This changing world
Since the first time prehistoric man wordlessly bartered with his neighbour, hoping to exchange a juicy mammoth rib for a new season fur, persuasive sales techniques have been constantly evolving. In the old days (she typed creakily) the accepted opening to any sales pitch was, “Excuse me, have you got a minute?” But marketing execs tumbled that this allowed potential buyers to simply say, “no”, and go on their way - so they got clever. It was the charity collectors who started it. Back when I used to do a bit of (unpaid) can-shaking, my tactics were rudimentary: a cheery smile and an encouraging rattle was all I had in my arsenal. These days, instead of saying, “Would you like to make a donation?”, chuggers ask,“Have you got a minute for cancer research?” Saying no to this is equivalent to answering, “No, I”m a selfish cold hearted git and am probably the boss of a tobacco company.”
Even worse, sometimes their opening gambit has nothing to do with their real objective. I find myself forced to stride firmly past those who call, “Isn’t it nice weather? I don’t like doing that - it’s rude, and I am not a rude person. But the alternative is to invite a pointless time-wasting pitch which will inevitably end in my refusing to hand over my bank details. So I have gone from being someone who would never dream of ignoring someone who addressed me to someone who does it routinely when walking down the high street. And all in the name of charity…
Blogs, PersonalGeeky gathering
I’ve never before seen a man rocking out in a Partick Thistle shirt, accompanied by the RSNO. Video Games Live was certainly an unusual evening. It was also populated almost exclusively by geeks, few of whom shattered any stereotypes. Lank long hair, black clothing and pallid skin were everywhere, punctuated with the occasional skinny indie boy looking slightly out of place.
It was a great night, even though I didn’t recognise a lot of the music, not being much of a gamer. Video Game Pianist was the highlight, along with live action space invaders and an excitable young Malaysian learning to play Frogger in front of 2000 people.
Blogs, Photos