Chris Faulkner

Ceiling mural in Magic Kingdom

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 12:56:59 -0500

Ceiling mural in Magic Kingdom

Wood fired pizza oven at Epcot Italy

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 17:29:04 -0500

Wood fired pizza oven at Epcot Italy

Taken with Instagram

Sun, 16 Sep 2012 12:31:27 -0400

Taken with Instagram

Beautiful day on Lake Michigan (Taken with Instagram)

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 14:25:46 -0400

Beautiful day on Lake Michigan (Taken with Instagram)

Label on the inside of my new pants. Hilarious. (Taken with...

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 17:10:28 -0400

Label on the inside of my new pants. Hilarious. (Taken with Instagram)

In America we blow stuff up to celebrate. (Taken with Instagram)

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 21:20:34 -0400

In America we blow stuff up to celebrate. (Taken with Instagram)

I told him if he could carry it I would buy it. (Taken with...

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 12:15:19 -0400

I told him if he could carry it I would buy it. (Taken with Instagram)

Awesome sign at Buca Di Beppos (Taken with Instagram)

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 20:25:25 -0400

Awesome sign at Buca Di Beppos (Taken with Instagram)

Thank you Good Golly Graphics. My MacBook is now complete....

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 16:35:31 -0400

Thank you Good Golly Graphics. My MacBook is now complete. (Taken with Instagram)

Tepanyaki for lunch. (Taken with Instagram)

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 14:14:43 -0400

Tepanyaki for lunch. (Taken with Instagram)

Only thing we have caught is small mouth grass (Taken with...

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 21:30:38 -0400

Only thing we have caught is small mouth grass (Taken with Instagram)

Before the storm… (Taken with Instagram)

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 13:50:00 -0400

Before the storm… (Taken with Instagram)

Petite rose with wide angle Olloclip (Taken with Instagram)

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 19:56:02 -0400

Petite rose with wide angle Olloclip (Taken with Instagram)

Blue flower with macro lens Olloclip (Taken with Instagram)

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 19:53:57 -0400

Blue flower with macro lens Olloclip (Taken with Instagram)

Backyard Nirvana (Taken with Instagram)

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 19:12:46 -0400

Backyard Nirvana (Taken with Instagram)

Happy Sam (Taken with Instagram)

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 12:14:49 -0400

Happy Sam (Taken with Instagram)

Weko Beach Michigan (Taken with Instagram)

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 16:10:31 -0400

Weko Beach Michigan (Taken with Instagram)

Ring around the sun (Taken with Instagram)

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 16:10:05 -0400

Ring around the sun (Taken with Instagram)

Michigan Statehouse (Taken with Instagram)

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 19:01:08 -0400

Michigan Statehouse (Taken with Instagram)

Cupcakes and the Politics of "Choice"

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 23:26:05 -0400

Part 1 - Cupcake flavors and voter’s desire for choice.

Cupcakes. They have exploded on the scene in the last several years like a zombie apocalypse. Cupcake wars, cupcake shops, cupcake shows, cupcake trucks and, yes, even cupcake wedding cakes. So why has this fixture of toddler birthday parties stormed back on to the scene? Could it be the same reason as Netflix and Amazon’s popularity?

Several years ago author Chris Anderson summed up the explosion of choice and its impact on business in his book The Long Tail. It basically theorized the explosion of choice in everything from cable channels to book selection. When given the option consumers want choices and the internet facilitates that. Now just because they want choice does not mean they exercise it. Top sellers will always be chocolate and vanilla but people are in love with the idea of choices. When selecting a cake flavor you are committing to pretty much just one big choice…but a dozen cupcakes from Sprinkles will allow you to indulge in a couple exotic choices but, ultimately, most of your box will still be heavy on vanilla and chocolate based treats. It is also fair to say that some people like to brag about their exotic favorite cupcakes flavors as a way to show a sense of “difference” from just a normal cupcake fan.

So what does this have to do with politics? Voters (economic consumers) do not want to be limited in their choices or limited to how they are grouped. They like to identify themselves with their politics. The days of a boring old “Obama-Biden” or “Romney-TBD” sticker will be closing soon. People love the idea of choice and diversity. They want to see themselves as exotic before they get narrowed down to chocolate and vanilla.

Part 2 - How “choices” in personal branding are the “frosting” on top of most voters.

**note** Yes, I know the President is more black and Romney is more white and I hate to narrow them to flavors but the coincidence of their racial background and the most popular cupcake flavors is out of my control. If you are looking to infer racial politics into this you should dip your head in a toilet and go for a long walk off a short pier.