Not A Mystery
Technology
Those Ancient Romans Knew How To Package Their Product
Rome has seven famous hills, and an eighth that should be equally famous as a monument to product packaging, Mt. Testaccio. I learned about this when reading Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr. I also learned to be grateful that I never had to raise twins, but that’s another story. Mt. Testaccio is composed almost … Continue reading
A Modest Prediction: “What’s Next After Google Street View?”
Last week it was reported that Google is now working on something called Store View. …they took pictures of the inside of the store, every 6 feet, in all directions. They also took pictures of products. Google Store View will allow people to … click on the door to enter it, all on Google Maps. Then … Continue reading
There Should Be A Term For Corporate Schadenfreude
Schadenfreude is a kind of personal term. It’s what you feel when someone like Eliot Spitzer stumbles. But how do I feel when an entire industry gets what it deserves? Today the UK Guardian reported that, Vodafone boss Vittorio Colao has warned mobile phone executives about Google’s growing power in the online advertising and search market, … Continue reading
There Are Good Designs, And Not-So-Good Designs
The advertising industry has come up with a good idea, at the right time. The fact that it came about as a result of pressure from regulators takes away a few points, but it’s still a good idea. Trying to ward off regulators, the advertising industry has agreed on a standard icon — a little … Continue reading
And When Pigs Can Fly, Multi-Tasking Will Be Safer Than Driving
Question: What has Big Auto learned from Big Tobacco? Answer: Nothing. We now know that Big Tobacco knew of the addictive and harmful medical properties of cigarettes for years but kept that knowledge secret, while publicly denying the facts. That story didn’t have a happy ending for either the Tobacco Industry or their customers. The only … Continue reading
Yes Mr. Galassi, There WAS More To Publishing Than Met The Eye
I try not to beat dead horses. But in this case I will make an exception. Once again we have a book publisher railing against the rising tide of electronic editions. Yesterday’s Op-Ed page in the NY Times featured a column by Jonathan Galassi titled “There’s More to Publishing Than Meets the Screen” in which … Continue reading
It’s Never Too Late To Be Googled: A Procrastinator’s Delight
I thought that “The End of The World as We Know It” had already taken place earlier this year. And I was right of course, but for the wrong reason. Silly me. “Googled” by Ken Auletta, does describe the end of the world as we know it. But it’s not a financial meltdown, it’s a media … Continue reading
What’s Better Than Music Subscriptions? Coming soon, iCloud
What’s in a word? If the word is Cloud then the assumption is that it’s newer and better. Last week Apple bought the music service Lala. Without going into the gory details, Lala’s product allows you to access the music you already purchased from their cloud computers, no matter where you are located. The technology … Continue reading
Really Old Media (Perfume) Tries Something New
It’s refreshing when an industry looks to new ways of promoting their products instead of being stuck in the past. And especially when that industry could be the world’s second oldest. We are talking Perfume. Common wisdom is that demographics are a problem for the perfume industry, with people today wearing fewer fragrances. So what … Continue reading
Rupert’s Hors D’œuvre Are Free, But Not Yet The Lunch
This morning there is (for me) one less mystery in the world. What’s emerged from Rupert Murdoch’s recent complaints about Google Search is the existance of a “First Click Free” deal between News Corp. and Google. Mr. Murdoch, who is arguably the most powerful person in media today, has been insisting that Google ‘steals’ his … Continue reading
Just One Word: “Subscriptions”
Have you noticed that the world is getting more crowded? No, not with people (although that’s also true), but with STUFF. We’ve discussed this in a few previous posts, notably on The Collyer Brothers, and MyLifeBits. So here’s a question to make it more personal: Do we own our stuff, or does our stuff own us? … Continue reading
