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It's the Weekly What? for Friday, September 2nd.
There went summer. Now what?Well we finally got our summer. All ten days of it. In a matter of days it'll be back-to-school time, the pools are closing, and many folks are starting to think about fall sports. (We'd say "football" but don't want to alienate those of us who couldn't give a razamafoo about quasi-tribal spats over a symbolic pig.) Be sure to visit our Facebook page for even more link-fun and to leave your answer to the Weekly What? question: "How are you going to bid farewell to summer this Labor Day weekend?" We'll see you there! 
Relax. Advertising and marketing can't change your mind or make you do anything. Except it can.Here's a great article addressing the subtle sell of effective advertising. Guess what, it's not about "calls to action." You can't force anybody to do something they don't want to do. Advertising and marketing isn't about mind control. The old saying about leading a horse to water is true. But you can certainly influence it by demonstrating the cool, refreshing benefits to be had from a cold fizzy beverage on a hot day as beads of sweat roll down the sides of the can. Well, sure, horses don't drink carbonated beverages (the can't even open the can) but you get the idea. See? Read more >> Selling based on benefits. Nobody cares about the features.Speaking of getting people to buy your stuff (or idea) here's a post from the MDS blog that addresses the secret to effective advertising and marketing. Find out the secret! >> FedEx saved by risky gamble in Vegas and other strange but true stories about big businesses...Infographics make everything more fun to read. Well, not everything, but maybe Shakespeare. Anyway, here's a great infographic revealing startling stories about some well known big businesses. Imagine: Ben & Jerry's...Bagels?! Read more >> The self-twirling pasta fork. No batteries required.One of the reasons why we stay away from spaghetti is that it's so darn fiddly to eat. You've got to twirl the stuff around your fork otherwise it's like chasing eels around your plate. At first we thought "Pffft! A self-twirling spaghetti fork? Whatever." But this thing looks pretty clever and it's not horribly ugly! Watch! >> Coffee that's almost too pretty to drink. Almost.Why does the foam on our coffee never look like this? Perhaps we're just going to the wrong places. Can any of you recommend a good coffee joint with artful baristas? Anyway, take a look at this gallery of coffee-foam art! Sip! >> Prepare to greet your robot overlords.Recently IBM created a computer chip that mimics the way human brains learn. This would do away with the conventional method of programming, instead letting computers learn from their experiences. As soon as someone invents a chip with opposable thumbs, we're doomed. Read more >> Just some fun design, from a looong time ago.Here's a nice little gallery of Japanese "modern" design from the period between the world wars. This stuff is so stylish, we'd love to see a resurgence of this sort of design and illustration in contemporary work. Someone want a jazzy poster? Let us know! Go see! >> Amazing carved gourd lampshades that cast patterns on the walls and ceilings.A Polish artist carves lamp shades out of gourds. He creates intricate whorls, loops, holes, and waves that cast beautiful light patterns on the walls and ceilings. Check it out >> When you buy expensive consumer electronics from "some guy" in a parking lot, look inside the box BEFORE handing over cash.Okay, without giving away too many details, this person buys what they think is an iPad for a paltry $180. Turns out they got something a little less than they expected. The stupid, it burns!! >> Turn a boring set of white shoes into something fun to wear.Here's a "sneaker customization kit" from Uncommon Goods that makes it easy to turn a set of bargain-basement white tennies into something you'd actually want to wear. Maybe. Depends on who's doing the painting, I suppose. Add some kick to your kicks! >> Turn your iPhone into a LEGO camera.Hopefully you've got some LEGO bricks laying around. (All civilized households do.) And an iPhone. Because if you do, you're in for a treat! Create a camera shell for your iPhone that turns it into a really cool looking hipster camera! And if you don't have any LEGO? Go buy some. You're welcome. Get building! >> If you know of someone that might enjoy this short diversion form the work day, please click the "Forward email" link below. They'll be glad you did! |
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