The Resurgence of Email

With the recent example of Amazon’s AWS service arbitrarily killing a business’s website by revoking the company’s hosting contract, the question must be asked – If a service provider can suddenly decide to not provide you service, how can you continue to reach your audience? The short answer is one of the foundational elements of the internet – the original POP… Post Office Protocol. Email. POP servers have (and are) a staple of the internet. They deliver (most) user verification and forgot password emails. They notify people of …

Quora: “What was your most difficult moment as a Disney cast member?”

Before I moved to (and learned a lot from) Disneyland Guest Relations, my most difficult moment came from my own lack of experience dealing with angry/bad guests. I started my Disneyland career as a ride operator on Autopia, around the age of 29 (so I wasn’t a ‘kid.’) One of the positions there is “grouper,” where you assign positions for guests, based on how many cars they need for their group. The position is somewhat fast-paced, as the cars are loading and unloading constantly, and not all guests …

You Can’t Use PayPal Anymore, or, How to Kill a Small Business

In late 2015, I launched MouseMingle.com – the dating site for Disney fans. A few weeks ago, PayPal banned MouseMingle from processing payments with no notice – effectively killing my small business. Why did PayPal choose to kill my small business? Your guess is as good as mine. Why would I say that? Because the official message on my PayPal dashboard says that I’m “in violation of PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy.” The problem is, PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy says nothing about wholesome websites helping people connect and (hopefully) fall …

Radio Show Directories

The move from terrestrial radio to digital radio shows brings a host of “Podcast Directories” where people can find shows for just about any topic. This is a list of directories for those who want to find a show, or to submit their own. Google Podcasts Apple Podcasts Amazon Music Podcasts Spotify Stitcher PodChaser TuneIn iHeartRadio Pandora RadioPublic PodcastRepublic Pocket Casts Castbox.fm Listen Notes Deezer PodcatAddict Player FM

FAIL: Scott’s RV in Vancouver, WA

Scott’s RV, Vancouver, WA 115 SE Ellsworth Rd, Vancouver, WA 98664 (360) 882-3444 https://scottsrvvancouver.com/ Everyone has bad days. Some people have bad weeks. Their cat just died. Their spouse left them. Their boss yelled at them… but there’s no excuse to repeatedly F-bomb a customer over a lost sale. Sadly, that’s what happened to me at Scott’s RV in Vancouver, WA yesterday. I’ve been researching RVs for several years, trying to understand storage, maintenance, RV park costs, tires, shower sizes, water tanks, and all the things you need …

Disney+ : Lessons in Agile

Having worked on hundreds of websites since the early 1990s, I’m confident in saying that I understand what works and what doesn’t. And, having worked in waterfall and agile software environments, and as a project manager / program manager, I know what the business teams wants vs. what the development teams can deliver (usually based on the timeline that the business owners want.) With the recent launch of Disney’s streaming video service, Disney+, it’s easy to see that Disney is trying to follow some agile methodologies. One of …

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