LifeHacker featured Josh Kaufman's list of 77 books one can read as an alternative to an MBA. Being a college senior weighing the business school option, this has a lot of appeal to me. Not that I would buy the set of 77 "for one low price!", but I like reading books from a list. The satisfaction of crossing items off is unbeatable.
Speaking of lists, here's a little app that randomizes items to perform off your to-do list. It's kind of fun.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Power of music publicity
If you have checked out the top ten songs on iTunes recently, you will notice "Paper Planes" by MIA in the #2 position. Didn't her cd Kala come out a year ago?
Thanks to heavy plays during the trailer of Pineapple Express, the song and album have resurfaced again. Although, I saw an advanced screening of Pineapple Express last week and Paper Planes was nowhere to be found in the movie. Interesting. It also helps that the song is probably the catchiest pop song of 2007.
This reminds me of several artists who have been given a boost thanks to commercials. If your song is in an Apple commercial you are pretty much guaranteed a spotlight. Yael Naim and The Ting Tings are probably the most recent artists launched by Apple (Coldplay doesn't count since they are already huge).
Shocking New Development
Newsflash: online marketing is cheaper and more effective than print marketing. Print and TV are struggling to compete with the ease of online marketing (duh). Online marketing is more easily trackable (duh). Online marketing is the wave of the future.
But how long are we going to hang onto our print and TV budgets? When it's cheaper and more effective to market through websites, at what point are we going to pull the plug on struggling newspapers? Or will newspapers become more and more commercial in an effort to survive? I have to admit, there's something charming about carrying a newspaper under the crook of one's arm with a latte in the other hand. But environmental concerns may outweigh the that image's endurance. Everyone knows newspapers are going under, according to the NYT now no one even wants to buy the Chicago Sun-Times. Ouch.
NYT also reports that despite election excitement, no one's watching TV for coverage. I know I can count myself in the number not watching TV. Last year my housemates and I bought a cable package, and when we asked our upstairs neighbors to split it with us they declined. All they watched was the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, both of which are streaming online. This year we, too opted out of cable. We get TV on DVD through Netflix, and we watch 30 Rock and the Office online. I'm not saying that we're starting a social revolution, but it does make me wonder if TV will ever be semi-obsolete.
I remember when my family first got AOL, and I went onto the Nickelodeon website. I spent about 30 minutes downloading pictures of the Rugrats; it was awesome. It's so strange to think about how fast the internet has become what it is. When I think about it I feel like I'm in a sci-fi movie. Weird.
But how long are we going to hang onto our print and TV budgets? When it's cheaper and more effective to market through websites, at what point are we going to pull the plug on struggling newspapers? Or will newspapers become more and more commercial in an effort to survive? I have to admit, there's something charming about carrying a newspaper under the crook of one's arm with a latte in the other hand. But environmental concerns may outweigh the that image's endurance. Everyone knows newspapers are going under, according to the NYT now no one even wants to buy the Chicago Sun-Times. Ouch.
NYT also reports that despite election excitement, no one's watching TV for coverage. I know I can count myself in the number not watching TV. Last year my housemates and I bought a cable package, and when we asked our upstairs neighbors to split it with us they declined. All they watched was the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, both of which are streaming online. This year we, too opted out of cable. We get TV on DVD through Netflix, and we watch 30 Rock and the Office online. I'm not saying that we're starting a social revolution, but it does make me wonder if TV will ever be semi-obsolete.
I remember when my family first got AOL, and I went onto the Nickelodeon website. I spent about 30 minutes downloading pictures of the Rugrats; it was awesome. It's so strange to think about how fast the internet has become what it is. When I think about it I feel like I'm in a sci-fi movie. Weird.
The Olympics on YouTube
YouTube will be streaming clips of the Olympics to 77 countries.
This is be a nice feature, considering the major time difference between China and other parts of the world.
This is be a nice feature, considering the major time difference between China and other parts of the world.
7 ways to get your mom on Twitter
Great article from Mashable here.
Most of these are universal and could be applied to any friend that you are trying to get to join Twitter. Just as with Facebook, you need friends on Twitter for it to become truly fun and useful.
Viral Video of the Day
Improveverywhere has a great collection of videos on their YouTube channel. While Food Court Musical is my favorite video from the group, this one is also great. It was also shown briefly at this years Student Advertising Summit by keynote speaker, John Olson.
How Much Is Too Much?
Brandweek posted an article on all the hype about Sasha Baron Cohen's new movie 'Bruno'. The 'Borat' star has begun filming around the world for his new foray into faux investigative journalism, in which he pretends to be a gay Austrian rock star. Word has gotten out that he caught Hamas on tape giving his opinions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during an interview in which he also confuses the retired Mossad agent with hummus. Hamas figured out that he was being shammed, and published info on the interview.
Here's the kicker: the movie is coming out next summer. That's right, one year from now. There's not even footage out yet. This all begs the question: how early is too early?
According to Brandweek, Snakes on a Plane suffered from being over-hyped. I have to take the side that even less people would have seen it without the viral excitement. It would have been nothing but a kitschy B-movie without the (supposedly organic) marketing. On the other hand, sometimes I feel like trailers are so long that I've already seen the whole movie. In real life, this effect plays out when I think so much about doing something that I forget to do it. Has anyone else had the experience where you write a thorough letter or hold a serious conversation in your head that's so satisfying you never get around to actually doing it?
My prediction: 'Bruno' will succeed or fail based on a variety of factors, none of which include the early internet hype.
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