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Navigating in such the uncharted waters of the chasm requires beacons that can be seen above the waves, and that is what models in general, and the chasm models in particular, are for. Models are like constellations—they are not intended to change in themselves, but their value is in giving perspective on a highly changing world. The chasm model represents a pattern in market development that is based on the tendency of pragmatic people to adopt new technology when they see other people like them doing the same. This causes them to hang together as a group, and the group's initial reaction, like teenagers at a junior high dance, is to hesitate and watch. This is the chasm effect. The tendency is very deep-rooted, and so the pattern is very persistent. As a result, marketers can predict its appearance and build strategies to cope with it, and it is the purpose of this book to help in that process. To be specific, the point of greatest peril in the development of a high-tech market lies in making the transition from an early market dominated by a few visionary customers to a mainstream market dominated by a large block of customers who are predominantly pragmatists in orientation. The gap between these two markets, heretofore ignored, is in fact so significant as to warrant being called a chasm, and crossing this chasm must be the primary focus of any long-term high-tech marketing plan. A successful crossing is how high-tech fortunes are made; failure in the attempt is how they are lost.
Key Takeaways
Background & Fundamentals of Crossing the Chasm
It is only natural to cling to the past when the past represents so much of what we have strived to achieve. This is the key to Crossing the Chasm. The chasm represents the gulf between two distinct marketplaces for technology products—the first, an early market dominated by early adopters and insiders who are quick to appreciate the nature and benefits of the new development, and the second a mainstream market representing "the rest of us," people who want the benefits of new technology but who do not want to "experience" it in all its gory details. The transition between these two markets is anything but smooth. Indeed, what Geoff Moore has brought into focus is that, at the time when one has just achieved great initial success in launching a new technology product, creating what he calls early market wins, one must undertake an immense effort and radical transformation to make the transition into serving the mainstream market. This transition involves sloughing off familiar entrepreneurial marketing habits and taking up new ones that at first feel strangely counterintuitive.
The basic forces don't change, but the tactics have become more complicated. Moreover, we are seeing a new effect which was just barely visible in the prior decade, the piggybacking of one company's offer on another to skip the chasm entirely and jump straight into hypergrowth. In the 1980s Lotus piggybacked on VisiCalc to accomplish this feat in the spreadsheet category. In the 1990s Microsoft has done the same thing to Netscape in browsers. The key insight here is that we should always be tracking the evolution of a technology rather than a given company's product line—it's the Technology Adoption Life Cycle, after all. Thus it is spreadsheets, not VisiCalc, Lotus, or Excel, that is the adoption category, just as it is browsers, not Navigator or Explorer. In the early days products and categories were synonymous because technologies were on their first cycles. But today we have multiple decades of invention to build on, and a new offer is no longer quite as new or unprecedented as it used to be.
If we step back from this chasm problem, we can see it as an instance of the larger problem of how the marketplace can cope with change in general. For both the customer and the vendor, continually changing products and services challenge their institution's ability to absorb and make use of the new elements. What can marketing do to buffer these shocks? Fundamentally, marketing must refocus away from selling product and toward creating relationships. Relationship buffers the shock of change. Marketing's first deliverable is that partnership. This is what we mean when we talk about "owning a market." Customers do not like to be "owned," if that implies lack of choice or freedom. The open systems movement in high tech is a clear example of that. But they do like to be "owned" if what that means is a vendor taking ongoing responsibility for the success of their joint ventures. Ownership in this sense means abiding commitment and a strong sense of mutuality in the development of the marketplace. When customers encounter this kind of ownership, they tend to become fanatically loyal to their supplier, which in turn builds a stable economic base for profitability and growth.
The fundamental requirement for the ongoing, interoperability needed to sustain high tech is accurate and honest exchange of information. Your partners need it, your distribution channel needs it and must support it, and your customers demand it.
The fundamental basis of market relations is to build and manage relationships with all the members that make up a high-tech marketplace, not just the most visible ones. In particular, it means setting up formal and informal communications not only with customers, press, and analysts but also with hardware and software partners, distributors, dealers, VARs, systems and integrators, user groups, vertically oriented industry organizations, universities, standards bodies, and international partners. It means improving not only your external communications but also your internal exchange of information among the sales force, the product managers, strategic planners, customer service and support, engineering, manufacturing, and finance.
Must see through every stakeholder's eyes and create win-win relationships. This becomes even more complicated with public, high-tech companies given the number of constituents
The problem, since these techniques are antithetical to each other, is that you need to decide which one – fad or trend – you are dealing with before you start. It would be much better if you could start with a fad, exploit it for all it was worth, and then turn it into a trend. That may seem like a miracle, but that is in essence what high-tech marketing is all about. Every truly innovative high-tech product starts out as a fad—something with no known market value or purpose but with "great properties" that generate a lot of enthusiasm within an "in crowd." That's the early market. Then comes a period during which the rest of the world watches to see if anything can be made of this; that is the chasm. If in fact something does come out of it—if a value proposition is discovered that can predictably be delivered to a targetable set of customers at a reasonable price-then a new mainstream market forms, typically with a rapidity that allows its initial leaders to become very, very successful. The key in all this is crossing the chasm—making that mainstream market emerge. This is a do-or-die proposition for high-tech enterprises; hence, it is logical that they be the crucible in which "chasm theory" is formed.
The rule of thumb in crossing the chasm is simple: Pick on somebody your own size.
These are the two "natural" marketing rhythms in high tech— developing the early market and developing the mainstream market. You develop an early market by demonstrating a strong technology advantage and converting it to product credibility, and you develop a mainstream market by demonstrating a market leadership advantage and converting it to company credibility. By contrast, the "chasm transition" represents an unnatural rhythm. Crossing the chasm requires moving from an environment of support among the visionaries back into one of skepticism among the pragmatists. It means moving from the familiar ground of product-oriented issues to the unfamiliar ground of market-oriented ones, and from the familiar audience of like-minded specialists to the unfamiliar audience of essentially uninterested generalists.
Market Development Strategy Checklist. This list consists of a set of issues around which go-to-market plans are built, each of which incorporates a chasm-crossing factor, as follows:
Target customer
Compelling reason to buy
Whole product
Partners and allies
Next target customer
Technology Adoption Life Cycle – The Cause for the Chasm
To recap the logic of the Technology Adoption Life Cycle, its underlying thesis is that technology is absorbed into any given community in stages corresponding to the psychological and social profiles of various segments within that community. This profile, is in turn, the very foundation of the High-Tech Marketing Model. That model says that the way to develop a high-tech market is to work the curve left to right, focusing first on the innovators, growing that market, then moving on to the early adopters, growing that market, and so on, to the early majority, late majority, and even to the laggards. In this effort, companies must use each "captured" group as a reference base for going on to market to the next group. Thus, the endorsement of innovators becomes an important tool for developing a credible pitch to the early adopters, that of the early adopters to the early majority, and so on. The idea is to keep this process moving smoothly, proceeding something like passing the baton in a relay race or imitating Tarzan swinging from vine to well-placed vine. It is important to maintain momentum in order to create a bandwagon effect that makes it natural for the next group to want to buy in. Too much of a delay and the effect would be something like hanging from a motionless vine—nowhere to go but down. As you can see, the components of the life cycle are unchanged, but between any two psychographic groups has been introduced a gap. This symbolizes the dissociation between the two groups—that is, the difficulty any group will have in accepting a new product if it is presented in the same way as it was to the group to its immediate left. Each of these gaps represents an opportunity for marketing to lose momentum, to miss the transition to the next segment, thereby never to gain the promised land of profit-margin leadership in the middle of the bell curve. The key to winning over this segment is to show that the new technology enables some strategic leap forward, something never before possible, which has an intrinsic value and appeal to the nontechnologist. This benefit is typically symbolized by a single, compelling application, the one thing that best captures the power and value of the new product. If the marketing effort is unable to find that compelling application, then market development stalls with the innovators, and the future of the product falls through the crack.
It turns out our attitude toward technology adoption becomes significant—at least in a marketing sense—any time we are introduced to products that require us to change our current mode of behavior or to modify other products and services we rely on. In academic terms, such change-sensitive products are called discontinuous innovations. The contrasting term, continuous innovations, refers to the normal upgrading of products that does not require us to change behavior.
Of course, talking this way about marketing merely throws the burden of definition onto market, which we will define, for the purposes of high tech, as:
A set of actual or potential customers
For a given set of products or services
Who have a common set of needs or wants
Who reference each other when making a buying decision.
The goal should be to package each of the phases such that each phase
Is accomplishable by mere mortals working in earth time
Provides the vendor with a marketable product
Provides the customer with a concrete return on investment that can be celebrated as a major step forward.
Visionaries are not looking for an improvement; they are looking for a fundamental breakthrough.
In sum, visionaries represent an opportunity early in a product's life cycle to generate a burst of revenue and gain exceptional visibility.
Early Adopters
What the early adopter is buying is some kind of change agent. By being the first to implement this change in their industry, the early adopters expect to get a jump on the competition, whether from lower product costs, faster time to market, more complete customer service, or some other comparable business advantage. They expect a radical discontinuity between the old ways and the new, and they are prepared to champion this cause against entrenched resistance. Being the first, they also are prepared to bear with the inevitable bugs and glitches that accompany any innovation just coming to market.
Early Majority (Pragmatists)
The real news, however, is not the two cracks in the bell curve, the one between the innovators and the early adopters, the other between the early and late majority. No, the real news is the deep and dividing chasm that separates the early adopters from the early majority. This is by far the most formidable and unforgiving transition in the Technology Adoption Life Cycle, and it is all the more dangerous because it typically goes unrecognized. The reason the transition can go unnoticed is that with both groups the customer list and the size of the order can look the same.
The early majority want to buy a productivity improvement for existing operations. They are looking to minimize the discontinuity with the old ways. They want evolution, not revolution. They want technology to enhance, not overthrow, the established ways of doing business. And above all, they do not want to debug somebody else's product. By the time they adopt it, they want it to work properly and to integrate appropriately with their existing technology base. This contrast just scratches the surface relative to the differences and incompatibilities among early adopters and the early majority. Let me just make two key points for now: Because of these incompatibilities, early adopters do not make good references for the early majority. And because of the early majority's concern not to disrupt their organizations, good references are critical to their buying decisions. So what we have here is a catch-22. The only suitable reference for an early majority customer, it turns out, is another member of the early majority, but no upstanding member of the early majority will buy without first having consulted with several suitable references.
Of course, to market successfully to pragmatists, one does not have to be one—just understand their values and work to serve them. To look more closely into these values, if the goal of visionaries is to take a quantum leap forward, the goal of pragmatists is to make a percentage improvement—incremental, measurable, predictable progress. If they are installing a new product, they want to know how other people have fared with it. The word risk is a negative word in their vocabulary—it does not connote opportunity or excitement but rather the chance to waste money and time.
If pragmatists are hard to win over, they are loyal once won, often enforcing a company standard that requires the purchase of your product, and only your product, for a given requirement. This focus on standardization is, well, pragmatic, in that it simplifies internal service demands. But the secondary effects of this standardization—increasing sales volumes and lowering the cost of sales—is dramatic. Hence the importance of pragmatists as a market segment.
When pragmatists buy, they care about the company they are buying from, the quality of the product they are buying, the infrastructure of supporting products and system interfaces, and the reliability of the service they are going to get. In other words, they are planning on living with this decision personally for a long time to come.
Pragmatists won't buy from you until you are established, yet you can't get established until they buy from you. Obviously, this works to the disadvantage of start-ups and, conversely, to the great advantage of companies with established track records. On the other hand, once a start-up has earned its spurs with the pragmatist buyers within a given vertical market, they tend to be very loyal to it, and even go out of their way to help it succeed. When this happens, the cost of sales goes way down, and the leverage on incremental R&D to support any given customer goes way up. That's one of the reasons pragmatists make such a great market.
Overall, to market to pragmatists, you must be patient. You need to be conversant with the issues that dominate their particular business. You need to show up at the industry-specific conferences and trade shows they attend. You need to be mentioned in articles that run in the magazines they read. You need to be installed in other companies in their industry. You need to have developed applications for your product that are specific to the industry. You need to have partnerships and alliances with the other vendors who serve their industry. You need to have earned a reputation for quality and service. In short, you need to make yourself over into the obvious supplier of choice. This is a long-term agenda, requiring careful pacing, recurrent investment, and a mature management team
Conservatives like to buy preassembled packages, with everything bundled, at a heavily discounted price. The last thing they want to hear is that the software they just bought doesn't support the printer they have installed. They want high-tech products to be like refrigerators—you open the door, the light comes on automatically, your food stays cold, and you don't have to think about it. The products they understand best are those dedicated to a single function—word processors, calculators, copiers, and fax machines. The notion that a single computer could do all four of these functions does not excite them—instead, it is something they find vaguely nauseating. The conservative marketplace provides a great opportunity, in this regard, to take low-cost, trailing-edge technology components and repackage them into single-function systems for specific business needs. The quality of the package should be quite high because there is nothing in it that has not already been thoroughly debugged. The price should be quite low because all the R&D has long since been amortized, and every bit of the manufacturing learning curve has been taken advantage of. It is, in short, not just a pure marketing ploy but a true solution for a new class of customer. There are two keys to success here. The first is to have thoroughly thought through the "whole solution" to a particular target end user market's needs, and to have provided for every element of that solution within the package. This is critical because there is no profit margin to support an afterpurchase support system. The other key is to have lined up a low-overhead distribution channel that can get this package to the target market effectively.
Just as the visionaries drive the development of the early market, so do the pragmatists drive the development of the mainstream market. Winning their support is not only the point of entry but the key to long-term dominance. But having done so, you cannot take the market for granted. To maintain leadership in a mainstream market, you must at least keep pace with the competition. It is no longer necessary to be the technology leader, nor is it necessary to have the very best product. But the product must be good enough, and should a competitor make a major breakthrough, you have to make at least a catch-up response.
The key to making a smooth transition from the pragmatist to the conservative market segments is to maintain a strong relationship with the former, always giving them an open door to go to the new paradigm, while still keeping the latter happy by adding value to the old infrastructure. It is a balancing act to say the least, but properly managed the earnings potential in loyal mature market segments is very high indeed.
So the corollary lesson is, we must use our experience with the pragmatist customer segment to identify all the issues that require service and then design solutions to these problems directly into the product.
In sum, the pragmatists are loath to buy until they can compare. Competition, therefore, becomes a fundamental condition for purchase. So, coming from the early market, where there are typically no perceived competing products, with the goal of penetrating the mainstream, you often have to go out and create your competition. Creating the competition is the single most important marketing decision made in the battle to enter the mainstream. It begins with locating your product within a buying category that already has some established credibility with the pragmatist buyers. That category should be populated with other reasonable buying choices, ideally ones with which the pragmatists are already familiar. Within this universe, your goal is to position your product as the indisputably correct buying choice.
In sum, to the pragmatist buyer, the most powerful evidence of leadership and likelihood of competitive victory is market share. In the absence of definitive numbers here, pragmatists will look to the quality and number of partners and allies you have assembled in your camp, and their degree of demonstrable commitment to your cause.
Late Majority
Simply put, the early majority is willing and able to become technologically competent, where necessary; the late majority, much less so. When a product reaches this point in the market development, it must be made increasingly easier to adopt in order to continue being successful. If this does not occur, the transition to the late majority may well stall or never happen.
Skeptics—the group that makes up the last one-sixth of the Technology Adoption Life Cycle—do not participate in the high-tech marketplace, except to block purchases. Thus, the primary function of high-tech marketing in relation to skeptics is to neutralize their influence. In a sense, this is a pity because skeptics can teach us a lot about what we are doing wrong
The D-Day Strategy – Choose a Target Niche
Entering the mainstream market is an act of aggression. The companies who have already established relationships with your target customer will resent your intrusion and do everything they can to shut you out. The customers themselves will be suspicious of you as a new and untried player in their marketplace. No one wants your presence. You are an invader. This is not a time to focus on being nice. As we have already said, the perils of the chasm make this a life-or-death situation for you. You must win entry to the mainstream, despite whatever resistance is posed. That's it. That's the strategy. Replicate D Day, and win entry to the mainstream. Cross the chasm by targeting a very specific niche market where you can dominate from the outset, force your competitors out of that market niche, and then use it as a base for broader operations. Concentrate an overwhelmingly superior force on a highly focused target. It worked in 1944 for the Allies, and it has worked since for any number of high-tech companies.
The D-Day strategy prevents this mistake. It has the ability to galvanize an entire enterprise by focusing it on a highly specific goal that is (1) readily achievable and (2) capable of being directly leveraged into long-term success. Most companies fail to cross the chasm because, confronted with the immensity of opportunity represented by a mainstream market, they lose their focus, chasing every opportunity that presents itself, but finding themselves unable to deliver a salable proposition to any true pragmatist buyer. The D-Day strategy keeps everyone on point—if we don't take Normandy, we don't have to worry about how we're going to take Paris. And by focusing our entire might on such a small territory, we greatly increase our odds of immediate success.
This isn't rocket science, but it does represent a kind of discipline. And it is here that high-tech management shows itself most lacking. Most high-tech leaders, when it comes down to making marketing choices, will continue to shy away from making niche commitments, regardless. Like marriage-averse bachelors, they may nod in all the right places and say all the right things, but they will not show up when the wedding bells chime.
"Never attack a fortified hill." Same with beachheads. If some other company got there before you, all the market dynamics that you are seeking to make work in your favor are already working in its favor. Don't go there.
One of the most important lessons about crossing the chasm is that the task ultimately requires achieving an unusual degree of company unity during the crossing period. This is a time when one should forgo the quest for eccentric marketing genius, in favor of achieving an informed consensus among mere mortals. It is a time not for dashing and expensive gestures but rather for careful plans and cautiously rationed resources—a time not to gamble all on some brilliant coup but rather to focus everyone on making as few mistakes as possible. One of the functions of this book, therefore-and perhaps its most important one-is to open up the logic of marketing decision making during this period so that everyone on the management team can participate in the marketing process. If prudence rather than brilliance is to be our guiding principle, then many heads are better than one. If marketing is going to be the driving force-and most organizations insist this is their goal—then its principles must be accessible to all the players, and not, as is sometimes the case, be reserved to an elect few who have managed to penetrate its mysteries.
The consequences of being sales-driven during the chasm period are, to put it simply, fatal.
Segment. Segment. Segment. One of the other benefits of this approach is that it leads directly to you "owning" a market. That is, you get installed by the pragmatists as the leader, and from then on, they conspire to help keep you there. This means that there are significant barriers to entry for any competitors, regardless of their size or the added features they have in their product. Mainstream customers will, to be sure, complain about your lack of features and insist you upgrade to meet the competition. But, in truth, mainstream customers like to be "owned"—it simplifies their buying decisions, improves the quality and lowers the cost of whole product ownership, and provides security that the vendor is here to stay. They demand attention, but they are on your side. As a result, an owned market can take on some of the characteristics of an annuity—a building block in good times, and a place of refuge in bad—with far more predictable revenues and far lower cost of sales than can otherwise be achieved.
For all these reasons—for whole product leverage, for word-of-mouth effectiveness, and for perceived market leadership—it is critical that, when crossing the chasm, you focus exclusively on achieving a dominant position in one or two narrowly bounded market segments. If you do not commit fully to this goal, the odds are overwhelmingly against your ever arriving in the mainstream market.
The key to moving beyond one's initial target niche is to select strategic target market segments to begin with. That is, target a segment that, by virtue of its other connections, creates an entry point into a larger segment. For example, when the Macintosh crossed the chasm, the target niche was the graphics arts department in Fortune 500 companies. This was not a particularly large target market, but it was one that was responsible for a broken, mission-critical process—providing presentations for executives and marketing professionals.
The niche wins—presuming the beachhead strategy is conducted correctly—by getting a fix for its specialized problem. And the vendor wins because it gets certified by at least one group of pragmatists that its offering is mainstream. So, because of the dynamics of technology adoption, and not because of any niche properties in the product itself, platforms must take a vertical market approach to crossing the chasm even though it seems unnatural.
The answer is that when you are picking a chasm-crossing target it is not about the number of people involved, it is about the amount of pain they are causing. In the case of the pharmaeutical industry's regulatory affairs function, the pain was excruciating.
This is a standard pattern in crossing the chasm. It is normally the departmental function who leads (they have the problem), the executive function who prioritizes (the problem is causing enterprise-wide grief), and the technical function that follows (they have to make the new stuff work while still maintaining all the old stuff).
The more serious the problem, the faster the target niche will pull you out of the chasm. Once out, your opportunities to expand into other niches are immensely increased because now, having one set of customers solidly behind you, you are much less risky to back as a new vendor.
Next Target Segment
The second key is to have lined up other market segments into which you can leverage your initial niche solution. This allows you to reinterpret the financial gain in crossing the chasm. It is not about the money you make from the first niche: It is the sum of that money plus the gains from all subsequent niches. It is a bowling alley estimate, not just a head pin estimate, that should drive the calculation of gain.
First you divide up the universe of possible customers into market segments. Then you evaluate each segment for its attractiveness. After the targets get narrowed down to a very small number, the "finalists," then you develop estimates of such factors as the market niches' size, their accessibility to distribution, and the degree to which they are well defended by competitors.
Now, the biggest mistake one can make in this state is to turn to numeric information as a source of refuge or reassurance. You need to understand that informed intuition, rather than analytical reason, is the most trustworthy decision-making tool to use. The key is to understand how intuition—specifically, informed intuition—actually works. Unlike numerical analysis, it does not rely on processing a statistically significant sample of data in order to achieve a given level of confidence. Rather, it involves conclusions based on isolating a few high-quality images—really, data fragments—that it takes to be archetypes of a broader and more complex reality. These images simply stand out from the swarm of mental material that rattles around in our heads. They are the ones that are memorable. So the first rule of working with an image is: If you can't remember it, don't try, because it's not worth it. Or, to put this in the positive form: Only work with memorable images.
Target-customer characterization is a formal process for making up these images, getting them out of individual heads and in front of a marketing decision-making group. The idea is to create as many characterizations as possible, one for each different type of customer and application for the product. (It turns out that, as these start to accumulate, they begin to resemble one another so that, somewhere between 20 and 50, you realize you are just repeating the same formulas with minor tweaks, and that in fact you have outlined 8 to 10 distinct alternatives.)
It is extremely difficult to cross the chasm in consumer market. Almost all successful crossings happen in business markets, where the economic and technical resources can absorb the challenges of an immature product and service offering.
The elements you need to capture are five:
Scene or situation: Focus on the moment of frustration. What is going on? What is the user about to attempt?
Desired outcome: What is the user trying to accomplish? Why is this important?
Attempted approach: Without the new product, how does the user go about the task?
Interfering factors: What goes wrong? How and why does it go wrong?
Economic consequences: So what? What is the impact of the user failing to accomplish the task productively?
Whole Product Package
Systems integrators could just as easily be called whole product providers—that is their commitment to the customer.
The whole product model provides a key insight into the chasm phenomenon. The single most important difference between early markets and mainstream markets is that the former are willing to take responsibility for piecing together the whole product (in return for getting a jump on their competition), whereas the latter are not.
Tactical alliances have one and only one purpose: to accelerate the formation of whole product infrastructure within a specific target market segment. The basic commitment is to codevelop a whole product and market it jointly. This benefits the product manager by ensuring customer satisfaction. It benefits the partner by providing expanded distribution into a hitherto untapped source of sales opportunities.
To sum up, whole product definition followed by a strong program of tactical alliances to speed the development of the whole product infrastructure is the essence of assembling an invasion force for crossing the chasm. The force itself is a function of actually delivering on the customer's compelling reason to buy in its entirety. That force is still rare in the high-tech marketplace, so rare that, despite the overall high-risk nature of the chasm period, any company that executes a whole product strategy competently has a high probability of mainstream market success.
Review the whole product from each participant's point of view. Make sure each vendor wins, and that no vendor gets an unfair share of the pie. Inequities here, particularly when they favor you, will instantly defeat the whole product effort—companies are naturally suspicious of each other anyway, and given any encouragement, will interpret your entire scheme as a rip-off.
The fundamental rule of engagement is that any force can defeat any other force—if it can define the battle. If we get to set the turf, if we get to set the competitive criteria for winning, why would we ever lose? The answer, depressingly enough, is because we don't do it right. Sometimes it is because we misunderstand either our own strengths and weaknesses, or those of our competitors. More often, however, it is because we misinterpret what our target customers really want, or we are afraid to step up to the responsibility of making sure they get it.
The number-one corporate objective, when crossing the chasm, is to secure a channel into the mainstream market with which the pragmatist customer will be comfortable.
In other words, during the chasm period, the number-one concern of pricing is not to satisfy the customer or to satisfy the investors, but to motivate the channel.
To sum up, when crossing the chasm, we are looking to attract customer-oriented distribution, and one of our primary lures will be distribution-oriented pricing.
When functioning at its best, within the limits just laid out, direct sales is the optimal channel for high tech. It is also the best channel for crossing the chasm.
All other things being equal, however, direct sales is the preferred alternative because it gives us maximum control over our own destiny.
First and foremost, the retail system works optimally when its job is to fulfill demand rather than to create it.
To sum up, your market alternative helps people identify your target customer (what you have in common) and your compelling reason to buy (where you differentiate). Similarly, your product alternative helps people appreciate your technology leverage (what you have in common) and your niche commitment (where you differentiate). Thus you create the two beacons that triangulate to teach the market your positioning.
You can keep yourself from making most positioning gaffes if you will simply remember the following principles:
Positioning, first and foremost, is a noun, not a verb. That is, it is best understood as an attribute associated with a company or a product, and not as the marketing contortions that people go through to set up that association.
Positioning is the single largest influence on the buying decision. It serves as a kind of buyers' shorthand, shaping not only their final choice but even the way they evaluate alternatives leading up to that choice. In other words, evaluations are often simply rationalizations of preestablished positioning.
Positioning exists in people's heads, not in your words. If you want to talk intelligently about positioning, you must frame a position in words that are likely to actually exist in other people's heads, and not in words that come straight out of hot advertising copy.
People are highly conservative about entertaining changes in positioning. This is just another way of saying that people do not like you messing with the stuff that is inside their heads. In general, the most effective positioning strategies are the ones that demand the least amount of change.
Given all of the above, it is then possible to talk about positioning as a verb—a set of activities designed to bring about positioning as a noun. Here there is one fundamental key to success: When most people think of positioning in this way, they are thinking about how to make their products easier to sell. But the correct goal is to make them easier to buy. Think about it, most people resist selling but enjoy buying. By focusing on making a product easy to buy, you are focusing on what the customers really want. In turn, they will sense this and reward you with their purchases. Thus, easy to buy becomes easy to sell. The goal of positioning, therefore, is to create a space inside the target customer's head called "best buy for this type of situation" and to attain sole, undisputed occupancy of that space. Only then, when the green light is on, and there is no remaining competing alternative, is a product easy to buy.
Set pricing at the market leader price point, thereby reinforcing your claims to market leadership (or at least not undercutting them), and build a disproportionately high reward for the channel into the price margin, a reward that will be phased out as the product becomes truly established in the mainstream, and competition for the right to distribute it increases.
So how can we guarantee passing the elevator pitch test? The key is to define your position based on the target segment you intend to dominate and the value proposition you intend to dominate it with. Within this context, you then set forth your competition and the unique differentiation that belongs to you and that you expect to drive the buying decision your way. Here is a proven formula for getting all this down into two short sentences. Try it out on your own company and one of its key products. Just fill in the blanks:
For (target customers—beachhead segment only) who are dissatisfied with (the current market alternative), our product is a (new product category) that provides (key problem-solving capability). unlike (the product alternative), we have assembled (key whole product features for your specific application).
So building relationships with business press editors, initially around a whole product story, is a key tactic in crossing the chasm.
The purpose of the postchasm enterprise is to make money. This is a much more radical statement than it appears. To begin with, we need to recognize that this is not the purpose of the prechasm organization. In the case of building an early market, the fundamental return on investment is the conversion of an amalgam of technology, services, and ideas into a replicable, manufacturable product and the proving out that there is some customer demand for this product. Early market revenues are the first measure of this demand, but they are typically not—nor are they expected to be-a source of profit.
How wide is the chasm? Or, to put this in investment terms, how long will it take before I can achieve a reasonably predictable ROI from an acceptably large mainstream market? The simple answer to this question is, as long as it takes to create and install a sustainable whole product. The chasm model asserts that no mainstream market can occur until the whole product is in place.
The key is to initiate the transition by introducing two new roles during the crossing-the-chasm effort. The first of these might be called the target market segment manager, and the second, the whole product manager. Both are temporary, transitional positions, with each being a stepping stone to a more traditional role. Specifically, the former leads to being an industry marketing manager, and the latter to a product marketing manager. These are their "real titles," the ones under which they are hired, the ones that are most appropriate for their business cards. But during the chasm transition they should be assigned unique, one-time-only responsibilities, and while they are in that mode, we will use their "interim" titles. The target market segment manager has one goal in his or her short job life—to transform a visionary customer relationship into a potential beachhead for entry into the mainstream vertical market that particular customer participates
What I got out of it
Awesome playbook for building out a high-tech company and framework for how to invest in them (see The Gorilla Game for further notes on the investing portion). The innovators gladly take on new technology but it is the pragmatists or the early majority who need proof of concept, who need evidence that you will be around for a while and that other respected players are using your product or service before they buy in, and they are where the real profits lie. The chasm is formed between these innovators and pragmatists and your strategy, focus, and mindset has to shift when attempting to tap into the mainstream.


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Alberta Premier Rachel Notley's government passed new workplace rules and exchanged broadsides with the opposition before the spring sitting of the legislature wrapped up Tuesday.
The first overhaul of labour law in Alberta in three decades guarantees job protection for anyone taking unpaid leave for illness, injury or for serious personal and family issues.
"That bill essentially brought Alberta into line with the rest of the country, something which was long overdue," Notley said.
Job protection for maternity leave will be 16 weeks instead of 15. The minimum work age will be 13, instead of 12, and overtime will be banked at 1 1/2 hours for every hour worked instead of straight time.
READ MORE: NDP announces labour law changes to bring 'Alberta's workplaces into the 21st century'
The changes are to take effect Jan. 1.
There were also changes to the labour relations code, including a clause doing away with secret ballots to certify unions if more than two-thirds of workplace staff sign cards saying they wish to join.
READ MORE: A closer look at proposed changes to Alberta's workplace rules
That is expected to take effect in the fall of 2018.
Ric McIver, the Progressive Conservative leader in the house, said the labour changes combined with increases in the minimum wage carry a hefty price tag.
"(The changes will) make it harder for businesses to employ people. It's going to make it harder for non-profits to employ people. It's going to make it harder for businesses, big or small, to stay in business," he said.
READ MORE: Edmonton Chamber of Commerce displeased with proposed labour law changes
The sitting, which wrapped up just after 2 a.m., was underpinned by a budget which laid out incremental spending increases in health and education, while borrowing billions of dollars for roads, hospitals, schools and other infrastructure.
The downside is a $10.3-billion deficit in this year's budget and a fifth credit downgrade, meaning higher costs to borrow.
"The NDP plan never, ever balances the budget and continues Alberta's over-reliance on non-renewable resource revenues," said Alberta Party leader Greg Clark.
Opposition parties hammered away at the NDP over the budget and argued that new fees such as a carbon tax, coupled with escalating minimum wages and workplace changes, are making matters worse for Alberta families already hurting from job cuts due to lower oil prices.
"The NDP clearly have lost touch with Albertans who sent them to the legislature," said Opposition Wildrose Leader Brian Jean.
"They are content with sitting back and enjoying the ride, while everyday Albertans across this province struggle to make ends meet."
Government house leader Brian Mason accused the Wildrose and PCs of focusing on headline-grabbing cheap shots rather than offering solid policy critiques or alternatives.
"They're getting more and more extreme with their beliefs, while at the same time less and less serious about the jobs they were elected to do," said Mason.
Alberta's political landscape is on shifting political ground.
In March, the Progressive Conservatives selected Jason Kenney as their first permanent leader since former premier Jim Prentice resigned on election night in May 2015.
Kenney, a cabinet minister under former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, ran on a platform to merge the PCs with the fellow right-centre Wildrose party.
Last month, the two sides struck a tentative deal to do just that. Members of both parties are to vote next month whether to ratify the pact and create the new United Conservative Party.
READ MORE: Alberta PCs, Wildrose unveil plans to merge, create United Conservative Party
If so, a leadership race will be held, and a new leader picked in October.
The Liberals, with one seat in the legislature, also picked a new leader, David Khan, who said he will focus on fundraising and building up the party in constituencies.

subset: commoncrawl


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Directions from Novi to LaFontaine Subaru
Visit Our Subaru Dealership Near Novi, MI for New and Used Car Sales, Parts and Service and More
Whether you're on the hunt for your next new or used vehicle, or looking for a trustworthy spot for parts and service, you'll find it all right here at our Subaru dealership near Novi, MI, so use the directions we've included to head over right now. Beyond the convenient location that's only about 10 minutes away from Novi, our Subaru dealership offers plenty of handy online tools and resources so you can get started on the financing process, check your credit score and sign up for a service appointment before you even leave your hose. Use these directions to find your way over to our Subaru dealer near Novi today and get started:
- Get on I-96 E
- Head north on Novi Rd toward Grand River Ave
- Use the right lane to take the Interstate 96 E ramp to Detroit
- Take Exit 164 and M-5 N to W Maple Rd/E West Maple Rd in Commerce Charter Township
- Merge onto I-96 E
- Use the right lane to keep right at the fork, continue on I-275 S/I-96 E and follow signs for M-5 N/Detroit/Toledo
- Take exit 164 to merge onto M-5 N
- Continue on W Maple Rd/E West Maple Rd. Drive to Meijer Dr
- Turn right onto W Maple Rd/E West Maple Rd
- Turn left onto Meijer Dr. Dealership is on left
Finding a great new Subaru such as the Outback, Crosstrek, Forester, Legacy or Impreza is easy if you live in Nova, as our dealership is nearby and we provide a great listing on our website for you to sort through all your options. If you're looking for something more affordable, our used car lineup has plenty of great pre-owned Subaru models, as well as cars, trucks and SUVs from other popular brands. If you regularly hit up the Twelve Oaks Mall, make sure you find a new Subaru or used car that has plenty of room for your friends and family, and all your stuff.
Helping you in your search, often before you even have to visit form Novi, we handle the process of financing or leasing new Subaru cars or used vehicles, so ask for help in that regard, or head over today to get started. We also provide excellent Subaru service and parts departments, helping you keep your ride in its best shape going forward.
Find your way over to LaFontaine Subaru from Novi today and we'll be happy to get you started.


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The landscaping industry is flourishing in the US, mostly because these businesses have a low starting cost. In fact, you can start a landscaping business for under $2000. It's not surprising that small business owners rule 72% of the landscaping industry.
In order to maximize profits, small landscaping companies often ignore the need to adopt safety measures. But skimping on the safety measures that reduce injuries can end up costing more in bodily injury claims and the medical and legal costs that go with them. You might even have decided that you can do without insurance. By trying to save a buck, both small landscaping business owners and your employees are at risk.
90% of landscaping tasks require that you and your employees spend a long stretches of time outdoors. Landscaping workers face harsh outdoor conditions, which could lead to heat stroke. Workers suffering due to harsh weather conditions need immediate attention to reduce the chances of life-threatening conditions.
Landscaping workers should be provided with proper summer and winter insulated clothing. Furthermore, the workers should not be allowed to work in extreme weather conditions for a prolonged time. Breaks during work sessions can also reduce the effects of environmental stress.
There is a high chance of injury when landscaping, including amputation. In fact, over the past 6 years, more than 12,000 people lost a body part while mowing their lawns. Landscaping equipment is be dangerous if not handled correctly. Professional landscaping equipment is more likely to injure workers without safety gear.
Lacerations and amputations due to sharp equipment and are one of the most recurring injuries in the landscaping business. These injuries can be minimized by providing training and safety gear to the landscaping workers. These items are a must for a landscaping worker:
Landscaping workers face severe conditions at the landscaping sites. It is shocking to think that 200 landscaping workers die every year in the landscaping sites. The three leading causes of fatality are:
The safety of the workers should be the prime concern of all landscaping companies. Rising casualties at the landscaping sites can be controlled by providing safety training and gear to all the workers. Furthermore, an enhanced communication system can also be developed for quick reporting of injuries.
A landscaping business owner knows that each time they send a crew on a job, there is danger attached. On the drive, the van can crash — do you have commercial auto insurance? At the site, your equipment could fail leading to damage to your customer's property — do you have equipment breakdown insurance coverage? In light of the high risk of injury, does your business owners policy include employer's liability insurance? If you're unsure about which small business policy is best for your landscaping business, your questions can be answered by experienced insurance agents at Small Business Liability. Get advice from this reputable insurance company to avoid being led up the garden path.


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Automotive Design, Training and Recruitment News
Here you will find our latest news and information regarding automotive design and development plus Autodesk training and automotive recruitment.
You can read more about Technicon Design on our corporate website www.technicondesign.com
02 December 2009
New Form- Finding Process in automotive design through 3D sketching
During the Autodesk Automotive Days 2009 in Munich, Technicon Design together with the company Geomagic were given the opportunity to present a new innovative method from the field of virtual product development.
The principal idea of this new method is to create design sketches already in 3D in order to then quickly generate clean surface data models from these designs. As a basis we used a design sketch, made in the conventional and "old-school way" on paper.
When sketching with Autodesk Maya in 3D one creates base volumes, which can then be used to quickly express the 3-dimensional proportions and shape of an object. An important factor during this process is that one works with a closed object which can be shaped to incorporate the various design features, while keeping all the while a holistic view of the model.
A poly-model created in this way also offers the opportunity to change proportions through interactive morphing. These changes can be directed via an analogue or digital interface so that decision makers without the relevant software knowledge will be able to make alterations to a vehicle easily and express their ideas.
"How does the vehicle look with a different windscreen angle?" How does a change of the base layout effect the front of the vehicle?" or "How does a change in fan tail effect the overall image of the vehicle?"
However, in order to incorporate the result into industrial work-flows, we do not require a polygon model but a Bezier or Nurbs data model.
The company Geomagic offers a new software solution which allows the transformation of polygon data into a Nurbs model in a short span of time and at the same time already makes allowances for the surface layout needed for the next step. The so-called Patch-Layout is drawn directly onto the polygon skin in order to differentiate primary and secondary surfaces. At the end one has the option to either express the model in a filleted way or with character lines.
This result can now already be used for analysis or basic construction work in CAD programs like UG, CATIA or Autodesk Inventor. It is however not suitable for the high definition surfaces required in the design process.
The previously described Geomagic surface layout significantly shortens the process of creating mathematically exact (Class A) surface models from the data. We achieve this with the help of Autodesk Alias and the creation of Geomagic Nurbs surfaces in about 50% of the usual time needed to create Class A surfaces. In the last step the necessary fillets are introduced into the surface model built "on edge". The model generated in this way is a high quality Early Cubing model that can easily be changed in Alias and is ready for further development processes.
25 November 2009
Technicon Design Academy - The First Graduates In China
If you are also interested in learning these techniques, then please visit our website www.technicondesign.com/academy or contact Werner Strathaus
23 September 2009
Technicon Design- Interior Motives Design Awards 2009
Technicon Design's MD Mr David Shall, joined with numerous senior designers to view the creative talents of this years finalists in eight specific award categories. Technicon Design sponsored the award for "Best Conceptual Exterior" and Mr Shall was pleased to present Bob Romkes from the Royal College of Art the award for this category.
With many uncertainties in our industry at present, the awards evening proved that with talents of these young designers the future can be exciting and optimistic.
13 August 2009
Technicon Design und der Interessenverband Deutscher Zeitarbeitsunternehmen (IGZ) – eine starke Partnerschaft
Als internationaler, spezialisierter Personaldienstleister für Design-, Modelling- und Engineeringaufgaben arbeitet Technicon Design schon seit vielen Jahren in der Zeitarbeitsbranche. Der Einsatz von Zeitarbeitnehmern gewinnt in Deutschland immer mehr an Ansehen und ermöglicht Firmen besonders in wirtschaftlich schwierigen Zeiten wie jetzt die notwendige Flexibilität, um auf schwankende Auftragslagen zu reagieren.
Bereits 2004 hat Technicon Design erkannt, wie wichtig bei dieser Arbeit die Unterstützung und Kommunikation mit einem Partner wie dem IGZ ist. Durch unsere Mitgliedschaft sind wir dem IGZ-DGB Tarifvertrag angeschlossen – eine faire Regelung, von der unsere Mitarbeiter und Kunden profitieren.
Durch unsere internationale Präsenz und Vermittlung von Spezialisten in der Automobilbranche haben sich schon oft interessante arbeits- und sozialrechtliche oder branchenpolitische Fragen ergeben, die wir immer zusammen mit unseren Partnern beim IGZ angehen konnten, die uns mit ihrer Erfahrung und Rat und Tat zur Seite stehen.
22 June 2009
Technicon Design Academy – some recent graduates in Germany
Douglas Raap (left) and Frank Schanz (right) are two of the recent students of the Technicon Design Academy who successfully completed the Autodesk training course "AliasStudio Concept Modelling for Transportation Designer" in Rüsselsheim, Germany.
After 3 weeks of intensive training including realistic work scenarios, they are now able to create high quality digital models applying solid and proven modelling strategies.
If you are also interested in learning these techniques, then please visit our website www.technicondesign.com/academy
The Technicon Design Academy is an authorised Autodesk Training Centre.
12 June 2009
Technicon Design Academy now offers Autodesk Alias training courses in the US
Technicon Design has decided to extend its programme of advanced and applied Autodesk Alias training courses into the US market. These specialist training courses have created so much interest in recent months that Technicon will start to run the first Autodesk training courses with the theme "General Alias Studio surfacing training for clay modellers" from July onwards in its Irvine facility, California. In order to enable students who are currently working during the week to participate in these courses, some will be held on weekends. Special conditions are available for current Technicon contractors.
For further information on Autodesk training courses in the US please visit: www.technicondesign.com/academy
The Technicon Design Academy is an authorised Autodesk Training Centre.
01 June 2009
Technicon Design & Virtual Colour & Trim Development
Technicon Design has long been known for its digital modelling capabilities in the automotive industry, but did you know that they do a lot of virtual prototyping including Colour & Trim proposals?
Their digital surfaces and materials look so realistic that it makes it much easier, quicker and much more cost-effective for customers to make their selection of the right material in this way. You can quickly "dress" your product in different digital materials for comparison and the images are amazing.
Have a look at their website or at the recent article in Form Magazine (Form Special Issue "The Magic of Materials", form 226, May/June 2009).
22 May 2009
New Autodesk AliasStudio Automotive Class-A surfacing course
Technicon Design Academy announces their new automotive Class-A surfacing training course for Autodesk AliasStudio.
The AliasStudio training course was created for advanced Alias users who regularly use Autodesk AliasStudio for product development or visualisation purposes.
Course and booking information can be found on the Technicon Design Academy Training website.
The Technicon Design Academy is an authorised Autodesk Training Centre.
11 May 2009
Class-A Surfacing software transition training course
The training course focuses on the similarities and differences of Autodesk AliasStudio compared with other software systems.
The next "Surfacing software transition courses for Class A surfacing with Alias Studio" is 8th June 2009 in our Luton training suite.
Check our training course schedule for the latest dates and booking information
Technicon Design Academy also offers corporate courses to its customers. These courses can be held for the staff of your company at your premises and tailor-made to your requirements.
The Technicon Design Academy is an authorised Autodesk Training Centre.
04 May 2009
Autodesk Alias surfacing training for Clay modellers
This will enlarge your portfolio and keep it up to date with the needs of the car design process today and in the future.
The Technicon Design Academy offers a range of specialised digital modelling courses.
Visit our dedicated training website for details.
28 April 2009
Technicon Academy announces new Autodesk Alias Studio Paint Course for 2009
Integrate your 2D sketching skills into the digital 3D car development process!
Learn the whole spectrum of Studio Paint 2D capabilities and mix them with the Alias 3D power. Use underlaying 3D package data to ensure feasibility of your beautiful design sketches.
Sketch on existing surfacing data to enrich basic surface models with design features in their realistic environment and look at them from any angle.
This course will improve your standing, makes your input more precise and enriches your relationship with your automotive design development team for a more efficient and better process
27 April 2009
Using Autodesk AliasStudio, Technicon masters the most demanding surfacing tasks in automotive design.
Read how Technicon Design has used Autodesk Surfacing and Modelling Tools to radically improve the final results of the modelling process.
The link below takes you to an Autodesk article detailing the use of these products and includes a downloadable pdf.
Read more on Autodesk site and get PDF
The Technicon Design Academy is an authorised Autodesk Training Centre www.technicondesign.com/academy
02 April 2009
Technicon Design sponsors the Interior Motives China design conference
This year the conference will bring together the world's leading automotive design experts from global and local players.
This is a major platform where design executives can network and liaise with peers - it is regarded by many as the event where the differences in design and conception between East and West becomes apparent.
Technicon Design will present a presentation on advanced uses of Autodesk products in the design studio and showcase the Technicon Design Academy programmes.
Technicon Design is supporting this event as an official gold sponsor, and this sponsorship clearly underlines our dedication to the Chinese market.
We will have an exhibition stand on site and company representatives will be in attendance throughout the two-day conference.


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Julia skipped up to me one day after school carrying a blue lollipop. As she unwrapped the sugary treat meant to celebrate a classmate's new baby she sighed, "I would love a baby brother."
I'm sure she would. Julia loves everything. Up until a month ago she's loved every person she's ever met. She's even starting to reverse her opinion on the only little girl she's ever said was not her friend.
Somehow I've been blessed with a genuinely happy child.
She also thinks that a real live baby doll would be cool. We'd feed it and dress it. Then when her and I wanted to play Barbies we could leave it lying on its face in the middle of the living room.
Wait. We couldn't do that.
I explained these drawbacks as she sucked on that lollipop. Mommy wouldn't be able to hold you. Mommy wouldn't be able to spoon feed you pink Cheerios before school while you're still mostly asleep. Your life would never be the same again.
Then I hit her with the big guns. I told her, "if God wanted Mommy and Daddy to have two kids, He'd have made it so Mommy and Daddy could have two kids."
The conversation ended. I rejoiced that there is still something that can silence her questions, but it's probably only temporary. We'll have it all out again the next time those lollipops are around.


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Unlock Requirement: Meet Nightwing during the campaign and then use three quick-fire gadgets in a single combat encounter.
|3 Stars
|20,000 Points
|2 Stars
|10,000 Points
|1 Star
|5,000 Points
Compared to the other combat challenges, this one seems to be the easiest. It's your standard dual-fighter combat scenario and you'll team up with Nightwing to take down a rooftop full of bad guys.
The quantity of enemies, most of whom are the stock standard Thugs/Soldiers means that as long as you get a semi-decent combo or two together, you should have the points for a three star rating wrapped up fairly easily. The only real tricky enemies that appear will be a Brute and two shield Thugs, each of which can be avoided whilst you build a combo and then dispatched with a dual-takedown or environmental takedowns.
As long as you can keep the combo going as long as possible, the high scores are most definitely achievable.


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Box Cones
Chocolate and vanilla have always been a winning combination, a duet that combine the favourite flavours of virtually all who have a sweet tooth.
This practical packaging provides three vanilla and three chocolate cones, and will always be an excellent solution for surprise guests, your youngest ice cream fans and will soon detract you from baking dessert to follow Saturday lunch. Keep your little secret safe in the freezer and always keep it at hand for when you and your family are craving something sweet.
Ledo ice creams meet the highest health and hygiene standards


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The Member of Parliament for Asawase, Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, has asked medical officials handling the crisis at Kumasi Academy, to quickly ascertain the cause of the recent deaths that have sparked some panic in his constituency.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, the MP said the health officials needed to do all the could, "even if it means flying samples" outside the country for testing.
[contextly_sidebar id="ieyGnyfsTa9p30V97FDAvcev8EbAUtPa"]"Let's get to know what is the cause immediately because it creating trouble for us. If this thing spread into the general population, whether in the constituency or in the Kumasi metropolis, we are going to run into much bigger trouble."
The recent deaths, four in the past week, have renewed concerns about the health conditions in the school which so far killed eight students in 2017.
The earlier deaths were suspected to be meningitis-related, though official clarification has been made by health officials.
Before the 2017/2018 academic year, the school's authorities had said it had adopted measures to prevent any meningitis-related deaths.
But officials from the Ghana Health Service have since ruled meningitis out in the recent deaths, and are instead suspecting a bacterial infection.
Health officials in the Ashanti Region begun administering antibiotics to students on Wednesday as a preventive measure, which Muntaka said would buy the officials time to find the cause of the deaths without any more deaths occurring.
Though these developments raise questions about the school's handling of healthcare in the past year, Mr. Muntaka said "the effort all of us should be putting in is; with the help of WHO, let's get pray and help them get the cause of the disease."
"When we are able to get the cause of the disease and we are able to deal with its root cause, we can come back to asking what happened between March and June. What did they do with all the blood samples and all that? We cannot be in the midst of the problem trying to solve something that has passed."
By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana


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Progress at last?
Having avoided civil war, the island state is doing quite well
A COUPLE of years ago, Madagascar was close to civil war. Both candidates at a presidential election insisted that they had won. Supporters of the young, reform-minded challenger, Marc Ravalomanana, drove the incumbent, Didier Ratsiraka, then aged 66, out of the capital, Antananarivo. Mr Ratsiraka's mostly-rural supporters retaliated by blockading the city, and a few hundred people were killed. The stand-off lasted six months before Mr Ratsiraka fled into French exile and was later sentenced, in absentia, to ten years' hard labour for embezzlement.
With calm restored, this large island state in the Indian Ocean is recovering. But the urban poor who once marched for democracy are now back on the streets: this time, queuing for rice. Many are hungry. Some blame their new president, whose name is popularly shortened to "R8", (the Malagasy for 'eight' being 'valo'). Scribbled on a wall are the words "R8 = famine".
The problem, as far as urbanites are concerned, is that the reformist they voted for has turned out to be just that. He has pushed through painful but necessary changes, for example by ending price controls on petrol and rice, even if that means hurting his own supporters.
His predecessor used to fix the price of rice at a below-market rate, fleecing the rural poor (who are 70% of the population) to keep urban consumers happy. Mr Ravalomanana has freed prices, thereby boosting rural incomes and making life tougher for the urban poor. To cushion the blow, his government continues to supply limited rations of subsidised rice, which is what everyone is queuing for.
The queues reverberate with grumbles, but most people are still fond of Mr Ravalomanana. Victor Ranjaka, for example, who says he has been waiting by a muddy canal for seven hours to buy rice, nonetheless thinks that "R8" is the country's best hope. And indeed the president, a charismatic dairy tycoon turned politician, has achieved much in 30 months. The economy is growing at a healthy 5% or so. Tourists and textile exporters, who fled when the barricades went up, are coming back.
Mr Ravalomanana appears to have made big strides in fighting corruption. Transparency International, a Berlin-based anti-graft group, says Madagascar is markedly cleaner this year than last. Government seems leaner and more effective. A once over-stuffed cabinet has been cut from 33 ministers to 16, who win bonuses if they meet performance targets. The finance minister, for example, must accelerate GDP growth to 7% in 2005 and push inflation under 6%; the education minister must build 2,000 classrooms. Under-performers risk losing their jobs: three were sacked before Christmas. An official in the foreign ministry laments he has "no free time at work any more".
After years as a client of France, Mr Ravalomanana has opened his country up to the rest of the world. Entry visas are no longer a hassle. Chinese traders are everywhere. Rickety state firms such as Air Madagascar and the railways company are now under foreign (often German or South African) management, and will be sold off. In August, Madagascar will join the Southern African Development Community, a mostly Anglophone trade-block-cum-political-forum. Lots of Malagasy people are learning English.
Creditors have forgiven $2 billion of Madagascar's nominal debt, and the European Union has promised €900m ($1.2 billion) to upgrade the country's awful road system. The World Bank hopes that this might be a rare African success; its man on the spot talks of a "hinge moment when things can really change".
Mr Ravalomanana has promised, ambitiously, to halve the poverty rate in a decade. Besides paving more roads, so that peasants can get their crops to market, he has also started to build more schools and clinics. Estimated school enrolment is up from 69% two years ago to 82%. A new currency depicts scenes of happy people building the new Madagascar.
Most of the benefits of all this are being felt in previously neglected rural and coastal areas. That makes political sense. The president thinks he can count on the urban, ethnic Asian vote, and would like some rural black votes as well.
Not everything is rosy, however. Urban grumbles over rice could grow. Some teachers are striking for higher pay, unpaid soldiers have a habit of lobbing grenades at public buildings, and shops said to be owned by Mr Ravalomanana have also been attacked.
There are two main worries about "R8". One, as a local businessman puts it, is that "there are questions about the depth of [his] commitment to democracy." Diplomats say some two dozen political prisoners are still locked up without trial after the upheavals of 2002. In December, protesters were arrested for complaining that officials forced three private radio stations to close. Even bright-eyed donors worry in private that the president is centralising power that could, one day, be misused.
The other worry is Mr Ravalomanana's huge conflicts of interest. While president, he has added several firms to his commercial empire, including a road-building company that bids for public contracts. Optimists point out, however, that his firms don't always win the contracts.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline "Progress at last?"
Middle East & Africa January 1st 2005
From the January 1st 2005 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contentsExplore the edition
More from Middle East & Africa
For the second time this year soldiers stage a coup in Burkina Faso
Jihadists are wreaking havoc. More army infighting will not help
Congo says martial law has brought calm. Yet violence is rising
A Potemkin tour of eastern Congo fails to conceal the scale of bloodshed
Losing the language of the Koran
Arabic is being swamped by English


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Pontem Innovations was looking for a logo that reflected their technology driven services as well as the literal meaning of "Pontem", which is "bridge".
The design, like connections and algorithms, binds together and continues on. It is dynamic and moving forward into the future with approachable, friendly and creative elements.


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A family house designed to keep the nature and fresh air closer
When you retire, the only thing you want in life is to spend your time with your family and your friends, especially in a welcoming home. That's the reason why Terry & Terry Architecture and design team Alex Terry AIA and Ivan Terry started this project in 266 Santa Margarita Street, Menlo Park, USA. Their purpose was to build a living space that fulfills all the needs of a retiring family, but not to keep it away from nature and fresh air.
The project ties the new addition in the rear garden area to an existing mid century ranch house by way of a transparent hallway that provides accessibility to the existing structure and allows the garden to extend into the core of the house, creating the impression that the exterior landscape is actually an interior wall picture.
The main volume of the house contains the living room, the kitchen, and the dining room all in the same open-space, because the idea was to spend more time together with your loved ones while preparing dinner , or watching TV. The bedroom wing on the West side of the existing household, is continued towards the back as a wooden tube form to accommodate an additional bedroom.
The back is left open to the garden. The kitchen is simple, but also modern and fully equipped, as the bathroom which delights us with its shower and glass ceiling, resulting the perfect place to take a bath in. Living in a house that cozy and intimate, makes sitting every evening on the wooden deck and looking into the horizon and gaze upon a star, the best thing you can ever experience.{pics by Bruce Damonte and found on archdaily}.


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CLEVELAND — Boston Red Sox infielder Kike Hernandez has tested positive for COVID-19 and will be sidelined indefinitely.
Manager Alex Cora said Hernandez is experiencing symptoms. He'll be placed on the COVID-19 list along with second baseman Christian Arroyo, who had close contact with Hernandez.
"They'll be out for an extended period of time," Cora said Friday night before the Red Sox, who are in the thick of the playoff race, opened a three-game series against the Indians.
Cora would not divulge whether Hernandez is vaccinated.
Cora said infielders Yairo Munoz and Jonathan Arauz will be recalled from Triple-A, and the Red Sox were hoping they would arrive in time to be available Friday night.
With COVID-19 cases on the rise across the country, MLB teams have seen a recent jump in infections as well.
"It's something we're dealing with in our world, and outside our world. I don't want to say that we're lucky that we've been OK throughout the season, but it just happened," Cora said. "It's happened to a lot of teams and we've got to find a way to keep moving forward and keep playing good baseball."
Cora said he's confident the Red Sox have been vigilant in following protocols.
"We're disciplined," he said. "In talking to other teams, we're probably the most aggressive team testing-wise."
Cora said following a recent outbreak on the Texas Rangers, the Red Sox took extra measures to make sure players "were clear, sound."
"We're doing a good job," he said. "This is just what we're fighting against. It's not Kike's fault. He's been great in taking care of his family. … It's something we can't control. We're fighting an invisible enemy and it just happened that he tested positive."


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Earlier this month, the one-year anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear accident came and went with barely a whimper. Now, with the two-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon spill coming up in April, the media probably won't do much better. Instead, all the talk these days seems to be about drill-baby-drilling our way back to the $2 per gallon gas promised by Newt, Rick … [Read more...]
The iceman cometh. Al Gore goeth?
January was a banner month for snowstorms and wintry weather across the US. It was also a banner month for Fox News commentators to excoriate Al Gore and pound home the message that global warming must be a hoax. In the second month of its new Beck-Hannity-Limbaugh Global Warming Truth Index, Transition Voice has again collected weather data from the three Fox commentators' … [Read more...]
Global warming is a hoax, December data show
As Fox News commentators once again this year argue that heavy winter weather on the US East Coast is evidence that the Earth is not warming, Transition Voice has developed the Beck-Hannity-Limbaugh Global Warming Truth Index. Using current local weather to give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to the whole theory of global climate change will no longer require talent on loan … [Read more...]


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Savory – Meats. Red Meat, Seafood, Poultry, Pork
Vegetables, pasta, side dishes and breads
Pasta, suffed shells, fettuccine, salads, stuffed peppers, twice baked potatoes, the best homemade macaroni and cheese, vegetable pies/quiche, pizza, croutons and more.
Chili, soups and stews
Minestrone soup recipe, French onion soup, creamy chicken soup, Irish stew,
buffalo chili, turkey chili and more.
Vegetarian and Vegan recipes
Recipes without meat. Some vegan, some milk/cheese/egg.
Lentil salad, olive tapenade, hummus, eggplant parmigiana and more.
Salty snacks
Chips/crisps, popcorn, boiled peanuts, other miscellaneous salty snacks.
Lunch and brunch
Lunches and brunches.
Deviled eggs, benedict eggs, baked egg cups and more.
Herbs and spices
Herbs, spices, dips, gourmet oils and salts, marinades, sauces
Beverages – Please do not drink and drive
Most popular recipes Butterbeer, The Santa Claus shot, Espresso Patronum, Hazelnut Liqueur, Pink Birthday Cake shot, Junkyard Juice, My Iced Tea Versions 1 and 2, Jello shots, Chocolate Birthday Cake Shot, Liquid Cocaine shooter, Black Jelly bean shot, Jack Frost, Gingerbread Man shooter, Mrs. Claus, Floating Angel, Juicing, juice smoothies, shakes (fruit and vegetable, dairy and non-dairy)
Hello Kitty pink hot chocolate mix
Just add water and it turns pink
It does not taste like hot chocolate.
It actually isn't very good at all. Pretty gross, to be honest.
Gevalia Iced Coffee with almond milk, carmel.
I love Gevalia. I do not love this. I don't even like it.
The coffee is far too weak (in taste) and was so sickening sweet I could not drink it.
Warm water with fresh squeezed Meyer lemon.
Sometimes I add cayenne pepper and turmeric.
Cupcake Vineyards Red Velvet red wine
Very smooth and tasty for a cheap wine. Not too sweet.
Leinenkugel's Cranberry Ginger Shandy.
SO delicious! You can even add a shot of vodka.
Definitely a fave. I will absolutely buy this again.
Leinenkugel's Winter's Bite. Cocoa spice black lager.
When it comes to chocolate and beer, I prefer Young's Double Chocolate Stout.
This is lightly chocolate with a little note of spice. Not bad but not a fave.
Leinenkugel's Snowdrift Vanilla Porter. Porter with vanilla.
A light vanilla taste. Not bad, but not a fave.
Silk Cashew Milk.
I LOOOOVE cashews. I do not love this milk. I don't even like it.
Tastes very watered down.
Silk Dark Chocolate Almond Milk.
This tastes pretty good, I like it. A great sub for regular chocolate milk.
Suja Essentials
Organic Daybreak Probiotic.
Water, maple syrup, lemon, vegan probiotics, cayenne.
I LOVE this. It tastes like the best lemonade ever.
While I wish it were a little more spicy, I would drink this everyday- if it weren't $3.99 per bottle.
I find that to be an OUTRAGEOUS price and no wonder these sit on the shelf until
they go on sale.
GT's Organic Raw Kombucha Gingerade.
This tastes sooooo good. My husband says it tastes like a strong
apple cider but I think it tastes like a full body champagne(ish). A friend says he thinks it is reminiscent
of ginger beer. It has, in my opinion, a very slightly sour smell but the taste is not really sour.
It's also lightly effervescent. But do not stir or shake! Even when purchasing this drink one should take care
not to bump it around too much or it could over flow in your bag on the way home (happened to me the first time I
bought kombucha.)
This is a VERY gelatinous drink. It's a textured, gelatinous beverage. You might notice a slight aroma of vinegar.
It is not sweet. BUT it is still very good (for you.)
The husband hated it. I will definitely drink this again and again.
UV Salty watermelon vodka
watermelon juice
small cubes of ice
Salt for rim, optional
Restaurants – Chain restaurants
IHOP, Longhorn Steakhouse, Hooters, Olive Garden, Cheesecake Factory,
Waffle House, Huey Magoos and more.
Miscellaneous restaurants.
Less than 3 visits, non-chain locally owned restaurants/bars, and
restaurants so bad that I never returned.
A delicious cappuccino at a non-profit cafe.
Ok, I am officially obsessed with this vegan chocolate mousse
Vegan coconut curry "chicken" wrap
Not bad, not bad at all
Vegan chocolate mousse.
The number one best vegan dessert I have ever eaten.
The vegan desserts that I have had were so sweet it was disgusting. (And I really
like sweets, so that is saying something.)
In fact, this may actually be the best mousse I've ever had.
Vegan strawberry milkshake.
So delicious. Sweetened only with fresh picked strawberries.
Narragansett, a vegan beer
Thin crust pizza with tomatoes and mushrooms
Vegan cappuccino
Recipes – Sweet Foods
Fondant cake/cupcake toppers
Fondant roller skates, Pig In The Mud cake, fondant mouse burger, pink peppermint pigs, Santa cupcakes,
tinting fondant with gel colors, and more.
Recipes for dinners, lunches, side dishes, snacks, soups, chili, pork chops, chicken, steak, fish,
thee best macaroni and cheese, pasta, stuffed shells and more.
Recipes for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages
All frosting recipes
Nutella frosting, peanut butter buttercream frosting, peppermint ice cream frosting,
cream cheese frosting, all frosting recipes
Homemade cake and cupcake recipes (including cake balls)
Birthday cakes, Cake balls, Chocolate Guinness cake, Red Velvet cake, Peppermint cupcakes,
and more.
Bakery and store bought
Cakes, pies, cookies and other baked goods.
Homemade cookies, pies, and bars
Chocolate chip cookies, Oreo cookie truffles, brownies, blondies, brown butter rice krispie treats,
mini apple pies, Thanksgiving pies, breads (banana bread, etc).
Miscellaneous desserts and snacks
Homemade fried ice cream, fried Twinkies, homemade mini donuts, cannoli, creampuffs,
store-bought sweet snacks, homemade ice cream/frozen yogurt.
Candy, all kinds of candy! So much candy. . .
Breakfast recipes
Pancakes, vegan smoothies/shakes, Lacey's Swedish pancakes, homemade strawberry poptarts.
Fruits and nuts
Fresh fruit desserts, fruit soups, jams, jelly, nuts.


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A couple of weeks ago we wrote a post about the responsibilities of the best man. So today we wanted to go over the responsibilities of the groom…WHAT?! THE GROOM HAS RESPONSIBILITIES!
Yes, besides showing up the groom also has a to-do list to accomplish before he can wait for his other half down the aisle. So what are these tasks…well we have written them down for you.
1. You need to check on your best man and make sure that he has the rings, the money to pay the official, documents you may need during or after the wedding and your stay calm pep talk. Make it known to him that you are counting on him and that this is not the time to screw things up!
2. Your transportation should have been figured out by now, whether it is going from the wedding ceremony to the reception or the reception to the hotel/airport, you should know who is taking you where. Your wedding party should be able to help you out with this, especially your best man. You have to make sure that you and your brides bags are being taken to the right location as well.
3. The groomsmen gifts should have been handed out the night before the wedding but if not, right before the ceremony, usually all the groomsmen gather together, this is when you should hand out the gifts. Also it is ok for the best man to get a different gift, it is actually expected.
4. You are the time keeper so you need to make sure that everyone is ready and dressed and at the location one hour prior to the wedding starting. Make sure you have reserved a room for you and your groomsmen to wait in. This is also the place where you can hang out and take care of any last minute details.
There you have it, your groomsmen task. Follow this and you will be sure to have a successful wedding day!


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Episode 42: Video Games Don't Cause Violence
August 18, 2019
Brian Waddell joins us to talk about why video games don't cause gun violence. John Robert is looking at all the different VR headsets out there. Carlo talks about the next season of One Punch Man. It's a good one!!!


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JD likes letters. He also likes quantum physics.
His favorite theoretical particles? Tachyon and Graviton.
My understanding of quantum physics? Let's just say thanks Wikipedia.
(Side note: do you guys remember the Gravitron?!?)
I think maybe the photo's backwards though, as these are obviously a tribute to Geeky Tattoos, right JD? Here, I've made some minor improvements on your photo:
(You might want to get that hand looked at though)
Ink by Rob Holland at Stainless Studios


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The view atop Koko Head Crater on the Hawaiian island of Oahu is breathtaking. For many, taking the 1,048 steps up is also a spiritual and reflective experience.
For some of these exhausted hikers, it's been a welcome surprise to discover a yellow toolbox with "Prayer Box" written across it at the summit. The box has no instructions, but a pencil case with paper and a few pens is attached to it with Velcro.
If hikers have a specific prayer or meditation on their mind, the box is a chance to quite literally tell it on the mountain.
Story continues below...
Angela Tomiye, the box's creator, told The Huffington Post that "it's just an opportunity for people, if they were seeking prayer, to be able to write it down right there."
A year and a half ago, Tomiye hiked up Koko Head, one of the most popular hikes on Oahu, to place the box there. She has returned every two weeks to take the prayers out so she and a group of friends can pray over them.
Every time she returns, Tomiye says, the box is completely full of prayer requests from locals and tourists alike.
Story continues below...
Tomiye said the idea came to her in something like a dream.
"Well, it wasn't a dream so much as I was awake," said Tomiye, who works as an eyelash extension professional. "I was with a client when I had this vision: a prayer box on a mountain top. I really didn't understand what it all meant. I just knew that it was a prayer box up high and it was in nature."
She let the vision sink in for a while, "just trying to make sense of it" before asking God for help. "I heard him say to me, 'Everyone needs prayer but not everyone is willing to walk into a church.' I couldn't really ignore what he had been saying to me."
So she tried to replicate the box as best she could from her memory of the vision. She used her grandfather's unused toolbox, painted it yellow and cut a hole in it.
The prayers left there, she says, are emotional.
"There's a lot of prayer for healing," Tomiye told HuffPost. "A majority of the prayers are for other people, but any time it's a prayer for themselves, it's a prayer for guidance and it's for happiness. A lot of people seek happiness in their lives."
After maintaining the box anonymously, Tomiye and her friends have decided to expand their project. The prayer box already has an Instagram account, but the group wants to start other prayer boxes across the Hawaiian islands and along the western coast of the mainland. They also plan on launching an Indiegogo campaign and a website in the coming weeks.
As for Tomiye's prayer, she said she prays that "God would give me the courage to chase every dream that he puts on my heart. He's constantly stirring all these dreams within me, and I have a lot of desires to travel. … Just wanting to do something that would impact a lot of people, and fortunately, I see the prayer box as way of doing that."
Some of the prayers from the Koko Head Prayer Box:


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Angelica was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes on her 21st birthday. It was a blow for the young athlete – and a surprise. She remembered thinking that no one in her family was known to have diabetes. Why her?
Angelica now looks back and realizes that her body was sending her warning signs for some time.
"I literally had all of the symptoms of Type 1 diabetes," she explains. "Headaches, tiredness, frequent bathroom breaks, drinking a ton of water. I didn't put two and two together."
Now that she's a MedicAlert subscriber (and fan), Angelica appreciates MedicAlert's presence in the emergency responder community.
"I spoke to a friend that works for 911. She said that paramedics do look for MedicAlert IDs. That gives me peace of mind."
Angelica is filled with energy and hopes for the future. She is using different tools to help her manage her glucose levels. She continues to pursue her passion for physical activity. She doesn't run as much anymore, but has embraced hiking and dance. "Thanks to MedicAlert, I can do the stuff I love without worrying about what would happen to me if I were in an emergency."
Thank you, Angelica, for sharing your story with us! Are you a MedicAlert subscriber with a story to tell? We would love to hear from you at medicalert.ca/community.
Charitable Registration No. 10686 3293 RR0001
MedicAlert is a Registered Trademark and Service Mark. © 2022 All Rights Reserved.


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Dear Readers: Live long, prosper, and eat lots of candy!
Check out this fabulous piece from Iowahawk as my treat to you: Obama Like Me? Roman, Please.
Our friend and compatriot, Fight for California, has a must-read on the San Diego Chamber of Commerce meeting, which focused on how regulations are killing California businesses. The piece is: California's people call for investigations into Climate Change Hoax. An excerpt:
Scott Molloy of the Building Industry Association described how his 4th generation business was in jeopardy and the effects are so catastrophic that his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were "rolling over in their graves" as the family enterprises are driven out-of-state or out of business. This echoed the same concerns of the farmers in the Central Valley as government mandated droughts are wiping out generations of wealth.
Another 3rd generation machine shop owner, Dale Watkins of Sheffield Platers, Inc. told the Legislative Panel that he had to fill out 3 different forms for 3 different agencies and some type of streamlining was in order. He was followed by Roy Hobbs, representing the San Diego Port Tenants Association, who said the unfriendly regulatory environment has caused chaos in the recreational boating industry.
I wanted to make one observation: Three critical races happening in other states WILL directly impact California, as we citizens begin to make a stand against extreme environmental regulations. I will be praying that the citizens of NY-23 elect Hoffman, the citizens of New Jersey elect Christie, and the citizens of Virgina elect McDonnell. If this is done, I believe that the rush for federal Healthcare-takeover and Cap-and-Tax requirements will be as dead as this:
Virginians! New Jerseyans! New Yorkers! Hear my plea! Californians desperately need to focus on critical state matters: tax-abuse by our legislature, the Central Valley Farm crisis (all the fun of Katrina without the water), regulatory abuses and horrendous policies developed and implemented by the California Air Resources Board, repealing of the state version of Cap-and-Tax, and freeing our people from our own "axis of evil" (Union and Political Power Elites) via our first Tea Party Proposition.
If the people in our three sister states can stem federal government power-grabs, then there is a chance the Californians can turn back the bureaucratic over-reach that is killing our state. Please read Assemblyman's Dan Logue's piece on the California Economic Recovery package that focuses on reigning in the over-regulation (click HERE).
I will be following the results of Tuesday's elections carefully. Though they are across the country, they will have a substantial impact on the Left Coast!


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Home / Instruments /Accessories / Ordering / Tips / Friends
2015 Gibson Byrdland Florentine
Status: Pricing and hold status for all instruments currently available is shown on our Instruments page here. If this instrument does not appear on the Instruments page it has been sold, and is no longer available. Photos and descriptions of Previously Sold instruments may by found here. To be notified of examples of this model or similar instruments in the future, please contact [email protected],. Please be specific on which instrument(s) you're looking for, and we'll be happy to contact you as soon as they become available.
Serial #: 11185001, orange Custom Shop label; oval Master Model label, signed and dated 1/29/15
Body size at lower bout: 17". Scale length: 23 1/2" Nut Width: 1 11/16" Body depth: 2 1/4"
Materials: Solid carved bookmatched Sitka spruce top; solid carved Bigleaf maple back and sides; solid 3 piece maple neck; solid ebony fingerboard; L-5 style block mother of pearl fingerboard inlay and flowerpot peghead inlay; 7 ply top binding, triple bound back and neck, bound f-holes.
Hardware: All gold hardware includes Schaller tuners with tulip keys; loop style trapeze tailpiece with engraved crossbar; compensated gold Tuneomatic bridge with inlaid ebony foot; twin Gibson '57 Classic PAF humbucking pickups; bound 5-ply tortoise pickguard; gold bonnet knobs; 3 way control switch.
Notes: Introduced in 1955, the Gibson Byrdland model took its name after a pair of celebrity guitarists who helped dream it up: Nashville session aces Hand Garland and Billy Byrd. This innovative guitar started life as an L-5CES, with its solid carved spruce and maple body, block and flowerpot inlay, and multi-ply binding, right down to the pointed end of the ebony fingerboard. The scale length was shortened, to create Gibson's fastest neck ever, specifically tailored to facilitate stretch chord voicings and lightning-fast lead runs. And with its slimmed, comfy body depth, the Byrdland became Gibson's first ever thinline guitar. One of the most popular and influential body designs of the modern era, Hank and Billy's brainchild has remained in the catalog to this day.
Late in 1960, the original rounded Venetian cutaway body was superceded by a deeper Florentine cutaway design. Remaining in production through the decade, the Florentine Byrdland offered enhanced access to the uppermost frets. Gibson reverted to the Venetian body in 1970, making the 60's models some of Gibson's most sought-after electric archtops. Bowing to its cult status, Gibson finally reissued the Florentine Byrdland over half a century later, in a very limited release that is now out of production.
This gorgeous example shows that Gibson was paying attention, too. The narrow fingerboard of the originals was widened to a standard 1 11/16" for greater ease of fingering. And the laminate back of the 60's guitars was replaced with solid, quartersawn Bigleaf tiger flame maple. This gleaming example was crafted with an exceptionally vivid bookmatched fiddleback maple back, sides and neck, with a classic Cremona sunburst finish. And the gentle C- profile neck has smooth, low action over effortless medium jumbo frets, in a solid ebony fingerboard.
The twin '57 Classic PAFs are sweet as a summer's day, and the body has the signed Master Model label. This stunning guitar is in unplayed condition, complete with its tags, Certificate of Authenticity and deluxe Gibson logo hardshell case.
A handsome and striking example of a landmark in the evolution of the modern electric guitar. One only: call now.
Setup: This instrument is strung with medium gauge nickel roundwound strings (.012-.054). The guitar will accommodate lighter or heavier gauge strings, according to preference. String action is set at 5/64" to 6/64" at the 12th fret, with moderate relief for acoustic playing with medium strings. The action may be lowered or raised to your requirements with the adjustable bridge.
Case: Original deluxe arched Gibson plush lined hardshell case.
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