[ caught In between ] b.s.: 06/01/2006 - 07/01/2006

Tuesday, June 27, 2006
1. datetime
  1. {06272006}
  2. {02:10:18 PM}
  content
  1. Rap Mogul's Boycott of Cristal Champagne Unlikely to Hurt Brand
    
    (Advertising Age)
  2. Rapper and Def Jam Records President Jay-Z's much-hyped boycott of Cristal isn't likely to cost the vintage champagne brand any dead presidents, according to beverage industry experts.
    
    Who knew 'trifling' was spelled 'J-A-Y-Z'? This is what bruthas with money do: boycott companies that make $200 bottles of champagne, because that really matters. It's going to make a big impact -- in the make-believe world of rap videos. Maybe entertainers should really just stick to, well, entertainment.
  metadata
  1. 02:10:18 PM
  categories
  1. keywords:
  2. economics
  3. entertainment
  4. tags:
  5. jay-z
  6. hip-hop
  7. cristal
  type
  
  {atompost}
Sunday, June 25, 2006
1. datetime
  1. {06252006}
  2. {07:50:11 PM}
  content
  1. Clowns Sabotage Nuke Missile
    
    (military.com)
  2. [A] retired Catholic priest and two veterans put on clown suits, busted into a nuclear missile launch facility, and began beating the silo cover with hammers, in an attempt to take the Minuteman III missile off-line. Seriously.
    
    Well, if clowns can run the most powerful country in the world, then I guess clowns can easily break into a nuclear weapons facility. Seriously.
  metadata
  1. 07:50:11 PM
  categories
  1. keywords:
  2. humor
  3. government
  type
  
  {atompost}
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
1. datetime
  1. {06142006}
  2. {10:04:00 AM}
  content
  1. Magazine Chief Calls Ad Industry Racist
    
    (Advertising Age)
  2. "A general-market agency will have one or two African-Americans or Latinos on staff to represent that point of view, but essentially they believe African-Americans and Latinos are white people in black skin. They put black and Latino faces in an ad and say, 'Hey, we advertise to them.' At an ethnic agency, we live in the communities; we know the populations."
    
    The reasons given for this problem are stale and typical (ie. but we have one Black person on staff, or but we produced a spot starring P.Diddy -- or whatever his name is this week.) Black ad professionals can't move up the ladder at so-called traditional firms. So they start their own firms, which is the rational thing to do, only find that they can't get clients to spend with them. The more things change, the more they stay the same: but let's be clear about this, it's not just the advertising industry, it's the entire culture. But things will change, rest assured.
  metadata
  1. 10:04:00 AM
  categories
  1. keywords:
  2. marketing and advertising
  3. racism
  4. tags:
  5. media
  6. business
  type
  
  {atompost}
Friday, June 09, 2006
1. datetime
  1. {06102006}
  2. {06:35:32 AM}
  content
  1. Why Getting the User To Create Web Content Isn't Always Progress
    
    (WSJ.com)
  2. "[U]ser-generated content," referred to by the smart set as "UGC." Most of the time, when companies talk about user-generated content, they mean nothing grander than the pictures you store on Web sites or the pages that MySpace members spend hours fussing over. But for those preaching the glories of the new mash-up culture, UGC is bringing about a new golden age, with the Internet giving a platform to everyone, not just elite writers or filmmakers.
    
    While this guy has a few keen observations here, he does come off sounding like a bitter, old-school newpaper guy who's worried about all the eyeballs that are no longer reading his paper. Another clueless guy from the MSM. (Hey, journalists have to eat too, so I hope newspapers find a way to reinvent themselves.) But what's really lost on him is one of most important reasons why users would create content in the first place: because the so-called elite filmmakers and writers aren't creating material that people truly care about. Now maybe this is because the suits make production decisions based on revenue potential, and their artistic taste is deplorably inferior -- I'm sure there's a grain of truth to that -- but hasn't it always been the case that the money guys give the greenlight?
    
    The real problem is lack of compelling, interesting, and universal ideas in the first place. Elites, where art thou? Examine the all-too-rapid decline of HBO's The Sopranos, look at the crap that was the last three Star Wars epics, pick any book off of the bestseller list of your choice: all garbage, no timeless classic anywhere to be found. So, if the elites are producing garbage, all in pursuit making a buck, then UGC seems like a rational step to fill a void created by the overflow of commercial garbage content manufactured by the so-called elite. Morever, if all the so-called elite can do is crank out garbage, then why should ordinary users be expected to do better? That this guy refers to a programme created in 1966 as an example of guilt-free quality content attests to the fact that the contemporary so-called elite isn't delivering anything worthwile. At least when they're tinkering with the digital age's equivalent of home movies, users are doing something constructive. The so-called elite needs to give users reasons to remain passive, and right now, they don't have the will or are simply not capable of doing that.
    
    b/w: Scripting News
  metadata
  1. 06:35:32 AM
  categories
  1. keywords:
  2. cyberculture
  3. internet
  type
  
  {atompost}
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
1. datetime
  1. {06062006}
  2. {12:37:29 PM}
  content
  1. Vote Or Whatever! Manifesto
  2. Do you remember the last presidential election? It was more than an election...[t]he tastemakers and the trend-setters were totally into it, and let the rest of us know that voting was a really cool thing to do...[A]t Vote or Whatever...we wish to encourage people to vote. Second, we wish to mock opportunistic celebrities.
    
    This one seems appropriate on this day. Not only is it "666" Day, for all you gah-damned satanic fools, but it's also Election Day. Coincidence, or just another marketing opportunity? Think again, Old Boy.
  metadata
  1. 12:37:29 PM
  categories
  1. keywords:
  2. popular culture
  3. politics
  4. tags:
  5. elections
  6. voting
  7. parody
  8. red+state
  9. blue+state
  type
  
  {atompost}