Author Profile: Ian Fitzpatrick

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This morning’s cup of tea - October 31, 2008
By ian
Posted in This Morning's Cup of Tea on 31 October 2008
Stats: 57 views and No Comments A particularly tall cup of tea over which to peruse goodness, this morning, as last night was a long one… Not normally my thing, but check out this PowerPoint Dan at Lost Garden put together. A wonderful Friday diversion for those of us not rooted in game design (but still into rescuing princesses). Jeff at Forrester clearly [...]
via Ad Lab : Barcode Scanner Applications
By ian
Posted in Hits on 30 October 2008
Stats: 44 views and No Comments Ad Lab has a thought-provoking post on the possibilities presented by two barcode scanner applications for Android, namely ShopSavvy and CompareEverywhere. The main crux of the post, it seems, is that the power of these applications lies not solely in the ability to locate online and local (via GPS) retailers with the best prices on scanned [...]
This Morning’s Cup of Tea - October 30, 2008
By ian
Posted in This Morning's Cup of Tea on 30 October 2008
Stats: 84 views and 1 Comment via Kevin Rothermel at Motherbrain: It appears that we’re headed for another Christmastime Wii shortage, and Kevin thinks perhaps Nintendo is getting a little too comfortable with this routine. I am inclined to agree. via PSFK: You’ve probably read plenty about the new Pepsi cans, but nowhere is the evolution laid out so elegantly as at [...]
via C3: Wal-Mart vs. the Field on DRM
By ian
Posted in Others on 29 October 2008
Stats: 42 views and No Comments Sheila at the Convergence Culture Consortium posts an insightful update on the goings on in the world of DRM, particularly the much ballyhooed DECE (which appears fraught with potential problems in implementation, never mind that it’s a bad idea). Contrast this behavior with that of Wal-Mart (mentioned in two separate posts today!), and the landscape [...]
Joe Camel v. American Apparel
By ian
Posted in Hits on 29 October 2008
Stats: 65 views and No Comments So it all starts when The Observer reported on UK health officials consideration of unbranded cigarette packaging as a means of cutting smoking rates, witness: Public health officials say it will strip cigarettes of their glamorous image and reduce the numbers of young people taking up the habit. Not sure that I buy this, but I digress. We [...]
Wal-Mart, UPS & the power of ubiquity
By ian
Posted in Ideas, Select on 29 October 2008
Stats: 71 views and No Comments Allow me to caveat this entire notion with the fact that I’ve never, in my adult life, set foot inside of a Wal-Mart, for no reason in particular. Certainly, I’m familiar with the common misgivings held by communities and local retailers, fearful of Wal-Mart’s magnetic pull. Additionally, I’m well-aware of the corporation’s union-busting and anti-organizing [...]
This morning’s cup of tea - October 29, 2008
By ian
Posted in This Morning's Cup of Tea on 29 October 2008
Stats: 370 views and No Comments Another link via Planning from the Outside: a breif blurb for a book I’ll definitely be buying - Age of Conversation 2 - the follow-up to (wait for it…wait for it…) Age of Conversation. I will say that the list of authors/contributors cited borders on the absurd. Two days in a row also for posts from [...]
Twitter Updates for 2008-10-28
By ian
Posted in Twitterings on 28 October 2008
Stats: 40 views and No Comments Reading: “Flaming Lips ‘Chime In’ for NBC | Music, Television, TV Biz | Hollywood Insider | EW.com” ( http://tinyurl.com/5jwouv ) # Reading: “The DO Lectures | 4th - 8th September 2008″ ( http://tinyurl.com/6c6sm3 ) # Reading: “Brand Autopsy: Better Billboard. Fresher” ( http://tinyurl.com/6qs2gf ) # Reading: “MLB Playoff Viewing Down, Fans Turning To Online Channels” ( http://tinyurl.com/6ek8kp ) [...]
Twitter Updates for 2008-10-28
By ian
Posted in Twitterings on 28 October 2008
Stats: 41 views and No Comments Reading: “Flaming Lips ‘Chime In’ for NBC | Music, Television, TV Biz | Hollywood Insider | EW.com” ( http://tinyurl.com/5jwouv ) # Reading: “The DO Lectures | 4th - 8th September 2008″ ( http://tinyurl.com/6c6sm3 ) # Reading: “Brand Autopsy: Better Billboard. Fresher” ( http://tinyurl.com/6qs2gf ) # Reading: “MLB Playoff Viewing Down, Fans Turning To Online Channels” ( http://tinyurl.com/6ek8kp ) [...]
This morning’s cup of tea - October 28, 2008
By ian
Posted in This Morning's Cup of Tea on 28 October 2008
Stats: 27 views and No Comments via Planning from the Outside: Mark Lewis has some insightful thoughts on notions of reduction as referenced in John Maeda’s The Laws of Simplicity. I am particularly drawn to the idea of simplicity reflecting humility, as aluded to here. via Maschmeyer: a Firefox plugin that goes beyond blocking banner ads, and actually replaces the offending images [...]
Twitter Updates for 2008-10-27
By ian
Posted in Twitterings on 27 October 2008
Stats: 23 views and No Comments Reading: Now Google Wants Our Brains ( http://tinyurl.com/56wrta ) # Reading: “xkcd - A Webcomic - Steal This Comic” ( http://xkcd.com/488/ ) # Reading: “Are New Video Networks In Trouble? - GigaOM” ( http://tinyurl.com/6o3g6m ) # Reading: “Huffington and Brown - Paths Intertwine in the Blog Thicket - NYTimes.com” ( http://tinyurl.com/6fjcpw ) # Reading: “Trend: Digital Surfaces for the [...]
via Innovation Playground: Choice vs. Commoditization
By ian
Posted in Others on 27 October 2008
Stats: 112 views and No Comments Fantastic (!!!) post from Idris Mootee over at Innovation Playground the other day, centered on the idea that providing equally-weighted choices actually does the consumer a disservice, serving only to confuse him. This gem: Each sushi dictator has his own pet peeves, but there is common ground. Most do not allow sushi bar patrons to order off [...]
via Vincent Thome: rethinking management
By ian
Posted in Others on 27 October 2008
Stats: 25 views and No Comments via the always-interesting blog of Mr. Thome, a link to MLab (Management Lab) in which attendees at their inaugural conference were asked to rethink solutions to traditional management problems. Highlights include a take on rethinking organizational heirarchy from Alex Ehrlich of UBS and John Mackey of Whole Foods discussing the need to re-evaluate the notion [...]
via Wait Marketing: The shortest route to a Saab
By ian
Posted in Others on 27 October 2008
Stats: 40 views and No Comments A great, short post that I am sorry to say that I missed last week, about a promotion for the new Saab 9-X BioHybrid, in which businessmen were given a ride to the Stockholm airport (rather than wait for a cab), as a means of introducing the vehicle to the audience.
via Social Customer Manifesto: More comfort zones
By ian
Posted in Others on 27 October 2008
Stats: 20 views and No Comments On the heels of AdLiterate’s aforeposted rant on the Edge, Christopher Carfi chimes in with a related note on getting out of problem solving ruts.
Hay (and making it)
By ian
Posted in Ideas, Select on 27 October 2008
Stats: 47 views and No Comments I’ve been chewing on the idea of commenting on this piece by Al Ries for a few days now, hesitant, in part because: 1. I’m no expert on branding. Certainly, I’ve nowhere near the credentials of Mr. Ries. 2. I’m no futurist. In the aforementioned post, entitled Don’t Tinker with your Brand, Mr. Ries argues against toying with [...]
This morning’s cup of tea - October 27, 2008
By ian
Posted in This Morning's Cup of Tea on 27 October 2008
Stats: 79 views and No Comments via Steve Rubel at Micro Persuasion: a link to this article on Fortune that challenges our perceptions regarding talent and achievement. Good, good, thought-provoking stuff. via Chroma, an exhaustively well-thought-out piece (from a series of such) at Newsless on the ever-evolving new shape of journalism. Mind-numbing, indeed. via Everything is Miscellaneous, a link to a post on [...]
via B.L. Ochman: Giving away pre-orders
By ian
Posted in Others on 24 October 2008
Stats: 31 views and No Comments Learned this today here: Seth Godin sent a free copy of his new book Tribes to everyone who pre-ordered it, asking them to give their extra copy to someone who might enjoy it. You don’t need me to tell you that Seth’s wildly innovative. Now who’s going to follow his lead on this (and I’m not [...]
Redefining the Knowledge Worker
By ian
Posted in Defining, Select on 24 October 2008
Stats: 134 views and No Comments I know little of fish, apart from my love of consuming it. The handful of restaurants I frequent do a masterful job of supplanting my ignorance with fresh preparations, and I maintain a general trust that they know what they’re doing. Until, as occasionally happens, I am let down. Let us suppose, though, that I was [...]
This morning’s cup of tea - October 24, 2008
By ian
Posted in This Morning's Cup of Tea on 24 October 2008
Stats: 37 views and No Comments via Random Culture: an interesting moment in globalization and cultural appropriation. As someone who spent a significant portion of his life not far from Euless, I can attest to just how remarkable this is. and while you consider the chance that such a phenomena would take place in a world without YouTube, enjoy this revisiting of [...]
via Faris Yakob, who I missed today…Invisibility
By ian
Posted in Others on 23 October 2008
Stats: 32 views and 1 Comment I was supposed to be spending my day in Gotham today, at the Boards Summit. As it so often does, work precipitated my change of plans, and I missed the opportunity to catch Faris Yakob’s presentation. Faris, Digital Ninja at Naked NY was the highlight of Futures of Entertainment 2 last year. Disappointed, I took a [...]
via Russell Davies: Pardon the interruption
By ian
Posted in Others on 23 October 2008
Stats: 30 views and No Comments A pitch-perfect take on consumer bewilderment in the face of oppressive outdoor advertising. The entire post is worth a read, but I thought this especially insightful: The deal isn’t that clear. What do I get out of Coffee Republic selling space on their tables? Is their coffee noticeably cheaper or better? Are the staff better paid [...]
Selling past the close to you
By ian
Posted in Hits on 23 October 2008
Stats: 30 views and 1 Comment RFID has become the girl you’ve dated a few times, like, see some potential in, and is now planning your wedding. Witness this post on Springwise. RFID, like most technologies worth their salt, needs no gimmick attached to it, but rather incorporates seamlessly into our existing devices, worlds and routines. I’m not at all certain how Tikitag [...]
via FurtherAndFaster: A larger (and smaller) megaphone
By ian
Posted in Others on 23 October 2008
Stats: 27 views and No Comments Found this today on FurtherAndFaster. Would never have occurred to me to use to help children create podcasts, although it should have. While it’s obvious that a computer is necessary to distribute content, I wonder whether distributing one million of these microphones to children would serve a greater good than would one million laptops. The collective [...]
The Downside of Phone Support, part 236
By ian
Posted in Select, Service on 23 October 2008
Stats: 67 views and 1 Comment I had, today, the increasingly rare pleasure of competent, helpful phone support at Media Temple - on a work-related, not personal, matter. The call was brief, the insight extremely helpful, and the solution both elegant and immediate. And there was no one to tell. Certainly, I took advantage of the opportunity to tell Scott/Jeff/Doug (it’s hard to [...]
The gearshift, p.2 : The Edge
By ian
Posted in Attributes, Select on 23 October 2008
Stats: 44 views and 1 Comment It’s a shame that I posted a link earlier today to this post on CultureBy before making my daily rounds, as I think it to be a particularly intriguing read in light of this recent post by Richard Huntington on AdLiterate. In the post, entitled Strategies from the Edge, Richard bemoans the trepidation of creatives for [...]
via CultureBy: The consumer gearshift
By ian
Posted in Hits on 23 October 2008
Stats: 23 views and 1 Comment The always-eloquent Grant McCracken posts on the difficulty that we, as consumers, have in shifting our way of life in tumultuous economic times. Of course, he’s written on this subject in other forums previously, but this post seems particularly poignant now.
Futures of Entertainment 3
By ian
Posted in Hits on 23 October 2008
Stats: 24 views and No Comments The Convergence Culture Consortium has announced dates for FoE3, November 21-22 on the MIT campus. A promising schedule, to be certain - less industry-focused at first glance, and a little heavier on the academic end. This I presume to be a product of demand. That said, Grant McCracken is speaking - worth the price of admission [...]
In praise of Dominos
By ian
Posted in Interactions, Select on 23 October 2008
Stats: 47 views and 2 Comments I’m no regular Dominos customer, body mass index to the contrary. That said, I had occasion recently to place a pizza order through the chain, and was surprised by my ability to do so easily and quickly online. Points for Dominos. More noteworthy, though, was a well-thought-through post-purchase experience that literally kept me abreast of my [...]
via Experience Curve: Audience as Editor
By ian
Posted in Hits on 22 October 2008
Stats: 19 views and No Comments Karl Long at Experience Curve outlines the idea behind GooseGrade - a novel service, if of as-yet-undetermined value. This begs the question, of course, when a similar set of tools will be released that allows consumers the same ability to edit errors (even of a grammatical nature) on retail, news and corporate sites. Hard to comprehend [...]