It is all about stories.

This past weekend I was back home in North Dakota with a family gathering of about 45 immediate family members to celebrate my Mom's birthday. It was a fun weekend full of everyone sharing current and past stories.  Isn't that what it is all about?

Whether it is personal or professional the ability to tell great stories is the linchpin to everything.  And from a personal perspective the older the story the better as they get slightly enhanced over time.

It really hit me yesterday driving back the ritual of storytelling and the importance of passing it down from one generation to another. And for brands it is important to share stories with your customers across the wide range of platforms today and especially social media.  Yes stories are what it is all about.

The next big thing

Yesterday Google launched its mobile-payment platform called "Wallet" for smartphones.  This truly is the next big thing as now smartphones will truly become our wallets and replace credit cards.

Wallet will be a combination credit card, rewards program and coupon case when consumers tap their smartphones at the cash register.  Google has partners with Mastercard and Citi for this application.  What is interesting is that for now consumers will need an Android-powered smartphone with a near-field communications (NFC) chip, like that found in Google's own handset, Nexus S.

This year will go down as the one in which mobile payments will take off.  Jack Dorsey from Twitter has launched Square and mobile carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon have similar aspirations.

As phones become our wallets - will people start to steal mobile phones?  That's something to think about - what do you think?

What do you think of retro packaging?

This past week my son brought home a retro package of Mountain Dew and it brought me back to my youth.  "Yahoo it's Mountain Dew" as an advertising tag line probably wouldn't cut it today.

Soda brands and cereal brands have been using throwback packaging for a couple of years.  Probably to add a little excitement to their brands when they don't have product improvements to tout.
What do you think of retro packaging?  Will you buy something with packaging from years back?  Would love to hear if this entices you to buy a product.  Let me know.