The Value of Good Writing

Good writing can only reflect well on a company and its employees. But it is a laborious process and a most unappreciated one at that. We need our wordsmiths to tell our stories. Sometimes I feel my clients truly believe that through some sophisticated wizardry, words, without much input from them, will magically morph into paragraphs and form the beginning of a new printed or Internet marketing campaign. All they have to do is jot down a few pointers (bullet points, naturally) or verbally communicate a shortened synopsis to me, and in some abracadabra fashion every written detail will systemically come together in cyber space (or in their company literature).

Similar comments can also be applied to our emails where acceptable rules of grammar are either ignored or simply do not exist. Some excuses might be made that emails do not really count since they are only emails. Whatever defense or alibi for this ubiquitous mental collapse, emails are still a form of expression and personally, I much prefer sentences that contain words and structures with which I am familiar.

When I see short letters with no perceptible sentences, but rather basic utterances, such as: “got your email, will read in day or maybe, possibly lunch sometime” I have to wonder about the state of mind of the scrivener at the other end. To conceal my own angst I have sometimes joked about these mysterious messages and suggested that possibly next time these senders put a bit more effort into the writing. As of this writing, no new stones have been turned.

Nor have any boulders or smaller rocks been pushed aside where I work which is in the area of communication. As with the Internet and our email exercises, I have little hope that any true change toward grammatical correctness in business will happen anytime shortly. On this particular matter I see more of a slide than a progression and am deeply convinced that I could discuss quality writing and advertising on a regular basis and not make a dent in most clients’ understanding.

Much of the reason for this, without delving too far, is the lack of exposure to any real routine, creative marketing. In other words, there is usually no solid precedent for clever regional marketing or proper writing for the client to imitate. Nor is there usually any concerted push from the business market or owners themselves to do the smart thing where their advertising is concerned. They already feel themselves in safe company since everyone else’s marketing is either flat or outright terrible. When a new idea or clever promotional concept, however, does hit the airwaves, it is still not enough to persuade most others (appreciated though this effort might be) to join the bandwagon. The mental and physical energies simply are not there.

As indifferent and out-of-touch as many small to medium size companies are to advertising, this is not surprising since we are not encouraged to be more scholarly, either. We have allowed our academic standards, or whatever is left of them, to the care of politicians and bureaucrats (astounding as that is!) for the last 60 years and have removed ourselves, (though not voluntarily) from any permanent oversight as to how our children are taught. As a result, lax attitudes have spread in the elementary levels and throughout the entire educational system, including the business classrooms where any hint of strong writing is only given scant mention. Little do our MBA’s realize that in the absence of this formative tool–strong, corrective writing– many after graduation, and in the world of business, will continue to do what they have always done, which is typically very little by way of improved communications.

Admittedly it is difficult to practice tolerance for something that is falling further away from far too many of us. A few years back when I was a university instructor I noted that unless qualified teachers put the full weight of their profession towards upholding the strictest standards of education, we would remain an illiterate country among other third world nations. It seems I was not too far off the mark.

A current report based on a book, Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses, confirms these assumptions and points out that after two years of college, 45% of students learn little to nothing; after four years, 36% of students learn almost nothing. Startling as these figures are, I was not surprised by the results. Given the catastrophic state of schools and our love affair with gadgetries and mindless amusements over hard study, how could the conclusions be otherwise?

It may not be fair to generalize, and even harder to substantiate, but an academically enlightened culture that is eluding this generation, could be linked to the way we communicate–or not communicate. We have become proficient and comfortable with Twitter, Facebook and other neighborhood Internet outlets. But our comprehension beyond the superficial, gossip-driven rumor mills and other mind- numbing channels are just that–mind numbing. If only a few wish to say it, let me again raise the point. A society of grown-ups who prefer to hide behind iPhones and not return phone calls, a generation somewhat intimidated with the written word, a culture–regardless of race, sex or age–that derives inordinate hours of pleasure starring at their hand-held phone-camera-Internet gizmo in traffic, on walkways, at physical fitness centers and, of course, at work, is a society that should start returning to basics, like writing and reading.

We have been gradually moving away from the hard strain and effort that true education demands. We clamor for novelty and invention through pictures and sound and are amenable to other approaches that will make reading and writing less taxing. So we put aside the books and listen to someone else’s voice on tape. We remove the pen and paper and substitute the computer where we can write and delete at a frenzied pace, and expect miraculous results. It is certainly less challenging to move a mouse, stroke a few keys and defer to check spelling than to confront our thoughts directly. It has taken us almost no time to master the computer. But in ramping up our desire for speed and an endless barrage of scribbled communications, we have short-circuited true learning. The alternative, for the moment, seems to be a temporary fix and not a solution to putting us back on the path that only a sound education can provide.

But most specifically, and to the problem at hand, if our adolescents continue to progress with less discipline in their formative years, those same negligent, complacent patterns will be carried over into their business careers. Moreover, it is unlikely they will ever raise themselves from this common quagmire because they simply to do not know where to begin. How could they? They have never been taught the effectual power of communication nor have they been schooled in the fundamental principles of basic marketing with its accompanying grammatical and verbal skills. Not being encouraged to think and verbalize about most topical discussions has opened a gap too wide to be filled at some later date. I know because I have tried–and the chasm is still there.

The article, from which this excerpt has been taken, can be viewed in its entirety by writing or calling GLS Design & Marketing.

Marketing In Hard Times

Let me paraphrase a familiar adage that goes something like this: “When times are rough companies should advertise. When times improve people will remember you since you were the one who advertised.”

That’s not a very difficult idea to understand. Take it at its face value and it makes a great deal of sense. The logic is quite basic and the reasoning extremely practical. Given all such positives then, why is it that Louisiana businesspersons are hesitant to advertise in down cycles, like the one we are currently experiencing? Fear. It’s as simple as that. Fear.

The reason so many are fearful is that cash flow is unpredictable. Cash is not coming in steadily and when it does, it may be in dribs and drabs. Business is uncertain. The future is uncertain. With an uncertain future, one of the last items businesses focus on is advertising. Not knowing if they will have a business next year, owners will even cease all yellow page advertising, which admittedly has become pricey. But they will also shy away from other marketing as well, like a company website, to avoid further expenses. Anyone sense a pattern here?

We all know New Orleans has seen her share of bad luck, but when it comes to business, owners are sometimes so overwhelmed that they will work against their own better interests. For instance, before the worst U.S. manmade disaster hit the Gulf, the country was already in a recession; yet, New Orleans was doing financially better than most cities. But since so many Louisiana livelihoods, such as fishing, are now being irreversibly impacted, the area’s business community is putting itself on hold, like it did with Katrina. The question to ask therefore is how do we go about reversing this trend.

What the New Orleans business community has a habit of forgetting is that every day business, and even business recovery, does not happen magically. It is hard, sustained creative work that turns around an organization. In the past, companies succeeded because they went after business, in good times and bad.

At GLS we have done our own marketing for three decades. You might have even received a call from us. Cold calling was a lesson I inherited from my grandfather who owned a workingmen’s uniform business. My grandmother also worked there and at least one hour each day, five days a week she would pick up the phone book and start calling on companies. It was my grandfather’s belief that few businesses could remain busy at all times, so if and when that slack time did arrive, he would have the business to fill in those down periods–because he marketed his company.

My grandfather did not allow himself the time to be overcome with fear. He was too busy attending to business. When times were good he was there to assist his clients. When times were slow he looked for ways to change the work environment. Either way he was a doer and refused to sit back and not challenge himself every single business day.

Anyone would be foolish not to admit these are difficult times. You take a recession and on top of that drop millions of gallons of oil; the picture you see can look awfully dire. But we’ve come through depressions and bleak periods in the past. The more successful have always stood resolute as best they could to control their destiny. That was the only workable choice, and if some bit of luck happened to come along, the better for it.

No period of business has been totally hopeless without an eventual recovery. At least today we have the Internet. With the Internet every business owner can have a company website–and at a reasonable cost. This is, and should be, your avenue to the outside world. Not having enough finances is usually not the right excuse. Start small and build from there; but start building. Without a foundation there is no reaching out. Besides if you don’t try, how could you really know if you’ve truly failed? Think about it.

Dear America

I see who you are but don’t recognize you anymore.

You know my grievances; you’ve heard me repeat them. You also realize that the list is more extensive than it was in my early years. Back then, we were already at odds but at least there was a respectful tone to our disagreements. For instance, I knew you were sore at me for not saying the “Pledge” or singing the “Star Spangled Banner” but you understood my reasons. I just couldn’t, and still won’t, mix bombs and God. All this was after Korea, followed by Nam and now Iraq and in between you’ve managed to neglect your parks and prairies, the infrastructure of your cities and the welfare of this very planet.

Instead of focusing on geothermal resources, you’ve kept your hold on carbon that conversely has destroyed our economic power, withered our influence abroad and eroded our hills and streams. The end result of all this is that I, and probably the majority of Americans, are exhausted, and even bewildered, because you’ve subverted and deflated everything we value.

I’m still haunted by what you allowed to happen to Dukakis in ’88 and enraged that vilification is not condemned and censored by the press. I’m just as angry and confrontational with any who dare to defend the right-wing propaganda spin that has been evolving before Nixon in the sixties. I’m equally disheartened when I encounter Americans willing to buy into it–the hatemongering, that is.

Clinton was a reprieve from the sophomoric language and ghastly actions of his predecessor–a true benefactor and deliverer of the party line. Given all the Clinton hoopla and hype, I was mildly satisfied during much of his two terms and then fully disappointed at the end.

Still, there was some progress being made. Americans weren’t yet throwing eggshells at one another, except for Republicans with their ugly protestations of duplicity. But this is where you and I, America, begin to split and see the world through two different sets of eyes. Our differences are deep and I’m both appalled and bewildered at the hateful politics emanating during the 90s from Washington and the uncivil attacks of Democrats and Republicans, Libertarians and Independents.

Truly, if I had been Rip Van Wrinkle and had fallen asleep after the McGovern debacle and then awakened to the Clinton witch hunt that only juveniles would find remotely amusing, I would have requested a continuation of my sleep until the rest of my countrymen and ladies regained their rightful, humane senses.

But they never did, did they America? Instead, they went on to elect a not-very-smart businessman from the wildcat state who, as governor, offered hints of what he would really do once he stepped out of the Texas chair and purloined the one in the White House. Obviously his disastrous environmental record and his privatization of the state’s jails never registered with the voting public in 2000. If these actions had, possibly a few more votes for Gore would have kept the Bush mob away from the presidency and placed the true winner in the Oval Office.

But no, America, you weren’t paying attention. You had plenty of hints and a case full of facts, but those you refused to ignore. Twelve years earlier George’s father made history by unloading 30,000 missiles on a country against whom he felt justified. Now along comes his son with a different reason for engaging your children in war. This time it’s even more ludicrous: they have weapons (which we all know is no reason to commit genocide, especially against the region’s most literate people). But this was a scenario that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld (and even Baker and Kissinger) knew Americans could understand. It was simple and straightforward: they had weapons and they were the bad guys. More importantly, they lacked democracy and that’s what we were going to deliver–America via privatization, deregulation, deep cuts in social programs and chaos–America, our way.

It’s actually interesting to note that that’s exactly what we did. The problem is that few understand the repercussions. They don’t realize that Iraq wasn’t a war, but a business opportunity. They don’t understand that Bush’s idea of government is not to govern but to allow corporatist elites to work hand-in-hand with your government and push forward their program of uninterrupted free markets and privatization.

It’s as if an entire country–no, an entire world–has learned to accept a new worldview that the job of governing is in the hands of the private sector and out of the government’s.
That may be the way it is, but for some of us true change (Is this the Obama change? It would be encouraging, though not realistic) needs to be reestablished permanently, and it begins with a few basic rules: follow the Constitution; abide by its laws and allow government to fulfill its obligations to its electorate.

The role of government is to govern. Within 7 years, this basic principle has been obliterated in the name of free markets. In other words, whatever is good for business is good for those who have seated themselves at the helm of authority. Whatever misfortunes the rest of us might endure regarding health benefits, job security, environmental protections, education and Social Security, are problems to be dealt with on our own.

I understand that many Americans feel that something has gone wrong, though can’t quite verbalize it. Their focus has been removed from domestic issues like infrastructure, global warming and renewable energies. They’ve been asked to close their eyes, shut their minds and to endure some basic hardships, such as higher gasoline prices, in order for this government to make everyone else’s life safer and yes, better. This is the government line; this is the spin. This is what too many here and abroad have been asked to believe–and some still do. My only question is why.

Why haven’t we, America, wanted more from a leader who should invest in us, and not his corporatist friends? Why haven’t we questioned and then made this entire group accountable for its selling off and its piecemealing of our governmental branches? Why have we permitted the Constitution to become besmirched? Why haven’t we held our representatives and senators accountable? Why haven’t we opened the book on enlightenment and asked more of ourselves?

When we start addressing these questions, when we put decency ahead of greed, when we restore our government back to its rightful role, then America, I’ll walk with my head up by your side. When we can halt the abuses abroad, when we can put democracy before hedonistic economics, then I’ll salute you–and this time mean it. When we can return to dignity and abandon the callous ways we treat our people and others outside our borders, I will then sit down with you, hat in hand.

But until that time, I’ll continue to watch over your shoulder, with both eyes wide open.

Sincerely,

One of your citizens

Coming Home AK (After Katrina)

The following is an excerpt from an article by Gary Simon, owner of GLS. Memories of Katrina and what she did to New Orleans and GLS are still very fresh in our minds today.

A natural disaster is an event we accept as inevitable. If it doesn’t involve us personally, we still watch a tsunami or earthquake on television with incredible disbelief. If it does happen to you, though, a Katrina for instance, your life, within hours, goes into a tailspin and everything that was once important takes on an entirely new meaning. Possessions, of course, are still meaningful, but what will always be paramount is keeping your family out of harm’s way. But you also don’t want to lose your car or dog or favorite jogging jacket, either. Priorities, you need to prioritize your life and prepare yourself for the worst possible scenario. You can’t imagine all the details because you’ve never been in a situation where “the Big One” was coming; you’ve never lost a house or been hit by a tornado or hurricane. You’ve been safe for the most part, and so has your family and you don’t want to see anything change.

First thing then is to protect your property while you have it so there’s this other person outside yourself scrambling about like a mad person on adrenalin, tossing about objects, swooping up clothes and books to take on a trip. Your heart’s pounding, your hands are wet, and you can’t stop dwelling on the inevitable. Both sides of your brain are in high gear and you can’t seem to focus. Hard as it is you must get your head straight on packing up your family to safety and traveling hundreds of miles with your wife, dog and cats. You don’t have the time, or luxury, to consider how you’ll be imposing yourself on relatives who’ll feed you and provide you shelter. There are no minutes left to weigh the possible consequences, such as trees falling through your roof or the potential destruction to the rest of your property. You don’t have a second to spare concerning this wretched nightmare or why you’ve suddenly become the victim. You’ve always taken whatever’s come your way, but this time it’s different. This is something too bizarre and surreal. All you can do is react and prepare.

For decades you’ve lived in your Louisiana home knowing full well how foolish you were to believe you could escape the inevitable. You’ve anticipated this moment, you’ve known of its overwhelming probability and even with all your mental rehearsals it’s still impossible to internalize such a hellish chapter and make sense of it.

Your thoughts are not altogether racing. You’re numb, but still rational enough to get some perspective as you prepare to travel north tonight. You can’t altogether visualize the imminent damage although you run through categories of people who can later help repair the mess. You don’t know any carpenters since you’ve never required their services in the first place. The same goes for sheet-rock persons and tree removal companies. Later, you’ll be asking your wife to call neighbors who might know other neighbors who can tell us what to do–just in case.

All this frenzy will never equal the anguish when you do arrive back home and witness for yourself the damage. All the clichés in the world can’t capture the seconds or describe your terror because with trees lined up for miles along your streets and your lawn turned to dust and your roof caved in and your air conditioner looking like a smashed metal container, all you can feel is a dismal sense of despair. You gaze around and the trees are down and what you see is wasteland. The piece of dirt you’re standing on has no meaning because this isn’t your property any more. In fact, you don’t even know where you are.

All that was familiar once has no connection at the present. Everything that you’ve worked so hard toward has been moved or erased. You don’t know where you’re going to sleep or how you’re going to pay for any new beginnings. You don’t even know how you’re going to take care of your cats and you’re grateful that you left your dog behind in Indiana with your sister-in-law.

You can’t stand up here in the middle of your backyard. It’s almost 5pm and you worry about the dark and no air conditioning in September in New Orleans. It’s 90 degrees outside and over 100 inside a filthy, semi-wrecked house. You can’t seem to make it inside since you’re too immobile to move. You’ve never been hit with a baseball bat but now you know the numbness. It hurts so deep that you feel tears on your cheeks and for the first time you wish it were all over.

Either you convince your wife to get in the car and leave immediately or you just stop this madness at once. Not another minute can you keep your eyes open. Not another minute can you even think about living through the night because you’re already on your knees and you know you can’t get up. If there is a God, let him have mercy on me and just let me keep my eyes closed. Let me stay here, on the ground, wet with sweat and tears and just lie silent. No more. Just let me be.

2007 Super Bowl Ads–What Direction, America?

Any reasonable person watching the Super Bowl could possibly have been offended by some of this year’s crop of lame 2.3 million dollar, 30 second commercials. I know I was. Every season I look forward to this granddaddy event. This is where agencies and their multi-billion dollar clients are expected to bring to the table their best marketing savvy. But sadly, at least for this premiere event, they don’t come close and this year was no exception. This time around, in fact, it only took 90 minutes before I switched off the television without looking back the rest of the evening.

I had similar feelings during last year’s Super Bowl where I struggled through three hours of pointless commercials, cursing along the way at those costly agencies that should have known better. For instance, if an audience is not told what a company does or produces, if an ad holds back relevant content or information about a product, if a commercial is so lame as to neglect to deliver a message, then why are corporations squandering millions of dollars? Why are they wasting my time?

In showing me how well they have mastered their multi-media/hi-tech programs, most agencies accomplished the opposite of what they set out to do–at least from my perspective. They didn’t gain an audience or new buyer; they lost a prospective buyer (e) since a. I can’t remember who those companies were, b. what they were selling or c. even if they had a product or service I required.

This year the commercial presentations did the impossible and surpassed 2006 in terms of generating limp ideas and neglecting the age range of its audience. The ads went leaps and bounds off the consumer charts with loads of color, action and action (did I say action?) but miniscule marketing presence. Inclusive in this package of wasted stupidities was one empty missile after another. Most commercials were so recklessly concocted that my focus constantly shifted from their supposed commercial message to what really annoyed me–a haphazard and juvenile delivery.

All in all, I can’t put all the blame on the agencies that played recklessly with their advertisers’ dollars. The American public may have to share part of this blame, since it was to all of us that advertisers were appealing. Moreover, if today’s marketers believed its audience was only receptive to basement humor, silly pranks and first grade dialogue then maybe should someone check and see if they’re right?

Personally, I don’t feel the majority has quite yet sunk to these levels although, I will grant, our intelligence barometer is certainly approaching dangerous readings. I will also agree that while we continue to academically and socially miss our potential, it’s not to any advertiser’s benefit to play upon our shortcomings. In doing so he both loses a sale and an audience.

Still, there’s a warning that needs to be heeded. It’s been noted time and again that this nation has never had an Enlightened period. We started with a bang with Jefferson and Franklin. In between these two marvelous gents and the Transcendental crowd to the present there’s been a growing demise in our behavior and education. To be frank, we’ve taken a spiraling turn away from enrichment and decency. But even with this downward trend, I don’t believe we’ve fallen to levels that marketers think we have–although we’re close.

Few could argue that these Super Bowl commercials were eye-opening reminders of the rut we’re in. It’s not a place where I wish to hang my hat or spend much time. Yet, how did we go from children of Coke singing around the universal Christmas tree to people exchanging vaudevillian slaps, portraying dim-witted, obtuse antics? I don’t have an answer. I just know we have. Turn on any TV channel or radio station. Scan the magazine racks. It’s pretty much the same bubble gum and glitter buffoonery.

Given all this, maybe I shouldn’t have been totally surprised by the wasted efforts that have come to epitomize Super Bowl commercials. After the first 10 minutes of slug and punch this year I was hoping that maybe someone in Marketingville would feel a bit sorry for me and drag up an old Bud frog commercial or maybe contact Aflac and entice one of these achievers with a spot on its advertising calendar.

But we, the viewing audience, had no such luck. Not this year anyhow. Instead of Cindy Crawford crossing cow fields, high-priced agencies went into high gear with their bells and whistles. Flash without substance. Yet, it’s that area of substance that we should be looking to hook up with again. We have to up the ante and begin raising the bar a bit. We need to start to extend our reach over low comedic and frivolous attempts. Before we all go verbally deaf, communicators need to put real meaning back into their words. Their sights should strive to reach beyond the mundane and extraordinarily ridiculous.

Advertisers need to connect honestly with themselves if only to remind one another that not all Americans are the buffoons they wish to portray. We might have taken a temporary backslide in terms of academic and social progress, but we don’t wish for others to drag us through the muck time and again. To whose benefit is it really?

Besides, if we’re that mixture of buffoonery and geek they believe us to be, playing upon these denigrating behaviors probably won’t guarantee a hard sell. But try to stretch the mark and play to the creative, and even the beautiful, maybe then you might find a more receptive audience. Besides, I probably won’t turn off the TV next time, either.

Postcard Advertising

Recently, we had two clients at GLS pose some interesting questions about their postcard advertising. It seems their comments were almost identical. The main point was that neither received the BIG response they were hoping for from their direct mail marketing. In other words they didn't land the next Microsoft. When I said that we have to continue with the campaign neither nixed the idea; they just baulked and essentially said, "If we didn't catch the big fish last month, what makes you think it will happen this month?"

Well, the truth is I don't know if you'll bring in the "big" client any time soon, but standing on the sidelines won't turn your business around either. OK, you didn't hit a grandslam the last time out; but you certainly didn't strike out. You paid for your printing and picked up some new business. The next time out you might achieve stronger results and even capture the attention of those bigger companies you're targeting. You can try mailing the cards out to the same people, or you may wish to use another list. If you chose the former, the individual who should have received the card in the first place may now actually get your postcard in his hands. There might be follow-up on his end as well and he just might have someone from his office contact you! A new list will provide a whole new playing field. The possibilities are unknown (remember: there is no perfect answer). Yet, the probability that a strong, creative campaign with a memorable targeted message will capture attention, and hopefully clients, is the best attitude to have.

With all marketing we like our clients to do follow-through. You might not be able to call everyone on your mailing list (we can do that for you), but you can do a random sampling. You have the excuse now to make the call and to introduce yourself. You can ask the respondent if he/she received the information and if the answser is positive then you can inquire whether there is a need for your services. If they can't remember your postcard (it might have been included in the trash mail--by mistake, of course) then now's the time to introduce yourself and your company. You can't think of this as cold-calling since you already reached out to the person via your postcard. As a professional, you're simply calling to see if your printed piece was positively received, and if it was, then to try to convert your call into a potential sale.

So whether or not you receive emails or phone calls from your postcard advertising, there are ways to capitalize on the campaign. If you feel strongly about your messge, but come up short with the first mailing, then wait a few weeks and repeat the process. While some might have liked what they saw in your messge but still neglected to respond, maybe this time they will. Reminding others that you're with a great company that does great things is the best approach I can recommend. If they hear and see the message enough times and they like it, chances are they just might pick up the phone and wish to talk.

The State Of Marketing

It seems that most companies still don't get it, particularly smaller and individually-owned companies. They either don't perceive the value of marketing or refuse to put their money in areas they don't understand. Even when the "true, real" value of advertising is explained, the vast majority will remain comfortably on the sidelines. Why?

If company A perceives that company B is doing little to promote its business, then company A will follow suit. It's always been a game of grab the elephant by the tail. The players may be different but their marketing sense is often faulty and self-destructive. Timid, fearful caution is not what this overly competitive world needs now.

If the business community had more of an aggressive mind-set, if it were more sophisticated and knowledgeable, then the advertising market would reflect those core values.

Unfortunately when there are ten similar businesses marketing themselves in exactly the same indistinguishable way, then what incentive is there for others to pull away from the crowd? There is, in fact, no impetus to raise themselves above the mundaneness of colored flyers, template websites and embarrassingly self-scripted and self-directed commercials. Consequently until all this unsophisticated mess and poor graphics go away, our markets will remain in a constant tailspin.

Clients must perceive value in how they spend money. They must recognize that those who advertise well are usually the better companies for it in the first place. They must understand that standing still means just that: never elevating oneself above mediocrity.

It's inconceivable how companies who can afford creative, memorable advertising continually revert to in-house graphics that can only reflect poorly upon themselves. For that reason it's always a delight, as well as a measure of marketing justice, when an organization takes its marketing by the reins and ups the standards for others around them. Only when more do the same, will we have a more enlightened public. This in turn will also lead to more demands for better goods and services.

I can only hope that that day is around the corner.