Denver Gets Ego, Canada Goes Social, Merv Griffin Dies, Caveman Loses

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- The Denver Egoist hopes to "promote creative growth in Denver" while at the same time admitting Denver is "conceptually stunted."

- Muchmor Media, an independent Canadian web publisher, has launched mymuchmor.com a social network for naturalized Canadians and the 270,000 newcomers who arrive in Canada every year.

- Cynopsis reports Merv Griffin, creator and producer of game show hits Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, died yesterday. He was 82.

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by Steve Hall    Aug-13-07    
Topic: Celebrity, Social, Television, Weblogs



Bloggers Build DIY Network 'Blog Cabin'

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For those of you tracking the many purposes a weblog can serve, you can now add house building to the list. DIY Network will air a new show August 16 at 9PM called Blog Cabin which will document the building of a log cabin which was built with guidance from bloggers contributing a DIY Network weblog over the course of several months. From roof style to window selection to fireplace, bloggers logged over 4 million suggestions and votes during the project. They even alerted the apparently forgetful building crew a window had not yet been installed. Check out the entire project here.

by Steve Hall    Aug- 3-07    
Topic: Cable, Consumer Created, Social, Weblogs



Dell Reviews, Disney Buys Club Penguin, Deutsch Huffs, Sex Still Sells

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- Dell's $760 million account is up for grabs and everyone wants it.

- Disney just gave the three Canadian dads who launched Club Penguin $350 million with another $350 million on the way in 2009.

- Catch Speedo King Donny Deutsch and uber political commentator Arianna Huffington at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas September 30 - October 2 when they speak at the Electronic Retailing Association convention.

- BL Ochman tells us how one brand, Kryptonite Lock, has improved its handling of social media outbursts dramatically since 2004 when it was awarded Business 2.0's Dumbest Business Moment of the Year Award.

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by Steve Hall    Aug- 2-07    
Topic: Brands, Industry Events, Social, Weblogs



Al Gore Says We Cannes Do It, Marketing Bloggers Publish Book

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- If you haven't seen it, here's Al Gore's speech he gave at Cannes about climate change about how the advertising industry can effect it. It's in three parts. Here, here and here.

- The Age of Conversation, a book written by 100 marketing bloggers and writers the wordl over, just went on sale today. You can check it all out in this Advertising Age story.

- If you want to read blog posts by celebrities, politicians and business leaders who don't even know they are writing them, head over to News Groper.

- Google has released AdSense for Mobile beta.

by Steve Hall    Jul-18-07    
Topic: Industry Events, Publishing, Trends and Culture, Weblogs



Transparency Police Bludgeon Blu-ray Backers, Backers Relent

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Oh how those faux blog-loving marketers will never learn (until, of course, they're pummeled by transparency police. Read on). Attention, marketers. Repeat after us: "The consumer is not an idiot. The consumer in not an idiot. The consumer is not..." OK? Good. Now that you're all cured, let's all revel in the glory of faux-lover supreme, our friends over at Sony who, along with several other movie studios and companies, has just launched Hollywood in Hi-Def, a site that praises the visual and aural deliciousness of high definition DVDs.

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by Steve Hall    Jul-16-07    
Topic: Bad, Brands, Weblogs



Lucky Brand Jeans Brings Back Sixties-Style Summer of Love

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We're behind on this a bit but New York's Night Agency has put together a 21st century version of a 1960's flower power, cross country tour for Lucky Brand Jeans complete with tricked out 1949 Flxble bus. The bus, which recently made its way across the country from LA, is now in New York City and will be parked in front of the Lucky Brands store at Broadway between Prince and Spring around 4PM where The Hysterics will perform if you want to check it out.

The bus will then set out to traverse the country again making stops at events such as Lollapalooza, Voodoo Music, 10,000 Lakes, Austin City limits and others throughout the summer and fall.

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by Steve Hall    Jul-13-07    
Topic: Events, Good, Video, Weblogs



Ford Sponsors Wiki-Controlled Farting Joneses

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Created by Imagine Digital Communications and produced by Baby Cow, the Ford-sponsored "daily interactive online sitcom" uses a Wiki-style website called Where Are the Joneses, which allows any viewer to change the storyline, character, setting, location or any other element of the sitcom. With all kinds of interesting scenes involving back stretch farting, we're sure this one's going to be a winner.

by Steve Hall    Jul-10-07    
Topic: Online, Strange, Video, Weblogs



McDonald's Blogs Again, Paris Hilton Teaches Branding

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- Reader's Digest has just announced it will now accept ads on its back cover in January...and cut circulation by 20 percent. Hmm. Guess things aren't going so well.

- Any iPhone spoof that has the copy, "I'm drunk as fuck and I'm driving down the Interstate" is good in our book.

- Uppity blogoshereites aren't taking kindly to McDonald's latest blogging efforts in which the junk food giant has enlisted six "mommy bloggers" to tout the wonders of carrying Big Mac in one hand and a screaming two year old in the other.

- As if teachers haven't yet been disrespected enough, The Learning Annex educational institute has offered Paris Hilton $1 million to teach budding entrepreneurs her secrets behind branding.

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by Steve Hall    Jun-29-07    
Topic: Agencies, Celebrity, Commercials, Magazine, Weblogs



Yawn. Blogosphere Up In Arms Over Microsoft Federated Media Campaign

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Oh, the horror! Here we go again. It seems the blogosphere - that square, internally mirrored box in which opinionated blowhards spew forth mindless drivel, their commentary ricocheting off the inner wails of the enclosed box for every other blogger to see and respond to while everyone else outside the box ignores it like children in a sandbox at a backyard cookout - is up in arms...up in arms, we say, over...over...wait for it...comments bloggers have made about - and as part of - Microsoft's new "people-ready" slogan.

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by Steve Hall    Jun-23-07    
Topic: Opinion, Social, Weblogs



Cannes LeFreaque'd, Pepsi Planetized, Cannes Shortlisted, Adobe Awards

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- During the Cannes Festival, AdWeek's AdFreak will be publishing LeFreaque, a blog written by jury members and general delegates who will share their experiences with readers.

- Davis Freeberg questions Forbes' and Business Week's acceptance of ads promoting a questionable penny stock.

- Pepsi shareholder launches Pepsi Planet, a site on which can find, or no apparent reason, a gallery of hot/sweet/beautiful/cute women , some posing with a Pepsi can or bottle.

- If you simply can't stand it and absolutely must know the Cannes shortlists - which are far from short - for direct, promotional, media, press, outdoor and radio, they are here.

- Win fame and publicity with Adobe's "Take Creative License" contest which will award publication in the September issue of Graphic Design USA for the designer who creates the best mash up from the Adobe Stock Photos library.

by Steve Hall    Jun-17-07    
Topic: Industry Events, Magazine, Online, Policy, Strange, Weblogs