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Now there’s a guy with a call to action. Snapped quickly as we walked by with an iPhone was one of the people in the ‘old’ Vegas casino area responsible for saving Vegas and mankind, possibly in that order. He’s probably known as ‘The Jesus Guy’ by locals. The sign in his right hand has a list of everyone Jesus hates. The usual suspects like: Homosexuals, Muslims, bloggers, etc. Say what you will, but the overall messaging is direct. And with two foot letters, he didn’t have to shout a single word. (He also had Jesus schwag like flyers and shirts.) Always be branding people!

Labels: interesting people, las vegas, lifeontheroad

posted by mtlb at 3:29 PM 0 Comments

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Today we completed the last meeting of the tour, and disassembled the van. This van could write a book about its travels, and it's only a few thousand miles old.

We've removed webcams, power and internet connections. We've discarded about a dumpster full of garbage. And shipped leftover swag back to the Plaid headquarters.

And then we removed the wrap. A little bit depressing, and a whole lot hot - as we de-plaided the van in 108 degrees of Las Vegas love. Professional grade heat, as Bill calls it. Watch the entire de-plaiding process in the wrap up video, tomorrow.

After a few hours of uploading, blogging and editing, we're headed out for some end of tour celebratory fun. Watch out, Vegas. The web cams are off.

Labels: las vegas, technology, van

posted by darryl ohrt at 5:42 PM 0 Comments

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Our last meeting of the tour was at Zappos!

Plaid was treated to the ultimate tour of the Zappos facility, which is unlike any corporate workplace that we've ever visited. Anywhere. This is a firm with hundreds and hundreds of employees, yet they've managed to keep a culture and vibe that's consistently ZAPPOS.

Just a handful of the thousands of things that make them awesome:
+ A nap center, with those super-future nap-pods.
+ Employee groups decorate each zone of the office. There were jungles, tents, and more themes than I can even remember.
+ Tony, their CEO, and all the Zappos executives work side by side all other employees, in a cubicle.
+ There's an employee coach, masseuse, and a mayor.
+ Employees have created their own original greeting for any visitor to the Zappos facility. This has to be seen to be believed.
+ Employees (and guests) are treated to free books for continued learning. There's a library in the lobby of books that Tony has suggested, all free for the taking.

The Zappos workplace is a more creative space and culture than most creative agencies of their size. A testament to the fact that you don't have to be in the creative business to have fun in the workplace.

Look for video of the Zappos headquarters on the wrap up show. If you live in Vegas, this looks to truly be one of the best places to work in the country. Thanks to Tony, Jerry (the Mayor of Zappos), and the entire crew for showing Plaid the ultimate Zappos love.

Labels: las vegas

posted by darryl ohrt at 5:20 PM 0 Comments

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While en route to Las Vegas, we stopped at the Mojave desert for a really fun photo shoot. Timed it perfectly for awesome sun, sand and van. We needed some b-roll footage of the van, so Ryan offered to see how fast the van would go on an old empty road. Answer: pretty fast.

See the full set of shots here.

Labels: las vegas, lifeontheroad, photos, tour route

posted by darryl ohrt at 8:17 PM 0 Comments