2007 = Boom Goes The YouTube

December 31, 2006 | 1 Comment

If you thought 2006 was the year of YouTube, think again. The new year will bring an even bigger, brighter YouTube explosion. Especially as we enter presidential campaign season.

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas. Happy New Year!

And don’t forget, this year, be nice to smokers. They won’t live as long as you.

Random Audio Clip of the Post

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Posted by toddand | Filed Under Blogging, Links, Video 

My Morning Commute.

December 30, 2006 | 3 Comments

My morning commute averages 75 minutes. Fortunately, that time is very productive as I plan the day ahead, brainstorm, read emails, browse bloglines, eat breakfast, drink coffee, catch up on Chicago sports, sleep at red lights, etc. Thanks to an awesome Xmas gift from my wife, I videotaped Friday’s commute, sped it up a bit and added a great tune. Traffic was very light due to the holiday. Now, it takes less than five minutes. Watch the commute yourself:

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And Links - 12 | 29| 06

December 28, 2006 | 2 Comments

Val Kilmer to Star in Real Genius 2
“The ‘Tombstone’ star recently announced his intentions to take on more comedic roles in the future in a bid to alter his Hollywood image and take his career to a new level.”

Time’s 50 Coolest Websites
“Many of this year’s choices are shining examples of Web 2.0: next-generation sites offering dynamic new ways to inform and entertain, sites with cutting-edge tools to create, consume, share or discuss all manners of media, from blog posts to video clips.”

50 Things We Know Now (That We Didn’t Know This Time Last Year) 2006 Edition
“Even more mind-numbing: Tons of cool new discoveries wash ashore in the media tide each year but fall through the cracks, what with all the coverage of Britney Spears’ undies and Tom Cruise’s wedding.”

BusinessWeek’s Tech Hot Growth 50
“It’s no surprise to find Apple and Google at the top of our list, but smaller outfits saw some of the biggest growth…”

Social Media is No Mo
“As we conclude 2006 and head into the new year it is my conviction that the phrase “social media” is moot.” (Good comments)

Second Life’s Sloppy Press Coverage
“The press reaction to Second Life was also more credulous than I knew. Linden is guilty of promoting a misleading figure, but the reporters covering Second Life are guilty of converting that figure into an outright falsehood…”

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Posted by toddand | Filed Under Links 

A Very Special Christmas Video Gift

December 22, 2006 | Leave a Comment

Merry Christmas everyone! Enjoy…

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Posted by toddand | Filed Under Humor, Random, Video 

PR’s Best and Worst of 2006

December 20, 2006 | 1 Comment

BusinessWeek’s annual review of the wide, wide world of PR just came out.

My top three BEST PR moves (from the BW list):

3. Hey there, Lonelygirl
2. The PR learnings of Borat
1. On the treadmill

My top three WORST PR moves (from the BW list):

3. Battered batteries
2. Wal-Marting into controversy
1. No way, O.J.

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Posted by toddand | Filed Under Educational, Links, Management, News, Public Relations, Strategies+Tactics 

The Greatest Slogans Lost in Translation

December 18, 2006 | 1 Comment

No, these aren’t hurtful insults, bad reviews or unfortunate side effects. They’re actual slogans that had been meticulously developed by some of the world’s leading advertising and PR executives.. and then executed in foreign countries. The only problem = the executives failed to properly translate the slogans and triple check for potential cross-cultural misinterpretations. Enjoy!

    “It won’t leak in your pocket and make you pregnant.” (Parker Pen)
    Triedtosay: “It won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you.”

    “Suffer From Diarrhea.” (Coors)
    Triedtosay: “Turn It Loose.”

    “Manure Stick.” (Clairol)
    Triedtosay: “Mist Stick”

    “Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back From the Grave” (Pepsi)
    Triedtopromise: “Come Alive With the Pepsi Generation”

    “Fly Naked” (American Airlines)
    Triedtosuggest: “Fly In Leather”

    “Are You Lactating?” (Dairy Association)
    Triedtosay: “Got Milk?”

    “It Doesn’t Go” (GM)
    Triedtomarket: The Chevy Nova

    “Happiness in the Mouth.” (Coke)
    Triedtouseitsownname: “The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as ‘Kekoukela,’ meaning ‘Bite the Wax Tadpole’ or ‘Female Horse Stuffed with Wax,’ depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent ‘kokoukole,’ translating into ‘Happiness in the Mouth,’” according to Moronland.

I can’t stress enough the importance of using international signs - as so flawlessly demonstrated by this video clip (below):

By the way, I have my own funny translation story: I studied international business in Salzburg, Austria for six months during college. Fortunately for me, it was an English-speaking institution since I never studied the German language. Well, it turns out my name means DEATH in German (Tod)! Can you imagine what my loving host family thought when they found out that DEATH was coming to live with them!? Needless to say, I tried very hard not to introduce myself by first name to the locals.

News Source: Moronland
Video Content: The State

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Posted by toddand | Filed Under Advertising, Educational, Humor, Links, Management, Marketing, Public Relations, Strategies+Tactics, Video 

Phantom Cellular Vibratosis

December 17, 2006 | Leave a Comment

cellvibrate.jpg

I have a cell phone disorder and I’m willing to guess there are many others like me.

Do you keep your cell phone on vibrate and often catch yourself rushing to feel your phone because you think it’s ringing… only to find that it’s not ringing… vibrating… at all. Or, oh geez, perhaps you reach for your *vibrating* pocket only to find that it’s empty!?

Several times a week I’ll grab my coat or pant pocket thinking that the phone is vibrating. But it’s not! I’ve kept my cell phone on vibrate for the last seven years and now my mind is playing tricks on me.

I call it Phantom Cellular Vibratosis. Do you have it? Or is it just me?

UPDATE: Turns out a lot of people have this and call it by a variety of terms.

Just as I was about to publish this post I decided to do a quick Google search for “cell phone vibrate” thinking I’d find a cool/funny link to add and make this piece a little more amusing. Never did I imagine I’d find someone with the same experience as me.

Well, the third result was titled “Who’s calling? Is it your leg or your cell phone?” and it discusses PCV (phantom cell phone vibrations).

According to the article, “David Laramie, a doctoral student at the California School of Professional Psychology, is writing his dissertation on behavioral effects of cell phone use. He noted that phantom vibrations are related to phantom ringing. If your cell phone ring is similar to a prominent pitch heard in everyday life, you will experience the phantom ring more often, he said.

“‘Your brain will hear the first note in the outside world and fill in the rest of the sequence mentally,’ Laramie said. He said the same is probably true with the phantom vibration. ‘If my belt rubs up against the table, a lot of times there is a trigger’ that makes him think his cell phone is vibrating.”

WHAT THE! Next I searched for “Phantom Cell Phone Vibrations” and I got boatloads of results. Countless others experience the same exact thing. I’m NORMAL! Check these out:

Phantom Cell Phone Vibrations
Phantom Vibration Syndrome?
Phantom Phone Vibrations
Pavlovian Phantom Rings To Make You Pay Attention
Phantom Vibration
Ringxiety (Turns out David Laramie wrapped up his dissertation and coined this term)
The Phantom Vibration - A New Medical Menace?

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Posted by toddand | Filed Under Educational, Humor, Random, Technology 

I’m Time Person of the Year. Thank You!

December 17, 2006 | 6 Comments

timeme.jpg

Wow! I don’t know what to say. Time just named me (and a few billion others) Person of the Year! The article underscores what many bloggers and podcasters have been saying for a while now, but it’s always nice to hear it again. Here are some key excerpts from the article:

“But look at 2006 through a different lens and you’ll see another story, one that isn’t about conflict or great men. It’s a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before….

“The new Web is a very different thing. It’s a tool for bringing together the small contributions of millions of people and making them matter…

“We’re ready to balance our diet of predigested news with raw feeds…

“We’re looking at an explosion of productivity and innovation, and it’s just getting started, as millions of minds that would otherwise have drowned in obscurity get backhauled into the global intellectual economy…

“And for seizing the reins of the global media, for founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating the pros at their own game, TIME’s Person of the Year for 2006 is you.”

Thank you! Really. I’m honored, but I never could have done it without the support and teachings of my favorite and fellow bloggers (who, coincidentally, were also named 2006 Time Person of the Year). I wrote down a list of names so I wouldn’t forget who to thank. Here it goes…

Leo Bottary
Matthew Stibbe
Ed Lee
Jeff Jarvis
Kami Huyse
Owen Lystrup
Scott Baradell
Steve Rubel
Tom Murphy
Andrea Weckerle
Luke Armour
Constantin Basturea
Todd Defren
Paull Young
Shel Holtz
Neville Hobson
Stephen Davies
Lauren Isaacson
David Armano
Russell Davies
Clay Parker Jones
Alexandra Pullin
Richard Millington
Katie Paine
Peter Himler
Jeremy Pepper
B.L. Ochman
Kris Smith
Andrew Baron
Amanda Congdon
Chris Thilk

Congratulations everyone! Keep up the great work.

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I Hate GAP. I Love LAMP.

December 16, 2006 | Leave a Comment

Ahh, ’tis the season. I mistakenly went to the mall today and endured shoulder-to-shoulder shopping traffic. It would have been worth it if something like this GAP advertisement happened while I was at the store.

I’m struggling to find a solid transition from GAP to LAMP, so I’ll just leave you with this LAMP clip from Anchorman.

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And Links - 12 | 15 | 06

December 14, 2006 | Leave a Comment

The World’s First Underwater Hotel
“A sprawling 1.1-million-square-foot complex—with lavish suites, a ballroom, a shopping mall and a missile-defense system to ward off terrorists—Hydropolis is an ambitious vision of luxury at 60 feet underwater.”

Crazy Man Dancing in Best Buy


Hyperactive Editing With Musical Instruments

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Posted by toddand | Filed Under Links, Video 

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