock For Hunger
Hustler of the Year
Ambassador of the Year

Look for live performances from:
Caveman Theory
Union Made
Sugarfree

This is going to be a giant meet and greet for all bands, media, press, volunteers and the general public before the magic of Saturday happens.

See you there. I will be presenting some of the awards and will be speaking on behalf of Rock For Hunger, Rollett Marketing and the Orlando Employment Guide.

This Week in Rock For Hunger

Click to Play

This week in Rock For Hunger features Feeding the Homeless on Monday night at the Downtown Orlando Post Office, the last concert meeting on Tuesday at the Downtown Orlando Library, weekyl promotions, Tutors and Meals at the Jackson Center on Friday, The Create Magazine and Rock For Hunger Pre-Party at Backbooth on Friday night featuring Caveman Theory, Union Made and Sugar free and finally capping off the week with the biggie; Rock For Hunger Fest II at the Backbooth. Get tix at www.rockforhunger.org. Hope you enjot the video!

SnoCap Waives Annual Fee

Indie artists who are using SnoCap on their Myspace profiles no longer have to worry about being charged the $30 annual fee that was initially waived at the start of the first year. This is great for artists to continue their relationship with SnoCap and new ones having less doubts about signing up. I actually like SnoCap, as you can set your own prices and add tracks instantly right out of the studio.

SnoCap has gained quite the following for non iTunes ready indie bands and even some bigger acts and major label side projects. The ease of use and immediacy makes it a worthwhile app for all unsigned bands to use.

I personally have not benefited from great sales, my iTunes checks still come more frequently, but when I release new music in the coming new year, I expect to sell almost exclusively on the digital front and expect SnoCap to catch a majority of my sales.

Cartfly is also a great one for bands. All Rollett Marketing artists are encouraged to set up accounts with these groups and utilize the power of mp3's and digital shopping carts to drive sales and fan base.

-G-Ro

Myspace joins Google’s OpenSocial. So what?

It has been driving me crazy with the amount of words being poured into this Myspace vs. Facebook, Microsoft vs. Google and whatever other rivalries you want to throw out there. All that matters at the end of the day is the users and their experience on the site.

With Google’s new evil empire that includes Myspace, LinkedIn, Six Apart, Orkut, Salesforce, Ning, Hi5, Plaxo, Friendster, Viadeo and Oracle, all these networks are going to have the same Apps made by the same developers that are competing for the same poor kids who could care less. Where is the user uniqueness? Facebook almost has it, Myspace should have had it but would rather be a Video network than a social network. Myspace's improvements have been lame and still don’t address the major problems like bad servers, SPAM, and realistic advertising that doesn’t involve….shoot Paris Hilton in the face and win a prize.

Facebook has received all the press in the last few months and received a hefty sum based on a bogus $150 billion evaluation. Google on the other hand has had their stock hit $700 a pop and bought every social site they can get their hands on. Their announcement of the OpenSocial platform comes on the heels of a losing battle to get a stake in Facebook.

This is bringing the tech media to hype up a Don King style “Only in the Internet” match up between Facebook (the 0-8 Dolphins) and Google (Tom Brady leading the Patriots). Only problem is, no matter what season it is and the records of the teams, its going to be a battle and both teams will live to play another day.

Remember, this is only the beginning, but the user needs to be Google’s major focus or they will lose. Myspace still has the numbers and is making changes, albeit a little late. I think that they remain relevant in the entertainment market until Facebook jumps on the band bandwagon. Google is going to do what Google does and unfortunately everyone will follow. Why do we have to play be their rules? Who gives a rat’s ass about page rank?

I know I’ve made the switch like many others to GoodSearch and while the results aren’t always quite as good as Google, at least I’m playing by my own rules. (If you don’t have a charity in mind, how about Rock For Hunger?)

So go ahead app builders, make you app on 100 different platforms, I would. Get that advertising and VC money while they continue to throw it at ya like rats after a hat trick. And Social Networks go ahead and clone each other and still do numbers like fans at a Florida Marlins game. Just remember the major players and why they are the major players; community and communication. Myspace, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, etc are running things because of the community and the people that interact within the community. The best network platform in the world doesn’t do anyone any good if there are only 100 people in the social graph.

And Facebook, give Scoble some more friend requests. That way he can stop ranting about it every other post. (I’ll still keep up on Scoble even with his ranting, I get his Tweets every 20 minutes.)

That’s all for today. Maybe I’ll start writing some real posts again soon, but right now I’m going to get ready for Gym Class Heroes in Orlando, FL at UCF tonight. BTW, they are doing an amazing marketing campaign with Verizon Wireless and are hosting an in store at the Waterford Lakes location as we speak. Pretty smart marketing there! Somebody get that up on Flickr or Twitter for me.

-G-Ro