I'm an entrepreneur with a passion for disruptive social technology. My life's mission is to use the Internet to help empower people to "Be The Change".
I love this ad. It’s on brand, simple and still totally unexpected. The type of ad that you want to share with your friends (I sure did). Crispin Porter Bogusky have done a great job, once again. Except this time the ad was rejected by Groupon - the client. Yeah, I know crazy right, but wait there’s more.
So, I did a little digging and apparently the ad was “rejected” because it almost exactly mirrored the Super Bowl ad created by Groupon’s biggest competitor, LivingSocial. Now, is it just me, or does that seem like a very unlikely coincidence? Maybe I am being overly skeptical, or maybe this is an ingenious plan to steal LivingSocial’s Super Bowl thunder. Think about it.
I guess we won’t know until we actually get to see both ads and review the post-mortem in the days and weeks to come.
What do you think, coincidence or strategy?
Mobile Year In Review 2010.
When I listen to Suheir Hammad recite her poetry, I am left speechless. It grounds me deep into my roots, but at the same lifts my soul higher than the tallest mountains. Her words cut right through and mess around with parts of me I never even knew existed. Who is this stranger and how did she get so close?
Amazing how art can connect two complete strangers so intimately. Sure, Suheir doesn’t have the slightest clue who I, or any of the thousands of TED.com viewers watching her spoken word poetry are, but I believe true artists can feel the presence and sentiments of their fans, despite the seeming limitations of time and space.
Think through the seat of your soul, not with your finite mind and you will see where true intimacy originates.
Social Media Week is the perfect time to kick things off for GenYTO in 2011. We invite you to come out and see old friends, meet new people and have a great time. The last GenYTO meetup had over 350 people, so make sure to get your tickets today!
Proceeds from the night’s event will be donated to THE STOP community food center in Toronto’s West end.
Teppanyaki with the FreshBooks crew.
Art, In the Most Unlikely of Places
I really like this idea. John Morse of Atlanta, Georgia is manipulating art and copy through his Roadside Haiku project. He is sneaking his poetry into the most unlikely of places - roadside advertisements. You know the ones you see at every street corner that say things like “Lose 20 lbs in 20 days Call Now” or “Pot Lights” or “Earn Extra $$$ Fast”.
What I find most interesting about this video is John’s enthusiasm for such an unassuming and simple social project. Will Roadside Haiku change the world? Probably not, but will John’s exuberance and zeal permeate and infect others? I am certain it already has.
This video of legendary fashion blogger Scott Schuman, aka, The Sartorialist reminds me that sometimes your greatest asset can be your lack of knowledge.
The secret to success is easier than we want to believe. The human brain has a notorious reputation for over complicating the simplest of activities. I am not sure why exactly, but am certain of this fact. I believe the secret to success is simple: Consistently doing what others know they should do, but are not willing to do. That’s it!
Now, notice that I didn’t say “success is simple”, but rather the path to success. The actual actions required to attain success are by definition full of challenges. I don’t know about you, but waking up at 5am to go to the gym is not a task that comes easy to me. Easy would be hitting the snooze button and crawling back into my warm cozy bed. The latter option is the more popular choice and also the reason most people don’t have “successful” bodies.
It is easy to agree with people and avoid confrontation. It is easy to stay in a relationship with someone you are comfortable with, despite no longer being in-love with them. It’s a walk in the park to eat whatever you like and veg out in front of the television all weekend long. Now ask yourself if these activities are aligned with your definition of “successful living”? I would sincerely hope your answer is a decisive “no!”. However, the truth of the matter is that for the majority of people this is life. They know what they need to do, but are not willing to do it, which is entirely different from not being able to do it. Said differently, successful living is consistently doing what others know they should do, but are not willing to do.
To succeed in life you will need to break away from the tyranny of the masses and find a way to differentiate yourselves. This will be difficult because you will be doing so at the expense of societal and peer acceptance.
In a world of absolutes would you rather be liked by everyone because you fit in perfectly or risk being hated because you chose to think and act independently?
Baffling Billboard of the Day: It was only a matter of time before a Pakistani marketing firm slapped the word “WikiLeaks” on a billboard ad for Butterfly maxipads.
RG Blue Communications Karachi Art director Munir Bhatti explains: “I could have also shown a girl like other ads have. But the idea was to make it very different and to use the word WikiLeaks—and that’s what this is.”
Our motto at FreshBooks is simple, treat customers like good friends. A customer anniversary is equivalent to a friends birthday and what is a birthday without a birthday cake?
![thedailywhat:
Baffling Billboard of the Day: It was only a matter of time before a Pakistani marketing firm slapped the word “WikiLeaks” on a billboard ad for Butterfly maxipads.
RG Blue Communications Karachi Art director Munir Bhatti explains: “I could have also shown a girl like other ads have. But the idea was to make it very different and to use the word WikiLeaks—and that’s what this is.”
Indeed.
[adfreak.]](http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ldj49b4Td61qzpwi0o1_500.jpg)
