 On the 4th of July (Independence Day), many Americans think of Baseball, Hot Dogs, and Apple Pie. They have barbecues, set off fireworks, and consume large amounts of beer. I think of the good fortune of United States citizenship.
I didn’t have to acquire mine. I had the good fortune of being born in New York City. My parents, on the other hand, both made the trip from Europe.
My dad, Martin Ebon, made the edgy move from Hamburg, Germany in 1938, moving the rest of his immediate family, shortly there after. My mother, Koutsie Ebon, met my dad in her native Athens, Greece, in 1948. They married in 1949, and returned with him to New York City.
Both of them became naturalized citizens the old fashioned way. They came here legally, applied for citizenship, and completed the process. From a very early age, through high school, I traveled with them, over much of Europe. I came to believe that many people born into United States citizenship didn’t have a full appreciation of the good fortune of being born here.
Over time, I have come to appreciate both the variety of cultures and countries around the world, and the regional individuality of states and cities across the United States. I have only South Dakota to visit to complete my travel to all fifty states.
Enjoy today and if you are a United States citizen, pause awhile to think about how lucky we are.
Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Blog
written by Andy Ebon
\\ tags: 4th of July, Andy Ebon, apple pie, baseball, citizenship, hot dogs, Koutsie Ebon, Martin Ebon, United States, Wedding Marketing Authority
 Email A couple of weeks ago, I posted: How to benefit from fewer: Email subscriptions, connections, friends, and followers. That post is a summary of clerical cleanup meant to lighten your load.
I blocked some free time, yesterday, to just address email subscriptions. Over time, I had accumulated an incredible number travel news (airlines, Priceline, etc.,), technology updates, software updates, events updates, updates, updates, updates…
When I took a critical view of the subscriptions, one-by-one, I was appalled at how many were coming in that I was setting aside for future view… and never actually read.
Here is what I found when digging into my email.
- For most of the subscriptions, simply unsubscribe. Or, if the sender gives you four options for news and promotional updates, downsize your subscription to the single most important choice.
- For the few subscriptions that you you really believe are important, create an email rule, within your email software. That way, any particular news source can be routed to its own sub-folder, within a master folder, titled News or Reading. This method drastically cuts down in-box clutter
- Three months later, you can visit your reading folders, again, and take a second look at what you picked for reading later. Then, prune a second time.
- As a by-product, I found that many email notifications from Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn were going unread, because they were unnecessary. I simply went to these social media sites and updated my contact preferences, reducing email to what was truly important.
You and I are in an era of unlimited information and communication choices. If one went on sabbatical, just to read, in any form, you could never keep up with the geometrically expanding supply of knowledge.
Please report back if you put a dent in your inbound email clutter.
Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Blog
written by Andy Ebon
\\ tags: Andy Ebon, email clutter, email inbox, Facebook, LinkedIn, reading, Twitter, Wedding Marketing Authority, wedding marketing blog
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Jul 01
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Andy's Campaigns, Best Practices, Ethics, Image & Identity, Intangibles, Internet Marketing, Misinformation, Planning & Strategy, Public Relations, Selling Techniques, Wake Up Calls, Websites
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 Not Michael James Slattery In the last month, industry ethical and business industry issues have been front and center on The Wedding Marketing Blog. There have have been a number of posts related to Bella Pictures, its overall business model, changing personnel at the top level of the company, questionable public relations, bad bridal advice, and philisophical differences in their leadership ranks.
Today, former Bella Pictures photographer, Michael James Slattery, launched a blog lambasting the company. Slattery did not just arrive on the scene. He has shot over 500 wedding events for Bella Pictures; first as a contracted freelancer, then as an employee.
The change in his relationship with Bella Pictures begin in April 2008 when George White, co-founder, VP Photography was replaced by Tahra Makinson-Sanders. Suffice it to say, the relationship between Makinson-Sanders and Slattery became frosty, over time, resulting in his termination about a week ago.
Comment: The curious issue for me is how a veteran of 500 wedding events could suddenly become so easily discarded. You’ll find his emails to be both angry and aggressive. His tone reached this level in emails, essentially because he could found no satisfaction in phone calls. It is his belief that he was not getting straight answers or explanations, and. well….. he went off.
Draw your own conclusions by reading Slattery’s blog which posts his overview and an extensive exchange of emails.
Why I’m still interested in this issue:
- Because I don’t feel we know the entire story, yet.
- There was an incredible surge in reader interest in these storis.
- I am always concerned about the welfare of the freelancer or micro-business.
- New business models are interesting; whether they succeed or fail. The jury is still out.
- Client satisfaction (or lack thereof).
Please read Slattery’s blog post, and post your comments here.
Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Blog
written by Andy Ebon
\\ tags: Andy Ebon, Bella Pictures, bridal advice, Jenny Lefcourt, Michael James Slattery, propaganda, Public Relations, Tahra Makinson-Sanders, Wedding Marketing Authority
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