Logic+Emotion

Saying More With Less

I didn't need to read anything else. In one word I understood exactly what it was saying. But even more meaningful was what it wasn't saying. I'm not an eco-activist by any stretch of the imagination, but I do think about the kind of world my boys will live in when I'm gone.

What if we used less words more often?

A single word. It didn't condemn me, or make me feel guilty or defensive. By not saying more it did.

What if we got back to basics and just said what we really meant--instead of using the right kinds of lingo and abbreviations?

What if we left more room for intepretation?

I'll stop here in the spirit of this message. Maybe I can find a way to inject this thinking into what I do for a living. If not, I can always apply it to life.

L+E Links For 01.31.07

I've been a little behind on Design related posts, but luckily PR expert Kevin Dugan comes to the rescue with some nice design related links and short but interesting piece on "The Bipolar Consumer".

Designer Myspace
Is Myspace "K-Mart" and Designer Myspace an emerging"Target"?

Kathy has a great piece on randomness and the power of serendipity.  Timely stuff because the previous "travel post" was pretty random and yielded some great unexpected results in the form of insightful comments.

Microsoft continues it's PR machine by sharing how they tested Vista with 50 families over a substantial period of time prior to launch. Via Putting People First

On a related note, Adaptive Path ponders Microsoft's recent move to put user-centered design at the core of what they do.  Interesting article—I really like how it ends, but I was turned off a little by the beginning.  I felt like AP came off a bit "snobby".  Does Microsoft really not "understand what User Experience means"?  I think they do—they may just be struggling with how to get it to be a pervasive quality across all their products/services.  Here's how it ends:

"It’s clear from the Xbox 360 and from how well Media Center does with the 10ft experience, that Microsoft can do good work. It’s clear that there are pockets of excellence and a growing number of people within Microsoft who get User Experience. Yet, as a company, it’s also clear that there are some fundamental flaws in Microsoft’s understanding of design and it’s role in building good user experiences. I remain hopeful that those pockets of excellence will continue to grow in reach and influence inside Microsoft."

How Do You Travel?

Traveling for work is interesting business. It's a mixture of several different types of experiences all rolled into one. On one hand there's the undesirable stress of the travel itself. Cramped seating, bustling airports, delays and unexpected developments. Ugh. On the other hand there is the prospect of a change in scenery, a decent meal and if you are lucky, a nice hotel stay.

It's a mixed bag really. But whether you enjoy it or not, how we pass the time says something significant about ourselves. For example--I'm writing this on the plane via mobile, the guy next to me is reading a novel called "Busting Vegas"--the guy next to him is reading a book about the CIA. The woman in front of me is listening to her iPod, the guy next to her is sleeping, the kid next to him is playing video games and the young man in front of him is working on a laptop.

So what do you do? Read, write, sleep, play, watch, chat? Personally, I'm not a huge fan of business travel, but when I do it--I try to take the opportunity to reflect on things. I'll write down ideas, sketch something out or do a little reading (currently reading a book about risk). I don't like working on planes unless I have no choice, but I do enjoy working from a hotel with good internet service and a well designed desk area.

I'll probably have this post up minutes after I touchdown in Boston--writing it was a nice way to pass some time. So how do you travel? And what do you think it says about you?

Blogroll Buffet: Pig Out

Here we go again.  More blogs added to the blogroll buffet—I've been enjoying them.  No order to the roll—just chaos.  Are there any rules about how many blogs you can add to a blogroll?  Am I breaking any?  Good.

Design Thinking Digest
Thomas Clifford (Director Tom)
Conversation Agent
Nick Rice
Converstations
Drew's Marketing Minute
Successful Blog
Wishful Thinking
Bizsolutionsplus
Designers Who Blog

Tipping the Media Scales

(click to enlarge)

A funny thing happened on the way to the World Economic Forum.  OK, actually it didn’t happen until the end.  The Assistant Managing Editor of BusinessWeek’s innovation coverage became friends with a couple of bloggers.  From Nussbaum On Design:

“The soiree was swell I have now gone over to the dark side--to bloggers in the battle with MainStream Media. Of course, not all MSM folks refuse to get the idea of community, collaboration and conversation. My own boss at BW totally gets it. But there were so many at Davos who didn't.

I chatted up Jeff J. and Ariana H. and Jimmy W. (wikipedia) this trip out and found myself in alignment with them, more so than old pals at newspapers and magazines.”

Why is this significant?  It’s significant because it may capture a key theme we could be seeing more of in the near future.  Bloggers have become respectable.  Well, not all bloggers to be fair.  And while some think that Social Media and Mainstream Media have blurred all together—I think the relationship illustrated in Bruce’s post shows both division and alignment, if not a relationship—a relationship that appears to be turning into—gasp...

mutual respect.

OK, I’m taking some liberties with this post.  I’m editorializing you could say.  Of course I am.  That’s because I’m not a reporter.  I don’t have to be objective.  You don't come here for objectivity right?  You want to hear opinions—another distinction between the MSM and Social Media content generators (though let’s be honest—we all have opinions which can seep into what we do).  Here’s another interesting tidbit from Nussbaum’s recent post:

“Something important is happening and we have to be part of it and evolve with it. So Jeff and Ariana, let's get more user generated content on our blogs and deepen our conversation with our own communities.”

One could argue that the last bit seems almost cliché.  “Conversation”—and “community” are fast becoming near-buzzwords in this space.  But consider the source—a veteran journalist reaching out to those who sit on the other side of the “Media Scale”.  In short, we may not be moving along as quickly as the hype suggests (see Second Life), but personal publishing (AKA, blogging) and the broader Social Media movement just might be gaining credibility.  I’ll end on a thought I brought up during my “Blog’s Eye View” presentations:

Role Models

Photo by giaplume

True story.  Several years ago in one of Africa's wildlife preserve, park rangers began discovering a puzzling phenomenon—Rhinos started showing up dead all over the park.  The kicker is that the once healthy Rhinos didn’t die of disease, they were killed.  The reason this was puzzling was because there was only one animal that could kill a Rhino like that—an Elephant.  But it was rare to see Rhinos and elephants tangle, unless it was over water or territory.  So why were all the Rhinos being picked off one by one?

The answer came in yet another discovery.  A group of adolescent Elephants was found roaming the preserve looking for a fight.  They found their fight in the form of any hapless Rhino they encountered.  So this explained the deaths but not the behavior.

Why were they killing them?

The investigators had to dig a little deeper for the answer.  When they did—they uncovered that each of the adolescents had one thing in common.  The older males in their families were killed by poachers years ago and the youngsters had grown up without them.  In other words—they didn’t realize that killing Rhinos for sport wasn’t appropriate.  In essence—that’s what they were doing.

Now what?

Talk about creative problem solving.  Guess what the park officials did next?  They imported a couple of mature Elephant bulls into the area.  The adolescents were quickly “put in their place” by the bulls—but even more interesting was that the killing ceased and the adolescents began to reflect the behavior of the mature bulls.  They were learning how to “behave”.

So?

I’ve always thought this was a compelling story for this sole reason.  If animals need role models—how much more so do we?   

Does Social Media Participation Affect What You Do?

I keep thinking about the "blogging killing planning" discussion.  It made me think about how much I've reaped creatively from "blogsourcing" (which I've done a lot of over the past year).  But I'm curious—has anyone out there who is either writing or even reading blogs feel that it has impacted their area of expertise in a negative way?  If so—why?

Or on the flip side, why do you feel blogs (or blogging) makes what you do better?  We all got along fine before the existence of social media, (at least the digital kind) so how is it making what we do better or worse?

Experience Planner Looks Back

Scott Weisbrod of Experience Planner has compiled a sort of "year-in-review" which highlights significant content from his blog over the past year.  It's definitely worth looking at if you are interested in design, user experience, and/or how consumers and brands connect in today's digital age. 

Also notice that Scott is tapping his own skill set here as a hybrid organizer of information and storyteller.  Scott was able to look back nearly a year and take the complexities of it—then simplify and boil it down into a single cohesive blog post.  Wouldn't you like to be able to do that?  I would.

Agile Planning

"maybe agile creativity for us is at the intersection of facts and ideas."
Posted by: Richard  at January 22, 2007 04:24 PM

So here's my contribution to the "is blogging killing planning" discussion over at Adliterate.   Obviously, it's based on the above comment from that post left by Richard.

And for what it's worth—no I don't think blogging is killing anything except for some free time, and maybe a few of my brain cells every now and then.

Seth on Creativity

"99% of the time, in my experience, the hard part about creativity isn't coming up with something no one has ever thought of before. The hard part is actually executing the thing you've thought of.

The devil doesn't need an advocate. The brave need supporters, not critics."
~Seth Godin

When one of the most influential minds in marketing/business highlights the importance of execution—it's not a bad idea to chew on it for a spell.

The devil doesn't need an advocate. The brave need supporters, not critics."
~Seth Godin

When one of the most influential minds in marketing/business highlights the importance of execution—it's not a bad idea to chew on it for a spell.

Second Lifecycle

Adweek Interactive Agency of the Year

It's R/GA.  Is anyone surprised?  I'm not.  R/GA has figured out how to build a successful agency model out of combining storytelling + experience.   In my mind, that's the "magical" formula—key to success of the future agency model.  Sounds simple, but it isn't because if it were—all agencies would be producing the caliber of work that R/GA usually does.

Here's a few excerpts from Adweek which caught my attention:

"But R/GA delivered more than visions in 2006, expanding revenue over 35 percent to an estimated $150 million, the bulk of the growth coming from existing clients like Avaya, Nike and Nokia. On the new-business front, R/GA won the global lead digital agency role for L'Oréal Paris, besting the network firepower of Euro RSCG 4D and McCann WorldGroup's MRM Worldwide. For its enviable financial performance, envelope-pushing creative and knack for building compelling brand experiences, R/GA is Adweek's Interactive Agency of the Year for 2006."

"The line between technology and creativity is more of a gradation," says Nick Law, R/GA's North American chief creative officer. "That's a hard thing for a lot of traditional agencies to accept."

:R/GA is complementing its applications by moving more directly onto the turf of general ad agencies. Law points out the agency produced more than 100 videos last year that, while not 30-second spots, are representative of a new type of broadband storytelling. R/GA is building out its digital studio, equipped to shoot in-house at a less expensive cost. It shot 11 digital video vignettes for Avaya, using tongue-in-cheek humor to show the benefits of complex products like remote data hosting, IP phone systems and IT monitoring. The videos are being used on the Avaya Web site, in online ads and at trade show presentations. They were done on a shoestring budget thanks to R/GA's all-digital production infrastructure. "When you look at a traditional agency, they can't do anything inexpensively," Greenberg says.:"

I don't think that everything R/GA does is the golden egg.  For example, while I'm a huge fan of the Nike ID work, some of their other work such as the commerce portion of NIkewomen.com puts sizzle in front of substance.  However, they do try to push the envelope and in my opinion get it right more often than getting it wrong.  Agencies, pay attention—Experiece People + Storytellers are uniting—and brands will demand this, if they aren't already.

Thought of the Day

"We can no longer get by on being the wacky creatives who can't be held to any kind of standard. The sooner we get over this notion of having to 'speak the language of business' and just get on with it, the better off we'll all be."
~Chuck Jones, Whirlpool's design chief

Macro Design

Some nice thinking in the same spirit of "Creativity 2.E":  (click image to engarge)

"Uday Dandavate, principal of the participatory design agency Sonic Rim, and faculty member of the Danish 180º Academy, just wrote a thought-provoking post on the Anthrodesign Yahoo! Group arguing that it is important for designers to incorporate MacroDesign concepts and top-down thinking in their approach."

"If I follow the evolution of the field of design, I do believe that we have borrowed concepts and inspiration from a variety of fields including architecture, psychology, sociology and anthropology. In continuation of my earlier post on scaling design, I have been wandering around (intellectually) to search for new inspiration and concepts that would help me develop my ideas about taking design at a more strategic and mass scale. I think I have found some direction and want to share it with you, so that together, we can help define new directions, ideas, tools and language for what I now propose to call “MacroDesign”.

"There is some learning for us and a great opportunity to take Design to a strategic level, if we study the evolution of these two types of economics. Design Education, in my view should incorporate MacroDesign concepts, especially at graduate level. I do believe that organizations that operate at higher levels such as governments (local and national), International development agencies (such as UNDP, WHO, UNESCO), international consortiums of global corporations and many such macro level organizations would benefit from professionals specializing in using design and innovation as a macro level thinking process."

Read the full post at Putting People First

Sponge Bob + Squidward

If you are...
Optimistic
Curious
Unassuming
Sincere
Playful
Fun
Approachable
Genuine
Child-like
Honest
Enthusiastic
Passionate
Carefree

...then you're Sponge Bob. Unless it's opposite day--then you feel like Squidward.

We're Hiring

We're looking for a few good people in the Digitas Chicago office—specifically Creative Directors, Interaction Designers and Art Directors with a focus in the interactive space.  Business is good.  A little too good if you know what I mean. If you're looking to make a change, send a resume/url my way and I'll look it over.  Perks include some of the best views in downtown Chicago (above pic was taken from one of our conference rooms) and an XBOX 360 in our concept room.  Oh yeah, and you'll get to work with me.  Though not sure if that's a perk or not.  ;)

Agile Creativity

Think about it.  If you never planned a thing in your life, never had any goals or aspirations—never thought about your next move, you might find yourself in a constant state of improvisation.  On the other hand, you can try to plan your life out to the last detail—but life has a way of working out in ways you could have never planned for.

Why should creativity be any different?

Agile Creativity is about planning for a variety of scenarios—anticipating and developing a strategy, but not being so rigid as to lose the capacity to improvise when things don't go as planned.  In the overlap exists a state of agility, founded off a core set of guiding principals—yet flexible enough to adapt to changes in the creative ecosystem.

Easier said than done?  You bet.

Six Word Stories

Robert Hruzek of Middle Zone Musings has started a contest in which you simply submit a story.  The catch?  It can only be 6 words.

Here's my single submission:

"I awoke to find her gone."

Some of my favorites:

"Marry you? you gotta be kidding."
"Wrote perfect story. World promptly ends."
"Book still unfinished. Blogging wins again."
"American idol: guy croons. i vomit."
"Addicted to love, seduced by cotton."
"Pets don't mind if you fart."
"Collect, process, organize, review, do. Breathe."
"Mistaken identity nearly got me killed"
"Addicted to blogging. Seeking new job."

So far there are 172 "stories".  Go check them out.

Blog of the Day: Conversation Agent

Every once in a while, a voice emerges in the blogosphere which breaks through the clutter and makes a near instant connection with those who are willing to listen.  I believe Valeria Maltoni, author of Conversation Agent is one of these voices.  Valeria is a self described "extrovert", feeding off of the energy she gets from connecting and conversing with people.  Chances are if you haven't visited her blog, you may have seen her commenting somewhere doing what she does best—taking conversations to the next level.

Conversation Agent is hard to put a finger on—that's another good sign.  One day Valaria maybe be talking about passion and emotion, and the next day she'll be talking about  the design of conversation, or something I can really relate to—liberating your inner Italian (or in my case, just letting the outer Italian take over).

Stop by and have a read.  Better yet—start a conversation.  As Valeria once said in a comment here "The new marketplace is the conversation."

Influencing Influencers

Handy little article on Marketing Profs today regarding who influencers are, and how you can start a dialogue with one.  Here are some of my favorite thoughts:

"These alpha influencers are the key to other customers' awareness, consideration, preference, and purchase. They advocate, rank, sort, evaluate, and ultimately create marketplace adoption. They come in the form of users, developers, channel partners, and press people."

"...general guidelines: they are well-traveled, almost always have a religious life, are often leaders (civic, business, nonprofit), and generally hold an activist approach to life. Almost always, they have a general sense of optimism because they believe in the power of good, they like people, love to orchestrate ideas, and they tend to be (but not always) great at building relationships.

Interesting statistic: four in ten have a connection to a professional association. This is a sign of their restless intellectual interests. Influencers continuously take input from what they see, hear, read, and keep turning it over in their mind for new insights and ideas. They are sometimes entrepreneurs."

"Influencers and alpha consumers are people who place importance on values: enduring love, knowledge, authenticity, stable personal relationships, learning, and freedom. When you can get them to pay attention to your offer/product/solution, you have the opportunity to shape the market."

The piece then goes on to outline in step by step fashion some guidelines on how to select and engage the right influencers:

1. Selection/sort matters
2. Size matters
3. Two-way flow is critical
4. Without listening, you're dead already
5. Spread the word using a calculated set of steps

I found the article to be pretty interesting—it's certainly worth the read.  BTW, if you're thinking about approaching me now that I'm a "level 2 influencer" (if you go by my fancy visual) ;-)—here are a few pointers:

1. If you're pitching—be honest and open about it.  Tell me you are pitching and don't lather me up with praise.  Tell me why what your pitching is great.  Better yet—prove it.

2. Know something about me—find some common ground and strike up a conversation.  Just like in life, chances are I'll be receptive and we'll end up talking.

3.  Make sure there is a fit.  If  I don't see an obvious  connection, I'll  think you are approaching everyone else the same way and get turned off in the process.

4. *Comment here.  I'm very loyal to the folks who take time to comment, participate and say something of value here.  I read and take to heart every comment on this blog even if I don't respond to it.  Commenting is actually a way of communicating with me.  I consider it a form of dialogue. (* this gets flagged because it's a big deal with me)

5. Be yourself.  Nobody likes a fake—not in marketing, business or life.  Just be who you are—I'll appreciate it because I'm trying to do the same thing here.

Anyway, good article.  Check it out.

Think Different. Live Different.

Think Different.

It's the familiar cycle.  Steve Jobs has done it again.  He's proven that he can deliver on innovation, style and design to create a shining example of form and function.  He's proven that he is both a masterful communicator and marketer—he's compelling if not hypnotizing.  There are droves of us flocking to drive these points home—dissecting his delivery, his message, his style, his persona, his charisma.

Here's some food for thought in the spirit of "Think Different".

Nearly a year ago to the date, Wired reporter Leander Kahney penned this article with a comparison of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.  It's worth a read—here are a few highlights:

"Until recently, Bill Gates has been viewed as the villain of the tech world, while his archrival, Steve Jobs, enjoys an almost saintly reputation.

Gates is the cutthroat capitalist. A genius maybe, but one more interested in maximizing profits than perfecting technology. He's the ultimate vengeful nerd. Ostracized at school, he gets the last laugh by bleeding us all dry.

On the other hand, Jobs has never seemed much concerned with business, though he's been very successful at it of late. Instead, Jobs has been portrayed as a man of art and culture. He's an aesthete, an artist; driven to make a dent in the universe.

But these perceptions are wrong. In fact, the reality is reversed. It's Gates who's making a dent in the universe, and Jobs who's taking on the role of single-minded capitalist, seemingly oblivious to the broader needs of society."

"...According to Forbes, Jobs was recently worth $3.3 billion which puts him among the 194th richest in the world, and makes him the 67th richest American. But the standings were shuffled on Tuesday with Disney's $7.4 billion acquisition of Pixar Animation -- a deal that makes Jobs' Pixar holdings alone worth some $3.7 billion.

But great wealth does not make a great man.

Giving USA Foundation, a philanthropy research group which publishes an annual charity survey, said Jobs does not appear on lists of gifts of $5 million or more over the last four years. Nor is his name on a list of gifts of $1 million or more compiled by Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy."

Live Different.

I'm not writing this post to judge, condemn or exalt one of these great men over the other—both have made huge contributions and are worthy of tremendous respect.  And truth be told, I use a Mac and admire the Apple brand.  But sometimes thinking different means looking at things from multiple perspectives.  Not accepting what we see at face value and digging a little deeper.

Also, thinking different theoretically leads to living different.  Whether you admire Microsoft or have disdain for it, Bill Gates is living a very distinct lifestyle as he continues to give so much of what he has away to a variety of humanitarian causes.  This quality of his life transcends his presentation style and/or business legacy.

"In the same way, I admire Bono over Mick Jagger, and John Lennon over Elvis, because they spoke up about things bigger than their own celebrity."

This is how Kahney ends his article—it's an interesting take on the different styles of cultural icons.  I'll admit that I'm more of a Stones fan than a U2 fan.  The Stones have a legacy of music through the years that I admire, relate to and enjoy.  I especially appreciate albums like Exile On Main Street.  But ask me if I would rather be like Mick Jagger or Bono and hands down I would tell you Bono.  As I've watched Bono through the years, I am convinced that he's the real deal and leads a positive life—a life worth examining.

Just a little food for thought as we clamor to admire the handy work of Mr. Jobs.  It's understandable.  The Man is brilliant, as is the brand that he has built from scratch and re-built with hard work and conviction.  And he's probably got a good heart too—(I have no idea either way, though I was moved and inspired by his "Stay Foolish" speech). 

But examining both sides of the same coin is always worth doing so as we come to our conclusions.  And maybe "thinking differently" is the best way that we can honor the innovative spirit that Steve Jobs has helped pioneer.  In a way, I'm exercising that very thing in this post.  So think different, and live different—because after all, we're all individuals.  And today is a great day to celebrate that fact.

What The TypePad?

Update: Looks like it's resolved for now.  It's not a good feeling when your site gets screwed up 2x in one week and you had nothing to do with it.  Hopefully that's the end if it.

Sorry my blog is out of whack.  TypePad seems to be making some updates that are affecting my template.  A few days ago they implemented clickable post headlines and I had to go manually update the code because my headline style reverted to underlined links.  And this morning, I woke up to the blog being left aligned with bullets on the links and all sorts of wierd things.

Anyone else having problems out there?  Can anyone help?  TypePad, what are you doing??

Inviting Your Community to Participate

Joseph Jaffe has invited his community to participate in contributing content to his upcoming book in the form of writing a chapter and/or designing the cover.  Here's my stab at a cover idea and here are some insights which inspired the design (from Jaffe's Wiki)

"The central premise is that marketers have an unprecedented opportunity to rewrite the rules of marketing – and in doing so, reverse the tide which is slowly but surely turning against them.

One-way marketing is a one way street out of town.

Two-way marketing is different.

In many respects “conversational marketing” mirrors a healthy, relationship between two human beings that are on an equal footing."

I initially was going to show two individuals conversing (on equal footing) but then I thought that what this is really about is initiating and sustaining an ongoing dialogue with your community.  Being accessible, as opposed to aloof.  Being engaged and genuine.  Caring about your community and not just seeing them as customers with money to spend.

But it all comes down to a moment of truth. 

The moment we decide to JOIN.  That's what this book cover idea shows. It's the moment an individual, brand, company, corporation etc. decides to stop talking at folks and starts engaging in meaningful dialogue and action.

Well, that was my hope.  Worth a shot anyway—and feedback welcome.

L+E Links For 01.12.07

Unconditional iLove
Karl Long points us to a little parody of the intense brand loyalty (if you can call it that), which Apple enjoys among their faithful.  Cute—just like when Steve Jobs farts.  :)

Second life 101 for Marketers
Digitas comrade Greg "The Avatar" Verdino gives a guided tour of Second Life to 200+ Marketers.  Verdino, did you see any naked Avatars?

Tube Out
What's up with YouTube being down since last night??  Now I'll have to actually watch TV.  When it's back up, be sure to watch this video that Gavin Heaton has uncovered.  It's funny.  It's kind of true (sometimes).



More List Madness
Are blog + lists the new peanut butter + jelly?  Or oil + vinegar?  Here's the latest called the Power 150 Top Marketing Blogs.  The secret sauce for this list?  Take one part Google page rank, add a pinch of Bloglines Subscribers, throw in a handful of your Technorati ranking, and top off with "Todd And Points".  Then shake, don't stir.  It's beyond me, but somehow I landed just behind Steve Rubel.  What??  :)

The iPhone Ecosystem

Now that some of us have woken up after a full day of product lust drunkenness (very understandable)—Bruce Nussbaum makes some excellent points asking if the iPhone is an "ecosystem" or an ultra cool, innovative product.  The observations are based off of the business reality of how the telecom business functions in the US, among other things.

From the post:

"OK, by now most of us have product lust for the new Apple iPhone and many folks will buy it but the real impact of the iPhone will be in its transformative power to create--finally--a unified ecosystem among the cell phone carriers that delivers a great experience to people. Just like MP3 players before the iPod, the cell phone market is fractured among different carriers who thrive on delivering their own bad service. This is why innovation in cell phones has shifted to Asia and Europe.

The cell phone experience in Korea and Japan, and much of China, is simply superior to that in the US thanks to the dastardly deeds of the carriers.The iPhone is perhaps the best shot at changing all that and bringing innovation back to the US. But that will happen only if Steve Jobs can pull off in telephony what he's pulled off in music. He needs to go beyond just one carrier, Cingular, to bring Verizon and others into a partnership. The iPhone is a cool product. But it can be revolutionary if it becomes a cool ecosystem."

Can Apple pull it off?  Will the iPhone repeat the success of the iPod in the MP3 player arena or does it even need to?  What about fragmented carrier considerations, such as not all carriers supporting the same technologies?  I think Bruce makes a good distinction between "cool product" and "revolutionary product".  The iPod changed the face of how we enjoy music.  The iPhone seems to at first glance posses the same potential—if it can overcome some key barriers.

Note: the visual included some input from Bruce Nussbaum

Oh, and this just in from the WSJ (and Roger von Oech)--Cisco has sued Apple for trademark infringement over the iPhone name.  Well, like I said, it's more of a "digital lifestyle accessory" than it is a phone, so maybe Apple should just change the name. ;)

iPhone iPhone iPhone

It's official.
See all the photos here
View an interactive demo here.  (Interface details are amazing).

Guess what?  I'm not going to buy it.  NO PHYSICAL KEYBOARD.  We'll, I'll try it out first before coming to any premature conclusions—but no matter how good the touch screen is, it's difficult to replace a solid QWERTY once you get used to one.   I may be in the minority here because I'm spoiled by the large Sidekick keyboard.

Sorry Apple—it is beautiful though (be sure to check out the demo).

Ironically, the name iPhone is a seems a little archaic when you evaluate the functions.  It's not really a phone as much as it is a digital lifestyle accessory.

We Are Fragile

Update: Here's the video of Eric's story from the local news:
Download erics_story.wmv  |  Tip of the hat to Mike Wagner

Tomorrow I'm back in the office.  I've been catching up on e-mails and work for the better part of the last two days.  I'm coming back to a hive of activity that I haven't experienced in years.  It won't be easy.

But today I was reminded about what really matters—and I'm writing this down for my sake more so than yours.

We are Fragile.

Several months ago Eric Jacobs of Two Rivers Marketing woke up in the middle of the night because of a dream he had that he died young.  He was compelled to record himself using the video camera on his computer.  He left an intense message to his family filled with love and tears.  He said goodbye to them—and then went back to bed.

Not long after that recording—a few weeks I think, Eric and three co-workers (above) were killed in a small plane crash near South Bend.  Eric's premonition was tragically realized.  He leaves behind four boys and a wife expecting their fifth.

Shortly after, Eric's wife found a DVD laying atop of his living will with this written on it:

"Eric's Last Words"

We are fragile.  Yet we spend the bulk of our time worrying about the pressures of everyday life.  We worry about who's linking to us and who's not.

We are fragile.

Yet we have our priorities backwards.  We trade quality time for quantity.  Friendships for connections.  Community for networks.

We are fragile.

Tomorrow I go back to deadlines, bloglines and timelines.  But at least I'll have this post to remind me what really matters most.

Imaginary Gifts

Now that the holiday season is behind us, I have a fresh perspective on the business of "designer toys". There are scores of toys and games out there that don't just entertain--they educate and stimulate creativity. I spent an afternoon with my 6-year-old playing with a toy that let us "dig out" Dinosaur fossils, put them together and paint the whole thing. It was pretty cool, and probably more productive than killing a few hours with a video game.

However, even with a great selection of stuff out there, we still wonder why our kids are drawn to simple items around the house as opposed to the designer toys we carefully select for them. A piece of chalk on an open driveway. Pot covers that act as shields or cymbals. Aprons for capes. Sticks as swords, magic wands or microphone stands. And a cardboard box for pretty much anything.

What do we do after the holidays when our children have abandoned their designer toys in favor of pots, pans, boxes, and chalk? Rejoice that they are playing with a gift more valuable than any designer toy ever created.

Their imagination.

Goodbye Island Living...

One of my rituals before leaving any beach is to dip my feet in for the last time. I like to think I'm taking a little piece of the beach with me. Well, goodbye little island--it was nice getting to know you.

Superhero Branding

I'm a big Superhero fan.  Loved all the X-Men flicks that came out over the past few years--and at 5 years old, I used to run around the house with my mom's apron being "Batman".  So I'm tempted to take the Superhero test that's been floating around, but I thought this might be more interesting.... 

Assuming I was a Superhero (vs. villian) who would I be?  Of course I could be a villian too...  :)

And who would you be?  Why?

Update: I'm Spider-Man
You are Spider-Man

Spider-Man 75% Green Lantern 75% Hulk 70% The Flash 60% Iron Man 60% Robin 57% Catwoman 55% Batman 40% Wonder Woman 35% Supergirl 35% Superman 25%

You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have great power and responsibility.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

Loved all the comments on this one.  From Shark Man, to Tinkerbell, to Bugs Bunny.  What a fine group of heroes we would make.  :)

How to Daydream

1. Find a quiet place
2. Get in a comfortable position
3. Don't fall asleep
4. Let your mind wander
5. Let it wander some more
6. Incorporate ambient sounds (waves are perfect)
7. Don't check your watch
8. Cloudwatch (if you are outdoors)
9. Don't think about deadlines
10. Write down your "Daydreams"

New Year, New Design for WSJ

You know I'm on vacation because I actually pick up a PRINT version of the WSJ at a local coffee shop and start reading it. What caught my attention is that the paper has been re-designed just in time for the new year. The re-design stresses bolder headlines, a brighter look and even a new font created specifically for the WSJ called "Exchange".

The re-design adheres to eight key principals as outlined by Mario R. Garcia, CEO of Garcia Media:
1. Make it easier for readers to navigate the Journal.
2. Create a hierarchy of stories, so readers know the relative importance of news.
3. Maintain the best visual traditions of the Journal.
4. Remember that Journal readers come to read, not to look.
5. Innovate graphically where improvements can be made.
6. Don't skimp on good journalism.
7. Balance long-form stories with secondary readings and quick story summaries.
8. Guide readers to the Online Journal, but don't overdo it.

You'll have to read section G8 in January 2nd's edition for the full descriptions. After reading the piece, I couldn't help but feeling that the WSJ is engaged in a delicate balancing act. On one hand, they want to stay true to their brand by stressing text and long form content. On the other, it seems they are making changes to accomodate reader "scanning". Bolder headlines, a brighter color palette and visuals are all techniques that help people get through content quickly. The emphasis on making the WSJ easier to read reminds me of what we try to do on content heavy Web pages. In short, I think the effort is aimed at both preserving tradition while inderectly acknowledging that the way people absorb content is changing. The WSJ needs to support readers who "submerge" as well as those who "skim". And the reference to gently pointing folks online also underscores the delicate balance between tradition and relevancy.

Anyway, I though the re-design article was interesting. On a totally unrelated note, I've been doing all of my blogging in the past week on nothing but a T-Mobile Sidekick. It's been kind of nice to be away from the laptop, but still be able to produce and share content. I think we'll see an vast increase in mobile blogging once Wi-Fi networks and mobile devices with usable typepads become more pervasive.

Sharks + Dolphins

Sharks are single minded. They're ultra-efficient hunting, killing, and eating machines.
Dolphins are just as effective at hunting, yet are known for their intelligence and playful nature.

Sharks are respected and feared. No one wants to swim with one.
Dolphins are the life of the party. Everyone wants to swim with one.

Sharks mostly work alone.
Dolphins are extremely social, working in groups while fishing. They foster strong social ties.

Sharks frown.
Dolphins smile.

Sharks can't stop moving.
Dolphins need to come up for air.

Shark skin is abraisive.
Dolphins are soft and slippery.

Sharks haven't evolved much in thousands of years.
Dolphins have.

Nature needs both.
...But I'd rather be a Dolphin.