Major Online Referral Service Swipes My Photo!

Posted on June 8, 2012 by The Dental Warrior

I suppose I should be flattered when I find my intellectual property “borrowed.”  And, it seems many think it’s harmless to “borrow” copyrighted materials.  I suspect they don’t realize the amount of effort invested in creating website content, both copy and images.

If it’s illegal offline, it’s illegal online.

Over the years, I’ve found a number of dentists “borrowing” my images.  I’ve even found dentists who copied my website content VERBATIM.  There was one website in California that was ENTIRELY copied from my site.  After many unanswered emails, I finally got them to take it down.  You can’t do that.  It’s copyright infringement.  I’ve also dealt with trademark infringement.

Holy crap!

Just a few minutes ago, I was doin’ my Facebook thang.  Just out of the corner of my eye, I noticed an image in the advertisements that appear on the right side of the Facebook page.  The image looked familiar. Continue reading →

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Posted in Editorial, Websites, What Happened Today | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments

Is Traditional Marketing Dead?

Posted on June 3, 2012 by The Dental Warrior

My wife and I cancelled our local newspaper subscription a couple of years ago.  The quality was steadily decreasing, and we found most of the stories were already “old.”  We had already heard or read most of the reports.  With news now traveling at the “speed of the internet,” the newspaper, and even 6 o’clock evening news, is behind the curve.  “Yep… already knew that.”

Despite cancelling our subscription, every once in a while my wife picks up the Sunday edition when she goes to the grocery store.  As much I am an “online being,” I admit to still enjoying physically flipping through the paper or a magazine while eating breakfast or lunch.

One of my “hobbies” is to peruse other dentists’ ads. Continue reading →

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Posted in Current Events, Editorial, Marketing | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Google Reviews – Disabled! (for now)

Posted on May 31, 2012 by The Dental Warrior

Doze meezerable cork-suckin’ bastiges!

This button is GONE!

Just when I got onboard with Google Reviews, those mega-geeks at Google are changing the game… apparently a lot.

The names on my reviews are gone.  Instead of a “star” rating system, it’s now a 0 to 3 out of 3 system.  So, instead of five stars, a perfect score is 3/3.  And, Google Places is reportedly being merged with Google+ business profiles.

Here is a quick scoring guide from Google: Continue reading →

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Posted in Marketing | Tagged , | 2 Comments

A Photographic Tribute for Memorial Day

Posted on May 25, 2012 by The Dental Warrior

Photo by Dr. Matthew Brink.  Click image to see larger.

A friend, Dr. Matthew Brink, posted a photo on Facebook today that reminded me of a photo I took 20 years ago.  His composition includes the Washington Monument reflected at the far end of the wall.  Very cool.

So, I dug up my old photo and scanned it this evening.

I took the photo below at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC about 20 years ago.  This is old-school FILM photography.  No photoshop.  No editing at all.  All effects were done with the camera.  It is a double-exposure.  For those that don’t know, it means I took one photo, cocked the shutter without advancing the film, and took a second shot over the first one.  When doing this, you have to compensate the exposures so you don’t burn out the image.  Back then there was no telling how the shot came out until I got it back from the developer.

For this photo, the first shot was of the wall with the names of those lost in Vietnam.  I angled to create a divergent pattern of names.  Then I moved over to a statue at the memorial and took a vertical shot so the names would emanate from above like rays of sunshine over the soldiers.  Some photo knowledge and a bit of luck yielded this result.

I thought it was cool back then… and still do.  🙂

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his/her life, wrote a blank check made payable to “The United States of America,” for an amount of “up to and including my life.”

Some do end up making the ultimate sacrifice for a cause bigger than themselves.  I cannot adequately articulate the gratitude and pride I feel for those noble souls.

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Posted in Current Events, Editorial, Photography | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Aetna VP / CFO Schools Us on TheDentalWarrior.com!

Posted on May 24, 2012 by The Dental Warrior

This is just too good and must be shared!

On another blog article I wrote about Groupon, a gentleman named John Bermel chimed in with some comments regarding his beliefs about “what’s wrong with dentistry” today.  At first, I mistakenly assumed he was a dentist.  I mean who else would visit a blog like this, right?  He even pontificated about the dentist’s costs for providing exams and x-rays.

After being a bit confounded by some of his comments, I used my Google-fu and discovered he is none other than the VP and CFO (chief financial officer) of Aetna.  Holy cow!  I’m somewhat surprised that an insco VP would visit my little blog.  But, I’m glad he did.

UPDATE:  This may be a case of a namesake who happens to be in another side of the dental industry.  And, the commenter has not been back to confirm or deny my assumption.

As you’ll see, his comments are NOT surprising once you understand his context, bias, and agenda.  Click here to jump to the comments section of that blog post and join in the fun!

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Posted in Current Events, Editorial | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Do you REALLY want to do business with Delta???

Posted on May 22, 2012 by The Dental Warrior

I understand I may draw the ire of dentists who participate with Delta and other managed care plans, as I perpetually express my bafflement (yes it’s a word) at how any dentist would willingly sign a contract with the devil that is managed care.  Damn, that was a long sentence.  Put another way:  I cannot wrap my head around how dentists would participate with managed care plans.  I really can’t.  It’s a personal flaw, I know.  🙂

A few months back, I wrote about how Delta Dental in the state of Washington slashed their fee schedule (to which participating dentists contractually agreed) by about 15% across the board.  Not long after that, Delta in Idaho and Pennsylvania did the same thing.

My contention in my previous articles was that Delta was waging a war against both dentists and our patients.  Of course, Delta held meetings with concerned participating dentists and tried to assuage their fears with trite claims of “we’re on the same team.”  I said in my previous blog articles that Delta is our enemy.  Furthermore, I pointed out that without the participation of dentists, they have literally NOTHING to offer their clients (policy holders).  They are dead in the water without willing dentists to tow the line.

But, never you mind what some crazy dentist, who calls his blog “The Dental Warrior,” prattles on about.  (apologies to my English teachers for ending with a preposition)   Listen and see for yourself… straight from the horse’s (ass) mouth, the CEO of WDS (Washington State’s Delta Dental).  You’ll have to watch the video to the end to witness an amazing reversal of function of his two major orifices.  Consider the utter contempt and derision he expresses for dentists.  Think about this blatant effort to incite a rift between dentists and our patients.  It is certainly to his significant financial advantage to instigate an adversarial context for the doctor-patient relationship.  Video after the jump…  Continue reading →

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Posted in Current Events, Editor's Favorites, Editorial | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Answer Your ****ing Emails!

Posted on May 15, 2012 by The Dental Warrior

I have a brand new patient in the chair, as I type this.  She is a nursing instructor and hasn’t been to a dentist in three years.  She wasn’t happy with a crown done by her last dentist (bite never felt right after three adjustments).  So, she went online looking for a new dentist.

She found my website and a few others.  She emailed ALL of them requesting an appointment.  I got the appointment request on a Friday (office closed) while I was in Las Vegas at the Townie Meeting.  In her appointment request, she indicated she could be contacted by email or by phone.

I replied to her email from Las Vegas as follows: Continue reading →

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Posted in Marketing, Websites, What Happened Today | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Cheap Dentistry – Coming to a Walmart Near You. No Joke!

Posted on May 8, 2012 by The Dental Warrior

walmart-smiley-animatedI remember 20 some odd years ago, when they put dental offices in Sears stores.  Some would have had us believe the sky was falling back then.  “Corporate dentistry will shut down private practice as we know it.”  It didn’t happen.  Today, we have a number of “chain” dental offices across the country like Monarch, Aspen, Gentle Dental, Towncare, and others.  Yet, private solo practices persist and continue to make dentistry a “cottage industry.” Continue reading →

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Posted in Current Events, Editorial, Marketing | Tagged , | 27 Comments

Townie Meeting 2012 – Epilogue

Posted on April 28, 2012 by The Dental Warrior

Dr. Marvin Berlin

The 2012 Townie Meeting in Las Vegas is done.  I left a bit early having to skip out some of Dr. Marvin Berlin’s excellent presentation.  Marvin Berlin knows the business of dentistry “like nobody’s business!”  🙂  I hated to leave.  I was even more upset about it when I arrived at the airport only to find out my flight was delayed FOUR HOURS.  I could have stayed.

My flight delay will result in me having to spend a night in Atlanta.  I’ll get home tomorrow around noon, missing my son’s hockey game.  It sucks.  But, stuff happens.

The Townie Meeting was a lot of fun, as usual.  I got to reconnect with a lot of friends… face-to-face, rather than our regular online encounters.  There are always lots of laughs.  The presentations / seminars are always great, and I always walk away with some ideas or pearls.

The exhibitors were also excellent.  It’s good to keep up with the latest offerings and maybe even take advantage of some good deals.

Thankfully, the Vegas airport has free wi-fi.  I’ve got about one more hour (if they stay true to the current estimation) here at the airport.

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Townie Meeting 2012 – Day 2

Posted on April 27, 2012 by The Dental Warrior

Reporting from Las Vegas at the Cosmopolitan Hotel…

Don McNamara (“Dr. No”) and me at the 007 party.

Last night was the big party, with a James Bond (007) theme.  There were a lot of creative costumes!  I wasn’t one of them.

David Madow, me (the short guy), Richard Madow

Today, the day opened with the Madow Brothers (David and Richard) doing what they do so well:  Energizing the audience with a combination of humor, music, and ready-for-Monday pearls.  After that, there were a number of excellent presenters filling the rest of the day.  Among the topics:  Short Term Orthodontics, Bone Grafting, Medical Emergencies, Lasers, Ceramics, Perio, CAD/CAM, and Practice Management.

I’m hoping to find a good place for dinner tonight!  Update:  Had a fantastic dinner at Del Frisco’s!!  YUM!

Dinner at Del Frisco’s!

Homeward-bound tomorrow!

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