• ONLINE SPIN
    The Problem With Full Disclosure Is That It's Not
    In this age of transparency, it seems everyone with a voice in the blogosphere or mainstream media feels compelled to provide "full disclosure" of any possible conflict of interest. Here lies the problem: The idea of full disclosure is deceivingly straightforward, yet it's never unequivocally factual or transparent. In almost every case I've witnessed, full disclosure is subjective. Therefore, the term is an oxymoron.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Will TiVo Win TV's Future?
    For those trying to understand what television looks like in a digital, IP-driven, networked future, today's announcement that TiVo and Netflix have finally teamed up is a big step. Could TiVo's carriage of Netflix movies give the company a significant "leg up" in its long-fought battle to be a key entertainment "platform" in the homes of television viewers? Maybe.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Confessions Of A Twitter-aholic (Who Likes Marketing)
    I finally understand what Twitter is all about! For the last year I've resisted Twitter because I didn't understand the attraction. I didn't understand what all the hype was about and I didn't understand why anyone would want to continuously update the world about what they were doing. More importantly, who would want to hear from me throughout the course of the day? It seemed intrusive and unnecessary. Then I signed up and started using it (thanks to Ryan Swagar -- it's all his fault). Now I realize that Twitter is fun for all ages!
  • ONLINE SPIN
    The Importance Of Brand
    Given that we can't see the bottom of our current economic crisis, the last thing we want to hear is talk of another bubble that has yet to burst. But John Gerzema and Ed Lebar have put together compelling research that argues we're in the midst of a "brand bubble" in their book "The Brand Bubble: The Looming Crisis in Brand Value and How to Avoid It." The basis of this bubble is that while key brand metrics (consumers' opinions of the value of a brand) have been steadily decreasing, corporations have continued to see an increase in the total …
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Come On, Show Me: Adaptive Brand Personality In Times of Change
    "Personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures." -- F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Great Gatsby" I was reminded this quote midstream in my current read, "All Consuming Images," by Stuart Ewen, as he referenced it to lead a chapter. In this work, Ewen examines the politics of style in contemporary culture: representation and value; the nuanced relationship between art and commerce; style as business device. The facets and paths of his exploration are many, and I will be coming back to them, over time. I'm quite taken with where the read has taken me so far. This revisited quotation got …
  • ONLINE SPIN
    RIP Good Times: The Cleansing Begins
    I had a brief conversation this week with a close friend and colleague in the online advertising industry. Like everyone else, we shared sentiments in our quest to make some sense of the economic and political turbulence around us. Here's where I stand today....
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Talking About Talent At Stream 08
    I recently attended "Stream 08," an "un-conference" in Greece co-hosted by Sir Martin Sorrell of WPP and Yossi Vardi. Yossi, one of the world's best and most prominent technology investors and entrepreneurs, is famous for his un-conferences, which are basically open-source events where all of the participants are expected not only to listen and engage with speakers, but to be presenters as well. Since you can't just be a sponge at one of these events, but must contribute as well, I led a small session on recruiting and retaining talent in start-up companies.The group came up with some great insights …
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Bad Credit And Online Advertising
    The credit crisis is having a very obvious impact on the global economy, as anyone can see from a day-to-day observation of the stock market -- but there are some less obvious points of impact that may affect our business, as well. Simply put: Clients and agencies need to stop delaying payment on their bills. It is unprofessional and fast becoming an even greater problem than it used to be.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Marketers: Fire Your Agency If...
    The economy is in trouble. Reaching people through marketing more efficiently will be more important than ever. Marketers, if your agency does not attempt innovative approaches to achieve a greater impact for your marketing efforts, fire them. Agencies, if your clients tie your hands and limit your ability to test new methods in search of higher returns for marketing efforts, quit. Both will put you (marketer or agency) in situations where waste happens because it's "safer" to spend money the way we know how. And waste is something you cannot afford in a slowing economy
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Sweating Our Options:The Life And Times Of Media Mix
    On many personal and professional levels, we in the media business remember every step of the celebrated rise of the Internet in the early part of the century. Starting in 1993, I was in the Bay Area, where I would remain for 11 years, covering and then working within or running media and technology enterprises. These were formative years across the board. And, when it came to our media agency initiatives, they were getting evermore interesting, as interactive platforms advanced. There was an ethos of testing and learning with new media and emerging methods. This extended moment in time essentially …
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