February 28th 2010
Bad advertising is the fun pause that refreshes here on UsefulArts. On our previous bad advertising safaris, we’ve: Found the the worst law firm ad ever, and helped get it pulled down. Treated the airport as a museum of misfit ads. Pointed out that UPS has a pretty bad tagline. Chronicled the offensive or silly [...]
February 23rd 2010
As the case of the Pennsylvania school system that allegedly spied on their students gains broader attention, the Lazy Man and Money blog raises a provocative question…why sue a school? Lawyers and lawsuits are controversial, especially as we debate health care and malpractice reform. I’d like to hear what you think about this. The more [...]
February 19th 2010
According to a class action lawsuit, a Pennsylvania school district used laptops it issued to high school students to regularly spy on them at home via the built-in webcams. In a court filing (Blake J Robbins v Lower Merion School District), the parents of student Blake Robbins are suing the school district for: invasion of [...]
February 17th 2010
Your Digital Papers, Please? Last week at the Davos World Economic Forum, Microsoft’s chief research and technology officer floated what to date has been an obviously bad idea: that Internet users should be licensed. The suggestion is covered and advanced in a Time Magazine article that takes the familiar dystopic theme of the Net as the [...]
November 23rd 2009
On The Internet Nobody Knows If You’re a 14-Year-Old Girl In Wales, a 61-year-old woman suspected that her husband had been sharing elicit emails with a 14-year-old girl, and feared he was a pedophile. She logged on from a computer elsewhere in their home, pretended to be such a girl, and found he was all [...]
November 17th 2009
This year, online tools are helping parents identify dangerous products, and better still, select healthy choices from the field of safe picks. In today’s complex world, everyone’s health safety is increasingly in their own informed hands. Healthy Stuff Bet you didn’t know that many toy cars contain materials known to cause birth defects or cancer. [...]
November 13th 2009
We’ve previously commented on how the land of Orwell seems hell-bent on invading the personal lives of its citizens. Now here’s all the proof necessary to feel both concerned and superior at once. Sadly, only one is a hoax. Here’s a remarkable story of government power from Dundee, Scotland, in which the state has taken [...]
October 30th 2009
In a season where teen vampires are all the rage, can a drama following a real-life band of teen burglars looting celebrities be far behind? (For Halloween, I’ll be dressed as them!) The Net was their accomplice. The teens tracked the movements of stars such as Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton and broke into their [...]
August 27th 2009
What’s in the water in St. Charles County? You’ll recall that’s where Lori Drew was was indicted in a cyber bullying case related to the November 2006 suicide of teenager Megan Meier. The case, publicity and resulting legal responses have been a frequent topic here. Now, another grown-up is facing felony harassment charges for allegedly [...]
July 10th 2009
There is a growing disconnect between the legal staff who write terms of use for websites, those who operate the site, and site visitors. I’ve come to believe that each level of disconnection introduces new sets of legal risks, which this story only start to illustrate. Chris Soghoian observed in CNET that Google’s terms of [...]
The future of digital marketing will be built by strategists who grasp the full array of emerging business, social, and technical models. Specialities in user experience, branding, application design, and data are laying the foundation for richer user experiences and business models breakthrough products and revenue based marketing.
UsefulArts is a soapbox to discuss the frontline of digital marketing, and the agencies and platforms that enable it. Marketing today needs a cadre of leaders who can connect c-level enterprise strategy with these new capabilities.