Another impromptu roundup

Read this article, which I discovered via @cosguru, about cloud computing: what it is and why it sucks. Granted, I don't really agree with this statement; still, it's an interesting side of the story. What control are we giving up for sweet, sweet convenience?

Vicki shared an article about iTunes becoming more accessible for the blind. How long before regulations start making the web more handicap-accessible by law? There are some small movements in that direction, but we have a long way to go.

JP passed on a link to this innovation in DVR technology, about which he says: "This could totally change how we buy/shop for products. Imagine seeing a commercial, then hitting a button on your remote linking you automatically to Amazon to make a purchase or review that product."

Finally, below is a video of my brother playing Jam Legend. Notice anything different from your standard Guitar Hero fare?


Jam Legend from Erica on Vimeo.

Yes, he's playing with his PC keyboard as the guitar. You can read his review of the service here. Silly fad or game-changer?

P.S. Did anyone notice that my brother is wearing a WonderGroup shirt in that video? Completely unplanned, I swear it.

Super Roundup

I'm all over the place today. Tag along with this schizophrenic link roundup!

--> In news that is a bit frightening but also fantastic, MSN has a story on a social network for spies. (Thanks Vicki!)

"It's every bit Facebook and YouTube for spies, but it's much, much more," Michael Wertheimer, assistant deputy director of National Intelligence for Analysis, told CNN. "It's a place where not only spies can meet but share data they've never been able to share before.

--> A new phrase in my social media vocabulary: social commerce. Qoop, for instance, is partnering with Flickr members to let them sell objects using their own photos. Not an entirely new concept (just think about hand-made items on Etsy or self-designed items on Cafe Press), but helping everyday users generate revenue with their own content is a trend that isn't slowing down. Check out what Qoop is doing and let me know if you think their endeavors into social commerce is news.

--> Jennifer is really concerned about the fate of Hemingway's cats.

--> Reading Blogs at Work dives deeper than many similar articles, detailing how you benefit from integrating blogs into your workday. Read about concepts such as "First Mover Advantage," then use the tools they direct you toward to find that kinds of content that will help you the most.

--> ToppsTown.com was a finalist in the 2008 OMMA Awards in "Web Excellence: Social Networking." Congratulations!

Hulu's made for youlu

Quick post. I won't make you think too much.

My brother is an avid Hulu-watcher-- it's his main source for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The other day he clued me into an interesting Hulu development: they now let you choose your advertisements. Not only do you get to choose between the ads themselves (hm, cars or coffee?), but you are able to choose between longer ads in the beginning of the show or shorter interstitial ads.

This is, in my mind, absolutely the kind of changes we need to be making to online video. This is where we veer away from simply watching TV content on the computer into giving people a richer experience online.

It's also fantastic because people don't hate advertising. What people hate is crappy advertising that is crammed down their throats. By giving their consumer more control ("if I have to watch that same ad one more time my brain will erupt"), hopefully Hulu will start to see a greater return and we will be one step closer to figuring out content best translates to the web.

People, it's Friday.

I could survive for 51 seconds chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor

Popcuts shakes up the music model

According to Geeksugar, "Popcuts Gives You Money Back for Buying Songs? Whaa?"

You buy a song from Popcuts. Then, when someone else buys the same song down the road, you get a cut.

This, in my opinion? Pretty brilliant. It increases the chances that someone who loves a band will become a major evangelist for said band (or song, or genre). After all, there's something to be gained from telling friends and family about that amazing song you just heard... "oh, and by the way, please buy it from Popcuts."

Says Mark Smith from across the hall at LaunchForce: "The wave of the future is here... dosh for dig, moolah for cool and readies for referrals. I think by providing this extra incentive to buy a song legally, (owning a stake in that song), makes it more attractive to buy. It gives people an incentive to go out there and see what's new and available."

Or, as Jennifer summarizes it: "If iTunes worked like this, I would be a millionaire."

New site launch: Evenflo.com!

As Alisa decreed this morning: Today, my friends, we have reason to celebrate--not only is it Friday, but the new revamped Evenflo website has been launched!

This is the second iteration of the Evenflo site that we've created, both of which we're incredibly proud of. Explore the site, even if you aren't an Evenflo mom. As an information architect I'm especially excited about the faceted navigation the team built (see the screen grab below or visit any product category).


There are also some gorgeous video assets throughout the site, as well as an overall refresh of content and navigation. We believe it's a solid improvement that reflects the way moms are searching for information during this hectic time in their lives.

Let us know what you think about the site!

Our horn... hear its gentle tooting

If I don't do a little WonderGroup-promotion once in a while, it starts to look like I have an ulterior motive or something.

So! This morning, Allison points us in the direction of the following article: "Ad agency develops integrated approach to blend old media, new media" a la the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Lap up the WonderGoodness. Like a kitten.

Eepybird & Sticky Notes update

A monthish ago, I posted about a new Eepybird experiment with sticky notes. The video is up on their site now, but they have no way for me to embed the clip here or link to it directly. Hot.

However! If you go to Eepybird's YouTube channel, you can find an "extended edition," which you can also not embed.

The video was just as I expected: pretty cool. Not amazing. Like Justin Kownacki commented: "I think what's 'missing' is the frivolous authenticity of the original. No matter how cool the next experiment is, if it's allied with an ad for a TV show, it'll be less buzzworthy by nature."

I'd have to agree. This one doesn't feel as organic. Still worth a viewing, and Fritz is still awesome.

I get by with a little help from my friends

Too swamped to blog? Turn to your awesome coworkers for post-worthy content!

From Barrett, like twenty years ago (sorry): Volkswagon taps into the "clean street art" trend. The gist: reverse vandalism by cleaning off parts of graffiti-stricken walls to create new messages. Volkswagon is using it for a green campaign, natch.

From Lisa: How can we use widgets to measure a message's momentum? This particular article deals with the 2008 presidential election, but the concept is much broader than that, especially as we look for new ways to mark the success of viral campaigns. Without some sort of standard Nielsen ratings for the web, we have to be a bit more creative and track the process as much as the result.

From Matt: Some kids can now use a LunchPrepay.com debit card in the school cafeteria, but now parents can see how you spent your lunch money. While I think the card itself is smart, the fact that parents can monitor one more aspect of their kids' daily lives raises the hair on my arms a little. Maybe that's just because I know what I thrived on in middle school, and how little of my parents' business I thought it was. To Matt's point, "Do kids have any privacy anymore?"

And from Ried: Check out Mycrocosm, a new piece of social software that lets you visualize "everyday data." Browse through the ways that people are using a more visual medium to show their little statuses-- comparable to microblogging, or as Ried puts it, a "graphic Twitter thing, sort of."

A Week Off the Grid

I've been remiss by not posting this much sooner. Week before last I went on a trip to Red Lake, Ontario to fish for Northern Pike. I'm not much of an sportsman and I don't particularly like the inconvenience of doing things like, oh I don't know, going outside. But it was a chance to hang out with my brother and some friends and to be off the grid for a while. Yes, no internet, cell or cable. (The lodge had wifi, but I couldn't get it to work on my iPhone and I could have paid for cell service but that would have defeated the purpose of the trip.)

So here's what I learned. First, the world goes on without me. When I got within a mile of the border, I started twittering again and it was like I had never left. Second, when you lift up your head, there's a real world to watch out there.

Why do I mention these two points in a marketing blog? Well, I think there's a lesson here. We are so close to our clients' business that sometimes we forget, it's about what's happening out there, in the real world with real people. Whether or not we are a part of the dialogue it goes on. And if we get so focused, have our heads down, working on briefs, developing concepts, and patting each other on the back, we are in danger of missing what's really going on; how the consumer's feel and what's important to them. Often it's not what's important to us.

Stop for a moment, and listen, who knows what you will hear, eh?