Smart Search
After Michelle Obama mentioned her J. Crew outfit on Leno last night, some smart search buyers stepped in to maximize the impact. Simple, but nicely done. Not many organizations move that quickly.
(via Ben)
This Was a Good Day
It's been a long electoral season. And I think I've made it as clear as possible that I'm an unrepentant Obamacrat. But I've got to say, that felt pretty good. Less than two weeks left, and there's no shortage of work still to do (if you're in Colorado the 1st-4th, hit me up). But, if he pulls this thing off, let's take time for two things (1) No matter your political leaning, no matter your vote, we can be pretty proud that we will have done something that no other western country has done, elect a man of color to our highest office. And we can be even prouder that he got there, not because of it or despite of it, but because he deserved it. (2) It will be time to demand that every last thing we've hoped for has follow through, particulary making us leaders in new energy, health care and technology. Hopefully we haven't used up too much of our contrarinism on the current President. It's our job to force him to be the President we expect him to be.
Last thing, no, he hasn't won. And I don't really care what the polls look like today, democrats have screwed up worse before, and they'll screw up worse again. No time for counting chickens.
Now, at least there are some Hollywood directors still fighting for McCain...
Probably So...
“Back up your argument. Because too many people are telling stories, as opposed to actually looking for the truth.”
Eat, Sleep, Blog. Episode Eight.
Proving once again that our prowess doesn't always extend into the technical realm, Sean, Gavin and I are back with a discussion mostly about what it means to be free.
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1958811&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1
Eat.Sleep.Blog #08 from servantofchaos on Vimeo.
Inside Afghanistan
Many of you may remember the post about VBS's Vice Guide to North Korea, a fascinating look behind the total insanity of the no longer terrorist "democratic" country. Now they're back with an absolutely fascinating look into the war in Afghanistan with special guest, BBC reporter Ben Anderson. Suffice it to say, I'm not feeling all that hopeful for the future after watching members of the Afghan National Army get stoned on opium and waste ammunition on the air.
Anyway, very interesting stuff for those of you that haven't been completely consumed by the economic crisis. And spend some time poking around the rest of the site. Spike Jones is the creative director over there, which should give you some idea of the quality of content.
http://services.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/452319916
A Quick Trip Down the Long Tail v.2
Never one to be cowed by popular opinion, Russell Davies argues to keep it slow when it comes to strategy. Or at least be able to recognize when to be slow and when to be fast.
"I'd argue that strategy should be a slow, evolving, socialised, collaborative, gradualist process. It should grow out of business decisions, the purpose, the values, the conversations of an organisation. Warren Buffett should be your strategy role-model. Tactics might be the place where speed is valuable."
Social Media and the Tech Entrenpreneur
Featuring CK, Alan Wolk, Paul Soldera, David Berkowitz. How could you not learn something?
CPJ gives some good wireframing tips, this video in regards to Obamabaton.com (which I'll have more on later).
Brands and Subliminal Effects on Behavior
This from Scott Goodson's fantastic new blog on cultural movements.
"This month, Speedo starts filling preorders for the $550 consumer version of its LZR Racer suits worn by Michael Phelps and other world-class swimmers. Promoted as a design breakthrough and worn by the most victorious Olympian in history, it offers a potent blend of functional promise and emotional aspiration. But what about Phelps’s warm-up parka? Never intended for the retail market, the white hooded garment was rushed into production in response to consumer demand, and Speedo USA has already sold thousands of them, at $175 apiece. Surely nobody believes that simply wrapping yourself in the Speedo-Phelps aura has any impact on swim performance, right? Well, whether anybody believes it or not, recent research implies that it might."
Tune In Saturdays: Department of Eagles
For fans of Grizzly Bear, I'm pretty sure you'll also love Department of Eagles. Mostly because Grizzly Bear is the Department of Eagles. Sort of, anyway. Add a member, and subtract another, and give member Daniel Rossen along with Fred Nicolaus the bulk of the songwriting duties. It's got all the earthiness you'd expect in the record, but with a somewhat more light-hearted mood, which is somewhat unexpected considering the dedication of the album to Rossen's late father who passed in 2007. Ear Park is the nickname of a park in LA where he and his father visited.
From the line of best fit:
"At its best points, of which there are a fair few, this album (and this band) produces a sound that is quite magical. Backing vocals and effects produce a sound close to that of an angel choir on opener ‘In Ear Park’, a moving tribute to Rossen’s deceased father. Lush shimmering choral sounds build to dramatic crescendos with a sense of wonder that reminded me, bizarrely, of the backing music found on some of the earlier Walt Disney cartoons (Sleeping Beauty, say) - see in particular ‘No One Does It’, ‘Phantom Other’ and ‘Waves of Rye’. Similarly, the gorgeous, full sounding “oohs” on ‘Floating on the Lehigh’ lend the song a soaring quality a bit like a singularly rich croon-y 1950s show tune. The 1960s can also be heard (in a kind of Motown-esque way) in the intro to ‘No One Does It’. Add into the mix some echoes of 10cc’s ‘I’m Not In Love’, to be heard in ‘In Ear Park’ and that overused reviewer’s description - eclectic - would seem to be justified."
Department of Eagles - No One Does It Like You (mp3)
Department of Eagles - In Ear Park (mp3)
Department of Eagles - No One Does It Like You (Live on Conan)
http://www.hulu.com/embed/jBPD2drK2-trg9GcujXQFA
Department of Eagles - La Blogotheque (video)
Tune In Saturdays: Passion Pit
Boston's Passion Pit is an absolutely fanastic electro-pop ride, full of ups and downs, falsettos and sing-alongs. Interesting story, too. Apparently Passion Pit began as a Valentine's Day gift for a girlfriend that morphed into a full-time project. I'd write more, but this Tune In Saturday is happening on Sunday night, so there you go. Enjoy!
From the label site:
"Boston’s Passion Pit is the brainchild of Michael Angelakos with live band consisting of ian hultquist(synths), ayad al adhamy(synths, samplers), jeff apruzzese(bass, synths), nate donmoyer (drums). Michael is a songwriter’s songwriter drawing from a variety of influences, from the classic pop of Randy Newman to the synth work of Giorgio Moroder.
The Chunk of Change EP was originally put together as a (belated) Valentine’s Day present to Angelakos’ girlfriend which then prompted him to give it out to friends and fellow students at Emerson College. Angelakos wrote and recorded the entire record by himself and it only hints at what is to come from this extremely talented perfectionist. The production of the recording - brief, sporadic, and explosive - worked towards the development of Angelakos’ signature euphoric and blissfully melancholic sound. Frenchkiss Records will reissue the ep this fall with the addition of two bonus tracks “Better Things” and “Sleepyhead” that are already catching the online world on fire. All of this is in preparation for Passion Pit’s debut full length coming out in early 2009."
Passion Pit - Sleepyhead (fan video)
Passion Put - I've Got Your Number (mp3) via IndieMuse
A Short Trip Down the Long Tail
Absolutely killer graphs of the US based on geography of neurotic-ism, extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness. Very cool. (via)
The Social Web Delivers the Porn Industry a Blow
"There are some patterns to our Internet use that we tend to repeat very specifically and predictably, from diet searches, to prom dresses, to what we do around the holidays," Tancer told Reuters in a telephone interview.
Tancer, general manager of global research at Hitwise, an Internet tracking company, said one of the major shifts in Internet use in the past decade had been the fall off in interest in pornography or adult entertainment sites.
He said surfing for porn had dropped to about 10 percent of searches from 20 percent a decade ago, and the hottest Internet searches now are for social networking sites.
A friend of mind recently made the leap from MySpace blogger to a Blogger blogger. Apparently the tasty Newcastle was paying attention.
Nader Gets Creepy. Well, creepier.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rvuF7p2uwE&w=425&h=344]
As if we don't have an odd enough race to this point, we can always count on Nader to make it a little more so. This time by whining about media coverage to a parrot. Unfortunately, the parrot was voting for Barack Obama.
Friday is blog like a pirate day. Arrrgggghh.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muLIPWjks_M&w=425&h=344]
David Armano Feeds My Presentations.
A big thanks to David for placing all those killer graphics on one easy-to-use flickr page. Makes me look smarter.
Account Planning School of the Web...
...makes a triumphant return. Prepare to get schooled, people.
Back to the Slime and Grime of Politics
After nearly a couple years of following this campaign, and now with only about 50 days left, it's easy to forget the point. It's easy to get dragged down into the muck of derisive and ugly politics. The calls from democrats for Obama to start hitting back harder and harder have grown louder, mainly because of the level of voracity with which the McCain campaign has sought to make this an election about identies, not issues. Joe Klein of Time went as far as calling one of McCain's ads the "sleaziest" he'd ever seen.
But I just saw this video, and it reminded me why HOPE meant so much to all of his supporters during the primary. It's been turned into a derogatory statement by the right, and of course the left ran from it. But running from that central theme has left Obama without one. Change we need, change we can believe in, whatever, that's fine. But this was about us standing up together to do the right thing, and sinking to their level further muddies that message.
And sure, you do need to defend yourself, and yes you need to hit back. But to no longer be true to the message or true to the goal, only because the opposition takes glee in mocking it, is shameful. It's the same sort of thinking that made "liberal" a dirty word.
So bring back hope. I miss the campaign that was about all of us moving forward together, not just defending our turf.
With a slew of stories being written and commentators noticing the level McCain has gone to in stretching the truth in his advertisements, and this election spiraling into a pile of half-truths on both sides, maybe it's time to rise above it. I'd like to see a national buy, maybe the 2:30 minutes of this is too long, but even a roadblock across multiple networks might be enough of a re-introduction. Instead of announcing to the press that your plan is to get tougher before releasing ridiculous ads about email, maybe it's time to get back to the things that inspired so many to begin with. Contrary to popular belief, I do think it's possible to win without destroying your integrity and solidifying that this will be a deeply divided 51/49 country on November 5th.
Time to get back on message.