Random Thoughts

I really think that WeWork has created one of the best radio stations there are. It seems like every week, I'm exposed to a new song that I haven't heard before that I really like. Or, I'll hear something that I've heard before, and I'll like it, even though I didn't think much of it before. That's a pretty powerful tool to have.


















If you are looking for a way to sell tickets online, why not try out Ticketbud?



Also, I recently had to deal with some fleas on a neighbor's pet. I bought nitenpyram and it worked great. It was inexpensive, too.

Psychology

Been listening to a great new podcast - the Psych Files by Michael Britt. Dude has a lot of really cool things to say. If you like Psychology or even the real world applications of it that can be used to help society, I highly recommend it. Great for the drive to work and back.

Introducing a new Mobile Point of Sale

Ticketbud has become very fully featured. We are online, and now in the physical realm with our new event point of sale. I think it's a really cool option, and a lot of customers are now using it to sell tickets at the door. The best part is you can sell tickets online for free which also switches things up quite a bit. 

The space is pretty competitive - you have a lot of companies all vying to try and snatch up market share. Unfortunately, you have some companies doing unethical things as they try to do so. I won't name names, but they know who they are if they happen to be reading this. At one stage, you have to think - it's a fact of life, some people have less scruples about resorting to hitting below the belt. In the business world, there is a lack of negative reinforcers regarding unethical behavior. As BF Skinner would say, we tell people to do A while we reward B. You can argue that we have such systems in place such as jail, but for these people it comes down to not getting caught. 

As they say - if you're going to break a law, do it one at a time. At the end of the day, you reward people for being sneaky about their unethical behavior and leave it at that. 

But getting back to it - I'm excited with Ticketbud right now. We're doing very well, and have a lot of cool things in the pipeline. Maybe it's a good thing when competitors start trying to attack you - it means they feel threatened by you. I hope that our new features enable us to weather these attacks. 

You're Not Fit To Vote. Nobody Is.

I see a lot of talk about anti-intellectualism and lack of critical thinking. The fact of the matter is that this has always been the case. What was the point of the electoral college in the first place? To protect against a hive mind - the “tyranny of the majority”. The Founding Fathers were a lot wiser than we think in this regard. Go back one hundred years - no, two hundred years - and you’ll see some crazy stuff regarding politicians and their attack ads. Take the example from US History wherein you have senators getting caned. 

There are some tenets of marketing and advertising, two fields that I would consider “applied psychology”. Firstly,  people respond to what they can remember. If you can't recall it, it might as well not exist. Secondly, people are slaves to unconscious desires. The two most basic desires are that all organisms want to live (fruitful lives) and reproduce. Why are humans any different? 

The human brain, and everything we know, is a product of evolution. Evolution is a slow process and it cannot keep up with our rate of technological advances. Why is it that first impressions are so strong? It’s because of a concept called System 1 that is “intuitive”. Unfortunately, System 1 can be easily fooled. There’s a reason why marketing is so focused on repeated exposure. The simple, lowest-common-denominator option is the one that wins. 

Ticketbud

Ticketbud Features:

Ability to sell tickets online for free
Ability to plan events with software
Run a free event registration website
Powerful online event management software

We have low rates too, much less than a lot of our competitors.

Choosing the Right Event Registration Software

There are a lot of event registration software solutions out there. Only a few of them will end up being right for you and your event.

When it comes to online registration software, here are some of the things that could be the most important:


1. Customization of the tickets. Luckily, every single option out there should be able to give you ticket customization features. However, what does this mean? It comes down to several sub-options that are important. For example, you'd want the following:

• Access Codes: It's hard to have VIP tickets without access codes. You won't want this for every event, but for private events you have to have it.
• Options for donations: If you're running a non-profit event, you have to have this. 
• Discounts: Almost every event will want the option to have discounts. 

2. Fast payment for Attendees.
This might not strike you as important, but it really is for every single event out there. Ever been to a site and you're confronted with a massive form fillout just to pay? If your event registration site's payment form sucks, your event will suffer. Not because your event is bad, but because the software you chose is bad. Don't make this mistake.

3. Mobile optimization and quick load speed.
Remember how I talked about a terrible software making your event sales suffer? This will do the exact same to you, but even worse. If the software doesn't make the page load quickly AND it's an awful experience for visitors, you will lose sales. Don't make this mistake. Before choosing a ticket sales software, go to one of the event pages and attempt to purchase a ticket. Do it on mobile, a tablet, and a desktop. If it feels crappy for you, don't choose them. Guaranteed, you will have made the correct choice. This will take more of your time obviously, but you want to make the most money possible. Don't screw that up.

On Alternatives to Eventbrite

I never wanted a company I work for to be known as an "alternative" to something. Unfortunately, with a competitor as big as EB, I'm often forced to position Ticketbud as a company that is the best alternative to Eventbrite rather than what it actually offers. For starters, Ticketbud is actually a great event ticketing software solution in and of itself. We offer all of the core functionality you want, with options for additional customization. We pride ourselves on offering some of the best customer support and experience in the industry. This is a huge factor, and we've had tons of clients come to us, as if survivors from a shipwreck, talking about how bad Eventbrite's (or someone else's) customer service was.

And not to knock EB, since they're a really well run business - it just comes with the territory of being so big you can't possibly handle all of the support requests. Like any competitor, we try and take advantage of weaknesses in bigger or stronger opponents. I consider us the David to their Goliath in this scenario, although the ending likely won't be the same. I hope it might be in our favor towards the end.

We have a lot of competitors, who I've noticed position a lot of their marketing as being an "alternative". I wholeheartedly disagree with this stance. Once you start toeing the line that another company sets, you're destined to be a knockoff forever. Furthermore, many of these businesses only are an alternative insofar as they offer a different pricing structure. Nevermind the fact that most of the times the fee is passed on, attendees won't notice a dollar difference. And you'll be selling tickets online for free anyway.  If you choose to accept the service fee, sure, there is a viable and cheaper alternative. Emphasis on the cheaper, because you're now using a business that maybe has 3 or 4 engineers vs Eventbrite's legions.