Wow . . . What Photographs! What a Video!

Here are some fantastic photographs and an incredible video featuring works by an author, photographer Gregory Colbert, who will soon have some wonderful books:




And the video:



Thanks to Kira Rosner for sharing these with me. And now I share them with you. Enjoy your new year.

Gregory Colbert has used both still and movie cameras to explore extraordinary interactions between humans and animals. His exhibition, Ashes and Snow, consists of over 50 large-scale photographic artworks, a 60-minute film, and two 9-minute film haikus.

Real.com: Really Poor Customer Service

I find it interesting how ready and willing companies are to take your money online, but when it comes time to cancel your service -- they are no where to be found. For example: Real.com.

I signed up for the NFL Field Pass (hosted by Real.com) so I could listen to the football games not shown on TV. Well, now that the season is over, I went to their website to cancel the monthly service before I got charged for games I did not want. Alas, no deal.

The only way I can cancel the service is to call their toll-free number -- which has very limited service times. Essentially, they are making it almost impossible to cancel their service, especially given their phone service times.

Now, why does a company that offers an online service make it impossible to cancel their service online? It makes absolutely no sense -- unless they are trying to steal your money by making it impossible to cancel.

Every other online company I know makes it easy to cancel a service. The only other company I know that make it impossible to cancel their services is Capital One credit cards, another example of a company which offers really poor customer service. Until today, I thought they owned poor customer service. Now I know that Real.com and the National Football League has them tied.

Do You Want a Story in USA Today or Other Major Media?

Do you want to catch the eye of major media such as CNN, USA Today, and Rachel Ray -- and get a story about you or your book? Many authors have, thanks to PressKit 24/7, an online press kit technology that puts you in front of the media every day.

Now it's gotten even better. It’s the only online press kit technology viewable from any hand-held device.

“Online access is critical to match sources with the media members who need them,” says Drew Gerber, PressKit 24/7 designer. “Now any Blackberry-toting media member can select an author at the click of a button.”

We invite you to try it out for yourself. Check it out at http://www.presskit247.com.

Be in front of the media for less than a tank of gas and give your PR campaign the boost it deserves.

It's a great system if you don't already have an online press kit or system for reaching major media.

Free Marketing Books for All

Here are some new ebooks I've recently uploaded to FreeBooksforAll.com:

Book Publishing Options for Authors by Dana Smith

Money for Nothing (And Your Clicks for Free) by Seth Godin

The Power of Article Marketing by Timothy Gorman

The Secret of Successful Failing by Gina Mollicone-Long

What Journalists Want to See on Your Website by Vocus Inc.

For more free ebooks, see http://www.freebooksforall.com.

YouTube Vegetables

If I were an author of a diet book or cookbook featuring vegetables, I'd make a down and dirty funny video about vegetables and tie it to a commentary on the above video featuring the vegetable orchestra.

The above video has already been viewed 295,000 plus times. It will only get more popular. A fantastically fascinating video with viral possibilities. Someone who creates a great commentary piggybacking on the vegetable orchestra -- and the value of eating vegetables as well as playing with them -- could get hundreds of thousands of viewers for their companion video.

If you post such a video, be sure to add the following tags: vegetable orchestra, vegetables, orchestra, commentary.

To discover other video-sharing websites where you can share your videos, check out http://www.bookmarket.com/videosharing.htm.