Category Archive

Have you seen the ad “The Stress Monster“? Dr. Grant McCracken has written a nice analysis of how this ad works, and why it does a good job of promoting Propel Fitness Water: Stress Monster is dedicated the simple proposition that exercise makes stress go away. This is well established as an understanding in our culture. It’s well established as … Read More

I’m quoted in “Four CMU students draw businesses to market with free Web sites, domain names.” (David Templeton, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), talking about Mave, a “cyberspace marketplace” created by four CMU students. There are a number of different approaches to the problem of connecting individuals and businesses on the web, of giving referrals and enabling trusting relationships, and it’s impossible to … Read More

Spotted at MIT Advertising Lab: “Gary Carter, president of creative networks at FremantleMedia that brought us American Idol and other blockbuster shows, delivered a very inspiring keynote at NATPE.” AdLab is presenting the keynote in parts, on video and in text. It’s has the rare combination of being both entertaining and informative, particularly for those interested in any form of … Read More

Furniture retailer Design Within Reach is holding its annual Champagne Chair Competition. The idea: Create an original design for a (miniature) chair using only the cork, wrapper, and cork wire from two bottles of champagne. This year, the champagne is Veuve-Clicquot, and the contest is underway. In addition to esteemed designer judges, DWR is soliciting opinions from the general public. … Read More

A while back, a client asked me if I’d seen “that video on the web, with the guys dancing.” I knew exactly which video he meant: OK Go’s “A Million Ways,” one of the most popular downloads of 2005. It looks easy — create a little choreography, buy a video camera and some cassettes, and shoot. But if it were … Read More

Superblogger Robert Scoble offers a nice list of things to do to make your blog better … which will lead also to building your audience and getting them involved. Here’s the list in brief, and you can read the details at the original post: Know how traffic will find you. Pick a niche and own it. Get specific with your … Read More

The latest development in the world of “citizen journalism”: News services are inviting photographs and video from anyone, anywhere. As explained in the New York Times (“Have Camera Phone? Yahoo and Reuters Want You to work for Their News Service,” 12/4/06): The Yahoo-Reuters project will create a systematic way to incorporate images covering a wider range of topics into news … Read More

During PodCampPittsburgh, one of the biggest topics of discussion was monetizing: making money from your podcast (or blog). Many sites offer recommendations, usually focused around understanding your viewership/readership. A recent post by Grace Bonney of BizBox Blog on Slate (“How Does One Live Off of a Blog?“) brings together great ideas and a healthy dose of reality: There are few … Read More

CNNMoney.com is conducting a staff blogging experiment. Sixteen staff writers are each maintaining blogs on specific topics, with the bulk of them aggregated at Business 2.0 Blogs. It’s an interesting idea, and the site is readable. But they’ve missed some basic and important pieces that would make the site easier to use — especially for those new to blogs. For … Read More

The newly-formed Tri-County IT and Communications Services Consortium, covering Armstrong, Butler & Indiana counties, is conducting a survey to understand the needs and expectations of companies in this area. The consortium’s mission is “to support and strengthen information technology and communication services and industries in the Armstrong, Butler, and Indiana county regions.” If you have a technology business that operates … Read More

I’ve been receiving strange emails the last few weeks, talking of a mystery and sending me to www.TheMuckleMan.com. The site is an online puzzle, with a grid of squares that link to various news reports across the web and the MySpace blog of Gilbert, a marine biologist researching giant squid in Newfoundland. (Incidentally, Gilbert seems to have great taste in … Read More

I had a grand, nostalgic time visiting old haunts in Boston and Cambridge last week, including riding the T, Boston’s subway (officially the MBTA). Fares are higher than when I was in college there — up from $0.60 to $1.25 — but it’s still the easiest and cheapest way to get around the metropolitan area. More notable than the fare … Read More