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December 30, 2006

Sony Is Not Playing the PR Game

With all the Sony bashing going around lately, it's hard to find a site that isn't criticizing how Sony handled the PlayStation 3 launch. Whether it's the fact that only half the number of systems promised were available for launch or the numerous bugs that had to be patched, everything about the PS3 is being reported about quickly. A blog I stumbled upon yesterday features something different.

Continue reading "Sony Is Not Playing the PR Game"

Posted by Kevin Ohannessian at 11:33 AM | 9 Comments

December 27, 2006

30 Predictions for 2007 in Media/Tech/Pop

Interesting read over at Fimoculous titled, "30 Predictions for 2007 in Media/Tech/Pop." Though the writer, Rex Sorgatz, claims to have no insider knowledge on the predicted events, some of his predictions really sound as if they could be dead on, and if not, at least quite humorous -- poking fun at some of our mixed up priorities.

For instance:

"4) Google. By partnering YouTube and Apple's iTV, Google has you watching Ask A Ninja on your plasma. Hello, Google Video ads."

and especially:

"17) Second Life. Robots invade and kill everyone. Turns out "everyone" is 5 kids in Tallahassee."

It's a really great list. We have a few of our own. They're not predictions, but they wrap up the year, pretty well. Be sure to check out:

• 2006: Review of Business Innovation, Digital Media and Trends
• Top Ten Creative Minds of 2006
• Best Business Books of 2006

Posted by Lynne d Johnson at 9:36 AM | 1 Comment

December 22, 2006

Do I Need One Number for Life?

Since a buddy of mine first told me about it, I've been trying to figure out what's behind GrandCentral, the VOIP (Voice Over IP) service that offers you one phone number for life. There's got to be more to it than that. Certainly it would be convenient to tie all of my phone lines -- land, cell, and work -- to one number. That way I can chose which phone I answer when I get a call. And to not have to alert all my contacts each time I change a number, either when I move jobs or homes, all sounds pretty cool.

Still. I don't get it. I mean not fully. Particularly with regard to what's in it for GrandCentral? I get to choose a number for free, for life. I get to receive all of my voicemail from one central location, that I can access via GrandCentral's site, from any of my phones, or by email. Most of all, the voicemail messages can be saved online, for life, for free. I even get to block unwanted callers, and upload MP3s to set customized ringtones for callers.

But there's got to be a catch. We were all in love with Skype, and then BAM, free calling in the U.S. was no longer free. Free tends to always be the promise when a new product is in beta. But how long is something cool and useful (or not so useful) going to be free?

In GrandCentral's FAQ, there's a question: "Will GrandCentral always be free?"

The response:

"Yes, we're excited to say that we will always offer a free version of GrandCentral, even after beta. Our free version will include unlimited inbound minutes, unlimited voicemail (up to 30 days old), and access to all of our core features. During beta, we're giving everyone unlimited access to our premium features. In exchange, all we ask is that you send us your feedback (good or bad) to beta@grandcentral.com. We'll read every comment."

But of course, a VOIP company can not expect to make any money, or compete with major phone companies, if services will always be free.

I truly don't expect GrandCentral to take off the way that Skype did. Being able to make free phone calls over your computer (or mobile phone) to anyone in the U.S., and to make cheap calls to anyone internationally makes a lot of sense. It's not just one of those cool new apps that only certified geeks get.

What GrandCentral is offering is something different. I suppose the fact of the matter is, I just don't get what's in it for me. Won't it just make anyone who works at an extreme job and uses their BlackBerry or smartphone while in bed appear even more ubiquitous?

Posted by Lynne d Johnson at 5:06 PM | 6 Comments

Dick in a Box

Can you say that on T.V.? How about on the Internet?

It's the chorus to Andy Samberg's most recent mock music video, which aired last week on Saturday Night Live, and has been all over the Internet ever since.

Samberg, the comic mind behind the SNL skit "Lazy Sunday" (better known as "The Chronic-What?-cles of Narnia"), infused the late night show with a burst of energy when he joined the cast in September of 2005 and started making mock music videos.

His latest is a holiday jingle called "A Special Christmas Box", in which he and pop star, Justin Timberlake, sing a song about giving their girlfriends a "dick in a box" for Christmas.

When the three-minute video was originally broadcast, NBC omitted the four-letter word every time the chorus came around. But in the version put on their website (see it here), the network decided to leave the video unedited.

The FCC, of course, has no jurisdiction over what NBC puts on the Internet. Still, the decision marks the first time a major network has done something like this.

Do you see this as a creative way for NBC to maximize viewers and show their content in its purest form, or was this an ill-advised stunt to show off their ability to skirt censorship? After all, they still have a brand image to uphold, and offering instructions (which JT does) on how to make a "Dick in a Box" isn't exactly family-friendly.

Posted by Peter Hoy at 4:28 PM | 16 Comments

December 21, 2006

Fast Company Readers -- Not Anti-Social

Our current issue of Fast Company magazine, #111 for December/January, is our 2007 Social Capitalists Awards issue. When the story went live on November 20 we published a poll on our homepage asking, "Is your company socially responsible?" The results at first glance were very positive. In the first 30 days of the question appearing online, 212 FastCompany.com readers responded, with 65% responding "Yes" and the other 35% responding "No." Nearly two-thirds of the respondents felt that they work at a socially responsible company.

But, this was not the first time this poll had appeared on the homepage. On January 13 I asked the same question, for the 2006 Social Capitalists Awards featured in January's issue. At first glance the earlier poll showed and upward trend--the first 30 days of that poll resulted with 346 votes, with 48.5% responding "Yes" and 51.5% responding "No." Comparing the positive votes, that is a tangible jump from 48.5% to 65%. This would be remarkable if it stood up to greater scrutiny.

Continue reading "Fast Company Readers -- Not Anti-Social"

Posted by Kevin Ohannessian at 2:41 PM | 4 Comments

Vote for Rory

Rory Fitzpatrick, a hockey player for the Vancouver Canucks, is the prototypical NHL journeyman. During his 11-year career, he's played in 226 games for five different teams, scored nine goals, and has 18 assists. And he may be on the starting line for the NHL All Star game.

Why? Because Steve Schmid, a Buffalo Sabres (and Fitzpatrick) fan started VoteForRory.com, a web site dedicated to, you guessed it, getting Fitzpatrick into the All Star game. And it's worked. As of this writing, people have voted for Rory some 428,832 times, vaulting him to second place in the balloting, behind Scott Niedermayer (14 seasons, 131 goals, 438 assists) by about 19,000 votes.

Even though the players, including Fitzpatrick, are amused, but a little wary of the whole thing--If Rory gets on the team, it means another player perhaps better deserving has been left off--as Schmid says in this story, his campaign has got others interested in hockey who wouldn't otherwise follow the sport. While this is one of those using-the-power-of-the-Internet-to-do-funny-things kinds of stories, it's one that the NHL should heed, because they need all the fans they can get.

(photo courtesy CNN/Sports Illustrated)

Posted by Michael Prospero at 12:03 PM | 3 Comments

December 20, 2006

New Media News

Google Steps More Boldly Into PayPal’s Territory
"Steven Grossberg, who sells video games online from his home in Wellington, Fla., recently sent an enticing offer to 20,000 customers: $10 off any purchase over $30 using a new payment service, Google Checkout." (The New York Times)

Viacom Backs Out of Web Venture Talks
"The new Internet video Website collaboration that has been discussed by media heavy hitters including NBC Universal, News Corp., CBS, and Viacom may be on the rocks after Viacom backed out Tuesday afternoon, according to multiple sources familiar with the talks." (Broadcasting & Cable)

BBC moves to file-sharing sites
"Hundreds of episodes of BBC programmes will be made available on a file-sharing network for the first time, the corporation has announced." (BBC News)

YouTube to meet Japan media on copyright protest
"xecutives of YouTube.com are to meet a group of Japanese media firms that complained to the video sharing Internet site over copyright infringement, the Japanese organization said." (Reuters)

Posted by Lynne d Johnson at 7:56 PM | Add Comment

December 19, 2006

The New Fight Club

Imagine being at the office with one minute and 15 seconds left in the day. Then imagine shoving one of your coworkers, and punching another in the face.

What would your boss say? What would management do? I would probably be fired, if not arrested. But I work for a magazine, not a basketball team.

The first rule of the NBA is you do not talk about the NBA.

In 2004, Indiana forward, Ron Artest, jumped into the stands and attacked a spectator that he thought threw a drink at him. Last season, San Antonio's Bruce Bowen kicked Seattle's Ray Allen in the back. On Saturday, Denver forward Carmelo Anthony shoved Nate Robinson and punched Mardy Collins in the face during a tense game with the New York Knicks.

To history buffs, this might seem like a return to the '77-'78 season when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar punched Milwaukee's Kent Benson in the face, and a few months later Los Angeles forward Kermit Washington gave Rudy Tomjanovich a near fatal blow.

To a purist, this must seem embarrassing for basketball. It's not boxing. It's not wresting. It's not even hockey. And there's no place for violence on a basketball court.

To a businessperson, however, this must seem absurd. At some level, NBA teams are corporations like any other. At some level, they are simply trying to bring in profit. (The Boston Celtics used to be a publicly traded company.) And at some level, the players are employees, the management is responsible, and all of them need to start acting like they are part of a professional organization.

The only one who seems to understand that is NBA Commisioner, David Stern, who issued suspensions to seven players and fined each team $500,000.

But even his penalties seem lenient compared to what would happen if the incident had occurred in another environment. The longest suspension was 15 games and no fines were levied on the coaches. (The scuffle was prompted by a hard foul that may or may not have been ordered by New York coach, Isiah Thomas.)

Violence in the workplace is not tolerated, so why is it tolerated on a basketball court?

Posted by Peter Hoy at 12:59 PM | 13 Comments

User Generated Content Gets Kudos

On Sunday, after first hearing about Time magazine's person of the year, I thought about blogging about it. Seeing the cover, with it's iMac image with a YouTube controller, reminded me of the early '80s when the personal computer was chosen as the person of the year. Though, this time, it wasn't actually the computer, but instead, "You." You, in the sense of the users of all the Web 2.0 tools out there -- the MySpacers, YouTubers, Diggers, vloggers, and the like.

And while I wanted to blog about it I didn't. Even yesterday, as I sat and watched the conversation unfold over at Techmeme, Technorati, and via Google alerts.

But like Robert Scoble, I thought everyone would be blogging about it anyway. And then after Darren Rowse, "Time Wins Linkbaiter of the Year Award," became one of the most widely read posts on the topic, I really decided not to blog about it.

So why am I here blogging about it today? Because I realize that while Web 2.0 and user generated content has taken off, and Time has ordained everyone who participates in the culture, there's still a mass of folks who have no idea what an RSS reader is, have never used YouTube, or don't have a Linkedin, Facebook, or MySpace account. In fact, there are many who don't know, or don't care to know what these tools and social networking sites are all about. There are even those, reading this very post, who don't even realize that this is a blog entry and not a daily news report. It is for you -- the luddite, the technophobe, the newbie -- so that you too may know what all of the hype is about, and learn how much the world around you is changing.

Posted by Lynne d Johnson at 12:25 PM | 2 Comments

More Blogs at Fast Company

If you haven't noticed, we've added a little more content to the Fast Company Web site recently. Along with our magazine content, original Web-only features, Resource Centers, and FC Now, the Fast Company staff blog, we now bring you FC Expert Blogs, a collection of blogs written by experts on topics related to innovation, digital media, leadership, organizational change, careers, design, social responsibility, and work/life. We're just getting off the ground with this, but I wanted to make sure I told you about it before anyone else does.

Posted by Lynne d Johnson at 11:20 AM | 1 Comment

Packing in the New Security Age

"Prohibition hasn't quite arrived at the airlines. But, thanks to tough new TSA rules limiting liquids in carry-ons, the easiest way to fly is dry," writes Owen N. Wild, Director of Marketing for Amadeus North America, and Fast Company Business Travel Resource Center Columnist.

He says that opting to check bags vs. carrying them on is the "anti-strategy." Further, he notes:

"Reverting to checking your bags to meet TSA rules violates several road warrior rules. First, it guarantees you'll be spending more time than ever at the airport -- waiting to check your bag at the start of your trip and waiting at the baggage carousel at the end of your trip. (That's on top of the wait time for going through security and being at the gate at least one-half hour before departure.) Second, and more important, checking your bag makes it prey to the "vicissitudes" of airport baggage systems."

To continue reading his latest installment, go here.

Posted by Lynne d Johnson at 10:30 AM | 1 Comment

December 18, 2006

Find Their Calling

"The match between your employees' values and the organization or team's values is a more powerful factor by far than money in keeping good people," write Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans in their latest Fast Company Talent Resource Center Column.

A tip to employers:

"The risk of losing employees because of conflicts over values is far greater than the risk of losing them because of compensation. Values define what we consider to be important. They are the standards by which we measure our bottom-line needs. The more your employees' work incorporates their values, the more they will find that work meaningful, purposeful, and important." (Read more...)

Posted by Lynne d Johnson at 2:36 PM | 1 Comment

December 16, 2006

What's the Deal With Jetrosexuals?

A few years ago, a new sexual classification emerged on the scene. As funny as I thought it was when I first heard the term "metrosexual," I think it's even funnier that it stuck around. Oh no, metrosexuals weren't just a passing fad --people now comfortably identify themselves as such. Now it appears there is a new name for members of the fashion-forward jetsetting set, "Jetrosexuals." Also known as "flash-packers," jetrosexuals revel in fashion and travel.

Applied to individuals who travel worldwide in search of fashion bargains, jetrosexuals are known for having their passport ready to go at a moment's notice, and an eye for stylish, cheap faux couture clothing. Most commonly found travelling from the US to Asia in search of a bargain, jetrosexuals are known to carry little more with them than an iPod and the latest issue of Vogue.

Apparently, the new trend is being fueled by two things: Ridiculous airline discounts that chop $1000 fares to Asia to less than $50 from gateway cities, and the booming Asian textile industry.

And it's not just the jetrosexuals who are evolving -- the money spent on textiles and fashion in Vietnam has brought about dramatic change in the economic and cultural landscape of Hoi An. Although still conjested and plagued with poverty, this city is now known as a tailoring hub. It all started years ago when European and American designers began outsourcing the production of their fabrics to Asia.

I was curious to find out what (besides a plane-ride across the Pacific) separates jetrosexuals from people who take the subway down to Chinatown to buy fake Louis Vuittons. Apparently, quite a lot. Jetrosexuals don't just take a copy of Vogue with them for reading on the plane -- they take it to show tailors how to copy the garments. So, in a matter of hours, a jetrosexual can arrive in Hoi An, point to a Marc Jacobs jacket in a glossy fashion mag, and get back on the plane to L.A. wearing what appears to be a $1000 couture coat. In other words, it's made-to-order knock-off couture.

Surprisingly, (unlike a fake Vuitton) this violates no copywright laws in the U.S. Unless a Marc Jacobs label is stuck in the back of the garment, there is nothing stopping a tailor from copying a designer garment.

What do you think? Is it worth the trouble to venture to Asia for discount couture clothing? And will "jetrosexuals" stick around?

Posted by Kathryn Tuggle at 4:38 PM | 5 Comments

December 15, 2006

Ahmet Ertegun, Atlantic Records Founder, Dies

It's impossible to read about the death of Ahmet Ertegun without reflecting on how much the media world has changed over the course of his lifetime. And how much it hasn't. When he started Atlantic Records in 1947 with $10,000 in borrowed money from a family dentist (seems like dentists have been angels for a long time) the music industry hadn't consolidated into the top-heavy beast it has become. Twenty years later, at the dawn of the merger era, Ertegun sold Atlantic to Warner Brothers-Seven Arts for $17 million dollars, or just slightly more than the omikase at Nobu, in 2006 dollars.

Because Ertegun had an uncanny ear for talent, and was respected as a class act in an industry where trust was never highly rated in the Billboard charts, Atlantic was able to survive and prosper as a label. While he discovered and sponsored titanic talents like Ray Charles and John Coltrane, over his career he witnessed mass-production take over the industry, and with that the slow death of individuality, as artists got swept up, packaged, made-over, homogenized, and exsanguinated.

Yet as we approach 2007, which will be the 60th anniversary of the founding of Atlantic, in a curious and welcome way the music industry is more open to the kind of unmediated originality that Ertegun lived for, than it has been since the days when he got going.

The arrival of MySpace and YouTube -- and, of course, the entire online distribution platform -- provide an opportunity for talent to bypass corporate blockages, institutional fearfulness and focus-group decision-making. It also provides an opportunity for talentlessness to take the same journey.

Which is why what Ertegun did so brilliantly, to find, filter and nurture, is more necessary now than it was in 1947. Indeed, the combination of a democratic distribution sysem and Ertegun's talent tropism is the killer app we've been waitiing for, but aren't likely to find. We're not likely to see his kind again, though we need him more than ever.

Posted by Adam Hanft at 4:35 PM | 1 Comment

In Today's Papers

From the reading pile:

• Al Shugart, 76; Was Silicon Valley Pioneer
  An early innovator in hard drives died recently
• The F-Word Finally Falls from Favor (Registration may be required)
  A kindler, gentler comedy?
• A Pentagon Agency Is Looking at Brains -- And Raising Eyebrows (Registration may be required)
  Minding the military... literally
• The Jetrosexual Look (Registration may be required)
  "Custom tailoring in Asia now goes far beyond business suits. Our reporters on getting stylish clothes, cheap."
• Pop-Ups Grow Up (Registration may be required)
  "With Gossip, Phobias and Hitchcock, A Kids' Genre Gets New Dimensions"
• Reviving FAO Schwarz (Registration may be required)
  "How the Venerable Toy Store Hopes $22 Hot Wheels Cars Can Save It From Discounters"
• Smart Spenders: The Global Innovation 1000
  "Booz Allen Hamilton’s annual study of the world’s 1,000 largest corporate R&D budgets uncovers a small group of high-leverage innovators who outperform their industries."

Posted by Heath Row at 12:40 PM | 1 Comment

December 14, 2006

Social Software's Growth

More and more of your social interactions are moving online. David Teten and Scott Allen, authors of The Virtual Handshake uncover 10 major cultural implications of social software's growth in their lastest installment in the Networking Resource Center.

For instance:

" Basic computer skills really matter...and fortunately the next generation is much more technologically skilled than the current generation. It is harder and harder for blue-collar professionals, let alone white-collar professionals, to do their job without basic computer literacy. Think how often people of all socioeconomic backgrounds email one another, participate in web-based training, or apply for a job via an Internet portal. Just to get a job in the first place, you need to know how to type and how to learn new software programs reasonably rapidly. The good news: given that 33 percent of online teens share content (artwork, photos, stories and videos) on the Internet, the next generation will have an even higher comfort level with this technology than the current generation working in corporate America." Read more.

Posted by Lynne d Johnson at 12:31 PM | 4 Comments

Startup Brand Stamina

"Sleepless nights, a staff of three to do the work of 20, and the doubters -- will all test your will to survive the start-up game. I suppose if it were easy, every person with a brain would be doing it. Start-ups require lots more than possession of a brain. They require an uncanny drive, a fearless spirit, a sense of humor and thick skin."

Learn more about Startup Brand Stamina by reading Karen Post's -- "The Branding Diva" -- latest column in the Fast Company marketing Resource Center.

Posted by Lynne d Johnson at 12:27 PM | 2 Comments

December 13, 2006

The Google Stock Exchange

A few years ago, back when shares were a modest $200 a pop, I was debating whether or not to buy stock in Google. A friend encouraged me to do it, challenging my hesitation by asking, "Who can stop them?"

The answer, as it turned out, was no one.

Since the start of 2005, the stock has more than doubled, and Google has managed to get a hand in just about everything. From Google Tools and Desktop to Gmail and Google Talk, from Google Earth and Maps to Google Video and Books, the Internet giant does it all.

Now the Mountain View, CA firm is pioneering new ground in employee compensation. While it's not something that you can download off the website, I wouldn't be surprised if other companies start imitating it.

The plan will allow non-executive employees to sell vested stock options through an online-auction exchange. Financial institutions will be able to buy vested options from Google employees at a premium to the option's value.

These transferable stock options are unique in that they offer an ongoing marketplace for vested stock options, and boost the value of the options for Google staffers. Compensation experts are calling it a smart and groundbreaking move on Google's part.

And at this rate, it only seems like a matter of time before something called GOOGLEX is competing with the AMEX and NYSE.

Posted by Peter Hoy at 6:23 PM | 1 Comment

Set for Life

This Wednesday became Day One in ex-Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling's 24-year sentence for securities fraud, insider trading, and making false claims to auditors.

According to prison officials, Skilling, 53, entered the Federal Correctional Institution in Waseca, Minn., around noon today.

A former university campus, the low-security facility has 1,123 beds and is located about 75 miles south of Minneapolis.

Skilling is currently appealing his conviction.

For more about recently locked up CEOs, check out CEOs in the Slammer.

Posted by Angus Loten at 6:14 PM | Add Comment

Skype Charges for Calls; Rolls Out New Plans

Beginning in the new year, Skype users who have delighted for almost 10 years in free international phone calls will have to pay.

Owned by eBay since 2005, Skype plans to charge $30 a year for unlimited calls made from a computer to landlines and cellular phones in the U.S. and Canada.

Although the $30 fee is nominal compared with other Internet phone plans, (and calls from one computer to another will continue to be free) critics are accusing eBay of increasing rates to capitalize on Skype's user base of 136 million clients.

With the Internet phone business booming, Skype stands to make major profits in 2007. But some say that computer calls will be slower to catch on than predicted, as Skype-type calls require a behavioral change -- meaning that most people are simply too comfortable using regular phones to bother investing in Skype headsets, software, and devices.

But Skype insists there is a method to the madness, and a broader plan is in the works. Yahoo and Google are expected to be brought on board to provide Skypers with "click-to-call" technology, enabling users to call businesses they have found during a search with one click. Programs are also in development that will allow Skype to be used on wireless phones and pocket computers. Ebay will also most likely incorporate Skype calling into the buying and selling process, allowing consumers and shop owners to communicate with audio via their computers.

What do you think? Will Internet calling be the next big thing, perhaps one day bigger than actual phones? Or will Web phones be popular amongst a select group of computer-centric individuals?

Posted by Kathryn Tuggle at 1:25 PM | 3 Comments

December 12, 2006

The Season for Giving

It's that time of year. The time when folks start focusing on loved ones -- and, well, giving. Some of us are even thinking about the charitable contributions that we can make by year's end.

This year, the Case Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by Steve Case (of AOL) and his wife Jean, decided to highlight simple ways individuals can give their time or money to improve their communities and the world.

In this Holiday Giving spotlight, the Case Foundation rounds up a series of helpful articles: a guide to Charitable Gift Giving, an interview with Ben Goldhirsh, founder of GOOD magazine, and a piece on online giving contributed by Network for Good reviews how new technologies are responding to the giving demands of younger philanthropists.

While you're in the spirit of giving, be sure to check out the 43 Entrepreneurs profiled in the 2007 Fast Company/Monitor Group Social Capitalist Awards. Each profile features a "make a donation" link, so that you can donate to the charity of your choice.

Posted by Lynne d Johnson at 8:07 PM | Add Comment

Double-Decker Airplane Takes Flight

After six years of development and two years of delays, debate and red tape, The Airbus A380 Superjumbo (A modern-day Spruce Goose) is ready to fly commercial.

Yesterday's meeting of the European Aviation Safety Agency and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that this 555-seat double-decker behemoth of an airplane will be cleared for takeoff in 2007.

Manufactured in France, the Airbus Superjumbo met with a number of delays including wiring installation problems, and alleged insider trading. Now with months of flight tests behind it, the plane is impressing aviation experts around the world with its maximum speed of Mach 0.89, and ability to fly non-stop for 8,000 nautical miles.

The aircraft is equipped with four 70,000lb thrust engines, and to date, 149 airbuses have already been sold. As the first aircraft with double-decker double-aisle formatting, the A380 has double-aisle cabins on both the upper and lower decks, with 49% more floor space. The upper deck will provide 96 business and 103 economy class seats, along with two lounges. The main deck will accommodate 22 first class seats and 334 economy class seats, with two lounges and bar-like areas.

The Airbus cost $16 billion to develop, and aimed to rival Boeing's 747 jumbo jet as the largest most efficient aircraft available. However, Boeing is now focusing its energies on mid-sized jets, such as the 787 Dreamliner, leaving the Airbus to rule the skies for the forseeable future.

The Airbus will begin servicing Asia with Singapore Airlines next October. What's your take on the giant plane? Will you feel safer flying in 2007 if you're on the biggest plane in the world? Will the Airbus become a common means of future travel, or is it too decadent and impractical to stand the test of time?

Posted by Kathryn Tuggle at 4:10 PM | 10 Comments

December 11, 2006

The Fast Company Idea Wellspring

Over the weekend, the Financial Times published a list of the best business books of 2006. I'm proud to say that 3 of the 16 titles cited have a close connection to Fast Company: Fast Company's Greatest Hits, our compilation of great stories from FC's first decade; The Wal-Mart Effect, which began as a 2003 cover story by senior writer Charles Fishman; and Mavericks At Work, by founding editor Bill Taylor and former senior editor Polly LaBarre. Even more, a fourth book on the list is Small Giants, by Bo Burlingham, editor-at-large at our sister publication, Inc. So between us, our little two-magazine company is responsible for 25% of the year's best business books. Pretty darn good, I think.

Posted by Mark Vamos at 3:22 PM | 2 Comments

In Today's Papers

Reading and ripping:

• Computer Provides More Questions Than Answers
  The discovery of an ancient device highlights the allure of archaic technology
• For Tower Records, End of Disc
  "In Rockville, Reminders and Remainders of the Dying CD"
• How a Highflier in Marketing Fell at Wal-Mart (Registration may be required)
  "Racy Ads, Unusual Strategy Won Julie Roehm Buzz; Questions About Freebies"
• Times Sq. Ads Spread Via Tourists’ Cameras
  Location, location, location -- and Send to a Friend
• To Retain Valued Women Employees, Companies Pitch Flextime as Macho (Registration may be required)
  Businesses aim to overcome the stigma some associate with flexible work schedules

Posted by Heath Row at 12:29 PM | Add Comment

The Sound of Advertising

Usually, I avoid advertising like the plague. It doesn't matter what type of advertising either. Television -- I tune out or change the channel. Radio -- I turn the dial. Print -- I flip through pages quickly to get to the content, unless it's a brand that already interests me. And the same goes for Web. Since I work in media, I suppose it's easy for me to do that. But that's probably not the case for most consumers.

Recently, I felt like "most consumers." In New York city, everywhere you go, there's some Bose ad in your face. Either for the TriPort in-ear headphones or for the iPod SoundDock. If you ride the subway, they're there, above your head when you look up. If you enter or leave a subway station, they're there on some poster glued to the wall. Bus stops. Pay phones. They're there also.

New York is inundated with Bose advertising. And yet, a media savvy person like myself got taken in. But in my case it was easy. I've never been a fan of the sound of the headphones that Apple packages with its iPod. The size of the headphones just never work for my ears either. And though I have a pretty nice pair of over the head noise canceling headphones, they're just not that convenient for running around the city. In fact, those are my airplane listening apparatus of choice.

So, I was an easy target. After about the tenth time seeing the TriPort ad, I logged onto the Bose Web site and ordered a pair. Thankfully, they work and fit well, and the sound quality is awesome.

But I wonder, under normal circumstances, does that kind of advertising saturation works as a good marketing strategy. Or do consumers simply become immune to those types of campaigns?

Posted by Lynne d Johnson at 10:38 AM | 2 Comments

December 10, 2006

Art Mania in Miami

The art world's been making headlines recently, with record auction prices for both modern and contemporary art set at Sotheby’s and Christies’ last month. But they, evidently, were simply the appetizer course to the Grand Buffet that was spread out over south Florida last week, as the monster art fair, Art Basel Miami Beach, took over the town.

Think of ABMB, as the insiders call it, as the CES of the art world. It's where anybody who's anybody in the industry gathers to see, be seen, party, schmooze, wheel, deal, drink, dine and, of course, buy, buy, buy.

Everywhere you wandered in the city, there was some form of art to devour. There were exhibits in shipping containers on the beach, sound shows in the botantical garden, video shows behind dark curtains, alternative art shows, design shows, photo shows, and museum shows.

The big enchilada, of course, was the show at the Miami Beach Convention Center, which encompassed more than 180 exhibitors from around the globe, from the loftiest galleries of New York and London clustered in the epicenter, to smaller fish that ranged around the perimeter.

It was as dazzling an array of art as you’re every likely to see in one place, with Lucian Freud cheek by jowl with Fernando Botero, Donald Judd and Cecily Brown lurking nearby, and Lichtensteins, Mardens, Richters, Hirsts and Basquiats in abundance. Andy Warhol, whose prices have quadrupled in the past decade, was represented by at least 20 different dealers. Warhol is a favorite of the hedge fund set, many of whom feel safer buying a “brand” whose value can be tracked, like the price of Google or Apple, on Artnet, the web site that records prices paid at auction.

We spotted a favorite little Picasso that had made the scene in Basel, still unsold. So, why was it still hanging around? “It’s not exactly an impulse buy,” the gallery owner said drily. And why was it now priced at $4.25M, up $250K from what it had been listed for in July? “If you like it, we can talk about the price,” he said. We said we’d be back later.

With serious collectors getting first crack at the vernissage on Wednesday night, many works were sporting red “sold” dots by Thursday afternoon. The prestigious Gagosian gallery was busy swapping out the paintings that had already been sold, and mounting new ones so late-coming buyers would still have something to choose from.

Those buyers included Steve Martin, sporting a baseball cap and sneakers, accompanied by a young woman sporting a pony tail, who roamed the vast labyrinthine aisles of the show, hoping that earlier arrivals, Dennis Hopper, Keanu Reeves and Calvin Klein hadn’t cherry picked the merch.

Asian art was moving particularly fast. “We sold three in the first 24 hours,” said a staffer at Kukje Gallery of the large works of Korean artist Kwang-Young Chun. His extraordinary pieces feature tightly clustered pieces of Styrofoam wrapped in Korean mulberry paper from old books. They’re weirdly mesmerizing. By Saturday, all six works that the gallery had brought to the show were sold, for an average price of $80,000.

Around the corner, a large painting by Zeng Fanzhi, priced at $300,000, at ShanghART Gallery had been snapped up as well.

It was a thrilling array but, like a buffet at the Bellagio, ultimately too much to digest at one sitting. We left, reluctantly, driven out by sheer fatigue and sensory overload. Which may point to the biggest hazard of getting big: that exquisite moment, when you discover a painting you love, and want to linger over it, becomes subsumed to the urge to keep moving, to see more, to maximize your viewing before your feet give out. And that approach, ultimately, means any particular work gets short shrift in the process.

Still, it’s hard not to be dazzled by the sheer quality and scope of the work on display. And it’s hard not to love a city that so energetically and enthusiastically opens its arms to art.

Posted by Linda Tischler at 9:46 PM | Add Comment

December 8, 2006

Desperate for Design

“Stand back, people! Everybody take two steps back!” The cop at the door of the Moore Building in the center of Miami’s Design District Thursday night was getting a little frantic. A horde of VIP badge-wielding design fanatics, and the people who only dress like them, was threatening to storm the velvet ropes in their desperate attempt to ogle the latest Forest Myers chair and Wendell Castle coffee table. It had the potential to get ugly.

Toto, I think it’s safe to say we’re not in Basel anymore.

Unlike the decorous vernissage that opened Design Miami Basel in Switzerland last July – a staid affair in an Elizabethan church in which elegantly attired European design patrons sipped wine and surveyed vintage Maria Perguy cabinetry – this bash was more a cross between a Tickle Me Elmo sale at Wal-mart and a Saturday night at Crobar.

Craig Robins, the event’s founder, resplendent in a white suit, black glasses, red-laced sneakers, and shiny bald head, held court in the main exhibit hall, gleefully swapping air kisses with models wearing crotch-high sequined skirts and fur vests. Now there was a happy man.

Loud, electronic music set the beat, and high test vodka martinis fueled the conversation. Food was non-existent. I managed to score one, sad, chicken pot sticker all night. Dress code leaned more toward jeans and stilettos than couture. This is Miami, after all.

The building was a design statement itself, with the chewing gummy-like installation by last year’s Designer of the Year winner, Zaha Hadid, still arching the 5-floored atrium. It was joined by this year’s home improvement, a weird silver arrow arrangement, tastefully accessorized with a matching silver Audi, compliments of this year’s winner, Marc Newson.

Upstairs, the New York gallery, Sebastian + Barquet, was selling the prototype of Newson’s Lockheed Lounge. Asking price? “We’re looking to start at $2.5”, one of the owners told me discreetly. Given Newson’s record-breaking sale of nearly $1M for his famous chaise at auction last summer, he may well get his price.

Elsewhere, the most exciting stuff was at the Contrasts Gallery from Shanghai, whch featured some stunning ceramics by XYZ Design, Borek Sipek and Andre Dubreuil.

Further up the stairs, Phurniture, Inc. showed a collection of furniture by Shlomo Hanush that looked like crumpled aluminum foil. It looked fresh and cool, if utterly useless for sitting.

Barry Friedman and Droog Design conspired to put together an assemblage of furniture by 10 of Europe’s most innovative designers, and called it Smart Deco. It was.

Downstairs, at London’s David Gill Galleries, Barnaby Banford showed some sly ceramics. They weren’t your mother’s Hummels.

Lots of other stuff was a retread of what evidently didn’t sell in Basel. It had the potential to feel a little tired when not accessorized by a crowd of red hot tattooed mamas.

But, all in all, it was a smashing beginning, and a clear indication that in Miami, at least, design has the mojo to compete with its older more established art brethren. On with the show!

Posted by Linda Tischler at 11:54 AM | Add Comment

Customer Service Revenge

This one's a must-read for anyone who's ever been put on hold for two hours, had to navigate through twenty levels of computerized responses, or had to repeat something a dozen times because their customer service rep didn't speak English.

While I'm normally loath to praise someone for suing someone else, Pat Dori, a businessman from Hackensack, NJ, is an exception. When Dell screwed up when repairing his computer--returning a hard drive, and nothing else, and then giving him the runaround on the phone--he took the computer company to small-claims court. And won.

Bravo, Mr. Dori!

Posted by Michael Prospero at 11:03 AM | 8 Comments

"Change or Die" -- the book

To the many readers who sent me email or posted blog entries about "Change or Die," my May 2005 cover story in Fast Company, I'm pleased to announce that I've expanded the article into a full-length book: "Change or Die: The Three Keys To Change at Work and in Life" will go on sale in stores nationwide on January 2, 2007, and it's available now for pre-order from the major online booksellers.

Alan Deutschman

Posted by Alan Deutschman at 10:49 AM | 16 Comments

December 7, 2006

CNET Editor James Kim Found Deceased

I had totally forgotten that a co-worker told me that CNET Senior Editor James Kim had passed away yesterday. That was until last night, while I was playing Santa online, and was in much need of some kid's electronics advice. During a search for a Disney Mix Stix review, I ran across this video, with James Kim delivering a first look at the player. And then it hit. And then I remembered.

Kim and his wife and two daughters were traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday, driving from Seattle back home to San Francisco when they got stuck in the snow on a mountain road in Oregon. His wife says that he left the car on Saturday morning, seeking help. He told her he would return in five hours, according to reports. When both Kim and his wife did not show up on Nov. 28 for appointments they had, friends and family began to worry.

Kim's wife and daughters were found on Monday in their car, in good condition. He was not found until Wednesday, when rescuers located his body near the Big Windy Creek area, about seven miles from their car. Results of an autopsy on his body are to be released today. It's possible that he may have suffered hypothermia.

If you've ever watched CNET TV, then you've seen James Kim. He co-hosts a weekly video podcast for the Crave gadgets blog. Lately you may have even been following his Zune chronicles on CNET. He had been writing a book about the MP3 player.

I didn't know him personally, but I depended on him -- his insight on digital audio equipment will be sorely missed.

Friends and family have set up a site to take donations.

Posted by Lynne d Johnson at 12:35 PM | 1 Comment

I Can't Drive 55

What will be the car of the future, and how will it get its power? Will it be the Tesla, the all-electric car that's currently starring in a little controversy with the Law? Will it be the Venturi Fetish? Will the car be something more like the BMW Hydrogen 7, which runs on gasoline and hydrogen?

What about hybrids of the Toyota and Honda variety? Will ethanol be the fuel of the future? Biodiesel? Fuel cells?

I pose it to you, dear reader: What will be under the hood of your car in 5 years? Ten years? Or will we all be riding around on Segways?

Posted by Michael Prospero at 11:37 AM | 4 Comments

In Today's Papers

From the reading pile:

• Alvin Toffler: The Thought Leader Interview
  "Thirty-six years after his book Future Shock, the world’s most influential futurist sees the informal economy as a basis of revolutionary wealth."
• At New Video Sites, Opening Up the Box Is a Ritual to Savor (Registration may be required)
  "Unbaring of a PlayStation 3 Gives Tech Geeks a Thrill; Apple's 'Exotic' Packages"
• Behind the Scenes, PR Firm Remakes Wal-Mart's Image (Registration may be required)
  "Political Veterans at Edelman Tackle Woes of 'Candidate' But Sometimes Stumble"
• Best Business Books: 2006 (Registration may be required)
  As though we don't have enough to read already, these books on the future, economics, leadership, and strategy should be at the top of any reading pile
• Online Clothes Reviews Give 'Love That Dress' New Clout (Registration may be required)
  Appreciating and promoting quality plumage
• Religious Order Runs Drug Lab For Cures, Ethics (Registration may be required)
  "If it becomes a successful, albeit niche, player in the pharmaceutical industry, the order hopes to have bigger clout in pushing for more ethical business practices from the inside out."
• Smart Spenders: The Global Innovation 1000
  "Booz Allen Hamilton’s annual study of the world’s 1,000 largest corporate R&D budgets uncovers a small group of high-leverage innovators who outperform their industries."
• Where Are the Women in Top Management?
  "New Research Raises Troubling Questions"

Posted by Heath Row at 10:55 AM | Add Comment

December 6, 2006

In Today's Papers

Reading and ripping:

• China's Sunshine Boys
  Raking in the green with green business
• Irrational Exuberance, Reconsidered (Registration may be required)
  Who'd-a thunk that the mid-'90s exuberance was, in fact, rational?
• Posting Your Resume on YouTube (Registration may be required)
  "Young Job Hunters Try Using Video Clips to Stand Out; The Risk of Humiliation"
• The Pursuit of Happiness: Six Experts Tell What They've Done to Achieve It (Registration may be required)
  Turns out that "Can't Buy Me Love" might be not entirely true
• Silicon Valley Moguls Support Microlenders, Just Not in the U.S. (Registration may be required)
  Should microlenders make money?
• Spam Doubles, Finding New Ways to Deliver Itself
  Image spam can work around existing spam filters; improvements are needed
• When iPods Die (Registration may be required)
  "Gripes Over Breakdowns Grow As Players Become Ubiquitous; The Drop-Start Technique"
• Why Some Cities Think Developing At Rail Stops Is a Mighty Good Road (Registration may be required)
  Real estate developers might finally eye commuter hubs as mixed use hotspots

Posted by Heath Row at 3:44 PM | Add Comment

Feed the Models: A Manifesto

For the past 20 years, emaciated models have fueled the fashion industry as the standard for sex appeal and style. It all started with Twiggy in the 1960's, a skinny little pixie of an icon whose cute nonexistant thighs inspired my mother's generation to lose a few pounds. But Twiggy wasn't anorexic -- Twiggy had a good metabolism, and I'm sure she never dreamed her thin frame would set a new industry standard for model weight. Since her day, the fashion industry has evolved to hail women whose weight is far below the World Health Organization's healthy body mass index (BMI) of 18.5.

But now, it would seem as if change for healthy model weight is on the horizon. Following the death of Brazilian supermodel Ana Carolina from anorexia, a "national manifesto" on model weight is to be issued in Italy in February. In Madrid, models who are 5'11" must weigh at least 130 pounds to make the cut for runway shows. Mario Boselli, head of the National Chamber for Italian Fashion, is spearheading the campaign to stop super-thin models from appearing in advertisements. He says this will be a first step in combating fashion's role in the promotion and glamorization of anorexia.

Of course, it's unclear if the manifesto and Italy's campaign will work. It will take involvement from countries worldwide, strictly enforced weight guidelines, and models who are willing to gain 30 lbs. But one thing is for sure: the fashion industry has to make the first move, because models aren't going to head to McDonalds until they're shown there is a market for a heftier physique.

My fear is that the fashion trade has grown too attached to its emaciated models. Top designers seem to be happiest when their models are little more than glorified coat hangers on which to drape their latest garments. But I, like thousands of other women who fall into the "average" size category, am keeping my fingers crossed for change.

What do you think will happen? Will the manifesto change the industry? And, if it does, what does this mean for marketing in general? Are we witnessing the birth of more reality-based advertising promoting healthier less glamorous lifestyles?

Posted by Kathryn Tuggle at 1:48 PM | 2 Comments

Hooked on Work: the Allure of Extreme Jobs

The setting Monday night for the unveiling of the Center for Work-Life Policy’s latest research, titled, “Extreme Jobs: The Dangerous Allure of the 70-Hour Workweek,” couldn’t have been more appropriate: the very epicenter of Extreme Jobism, upstairs in the gilded conference room at the New York Stock Exchange.

Introducing the speakers, NYSE CEO John Thain, appeared a little baffled. What was the problem, he asked, with putting in those kinds of hours? “At Goldman Sachs,” he noted, “70 hours is just the first three days of the week.”

That’s it in a nutshell, said Sylvia Ann Hewlett, the Center’s president and the study’s co-author. For people who love their work – and who get supersized rewards for putting in super-sized hours -- the concept that they’re being harmed by spending so much time at work misses the point. They want to be there. They get a rush from their jobs. They revel in the challenge.

And every year, as there are more and more of them, they seem less and less aberrant. (Fast Company wrote about this phenomenon in April 2005)

To qualify as an extreme jobber, a worker must meet the following standards: first, work 60 hours a week or more, then, meet at least five of the following conditions: have work whose flow is unpredictable, work under tight deadlines, have work events outside of regular work hours, be available to clients 24/7, have P&L responsibility, have a large amount of travel, or a large number of direct reports, have a scope of responsibility that amounts to more than one job.

According to Hewlett, the pool of workers who meet the standard for extreme is growing. More than 20% of U.S. workers qualify, she says, and 45% of professionals in global companies. Measured by sheer work hours alone, 48% say they’re working an average of 16.6 hours more per week than they did five hours ago.

The reasons? Among the external drivers: the current global economic environment which often requires enormous travel and the necessity of being available at odd hours for conference calls and communication with the other side of the world; competitive pressures; vastly improved communication technology; and cultural shifts. Among the internal motivators: stimulating work, high quality colleagues, high compensation, power, and status.

But this steroid-infused idea of the workplace does not come without costs. Three quarters of the women surveyed said their work interfered with their ability to maintain their homes (66% of men said the same thing), two thirds said they don’t get enough sleep; half didn’t get enough exercise, and a significant number use alcohol, drugs, or food to alleviate their stress.

More than half say their sex lives have suffered; and nearly half say their work has interfered with their ability to have a strong relationship. Perhaps most disturbingly, a significant number of both men and women say their work life has affected their children. Among the behaviors noted: watching too much TV, discipline issues related to lack of attention; eating too much junk food; and underachieving at school.

Not surprisingly, there’s a gender issue here. Among the extreme jobbers in the U.S., less than a fifth are women. While women are well represented in jobs that require high performance (fast pace with tight deadlines, 24/7 client demands, etc.), once those jobs require more than 60 hours a week, there’s a huge fall off in women’s participation. Women, it seems, are more sensitive to the “opportunity costs” of long hour jobs, particularly as they relate to the well-being of their children.

“We’ve moved the goal posts to a place women can’t go,” says Hewlett. The inevitable result? Fewer women in the pool from which an organization’s top leaders are recruited.

Right now, the cost of these jobs has been mostly borne by individual workers. However, as the labor shortage projected in the next few years materializes, companies may find themselves having to rethink the demands of these jobs or watch their most valuable talent walk out the door. A majority of women (57%) said they don’t’ want to work at this pace for more than another year; 48% of men agreed.

As with most major workplace policy initiatives, the real change will come when it’s in a company’s own business interest to find a way to accommodate workers’ needs, not because it’s the nice thing to do. Some companies – particularly service firms – are already experimenting with new models.

Has your company done anything innovative to retain talent and/or eliminate the need for such extreme behavior?

Posted by Linda Tischler at 1:04 PM | 25 Comments

The Oscars of Design

If you want a look at the many ways in which extraordinary design has now permeated our lives, be sure to put the Cooper Hewitt’s new exhibit, “Design Life Now,” on your list of ‘must-sees’ if you’re in New York.

The show, which is the third triennial the national design museum has held, opens to the public on December 8. It features the work of 87 designers and firms, chosen to represent four principal ideas that characterized the design world in the past three years: emulating life; community; hand-craft and do-it-yourself; and transformation.

The designs chosen range from the frivolous to the fraught. There’s weird and wacky fashion, from industry luminaries like Narciso Rodriguez (best known for designing Carolyn Bessett Kennedy’s wedding gown) and Ralph Rucci, to crazy garb that looks like it was pulled out of a laundry bag and put on in the dark by Tom Scott, and menswear with shrunken pants by Thom Brown.

There are playful little Japanese robots, robots that will clean your house, and robots that are ringers for Albert Einstein, right down to the tufted eyebrows. There are architectural models of amazing structures, from the Sundial bridge by Santiago Calatrava to the Seattle Public Library by Rem Koolhaas, to Ken Smith's rooftop garden at MOMA.

There are wonderful lighting fixtures, from a hand-blown lamp etched with words from Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks (that then become shadows on the wall) by LA designer Alison Berger, to a massive Swarovski crystal chandelier by Tobias Wong.

There’s deadly serious stuff from the "Lemurs" --- Legged Excursion mechanical Utility Rovers -- developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Labs to a the Lifeport Kidney Transporter (that looks a little like a souped-up cooler you'd take to a tailgate party) designed by Organ Recovery Systems.

There are many products informed by the idea of biomimicry, from Nike's shoes that emulate the foot running barefoot, and Joseph Ayers' Robolobster, that recognizes changes in seawater, much like its living counterpart.

And so much more.

It’s a Santa’s sack of design goodies, arranged in no particular order that I could discern, that meanders through three floors of the museum’s elegant building on E.91st Street.

Delicious as it is, this show requires some work on the part of the viewer for maximum impact. Many of the objects’ wondrousness is only apparent after reading the wall signage, some of which is written in the usual irritating museum-speak. Take the write-up for Niels Diffrient’s chair for Humanscale, for example…”He used a non-stretch textile whose contours do not deform under load, and displace appropriately for users of various sizes.” Why not just say the chair works fine both for those broad of beam and those with bony butts? Wouldn't that be a breath of fresh air?

Plus, it’s often difficult to match the labels with the objects, making the experience more than a little frustrating -- especially when good design is the point of the whole exercise.

So, the best advice is to go when the crowds are thin enough to be able to read without jostling for space, and to leave enough time to do more than barrel through. The rewards are rich and wondrous, funny, inspiring, and ingenious.

If you can't get to New York, the exhibit has a very fine catalog that will let you revel in all these goodies from the comfort of your own home.

What more could a design junkie want?

Posted by Linda Tischler at 10:44 AM | Add Comment

December 5, 2006

MySpace vs. Sex Predators

MySpace is hatching a plan to fend off online sexual predators, but will it work?

According to an article in today's Wall Street Journal, the social networking site is building a database of sex offenders that will include names, physical characteristics, and other details about those perceived as potential threats. The database will then be used by MySpace administrators to identify and remove registered sex offenders from the online community.

The safety of such sites, which go largely un-policed in regard to content and membership, has long been debated. This appears to be Murdoch's latest answer to the growing concern of parents, schools, and lawmakers, but is it enough?

Right now, anyone could go to AOL, enter some false information, pick up an email address and then mosey on down the information highway to MySpace where, within a couple of minutes, they could have an account and 136,332,835 people in their "network". Let the surfing for 12-year-olds begin.

If protecting young people from sexual predators on the Internet was a real priority, it seems a front-end solution would make more sense. Instead of letting everyone join and then trying to chase down the bad guys, maybe MySpace should begin by screening who joins.

It might hurt MySpace's bottom line, but it would be safer for its users.

Alternatively, maybe more could be done to educate members about potential online dangers. Listing vague acquaintances as "Friends" and total strangers "Cool New People" doesn't exactly encourage discretion.

Posted by Peter Hoy at 5:40 PM | 3 Comments

Apocalypto: Gibson's Saving Grace

There was an article in the New York Times this morning about Mel Gibson's Mayan epic, Apocalypto. The writer, Sharon Waxman, discussed some early praise for the film, alongside Hollywood criticism for the actor/director/producer's behavior. She writes: