The River

• Tom Watson: Twitter Poetry
  some actual use for twitter?
  (tags: twitter poetry)

I would be extremely remiss — and I’m already pretty darned late to the game — if I didn’t link to John Battelle’s latest musings on conversational media/marketing. It’s thinking like this, with which I heartily agree, that lured me to work at FM in the first place. But these ideas are influencing much more than my piddling career prospects. They’re really observations about a sea change in the worlds of marketing and media. (And there’s going to be a book!)

So, President Bush is pushing hard for ethanol to help us “end our dependence on foreign oil.” But we’re only able to raise ethanol-producing crops — specifically corn — in such abundance because we’re dousing them with petroleum-based fertilizers. (Yes, I read “The Omnivore’s Dilemma.”) So how in the world does this idea work? Yeah, I know there’s switchgrass (I also listen to the State of the Union speeches, occasionally), but could we produce anything sustainably that would genuinely make a difference? Maybe I’m just showing my ignorance, but I’ve never heard this element of the argument before. Anyone know how this reconciles? Or does it?

• IPG’s Casey Jones Comment on FM at ChasNote
  wow. very nice.
  (tags: compliment FM IPG techcrunch)

My buddies at Architecture for Humanity this morning launched the beta version of the Open Architecture Network, “a stand alone site that allows will allow designers, community groups, NGO’s and others to post projects, browse others, comment and review projects, discuss relevant topics, contribute to shared resources, collaborate with each other and access project management tools to support their work”.

They’re unveiling the site at the TED conference today. The idea of the site, as for the organization, is to help designers and architects use their talents for the greater good of those in need all over the world. Commendable, for sure, and pretty damned cool besides. AFH rocks!

P.S.Wired ran a story on the site today.

• steinblog.com: The Wow starts….MSFT to go digital with ads
  “Speaking at the 4As conference, Microsoft’s Mich Matthews said that the majority of their ad spend would move online in the next few years.”
  (tags: microsoft marketing advertising onlineads)

• Local Search Sites Draw Users’ Input - WSJ.com
  Nice overview of local search sites and their strategies.
  (tags: localsearch yelp judysbook insiderpages)
• Girl Scout Cookies in Bulk - New York Times
  “The scouting movement moved this year to expand its Web presence, setting up www.girlscoutcookies.org, so buyers can use their ZIP code to find their nearest cookie-selling troop. For the first time this year, the Scouts also posted vintage cookie ads an
  (tags: girlscouts scouts cookies ecommerce)
• Holy crap I just felt another earthquake and it scared the shit out of me. The whole apartment… - Justinsomnia
  I’m with Justin.
  (tags: earthquake SFBay HaywardFault?)

• Internet Reshapes Role of Media Buyers - WSJ.com
  “Once a relatively pedestrian function on Madison Avenue compared with the glamorous creative jobs, media buying has become a critically important role since the Internet and other digital media have exploded the variety of media outlets available.”
  (tags: mediabuying advertising)