MEGO: My Eyes Glaze Over

At the end of the evening Michael asked one of my favourite questions – what books would you recommend? Being a business book junkie, I wrote them all down! Last August, I wrote my list of Must Read Business Books. While there are a few overlaps, it looks like I will need to add a few new books to my Wish List on Amazon.ca:

Ken Shafer (Tucows):
Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Andrew Goodman (Page Zero)
Fooled By Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets by Nassim Nicholaus Taleb

Jeff Lancaster (24/7)
The Long Tail by Chris Anderson

Bill Sweetman (Tucows)
Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers by Seth Godin

Eric Morris (Google)

Suggested reading two blogs: Silicon Valley Insider and Techmeme

This is an excerpt from a website for mom’s in my town. These kinds of conversations happen everywhere on the web, and about every type of product – from hair straighteners to $700 vacuums!

Mom 1:
Hey there…My husband and I are torn between getting a Dyson vacuum or installing central vac. We have two large dogs and I have heard good things about the Dyson. Does anyone have one and are they really worth the $600??

Mom 2: I have never had a central vacuum so I can’t comment on that, but I can tell you that I love, love, love my dyson!!!! I have two long-haired dogs and a 7 year old boy with cream coloured carpets. I used to have to rent steam cleaners all of the time because my carpets looked so dingy but have noticed a huge difference since getting the dyson last summer.I really feel it is worth the price! It works just as well today as it did the day I bought it back in May.

Mom 3:
I got a Animal Dyson for Xmas. I love it. I wanted it because of dog hair. We have a long haired dog, and if I didn’t vacuum every other day I could see it(dog hair). The dyson is worth every penny, as far as I am concerned. Good luck with you choices.

Mom 4:
I so want one. We have three cats, 2 of which are long hair. I wish I could borrow one for a test run first. I have a really good kenmore- it was 600 when I got it 2 years ago and DH thinks I am crazy for wanting a dyson.

Mom 5:
We have the animal Dyson vacuum. I think we paid a little over $700 for it and it is worth every penny. We too have a lab that tends to shed a lot and the vacuum works wonders. We just recently moved to a house that does have central vac but I have not even bothered to use it. I would much rather use the “Dyson”. I think it is worth every penny. It can just suck the dog hair out of the carpet with no problems. It is also very light and easy to use on the stairs. I don’t think I would ever use my central vac. Good luck in your search but I have only good things to say about the “Dyson”!

Mom 6:
I want a Dyson sooooooooooooooooooooo badly.

Mom 7: to Mom 4:
I just got one for Christmas – you can borrow mine if you want to try it out! It’s not the Animal – it’s the lower model (can’t remember the model number right now).

Mom 8:
We have a Dyson and it’s totally changed the way I feel about vacuuming!! I LOVE seeing all the stuff it picks up from the floor that our older vacuum didn’t

Mom 4 to Mom 7:
Could I really? OMG that makes me stokked. I will let the cat hair build up, then show DH just what the dyson is made of. Then he has to let me get it!

Mom 1: Thanks for the input ladies!!! I think you have made up my mind for me. Dyson is the way to go.

From this one little online forum Dyson sold likely two $700 vacuums – without doing any work. It could be more depending on the number of lurkers just reading the posts, and contemplating a vacuum purchase. I briefly thought of my Hoover and wondered if it might break soon so I too could have a Dyson. They obviously have an exceptional product that people enjoy talking about and recommending to friends. I have to admit I haven’t seen a lot of traditional ads for Dyson. I recall a television ad when it first launched in Canada, and a few trade print ads. But I see Dyson supporting their product at consumer shows regularly. Obviously they understand that getting the vacuum in consumers hands is the key to success.