This is what you call ‘being connected’?

Nike is on the promo war path spreading the word about its upcoming “The Human Race 10K,” scheduled for August 31. The basic idea is to gather one million iPod-plugged runners across twenty-some locations around the globe and have them run a race in order to promote the Nike+ product line.

Sounds like fun: run in a crowd of 1,000s of people, each off in their own world listening to their playlists and unable to hear a word they might say to each. Then go home, plug in your iPod to see how you did and “interact” with others and your results all alone at your computer.

Sounds about as interactive as a treadmill in a basement.

Pet Peeve?

Am I the only one who fails to see the need for dogs being allowed to roam the halls of the OR Summer Market trade show? I mean, I understand the affection people have for their pets, but where does this end?

After all, lot of folks also love their pet snakes, rabbits and pigs, which can be as tame or as wild as any dog, so should they be granted access too? If dogs are somehow on the same level as humans (and that seems to be suggested by the news about available dog care and child day care continually running right next to each other in the OR materials), aren't snakes and pigs on the same level as dogs?

It's not that dogs on the show floor bothers me, per se. And if you are selling dog wares, it makes sense to have a dog model them or attract attention to them in your booth. It just seems kinda silly otherwise.

Back from the Dead Zone

I know, I know, it has been waaaaay tooooo loooong since the last posting. Probably starting to look like Off the Grid was heading off the radar.

But no, we've just been buried by the production of a record issue of Inside Outdoor magazine (yeah, we know, print is dead, people tell us all the time), followed by a record issue of our magazine covering a segment of the telecommunications industry. So, to say the least, our modest staff has been highly distracted.

We should be back in the game now, at least until the trade show season warms up ... whew ... so call off the grim reaper over at the death pool blog.

Soap Box

Proctor & Gamble chairman and chief executive A.G. Lafley gave some sound advice to the presidential candidates that anyone involved in the retailing of consumer products and services should heed.

Lafley urged Barack Obama and John McCain not to talk the U.S. into a “worse recession” during the presidential election by being overly pessimistic about the state of the economy.

“In my business we don’t need excessive negativism,” said Lafley. “You know we are in a business where psychology matters – even in the staples business – and in the economy psychology matters. It could go negative on the economy, that could be a problem . . . We will talk ourselves into a worse recession.”

The advice is particularly pertinent to democratic candidates and delegates, who tend to focus on the negative as part of their charge toward “change.”