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Douglas Karr

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The Cloud Explained Simply

The Power Cloud

I've been doing a little bit of work out of the DK New Media offices the last couple of months and the other day I heard Douglas Karr with the Marketing Tech Blog give perhaps the best explanation of "the Cloud" to client I had ever heard. Now for those of us working on technology and specifically in Internet marketing, we don't have any problems understanding how the Cloud works or what it really is. If you're like me though you have a number of family members and friends and clients that don't quite get it or understand how it works. So, I share this explanation with you that was shared by Doug after a client asked how it worked.

Client: "What is the Cloud? How does it work?"

Doug: "You have electricity at your house right?"

Client: "Yes"

Doug: "Where does it come from?"

Client: "A power plant somewhere"

Doug: "That's the Cloud. Electricity flows through a network of power plants all across the country. The Cloud is just a collection of servers (like power plants) that host and store all the data and information that's stored on their networks. When you need it, you flip the switch and the data (like electricity) flows to your computer or other device."

Client: "Ah, that makes sense."

Now, wasn't that easy? Doug was able to take something that the client was familiar with and relate it to how Internet networked storage works. Sure the client doesn't know all the in's and out's of how the nationwide power network grid works, but neither do they need to know all the specifics of how the Cloud works. They just need to get an idea of how it works.

What do you think? Would you explain it differently? Let me know in the comments, I'd love to hear your own spin on how you'd educate someone to how the Cloud works.

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It’s the Pursuit of Happiness… Not the GIFT of Happiness

Douglas KarrThis was recently shared by my friend Douglas Karr on his Facebook wall. It’s brilliant in it’s simplicity, relevance and its transparency of who Doug really is in his life. Doug was absolutely the first person I really met online when I moved up here to Indianapolis. He approached me to share my story on his website I Choose Indy, and I did. Although time passed from that time until we reconnected again, we’ve been friends ever since and regularly moan and complain to and encourage each other at both a personal and professional level.

You’ll never met a better guy than Doug. Ever since I’ve know him he’s been a single dad that’s kicked butt, sacrificed what had to be and done what needed to be to take care of his two kids.

When I got out of the Navy, there were no jobs. I washed dishes and delivered Pizza Hut for minimum wage (plus $0.50 per delivery and tips). After working 8 hours, I would have to go home and fix my Chevette that I bought for $100… replacing brake lines, starters, anything to keep it on the road. One time – for weeks – I had to drive it using the emergency brake – my arm cramping each time I slid to a stop. Another night, a Dominoe’s driver was robbed and shot dead in the same neighborhood I was in. I never stopped working.

I took every extra shift because my son was just born and we were broke and lived in a very rough neighborhood. In the meantime, I continued applying for jobs everywhere. I eventually landed a part-time job as an Electrician at the shipyards. While I worked there, I kept delivering pizzas – working 60 to 80 hours a week. After that, I landed a full-time job at a Newspaper for a decent wage. I didn’t quit delivering pizzas for another 6 months.

When I hear people bitch about a ‘living wage’, I want to scream. My daughter Katie Ann Karr is fresh out of high school and has had 4 different jobs since graduation… each one better than the last. She now works 2 jobs and doesn’t make minimum wage at either. With no experience she got every job she applied for. She loves the opportunities she’s getting at learning about fashion, beauty products and retail. At the same time, she’s going to school at IUPUI full-time. And, no, she doesn’t make a ‘living wage’… I help out. But she knows that she’s accumulating knowledge and experience that will help her in the future.

If you don’t make enough money, work more. If you don’t make enough money, quit your job and start your own business. If you don’t make enough money, go learn another trade. If you don’t make enough money, cancel your cable, take the bus and sell your car, cancel your smartphone and turn off your A/C. If you don’t make enough money – it’s up to YOU to change it. We live in a free country where you can do whatever you would like, but I’ll be damned if I support a system that just hands it to you. Quit being so jealous and petty about what others have that you think you’re entitled to. You’re not.

It’s the “Pursuit of Happiness”. The definition of pursuit is “the action of following or pursuing someone or something.” It’s not handing it to them. Enough is enough already.

Doesn’t get much more simple than that. Just good stuff right there. May we all hear it and make it so.

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Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me

I’ve got to give a hat tip to Douglas Karr (@douglaskarr) who recently posted on the Marketing Tech Blog an article about email marketing that included the video below from “Weird Al” Yankovic’s song “Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me”. I’d never heard of this song, which is odd because I was a huge Weird Al fan and had/have most of his songs memorized.

For anyone that has been known to forward stuff to friends, I challenge you to listen to and take heart the words of this song. If you’re not familiar with Snopes, visit them. And if you don’t know how to effectively use the BCC option in email. Do a little research please.