May 2012 - Trade Magazines

[Erik Sine]

What a turn of and change of the tide. I'm both optimistic, and well....disappointed.

Signs Of The Times

For the second month in a row Signs of The Times has out glowed and out shined in Sign Terms all of the other magazines that try to serve this industry of ours.

I'm optimistic about SOT, they dug in a little more when it came to solar lighting, they still need to dig in more about longevity. But that aside, again another month of well balanced articles. Ima gonna have to buy the Community Organizer a beer next ISA

-The ISA REPORT

The ISA report well, they're still trying to push the agenda of their marketers on the Green movement (Acorn Graphics), trying to rejuvenate yesterdays news today, just gets old by the time it comes out in the print magazine after all the hardcore marketing they've already done all over Sign Web, LinkedIn, Facebook and all the other social media outlets. There are still those minority within ISA who holds a grip with an iron fist over all the others and who are trying to push this movement on the sign user who, Aren't even asking for it, or even appreciating what companies like Acorn Graphics spend so much time and energy doing, these end users aren't even making a request for Green products. All they care about is, "is it cheap?" Well, Green is not cheap, it's just something where you pay more as a consumer and get less in return.

The Magic Mouth out of Jacksonville is still trying to save the planet with his "Save 80%" re-pastes in SignWeb and his site but yet can't seem to prove it to any of his fellow colleagues, us. I even noticed the deleted post on SignWeb I made about the Mouth. I made it back when Sign Web originally uploaded the article on their site from SOT. No big deal about the deletion if that's what they like to do, it was just a link asking Steve to "splain" his fuzzy math to us, something he said he was going to do. He's just to busy in Japan and peddling around on Vespa Scooters, something I take offense too. There are scooters, and their are the cool scooters, a Vespa.

The ISA report a side which is no fault to SOT, except that they should need to dig a little and uncover.

I'm not real big on this "Hands Across America" membership drive ISA has going, or as they put it the "Barstool" effect. When you join your local Sign Association you join ISA, and Visa Versa. Also linked into this money grab is The Signage Foundation, who gets insta support now with all that money.

Uhhhhhh.

They say all this is to better combat the agencies like the EPA, ans OSHA because they have a wobbly base when their not united (all for our benefit). Well, ISA always has had a wobbly base. The fact of the matter is, they have never combated any government or bureaucratic agenda.

Oh wait, I take that back!

Unless it's a LED EMC policy, or a planning dept battle over local municipal sign ordinances. But I thought they were already solidified, I mean the Broccoli Eater is now HNIC of CSA, also the HNIC of propaganda for ISA, err Marketing. Also chairs a few other sign associations. When you have so many other sign association board members spread across and holding positions in different associations concurrently like that isn't it already one big orgy?

In fact, they roll with regulation, I think in some ways they look forward to new regulation as said in a few of their past ISA Reports, just so they can turn it into a paid /membership/program/webinar for the rest of the industry.

That's all we get.

In my eyes this is nothing more than spreading the wealth, cutting out the competition or eliminating competing sign associations. A way of wacking, taking out the other Mob Bosses into one, or circumcising them enough that there will only be one head and one way.

But it's so much happier when they portray this happy image

This report doesn't take anything away what SOT did this month. So, their Numero Uno for May!

Sign Builder Illustrator

Sign Builder illustrator.....Good Lord

I thought Jeff Wooten was on a good roll in the latter months of late 2010 even when I wrote a few non-biased articles and contributions. Now his magazine is starting to look like SOT of 2010 & 11'.

They have fallen from grace.

If you want to read some serous brochure articles filled with nothing but propaganda and Magic Mouth'isk obligation pieces, sadly Sign Builder Illustrator is in the beginning stages of last years and latter years of SOT articles.

I don't know why Jeff is printing this junk with no real numbers to prove, and not fact checking anything. We've already done one here of the Sylvania /Seimans Sign save 90% & it's getting progressively worse. He's even jumping on the Green band wagon with each issue that comes out and to nowhere.

When you start to see the one sided articles from the good Dr. of The CAO Group who was real big in Signs & Digital Graphics you already know what you're in store for before you even bother to read.

Again, sad to see something I thought was the one magazine that had the potential to publish what others weren't, or were afraid too.

I hope things get changed around fast, any way I can help to toss a life persevere in, I'll do it....gladly!

Signs & Digital Graphics

Still a lost cause, I don't even know if I should even mention them because I don't even know if anyone still reads them.

This magazine only has a vote or two in our trade magazine poll, is it any wonder why?

It's like watching a episode of "Back to the future". Ken Mergentime plays "Doc" and warps us back in time to 2005 in a Prius where any LED is the best thing since sliced bread, anything Fluorescent or Neon is bad and inefficient. In fact over there, their still stock on Mercury with no knowledge that it takes more just to manufacture and LED.

The only positive there is, is at least Ken likes my coined phrase "Eco-Tyranny"

[Sign Ninja]

True and funny review. I get them all free except S&DG, so I don't know what is in there except to say I'm not surprised if nothings changed.