Standing Out in Business

Have you ever had an idea that you thought was amazing and turns out it was actually the stupidest idea you've ever made? Well so has Seth Godin. Seth is a guiding light in new age marketing and in his speech about standing out, he shares his little secrets on how to make your adds sell better and make you more money.

Godin started off by talking about sliced bread, he stated that in the first 15 years no one really knew about it or what it was. Then once wonder bread came along they helped it spread. "Ideas that spread win" was the quote on many of the pictures he showed throughout his speech. The heart of spreading ideas is using the T.V. and media. This helps to get your idea to more people and also to try and get them to remember your product.

That bring us to the TV-industrial complex, which is the idea that if you buy ads which gets you more distribution, then the distribution help you sell more products, that makes you more profits to buy more adds. However, they have realized that over the last few years that same thought process and way of working is no longer working. One reason why that is, is because consumers "have way more choices than they used to and way less time."

Seth goes on to say that they things that are going to sell are things that are remarkable. It used to be that companies were making average products for average people and just going for the center, but now we should instead market to the innovators and early adopters because they care "and if your lucky they'll tell their friends and it will spread through the curve."

A Well Matched Game

At A Glance:
Who: Sprague volleyball team
What: Game versus North Salem
When: Tuesday October 20, 2009
Where: Sprague High School
Why: Game play
Next Game: OSAA playoffs 2nd round @ 7:00 against Canby
Results: Sprague won
Scores: 14-25, 13-25, 22-25

Tuesday October 20, 2009 the Sprague Olympians varsity volleyball team took on the North Salem Vikings. Each match was incredibly close but Sprague ended up taking home the win due to thier impeccable teamwork. This win helped Sprague move closer to getting into the playoffs. Both teams fought incredibly hard and worked together till the very end and both skill levels were equally matched. Sprague's 2009 varsity team has a record so far of 9-1. North seemed a little psyched out seeing as Sprague was last years Central Valley Conference winners. The entire game kept you on the edge. It makes your heart race and your body clinches, you can only imagine how the players were feeling. With every hit the crowd would watch intently hoping their team would get it over and score the point.

Despite North’s effort, Sprague over took them winning three out of five games. The girls worked together really well and came together as a team, which was one of the main factors that helped them win. Some of the top players of this game were Kaleigh Nelson and Emily Oslie, both seniors at sprague, had some amazing blocks against the other team.

After the game Jessie Wright, one of Sprague’s assistant coaches and a player on last year's varsity team, told me that in order to win the next game “the girls need to communicate better and be more confident in themselves and in their skills.” The team didn’t talk very much or even very loud and that’s when they started making mistakes because some of the team didn’t know what was going on.

Saydie Leach, a former student at Sprague, shared with me that some of the teams strengths were that they helped each other out “if one girl messed up or didn’t get where they needed to be another one was there to step up and get the ball over the net.” She really enjoyed that the teams were so evenly matched. “Those games are the best because you never know what’s going to happen.”

Another crowd member was Kayla Kiger, a freshman and Chemeketa and also a former student at Sprague. She told me that she “watched a lot of games last year and this year's team really needs to work on their blocking.” She also added that the girls fell into the net a lot and need to work on digging the ball out. Although Sprague did win they have a few things that they need to work on if the want to continue on a winning streak. Wright also shared that she loves “watching the girls play because they have fun and such enthusiasm.” I’d have to say I agree, these girls play hard and leave their hearts on the court. If you enjoy watching a well matched game, go to the next Sprague game which is the 2nd round of the OSAA playoff's at 7:00pm against Canby @ Canby.

An Interview With Linda Taylor

On Friday, October 9th, 2009 I got the chance to sit down and chat with Ms. Linda Taylor. Linda is a student here at LBCC who has ambitions to become a political writer. She grew up about 8 miles west of Sweet Home in a city called Crawfordville, Oregon. "I loved being in the country and hiking and horse back riding." Linda shared with me that she is going to be a grandma this coming January. "It's my first grand child" she added and its going to be a baby girl. While chatting with her she seemed to have a lot of hope that he family will live happy lives and be able to have bright futures. She really hopes her son gets engaged and has more grand kids for her. Linda commented that one person she'd love to meet is John Cougar Mellencamp "I have collected all his Cd's and love listening to his music". Also if Linda could go on one game show, she decided she'd want to go on Name That Tune. It was really awesome to be able to sit down and talk with her. She seems to have a lot of neat stories to share, so if you ever get the chance, maybe ask her to share a few. I'm sure she'd be delighted.

Crammed Classes

At a Glance:
Who: LBCC staff and students
What: Crammed classes
When: Fall term 2009
Where: LBCC
Why: Staff lay-offs and student increase

This year students are finding it hard to get into the classes they need due to the increase in students at LBCC. The staff at LBCC is doing everything within their power to help students get into classes, even if it means denying cost of living increases and cramming more students in their classrooms. After talking with Peter Jensen, an English teacher here at LB, he said it’s the worst year he’s seen in his career “this years staff voted to give up cost of living increase to save the jobs of other teachers.” With such a huge increase in students and a major decrease in staff members it’s hard to accommodate all the students. Most people seem hopeful and think that this problem won’t last long. Freshman Courtney Hogan commented “I’m sure over time things will get better and that they will create more classes.” In addition Jensen thinks it will take awhile but we will get out of it.

I chatted with Danny Aynes of Enrollment Services to see what his thoughts were. He shared that there a lot of older students this year “so many are coming back and trying to start fresh, they are starting lower so they can get a better degree.” Seeing as that’s the case most of the developmental classes such as writing, reading, and math are filling up the quickest. Also Aynes says that the most important classes are study skills and time management.

I’ve noticed that there are a lot of mixed feelings about waitlists as well. Freshman Hogan states, “I’m not on any of them, but for anyone who is it’s probably really frustrating to just sit and wait.” Aynes told me that the waitlist are limited by technology and it could be better. He also adds “the staff wants kids in class, even if you’re on the waitlist try and get in.” If you show up and you’re on the waitlist, most of the staff will let more students take the class. However thats not always the case, Jensen commented “some classes I may add two or more but others like writing 227 there are only 25 computers so we can only allow 25 students.”

In addition there are some class alternatives for a few classes. If your not an English major you can take any introduction class, but with writing classes your stuck with what you have to take and may have to put it off till next term. Also if you don’t get the classes you need this term just make sure to look into early sign ups for next term. The staff wants to see you finish here rather than some where else, so show up even if your wait listed. Although it may not be available to you now if your a first term student just know that you can sign up early later on when it’s more crucial for you to get you credits and graduate.

If you have any questions or are looking for more information, you can either call the LBCC Admissions office at (541) 917 4822 or email Danny Aynes in Enrollment Services at aynesd@linnbenton.edu