What is an Encyclopedia?

On this day in 1616, the author of Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes, died. How do I know?

For all you bloggers out there, Encyclopedia Britannica just pulled the very cool move of opening up their content to all the content providers, or web publishers, out there. It's a qualification that's a little difficult to prove, I think (does a myspace blog count?), but I'd being willing to bet they won't be in the business of pissing off those that straddle the "acceptable" line.

The Encyclopedia Webshare program allows access to all the articles that usually go for the price of $70 per year, or $1400 bucks for the hardbacks. No small price. And if there's anything you'd like to share with your readers, they'll throw those articles in, too. They might even throw in a widget for good measure.

Kudos Britannica. Very cool stuff.

http://www.britannica.com/bcom/ig/topic/gadget.html?id=15397&skin=1

I am a Cuss Machine

I am a fuckin' cuss machine according to the Blog Cuss-O-Meter, besting both American Copywriter and "I am" Joe Jaffe. At least I won at something!

Created by OnePlusYou

The Clinton Law of Branding

Applicable to brands, too, no?

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx9kzhmjWTU&hl=en]

Neither here nor there...

A few things going on around town...

CP+B picked up the Microsoft account, which probably signifies one of two things. Either MS is so far on the run that they've deluded themselves into thinking the advertising can save them, or maybe, just maybe, CP+B will have an opportunity to affect more than their communication strategy by breathing a little life into their product offerings. Either way, it'll be a lot harder to reinvigorate the blue monster than it is to sell a few cheeseburgers.

Modernista! launches their new site, or site of sites. It's so smart it pisses me off that I didn't think of it. The site is basically just a navigational overlay of their distributed content on the web. Greatness. (via Faris/Noah)

Airborne, the medication that is said to shorten the length of colds is apparently bullshit. Last week they settled a 23 million dollar lawsuit that said as much. Sales are unaffected. Let's not let a little thing like having a product "work" get in the way of a good marketing pitch. 

To work or workaholic, that is the question. That is the question...

Your Next CNN Story

Again, YouTube brings you a friggin' fabulous piece of citizen journalism, and Digg beats the big boys to the punch. Watch this amazing video of a guy getting tasered by police at a John Kerry speech. You'd think it'd be some sort of Hannity disciple, but it's actually someone I can really relate, too. He's pissed at the democrats for being a bunch of whiny babies rather than standing up for the people who elected them.

Alrighty, sorry for that swerve off the tracks. But here it is. Citizen journalism in your face. Or wait for the CNN story most likely coming in a couple hours...

And, not to be outdone, the MSM showed up quick with a new angle in what seems to be the very first YouTube video ever posted by the Gainesville Sun, at least according to their YT page. Really incredible stuff (and I think definitely real TT). I counted 4 other CJ's filming in this video, so expect to see more angles soon. You can read the article here. And please note that the Gainseville Sun also has comments on the story, so it's getting better and better as the night progresses. Kudos.

Brand Super Fans

While brand fans are awesome to have, it's a fine line between the super fan and just plain crazy.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHmvkRoEowc]

Jeff Garlin Killed by a Mountain Goat

Curb Your Enthusiasm's Jeff Garlin during his appearance tonight on the Daily Show pulled a Colbert-ish move and started in on how he and his friends always fuck around with his wikipedia page. Genius, badass John Stewart made the comment "I want them to report that you were killed by a mountain goat."

Literally less than 10 seconds later I pulled up his wikipedia page to find this. And 30 seconds after that it was gone. Like mother fuckin' Keyser Söze. Love me some 2.0.

And a couple minutes after that this is posted. And then everyone giggles and links to it. And round and round we go.

This Week in Stupid Naming

Well, the NBC and Fox Interactive joint venture dubbed ClownCo by internet geekdom and the google offices has finally gotten itself a name. Hulu. It sounds stupid as shit to me, but the thing usually defines the name, not the name the thing, so whatever I guess.

In a funny twist, apparently the name does mean "Cease and Desist" in Swahili, so maybe a sign of things to come? Anyway, I can't wait to watch their videos on youtube.

Then again, youtube's bringin' it with the interruptions, so maybe they're all doomed to lose to the off-shore torrent. Can it really be that difficult to find a better way? I mean really, it took a couple hours for someone to figure out how to DVR those Mountain Dew (or whatever) ads anyway.

And my favorite in unfortunate naming comes from the German company TrekStor and their newest addition to the mp3 player marketplace, i.beat blaxx.  Luckily, they've caught the mistake and changed it to the less disturbing, blaxx.

This Week in Stuff

I had some lunch with superstar blogger Cam Beck today. He brought up my lack of posting in recent weeks. So, now fully shamed, here I am, begging forgiveness, and posting again. But, I'm still a bit wrecked at work, so I'm hoping to kick it back into gear next week. For now, here's this week in stuff.

We all remember ClownCo, the joint venture and "youtube killer" from NBC and Fox's NewsCorp. They've announced 100 million dollars in venture capital from Providence Equity Partners for a 10% stake in the company. For the math-challenged, that's a ONE BILLION FUCKING DOLLAR VALUATION ON A COMPANY THAT DOESN'T EXIST! Or, at least one without a name, a website, a strategy, or much of a chance to survive. By the time they actually launch, we'll be watching holographic video or something. Or maybe going outside will be cool again.

And, since all they've only proven the ability to manufacture money, NBC Universal decided to go ahead and bore us to death with Didja.com, ""the go-to destination for on-demand advertising content." Of course, they'll be social networking features and whatnot. And the audience will yawn through another me too product from a me too company.

And yes, CGC commercial contests are probably dead. But this ad with no chance of winning the Heinz Top This TV challenge is a giggle, and deserves some sort of consolation prize. If you're at work, I recommend you turn your speakers way up, call your boss into your office, and enjoy the laughter together. Hee Haw Marketing takes no responsibility for any ensuing harassment lawsuits or lost jobs.

And last, the bunnies are coming.  The bunnies are coming. Hell yes, the bunnies are coming. Two of my favorite spots of all time are bravia's balls and paint. On Monday, they shot the latest in the series in the big NYC. The spot is called "Clay" and somehow involves a shitload of carved playdoh bunnies. Can't wait to see what they do with them. All I can say, I'm gonna be pissed if it involves CGI. Faris got some cool shots, too.

That's this week's this week in stuff. You can tune in to next week's this week if there is a this week next week. Do it.

Some idle bitching.

A few weeks ago, I got the opportunity to write some serps for Jason Calacanis' human-powered search engine, Mahalo. I happily jumped into serping until something really turned me off. I haven't been able to get the bad taste out of my mouth since then. And I can't just blame Mahalo, because the problem isn't just with them. See if you notice anything funny in the fast facts section of either Mahalo or Wikipedia.

How about Mitch McConnell?

Or on Mahalo...

Or Barack Obama...

On mahalo...

Or Chief Justice John Roberts...

Or on mahalo...

Or maybe John McCain...

On mahalo...

And I could go on. But to make it a little more clear, you won't find it here...

Any good guesses on what I'm bitching about? Am I crying foul over stupid bullshit?

And, in case you haven't gotten it, every single one of our political leaders, past and present, have their religion put on center stage as if that were one of the most important few facts in their biographies. Not votes, not things they've done or positions they've championed. Clearly this is just a reflection of our current political environment where candidates are battling to see who can be the rightest or leftist, or whateverist, at least until the general until we find out who can be the most moderately panderist.

But regardless, at what point do these companies feel the need to not be reactionary to a caustic political environment and not allow us to more easily vote based on definitions not related to voting records and the like.

Maybe this is pushing it a bit, but Martin Luther King, jr once said, "I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Maybe we should take his advice, and really judge people only by the content of their character.

I grant you that these are research vehicles, but as soon as an entity divides the line between important facts and just facts, the content becomes somewhat editorialized.

Now, commence with your disagreement.