September 2008
56 posts
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2008-8-31) →
Bob Marley
DJ Shadow
NPR
Gillian Welch
Nightmares on Wax
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
August 2008
63 posts
After traveling all day and a stop in Chicago, we finally arrive in Detroit.
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2008-8-24) →
Yo Yo Ma - Morricone
NPR
Cat Power
Yo-Yo Ma
Nightmares on Wax
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
Day of focus groups today. At least I’m doing the interviews today.
“After controlling for other factors, U.S. marriages tend to be more stable when...”
– WSJ
“Apple is many things, but one thing it isn’t is any more likely to create...”
– NYT
trying out mozilla ubiquity, and loving it.
Don’t give thanks. →
How often have we seen commercials, usually from local or regional businesses, which consist, at least in part, in showing real customers, or pretend real customers, coming right out and thanking the…
ads ARE NOT the new online tip jar →
Recently I read this post from Seth Godin and, unlike usual, I disagreed. Here’s the crux of his argument, If every time you read a blog post or bit of online content you enjoyed you clicked on an…
social networking niches
is there a place for niche social networks? I think so, especially if they are mass niches (I know, that doesn’t make sense, but hear me out).
Mass Niche Example #1: New and expecting parents are a mass niche. Not everyone is a new or expecting parent, but according to the National Center for Health Statistics 4.3 million babies were born last year. That’s a large number of new...
WatchIdeo’s multi-touch concept. I’m not sure how it’s different than any of the other multi-touch concepts out there, but found it interesting nonetheless.
“AMC’s series about New York’s ad world a half-century ago,...”
– rep-am.com
Observation: spicy food is highly correlated w warmer climates - Cajun, Caribbean, Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, etc.
product innovation: walkers
I was watching an elderly woman try to use her walker today, but it was difficult for her to maneuver the arcane device because it is meant for the smooth floors of a hospital, not the ever-changing landscape of the outside world.
With all of the innovation in baby strollers and mountain bikes, you’d think that a more dynamic walker would be available, but it is not. One with inflatable...
http://twitpic.com/8sh8 - At a giants game
Bob Costas is annoying.
Olympic Advertising: Who Won? →
The 2008 summer Olympics Games are almost over. It was among the most watched - if not the most watched - in the history of the games. So who won? I liked some of the United spots. But what were…
Interviewed 10 people this week. Phew.
Actually watching focus groups today instead of conducting the interviews. I like being in front of the glass better.
do you use delicious.com anymore?
I’ve just realized that I haven’t used delicious in about 6 months. Why?
the simple answer is that I don’t have much of a need as there are millions of websites that I may have found interesting at some point, but only a few I care to visit regularly (or that I need to remember). I wonder if their usage is dropping?
“Everybody experiences far more than he understands. Yet it is experience, rather...”
– Television: The Timid Giant, Marshall McLuhan (via vastandgrand)
All day meeting, sitting on the floor in a dark theater style room
Isaac the cat killed a bird today.
“Sadly, our iPhones, laptops and games consoles are being starved of content due...”
– Wired Blog
AmeriCrap →
I hereby proclaim a permanent ban on names that start with Ameri-. AmeriTrade, AmeriPrise., AmeriShred, Amerigroup, AmeriFab, AmeriLine, AmeriSource, AmeriSeal, Ameritech, AmeriTec, AmeriCure,…
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2008-8-17) →
Vampire Weekend
NPR
Songs: Ohia
Lucinda Williams
The Unicorns
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
“India may be changing at a disorienting pace, but one thing remains stubbornly...”
– NY Times
“we should be thankful for our absent-mindedness. It saves us from remembering...”
– PsyBlog
Day 2 of using eBags’ Downloader laptop backpack and loving it.
Tagline, stupider
A side effect of watching the Olympics (at least for me) is that I’ve been watching a whole lot more TV, and subsequently advertisements. There is a lot that can be said about the ads I’m seeing, but I’ve been particularly frustrated by Best Buy’s tagline: You, Happier. Here’s why:
it sounds like caveman talk
it assumes we all just walk around depressed
it assumes...
Is wordsmithing passé in this experiential age? →
I have accepted that proofreading has been devalued almost out of existence. I mourn its passing, but clearly spelling, grammar and punctuation are not the details that our culture, and this…
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2008-8-10) →
Crooked Still
The New Pornographers
Neutral Milk Hotel
NPR
John Coltrane
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
the most inneffective ads that work →
It is interesting that the most ineffective ads (search links) are coveted for being so effective. But imagine if someone just asked for a car ad and then a car ad appeared; that car ad would be very…
Continuing the music in the park streak w an Allman Brothers cover band.
At San Jose Jazz Festival.
“Under the proposed law, Illinois residents would get slapped with a misdemeanor...”
– Chicago Tribune
Keeping commitments in the ad business →
It’s now 10:15. After more than a month away from Advertising for Peanuts due to a variety of reasons, I had made a commitment to myself to write a post for tonight. But I am still at my computer…
“Launched in 2000, the site (mlb.com) was backed by all 30 teams, which each...”
– bnet
“People who own cats are 40% less likely to die of a heart attack. They are,...”
– Jay Leno (via dawnowar) (via kevintwohy)
why does email dominate our work day?
reason: it is easier to react than create (or be proactive).
Checking out Bookmark: BlueOrganizer - Quick Start at http://tinyurl.com/56azvx