Novel crowdsourcing
CAPTCHA: Those funny-looking words you have to type in online to prove you're a person. Turns out they have a dual role. 1) Nixing spam. 2) Helping Carnegie Mellon U decipher words from old books that have stumped optical scanners. So far 10 million words have been figured out. That's about 150,000 books-without the need to hire tens of thousands of human workers. Sneaky. (source: Harvard Business Review, October 2009)
Oo-oo that smell...
In a new twist on their annual holiday-time Times Square pop-up potty, Charmin is recruiting bloggers. Applicants "must really, really enjoy going to the bathroom." http://www.charmin.com/en_US/enjoy-the-go/index.php
Are you a total wuss?
You could drink more milk, or buy yourself a pair of chair pants. BC Canada's take on the power of dairy http://www.theweakshop.com/ (source: Creativity)
A different approach to ED from the UK
Not cheesy. Not sleazy. Not clinical. Part of a larger series from problem through, yippee, problem solved. A sampling. (source: Creativity)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpoRnLfWyT8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKXQIlUS51s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IbM-Z5hP6A&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5LVx3TmXQE
Food value
The Affordable Nutrition Index made its debut this week at the American Dietetic Association's Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo. The ANI evaluates foods based on their nutritional bang for the buck. Some of the best values they've found are basics like broccoli and apples, as well as Campbell's low-sodium vegetable soups. This could be a huge help for people trying to build a balanced diet on a tight budget. Mayonnaise and sugary need not apply. (source: Progressive Grocer, 10/19/09)
TAFN
5% of Americans have been dumped via text message. (source: Synovate Mobile Phone Survey, October 2009)
Online, coupons matter
30% of adults won't make a purchase at an e-tailer if there's no coupon. 22% will go to a different store that does have a coupon. 8% will wait for a coupon to pop up. 38% don't look for coupons for online stores. (source: HarrisInteractive, 10.19.09)
Peatle
Kia's using doctored animal images to illustrate the traits of its vehicles. In this case the turtle-peacock stands for "safe and stylish." Interesting idea, but I know I've seen this ad and at least one of the others, but I didn't notice there was anything odd about the animals until I saw an article in MediaPost telling me that the animals were odd. And I look for this stuff. Too subtle?
Too lazy to be vegan
Cheese, leather, honey. All easy to identify and avoid. But to be truly vegan, you have to put some serious research time into every product you use. Example: Atayne's sports apparel is pretty green. It's all made from waste cotton and recycled polyester. To keep their green-wear unstinky, however, instead of silver nanoparticles, it's coated in chitosan, a chemical derived from another waste product -- shrimp and other crustacean shells. D'oh. In case you're looking for a planet friendly alternative to Patagonia, and you're not opposed to animal products in your shorts, go here http://www.atayne.com/
Go go, GTO
Volkswagen is introducing its new GTO model via an iPhone app. That is all. There's a car giveaway overlay for people who play the game-app. The game is a modified, licensed, existing game. Est. cost: $500K. Last GTO intro: $60 million. If you're interested in the details http://adage.com/article?article_id=139862 (source: Ad Age, 10/23/09)
Me, when nobody's looking
#7 viral video of the week http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z19zFlPah-o (source: Ad Age, 10/20/09)
I feel pretty
I really like this ad. Not the whole campaign, but this ad. It's been showing up for a few months in my various subscriptions, and I like it every time I see it. Maybe it's his expression. Most people don't really get much money back from Discover, but enough for a nice new shirt and tie. And sometimes, that's all you need to get back out there, feeling good about yourself. (source: National Geographic, November 2009)
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