manage to experience

BizTweets

Think Twitter is just a hyperactive form of IM'ing? Think again. Maybe there's something in it for your business. Both Zappo's and Jet Blue have found a way to use Twitter in a meaningful way.

And if you're a Twitter novice there's plenty of info in this excellent article from Tara Hunt to help you on your way to your first Tweet.

Melding practicality and creativity

Four chefs talk about kitchen design. I'm far more interested in what happens in the kitchen than I am in front-of-the-house theater.




Technorati Tags: metropolis, chefs, kitchens, creativity

Info vs. IP

Steven Poole reports from the front lines of the battle between free and "I need to eat", with the results of an experiment in giving away free electronic copies of one of his books:

Clearly this is not any kind of business plan. Still, some people insist that all creative work ought to be given away like this. Several idealistic types in the comments here welcomed my giveaway as reflecting the true spirit of the free dissemination of knowledge. Although I quite admire this sentiment as a utopian principle, I have some problems with it in the real world. Because, you see, this is what I do for a living.

Reader, here's your chance to weigh in. What is the business model of the future (BizMod2.0?) for creative works?

1. Karma. It's its own reward.
2. Multiple flavors of patronage: The old school type, or new wave product placement. Take your pick.
   
3. Uh, it's the long tail. I read about it in a book somewhere.

Technorati Tags: steven poole, freetards, drm, copyright, publishing, writing, professionals

Good looking women + chocolate > common sense

Give me a truckload of chocolate and some Charlie's Angels lookalikes and I can take down an entire nation's IT infrastructure:

A survey out today by the organizers of the tech-security conference Infosecurity Europe found that 21% of 576 London office workers stopped on the street were willing to share their computer passwords with a good looking woman holding a clipboard. People were offered a chocolate bar in exchange for the information. More than half of the people surveyed said they used the same password for everything.

Technorati Tags: it, security, passwords, infosecurity europe

Learn (and practice) before you shoot

Another day, another Web 2.0 dust up. It's a classic case in how not to engage a critic (in this case, a satirist) online. Read about it and learn.

Matt Craven makes a point that seems to have gotten too little attention. That point? I'll paraphrase:

Don't post content that undermines the idea that you are a professional.

The bar for video is rising, and the quickest way to differentiate yourself and your business from some random guy posting cell phone video straight to YouTube is to exercise just a little care in how you produce video. Sure, if you see Elvis flipping burgers at the Mall of America and all you've got is your Razr, go for it. Shoot away. But if you're taking time to produce a video that you believe has something important to offer, do it right.

I'm not talking about hiring a pro crew. Let's assume we're limiting ourselves to video that's going on to the Web, and that we need to work fast and inexpensively.

In that context, doing it right means figuring out the basics – camera, lighting, sound, interview technique – before you start taping. Practicing won't hurt. It means not allowing your equipment or the process to become distractions to the audience. Ultimately, it means communicating your ideas, not your ineptitude.


Technorati Tags: video, web2.0, social media, loren feldman, shel israel