{"id":96,"date":"2010-06-11T16:43:16","date_gmt":"2010-06-11T20:43:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/?p=96"},"modified":"2010-06-11T16:43:16","modified_gmt":"2010-06-11T20:43:16","slug":"guest-blogger-colin-graf-asis-marketing-manager-for-supplier-sales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/2010\/06\/11\/guest-blogger-colin-graf-asis-marketing-manager-for-supplier-sales\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Blogger: Colin Graf, ASI’s Marketing Manager for Supplier Sales"},"content":{"rendered":"

So, when Michele asked me to write a guest blog post I was honored, but perplexed. Basically, because many of you reading this have absolutely no idea who I am. I\u2019m just some marketing jabroni. If you attended the most recent Counselor Awards, I was the guy in the kitchen making sure the winners didn\u2019t get run over by the waitstaff when coming off the stage. I\u2019m even surprised Michele trusts that I have the social skills to grace this prestigious space. THE Bellwether Blog \u2026 and me.<\/p>\n

But, who am I kidding? This blog is like the People magazine of the advertising specialty industry. And the only instructions I received from Ms. Bell were, and I quote, \u201cI’ll never tell you what to write or not to write, just don’t use the \u2018F\u2019 word, or any variation there of.\u201d I figure that should be easy enough to f\u2019ing do \u2026 OOPS!<\/p>\n

So, being the marketing beotch that I am, I immediately started thinking about what product to promote. Should I talk about Spectrum, the new Catalog ROI Program and the benefits to both supplier and distributors?<\/p>\n

Maybe all of the new enhancements to the Register Express Box? Digital version, upcoming Gift Box edition in October, new easier-to-use layout\u2026<\/p>\n

How about the importance of keeping your information and pricing up to date in ESP?\u00a0 Suppliers with out-of-date info drop to the bottom of search results and distributors can easily remove any suppliers that are not \u201cConfirmed Accurate\u201d from the search all together. (For more information or questions about ESP, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at cgraf@asicentral.com<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

OK, now that my plugs are done, I\u2019m running with this blog thing. I can write about anything, right? I don\u2019t get this chance often. Let\u2019s talk about something that has piqued my interest lately.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\"Apple<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Google vs. Apple steel cage death match. Juicy stuff!. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0<\/td>\n\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

In the interest of full disclosure, I own a cell phone with Google\u2019s Android operating system and LOVE it. But I also own a MacBook, which I also love. What has become of Apple? It used to be the hip, cool, cutting-edge company. That was not so long ago, when I purchased my MacBook. No useless software to uninstall, no 10-minute boot-up, and NO viruses. Sweet \u2013 sold! Here\u2019s my credit card.<\/p>\n

But lately, Google is wiping the floor with Apple, and Apple seems more like Microsoft \u2013 the stuffy corporate company that it\u2019s tried not to be. Here are just a few of my gripes and Apple mishaps:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Apple chooses AT&T as the service provider for the iPhone \u2013 a network that is ill-suited to handle the data demands.\u00a0<\/li>\n
  • Apple shuts down music-streaming site LaLa and angers a large group of loyalists.<\/li>\n
  • Apple iPhone and iPad will not support Adobe Flash.\u00a0<\/li>\n
  • Speaking of updates, Apple charges for the latest software updates. Google does not.<\/li>\n
  • Apple must give their seal of approval before allowing applications into their app store.<\/li>\n
  • Apple launches the next generation iPhone and experiences connection problems during first press conference demo.<\/li>\n
  • An AT&T security breach exposes 114,000 iPad 3G customer e-mail addresses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Now on the other hand, Google \u2026<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Google launches Buzz, its own social network that integrates with the rest of your digital world. Facebook, Twitter, etc.<\/li>\n
    • The Android app market is wide open to developers.<\/li>\n
    • Google\u2019s newest Android update will support Flash. Website developers rejoice!\u00a0<\/li>\n
    • Google cloud setup makes everything available everywhere. Mail, photos, calendar. And with the simple download of an app, I can even stream my entire music library from my home computer to my phone.<\/li>\n
    • Complete, no-boundary integration. Maps, mail, photos, calendar, chat, social media.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Now I know I\u2019m coming off like a blatant fanboy. And actually, after re-reading this, it seems that I am one. But, Google is churning out user-driven updates, new features and applications fast. Really, right out of the early 2000s Apple textbook. It\u2019s really put Steve Jobs back on his heels. But, the battle has just begun and there is no doubt that we, the end-users, are going to benefit. That\u2019s what makes this so exciting for a geek like me \u2013 what new toy will I get to play with in the coming years?<\/p>\n

      So pick your side and pray that it\u2019s the winner. Either way, we all make out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      So, when Michele asked me to write a guest blog post I was honored, but perplexed. Basically, because many of you reading this have absolutely no idea who I am. I\u2019m just some marketing jabroni. If you attended the most recent Counselor Awards, I was the guy in the kitchen making sure the winners didn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99,"href":"https:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96\/revisions\/99"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bellwether-asicentral.com\/bellblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}