x.

on an ordinary day i listened to company speakers over breakfast, had coffee with an aol rep, discussed geo-targeting concerns with ad networks, observed fm pitch its value proposition, sat through our weekly client call and did the laundry. interspersed among these tasks were breathes of fresh air provided by news articles, facebook chat and exchanges of friendly e-mail. oh yes, i cannot forget primetime tv.

at aa|rf breakfast club i heard of new hires and employee anniversaries, hawkish new business progress, the web media department in which i work, and about the company wiki. the wiki offers the company a utility that connects employees, expertly provides industry insight, and puts forth an exemplary light by which to lure marketers seeking digital solutions. danish bear claws were served.

i brought along the assistant with me to meet our new aol rep and discuss client biz and what new offerings the portal has in its growing portfolio. the internet portals are devouring prospects in a rapacious show of free market capitalism.

time's up.

laundry's done.

two media campaigns i'm maintaining are under-serving impressions targeted to certain zip-codes. quite simply, the technology of computing allows servers to communicate and, based on information exchanges, deliver assigned ads targeted to computer-users in specific geographic areas -- other types of targeted reach are possible too. in reality the technology isn't quite ripe. that's why i had to address these issues.

fm offers marketers a channel in conversational media. the company was created by a former cnet sales director and the founding editor of wired, who also teaches at berekley's j-school. They claim there custom campaigns on popular blogs grant residual added value -- from organic search, like word-of-mouth -- through its inherent design that creates conversation. this fosters loyalty and trust, too. ironic isn't it.

i spoke up in the client call. it felt good, especially after my inauspicious beginning. the am guided the client through grains of digital interactive data.

democratic presidential candidates are debating in philly. i read an article on nytimes about obama's obscure days in nyc. he spent time there in his early twenties for schooling and bildungsroman, though about this period of his life he has had liitle to say. lately the press has not been generous to barack.

the balance of the day unfolded as usual. i caught up on e-mail, posted on fb, and am winding down with the idiot box.

ix.

Today I was given a healthy dose of humility. I don't mind it, really. In fact, we all could use more of it. I blew it -- an ad-client presentation for the upcoming holiday season. Budget of $4.5MM. October 1, 2007. I'd like to mitigate this situation. And I have reasons, too. I'm sick of feeling guilty. A brief illustration: I took a new job with a digital marketing solutions company, working there for a month now on a retail account -- the biggest retainer for the department. Two weeks after joining, my partner, assigned to train me, quit. The assistant -- there long before I -- was promoted immediately. A week before the presentation was due the client invited the agency to pitch for a new part of the business. Everyone is consumed and little accountability exists. Agree with me that the gravity of the situation is evident. The assistant is a self-proclaiming crazy person. The Directors were consumed with winning the new business, no doubt to please their superiors. From the beginning I was vocal about my lack of client experience. Naturally I was unaware of how to proceed. So they should have not passed the responsibility onto me. Institutional provisions should have been made for the cause. We live in a free-market society, for heaven's sake. Wall Street is brutal. Be just. I do admit fault. I could have done better, given my talent and will power.

In summary, I do believe it was a worthwhile experience. What's meant is to be. . .