Jake on Jobs

Phones Still Work.

Memo to Gen Y: Do not fear the phone. 

Unlike floppy disks, Folgers Crystals, typewriters, and videotapes, the telephone is not an artifact from a previous professional era. The telephone is still useful, so get comfortable with it.

I know, I know, the phone is so inefficient.  Texting is simpler and email reaches more people at once.  However, in the event that you need to communicate with one person directly, the phone is still #1.

Cosider the following two sentences:

I left you a voicemail.

vs.

Did you get my email/text?

 

The people you work with get 5 billion text messages and emails a day.  Their inboxes are filled to capacity.  You often have to contact people a second time to confirm that they received your first message, which means you can't start talking substance until your third communication.

By contrast, if you leave someone a voicemail, you can assume that they got it.  People don't get 5 billion phone calls a day.  The voicemail box is much less crowded, which allows your message to stand out.  There's a reason that Commissioner Gordon still uses a landline to get Batman' s attention.

Like synth pop and tight colorful t-shirts, the phone is making a comeback.  Embrace it.  The email-only mentality is so '90s.

Rush Hour Radio Blues

Is rush hour radio better than it used to be?

 

 

When I first graduated from college and took a 9-5, I remember thinking that rush hour radio (e.g. “Morning Rush Music” and “5 O’clock Rock Block”) was incredibly lame.  It was all early ‘80’s “Whip it” garbage and over-played tracks from The Eagles and The Police. 

 

 

Lately, however, I feel like the lineups are improving.  Last week, while driving through rush hour in Los Angeles, I was pleasantly surprised with the radio play list.  “Summertime” by Will Smith, the Foo Fighters’ “Everlong”, and Naughty By Nature’s “OPP” came on one after the other.  It was such an improvement over the Fleetwood Mac-laden monotony of Drive Time’s past.

 

 

Maybe increased competition from satellite radio has inspired regular stations to step it up.  Maybe real-time audience feedback is helping stations stay focused. 

 

 

Or maybe I’m almost 30. 

 

Crap.

CorporateToolz for the Summer

I am happy to report that, after a 5 month break (while my partners moved to Abu Dhabi) new CorporateToolz cartoons are on the way.  The new website isn't quite ready, but I will let you know when it is.

In the meantime, here's a new sketch.  I hope it doesn't bring up too many vivid memories of office-parties-gone-awkward...