But, ain’t we got fun?

Interesting take on the carney’s slick persuasion and manipulation skills as “a true education in marketing for freelancers.”

Wholesome lessons like:

You’d Better Know How to Hustle

You’d Better Be Wise to People

You’d Better Be Willing to Give and Take

You’d Better Be Able To Sell

You’d Better Be Okay with Persuasion

Man, that’s a Ph.D.

But demonstrating these lessons in rigged games, wheeling and dealing and over-priced prizes?  All justified because “happy (but broke) people walk away hugging some prize”.

Isn’t that the standard rap against salesmen and pushy advertisers?

It’s ok, you freelancers.  Lie, cheat and manipulate (but call it influence and persuasion). “Every one wins. No one loses.”  Not even the “People (who) leave broke, tired and dirty.”

What’s next?   The John Dillinger School of Fund Raising?

Is it just me or are the presidential candidates playing the Midway instead of the Big Tent? Shouldn’t Paris be in the Sideshow while McCain and Obama tame the terrorist tigers and master international tightrope walking in the Center Ring?

Jeez! Tire gauges and Miss Cowchip, I’ll give you $5,000 - No, I’ll give you $7,000. Drill here, drill there.

We’re talking about being arrogant enough to think we can be the leader of the free world - that kind of arrogance is a good thing. We’re looking for someone who’s the best and the brightest - that’s not elitist, that’s smart. We need a leader who’s looking down the road 20 or 30 years and not just to the next congressional election.

Either we’re all grown-ups here or this kind of lowest-common-denominator high-school-gotcha campaigning will determine who leads us further down the road in the same handbasket we’ve been in for the last generation.

Dick Zigun says he supports plans to redevelop Coney Island on a grand scale, but not if it means turning it into a mall.

The Mayor of Coney Island has been working since 1980 to preserve the old landmark neighborhood and promote a future fitting the magical  nexus of sand and sea and four subway lines.  His not-for-profit Coney Island USA “interprets the past and experiments with the future of American popular culture and offers a growing panoply of arts events and exhibitions rooted in the traditions of P.T. Barnum, vaudeville and Coney Island itself”.  High aspirations in a time and place about a century removed from the glory days.

But there remains a loyal tribe steeped in the hustle and carney scene around the Bowery and the Sideshow - an underground hipster vibe on the fringe of the city, only minutes away from the LES.  Unique and worth preserving?

Zigun: “People find the seediness charming, and I realized that in terms of the way capitalism works and real estate works, you can’t become enamored of the seediness,” he said.

“That’s not what Coney Island was in its heyday.”  Read more in the NYT
So, the mantra today on the web is “keep it raw”: people are suspicious of polished video and website design.  That’s not what marketing was in its heyday, either.  Simple and aw-shucks is fine.  But with good production values - well-lit with perfect sound, and a well-executed script.

Look at the sideshow - in the seediest of surroundings, absolute pros gathering the thirsty crowds with rehearsed and polished pitches, getting them in the tent with previews of the highly practiced and professional stars of the show, and best of all collecting the toll as they turn the tip.  The production values are spectacular considering the price of admission and the scene.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen … we have for you here … the courageous, the outrageous, the contagious - all the amazing and shocking tips, tricks and techniques for delivering your customer’s perfect satisfaction in today’s market. Inside you’ll see the Barnum, the Hopkins, the Halbert and all the masters and media mavens, as well as the posers and pretenders.

Today’s Go To: Jim Edwards blog www.igottatellyou.com