“I can’t worry about the fact that there isn’t a bus big enough for me to throw Paul Christoforo under” said,” Moisés Chiulian, the Austin, Texas-based consultant now retained by N-Control to oversee its sales and marketing. “The Internet did that for me. I think they set him on fire, too.”
In the long run, it may end up being a boon for the controller company. They are making the right moves.
Perhaps this will be the most prominent of a new type of marketing company – the suicide marketer. By destroying himself in a fit of douche-baggery, he gained more interest in the company than ever before.
Sacrificing himself for the good of publicity. None of that cold calling magazines. Just dump gasoline on himself and light the match. Like moths to the flame, he gets more publicity than ever.
After the immolation, he starts up another company to do the same thing. Rising from the ashes, he looks for another place to strike.
Make me wonder who Dave was in the original email thread. Could it have actually been … Paul? Could all of this be a cunning plan?
I got an incredible email today from a Penny Arcade reader. Dave shared with me an email chain between him and Ocean Marketing (the folks behind the Avenger controller) Trust me when I tell you that this is one wild ride. I’m serious, Mr. Toad would look at this ride and just give a slow clap while shaking his head. I have tried to arrange this as best I can in chronological order. I’ve also removed email addresses and other private information. So let’s just jump right in, here is Dave’s first mail to Ocean Marketing:
And this also brings out nut cases, who can easily find him and vent THEIR anger. 7000 emails in 24 hours; some not very nice.
And he seems to be deflecting much of his own behavior. Lots of ‘if I had know that guy was so important, I would have done things better’ sort of thing. So, its alright to treat peons with disrespect but not important people?
Yeah, its all other people’s fault. What a great marketing guy. I’d like to find out who his other customers are and make sure they know just how he is representing them.
One thing that is a benefit for him – he now has his own Wikipedia page, with links to all these things. Something nice to tell his kids about.
The PR company that used to handle this account apparently fired the makers of the Avengers controller because of the behavior of this guy from Ocean Marketing, describing him as “a street thug masquerading as a self proclaimed “Marketing Professional”.”
And his poorly written and edited email rants are now an Internet meme – I wwebsite as on the internet – is a classic. Even GEICO is using it.
From marketing kingpin to a butt of a gecko’s jokes. All in about 24 hours. Such is the speed of the world today.
Oh and he has another effort called Ocean Stratagy. Yes, that is the spelling. I think there will be someone on his butt about this for quite some time.
Interestingly, his Ocean Marketing site – which I do not want to give him any more traffic for – has this quote from Allan Jenkins, “Your Brand is no stronger than your reputation and will increasingly depend on what comes up when you are Googled.”
Action Movie FX is one of those iPhone apps that you need to stop reading about and, instead, start downloading immediately. The app, as the name implies, lets users apply Hollywood grade special effects to video that you record. And lest you think this app is some rinky dink effort from a third-rate development studio, note that it’s from Bad Robot Productions, a JJ Abrams venture that decided to get into the app making business. And in case you’re unfamiliar, Abrams is the brilliant mind behind Lost and the recent Star Trek remake.
Right now, the app is free to download and comes with two effects. The first is called Missile Attack and overlays video of an uber-realistic missile hitting a pre-determined target from your recorded video, complete with the subsequent explosion. The second is called Car Smash, an effect which puts in an out of control car flying through your video, enabling users to create a scene where they heroically duck out of the way just in time.
The above two effects are free but additional effects are available for purchase. These include Chopper Down, Tornado Action and Carpet Bomb.
If you received an iPad for Christmas, there is a 95 percent chance you connected to a local Wi-Fi network to slurp up data, a new study predicts. Where does that leave cellular carriers? Out in the cold with their expensive data plans and 3G tablets, that’s where. The really bad news for folks like Sprint is the trend for 9.5 out of 10 tablets to exclusively use Wi-Fi doesn’t appear to be changing.
The bringer of bad news is Sandvine, a company that keeps track of how mobile devices are used. The problem with tablets is that they are not as mobile as carriers would prefer. Instead of taking them where the only Internet connection is cellular-based, many iPad owners simply jump on their home Wi-Fi network or the corner cafe’s hotspot. Like much in life the reason boils down to cost.
So, let’s review: fewer people make phone calls, so carriers turn to data plans to recoup their losses. The Wi-Fi iPad is born and people attach themselves to Wi-Fi networks, giving 3G fees the big kiss-off. SMS is a lucrative way to squeeze cash from consumers sending billions of text messages each day. Apps like iMessage come along, allowing iPad owners to bypass texting fees. Where does that put carriers? You don’t need the Where’s My iPhone app to know your up a creek without a paddle.
