Some news stories provide a perfect opportunity for a bit of imagination in writing a snappy headline, often with a pun or metaphor. News a few days ago that ad-supported music sharing site Spiralfrog has bitten the dust was one such opportunity as this view of news blog headlines in Techmeme illustrates. The word most used to link with Spiralfrog is "croaks." No one could do better than that! Lots of opinion about Spiralfrog, its business model and what might have been since it first … [Read more...] about Spiralfrog’s final demise
crayon
Mixing new pastures
Some brief news on the business front. After being part of the excitement in launching new marketing company crayon last October, we've decided to travel different paths. I've stepped down from my role as a VP New Marketing to revert to being what I have been since 2004 - an unabashed guide and explorer of the opportunities for organizations in discovering what social approaches to organizational communication can do for them. My crayon colleague and long-time podcasting partner Shel … [Read more...] about Mixing new pastures
Dancing the virtual night away
What a blast! A great party last night at the Coca-Cola Virtual Thirst pavilion in Second Life. Organized by my crayon colleague CC Chapman (aka Cleon Goff), the event featured MoShang Zhao live from Taiwan playing his unique Chinese Chill music, streamed into the venue. That got everyone dancing almost non-stop, me (aka Jangles Junot) included. Dancing in Second Life is actually pretty easy when you have the right gestures. These are little scripts that control your avatar's expressions and … [Read more...] about Dancing the virtual night away
Push the distributed communication envelope
Canadian blogger Mark Evans has a thoughtful post about how to communicate better. He talks about the tools - phone, email, SMS, IM, etc - and concludes that face-to-face is the be-all and end-all of communication between people. I don't disagree, for some of the reasons Mark mentions: [...] The ability to read body language, facial expressions, intonation, etc. makes person-to-person communications work and work well. It can also change the tone of a relationship. Think about how a long e-mail … [Read more...] about Push the distributed communication envelope
Imagining Coca-Cola in Second Life
Yesterday, crayon client Coca-Cola launched Virtual Thirst, a competition to design a new generation of Coke vending machines. This is a competition with a big difference, though, as it's about imagining a device that would dispense experiences, not metal cans or plastic bottles. Those experiences would happen in the virtual world of Second Life. The contest was officially launched on crayonville Island with a virtual press event during which Coke execs outlined the competition and … [Read more...] about Imagining Coca-Cola in Second Life
300 in Second Life: Bringing something new to the virtual table
Holding events in Second Life of one kind or another is not new: people have been doing this since this virtual world started back in 2003. As more businesses enter Second Life, the idea of including this virtual world as a channel in broad marketing and PR planning makes a lot of sense. In its simplest sense, Second Life gives you an opportunity to create and develop a personal connection with people in a place where there are no real-world manufacturing or service costs and few barriers to … [Read more...] about 300 in Second Life: Bringing something new to the virtual table
Dean Koontz comes to Second Life
Suspense and horror fiction novelist Dean Koontz is coming to Second Life on March 15 as the virtual stop on the promotion trail for his latest book, "The Good Guy." Publisher Random House's Bantam Dell imprint has teamed up with Second Life developer Electric Sheep to hold a live reading and Q&A session, audio streamed into the Bantam Dell Book Cafe in Second Life. If you attend the event, you'll have a chance to take part in a raffle to win a real life first edition hardback of "The … [Read more...] about Dean Koontz comes to Second Life
On the way home
Sitting at gate E35 in Atlanta airport, waiting for my Delta flight to Gatwick. It's been a heck of a near two weeks on the road in the USA. Atlanta most of last week. New York over the weekend and into this week. Then down to Birmingham, Alabama, for a different client assignment. My first visit to Birmingham. Didn't see much beyond the hotel, highways and the client's office - plus be there during a tornado warning - so I hope to get an opportunity for a return trip where I'll be able to … [Read more...] about On the way home