April 12th 2008
Have you heard about the brutal beating of a 16-year-old cheerleader by eight teenagers, who recorded the assault for broadcast on YouTube? That’s right, the attack was both to get someone back and to gain fame. And naturally, the Net is being cited as the main culprit. Shelly Palmer blogs a fantastic analysis of ethical and media issues […]
April 11th 2008
Fair Use is a legally protected right of access to copyrighted materials, and deals with the limitations of copyright holders in the public interest. Reporting, education, criticism and parody are all protected under the Fair Use section in U.S. copyright law. “Big Content” (aka content providers who are part of Big Business) wants to change […]
April 9th 2008
Last week I wrote about how Craigslist benefited from a 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that it is not liable for discriminatory housing messages posted by users in its forums. The court ruled the site serves as an intermediary party, not a publisher. Therefore it was protected by the safe harbor provision of […]
April 8th 2008
Credit card numbers were selling for as little as 40 cents each and access to bank accounts was going for $10 in the second half of 2007, according to the latest twice-yearly Internet Security Threat Report from Symantec, which you may download here. As highlighted in our earlier article, Big Business Big Brother, data breaches […]
April 8th 2008
This week, the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet held the first-ever Congressional hearing to learn about virtual worlds. Committee Chair, Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, convened the meeting, which took place both in the Rayburn Building in Washington and in a virtual Rayburn Building in Second Life. Representatives asked questions such as: Could Second […]
April 6th 2008
On rare occasions, the media both gets something right and comprehends its importance. One such example is the CNBC special called “Big Brother, Big Business” hosted by David Faber. I cannot recommend this two-hour program highly enough (the link above takes you to the video available online). I follow this stuff, and I was amazed […]
April 5th 2008
Last week Deutsche Telekom, owners of the global T-Mobile brand, sent the website Engadget a late birthday present: a hand-delivered letter direct from their German legal department, requesting the prompt discontinuation of the use of the color magenta on Engadget Mobile. However, rather than gaining cooperation, T-Mobile has generated a host of unintended consequences. Engadget […]
April 3rd 2008
Today’s conference kicked off with Chuck Scothon, General Manager and SVP , Girls Mattel Brands, and Rosie O’Neill, who is Sr. Brand Manager and “Chief Barbie Girl.” That means she manages development of initiatives including the BarbieGirls.com virtual world. Social critics suggest such toy centered worlds provide a pedagogy of consumerism, and make products and […]
April 2nd 2008
California Representative Howard Berman, whose Congressional district is near Hollywood, claims the PRO-IP Act is on track to be enacted by the end of this year. In addition to his prognosis, Berman notes, “I don’t think there’s a lot of controversy.” No more than the 1765 Stamp Act, surely. First among the greatest flaws in […]
April 1st 2008
Back in November, I wrote about Facebook facing a huge privacy slapdown over social advertising. Michael Arrington, founder and co-editor of TechCrunch, is obliging us by attempting just such an action — and, as in professional wrestling, for him it’s all about the timing. In his excellent public explanation, Mr. Arrington cites a California law which […]
The future of digital experiences will be built by strategists who grasp the full array of emerging business, social, and technical models. Specialties in user experience, branding, application design, and data science are laying the foundation for richer user experiences and business models breakthrough products and revenue based marketing.
UsefulArts is a soapbox to discuss the front line of digital experience, and the agencies and platforms that enable it. Digital business needs a cadre of leaders who can connect c-level enterprise thinking with the ways these new interaction models can help organizations to matter more to their most important stakeholders.