I was having a glass of wine with a friend last night – a Malbec, which by the way, was sheepy, barn-yardy and yucky.. some Malbecs just baffle me (I don’t dig it, so I opened a different bottle) – and he said something interesting.

He said, “To be honest, Phil, I don’t think anyone cares what the buildings are like. There’s no connection between the maintenance crews and the customer desire.”

This was part of a long conversation about a timeshare development that’s teetering on the brink of disaster. So I couldn’t resist and said, “Are you going to let me know when you switch back to dishonesty?”

I love this little joke and try to fit it in every once in a while, even though it’s really annoying. I wrote it about a long time ago (Eliminate Honesty from Your Copy), and it’s covered in-depth in my eBay Marketing book, which is now available on the Kindle.

The main point is this. When you’re speaking or writing – especially if you’re involved with a persuasive presentation or document – it’s best to stay away from words like “frankly,” “honestly,” and “to tell you the truth.” Consciously or subconsciously people are going to notice and wonder why honesty all of a sudden became an issue.

Instead, use facts, logic and proof to construct your pitches and explanations. You don’t need to qualify your virtue when clear, compelling information is at hand.

That other stuff sounds “salesy” and a bit cheap. You’re better than that.

And, yes, please use my joke when you’re out with friends. It’s a real show stopper.. but it might just get you a face full of Malbec, so be careful.

If you’re interested in technology trends, I wrote an article for D-Link about RSS photo feeds. This kind of application is simple, like ring tones – hence the title of the article. Yet it’s so much more clever and elaborate.

I write blog posts for D-Link from time to time, and this is the latest one. Which reminds me… are you blogging about your products and services? It’s a great way to communicate with consumers, explore new ideas and uses for your products, and learn from your user/consumer community.

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee wrote a great article on Web trends in the November 26, 2007 issue of InformationWeek. There is so much going on in this market.. the mind reels. Here’s a taste from the lead:

“The old days of companies tightly controlling a marketing message are gone…The interactive forces of the Internet – including social networking sites, online discussion boards, and blogs – are arming consumers with tools that can quickly and exponentially spread the word to other would-be customers if a product stinks or a company blunders… Companies such as Charles Schwab and OnStar are creating Internet platforms to literally read the minds of consumers, seeking out insights that directly drive their new product strategies.” [my emphasis]

This reminded me of AdWords, of course. AdWords is great for driving business or clicks to your site via general advertising techniques. However, what a lot of people don’t realize is that AdWords is a great tool for testing promos, floating new ideas, and reading the minds of consumers. And it’s cheap!.. given the right niched-out keywords.

The article details various ways companies like FedEx, eBay, Schwab and others are using the social connectivity of Web 2.0 (I hate saying Web 2.0, but I did, shame) to their advantage. FedEx’s CIO Rob Carter says, (paraphrased from the article) “The explosive growth of this connectivity has been ‘completely underestimated’ in how it will affect society and markets.” I concur.

The article also talks about some fascinating new trends, like having your Second Life avatar or character purchase things for you or book reservations for you online. I know, that sounds crazy. But think about it. Why the heck not? If you build the right character, with all your tastes, desires, wish lists and so forth, why not set him free on a shopping spree? I’ve never played Second Life, but I assume there are vendors in there, like Amazon.com. (If you know how this works, please comment below and enlighten us.) FedEx’s Carter comments in the article, “Second Life has enough momentum to make us wonder: What if this identity I’ve built could spill over into my daily life and get things done for me?” Your avatar would be like an information robot – tuned to all your preferences and guided by “business rules” that determine decisions.

Carter extends the concepts further, saying, “The greatest opportunities lie in socially networking corporations together – horizontally, across business processes, which don’t necessarily live within your four walls anymore.” Great example = Gaming like Second Life supporting commerce like FedEx and Amazon.com.

The article describes how some companies like OnStar use Nielsen BuzzMetrics to analyze how they’re performing in “consumer-generated media.” This is another hot topic, worthy of another post, probably.

There’s a cool story about Dell’s celebrity advertising campaigns, too. I’ll blog more on that later, too.

In the mean time, read the article. It’s a mind bender.