Canuckflack

David Letterman, on his contract with CBS being extended to 2010:

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“”I’m thrilled to be continuing on at CBS,” Letterman, 59, said in a statement. “At my age you really don’t want to have to learn a new commute.”

The anti Wal-mart crowd gets a big wet sloppy kiss from Fortune. A profile of Wake Up Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart Watch. Some details from Wake up Wal-Mart‘s plans:

“… The PowerPoint presentation entitled “Hope for the Holidays” details how the 1 1/2-year-old union-backed group plans to rattle Wal-Mart’s carefully crafted image precisely when Americans are frequenting the mega-retailer most. It includes a ten-part timeline for attacking the company from mid-October through the end of the year.

The week before Christmas, for example, the group plans a mini-campaign titled “America, Pray for Wal-Mart to Change.” It calls for reaching out to religious leaders and groups, targeted media buys and candlelight vigils in front of the stores, with families and children asking for health care. It’s topped off by a national day of prayer.”

Ed’s got a good conversation going about the propriety of Canadian PR bloggers hosting advertising by CNW. Here’s my comment:

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“Good points, guys.

Yes, I decided to carry the ad. I’ve never carried ads because I could never be guaranteed an ad program would deliver ads specific to my readership – the CNW ad hits that group square on the (nail) head.

CNW should probably test several methods of increasing their contact with the online world. Ads are a start, but maybe a blog outreach program or even an internal blog can be a next step. For most everyone in the real world, we’re still in a time of baby steps – and baby tumbles.

I have to disagree, though, with the concept that PR blogs should be some sort of “port in the storm.” The PR community is not going to maintain a long term postition of authority as the counsellor or expert in social media by avoiding integrated marketing.

Advertising and marketing agencies are more than willing to demonstrate their long-standing expertise in audience segmentation, message development, vehicle execution and performance measurement.

At the moment, PR blogs are quick to claim the moral and ethical high ground when faced with poorly thought-out blogs and splogs dreamed up by marketing teams.

But those professions will learn – quickly.

PR agencies have to diversify in their range of interest to become a central partner on social media campaigns that take advantage of PR, advertising, marketing and retail execution.

In some cases, PR agencies will stumble. To wit: Edelman.

If we do not adapt, we will lose our present competitive advantage in social media. The winner (in RFP showdowns, the bank account and in C-Suites) will be the media consultant who can demonstrate impact upon business and the bottom line.

Knitta Please. Renegade knitters, touching up the inner city one stitch at a time. Pictures on their MySpace page and Flickr.

“…A tag crew of knitters, bombing the inner city with vibrant, stitched works of art, wrapped around everything from beer bottles on easy nights to public monuments and utility poles on more ambitious outings. With a mix of clandestine moves and gangsta rap — Knitta was born! Today, Knitta is a group of more than 10 ladies of all ages, races, nationalities, religions, sexual orientation… and gender.”

Interview in Metropolis.

That’s my rendition of a Death Star, built out of a Ball of Whacks – the new creativity toy/tool developed by Roger von Oech.� Built from� of 30 magnetic blocks, its’ geodesic shape reminds me of the Montreal Biosphere or the Hostel in the Forest (photos).

Roger sent me a complimentary Ball after I praised his books in a post on creativity. His level of engagement online, as Paul has discussed, is both startling and logical: the audience and market for truly though-provoking innovations really has moved online.

I can go on and on about Roger’s past work encouraging creativity and innovation, but I’ll let my recent experience with the Ball of Whacks say it all:

• when I have this ball on my desk, everyone – I mean everyone – who stops by plays with it.
• when I took it home, my three kids fought to play with it.

We went on a road trip this past weekend, and the kids demanded equal time playing with the ball. One of them even brought a plastic Ikea tray so she could smash the ball and reassemble it into different shapes. If you look closely, you can see white dots where the kids wore down each individual magnetic piece as they played with the ball.

I found it remarkable that all three kids wanted to play with the ball so much – they each have their own style of learning and expression. Nevertheless, the expressive kid, the intuitive kid and the crazy kid all found different uses for von Oech’s Ball of Whacks.

This observation seems to apply in the office as well. The control freak wants to reassemble the ball. The skeptic takes it apart and reassembles it. The procrastinator tries to build a Transformer robot out of it. The lazy bastard just takes it apart and leaves all thirty pieces on the desktop. And the truly creative person uses the pieces to spell words on the side of a metal filing cabinet.

As a visual thinker and attention-deprived worker, I appreciated the 96 page handbook that comes with the Ball, but I haven’t read it yet. I’m sure it’s very good, and will make good reading when I find time – in 2007. In the meanwhile, I’m going to continue playing with my ball.

[tags] Creative, Creativity, Imagination, Whacks [/tags]

Successful advertising always attracts your attention: a successful product solves a� problem you may not have yet identified. Such is the magic of Zipcar‘s online advertising, which I have seen on several Toronto sites and blogs.

Hey folks. I apologize if you’ve been having a hard time accessing the feed or Canuckflack.com: my server’s been suffering under a near constant comment spam attack, it seems.

Regular programming should recommence shortly.

Two Threadless t-shirts for your consideration: a reprint of the prize charts you used to find on the back of 25c comic books, and a horrible, horrible joke at Colonel Sanders’ expense.

Oh – did I mention they’re having their $10 sale?

Hate to take a break from blowing smoke up our collective online asses, but the real “conversations” between businesses, consumers and communities are happening on the ground, in neighbourhoods where broadband, sparkling water and long-term financial planning are rarely considered.

Companies experimenting with social media online are really just testing the theories and developing extensive test data: the real work to develop links and relationships between businesses, consumers and their communities demands shoe leather, handshakes and company reps with operational responsibility.

In, “A grassroots approach to emerging-market consumers,” McKinsey’s Christoper Beshouri really digs into several practical and successful examples of how companies in the developing world are building sustainable businesses with the help of their customers.

“…People in local communities—not only the mayors and barangay (village) captains but also school principals, teachers, religious leaders, and residents themselves—are in the best position to help companies deal with the challenges of doing business in low-income areas. These community agents have the information and ability to monitor and influence what happens on the ground. If a company can show that its own interests are aligned with their interest in employment and commerce, it can then enlist community support for security, collection, and system monitoring. Community-based approaches help companies address principal-agent issues head on while creating a positive dynamic that reinforces key business model adaptations.

… [there are several business models that could be followed, but each involves] deep, long-term community relationships and investments, whose value is illustrated by the extraordinary support Manila Water received when it asked regulators for a rate increase in 2002. Ninety barangay captains and community leaders showed up at the hearing and expressed their appreciation for the powerful positive impact Manila Water had on their communities.

These people told stories about the way residents formerly began their trek at midnight to get water back to their households by dawn, about new jobs and entrepreneurial activity, and about Manila Water’s support for the community’s special needs and projects. To these local leaders, Manila Water had become an essential partner in their livelihood and quality of life; they were prepared to stand by the company.”

Yes – the emphasis is on building a business relationship with the community. In the end, money is being exchanged. But communities are being changed – and not� because� of� a vague sense of debt or social obligation.

Say you’re a city in Great Britain. Say you have a rather disturbing pigeon problem, and you want to clean up the streets before assuming the mantle of European City of Culture 2008.

You want to educate kids and community groups about the dangers of feeding “feral” pigeons. Personally, I would think this picture would do the trick, but one City Council thinks an endearing educational film would communicate this key message more clearly:

“Please don’t feed the Pigeons. Its bad for the Pigeons Its Bad for the City.”

“Ideas the team have thought of:

A short animated film, along the lines of a Nick Park (Wallace & Gromit, Creature Comforts, etc) style Pigeon hosting the film.

A Bill Oddie ‘Springwatch’ style educational nature style film. Preferably with Bill Oddie/Kate Humble or similar presenting.

The finished film would be circa 3 minutes.”

The picture is from a PowerPoint deck included with the quotation document. The deck also includes the print collateral and posters that will accompany the campaign, with a note that they are under embargo until next February.

Personally, I think the message “Pigeons could turn mean and crap on your head” works much better than “It’s bad for the city.” Children have a notoriously poor sense of allegiance to political constructs like City Councils and concepts of shared community responsibility. Maybe it’s because they’re politically disenfranchised, discriminated against because of things like age, literacy skills and capacity to reason.

As for community groups, the cumulative property damage caused by these “rats of the sky” would likely be a more resonant message.

It’s easy to swipe at government communications efforts, but just because your organization has to deal with a number of different constituencies doesn’t mean your messages should be dumbed down and rendered nearly meaningless.

In any case – a recent article in the NYT suggests that anti-pigeon feeding efforts may have to be highly targeted:

“…”In a city like New York or like Melbourne,” [Guy Merchant, director of the Pigeon Control Advisory Service in Britain] argues, ”the pigeon population is sustained solely by little old ladies and little old men that go out every single day and feed top-quality foods to the birds.” This isn’t the average office worker, flinging the last crumbs of lunch. … these feeders maintain a purposeful regimen. Lefebvre calls them ”marginal city dwellers whose interests in life do not much extend beyond feeding pigeons.” He describes, with disarming empathy, people who ”wait outside the backdoors of restaurants for day-old bread and patiently soften all the bread and break it into little pieces and then hand it out to the pigeons.”…”

Another Wikipedia tempest in a teapot. The entry for Xplane, the information design specialist, was identified for deletion. The wikidebate was quick – 8 days. As a final blow, the administrator deleting the entry made an Office Space joke and redirected the entry for Xplane to the entry for X-plane, the experimental plane from the early jet era.

It’s worth reading the wikidebate just to get a taste of the sort of arguments marshalled by both sides as they argue for and against� a Wikipedia entry referencing a commercial company.�

Revisting the firing of Jan Pronk, the former U.N. special envoy to the Sudan, who was fired in part for what he wrote on his blog: Jeremy Wagstaff has posted the transcript of his interview with Pronk. They discuss why Pronk blogged in the first place, and whether the blog was truly responsible for his firing.

Mmmmm. The promise of� winter and a sure-fire retail� success.� Right now, it’s only a� hut dropped onto blocks in� the recently drained Rideau Canal.�

All we need is twenty straight days of sub-zero weather, not too much rain, a little snowplowing,� dozens of teenage cooks and servers – and this hut and others along the Canal will be serving fresh and sweet BeaverTails. (a concept first developed by Grant Hooker)

Matt Mackenzie has a flickr photo of a BeaverTails hut in full swing.

You know, I don’t consider myself a stuffy traditionalist. I like the new new thing. I like� the sense of unease and excitement� that� accompanies� new technology. But I can’t help being skeptical about the hype surrounding� Second Life.

Yes, it’s an innovative community that draws inhabitants from around the world.� After tasting the unique lifestyle and sometimes startling vistas, many visitors make a conscious decision to invest in property and visit more often.� It may� be a respite from everyday life, or a home base for a new life in a vibrant and developing community. Sure, some conflict has emerged as the original settlers have been confronted with accelerating� plans for development and the raised expectations of new arrivals. There are some calls for a more representative government. They’re all the issues that normally face a growing community … in Central Florida.

That’s right. There are some striking similarities between� Second Life and Celebration, Florida – the� Disney-planned and built community� based on the principles of New Urbanism.�

Think about the hype surrounding Second Life.� Remember that there are several online communities (gaming, role playing or otherwise) with similar or larger subscriber bases. The recent spate of “online firsts” are only� somewhat noteworthy� because they� were staffed by avatars.� How about these headlines instead:

• American Apparel opens first outlet in Celebration
• Starwood Hotels premieres new design in Celebration
• Original Settlers Disturbed by Rampant Commercialism
• Reuters Reports on Hedonist Lifestyle
• Local Chamber of Commerce welcomes new integrated marketing company
• Horny Husbands Willing to Exchange Custom-Designed Shoes and Blouses for Mildly Racy Chat

[tags] Second Life, SL, in-world [/tags]