Just Because

I have 10 unfinished drafts at various states of completion, most of them are business and academic in nature and will hopefully prove to be a good read when done. Yet at this second my mind is not in the state to construct well structured arguments and provide supporting evidence.

So instead I offer you this.

Coffee and Zombies

Its Friday morning and I just spent the better part of the night doing last second packing for the Harvest festival. There are some lessons I could have taken from this: pack days before the event, don’t leave things to the last second, always make a list etc etc… but really what is crossing my mind right now as I sit at my work desk drinking some rip off stuff from the gas station Tim Hortons is our (and my) dependence on Java and its increased importance when Zombies are involved.

[At this point some of you are likely wondering why I have two zombie posts in the same week, because I feel like one and any other topic would require grey matter which I currently don’t poses… beware grammar fail likely to be rampant].

Yahoo!, Microsoft and AOL get matching Tattoos

Microsoft and the recently troubled (and by recent I mean the last decade) Yahoo! along with AOL have entered into a Ad-selling partnership focusing on selling class two inventory (ads they would usually hire other networks to promote) on each others websites and splitting the resulting profits three ways. This new consortium is hoping this partnership will increase efficacy as well as get other ad holding companies to direct purchases towards the consortium.

The idea behind the partnership is if one of the corporations received a large order for a certain type of ad impressions they could place those ads on their partners websites without going to other networks.

ZOMBIES, RUN! (for fitness)

If there is one thing proven throughout movie history, its that zombies are the one stop cure to national obesity rates. Either you become the snack of the lumbering undead or you do the only other alternative, RUN! It dosent matter how fast or how far, just run goddammit and don’t stop with those brain munchers on your tail.

ZOMBIES, RUN! is a personal fitness game for the iPhone/touch and Android which tracks distance, calories burned and time… but more importantly has a interesting metagame which delvers a story, clues and orders via headphones (as running while reading a small screen is inadvisable to ones health) as to how survive the ongoing Zombie Apocalypse around you.

 

Adobe Flash to say !@#$!@ you Apple.

The giants of the computing software world often don’t play well together, usually just being friendly enough that the consumers don’t cry wolf and jump ship. Other times they  just say !@#!$@ it and stop their competitors from coming anywhere near their products.

E-Sports and Starcraft

Above is a high level Starcraft 2 game.

E-sport for the uninitiated is a relatively new development within the last 10 years, it is comprised of “intense” skill based competitive video-games. Think of chess on steroids, but with flashy lights and apparently groupies. For those who want a history lesson head over here. The events bring in bigger money then one would expect with $90,000 going to winners in the Starcraft 2 top tournaments, which is not including the endorsement deals and sponsorship that some of the worlds best receive especially in South Korea, the birthplace of e-sports.

Project Gutenberg – over 33,000 free ebooks

Project Gutenberg is free, no hidden costs, fees or hook. This is due to the large volunteer staff  and expired copyrights. So sitback, download a book and enjoy. There is also Project Gutenberg Canada, as well given different copyright laws per nation.

Some notables include:

The Art of War – Sunzi

Grimm’s Fairy Tales – Jacob and Wilhem Grimm

Myths and Legends of Ancient Rome and Greece – E.M Berens

The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana – Vatsyayana

The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas

I don’t think I can understate the importance of projects such as this, a extensive collection of classics at your fingertips for free. As one who believes that access to education is the great equalizer, this is a step in the right direction.

~Shane

A different take on marketing – Summerhill

Marketing is the process of communication; the way in which a message is designed, delivered and exchanged in order to create value for a consumer, client or society at large. Those who dictate their lives to this craft are the best suited to facilitate the communication of ideals, and to some extent influence actions and changes in individuals and society. It is no wonder why some view marketing as a (partial) cause of the rampant consumerist culture in which we live, and to a extent they are correct. Marketing is responsible for some of the behaviours in which as a society we engage in, both positive and negative.

However, marketing is also a field of study which is and can be used to influence for positive change. Firms from the Toronto area that spring to mind include: Manifest Communications and Summerhill Groups. The former is a excellent social marketing firm and I will likely talk about some other time, and the later is an environmentally aligned marketing group.