Jan 8
The isolation I feel from the rest of America is increasingly obvious in day to politics and social behavior. But I never realized why, until recently. I blame it squarely on the weather.I was in the middle of switching content sources on my TV (from a Roku to DirecTV) and somehow saw a couple of ads on live broadcast TV. I usually never watch live TV unless it's the SuperBowl or a soccer match. I DVR everything on broadcast TV and skip through the ads. But I slipped up somehow and managed to stare at some ads on live TV. Most of these ads showed snow. A lot of snow. The theme was all about winter. People heavily dressed up in their sweaters and long boots merrily using the products in the ad. Cars, diamonds, food and clothes..I glanced out of the window. It was bright and sunny with nary a snowflake in sight. I was lounging in shorts and flip flops. I checked the date - January 2012. What the hell is going on ?
We have enough technology now to personalize the heck out of everything. And why are these broadcast TV nincompoops and retail snake oil marketing folks still not able to figure this out ? It should be fairly easy to show ads relevant to geographic markets on TV. We have done it on the internet. TV's are around for a hundred years longer. And we still can't solve this ?Making a Californian watch an ad for a car driving in the snow is like showing a slurpee to an Eskimo. Both have a less than zero chance of being excited.And that's just the tip of the iceberg.The few times I have traveled to the mid-west and east coast seems like a trip to a foreign country. Only thing missing is the immigration line at the airport. Landing in a city like Boston, Dallas or Denver can be quite revelatory. These cities are more the America you read about and see in the movies. Lots of white people. Dressed from a catalog. With houses that scream 'feature me in Architectural Digest'. Eating an unforgivable amount of processed bland food. Spending borrowed money on landfill decorations. And churches that rival McDonalds for number of customers served.That's the real America.Comparatively, California seems out-of-step with the rest of the country. And I blame the weather. Having never lived long enough in a place where it snows heavily to cause a mass retreat into heated spaces, I really appreciate the year round amazing weather, especially in Southern California. That frees up your movement and most importantly your mind. Being outside most of the time is an enviable freedom that we capitalize. And it shows.My parent's noticed this right away when they visited us a few years back. After spending a few months in California, they visited the East Coast on a guided tour. From Boston to Philadelphia. After returning, they couldn't stop talking about the differences in people, food and attitudes. They felt more at home in California. People were friendlier and the weather was more like back home.Now that I have extolled the virtues of living in Californa, let me urge you NOT to move here. We are quite happy and you know, expecting the next big earthquake.Stay away.
It's the weather, stupid.
Twelve years after living in this country, I can finally say I am a Californian. Though it is not a country, it very much feels like one. And since the state government is teetering on bankruptcy, I think it's almost qualified to be a country all by itself.
We have enough technology now to personalize the heck out of everything. And why are these broadcast TV nincompoops and retail snake oil marketing folks still not able to figure this out ? It should be fairly easy to show ads relevant to geographic markets on TV. We have done it on the internet. TV's are around for a hundred years longer. And we still can't solve this ?Making a Californian watch an ad for a car driving in the snow is like showing a slurpee to an Eskimo. Both have a less than zero chance of being excited.And that's just the tip of the iceberg.The few times I have traveled to the mid-west and east coast seems like a trip to a foreign country. Only thing missing is the immigration line at the airport. Landing in a city like Boston, Dallas or Denver can be quite revelatory. These cities are more the America you read about and see in the movies. Lots of white people. Dressed from a catalog. With houses that scream 'feature me in Architectural Digest'. Eating an unforgivable amount of processed bland food. Spending borrowed money on landfill decorations. And churches that rival McDonalds for number of customers served.That's the real America.Comparatively, California seems out-of-step with the rest of the country. And I blame the weather. Having never lived long enough in a place where it snows heavily to cause a mass retreat into heated spaces, I really appreciate the year round amazing weather, especially in Southern California. That frees up your movement and most importantly your mind. Being outside most of the time is an enviable freedom that we capitalize. And it shows.My parent's noticed this right away when they visited us a few years back. After spending a few months in California, they visited the East Coast on a guided tour. From Boston to Philadelphia. After returning, they couldn't stop talking about the differences in people, food and attitudes. They felt more at home in California. People were friendlier and the weather was more like back home.Now that I have extolled the virtues of living in Californa, let me urge you NOT to move here. We are quite happy and you know, expecting the next big earthquake.Stay away.
