pixel x pixel

2008-08-20T08:06:00.000-07:00

New Home

I'm still tinkering with her - but Pixel x Pixel is moving to Word Press!

http://pixelxpixel.wordpress.com/

Come for a visit!

2008-08-16T16:29:00.000-07:00

Jaynie - in all her Jayners glory - has provided us with an excellent blog post about the Olympics and its effects on new technology. Check it out here: The Web Outside.

The Process

2008-08-15T18:16:00.001-07:00

This comes courtesy of Eddy - LOVE it.

2008-08-14T06:59:00.000-07:00

Today's Thermostat

While I was visiting with Marcia in Kansas City, she admitted to her lack of technical knowledge. This as I went into my "digital" job description. What she compared it to was awesome.

I paraphrase here:

"It's like when my Grandmother was afraid to use the thermostat because she thought she would break it."

Amazing to think that a thermostat was once considered high-tech. I wonder what it's going to be for us thirty-somethings.

To Marcia: You will not break the Internet. Only Abby has that power.

2008-07-29T09:08:00.001-07:00

As I finish AdAge's article on Twitter and its problems with down time, I go to tweet about it to my Tweeteroos...Twitter is down.

Ha.

2008-07-28T08:40:00.001-07:00

How Bladerunner

Marketing Vox is reporting that Esquire magazine's October issue will have a digital cover - scrolling and movement oh my! I am suspect...yet entirely excited to see this in action. Ford has bought the inside cover - no word yet on what they will be doing with it...but wow, will there be a time when flash ads are featured in magazines? When ads actually have the ability to exist in the physical world, but allow for interaction?

2008-07-24T12:48:00.001-07:00

All the buzz around AMC's Mad Men is becoming palpable. Are we far from returning to the days of smoking and drinking in the office? (I do have a bottles of champagne and wine at my desk...hmmm) - Should we be scared?

Agency Red Tettemer is so excited about the upcoming season 2 - and delighfully glowing in the back of publicity the show is receiving (giddy up PR bandwagon!) - that they have redesigned their website to reflect the TV show.

That's dedication.

Bhars - I vote we host a happy hour Friday in honor of the show.

2008-07-24T07:07:00.001-07:00

Pushing Mobile

These push pins, encouraging walkersby to text to learn more about the particular area (this one is the Children's Musuem), are pushing up all over Boston. Love that the city is embracing mobile technology...too bad it couldn't get out of its way to provide free Wifi thoughout the city.

2008-07-09T09:01:00.001-07:00

Seth Godin writes: "If you are willing to satisfy people with good enough, you can make just about everybody happy. If you delight people and create change that lasts, you're going to offend those that hate change in all its forms. Your choice." Classic client conundrum.

read more | digg story

2008-07-07T16:11:00.000-07:00

The High-Five

Today is my father’s birthday. Or I guess I should say, it would have been.

I’ve been spending a lot of my time at a leading, private financial institution (my client) interviewing and coaxing smiles out of a dozen employees. While really tiring it’s been an incredibly fun, learning experience. These are a diverse group of people – who would have thought that the hot-shot, kid trader spent two-and-a-half years in the Peace Corps? Or that a managing director majored in Religion?

It’s been a fantastic thing to bridge the financial v. creative (read: us v. them). I have come to realize and appreciate that I am just as competitive as any financial analyst; have a great love for the “win” and thrive on the energy of fast-thinking. Really, I’ve come to understand that the “Heck yea!” of trusting your instinct and picking the right stock – is the same “Heck yea!” of knowing you nailed a big idea.

I bring this up to share the following learned fact: following talking sports, asking someone about their kids will always get them to smile. I watched a couple of Dads this week talk about their kids and well, today was a bit of a challenge to make it through with a smile.

So it was with a great amount of irony that I found myself unexpectedly running into one of my interviewees on the street this evening. He greeted me with a huge smile and words of appreciation for what it is I do. To understand this tremendous occurrence, understand this: the man is responsible for millions of dollars…the man moves the Market – the man is THE man…I’m a dork who occasionally has some ideas. But he was impressed; he was a little bit in awe. He high-fived ME.

As I crossed the bridge heading home, pondering “Really, that just happened?” I started to smile and think, “That was an out-of-the-blue courtesy of my Dad."

Thanks Dad.

2008-07-02T08:01:00.001-07:00

LocaModa launches a digital slot machine...in Times Square. Really? Really?? How cool is that! Read more about it at Jayne's blog.

2008-06-24T06:48:00.000-07:00

Word-Scramble on Steriods

Mobile technology is certainly changing the way we communicate. It is also changing the way we socialize and entertain ourselves. When my friends at LocaModa invited me out to see their new Wiffiti/BarCast screen in action, I looked forward to a few drinks and geeky conversation about technology. Instead I found myself in a heated word-scramble game.

Welcome to Jumbli, a multi-player boggle on steroids. The object of the game is to find words within the letters scrambled on the screen before time runs out. Once you find a word, you put it into a text message and send to a specified number. Highest scoring word wins.

I’m a fairly competitive person –well fairly may be an understatement - in any case, the scene became a shouting, texting, laughing experience. So you can imagine my excitement when I learned that this was only a mini-Jumbli.

Jumbli! actually lives in Times Square on a giant HD screen (corner of W 47th and Broadway). When a round starts you are playing against people in NYC. If a round isn’t live, you’re playing against others on the web.

We’re going to see more and more of these type of public multi-player experiences, especially as our mobile devices improve. My advice, start practicing.

2008-06-17T11:08:00.000-07:00

The new, hot tactic seems to be pick you're own ending story-telling (who didn't love the Choose your Own Adventure books from the 80s).

For active users - check out 1 million monkees.com which allows writers (monkeys) to contribute different tangents/chapters to stories.

For those with more passivity in mind, check out Get the Girl by Twix, which allows users to choose how the protagonist behaves.

2008-06-12T13:15:00.000-07:00

I am on a call right now...and the account director just said that a tag cloud is a convoluted way to get to content.

The audience: software developers

wow.

2008-06-12T11:03:00.000-07:00

I just received this from Filmmaker Magazine - the Editor's Note to this week's email is so fantastic that I'm pasting here.

"I want to talk about Hans Haacke and Trent Reznor, but give me a moment to get from the first to the second.

Haacke is a German-born artist whose conceptual work often interrogates the political and cultural associations produced by the sponsorship of art by corporations and large-scale funders. Rather than celebrate the purity of art and the artist, Haacke sees the contemporary artist exhibiting his or her work at a museum in a show sponsored by, say Exxon or Philip Morris, as being part of the "consciousness industry." For Haacke, when framed in such a way, the art itself becomes complicit in the messaging of the corporation. And, furthermore, when faced with a system in which the only way for a museum to support the arts is to actively seek such corporate sponsorship, it is only natural, Haacke believes, that the artist, consciously or not, start shaping his or work to the ideological preferences of the funder. In this way, art itself changes. In an essay entitled "Museums: Managers of Consciousness," he wrote:

"Those engaged in collaboration with the public relations officers of companies rarely see themselves as promoters of acquiescence. On the contrary, they are usually convinced that their activities are in the best interests of art. Such a well-intentioned delusion can survive only as long as art is perceived as a mythical entity above mundane interests and ideological conflict. And it is, of course, this misunderstanding of the role that products of the consciousness industry play which constitutes the indispensable base for all corporate strategies of persuasion.

It was never easy for museums to preserve or regain a degree of maneuverability and intellectual integrity. It takes stealth, intelligence, determination -- and some luck. But a democratic society demands nothing less than that."

Okay, this analogy is way imperfect, but I thought about the honest, ascetic rigor of Haacke's arguments and the controversies they've created in the art world this week after reading the article by Jon Pareles in The New York Sunday Times entitled "Trent Reznor's Frustration and Fury: Take It. It's Free." In it, Reznor reacts against the supposition being promoted by Chris Anderson and others that intellectual property is all destined to become "free" by himself beating everyone else in the race to the bottom and giving away his last two albums on the internet.

From the piece:

"Mr. Reznor has no global solution for how to sustain a long-term career as a recording musician, much less start one, when listeners take free digital music for granted. "It's all out there," he added. "I don't agree that it should be free, but it is free, and you can either accept it or you can put your head in the sand.""

I thought about Haacke, though, when Reznor talked about the one road he doesn't want to take in the new free economy. He knows what he doesn't want to do: make his music a marketing accessory. "Now just making good music, or great music, isn't enough," Mr. Reznor said. "Now I have to sell T-shirts, or I have to choose which whorish association is the least stinky. I don't really want to be on the side of a bus or in a BlackBerry ad hawking some product that sucks just so I can get my record out. I want to maintain some dignity and self-respect in the process, if that's possible these days."

Thank you. I'm glad somebody has come out and said that the technological innovation of the internet, with all its price-decimating properties, shouldn't obligate us all to become the filler in between banner ads just in order to be seen. But that's just what a lot of people are saying artists of all kinds must become in order to get their work seen these days.

As Haacke would ask, what ideologies does such acquiescence require us to endorse? Going further, what does that do for our work? Do our movies mean the same if they are sliced and diced and released like time-release drugs over social networks? Or if animated bugs hawk products and shows by pirouetting in their lower thirds? Or if their narrative structures are reshaped to accommodate the expectations of those who'd rather play them as games?

Yeah, I know, all of this is just another form of advertising, and advertising has been around forever. But there's something pernicious about the assumption that history is leading the filmmaker to the place where such behavior is unquestioned in the name of independence.

Okay, that's enough of a rant for this week. Go out and see some movies. On the big screen. While you still can.

Best,
Scott Macaulay
Editor"

2008-04-30T09:29:00.001-07:00

WeFeelFine based on Twitter....Twitter keeps coming up as the hot hot hot tool...like the scrolling aspect...there's something twitty about it.

2008-04-29T08:46:00.001-07:00

GTA 4

With the gamers buzzing about the office (one even taking the day off to play), the release of Grand Theft Auto IV which now allows multi-person play, deserves a quick mention.

One thing that strikes me, or scares me - not sure which, doesn't this basically train would-be bad guys in murder and mayhem??

Someday, someone is going to hack into one of these programs with a real-life scenario for practice.

2008-04-10T11:18:00.000-07:00

This is a great example of using You Tube in an engaging episodic way. As they explain:
"We're Dan and Adam, everyday guys, who like to find everyday people, like you, demonstrating crazy sports skills on the web."

I love that they've figured out how to exploit user-generated content with their own user-generated content. And it's engaging - primarily because Dan & Adam are likable.

I really hope that Champion (their sponsor) didn't approach them, rather the other way around. That would just bum me out.

http://www.youtube.com/homestylesports

2008-03-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make: I am a digital geek who did not get hooked by the social networking craze in the last two years.

Then a funny thing happened. I got an invite to join a network, which I had a profile on (albeit inactive). And for whatever reason, decided to explore. And then the coolest thing happened: I found people. Important people. People I should never have lost track of. One thing lead to another and the next thing I knew, I was downloading apps, sending challenges to friends and finding out what kind of superpower I most like.

It is official: I am now hooked, lined and sinkered by Facebook.

Not only is it organizing my contacts, it tells me when my favorite band is in town, who has new photos posted, what books are on my to-read shelf, and what my friends have been doing to procrastinate.

With new apps being added all the time—from fun to functional—Facebook is also a creative marketer’s dream. One of the newest trends is the viral charitable app: “Send to 15 friends, save a family/tree/dog.” With a quick click, the user has done a good deed, and an initiative has gotten some face time.

REM even launched their new album this week via the I Like app on Facebook – one week before it hits stores. Complete with a video introduction by Michael Stipe, the launch gives more credence (and speed) to the evolving music business model which cuts out the middle man.

Time will tell what makes an app truly successful – Facebook, as with any pop culture phenom, runs the risk of becoming too cluttered with them (it already suffers from usability issues). However, there’s no question that these little apps have some serious marketing punch. Seeing which messages rise to the top and have sticking power will soon inform a whole new genre of creative marketing development.

2008-03-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

What I love about the web: I learn. I am inspired.

2008-02-21T11:53:00.000-08:00

The end of an era...
Amazon.com has a new design. It is the end of the infamous tabs that started it all. How long until this interface becomes the norm?

2008-02-07T11:37:00.000-08:00

This is just awesome - a Mullen copywriter tells it like it is...straight from the hood of bad account managers, ridiculous clients and the vanity-laden world of advertising (love So Viral).

http://www.straightouttawinston.com/

Times like these I question my creative survival of the fittest odds.

2008-01-31T11:45:00.002-08:00

LOVE this:
http://www.linein.org/media/screenclean.swf

2008-01-23T11:43:00.000-08:00

Hit me on my iPhone

Have I mentioned here that I won an iPhone from Jack? How rockin' is THAT.

2008-01-17T11:21:00.001-08:00

According to USA Today: "The FBI is retooling its Top 10 Most Wanted list into an increasingly multimedia, international appeal for help as it tries to keep its signature program relevant in a crowded media landscape....In the billboard deal with Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc., which is donating the space, the FBI will get access to about 150 electronic billboards."

I am becoming more and more interested in digital signage...have you seen WGBH's integration of signage and its building?

Fantastic, engaging, unobtrusive....

2008-01-09T11:33:00.000-08:00

The latest viral messaging - wildmessages.com - not nearly as good as Snakes on a Plane or the Dexter promotion...still I was compelled to send messages to Abby and Ben.

2008-01-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

I love YouTube. This is Evanlina - and she is wonderful.

2007-12-05T10:03:00.001-08:00

Saying more by saying less

I love this post by Slant Six Creative - it addresses the challenges digital media has brought forth to conversation:

"Modern communication has meant a breakdown in authority. Online comment systems and, more broadly, “social media” have given every individual an opportunity to not only have his or her voice heard instantly, but to have it given near-equal weight to that of the original author."

Their recommendation - let the fool have the last word.

2007-12-04T11:45:00.000-08:00

Two Girls One Cup...

More phenomena of viral media - the latest buzz is not a video - but a video about the reaction of watching a video. So disturbing is the movie, that people's reactions are inevitably overblown, dramatic - and well, hilarious. There's a ton on YouTube - Eddy showed me this one which is a great example.

I'm starting to think that the people who made the initial video, made a reaction video just to get people to go see the other video. Eddy and Brad explained to me the content-- seems like it's The Ring for believing we live in a civilized society. Think George Carlin's version of The Aristocrats.

2007-10-25T08:26:00.000-07:00

SciFi's promotional coolness for its mini series: Infinite Oz. A collaboration from nine international artists that not only brings to life the series but creates a unique experience of moving through OZ. Above is by Greg Petchkovsky.

2007-10-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

The Internet Stars are Viral....indeed. Long, but definitely worth the trip down memory lane.

Dove Onslaught

2007-10-01T11:57:00.001-07:00

Just brilliant advertising.

2007-09-27T09:03:00.001-07:00

MIT hackers slipped into Harvard Yard and transformed the statue of John Harvard into Halo 3's Master Chief. Having received calls Monday eve from DMH waiting in line for the game, I post this in his geekiness honor.

2007-09-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

Tina just made my day with this little ditty: http://www.endofworld.net/.

I love the web just for this kinda stuff. Sometimes we do not appreciate enough the amount of inspirational messaging for procrastination.

2007-09-06T13:08:00.001-07:00

And so, with a visit to Leno and the now ordinary YouTube video - Fred Thompson enters the 2008 election race. The site, Fred08.com, is actually video heavy, employing the newer streaming technology often, and well. Kinda makes sense given his acting jobs doesn't it? Lead with the medium you know, and others know you from. Hands down it's a better site then Guiliani.

2007-08-31T10:21:00.000-07:00

Are you kidding?

Third-party partner: "We'll just send out an electronic email."

Miss Teen USA 2007 - South Carolina answers a question

2007-08-30T11:15:00.001-07:00

The Miss Teen video has been circulating for a bit now - so you've probably seen it. The site built in response however is worth a peak: http://mapsforus.org

Hilarious. (Who has time to build these things?!).

2007-08-06T07:00:00.001-07:00

Another - really? I mean really??

Third-party vendor on determining RGB colors: "We're just not sure. We're holding swatches up to the monitor."

Green Tea Partay

2007-08-03T09:07:00.001-07:00

The sequel to the hilarious Tea Partay video from Smirnoff. Not as good maybe, but it continues a brilliant viral campaign.

BERRIES AND CREAM!

2007-07-27T13:01:00.001-07:00

This made my day...but it's even better watching Mas and Matty do it.

2007-07-25T13:22:00.000-07:00

Another, are you kidding?

Agency creative director to our digital team: Have you heard of flickrvision? It's this really cool site.

2007-07-18T11:39:00.001-07:00

I'm fairly impressed at the new Wendy's site - chock full of interactive goodies - some of which beg the question, who has the time for this? (Creating a song based on sounds from the Grill - "The Baconator"). Still, clever stuff - and a definite we are hip and cool brand extension.

2007-07-16T06:17:00.000-07:00

The interactive wall was unveiled in NYC last Friday. The mural, which utilizes a horde of Adobe tools including Illustrator, Flash, Photoshop and After Effects, is a 25'x10' projection which spouts layers of animation based on a bystander's movements. When a person walks from left to right, the wall triggers more animations and the density of the imagery increases. It's a beautiful thing to behold.

Another will launch in London's Piccadilly Circus next month.

2007-07-06T11:38:00.000-07:00

Ikea's new push to take over dorm living...but honestly, whose dorm every looked like this!? Cool interactivity naturally -- check it out here.

Also, let it be known that I got a zero in Blokus today. Last piece - the one. That's right...smack daddy.

2007-06-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

Xmas in June
In honor of eddy...today the iPhone is released to the masses. If you are one of those people who has been waiting in line since Wednesday, or lost sleep in anticipation of what is being treated like Santa coming down the pipeline - you are stupid.

OK, well not stupid. But you are going to pay $500-600 for the honor of being an Apple beta-tester.

It's not that the iPhone is not seriously cool...but I'm starting to take exception to Apple's overt marketing tactics: you are not cool unless you have expensive things. What was once a cool, artistic culture is becoming something less creative, and more....well, microsoft. Only prettier.

Actually just saw this at gapingvoid (sums up the hysteria):

2007-06-21T12:19:00.000-07:00

Today's Are you kidding?

During a run through of a client presentation:

"...And we're going to create a digital website"

You know, instead of a print one.

2007-06-14T07:27:00.000-07:00

Here's to Beer

A promotion for Anheuser-Busch, the online newsletter of sorts is a clever way of offering interesting, funny content - while also pushing product. In one area users can choose who they'd like to have a beer with - including Johnny Appleseed, Nostradamus and Ben Franklin. If you are looking to fill some procrastination time...I recommend.

Battle

2007-06-13T11:01:00.001-07:00

Simply some brilliant creative.

2007-06-12T12:43:00.000-07:00

In honour of my very first Starbucks Frappuccino* check out this fantastic high-speed photography.

* I know...weird. It's like unAmerican. Today I didn't seem to care about the 400 zillion calories. I went with Vanilla Bean. Pretty much it's yummy10.

2007-06-07T12:29:00.000-07:00

Coke and Faithless
Coke teamed up with some artists and the band Faithless to essentially create a coke bottle - the design is only available in Europe (bah!).

If the site is any indication, it's one awesome bottle. This is one of the coolest sites I've come across in a while. Serious interactivity - engaging graphics -video - music...takes some time to load, but it's worth it.

2007-06-04T16:00:00.001-07:00

As many of you know, I've been going through a life-changing event over the last week. Thus no blogging.

This YouTube video seemed appropriate. Enjoy.

2007-05-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

Jealous Animals

Found this on adverbox - a series of adds for the Toronto Zoo are hilarious, and the tied-in site demonstrates some nice illustration. Disappointing is that the voiceovers aren't all right on. See the cat.

Best line - in the pigeon exchange on peacocks: "Well, you know who has some crazy hot plummage?"

For some reason this convo reminds me of Mas.

Quick high-five and cartwheel for Master of the System - we had some rocking copy and paste action for my new iPod section. Thank you!

2007-05-16T08:05:00.000-07:00

The "Truth" in Advertising

Sometimes I come across words that contain such truths I am humbled by reading them. I am reminded that I am not crazy, am not alone and holy crap, other people notice what I notice.

Tug McTighe's blog posting "Improving your creative life for tomorrow starts today" is a blessed offering of a sanity pill. Having just gone through the poster experience he discusses it is particularly refreshing.

Particularly fantastic is his words are genuinely on target - they aren't filled with a whole lot of marketing-ego-speak. This should be required reading for all involved in a creative-account manager relationship.

2007-05-15T07:59:00.000-07:00

Geek Chic

A quick share: I just read Master of the System's blog. In it he discusses his personal connection to Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces - which studies the hero and myth (eBook version here). My lord, could I be on a hero's journey on a daily basis??

It made me realize I am a total geek at heart.

Also on my mind. When one expresses to another that their lack of communication is bothersome and that person apologizes yet their next email is a simple "hi" - again, NOT replying to the myriad emails sent previously...does one just let it go?

eh, maybe one just blogs about it. bugger.

2007-05-07T14:08:00.000-07:00

MTV has launched a consumer-generated movie spoof category to coincide with its upcoming Movie Awards.

I hate them. Nearly as much as Jayner's hates SWDECers. But maybe more.

2007-05-04T12:39:00.000-07:00

Out of my Inbox

So I'm emailing with Chray via Gmail today. In the midst of our conversation, he veers off to begin his one-man show - as he often does. This one involved a rather Shoebox-esque message about dust mites, a sleeping bag and the wilderness (this was his pep talk to me as I get ready to go home and deal with a difficult situation). Anyway, as I'm writing back and forth with him I suddenly realize that down the righthand side of my email window are links for Dust Mite Removal and Allergy-Free Sheets.

Because I'm me, my first reaction is - OMG what a funny coincidence! (My blondeness is truly stunning at times). Then I realize - Google is reading my email!! Google is scanning my email to populate sponsored links!

I am very bothered. This is not a good feeling. It is a disconcerting get the heck out of my inbox!

2007-05-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

iOrgasm

I don't know how to start this one...Soft Paris has created a vibrator that plugs into your iPod - the OhMiBod. The vibrator is controlled by the pulsating beats off your play lists (no pun intended).

You can now get off on Mick Jagger or PJ Harvey - literally.
I admit it...I'm very curious. Check out their "You should plug it, let's all plug it" commercial.

Carina, I said Technology was sexy...

2007-05-01T11:36:00.001-07:00

93.7 put out this commercial recently - it's odd for sure - but offensive? Well, the pregnant woman is just weird - but offensive? Enough to have people calling the stations to have it removed? Really? I just can't understand the time people have in their lives.

DMHj and I were just talking about this. Brilliance in comedy used to mean being edgy and honest...think All in the Family. Now shows that even come close to that are all on cable - South Park, etc. One could make the argument that The Simpsons comes close...hmm, both cartoons - is that why they are tolerated?

Every now and then you need to see, do or say something "wrong" in order to find the right.

Also, if one more marketing/ad group comes up with another contest revolving around "YOU make it!" They should be shot.

2007-04-27T07:07:00.000-07:00

Welcome Wiffiti

I love my new Wiffiti screen....LOVE. Being friends with Jayners has its rewards. Wiffiti is like a giant text messager screen. I wish I could download it to my phone (Jayners, can I download it to my phone? Can I make it my screen saver?) To make me happy text me starting with @pixeldfly then your message to 25622.

Example: If I wanted to say hi to all you all - I'd write @pixeldfly Hi all you all and then send it to 25622.

DMHj says he reads my blog. Actually he did reference it as if he had read it...yet, I am suspect.

Quick shout out to JohnnyG...just cause. We've been in the trenches this past week - and we're winning the war. Mostly because we realize where the real battles need to occur. I appreciate having someone else take a look around the "process" and say WTF?

2007-04-24T06:36:00.000-07:00

Impact

MySpace was already entering into the political arena - or at least politicians were...so naturally Microsoft has now corralled them into their own barn...MySpace Impact. The more this content becomes organized, the more suspect I become. I hate that I'm becoming that cynical...but as I'm in the middle of a pitch that is becoming more and more about nothing sub stantial...the more disillusioned my mindset tends to get.

2007-04-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

What fuels me...
The SW team has been struggling with creating a navigation system for a whole bunch of ideas around a singular concept. Mostly the struggle has been an environmental one - meaning, is the site an environment (literally). I stumbled across "dubois meets fugger" and was immediately engaged...discovering new navigation systems and ways of creating a feeling of flight between content offerings is what fuels me lately (pun intended, SWs).

2007-04-17T11:23:00.001-07:00

Empress of Style

I keep coming across some excellent sites...this one happens to be HP's latest The Computer is Personal Again - with Vera Wang (their first featured woman, btw).

It's a fantastic use of interactivity and illustration. As I'm currently working on a pitch that is trying to be a bit second life - a bit MTV - it's inspiring to see such a clean treatment - one that truly tells a story and isn't cool for the sake of coolness...which, I have to tell you lately seems to be the snack of the day.

2007-04-17T08:18:00.000-07:00

Screaming man
I am in love with this site. I don't know what it is about really - but I very much like making the head scream out butterflies.

http://www.kahrashin.com/

2007-04-11T07:51:00.000-07:00

User-generated content - v. 3.0

All the hoopla surrounding keeping Sanjaya on American Idol would normally not register with me (not a fan of the show) - until I began to see the parallel between lonelygirl15 and marketing companies infiltration of user-generated content for their own means.

For those not aware - Vote for the Worst and Howard Stern are asking listeners/watchers, etc. to vote for American Idol contestant Sanjaya - because as VftW puts it:

"American Idol is not about singing at all, it's about making good reality TV and enjoying the cheesy, guilty pleasure of watching bad singing. We agree that a fish out of water is entertaining, and we want to acknowledge this fact by encouraging people help the amusing antagonists stick around. VFTW sees keeping these contestants around as a golden opportunity to make a more entertaining show."

Apparently Sanjaya fits the bill this time around...for Howard I'd say it's more about F-ing with the producers.

What does this mean for user-generated content?

More later....

2007-04-01T12:07:00.000-07:00

Almost opening day...

Shilo sent this out the other day....the world just gets a little bigger...the idea of riding the T while watching Sox highlights is pretty sweet.

"Apple today announced it will be offering Major League Baseball video highlights for the 2007 season on the iTunes store. MLB video on iTunes will include a daily 25 minute "MLB.com Daily Rewind" highlight show and two weekly "Games of the Week," featuring full versions of the best games from the National and American Leagues. Customers will be able to download individual episodes of "MLB.com Daily Rewind" and each "Game of the Week" for $1.99, or purchase a Multi-Pass for a month of Daily Rewind shows for $7.99 or a Season Pass for every "Game of the Week" for $19.99."

2007-03-27T06:49:00.000-07:00

The ONN

The Onion has finally gone video - offering their unique take on daily news. The daily briefs will be available on iTunes and YouTube...The Onion is already in negotiations with the Networks for copyrighted material. Let's hope they're good sportst.

Is the Daily Show far behind?

2007-03-13T12:48:00.000-07:00

JackBracket07

Thanks to Mas, and some prodding on my part, we have a JMW-Dig March Madness bracket. This took at least two steps as Mas was under the impression only boys, and me, would play (no really, when I asked who he sent the invite to he replied, "All the boys, and you.")

Mas says he doesn't know anything about Basketball, although he is a statistical whiz at Blockus (go figure). So imagine my 'Yeah!' when I came across the brack-o-matic. How cool is this!?

I think Mas will think it is cool too. As will the rest of the boys....and no, Mas, I do not think that the ladies will automatically pick Cinderella.

2007-03-06T08:40:00.000-08:00

Starbucks: Watering down the brand
Last week an internal memo from Howard Shultz, Chairman of Starbucks, came to light – and now every brand, dick and harry is commenting on the state of Starbucks dilution. And indeed hasn’t it – did it take a memo for us to realize this? Shultz says one of the ways to restore its brand experience is to make sure that each store smells of roasting coffee….but really, is that it?

Truth be told, there is a Starbucks on every other corner nowadays, doesn’t that sort of take away from the “unique” experience? When a brand reaches mass consumption, it tends to take on a life of its own. Starbucks is close to the WalMart of coffee. Perhaps that’s a bit much—but in my mind, Starbucks was once a left of center urban trendsetter...how can a brand retain that if it is mass marketed?

2007-02-26T11:50:00.000-08:00

HELLO

Apple's latest little piece of genuius...the iPod hello commerical. I admit, I'm a sucker for nolstagia montages - especially when they're put to unexpected music, in this case, Inside Your Head by Eberg.

I only wish they had added a telephone that was more "futuristic" - think Minority Report - or even something out of Woody Allen's Sleeper.

iPhone could have made a stronger case for itself if it showed such cinematic imaginations - translation - in reality, the Future of The Telephone is Here.

2007-02-15T12:31:00.000-08:00

iPodkini

As part of its swimsuit issue, Sports Illustrated included the iPod as a bikini. At first this bothered me...but then I started thinking about the sexiness of technology - and how that sexiness is often lost among its nerdy reputation and product coldness.

Indeed, leave it to Apple to create white computers, and MP3 players in wild colors. Is technology becoming sexy? Will it finally lose its masculinity and shed its image of dark, cold and inaccesssible. And what will this mean for women?

Naturally, the irony that it takes a naked woman to make me wonder if technology is finally becoming sexy which could benefit women as a group - is not lost on me.

2007-02-01T05:36:00.000-08:00

Who are the terrorists?

For anyone living in Boston, yesterday was filled with bomb scare updates, bridge and T-station closings, major traffic jams and atypical police activity. At the end of the 8 hours of post-911 routine, we learned that the “bombs” applied to the bases of bridges and in major traffic areas were actually part of an outdoor marketing campaign for a show on Comedy Central.

In a statement from Turner Broadcasting, the network said, “We regret that they were mistakenly thought to pose any danger.”

Are you kidding? I mean, really, are you kidding? You are placing packages with visible wires and lights to major city structures at a time of war but it doesn’t occur to you that this could pose a public safety hazard?

Have we completely lost it in the viral marketing arena? Do the people involved with this hoax think it a success since we now all know about the animated show on CC (I refuse to type it here)? At what point do we put the good of our people above the good of press?

The ethical lines that we as advertisers and marketers keep redrawing and crossing is reaching a point where it will be difficult to step back. It keeps occurring to me that we are our own terrorists.

2007-01-24T08:08:00.000-08:00

Message to the People

Deval Patrick has just announced he will publish a weekly podcast on his website. He cites that is important to continue talking with the people who elected him.

Hillary Clinton (actually Patrick as well) announced her candidacy in the 2008 election via her website.

What struck me about these acts is how they cut out the media from delivering messages. The media still reports on them, however political candidates are no longer beholden to them to communicate to the public.

On one level this is fantastic - people have a more direct connection to our elected officials. On another, I worry that it will continue to delude and passify the media's role in politics. Rather then true reporting - which requires research and follow up - they may be more apt to take from the print and audio given to them and simple cut and paste.

As the media's role changes (with increasing use of blogging and podcasting to get out messages), it will be interesting to note which road it follows - that of least resistance, or a return to the muckraking days on behalf of the public.

2007-01-09T12:30:00.000-08:00

Apple introduces the iPhone

Steve Jobs introduced the long anticipated iPhone at MacWorld today. The new 11.6 millimeter phone includes a new user interface on a 3.5-inch wide touchscreen display—with new software that lets you control everything with just your fingers—a two megapixel camera and eight gigs of storage space.

Jobs also announced the new company name, Apple Inc. – another indication of Apple’s commitment the consumer electronic’s space.

Be still my little techy heart.

2007-01-04T13:11:00.000-08:00

It's a girl

This is Little V. She is splendid. She is joy in the size of a postage stamp. She reminds me anything is possible in the digital world. 1GB of love for under $80.

2006-12-21T08:46:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays

This is quite possibly the coolest holiday card of the season...not only is it clever and fun - it's interactive and allows the user to make their own greeting and send it to their friends ... :)

www.rga.com/holiday

2006-12-19T07:27:00.000-08:00

The power of ME

Time Magazine just named me the person of the year. How fantastic to have my power as a digital agent (professionally and personally) validated! How equally frightening since marketers have already begun to conspire to turn this back around to bite us in the arse (think Lonely Girl and the less public deceptions of fake consumer feedback).

Still, I revel in this acknowledgement…how’s them apples Chray?

2006-12-11T14:06:00.000-08:00

Personal Un-interaction

My friend recently revealed that he plays Uno online…via his Xbox. (“Uno on Xbox?” I asked perplexed. “It’s not just for killing things,” he replied). I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this. One, because it seems almost unmanly (not killing things and all); and two, because of my experience with Uno traveling through Europe. It was an entirely social experience – and while playing online is social…it’s not in person. Playing over beers with friends in a café in Sevilla seems very different from playing with strangers online.

It strikes me how much of our interactions are social, yet not in person. Doesn’t this inherently make them unsocial?? With the blow up of possible interactions – isn’t it ironic that we use these avenues to actually NOT deal with people.

2006-11-05T14:11:00.000-08:00

The gears of communication

I have been remiss in my blogging. This has entirely stressed me out over the last couple of weeks, especially as my nemesis, Chray, was so quick to point this out.

In any case, as I stressed about this this morning, it struck me that as the proliferation of all our communication gear has exploded – communication itself has actually become poorer. Meaning the means to get the message out is there…only the messaging itself it totally lost. Perhaps not lost, but not necessarily thoughtfully executed. I’ve touched on this before in the discussion of Bill Joy and it’s been an idea at the core of Chray’s incessant soap boxing about blogger writing quality.

As the means to get the message out has become easier and easier, we’ve slowly but surely taken for granted what we’re actually saying. We see this across all mediums, TV in particular (do I need to get into a discussion here over Fox news?). We have become a society of throwing out messages without thought of consequence…as if to say communication for the sake of communication – and I realize you’re following me down a rabbit hole – but is that communication at all?

Truth is I began thinking about this not on a societal, lofty plain this morning, but on a personal one. How the rapidness of today’s communication means has diminished the ability to truly relate to and understand what we are thinking and feeling. Example – how easy it is to fire off an email vs. the time it takes to patiently hand write a letter. Following this line of thinking, I realized that I have a dear friend whose handwriting I have never seen…following that thought, I asked myself, do I really know this person at all?

Many tangents this morning…but something to chew on this week.

2006-10-17T10:48:00.000-07:00

A billion served?
Does anyone else find it ironic that McDonald's-Japan gaveaway MP3 players infected with a spyware virus? Come to think of it...does anyone else find it weird that an MP3 player can exist on a cup?

2006-10-12T11:20:00.000-07:00

I heart webisodes
I love that more and more webisodes are rising to the top of online muck. They are little nibbles of creativity with video...I especially enjoy the ones that have nothing to do with an advertisement. Here comedian Demetri Martin offers this Wes-Andersonian take on an overachiever. Check out the debut, "A Rare Condition" at clearification.com.

2006-10-10T08:04:00.000-07:00

Google...Godzilla?

In what I can only describe as, "ya think?" Google has bought YouTube for 1.65 billion. The company's largest acquisition to date. They describe the deal as "natural":

"The YouTube team has built an exciting and powerful media platform that complements Google's mission to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful," said Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google. (As quoted in AdAge)

Does this give anyone else pause? I am a Google fan - and have been since before the Google bandwagon went locomotive over the Internet landscape. But I'm starting to feel as if I've been hookwinked. It used to be that MicroSoft was the big bad. Has Google graced us with user-centric content to passify us into thinking they were on our side?

It should be worrisome to us all when one company's footprint grows so large that it blocks the sun. Godzilla never brought people flowers and presents when he came to town.

I'm suspect is all I'm saying.

2006-10-05T08:52:00.000-07:00

September’s [ LI ] My montly list of best ofs and eceteras

Best site: www.captainsofindustry.com

Bloody hell they have cool gadgets. Where do they find the time?

Drama, Turtle, E: Last month I gave Abby Lou a Turtle – this month I give her a resounding E for taking her show on the road: Sydney, Beijing, Singapore, Frankfurt, London…all in the company of the wicked witch of Palo Alto.

Drama—To Chray for at least thinking about his resume…and for always trying to solve our differences by showing up with sporting equipment.

Best iPod Morning Shuffle: This month it’s going to Wed 19 Sep when I had the privilege of iPod-ing for the dept. Yea, I rocked it.

Jayner’s LOL: Altruistic Deshelling Really anytime Jayner’s parents make it into the blog – you can be sure it will be mentioned as a best of:

At this point, Mom jumps in: "Have dad tell you why we have 78 containers of unshelled peanuts in the cupboard."

[Camera pans back to me.]

"Uh, dad, why do we have 78 thingies of whatever on the shelf?"

Dad: "Oh. Mom and I have a one-armed squirrel that comes to the door."

Fran of the month: Fran’s been behaving herself lately…mostly, cause I’ve been busy. Never fear…she’s off to Italy this month—nothing like some Italians to bring out the crazy in Fran.

2006-10-04T07:53:00.000-07:00

Is Pandora one of the good gals?

As those of you who know me, the proliferation of Internet radio has me waving a flag of HA HA in the face of Clear Channel. And as a Sirius subscriber, having so much music at my eardrums is pure bliss. I love the idea that the Internet grants us easy access to a plethora of musical choice. I love the idea that bands are not beholden to big corporations and a lot of money to get their music out there.

(Although – and I pause here with an irony of tangentative thought: the true age of DIY – the kind that was a lot more gritty then a myspace page, born truly great music and an ethos of questioning and challenging the status quo that I worry we will not see in this our culture anytime soon).

Where am I going with this – ah, yes, Pandora.com is the kind of Internet radio that develops its playlist based on what you already like: you tell it Death Cab for Cutie and Radiohead are your favorite bands, it plays Nada Surf and Broken Social Scene. Fantastic! When I first played with Pandora a year or so ago, not only did I love the music, but the technology of it was yummy. A big music brain playing before me.

Reading about the growing number of similar sites popping up in the paper today, I was challenged with the idea: is this good – or bad? Is it good to keep listening to music similar to music you already know? Or does that pigeon-hold you into a pattern of dullness? That is to say – by listening to things – ideas, music, words, do we prevent our brains from expanding into something new and learned? Sometimes I fear our new world has created so many silos that the experience of the big picture -we are incapable of hearing, seeing, feeling.

2006-09-26T09:27:00.000-07:00

The Career-O-Matic

I often find myself wondering why I bother with the 60 plus work weeks…afterall we’re not saving lives here. It has always cracked me up a bit how seriously advertising and marketing companies take themselves. In any event, this digital piece by Wunderman (themselves a marketing communications company) made me realize we’re all kind of in on the joke: Career-O-Matic 3000.

2006-09-20T08:05:00.002-07:00

Quality and access

Bill Joy, the cofounder of Sun Microsystems, is quoted in Atlantic Monthly this month dismissing the idea that online communities could provide an educational boost for America’s young people. At the center of his argument is quality – a notion I touched upon in my 11 Sep blog.

[T]he real problem is, by democratizing speech and the ability to post, we’ve lost the gradation for quality. The gradation of quality was always based on the fact that words had weight—it cost money to move them around. So there was back pressure against … junk …

Yes. I have trouble wrapping my head around the idea that everyone gets to throw their two cents into the mix and some cents, for reasons beyond my comprehension, rise to the top. There isn’t a filter for quality. And it is troubling that much of what gets posted is taken as the truth without considerable discretion.

But who employs the filter? Who decides what is publishable and what is not? Yes, with so much out there it is easy to dilute information and art and ideas – but without an open forum for these notions, we’d be headed the way of media today – consolidated and controlled by a very few. Until we reconcile quality with access, there isn’t an answer to this that isn’t elitist.

2006-09-18T17:12:00.000-07:00

Hungry for something

It's not entirely that I have been lazy - just nothing's come across my desk for me to sink my teeth into. Check this out though for a good laugh: Flash Beer . Carlton Draught's follow up to it's famed Big Ad.

2006-09-11T18:23:00.000-07:00

Where is the truth and who has it?

I came across an article on the film “Loose Change” this weekend. Self-funded and produced by 22-year old Dylan Avery, the film began as a screenplay about the fictional account of he and a group of friends discovering that September 11^th was not a terrorist act of violence, but rather a US government-led attack.

As Avery explains on his site, upon researching for the movie it became apparent to him that the premise may not have been fiction. Thus, he creates the documentary – which gets picked up virally and is now one of the most watched videos on the Web. From his site:

"Loose Change 2nd Edition" is the follow-up to the most provocative 9-11 documentary on the market today. This film shows direct connection between the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the United States government. Evidence is derived from news footage, scientific fact, and most important, Americans who suffered through that tragic day. IT IS EVERYONE'S DUTY TO VIEW THIS FILM!

Truth be told, I have not seen the film. And I’m not sure I want to…I have a mental block on all films related to September 11^th. But the premise got me thinking about the power of the web to spread information – all information – correct and incorrect and how it frightens me that the line shifts so often and so easily.

I don’t claim that Avery’s film is a lie. But it is disturbing me that with the vast amount of information that is disseminated each day, it is becoming harder and harder to ascertain what the truth is.

In my mind, if there was an inch of truth the film, wouldn’t major newspapers such as The New York Times be picking it up and running with it? Or would they be too scared to act on anything given the chill the FCC has spread across our media?

The Internet is a glorious thing – and content generated by ordinary people is a phenomenal infoscape of experiences. (It is also one of the first things a good marketing agency leads with on a pitch – which really needs to give you pause). What is troubling to me is that ordinary people don’t subscribe to the same code of ethics as a journalist. It’s like when a cop becomes a private eye and doesn’t have to follow the law anymore…sometimes a good thing, sometimes scary.

That’s not to say that the state of journalism is polished and pretty. It’s actually quite disappointing. Still…I keep coming back to the idea that it is a profession for a reason.

So, Mr. Avery – he may have all the good intentions in the world…at the end of the day, I cannot wrap my head around his inspiration for the movie coming from a conversation with James Gandolfini. I pretty much stop considering him a viable resource after that.

As you can tell by the tangential narration of this article – I’m still trying to figure this out.

2006-09-04T17:04:00.000-07:00

You cannot make a case for five

Over drinks the other night, Katie shared with me her lesson to her 9^th graders – Humanities v. Science. She explained to her class that the humanities were subjects related to ideas and culture – more of the gray matter. Whereas the sciences dealt with fact and trying to get to the truth of the matter. This was her example:

If you’re in math class and your teacher asks you to add 4+2 – and you don’t get six. Then you know that you are wrong. You cannot make a case for five.

You cannot make a case for five.

Maybe it was the cadence with which she spoke, or maybe the very beautiful simplicity with which she explained – but that phrase hit me. It started to transcend so much more than what she was relaying. It began to permeate into my recent thinking on reality v. virtual life. The virtual life, for all its magnificent imagination and creativity – it does not equal six. It will always be five just by its nature of being virtual.

It feels like it measures up and on every level that feeling begins to convince you that it is indeed real…only it’s not six.

Madden NFL 2007 recently came out – with a whole lotta hoopla in the gaming world. Jeff MacGregor, wrote a fantastic column on this in SI 21 August 2006:

“Take the violence out of football, erase the pain given and taken, reduce the grunt and the struggle to the push of a button, eliminate the magnificent inconsistencies of the human heart and it’s capacity for courage or cowardice, and the game, the war, is no more than fast-twitch exercise – a battle fought without personal cost. It is cause without effect, a victory only for technology and opposable thumbs.”

You can win at Madden 2007 – but you’ll never feel the beating, you’ll never taste the blood and you’ll never sweat the win.

That’s a whole lot less than six.

This translates on a personal level with me. I seem to continually be in a pattern of making a case for five. I can whip you up a fantastic story of love and romance – I can write words that will make you quiver and blush – but my words do not make a relationship come alive.

Still, truth be told, I am the Atticus Finch of number 5.

2006-09-02T04:05:00.000-07:00

August's [ LI ] My montly list of best ofs and eceteras

Best site: If I was a thoughtful woman I'd say it was We are the Web...but I can't always keep up the charade that I am smart...this month - it's going to Snakes On A Plane.

(Pause, as I go to verify the link)

huh? wha?

They've taken the customizable Samuel L. Jackson message...the one that Mas and Bread played with over and over again last week (my department is really a glorified Kindergarten). In all fairness, having Samuel say your name is pretty fantastic. Although how would I know since why on earth would a marketing company add "Elisa" to their list. Adam, Chris, Timothy, Anna...I hope you know how lucky you are.

Drama, Turtle, E: I have a couple to hand out this month:
Turtle - goes to Abby Lou for always being gracious at the sign of adversity.

E - goes to Ev, for always managing to keep me upright and moving forward. plus it's an E and we're in a battle over the nickname.

Drama - another shout out to DMHj, for worrying that he wouldn't be fast enough and then coming out with the best time in his race. Knucklehead.

and finally a coveted Vince to Katie Crosby for the line "you cannot make a case for five."

Best iPod Morning Shuffle: Has to be The Chemical Brothers. Entering work to a beat and "Here we go!" - nice.

Jayner’s LOL: House of Marbles

"Yo, MARBLE GAMES COMPENDIUM author: Uh, um, Sir Isaac Newton called;
He fucking HATES you, man."

Fran of the month: Spending time with her on her birthday meant hanging out with her gang of ladies...I kicked some butt at dominoes during their golden girls gone wild weekend. Plus, seeing all of them trying to figure out how to use their cell phones...really, are you kidding me? You can't make this stuff up.

2006-08-29T19:21:00.000-07:00

The all and mighty power of the public

As if in response to my last blog – AdAge reports today that “Consumer-written Product Reviews Increase in Importance.” According to a Jupiter Research report, “48 percent of online shoppers find it critical that retailers post reviews.” And, that the number of online shoppers who found reviews to be the most important feature doubled within a year (2005 to 2006).

The reference to a report is really a press release for the importance of the site Bazaarvoice.com – but it’s of a greater significance to us as web enthusiasts because it proves our voices are important. They are powerful. In essence we trust each other more than we trust the media or the corporations that profit from our purchases.

What this also gives credit to is the idea that there is a collective voice that is organic and uncontrolled – or rather it identifies that there is the potential for a voice that cannot be corrupted. It is pure…I pause now because I realize that just as marketing companies have latched onto MySpace to launch their wares…they will soon find a way to buy those voices. Ugh, I hate being so pessimistic.

2006-08-27T17:21:00.000-07:00

While I live and breathe the Internet will not go the way of radio

As some of you know, I made a little movie about media consolidation and what it did to radio and thus music (America:a broken record). And as Chray just said to me today, "How can you make your little indie film about consolidation and then want to go to Best Buy?" His perpetual effort at dogging me not withstanding - you can imagine my anxiety when I read about the efforts of big telecom and media companies now putting the Internet in their sights.

Their goal - to begin charging companies (small, large, whatever) to download their Fspaces faster then others. What does this mean? Essentially large businesses like say Google would be in the fast lane - while the sites that get built and nutured in garages and living rooms across the country would be in the lane behind the tractor that is for some godforsaken reason on the highway.

As savetheinternet.com explains: Congress is pushing a law that would abandon the Internet's First Amendment -- a principle called Network Neutrality that prevents companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from deciding which Web sites work best for you -- based on what site pays them the most. If the public doesn't speak up now, our elected officials will cave to a multi-million dollar lobbying campaign.

What makes the web such a beautiful creation is that it is free and accessible to everyone. That it is created by more than just a corporation. It is what it is because it is NOT controlled by a mere few.

I need to write about this more indepthly and admit that I'm being lazy right now - but visit wearetheweb.org and watch the video to start getting your head in the game.

Because yes, it is game time.

2006-08-22T17:54:00.000-07:00

Like a really funny joke

I’ve been meaning to write about this for awhile, but have been away and what not (it was Fran’s birthday – go FRAN!). My lunch with BJ today sparked my motivation.

So Agency.com turned the advert world on its watercooler heels when it launched its viral video on YouTube. The video is Agency.com's team effort at pitching SUBWAY for its interactive business. And as nearly every ad-blog-newsletter-banter will tell you – this is either a brilliant move…or a plain splinter in the foot.

The video documents the team’s efforts at coming up with “big ideas” and demonstrating their “passion” for interactive media. It includes one-on-one's with the team, as well as footage of them interviewing people on the street about their SUBWAY experience. It also includes a particularly funny segment on the team members working at SUBWAY. Here’s also where I find myself in a pessimistic predicament – anyone who has an engagement ring the size of Texas is not keen on working at SUBWAY – no matter how much you tell me it will be fun.

What makes the video even more disconcerting (in that kind of I'm embarrassed way) is the level of passion we are being told the team has. If you have passion – do you really need to tell us about it- or might you just let the production of the pitch speak for itself. Lines like “When we roll we roll big” or “We can pull it off no matter what” may be true in reality…but in a reality that is not in front of a video camera (aw, the conundrum).

What’s brilliant (for my purposes) is when an Agency.com team member asks a person on the street, “Do you forward things to your friends? Like in email?” And she replies, “Maybe if it’s something really funny, like a really funny joke.”

So – is this a really funny joke? Or one of the coolest marketing pitch ideas? Really, it would be much more realistic an undertaking had there been a bizdev person arguing against such a high-cost production, a producer looking at the time constraints (what with their other half-dozen projects) and a creative director begging the question – but really, couldn’t we just look like fools.

2006-08-15T17:34:00.000-07:00

I caught up with Theresa-NYC this weekend in San Francisco. As always, we were writing the same page of our storybook. She told me she’s decided to change the name her friends call her by – as part of her reinvention of self. It kills me how parallel our narrations find themselves. I told her about my own fascination with re-branding and my thoughtful dabbling into the launch of Cybele. Now it’s as if Theresa is my own little beta. I can't wait to see how it works out.

As much as I re-brand myself in my head, it doesn’t seem to come out in reality enough. Perhaps it is that I’m gun-shy to head into production…not sure. But making a statement like, I am now Cybele, that offers a product-promise doesn’t it? Is that what it will take to get me to see and present myself differently? Not sure. There’s too much headspace to deal with on that one I think. Maybe I just need to hire a really good publicist.

2006-08-07T15:23:00.000-07:00

Blue Bele

To answer the late night over a few beers question – if you were a superhero who would you be? Check out the SciFi chanel’s HeroMachine, where you can “create your very own champion of justice.”

Built to promote the new Stan Lee reality show, Who Wants to Be a Superhero? Users choose a body and head type and then add clothing and accessories to design their alter-ego. Disappointing is that the body type is only Barbie and Ken…how blasé. I started going for a cat theme - but then got girl and thought the blue would look nicer.

2006-08-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

Anthropology on a Saturday Night

I was at the bar WaterWorks last night…yes, not the typical place to find e…but in honor of Alison’s 25^th I’d suck up my self-admitted snobbery. Where to begin? The fact that my preconceived notions of stereotypes gone awry were so right on scared me…no literally I was scared.

Taking a walk around the Disneyland of debauchery was like an anthropological lesson in the world according to MTV. It was fascinating to say the least.

Seeing as our daily work is creating experiences I think we were all a little sponge-like. Of particular interest were the large video screens with silhouettes of varying women dancing. Naked. Well at first there was some debate as to whether they were clothed or not…but judging by the jiggling and at times the less than smooth area around their pelvises, we settled on, yep.

It didn’t matter whether they were there or not (was it being streamed in?) Ben’s transfixing stare proved that such a question was moot. What was painfully apparent to me was that being in a mash-up world of virtual spring break and nascar tailgating is just not a place you want to be unless you have many margaritas and some good friends.

Entering a virtual world that is actually reality...always uncomfortable.

2006-08-04T07:07:00.000-07:00

LOL - no really - LOL

An ad for Smirnoff...
or the best viral video in a super long time: Watch Tea Partay

2006-08-02T17:28:00.000-07:00

Shout out to JMW-DIG

In honor of my most esteemed and overworked cohorts - NBC's site for The Office is an excellent example of how to use the digital space to market a product...in this case a TV show. They've got webisodes, a blog, ringtones, games and according to Creativity (AdCritic's email newsletter) have just launched a suite of mobile games:

"Wasteketball, table-top golf and other leisurely office diversions can now be enjoyed on the privacy of your cell phone, safe from the disapproving eyes of your boss."

AdCritic says, The Office Games is currently available for download on Verizon and Cingular network phones, with Sprint and T-Mobile following suit in September.

2006-07-31T17:46:00.000-07:00

July’s [ LI ]

My montly list of best ofs and eceteras.

Best site: http://www.marmitesqueezy.com/ Live in London and Marmite becomes a variable for why there is a pond that separates us.

Drama, Turtle, E: I’m giving out a drama to DMHj for his ride up the Wachuset in 90+ heat this month…his pursuit to prove he’s not as old as he thinks he is lives on. Beautifully shaven legs and all.

Best iPod Morning Shuffle: Has to go to The National rock block.

Jayner’s LOL: Matties's Mom

Followed by the exchange:

“What do you Wiffiti?”

“ I wish my friends knew my name”

See: What do you Wiffiti?

Fran of the month: (because I need a place to record this stuff)

Growing tired of replacing her kitchen screen, and fuming from the idea that a squirrel would get the better of her (it’s like Bill Murray v. the groundhog in Martha Stewart’s world – no exaggeration), Fran decided that she would trap the devious squirrel and move him to another neighborhood. I scoffed at this plan, as the undercurrents had surely not been thought through – clearly there were egos at play. But she forged on. Within 48 hours she had caught 9 squirrels. NINE. Despite my, enough already, you are getting greedy – you are the step-mother nature and this will not end well – she hmmphed and said "well, we’ll see.”

And then she caught a skunk.

That put an end to operation critter-transplant.

2006-07-28T07:08:00.000-07:00

Me and My iPod

Ever feel like technology is effing with you? Personal gadgets know what you are thinking in some sort of AI gone awry episode?

I am convinced that my iPod is in tune (no pun intended) with my moods and mental ticks. To test this, I’ve switched it from my NPR podcast to music shuffle when I get out of the T each morning. Since I am on my way to work, it’s the magic 8-ball for how my day will go.

I have been very impressed with how many times it has decided that Madonna’s Confessions on a Dance Floor is an appropriate album to pick from. A highlight also included The Magnetic Fields, I Need a New Heart (which makes me do the snoopy dance inside).

This morning, however, it convinced me that it is somehow sucking in my mental vibes while sitting in my pocket. It played a rock block of The National. Now this may not seem like a big deal to you until I admit the following: I have a mad crush on a boy. (The kind where it's an anomoly to not be thinking about him.) And just the other night we were talking about The National. And last night I was planning on getting him one of their albums but got caught at work until after 10pm. So imagine my “Holy Cow” this morning.

I mean really, imagine it.

Not one song – TWO.

I’m just saying.

2006-07-25T18:34:00.000-07:00

Ignorance is Relative

Tonight I took a walk with one of my best friends. He had finally read my blog and wanted to know more. Besides wanting to know more about blogging itself (and suggesting that he start a blog to tell people not to read mine - cheeky boy) he specifically wanted to discuss my Second Life post. He was confused. The conversation went something like this:

"I didn't get it."

"What do you mean you didn't get it?"

"I didn't get it."

"Like you didn't get what I wrote, or you didn't get the concept."

"The concept - I didn't understand what it was. I didn't get it."

What followed was me explaining Second Life and my post on programs that encourage a virtual life and every sentence or so he saying:

"But it's not real..."

"Right. [Moving on with explanation] And then they..."

"But it's not real."

"Right. So it...".

"But it's not real."

"Right, still they participate because to them it is real..."

"But it's not."

God love him in his ignorance of the vast nature and wonder of the digital landscape. I do appreciate his firm stance in reality.