So...a year ago today we set up this blog. Nearly 280 posts later, here we are. Like the very first post, I struggled this morning to be prolific (and giggled at myself trying). Instead, I decided to look back at that first post and see what I had planned for the blog and see how far we've come, or not.
We haven't done nearly all of the things I thought we would with this blog. Time got in the way, in some cases - there just never seems to be enough time to do all of the things you want to do. So, while we had some great Unbreakable Bond stories, we didn't have as many as I'd want. The ones we did were great stories. If you missed some of them, please go back and read them. I want to do more of them in year 2. Look for more soon.
I also wanted you to get to know more about the people here at Kryptonite - not just me, but the passionate folks who work here. Did we succeed there? I don't know - you tell me. Somewhat, I think, but a struggle I've had, until recently, was getting some other folks here to blog. It took longer than I thought (surprisingly, they are shy, which I never would have imagined...ever!), but now they are participating more and more and, if truth be told, I think they are actually having some fun doing it. Shhhh...don't tell them that, though. While that took longer than I'd like, I think we are up and running there now and you'll hear from more than just me more often than ever before. C'mon, y'all have to be bored with me sometimes, right?!
Passion. We promised passion and we delivered. Whether it was Bobke talking about the Tour Day France, Dave Perewitz talking about protecting his motorcycles after breaking down, Craig building his motorcycle or me ranting about cycling (me, rant? nah...)...you got passion. There is no shortage of passion here.
The responses I've gotten, for the most part, have been very positive about this blog. Not everyone agrees with everything we post, but that's the point! But, what I want to know now is...what do you want to know? What do you want to see in year 2?
Do you love hearing about Rob's snowmobiling? Eric's hiking? Want to know where the Bobber project is at? Do you want me to rant away about the state of cycling ('cause, don't kid yourself, I can...for days, just ask my Spokesmen cohorts!). What do you want to know more about? Let me know - either here in the comments or via email
donna(underscore)tocci(at)irco(dot)com
Until then...thank you for giving us a chance. Thanks for the encouragement and the new friends I've made along the way. Thanks for having a different opinion and expressing it. Mostly, thanks for coming back and continuing to read.
We will all work hard to make sure that we give you multiple reasons to keep coming back to our little blog. Until then...maybe I should go look for a cake.....yummmm.....happy birthday little blog....
Showing posts with label blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blog. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Monday, December 31, 2007
Happy New Year!
So, it's the end of the year....a time for reflection and looking ahead, right? Ok, I can do that...
2007 was a big one here at Kryptonite. We started a transformation of our brand, which was quite time consuming, but fairly successful. We tripped up a few places - the new stickers weren't such a big hit. Street stencils? What were we thinking there? Total bust. But, the posters were received very well (who doesn't like penguins?!). The outdoor campaign with billboards and ads were good.
Being involved with the bicycle valet programs was fantastic! We also loved placing bike racks in cities around the country. We hope that both of these programs assisted, and will continue to assist, cyclists in these cities.
2007 was also the year that we caught up with the rest of the world and totally revamped our website. It seems like a hundred years ago that I was cramming to get copy and photos to our agency so we could put up the site in just over 6 weeks. I'm not kidding....soup to nuts in just over 6 weeks. I never want to do that again! Don't get me wrong, creating a new site from scratch is a blast! Doing it in 6 weeks is a complete stretch. We had a few growing pains in the beginning and we are still adding to the site, but all in all we love it and hope you do, too.
Then there was this blog. It's still not what I want it to be, but it's an evolving process. I think it's a good start. Thanks to everyone who has given us feedback and supported this effort. Personally, I'm quite thankful to you all. And to those who shared their Unbreakable Bonds, thank you. We couldn't have asked for a better group of people to share their stories.
The products in 2007 were pretty darn cool, too. How about that oval crossbar on the Evolution series 4? Sweet, huh?! And then there was the complete cable redesign. Yikes! That was a lot of work, but so worth it.
Team Kryptonite grew by one this year when Nicole Hoffman signed on with us. And Jody Perewitz became an 'unofficial' Team Kryptonite member. Both represented us well at events and races and even blogged their thoughts here when their schedules allowed.
Our internal team grew, too, with the addition of our regional managers. We're happy to have them aboard!
There was much more, but hey, these are just the highlights.
So...2008...what will that bring? So much stuff, I can't even tell you....ok, I can tell you some, both professional and personal.
Products - yup, there will be new products. First up are some products for the motorcycle market that dealers will see at the Dealer Expo show in February. That's right around the corner, which means we need to kick some butt with a few things to get that all worked out in time. But, we will. We work well under pressure.
There will also be some upgrades to a few products that will be hitting sooner rather than later. Big and bad, I promise you!
We're also in the process of working on something that will dazzle you. That won't be until later in the year, but I'll keep you posted as we move along with that project.
Marketing - it isn't official yet, but there will be some major news to announce probably in the next month between us and.....ok, I can't tell you that, but it will be big. Huge. You'll know as soon as the ink is dry on the contract. I'm so excited, but I can't say just yet because, well the ink hasn't even hit the paper yet. We're working on it. You will be the first to know, of course.
We are also looking to support bike valet programs again this year and place bike racks in some more cities. We are already working on getting this program together and have identified cities that we'd like to work with on this. As soon as we know more we'll let you know.
The website will continue to evolve. Soon (January, I think) we'll add some new functionality to the site which will be very different for us. We'll also have some new folks telling their stories on the front pages - I'm working on that right now. I'm going to try to keep up with the website changes a little more frequently this year, too.
As I mentioned, the blog has had a good start, but I'm not totally happy with it. Life happens and I've slacked on getting some more Unbreakable Bonds stories, but I've got a few folks that I'm going to have do this at the beginning of the year...and if you want to share your story, please send me an email! Share your story, c'mon this is a partnership here....I give...you give...c'mon..share.
What else would I change? Having more people from here contribute. Aren't you sick of me yet? Seriously. There will be more participation from the sales team and some other folks here. Really. There will. You'll also hear from Team Kryptonite some more.
Speaking of Team Kryptonite...we'll officially be adding a new member in the new year. That should give you a hint as to who it is. And, we'll be starting some new programs with two of the Team Kryptonite members. I can't wait to share all the details with you soon (February).
Oh, and there will be weddings....at least two that we'll share with you in the new year (one maybe very, very soon).
We've got a few other things up our sleeve for the new year, too, but I'm still working out a few of them. One I'm so psyched about I'll be telling you before I've got it all done, I'm sure. I won't be able to contain myself. It's not quite on par as the partnership deal I mentioned, but it will be cool (I hope).
So, that's a lot of stuff...without really saying too much, right? I know, I know, I'm teasing a little bit, but some of the things aren't finalized yet and 1) I don't want to jinx anything, I'm superstitious that way and 2) we really can't say something about partnerships and such until they are signed.
However, I can tell you some things that I, personally, am hoping to accomplish in the new year.
- Lose weight. I watched several people here drop pounds like they were going out of style and then there was Susan Perewitz who made a fabulous transformation over the summer. Truly, they are all inspirational. Tomorrow, I start. We'll see how it goes.
- Chalk the roads again! It's been way too long since I chalked the road at a pro race. But, it's not a professional goal. This year, I have a personal reason to get to a race, chalk the road and cheer on my friend Tyler who will be back in the peloton where he belongs. When the schedule comes out I'll let y'all know which race I'll be at. I'd love to meet some of you on the roads.
- I WILL participate in more Spokesmen podcasts. I'm very thankful that my fellow Spokesmen have been so patient with me and my crazy schedule. I feel embarrassed to even say that I'm part of that group because I didn't make many of the episodes this year, but I've got a new headset, no shortage of opinions and I'm ready to go.
- I'll start blogging again over on my blog. I let that go when we started this blog, but I've always got a lot to say and not all of it is work related...my opinions have been bottling up now and it's the right time to start again for me personally. Don't know if I will have retained any interest there, but we'll see. I know that Masiguy has started to video blog (bravo!), but that's not something I'll get into (I have a face for podcasting and blogging!). So, yes, the new year will bring more Tidbits from me.
- I started contributing to the new Plog (Perewitz blog) this year, but only once. You'll see more from me there, too.
- Get a camera again. I lost mine at Interbike in Vegas and I've missed taking photos both for the blog and personally. I'm looking for a good sale and I'll pick one up. You'll start to see more photos here then...like sneak peeks of new products etc...
- And....I'll ride this year. Really ride my bike. Not just one little jaunt around the neighborhood. I'll get back on in the spring (c'mon it's snowing here and I'm not big into riding and freezing...I am a fair weather rider, get over it). You'll hear all about my trials and tribulations here about that, too.
So, that's it from here for now. Thank you, thank you, thank you all for your support this year. We all appreciate it more than you know.
From all of us...to all of you...happy, safe new year!
2007 was a big one here at Kryptonite. We started a transformation of our brand, which was quite time consuming, but fairly successful. We tripped up a few places - the new stickers weren't such a big hit. Street stencils? What were we thinking there? Total bust. But, the posters were received very well (who doesn't like penguins?!). The outdoor campaign with billboards and ads were good.
Being involved with the bicycle valet programs was fantastic! We also loved placing bike racks in cities around the country. We hope that both of these programs assisted, and will continue to assist, cyclists in these cities.
2007 was also the year that we caught up with the rest of the world and totally revamped our website. It seems like a hundred years ago that I was cramming to get copy and photos to our agency so we could put up the site in just over 6 weeks. I'm not kidding....soup to nuts in just over 6 weeks. I never want to do that again! Don't get me wrong, creating a new site from scratch is a blast! Doing it in 6 weeks is a complete stretch. We had a few growing pains in the beginning and we are still adding to the site, but all in all we love it and hope you do, too.
Then there was this blog. It's still not what I want it to be, but it's an evolving process. I think it's a good start. Thanks to everyone who has given us feedback and supported this effort. Personally, I'm quite thankful to you all. And to those who shared their Unbreakable Bonds, thank you. We couldn't have asked for a better group of people to share their stories.
The products in 2007 were pretty darn cool, too. How about that oval crossbar on the Evolution series 4? Sweet, huh?! And then there was the complete cable redesign. Yikes! That was a lot of work, but so worth it.
Team Kryptonite grew by one this year when Nicole Hoffman signed on with us. And Jody Perewitz became an 'unofficial' Team Kryptonite member. Both represented us well at events and races and even blogged their thoughts here when their schedules allowed.
Our internal team grew, too, with the addition of our regional managers. We're happy to have them aboard!
There was much more, but hey, these are just the highlights.
So...2008...what will that bring? So much stuff, I can't even tell you....ok, I can tell you some, both professional and personal.
Products - yup, there will be new products. First up are some products for the motorcycle market that dealers will see at the Dealer Expo show in February. That's right around the corner, which means we need to kick some butt with a few things to get that all worked out in time. But, we will. We work well under pressure.
There will also be some upgrades to a few products that will be hitting sooner rather than later. Big and bad, I promise you!
We're also in the process of working on something that will dazzle you. That won't be until later in the year, but I'll keep you posted as we move along with that project.
Marketing - it isn't official yet, but there will be some major news to announce probably in the next month between us and.....ok, I can't tell you that, but it will be big. Huge. You'll know as soon as the ink is dry on the contract. I'm so excited, but I can't say just yet because, well the ink hasn't even hit the paper yet. We're working on it. You will be the first to know, of course.
We are also looking to support bike valet programs again this year and place bike racks in some more cities. We are already working on getting this program together and have identified cities that we'd like to work with on this. As soon as we know more we'll let you know.
The website will continue to evolve. Soon (January, I think) we'll add some new functionality to the site which will be very different for us. We'll also have some new folks telling their stories on the front pages - I'm working on that right now. I'm going to try to keep up with the website changes a little more frequently this year, too.
As I mentioned, the blog has had a good start, but I'm not totally happy with it. Life happens and I've slacked on getting some more Unbreakable Bonds stories, but I've got a few folks that I'm going to have do this at the beginning of the year...and if you want to share your story, please send me an email! Share your story, c'mon this is a partnership here....I give...you give...c'mon..share.
What else would I change? Having more people from here contribute. Aren't you sick of me yet? Seriously. There will be more participation from the sales team and some other folks here. Really. There will. You'll also hear from Team Kryptonite some more.
Speaking of Team Kryptonite...we'll officially be adding a new member in the new year. That should give you a hint as to who it is. And, we'll be starting some new programs with two of the Team Kryptonite members. I can't wait to share all the details with you soon (February).
Oh, and there will be weddings....at least two that we'll share with you in the new year (one maybe very, very soon).
We've got a few other things up our sleeve for the new year, too, but I'm still working out a few of them. One I'm so psyched about I'll be telling you before I've got it all done, I'm sure. I won't be able to contain myself. It's not quite on par as the partnership deal I mentioned, but it will be cool (I hope).
So, that's a lot of stuff...without really saying too much, right? I know, I know, I'm teasing a little bit, but some of the things aren't finalized yet and 1) I don't want to jinx anything, I'm superstitious that way and 2) we really can't say something about partnerships and such until they are signed.
However, I can tell you some things that I, personally, am hoping to accomplish in the new year.
- Lose weight. I watched several people here drop pounds like they were going out of style and then there was Susan Perewitz who made a fabulous transformation over the summer. Truly, they are all inspirational. Tomorrow, I start. We'll see how it goes.
- Chalk the roads again! It's been way too long since I chalked the road at a pro race. But, it's not a professional goal. This year, I have a personal reason to get to a race, chalk the road and cheer on my friend Tyler who will be back in the peloton where he belongs. When the schedule comes out I'll let y'all know which race I'll be at. I'd love to meet some of you on the roads.
- I WILL participate in more Spokesmen podcasts. I'm very thankful that my fellow Spokesmen have been so patient with me and my crazy schedule. I feel embarrassed to even say that I'm part of that group because I didn't make many of the episodes this year, but I've got a new headset, no shortage of opinions and I'm ready to go.
- I'll start blogging again over on my blog. I let that go when we started this blog, but I've always got a lot to say and not all of it is work related...my opinions have been bottling up now and it's the right time to start again for me personally. Don't know if I will have retained any interest there, but we'll see. I know that Masiguy has started to video blog (bravo!), but that's not something I'll get into (I have a face for podcasting and blogging!). So, yes, the new year will bring more Tidbits from me.
- I started contributing to the new Plog (Perewitz blog) this year, but only once. You'll see more from me there, too.
- Get a camera again. I lost mine at Interbike in Vegas and I've missed taking photos both for the blog and personally. I'm looking for a good sale and I'll pick one up. You'll start to see more photos here then...like sneak peeks of new products etc...
- And....I'll ride this year. Really ride my bike. Not just one little jaunt around the neighborhood. I'll get back on in the spring (c'mon it's snowing here and I'm not big into riding and freezing...I am a fair weather rider, get over it). You'll hear all about my trials and tribulations here about that, too.
So, that's it from here for now. Thank you, thank you, thank you all for your support this year. We all appreciate it more than you know.
From all of us...to all of you...happy, safe new year!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Portland's Jonathan Maus on Boston TV
Not sure if I missed this the first time around since all the filming was in the summer, or if they are just getting around to airing it, but tonight's Chronicle (Boston's local channel 5 station) is featuring Portland, Oregon.
In the middle of the feature they talk to our friend Jonathan Maus who they label as a "bike activist and blogger". While they are talking with him he's sitting on his bike and what's attached to the back of the bike? Oh...a bright orange Evolution U-lock! Nice choice, Jonathan ;)
Better still, when they are cutting to break the anchor, Mary Richardson, calls Jonathan a "one man institution" taking on city hall and having the bike blog in the city. They don't mention the name of it, but we all know it's Bikeportland.org and it's fabulous! In all fairness, they do give the information here on their website.
Great to see you on this side of the country, Jonathan, even if it isn't in person. Congrats!
In the middle of the feature they talk to our friend Jonathan Maus who they label as a "bike activist and blogger". While they are talking with him he's sitting on his bike and what's attached to the back of the bike? Oh...a bright orange Evolution U-lock! Nice choice, Jonathan ;)
Better still, when they are cutting to break the anchor, Mary Richardson, calls Jonathan a "one man institution" taking on city hall and having the bike blog in the city. They don't mention the name of it, but we all know it's Bikeportland.org and it's fabulous! In all fairness, they do give the information here on their website.
Great to see you on this side of the country, Jonathan, even if it isn't in person. Congrats!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Breaking News - New Plog on the Block!
A "Plog"? What's a "Plog" you ask? It's the term Jody Perewitz has coined for the new Perewitz Blog! Yup, the Perewitz crew now has their very own blog...excuse me...Plog.
Life at Perewitz will be an inside look at everything Perewitz - where they go, what's cookin' at their shop, who visits and who they are and what their interests may be outside of motorcycles. Did you know that The King of Flames himself is a master landscaper? Now you do. Did you know that Susan Perewitz is a great cook? Now you do...actually, I already knew that because I've been lucky enough to be there at lunch time, but now you know it, too.
Jody will be the main voice on the Plog but others will chime in, too. Yours truly included. I'm very excited because Jody has said that I don't need to write about motorcycles there if I don't want to...I can write about anything Perewitz that I experience when I visit or attend an event with them. Oh, I can come up with a few fun stories for their Plog....stay tuned.
So, go on over and welcome Jody to the blogosphere...or maybe it will be so popular before you know it we'll all be calling it the Plogosphere!
Life at Perewitz will be an inside look at everything Perewitz - where they go, what's cookin' at their shop, who visits and who they are and what their interests may be outside of motorcycles. Did you know that The King of Flames himself is a master landscaper? Now you do. Did you know that Susan Perewitz is a great cook? Now you do...actually, I already knew that because I've been lucky enough to be there at lunch time, but now you know it, too.
Jody will be the main voice on the Plog but others will chime in, too. Yours truly included. I'm very excited because Jody has said that I don't need to write about motorcycles there if I don't want to...I can write about anything Perewitz that I experience when I visit or attend an event with them. Oh, I can come up with a few fun stories for their Plog....stay tuned.
So, go on over and welcome Jody to the blogosphere...or maybe it will be so popular before you know it we'll all be calling it the Plogosphere!
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