Ok, it's official, i'm a fan, be sure to stick around for the "Dell Dude" interview, it's great.
Definitely also checkout their HD player at http://thecircuit.mojohd.com
Thursday, April 24, 2008
More of the Circuit
Posted by CitizenMags at 4:57 PM 2 comments
Internet Speak in Essays? IDK! Common Sense?
Perhaps we shouldn't ROFLMAO about this one, because it's kind of sad. (Or can we!?) As of late, teachers are finding emoticons and acronyms, popular in instant messaging and emails, seeping their way into classroom assignments. The line between formal and informal writing is beginning to appear a bit hazy to a quarter of the teens surveyed in the study.
This issue allows for more forceful lesson-planning going forward. One research specialist declares, "It's a teachable moment...If you find that in a child's or student's writing, that's an opportunity to address the differences between formal and informal writing. They learn to make the distinction ... just as they learn not to use slang terms in formal writing."
What I see here is a lack of common sense. According to the laws of grammar, every sentence begins with a capital letter. Every sentence ends with a period. :-) is not a word, and esoteric (well, to some) acronyms are out of place in formal classroom assignments. Why can't this concept be grasped and applied accordingly? Some get it, some don't. And it seems the rest...just feign ignorance or give into laziness.
Thoughts?
Posted by frattarolio at 4:42 PM 1 comments
Labels: education, emoticons, instant messenger, internet, students, teenagers, writing
Noise to the Ears: When Enough is Enough
Several posts ago, we were on the topic of ...noise. While London's use of LED decibel meters for up-to-the-minute noise monitoring may be brilliant, the Mosquito by Santel is a stretch. And now, it's causing uproar. (As a side note, it was sold under the North American company name "Kids Be Gone".)
Essentially, it's a device to ward off teens and those in their early 20's from places they shouldn't be loitering. How? By giving off high-pitched (that's an understatement), ear-damaging (another understatement) frequency waves similar to, "fingernails dragged across a chalkboard or a pesky mosquito buzzing in your ear." Come on, now. No one can argue that ear drums should not be tampered with to this extent. Not only that, but it's just a poor way of dealing with annoying teens.
While some areas admit that the Mosquito does its job in irritating teens to the point of shoo-ing them away, other cities have banned it or are in the process. As predicted, it's becoming a huge invasion of private property, echoing its way into sidewalks and apartment complexes.
And I couldn't agree more....
"There is a significant problem with giving people a tool like this and empowering the public to take over the tasks of law enforcement...It can certainly be used in a way that's inappropriate, and without a doubt, it will be."
Posted by frattarolio at 7:06 AM 1 comments
Labels: frequency, noise decibels, products, sound, technology, teens
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
simple is good
No high budget, 3d-rendered, overly scripted, supermodel-laden campaigning necessary.
Just a sharpie and some imagination.
After seeing just how bad pharma advertising can be, this Zyrtec street campaign is quite refreshing.
Posted by rk at 11:11 PM 1 comments
Labels: copywriting, outdoor, street teams
Keep the banana hammock away from the banana stand
Very summer. Very European. Very funny.
Posted by rk at 10:39 PM 1 comments
Labels: commercial, europe, funny, speedo
South Korea's iPhone "Contender"...or is It?
Posted by frattarolio at 10:23 PM 0 comments
Labels: cell phone, Cyon, internet, iPhone, LG, mobile, technology
Obama sells out?
It's everywhere in the blogosphere today, but it's nowhere in the press that i've seen. It's the bubbling sponsor-gate the world witnessed as Barack Obama gave his mini-concession speech after yesterday's loss to Hillary in the PA primary. Is it paid endorsement? is it Guerilla marketing? is it whack coincidence? The blogosphere is divided. What do you think?
Posted by Bill Hewson at 6:38 PM 1 comments
Monday, April 21, 2008
Google gone green
Subtlety be damned, Google made quite the splash with their melting iceberg logo during last year's Earth Day.
Well, grab yourself a tall cup of sustainable shade-grown coffee and slip into a pair of organic hemp slippers. This year - while it's yet to be seen what they can stir up with this year's logo - Google has launched a mash-up of Google Maps and YouTube where users can share their planet-friendly achievements with the rest of the Google Earth.
The end goal, to “honor Earth Day and combat global climate change".
Posted by rk at 9:46 PM 0 comments
Labels: environment, google, mash-up, youtube
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Just because you can, doesn't mean you should
Please, no more lame YouTube video contests. If you aren't already convinced they are more often than not a waste of time, behold the pinnacle of user generated video voting idiocy:
Ready to enter and win big?
Not so fast! First, make sure you're not in one of the states where the contest is void in.
Ready? Hold your horses there! You must have a house listed with Century 21. Oh yeah, and your agent must be in the video too.
What better way to promote your brand than to patronize your current customers and bore the snot out of anyone who happens to come across your bandwidth-wasting content?
Posted by rk at 7:19 PM 1 comments