February 20th 2022
In the tulip mania of the 1600s, there were at least real bulbs. The weakness of conventional URLs being recorded in the blockchain, is that these links are more like maps to where some of those expensive bulbs might still be buried, if they where ever really of value at all.
February 26th 2021
The informed voice of uncertainty is easy to miss. But in a world of complexity, it must be celebrated. New research suggests Dr. Fauci’s reluctance to reach beyond research to guess his way to policy may have saved us from catastrophe; only experts and the perspective of time will tell.
January 21st 2020
This year MLK Day mixed with a gun-rights rally, the American culture war, and real mass shootings. I’ve said that America’s greatest export is non-intentional irony, but nothing this week seemed to lack intent.
July 18th 2019
From ‘fake’ social media endorsements, bullying and a court ban on blocking Twitter followers – the campaign is already hot with digital issues. Its election season, so I guess I’m commenting on the digital life of politics again, occasionally.
February 10th 2017
On Wednesday, President Trump berated Nordstrom for dropping Presidential daughter, Ivanka Trump’s clothing line from their shelves. As the Seattle Times reported, there was a brief dip followed by a 4% rally. And while you can chalk this up to Nordstrom stores being located in Democratic strong holds, or liberal investors allocating with their politics, […]
January 19th 2015
What is it about the human mind that makes it so attracted to the simplicity of rankings? Consider the case of Shimer College, and what happened when it was “objectively” named the worst college in America. And how intellectually bankrupt most college rankings turn out to be.
July 3rd 2014
The media tantrum complex — those who fill continuous air time with breaking news and acrimony have no incentive to point out that the findings of Facebook’s controversial research suggest how little influence its newsfeed really creates, and how flimsy this research is in the first place.
May 27th 2010
The most (or perhaps least) popular words in the creative business: “Could you make the logo bigger?” For anyone who has had a client suggest that you “try putting the copy in comic sans, or helvetica oblique, ” I submit to you this anthem.
March 10th 2010
Remember my 2010 prediction that brand holders should beware of clowns? I called it the Coulrophobia Epidemic of 2010. Logorama did it with trademarks, and won an Oscar. Girl Talk did it with music, gaining top rankings from Rolling Stone, Blender and Time magazine. And now Eric Faden uses the most copyrighted video anywhere, Disney® […]
March 8th 2010
Last night, a 16-minute animated film, entirely populated by trademarks as both characters and props, won an upset Academy Award. Its producer, Nicolas Schmerkin, explains: It’s about the way we live and the way we react to these logos. The brain can register 14 logos in less than one second. Making the logos characters with […]
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