Searchme.com
Ok so it's still in beat testing (knd of like Twine). But, I'm thinking it's going to be a hit. At the recent AAAA Digital Conference, Mark Kvamme of Sequoia Capital introduced it to the crowd.
The brilliance of this search engine is that you can save sets of things that you search for. Let's say I searched for 'Indiana Jones.' Sites would appear in a PicLens fashion. Sites from IMDB.com to the trailer of the recent film, to blogs about it. I would then be able to create a folder into which I could drag these sites.
This is going to make doing research so much easier!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
mus-ethnicity
Could someone who has a vast music library and programming skills please create a website that explores different ethnicities through their music? Imagine it - like Pandora, but rather than plugging in a band/song, you would plug in an ethnicity or country name that you would like to experience. I would call it MusEthnicity.
For example, if I plugged in Slovac, DeVotchka might play. Or Mexican, Grupo Fantasma might pop-up.
If this exists and I just haven't stumbled upon it, please send it along!
For example, if I plugged in Slovac, DeVotchka might play. Or Mexican, Grupo Fantasma might pop-up.
If this exists and I just haven't stumbled upon it, please send it along!
breakfast chicken sandwiches and punk teens
McDonald's new commercial for their breakfast chicken sandwich is pretty damn funny. My favorite part is the last line "here's to non-conformity." It appears to be attempting two things:
1. To get young anti-mainstream folks to try their sandwich
2. To say that McDs as a brand is in someway akin to the anti-mainstream ethos.
Wow, that's aspirational. It is also risky. The truth is, what about McDs does not scream classic American?
Someone should also inform McDonalds that the age of the un-ruly anti-society teenager is out. Teens these days are tuned into more than just MTV. In fact, they are more involved in community service than any recent previous generation. Not only that but teens have taken the green movement as a call to action. Rebelling for the sake of pissing your parents off isn't nearly as important to these youngins as rebelling against big corporations. Just take a look at how successful the Truth campaign has been by plugging into that sentiment.
I think I'll stick to oatmeal.
1. To get young anti-mainstream folks to try their sandwich
2. To say that McDs as a brand is in someway akin to the anti-mainstream ethos.
Wow, that's aspirational. It is also risky. The truth is, what about McDs does not scream classic American?
Someone should also inform McDonalds that the age of the un-ruly anti-society teenager is out. Teens these days are tuned into more than just MTV. In fact, they are more involved in community service than any recent previous generation. Not only that but teens have taken the green movement as a call to action. Rebelling for the sake of pissing your parents off isn't nearly as important to these youngins as rebelling against big corporations. Just take a look at how successful the Truth campaign has been by plugging into that sentiment.
I think I'll stick to oatmeal.
brandsession
Brand Tags is an experiment to test peoples' perceptions of brands. Sounds like a great way to see if your brand positioning campaign actually paid off. That and... it's fun. Try it out: http://www.brandtags.net/
Sunday, May 11, 2008
healthy role models
Objective: So let’s say that you are Kraft or any other food co. that wants to get kids to start eating your healthy foods early on.
Things to know about your audience :
- Kids in school learn about healthy eating and can tell you what it means to eat healthily.
Kids want to be healthy and understand the value of it, the missing link is guidance.
We’ve all heard about the obesity rate amongst kids in the U.S. and fingers have been pointed at parents or marketers, but I believe we are looking in the wrong place to find the solution. Let’s think about kids this way:
Kids are the influencers
Yes, we all know that when marketing to kids there is the secondary audience of parents. We also know that when kids are told to do things, like eat healthily, they don’t want to follow directions.
Now let’s talk about Parents and following directions
The reason that parents are the secondary target is because of the influence that a child has on their purchasing decisions. Parents don’t just choose to buy their kids bags of chips over apples, they do so because they know that their child will be more likely to eat the chips. Kids have amazing influence over their parents. Just take a look at former-smoker blogs and you will see that children are a huge motivator in quitting. A message from your child to please quit smoking is a lot more motivating than a warning label from a governing body. It’s funny how a small-soft voice can inspire change so dramatically in comparison to red-bold and all-caps. It reminds me of the Teddy Roosevelt quote “speak softly, but carry a big stick.”
So now, rather than parents forcing broccoli down childrens’ throats, how about giving the spoon to the child?
My Challenge
My challenge to Kraft, schools, whomever feels compelled to quell rising child obesity rates is to let the children become the teachers. Let’s empower children to teach others about healthy living. This could be done in school by creating a mentor program where kids would mentor younger kids on healthy eating.
For example, middle school students could head over to elementary schools to teach kids how to eat healthily. It could lead to after school programs where kids learn how to cook, go to farms and learn how to plant/pick foods. Schools could create gardens where kids could learn about where food comes from and learn to appreciate fresh foods. This could be done through science classes or even gym classes where health is covered. The food from the garden could go to the cafeteria, or even be sold as a fundraiser for next year’s garden.
One way to bring healthy eating home would be to have a “Healthy Eating Night” where kids and parents could learn together how to cook healthy meals. Maybe it’s a Saturday and kids and parents garden together in the school garden.
Companies (like Kraft) could get involved by sponsoring these programs. Companies that sell seeds could play a big role in the creation of these gardens. Rather than sell christmas wrapping paper, students could go door to door selling seeds.
The key in the kid-to-kid solution to obesity, is giving kids healthy role models that are just a few years older than them and giving kids the chance to showcase their smarts to younger kids and their parents.
Things to know about your audience :
- Kids in school learn about healthy eating and can tell you what it means to eat healthily.
Kids want to be healthy and understand the value of it, the missing link is guidance.
We’ve all heard about the obesity rate amongst kids in the U.S. and fingers have been pointed at parents or marketers, but I believe we are looking in the wrong place to find the solution. Let’s think about kids this way:
Kids are the influencers
Yes, we all know that when marketing to kids there is the secondary audience of parents. We also know that when kids are told to do things, like eat healthily, they don’t want to follow directions.
Now let’s talk about Parents and following directions
The reason that parents are the secondary target is because of the influence that a child has on their purchasing decisions. Parents don’t just choose to buy their kids bags of chips over apples, they do so because they know that their child will be more likely to eat the chips. Kids have amazing influence over their parents. Just take a look at former-smoker blogs and you will see that children are a huge motivator in quitting. A message from your child to please quit smoking is a lot more motivating than a warning label from a governing body. It’s funny how a small-soft voice can inspire change so dramatically in comparison to red-bold and all-caps. It reminds me of the Teddy Roosevelt quote “speak softly, but carry a big stick.”
So now, rather than parents forcing broccoli down childrens’ throats, how about giving the spoon to the child?
My Challenge
My challenge to Kraft, schools, whomever feels compelled to quell rising child obesity rates is to let the children become the teachers. Let’s empower children to teach others about healthy living. This could be done in school by creating a mentor program where kids would mentor younger kids on healthy eating.
For example, middle school students could head over to elementary schools to teach kids how to eat healthily. It could lead to after school programs where kids learn how to cook, go to farms and learn how to plant/pick foods. Schools could create gardens where kids could learn about where food comes from and learn to appreciate fresh foods. This could be done through science classes or even gym classes where health is covered. The food from the garden could go to the cafeteria, or even be sold as a fundraiser for next year’s garden.
One way to bring healthy eating home would be to have a “Healthy Eating Night” where kids and parents could learn together how to cook healthy meals. Maybe it’s a Saturday and kids and parents garden together in the school garden.
Companies (like Kraft) could get involved by sponsoring these programs. Companies that sell seeds could play a big role in the creation of these gardens. Rather than sell christmas wrapping paper, students could go door to door selling seeds.
The key in the kid-to-kid solution to obesity, is giving kids healthy role models that are just a few years older than them and giving kids the chance to showcase their smarts to younger kids and their parents.
Friday, May 2, 2008
http://tune it here
Two music players I have been tipped off to lately are Pandora.com and Muxtape.com. I am in love with both.
Pandora allows you to create your own radio station based off of a song or band that you like. It then plays songs that are similar and helps you discover a ton of new music!
Remember sitting next to the tape player hitting record to compile the perfect mixed tape? Me neither, all I know is that some chick that was interning for my dad when I was like 9 made me one. It's got like Garbage, Nirvana and a plethora of other grunge-punk bands. I wish I could find her and to say "thank-you." Muxtape.com allows you to create a mixed tape off of your MP3s. Part of the fun of Muxtape choosing which mix to pick. My advice: if you make one, name it well. Give those hidden copywriter skills a stretch and you may find that your Mux becoming very popular.
I promise that I am not bring paid to write this blog, this is coming out of true, genuine appreciation folks.
Pandora allows you to create your own radio station based off of a song or band that you like. It then plays songs that are similar and helps you discover a ton of new music!
Remember sitting next to the tape player hitting record to compile the perfect mixed tape? Me neither, all I know is that some chick that was interning for my dad when I was like 9 made me one. It's got like Garbage, Nirvana and a plethora of other grunge-punk bands. I wish I could find her and to say "thank-you." Muxtape.com allows you to create a mixed tape off of your MP3s. Part of the fun of Muxtape choosing which mix to pick. My advice: if you make one, name it well. Give those hidden copywriter skills a stretch and you may find that your Mux becoming very popular.
I promise that I am not bring paid to write this blog, this is coming out of true, genuine appreciation folks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
