My dad was by the other night while my son played a MMO game on the computer. Dad, or grandpa, didn’t get it. He doesn’t “get” LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, texting, etc. either…
I was thinking about it and his world isn’t much different from what it was when he was a kid. And that, fundamentally isn’t much different from the world his parents existed in. Sure, developments were made. Man (person) went to the moon. Planes got faster and flew further. Discoveries were made. The Bay of Pigs oinked…
But these types of things don’t effect your day-to-day life in the way that the Internet, cell phones and other technologies that are developing do/will.
The world is changing - fast. My kid’s world will be vastly different from what mine was/is. Sheesh, my world is vastly different from what it was just a decade ago because of the Internet and cell phone.
Maybe my dad should watch this video (thanks @leighhouse)…
Watching my kid navigate by a small map in the upper RH corner of a screen while mousing all over the screen to battle ogres and buying armor while typing messages to someone half way across the globe, I can’t help but think that this “game” will help him in his future endeavors in the hyper-connected world I imagine he’ll have.
When you have a minute, look up Bar Code on Mobile or Microsoft Surface. We are going to be connected to people and information in ways you’ve only seen on the movie screens. And these new technologies will not be here in ten years they are becoming real RIGHT NOW. And then, they’ll be replaced with something totally different within the next few years…
That’s not to say “traditional media” will go away anytime soon (don’t worry dad). A report in Marketingvox today confirmed it - for now at least. Nearly 50% of kids under 11 visited a website BECAUSE of a traditional (tv, radio, magazine) ad they saw/heard.
And that’s also not to say my dad is all about traditional. This holiday season he gave my son a handheld GPS for geocaching - a satellite-enabled scavanger hunt. So, how about GPS for that pesky pin the tail on the donkey or pinyata??
I saw a little bit of graffiti the other day. It was less than 140 characters long. Scribbled in the tiny little space of white grout between the tiles on a restroom wall.
“OTIS IS AN expletive SO IS TERI”
As I looked at it I realized it was basically a Tweet. Someone’s feelings captured at that moment in time. Self-expression at it’s finest.
As we all know, self-expression (and according to the free online dictionary) is “the expression of one’s own personality or feelings, esp. in the creative arts.” And, “graffiti,” according to Wikipedia, ”is sometimes regarded as a form of art.”
I think self expression and graffiti are similar but different animals.
I’m in the camp that believes graffiti can be an art form. There is a difference between art and self-expression. Like the scribble on the bathroom wall, graffiti can be self-expression without much “art.”
So then, can a Tweet be art? Some do write wonderful Tweets showing clarity and emotion, that come from a creative, artisitic place. Others are simply self-expression (or promotion)….
Self-expression - it’s the same whether it is online, on canvas, on a page or on a wall. One man’s Tweet is another man’s graffiti.
Since graffiti, as communication and self-expression, has been around since 1 BC, is Twitter really anything new? Aren’t many twits simply writing their self-expressive graffiti on a server accessable by anyone with an Internet connection?
So, there’s still more ado about nothing - as in people wearing nothing appearing on snowboard graphics. I posted on this topic not once but twice already and hate to keep going back to this well but it just keeps bubbling up in the news.
Husband/wife owners of Burton Snowboards were recently interviewed on Vermont Public Radio about the Love snowboard collection which feature 1970’s Playboy centerfolds as the graphic. EXPN-ESPN also ran the transcript of the interview on their website.
Three thoughts on the interview…
Jake & his wife Donna did a great interview. Two parents commenting on the boards and parenting while defending the creative together - GREAT thinking Burton PR team!
Why don’t people understand the simplicity of Jake’s quote, “These graphics are made for young men, and young men do not want to ride a graphic that their parents are going to ride.”
This is a repeat of a thought from a previous post but - how many of these boards were actually made? These are not boards sold through the mass market so, really, how many are out there in the public eye?
Much Ado About Nothing - for those who don’t know - is the title of a Shakespeare play. I picked it for the title of one of my posts on these “naked” snowboards for obvious reason.
I’m a Lit Major way back when but I admit that I never read this particular play. However, a little Wikipedia reading revealed that Much Ado About Nothing is a more appropriate title than I had imagined.
Gender roles - women/men altering submissive/agressive and questioning fidelity/infidelity
A play on words revolving around interest in and critique of others
A theme concerning “seeming,” “fashion” and immediate outward impressions
Elizabethan slang (an o-thing) for certain unmentionable body parts
And mention in the references section pointing to page 219 of “Gordon Williams “A Glossary of Shakespeare’s Sexual Language” (Althone Press, 1997 ISBN 0-485-12130-1).”
Gender roles, what’s “fashion”, how someone/thing “seems”, interest in or critique of others - these are directly or obliquely related to the cultural issues surrounding the Burton Love snowboard story. I won’t say anything about the slang…
Side Note: Oddly, one of the great Shakespeare actors of recent times Richard BURTON (check out Taming of the Shrew with him and Elizabeth Taylor) isn’t recorded as having acted in Much Ado About Nothing on stage or screen. Taming of the Shrew also covers many of the same themes as Much Ado.
Part 3 in a 4 Part Series: Part 1 – Naked Ladies: Part 2 – Much Ado about Nothing: Part 3 – More Ado about Nothing: Part 4 – Nothing. Does it End? (coming soon)
My pop eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some fruit for lunch every day. Simple, tasty and inexpensive he’d argue.
Turns out, when compared to the American standard hamburger, a PBJ sandwich (or other non-meat meal) also saves as much as 2.5 pounds of carbon dioxide, 280 gallons of water and 50 square feet of land!
I found this info in the Jan/Feb 2008 issue of the Sierra Club’s Sierra magazine (which pointed to the PBJ Campaign) - not a very surprising source for a “green” lunch suggestion.
However, I was surprised to find a similar position and figures appearing in the American Chemical Society magazine Chemical & Engineering News’ July 28, 2008 issue.
It stated that, eating local doesn’t make a huge change in emissions as “transportation (of food) overall reflects only 11% of food related greenhouse gas emissions, with the final distribution from producer to retailer acounting for 4%. Instead, it’s pollution associated with production that constitute the major source of food related greenhouse gas emissions, and those emissions vary by type of food…..red meat is by far the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.”
Of course, switching to non-meat meals is only one part of reducing greenhouse gases. The C&E News article goes on to state, “In general, the average household’ activities that lead to the most greenhouse gas emissions are heating/cooling their residence and transportation. Food is in general third or fourth.”
So, turn down the thermostat, ride your bike/walk for transportation and eat a PBJ sandwich for lunch! You might want to un-bottle some ice tea too!
Mom always said, “Money is dirty.” But an article in the September 15, 2008 Chemical & Engineering News shows there is even more - much more - than dirt and germs on your bills.
“Researchers found that euro bills in Spain on average contain 155ug of cocaine, with a maximum of 889 ug. Previous studies on the US dollar yielded averages ranging from 2.86 to 28.75ug but the most highly contaminated bill in the US studies had about 1.33 mg of cocaine.”
A similar study was performed in Ireland where 100% of the Euros examined had cocaine residue. Interestingly, the 20s and 50s showed more contamination than notes in 5 and 10 denominations. Makes me wonder, how much cocaine is in a pound?
Some have found money addictive but don’t worry about getting loaded from handling your dough. “Only people who handle many bills on a daily basis” says the C&E News article, ”need worry about the effects of cocaine contamination.”
Your illegal legal tender isn’t in need of money laundering - but your hands are…. “Yes, mom.”
In my recent post, titled Naked Ladies, I asked opinions on the use of Playboy center folds as the main graphic on Burton’s new Love snowboards. Apparently, these not-quite-naked ladies (and Burton’s Primo board graphics) have become quite a controversy among people who find these things controversial.
“According to a report by the Burlington Free Press, Smuggler’s Notch report (sic) and Vail Resorts have prohibited employees from using Burton’s Love and Primo snowboards, which feature vintage Playboy centerfolds and “cartoonish graphics of self-mutilation.” Vail Reorts, which owns Vail, Breckenridge Ski Resort, Beaver Creek Resort, Keystone Ski Resort in Colorado and California’s Heavenly Mountain Resport, revised its employee policy after concerns were raised about the controversial artwork,” SportsOneSource Media wrote on 10/28/08.
I searched the Burlington Free Press archives and there have been a number of articles (including one about 100+ protesters waving signs and marching down Industrial Parkway to Burton HQ) and letters to the editor on this topic.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t read them all (here’s one) because the Free Press archives ain’t free. You’ll need to pay if you want to see the archived articles. To check it out, hit up this link. Transworld Business also reported on the hate mail rolling into the mail box at Jake’s office.
Burton’s Love and Primo boards, are limited production pieces and sold only at core shops. The boards were first shown to retailers at SIA waaaaay back in February.
I wonder how many of these boards are actually being made? It all seems like much ado about nothing - but mucho free press (and some added ”outlaw” cred) for Burton. I mean if ‘big brother’ resorts are prohibiting the boards and mom’s are making signs and marching in protest against Burton, isn’t that the sweetest sweet spot for positioning your brand among young, male snowboarders?
I wonder what the women on Burton’s team or other pro female boarders like (Tara Dakides, Gretchen Bleiler and Jamie Little) think of all this?
Part 2 in a 4 Part Series: Part 1 – Naked Ladies: Part 2 – Much Ado about Nothing: Part 3 – More Ado about Nothing: Part 4 – Nothing. Does it End? (coming soon)
YING. I’m very excited to see gasoline prices dropping! It’s less than $2.40 at a few stations near me. This means more $ in my pocket and a little less route planning as I get behind the wheel. And, it’s gotten too dark (and soon cold) for my occasional commute by bike.
YANG. For the first half of 2008, US drivers traveled nearly 20 billion fewer miles in their cars than during the same period in 2007. That’s a lot of fuel and emissions saved!
And, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation (reported in Jan/Feb Sierra) the United States is one of the world’s worst when it comes to fuel economy of our autos. Europe and Japan are at over 40 miles per gallon. China is over 30 MPG and Canada is nearing that mark. The good ole’ USA is only 25 MPG.
Higher gas prices actually encouraged (forced) Americans to rethink their automobile driving and buying habits…
“The EPA has settled a lawsuit with AEP, the nation’s largest industrial emitter of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide, over the company’s failure to install the newest pollution controls when it expanded its power plants. The utility agreed to cut 813,000 tons of air pollutants annually at an estimated cost of more than $4.6 billion. Oh, wait - a tiny paragraph assures the utility that the EPA won’t pursue any enforcement actions against it until at least 2018.”
And so the mercury from coal fired power plants keeps falling…
“The United States is on a path to creating what could become the largest official bicycle route network in the world, thanks to the approval of a new plan by America’s leading authority on national route designations. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has just approved a National Corridor Plan laying out the framework and guidelines for the development of this system.”
“The plan identifies corridors connecting America’s urban, rural, and suburban areas. The corridors cover well over 50,000 miles, which, if transformed into routes along roads and trails, would create the largest official bicycle route network in any country or on any continent.”
“Research is showing that well-designed cycling networks generate major increases in non-motorized trips. In the United Kingdom, for example, the national network triggered growth in these trips from 85.5 million in 2000 to 338 million in 2006. Similar gains are being seen in Quebec, which is also using the network to promote province-wide economic development and tourism.”
“Now that the plan has been approved, states and nonprofits are free to work together and develop official interstate routes. According to Sullivan, several states are already moving forward, including Virginia, Michigan, and Florida. Numerous other states have also shown an increasing interest in creating routes that link urban, suburban, and rural destinations.”
“For more information about the U.S. Bicycle Route System project, go to www.adventurecycling.org/usbrs. Web pages include the corridor plan and criteria, a corridor plan map, and information about other national and provincial route networks.”
1. “80% to 90% of user-generated content is produced by less than 10% of users”
2. The online reviews of this comparatively small group of users, “drive more purchase decisions than newspaper articles, reviews by Web site editors or advice from store employees.”
Wow! - user generated reviews are more influential than newspaper articles or Web site editors!
But simply advertising on social sites doesn’t work well according to an e-Marketer article on 10/28. The mantra here is - become part of the conversation. Be believable. Honest. Genuine. Transparent. Talk with, not to, people.
Similarly, an Adotas.com article (10/29) covers a BuzzLogic study in detail, pointing out the influence of blogs among blog readers. Some key tidbits (definately read the article though…) are:
“It’s important that retailers (and marketers - my addition here) don’t just slap up a page because everyone is talking about Facebook. An effective presence requires that you carefully consider what your customers are looking for, what you would like to communicate, and what role a fan page should play in your overall online strategy.”
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