December 2011
0 posts
CollegeHumor Staff Blog: CollegeHumor Needs a... →
collegehumor:
Alright Tumblr, we found one AMAZING fall intern on here. Let’s see what you’ve got for us this time!
Is TheDailyWhat your primary news source? Do you tweet more interesting things than what you just ate? Do you actually understand the new facebook newsfeed? Cool, let’s help you…
October 2011
2 posts
1 tag
My deliberately provocative deck from MeetDraw's... →
lots of awesomeness here, long but fairly fast read
Posted with Percolate
July 2011
3 posts
6 tags
Video: What Is Google+ And Do I Need It?
via youtube.com Two months without a single post, so why not get back in with something nice and easy. Right? Right. Besides, I guess I have a good excuse- got married, went on an amazing honeymoon, and have spent most of my time since then trying to figure out what it is I do again. Anyway, I figure many people are having similar internal debates abt Google+ now though I doubt it’s as...
May 2011
1 post
5 tags
#Planningness2011: What I Learned And Thoughts For...
Back in the office after yet another incredibly inspiring Planningness, thanks to the tireless efforts of Mark and Claire, as well as the long list of fantastic and truly brilliant speakers. Though I think they learned their lesson by asking me to speak last time, and wisely chose not to this time around (kidding…I think). Anyway, lots of people with very different backgrounds and...
April 2011
1 post
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#PSFK2011: Post-Conference Thoughts And Some...
This past Friday, I was fortunate enough (along with a crew of fellow Arnold planner types) to be able to attend the PSFK conference in NYC. As you’ve probably heard already, an awesome day filled with lots of inspiring talks and panels with amazing people. It was my first time being able to attend any of the PSFK sessions, despite wanting to go the past few years something always seemed...
March 2011
1 post
7 tags
#newpresentation: Brands And Digital Culture-- It...
In late February, I was invited out to the Olin School of Business @ Washington University in St Louis to speak at a new marketing seminar series they’ve just started this school year. (Full disclosure, the professor in question who invited me is my father, and I’m still not sure if I deserved the privilege on my own merits. But was glad to get the chance to meet and speak with...
February 2011
1 post
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Infographic: How Obama Invested in 2009
via mint.com Nice way of breaking things down in a clear and fairly transparent way (though I’m sure people will complain that it’s only a ‘range’ rather than exact amounts). Wonder if other members of gov (or 2012 candidates) would be willing to disclose the same? Posted via email from avin narasimhan | Comment »
January 2011
1 post
8 tags
WeTransfer Just May Be A Worthy Drop.io Successor
Not too long after the announcement broke that facebook had acquired drop.io (and subsequently the latter would no longer be accepting new drops), I along with many others felt a bit frustrated by the sudden lack of (good) file transfer options. Have never really had a good experience with Yousendit, so that didn’t really seem like an option. But then WeTransfer quietly bubbled up, without...
December 2010
2 posts
12 tags
Pre-Holiday Reading: Most Contagious 2010
The latest installment of Contagious Magazine’s ‘Most Contagious’ is out, and always is full of inspiring ideas and work. Particularly enjoyed section 08 on Gaming, and not surprisingly, Angry Birds gets its fair share of time (hate it or love it, it’s hard to deny that it’s taken hold of an unhealthy amount of many people’s time). Full pres is worth...
12 tags
Pre-Holiday Reading: Most Contagious 2010
The latest installment of Contagious Magazine’s ‘Most Contagious’ is out, and always is full of inspiring ideas and work. Particularly enjoyed section 08 on Gaming, and not surprisingly, Angry Birds gets its fair share of time (hate it or love it, it’s hard to deny that it’s taken hold of an unhealthy amount of many people’s time). Full pres is worth...
November 2010
2 posts
Erin Bury's random musings: My problem with... →
good post, felt this way for a long time but never quite captured it so succinctly
erinbury:
I have a blogging problem.
My problem isn’t a lack of ideas, or that I can’t construct the sentences eloquently or succinctly. I’m a journalism grad and a lifelong writer, so that part of it comes easily to me. And in terms of ideas? Well I am bombarded with amazing startups, articles and...
9 tags
The (Ongoing) Evolution Of The Planner Career Path
Ever since returning from Planning-ness, have been thinking a bit about how much the planning career path has changed. Not just the substance of what planning is/does, which has been written/talked about extensively by people far smarter than I, so I won’t try and reinvent the wheel on that part. But what’s interesting to me is how planners today move through their careers, and how...
October 2010
2 posts
6 tags
Walmart Sneaking Into Groupon Territory?
Caught this today on facebook, and attempting to break a weeks long post drought. Anyway, don’t recall hearing much about it but seems Walmart is quietly getting into the group buying game: I guess if it were any other company I’d wonder why they didn’t go the route of partnering up with Groupon and leverage and existing loyal base of fans. But, given that it’s Walmart,...
Reflection + Implications: Rethinking Mobile For...
Back at the office in Boston, and clearing my head after 2 awesome days in Denver at Planning-ness. Yet again feel like I learned so much more than I can possibly process just yet. Thanks to Mark and Claire (not to mention my favorite Brit, Gareth, for having client conflicts that opened up a spot :-) (sorry dude, we missed you)), I was incredibly lucky to have the chance to present and work...
September 2010
3 posts
What defines "closeness" in relationships these...
As many of the 12 or so of you who read my ramblings here on a regular basis may know, I got engaged to my amazing girlfriend of 4+ years this past weekend. It was a whirlwind experience, highly emotional, and altogether filled with pure awesomeness. It’s one of those experiences that is simultaneously highly personal (proposal between she and I) and yet incredibly collective as well...
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#greatpresentationsof2010: The Awareness Fallacy
Caught this interesting pres from Mark Lester earlier today (via Propagation Planning by Griffin Farley). Smart and concise, it directly addresses the issue many of us have with the over reliance (both on client side as well as agency side) on awareness as a key measure of success. I’ve always felt like this was a tremendously limited metric (and part of a larger, flawed process ie...
7 tags
#techdream: The Future of Screens In 2014
via gizmodo.com This is a truly amazing video put together by the good people at The Astonishing Tribe on what our future screens might look and act like. I’m now going to be dissatisfied with every piece of technology I buy until it comes close to resembling this. Thanks a lot guys. But seriously, well worth a watch, pretty incredible to imagine the possibilities. And reminds you...
August 2010
4 posts
9 tags
TedTalks: The Beauty + Power Of Data Visualization
via ted.com Seems like everyday there is someone offering up the latest infographic of the day or a new take on data visualization to wow your senses. But, not surprisingly, this Ted Talk courtesy of David McCandless is quite an amazing and inspiring display of data visualization unlike most others. Particularly impressed with the selection of data sets he works through (from media interest...
9 tags
Results Are In: 2010 Planner Survey
via illchangeyourlife.wordpress.com Yet another great + revealing pack of planner stats from Heather LeFevre. Particularly like the addition of a fairly robust section on freelance planners and their thoughts on the pros/cons. Gives you something to think about if you’ve tossed around the idea as I have. Also a bit frustrating to see that the largest part of planner work, 73%, seems...
10 tags
Map Of The Social Web: 2007 - 2010
The smart folks over at Flowtown have recreated the original map of the social web for today’s current digital landscape. Interesting to put them next to each other- not surprisingly, it’s quite literally a different world. Wonder if we’ll see the same total shift in another 3 years. Probably a safe guess, and a good reminder that what’s important isn’t the hot item...
12 tags
#greatpresentationsof2010: Starbucks On Social...
This deck (and video of the keynote, included below) have been making the rounds over the past few days, but thought it was worth sharing here as well (and a semi-decent way to break a new business induced post drought, I suppose). Concise and to the point, but probably the most important idea to me comes on slide 10: Social fits within a larger digital, and integrated strategy Simple...
July 2010
7 posts
12 tags
The Bucket Brigade Has Been Funded. Congrats...
Not much more to say than what I already have. Awesome. Posted via email from avin narasimhan | Comment »
12 tags
Comedic Genius: Mel Gibson vs Old Spice Man
This has to be one of the best mashups I’ve seen in a long time. From the talented people at smallpoppy, very well done and the timing is brilliant. Good thing is they had plenty of material to choose from, not just Gibson’s rants but also from the 180+ videos coming out of the brilliant Old Spice responses idea. Parodies often tear down a brand but in this case Old Spice can...
12 tags
Have You Backed The Bucket Brigade Yet?
Last week, I finally got around to backing Bud Caddell’s excellent idea for a new book, The Bucket Brigade. Seems like everyone has weighed in at some point or another with their thoughts on why they are backing it and why the idea makes all the sense in the world, so I won’t spend time repeating what others far smarter than I have said in far smarter ways. But what I did want to...
12 tags
Genius: Old Spice Even Responds To Removed...
We’ve all been hearing and talking about the brilliance of Old Spice’s latest effort today, so I’ll try not to add to much to the echo chamber right now. But I just caught this vid that I think says a lot— taking the time to make a personal response even to a comment that was removed? Priceless. Job very well done to all involved, though clearly you already knew...
13 tags
iPhone Fan vs PhoneMart Employee
via sethgray.posterous.com Another hilarious production made possible by xtranormal. This is one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while, and absolutely worth reposting. As much as I fall into Apple fanboy mentality sometimes, stuff like this is a good reminder to shake you back to reality of how annoying it can be to those who don’t buy into the madness (for more on that,...
11 tags
Last Minute Airport Movie Downloading Made Easier
Just noticed this for the first time. While boarding a flight in Portland earlier this week, caught this smart and seemingly simple idea near the gate. Best I can tell, it appeared to be the product of a company called FSH, and surprisingly enough not connected to Netflix, Blockbuster or any other more widespread rental/streaming company (or in blockbusters case, perhaps not that surprising after...
June 2010
6 posts
8 tags
#greatpresentationsof2010: Rethinking The Creative...
via brandflakesforbreakfast.com Great presentation from Jasmin Cheng over at Twist Image. Clearly lays out some of the major issues around creative briefs many of us are dealing with today and some ideas around how to fix them. Particularly agree with point 6— I’ve always found the end result is better when briefs are created collaboratively with input from multiple sources....
7 tags
Write The Future: (RED), Nike, And The End Of Aids
Incredible new work from Nike Football and (RED). Mentioned here a few times before that I had the opportunity to work with the folks at (RED) during my time at Modernista, and even though I’ve since moved on from the agency, it’s a brand and a social mission I’m happy to support and look forward to seeing more momentum from. Good to see a major push of this scale to get...
8 tags
Google Celebrates Father's Day Without Being...
via youtube.com The latest in the generally great Search Stories series from Google. And another great example of the enduring power of film in creating and sharing stories. While I’m not a father and perhaps can’t relate exactly to the tension and emotion being conveyed, think it’d be hard not to feel something from this no matter who you are. Well done, yet again. ...
9 tags
Snapple's Biggest Lunch Table Tour
See and download the full gallery on posterous Caught this just outside the Prudential Center this afternoon while running out for a quick moment of sunshine. Wasn’t sure if it was a big effort happening elsewhere, and google didn’t reveal much other than Snapple’s own FB status letting Bean residents know it was coming and a few twitpics from people who’ve seen it...
10 tags
How Not To Suck At Banner Ads-- Uniqlo Breaks It...
via mediabistro.com Just the latest in a string of awesomeness from Uniqlo. It’s not often that banner ads do something other than clutter up and derail user experience on your site. While you could argue even this example is still a bit noisy, can’t argue the fact that it appears to have worked, and clearly added to rather than taking away from site experience. Nice example...
9 tags
Zipcar And Startup Culture
I’ve always had a lot of love for Zipcar, both as a very satisfied customer, and as an admirer of the way they’ve built their business from the ground up. Got this email from them today and not surprisingly it’s another brilliant idea. Recognizing their place in local entreprenuerial circles, they’re sponsoring MassChallenge, a great competition among startups to give...
May 2010
10 posts
10 tags
Infographic: Coffee Shops As Economic Indicators
Seems like everyday there are a slew of new stories that could tell you very different things about the state of the economy. At the beginning of May, confidence in the economy seemed to be up along with a sense of optimism, but by the end of may, reports are out that spending/incomes are down and so is our confidence. And around and around we go. Interesting infographic from Mint...
9 tags
Visual Story Of The Gulf Oil Spill
Leaving political commentary or tirades about BP aside, I think one thing we can all agree on is that the oil spill in the gulf is something that will fundamentally change many aspects of our culture and the future direction of the country for some time to come. But my guess is for many people, grasping exactly how much so is a bit difficult unless you’ve seen it live. And personally...
14 tags
Tapping The Crowd To Rename Crowdsourcing
(found via @agencyspy) Interesting project from 99Designs and Genius Rocket. Agree with where they are coming from— I’ve often felt that the label crowdsourcing has become so overused and so weighed down with baggage, that people often seem to react as much to the word these days as they do to the concept behind it. I’m not sure renaming it is really going to solve the...
7 tags
@UnitedAirlines Tries To Celebrate Twares-- But...
Talk about squandering a good opportunity. Quick background— United Airlines recently started running a contest to celebrate the 1st birthday of Twares, their weekly fare deal exclusively on Twitter. Seems straightforward enough right? A good idea that gives people a reason to actually follow this brand, and which provides real value for those who do. But, then you get to the rules page (or...
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Taking A Smart Approach To Crowdsourcing
Came across this smart presentation (via @paulisakson) from the folks at UK co-creation agency Face, which lays out some good points around how you may best crowdsource ideas, and set the right environment for good results. Simple and straightforward bits to remember, yet which are so often forgotten. A few of my favorite points/quotes (the presentation is well worth a read in full. Concise...
12 tags
Infographic: Brands With The Most Social Employees
Interesting bit of data (and visualization) from Flowtown. Guess it’s not all too surprising that Microsoft checks in at the top spot given the size of their workforce and the obvious connectivity (in fact I’d be surprised if their employees weren’t at least somewhat connected and networked). Would be even more interesting if we were able to see this broken down by dept...
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Southwest And The Little Things That Matter
Got this email from Southwest after flying with them a few days ago: I never really used to like Southwest (namely because of the herding cattle boarding process), but have been increasingly impressed with them (and judging by recent financial performance, I’m obviously not the only one). It’s a relatively small thing, to track when customers fly and follow up, but as far as I...
11 tags
Google Upgrades To A Decision Engine. Your Move,...
via googleblog.blogspot.com By now you may have seen that Google has begun rolling out a slew of new features and additions to it’s search functionality worldwide. Though they may have been in the works for a bit, timing wise it seems like a direct response to some of Bing’s claims of superiority. Personally I was never blown away by Bing to begin with, but given Google’s...
12 tags
Post-Conference Hangover: Thoughts on (half of)...
This past weekend was my first time at ROFLcon, and it was a fantastic event. Have to caveat this post by saying that, unfortunately, I was only able to attend day 2 of ROFLcon due to a rather crazy week at the office. But half a conference was absolutely still worth the price of admission. Met some great people, saw some ridiculously smart folks on panels throughout the day (the highlight was...
April 2010
12 posts
11 tags
record college enrollment + the need for financial...
Found it pretty uplifting to see that college enrollment is at an all-time high (since the Bureau of Labor Statistics starting tracking it). Not to put a damper on this (well, I guess Seth Godin already did with his piece on what he sees as the coming downfall in higher ed), but I wonder if this also means future generations can look forward to racking up the highest debt levels in recent history...
8 tags
Domino's gets epically spoofed
</object> There are plenty of spoofs out there made by a couple of dudes in a basement with a flip cam, and then there’s stuff like this. Could argue it’s a bit overproduced for a spoof, but the result is entertaining nonetheless. The end is definitely unexpected and slightly disturbing, but have to give them points for creativity. I’d be curious to be a fly on the wall...
11 tags
NYT proves newspapers relevance...with a TV spot?
via mediabistro.com By now you’ve likely seen this spot the NYT produced in response to the WSJ launching it’s own New York focused offering. In and of itself, the spot isn’t bad, honestly. What’s slightly strange to me is the fact that, as the newspaper industry is struggling to prove its relevance in a new era, the NYT felt the best way to get its point across was...