August 2009
“EVERY Wednesday, Lee Clow, the creative director of TBWA/Chiat/Day, travels from...”
– This little nugged was buried in the NYTimes puff piece on Microsoft’s newfound advertising tone.
Side-note: it’s hard to care about the woes of the NYTimes and the “Death of Journalism” when it runs blatant PR pieces like these. (Via NYTimes.com)
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Michael Jackson's Death Saves Magazines →
Tributes and special issues have generated an additional $55 million in newsstand sales. However, if there’s anything we learned about Jackson and the music biz it’s that a single-handed savior can’t last for long.
Porn collection put people off upgrading to... →
“In some cases users had intentionally hidden these bookmarks in deep hierarchies of folders, somewhat similar to how one might hide a physical object. Having something from your previous browsing displayed to someone else who is using your computer (or even worse) to a large audience of people as you are giving a presentation, is really one of the most embarrassing things that Firefox can do to...
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Where does the Internet End? →
I elaborated on an old post for the company blog:
Neither Virgin nor CompUSA’s markets disappeared. Rather, they just shifted into the blurry edge of the net. Their continued existence (and vitality) can be seen across the street from Virgin, at the Apple Store. Here, the Macs once sold at CompUSA are gateways to iTunes, which sells every bit of content Virgin once housed.
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Apple...
“Does that sound scary to you, imagining a world in which any developer can just...”
– Joe Hewitt, the developer of Facebook’s iPhone app.
Getting slammed with Farmville invites and uninspired quiz results is something I’d rather my phone not do.
Business Insider Backpedals →
After being called-out by Tumblr and their users, Business Insider steps back from the claims they made in a previous hit piece. A piece written without any sourcing beyond a quick Compete chart.
Honestly, their piece was absurd. To start, they qualified success as Twitter, and measured said success using uniques. The only people worrying about uniques (without context) are the self-proclaimed...
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Heartbreaking: Rockies Beat the Giants in 14 with... →
“Because here’s something else that’s weird but true: in the day-to...”
– David Foster Wallace. I heard this speech for the first time yesterday and it blew my mind.
“Much of your information is incorrect.”
– Steve Jobs, responding to inquiry from the WSJ. (Via WSJ.com)
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“[Viewers of] the show on American Impressionism at the Millennium Gate Museum in...”
– NYTimes.com (via murketing)
“Just as unlimited population expansion is untenable, so is unlimited GDP growth....”
– Bravo, James Speth. What was this doing the Harvard Business Review? (Via HBR.org)
Lazy Nike Exec Pitches Commercial Where Usain Bolt... →
“Overall, the presentation lasted 10 minutes and featured at least 50 incredibly lazy commercial ideas, including one in which several astronauts look out the window of their space shuttle only to see Bolt running past them in space. According to sources, the only consistent theme among each of the 30-second spots was that Bolt should be portrayed as very fast.”
“She also felt pressured to take part in a staff event called the “Big...”
– Surprise! Cafe Gratitude is pretty much a cult. (Via East Bay Express)
WatchThe Awl found the creepy and bizarre Leno promo that ran before District 9. Is he trying to out-Conan Conan? It comes across more as when the older guy at work tries to joke with the kids. (Via The Awl)
