Manic Monday: Sarah Palin's Interview

In case you missed it on Saturday Night Live...


Here's a great clip from the actual interview with Katie Couric. And Jack Cafferty's honest reaction to it.

Why does her answer remind me of a certain Miss USA finalist?

It's easy to see why the McCain Campaign is keeping the Alaskan Governor out of the media's grasp. I wonder what they're going to do on Oct. 2nd when she's slated to face Joe Biden in the first VP debate.

Is it time to "suspend" the campaign, again?

Sometimes The Grass Really Is Greener

Following up on my last post about the upside of a down economy, I came across this article about a man that has found a growth area in a recessional economy.

Apparently he makes a living by spraying the dead grass of foreclosed home's in order to make the more appealing to potential buyers. Hats off to this guy!


Takes me back to the good 'ol college days when my school would cleverly paint the grass green the week before the largest visitation weekend.


Gracias to Boing Boing

Oasis Goes Viral in the Subways of NYC

What better way to create viral buzz for you're upcoming album than to have street musicians perform the yet to be released tracks?

Oasis did just that when they hired 30 street musicians to debut their new tunes in the subway tunnels of New York City. Brilliant. They even created a YouTube channel where amateur musicians can upload their own version of Oasis jams.



Hats off to the British rockers. I haven't listened to these guys since Wonderwall and Champagne Supernova. But thanks to this little stunt, I might just have to check out "Dig Out Your Soul" on October 6th.

Cheers to Creativity

Manic Monday: Diets, Markets, and Unicorns

I wonder if B will happen before or after pigs fly?



On loan from Indexed

Get Unplugged

Sometimes our "always on, always updating" culture is a good thing. It can re-connect you with friends you never thought you'd hear from again. And it allows us to be closer than ever when it comes to knowing the intimate details of our friends' lives.

But sometimes it can become a little too consuming. You've just completed your fifth Tweet in the last 6 hours, added your 2,000th friend on Facebook, and blogged about how you're saving the world one micro loan at a time via Kiva.org.

The ironic thing is that the very tools that aim to connect us can often offer a pale substitute for the real thing. Sometimes what we really need is to put down the laptop and connect with other human beings (wait for it) in the real world.

Enter Meetup, the "world's largest network of local groups." It's a great way to find people that live in your neck of the woods who are looking to connect around a common interest.

Here's a great ad from the guys and gals at Meetup that reminds us that it's good to unplug every once in awhile.




h/t to Servant of Chaos

Finding Your One Thing

Take it from Curly, he knows what he's talking about. The most successful brands in the world got there by owning one single word or phrase in the mind of the consumer. Volvo = Safety, Google = Search, Disney = Family, Apple = Creative, BMW = Performance.

Rather than spending millions in advertising ALL of your company's points of difference from your competition. Why not, instead focus all of your efforts (product, advertising, PR, promotions, etc) on one single word?

Enter web 2.o and the power of crowdsourcing. Noah Brier, the genius behind BrandTags.net, asks visitors to play a game of word association to sum up their impressions of major brands in one word or phrase.

What a remarkably simple way to allow companies to gauge their brand's position in consumers' minds. Check it out, and be sure to add your two cents while you're there.

Manic Monday: Never Show Off Before A Fight

This guy needs a little less float like a butterfly, and a little more sting like a bee.

Get Your Blog on College Gameday

I was watching College Gameday yesterday when I saw a guy holding up a sign for his blog in several of the shots. Although the idea was brilliant, I thought he should have purchased his own URL so he didn't have to use the blogspot.com extension.



After checking it out, it turns out he couldn't have picked a better place to display his blog. It's about the life and careers of college football coaches. College Gameday on ESPN = perfect target audience for a blog like this.

It's actually a pretty interesting blog. I found out Florida's Assistant Coaches combined salaries total over $2 Million. Be sure to check it out for yourself at OldBallBlog.Blogspot.com

I have a feeling were going to see many more PR stunts for personal blogs real soon. GMA anyone?

Political Ads Galore

Are you the type of person that anxiously awaits the next smear ad released by your favorite politician? Is CNN not fulfilling your quota of mudslinging attacks?

You're in luck. The folks at Ad Freak have just launched CampaignFreak.com which aims to keep you up to date with the latest in campaign advertising.



Ah yes, there will be mud.

h/t to BrandFlakesForBreakfast

Re:thinking Your Creative

Need some creative inspiration for that presentation due first thing Friday morning? Or maybe you're researching what other thought leaders are saying about your area of expertise.

Have no fear, Slideshare is here. I've been using this site for the last six months and absolutely love it. It converts slideshows to flash so you can share your latest breakthrough idea easily and virally (think YouTube for PowerPoint presentations.)

Or if you're like me, you haven't uploaded any presentations yet, but use the site for research and inspiration. Below is one of my favorites. What a powerful way to communicate the world's mounting water crisis...

THIRST

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: design crisis)

Manic Monday: John McCain's Real Bio

In case you missed it on The Daily Show last week, the McCain campaign decided to get back to their straight talk and showed John McCain's Real Bio...



Click here to see a larger version of this epic story.

I'm So Totally, Digitally Close to You

Twittering, blogging, life-streaming, checking your Facebook multiple times a day...it's become an obsession for many, but what is it exactly and what causes it?

New York Times has a very interesting article about this "Brave New World of Digital Intimacy." Clive Thompson takes a look at our hyperconnected online culture and how social media is changing the way we communicate and interact in the real world.

From Tumblr to FriendFeed, many tech saavy individuals have up to the minute newsflashes on the most minute details of their "friend's" lives. Chances are if you're reading this blog, you count yourself among this growing community.

As much of a buzz that social media is today, many have predicted in the not so distant future social networks will be as ubiquitous as air. Your entire online experience will be a part of one giant social network.

To be sure, we're only beginning to see the impact of publicly displaying our social graph online for the world to see. I for one and pumped about how it can enhance our day to day interactions.

Think about the next time you attend a high school reunion. Rather than asking what your former classmates have been up to over the last decade, you'll already know about their trip to Europe.

Instead of awkward conversation starters, you'll anxiously ask them to fill in the details behind that crazy night in Prague who's pictures showed up in your Facebook News Feed a few months ago. I digress.

But back to Thompson's article. If you're reading this, I think you'll really enjoy reading that.

Microsoft Launches Another Dud

I don't get it. Microsoft is launching a $300 million campaign to counter Apple's Get a Mac ads as well as try to bolster Vista's image in the wake of a lackluster launch. That part I get.

But this...



...this confuses me. I don't see how one second from this minute and a half commercial does anything to promote one aspect of Vista OS or Microsoft for that matter.

Am I missing something?

Update: I Have A New Blog Design!

Dear Loyal Readers,

Some of you may subscribe in a RSS Reader, many of you may read my blog posts on Facebook, and still there are some of you that visit JohninOrlando.com to read my latest banter.

This post is aimed at the latter of that mix. In exchange for your extra efforts to visit JohninOrlando.com I have updated things a bit.

So swing by and check it out. Leave me a comment to let me know your thoughts on the new layout.

Thanks!
John

Manic Monday: The Economy According to a Repo Man

I guess there really are two sides to every coin. As Stephen Colbert shares how a bad economy is good news for at least one industry in particular: repossessions.



Poor hearing aid guy.