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A tribute video: the greatest honor.
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"Susan's Garden"
For a special birthday celebration, we (& devoted husband Tom) produced this "video love letter" - his way of saying in a DVD video just how much he loves Susan. |
"I should know, I have sold a lot of stuff over the years!" says Tom with a wry smile.
Don't get him wrong. Tom has nothing against flat screen TVs and other grown ups' technology toys. He just thinks that we - all of us - are looking for more.
Meaning in our lives
"We want more meaning in our lives." says Tom - who through his SCORE work and industry associations still spends a lot of his time thinking about the Next Big Thing. "In the decade ahead, the intrinsic worth of things - their subjective meaning - will come to have greater and greater significance in all of our purchasing decisions. We want things that really matter."
As it happened, one of the small businesses that Tom has been advising fills just the niche he has in mind. Your Story Here LLC Video Biography is a growing Orange County business that specializes in tribute videos honoring people who may not be celebrities to anyone but their families and friends. In Tom's case, the thing that really matters is his wife Susan.
"My wife wants a large garden in the North West. I reflected on that for a long time," says Tom. "In truth, the whole world is Susan's garden. She cares for a large circle of friends and family just as she would care for her garden. I wanted someone to help me turn that concept into a gift."
The result of Tom's vision - and Your Story Here's production expertise - is a 35 minute video tribute show called "Susan's Garden". All of Susan's "garden" appears - from her smallest flowers (her grandchildren) to her oldest. "That would probably be me!" says Tom.
Shape of things to come
"I think it is the shape of things to come," says Tom, who carries "Susan's Garden" in his smart phone and readily plays it for anyone too slow or too polite to escape. The technology is great - but Susan is what really matters."
Your Story Here owner Jane Shafron agrees. "We are seeing an increasing interest in personal value products like our tribute videos", she says. "Baby boomers worked hard all their lives for material comforts and are now discovering that true wealth only comes from personal connections and meaning." As one of Jane's recent blogs has it: "It's not about the toys."
And Susan's reaction? As a long-time producer herself, she was always going to be a tough audience. "It's one of the sweetest things he has ever done," she says.
Don't get him wrong. Tom has nothing against flat screen TVs and other grown ups' technology toys. He just thinks that we - all of us - are looking for more.
Meaning in our lives
"We want more meaning in our lives." says Tom - who through his SCORE work and industry associations still spends a lot of his time thinking about the Next Big Thing. "In the decade ahead, the intrinsic worth of things - their subjective meaning - will come to have greater and greater significance in all of our purchasing decisions. We want things that really matter."
As it happened, one of the small businesses that Tom has been advising fills just the niche he has in mind. Your Story Here LLC Video Biography is a growing Orange County business that specializes in tribute videos honoring people who may not be celebrities to anyone but their families and friends. In Tom's case, the thing that really matters is his wife Susan.
"My wife wants a large garden in the North West. I reflected on that for a long time," says Tom. "In truth, the whole world is Susan's garden. She cares for a large circle of friends and family just as she would care for her garden. I wanted someone to help me turn that concept into a gift."
The result of Tom's vision - and Your Story Here's production expertise - is a 35 minute video tribute show called "Susan's Garden". All of Susan's "garden" appears - from her smallest flowers (her grandchildren) to her oldest. "That would probably be me!" says Tom.
Shape of things to come
"I think it is the shape of things to come," says Tom, who carries "Susan's Garden" in his smart phone and readily plays it for anyone too slow or too polite to escape. The technology is great - but Susan is what really matters."
Your Story Here owner Jane Shafron agrees. "We are seeing an increasing interest in personal value products like our tribute videos", she says. "Baby boomers worked hard all their lives for material comforts and are now discovering that true wealth only comes from personal connections and meaning." As one of Jane's recent blogs has it: "It's not about the toys."
And Susan's reaction? As a long-time producer herself, she was always going to be a tough audience. "It's one of the sweetest things he has ever done," she says.
