As I write this, the swine flu epidemic is well on its way to being classified as a pandemic, having spread from its apparent epicenter in Mexico throughout North America, to Europe, Asia, and beyond. In fact, it was confirmed just a short time ago that a student at Notre Dame has been the first […]
Every year, as the first of April rolls around, there are people—and companies—everywhere scheming to take
advantage of the gullible.
Try out Vimeo (www.vimeo. com) and blip.tv as alternatives to YouTube.
By now, it seems nearly everyone on the planet has heard of YouTube, Google’s popular video sharing site. You’ve probably either watched a video there-whether for research or to laugh at someone falling down. You might have even posted something. But you might be surprised to know that YouTube isn’t the only such site available, […]
Billing itself as “a Web magazine for guys who love stuff,” Uncrate posts daily updates about the best guy stuff found across the Internet and around the globe.
Vivity Labs has developed a Web
site called
Fit Brains (www.fitbrains.com), which features engaging games and activities that exercise the five key cognitive
areas of the brain: memory, language, concentration, executive functions, and visual and spatial skills.
Reader beware: You may not have the willpower to resist the draw of Hulu. I realize that sounds a little strange, as if the service itself is drawing some sort of mind-melding power from Spock or exhibiting the addictive draw of caffeine. The truth is far more sinister. This is television on demand-on steroids-with movies thrown in just to destroy any remnant of your ability to fight it. I’m talking about Hulu (www.hulu.com), a joint venture of NBC Universal and…
I already miss the Olympics. Perhaps due to my overactive patriotic gene, the overdeveloped sports fan gene, or the finetuned sucker-for-agood-story gene (or some combination of all three), I found the entire event strangely compelling. I’ve paid attention to the Olympics before, but this year it had some captivating affect on me that was altogether new. I found I could watch beach volleyball or fencing with equal enthusiasm. I watched handball matches (which was not at all the game I’d…
SURF THIS This Olympic year, NBC got it right-online and off I already miss the Olympics. Perhaps due to my overactive patriotic gene, the overdeveloped sports fan gene, or the finetuned sucker-for-agood-story gene (or some combination of all three), I found the entire event strangely compelling. I’ve paid attention to the Olympics before, but this year it had some captivating affect on me that was altogether new. I found I could watch beach volleyball or fencing with equal enthusiasm. I…
I received an email the other day offering some suggestions to save about $500 a year through a variety of basically painless financial moves. Most consisted of suggestions like “move this account, which is making next to nothing, to this bank where they’ll pay you 4 percent.” The email also recommended that I build an emergency fund, provided a list of all my account balances (everything from banking to credit cards to investments), pointed out the top purchases of the…
Ah, the idealism of youth. There’s something truly refreshing (and yes, at times, frustrating) about the effervescent optimism on display by young people. They look at the world, see a problem (perceived or real) and set out to change things. Of course, most of their efforts end up on the pile of broken dreams, but every once in a while, one breaks through. They achieve success, they realize their dreams, and they do it while actually making the world a…
If you’re a parent of a pre-teen, you’ll both understand and appreciate the following sentiment: I’m really sick of Radio Disney. This is why I normally listen to talk radio. But there are times when I can’t take any more of the right (Boortz, Beck, etc.) the left (NPR) or the egos (you know who you are.) That’s when I found Pandora and now that I’ve opened the box, I just can’t see going back. First, a little background. Way…
You’re either with us or against us. In this case, “us” refers to those who are just a little hooked on Discovery Channel-the huddled masses who quietly fret that Mike Rowe might run out of “Dirty Jobs” or who are inexplicably fascinated (and, yes, repulsed) by “Verminators.” Or the pseudo-quasi-science geeks who occasionally plan their nights around “Smash Lab” and bemoan the change of hosts for “Mythbusters.” You know, us. For some of you, that paragraph was met with nods,…
I don’t recycle. There it is. I’ve said it-gotten it off my chest in hope that I might be able to go forward with the rest of my life knowing that my secret shame is now public knowledge. A little like the new governor of New York, I’ve cleansed my sins in a font of public awareness. (Or something like that.) The truth is, I’m not very “green.” I don’t return the milk bottles. I absolutely love paper towels. We…
Several years ago, I had a conversation with a friend about “The Tipping Point,” a now-famous book by economist Malcolm Gladwell. During this conversation, my friend casually mentioned that he thought it would be beneficial (though I think he may have actually said, “Wouldn’t it be cool…”) to get together with other people in the community to discuss the ideas put forth in this book and a variety of other “businessrelated” titles. I admit, I agreed that it would, indeed,…
Back in the Dark Ages, before I started my company and before I was creative director at an advertising agency, I was a salesman. And my personality being what it is, I read a lot of books on sales. One of those that stood out was Harvey Mackay’s “Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive,” in which he emphasizes “building your Rolodex.” Of course, not a lot of us use a traditional Rolodex anymore, but the basic tenet remains:…
Ah, the holidays…a chance to spend a whole lot of time with people you don’t see that often. And, in some cases, it becomes painfully clear why not. Still, reminiscing with Aunt Helga about those long ago experiences when bread was a nickel and she walked to school through the snow, uphill (both ways) can still be rewarding, if done in moderation. Or on your own time, which is the point of this article. I almost hate to write it,…
I was in Texas a couple of weeks ago addressing a marketing conference organized by Strategic Fulfillment Group. The room was full of smart, progressive marketing minds, all sharing ideas about how to best address their respective customers. The focus of my presentation was building better online shopping environments, so we were all pretty well entrenched in the concepts, methods, and trends of selling online. Yet even this esteemed company didn’t come up with the innovative idea that Starbucks would…
It seems like everyone is an expert at something. We have automobile experts, stock market experts, antique experts… my company even has a client who’s a sheep and goat expert. In an I n t e r n e t – c e n t r i c world, though, these experts can find themselves in a tough place. Online, information is clamoring to be free (or pretty cheap) and readily available. It’s no longer enough to declare yourself an…
