You resisted the hype for so long, but now, curiosity has gotten the better of you and it’s simply not possible to live another minute without knowing what all the excitement was about. Lucky for you, catching up won’t involve spending a valuable week’s vacation holed up with a ten-pound book in hand thanks to the efforts of Ian Holliday and company. If you like what you see, be sure to follow the YouTube link and give them a hand winning the Virgin Radio Fake Film Festival 2012 contest. It’s what Dumbledore would have wanted. Full story at YouTube via The Mary Sue.
Selected by mohammedsalamatali
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Most Topular Stories
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Harry Potter in 60 seconds [video]
Holy Kaw!8 Feb 2012 | 7:49 pm -
States Negotiate $25 Billion Deal for Homeowners
NYT > Home Page8 Feb 2012 | 7:37 pmMore than two million Americans could benefit from mortgage relief from the nation’s biggest banks, as part of a broad government settlement to be announced as early as Thursday. -
Drillers reach long-buried Antarctic lake
CNN.com8 Feb 2012 | 6:48 pmRussian scientists have successfully drilled through two miles of Antarctic ice to a freshwater lake buried for millions of years, polar researchers announced Wednesday. -
Greek Deal on Cuts Remains Elusive
WSJ.com: What's News US8 Feb 2012 | 7:39 pmGreek political leaders have ended their meeting after seven-and-a-half hours without an agreement on austerity proposals. -
Chinese prices get New Year boost
BBC News - Home8 Feb 2012 | 7:23 pmChina's rate of inflation accelerates to 4.5% in January as consumers raise spending around Chinese New Year.
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Holy Kaw!
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Harry Potter in 60 seconds [video]
8 Feb 2012 | 7:49 pmYou resisted the hype for so long, but now, curiosity has gotten the better of you and it’s simply not possible to live another minute without knowing what all the excitement was about. Lucky for you, catching up won’t involve spending a valuable week’s vacation holed up with a ten-pound book in hand thanks to the efforts of Ian Holliday and company. If you like what you see, be sure to follow the YouTube link and give them a hand winning the Virgin Radio Fake Film Festival 2012 contest. It’s what Dumbledore would have wanted. Full story at YouTube via The Mary Sue. -
SYNC: Even in a backwards world, love finds a way [video]
8 Feb 2012 | 7:20 pmDirected by Alberto Corral and filmed with an iPhone 4 and Steadicam Smoothee, SYNC takes a unique approach to retelling a classic story of love at first sight. Full story at YouTube via PetaPixel. Unique movies. Permalink | Leave a comment » -
Every nerd’s worst nightmare: World’s largest dodgeball game [video]
8 Feb 2012 | 6:57 pmIf dodgeball day in gym class left you nursing wounds both physical and psychological during the eternity that is a bad grade school experience, you might not appreciate the efforts of 4,979 people at the University of Alberta trying to set a new world record. On the other hand, if dodgeball marked the high point of your glory days, revel in the chaos… Full story at Vimeo via Official Hype. Games from the good old days. Permalink | Leave a comment » -
Text while you walk (safely this time)
8 Feb 2012 | 6:18 pmIf you’re ever twisted your ankle off a curb, bumped a stranger, or walked into a street post while texting—you need this app. ‘Transparent Screen’ for Android allows you to look through your device so you can anticipate any dangerous obstacles in your way while you’re texting on-the-go by harnessing the power of your camera to create the illusion of transparency. Just watch out for your battery life while using the app, as it’ll drain quickly. Full story at GeekOSystem. All the top tech. Permalink | Leave a comment » -
Nintendo and Converse collaborate on an amazing sneaker
8 Feb 2012 | 5:25 pmClear out room in your closets, gamers. Converse is releasing their ‘One Star Super Mario Bros.’ shoe this March! Via Like Cool. Get your Nintendo fix. Permalink | Leave a comment »
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NYT > Home Page
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States Negotiate $25 Billion Deal for Homeowners
8 Feb 2012 | 7:37 pmMore than two million Americans could benefit from mortgage relief from the nation’s biggest banks, as part of a broad government settlement to be announced as early as Thursday. -
Austerity Measure Talks Are Stalled in Greece
8 Feb 2012 | 7:26 pmPrime Minister Lucas Papademos and leaders in his government pledged to resume talks to reach an agreement on measures required for a bailout. -
Knicks 107, Wizards 93: Jeremy Lin Leads Knicks Again, 107-93, Over Wizards
8 Feb 2012 | 7:22 pmThe Knicks got another strong game from guard Jeremy Lin, who scored 23 points and had 10 assists as they beat Washington. -
Drilling Reaches Lake Vostok, Long Trapped Under Antarctic Ice Sheet
8 Feb 2012 | 7:20 pmScientists said Wednesday they had reached the waters of a lake that has been sealed off for millions of years. -
Foster Friess, a Santorum Supporter With Deep Pockets
8 Feb 2012 | 7:18 pmFew people played a more pivotal role in Rick Santorum’s victories in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado than Foster Friess, a wealthy donor to conservative causes.
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CNN.com
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Drillers reach long-buried Antarctic lake
8 Feb 2012 | 6:48 pmRussian scientists have successfully drilled through two miles of Antarctic ice to a freshwater lake buried for millions of years, polar researchers announced Wednesday. -
Wash. state OKs same-sex marriage
8 Feb 2012 | 6:37 pmGov. Christine Gregoire has pledged to sign the bill, which would make Washington the seventh state to legalize marriage for gay and lesbian couples. -
UF suspends frat for 'serious' hazing
8 Feb 2012 | 6:03 pmThe University of Florida has temporarily suspended its chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity after learning about a hazing incident involving fraternity members, a university spokeswoman said Tuesday. -
Gay man beaten in video wants justice
8 Feb 2012 | 5:45 pmThe victim of a vicious beating by a gang of men shouting anti-gay slurs said Wednesday that he wants his attackers to face justice. -
Teen gets life in death of neighbor, 9
8 Feb 2012 | 5:17 pmAn 18-year-old Missouri resident received a life sentence Wednesday for the thrill killing of her 9-year-old neighbor, authorities said.
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WSJ.com: What's News US
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Greek Deal on Cuts Remains Elusive
8 Feb 2012 | 7:39 pmGreek political leaders have ended their meeting after seven-and-a-half hours without an agreement on austerity proposals. -
China's Inflation Rises Faster Than Expected
8 Feb 2012 | 7:38 pmChina's consumer price index rose 4.5% in January from a year earlier, faster than the 4.1% rise in December, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. -
U.S. Plans to Sue Banks Over Bonds
8 Feb 2012 | 7:38 pmFederal securities regulators plan to warn several major banks that they intend to sue them over mortgage-related actions linked to the financial crisis. -
In Small California Hospitals, the Marketing of Back Surgery
8 Feb 2012 | 7:37 pmThe volume of spine surgery, which is an increasing cost in the U.S. health system, rose sharply at two small California hospitals that focused on workers' compensation patients and used a marketing consultant who helped bring doctors to the hospitals. -
Banks Near $25 Billion Pact on Foreclosure Probe
8 Feb 2012 | 7:36 pmGovernment officials are on the verge of an agreement worth as much as $25 billion with five major banks, capping a yearlong push to settle federal and state probes of alleged foreclosure abuses by lenders.
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BBC News - Home
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Chinese prices get New Year boost
8 Feb 2012 | 7:23 pmChina's rate of inflation accelerates to 4.5% in January as consumers raise spending around Chinese New Year. -
MoD cuts 'risk military skills'
8 Feb 2012 | 6:47 pmThe armed forces face losing important skills because of the speed of government spending cuts are being implemented, Whitehall's spending watchdog says. -
US contraceptive rule 'must go'
8 Feb 2012 | 6:15 pmThe top Republican in Congress calls for a law against a contraceptive rule if President Obama does not back down in the face of Catholic leaders' anger. -
VIDEO: One-minute World News
8 Feb 2012 | 6:12 pmWatch the latest news summary from BBC World News. International news updated 24 hours a day. -
Singapore warns US on China talk
8 Feb 2012 | 6:11 pmSingapore's foreign minister, visiting Washington DC, warns the US that anti-China election rhetoric could spark reaction.
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Wired Top Stories
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GigaOM Acquires PaidContent: Interview With GigaOM CEO Paul Walborsky
8 Feb 2012 | 5:30 pmOm Malik's GigaOM has purchased media news organization ContentNext, paidContent's parent company, from the UK's Guardian News & Media. -
Purported Pictures of iPad 3's Rear Casing Emerge
8 Feb 2012 | 4:28 pmThe launch of Apple's next iPad is just around the corner, if the presence of leaked parts images are any indicator. Today, what reasonably seems to be the rear casing of the new iPad has popped up in photo form on the interwebs. -
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gregory Brothers, ACLU Team for Video on Photographers' Rights
8 Feb 2012 | 4:10 pmBenjamin Franklin kicks an informative and hilarious rhyme about transparency and First Amendment protections for pro and amateur photographers in the latest video from Joseph Gordon-Levitt?s open collaborative production company, hitRECord. -
Researchers Build Hard Drive of Future With Lasers
8 Feb 2012 | 4:00 pmA team of researchers from across Europe and Asia has demonstrated a way of using laser heat to store data rather than magnetic fields, potentially increasing the speed of your hard drive by 100 times or more. Tom Ostler -- a physicist at the University of York, which led the research project -- tells Wired that this could not only allow allow your machine to save files much faster, but also reduce the machine's power consumption by avoiding traditional magnetic storage techniques. -
Tim Berners-Lee Takes the Stand to Keep the Web Free
8 Feb 2012 | 3:48 pmTim Berners-Lee, who invented the Web, testified Tuesday in a Texas courtroom, fighting to keep the web's most basic interactivity from being subject to licensing fees from a patent troll. If the fight fails, any website with interactive features may have to pay up to a little known firm called Eolas and the University of California.
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The FontShop FontFeed
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My Type of Music: Gary Numan, The Roots, The Black Keys, Jónsi, Tim McGraw, Gotye
8 Feb 2012 | 12:00 amI am on the TGV to Paris as I write this, on my way to act as “Président du Jury”, Typography category, of the annual design competition organised by the Club des Directeurs Artistiques de Paris. I don’t know when I’ll be ready, yet one thing is certain – this instalment of My Type of Music is late. Although I did manage to assemble all the covers and do basic research, it was a bit difficult for me to snap back into rant mode last week. I honestly don’t know how this episode will work out. Here’s some album covers from January, with the first ones dating back as far as the… -
TYPO to San Francisco
6 Feb 2012 | 7:00 amA story’s been quietly developing out of our San Francisco office over the past few months. Meghan Arnold and Michael Pieracci, our respective communications director and logistics man have steadily laid the groundwork and made way for the arrival of TYPO, Europe’s premier design conference, to our city. As April approaches and we enter the next phase of publicity and preparations, the two continue to work steadily at creating time and space for meaningful personal connections and the coming together of a community. Michael and Meghan’s planning began with a few central… -
Calligraphy Performance By Timothy Donaldson At Opening “Signs for Sounds” Exhibition
30 Jan 2012 | 12:38 pmLetter worker, graphic designer, type designer and action calligrapher Timothy Donaldson created a new piece of calligraphy at Bilston Craft Gallery. The piece was commissioned by The Harley Gallery as part of Signs for Sounds. This touring exhibition curated by Jeremy Theophilus explores the contemporary practice of letter-forming from traditional calligraphy to the use of digital technologies and performance. It considers the impact of letter form, an art that we are surrounded by everyday – from traditional calligraphy to hi-tech type design. The event was beautifully captured on video… -
Jean Jacques Peters 1941–2012
23 Jan 2012 | 6:32 amAfter battling a very aggressive cancer for over a year, yesterday evening my father chose to not let his illness have the last word. I feel very fortunate that we live in a civilized, humane country, where a person at the end of his life can decide to leave with dignity, without any more needless suffering. Somewhat related – I would like to apologise to the people coming to tonight’s BNO Romeo Delta evening CUT! in Rotterdam for not showing up. The organisation is looking into rescheduling my presentation at a later date, most probably the next IMG LAB evening on February 20th. -
Funky Experimental Typographic Poetry In Flickermood
20 Jan 2012 | 4:50 amThe weekend is upon us, and I am feeling in a strangely funky mood today – not that I have any reason to. I thought I’d throw an animated typography classic at you. Type designer and MA Typeface Design alumnus from the University of Reading Paul Hunt once suggested Flickermood for inclusion in the Typophile Film Fest. This video was directed and animated by Sebastian Lange, motion designer at Qu-Int. Text fragments from the poem Mutability by 19th century English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley were animated in Adobe AfterEffects, flawlessly synchronised to an edit of the contemporary…
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Social Media Mom
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The History and Evolution of the Businessman
30 Jan 2012 | 2:15 pmReading time: < 1 minute Sometimes it is hard to imagine a time before the internet and social networks - even as new as they are. These avenues of communication have completely changed the course of business, and thus, the businessman. Business MBA recently launched an infographic that takes us back to a time when prehistoric man made survival his business, we meet the poets of the renaissance, the discoverers of new worlds, and eventually a generation with the world at their fingertips who has proven to be unlike any other. From: Business MBA -
Win Free Tickets To ABC’s, The Revolution
25 Jan 2012 | 6:39 amReading time: 1 – 2 minutes If you are a fan of Ty Pennington, or of daytime talk shows, or of living a better life – this is your chance to be front and center. ABC is offering free tickets to be a part of their new show’s live studio audience. This is a wonderful opportunity. I am very impressed with the entire premise of the show. Here on Social Media Mom, we often talk about living a better and more balanced life, which is the idea behind The Revolution. When it comes to style, adventure, health, and fitness – The Revolution is doing its part to make people happy… -
A Guide To Travel Therapy Jobs
18 Jan 2012 | 10:15 amReading time: < 1 minute Many of us spend our lives looking for that dream job, and in this economy, we are forced to take what we can get. This is part of the reason Onward Healthcare's new infographic resonated with me. It is always reassuring to see industries that help job creation. This particular career track is interesting because: you can live comfortably off of it, you have the resources to help others, and you get to travel the country. Check out the following infographic for more information on this career, and let us know if you know anyone in this field or are interested in… -
Faces iMake App. Stimulates Creativity
16 Jan 2012 | 7:36 amReading time: 2 – 2 minutes The new app. for your iPhone and iPad, is an award winning activity for your kids. Your child will take everyday objects and make faces out of them. It helps your child to be more creative and stimulates right brain activity. The application was created by children’s book author, Hanoch Piven, and is loved by parents just as much as kids. Many parents have called it addicting, and say it even makes them feel they are being more creative. The game is easy and intuitive for your children, and has been said to be very helpful to children with… -
Apple To Apples: Tech vs. Fruit
11 Jan 2012 | 8:41 amReading time: < 1 minute I came across a great infographic, by MBA Online, that I thought was so clever. This was a very interesting way of getting cool stats on America's favorite technology, and Russia's favorite fruit. It should also be no surprise that most of our apples, and all of our Apples come from China. I hope this brings some joy to your wednesday! Created by: MBA Online
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GigaOM
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Forget the People’s Choice Awards, we’ve got Twitter
8 Feb 2012 | 4:09 pmWho needs an awards show to tell us what movies and actors fans prefer when we have Twitter? In yet another partnership with the USC Annenberg Innovation Lab, IBM is turning its skills in social-media sentiment analysis to Hollywood awards so the world can see which movies and stars are generating the most buzz on Twitter. IBM has done similar analyses of both the World Series and the Super Bowl, and although they’re no doubt part of a marketing effort to demonstrate its big data prowess, the projects are pretty fun and rather insightful. It’s new Senti-meter, which appears as… -
Is Ericsson rolling out 3G using someone else’s technology?
8 Feb 2012 | 4:09 pmWhen Ericsson bought Nortel’s wireless business in 2009 it instantly propelled itself to the top of the North American mobile infrastructure heap, largely because the deal exposed the Swedish vendor to the dominant network technology in the U.S., CDMA. But the CDMA portfolio Ericsson bought wasn’t entirely Nortel’s own. Rather than develop CDMA’s 3G component, EV-DO, internally, Nortel licensed the technology from radio specialist Airvana. Now Airvana is claiming that Ericsson is reneging on its licensing deal and is instead selling a “knock-off” version of its EV-DO technology to… -
Facebook’s monthly rent is $1M+, and other gems from S-1 update
8 Feb 2012 | 3:37 pmFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Facebook on Wednesday updated its S-1 document to the Securities and Exchange commission for its planned initial public offering, and it’s a veritable data dump of new information about the social networking company. The good news is, we’re digging through it so you don’t have to. Here are some of the more interesting tidbits disclosed in this latest regulatory filing: The rent is really dang high.You think you spend a lot of money on rent? According to the new filing, Facebook’s new Menlo Park, Calif. campus is costing the company well… -
To the BBC and others: Twitter is not your competition
8 Feb 2012 | 3:03 pmJust a day after Sky News told its journalists they should not post any kind of breaking news to Twitter — and also blocked them from retweeting anyone but an official Sky News account — the BBC has released a new version of its social-media policies that also requires reporters to file updates to news editors first rather than posting breaking news to Twitter. The BBC’s social-media editor says the policy isn’t as draconian as some critics are portraying it, but the emphasis on protecting the British national broadcaster’s existing news structure is just another… -
Reorg complete, Cisco hops back on the acquisition trail
8 Feb 2012 | 2:58 pmCisco, an incredibly active acquirer, is ready to start doing deals again, according to CEO John Chambers on the networking company’s financial results call Wednesday afternoon. Chambers said,”We expect to be more active with acquisitions,” and the company will focus on its five core areas of focus. Those five areas are switching and routing, the data center, collaboration, video and architectures for business transformation. In the last year Cisco has done six acquisitions with half of those occurring in the last three quarters while it was handling its restructuring. As…
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Most Viewed
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FIGHTING THE ELEPHANT - Ray William Johnson Video
7 Feb 2012 | 7:21 pmFIGHTING THE ELEPHANT - Ray William Johnson Video THANX FOR SUBSCRIBING TO MY VIDEOS!! :D MY TWITTER: https://twitter.com/RayWJ MY FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/raywilliamjohnson MY GOOGLE+ http://Gplus.to/RayWJ STORE: http://www.raywj.com/shop/ WEBSITE: http://raywj.com =3 Tshirt Girl: http://twitter.com/TheKylaLeon EQUALS 3 IN SPANISH: http://www.youtube.com/IgualATres ********************************************************************** Here are the links to the full reviews of the content discussed in this video. Please don't harass the video creators or send them hate-messages. -
LINDSAY LOHAN AS TALENTED AS PROP 8 IS CONSTITUTIONAL!!
7 Feb 2012 | 2:52 pmLINDSAY LOHAN AS TALENTED AS PROP 8 IS CONSTITUTIONAL!! Check out today's SourceFed!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWIosqbTnzc&list=PL8F30E917C5D2E4D4 FACEBOOK: http://on.fb.me/mqpRW7 TWITTER: http://Twitter.com/PhillyD Philly D OFFICIAL APP: http://bit.ly/aIyY0w ---------------------------- ALL of today's Stories: Motorcycle Circus Crash: http://gizmo.do/wtFsMD Lilyhammer Netflix Launch: http://gaw.kr/yIhQQb Machete Sequel?? http://bit.ly/x8GcAC New Spiderman Trailer: http://chzb.gr/zL5dwi Best. Bet. Ever: http://bit.ly/wuK5Pf Lindsay Lohan Photos: http://gaw.kr/xAWWoc Jessica… -
God Bless America Trailer HD
7 Feb 2012 | 11:41 amGod Bless America Trailer HD Starring: Joel Murray, Tara Lynne Barr, Larry Miller, Melinda Page Hamilton, Geoff Pierson Director: Bob Goldthwait Studio: Magnet Releasing Genre: Comedy / Drama Rating: NR Running Time: 1 hour 39 minutes Release Date: May 11, 2012 Official Site: http://www.facebook.com/godble... SYNOPSIS: Loveless, jobless and possibly terminally ill, Frank has had enough of the downward spiral of America. With nothing left to lose, Frank takes his gun and decides to off the stupidest, cruelest and most repellent members of society with an unusual accomplice: 16-year-old Roxy,… -
Giants Parade FAIL. What Giants player do you want to see? ... SANCHEZZZZZZZZZ!
7 Feb 2012 | 9:34 amGiants Parade FAIL. What Giants player do you want to see? ... SANCHEZZZZZZZZZ! Girl says the Giants player she wants to see is Sanchez ... SMH SHE FOLLOWS IT UP WITH SAYING PEYTON LMAOOOOO DISGRACEFUL. I guess when you win the Superbowl everyone becomes a fan. From: WHYTEWUNDER Views: 553227 576 ratings Time: 00:26 More in Sports -
نائب يرفع الأذان أثناء الجلسة ومشادة مع الكتاتني
7 Feb 2012 | 5:55 amنائب يرفع الأذان أثناء الجلسة ومشادة مع الكتاتني النائب ممدوح إسماعيل يرفع آذان العصر داخل قاعة…
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WSJ.com: Today's Most Popular
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ObamaCare's Great Awakening
8 Feb 2012 | 5:46 pmHHS tells religious believers to go to hell. The public notices. -
Fun With Studying
8 Feb 2012 | 11:07 amThe iBooks 2 app offers educational textbooks on the iPad that are, for now, focused on high-school students, writes Katherine Boehret. -
Robert Reilly: Romney's Businessman Pitch Won't Work
8 Feb 2012 | 9:53 amIf you can't articulate the cause for which you are fighting in moral terms, you will lose. -
Energy Boom Lifts Economy
8 Feb 2012 | 8:50 amThe benefits of the newest energy boom are extending far beyond the traditional oil patch. It's revving up the U.S. economy. -
Duke, North Carolina Top Basketball's Alumni Loot Index
8 Feb 2012 | 8:24 amWhat if you tried to measure the success of every college basketball team by a more practical measure: how much money its alumni have earned by playing the sport professionally?
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@ProBlogger
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How to Succinctly Report a Blog Issue to Tech Support
8 Feb 2012 | 6:07 amThis guest post is by Matthew Setter of Malt Blue. How often do you find it happening to you? You discover an issue with your site, or one of your community members emails you to tell you about it, and soon you start to see tweets about it too. Maybe it’s as simple as an error message that detracts from the professional appearance of your site. Perhaps the contact form doesn’t send messages to your contact email address. Or is it that the whole site just displays as a blank page, otherwise known as the white page of death? You’re not a programmer, a software engineer or a seasoned… -
Make Your Blog Load Faster than ProBlogger: Part 2
7 Feb 2012 | 12:05 pmThis guest post is by Devesh of WP Kube. A few months ago, I wrote a guest post here called How to Make Your Blog Load Faster than ProBlogger. Today, I’ll go into some more detailed advice to help you speed up your site even more. If you’re a blogger, you already know about the importance of blog loading speed, and the role it plays in search engine rank and marketing your blog. But if this is new territory for you, here are three quick reasons why you need to speed up your blog: Google includes website loading speed as an important metric in their ranking algorithm. If you want… -
How I Beat my Best Month Ever by Doing Something Good, Better [Case Study]
7 Feb 2012 | 6:04 amMid-December 2010: on my photography site, we launched a new campaign—our first ever 12 Days of Christmas promotion. The result was my biggest month of earnings ever up to that point. The idea was simple: offer discounts on 12 products over the 12 days leading up to Christmas. I used a mix of my own ebooks and products from other photography sites with affiliate commissions. The result was massive. Not only did we see some great revenue generated, it created some lovely buzz on the site. Due to the success of the 2010 campaign, in mid-December 2011 we launched our second 12 Days of… -
Six Steps to Make Sure Your Site Is Ready to Go Viral
6 Feb 2012 | 6:00 amThis guest post is by Nancy Sathre-Vogel of Family on Bikes. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Surely Google Analytics was confusing my site with another, way more popular site. There was no way my visitor numbers could be so high! And yet they were. One of my posts had taken off and was spreading like wildfire. Those viral post phenomena that happen to others were now happening to me. The first day, 17,000 visitors came to my website. The next day we topped out at 56,000. Readers were coming in droves. It was exciting. It was exhilarating. My site, viral! Wow! And then I took a… -
How to Handle Criticism: a Practical Guide
5 Feb 2012 | 12:03 pmImage by Stuart RichardsAs bloggers, each of us has to deal with criticism. Blogging is a very public activity—almost all of us has the goal of gaining readers to our blogs—and the more people you reach, the more likely it is that you’ll hear criticisms. “You’re wrong…” “How can you say that? You don’t know what you’re talking about.” “I couldn’t disagree more…” “This is the last time I read this blog!” These are just some of the criticisms bloggers regularly face—I’ve received versions of…
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Daily Writing Tips
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16 Misquoted Quotations
7 Feb 2012 | 8:09 pmMany quotations attributed to famous people are at best paraphrases — though often superior to the original. Others might be subtly altered in the retelling, sometimes with little impact on their effect, at other times irresponsibly changing the meaning. Here is a selection of well-known sayings or writings that aren’t quite accurate (followed by a couple that are but are mistakenly identified as erroneous): 1. “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” This quotation attributed to Gandhi is a later invention by an unknown person, likely inspired by the following passage: “As… -
50 Synonyms for “Idea”
7 Feb 2012 | 2:47 amWhat’s the big idea? Or, more appropriately, what kind of idea is it? Many ways of expressing the idea of an idea await your consideration; here’s an extensive but not necessarily comprehensive list (including other connotations and meanings of the various synonyms): 1. Abstraction: a theoretical idea; also, the process of abstracting, the condition of being disassociated, an abstract work of art, or the quality of being preoccupied 2. Apprehension: the act or quality of becoming aware or grasping a meaning; also, the act of arresting someone or to a sense of foreboding 3. Assumption: a… -
A Quiz About Missing Connections
5 Feb 2012 | 8:01 pmWriting is often compromised by a writer’s failure to think a sentence through to its logical conclusion. Often, along the way, a small but crucial word or phrase is omitted that leaves a gap in a parallel construction, thereby contributing to the reader’s confusion. In each sentence below, determine the missing element, then check my revisions at the bottom of the page to see how our solutions compare: 1. “The corporation runs hydropower plants from Maine to Montana.” 2. “Because Martinez was so young, it was natural to compare his potential with Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy… -
75 Synonyms for “Hard”
3 Feb 2012 | 8:31 pmIt’s easy to write about how hard something is, because so many synonyms exist for that vague word and its more formal cousin difficult. Many of these terms are somewhat interchangeable (that’s why they call them synonyms), but even then, the senses are often slightly distinct; do a little more research on usage when you find a promising variation for that abstract (or is it abstruse?) phrasing you’re attempting to finesse. 1. Abstract: disassociation from a practical reference that would aid in comprehension 2. Abstruse: difficult because of technical considerations 3. Arduous: great… -
A Quiz on Treatment of 75 Compound Words
2 Feb 2012 | 8:08 pmOpen, hyphenated, or closed? Usage guides, dictionaries, and style manuals may differ in their treatment of the following words, so there’s not necessarily one right answer — except for the purposes of this exercise: Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. All terms in this list are treated as open compounds. Which ones should be left as is, and which should be hyphenated or closed, and in which usages? The correct forms according to Merriam-Webster are listed at the bottom of the page. 1. Air borne 2. Anti social 3. Audio visual 4. Back log 5. Blood pressure 6. Book keeping 7.
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Macworld
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Remains of the Day: Apropos of something
8 Feb 2012 | 4:30 pmThe first iTunes Match royalties have arrived, and they're music to artists' ears. Elsewhere, one pilot's lawsuit against his airline may not have enough lift for takeoff, and an iOS-based social network apologizes for getting just a bit too social. -
Google to pay users to track their movements online
8 Feb 2012 | 3:45 pmAmid widespread concern about its new privacy policies, Google is now facing criticism over an offer to give users Amazon gift certificates if they reveal their Web activity. -
EPIC sues FTC over Google's planned privacy changes
8 Feb 2012 | 3:15 pmThe Electronic Privacy Information Center has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, asking a court to force the agency to take action against Google. -
iPad app review: Tweetbot is essentially the perfect Twitter client
8 Feb 2012 | 2:31 pmTweetbot was already great on the iPhone. On the iPad, it gets even more room to shine--and shine it does. -
New social site Pinterest attracts enthusiasm, scrutiny
8 Feb 2012 | 1:39 pmJust as it enjoys an initial surge of popularity, a new social networking site called Pinterest is also experiencing its first bout of controversy.
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PR News
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BC Hydro's PR Investment May Reap Powerful Rewards
8 Feb 2012 | 9:00 amBritish Columbia's electric utility company is loading up on PR research and consultation in advance of major price hikes.... -
5 Questions for PRSA Chairman and CEO Gerry Corbett
8 Feb 2012 | 9:00 amIn an interview with PR News, Gerry Corbett says that realizing more value for PRSA members—particularly in career development—is a top priority.... -
PR News Q and A With Danielle Brigida: Document the 'Little Victories' in Social Media ROI
8 Feb 2012 | 9:00 amIn advance of PR News' April 18 PR Measurement Conference, Danielle Brigida of the National Wildlife Federation shares tips on how to establish social media benchmarks and measure success.... -
Goldman Sachs CEO Occupies Center Stage for Human Rights Org
7 Feb 2012 | 9:00 amGoldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein signed on with the Human Rights Campaign to help generate awareness for marriage equality, garnering some positive coverage for himself for a change.... -
How to Make Your Social Media Policy Stick
7 Feb 2012 | 9:00 amCreating a fluid, well-written social media policy is an investment in your organization's future, says Haynes and Boone partner Matthew Deffebach....
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PUBLIC RELATIONS NEWS - Google News
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Suffolk restores 5 cop PR jobs - Newsday
8 Feb 2012 | 6:27 pmSuffolk restores 5 cop PR jobsNewsdayClick here Suffolk restores 5 cop PR jobs Published: February 8, 2012 9:22 PM By PAUL LAROCCO paul.larocco@newsday.com Suffolk lawmakers, in an about-face, have restored nearly half of the civilian positions cut from the police department's public and more » -
Behind the PR curtain: Oregon firm played part in effort to counter attacks on ... - OregonLive.com
8 Feb 2012 | 4:33 pmOregonLive.comBehind the PR curtain: Oregon firm played part in effort to counter attacks on OregonLive.comBy Jeff Mapes, The Oregonian AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File A Lake Oswego public affairs firm has come under scrutiny for its role in a broad-based public relations effort mounted by a company seeking to dispel criticism that its widely used herbicide Syngenta PR's Weed-Killer Spin Machine: Investigating the Press and Shaping truthoutall 6 news articles » -
Toni Preckwinkle, Rahm Emanuel Reveal Shared Budget Savings, Different PR Styles - Huffington Post (blog)
8 Feb 2012 | 11:55 amToni Preckwinkle, Rahm Emanuel Reveal Shared Budget Savings, Different PR StylesHuffington Post (blog)It also revealed a difference in public relations between the two. Emanuel issued a press release on the subject with the headline: "Mayor Emanuel and President Announce $20.5 Million in Total Savings Achieved in First Six Months of City-County and more » -
GOP Should Select Wild Cards for PR Gains, Focus on 2016 - Yahoo! Contributors Network
8 Feb 2012 | 11:06 amThe GuardianGOP Should Select Wild Cards for PR Gains, Focus on 2016Yahoo! Contributors NetworkSince 2012 is a likely wash for the GOP, it should focus on public relations victories and building a groundwork for the 2016 election. At the convention, the powers that be ought to nominate Gingrich (and tell him to play it cool), pair him with a GOP Caucus Roundup: From Glitter Bombs to Santorum's SurpriseHuffington PostIs Rick Santorum the last man standing for Mitt Romney in Michigan?MLive.comGrant Rampy: Smooth sailing to November? Not so fastReporterNews.comPatch.comall 9,793 news… -
Calysto Communications to Support Global Public Relations for SevOne - MarketWatch (press release)
8 Feb 2012 | 8:36 amCalysto Communications to Support Global Public Relations for SevOneMarketWatch (press release)ATLANTA, GA, Feb 08, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Calysto Communications, a social and traditional PR firm specializing in communications technologies, today announced that it will support a global public relations, media relations and social media and more »
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Ogilvy PR 360 Digital Influence Blog
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Pinterest Hits 11 Million UMVs (and 8 Tips for Brands)
8 Feb 2012 | 9:02 amIn case you haven’t heard, last night TechCrunch announced that Pinterest hit 11.7 million UMVs, becoming the fastest standalone site ever to surpass 10 million monthly uniques. This presents a huge opportunity for brands, as you might have already read about here. The #1 driver of consumer purchases is word of mouth recommendations from friends, and Pinterest holds the power to drive authentic “word of eye” recommendations in a way that is changing the landscape of social commerce. How? The landing page for Pinterest is an endless visual stream of subtle product… -
Retailers: Take Social a Step Further
6 Feb 2012 | 10:22 pmAs retailers find their feet in social marketing, it would be interesting to know why they started down the road in the first place. All too often the answer is, “Because my customers expect me to be on Facebook.” Often “So I can push promotions” tops the list. But isn’t it great when the answer is, “I wanted to learn more about a few of my biggest fans, and leverage their influence to generate repeat visits at end of the purchase funnel?” This we don’t hear often. Social-savvy retailers understand that their platforms aren’t just another… -
Preparing for the Social Media Bowl
5 Feb 2012 | 1:57 pmWe’ve been watching social media chatter around the “big game” intensify over the past week – especially if you live in Indianapolis. But since Volkswagen first teased its teaser ad with the barking dogs (and garnered over 11 million views along with way), the ad community has slowly followed suit and rolled out their wares. Consumers that wanted to gain clout (and Klout) passed it along as quickly as possible. But will two weeks of conversation or two minutes of 1.5 million tweets (like those amassed around Tim Tebow’s heroics this season) sway opinion, increase favorability or… -
Sh*t We Say: Lessons from a Long-Tailed Meme – Part 2
31 Jan 2012 | 8:58 am(Part 2? Yeah, check out Part 1.) In case you missed it, Ron Paul supporters, ASU students, and VFX artists were among those that joined the fray since my last post. The variations continue to proliferate further down the tail, satirizing - and entertaining - more niche audiences. What does this add up to? Segmentation. While I easily enjoy Sh*t ASU Students Say even though I’m not a Sun Devil - and haven’t even been to the campus - the video resonates better with those who were. Beyond that, the video’s arc is more relatable to students who enrolled in the past 5-10 years… -
The Updated Ogilvy Social Media Engagement Code
29 Jan 2012 | 10:23 amFirst of all, this isn’t new. We have had a social media-related ethics code in place since 2005. At that time, it was the Blogger Outreach Code of Ethics. It helped us decide what was ‘best-practice’ and what wasn’t. These are our ethics not something handed down through culture or a governing body. We simply believed that social media’s true power was grounded in trust — trust between bloggers and their readers; between brands and their followers; between marketers and customers. The updated code covers more contemporary circumstances. Facebook for one.
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Social Media PR Blog Feed
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EndGame PR’s Steve Mullen on WRVA Radio
2 Feb 2012 | 5:53 pmAnother media opportunity popped up for EndGame PR’s Steve Mullen this week. This time he was interviewed by WRVA Radio’s Jay Hart about the impact of the Facebook IPO on everyday Facebook users. Clips from the interview were used during several newscasts. Here’s a taste… No tags for this post. -
EndGame PR’s Steve Mullen on NBC12
28 Jan 2012 | 1:12 pmIf you watched the NBC12 (WWBT in Richmond, VA) news at 11pm on Friday, January 27 or the station’s morning show on Saturday the 28th, you may have seen me talking about social media privacy with Yvette Yeon. If you didn’t, here’s the video … after a commercial message: No tags for this post. -
Can Google+ Become Your “Default” Social Media Outlet?
22 Sep 2011 | 9:12 amI’ve been participating in an interesting discussion on Facebook this morning about the future of Facebook, and it led me to this blog post. The discussion centered around a question posed by Jeff Kraus. He wondered, and I quote, “How many brands are rethinking the priority they place on their FB presence given the unpredictable nature of the platform these days?” The overwhelming opinion from those who chimed in was that right now brands and businesses have nothing to fear, because while Facebook has made a lot of changes that have ticked off its user base, the growth… -
Facebook Creeping Toward Google+
15 Sep 2011 | 10:59 amFacebook made an announcement this week that once again shifts the ever-evolving service. The subscribe button added by the social media service allows you to subscribe to public updates posted by anyone on the site — even if they’re not your Facebook “friend”. This move is being widely reported as making Facebook more like Twitter. I think those who are reporting that are missing something — this new feature makes Facebook more like Google+. On Google’s new social media service, you can add anyone to a circle, which adds their public updates to your… -
Apparently You Need to Meet Me
10 Aug 2011 | 5:41 pmA big “thanks” to Work It, Richmond, a website and newsletter produced by the Richmond Times-Dispatch. This week they included me in a feature called “People You Need to Meet”. The feature is an interview about me and EndGame PR. You can check it at this link: People You Need to Meet: Steve Mullen. No tags for this post.
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Online Public Relations Thoughts
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What Not To Write
8 Feb 2012 | 6:21 amThis is a leaked memo providing background on a reporter. Note the highlighted section. Even if what the memo writer penned is true, he shouldn't have typed it in a document. That is an opinion that should have been expressed only in words to the client. You can imagine what the reporter is thinking as a result of the accusation that she is biased. She will look all the harder to prove that she isn't. The memo might have been safe had personal opinion not been injected into it, and there was no reason for doing so. The facts speak for themselves. -
Everybody's Talking
7 Feb 2012 | 4:31 amEverybody's talking at me. I don't hear word they're saying.... The opening of the Harry Nilsson song is a fit description for the use of social media during the Super Bowl. Here are statistics on the noise. Imagine if you were the communications director of an organization and your job was to penetrate this raucous buzz with your own message. Your success would be slim at best. The compelling need to express oneself has become indulgence. It is now time for listening, or silence, getting away from ruckus and listening to oneself. Unfortunately, that… -
Delay And Pain
6 Feb 2012 | 4:56 amWhen an organization or country faces painful choices, delay is often the response. This is the tactic Greece is using in responding to terms for an EU/IMF bailout. Greece's politicians are worried about internal public relations rather than what the world thinks. Citizens are fed up with austerity and don't want to live with even less, as the bailout terms demand. One can't blame Greeks for anger. On the other hand, Greece lived beyond its means far too long and is now trying to avoid paying the bill. It is easy to blame the country's leaders for this… -
PR Gaffe
3 Feb 2012 | 4:25 amA non-profit foundation can fund any organization it wishes and also not fund it, if it chooses. But, this was a PR gaffe of the first order. Although I won't go as far as this commentator, it is clear that the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation could have handled its decision in a far better manner. For example, it could have shifted its funding to another organization and publicly said so. It could have cut funding over a period of years to give Planned Parenthood time to find other funding sources. It could have announced publicly a change of direction a… -
Embedded Culture
2 Feb 2012 | 4:32 amHow do you break down a culture that doesn't want to change? This is the challenge facing Sony's new CEO. Sony's silos of technology and engineering, which once propelled the company to the top of the electronics industry, have become the enemy of the company in today's markets. Sony's CEOs have known that, but they have been defeated in trying to break down the narrowly focused divisions and make them cooperate closely with one another. Now comes a new CEO with the same challenge. Will he do any better, or will he accept the culture for what it is and…
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Wired PR Works
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Pinterest for Business Growing List
8 Feb 2012 | 2:18 pmIn researching how Pinterest benefits businesses, I came across so many helpful articles that I wanted to group them together as a collection. Using list.ly, I came up with 50 Pinterest for business... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
7 Ways Pinterest Works for Business
8 Feb 2012 | 12:49 pmTo pin or not to pin? That’s the question businesses are asking about Pinterest, a newer social network that’s stealing headlines from the usual suspects. Kind of a cross between digital... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
Super Bowl 2012 Social Intercepts the Game
4 Feb 2012 | 5:42 pmThe Patriots and Giants will be lining up on the 50 yard line, but the Super Bowl’s MVP – social media, got into the game weeks ago. Here’s a look at what’s going on in the streets... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
How to Pitch a Blogger on Writing a Guest Post
24 Jan 2012 | 7:47 amThanks to Brad Shorr for contributing today’s guest post. Last November, Barbara wrote a valuable post on how to be a great guest blogger. She offered some great advice about both how to... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
Social Media And PR – Grab More Face Time With Audiences Via Skype
19 Jan 2012 | 5:22 amToday’s guest post is by Stacey Acevero, Social Media Community Manager at PR Web. Looking for a way to boost your social media and PR? We have the perfect tool to deepen your engagement with... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Quest PR Blog
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Doffing our caps to Yorkshire’s entrepreneurs
3 Feb 2012 | 7:00 amAs part of our series to celebrate the best of Yorkshire, we’re paying tribute to past and present day pioneers whose combined true grit – or, in some cases salt – vision and innovation are truly inspirational. We doubt that William Morrison could have foreseen how the business would crack the tough retail world when Morrisons began life as an egg and butter stall in Bradford in 1899. Fast forward 113 years, and Morrisons boasts 455 UK superstores following the Safeway takeover. The driving force behind the success is William’s son Ken Morrison whose trailblazing career is… -
High ambition: why Sheffield’s steely resolve will win through
27 Jan 2012 | 9:22 amAs champions of Yorkshire and passionate about profiling the region’s vibrant business community, we’re launching a series of blogs which ‘celebrate all things Yorkshire’. The first one focuses on the dynamic developments in the pipeline in the city of Sheffield which boasts a rich and colourful history – and which has been boosted by a £1 million government funding programme. Sheffield’s optimism shone through in the Star Business Survey 2012 supported by Lambert Smith Hampton.It was great to hear James Newman, chairman of the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise… -
Is it time to stop spreading yourself too thin?
20 Jan 2012 | 5:03 amPhew – what a relief to be see and hear that more business are looking to consolidate their social media activities in 2012 as opposed to running themselves ragged trying to keep up with every development – and beating themselves up if they don’t. Social Media Examiner founder Michael Stelzner says ‘the old mantra of “Be everywhere” will quickly be replaced with “be where it matters to our business” makes for good old-fashioned business sense. This is particularly relevant in our tough climate where all organisations are expected to achieve more for less while trying… -
PR’s Role In The 2012 Business World
9 Jan 2012 | 5:01 amThis week, freelance PR consultant Duncan Greenwood offers his views on the PR sector’s prospects for 2012. Effective PR in 2012 will be increasingly vital to the UK’s hopes of recovery. Social and broadcast media exposure will continue to expand, to the cost of traditional printed titles, additionally and grievously hampered by phone-hacking and other less than noble enterprises. The PR winners will be the consultancies and in-house managers doing less of the fluffy stuff and concentrating on nuts and bolts business support that helps enhance reputations and shifts products. The… -
10 inspirational tips for 2012
3 Jan 2012 | 1:34 amHappy New Year to all! Very aptly for our first blog of the year, business coach and inspirational speaker Lisa Clifford offers her expert insights on how to kick start 2012 into being your most successful year yet. Think of something you’d love to achieve that when you achieve it – it will blow your mind. Now take a moment and become aware of all the reasons this dream is great for you and your life. Take a moment to imagine you are celebrating the success of your dream. Visualise it as though it is happening right now. Make it real. Really connect into what you are feeling, thinking,…
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Twitter / themediaisdying
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themediaisdying: More 2011 circ drops : Esquire -17.2%, Maxim -15.9%, GQ -13.8% and Rolling Stone -18.2% : http://t.co/G2SO0ngF (RT @MediaPost)
8 Feb 2012 | 3:31 pmthemediaisdying: More 2011 circ drops : Esquire -17.2%, Maxim -15.9%, GQ -13.8% and Rolling Stone -18.2% : http://t.co/G2SO0ngF (RT @MediaPost) -
themediaisdying: 2011 declines : Redbook -19.9%, Elle -18.3% , In Style -14.2%, Teen Vogue -13.5%, Glamour -9.9%.... Brides -25.8% : http://t.co/G2SO0ngF
8 Feb 2012 | 3:23 pmthemediaisdying: 2011 declines : Redbook -19.9%, Elle -18.3% , In Style -14.2%, Teen Vogue -13.5%, Glamour -9.9%.... Brides -25.8% : http://t.co/G2SO0ngF -
themediaisdying: Total newsstand sales tumbled 10% fto 28.9 million in 2011: http://t.co/G2SO0ngF (via @mediapost)
8 Feb 2012 | 3:20 pmthemediaisdying: Total newsstand sales tumbled 10% fto 28.9 million in 2011: http://t.co/G2SO0ngF (via @mediapost) -
themediaisdying: Magazine Circs Fell In Second Half Of 2011 : http://t.co/G2SO0ngF (RT @MediaPost)
8 Feb 2012 | 3:20 pmthemediaisdying: Magazine Circs Fell In Second Half Of 2011 : http://t.co/G2SO0ngF (RT @MediaPost) -
themediaisdying: Ziff Davis will lose 100 jobs from 120 through the acquisition by QuinStreet. 30 jobs immediately disappear. (RT @WoodenHorsePub)
8 Feb 2012 | 3:04 pmthemediaisdying: Ziff Davis will lose 100 jobs from 120 through the acquisition by QuinStreet. 30 jobs immediately disappear. (RT @WoodenHorsePub)
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apple news - Google News
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Apple doesn't enforce its own Address Book policy - ZDNet (blog)
8 Feb 2012 | 7:45 pmThe Mac ObserverApple doesn't enforce its own Address Book policyZDNet (blog)By Jason D. O'Grady | February 8, 2012, 7:39pm PST Summary: Developers get free access to your iOS address book because Apple turns a blind eye to it and doesn't enforce it's own TOS. Why? Because Apple turns a blind eye to the single largest privacy Apple's Failure Lets Developers Steal Your Address BookGizmodoSimpler Apple Apps Shouldn't be Simple-mindedThe Mac ObserverWhy Android Developers Should Flock to BlackBerryMotley FoolSYS-CON Media (press release) (blog)all 12 news… -
Thompson Doesn't See Apple Protests Affecting Investors - Washington Post
8 Feb 2012 | 5:50 pmThompson Doesn't See Apple Protests Affecting InvestorsWashington Post8 (Bloomberg) -- Nick Thompson, senior editor at New Yorker magazine and a Bloomberg contributing editor, talks about Apple Inc.'s performance and its competition with Research In Motion Ltd. in the mobile phone market. The maker of the iPad and iPhone and more » -
Microsoft, Apple, Google and their patent stances - The Seattle Times
8 Feb 2012 | 5:43 pmmsnbc.comMicrosoft, Apple, Google and their patent stancesThe Seattle TimesAmid what appears to be interminable rounds of patent feuding, Microsoft, Apple and Google each produced statements or letters on where they stand regarding patents. Microsoft issued a statement today saying it "will always adhere to the promises it Apple Asks for Clear Rules on 'Essential' PatentsPC MagazineMicrosoft joins Apple in pledging support for injunction free, FRAND patent Apple InsiderApple asks for governing rules on mobile patentsCNET (blog)Wall Street Journal -Ars… -
Apple leases big office building in downtown Sunnyvale - San Jose Mercury News
8 Feb 2012 | 5:29 pmMac RumorsApple leases big office building in downtown SunnyvaleSan Jose Mercury NewsBy George Avalos Apple (AAPL) has struck a deal to lease a large office building in downtown Sunnyvale, the latest in a string of agreements expected to bring about 1700 employees of the consumer electronics titan to that city.Apple Buying Up Office Space in SunnyvaleNBC Bay AreaApple moving 400 to Sunnyvale Town CenterSan Jose Business JournalApple Adds Another 150000 SF to Sunnyvale Real Estate FootprintMac Rumorsabc7news.comall 14 news articles » -
Apple Tightens Up on Apps - Wall Street Journal
8 Feb 2012 | 5:09 pmAppAdviceApple Tightens Up on AppsWall Street JournalBy JESSICA E. VASCELLARO Apple Inc. is again frustrating legions of application developers by replicating its regime for mobile devices in the world of desktop software. The company will soon enforce tighter controls over software built for Mac Apple, Google move to tackle app store issuesBBC NewsApple To Developers: All iPhone App Screenshots Must Be Retina QualityAppAdviceApple TV Is Coming: 10 Ways It Will Hurt Google, AndroideWeekMacgasm -Innovation Excellence (blog) -Gotta Be Mobileall 626 news articles »
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Apple - Support - Most Popular
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OS X Lion, Mac OS X v10.6: Printer and scanner software
19 Jan 2012 | 12:22 pmOS X Lion and Mac OS X v10.6 provide third-party software for printers or scanners via Software Update. Simply connect your printer or scanner, and if software is needed and available, the software will be automatically downloaded as part of the creation of the printer/scanner queue. -
Understanding Home Sharing
30 Jun 2011 | 2:56 pmHome Sharing in iTunes is designed to let you easily share your iTunes media libraries between up to five computers in your household. You can also use Home Sharing to play your iTunes content on your iOS devices and Apple TV (2nd generation) if they are connected to your home Wi-Fi network. -
iTunes: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive
5 Oct 2010 | 11:13 amOne way to back up your iTunes library is to consolidate your library into one folder and then copy that folder to an external hard drive. This is a painless process that only takes a few moments to accomplish.
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Apple - Support - Most Popular
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OS X Lion, Mac OS X v10.6: Printer and scanner software
19 Jan 2012 | 12:22 pmOS X Lion and Mac OS X v10.6 provide third-party software for printers or scanners via Software Update. Simply connect your printer or scanner, and if software is needed and available, the software will be automatically downloaded as part of the creation of the printer/scanner queue. -
Understanding Home Sharing
30 Jun 2011 | 2:56 pmHome Sharing in iTunes is designed to let you easily share your iTunes media libraries between up to five computers in your household. You can also use Home Sharing to play your iTunes content on your iOS devices and Apple TV (2nd generation) if they are connected to your home Wi-Fi network. -
iTunes: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive
5 Oct 2010 | 11:13 amOne way to back up your iTunes library is to consolidate your library into one folder and then copy that folder to an external hard drive. This is a painless process that only takes a few moments to accomplish.
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Brand Mix
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In taste, brand matters
19 Jan 2012 | 10:04 amMy latest post is out on MarketingDaily. In it, I talk about the power of packaging to influence taste. Research has show that people are highly sensitive to non-taste cues when they are evaluating the taste of something. As I say in the post: "It’s not just about the product inside. The brand matters because it tells consumers what to expect and influences how they evaluate a product." You may be curious which beer was the "outright loser" in my blind taste test (maybe as curious as I am about why this part of the story was edited out) but, hopefully, your curiosity is now satisfied. -
15 Social Media Tips for the holidays
14 Dec 2011 | 7:28 amHere's my holiday gift to my readers. To be honest, it's a regift, since these social media tips were originally published (in longer form) in the MarketingDaily. There are five tips on basic social media principles and approach and ten tips on criteria for planning social media programs. Principles 1. Be human Social media is about engaging with customers on a personal level, something marketers sometimes forget. In social media interaction, you should be asking yourself: 'What would a human do?' And do that. 2. Don’t overreach Most brands, especially CPG brands, aren't all that engaging… -
Lululemon puts an Ayn Rand stamp on yoga
21 Nov 2011 | 8:50 amLululemon has ridden the wave of yoga's popularity with great success, selling high end yoga clothes and promoting healthy living. So deciding to associate with a philosophy that's the antithesis of what yoga is all about seems a little odd, to say the least. As reported on NPR, the company's new shopping bags feature the question: "Who is John Galt?". And who is John Galt? He's the protagonist of Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged where she laid out her Objectivist philosophy, including the idea that selfishness is a virtue,a very un-yoga-like position. Why this seeming act of… -
Australia's new cigarette law bans branded packaging, tests branding principles
14 Nov 2011 | 8:06 amAustralia has become the first country in the world to ban the branding of cigarette packages. From next July, all packs will look like the one in the picture--they will be a deliberately unappealing olive green color, the brand of the manufacturer will be printed in a tiny, generic font (i.e. no trademarks) and the only images will be graphic health warnings. Thus the Australians are setting up an interesting, real world packaging test. What will happen when the new, generic packaging hits the shelves? The one thing that the government and the cigarette manufacturers agree on is that the… -
Moleskine misstep miffs most-loyals
25 Oct 2011 | 12:20 pmCommitting social media suicide by upsetting your most loyal fans is something of a trend. Netflix blazed a trail. And now it's Moleskine, maker of the "legendary" notebooks so beloved by the designers, following along. With apparently no sense of a design community hot button issue, Moleskine thought it might be kind of cool to organize a competition to design a new logo. In other words, to crowdsource it. That's, to say the least, not going down too well with one-time Moleskine lovers, now turning into Moleskine haters. Here's a comment posted on Moleskine's Facebook page by Seth Johnson…
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Branding Strategy Insider
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Time For Brand Marketers To Lead A Comeback
7 Feb 2012 | 9:10 pmIt’s a good thing the game between the NFL's New England Patriots and the New York Giants was exciting because this year’s Super Bowl commercials were dull, and what a weird thing to say about the Super Bowl. Generally, it’s the very opposite of that. Perhaps it’s best not to read too much into Super Bowl ads vying for viral buzz (many of which adopted a new pre-game, social media preview approach to generate buzz, albeit some have argued it was poorly done). But there was one thing that stood out. In a noticeable departure from the tradition of Super Bowl Sunday, this year’s crop… -
When To Reposition Your Brand
6 Feb 2012 | 9:10 pmBrand repositioning is necessary when one or more of the following conditions exist: Your brand has a bad, confusing or nonexistent image. The primary benefit your brand "owns" has evolved from a differentiating benefit to a cost-of-entry benefit. Your organization is significantly altering its strategic direction. Your organization is entering new businesses and the current positioning is no longer appropriate. A new competitor with a superior value proposition enters your industry. Competition has usurped your brand's position or rendered it ineffectual. Your organization has acquired a… -
How To Transform An Under-Performing Brand
5 Feb 2012 | 9:10 pmOnce the decision has been made to continue to invest in an under-performing brand, brand owners will be faced with a new set of challenges completely foreign to them. The temptation is always to do more of what got you there. That rarely works when brands face reinvention. By that I mean brand relevance. The main reason brands begin to under perform is that people no longer care. When that happens, like it or not, you’ll be starting over from scratch. This is a hard pill for brand owners to swallow, particularly if the brand was once an iconic leader in its category. For brand owners… -
Logo Design Requirements
4 Feb 2012 | 9:10 pmA brand’s identity is a combination of visual, auditory, and other sensory components that create recognition, aid in memory encoding and decoding, represent the brand promise, provide differentiation, create communications synergy, and are proprietary. The logo is one key component. Here is what we look for when we evaluate logo design: Memorable – highest recognition and recall (both of which can be tested for) Including recognition at maximum distances (can be tested for) Aesthetically pleasing Timeless quality - the logo will not become dated Appropriate for the product/service… -
Brand Tagline Requirements
3 Feb 2012 | 9:10 pmIn definitive global research, The Conference Board has found the development and consistent use of a tagline to be a key factor in brand strategy success. A tagline that succinctly and powerfully communicates the brand’s promise is one of the quickest, easiest and least expensive ways to communicate the brand’s new position to internal and external audiences. It should consistently accompany the brand’s logo in situations outlined by the brand architecture. I believe that developing brand taglines (and elevator speeches) are the most important next steps one can take once a brand has…
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Drew's Marketing Minute
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The 5 things that will derail your marketing in 2012
8 Feb 2012 | 6:37 amI don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade but the truth is — most organizations’ marketing efforts stink. And they stink for reasons well within the marketing department’s control. If you’re worried that your own efforts might fall short — beware of these five danger zones that can derail you in a blink! Inconsistency: Does your monthly newsletter go out 5 times a year? Does your copy tone/style fluctuate between somber and casual? Are your weekly sales calls happening every week? Inconsistency not only waters down your results but it also… -
Crisis communications – don’t wait to create a plan
6 Feb 2012 | 6:10 amDoes your organization have a crisis communications plan that you could actually put into action at this very moment? All of the hubub surrounding the Susan G. Komen decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood and then their reversal of that decision following a 72+ hour firestorm of public outrage should have scared the bejesus out of you. If an organization as large, powerful and well respected as Komen can get into that much hot water — and is that ill-prepared to handle it then what in the world would happen to you if there was an accident on your job site, if your CFO embezzled… -
Don’t add frill until your core is rock solid
2 Feb 2012 | 6:15 amA couple times a month a cleaning company comes into our house and does a deep clean. Every time I walk into the house after they’ve cleaned… the toilet paper rolls and tissues sticking out of the boxes are folded in some sort of origami art. Sometimes, they leave a truffle on the kitchen counter. I get what they’re trying to do. And it’s a lovely little extra. Unfortunately, I also find things like: Every waste basket in the wrong spot (they’ve been cleaning the house for over a year) The back door unlocked or a window left open A few lights left on… -
What you don’t know about your sales funnel
30 Jan 2012 | 5:56 amWe all think and talk about our sales funnel a lot. We’re always saying things like: We need to keep it full. We need to stay active with the prospects that have been in it for awhile. On average, it takes a prospect X months to move through it. And so on…. But consider the statistic to the right. 60% of your sales efforts are what happens before you have actively put someone into the funnel. In other words — it’s not you who is doing the selling. Who is? Your existing customers The customer who left and is working with your competitors Your vendors Your website… -
What’s your purple goldfish?
11 Jan 2012 | 11:30 amGet your free copy of Stan Phelp’s book! A few years ago, I met Stan Phelps, another marketing guy, online (I think he commented on my blog and we started chatting via email) and before I knew it — we were friends. He was just dipping his toe into the blogging waters and I tried to be helpful along the way. Fast forward to today, January 11, 2012. Stan’s first book, What’s Your Purple Goldfish*, is being released today. I’ve read it and know you’re going to love it. Really love it. I’m also very humbled to say that Stan asked me to write the…
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Ries' Pieces
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Super Bowl of Advertising - 2012
6 Feb 2012 | 11:37 amWhile the gridiron battle between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots was close, the advertising battle on the tube was not. The Super Bowl battle for commercial success might better be described as a mixture of the old classics, the new stuff, the overly sexy and the over the top. Here is my brief recap on the best/worst ads of the night. The Old Classics The Super Bowl isn’t for also-rans. The big game is best served by big brands that are category leaders and that support the game year after year with consistent themes. Coca-Cola The three polar bear ads… -
Tim Tebow, the brand
16 Dec 2011 | 10:07 amTim Tebow is the hottest story in sports. While the Green Bay Packers are charging ahead with an undefeated record, everybody is talking about the Mile High Messiah and Tebowing. How did this happen? What can you learn from it? The Keys to Tebow’s brand success: 1. Be Different. While there is nothing new about the collision of faith and football, Tim Tebow went out of his way to show PDF – public displays of faith. He also lives the life of a church going goodie-goodie. No alcohol, no smoking, no drugs, no sex (he is staying celibate til marriage.) His outspoken and open… -
The Secret of Steve Jobs
9 Nov 2011 | 9:53 pmSteve Jobs was a rebel who didn’t go about life or work in the normal way. He dropped out of college, was a fruitarian for a time and was often called an arrogant, obnoxious, weirdo. Being a rebel, however, wasn’t the secret of Steve Jobs. In our youth-obsessed culture, rebels are a dime a dozen. Steve Jobs was a technology genius. From an early age, he was fascinated by electronics. He tinkered at his father’s workbench and joined his high-school electronics club. Jobs was so gifted that Atari's… -
Netflix Strategy is Right and Wrong
20 Sep 2011 | 1:49 pmThere are several important lessons to be learned from the Netflix brand story. In recent days, the story has heated up after CEO Reed Hasting’s Sunday night email blast and blog post. In his email, Hasting apologized profusely, then turned around and further enraged his loyal 23-million subscriber base by taking the Netflix brand away from its red envelopes. Let me break down the good, the bad and the ugly of this classic story. In the beginning. Netflix was founded in 1997 and two years later it became the subscription-based DVD-by-mail service millions of customers in the United States… -
Walmarts needs to stop being so cheap. At least when it comes to advertising.
22 Aug 2011 | 7:40 amPublished by AdAge.com, August 22 In a down economy with consumers pinching every penny, you would think that sales at a retailer synonymous with "cheap" would be up, not down. Yet sales at Walmart have been down for two years in a row. Actually, that's nine straight quarters of decline. The only good news at Walmart is profits rose this quarter 5.7%, but that was mostly due to cost cutting and international growth.
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Tom Fishburne: Marketoonist
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the five stages of a PR disaster
5 Feb 2012 | 3:01 pmI started sketching this cartoon weeks ago after hearing that Carnival offered a voucher for 30% off future cruises to passengers of the Costa Condordia. Coincidentally this was before last week’s dramatic blunders of Susan G Komen for the Cure. PR crises are nothing new. The field of crisis management originated with the environmental and industrial disasters of the 1980′s (Exxon Valdez, Tylenol). But they are more acute than ever thanks to social media. How a brand handles itself in a crisis is a far greater litmus test of what the brand stands for than any mission statement it… -
abandonment
1 Feb 2012 | 2:32 pmThis is the latest in a marketoon series with Baynote called “Intent to Buy” that parodies the state of e-commerce personalization. The series spotlights the top challenges that marketers face in online experience. Baynote is offering a signed print of this cartoon to every comment or cartoon suggestion posted at the Baynote blog over the next week (by 2/8; U.S. addresses only). -
the social super bowl
29 Jan 2012 | 9:08 pmNext Sunday’s Super Bowl will be one of the biggest social media integrated live events ever, including a 2,800-square-foot social media command center built for the game. Super Bowl advertisers are building social into their campaigns like never before. GM created a Chevy Game Time mobile app to answer trivia, win prizes, and engage during the game. Coke is hosting a live game day watching party on Facebook with its polar bears reacting to the Super Bowl and social media in real time. Others have been drip-feeding teasers of their ads on social media for weeks leading up the games. -
free sample
22 Jan 2012 | 10:45 pmHow we execute matters a lot more than which tactics we execute. A few years ago, I helped launch the method brand in the UK. We thought sampling would help tell the brand story person-to-person. We soon discovered that most in-store sampling treated all brands the same. The sampling staff did their jobs, but it was obvious that our brand was just one of many. They had sampled oatmeal the day before and were sampling a new potato crisp flavor the next day. We were just the brand du jour. So we set out to make our sampling remarkable. Instead of the off-the-shelf samplers, we found performance… -
email offer
19 Jan 2012 | 10:33 amThis is the latest in a marketoon series with Baynote called “Intent to Buy” that parodies the state of e-commerce personalization. The series spotlights the top challenges that marketers face in online experience. Baynote is offering a signed print of this cartoon to every comment or cartoon suggestion posted at the Baynote blog over the next week (by 1/25; U.S. addresses only).
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EveryJoe » Work
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Newt Gingrich Doesn’t Have Eye of the Tiger
30 Jan 2012 | 3:51 pmNewt Gingrich is in trouble. And this time, it doesn’t involve an ex-wife or the polls. Gingrich is in trouble for allegedly using the song “Eye of the Tiger” without permission. He’s being sued for unspecified damages in an Illinois federal court. “Eye of the Tiger” is owned by Rude Music Inc. and was made famous in Rocky III. Rude Music Inc. says that Gingrich has used the song ever since 2009. They reportedly have evidence that he used the song in 2009, 2010 and 2011. In addition to unspecified damages, Rude Music Inc. also wants the judge to order Newt… -
Fox Morning Show Co-Anchor Greg Kelly Accused of Rape
26 Jan 2012 | 2:46 pmGreg Kelly, the co-host of FOX’s “Good Day New York” and the son of Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, has been accused of rape. Not only does the 30-year-old paralegal claim the sexual assault occurred, she also says that she got pregnant and subsequently had an abortion as a result of the attack. The Manhattan district attorney’s office is investigating the allegation, and Kelly has not been charged with any crime as of yet. However, he has “strenuously” denied the charge through his lawyer. The alleged rape occurred back on Oct 8 when the two allegedly met on… -
Could Facebook Shut Down Over SOPA & PIPA?
17 Jan 2012 | 11:30 amIf you are like many people, you are reading a lot about SOPA and PIPA right now. To get the lowdown, check out this post about how SOPA/PIPA can affect you. Also, watch this video about understanding SOPA and PIPA, and find out if Facebook could actually shut down. Though Wikipedia is going dark over SOPA/PIPA tomorrow. Many companies actually support SOPA, from ABC to Visa. Allison Boyer of BlogWorld has a good piece about Why SOPA Scares the You-Know-What Out of Me that talks about a lot of worrisome loopholes. You should also read this article from Daily Kos about the repeated blows SOPA… -
Wikipedia to Go Dark on Wednesday to Protest SOPA & PIPA
17 Jan 2012 | 8:13 amThe U.S. government is currently considering to bills that are causing quite a stir — the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). According to TechCrunch, “Websites found to offer pirated content, along with the services that they use, could be hidden from US internet users by being delisted on search engines and potentially on DNS servers themselves.” Many people believe with these bills, we’d be heading down a slippery slope and the legislation could threaten free speech. Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales has decided to send a message by going dark for… -
How Twitter Can Backfire
17 Jan 2012 | 7:08 amIf you own a business, you might rush out and put your business on Twitter. While this is a good idea most of the time, you should also be aware of how Twitter can backfire and hurt your business. Check out our list below to see if your company is in danger. Lack of Updates If you have a Twitter page for your business that isn’t updated regularly, people may think your business is unreliable. Or they may think your business is out of business. Sounding Like Spam If all you use Twitter for is to talk about your products without any other sort of interaction, your company may get a…
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Adweek : Advertising & Branding
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ABC Sells Out Oscars
8 Feb 2012 | 5:35 pmOn the heels of NBC’s lucrative Super Bowl sell-off, ABC has moved the last remaining advertising inventory in its 84th annual Academy Awards broadcast. Speaking to investors during the Walt Disney Co.’s quarterly earnings call, Mouse House president and CEO Bob Iger told investors ABC sold out the Feb. 26 Academy Awards “about a week ago.” Iger added that demand was such that some marketers had to be turned away. While Iger did not comment on pricing, sources say ABC was able to land an average unit cost of $1.7 million—roughly on par with what clients spent for… -
Fast Chat: Possible Worldwide CEO Trevor Kaufman’s On Partnership With Grey
8 Feb 2012 | 1:47 pmPossible Worldwide and Grey’s Europe, Middle East and Africa division have formed a partnership that will see the two WPP shops collaborating on accounts, starting with shared client Procter & Gamble. Adweek talked with Possible Worldwide’s global CEO Trevor Kaufman’s about the pairing. Adweek: What brought about the partnership with Grey? We really bought into it in order to come up with a more consolidated offer for P&G, and to create the kind of team that is successful for WPP in situations like Team Ford, where we have these cross-agency teams that work… -
DDB Seeks New Biz Chief for U.S.
8 Feb 2012 | 11:23 amDDB is seeking a new business development chief amid the exit of Brandon Snow, which leaves open a critical position at the Omnicom Group agency. Snow, who assumed the role of U.S. director of business development in August 2008, is returning to his former employer, the National Basketball Association. Generating new business is essential at DDB right now, given some significant account erosion last year. On Snow's watch, DDB and sibling Tribal DDB became key players on Intel’s roster of creative agencies, and DDB expanded its relationship with Mars. The shop also won H&R… -
James Franco Tries Advertising, Directs Spots for Seven Jeans
8 Feb 2012 | 11:21 amOh look, James Franco is doing something new with a camera. The actor, etc., is adding adman to his already-crowded resume by directing a series of 10 spots for designer jeans maker 7 For All Mankind (a brand also known simply as Seven). The brand won't start trickling out the clips on YouTube until Feb. 15. But it's teasing the campaign—in which Franco collaborated with Seven's creative agency, Lipman—with a lengthy breakdown in WWD and the behind-the-scenes video below, starring the back of Franco's head and the army of gyrating, scantily clad girls that's… -
Grainy Footage Reveals Draftfcb's Unorthodox Training Methods
8 Feb 2012 | 11:02 amLong has it been wondered: Where do Draftfcb creatives get their ideas? And how are Draftfcb account people so adept at dealing with clients? Thanks to the two videos below, we have our answers. It seems the creative process involves placing staffers in a "centrifuge for ideas" and extracting their insights in liquid form, before sending the workers back—wobbly but unharmed—to the creative department. The account folks have it even rougher. They're forced to scale and balance a giant, rickety, unstable "testing apparatus that simulates the client-agency…
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SimpliFlying
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[Infographic] The first-ever insights into how airlines are using Google Plus
8 Feb 2012 | 7:45 amThe new kid on the social block In the world of social media Google Plus is currently the youngest and least understood (albeit, fast rising in popularity) kid on the block. Over its relatively short life it has earned its fair share of both lovers and haters, generating an interesting debate on what it will become when it grows up, and whether it is worth investing in it. When Google Plus was finally opened to businesses with the launch of its business pages there was a rush from companies all over the world to get a G+ page, but as our CEO Shashank Nigam warned in an article about the… -
Driving revenues and engaging customers in-flight – presentation from Airline Retail Conference #arc2012
7 Feb 2012 | 1:23 amI delivered a speech today at the Airline Retail Conference 2012 in Singapore, around the topic of driving revenues and engaging customers using the latest in-flight entertainment and connectivity technologies. The focus was around leveraging three key shifts: Gadgets in-flight – personal and those supplied by the airlines The connected traveler – and how to drive engagement and revenue Learning from other retail models – in this case Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Tesco in Korea Sharing here my Prezi presentation. The recorded video will be available soon too, so… -
Vote for the SimpliFlying Hero of February 2011 – Finnair vs Delta Air Lines vs Malaysia Airlines
7 Feb 2012 | 12:06 amIt’s been a truly exciting start to the year! Our revamped SimpliFlying Heroes initiative received over 3000 votes last month; we launched the new SimpliFlying Podcasts; we expanded the SimpliFlying team and now we begin the second month of the year with the promise of more good things to come! On that note, let’s continue building on what we started last month. Each month we nominate three rockstars from the aviation industry who’ve led their airlines to dazzling heights on the social web through their innovations and cutting-edge initiatives. As usual, voting will… -
KLM Meet and Seat – social seating for airlines: Live and Exclusive from Amsterdam #meetseat
3 Feb 2012 | 2:24 amFirst, a bit of history. Social seating goes back a long time at SimpliFlying. We were actually the first to point out that choosing potential seating partners via an intelligent social seating system in an airplane would ultimately go mainstream – that was a product powered by our good friends at Satisfly. This was way back in 2009 – almost three years ago! Then in 2010, we discussed incorporating social media in the flying experience – and showcased Twitter seating charts. Then, last year, there were significant indications of things to come with Malaysia Airlines allowing… -
Can AirAsiaX make the low-cost long-haul model work with focus on Asia-Pacific? Interview with CEO Azran Osman-Rani
31 Jan 2012 | 11:28 pmIt might seem like an anxious start to the new year for AirAsia X, which recently announced that it would be introducing a daily KL-Sydney service and terminating all its flights to Europe and India. Far from being in the doldrums, it’s all part of the airline’s strategy to refocus and strengthen its brand, as its CEO Azran Osman-Rani shared with SimpliFlying in our latest airline strategy podcast. Listen to the exclusive podcast below. Your browser does not support the audio element. (c) 2012 SimpliFlying Podcasts Note: The HTML5 player above should work with most modern browsers…
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More Than A Logo
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Contextual Content is King
29 Jan 2012 | 11:58 amNote: This is the first program to air on TV, where people started to see a meaningful need for one of these big boxes in their home over a radio. I've been thinking a lot about content lately, and how we've grown to be so dependent on it. But not only that, it has to be the right content on the right channel in the right moment. Content is no longer king on its own. Rather, it's contextually relevant content that's king. This concept isn't new in the slightest. Just look at the TV. No one could rationalise why they would ever need a TV over a radio for information and… -
Patagonia - Legally Bound to its Purpose
20 Jan 2012 | 11:00 pmFinally, a brand, other than Apple, we can express immense admiration for, or as my flatmate tweeted this week, "open-mouth kiss" - hello Patagonia! Last week, I wrote about its Common Threads initiative, where Patagonia clearly establishes its role/purpose within the global community - "to build useful things that last, to repair what breaks and recycle what comes of its useful life"- then asks its customers to do the same to help accomplish its purpose. Now, Patagonia has asked the government to help it truly live by its purpose without boundaries, becoming California's first Benefit… -
2012 - Let's Say Less and Play More
15 Jan 2012 | 11:00 pmImage Found Here Happy 2012!! I think we're in for another exciting year, and I'm rather pleased where branding is going, maybe slowly, but it's in the right direction...let me explain... With so much distrust and uncertainty - lots of skepticism - towards corporations and advertising, people are more receptive to brands that are consistent in their actions, transparent with information and good to everyone around them. However, a consistent, transparent and good brand cannot be developed through an ad campaign any more. People are too smart and have endless access to information… -
Happy Holidays
11 Dec 2011 | 6:21 amNote: Image from flickr With another year coming to a close and an exciting 2012 just around the corner, I'm going to sign off from my blog while I travel back to Canada to spend some time with family and friends for the holidays!! Thank you for continuing to follow my blog and challenge me to explore my great passion for branding and all that it encompasses and impacts! Although I would have loved to write so much more, this year was very exciting with many adventures, from making the difficult decision to leave Blast Radius, to volunteering in Tanzania for a month and then coming back to… -
The Experience is the Brand
27 Nov 2011 | 4:04 amA couple weeks ago, my flat mate, Roger, made a wrong turn and went to use the map on his Blackberry (having just switched from an iPhone - I should note not by choice), and it was anything but an intuitive experience. This led to an immediate trip to the Apple store, where he bought the new iPhone outright, and will never look back at Blackberry (BB) again. This got us talking about where BB went wrong, and why the once market leader in smartphones seems to be stumbling all over the place. I believe BB lost sight of its core competency - mobile business solutions. Rather than focusing on its…
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Healthy Conversations
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Healthcare marketing: outside the traditional box
8 Feb 2012 | 12:42 pmInspiration can always be found outside your category. Case in point being: Nestle’s New Weight Loss Programme Pairs Pets With Their Owners. Nestle’ launched this unique initiative in the US to help pet owners and their furry friends shed excess pounds together. The company’s pet and people weight management experts have teamed up to give owners of overweight pets an online program to help both them and their animals lose weight. Is this initiative relevant to healthcare? Absolutely. You just need to be open to looking at everything fresh. Consider the power of friends… -
The true power of your healthcare brand
3 Feb 2012 | 9:28 amEverything starts with the desire to be more than you are today. Holds true for your healthcare organization. And your customer’s. – You want to be a stronger brand. They want to be stronger individuals. – You want to be more skilled in what you deliver. They want to be able to accomplish more than they can on their own. – You want to be a better employer. They want to be a better parent, sister, brother, individual. – You want to leave a legacy. So do they. Think more deeply about your opportunity. And theirs. The intersection is where magic can happen. -
Maximizing your healthcare system or hospital brand
29 Jan 2012 | 2:33 pmYour brand is the platform through which your communities and patients, and in turn, your healthcare system or hospital brand, grow stronger. We presented to the Board of a healthcare system client last week. We’re rebranding the organization and were reporting on our Discovery and initial Strategy direction. To provide context for our presentation we opened with a few slides titled “Great Brands.” This cross-functional senior team, comprised of employees and community members, don’t spend much time thinking about the “b” word, so we wanted to make sure… -
Insight for healthcare marketers: rise of the e-patient
25 Jan 2012 | 6:51 amGood presentation from Pew Internet Project Director Lee Rainie to Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, CA, on understanding social networking and online health information seeking. You can view the presentation here. Key takeaways: • new social operating system: networked individualism • impacts include: “second opinions, allies and complements for care delivery, providers assessed and judged in public ways” • empowered and engaged: 61% getting health info on line, 29% contributing, 19% consult rankings/reviews of providers and hospitals • relevancy of mobile:… -
Health brands’ “ideal-driven” opportunity
18 Jan 2012 | 7:47 amImproving lives = customer and brand energy = brand success. Great article on mediapost.com – Fastest-Growing Brands Are Ideal-Driven. It recaps the research conducted by Millward Brown and Jim Stengel, former global marketing officer of P&G. It seems that the common denominator across the 50 brands showing the fastest growth both in depth of customer relationships and financial value between 2000 and 2010 is that they’ve been built on an ideal of improving lives in some way. By “ideal, they’re referring to a “higher-order” purpose or benefit that the company/brand…
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singapore - Google News
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Singapore warns US on anti-China rhetoric - Bangkok Post
8 Feb 2012 | 7:34 pmBBC NewsSingapore warns US on anti-China rhetoricBangkok PostSingapore urged the United States to be careful in comments on China, warning that suggestions of a strategy to contain the rising power could cause strife in Asia. File photo shows a lamp post adorned with Chinese and US national flags in front of the Singapore warns US against anti-China election rhetoricBBC Newsall 31 news articles » -
Indians in Singapore Lured to Property Back Home by Rupee's Drop - San Francisco Chronicle
8 Feb 2012 | 7:27 pmBloombergIndians in Singapore Lured to Property Back Home by Rupee's DropSan Francisco Chronicle9 (Bloomberg) -- Vivek Sharma, like many Indians who came to Singapore for work, failed to jump into the island state's booming property market before the government imposed taxes to deter foreign buyers. Now, he is joining thousands of his compatriots Indians in SG Lured Back Home by Rupee's DropBloombergSingapore Airlines to operate 2 more flights from MumbaiEconomic Timesall 6 news articles » -
Singapore Hot Stocks-OUE rises; CIMB ups target price - Reuters
8 Feb 2012 | 6:58 pmSingapore Hot Stocks-OUE rises; CIMB ups target priceReutersSINGAPORE Feb 9 (Reuters) - Singapore's property developer Overseas Union Enterprise Ltd (OUE) rose as much as 3.4 percent to a five-month high after brokerage CIMB upgraded its target price, citing a recent underperformance. By 0240 GMT on Thursday, and more » -
Singapore Stock Movers: IPC, Marco Polo Marine, Otto, SingTel - Bloomberg
8 Feb 2012 | 6:51 pmSingapore Stock Movers: IPC, Marco Polo Marine, Otto, SingTelBloombergSingapore's Straits Times Index (FSSTI) fell 0.4 percent to 2971.07 as of 10:25 am local time, heading for its first decline in five days. Three shares dropped for each that rose in the 30-member gauge. The following were among the most active shares Singapore Hot Stocks-IPC jumps as tycoon increases stakeReutersall 4 news articles » -
PREVIEW: Strong Loan Volumes Likely Supported Singapore Banks' 4Q Earnings - Fox Business
8 Feb 2012 | 6:45 pmPREVIEW: Strong Loan Volumes Likely Supported Singapore Banks' 4Q EarningsFox BusinessTAKING THE PULSE: Persistently strong lending growth is expected to have supported Singapore bank earnings in the fourth quarter in spite of uncertainties about the global economy and local government efforts to temper the city-state's hot property and more »
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Singapore News
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Zoom in on fighter jets at next week's Singapore Airshow
8 Feb 2012 | 5:23 pmNearly three years after being put into action, Singapore's latest fighter jet, the F-15SG, has a new mission - to wow spectators at next week's Singapore Airshow. -
MPs seem willing to take pay cut
8 Feb 2012 | 6:55 amA UK backbencher earns around $104,500 a year. In Singapore - pictured - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is to take a 36 per cent pay reduction, while his Cabinet faces similar cuts. -
Final farewell to PAP founding chairman Dr Toh Chin ChyeFor the...
7 Feb 2012 | 5:35 pmFor the fourth time in six years, the flags on government buildings flew at half-mast in mourning on Tuesday. -
Hanging Out at Singapore's Changi Airport: So Many Gardens
7 Feb 2012 | 10:16 amThere's a reason Singapore-Changi International Airport consistently wins awards; it's because the place is ah-may-zing. After spending much time at the three main terminals earlier this week, we're sharing with you our favorite, can't-miss bits of this massive travel hub. -
Singapore faces growing pains as setbacks pile up
7 Feb 2012 | 7:11 amSenior officials arrested in a corruption investigation. Subway commuters trapped underground without light or proper ventilation.
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The Straits Times Blogs
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Under a Big Sky
26 Jan 2012 | 12:51 amThere is a surreal beauty about the vast reservoir on Laos' Nakai plateau. Authorities are hoping the body of water half the size of Singapore, under a huge sky, surrounded by range upon range of blue-green hills clothed in tropical jungle, will eventually attract tourists. On a study trip organised by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Nam Theun 2 Power Company (NTPC) last year, a group of journalists from the region including The Straits Times were given extensive access to the reservoir, the dam and power station, and relocated villagers, most of whom are 'Vietic' people; Laos is a… -
Why don't the LionsXII have their own website?
18 Jan 2012 | 8:42 pmThree games in, a 2-1 home win against Kuala Lumpur and over a month since they were unveiled, the LionsXII are still lacking an official team website. When contacted, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) said earlier this week that an official page was in the works and would be announced at a later date, and directed me to the official FAS website, where there are news postings on the LionsXII. Yet, even on the official FAS site, the LionsXII do not have their own section, which may be confusing to someone searching for more information on the team. It said in a reply to The Straits… -
Measuring MPs who use social media
13 Jan 2012 | 2:30 pmOn a Tuesday morning in September 2011, we at Bell Pottinger Digital held a collaboration meeting with The Straits Times' Political Desk in our Suntec City office to conceive and design a social media research project that would prove to be challenging and ambitious. At first, the task seemed straightforward. Analyse how politicians use social media in Singapore. Simple enough. The team had already done "social media scanning” and “thematic analysis” on the Presidential election few months back. Why not use the frameworks and techniques which we had used for the previous project? Not… -
A power tablet for gamers
12 Jan 2012 | 10:33 pmTwo gadgets caught my eye at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Firstly, gaming company Razer has a bold and stunning gaming tablet concept. Code-named Fiona, it is a tablet souped up to play PC games such as Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, Tom Clancy's HAWX 2, and Assassin's Creed: Revelations out of the box. Razer's gaming tablet concept Fiona -- PHOTO: GRACE CHNG Not for the faint-hearted and definitely not for the casual gamer who wants to play Cut The Cable or Angry Birds, the specifications will set gamers’ hearts beating fast. It is powered by Intel's Core i7 Ive… -
Looking for the young Chinese next door
22 Dec 2011 | 1:16 am1) How did you come up with the idea for the project? The idea for the project came about through our usual photographers' informal idea-storming sessions. People often ask where ideas come from. But really, it's hard to pinpoint because sometimes ideas bounce around so much we end up with a mishmash of everyone's inputs. As far as I remember for this project, it started out with my interest in doing something about young people in Singapore, particularly about the children of rich expats here. My colleague, Samuel, then suggested focusing on young Chinese in Singapore and we decided to go…
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our life in Singapore
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Oscar's Countdown..... part four
4 Feb 2012 | 4:39 amThe appoint at the vets went well yesterday ...If you have already read "Oscar's Countdown ... part three" you would know what the problem was and why the repeat of the blood work!Parts ONE and TWO, are here, so you have a fair idea of what it has been like to import Oscar into Australia. in summary: the blood had not been collected in the correct vial!!!!The vet had rung us on Thursday afternoon at 3.45pm asking if we could get him back to the clinic ASAP as the blood had to be at the Government Lab by 4.30pm. This was not possible as we were at the Gleneagles Hospital (appoint… -
Oscar's Countdown..... part three
2 Feb 2012 | 5:41 amno doubt you have read Parts ONE and TWO, so you have a fair idea of what it has been like to import Oscar into Australia. I realise these blog posts will not be of interest to many people, but the detailed posts are mostly for others that may find themselves in a similar situation with importing their pet into Australia.Better to know now what may need to be done and when!Today is Thursday February 2, the day Oscar was at the vet to get his blood work done for the Australian Quarantine to allow him to enter Australia.above image:Oscar at the vets this morning.The lights were on in the… -
Oscar's Countdown..... part one
2 Feb 2012 | 4:47 amWe are in the process of exporting Oscar out of Singapore and importing him to Australia, Oscar being our Tenterfield Terrier that is nearly 14 years of age.On 5th March 2007 I blogged about Pokey and Oscar's iminent arrival into Singapore HERE, then two days later I blogged about their arrival into Singapore HERE .... it all seems to long ago now. Well I guess it is in a dogs life, 5 years is a long time!Though we no longer have Pokey with us (he died on 7 July 2011) and the blog is HERE, we still have to get Oscar back home. To import the dogs into Singapore was just so easy, we felt no… -
Oscar's Countdown..... part two
2 Feb 2012 | 4:46 amplease read previous blog post titled:Oscar's Countdown..... part one*detailed blog post is to hopefully help others in similar situation*after we rec'd the first email from AQIS we sent a letter saying we would agree to all their terms, and in part my email reads as follows:We have read, understood and agree totally with AQIS requirements.Oscar's brother died here in Singapore in July, we were heart broken beyond belief and just could not imagine leaving Oscar behind as well. They were brothers and together their whole life (of 14 years) so yes, we will try our best to get Oscar… -
When in doubt, leave it out.
27 Jan 2012 | 1:03 amIt's been over a week since my last blog post - about packing - and its not because I am lazy, as that is far from the truth! This packing business is taking on huge proportions and is far bigger than we first realised. The packing is much harder 'going back' than when we first moved over and I have no idea why. Am sure we have a more now than when we first arrived in February 2007.For those considering a relocation or thinking about becoming an expat, be warned. If you decide to move OS for just a couple of years - travel lightly. The #1 piece of advice you hear from frequent…
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Straits Times Interactive - SINGAPORE
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Watch the Changing of Guards at the Istana this Sunday
8 Feb 2012 | 6:36 pmThose enjoying their Sunday in the Orchard area may want to take in the changing of the Istana Guards at 6pm on Feb 12. Related StoriesYaw Shin Leong's ex-wife sheds some light on break-upNUS seeks to increase tuition fees for incoming batchMalaysian Super League: Sundram pleased with drawMalaysian Super League: Little enthusiasm to rekindle rivalryMore family service centres, additional funding in coming years -
More family service centres, additional funding in coming years
8 Feb 2012 | 6:12 pmFamily service centres (FSCs) will get another $30 million in funds over the next three years to cope with an expected surge in demand. Related StoriesYaw Shin Leong's ex-wife sheds some light on break-upNUS seeks to increase tuition fees for incoming batchMalaysian Super League: Sundram pleased with drawMalaysian Super League: Little enthusiasm to rekindle rivalryWatch the Changing of Guards at the Istana this Sunday -
SCDF to step up efforts to educate the public on emergency calls
8 Feb 2012 | 2:00 pmThe Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) will step up efforts to educate the public on when it is appropriate to call 995 for its emergency ambulance service. This, after the number of calls for non-emergencies, such as toothaches and slight burns, rose by 40.5 per cent to almost 3,000 last year from 2,131 calls in 2010.Related StoriesNUS seeks to increase tuition fees for incoming batchMalaysian Super League: Sundram pleased with drawMalaysian Super League: Little enthusiasm to rekindle rivalryWatch the Changing of Guards at the Istana this SundayMore family service centres, additional… -
RWS' lucky draw 'winner' still a no-show
8 Feb 2012 | 2:00 pmThe woman whose name was picked first in a lucky draw at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) on Monday has not contacted the resort to claim the $88,000 grand prize. Related StoriesNUS seeks to increase tuition fees for incoming batchMalaysian Super League: Sundram pleased with drawMalaysian Super League: Little enthusiasm to rekindle rivalryWatch the Changing of Guards at the Istana this SundayMore family service centres, additional funding in coming years -
'More Singapore properties in KL cows-and-condos scandal'
8 Feb 2012 | 2:00 pmKUALA LUMPUR - Embattled Cabinet Minister Shahrizat Jalil was hit by fresh allegations on Wednesday that her family had bought two luxury condo units in Marina Bay Suites, Singapore for over $7 million each.Related StoriesNUS seeks to increase tuition fees for incoming batchMalaysian Super League: Sundram pleased with drawMalaysian Super League: Little enthusiasm to rekindle rivalryWatch the Changing of Guards at the Istana this SundayMore family service centres, additional funding in coming years
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Arabian Business - Banking & Finance
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UAE's $2.7bn debt fund signs deals with lenders
8 Feb 2012 | 7:20 amRescue fund set up to pay off debts of low-income citizens inks agreements with banks -
Abu Dhabi's Waha eyes doubling assets by 2017
8 Feb 2012 | 6:53 amCEO Salem Rashid al-Noaimi says mulling investments in maritime, oil and gas sectors -
Dubai's Damas appoints firm to advise on Mannai deal
8 Feb 2012 | 5:52 amJeweller said to recruit Japan's Nomura after receiving potential offer from Qatar's Mannai -
Saudi's Riyad Bank sees profits rising in 2012
7 Feb 2012 | 8:25 amSenior official says he expects profits to increase this year, boosted by gov't spending -
Qatar surplus surges on energy revenues
7 Feb 2012 | 7:21 amState budget turns hefty surplus of 25.6% of quarterly economic output - official data
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Advertising Age - GoodWorks
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News Corp. Profit Rises on Higher TV Fees, Advertising
8 Feb 2012 | 3:36 pmNews Corp. shares have gained 8.6% since the hacking scandal erupted, but it's spent $104 million dealing with the fallout and bought back $2.7 billion in shares. -
Groupon Reports Loss in First Quarterly Filing After IPO
8 Feb 2012 | 2:53 pmGroupon outperformed analysts' revenue expectations on Tuesday by announcing $506.5 million in revenue for the last quarter, more than double the revenue from the year-earlier period. But it still reported a net loss. -
GlaxoSmithKline Moves Global Aquafresh Account to TBWA From Grey
8 Feb 2012 | 2:31 pmGlaxoSmithKline is moving the global creative account for Aquafresh toothpaste from Grey Group to TBWA Worldwide, which will manage the business out of London, said people familiar with the matter. -
Chrysler's Olivier Francois Dishes on Getting Clint Eastwood in the Game
8 Feb 2012 | 2:13 pmSo how did Chrysler approach Clint Eastwood to star in its Super Bowl spot? Very carefully. -
RB Pumps up Spending in Developing Markets
8 Feb 2012 | 1:34 pmReckitt Benckiser will invest around $160 million more in marketing globally but report it through a "Brand Equity Index" that puts more emphasis on digital.
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Advertising Age - Blog Posts
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FlowingData's Nathan Yau: The AdAgeStat Q&A
7 Feb 2012 | 7:37 amPart inspiration and part hands-on tutorial, the FlowingData blog is required reading for anyone into data visualization. Its author, Nathan Yau, sat down with us for a (virtual) Q&A. -
Time for Brands to Play Moneyball, Too
7 Feb 2012 | 7:00 amThe old ways of finding 'prospects,' such as targeting with demographics, are growing as outmoded as thinking that a team shouldn't draft a player because his girlfriend is ugly. -
Why the 2012 Presidential Race Will Be Defined By Data
6 Feb 2012 | 11:55 amForget the Twitter election; in 2012 the presidential campaigns will break new ground in use of data to target advertising. -
Stat of the Day: Which NFL Teams Draw the Best Playoff Ratings?
3 Feb 2012 | 8:40 amHere's an exclusive look at which NFL teams draw the best playoff ratings with a bonus list of markets that tune in even after their team is knocked out. -
Patriots Lead Chatter, But Giants Have More True Fans In Social Media
3 Feb 2012 | 7:45 amWhich ones have the truest fans of all? With social media we can begin to answer that question.
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Advertising Age - Agency News
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GlaxoSmithKline Moves Global Aquafresh Account to TBWA From Grey
8 Feb 2012 | 2:31 pmGlaxoSmithKline is moving the global creative account for Aquafresh toothpaste from Grey Group to TBWA Worldwide, which will manage the business out of London, said people familiar with the matter. -
Zimmerman Lands Extended Hotels
8 Feb 2012 | 1:00 pmOmnicom Group's Zimmerman has been named agency of record for Extended Stay Hotels following a review. -
Anomaly to Add Toronto Office, With Budweiser as First Client
8 Feb 2012 | 12:59 pmAccording to CEO Carl Johnson, an Anomaly office will be up and running in Canada by April. The shop is the global brand agency for Budweiser. -
Carter Murray Named CEO of Y&R, New York; Tom Sebok Departs
8 Feb 2012 | 12:30 pmDavid Sable has granted Y&R's new North American chief, Carter Murray, the additional role of CEO of Y&R New York. Current CEO Tom Sebok is leaving, effective immediately. -
GNC Selects Edelman as PR Shop, Seeks to Capitalize on Mainstream Wellness Interest
7 Feb 2012 | 2:58 pmGNC has hired Edelman as its PR agency of record after a competitive review that began last fall. The retailer is riding a wave that has its stock price up nearly 80% since its IPO last April.
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Advertising Age - The Media Guy
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Is OK Go's Chevy-Sponsored Music Video One of the Best Product Placements Ever?
6 Feb 2012 | 10:52 amYesterday OK Go expanded its incomparable viral-video oeuvre with "Needing/Getting," excerpts of which appeared in a Super Bowl ad for Chevy Sonic. -
Watch a Ridiculously Charming Fan Video for Sonic Drive-In
1 Feb 2012 | 12:09 pmA video titled "I Love Sonic" was posted on YouTube yesterday, but it's exploding today after landing on Reddit's home page. -
A Few Grim Truths About Media Right Now (and One Happy One)
28 Jan 2012 | 9:00 pmAs Ad Age's "Media Guy," it's technically my job to try to make sense of the media world. Here's a quick download of what I've figured out lately. -
Ad Age Reports That HuffPo Reports That Hollywood Life Reports That Us Weekly Reports ...
14 Jan 2012 | 9:00 pmWhen one site picks up the information of another site that got it from yet another source, web reporting becomes little more than a game of telephone. -
Fab.com Sold 20,000 Magazine Subscriptions Last Month
10 Jan 2012 | 4:00 amWe know Apple's newsstand helps sales of magazines' app editions. Here's an example of a promising new channel for print-subscription sales: daily-deals sites.
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Advertising Age - Small Agency Diary
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When It's Bursting at the Seams, an Agency's True Colors Show
7 Feb 2012 | 9:41 amWhen it feels as if the wheels are about to come off an agency, it is a moment of truth. It's when an agency learns whether its people have the resiliency and imagination to outgrow its problems or whether they stay stuck in the present. Succeed and you emerge a stronger, maybe bigger agency. Fail and the agency shrinks back to its natural level of comfort. -
Are We Ever Going to Top the Greatest Super Bowl Ad of All Time?
3 Feb 2012 | 8:23 amIf we compare the most popular Super Bowl commercials from year to year, they all fall short of the one that got this magnificent obsession going in the first place: Apple's "1984." That iconic creation still leads everyone's list of the best ever. Why haven't we taken another huge leap and topped it? -
Two True Hall of Famers in the Ad Business: One Famous, One Not
26 Jan 2012 | 9:26 amTwo inductees into the One Club's Hall of Fame, Rob Lawton, co-founder of Creative Circus, and Apple's Steve Jobs both pushed others to achieve the impossible. -
Paterno's Legacy Includes Lessons for Building a Great Brand
25 Jan 2012 | 8:03 amJoe Paterno's model for successful marketing of a national brand: set a smart strategy, instill the right cultural values and execute at the highest level. -
Study: More Regional Ad Agencies Budget for Digital Specialists
17 Jan 2012 | 1:57 pmSocial content, web development, analytics and display are significantly different specialties. Yet most agencies don't have the budget to hire full-timers.
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Advertising Age - Ad Age Events
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DG Free Webcast: Increasing TV Advertising Impact in a High Definition World
25 Jan 2012 | 11:44 am2:00PM ET / 11:00AM PT -
Cross Platform Video Measurement Summit - A joint event from ANA, 4A's, ARF and the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM)
18 Jan 2012 | 1:24 pmTime Life Auditorium, 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York 10020, 12:30PM -
ANA TV & Everything Video Forum
18 Jan 2012 | 1:07 pmNew York Marriott Marquis, 1535 Broadway, New York, NY 10036 -
thismoment Free Webcast: Content Creation From Burden To Opportunity: The Benefits of User-Generated Content
3 Jan 2012 | 9:20 am2pm ET / 11am PT -
Digital Conference 2012
20 Dec 2011 | 11:11 amIn six years, the Ad Age Digital East Conference has grown into a marquee event in the marketing world, drawing more than 700 attendees over its two days. Our goal is to showcase the best and most interesting digital innovation, highlight how technology i...
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Advertising Age - Additional Industry Events
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3rd Internal Branding & Employee Engagement Conference
6 Feb 2012 | 11:36 amToronto, Canada -
CRMC 2012: The Premier Event for Retail Marketing & CRM Executives
26 Jan 2012 | 7:23 amHyatt Regency Downtown Chicago, Chicago, IL -
RoadShow Webinar Featuring DreamWorks Animation
19 Jan 2012 | 8:16 amwww.laofficelounge.com, 11:00AM PST / 2:00PM EST -
WAA Austin Symposium
18 Jan 2012 | 1:42 pmRenaissance Hotel, 9721 Arboretum Boulevard, Austin, TX, 1:00PM - 7:00PM -
Catch the Wave: Analytical Success Stories from West Coast Marketers
3 Jan 2012 | 1:40 pmThe Sheraton Delfina, Santa Monica, CA Symposium: 1:00-5:00pm, Reception: 5:00-7:00pm
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BMW News Feed
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BMW of North America Unveils Six Playful Digital Shorts
2 Feb 2012 | 1:18 pmBMW of North America Unveils Six Playful Digital Shorts as Part of National Advertising Campaign Launching the All-New BMW 3 Series Two Shorts to Appear in Ads During Super Bowl XLVI: One in the New York Tri-State Area; Other in Southern California-Los Angeles, Atlanta and Houston Areas Woodcliff Lake, NJ – February 2, 2012…BMW of North America today unveiled a series of six playful digital shorts as part of a new national advertising campaign in support of the launch of the all-new BMW 3 Series Sedan, which goes on sale February 11. Two of the shorts will also air in ads during Super… -
INSIDETRACK February 2012: BEAUTY SELDOM SEEN: BMW 6 SERIES GRAN COUPE
1 Feb 2012 | 12:39 pmA GRAN NEW CONCEPT IN POWER, COMFORT AND CONTROL Take the classic BMW 6 Series formula: a mixture of luxurious elegance, dashing contours and high-powered dynamism. Add a new four-door coupe design, new optional Adaptive LED Headlights, and a long list of driving and comfort innovations, and you’ve got the all-new 2013 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe. A driver-centric cockpit and an optional 16-speaker Bang & Olufsen surround sound system complement the elegant interior trims and supple leather upholstery. While it borrows from the looks of its two-door siblings, the unique 6 Series Gran Coupe also… -
The BMW ActiveHybrid 5
27 Jan 2012 | 12:07 pmThe BMW ActiveHybrid 5 Full Hybrid Power comes to the 5 Series Sedan Woodcliff Lake, NJ – January 27, 2012 … BMW takes the development of intelligent hybrid drive systems to the next level with the introduction of the BMW ActiveHybrid 5 – another series-produced model in which a combustion engine and electric motor join forces to enhance both efficiency and the brand’s hallmark driving pleasure. The BMW ActiveHybrid 5 brings together a BMW TwinPower Turbo in-line 6-cylinder engine, an electric drive system and an 8-speed automatic gearbox for the first time. The latest… -
2013 BMW X6 Sports Activity Coupe – now even more exceptional
27 Jan 2012 | 11:12 am2013 BMW X6 Sports Activity Coupe Still unique – now even more exceptional Woodcliff Lake, NJ – January 25, 2012… BMW today revealed the first images and information about the newly updated 2013 BMW X6 Sports Activity Coupe which arrives in US BMW Centers this spring. The world's first-ever Sports Activity Coupe stills offers a unique combination of sporty dynamics, versatility and unmatched character. Select design updates and innovative features further hone the profile of the new BMW X6 as a distinctive model within the premium segment of all-wheel-drive vehicles. Its ongoing… -
2012 GRAND-AM Season Takes Green Flag at BMW Performance 200
20 Jan 2012 | 12:19 pm2012 GRAND-AM Season Takes Green Flag at BMW Performance 200 BMW Drivers Ready for 50th Annual Rolex 24 at Daytona Weekend Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – January 20, 2012…With the waving of the green flag to start the January 27th BMW Performance 200, the opening round of this year’s Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, the 2012 North American sports car racing season gets underway for more than 50 BMW drivers gathered for the Grand-Am Sports Car Series 50th Rolex 24 at Daytona weekend. The BMW Performance 200 will see the 16 BMWs entered in the Grand Sport and Street Tuner classes led to…
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BMW BLOG
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Rumor: BMW 335d phased out in U.S. in favor of ActiveHybrid 3
8 Feb 2012 | 7:32 pmRumor of the day comes from Auto123 magazine which reports on BMW’s plans to phase out the 335d model for the U.S. market. According to the Canadian magazine that doesn’t quote any official sources, the only diesel 3 Series for the North American market will be replaced by the new ActiveHybrid 3. BMW’s first 50-state-legal diesel delivers 265 hp at 4220 rpm, and an all too fun 425 lb-ft of torque between 1750 and 2250 rpm. Driving through a six-speed automatic transmission, this engine propels the 335d from 0 to 60 mph in 6.0 sec while delivering 23 mpg city and 36 mpg on the… -
Spy Photos: F31 BMW 3 Series Touring
8 Feb 2012 | 2:17 pmAt the upcoming Leipzig Auto Show in June, BMW is expected to unveil the next generation F31 3 Series Touring. As expected, the F31 Touring picks up the design details from the new 3 Series Sedan and adds the typical sport wagon lines. The spy photos showcase the usual psychedelic camouflage that hides the final design cues, but we don’t expect any major changes at the front or rear-end. In Europe, the entry level model will be the 320d producing 184 horsepower. Next in the line-up is the more powerful 325d which uses the twin-turbo 218 horsepower four-cylinder engine from the 525d. The… -
Spy Video: BMW i8
8 Feb 2012 | 1:51 pmIn 2014, BMW will bring to market the i-sub brand flagship, i8 hybrid sportscar. An i8 prototype was spied during cold weather testing and interesting enough, it continues to sport the gullwing doors seen on the i8 concept revealed last year. Initially previewed by the Vision EfficientDynamics (Vision ED) concept back in 2009, the super-sporty two-door i8 has already undergone over two years of intensive development. The major change is a new 1.5 liter petrol engine replacing the initial diesel unit of same capacity. The engine is mounted at the rear and drives via a dual-clutch gearbox. The… -
BMW Group makes successful start to new year
8 Feb 2012 | 11:22 amThe BMW Group increased its sales significantly in January. A total of 112,163 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles were delivered to customers (prev. yr. 105,193) – an increase of 6.6%. “We made a successful start to the new year, selling more BMW brand vehicles than ever before in the month of January. The BMW Group reported strong sales gains in the Asian and North American markets, among others,” said Ian Robertson, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Sales and Marketing. The new BMW 3 Series Sedan, scheduled for worldwide release in mid-February, will… -
BMWBLOG Test Drive : 2012 BMW 335i Luxury Line
8 Feb 2012 | 10:27 amAfter a morning session of lapping the 2012 BMW 335i Sport Line around the near mountainous Laguna Seca Raceway, I was ready for a break as, after riding for a few laps with Joey Hand, my easily coaxed stomach was feeling a bit queasy. After a quick lunch and an introduction to Steve Dinan and his beastly dark grey Dinan-tuned Alpina B7, I was paired off with all-round great guy and driver Dave Undercoffer from the LA Times. As our track session was winding down, the agenda was to take out a handful of F30′s in various specification. Dave had done us a favor by picking out an elegant…
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Digital ID Coach
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The secret life of your personal data
13 Jan 2012 | 10:46 pmMaria Popova at Brain Pickings wrote about this great 3 minute video by Michael Rigley, a graphic design student. Rigley says about his video: Information technology has become a ubiquitous presence. By visualizing the processes that underlie our interactions with this technology we can trace what happens to the information we feed into the network. In fact, the level of surveillance is profound, and the lack of transparency and personal control is not about inspiring “consumer” trust. Powerful entities have long deciding what information is appropriate for the masses. We may not… -
PII 2011: Owning Online Identity: Consumer-Managed Data
15 Nov 2011 | 5:37 pmFatemeh Khatibloo, Forrester Research moderates panel with Jason Cavnar, Singly, Todd Cullen, Acxiom, Shane Green, Personal, and Mary Hodder, Personal Data Ecosystem Consortium. Fatemeh: why do consumers care? Jason: consumers have a sense of things being out of control. Todd: clients desperately looking for meaningful way to interact with consumers. On supply side, it’s new territory. Huge demand on marketer’s side. Shane: at core, we realize that who has access to our data shapes our experience, access, opportunities. Value: there’s a blindspot about what data is worth in… -
PII 2011: Personal Identity Management
15 Nov 2011 | 5:01 pmForrester analyst Fatemeh Khatibloo asked if people had made available their report Making Leaders Successful Every Day. Report is available from Personal. She talks about car buying process as an example: start with personal RFP-type offer, receive offers that are customized to our concerns. Our interactions with dealers lead to purchase of a car. (Related: see ISWG’s Car Buying Engagement Model.) Five key concepts that brands and companies need to do to engage: Respect my data, respect me Security of infrastructure, governance Transparency Data portability Economy, including penalties… -
PII 2011: Startup Spotlight: OneId
15 Nov 2011 | 4:28 pmLots of problems managing registration and authorization account. Various threats compromise computers. Need for better management tools that are easy to use and secure. Here’s a OneID demo video that shows more. More » Related posts:PII 2011: Startup Spotlight: Disconnect PII 2011: Mapping the PII Market: Players, Regulators, Stakeholders PII 2011: Implementing a Privacy Program -
PII 2011: Startup Spotlight: Disconnect
15 Nov 2011 | 4:17 pmBrian Kennish and Casey Oppenheim of Disconnect on this session. They’re a privacy start-up making simple tools to help manage data. Brian worked at DoubleClick, Google. Casey worked as (criminal?) investigator in Manhattan, lawyer about privacy. History of company: article on Facebook leaking vast private data store. Created a browser plug-in expecting small group, ended up with many users in 2 weeks. Study about how much data social networking companies collect (lots! wow.). Same thing with ad companies: “anonymous” may not be so. (Note: look for Brian’s talk at…
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Internet Identity Workshop
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ID Collaboration Day 2 – Feb 27th
5 Feb 2012 | 9:24 pmWe are glad to be putting on ID Collaboration Day 2 just prior to RSA in SF. It is February 27th. Joining forces are us – Kantara Initiative and OASIS IDTrust. Join us to talk about all things identity – user-centric, user-driven, enterprise, customer and government. The agenda/notes from last year can be seen here. The event itself is run IIW style – where the agenda is created in the morning (however we collect ideas as people register and post them on the wiki). We expect given recent announcements that NSTIC will be a big topic of conversation. -
IIW Satellite Event – DC, January 17th
5 Nov 2011 | 5:52 pmTheme: Leveraging Open Identity and Personal Data Hosted at the NIH Campus, Bethesda MD, Natcher Building The Natcher Building is on the Red Line - Medical Center stop. The NIH Visitor Center is right off the escalator and Natcher Building/Conference Center is right next to the Visitor Center. REGISTRATION IS OPEN! The main IIW conference convenes semi-annually in California with a focus on user-centric digital identity facilitating cross industry collaboration between large and small companies and across all major standards organizations and between various industries. The community… -
Save the Dates!
18 Oct 2011 | 8:34 amEUROPE * Identity.Next – November 9th, TheHague (1/2 regular conference, 1/2 unconference) * Digital Death Day – November 11th EAST COAST * IIW-Satellite in DC – January 17th, at NIH Pre-RSA ID Collaboraiton Day (Identity Commons/IIW, Kantara Initiative & OASIS IDTrust) February 27th, 2012 Location TBD in San Francisco AUSTRALIA Week of March 20th still in the planning phase IIW – 14 May 1-3 in Mountain View -
Kareoke
18 Oct 2011 | 8:24 amKareoke Music for Wednesday Night Karaoke Songbook by Title (updated 11-2) Karaoke Songbook by Artist (updated 11-2) -
Art and Music at IIW 13. Share Yours.
8 Oct 2011 | 12:33 pmOne of the things you discover after hanging out in the Identity Community for a while is that there are many among us with quite amazing artistic gifts. One of the fun things that happens at IIW is the exchange of these talents. Sharing one’s latest photography and new camera in the late night conversations in the HiFi lounge at the Avante. sharing a video of the band we sing in playing with a few folks on one’s phone at dinner wearing to dinner the coolest new shirt we have sewn sketching and drawing while in conference sessions This IIW we are bringing back an old tradition and…
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Personality
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Not to be antisocial, but-- why don’t you leave me alone? Part I
8 Feb 2012 | 3:31 pmHave you ever felt deluged by invitations, festivities, celebrations, get-togethers, gatherings, blasts, soirees, shindigs, and Super Bowl tail-gates, when all you wanted to do was spend a nice quiet evening with your dog and the internet? The introverts among us might wonder, who is organizing all these things? Am I the only one who would be happier with fewer of them? Why so many?read more -
On Meeting Carl Gustav Jung
8 Feb 2012 | 1:21 pmIt was at the first Eranos meeting after World War II that I met Carl Gustav Jung. I had accompanied Herbert Read and it was he who introduced me to Jung. Memory has it that this was in 1950 when Jung would have been about 75. It was a fairly brief conversation, yet I found that simply being in the great man's presence was impressive enough.read more -
Valentine’s Day at Hogwarts, Part 2
8 Feb 2012 | 10:20 amPart Two in a series analyzing love in the world of Harry Potter.read more -
Fatal Fathers
8 Feb 2012 | 9:02 amWhen stress builds up in families, overwhelmed fathers might ponder suicide. As with Josh Powell, deadly thoughts can include the children. What makes some men decide to kill their kids? read more -
A Greedy Egomaniac's Problem With Today's Robber Barons
8 Feb 2012 | 8:00 amMy friends say the problem with today’s robber barons is that they’re greedy egomaniacs, but I don’t think that nails it. What after all is egomania? It’s some extreme on a continuum I ride too. read more
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Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin current issue
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The Evolutionary Armistice: Attachment Bonds Moderate the Function of Ovulatory Cycle Adaptations
25 Jan 2012 | 8:48 amNatural selection modified the attachment-behavioral system to bond adult mating partners in early members of the genus Homo, thus facilitating increased investment, especially paternal investment, in offspring. Previously existing adaptations that fostered intersexual conflict (e.g., ovulatory adaptations) could have threatened attachment bonds; therefore, the attachment-behavioral system might have evolved the ability to mute or refocus such adaptations for the purpose of strengthening the bond. Two studies offer support for this prediction. Women who were strongly attached to their… -
Why Men (and Women) Do and Don't Rebel: Effects of System Justification on Willingness to Protest
25 Jan 2012 | 8:48 amThree studies examined the hypothesis that system justification is negatively associated with collective protest against ingroup disadvantage. Effects of uncertainty salience, ingroup identification, and disruptive versus nondisruptive protest were also investigated. In Study 1, college students who were exposed to an uncertainty salience manipulation and who scored higher on system justification were less likely to protest against the governmental bailout of Wall Street. In Study 2, May Day protesters in Greece who were primed with a system-justifying stereotype exhibited less group-based… -
Social Roles, Basic Need Satisfaction, and Psychological Health: The Central Role of Competence
25 Jan 2012 | 8:48 amThe authors propose that competence need fulfillment within valued role domains (i.e., spouse, parent, worker) will account, in part, for associations between autonomy and relatedness need fulfillment and psychological health. Testing these assertions in cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys of women in two independent community samples, the findings are the first to formally examine whether the satisfaction of competence needs within social roles accounts for associations between other types of need satisfaction and affective outcomes as well as depressive symptomology. Evidence… -
Social Exclusion and Pain Sensitivity: Why Exclusion Sometimes Hurts and Sometimes Numbs
25 Jan 2012 | 8:48 amSome research indicates that social exclusion leads to increased emotional- and physical-pain sensitivity, whereas other work indicates that exclusion causes emotional- and physical-pain numbing. This research sought to examine what causes these opposing outcomes. In Study 1, the paradigm used to instantiate social exclusion was found to moderate the social exclusion-physical pain relation: Future-life exclusion led to a numbing of physical pain whereas Cyberball exclusion led to hypersensitivity. Study 2 examined the underlying mechanism, which was hypothesized to be the severity of the… -
Understanding the Better Than Average Effect: Motives (Still) Matter
25 Jan 2012 | 8:48 amPeople evaluate themselves more positively than they evaluate most other people. Although this better than average (BTA) effect was originally thought to represent a motivated bias, several cognitively oriented theorists have questioned whether this is the case. In support of a motivational model, the author reports five studies showing that the BTA effect is stronger for important attributes than unimportant ones (all five studies) and that once attribute importance is taken into account, the effect occurs when self-evaluations are compared with a single peer (Study 2) and when self is…
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Psychology Today Features
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Seeking Solitude
7 Feb 2012 | 11:00 pmThe necessary art of alone time. -
Would You Be Your Own Friend?
6 Feb 2012 | 11:00 pmWe're often blind to the not-so-wonderful traits we possess—but quick to point them out in others. -
Noise, Noise, Noise!
5 Feb 2012 | 11:00 pmHow to turn down the volume in an increasingly loud world—and why you should. -
Brand: Me
4 Feb 2012 | 12:00 pmAre you a Mac or a PC? And just what does that say about you? -
Is It a Disorder?
2 Feb 2012 | 11:00 pmDrawing the line between quirkiness and illness.
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Law Blog
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Viktor Bout Wants Out Of Restrictive Jail Conditions
8 Feb 2012 | 3:16 pmA suspected Russian arms dealer convicted last year of conspiring to sell surface-to-air missiles and other weapons in a U.S. sting operation wants to be held under less restrictive conditions while he’s awaiting sentencing. Viktor Bout, a former Soviet air force officer, no longer wants to be held in the special housing unit, or SHU, at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan. He has been held there since he was extradited from Thailand in 2010 after two years of legal wrangling. His lawyer, Albert Dayan, said in a letter to the court that Bout, 45 years old, is… -
Creative Sentencing: Red Lobster and Bowling
8 Feb 2012 | 1:57 pmMaybe you saw this gem from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel about a man who was sentenced to a date night: A marital spat that began when a Plantation man didn’t wish his wife a happy birthday and then escalated into a domestic violence charge, resulted in an unusual bond court ruling by a perceptive judge. Instead of setting bond or keeping Joseph Bray locked up, [the judge] ordered him to treat his spouse to dinner, a bowling date and then to undergo marriage counseling. “He’s going to stop by somewhere and he’s going to get some flowers,” Judge John “Jay” Hurley said during… -
Spitzer And Breuer Spar On NYU Law Panel
8 Feb 2012 | 1:40 pmDOJ’s Lanny Breuer You’d think Lanny Breuer, head of the criminal division of the U.S. Department of Justice, would want to avoid a panel discussion called “Crooks on the Loose? Did Felons Get a Free Pass in the Financial Crisis?” Apparently not. Breuer walked into a brawl Wednesday when he sat on the New York University School of Law panel with former New York governor Eliot Spitzer, an outspoken critic of the Justice Department’s lack of criminal prosecutions in the wake of the subprime mortgage collapse. Shots were fired almost immediately when the moderator Neil Barofsky, a… -
The Daily Writing Sample: A ‘Scraggly Expression of Time’
8 Feb 2012 | 11:09 amThis WS comes to us via Howard Bashman at How Appealing. In a dissent Tuesday, Judge Neil M. Gorsuch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit let loose his inner grammarian on sentencing guidelines for defendants who illegally re-enter the country after being deported. He wrote, In the richness of the English language, few things can create as much mischief as piling prepositional phrase upon prepositional phrase. The child says, “I saw the man on the hill with the telescope.” Did the child use the telescope to see the man on the hill? Or did the child see a man — or even… -
Canada: Constitutional Superpower?
8 Feb 2012 | 10:31 amAdam Liptak at the Times had a fascinating story yesterday on the waning influence of the U.S. Constitution. It was based largely on a new study by David S. Law of Washington University in St. Louis and Mila Versteeg of the University of Virginia. The gist: Our founding document is passe. It is less imitated these days, and to the extent it is still an example, the Constitution is more likely to serve as what-not-to-do guide, the authors say. These are harsh truths. Why is the Constitution losing its sway internationally? The authors point to criticism that the document is out of…
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PLI SmartBrief
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Insider Trading Laws Apply to Everyone
8 Feb 2012 | 7:04 amInsider Trading Law and Compliance Answer Book provides both the lawyer and the lay investor with a complete understanding of -More- -
ABA releases report on women's leadership within the organization
8 Feb 2012 | 7:04 am-More- -
Glencore plans to take full control of Xstrata
8 Feb 2012 | 7:04 amGlencore International and Xstrata are working toward a merger that would create a $90 billion mining giant. -More- -
Justice Department might give up on foreign bribery case
8 Feb 2012 | 7:04 am-More- -
Obama budget to target richest Americans
8 Feb 2012 | 7:04 amPresident Barack Obama's budget, which will be released next week, will likely include $3 trillion in deficit reductions, wit -More-
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Legal Juice
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You Did NOT Pull A Gun On That Man Over A Dish!
7 Feb 2012 | 9:06 pmHow do you know when it's time to find somewhere else to live? If your landlord starts losing it over the dishes, pack your bags! As reported by TCPalm.com: A man told Port St. Lucie police that he's renting a room from Carraway and "all of a sudden Ricky started yelling at him for leaving his dish out and got into his face," the affidavit states.Uh oh. The man said Carraway entered his room, pushed him against a wall and choked him. He said Carraway left and came back. Carraway, he said, pointed a gun at him and said he was "about to put some holes in you," the affidavit states.Holes?! What… -
Ingrate Of The Week?
6 Feb 2012 | 9:06 pmYou try to be nice to people, and what do you get? Spit on, literally, and more. As reported by the Northwest Florida Daily News: A woman who gave her ex-boyfriend a ride to the bowling alley called for help after he called her names, spit in her face, pushed her head against a pillar and threw a glass of water at her. He also pulled her hair, which was a wig and came off in his hand. The 35-year-old Fort Walton Beach man had left the area before Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office deputies arrived, according to his arrest report.Probably didn't even say "thank you." The incident happened on… -
You Drove Drunk Where?
6 Feb 2012 | 5:58 amAs reported in the Tacoma Washington News-Tribune: In May, a 22-year-old Gig Harbor man spent a night drinking at a tavern with a friend before seeing how fast he could drive his car – on an airport runway. According to court documents, the man, who worked at the Tacoma Narrows Airport, used a code to let himself in, drove onto the runway – and floored it. He hit 105 mph before the car sheared off a runway light, went airborne and landed upside down at the bottom of an embankment, court records said. He suffered minor scrapes, police said. His passenger was more seriously injured. The man… -
Hard To Believe This Guy Could Find His Bicycle, Much Less Ride It
4 Feb 2012 | 9:05 pmAs a daily bicycle commuter, it pains The Juice to blast a fellow cyclist. All he can say about this gent is ... DUDE! From The Cairns Post: A drunken cyclist wobbled along a highway before falling off his bike into a ditch in front of police. Police say the 26-year-old Feluga man’s blood alcohol concentration was more than five times the limit when they breath-tested him after he crashed on the Bruce Highway at Tully. They say he returned a reading of 0.28 per cent just after the incident, which happened about 10.50pm on Saturday. The man was charged with riding a bicycle whilst under the… -
He Drank 20 Beers. What'd You Expect Would Happen?
3 Feb 2012 | 9:01 pmThe Juice is feeling it just thinking about pounding 20 beers. But that's exactly what a 26-year-old Kalamazoo, Michigan man did. Fortunately he did not succeed with what he set out to do after the binge. He did do some damage though, including a pretty disgusting grand finale. As reported by mlive.com: Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Assistant Chief Brian Uridge said the man told officers he was feeling depressed, went to the top of the Radisson [Plaza Hotel & Suites] ramp at 100 N. Rose St. and drank 20 beers to "get enough courage to commit suicide," Uridge said. The man, whose name…
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Legal Profession Blog
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Lost In A Flood
8 Feb 2012 | 6:55 amA public reprimand has been imposed by the Vermont Professional Conduct Board on the Assistant Clerk of the state House of Representatives. The clerk position does not involve the practice of law. He is permitted an outside law practice, which... -
Partnership Perils Lead To Suspension
8 Feb 2012 | 6:25 amThe Pennsylvania Supreme Court has approved the imposition of a one-year suspension in a case where the sanctioned attorney was in a small law firm partnership with an attorney who misappropriated trust account funds. His partner had responsibility for the... -
New book 'Hot Topics in the Legal Profession - 2012' and old classic 'The Bramble Bush'
7 Feb 2012 | 9:52 pmAs promised last weekend, I announce a book truly on-topic for LPB. This is a collection of essays, on ethics and broader issues of the U.S. profession, from students in my Advanced Professional Responsibility Seminar last year. I added an... -
The Wrong Candidate
7 Feb 2012 | 7:11 amThe New Jersey Appellate Court has held that the litigation in last year's Republican primary permitted the incumbent to run in the general election for Morris County Freeholder was inproperly decided. An initial count had put the challenger ahead by... -
Double Secret Probation
7 Feb 2012 | 4:03 amThe Vermont Professional Conduct Board has admonished an attorney and placed her on probation for neglect of an estate matter and failure to respond to the disciplinary inquiry into the matter. In Vermont, the identity of an admonished attorney is...
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Privacy Law Blog
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Mobile Marketing Association Releases Final Version of Mobile Application Privacy Policy Framework
1 Feb 2012 | 3:46 pmAfter introducing a draft of its Mobile Application Privacy Policy Framework (“Framework”) in mid-October for public comment, the Mobile Marketing Association ("MMA") recently released the final version of the Framework. The Framework provides a general starting point that application developers can refer to when drafting their application privacy policies. The Framework includes model language to address the following questions and topics regarding the application’s and developer’s privacy practices: What information does the… -
Illinois Attorney General Issues Information Security and Security Breach Notification Guidance
1 Feb 2012 | 8:17 amThe Illinois Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) requires that any “data collector”, which includes businesses, universities, governmental agencies or any other entity that deals with personal information, notify Illinois residents in the event of a data security breach. Recently, the Office of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan issued guidance that provides tools to assist entities in preventing, preparing for and responding to data security breaches. The guidance suggests that entities assess the amount of personal information on file, reduce the amount of… -
EC Proposal For New Data Protection Regulation
27 Jan 2012 | 9:51 amThe European Commission (the “EC”) has announced its anticipated comprehensive reform of EU data protection rules, intended to strengthen online privacy rights and boost Europe's digital economy. The proposal is intended to update and modernize the principles enshrined in the 1995 Data Protection Directive. If approved, unlike the current rules which give each of the 27 member states of the EU (the “member states”) some flexibility as to how the 1995 Data Protection Directive is implemented in their jurisdiction, the new law would apply directly so that there… -
Massachusetts Data Security Regulations: Deadline To Update Service Provider Contracts Is Fast Approaching
26 Jan 2012 | 10:27 amThe deadline for compliance with a key requirement of the Massachusetts Data Security Regulations is only a month away. By March 1, 2012, contracts must require that certain service providers implement and maintain appropriate security measures to protect personal information. This alert summarizes the requirements that will become effective as of March 1, 2012. Read the entire article. -
Light, (Camera), Class Action! After Seven Years of Dormancy Since Inception, Businesses See Class Action Lawsuits for Alleged Violations of California's "Shine the Light" Act
25 Jan 2012 | 1:53 pmThe past month has seen a new pattern of class action lawsuits filed in California courts against businesses for allegedly violating California’s Shine the Light privacy law (the “Act”). For seven years since the Act became effective, well-intentioned businesses have understandably had the sense that their compliance approach has been sound, and we have seen no challenges to that notion. Recent class actions have alleged non-compliance on technical grounds as frivolous as the title of the privacy policy being “Privacy Policy” instead of “Your…
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Creative Commons » Commons News
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Contribute to the Venezuelan 3.0 Licenses
2 Feb 2012 | 10:31 amThe Venezuelan 3.0 license draft is open for public discussion! We welcome all those who are interested to view the Venezuela BY-NC-SA draft and contribute their comments this month. The next step for the Venezuela team will be to incorporate changes from the public discussion and to prepare the remaining five licenses for a complete Venezuela 3.0 license suite. A huge thank you to CC’s Venezuelan Affiliate, Centro Nacional de Tecnologías de Información (CNTI) and to the CC Venezuela Team led by John Piñango for all their hard work! A reminder to all that Creative Commons is wrapping up… -
COMMUNIA’s response to the proposed amendments to PSI Directive
2 Feb 2012 | 10:18 amThis post is an adaptation from the COMMUNIA International Association blog and is cross-posted at the Open Knowledge Foundation website. Creative Commons and the Open Knowledge Foundation are institutional members of COMMUNIA. The mission of COMMUNIA is to educate about, advocate for, offer expertise and research about the public domain in the digital age within society and with policymakers. The European Commission Public Sector Information Directive, which describes the conditions under which European public sector information (PSI) should be made available for reuse by the public, has… -
12th Annual Media That Matters Festival – Call for Entries!
1 Feb 2012 | 12:12 pmArts Engine‘s annual Media That Matters Festival — now in its 12th year — is accepting new entries for short films! In addition to being a “premier showcase for short films with big messages” Media That Matters will give filmmakers the opportunity to connect with educators, activists, and nonprofits around the globe, helping to move communities towards social change. If selected, your film will be screened at the Fall festival and featured via a “multi-platform campaign combining online streaming with personalized screenings,” and made available under… -
Guide to Finding Interesting Public Domain Works Online by the Open Knowledge Foundation
25 Jan 2012 | 11:01 amThe Open Knowledge Foundation has published a nifty guide on the basics of Finding Interesting Public Domain Works Online. You can skim the guide in well under ten minutes, and it includes useful links and accompanying descriptions to online collections where PD works can be found, including Europeana, the Internet Archive, and Project Gutenberg. It also contains quite a few references to Creative Commons and succinct explanations of the relevant CC tools, such as the Public Domain Mark and the CC0 Public Domain Dedication. The guide, like all articles at The Public Domain Review, is… -
Final Public Comment Period on LRMI Draft Specification
24 Jan 2012 | 12:01 pmAs you may recall, the LRMI project is creating a educational metadata vocabulary that will hopefully plug into the Schema.org metadata framework to be used by the major search engines. Last week, the LRMI Technical Working Group released version 0.7 of the LRMI specification and with it, began the last public comment period ending January 31st. Barring any issues that need to be addressed, this will be the version that is submitted to the Schema.org community for review and inclusion. Please provide any input on the LRMI mailing list or on the web forum at LRMI.net.
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Copyrightlaws.com
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copyrightlaws.com » Managing Copyright Issues in 2012
2 Feb 2012 | 6:30 pmcopyrightlaws.com » Managing Copyright Issues in 2012Tips for those who use content and create and own content. -
Fair Use in the U.S. Copyright Act – Analysis and Interpretation — Slaw
29 Jan 2012 | 11:45 amFair Use in the U.S. Copyright Act – Analysis and Interpretation provided in two new documents— Slaw -
copyrightlaws.com » Copyright Law Commentary and Information
5 Jan 2012 | 11:54 amNew issue of The Copyright & New Media Law Newsletter. copyrightlaws.com » Copyright Law Commentary and Information -
copyrightlaws.com » The International Copyright Symbol
5 Jan 2012 | 7:00 amDoes your copyright symbol/notice need to include the year 2012? copyrightlaws.com » The International Copyright Symbol -
copyrightlaws.com » December 2011, LEH-Letter: Copyright, New Media Law & E-Commerce News
19 Dec 2011 | 6:31 amcopyrightlaws.com » December 2011, LEH-Letter: Copyright, New Media Law & E-Commerce News
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patent news - Google News
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Invidi Keeps Padding Addressable-Ad Patent Portfolio - Multichannel News
8 Feb 2012 | 2:22 pmInvidi Keeps Padding Addressable-Ad Patent PortfolioMultichannel NewsBy Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 2/8/2012 5:04:28 PM The US Patent and Trademark Office has granted Invidi Technologies, a provider of addressable-advertising solutions for pay-TV operators, its sixth patent, which covers a method of delivering and more » -
Is Green Mountain Too Expensive? - Motley Fool
8 Feb 2012 | 11:06 amIs Green Mountain Too Expensive?Motley Fool"Not because of the ridiculously high price of convenience, but because that's what happens when a product comes off patent." Bears have rallied around the K-Cup patent expirations that kick in later this year. This is a concern, but I think critics and more » -
Rambus, Nvidia Settle All Disputes With 5-Year Pact - Wall Street Journal
8 Feb 2012 | 10:21 amKIMA CBS 29Rambus, Nvidia Settle All Disputes With 5-Year PactWall Street Journal(NVDA), settling all outstanding patent disputes between the semiconductor technology companies and giving a boost to Rambus shares. Rambus, which makes memory chip technology, said the agreement covers a broad range of chips offered by graphics Rambus, Nvidia Settle Lawsuits, Sign IC Patent DealPCWorldRambus and NVIDIA Sign Patent License AgreementEON: Enhanced Online News (press release)Rambus, Nvidia sign patent licensing dealSydney Morning HeraldSchaeffers Researchall 155 news articles » -
Apple Asks for Clear Rules on 'Essential' Patents - PC Magazine
8 Feb 2012 | 10:17 amWindows IT ProApple Asks for Clear Rules on 'Essential' PatentsPC MagazineBy Chloe Albanesius Apple has asked a European standards body to come up with basic rules for how it handles licensing of wireless standard patents. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Apple told the European Telecommunications Standards Institute Microsoft, Apple speak out on patents amid mobile-technology warsTechFlashGoogle, Apple, Oracle, Ocean Tomo: Intellectual PropertyBusinessWeekApple, Google square off over patent standardsFierceWirelessWindows IT Pro -CNET -InfoWorldall 209 news… -
ObjectVideo and Sony Enter Into Patent License Agreement - MarketWatch (press release)
8 Feb 2012 | 10:08 amObjectVideo and Sony Enter Into Patent License AgreementMarketWatch (press release)RESTON, VA, Feb 08, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- ObjectVideo(R), Inc., the Leader in Intelligent Video, announced today that with the signing of a patent license agreement with Sony Corporation, it has asked the United States International Trade and more »
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The Invent Blog
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Training manual for new patent admin staff (and new associates)
26 Jan 2012 | 2:17 pmA book I recently added to my “all patent practitioners should have” list is Susan Stiles’ “Patent Professional’s Handbook.” Stiles’ book is a complete instruction manual for new patent staff: explaining the entire patenting process and terminology, walking them through (step-by-step) how to file something via EFS-Web, and includes quite a few flowcharts, checklists, and form letters. It is a great resource for new staff (and new patent attorneys). -
USPTO E-Mail and Your Spam Folder
25 Jan 2012 | 10:02 amAll practitioners should add commonly used USPTO email addresses to their email client’s address book. Why? To decrease the chances that your email client will filter legitimate email (“ham”) into your junk (“spam”) folder. I started a list of such “commonly used” email addresses a few months ago. Thanks to this USPTO Notice on , I have some more to add to my list (below). The USPTO Notice even provides step-by-step instructions… The list: ptas@uspto.gov PRG@uspto.gov TEAS@USPTO.GOV TMPOSTPUBQUERY@USPTO.GOV TMII2455@NX.USPTO.GOV… -
Senator Kyl on Patent Reform
30 Sep 2011 | 8:09 amThe following quote from Senator Kyl from Arizona, speaking before Congress, explains quite a bit about what Congress understood about the new Patent Act they were voting on. Trust me…you’ve got to read it. Among many of our most innovative companies, 70 percent of their licensing revenues come from overseas. Obviously, they are already going to be complying with the first-to-file rules. This bill does not, therefore, so much switch the system with which Americans are complying today as it simply allows American companies to only have to comply with one system rather than two. As… -
CLE with a Cause
23 Sep 2011 | 1:40 pmIt’s nice seeing a CLE being put on for a good cause…”Credits for Conservation” is putting on a CLE next month (October 16-17) at the Four Seasons Resort in Jackson Hole, WY where “all proceeds will directly benefit land and water conservation in the Tetons and the non-profit work of Valley Advocates for Responsible Development & Friends of the Teton River.” Topics: Prosecuting a US patent application: How to Keep your File Wrapper Clean. Designs, Copyrights and Trademarks: multiple forms of protection available for everyday objects. Writing and… -
Paul Graham’s Patent Pledge
1 Sep 2011 | 11:39 amAnother great idea from Paul Graham. This time directed to the enforcement of software patents against small businesses. See: The Patent Pledge.
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fwicki masterfeed
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Ask.com News Search for "plantronics"
8 Feb 2012 | 2:50 pmAsk.com News Search for "plantronics" -
napster - Yahoo! News Search Results
8 Feb 2012 | 2:50 pmnapster - Yahoo! News Search Results -
Ask.com News Search for "composer Hector Berlioz"
8 Feb 2012 | 2:50 pmAsk.com News Search for "composer Hector Berlioz" -
Ask.com News Search for "swimsuits"
8 Feb 2012 | 2:50 pmAsk.com News Search for "swimsuits" -
surgical supplies - Yahoo! News Search Results
8 Feb 2012 | 2:50 pmsurgical supplies - Yahoo! News Search Results
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Dear Rich: Nolo's Intellectual Property Blog
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Claiming Glazing Technique as Trade Secret
8 Feb 2012 | 6:00 amDear Rich: I have a crafts business and I've developed some ceramic glazing techniques that are pretty unique. I took on an assistant in 2008 and trained her to do these techniques. I've always told her not to tell anyone about the process or materials used in the glazing and as far as I know she never has. The trouble is that she has gone out on her own and is now competing against me at local fairs and stores using some of these glazing techniques. Is there anything I can do? Maybe. If you can claim that the techniques are your trade secrets, you may be able to prevent your former assistant… -
Can We Republish Sports Statistics?
7 Feb 2012 | 6:00 amDear Rich: We are frequently publishing sports books about notable persons or events in sports history. As a matter of fact, sports has - almost always - to do with statistics and results. I was very astonished to read on some websites that it is not quite clear if sports statistics are really public domain and that especially the pros like MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL are very keen on protecting what they think of could be THEIR stats and records. I would be thinking that stats are facts and can not be copyrighted at all? Yes, individual sports statistics are facts and as the Supreme Court has… -
Using Quotes and Seeing Ghosts
6 Feb 2012 | 6:00 amDear Rich: I put together a book with quotes from various famous individuals and my own professional photos to encourage inspirational thought. I do not want to produce the book before I can clear the licenses. How does one go about clearing the licensing for that? Some authors, such as Seneca lived around 75 B.C. I guess for these authors I don't need a clearance? You guessed right. There is little chance that Seneca will rise from the grave (Dracula-style) and retain Boies, Schiller to smite all those who have malapropped his quotations. In any case, any reputable law firm would inform him… -
Music Licensing Resources
4 Feb 2012 | 6:00 amIt was great seeing everyone at the 2012 California Lawyers for the Arts Music Business Seminar in Berkeley. Here are some resources to augment the music licensing discussion:Generic licensing provisions and explanations: We've posted examples and explanations for common generic content license agreement provisions. These should provide a basic understanding of the structure and organization of a typical license.Licensing songs and recordings for film and TV. There's an example of a Music Synchronization and Videogram License (with explanations) in our book,… -
Dear Rich Staff at CLA Music Seminar
3 Feb 2012 | 1:13 pmThe Dear Rich Staff is sending an emissary to speak at the California Lawyers for the Arts annual music seminar. It's Saturday, February 4, at Boalt Hall in Berkeley and we'll be part of the 2:35 panel on music licensing. Check out the details.
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audi - Google News
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eurotuner Project Audi A3 2.0T for sale - Eurotuner (blog)
8 Feb 2012 | 7:19 pmEurotuner (blog)eurotuner Project Audi A3 2.0T for saleEurotuner (blog)However, we're helping out the owner of the 2007 Audi A3 2.0T we've been using for a series of project builds. They've bought another car and want to sell the A3. Rather than allow it to disappear, we're offering it to a eurotuner reader first; -
Audi Named Best Luxury Brand for Total Cost of Ownership by Kelley Blue Book's ... - Sacramento Bee
8 Feb 2012 | 11:44 amAudi Named Best Luxury Brand for Total Cost of Ownership by Kelley Blue Book's Sacramento BeeBy Audi of America, Inc. HERNDON, Va., Feb. 8, 2012 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Audi today announced that it is the recipient of three inaugural Total Cost of Ownership awards from Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com, including Best Luxury Brand overall.Kia may be best brand for skinflint car ownersmsnbc.comKelley Blue Book announces inaugural Total Cost of Ownership award winnersThe Hour (blog)all 29 news articles » -
Audi A7 and R8 Spyder Selected by Autobytel® as Car and Truck of the Year ... - MarketWatch (press release)
8 Feb 2012 | 10:14 amAudi A7 and R8 Spyder Selected by Autobytel® as Car and Truck of the Year MarketWatch (press release)8, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Audi today announced that it is the recipient of two Car and Truck of the Year awards from Autobytel®, the company dedicated to helping consumers research and find the information they need to purchase new and used and more » -
China Auto Demand Robust Say Faurecia, Industry Analysts - Wall Street Journal
8 Feb 2012 | 8:08 amChina Auto Demand Robust Say Faurecia, Industry AnalystsWall Street JournalXE) and Audi AG (NSU.XE), expects sales in China to grow 16% in 2012, growing faster than Chinese light-vehicle output of 7% to 9%, Chief Executive Yann Delabriere said Wednesday. "Today we have higher margins than everywhere else in Asia and we expect Faurecia Profit Surges on US auto recoveryReutersall 10 news articles » -
2014 Audi R8 Adopts Fuel-Saving Technologies, GT Version Returns - Automobile Magazine (blog)
8 Feb 2012 | 8:02 amAutomobile Magazine (blog)2014 Audi R8 Adopts Fuel-Saving Technologies, GT Version ReturnsAutomobile Magazine (blog)Audi is already hard at work on the next generation of its R8 supercar, which will bow as a coupe in 2014 before the roadster appears in 2015. Among the changes for the new Audi R8 will be an increase in horsepower, a reduction in weight, All Eyes are on the 2015 Audi R8Automotive Discovery2015 Audi R8 specifications disclosedRush LaneReport: Next Audi R8 to be lighter and faster than current modeleGMCarTechMotor Authority -The Motor Report -Autoblog (blog)all 13 news…
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Autoblog Audi
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Details on 2015 Audi R8 leak out
7 Feb 2012 | 1:01 pmFiled under: Coupe, Performance, Audi, Luxury News on the next-generation 2015 Audi R8 has been spilling forth for a bit now, but a report in Autocar has begun to put them into a single package. We knew that next R8 wouldn't offer a manual option, only a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, and that the monocoque would be a lighter, aluminum and carbon affair. Audi has apparently pegged a target weight of under 1,500 kilograms (3,300 pounds), meaning it will shed more than 135 kg (305 lbs.) versus today's 4.2-liter V8 manual. That will make the two engines in the next car - refined versions… -
Audi to raise the roof on A1 with rolling cloth panel?
6 Feb 2012 | 4:57 amFiled under: Convertible, Europe, Hatchback, Audi Audi is going to great lengths to steal territory away from arch-rival BMW and its Mini marque. But as you'd expect from any German automaker, the initial A1 three-door premium hatchback appears to be just the beginning. Since its launch, the A1 has bred the five-door A1 Sportback, there's a Q1 crossover based on the same platform reportedly in the works, and the A1 Quattro demonstrates the extent of the architecture's performance capabilities. But Ingolstadt is not about to stop there as reports come in of a convertible version as well. Well,… -
What we know about the 2013 Volkswagen Golf, next-gen GTI
3 Feb 2012 | 3:57 pmFiled under: Coupe, Sedan, Wagon, Crossover, Hatchback, Audi, Volkswagen, Design/Style The next GTI will be an order of magnitude better, bringing it back in line with the original hot hatch. Lighter, faster, stronger, better. That's what we can expect from the seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf, due to be unveiled at the 2012 Paris Motor Show before it hits dealerships across Europe this fall and eventually lands on U.S. shores as a 2013 model. So what makes it special? A combination of new manufacturing processes, an all-new platform, a range of upgraded engines and what will go down as one… -
First Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG in America to be auctioned off at Boca concours
3 Feb 2012 | 6:29 amFiled under: Convertible, Performance, Auctions, Audi, Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz, Misc. Auto Shows Of all the car shows around the calendar year, the Boca Raton Concours d'Elegance doesn't typically fall on our radar screen. But maybe it should, because the annual event in Florida - young as it is - has a history of offering firsts. Maybe not the first time a vehicle is seen in North America, mind you, but a first just the same. Last year the event included the sale of the first examples of the Ferrari FF, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster and Audi R8 GT to be delivered in America. The year… -
Audi prices R8 GT Spyder at a top-dropping $210,000*
2 Feb 2012 | 8:00 amFiled under: Car Buying, Convertible, Performance, Audi Some may beg to differ, but from where we sit, the acquisition Audi made of Lamborghini back in 1998 was a good thing, and remains as such. The resulting supercars to roll out of Sant'Agata Bolognese have been better than those made under prior owners by leaps and bounds. But who would have thought the relationship would benefit Audi as much as it has? Not only did the partnership give Ingolstadt the sweet-revving V10 engine that powered the RS6 and S8 (until recent pressures necessitated a switch to a twin-turbo V8 instead), but it also…
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F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com
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McLaren: We have strong test platform
8 Feb 2012 | 12:39 pmMcLaren thinks it has delivered Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button the car they need at this stage of the season -
McLaren has faith in nose design
8 Feb 2012 | 12:06 pmMcLaren is adamant that it has not made a mistake with its nose design for 2012 - even though every other team so far has opted for a stepped version with their new Formula 1 cars -
Key set for Lotus sportscar role
8 Feb 2012 | 11:24 amFormer Sauber Formula 1 team technical director James Key is set to join the motorsport division of Lotus Cars -
Raikkonen pleased with early findings
8 Feb 2012 | 11:09 amKimi Raikkonen says he has the answers he was looking for from his first experience of the new Lotus E20 after completing 180 laps during two days' testing at Jerez -
Coton joins Hamilton's management
8 Feb 2012 | 10:43 amLewis Hamilton has received a behind-the-scenes boost with the appointment of highly-respected manager Didier Coton to help look after him.
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Formula1.com - Latest News
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Jerez day two - Schumacher top in 2011 Mercedes
8 Feb 2012 | 8:11 amMichael Schumacher led the way at Jerez as testing continued in Spain on Wednesday. At the wheel of Mercedes' 2011 machine, Schumacher clocked a best time of 1m 18.561s from 132 laps, putting him half a second clear of Mark Webber in the new Red Bull RB8 -
Exclusive Kobayashi Q&A: I want so much more from 2012
8 Feb 2012 | 8:07 amIn 2011 Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi was suddenly propelled into a lead driver role after his team signed rookie Sergio Perez. For Kobayashi, who was himself only in his second season of Formula One racing, it was a big ask especially with mid-season regulation changes and a lacklustre car to contend with. But in spite of the headaches, the Japanese driver relished the opportunity and in 2012 he hopes to use all the lessons he learnt to excellent effect -
Christian Horner Q&A: F1 in for a stellar year
8 Feb 2012 | 3:32 amBeing Formula One's leading light must feel exhilarating and nerve racking in equal measure. After defending both titles in such dominant style in 2011, Red Bull are the target for every other team, all of them intent on pulling the champions off their pedestal in 2012. But team principal Christian Horner is facing the threat with cool determination, thanks to an unchanged driver line-up, another Adrian Newey-designed car, and a maturing team behind him. Horner speaks exclusively to Formula1.com about the season ahead -
Jerez day one - Raikkonen leads the way for Lotus
7 Feb 2012 | 8:10 amHe may have been away from the sport for the last two seasons but that didn't stop 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen from topping the timesheets, as this year's opening test got underway at Jerez on Tuesday. Raikkonen clocked a best time of 1m 19.670s at the Spanish circuit in the new Lotus E20. It was a positive first day of testing and everything went almost to plan, said the Finn. We had no major issues and I got a good feel for the car and the tyres. The lap times don't matter today. I'm happy with the balance of the car, which feels good, and the fact that we didn't have any major… -
Exclusive Q&A with Lotus's Eric Boullier
7 Feb 2012 | 7:09 amHe may be two years older and wearing different overalls as he strides through the Jerez paddock, but it almost feels as if Kimi Raikkonen has never been away from the Formula One fold. And after impressing during the opening day of pre-season testing, Raikkonen appears to be in fine form in the Lotus too. Team principal Eric Boullier discusses how the Finn is settling in
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Formula1.com - Latest Features
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Tuesday's testing to mark true start of 2012 season
6 Feb 2012 | 7:02 amTuesday sees the commencement of 2012's pre-season testing, with a four-day session at Jerez, where nine of the 12 Formula One teams will have their new cars running in anger for the first time. It will be followed by a further three similar tests in Spain ahead the Australian Grand Prix on March 18. The 2012 machines in action this week will be the Red Bull RB8, McLaren MP4-27 -
All systems go - launch season gets serious
31 Jan 2012 | 2:51 amCaterham were first out of the blocks with their CT01, but February sees the 2012 launch season begin in earnest, with all teams bar Marussia and HRT expected to debut their new cars before the month is out. Monday February 6 is the busiest day, with Sauber, Red Bull and Toro Rosso -
Has brilliant Barrichello bowed out for good?
19 Jan 2012 | 2:39 amBrazilian loyalties were torn asunder earlier this week. After the news that Bruno Senna had secured a drive with Williams there was celebration but also commiseration within the South American country. Senna's opportunity at the British team means that compatriot Rubens Barrichello - a great friend of Bruno's late uncle Ayrton - is left without a Formula One seat for the first time in two decades... -
Overall overhaul - race suit evolution
10 Jan 2012 | 3:05 amThe protective, fire-resistant garments worn by racing drivers today have come a long way since the simple cotton overalls of the '50s. Now they're light, flameproof and breathable. But only thanks to decades of ceaseless development A racing driver's work clothes of 60 years ago couldn't have been more basic. They usually consisted of: lightweight cotton trousers and a T-shirt, and thin skinned leather/suede shoes -
The 2011 Season Review - Part Two
5 Dec 2011 | 8:45 amMcLaren struggled horribly in pre-season testing, trying to get their blown floor working, but reversion to a previous iteration worked miracles for the opening race and they were competitive for much of the season. Hamilton won beautifully in China, then came victory for Button in Canada, the race of the year which had it all
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ESPNF1.com
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Who said what after the second day of testing at Jerez
8 Feb 2012 | 11:00 amRead what the drivers and teams had to say after the first day of testing at Jerez -
Red Bull making progress - Webber
8 Feb 2012 | 11:00 amMark Webber is happy Red Bull is making progress with its new car after finishing his second day of testing at Jerez -
HRT announces new Madrid base
8 Feb 2012 | 10:54 amHRT has confirmed that its new Spanish headquarters will be in Madrid's Caja Magica -
Bianchi ready to 'get closer to the limit'
8 Feb 2012 | 10:23 amJules Bianchi says he will "try and get closer to the limit" on Thursday after making his debut for Force India on the second day at Jerez -
Raikkonen explains car damage
8 Feb 2012 | 9:50 amKimi Raikkonen says that he damaged the floor of his Lotus on Wednesday morning after running off the track under braking
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golf - Google News
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Nine reasons Tiger will rule golf again -- or not - USA TODAY
8 Feb 2012 | 4:08 pmUSA TODAYNine reasons Tiger will rule golf again -- or notUSA TODAYBy Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAY By Allan Henry, US Presswire By Allan Henry, US Presswire As Tiger Woods makes his 2012 PGA Tour debut Thursday in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, golf's unquestioned leading man and top draw once again is at the Some Celebrities Play for Real, Not LaughsNew York TimesFor Spencer Levin, father knows bestESPNPebble Beach celebs, a distraction or tonic for players?ReutersVancouver Sun -San Francisco Chronicle -The Guardianall 1,518 news articles » -
Teeing Off: Did Kyle Stanley pull off golf's greatest bounceback ever? - Yahoo! Sports (blog)
8 Feb 2012 | 4:00 pmYahoo! Sports (blog)Teeing Off: Did Kyle Stanley pull off golf's greatest bounceback ever?Yahoo! Sports (blog)By Jay Busbee By Jay Busbee | Devil Ball Golf – 6 hours ago Kyle Stanley savoring victory. / Getty ImagesWelcome to the new season of Teeing Off, where Devil Ball editor Jay Busbee and head writer Shane Bacon take a day's topic and smack it all over Tour 54-hole leaders have been right where field wants 'emCBSSports.comNo one is immune to golf's Sunday demonsOrlando SentinelThe Two-Way : NPRNPRCybergolf National -bettor.com (blog)all 90 news… -
Clint Eastwood is launching a golf network - Washington Post (blog)
8 Feb 2012 | 10:45 am7LiveClint Eastwood is launching a golf networkWashington Post (blog)But apparently he has room for yet another job: launching a golf lifestyle channel. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Academy Award winner and avid golfer has been named creative board chairman and founding shareholder of the Back9 Network, Clint Eastwood to help create new TV golf channelUSA TODAY (blog)Clint Eastwood's Next Project: New Golf Network (Exclusive)Hollywood ReporterCulture Pop: Clint Eastwood to launch golf network7LiveDaily Caller -Ologyall 14 news articles » -
Golf Clap for Waste Connections - msnbc.com
8 Feb 2012 | 12:57 pmGolf Clap for Waste Connectionsmsnbc.comBy Seth Jayson For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Waste Connections met expectations on revenue and met expectations on earnings per share. Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased and GAAP earnings per share expanded.and more » -
Man kills Chihuahua with golf club, hit it 'as if driving a ball off its tee ... - New York Daily News
8 Feb 2012 | 10:12 amNew York Daily NewsMan kills Chihuahua with golf club, hit it 'as if driving a ball off its tee New York Daily NewsBy Nancy Dillon / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS A California man was busted for killing a tiny chihuahua with his golf club, hitting it like a ball on a tee, authorities say. A Southern California man who allegedly killed a miniature 6-pound dog by teeing off on SoCal Man Charged After Fatally Using Chihuahua As Golf BallLAistCalifornia man accused of killing Chihuahua with golf clubFox NewsAnimal cruelty charges to be filed in Chihuahua golf club deathLos Angeles Timesall 217 news…
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NYT > Soccer
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On Soccer: England Loses Capello, National Team Coach
8 Feb 2012 | 6:41 pmFabio Capello, the Italian coach who was upset that John Terry had his captaincy stripped, resigned, but it’s unclear whether Harry Redknapp, a popular figure with his own troubles, will replace him. -
Harry Keough, Member of U.S. Soccer Team That Shocked England, Dies at 84
8 Feb 2012 | 6:12 pmMr. Keough, a defender who had one goal in 19 appearances for the United States from 1949 to 1957, coached St. Louis University to four N.C.A.A. soccer titles and a share of a fifth. -
Evra, Suarez to Fan Derby Flames
8 Feb 2012 | 6:04 pmThe focus will be on Patrice Evra of Manchester United and Luis Suarez of Liverpool when the arch-rivals clash in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Saturday. -
Goal: Fabio Capello Resigns as England Soccer Coach
8 Feb 2012 | 4:58 pmEngland’s preparations for this summer’s European Championship were thrown into tumult Wednesday when Fabio Capello, the Italian coach of the national team, resigned. -
Another England Soap Opera as Fabio Capello Quits
8 Feb 2012 | 4:57 pmThe soap opera of English soccer reached yet another a noisy climax Wednesday when national team coach Fabio Capello quit angrily just eight hours after potential successor Harry Redknapp was cleared in a London court of tax evasion charges.
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How to Change the World
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Raising Money: What Not to Say and What Not to Believe #OfficeandGuyK
20 Jan 2012 | 10:46 amOver the past two weeks via my partnership with Microsoft and Office Web Apps, I’ve provided templates of models for you to create enchanting PowerPoint pitches, Word business plans, and Excel financial models. They are all available for you to download from my SkyDrive account. I hope these documents and blog posts help you save a boatload of time and increase the quality of your efforts.I leave you with two sets of top ten lies: one of entrepreneurs and one of investors so that you know what not to say and what not to believe. Top Ten Lies of Entrepreneurs “Our projections are… -
Design a Sam Adams beer
20 Jan 2012 | 8:24 amNow this is a fun project. I’m helping Sam Adams “tap” the knowledge of beer drinkers and crowd source its next brew. Join the party by getting the app and designing your beer: The final brew will be released in Austin in the first week of March. #sponsored -
How to Create an Enchanting Financial Forecast #OfficeandGuyK
17 Jan 2012 | 1:52 pmThis is the third post in my Microsoft partnership, and it’s all about numbers. The topic is crafting your financial forecast to include in your pitch. Bill Reichert, my partner at Garage Technology Ventures, created an Excel model and wrote this blog post. There’s a lesson in this too: Get the best person for the job. His grasp of financial models and how to present them exceeds mine by two orders of magnitude. The Purpose of Financial Projections When it comes to financial projections, there are two types of entrepreneurs: first, the “visionary entrepreneur” who… -
How to Create an Enchanting Business Plan #OfficeandGuyK
12 Jan 2012 | 8:16 amHere is the second post in my series about planning, pitching, and launching a new business venture. In partnership with Microsoft and Office Web Apps, I’ve created a Word document that outlines a good business plan. It’s saved to my SkyDrive folder here. Feel free to download it and use it as inspiration. And if you’re working with a partner, you can use the free Word Web App to stay in sync. I provided the PowerPoint document before the Word document because a good business plan is an elaboration of a good pitch as opposed to a good pitch being a distillation of good business plan. -
How to Create an Enchanting Pitch #OfficeandGuyK
9 Jan 2012 | 8:01 amWelcome to the first in a series of blog posts I’ll be doing as part of a partnership with Microsoft and Office Web Apps. Over the next two weeks, I’ll cover everything a budding entrepreneur needs to turn an idea into an enchanting investment opportunity—from the perfect pitch to a killer business plan to financial forecasts. I’m going to start with a little dissertation on creating effective PowerPoint pitches for your company. I embedded the sample deck for you to click through by using the PowerPoint Web App. When you’re ready to get started, you can download the…
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Influential Marketing
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The Best And Worst Of Super Bowl Marketing Strategy 2012
6 Feb 2012 | 1:40 amI couldn't help but feel sorry this year for anyone who only watches the Super Bowl ads for entertainment. Perhaps the most defining feature of all the ads this year was how uniformly uncreative and dated they were. Marketers turned to old and obvious gags like girls in bikinis and dogs (lots of dogs) to try and carry their ads. The result was a very disappointing collection of ads for anyone who loves marketing and the hype of Super Bowl advertising. Still, there is plenty of marketing to learn from all the efforts this year, so let's get started in breaking down the strategy behind the ads… -
What The Amish Paradox Can Teach You About Marketing
3 Feb 2012 | 4:01 amLast year on a trip back to the US from South Africa, I picked up a magazine about a topic I knew very little about. It is of the common tricks I use to learn about different industries outside of the ones I work directly with – and in this case, the magazine I ended up with was called Farmer’s Weekly. The content was as you would expect, advice for farmers on techniques, information about regulations that will affect their industry and ads for tractors and things like that. In the middle of the issue I picked up was a feature article about what the author called the “Amish Paradox”… -
The 4 Principles Of Delusional Economics
27 Jan 2012 | 4:59 amWhen it comes to economic theories, there is plenty of fascination in the business world around how to explain what drives business and purchasing activities. Behavioural economics, the field of economics concerned with examining why people behave the way they do when it comes to their purchasing behaviour, is hot right now. Bestselling books like Freakonomics and Predictably Irrational dig deep into the psyche of people to try and explain seemingly illogical actions. My own upcoming book called Likeonomics, to some degree, looks at a similar theme of why we do business with people and… -
FinnAir, Republic Day & Why Celebration Is The Best Marketing Strategy
26 Jan 2012 | 8:28 amA few weeks ago it was my birthday. The day before on a Saturday morning, my two boys came leaping into our room very excited to wake me up. It wasn't so much about my birthday, unfortunately, as it was about getting ready to do their favourite thing on a Saturday morning: going to IHOP for pancakes. And when there is a birthday involved, it is an even bigger deal. Your birthday is a celebration there. They bring over at least 6 of the wait staff to sing their own version of the birthday song to you. You get ice cream for breakfast (what kid wouldn't love that?). People love celebrations -… -
Honda Masters The Art of Marketing Timing
23 Jan 2012 | 6:44 pmEvery year at the start of the new year there is something that most of us do without realizing it. It is related to making new year's resolutions, but it is more about sequencing your long term goals into the order in which you want to achieve them. One example might be saying to yourself, "I want to be married and then have a kid before I turn 35." Life is full of these little promises. So full, in fact, that often we make them to ourselves without even thinking. It raises an interesting marketing question as well. What would it take to get a customer to reevaluate the life sequence they…
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NYT > Media & Advertising
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Advertising: Marketing Financial Risk Management to Clients and Providers
8 Feb 2012 | 7:27 pmA campaign encouraging professionals to become certified as financial risk managers is centered on photographs of men in business garb recoiling as if they had been punched. -
Young People Are Watching, but Less Often on TV
8 Feb 2012 | 7:26 pmYoung people still watch many television shows, but they are streaming them on computers and phones to a greater degree. -
New Settlements in Britain’s Hacking Scandal
8 Feb 2012 | 7:00 pmRupert Murdoch’s British newspaper subsidiary was reported to have reached a new batch of settlements on Wednesday in the hacking scandal. -
Mike Huckabee to Begin Radio Show
8 Feb 2012 | 6:58 pmRush Limbaugh will soon have a new radio rival: Mike Huckabee, who will be running a radio show from noon to 3 p.m. for Cumulus Media Networks. -
Media Decoder Blog: A Lawsuit Accuses Relativity Media and Fortress of Fraud
8 Feb 2012 | 6:48 pmThe suit charges that a complicated financial transaction involving the producer of "Salt" and "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" and Citibank cut an investor out of $44 million.
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advertising/design goodness - advertising and design blog
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Medicus Health Insurance
8 Feb 2012 | 2:04 am“Medical assistance for travellers.” Agency: TBWA, Buenos Aires, Argentina Chief Creative Officers: Juan Cruz Bazterrica, Guillermo Castañeda Copywriter: Emilio Pastore Art Director: Cecilia Astengo Photographer: Blumencweig-Benitez Fotografia -
Beijing Sports Radio
7 Feb 2012 | 2:08 amAgency: Ogilvy & Mather, Hong Kong Executive Creative Directors: Simon Handford, Sandy Chan Creative Director: Alvin Lim Art Directors: Alvin Lim, Sonny Tjahjadi, Jason Pan, Hubert Yeung Associate CD / Copywriter: Richard Sorensen Retoucher: A Thousand Eyes -
Amnesty International
6 Feb 2012 | 2:36 am“We’re celebrating 50 years of fighting against violence, torture and executions.” Agency: TBWA, Berlin, Germany Chief Creative Officer: Kurt Georg Dieckert, Stefan Schmidt Copywriter: Bahador Pakravesh Art Director: Behnaz Pakravesh Illustrator: Dinoso.de, Dino So, Axel Mewes -
Axe Anarchy
3 Feb 2012 | 3:25 am“New Axe Anarchy for him + for her. Unleash the chaos.” Agency: BBH, London, UK Creative Director: Dominic Goldman, David Kolbusz Creatives: Daniel Schaefer, Szymon Rose -
Lürzer’s Archive
2 Feb 2012 | 1:49 amAgency: DDB, New York, USA Chief Creative Officer: Matt Eastwood Creative Director: Menno Kluin Copywriters: Aron Fried, Mike Sullivan Art Directors: Carlos Wigle, Ben Wallis Illustrator: Ben Wallis Designer: Juan Carlos Pagan
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Business is Personal
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Starting a New Business: Part 2 – Are you ready?
30 Jan 2012 | 4:25 amphoto credit: elbfoto Last time we talked briefly about things to consider in the early going of the business you just started. We talked a little about the product/service, but focused mostly on some basics about licenses/permits and getting supplies with a little taste of business model talk. The reality is that we shouldn’t have talked about most of that stuff, but we had to start with that conversation because it’s the type of thing new business owners expect to hear. You might be thinking “I’ve already got a product, I’ve already got a business (even if… -
What does a new business owner do first?
26 Jan 2012 | 7:11 pmphoto credit: Sebastian Mary Recently I received an email from a reader who said my blog made them feel like they had come in during the middle of a movie. Why? Because they’re at the startup stage in their business, while many of my posts focus on existing businesses. Fair enough. Let’s talk about startups. The overwhelming load at startup can freeze you in your tracks. You’re just starting to learn how to market (usually). You may need to know where to find less-expensive supplies, how to introduce your product to customers and how to price what you make/do. Best of all,… -
Out of Stock
20 Jan 2012 | 4:47 amphoto credit: Zigar When your store is out of stock on an item…what does your staff do and say? When I was out of state not long ago, I looked around for a pair of light hikers for everyday wear. I knew exactly what I wanted right down to the model name. I visited a locally owned store, but they didn’t have my size in stock. A few days later, I visited a box store. They had the shoe on the wall (which is never my size), but they didn’t have any others. They didn’t even have the match to the one on the wall. As I got into the car in the box store parking lot, I called… -
Your customers are already trained to share. Help them.
19 Jan 2012 | 4:30 amHave you noticed what happens when you add an item to your Amazon wish list? Three tabs appear on the right side of the “We just added this to your wish list page”. This tab is ready-made for a Facebook post with just one click. There’s a link to the book, a brief summary of the book and a 1 click button to share your wish. This tab is ready-made for a tweet with one click. It even makes note that a link to your wish list item will be part of the tweet and because 140 characters is always on the mind of Twitter users, it notes that the link’s characters are part… -
SOPA / PIPA: Business on a Rope
17 Jan 2012 | 10:00 pmYou may not have heard much about SOPA and its counterpart in the U.S. Senate, PIPA. SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act) have a noble and necessary cause behind them: To protect the intellectual property created by U.S. citizens and businesses. What is “Intellectual Property”? Movies, music, photos, books, stories, blog posts, computer software, patented processes, engineered work, designs and so on. No doubt you are aware that there are people and businesses, both inside and outside the U.S., who copy other people’s creations and…
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Adverblog
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Audit your Friends. Visualize your relationships
7 Feb 2012 | 10:15 pmOver the past year or so I’m sure you’ve seen dozen of social media related infographic. Most of them are pretty interesting and certainly very nicely done. But probably none of those is as beautiful and, I would say, intense, as this project by Colin Pinegar. Colin “audited” his Facebook friends and visually mapped out his relationships. He asked himself questions ranging from personal (do I know this person’s phone number?) to generic (can I recognize this person by their name alone?) and assigned each of his cyber-friends a score ranging from 1-25 (those that… -
Is Pinterest The Next Hot Property In Digital Advertising?
7 Feb 2012 | 10:05 amPinterest is the hottest thing in social content curation right now and has been billed as one of the top web properties in 2012, even though it still remains invite only. If you want an invite, leave a comment at the end of the article with your email and we’ll invite as many as we can! So what is Pinterest? It’s a visual curation site where you can create boards for the things that interest you. And those boards, probably say more about what you’re really interested in than any other site. For business, recent research has shown that Pinterest is driving more traffic than… -
Marni at H&M by Sofia Coppola
4 Feb 2012 | 8:54 amOne of the great things about H&M creating special collections with high-end fashion brands is that the advertising of such co-labs is usually as beautiful as the collection itself. The latest commercial has been directed by Sofia Coppola. The video is set in Marocco and presents a 1 minute story featuring Marni at H&M collection and a fascinating Brian Ferry’s Avalon song. Check in out, the photography is beautiful. -
The notebook that became a love letter
4 Feb 2012 | 6:28 amPossibly one of the sweetest and nicest promo pieces for Valentine’s Day I’ve ever seen. And possibly a sign that the creative “war” between Field Notes and Moleskine has officially begun. After a lot of recent great videos by Moleskine, FN fights back with a lovely little artwork. The video has been created to promote the Red Blooded notebook which has been recently added to the Field Notes standard product line. The notebook that becomes a love letter: a further proof that life, love and commerce can intersect nicely. Well… maybe the description that they added… -
An annoying great work
3 Feb 2012 | 1:09 amAs someone commented on Vimeo, this is an annoying great work. What happens to your brain when you get an email, an sms, a phone call, a Facebook message and two tweets all within about 5 seconds of one another? This creative re-interpretation of such event will show you. I warn you, watching and listening to this video will freak you out. Yes, it’s a pretty annoying one. But hopefully it will also make you think about how crazy our “always on” lives have become. Kudos to Chris Crutchfield for the “scary” idea and lovely execution.
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American Copywriter
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AC #70 is super. And it's here!
6 Feb 2012 | 10:43 amThe They Forgot To Make It Super Edition Tug and I (along with a pretty mouthy community at #acbowl12) dish about this year's ads. Some of it worked, some of it didn't, and nearly all of it fell well below the high water mark of year's past. Give it a listen and let us know your thoughts! -
Obviously, we are broken. But renovations are underway.
7 Dec 2011 | 6:50 amHey gang: Sorry we've been away so long but rest assured, plans are being made to reboot, retool, rejigger and re-energize American Copywriter in 2012. We are working to make it easier for us to post and podcast and even easier still for you to be a part of the conversation and community. Have a safe and restful holiday season and look for us next year. You don't know how much JJ and I appreciate your support and we want to thank you so, so, so much for it now! We'll be back, when deadlines allow. Tug and JJ -
Sharpie + creative + styrofoam = awesome.
10 Aug 2011 | 11:57 amOh, Sharpie, you are so delicious. -
Well, at least we aren't the only ones.
18 Jul 2011 | 11:04 amA couple of months ago, a thread was created on Reddit asking Anthony Bourdain to "do an AMA." AMA, as you may or may not know, is short for "Ask Me Anything," and is a type of Reddit thread where a famous or interesting Redditor creates a thread and allows other users to do a sort of Q&A in the comments. These are also sometimes called IAMA, which is short for "I am a _________. AMA. Popular AMAs have featured people ranging all the way from John Colbert and Ken Jennings to government whistleblowers and full-time sex slaves. As a person who loves to read… -
AC #69 Now Available.
7 Jul 2011 | 7:44 amThe Thrity Rooms To Hide In Addition. John and Tug talk with Master Jedi Luke Sullivan about his new book Thirty Rooms To Hide In, creativity and getting out of advertising. It's a great Sunday afternoon chat with almost no cursing and only minorly bothersome mouth sounds. Give it a listen won't you? And stay tuned. 'Coming in August 2011: The American Copywriter Reboot.
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All You Need Is A Good Idea!
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SUPER BUST
6 Feb 2012 | 4:13 amToday, when everyone is talking about yesterday’s outstanding creative Super Bowl commercials, I thought I would zag and mention a truly terrible spot I saw a week ago. When it came on, my wife and I each thought that it must be a spoof. We hoped that there would be a payoff that would make everything make sense, like the new JCPenney commercials, with coupons and screaming ladies do. No such luck. Now, I realize all this may be generational, and the commercials are meant for my daughters, not me. But I am adamant in my belief that the campaign for Sun Drop is simply dreadful. And since… -
ELMORE LEONARD'S 10 RULES FOR YOU
2 Feb 2012 | 4:14 amNever open a book with weather. Avoid prologues. Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue. Never use an adverb to modify the verb "said”…he admonished gravely. Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose. Never use the words "suddenly" or "all hell broke loose." Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly. Avoid detailed descriptions of characters. Don't go into great detail describing places and things. Try to leave out the part that readers tend to… -
WHAT'S THE OPPOSITE OF LUXURY?
30 Jan 2012 | 4:54 amI don’t typically name actual names when I am critiquing some marketing faux pas. If there is a point to be made, identifying the brand isn’t usually the point. But I am not sure how to hide the identity of today’s center of attention, so here goes, names and all. I joined the Ambassador Club of the InterContinental Hotel Group, specifically for the benefits that would accrue to the long weekend my family and I were spending in one of their high end hotels. (The group owns or manages many different names, from their highest end InterContinental brand, to Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza.)… -
IF YOU WON’T TAKE MY WORD…
26 Jan 2012 | 4:39 amImage by John Kratz via Flickr For longer than I can believe, in my book, my blog, and my presentations, I have been telling you how important good ideas are. How creativity and innovation and the unexpected will help you build your brand, stand out from your competition, and even probably be fun. But for those of you who have read the above paragraph as “blah, blah, blah,” after hearing my message so often, let me add the input of three disparate business people, whom you might be more apt to listen to. The quotees(?) have nothing in common, except their shared high opinion of the… -
READ ANY GOOD BUNS LATELY?
23 Jan 2012 | 4:24 amThe Los Angeles Times, among other publications and blogs, talks about Wimpy, a South African 500-restaurant chain. To promote its new Braille menu, it created burgers with words in Braille spelled out on the buns with sesame seeds. Each bun had a description such as “100% pure beef.” Diners at three Braille organizations were given 15 of the burgers. And in case you are curious how much impact 15 burgers can have, Wimpy claims 800,000 people have heard about their menu through Braille publications and organizations. In addition, the YouTube video below has been viewed so far by over…
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Seth's Blog
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How do they know you're not a flake?
8 Feb 2012 | 2:43 amBefore your link gets clicked or your proposal gets read, a busy person is going to triage it to find out if it's even worth glancing at. Since everyone is now connected, the new permeability has created a deluge of noise, and just about everyone worth contacting is taking defensive measures. Do I know this person? Did someone I trust send them over? Where does she work? (Ideo? the FDA? The New York Times?) Has she won an award? Is she famous? Are there typos and is the design sloppy? Are they pestering me? Do I already follow this person online? Does music play when I visit the website? Will… -
Horizontal marketing isn't a new idea
7 Feb 2012 | 2:09 amBut it is the new reality for just about every organization. Vertical marketing means the marketer (the one with money) is in charge. Vertical marketing starts at the top and involves running ads, sending out direct mail and pushing hype through the media. Your money, your plans, your control. It might not work, but generally the worst outcome is that you will be ignored and need to spend more money. Horizonal marketing, on the other hand, means creating a remarkable product and story and setting it up to spread from person to person. It's out of your control, because all the interactions are… -
Who is your customer?
6 Feb 2012 | 2:26 amRule one: You can build a business on the foundation of great customer service. Rule two: The only way to do great customer service is to treat different customers differently. The question: Who is your customer? It's not obvious. Zappos is a classic customer service company, and their customer is the person who buys the shoes. Nike, on the other hand, doesn't care very much at all about the people who buy the shoes, or even the retailers. They care about the athletes (often famous) that wear the shoes, sometimes for money. They name buildings after these athletes, court them, erect… -
In search of a timid trapeze artist
5 Feb 2012 | 2:01 amGood luck with that, there aren't any. If you hesitate when leaping from rope to another, you're not going to last very long. And this is at the heart of what makes innovation work in organizations, why industries die, and how painful it is to try to maintain the status quo while also participating in a revolution. Gather up as much speed as you can, find a path and let go. You can't get to the next rope if you're still holding on to this one. -
Will energy consumption stay private?
4 Feb 2012 | 11:45 amIt's clear that the consumption of energy has external effects that impact more than just the person who is paying for it. Geopolitical, health and economic issues come to the neighbors and nearby citizens of entities that are using a lot of power. It was always straightforward to see who was burning a lot of wood or drove a huge car. It's easy to see when a company has a huge smokestake belching carbon. What happens when sensors make it easy to see how efficient a machine is, how much of a resource is being consumed and how much exhaust is being spewed? What happens when Google maps shows…
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Online Marketing Blog
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Innovative Search Features Drive Engagement – Paul Vallez #OMS12
8 Feb 2012 | 3:30 am"Google taught us how to search." - Paul Vallez Paul Vallez admits that when he started at HP less than a year ago he had just come from Ask.com and was pretty cocky about what he knew. Vallez also shares that he wasn’t very open to new ideas and wanted to step into his new position at a big brand and immediately demonstrate value. What was his approach? 75% Cocky 25% Open to new ideas In Vallez’s presentation he identified what he called “3 Key Learnings” that he shared with the audience for improving the way that your search strategy is implemented for… -
#Optimize This: Online Marketing Summit 2012 Presentation
6 Feb 2012 | 7:21 amI’m headed to (hopefully) sunny San Diego today for the annual Online Marketing Summit conference where I’ll get to present on one of my favorite topics: Optimization. Of course, if you read Online Marketing Blog very often, you’ll know my definition of optimization is a bit different than traditional SEO. My post last Thursday “Are You Optimized?” touched on this. The competition for attendance during the breakout sessions at OMS is really tough during the time slot I’m scheduled for. SAP, Wider Funnel and SAP are all presenting at the same time as… -
Online Marketing News: Facebook IPO, Harmonize with Google+, Pinterest Dominates Traffic
3 Feb 2012 | 4:55 amFacebook in Numbers: Prior to the IPO The big news in social media and business this week is Facebook’s new IPO. This infographic from statista and creative commons shares some very interesting figures about Facebook, before it goes public. Highlights include: In 2012 Facebook is expected to reach: 90% of U.S. Social Network Users & 60% of Internet Users. Assuming a valuation of $100 billion, Facebook would be work 67 to 100x’s it’s estimated 2011 net income. The Social Media Buzz “How to Harmonize Google+ With Your Other Social Platforms” Search Plus has placed even more… -
Essential Shifts in Online Marketing: Are You On Board? Are You Optimized?
2 Feb 2012 | 7:21 amIs your company adaptable? Is your marketing optimized? I think most online marketers get the fact that marketing and communications on the web is a fast changing place and that most companies are structured to move at a slower pace than the digital world is evolving. Take for example, the notion of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). It’s been around for about 15 years or so and in just the past few months Google has made the most significant changes ever. Despite the crystal clear focus towards search integration with social, many companies and digital pundits are still skeptical about… -
Blogger Relations: Push or Pull? How to Get Bloggers to Mention Your Brand
1 Feb 2012 | 9:38 amIs Your Blogger Relations Using Push & Pull PR Tactics? Yesterday digital PR maven Adam Vincenzini pinged me about a post he was researching on how brands could make it easier for bloggers to talk about them. It’s a great question because mentions and links from influential content sources are priceless for credibility, awareness and in particular, social SEO. This is a topic close to home because after 8 years of blogging here at Online Marketing Blog attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors, nearly 50k RSS subscribers, 13k blog Facebook Fans and 16k blog Twitter followers,…
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Ads of the World™
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National Ballet of Canada: Lost in Motion
8 Feb 2012 | 4:26 pmOpening on a lone male figure, Ben Shirinian’s two-minute film pulls its viewer into the world of dancer Guillaume Côté as he loses himself to his movement in an undefined, mysterious space. Combining live action with subtle visual effects, Lost in Motion encapsulates the precision and technique of the dance to beautiful effect, exposing the strength and athleticism behind it. Dancer / Choreographer: Guillaume Côté Director: Ben Shirinian Producer: Leslie Aimée Gottlieb Production Company: Krystal Levy Pictures Executive Producer: David Miller Director of Photography: Jeremy Benning… -
Peugeot 308 Touring: Moon
8 Feb 2012 | 4:16 pmLet the outside world in. 308 Touring with Panoramic Glass Roof. Advertising Agency: Arnold Furnace, Sydney, Australia Creative Directors: Paul Fenton, Tom Spicer Copywriter / Art Director: Luke Duggan Photographer: Alan McFetridge Retoucher: Cream Studios Watch all the best Super Bowl 2012 Commercials -
Peugeot 308 Touring: Sun
8 Feb 2012 | 4:16 pmLet the outside world in. 308 Touring with Panoramic Glass Roof. Advertising Agency: Arnold Furnace, Sydney, Australia Creative Directors: Paul Fenton, Tom Spicer Copywriter / Art Director: Luke Duggan Photographer: Alan McFetridge Retoucher: Cream Studios Watch all the best Super Bowl 2012 Commercials -
Peugeot 308 Touring: Cloud
8 Feb 2012 | 4:15 pmLet the outside world in. 308 Touring with Panoramic Glass Roof. Advertising Agency: Arnold Furnace, Sydney, Australia Creative Directors: Paul Fenton, Tom Spicer Copywriter / Art Director: Luke Duggan Photographer: Alan McFetridge Retoucher: Cream Studios Watch all the best Super Bowl 2012 Commercials -
Hard Rock Café: Our Other Rock Stars
8 Feb 2012 | 4:06 pmAdvertising Agency: Duncan/Channon, San Francisco, CA, USA Executive Creative Director: Robert Duncan Creative Director / Copywriter: John Munyan Associate Creative Director / Art Director: John Stewart Executive Director: Christine Gomez Account Director: Molly Lewis Account Executive: Christian Lee Production Company: Recommended Media Director: Henry Hobson Founder / CEO: Stephen Dickstein Partner / Executive Producer: Phillip Detchmendy Producer: Steph Scire DP: Warren Hansen Editorial: Barbary Post, San Francisco Editor: Nick Tomnay Editorial Producer: Susannah Wijsen Watch all the best…
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The Responsible Marketing Blog
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Your name + your picture = LinkedIn ad
31 Jan 2012 | 10:01 amI received the following message over the weekend from LinkedIn friend David Quinn that you definitely need to read: I really like LinkedIn, but as a person concerned about privacy and social networks, I believe that I have to point out a change to you. Without attracting too much publicity, LinkedIn has updated their privacy conditions and has now granted itself permission to use YOUR NAME AND PICTURE in any of their advertisements. Yes: Your name + your picture = A LinkedIn ad. Some simple actions to be considered by you: 1. Place the cursor on your name at the top right corner of the… -
It worked with Darth Vader. Why not Ferris Bueller?
30 Jan 2012 | 1:11 amVolkswagen’s “The Force” Volkswagen commercial was a huge hit with nearly 50 million views since its Super Bowl release last year. Here it is, in the unlikely event you haven’t seen it: Now, a 10 second trailer featuring Matthew Broderick has the internets abuzz wondering if a Ferris Bueller’s Day Off sequel in the works. With over four million views in three days, the video has gone viral. Rumor has it there’s no sequel, but instead it’s teasing an ad for the new Honda CR-V. Some enraged Ferris fans are dropping f-bombs, threatening to key Hondas,… -
Responsible Marketing LinkedIn group is heating up
28 Nov 2011 | 5:51 pmDid you know there’s a Responsible Marketing Group on LinkedIn? Yep, it currently has an international membership of 866 members, and the conversation has recently heated up recently. Check out a great conversation we’re having about Denny’s Maple Bacon Sundae, and feel free to join us as we discuss where commerce and conscience collide and/or come together. -
How, when and where we share on the web
4 Nov 2011 | 11:37 amTake a few minutes to review these enlightening statistics from AddThis representing sharing trends over the last five years. A few highlights: Most active day for sharing: Wednesdays Most active time of day: 9:30 A.M. EST Most users click within the first two minutes 75% of clicks happen within the first day Interestingly, most shares are happening via good ol’ cut and paste. Who’d a thunk it? via Mashable -
Tums commercials gone wrong
14 Sep 2011 | 5:28 pmIn commercials, funny is money. So is sex. So when combined, sexually suggestive, funny commercials are usually bank. And the more sophomoric the humor, the more I usually like them. But these new spots for Tums antacid are just wrong — specifically these three: Inappropriately suggestive is funny when it makes sense, and is relevant to the product. But this is Tums antacid they’re selling, not condoms or 4-hour-erection Cialis. The production values for the spots are top notch, so Grey (Worldwide) obviously spent some bucks making them. But what does phallic food and orally fixated…
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Marketing & Strategy Innovation Blog
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So You Want To Be Customer-Centric? (video)
7 Feb 2012 | 7:32 amI spend a large part of my professional life telling companies that if they truly take their customer's interests to heart, these customers will reward them with their business, their recommendations and their support. But even though I preach this gospel, I have to admit that I never really understood the impact of super-promoters until I experienced it around my book "So You Want to Be Customer-Centric?". read more -
The Next 80% (manuscript)
7 Feb 2012 | 3:22 amThe following text is the manuscript to my presentation The next 80%. read more -
Research Claims that 25% of Tweets Are Not Worth Reading. So What?
6 Feb 2012 | 2:01 pmAccording to research from a team at Carnegie Mellon University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Georgia Institute of Technology, we think that 25% of tweets are not worth reading. The study found that, when asked to rate tweets by people they follow, only 36% of tweets were marked favourably, 25% were marked less favourably and the balance (39%) received no strong feeling either way. read more -
Brand Experience Brief: Steak ‘n Shake Signature
6 Feb 2012 | 12:11 pm(Here’s my latest “brand experience brief” — insights and analysis of new and interesting restaurant and retail concepts.) read more -
Why Facebook Will Do Search and Why Google Needs Social
5 Feb 2012 | 10:12 amMark Zuckerberg posted a picture of himself in front of his computer, and an eagle-eyed blogger noticed that his version of Facebook sports a larger-than-usual search box. An unintended leak or not, Facebook competing in search is only a matter of time just as, in retrospect, it was inevitable that Google would integrate social elements deeper into its main product. read more
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David Airey, graphic designer
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Print vendors: a few handy resources
3 Feb 2012 | 5:36 amEstablishing a good relationship with a printer can make all the difference when it comes to cutting costs. But obviously you first need to find a reliable vendor. I covered a few basic money-saving tips deep in the archives, and previously featured your recommended UK commercial printers. Here are some additional resources from my bookmarks should the need arise. Jessica Hische added a “find by location” tool to Inker Linker (worldwide, but with US focus). Lovely as a Tree contains a UK database of commercial printers. Rob Giampietro published a list of mainly US print vendors… -
It’s not easy choosing a book title
30 Jan 2012 | 7:36 amMy book will be aimed at those who are thinking of, or who have started their own design business. The title I wish I’d read a few years ago (although I know I’m going to learn a lot writing this one). It was going to be called The Business of Design, but it’s already published. Then Nikki suggested Business Designed to tie-in with Identity Designed. Great idea, but someone’s sitting on the domain and my purchase request led to nowt. Then Bernadette pitched in with these two ideas: Working in Design The Design Startup I’ve registered both .coms, so it’s… -
How do you find new clients when starting a design business?
27 Jan 2012 | 4:12 amI’ve just put pen to paper on a new contract with publisher Peachpit. This book will focus on the business of design, answering the most frequently asked questions about starting and running a successful design business. The copy deadline is October, so the release-date should be just before the end of the year. Many of you will run your own studio, be in self-employment, or freelance in your spare time. I’d love to share your experiences in the book, and for now, there’s one topic I’m particularly interested in: How do you find new clients when starting a design… -
Music video for the deaf blind
24 Jan 2012 | 12:57 pmHere’s a kind of science experiment that had me thinking. “This video is made to be connected to a metal pad that a low-strength electrical current runs through. The current’s strength modulates in conjunction with the frequency of the wave of the color depicted on screen. Low frequency colors (red/orange) emit a lower level of current than higher frequency colors (blue/green).” By Evan Drolet Cook who lives and works in Los Angeles. But it’s not the actual video I was contemplating. It was our eyesight and hearing. Just as we do our health, it’s incredibly… -
From the reader #7
19 Jan 2012 | 1:28 amLand art. Worth a look. On Kuriositas. The importance of a good crop. A nice visual demonstration of photo manipulation, and how you can use cropping to improve your photos. On ISO50. “Instead of doing two jobs at 50%, or four jobs at 25%, just do one job at 100%.” Do one job properly. Dave Trott on why specialising is the way to go. On Dave Trott’s blog. Beautiful colour in this 60-second ad for Lurpak Butter (embedded below). Via Creative Review. Typographic chocolate holiday gifts. Lunch time yet? Via inspire me now. Uncloaking a slumlord conspiracy with social network…
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PsyBlog
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Multiple-Choice Tests: Why Sticking With Your First Answer is (Probably) Wrong
7 Feb 2012 | 6:34 amWhat's the best strategy for taking a multiple-choice test? The standard advice for multiple-choice tests is: if in doubt, stick with your first answer. College students believe it: about 75% agree that changing your first choice will lower your score overall (Kruger et al., 2005). Instructors believe it as well: in one study 55% believed it would lower students' scores while only 16% believed it would improve them. And yet this is wrong. One survey of 33 different studies conducted over 70 years found that, on average, people who change their answers do better than those who don't (Benjamin… -
Duck/Rabbit Illusion Provides a Simple Test of Creativity
31 Jan 2012 | 10:06 amAre you creative? Try this simple test... The well-known known illusion above can be seen in two ways: as both a duck and a rabbit. Which do you see first? And if you see one, can you also see the other? Most people see the duck first and can flip between the two representations, but the question is: how easy is it for you to flip between them? Does it require real mental strain, or can you do it at will? Wiseman et al. (2011) had a hunch that the ability to flip between representations is related to creativity. To test this participants were given a simple test of creativity which involves… -
Powerful People Feel Taller Than They Really Are
24 Jan 2012 | 9:05 amExperiment demonstrates how a powerful feeling feeds back into self-perception of height. Language can reveal all kinds of truths about our psychology. Take these expressions: He's the big man on this project. We look up to her. Lady Gaga is huge. He puts her on a pedestal. It's not hard to see the strong association here between size and power that's embedded in the way we talk about the relations between people. The reason why is almost too obvious to bother stating: larger people quite often do have more power. As children our parents, teachers and all our authority figures are taller than… -
Why Stories Sell: Transportation Leads to Persuasion
18 Jan 2012 | 10:10 amPsychological research on persuasion suggests that stories which transport people are more likely to be persuasive. Marketers have known for years that stories are a powerful tool for persuading people. That's partly because stories (unlike statistics) are easy to understand. That's why politicians try to persuade us by telling stories about their vision of the world. They do spout statistics as well, but normally only in support of some kind of grand narrative. We instinctively understand that people resist being told what to do, but will respond to the moral of a story. So we try to… -
The Amazing Power of Regret to Shape Our Future
12 Jan 2012 | 8:41 amWhy people are reluctant to exchange lottery tickets, but will happily exchange pens. Regret might not make a list of the most powerful emotions. It would probably include things like anger, happiness, jealousy, sadness and especially for us English, embarrassment. We tend to think of regret as essentially a backward-looking emotion. We regret things in the past, like not trying hard enough in school, how we treated a friend or the things we said to our partner in the heat of an argument. In this sense you might argue that it's useless: why regret something you can't change? But regret isn't…
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Social Media Marketing
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Foursquare in Context
29 Jan 2012 | 8:11 pmIf you're a regular user of services like Twitter or Foursquare, you've undoubtedly been met with skeptics and naysayers who wonder aloud, "Why would I want to tell anyone what I'm having for lunch?" or "Why would I care if someone is having a ham sandwich?"Fair enough, but the inquisitors fail to take into account the all-important factor in any conversation, whether it's in person or online: context.Context is what allows us to make sense of much of the world around us. "He's so bad!" could have two very different meanings, depending on the the rest of the conversation surrounding it. With… -
Social Media and Travel
26 Jan 2012 | 9:37 pmIf you're like me, you spend a good deal of time on the road. Whether it's at an airport, on a train or in a car, you're mobile and your digital life is mobile too.The pervasiveness of tablets and smartphones (in addition to the already ubiquitous laptop) is growing daily. Just this week, Apple announced that it sold 37 million iPhones and 15.4 million iPads in the fourth quarter of 2011 alone. It means that more of us are doing things on the web (or mobile web, as the case may be) while we're on the go, and there are certain things those of us in the digital world look for when we travel -… -
Revealing a New Ford in a New Way
13 Dec 2011 | 6:00 pmFord Motor Company has been at the forefront of social media for some time. The Fiesta Movement, the Explorer reveal on Facebook, Doug the Spokespuppet, Ford Social (formerly known as The Ford Story) and being the first brand on Google+ all stand as examples of Ford's success that spans from clever campaigns to a daily commitment to engage.Ford played a significant part in how the automotive industry thinks about social media (and in some cases how large companies think about social media) and now, as we near the 2012 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), at Ford we have an… -
Infographic: 5 Companies That Are Rocking Social Media
29 Nov 2011 | 8:47 amThis infographic was created by Voltier Digital, a content marketing agency based in Florida, specializing on the creation and promotion of impactful content marketing campaigns for businesses of all sizes.We all know the usual names of companies that are doing well in social media. I thought it might be interesting to take a look at some of the lesser-knowns and why they've had success, either on an ongoing basis or with some one-off efforts that stood out.And since infographics are all the rage, what better way to look at them? Of course, for SEO purposes, I've listed them here as… -
Twitter Business Guide
7 Oct 2011 | 8:53 pmI was recently introduced to a compact guidebook for businesses trying to get a sense of Twitter. The microblogging site that allows you to update in no more than 140 characters at at time is deceptively complex and nuanced - especially for a newcomer.This short guide, entitled Twitter Business Guide: Communication and Marketing was written by Jean-Christophe Barré and Dr. Andreas Schroeter and in just 32 pages covers some of the things that may be keeping you and your business away from this platform. For someone who is new to Twitter, this e-book will prove a helpful compass as you…
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Entrepreneur Update
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Seven Ways to Kill Your Meetings and Unleash Productivity
8 Feb 2012 | 12:08 pmDespite studies showing that meetings are a colossal waste of time, they remain common. Here's how to collaborate while cutting back on meetings. -
The Danger of Being Franchisee No. 1
8 Feb 2012 | 10:00 amSure, it's a thrill to get in on the ground floor of a hot new concept. But it's risky to invest in an unproven business model. Here are questions to ask. -
How the White House Became a Social-Media Powerhouse
8 Feb 2012 | 7:00 amMacon Phillips, the White House's director of New Media, describes how the administration is using social media in unique ways -- and how your business can too. -
No-Cost Ways to Increase Your Sales This Year
8 Feb 2012 | 5:02 amYou don't need to spend a lot to win a lot of sales in 2012. -
The Battle Against SOPA Is Far From Over
8 Feb 2012 | 4:00 amEven though the anti-piracy bill has been sidelined, other proposed legislation still exist that pose equal threats to online businesses.
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VentureBeat
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Skyrim creator Todd Howard shares secrets of video game design
8 Feb 2012 | 7:37 pmSkyrim co-creator Todd Howard shared the secrets of video game design at the opening keynote of the annual DICE Summit in Las Vegas this evening. In a speech before hundreds of elite game developers, Howard said that the secret to making games such as Skyrim — which has shipped 10 million units and has been rated as one of the best games of 2011 by critics — is to approach it with discipline. Howard heads the Bethesda Game Studios, which is part of ZeniMax, a private equity-funded company which owns other studios such as id Software and publishes games under the Bethesda Softworks… -
Path-ological: In 2010, founder Dave Morin said Path never stored user data
8 Feb 2012 | 6:15 pmDave Morin circa 2010 It’s the privacy snafu that will not die. A day after a developer discovered that Path was storing users entire address books on its servers, the startup seemed to have defused the incident by apologizing and deleting all the personal data it had stored. But now Gawker’s Ryan Tate has published an email he got from Dave Morin back in 2010 in which the Path CEO acknowledges that his company looks through your contacts in order to suggest connections, but made it explicitly clear that, “Path does not retain or store any of your information in any… -
Police seize Megaupload founder’s $4.3M home, let pregnant wife stay
8 Feb 2012 | 4:56 pmGovernment officials have Megaupload founder and accused money-launderer Kim Dotcom right where they want him — locked up in New Zealand awaiting an extradition hearing — but that’s not stopping them from kicking the Internet mogul while he’s down. New Zealand authorities seized Dotcom’s $4.3 million Coatesville home today, according to The New Zealand Herald. The property, not previously seized in a January raid taking $16 million in assets, is currently occupied by the alleged crime-ring leader’s pregnant (with twins, no less) wife and three children. -
Facebook gives us some clues about the next 12 months of Timeline
8 Feb 2012 | 2:25 pmFacebook product chief Carl Sjogreen gave developers and others a few clues about what to expect from Facebook over the next year. At the Inside Social Apps conference in San Francisco today, the Facebook executive laid out the three most important parts of Facebook’s third-party development platform: Open Graph, mobile, and games. “The point of Open Graph is a tool to let apps deeply integrate with Facebook and fill out your Timeline and enrich the News Feed,” he began. “It’s based on the belief that Facebook is more interesting… if it includes more than… -
Foursquare for iPhone, Android enhanced with new Explore features and menu info
8 Feb 2012 | 2:18 pmA hungry sojourner should find a more satisfying experience tracking down a good meal if refreshed iPhone and Android applications from Foursquare deliver on their promise to simplify the discovery of places. The New York location-based company, currently in the midst of a rebrand, has shipped colorful Explore tab updates to its most popular mobile applications. The Explore tab, the home of place discovery, now features smarter search capabilities, a new navigation for quick access to top picks and trending locations, the ability to search beyond your present location, and the option to…
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Presentation Zen
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Hans Rosling: The Jedi Master of data visualization
26 Jan 2012 | 11:31 pmDr. Hans Rosling is one of my presentation heroes; he's been featured or mentioned in all my books and several times on presentationzen.com over the years. If there is a Jedi Master of presenting data clearly, visually, and simply, then it is Hans. He proves time and time again, that data are not dull—and when you are trying to change the world, there is no excuse for boring presentations. Most people are aware of Dr. Rosling through his popular TED Talks, but just in case you've never seen him present, below is a nice 5-minute piece he did on CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS. At TED.com you'll… -
New: Presentation Zen (2nd Edition)
18 Jan 2012 | 10:36 pmFour years ago my first book Presentation Zen was published by Peachpit Press. Since then I wrote two other presentation books and a sketchbook/storyboard book and a DVD (plus an additional DVD/Book just for Japan). Although a lot of time had passed, I was still happy with the original Presentation Zen. And yet, the original Presentation Zen book could benefit from a little freshening up in the form of a 2nd edition for 2012. This 2nd edition of Presentation Zen has the same look and feel as the original book and I still did all the design and layout myself. The biggest difference is the book… -
10 great books to help you think, create, & communicate better in 2012
10 Jan 2012 | 4:54 amIn the spirit of personal kaizen, I have listed below a few books that I read (or reread) over the past year that you may want to read as part of your own continuous improvement journey. (Clicking on the book's icon takes you to Amazon.com.) (1) Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long. Over the last 10-20 years scientists have made many remarkable discoveries concerning the brain and how it works. David Rock is not a neuroscientist but he is a good "neurotranslator" of the scientific evidence and does a good job of… -
Progress and the intentional selection of less
30 Dec 2011 | 5:26 pmMany people today talk about presentation technology as if it were a panacea for boring lectures and ineffective presentations. Technologies such as our laptops, iPads, and cool software packages are wonderful tools that can, when used well, increase the quality of communication and engagement. This is especially true when we need to engage with people live on the other side of the planet via tools like video conferencing, webinars, Skype, and so on. However, while technology has evolved in dramatic ways over the last generation, our deep human need for visceral connections, and personal… -
Steve Jobs: "People who know what they’re talking about don’t need PowerPoint"
20 Dec 2011 | 5:12 amOne thing we need to constantly remind ourselves is that slides and other forms of projected visualization—no matter how "cool" they may be—are not appropriate for every context. Multimedia is great for presentations before large groups such as keynote addresses or conference presentations, but in meetings where you want to actively discuss issues or go over details in depth, slides—especially the snooze-inducing bulletpoint variety, which are never a good idea—are almost always counter productive. I stressed early on in the first version of Presentation Zen four years ago—and ad…
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Small Business Labs
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The Global, Human, Strategic Accountant
8 Feb 2012 | 1:00 amThe CPA Success blog has a good article on the new Chartered Global Management Accountant designation. This is a joint effort between two large accounting associations, the AICPA and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. This is interesting for several reasons. First, the accounting profession realizes businesses of all sizes are increasingly global. This means accounting professionals need to have the skills to advise their clients on global issues. It's good to see accountants looking to lead in this arena. Second, the new accounting designation is designed to… -
The Rise of Small and Micro Manufacturing
7 Feb 2012 | 1:00 amU.S. manufacturing is on a roll. The New York Times recently called manufacturing a "Surprising Bright Spot in the U.S. Economy", the sector has added 330,00 jobs over the last two years, manufacturing economic indicators continue to rise and the President has made manufacturing the center of his economic policy. The times are even more exciting for small (less than 100 employees) and micro (less than 5 employees) manufacturers. Most people don't realize how many small manufacturers there are the U.S. According to the National Institute of Standards and… -
Euromonitor's Top 10 Consumer Trends for 2012
6 Feb 2012 | 1:00 amEuromonitor released their Top 10 Consumer Trends of 2012 recently. The trends I found most interesting are: Consumer vigilantes speak up! On and offline protest is in the spotlight, pressuring brands towards greater accountability and genuine innovation. DIY life - Consumers are revelling in their ability to track and control their health, identity, communication and buying habits. Reality culture and consumers: Scripted reality or celebrities living the dream - consumers are gripped, sharing views and being moved to change their purchasing behaviour. I found these… -
Solid Jobs Report
5 Feb 2012 | 1:00 amThe January Employment Situation Summary from the BLS was quite positive. Total non-farm employment increased 234,000 and the unemployment rate fell to 8.3%. More importantly, private employment increased by 257,000, more than off-setting a small decline in government employment. This continues a trend towards stronger private sector hiring. Over the last 12 months private sector employment is up 2.1% while government employment is down 1.2% (this nets to a 1.5% overall increase). This is really good news - private sector hiring is always the key to… -
The Rise of Storytelling
2 Feb 2012 | 1:00 amOver the last few months a hot topic in the media has been business storytelling. Entrepreneur's How to Become Your Company's Storyteller is a good example. It explains the reason business stories are becoming so important: "These days, corporate-weary consumers care more and more about buying locally, supporting independent businesses and owning products that are made sustainably and responsibly. They want to know the story of what they're buying, who is selling it and what causes it may support." Another good story on small business storytelling is…
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Forbes - Entrepreneurs
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Supermodel Supermogul
8 Feb 2012 | 3:00 pmThe strange but true story of how swimsuit icon Kathey Ireland turned America's most mundane products into a licensing empire--and became the first lady of flyover country. -
Thanks For The Memory
8 Feb 2012 | 3:00 pmJeff Ready saves small businesses big money by selling data storage in tidy, tailored chunks. Now he's turning those dumb boxes into servers. -
On The Edge
8 Feb 2012 | 3:00 pmIn the make-or-break world of the PGA Tour, each shot can mean the difference between a guaranteed windfall or a year in cheap hotels. -
A 102% Tax Rate? Really?
8 Feb 2012 | 2:40 pm -
How A High-Earning Couple Got Roth IRAs And You Can Too
8 Feb 2012 | 2:32 pmThis story appears in the Feb. 27, 2012 issue of Forbes magazine, p. 56, titled ?Roths For The Rich.?
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Great Demo!
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Stunningly Awful Demos – Insufficient Discovery
7 Feb 2012 | 8:17 am[Send me an email at PCohan@SecondDerivative.com if you'd like a PDF copy of this article]Imaginewalking into a doctor’s office and, before you can open your mouth, the doctorimmediately writes prescriptions for a broad range of drugs… The doctor then says, “Let me know if any ofthese drugs seem to help address any problems you have.”Or:Imaginewalking into a doctor’s office and (again), before you can open your mouth, thedoctor immediately writes prescriptions for a broad range of drugs… A few days later you come back, at which timethe doctor says, “So what seems to… -
Great Demo! Public Workshop February 29
3 Feb 2012 | 7:11 am[Warning – shameless self-promotionalert!]Our next public Great Demo! Workshop is scheduledto take place February 29 in San Jose, California – registration and additionalinformation can be found here: http://greatdemo120229.eventbrite.com/This is an excellent opportunity forindividuals, small groups or for teams that have new hires. We’ve found that these events are mostproductive when there are two or more participants from each organization(singletons are also fine). This helpsto mimic real-life interactions as much as possible, both when preparing demos… -
21 Clicks Is Too Much – Stop the Demo!
30 Jan 2012 | 9:21 amYes, people do count clicks during demos – and this is the true,brief horror story of too many clicks (I heard this from a recent Great Demo!Workshop participant): During a demo – and not very far into it, the head of agroup of National Account Managers suddenly said, “Stop the demo – 21 clicks istoo much!” And that was the end of thatsales opportunity…His point was very simple: any task that takes 21 clicks to complete is probably going to be toodifficult and too complicated to do for the average person (and in thisparticular case the audience and expected users… -
“Before I demo to you, why don’t you demo to me…?”
22 Jan 2012 | 9:34 am“Before I demo to you, why don’t you demo to me what you arecurrently using?” If a customer has anexisting software system, this can be a wonderful way to understand the strengths,weaknesses and gaps in their current system – particularly from the customer’s point of view. They’ll tell you what they like, what theyhate, what’s missing and a range of other delightful Discovery information.Additionally, this also inverts the traditional process of thevendor presenting to the customer, to one of the customer presenting to the vendor – an experience often rememberedby… -
Practice Your Mouse Movements… All The Time!
16 Jan 2012 | 12:03 pmFor some people presenting demonstrations, moving the mouse smoothlyand deliberately occurs naturally. Forothers, it can be a real challenge! Here’sa quick tip: practice moving your mouseas if you are delivering a demo allof the time. The “muscle memory”associated with constant practice will reward you when you are in the heat of atough demo – and can’t invest time to think about how best to move yourmouse. When we are mousing for ourselves, our mouse movements tendto follow the motion of our eyes. So, ifwe are hunting for a specific…
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Grade A Entrepreneurs
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Klip launches privacy circles for mobile video (available for iPhone on the App Store)
2 Feb 2012 | 4:07 pmNumbers speak by themselves: Klip surpassed 1 million downloads in just over 100 days. That simple. Even if mobile video and video sharing are the rage, it’s still spectacular. Power Engineering = Ease of Use : A rather late comer to the app (no excuse when the founder is an old friend, Alain Rossmann), I must admit that I am blown away: it’s the highest quality video streaming around for mobile device with a fantastic recommendation engine suggesting videos, users and topics to follow; it includes SMS and iMessage to invite and tag friends. Klip stores my videos in the cloud and… -
A Must-Read: Not the Last Goodbye, by David Servan-Schreiber
29 Jan 2012 | 7:50 pmMy friend Franklin Servan-Schreiber delivered a speech last week in Houston at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, and will speak on Tuesday at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh about the final weeks of his brother, David Servan-Schreiber. Co-founder of the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and one of the founders of the US branch of Médecins Sans Frontières, David was the author of multiple bestsellers including Healing Without Freud or Prozac and Anticancer, A New Way of Life and ultimately of Not the Last Goodbye: On… -
The Macintosh Way by Guy Kawasaki: Ageless Insights into Entrepreneurial Audacity
19 Jan 2012 | 12:16 pmThe huge success of Walter Isaacson’s book, Steve Jobs, shows the scope of our fascination for one of the top industry visionaries ever. While most people have come to realize the meaning of Steve Jobs almost in retrospect, for entrepreneurs starting in the eighties, he was already a thought-leader, and the Macintosh was already a metaphor for entrepreneurial audacity. One of the very first books to acknowledge this fact was Guy Kawasaki’s The Macintosh Way in 1990. This was Guy’s first book. His French publisher, Diateino, just published abstracts, Le Style Macintosh,… -
The End of Business as Usual by Brian Solis
18 Jan 2012 | 10:33 pm“What are words for if not to inspire the hearts, minds, and actions of our employees and customers?” Brian Solis asks this before listing a series of buzzwords that operate as “crutches for characterless engagement,” and are “indicative of how businesses see (or don’t see) employees and customers.” His advice is simple: Take a moment to revise the way you speak, before it’s too late. We are getting awfully close to “The end of business as usual,” to use the title of the book. The book is not about doomsday by a futurist, but rather… -
Digital Leader, 5 Simple Keys to Success and Influence by Erik Qualman
2 Jan 2012 | 5:14 pmNotoriety used to give you a chance to be immortalized with a postage stamp, but “now every single one of us has a digital stamp.” This is the opening statement of Erik Qualman’s new book: Digital Leader: 5 Simple Keys to Success and Influence. While Qualman’s previous book, Socialnomics*, analyzed the new challenges and opportunities that the social media re-segmentation and restructuring of the market are to present to businesses, Digital Leader focuses on what it means for each of us to be part of the “Glass House Generation,” and what it takes for each…
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FT.com - Entrepreneurship
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Setbacks that lead to success
7 Feb 2012 | 11:12 amToo many people who think about launching a start-up don't take the plunge because they suffer from an irrational fear of failure, writes Luke Johnson -
The Tinky Winky magnate
7 Feb 2012 | 9:17 amWhen Anne Wood launched Teletubbies it became an unexpected global hit and cemented her own reputation, writes Emma Jacobs -
Innovation and creativity move to the heart of the curriculum
5 Feb 2012 | 4:17 pmFrom specialist courses to incubators, the business of start-ups is being taken increasingly seriously -
Entrepreneurs are only taught half the lesson
5 Feb 2012 | 4:10 pmStudents need to be shown how to use their abilities to build different businesses -
China develops a learning habit
5 Feb 2012 | 4:09 pmEntrepreneurs are turning to business schools for the management education they have missed out on
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The Entrepreneurial Mind
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A Time for Plan C
6 Feb 2012 | 5:41 amOne of the bootstrapping techniques I like folks to consider is keeping your day job while your venture to getting up to speed. This has become a more common financing strategy now that the weak economy has put a hit on the ability of friends and family to provide start-up financing. Erin Albert, who teaches at Butler University, has released a book that offers insights on keeping one's day job while pursuing a start up from a number of entrepreneurs who have used this approach to bootstrap financing. She calls this strategy "Plan C".Here is part of what she learned from… -
Finding Balance Between Family and Business
30 Jan 2012 | 2:12 pmI have written often about the challenges for entrepreneurs of finding balance between the strong, often conflicting pulls from family and from their business. Toddi Gutner offers three case studies on entrepreneurs who have worked at finding this balance in a recent piece at Business on Main.One entrepreneur uses mobile technology, one has built a team, and one has become a master at the art of time management. You can read more here. -
Avoid the Backward Start-up
30 Jan 2012 | 3:42 am"I've developed this really cool product and I have applied for a patent.""I want to show you this awesome app that I helped design.""We've got a great idea for a website."Those of us who work with entrepreneurs hear these types of introductions all the time when people come to meet with us. Whether it is a result of years of development and research, or a sudden inspiration that leads to a "eureka moment," these aspiring entrepreneurs have come up with what they hope to be the next big thing.The problem is that many of these entrepreneurs have gotten the design of their business models… -
Some Trends for 2012
25 Jan 2012 | 7:43 amSo what can small businesses expect for 2012? My general advise continues to be cautious! While we are seeing some of the small business surveys showing optimism increasing and more importantly employment improving slightly, I worry that we have been lulled into a mode of thinking that the worst is over.I believe that we are simply in the eye of the storm. I hope that the storm is dissipating, but I fear that the back wall of the eye will hit us sometime later this year. It may come as a result of the European debt crisis or it may come as a result of the looming Chinese… -
Luck and Serendipity
16 Jan 2012 | 3:36 amWhile entrepreneurial success is tied to careful feasibility assessment, business modeling and planning, never underestimate the role that luck plays in an entrepreneurial journey.I am not suggesting that aspiring entrepreneurs just sit and wait for an opportunity to come to them like a bolt of lightning out of the blue. As the Roman philosopher Seneca pointed out long ago, luck is the crossroad of preparation and opportunity.Preparation comes from the development of what I call the process skills.Entrepreneurs have a better chance of success if they learn fundamental business skills, such as…
