Zappos was one of the companies that I mentioned in my Twitter presentation yesterday.
Today, Kelly Mooney posted a great article about Zappos and Twitter: What is Zappos doing.
Technorati Tags: Zappos, Twitter
I gave a presentation on Twitter today at Barkley and I had several requests to share the information so I thought the easiest way would be to post it on my blog.
As you might have noticed, my blogging has trailed off recently as I’ve been spending more time with Twitter and other emerging and social media (specifically mobile which I presented on several times in April).
Twitter is one of the shiny toys in the web 2.0 toolbox that is picking up momentum, and one that I believe is worth discussing (and educating those in the dark). I attempted to compile some of the recent blog posts, videos and articles on Twitter.
You can check out my Twitter profile at http://twitter.com/dustinj
Thanks everyone in the Twitterverse for the great content. I referenced the sources in the presentation.
Check it out below and please post comments / feedback.
Technorati Tags: Twitter, socialmedia, community, web2.0, Barkley
New research suggests that as well as possessing extraordinary musical talent, drummers may also be natural intellectuals. By asking volunteers to keep time with a drumstick prior to taking an intelligence test, scientists found those with the best rhythm scored the highest in mental assessments, as there is a strong link between intelligence, good timing and problem-solving. So despite the wealth of musicians’ drummer jokes out there, it seems drummers are definitely playing all the right notes when it comes to brain power. [source]
Did I mention I was a drummer and got a perfect score at a competition in high school with an original drum set solo piece I wrote? I sold all of my equipment a few years ago, but once we have more space, I’m sure I’ll get back into it.
Technorati Tags: drummer, drum, intelligent, intellect, music, zildjian, tama, yamaha
I think we have all seen a wide variety of tattoos. Working at an ad agency, I see all kinds of cool tattoos. As I was catching up on my RSS feeds from Neatorama, I stumbled upon an interesting programmer tattoo. For those not familiar with HTML, feel free to read up on it at Wikipedia or ask one of your programmer friends to explain it.
[via]
Another interesting one is where a guy had his initials in binary tattooed on his arm:
[via]
Technorati Tags: tattoo, html, nerd, binary
You don’t have to search very far to find all kinds of office pranks on the internet, from people filling whole rooms to the ceiling with styrofoam peanuts to all kinds of craziness, but I thought I would share a few of the standards.
One of the best was a joke a few years back that was played on a co-worker, whereby he thought he won tickets to the final four, complete with a contest website with a domain registered to what appeared to be a legit organization, email and a notification phone call from the prize fulfillment organization. Nicely done indeed.
Office Prank: Tin Foil
How To Play the Aluminum Foil Prank on a Coworker
Office Prank: Balloons
How To Play the Buried Cubicle Prank on a Coworker
And, from our office last year (post April Fools’ day):
3800 post-it notes, 15 people and 2 hours later..
Technorati Tags: office prank, April Fools’ Day, joke
One of the lists that I subscribed to recently is called the Very Short List.
Very Short List (VSL) is a free, daily e-mail that points to excellent new (and sometimes vintage) entertainment and media that haven’t been hyped to within an inch of their lives. Each weekday, we tell our subscribers about a single recommended gem from among the vast pile of feature films and documentaries (in theatres and on DVD), television shows, novels, nonfiction books, magazine articles, Websites and services, CDs, radio programs, and more. The focus is on products that really deserve attention but haven’t already been subject to giant media pile-ons.
The topic today was Cycling Awareness, called Seeing is Believing. For those that cycle and have had run-ins with motor vehicles, you have a probably appreciate this PSA. Andy and IV, this one’s for you.
It’s easy to miss what’s right in front of you if you’re paying attention to something else. This is usually funny when it comes to slapstick comedy (we’re looking at you, banana peel) but can be seriously tragic when the person who’s distracted is driving. “Test Your Awareness,” a new PSA from Transport for London’s campaign for cycling safety, turns the fact that we can all miss seeing the obvious into a clever perception test that could double as an absurdist comedy–art happening.
The spot asks you to count the number of passes a group of basketball players makes to one another, but pay close attention: It’s harder than it sounds. We can’t tell you any more, but if you’re like us, you’ll probably have to watch it twice.
Technorati Tags: Very Short List, VSL, cycling, awareness, safety, PSA
I like lists.
I stumbled upon a great list of called To Lead, You Have to Follow: 8 Traits of Effective IT Leaders
You can click through for the full details, including examples.
Although the article uses IT examples, it can be applied to pretty much any leadership position.
Technorati Tags: leadership, IT, management
I’m always amazed at the resourcefulness of of senders of SPAM.
We all know that SPAM is a huge problem for everyone.
As I wrote back in October, SPAM accounts for about 95% of all email traffic.
Via Wikipedia, ASCII art is an artistic medium that consists of pictures pieced together from printable characters defined by the ASCII Standard.
Like Jeremy, I thought I would share some interesting SPAM emails from time to time as well.
Today I received a piece of ASCII art as SPAM (see below). There was also ASCII art of the URL.
There are many sites that offer ASCII art generators, including this one, where you can type in text, select the style and review the masterpiece.
There have also been movies created, frame by frame, of ASCII art. Here is an example of Star Wars in ASCIIMATION. Amazing indeed.
I’m just waiting for someone to come out with a SPAM filter for ASCII art. While they are at it, maybe someone can come out with a bad joke filter as well.
Technorati Tags: ASCII, art, SPAM
Has creative dried up? I don’t think so, but the idea of casting a social net to bring in some new creative is a novel idea.
Will it revolutionize the agency model? I don’t think it will be that dramatic, but it will have an impact, especially for organizations with a very small budget (like a nonprofit) or a very big budget (Fortune 500).
Why the two budget extremes?
I believe the small organizations will benefit from the program generating interest about the organization itself, just as much as the award winning ad.
For big organizations, I think they will invest enough in promoting the contest and offer a big enough incentive to get some quality submissions.
But, here is where I find the rub. Any brief that you publish is out in the open. Going to launch a new project or change strategy? The last place you want to announce it is out in the open. You expose too much to the competition.
But, I believe that organizations such as BootB and Zooppa will be another resource in the advertising tool belt.
I have been tracking Zooppa for quite a while now. Here is an overview:
Zooppa originated from the idea of creating a space for social advertising through user generated content.
It is committed to the vision of real people and real companies conducting business in a creative and rewarding viral context. This means stimulating the creative talent of those who have no voice in the traditional advertising setting.
Zooppa partners with international companies to sponsor their brand through Zooppa’s competitions. Based on the briefs the companies provide, users are invited to create their own commercials for that brand. Participation in a Zooppa contest can take many forms: designing an animated sequence or creating a print ad with the company logo, writing a script or concept for a potential ad, or actually shooting their own video.
For each company that Zooppa partners with, a new contest is launched for users to compete in.
Users are also encouraged to create their ads using concepts or scripts posted by others. As an incentive to share one another’s creativity, Zooppa rewards this type of collaboration with a Bonus Team Prize.Once users have uploaded their contributions, it is up to them to decide the winners. Users rate the ads and it is based on these ratings that Zooppa awards the cash prizes.
What makes Zooppa unique is how the winners are rewarded. Each Zoop$ that users earn are equivalent to real US dollars. Once users have accumulated a minimum of 1.000 Zoop$, they can convert their Zoop$ into a real cash pay out.
Zooppa is, therefore, a new advertising model based on the Internet and the possibility to connect people from all over the world by putting them in contact with another.
Whether in fact, the companies that sponsor the contests are interested in using the posted materials in future advertising campaigns on other mediums, Zooppa plays an important role as an intermediary between the authors of the content and the companies. In this way, Zooppa guarantees a pricing range from a minimum to a maximum value, in which the interests of the two parties (the users and the companies) can be satisfied.
Below is some information on BootB via Martin Lindstrom’s Weekly Video Reports (click through to see the video):
New Online “Pitch Engine” Connects Marketers and Creatives
BootB Circumvents Traditional Agency System
PARIS (BRANDFlash) — Launched in December, BootB.com is having a go at revolutionizing the way marketers and creatives connect with each other. It calls itself a “pitching engine” and its goal is to eliminate the middleman between marketers and creative ideas. Marketers post their requests for marketing concepts, and creatives anywhere in the world can respond and compete for the work with their own ideas. Here, Martin Lindstrom interviews BootB CEO Pier Ludovico Bancale about his new online idea auction. Among the marketers that have so far posted idea requests are Auchan, a French-based supermarket chain with stores through Europe, China and Russia; Ferrero, the Italy-based chocolate company; Lego Holdings, the Denmark toy company; and Peugeot, France’s top-selling automotive brand.
Technorati Tags: BootB, Zooppa, advertising, social, creative, idea, ad, marketing
In the tradition of Titanic and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Union Station Kansas City hosts another world-class blockbuster museum exhibition coming in the spring of 2008.
About Bodies Revealed
View the human body from the inside out at this awe-inspiring exhibition on display at Union Station spring 2008. Nowhere else can you take such an authentic look at what lies just under your skin. Through a unique process called polymer preservation, along with sensitive presentation, actual human bodies are displayed accurately for your observation, without any change or deterioration of the internal systems.
Examine everything that lies beneath your skin, from the bones to the muscles to the intricate nervous system. Learn more about the many complexities that make your own body into a flawless, life-giving machine
Bodies Revealed presented by Bank of America will feature at least 20 whole body specimens, as well as many individual organ specimens. See the devastating internal damages caused by smoking, breast and colon cancer, emphysema, arthritis, cirrhosis of the liver, osteoporosis and bone fractures.
Both fascinating and beautiful, this eye-opening exhibition is an unforgettable experience for inquisitive minds of all ages. Bodies Revealed will change the way you view yourself forever.
Lora and I saw Bodies … The Exhibition a few years ago in New York and it was amazing. While not for the queasy or faint at heart, it is a great educational resource into the human body.
These Exhibitions–which feature actual human specimens–allow people of all ages access to sights and knowledge normally reserved only for medical professionals. Take the opportunity to peer inside yourself, to better understand how your elaborate and fascinating body works, and how you can become a more informed participant in your own health care.
Technorati Tags: Bodies, exhibit, Union Station, Kansas City
