About

I’ve lived in Orange County and Long Beach for most of my adult life. But even when I lived in Orange County I have always had a special connection with Long Beach. If you live in Long Beach perhaps you’ve seen me on public access TV. If you’ve been in Long Beach for a long time you may remember me from the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce where I regularly attended breakfast meetings and participated on the international commerce committee. Oh yes, and the unofficial Doggy Council. Those were some mighty fine potluck dinners and after dinner dog walks we had down by the Queen Mary.

In Orange County I have been an active member in several of the Chamber of Commerce organizations and was an active member of the Orange County Kennel Owners Association when that was active.

Yep, as you can see I have been active in the Long Beach, Gateway Cities, and Orange County area for most of my life.

My On The Road Site name

Finally I started making up words and characters to name the site after. Then it dawned on me to use the name of what was going to be my main puppet before Covid hit. That project was pretty much abandoned, now I might start working on it again. Some of you who I talked to about developing a street performance act may remember that puppet. However after spending a few days thinking about how I would like the site to evolve and who my friends and fans are, I decided on something more akin to the old name. 

My On The Road project is also your On The Road project

This project is about Culture, History, Economy, People, and Society. It’s about historic and contemporary stories. It’s like a culture club or an Ethnographic and History Society / club.

My dad was the president of the archeological society when I was born, so as a very young child I spent time on digs and have maintained an interest in anthropology all my life.

Archeology is a branch of anthropology and so is Ethnology and Ethnography. Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them. Although I have worked with ethologists (ethology is the study of animal behavior) who would say ethnology is not real a word.

Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures.

Ethnographic pertains to the recording of human cultures and the study and systematic recording of human cultures. These can include a descriptive work produced from such research. That sounds to me like a video recording of people, places, and history.

Ethnographic art is also one of my favorite genres of artistic expression.

So the site is a little bit of all these elements rolled into the context of life in Southern California during the first part of the 21 century.

I have always liked studying individual cultures and the interaction of different cultures.

One of the best parts of having a job and working for others is having the chance to observe and take notes about the behavior and practices of managers, colleagues, and customers. I used many of the same skills and tactics I implemented when watching wild dogs in South East Asia. The study of animal behavior in their natural environment is related to ethology. Observing people in stressful work conditions is almost as interesting as traveling to exotic locations to discover the secrets of animal behavior, but lacks the same panache. If it wasn’t for Covid I would still be doing some kind of experiential marketing or sales, even if it was part-time. For me those kinds of jobs provide invaluable insight into human behavior and cross cultural interactions.

An interesting side note is that while working in an office I noticed many of the same kinds of behavior by colleagues as I notice when observing animals. I could almost always predict when a colleague was going to quit in the same way I could predict when a dog would quit and run off the raining field. They displayed similar behaviors.

The purpose of the site

My On The Road has two main purposes. First it is meant to enrich the lives of members experiencing the local community. It is about culture and place. This will be the main focus of the videos, VideoLogs, and blog posts, podcasts, and public access TV shows.

Second, it’s here to help local businesses by developing one part of a new media network promoting communities and the businesses that are integral to those communities. Why is this a good idea? Because the business environment and the safety of local communities is much more unpredictable as society deals with covid-19, looting, and political arson. The new normal is that life in our communities has changed and will most likely continue to change for the foreseeable future. There is a good chance doing business the same old way is going to get more difficult.

How am I planning on funding this project? That is the big question. Originally, before Covid-19 I was going to use a combination of advertising, personal performances (with my puppet) in high foot traffic areas, memberships, and lead generation for home improvement companies. There are some businesses that can still afford to pay for advertising, but those who need it the most may not be in a position to pay for it.

Then the question becomes how can I build a site for those who need it most but can’t afford to pay for it? That means I need to develop enough income to cover the cost of supporting selected communities.

The old business model and plan has been shelved. I am now a Keller Williams real estate agent and plan on selling enough houses to support building out a robust community support network.

During the Covid lockdown I totally rebuilt the website, conducted usability tests, rebranded the site, and developed a new business plan. A lot of my old video equipment was purchased for doing public access television with a camera operator. I am now replacing equipment for safe covid-19 protocol video recording. The new equipment will also be needed for doing higher quality recording than what’s needed for public access TV.

I have always planned for this to be a membership site with business and supporting members. The new plan has changed how many supporting members there will be and what is included with a membership. Both business membership and supporting membership now require an invitation. Local businesses can ask for an invitation in cities and areas that I am actively promoting. All members will be selected on an individual basis. Supporting members will most likely need to be referred by an active member.

The scope of the supporting membership component of the site has been reimagined and changed. Originally the number of members was a big part of the plan. Now membership is going to be very limited. This is because in the new normal of covid-19 many of the old members’ incentives and benefits have been eliminated because they’re no longer valid. Most likely membership will change as businesses and communities change with the times.

Some of my skills
I’m still training dogs, but over the years I’ve developed a wide range of marketing skills. I have been involved with public access television for many years, have had my videos on Real Orange, and have been a guest on many of the old public access and local over the air television stations. I have also had the good fortune to have trained and handled dogs for film and television. An interesting TV side note is that while I Cannot Dance, I did win a dance contest on the old Wally George television show. Here is a little information about the Wally George show for all you youngsters and people new to Southern California – Wally George. I was a little hesitant about doing anything on his show because he could be quite combative, but it turned out to be a big win.

I have been building websites since the late 90s. I have also managed several large social media communities. So I am well versed in promotions and the online ecosystem. I’m now working on building this local directory, new media video, and a podcast channel all designed to support the community and local businesses.