« October 2007 | Main | December 2007 »

Activities on a Rainy Day in Portland

November 18, 2007

It's Sunday in November and it's predictably rainy in Portland - beautifully, dreadfully rainy. My 5-year old daughter was bouncing off the walls in our house and we needed a change of scenery. So, I bribed her with extra-special ice cream at Mia Gelato's in the Pearl District. We then went to the largest bookstore in the world - Powell's Bookstore on NW 10th and Couch.

The cool part of the day's activities were yet another bribe to play arcade games at Ground Kontrol, which happens to be in eROI's new office building and it was the perfect excuse to check out the progress of the new space that we are moving into in 12 days. Our new office space looks amazing, but I have no idea how it will be ready for our move-in date of Nov 30. I'm praying our contractor has a little magic up sleeve.

Back to telling you about Ground Kontrol. Back in time. Retro. Imagine all of your favorite games from 1982 and put them all in one large 2-floored room - Ms. Pacman, Centipede, Galaga, Street Fighter, and the list goes on. I have a vision of my daughters spending far too many quarters in that place, waiting for their Dad to take them home after work. For all its retro geekiness, that's not such a bad vision.

Comments (0) | Posted by ryan at 3:59 PM | Permalink

Web 2.0: Connecting People

Warning: Very Funky Video below

I guess this video reflects the wacky culture of the ultra-individualist who has defined Web 2.0 and "the long tail" of quirky interests. If you think this video is just plain annoying, please comment below, and I'll remove it from the blog. In my eyes, it's clever, makes its point, but is borderline gratingly-annoying. Let me know your thoughts. Thx.

Comments (0) | Posted by ryan at 3:40 PM | Permalink

Why is Email Marketing Effective?

November 16, 2007

I was asked this question by a reporter a couple weeks ago, and it was such a broad, sweeping question that it took me a little while to come up with a concise reply. Here is my response to such an important question:

"A world without email is almost unimaginable. Email marketing is about email where subscribers are craving valuable content. Email newsletters, event or product updates, e-zines, and even blog postings delivered through email give the recipient an unbelievable amount of value and knowledge in industry niches, news, or staying updated with company news. Email is a valuable medium that is here to stay for the long run. It hasn't and won't be replaced by RSS, Search, or other technologies - it is complimentary to all of these communication channels in the online marketing mix."

To see the rest of the question and answer article, please check it out at:
http://www.portlandsmallbusiness.com/?q=eROI_interview

Comments (0) | Posted by ryan at 3:35 PM | Permalink

4 (not 40) Hour Workweek

November 12, 2007

I read the New York Times - Sunday edition - yesterday. The article was on the cover of the "Styles" section titled "Too Much Information? Ignore It. Silicon Valley stops and listens to a 4-hour-workweek guru." I think the reason why I read it is that it is so enticing to think that is possible to change the world in 4 hours instead of 40 or 60 hours like most entrepreneurs. At the end of the article, it turns out that it is too good to be true. The author, "guru" Tim Ferriss works 60+ hour weeks, but swears that everyone else should only work 4 (that's right, FOUR). How, only check super important email for 20 minutes once per day. Outsource everything, including online dating if necessary. Don't get all those RSS feeds - get your news from waiters at restaurants.

Intriguing. It captured my attention, but left me wanting. Why? Because people need to practice what they preach to be truly believable. It's the same reason why Al Gore got crucified for using 10x the energy of the average American (100x the average global citizen), even though Gore was the catalyst behind the green, sustainable movement sweeping the country through his movie and book "An Inconvenient Truth." (Full disclosure: I'm a huge Al Gore fan and a Democrat, but disappointed that he could have avoided some hypocrisy by changing his habits or acknowledging that he will change his energy-guzzling habits). Long story short - practice what you preach, 4-Hour-Workweek guy, or change your message to be realistic for us entrepreneurs like 2 weeks of 4-hours working (a.k.a. vacation) followed by 2 weeks of 50+ hours working. To me, working includes non-profit, charitable work and work in the community - not just working to make money.

Comments (2) | Posted by ryan at 8:13 AM | Permalink

eROI Move: 3 Week Countdown

November 9, 2007

Apparently, the drywall is getting installed this weekend which means all the electrical work is finished. I'll swing by the new space on Monday. However, this post is mainly about showing you this picture of our current office setup - in some places, you literally have to walk on top of people's desks to get to where you need to go. Insanity. Needless to say, we are all excited about having some elbow room in the new office. Cheers.

Comments (0) | Posted by ryan at 4:08 PM | Permalink

eROI.com - Website Re-Design at last, at last

November 6, 2007

We launched our new site at www.eroi.com. I am filled with pride in my team and in the end result - a beautiful, easily navigated website of an email and interactive agency that has done great work. So, we decided to party like it was 1999 (in the Bay Area) in the dot com heyday. Well, maybe not THAT much partying, but we did break out the champagne and orange juice (mimosas) as 10am today. Enjoy the pictures below, but more importantly, please comment on this blog posting of what you think of our site. I'm especially interested in what you think of our Portfolio section and Resources Center. Thanks. You don't have to say nice things (even after knowing that it took over a year to concept the design and ultimately build the entire site). Here are the pics:

Comments (0) | Posted by ryan at 3:56 PM | Permalink

eROI Moving in 4 weeks

November 1, 2007

The countdown is on for our New Space (505 NW Couch, Suite 300). As you can see from the pictures below, we (meaning the contractors) have a whole lot of work to do in a short amount of time. The checklist includes voice + data cabling, finishing electrical work, HVAC system, replace broken windows, dry wall, interior windows installed, glass conf rooms, interior glass-and-steel garage door for fourth-floor conference room, kitchen, and a whole lotta other stuff. Stay posted on further updates on our new space.

Comments (0) | Posted by ryan at 3:43 PM | Permalink