close
The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20101015164946/http://gapingvoid.com/

October 14, 2010

are you a beacon?

5 Comments

BERJAYA

["Adventure". Buy the print here etc.]

Are you a beacon?

A beacon is a navigation signal that tells you where you are when you’re lost at sea.

We spend a lot of of careers being lost at sea…. paddling away, not quite sure where we are, hoping to God that a big wave won’t come along and swamp our little boat.

And we look for beacons to guide us, to give us hope, to tell us where we are, to show us where the standard is, to show us the way forward. Beacons can be people, products, businesses or even ideas.

“Life might suck right now, but one day I’ll land a kick-ass job as Creative Director at Crispin Porter!”

“Life might suck right now, but one day I’ll write as good a novel as Jonathan Franzen!”

“Life might suck right now, but one day our product will be better than SAP or Oracle!”

These are beacons…

Obviously, if you or your product is a beacon to other people in your own industry, you have a considerable advantage going for you. Not to mention, a really good reason to get up in the morning.

So in my typical way, I’ll ask you, are you beacon? If not, don’t you think you should be?

To be honest, I wasn’t really thinking about you when I sat down to write this, sorry. I was actually thinking about my client, Rackspace. Are they a beacon? I know they’re certainly capable of it.

I’m just thinking outloud, here…

October 12, 2010

the main reason to subscribe to the gapingvoid newletter

1 Comment

BERJAYA

Tens of thousands of people now get the Daily Cartoon Newsletter. The list grows and grows, and every day we get lots and lots of mail from people showing the love.

But the NUMBER ONE benefit to subscribe is that each day, for 24 hours, the cartoon de jour- the print- is available at around 30- 60% off the usual price. Just the day it’s initially published and after that, it goes to full price. So, all the hardcore print junkies are buying them on the issue day, and after that, they and everyone else pays retail.

There is a secret code on the bottom of each email, that reveals the discount of the day. Just use it when you go to checkout.

Start the day with an ass-kicking cartoon and maybe save some money as well etc.

Sign up here, and join the club. Rock on.

October 6, 2010

fanatical

1 Comment

BERJAYA

[Download the printable version here etc.]

Rackspace likes to describe their customer support as “Fanatical” [It's right there on their homepage. Go see.].

Which got me thinking, what does being “fanatical” actually mean? What are its real-world implications?

So I drew a cartoon with my take on it…

[#SmarterConversations]

October 5, 2010

just a paycheck

5 Comments

BERJAYA

[Download the printable version here.]

I find something rather amusing about the idea of people at Rackspace printing out this cube grenade, and hanging it up everywhere in their San Antonio office. It would sure send a message to the newbies…

HR may not be able to say things like this, but hell, I’m a cartoonist…

[#SmarterConversations]

October 4, 2010

things i wish my phone did 06

6 Comments

BERJAYA

[Download printable version here.] [thingsiwishmyphonedid.com] [#smarterconversations]

October 3, 2010

“don’t be the best in the world at what you do; be the only one in the world who does what you do.”

6 Comments

BERJAYA

[Last Friday I was signing prints- 175 of these puppies. SAP, the large, German enterprise tech company put in a very large order, to give out to certain key people within the organization. Trying to have a Smarter Conversation. Exactly.]

“Don’t be the best in the world at what you do; be the only one in the world who does what you do.”

That quote is me paraphrasing Jerry Garcia, lead guitar of The Grateful Dead. The thought always resonated with me.

If people like what you’re doing, and you’re the only one who’s doing it, you win.

Which is why I like doing Cube Grenades. Compared to what most people are selling out there, they’re fairly unique.

It’s also what makes blogs so powerful a marketing device. People can just see your own unique shtick evolving right there on the page, over time. They’ll either get it eventually or they won’t. No sales pitch needed. No need to compare yourself to somebody else. No need to fit into some pre-existing model, if you don’t want to.

It has never been a better time to be unlike anyone else. I hope you’re already taking full advantage…

September 30, 2010

thingsiwishmyphonedid 04

1 Comment

BERJAYA

[thingsiwishmyphonedid.com]

[#smarterconversations]

September 29, 2010

rackspace cube grenade 01

1 Comment

BERJAYA

A cube grenade I drew for Rob La Gesse, Scoble’s boss over at Rackspace. [UPDATE: Rob blogs about it here as well.]

[Feel free to download the high-res version here.]

Disclosure: I’m currently doing a wee bit of consulting work for Rackspace. This cartoon was inspired after talking to La Gesse the other day. He tells me that with all their assets- and with over 3,000 employees, they have many- their culture is the thing that they’re collectively most proud of. Rock on.

[#SmarterConversations]

September 29, 2010

#thingsiwishmyphonedid 02

2 Comments

BERJAYA
[#SmarterConversations]

September 29, 2010

do more

1 Comment

BERJAYA

I just designed this cube grenade for one of my clients, the insurance broker HNI.

As always, it’s basically something to be downloaded [from here], printed out and hung up round the office. A “conversation starter” etc.

Most insurance companies want to sell you a lot of insurance, the more the merrier. One part of HNI’s shtick is, well, “More” is not always the most helpful thing for the client etc.

The guy in the cartoon looks so unhappy simply because the very thought of actually “Doing” something actually frightens a lot of people. Which is why the world is filled with so many clock-watchers.

Though this was designed for HNI, if the message has any value to your business, feel free to print it out as well, thanks.

« Older Entries