Dr. Neil Hair

It seems that some companies are starting to get it recently. Consumers want simple. We dont want e-numbers (English term), preservatives or caramel colouring. We want - simple. And now companies are jumping on this creating a more memorable customer experience. Take Haagen Daas (pity the name isnt simple). New range - only 5 ingredients. Perfect marketing! Amusingly if you look at regular HD vanilla icecream you see only 1 extra ingredient. Vanilla extract. Truth is though, only sad marketing academics pick up the originals to compare to see whats now missing. Simple appears to be the new complicated. 5 is also the number of ingredients for the perfect pink gin and tonic (I am a qualified bartender remember); Bombay Sapphire Gin, Diet Schweppes Tonic (good luck finding that in this region), Lime, Ice and two dashes of Angostura Bitters. Simple it seems - can also be fun!

OK, I'm very happy to add my two cents to the outrage people are expressing regards the capping of broadband of roadrunner users. It appears that its all for nothing that Ive been a loyal customer and advocate of TWCRR for over 7 years total (netting them well over $9000 in the process). Greed has taken over it seems and they want to charge for what they call 'excessive' usage. By all accounts that involves using more than 5gb of data a month. How ridiculous. I have it on good authority (the cable guy none the less) that their bandwidth is no where near saturated - in fact they claim internally to be able to offer double the current speeds (but will only do so once competitors match existing speeds). Thankfully competition has kicked in. Frontier - sensing the ability to strike back at TWC has promised NOT to cap speeds or data use. I suspect we are therefore in for some dramatic changes to our local landscape when it comes to customers of both companies. For me though it speaks to how both companies have failed to sense a cultural shift in what we do with our spare time and how we work and play. Take TWC, it amuses me that they spend so much money and time advertising digital home phones that only our grandparents still use. It amuses me that they dont see the wireless providers stepping into the ring (where tethering services that now cost an additional $15 for an unlimited service - check out Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T - not to mention Cricket and Sprint!). What amuses me most of all though is that this sudden announcement has caused my family at least to call into question just how much cable TV we really watch. I can count the hours on one hand per week. Thats about $5 an hour of viewing that I am being charged. It also amuses me that most of the channels I watch are in HD - the exact same channels are available FOR FREE over the air with a good piece of reception kit stuck on my roof. No, I think Im going to pass on this years $1500 TWC bill for 12 months of service. And here is the irony - I think I will pass on this bill whether they go back on this silly decision to cap usage or not. Im spending too much on too little service, very little value added. So I guess I want to say thank you Time Warner. Ive just realised I dont need your service after all.

Good job on the marketing by the way. I look forward to using this in class;

Several other issues they will face in the future, a planned demonstration outside of their offices on Mount Hope on the 18th April from 11am to 5pm (hay protesting for those hours should save you that 5gb you would have used watching three of NetFlix's online streaming videos!)

Hundreds of Facebook groups protesting unfair practice. Way to go with viral marketing! Pity its not positive but there you go.

Hundreds of blogs from consumers unhappy with such changes - my fave by the way passed onto me courtessy of Dave Ballard at Saunders http://www.stopthecap.com/. 

Something is up in little Britain. The news for one. This weekend alone;

1. Runaway Scooter carries away pensioner

2. Hope the white German Shepherd mowes the lawn

3. Lap dancing Nun to perform for cardinals and bishops (my favourite)

4. Her Majesty getting upset with Italy's Berlisconi

5. Rural villagers send Google Cam packing

And people wonder why I refuse to use local websites for all my news.