Brownie T. Cow's FavoritesPart 2: Free Stuff!

Brownie T. Cow's Favorites

Part 2:Free Stuff!

by Brownie T. Cow

Hey there!

It’s me, Brownie T. Cow with another installment of my favorite links.  Cool places to visit when you want to surf the web and learn something too!

Let’s get started...

Free E-Books!

Project Gutenberg has over 40,000 E-books that you can download and read for free on Kindles and other devices.  Project Gutenberg is staffed by volunteers who do all the page scanning, converting and proofreading.  The books cover every subject imaginable.  I found five about cows!  Moo!

Project Gutenberg:  http://www.gutenberg.org/

Free Audio Books!

On the other side of the e-book world is Librivox, another all-volunteer organization.  Librivox volunteers record audio books in mp3 format that you can download and listen to on any mp3-compatible device.  Or, you can do what we do, and burn them onto CD and listen in the barn.  Fourteen versions of Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Cow!

Librivox:  http://librivox.org/

Free Videos and Music!

Check out the Internet Archives.  You’ll find a ton of stuff that’s in the public domain.  Old movies, historical footage, and fan recordings of concerts by great artists and top groups like the Grateful Dead, Smashing Pumpkins, and my personal favorite – the COWboy Junkies!

The Internet Archive:  www.archive.org

That ought to keep you chewing cud for a while!  Thanks for reading, and let us know what you think.   (Link to us too!)  More to come next week.

Love,

Brownie T. Cow

BullShots! is published weekly by Brown Cow Studios of Boston, 
creators of "High-Quality Audio and Video at Terrific Value."
 To learn more, please visit the Brown Cow Studios website at www.BrownCowStudios.com

Brownie T. Cow's Favorites -- Spots, Links, and Other Cool Stuff!

My Favorite Spots, Links, and Other Cool Stuff!
by Brownie T. Cow

Hi all!

Brownie T. Cow here, doing the blog while Fred takes a few weeks off.

Don't know how it happened, but it's almost the end of summer, and these are really lazy days around the Brown Cow Studios Production Barn.  Temps in the 80s,  lots of humidity, and all we really wanna do is watch bull riding and hang out at the beach. 

But the blog, Brownie, the blog!

So moo!  Here's what I'm gonna do:  A look at some of my favorite ads, websites, farm animals (what do you expect from a cow?) and other cool stuff that we hope you can use and enjoy too. 

I’ll be back with more next time.  Fred returns in a couple of weeks, probably with something very useful yet uninteresting to us cows.  You know, topics like “How to Maximize Your Time-Base Corrector” or “Use a No. 40 Rectifier for Fun and Profit.”  Moo!  What’s that guy thinking?  I think he needs more grass in his diet. 

Anyway, I hope your summer is great.  Go graze in the pasture – you’ll enjoy it!

Love,

Brownie T. Cow

Cool Spot:  Zombies Invade New York. 

This is for the NY Lottery. Pretty good, but more cows would make it better! 

 

Cool YouTube Channel:  Adam the Woo 

Adam the Woo is an urban adventurer.  He visits what’s left of pop culture icons long after their demise and shows us the wreckage  -- places like abandoned theme parks or the locations where once-popular movies were shot.  Often he takes us behind the scenes to show us what lurks behind locked doors.  Sometimes creepy, sometimes hilarious, but always interesting!

Adam the Woo's YouTube Channel

Here's Adam's video of his visit to Ghost Town in the Sky, one of my favorite places because they have COWboys!

Ghost Town in the Sky is back in business, by the way.  Go visit the Ghost Town in the Sky website. 

Seventeen Videos About a Cow!  Dkany's YouTube Channel.

You think us cows are just hayburners?  Well check these videos about good buddy Herbie the Cow, who ran away from one of those places cows don’t like to be!  Go Herbie!

DKany's Videos About Herbie the Cow!

Cool Radio Station in the Catskills:  WRIP-FM

Back in his radio days, Fred used to work with WRIP’s morning personality, Joe Loverro (6-9 am Eastern Time).  Here’s a link to listen live:  

Listen to WRIP-FM's Live Stream

Cool Tech Site:  FlashKit

This site is aimed at cows and people who develop Flash programming and animation, but there’s lots of cool stuff on here anyone can use like music tracks and sound effects.   It’s a great resource. 

Visit FlashKit.com here.

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Was this helpful to you?  Did you enjoy the links?  Please let us know!  Your comments and links are always appreciated. 

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Brown Cow Studios produces high-quality and entertaining audio and visual programming that drives in business.  How can we help you? Get in touch with Fred Pagano today!

Five Questions to Ask Before Becoming Your Own Spokesman

In BullShots! last week we shared five reasons to appear in your own advertisements.  But as we said, thoughts are divided on the subject.  So this week we present the flipside of being your own spokesman.  Answer these questions honestly before you decide:

Five Questions to Ask Before You Appear in Your Own Ads:

Which would you buy from this guy?
Dog food, a used car, or a submarine?

1.  Are You TV and Radio Friendly?  It would be great if we lived in a world where we were all judged on our inherent abilities and goodness.  But alas, that’s not the case, and in this world image and appeal count.  This applies not just to physical good looks, but to manner of speech and general demeanor.  Any accent, regionalism, or speech impediment can work against you.  Do you seem honest? Trustworthy?
2. Is it Ego That Drives the Decision?   Agencies and spot reps know the best way to appeal to a client with a big ego is to urge him to do his own spots.  We all want to be stars.  A lot of crummy advertising results from this sort of pitch.  It’s a disservice to the advertiser, and it’s a disservice to the advertiser’s business.  If you do decide to be your own spokesperson, give a lot of thought to your motivations. 
3. Do You Look the Part?  This isn't a looks question, it's a casting question.  Although you may be the best speaker and best looking person in the world, you still may not be the best choice to relate to your target customer.  Do you look the part?  Are you selling expensive cars but look like a longshoreman?  Are you the supermodel type trying to sell dog food?  Or are you an electrician who looks like an electrician? 
4. How Does it Affect the Long-Term Value of Your Business?  Let’s say you build a very successful business acting as your own spokesman.  Now it’s time to sell and retire.  What is the new owner going to do about advertising?  Your face is connected to the business, and you won’t be around any more to pitch it.  The new owner will have to make a substantial investment to overcome the lack of your involvement, and the business may be worth less because of it. 

A great example of this is Jordan’s Furniture, a Boston area chain.  For years, the Jordan brothers appeared in their own radio and TV spots.  Eventually time came to sell out, but the business was so strongly linked to the brothers that the new owner was forced to keep one of them on the payroll, just as spokesman.  What’s going to happen when there’s no more Jordan associated with Jordan’s furniture?

A nationwide example:  Bob’s Discount Furniture.  Bob is smart, however – he’s already preparing for this by turning himself into a cartoon character.  But is that really the way you want to go?

5. What are You Really Selling?  Sorry, but it’s true:  People don’t care about you.  They care about the washing machine, tv, computer or storm windows you’re selling.  They want to know about features, price, and value for their money.  You might be a pleasant guy or gal, you might have a beautiful family, but people don’t buy refrigerators because of your kids – they buy them because they keep food cold.  Unless you’re a politician, keep your family out of your ads, and keep yourself out too.  And frankly, a lot of politicians would do well to stay out of their own ads too.

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Who do you think does the best job of being spokesperson for their own company?  Who does the worst?  We’d like to know, so please comment on this article. Your Links and Likes are appreciated too! 

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Brown Cow Studios of Boston produces attention-getting videos

that grow your business.  How can we help you grow?  

 Get in touch with Fred@BrownCowStudios.com