Geek Soap Box

Today, in a not-so-random conversation with a person to be named later, I referred to one of my professional strengths as believing in the democratic nature of information.  Basically, what I meant is that, in the past, a few individuals — big media, corporate public relations teams, and the like — controlled nearly all of [...]

There is perhaps no greater sign of impending demise in a nation than the pragmatic acceptance of the mantra “good enough.”  Rome met its end soon after its citizens stopped building great roads and aqueducts and instead focused on childish entertainment and sport, and it is a worrisome observation that the United States, poisoned by [...]

I am pleased to report that my first-ever “foray” — pardon the pun — into the world of podcasting is now live!  Go download “This Week in Media” Episode #173 today and listen to us banter for an hour on advertising addressability and why content is king, live from Transformation 2010 in San Francisco, CA! [...]

One of the most stunning stories to hit the Internet in the past weeks has to be the saga of Newsday, the traditional Long Island newspaper owned and operated by the enigmatic Dolan family. Back in October, the paper took its entire Web presence and placed it behind a subscribers-only firewall available only to area [...]

Undoubtedly, when I return to the office tomorrow, I’ll hear cries and wailing anguish from the Powers That Be about how they know so much more than I do about Web design, communications, and marketing — despite the fact that I’m the only one with a masters degree (sort of) and a decade of experience [...]

I have always had massive issues getting a full and rest-filled night’s sleep.  My anxious and over-worked mind finds it nearly impossible to wind down in the evening, and when factoring in some pretty significant issues with loud snoring/sleep apnea, it’s no wonder I’m always tired and ready for a nap. My worst sleep-related flaw, [...]

Newsflash, for those not paying attention: I own and adore desperately my iPhone.  Without it, I feel uncertain and anxious, as if a very part of me has been unplugged from life and I struggle to maintain focus and balance.  It’s utterly ridiculous, but I guess I’m one of the people Strand Consulting is referring [...]

My work-related e-mail and social media accounts were all a-flutter this morning over AOL’s announcement that it is abandoning it’s traditional running man/triangular logos for something new and fresh. AOL Sunday revealed the new brand identity it will begin using Dec. 10th, when it spins off as a free-standing, publicly traded company from Time Warner. [...]

A few weeks ago, I received an offer from Scott Oser at the College of Association Marketing to participate in a series of Webinars tailored to the novices of the association social media set.  After a great first offering — Intro to Social Media with Deirdre Reid (with me as sidekick/color commentator) — today was [...]

Like my coastal, urban, and enlightened brothers and sisters, I am a proud and loyal Apple Computer aficionado, and my new-found loyalty lies like so many others in my gradual progression from the iPod > iPhone > iMac as I became more familiar with and passionate for the product line.  Just last week, my Windows [...]

If you are truly interested in developing a top-notch online persona, such as on a blog or via your unique, personal Twitter account, I think the best advice I could ever give you is this: Do as I say, not as I do. Much like an online microcosm of the American Dream itself, the smart [...]

We live in a world unlike any other witnessed before by human civilization.  Unparallelled prosperity (current recessions notwithstanding) and access to information have left us with the entire world at our figurative fingertips.  No piece of knowledge is beyond a Google or Bing click away, and news from the farthest corners of the planet feel [...]

It only took a mere $10 billion in costs and nearly a year of unplanned delays before the newsmedia and certain elements of the scientific community began to question the value and process behind Europe’s Large Hadron Collider — the vast underground, super-cooled electromagnetic tunnels underneath France and Switzerland that will allegedly allow for high-speed [...]

Back in April, the Current Television Network made waves in the new biz community by boldly soliciting agencies to respond to an RFP for an account review via Twitter, the popular upstart social-networking site usually filled with 140-character comments on what users had for breakfast or other pithy commentary. What made the move so innovative, though, [...]

It probably started off simply enough — after two relative disappointments in Donkey Kong 3 and Mario Bros., but with the quarter-sucking success of the original Donkey Kong merely a short memory away — Nintendo developer Shigeru Miyamoto and his team got together to create a new game featuring the popular plumber from Brooklyn for [...]

I was working on a blast HTML e-mail for work, and good old Dreamweaver decided to be extra helpful and tell me the following: It’s an error box that says “No error occurred,” in case your resolution is too small to read the text. Good to know!  Thanks Dreamweaver!

Remember last year’s 4A’s Leadership Conference?  The facilities were awesome, and everyone worked hard to create a great program as always, but there was a definite undercurrent of uncertainty plaguing attendees and casting a shadow over the show.  What was happening to the business?  Were agencies going to be shut out of  “digital” (intentional use [...]

Does it chill anyone else out there to the very bone that NASA has started a program it tongue-in-cheekly refers to as “Singularity University?” In a spare one-room office at Nasa’s Silicon Valley campus, a small band of futurists is plotting to save the world. The means are not a revolutionary technology or a new [...]

I don’t know about you, but if it ever comes to pass that I need to be cut wide open and have my insides poked and prodded by a trained specialist, I want to be freaking out cold when it happens and remember nothing upon awakening. In India, though, some revolutionary new techniques involve keeping [...]

If yesterday at the 2009 4A’s Media Conference & Tradeshow was all about transparency, today has seemingly revolved around the generational evolution of the consumer mindset. We have been hearing for over a year now that “digital changes everything,” and today’s emerging themes – as voiced by 4A’s CEO Nancy Hill, GroupM North American CEO [...]

Today’s unofficial opening of the 2009 4A’s Media Conference & Tradeshow featured an interesting array of afternoon panel discussions dedicated to notions of media best practices, digital metrics, government advocacy, and monetization of agency intellectual property.  Throughout it all, the consumer played an integral role, but even more so, I was struck by the constant repetition [...]

After a fantastic run in the 1980s and 1990s, Nintendo suffered through tough times for the better part of a decade.  It lost the system wars two generations in a row to the Sony PlayStation juggernaut, and had unfortunately cultivated a reputation where hardcore gamers and third-party developers were taught to stay away from the [...]

I’m forever fascinated by the unending pull between science and the magical unknown. Is there a God in Heaven, or is our existence merely attributable to random, complex biochemical chance? Is the Universe finite and concrete or part of a larger 12-dimensional membrane bubble? Is there such a thing as “love,” or rather is it [...]

It should come as little surprise that the Hummer H2/H3 are the most ticketed cars on the road today. The mentality that makes one want to drive a glorified converted tank on local roads probably contributes greatly to an “above the law” approach when behind the wheel. However, close behind the Hummer is…the Toyota Camry [...]

Never one to miss an opportunity to analyze the potential outcome of any situation in the name of preparedness, the US Air Force has made public its actual, 100%-legitimate “Rules of Engagement for Blogging.” And you know what? It positively reeks of awesomeness. Amazing, and scary-accurate as a portrait of the overall blogosphere. Let it [...]