A few years ago, Duncan Watts — a network-theory pioneer at Yahoo! Research — wanted to test a theory. He ran a series of tests to see if popular music could be made popular again or if the original success was just plain luck. Watts wondered, can you browbeat people into thinking something is popular [...]

“Ink” is a high-concept visual thriller that movie buffs might rank alongside Brazil, Dark City, Being John Malkovich and Pan’s Labyrinth.  Husband and wife team, writer/director Jamin Winans  and producer Kiowa Winans, created the feature-length digital picture on a shoestring budget with no support from Hollywood in terms of production or distribution. Trailer: Upon completion [...]

Icebreaker is a New Zealand-based manufacturer of Merino wool garments including shirts, socks and outdoor wear. Icebreaker customers will find a number on each sales tag that uniquely identifies the garment they bought.  When you enter this  “Baa Code” (clever Kiwis) on their website, you unlock  the supply source of that specific garment. One of [...]

The “blog” is well-understood, having become a household word in the Americas and Europe, but in a Monrovia, the capital city of the west African nation of Liberia, you may not even recognize them. Liberia has suffered two decades of civil war. Here, television and radio have all but been destroyed. The internet is very [...]

Ze’Germans (actually, the Swedes) are up to something very interesting for Volkswagen: they’ve created a site as a hub for something they’re calling “The Fun Theory”. The idea is based on the notion that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better. Be it for yourself, for [...]

You, me, the internet, South Park, the white house, even Kanye West knows that Kanye West is a “jackass”… So reflecting on his recent interruption of Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the MTV music awards, I wonder if it was another Kanye blunder or a slimy marketing stunt from a fledgling industry. I’m not the [...]

My wife Tweeted me this morning to tell me that I have an unusual FedEx package waiting for me at home today, five chocolate grasshoppers and a link to this video: It turns out that 5000 of the most influential people in North America have been sent five chocolate grasshoppers with the hope that they [...]

Who: The Guardian What: The Guardian launches Open Platform, a suite of services that allows content publishers to freely access and integrate Guardian content with their own (with the requirement that Guardian content must not be altered or misrepresented, with watermarks retained). Where: http://www.guardian.co.uk/open-platform Why: Traditional media is having a hard time sustaining a business [...]

A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about Queensland Australia’s campaign for “The Best Job in the World”. Quick Recap (full post): “The department of Tourism in Queensland, Australia have created a new position: “The Best Job in the World”. The job’s most important duty is to report to Tourism Queensland (and to the world) [...]

Who: Wonga What: Wonga provides quick, short-term cash advances. The system uses its own dynamic trust mechanism to determine how much money can be borrowed: “Once you become a Wonga customer, your trust rating determines how much cash you can apply for. In line with our responsible lending, if you’ve never used our service before [...]

Sometimes video captured and uploaded to YouTube and other video-sharing sites is so graphic, the content is in violation of the platform’s policies. I’m not talking about porn or fictional horror flicks not suitable for children. I’m talking about videos that document witnesses to real-life crimes against humanity, evidence of ethnic cleansing, the plight of [...]

**UPDATE: Submissions now closed. Check out the Short-list here The department of Tourism in Queensland, Australia have created a new position: “The Best Job in the World”. The job’s most important duty is to report to Tourism Queensland (and to the world) to let us know what’s taking place on the islands of the Great [...]

When Scott Monty (blog/twitter) from Ford or Richard (blog/twitter) from Dell make a mistake, they correct it. People respond, trust is earned, the brand is protected and everyone moves on. When Motrin, Wal-mart, Target, Hasbro, Ticketmaster or any other brand make a mistake in social media, credibility is lost. Consumers lose trust and the offending [...]

As social media/digital experts, we tap each other every day on our blogs, podcasts, tweets, etc, to find the latest examples of amazing social media work. The problem is, many folks are stuck on everyone else’s favourites like Dell, SouthWest or any other of the top ten usual suspect/success stories. Recently Peter Kim crowdsourced a [...]

Web 2.0 platforms continue to shake all verticals in the business world. The book publishing world, still vibrating from wikis and blogs, should prepare for another potential quake. WEbook has hit the ground. Infamous for being reject-ful, spiteful and outright mean to up-and-coming authors and content creators, the old-world book-publishing elite have amalgamated into a [...]

Terry Fallis, author of a self-published Canadian political satire entitled, “The Best Laid Plans“, podcasted his book, “chapter by chapter” for free, in order to gain an audience for his literary effort.In June, Terry won a Leacock award and a publisher. Cory Doctorow releases his books in digital format for free in order to gain [...]

I’m learning a lot about trust this week. When I look at my new baby boy, Finnegan, born a few days ago on July 10th, I see that he trusts Danielle and I completely. He trusts us to feed him, to protect him and to keep him warm. He trusts that we will be there [...]

In marketing, people are called consumers. The marketing definition of a consumer is, “the ultimate user of a product or service”; while the dictionary says that a consumer is, “a heterotrophic organism that ingests other organic matter in a food chain.” Given these definitions, it’s no wonder marketers are having a hard time seeing consumers [...]

[Update: I have written a follow-up post to this with the latest top ten fanpages on Facebook with deeper insights in determining best practices here] Facebook Pages have been out for several months now in an effort to create a better brand experience for both advertisers and users of this leading social network. From Facebook: [...]

Recently, The East Village Idiot smelled a rat on Facebook. “When I saw that 156,000 people had become ‘fans’ of Ticketmaster on Facebook, I got suspicious. Their fan page is now the 5th most popular on Facebook – they have more fans than Hillary Clinton. ‘Come on! There are not 156,000 people who would willingly [...]

Raising funds for this year’s Terry Fox run or Pink Ribbon campaign is no longer limited to your door knocking abilities. From Facebook apps asking you to “chip in” to crowd-sourcing real-world solutions, the ability to tap the wealth and knowledge of your social network may just be the solution you’re looking for. Social media [...]

You can’t buy your way into social media. What may require tens of millions in traditional media simply isn’t necessary in the social media space. In fact, tossing more money at your advertising issues simply will not solve them the way it may have in the past. You must look at your goals and engage [...]

I was recently invited to speak to third-year Ryerson University students about the influence “radical trust” can have on interior design. At first I wasn’t sure what I would say, but now, after having completed the journey, I’m sure that the result was worth the effort. If not for them, at least for me. Radical [...]

This is a good idea Kathleen Edwards gets it. Not only is she a talented musician, she clearly understands that a credible “celebrity” needs to put her money where her mouth is when supporting a “cause”. I’ve worked with enough musicians to know that most of them consider themselves “the cause”. Although I don’t work [...]

UPDATE**** Congrats to Jen Gould for winning the Children’s Album of the Year Juno last night (April 6th 08) in Calgary. The children’s music CD “Music Soup” by Jen Gould had been out for a few months when her husband Hayes Steinberg (a former colleague of mine at MacLAREN McCANN in Toronto) came up with [...]

The proliferation of blogs, podcasts and online versions of print and broadcast media channels have created a new kind of influencer. Savvy public relations departments and firms are beginning to realize that these new influencers have different needs than their traditional journalist cousins. Most of these new influencers have not been assigned the story, nor [...]

There is a significant cultural revolution going on right now which affects all forms of communication. This boom is redefining every aspect of how we communicate and relate with one another. Social media is the echo to that boom and we should all remember that people are not mediums for our messaging – agencies and [...]

Nothing replaces passion for a particular subject when determining who should write for your corporate/collective blog. You can recognize a good blogger from a mile away. It may be the gleam in their eye when they talk about their work, it might be their gift to consistently teach something new. Whatever it is, rank in [...]

When developing strategy for a group or corporate blog, don’t forget that “blogger motivation” is a key factor in the formula for overall success. As in any other community, the needs of its members must be considered to ensure each remains active, current and topical. Even with the best technology, design, widgets, etc, the corporate [...]

As Gov. Schwarzenegger urges an end to the Hollywood writers’ strike over access to digital dollars, a new level of remix-ability and creative liberation emerges from Hollywood North. The Tracey Fragments, a new film from Bruce McDonald (Hard Core Logo, Highway 69) is taking the right to remix, and creative commons to a new extreme. [...]

YouTube meets craigslist at HotSwap, a US-based video-classifieds site for used cars. HotSwap allows anyone to publish a car ad to sell their own car. Sellers use a video-capable handset or digi-cam to capture a walk-around of their ride, register with HotSwap and upload. For buyers, a simple navigation system makes it a cinch to [...]

In it’s simplest form, the SMPR (Social Media Press Release) is not unlike the TMPR (Traditional Media Press Release). Basically, you’re communicating details about a particular product, event or program so that content creators (bloggers, journalists) can disseminate that information across their respective media. TMPRs tend to be long-winded, often-not very creative and many times [...]

By all appearances, Marié Digby had the makings of a modern music legend. She had all the math: young, beautiful and talented. She’d garnered over 2.3 million views of her simple homemade video covers on YouTube (see below). Her humble beginnings likely helped her earn a place on MTV and radio play in influential music [...]

We have a lot to learn from the Swedes. For instance, how do they make a profit serving a meatball lunch for a buck? Or how do they compress an entertainment wall unit down so tight it can fit into a surfboard case? How do they know I’ll love something for exactly one year, toss [...]

Microstock photography is an offshoot of traditional stock photography – the main difference being that microstock shots are almost exclusively gathered by crowdsourcing via the internet. Typically the photos come from shutterbugs who provide royalty-free shots in exchange for a share in the revenue of their sale, ranging from a few cents to around $50. [...]

Curiously, the Dutch have a word for “free of traffic signs” and it’s “verkeersbordvrij”. My ancestors over in the mother-province of Friesland, Netherlands are up to a very interesting traffic-planning experiment and it just may spark a world-wide trend in radical trust. In order to make the streets safer for everyone, traffic planners have removed [...]

Most people would agree that social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Flickr are largely about ego. The more ego you stroke in a social media application, the more addictive the platform becomes. A quick look at a Facebook user profile illustrates how many addictive little ego strokes there are, and how they contribute to [...]

As advertisers adapt to the online environment, the technology continually improves and a new form of microsite is taking hold. Some of these engaging environments set a new bar in the cost of entry to online media. If advertisers are able to intercept an internet session and divert attention towards engagement with a “microsite” that [...]

Q: What’s this? A: “The MySpace community will give America its first Presidential primary winner in 2008.” Chris DeWolfe, CEO of MySpace. Q: When? A: January 1st and 2nd, 2008 Q: Which candidates currently have MySpace profiles? A: Many of them including: Barack Obama 89947 friends John Edwards 17071 friends Hillary Clinton 7685 friends John [...]

There’s no doubt that social media is entering the “fatigue” phase. Friendster begets MySpace begets FaceBook begets Twitter, how does one keep up? With dozens of social media outlets competing for various inputs, profile updates, content management, etc – is there any wonder why people are tossing in the towel and walking away from their [...]

I recently picked up a copy of “My Secret,” a book compiled by Frank Warren. Originally created as a web-based community art project back in 2004, this new collection of never-seen-before postcards features deeply personal confessions from ordinary people using an extraordinary platform. This book is a follow up to the best seller “Post Secret,” [...]

Have you been open to the idea of social media for some time now, but are still unsure whether you’re ready to go all the way? Frankly, you are not alone. The conflicting reports are numerous, arguing both for and against “letting go” of brand control. Unfortunately, the “con” arguments often read as “what were [...]

It’s been about a year since the Snakes on a Plane phenomenon hit the internet. Just over a month ago, the DVD was released, bringing the movie cycle to a near close. I purchased the DVD today and was admittedly a bit disappointed. After all that transpired online with this movie, I expected New Line [...]

The Step Forward A couple of months ago, I wrote about Universal’s deal with YouTube. Myself: “Lucky for Universal. Not only do they get a cut of the revenue for their videos posted by fans, they also get a cut of the revenue from the videos created by fans. As for the fans, they’ll continue [...]

If “surfing the web” is a phrase befitting of its task, surely participants of social media are “scuba diving the web”. On a grand coral reef, scuba divers commune with the fish while they enjoy the vast scenery and truly connect with a world more wondrous than their own. Scuba divers, however, can also devastate [...]

Some time ago, “Stabilo Boss” put together an amazing asset on Flickr. His photoset houses hundreds of web 2.0 logos in 4 byte sized chunks. This collection is invaluable when preparing a keynote on web 2.0, social media or contemporary logo design. Various users on flickr have been commenting on each logo, identifying and providing [...]

Be innovative or die, it’s that simple in the contemporary marketplace. Take this quick radicaltrust.ca survey to find out how innovative your company is measured against emerging needs of the contemporary consumer. Instructions: Raise a fist to your chest, raise a finger for each “Yes” response to the 5 questions. Results are listed below. Let’s [...]

Social Media is not a fad. If you’re a marketer, count on it being a large part of your daily future. So what are the leading types of social media and what are the best business opportunities presenting themselves in this early growth stage? To answer that, I give you: radicaltrust.ca ‘s top 10 Social [...]

Perhaps you recall the Lego Factory, an ingenious promotion that invites consumers to create and share models online; potentially leading to a profit-share with Lego. Enter the indie Pop band “The Decemberists”. Offering a new contest “ReAnimate the Decemberists,” this CGM competition challenges fans to create the animated backdrop needed to complete the band’s video [...]

Title: MOO Mini Cards URL: http://www.moo.com Type: Custom Printed Mini Business Cards using Flickr photos. The Horses Mouth: The web. You can’t touch it, write on it or put it on the mantle. You can’t hang it on the wall or pass it to the cutie on the bus and you certainly can’t give it [...]

Three lessons have emerged over the last couple of weeks of YouTube antics that every radical truster may take heed. #1 The International Story The biggest story, was of Michael Richards’ (Kramer) career ending rant that resembled a head on collision with a high speed train. A video, posted on YouTube, caught the flustered standup [...]

Vancouver Sculpture Biennale, an outdoor art show featuring sculptures around the city, was seeking an awareness campaign to up their profile. Enter Vancouver’s Rethink agency who took radical trust off-line and into a sculpture frenzy. The result, 1000 highly tactile vacuum-formed shelves with a call to that beckons, “Place Art Here”. The public responded with [...]

As church and state agendas creep alarmingly closer to one and other, the polarization of many hot topics, both spiritual and political, are being fused along a political line. This effect is alienating people from considering the church as anything but right-winged. This hurts a tolerant minded yet shrinking congregation like the The United Church [...]