tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215174662024-03-07T05:56:10.411-08:00Mickeleh's TakeMichael Markman's Take on Media, Marketing, & TechnologyMichael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.comBlogger338125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-42329794547059114722014-01-23T12:29:00.001-08:002014-01-23T12:29:47.225-08:00Let's Play: Stoned ScrabbleIn 1975 some smart and funny friends joined me in a game of Bluffer's Scrabble. Rules: You have to make up the words. You have to define them. Fortunately I kept a record of the game in a notebook. Here's my reconstruction.<br /><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/LGWBd8bSzaU" width="480"></iframe>Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-43906933119735365352014-01-17T13:41:00.001-08:002014-01-17T13:41:27.603-08:00How is a marsupial vagina like a New York City high school?<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/xarJL047Slk" width="480"></iframe>Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-86389981824691383722014-01-03T07:56:00.001-08:002014-01-03T07:56:15.162-08:00Two Minutes about NewspapersFirst Video of the Year. It's on a new collaboration channel called Collaba-DingDong.<br />
When New York had a dress rehearsal for a world without newspapers.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Ox3yRMB3z14" width="480"></iframe>Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-8469201823269982902013-01-26T05:33:00.001-08:002013-01-26T05:33:10.715-08:00MoviesIn the movie business, a few very gifted artists manage to surf the waves of a stormy ocean of commerce. But most of what floats on those waves is dead fish.Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-52033176369110589002012-05-09T05:28:00.000-07:002012-05-09T05:28:12.087-07:00"The Avengers" vs. Porn<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="246" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rWBtmQpwLBw" width="400"></iframe>Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-28445730057324536772012-05-07T22:20:00.000-07:002012-05-09T05:18:32.307-07:001944<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of my early Apple projects has just made its way to YouTube. It was a World War II movie made for the Apple International Sales Conference in the summer of 1984. Embedding is disabled, by you can find it here: <a href="http://youtu.be/DJ5ynBA1UIc" target="_blank">1944</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's the backstory. (Also check out Paul McNamara's account at <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/how-jobs-fdr-film-was-made-and-chaplin-cameo-wasnt" target="_blank">Buzzblog</a>.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The film was produced by Image Stream, an L.A. based audio-visual company where I worked as creative director. The company was run by Chris Korody and his brother Tony.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Image Stream's and my association with Apple dates to 1979. We had been involved in producing audio-visual modules and stage productions for Apple sales conferences and product introductions—including the 1983 sales conference where Macintosh was first shown to the sales force and the now-famous Software Dating Game was staged. Image Stream also staged the 1984 Shareholder's meeting where Steve pulled the Mac out of a cloth bag and first showed it to the world at large.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fast forward to the spring of 1984, as Apple began preparing for year II of Macintosh, and once again called on Image Stream for production support at the Sales Conference.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These conferences were multi-day events, usually held at resort destinations. Each Apple department that had something to bring to the attention of the sales force was given a chunk of time at a big general session plus breakout sessions for more detailed training.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #500050; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hired Glenn Lambert to write the introductory hooplah for the Mac session.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Glenn and I flew to Cupertino for a briefing with the head of Mac marketing, Mike Murray. We hoped that we'd get some background information, head back to L.A., talk on the plane, eventually come up with something, work up storyboards and head back to Cupertino and pitch our idea to Apple. (That's the way it usually goes in the agency world. Briefing. Then go away, brainstorm. Work up concepts. Come back with a pitch. If you've seen Mad Men, you know the drill.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After helping ourselves to some Odwalla from the endless supply, and admiring the enormous Boesendorfer concert grand and the BMW motorcycle in the lobby of Bandley 8, Glenn and I finally were called into Mike's office.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mike talked to us in general terms about marketing strategy. He said that in 1984, Macintosh had established a beach head in businesses, but had very little penetration so far compared to IBM. In the coming year, however, with new products coming on line—including a laser printer, a revolutionary plug-and-play network architecture (AppleTalk), a file server, new software, and ways to bridge into existing IBM networks, Mac would move in from the beach. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you know Apple history, you'll know that some of those products didn't make it to market on time. AppleTalk and the LaserWriter were the few that shipped. The rest of what was termed "The Macintosh Office" was announced, but were not ready for the market. In 1985, Mac sales stalled. Apple went into crisis. Steve into exile—until 1997. Mike Murray moved on to Microsoft where he became VP of HR. Image Stream folded as Apple contracted, and I hired on at Apple.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But as Glenn and I sat in Mike's office, we had no clue that Mike's strategy rested on some unrealistic development schedules. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As Glenn and I listened to Mike talk about beach head and market penetration, and as we watched him draw on his white board, the parallels to the landings at Normandy seemed obvious. I think Glenn was first to connect 1984 to 1944. And the idea clicked in almost immediately. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Given the way Steve had positioned Apple against IBM, it just seemed to fit. Glenn, Mike, and I began brainstorming right there in the office. Ideas came tumbling out. IBM had Charlie Chaplin for P.C. advertising. And, it turns out that Charlie Chaplin not only had a Hitler-like mustache, he had actually done a Hitler sendup in <a href="http://youtu.be/G4M3FSk4r_M" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">The Great Dictator</a>. We'd show oppressed workers liberated by the brave forces of Macintosh. We got so excited by the idea that Mike wanted to rush right in and pitch to Steve.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I called Chris in L.A. to outline what we were thinking. War movie. Stock footage from the D-day landings. Chaplin as Adenoid Hynkel hanging on the wall. Mac marketing team in cameo roles. And the topper: Steve as FDR. He said he'd start looking for a director (or maybe he had one in mind).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Glenn, Mike, and I marched into Steve's office to give him the pitch. Pretty much the way I outlined it in the previous paragraph. Steve's eyes were sparkling through it all. By the time I got to, "and you as FDR," I had made the sale. In the binary universe of Steve Jobs, something is either a zero or a one. This was a one. Instantly. Definitively.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course, Steve wanted to know what it would cost. We had no idea, since it hadn't been scripted or budgeted. Chris Korody and I pulled a guess of $50,000 out of thin air. I'm pretty sure there were overages. I'm pretty sure they were approved.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Glenn and I had discussed getting a professional impressionist to dub in the FDR dialog. When we mentioned that to Steve, he immediately jumped in to say, "no, I'll do the voice myself."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Probably the fastest I've ever gone from brief to yes in my entire career. The whole journey in less than 90 minutes. That NEVER happens. But the idea was so apt. And Mike had jumped right in to pitch it out with Glenn and me. So, in a way, it was sold even before it was completed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All that remained was to do all the hard work. Glenn had to turn the pitch from three sentences into a film script. Chris had to find a way to get it made. And the lawyers had to tell us there was no way in hell that we could get the rights to actually use the image of Charlie Chaplin as Adenoid Hynkel. I believe that a short section of the narration was actually crafted by Mike Murray to be sure he got his marketing messages in just the way he wanted them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chris found a young filmmaker named Bud Schaetzle, just out of school who had his own production team—and, as a bonus, a friend who flew vintage world war II aircraft—you probably saw the fly-over. His company was High Five Productions, and he had a very scrappy line producer, Martin J. Fischer. Bud went on to win some awards doing country music videos for Garth Brooks, and the Judds. We found Bud and Martin on the way up. They probably got us at least double the production value up on the screen that we paid for. Considering all the equipment, costumes, and extras, it was a major production for an industrial.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's Bud's page in IMDB: <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769761/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.imdb.com/<wbr></wbr>name/nm0769761/</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's Martin's <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0279047/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.imdb.com/<wbr></wbr>name/nm0279047/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Steve flew to L.A. for his bit. We filmed him at a sound stage not far from LAX. Several members of the Mac marketing team had cameos, including Mike Murray, Alfred Mandel, and Tricia Willcoxon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Paul McNamara his more on this story at <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/how-jobs-fdr-film-was-made-and-chaplin-cameo-wasnt" target="_blank">Buzzblog</a>.</span></div>
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<br /></div>Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-4505027696827416282010-10-26T17:55:00.000-07:002010-10-27T06:05:03.286-07:00Twitter Marketing: Names and PowersTom Milsom's band, Sons of Admirals, has just released "Here Comes My Baby" a new single and digital bundle on iTunes and they are making an all-out push to land in the UK top ten during the first week of release. The song, a cover of a Cat Stevens hit from the sixties, has been reimagined for the twenty-first century (to bottow some pretentious twaddle from Brian Wilson's Gerhwin album).<br /><br /><object width="400" height="250"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vR5wKLfzGHo?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vR5wKLfzGHo?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="250"></embed></object><br /><br />As part of the marketing effort, Tom, spent a good part of the day yesterday on Twitter making good on the following twittered offer:<br /><br /><blockquote>Buy the Here Comes My Baby bundle in iTunes today, tweet me a link to a screenshot, and I'll personally bestow upon you a unique nickname.</blockquote><br />Turns out that, unlike the garden variety of nicknames, Tom's names also came with super powers. (see below)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mickeleh's Take</span>: Personal attention from a recording artist carries a lot of weight. But is this scalable?<br /><br />Here are some of the names and powers Tom granted to people who bought "Here Comes My Baby."<br /><br /><blockquote>@<b>_heyduder</b> Hooray! You are now SUPERCARLY. You can fly. And swim through brick.<br /><br />@<b>LacieDayParade</b> Bow down to the almighty LACIE, PROTECTOR OF THE REALM OF FASHION! See an ugly shirt? BLAM. You can make that person vanish.<br /><br />@<b>greengoobermunc</b> Hooray for MARTHA, THE TUBE QUEEN. You are now ruler of things in tubes, that are tubes, or the London Underground trains.<br /><br />@<b>Matthew_Gibson</b> Hooray for KING MATTHEW of THINGS THAT MAKE SOUND WHEN YOU HIT THEM! Percussion's all under your watchful eye. Good luck.<br /><br />@<b>DreamlessJamie</b> Hooray! Thanks JAMIE, RULER OF THE SLEEP REALM. Have fun RULING OUR DREAMS!<br /><br />@<b>NotUnspecial</b> Hooray! Thank you LAUREN, GRAND VIZIER OF INSECTS. You now have supreme power over billions of creatures!<br /><br />@<b>_irisaurus</b> Hooray for IRIS, EYEBALL QUEEN! You can see EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE<br /><br />@<b>BookWormVicky</b> Hooray for VICKY, PRINCESS OF POISONOUS GASES! Use your new powers wisely.<br /><br />@<b>kthrnprrtt</b> That is perfectly fine KATHARINE, GREAT MISTRESS OF WHEELS. You pretty much have power over anything that rolls now.<br /><br />@<b>claytonpeters</b> Thanks CLAYTON, MASTER OF METEOROLOGY. You control the weather now. That's pretty neat.<br /><br />@<b>PotterMoosh</b> Thanks CRYSTAL, SEER OF FAR-FLUNG FUTURES, the most POWERFUL ORACLE the world has EVER SEEN!<br /><br />@<b>SphereCase</b> Didn't you get one? Aren't you THE IMOGENATOR?<br /><br />@<b>kaycanseeyou</b> YAY! Thank you KATIE, DUCHESS OF SALSA (dance AND condiment)<br /><br />@<b>TupperwareBox</b> :D You are MADZ THE IMPALER. You are SO PALE.<br /><br />@<b>emmaajedward</b> That's fine, EMMA, PRINCESS OF THE PRESENT. You are in charge of making sure time-travelers don't get disoriented.<br /><br />@<b>poppybouttell</b> Thanks POPPY, OPIUM PRINCESS! The good kind. From ancient China. Not, y'know, heroin.<br /><br />@<b>Becz005</b> YAY for BEC, MISTRESS OF CATS IN CLOTHES. Rule your small, weirdly specific jurisdiction well.<br /><br />@<b>somegwenperson</b> Hooray for GWEN, PROTECTOR OF 9. We can't got into double figures without your vigilance. *salutes*<br /><br />@<b>EnglishRedhead</b> That's great HAYLEY, QUEEN OF SPAINS. Any Spain that is not the real Spain, you've got that shit DOWN.<br /><br />@<b>SphereCase</b> Hooray! Thank you, THE IMOGENATOR! Your special power is to CREATE THINGS FROM YOUR IMAGINATION! Go imagine world peace!<br /><br />@<b>Abko147</b> Hooray for PRINCE LIAM OF ORANGE! That's a whole 7th of the colour spectrum you now rule. Rainbows cannot occur without you.<br /><br />@<b>IFYimcool</b> Thanks ALICE, QUEEN OF WINDOWS. Glass is your willing slave. Also, Bill Gates.<br /><br />@<b>penguin1124</b> Either way, you are SAM, PRIME MINISTER OF SMELL. That's a whole sense. Careful how you go.<br /><br /><br />@<b>danisnotonfire</b> aww :3 Thank you DAN, DEFENDER OF THE LEONINE RACE. It's your job to be a kind and gentle king to the world's lions :P<br /><br />@<b>HannahCaseyyy</b> Hooray! Then I name you HANNAH, SPRITE QUEEN. You can defeat your enemies with huge torrents of lemonade. Not 7up though.<br /><br />@<b>beaderrick</b> BEA, HELIUM QUEEN. Balloons are now your willing servants.<br /><br />@<b>mitziplz</b> haha, best smiley face EVER. Thank you, ELI, MASTER OF THE ARTS. Your smiley faces strike fear into the hearts of your enemies.<br /><br />@<b>BrettBall</b> Thank you BRETT, LORD HIGH MASTER OF THINGS THAT ARE SHINY. You rule the mirror kingdom. Congrats.<br /><br />@<b>MeBeDanni</b> That's fine DANNI, DESTROYER OF WORLDS. You destroy worlds, sure, but only uninhabited ones to make new, awesome ones.<br /><br />@<b>xlaurax</b> Thanks LAURA, SIREN OF THE SEAS. You are friends with the fish. Which is creepy AND awesome.<br /><br />@<b>Loftio</b> Hooray! Thanks ALEXANDRA, LIGHTHOUSE QUEEN. Basically, you can see in the dark. Also through walls.<br /><br />@<b>thinkingphrase</b> Hooray for LORD SIMON, CARBMASTER GENERAL. You are the ruler of potatoes, and also the enemy of people on the Atkins diet.<br /><br />@<b>SophStrawberry</b> Thank you SOPHIE, QUEEN OF THE FOREST. You are now in charge of the tree people.<br /><br />@<b>nattalieee_</b> Hooray for NATALIE, PRINCESS OF STAMPS. Your super power is FREE POSTAGE FOR LIFE<br /><br />@<b>tommylyon</b> Hooray! Thank you LORD THOMAS, DRAGON KING. Your special power is ABILITY TO CONVERSE WITH REPTILES<br /><br />@<b>LizzieParker</b> Perfect! Thank you LIZZIE, MASTER OF NETS. You can control any net. So if people are wearing fishnet tights, YOU CONTROL THEM!<br /><br />@<b>courtneyybuzz</b> COURTNEY, QUEEN OF NEWTONIAN PHYSICS. You're really good with momentum and trajectory and gravity...<br /><br />@<b>BBC_Fangirl</b> LAURA AKA INFRARAY you can see through walls and hear things a mile away. Also, what those TV License vans do? You can do that.<br /><br />@<b>Marthatorwho</b> MARTHA, DESTROYER OF DALEKS. You're, like, the most useful person on the planet sometimes. :D<br /><br />@<b>kennydude</b> That's wonderful. You are LORD JOSEPH THE PERSUASIVE. You always win arguments and got your way. And the ladies dig that.<br /><br />@<b>helenlyhelen</b> Awesome! You are HELEN THE MIGHTY, whose super power is BEING ABLE TO TYPE AT 200 WPM<br /><br />@<b>FearlessTSwift</b> MOLLIE THE BRAVE, whose super power is BEING ABLE TO PREDICT WHEN THE DOORBELL RINGS FIVE SECONDS BEFORE IT DOES<br /><br />@<b>JBdaWonderLlama</b> THE ILLAMANATOR, who roams the streets, hunting evil DARK LLAMAS<br /><br />@<b>xxkathleen</b> KATHLEEN, FORK-QUEEN. You are in charge of every fork there is. Use your power wisely.<br /><br />@<b>JazzyPants_</b> JASMIN, PRINCESS OF THE SKY. Birds? Clouds? Planes? You now own 'em. Congrats!<br /><br />@<b>kirifarrell</b> KIRILLY OF THE HILLS. Your super power is to be able to FLATTEN MOUNTAINS. Construction companies will pay you MILLIONS<br /><br />@<b>BAMstranks</b> BETHAN, QUEEN OF THE MOON. That's right, you got the MOON. Your super power is SPONTANEOUS SOUP PRODUCTION<br /><br />@<b>Reganito</b> REGAN, SCOURGE OF WORLDSUCK. Your special power is being able to extend your legs 20 inches IN ANY DIRECTION<br /><br />@<b>bonnniiee</b> You are BONNIE, DFENDER OF AWESOME. Your super power is winning at card games, like, all the time.<br /><br />@<b>BeckiiCruel</b> Your super power is being able to bend spoons with your mind. Spoons and wills.<br /><br />@<b>theojessop</b> Thanks! You are LORD THEO, RULER OF AQUATIC CREATURES.</blockquote>Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-59651753907652050322010-02-16T03:08:00.000-08:002010-02-16T03:37:37.076-08:00A Creative Commons Birthday SongI wanted to wish YouTube a happy fifth birthday yesterday without violating the copyright on the famous "Happy Birthday" song. Since I'm not in a position to pay royalties, I wrote my own original song and I'm offering it under a creative commons license. I an't imagine you'll want to use it. It's crap. But it carries the virtue of being free. So, use it if you will.<br /><br />Several commenters on my <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/mickeleh">YouTube channel</a> were surprised to learn that "Happy Birthday is still under copyright. While there are those who doubt that the copyright is valid, the publishers are still collecting some $2 million annually, mainly from motion picture and television productions.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="246"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-psJ_6clShE&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-psJ_6clShE&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="246"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">MIckeleh's Take</span>: The copyright will expire in 2030. If I live to be as old as my dad, I might actually survive to hear you sing a royalty-free chorus of the more famous "Happy Birthday." Until then we can make do with this one.<br /><br /><a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/3.0/us/88x31.png" /></a><br /><span dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/MovingImage" property="dc:title" rel="dc:type"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">A Song for YouTube's Fifth Birthday</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> by </span></span><a cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-psJ_6clShE" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Michael Markman</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> is licensed under a </span></span><a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">.<br />Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at </span></span><a cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://www.blogger.com/mickeleh@gmail.com" rel="cc:morePermissions"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">mickeleh@gmail.com</span></span></a>.Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-49294542815410591112010-02-02T16:15:00.000-08:002010-02-02T16:41:52.758-08:00Getting Lost My predictions for Season 6 premiereThe clock is ticking to the premiere of the new season of Lost. This will be my last chance to speculate on what will happen. (Maybe I'm just doing this to compensate for the fact that I refrained from posting any iPad predictions.)<br /><br />Turns out Jack was right. The H-Bomb goes off. Timelines are reset. The crash never happens. Oceanic 815 lands safely at LAX. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mickeleh's Take: </span>The series never airs. Abrams, Lindeloff, Cuse, and the entire cast find their bank accounts mysteriously drained of all their earnings from the show. George Bush is still president. We have never heard of Sarah Palin.Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-8764270729855876812010-02-01T18:08:00.000-08:002010-02-01T18:14:23.526-08:00Tom Milsom Sings Lady GagaI let the Grammy show go by without saying a word about it. How can I make it up to you? <br /><object width="400" height="246"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/r-KbCPbOrBY&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/r-KbCPbOrBY&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="246"></embed></object><br />You can find more Tom Milsom at <a href="http://www.tommilsom.com">tommilsom.com</a>Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-14719898336372219532010-02-01T09:49:00.000-08:002010-02-01T09:50:10.207-08:00Condensed Cream of iPad U-I Soup<div><br />Thanks to Gizmodo for pulling these key demos clips together from the iPad Keynote<br /></div><div><br /><object width="400" height="246"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Pcemr_Q1di0&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Pcemr_Q1di0&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="246"></embed></object><br /></div><div><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mickeleh's Take</span>: Knocking the iPad for being "just a big iPod Touch" is a cheap shot. There's a richness to this platform that will become even clearer when it ships and the apps start showing up.<br /></div>Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-91790605963501026332010-01-28T04:04:00.000-08:002010-01-28T19:10:55.342-08:00The Party of iPad No Can't Filibuster<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJqb9dVWM0fBKHLGUkngc917-j-z2eg4E__vl7t7dNroTdPOCjytsP-8vxtggfomkLe2RnPTJ3vSoBT14iUdwhFHC4a8v1l-lh0PeY0oh6l1S6ZlkAXP9UwNODS4mAlBaMIZxv/s1600-h/No+Video.png" style="text-decoration: none;"><br /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400 px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJqb9dVWM0fBKHLGUkngc917-j-z2eg4E__vl7t7dNroTdPOCjytsP-8vxtggfomkLe2RnPTJ3vSoBT14iUdwhFHC4a8v1l-lh0PeY0oh6l1S6ZlkAXP9UwNODS4mAlBaMIZxv/s400/No+Video.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431761062171676274" /></a><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Best Web Browsing or a big blocky question mark?</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> Steve Jobs demonsrates how a lack of Flash support means the video element on the NY Times front page just can't play on iPad.</span></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Even before Steve Jobs had switched off the Reality Distortion Field Generator, objections to the iPad starting pouring out (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQnT0zp8Ya4">even from Hitler</a>): no multi-tasking, no camera, doesn't replace my laptop, name sounds uncomfortably tamponic, AT&T. At the same time other folks were reaching for their handkerchiefs to wipe the drool off their chins and developers, sniffing out another app store gold rush were diving into the SDK (software development kit).</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br />It turns out that reactions to the Apple iPad are as sharply divided as the U.S. Senate, but with this important difference: people saying no to iPad don't have the filibuster. The naysayers can't block the yaysayers from buying it.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;font-size:small;color:#000000;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;font-size:small;color:#000000;">The first truth about the iPad is that nobody outside of Apple yet knows the truth about the iPad. Of course it doesn't do everything a notebook does. It wasn't intended to. The critical question was posed by Steve Jobs early in the keynote: does iPad do a useful set of things appreciably better than a notebook? The list Steve proposed was this: browsing, email, photos, video, music, and games. I venture it's safe to say that the gaming experience on iPad will smoke gaming on a notebook. As for the others, the jury is out.</span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;font-size:small;color:#000000;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;font-size:small;color:#000000;">What's the experience really like? Will people really prefer it enough to shell out for three devices (phone, iPad, and notebook)? I don't see any reliable way to answer those questions without actually living with it for a couple of weeks. I'm curious about hands-on reports from folks at the launch event, but I don't put much stock in their brief encounters.</span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;font-size:small;color:#000000;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;font-size:small;color:#000000;">The second truth about the iPad is that the product Apple introduced yesterday is just a teaser for the product that will ship in March and April. And that, in turn, will be just a teaser of the product that will be available a year from now. What's missing? The apps and the content deals. And then the next rev of the OS.</span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;font-size:small;color:#000000;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;font-size:small;color:#000000;">Just as today's iPhone is very much defined by the apps available for it, so will the iPad be defined by apps that take full advantage of its larger size and faster processor.</span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;font-size:small;color:#000000;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The weeks preceding the launch were filled with rumors about negotiations between Apple and TV networks and print media. If there's truth to those rumors, it's likely that Apple had hoped to tell us more about the glories of subscriptions to content. The negotiations, if they are happening, clearly dragged on beyond intro date. But I think it's safe to expect a number of content-specific apps, not all of them free.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;font-size:small;color:#000000;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;font-size:small;color:#000000;"><b>MIckeleh's Take: </b>The party of iPad no has lots of good arguments. But until shipping, they're arguing against a phantom. They can stay on the sidelines jeering as loudly as they want. The iPad will still attract buyers. And the user-experience may well prove revolutionary.</span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;font-size:small;color:#000000;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;font-size:small;color:#000000;"><br /></span></div></div>Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-48593166355104101522009-02-05T14:26:00.000-08:002009-02-05T14:29:09.182-08:00Resetting the Clock on Analog TVI reset the countdown timer on the end of analog TV. Obama hasn't signed the bill which just cleared Congress. But since he asked for it in the first place, I'm considering it a done deal. If I'm wrong, I'll change it back.Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-22433342397259727892009-02-03T14:10:00.000-08:002009-02-03T14:20:02.455-08:00Calling Foul on Pepsi for Their "Forever Young" Super Bowl Ad<div>In the early 80's, when Steve Jobs recuited Pepsi marketer and president, John Sculley to run Apple, he famously challenged him with this question: "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?"<br /><br />Pepsi's new marketers have built up immunity to such a challenge with a new ad theme, "Every generation refreshes the world." For today's Pepsi, there's no difference at all between selling sugared water and changing the world. (It's moot point, actually, because Steve Jobs has built up an even stronger immunity to any impulse he might have to hire another Pepsi marketer.)<br /><br />The ad was exceptionally well crafted and executed, clever in its strategy, superficially enjoyable—but horrible nonetheless.<br /><br />Here are my top four emotional reasons for wanting to run from the room screaming when this ad comes on. (I don't actually do that, I just press "skip" on my TiVo remote.):<br /><ul><li>I resent advertisers playing the cheap trick of licensing clips and tunes that trigger treasured emotional memories in the hopes of attaching them to their brand. (I have the last laugh here, because it's my resentment that accrues to their brand.)</li><li>I resent advertisers who entice Bob Dylan to sell his image, likeness, and music just to sell sugared water and thereby sully the glorious memory of his previous sellout to <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2098635/">Victoria's Secret</a>.</li><li>I resent advertisers who entice will.i.am to sell his image, likeness, and performance to enhance sugared water with the emotional resonance of the "Yes We Can" video he did for Obama's campaign.</li><li>I resent advertisers asking us to take solemnly the notion that we are what we drink. (At least when Heinkeken asked us to wrap ourselves in the mantle of their brand, they had the good humor to hire John Turturro to ham it up and play the post-modern irony gambit.)<br /></li></ul>In the classic cola wars going back to the sixties Pepsi has consistently tried to peel younger drinkers away from Coke with a series of youth-oriented campaigns—Pepsi Generation, Choice of a New Generation, For Those who Think Young. Someone must have noticed that members of the original Pepsi Generation are now sixty-somethings. Rather than throw the geezers overboard, they tried to embrace us by offering a split-screen duet of two young generations. From that perspective, the choice of Dylan and his song, "Forever Young," were brilliant.<br /><br />It was an attempt to map Obama's post-partisan meme onto a post-generational landscape. In Pepsi's world, we now have two young generations, one of which just happens to be collecting Social Security.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mickeleh's Take</span>: Look closely at the matched images that Pepsi used in the spot. They're all perfectly equivalent except for the styling. The despairing message: nothing has really changed from then to now. It's all the same. It's merely refreshed. Just like the Pepsi logo and packaging. Refresh the logo, refresh the world. Forever young.<br /></div>Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-69810071796327058742009-01-31T11:57:00.000-08:002009-01-31T17:29:02.332-08:00The Flavor Packet Song<object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JqylzVoNwfI&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JqylzVoNwfI&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object><br /><br />This is completely crazy and is mainly a testament to how deranged the world has become. I have (for the day, anyway) a top-rated music video on YouTube. <br /><br /><div>It's an original song by me (vocal, ukulele, MIDI drums and piano). As of now it's the #27 highest-rated music video on YouTube. (That ranking will, no doubt, start moving south as newer and better videos appear.)</div><div><br /></div><div>BREAKING: Now it's #18!</div><div><br />The response has been incredible, despite the fact that I struggle to sing on pitch, can barely play, and I'm just stumbling around in the dark on GarageBand, Motion, and the ukulele.<br /><br />It was done as a guest appearance on a channel called <a href="http://www.youtube.com/vlogramen">VlogRamen</a>. They call their guest vloggers "Flavor Packets of the Week." Which is why the song is called "The Flavor Packet Song.")</div><div><br /></div><div>In the UK, it's called "The Flavour Packet Song."<br /><div><br /></div></div>Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-55559616615478969872008-12-29T17:08:00.000-08:002008-12-29T19:11:44.300-08:00Me and the Gas and the Music<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm0pqcnxkWCMMNF71OwqkqJnTqeuhKKTU_98FGoI7H8A_43GOKYAdm1XI23j6AFrdZlQJfvSexcuxZDBwbJcDwmokvK30SweMH09iDN9Ct_lJr32R1j3D-byY_5OtR7VB4USXD/s1600-h/dentist.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm0pqcnxkWCMMNF71OwqkqJnTqeuhKKTU_98FGoI7H8A_43GOKYAdm1XI23j6AFrdZlQJfvSexcuxZDBwbJcDwmokvK30SweMH09iDN9Ct_lJr32R1j3D-byY_5OtR7VB4USXD/s200/dentist.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285392564060845298" border="0" /></a>iPod on shuffle, my eclectic music collection, and a hefty, happy dose of nitrous oxide, while two women whom I don't know all that well used sharp and spinning instruments in my mouth combined to give me a surreal and delightful two-hour cruise. Unlike Gilligan's crew, I have returned. I share with you the playlist. I assume you won't get the same effect I did, but it's the best I can offer without a license to practice dentistry.<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jimi Hendricks Experience</span>: Voodoo Chile<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Louis Prima</span>: Angelina-Zooma Zooma<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Louis Armstrong:</span> Body and Soul<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Carmen Miranda</span>: Mama Eu Quero<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Doc Watson</span>: June Apple<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bob Dylan and The Band</span>: It Ain't Me Babe (from <span style="font-style: italic;">Before the Flood</span>)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Carmen Miranda</span>: Weekend in Havana<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Count Basie</span>: Miss Thing<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Frankie Trumbauer and His Orchestra</span>: (Keep Your) Sunny Side Up<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bob Dylan and The Band</span>: Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">London Sinfonietta</span>: Lullaby of Broadway (this 15-minute modern stereo performance transcribed from the soundtrack of Busby Berkeley's 42nd Street was the most surreal, thrilling, and endless passage).<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Beatles</span>: Your Mother Should Know (the loopy version from <span style="font-style: italic;">Anthology</span>)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">David Holmes</span>: Let's Get Killed<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Red Nichols and His Five Pennies</span>: Yaaka Hula Hickey Dula<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Isley Brothers</span>: Twist and Shout<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers</span>: Blue Blood Blues</blockquote>At which point I was filled. Really filled.Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-63083859879488295122008-11-26T01:08:00.000-08:002008-11-26T04:52:41.972-08:00YouTube Needs Widescreen. But Not All The TimeIn the same way as it has become a real time warning signal for such natural disruptions as wildfires, earthquakes, it was Twitter that first brought me news that YouTube was switching its native player to widescreen.<br /><br />The first alarm came in all caps.<br /><br /><div></div><div style="text-align: center;">"WTF WIDESCREEN SERIOUSLY WHAT OMG" </div><div><br /></div>WTF, indeed. YouTube going wide sounds like a good thing. Everything's going wide, even the humble Flip video camera. It's not so much that they did it, it's how they went about it: abruptly, disruptively, and discourteously.<br /><br />Overnight, YouTube's entire legacy of standard format (4:3) videos were needlessly bracketed with black pillars. Was it really necessary to throw everything into the same 16:9 player? It's software dammit, not that physical collection of toxic metals, glass, and plastic that passes for a TV in my living room.<br /><br />While many cheered, others were upset. Here's YouTube contributor, Nerimon, railing against this and other YouTube changes.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="265" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/74otiz89yt0&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/74otiz89yt0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="265" width="425"></embed></object></div><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Side notes on Nerimon's rant</span>: If you're just a casual viewer, many of these issues will seem obscure. But most builders and users of software will recognize the pattern. Unnecessary, unwanted futzing with "ain't brokes," while annoying rough edges remain unsanded and unbuffed. Nerimon is smart, funny, engaged, and a passionate, successful creator of content. He's a great example of the kind of customer who can help guide a development team away from the rocks and toward greater product excellence. If you make any kind of software you should take an earful of Nerimon. Think of him as a younger, funnier Dave Winer. Like Dave, all he asks is that developers listen to and respect their users.<br /></blockquote><br /><br />Why frame <span style="font-style:italic;">everything</span> at 16:9? Surely YouTube can detect aspect ratios and put up a player with the right aspect ratio. I did it. And I'm just a marketing dink.<br /><br />Behold: The same clip, but this time Nerimon rails against pillars that aren't even there.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="265" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/74otiz89yt0&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/74otiz89yt0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="265" width="320"></embed></object></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Is that so hard, YouTube?</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><br /><br />It's easy to see why YouTube has to accommodate widescreen. Rival Hulu.com is rapidly growing the internet audience for widescreen, even HD movies and TV. If there are big, Google-worthy bucks to be had in online video, that's where they lie. YouTube has already cut deals with MGM, CBS, and Fremantle Media (those wonderful folks who bring you Idol, Got Talent, Let's Make a Deal).<br /><br />But much of the active community of vloggers works with 4:3 webcams. Their content is usually a single talking head. Does it serve them well to go wide? Remember what Fritz Lang said when confronted with Cinemascope. It's a great format if you're shooting snakes and coffins.<br /><br />Community-generated content on YouTube now finds itself competing with corporate media, not only for audience, but for some courtesy from the mothership.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mickeleh's Take</span>: YouTube big-footed the change without offering a warning to their creative community or providing guidance on how to prepare uploads for widescreen. That was just rude.Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-64720746921592567532008-09-15T04:40:00.000-07:002008-09-15T07:56:28.945-07:00This is the Change We Need: Toughest Obama Commercial Yet.<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CK3Y1KPzW9k&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CK3Y1KPzW9k&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mickeleh's Take</span>: I thought the last two were on the right track. This one pulls into the station and unloads a can of whup ass. McCain earned this one. As for the rest of us: let's get out there and canvass. Do you know how your neighbors are voting?Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-47306164670555745612008-07-12T18:49:00.000-07:002008-07-12T18:54:48.352-07:00Keeping My Old iPhone (for now)iPhone 2.0 software delivers 80% or more of the value of the new iPhone HW. I know uber geeks will need the HW upgrade too. They can’t take the embarassment of being seen with an iPhone with a metal back. (Hint: put it in a case. Nobody will know.)<br /><br />The new HW offers some peachy improvements: faster network, more accurate location finding, improved sound (kind of important in a phone). There's a rude awakening though, folks are discovering that running all those new radios will give you shorter battery life than the first gen iPhone.<br /><br />The truly revolutionary advances are available through a software upgrade: App store… push notifications… MS Exchange integration… Enterprise IT support… push synchronization with PC’s and Macs… and above all an SDK and developer program. (memo to self: come back and translate this paragraph to human readable language.)<br /><br />As someone in Redmond said quite famously: “developers! developers! developers!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mickeleh's Take</span>: If you don’t have iPhone yet, the new total value proposition should give you plenty of reasons to consider.<br /><br />If you have a first gen… you really don’t NEED the upgrade except to meet irrational urges. (But if it weren’t for irrational urges, life would be pretty dull.)Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-45121380618121349792008-03-30T19:22:00.000-07:002008-03-30T19:51:56.225-07:00Ethan Kaplan, Master of Irony<a href="http://www.scripting.com/stories/2008/03/30/proofThatTheEndIsNear.html">Dave Winer</a> posts that too many blogs are chasing each other's tails with meta-commentary about meta-commentary and gossip about gossipers. He says, "the end is near" and there's a drought of original thinking. "Most people wouldn't recognize an original thought if it bit them in the ass," he says.<br /><br />Then, <a href="http://blackrimglasses.com/archives/2008/03/30/proof-that-the-end-is-near-scripting-news/">Ethan Kaplan</a> chimes in with: "Wow, I agree with Dave Winer completely on this." Was that an original thought? Or a meta-comment? Or just delicious irony? I vote irony.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mickeleh's Take:</span> I agree with both of them (and <a href="http://www.techmeme.com/080330/p25#a080330p25">everyone else</a> making this point). But there's nothing new or original in noticing it:<br /><blockquote>What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes, 1:10).<br /></blockquote>On the other hand, it is not true that Ecclesiastes said, "Of the making of many blogs there is no end." That was <a href="http://www.sifry.com/stateoftheliveweb/">Sifry</a>.Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-47158238730135438952008-03-17T07:58:00.000-07:002008-03-17T08:33:42.454-07:00What I Learned Last WeekHere are some of the things I learned last week.<br /><ul><li>The Aurora Bridge in Seattle (over the Ship Canal on Highway 99) is the second most popular suicide bridge in the U.S. (behind San Francisco's Golden Gate).</li><li>Some of the jumpers don't wait till they get to the middle of the span where they would fall into the water, but jump from a point that's still over land so they fall into local parking lots, traumatizing the workers.<br /></li><li>I'm a very bad prognosticator. I <a href="http://mickelehsoap.blogspot.com/2008/03/obamas-top-five-wins-last-week.html">predicted</a> that last week would be a "fine, fun week for Obama fans."</li><li>Three big shot tech executives (or ex execs) have signed on with McCain to bring us a third Bush term and a 100 years in Iraq. (Carly Fiorina, ex CEO of HP; Meg Whitman, outgoing CEO of eBay, and John Chambers (CEO of Cisco).<br /></li><li>Steve Gillmor—whom I've only known as the wise and far-seeing tech oracle, impresario of <a href="http://newsgang.net/">NewsGang</a> (a fine compendium of what's new, important, helpful, and interesting) and the <a href="http://newsgang.net/audio/">NewsGang Live</a> podcast— has also had a long association with members of the Firesign Theatre--and served as a producer on some of their projects (evidenced by the appearance of George Tirebiter on a recent <a href="http://newsgang.net/gangitem/id=11152">NewsGang Live)</a>.</li><li><a href="http://www.drbronner.com/">Dr. Bronners Magic Soaps</a> include olive oil that combines the product of a grove owned by a Palestinian with that of a grove owned by an Israeli. (Yes... the hemp oil is still an ingredient; so is the peppermint.</li><li>The Prophet Jeremiah had an even harsher message and rougher reception than the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.<br /></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mickeleh's Take</span>: Given my record, maybe I should predict a rough week for Obama fans.Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-81593364785413516262008-03-13T08:39:00.001-07:002008-03-13T08:43:04.875-07:00New on the Soapbox: Ferraro's Game of Market SegmentationI keep two blogs, one mainly about marketing, the other about politics. But the two practices share a lot of commonality. What is a political campaign but an effort to market a candidate?<br /><br />Over on the <a href="http://mickelehsoap.blogspot.com/2008/03/ferraros-game-segment-and-conquer.html">Soapbox</a>, I offer Mickeleh's Take on what Former Congressional Rep. Geraldine Ferraro is up to. It's a nasty, cynical game. It's a game I know well because I play it professionally. She's not a racist. She's a marketer.Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-33980655184753335872008-03-12T08:13:00.000-07:002008-03-12T08:20:01.093-07:00The Lord of the Ring: The Resignation of the Gov.When did the terminology change from "call-girl service" to "prostitution ring"?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mickeleh's Take</span>: What's next: "fee-based social media platform"?<br /><br />(<b>Tag</b>:<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Spitzer" rel="tag">Spitzer</a>)Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-60071901462234732312008-02-04T08:16:00.000-08:002008-12-08T19:08:49.525-08:00The Deaf Dissing the Blind and Other Super Bowl Ad FolliesSuper Bowl XLII was one of the rare contests where the game was better than the ads. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Uplifting arc</span>: triumph of the underdog. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Suspenseful plot</span>: the outcome in doubt until the final seconds. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Karmic Justice</span>: comeuppance to a team that may have been unfairly aided by videos with such disruptive potential that the NFL felt compelled to borrow from the CIA playbook and destroy them. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Great Play</span>: From the opening, near ten-minute drive putting the Giants on the scoreboard first, to Manning's improbable escape from a near-sack to deliver a 32-yard pass to the vicinity of David Tyree who defied physics to snare it and hold it pinned to his helmet, and the even more improbable ability of the Giants defense to neutralize Brady's brilliance.<br /><br />But I'm not here to talk about the game.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-oCw83DZjZgqLk7CUghyam4LC4jFWi8nwhDTVnMSpVHXCGpD-6Fz52R-n6QLfeXxvAZm4fluk_m_QoZtyjDlLfm1UGQc8jlgr9wpmGqkPpDjg7-LU75XaJ7U8jZ4phk7g_0A/s1600-h/charlie-coke.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-oCw83DZjZgqLk7CUghyam4LC4jFWi8nwhDTVnMSpVHXCGpD-6Fz52R-n6QLfeXxvAZm4fluk_m_QoZtyjDlLfm1UGQc8jlgr9wpmGqkPpDjg7-LU75XaJ7U8jZ4phk7g_0A/s400/charlie-coke.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5163175628845350738" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Coke </span>had one of the best of the heart-warmers, featuring Macy's Parade beloved character balloons breaking their tethers to pursue a Coke balloon. (Spoiler alert: It might have been on-brand for Coke, but isn't it off-brand for Charlie Brown to actually win?) If only Coke had stopped there. Instead they shoveled a few more millions over to Rupert and followed up with one of the worst ads for the game, featuring two of the most unloved, repellant characters in politics (Carville and Frist) in a cliche-filled romp through Washington D.C. "Have a Coke and a retch." You gotta know when to get off the stage.<br /><br />A couple of sponsors tried to buy our love by doing good. Badly.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Pepsi</span> did a spot to honor the deaf. It was broadcast in silence, rendering it totally inaccessible to the blind. High-consciousness by a pandering soft drink company.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dell</span> tried to buy cool by supporting (though not mentioning) the elimination of AIDS in Africa. A guy walks through town getting butt-slapped, oggled, tousled, touched, mobbed, cheered and kissed because he carries a Dell notebook branded with (PRODUCT) RED. This is some high-minded town. In my town, I'll bet most people have no idea that (PRODUCT) RED is Bono's co-branding foundation for raising money to fight AIDS in Africa. And they certainly didn't learn that from this spot. All the spot offers up is a mysterious: "Buy Dell, Join (RED). Save Lives." (If you visit Dell's website—or if you saw the announcement at Davos—you'll know that this (RED) series is actually co-branded by Dell and Microsoft Vista. Microsoft, apparently, didn't chip in for the spot. Saving their pennies to buy Yahoo!?)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Anheiser Bush</span>, as usual, dominated the ad buys with strong spots. But this year, all but one were sadistic Bud Light laff riots. The remaining one was the obligatory heart-warming Clydesdale branding spot for Budweiser.<br /><br />Too many spots, however, were brand forgettable. There were cute dancing lizards promoting something or other. A talking baby bought stocks on a computer from some web site or other. Charles Barkley was obnoxious on behalf of some telephone company that offered a cheap way to let up to five people bother you incessantly at no extra cost. Fox is happy to take your money, folks.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mickeleh's Take</span>: The best spot of the weekend wasn't on the Super Bowl. It was on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mYY">YouTube</a>. "Yes, We Can." by Will.i.am, setting riffs from Obama's South Carolina victory speech to music.<br /><br />(<b>Tags</b>:<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Super_Bowl_Ads" rel="tag">Super Bowl Ads</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/XXXXXX" rel="tag">XXXXX</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Super_Bowl" rel="tag">Super Bowl</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Advertising" rel="tag">Advertising</a>)Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21517466.post-74894823945631218122008-01-30T11:59:00.001-08:002008-01-30T12:10:11.417-08:00New on the Soapbox: What Hillary and Barack Said about John's DepartureI have a new post up on the <a href="http://mickelehsoap.blogspot.com/2008/01/obama-and-hillary-on-edwards-both.html">Soapbox</a> comparing the statements that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have issued following the news that John Edwards is dropping out of the race for the Democratic nomination.<br /><br />Naturally, both of them are intent on scooping up as many Edwards supporters as possible. Both have issued gracious statements saluting John and Elizabeth. But Obama's statement is masterful in its ability to both echo and embrace John's language, his passion, and his cause.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mickeleh's Take: </span> <a href="http://www.scripting.com/stories/2008/01/28/chrisMatthewsSaidSomething.html">Dave Winer</a> has latched onto a comparison that Chris Matthews used last week on MSNBC: Clinton is Salieri—a workmanlike technician; Obama is Mozart—an inspired master. Comparing what Clinton and Obama have to say about Edwards is yet another example of how apt the comparison is.<br /><br />(<b>Tags</b>:<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Edwards" rel="tag">Edwards</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/John_Edwards" rel="tag">John_Edwards</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Barack" rel="tag">Barack</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Obama" rel="tag">Obama</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Barack_Obama" rel="tag">Barack Obama</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Hillary" rel="tag">Hillary</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/HIllary_Clinton" rel="tag">Hillary Clinto</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/HRC" rel="tag">HRC</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Campaign" rel="tag">Campaign</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Democratic" rel="tag">Democratic</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Primary" rel="tag">Primary</a>)Michael Markmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556289806815705670noreply@blogger.com5