The Wall Street Journal (paid sub. req.) invited the authors of two high-profile books on the Web to an email debate. In one corner, Andrew Keen, who wrote The Cult of the Amateur, argues the Web has become overwhelmed with useless noise. David Weinberger, author of Everything is Miscellaneous, argues that Web 2.0 tools let users filter out irrelevant (or inaccurate) information. Go David Go! We are amateurs on the …
Michael Vick, The Face Of A Brand, Is Indicted. What Now?
Here in Atlanta, it's the biggest story going: Michael Vick's indictment for allegedly running a dog-fighting operation is the talk of the town. Why? Because he's the $130 million man for the Falcons. The face of the franchise. And he's equally loved and hated around here. He's put butts into seats, brought excitement to a team that never had much, but hasn't quite lived up to his potential. And now all this. He's …
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Absolut’s Spirited Cause
Absolut Vodka is creating a special-edition flavored vodka to honor New Orleans, and the proceeds will go to Gulf Coast charities, the company announced Wednesday. Absolut made the announcement and previewed the mango-with-black-pepper flavor at the annual New Orleans culinary festival, Tales of the Cocktail. Absolut New Orleans, which goes on sale Aug. 1, commemorates the second anniversary on Aug. 29 of Hurricane …
Give It Away Now
According to Advertising Age, Sean Finnegan is leaving his post as U.S. director of digital at OMD to become the CEO of Omnicom Media Group Digital, a new unit that oversees all of Omnicom's media entities, such as OMD, PHD and Fuse Sports & Entertainment. In a 2006 interview, the 35-year-old Mr. Finnegan said digital simply can't be siloed anymore. "Back in the dot-com heyday, it was an art form for the digital …
The Perils of Contextual Advertising
Flickr Becomes Free Stock House
You know how credit is never given in an ad? Well, no more. The above print ad from Virgin Mobile gives credit to the photographer, which is especially nice since Virgin did not pay for the image. Their agency found it on Flickr and published it under a Creative Commons license. While this is an interesting idea, there are a few problems with it. One, neither the models nor the phtotographers were contacted, thus no …
Buzz Loses Some Sting
Nielsen Buzz Metrics is stripping some of the gloss from the fledgling field of Viral and Buzz Marketing. According to their latest findings, high blog interest, or buzz, around new product launches is tightly linked to paid media spending. “Splintering media sources along with emerging consumer-generated media are challenging one-way, mass-media advertising models,” said Robert Mooth, vice president of product …
MediaBistro Cashes Its Check
MediaBistro.com is one of the more useful web properties in my sphere. So I'm pleased to see its founder, Laurel Touby, cash in. According to The New York Times, Jupitermedia of Darien, CT has agreed to pay $23 million for the site. “This company is a true Internet success story,” Ms. Touby said. “This started as an offline community, a cocktail party, that turned into this Web site that actually makes money.” …
