I’ve started using Google Reader’s shared items for linking interesting bits that cross my path. You can follow my shared items feed (also see my blog sidebar) and interact on Google Buzz. I plan to do a weekly recap here for those who prefer reading them that way.

• Brand Autopsy: Tough Love For Starbucks
  Published: March 6, 2010
  Source: brandautopsy.typepad.com
  My Note: John Moore gets tough with Starbucks: I might still credit some of the ideas he discounts, but his point is still quite clear. Soliciting input implies you're going to use it, else it's a disingenuous false face to the customer. Bad Starbucks.
  It’s been almost two years since Starbucks jumped into the deep waters of social media with their MyStarbucksIdea.com program. This is a website where customers submit and discuss ideas on ways Starbucks can improve its business. Over 80,000 ideas have...

I’m sitting in a downtown Starbucks in Winnipeg, doing some online work, drinking a coffee. There’s a sign on the door outside, and another one on the second door in the entryway that says “Attention Customers: Due to technical difficulties we will ONLY be accepting credit, debit, or Starbucks cards. NO CASH!! Sorry for the inconvenience – Team Broadway”. I should mention that the all-caps words are highlighted in orange and green, and double-underlined.

Everyone (well, almost) stops to read the first sign, standing outdoors, sometimes holding the door open as they read. Those who skip the first sign will usually do the same process at the second sign. And in case you ignored both of those, there’s one on the cash register.

I’m enjoying Seth Godin’s latest book, Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?. In his chapter on “Becoming the Linchpin”, he has a great diagram on page 52, which I’ve reproduced here. His linchpin discussion is a good illustration of the variance between price and value. I always cringe when a client reacts negatively to my billing rate (which is low for the industry). If they say, “I wish I could bill my time at that rate,” I know they haven’t got it and may never “get it.” I want to ask them what rate they pay their mechanic or their accountant. It’s a question of the value contributed, not the price paid. This is the problem with people who try to do too much tweaking on the product of a good designer… they don’t understand that they’re paying for expertise and then negating its value. Perhaps they’d rather have an expert at minimum wage?