Titanic Experience

Titanic Experience
Originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

Since June 10, 2006, San Francisco's Mascone Center has been home to The Titantic Artifact Exhibit. The movie was good; this was great.

Jessaca and I waited in line for nearly an hour, just to get into the exhibit. Despite a the crowd of frustrated parents trying to wrangle in their kids, the line went quickly. Needless to say, once you get in it is apparent that you are able to experience something totally sureal.

As you make your way through the different chambers, you can't help but feel as though you are on board the ship.

The re-created grand stair case and the cabin quarters were amazing to see first-hand....and when you walk into the blue room that has a replica-like glacier you get a vivid sense what is must have been like in the freezing cold water in the dead of night.

I am not sure where the exhibit is headed next, but if it is anywhere near you, I would encourage you to take a few hours to visit this very worthwhile exerience. It will move you undoubtly.

Capitalism Takes Over Telegraph (Berkeley)

Berkeley
Originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

In the spring of 2002, I was a senior at Cal. The weather was nice. School was almost out and there was a lot of excitement in the air as graduation loomed. After class, I can remember taking the long way home from class. Along Telegraph Avenue I'd check out the different stores, eclectic street vendors, grab a slice of pizza, and soak in all that was Berkeley. Afterall, my fours were almost up.

It had been some time since I had visit my alm mater and on Saturday I had a chance to check out campus and the area.

For those of you who are die hard Berkeley natives from the 1960's please stop reading this post now. What I am about to tell you might be too disturbing.

Telegraph was lined with creative, unique and interesting stores. Now, I am affraid to report that capitalism has taken over. As you exit campus, and walk down Telegraph you will pass Sprint, EB Games, Chipotle, and Addidas on your left. Down further are other examples of the corporate take over of Telegraph.

If there is one positive to take away from this; it should be that if capitalism can succeed on Telegraph, then it can succeed anywhere.

Staff Meetings

Dean at CPK
Originally uploaded by wr_downing33.

We try to keep staff meetings fun, but you could see that Dean was starting to let his mind wander a little bit as Simon talked about our need to grow market share......

The Apple Retail Experience

Today I got a new MacBook Pro.

As expected, the Apple experience was flawless. I walked into the store, looked around for a couple minutes, went to the register, told them what I wanted, and one minute later I was walking out the door with my new laptop and the receipt was emailed to me my mac email.

Haven't had time to mess around with the laptop just yet, but I am looking forward to testing the new Intel processor.

Apple.com for more details on the new MacBook Pro.

Power of Blogging

2007 is not even 30 days old and still lots of things are happening.

Hillary threw her hat in the ring. The 2008 election is going to be very exciting, and will prove to be a telling event in American history. While Hillary has a lot going for her; my prediction is that Obama and The Clinton's make a deal. It will be all for not because Rudy will win in 2008. He is staying out of the fray for now; but he is poised to win it. McCain will be VP.

Apple announced the iPhone. Too soon to tell if it will be as good as Jobs says it will be. Prediction: Apple is on its way to taking over the world. All eyes are on Google, but Apple is a more powerful brand.

I have received a lot of emails from people regarding my blog. It is has been great to hear different opinions from people all over the USA and the world. The power of blogging is going to peak in 2007; more and more people will benefit from this one-on-one relationship with the new globalized economy. Look for more and more businesses to use blogging as a way to build their brand.

On the ESM front, we have been very excited about our progress. Both our college coaching group and our internet recruiting group have seen a lot of interest, and our growing.

If anyone thought 2007 was going to be slow; think again.

Greece 2006

A trip to Athens and Faraklada (the village) in Greece 2006. Enjoy the video.

San Jose Museum of Art

If you have time, check out the San Jose Museum of Art. There is an exhibition entitled "The Listening Post."

It is a hybrid between art and technology. In a nutshell the exhibition pulls information from the internet live and streams the information to the viewer in a variety of different visuals and sounds.

Check out: the online description.

Starbucks: Your "Partner"

Yesterday in Lafayette I stopped at Starbucks. Not really paying attention to much, I grabbed a bottle of water and The NY Times.

On my way out, I noticed a sign in the window that said: "Everyone is a PARTNER at Starbucks."

The notion that Starbucks was trying to articulate didn't hit me for a few minutes. As a drove down Mt. Diablo it finally rang home to me. This was brilliant.

The mega-billion dollar company that has been heralded as the eptome of capitalism, while still being depicted as the poster boy of corporate greed was trying to change its image. This time from the inside-out.

A good friend of mine, John Davis (brandnewview.blogspot.com), has spoken eloquenty about the need for branding to be done within the company first, before being exported outside to clients.

In essence, Starbucks was trying to foster an ethos within the company that every team member is in fact a "partner" in the firm. The hope and goal is that Starbucks will produce a culture of long-lasting employees who exude a passion for their business, and most importantly proudly advocate the Starbucks brand.

The Power of Kids

One of the reasons we started ESM was because we believe in the power of youth. Today I got a phone call from a mother who's son we work with......

His high school counselor has just finished telling the mother that her son was never going to college and should just give up on trying. He remarked, "College is not for everyone."

It is that type of negative, narrow-minded person whom we want to re-teach in order to help them work with youth; rather than allowing them to squash the ambitions of those who are working to that end.

At times I feel we are losing the battle, but next spring when this student is accepted to college and graduates high school, it will only speak volumes about how much kids can achieve when we believe in them.....

Mobile Blogging

I have been spending a lot of time traveling for work lately, so I
thought I would check out the mail-to-blogger feature....here is a
test from my blackberry.

Sactown Magazine

Inside the Newport Beach Barnes & Noble I was looking for a copy of the Orange County Business Journal. As I made my way through the stands, I came across an unlikely find: A copy of the Sactown Magazine. Here in OC was a little piece of Sacramento.....

For all the naysayers, here is proof that little by little Sacramento is creating a culture of itself just like the Bay Area has done; We may still be years away from SF, LA or San Diego. But the margin is closing. Fast.

Congrats to Sactown Magazine for its early success, and with the likes of others like them Sacramento should enjoy a very bright 2007, and beyond.

Urban Living in Downtown San Diego

Thought you might like to see some photos from Downtown San Diego................lots of development underway.

2007 - What's on the horizon

Happy New Year to all.

2007 should prove to be a very interesting year. On the world business front web 2.0 and social networking internet sites are all the buzz. Private Equity and Hedge Funds continue to raise obscene amounts of money for mergers and buyouts. The real estate market nationwide has cooled prompting many to ask what will fuel the economy and keep us out of recession. The 2008 Presidential Election could very well be the most important vote America has ever had, and much of the political strife will come to a head in 2007. But most importantly, globalization and the world economy will contiue to grow at a fast pace and technology coupled with the internet will open more doors for all of us in business.

On a smaller scale, at ESM we are excited about the following projects:

*growing on our college coaching business to include kids both in the USA and abroad.
*breaking ground on a new soccer specific sports center in the greater Sacramento-area.
*upgrading our digitial recruiting website to include more features for our clients.
*expanding our tournament schedule to include multiple venues and locations.
*continuing to help kids achieve the unthinkable.

All the best in 2007,

Billy Downing
ESM