Month: November 2008

These my micropostings and bookmarks – November 9th through November 11th:

• Manage Relationships From Your Inbox | SocialMinder – Finally starting to see services that combine real world behaviour (eg emailing) with static representations of a network (eg lists of contacts). Ideally, a link/API into desktop applications will follow – eg taking an APML profile, or linking to www.rescuetime.com’s desktop monitoring tool… Still, a start’s a start and it’s interesting for that at the very least.
• mySociety » Travel-time maps – Interesting multivariate data meeting simplified and useful graphical presentation.
• carboncreditz™ – Welcome – Earn ‘carbon creditz’ while you shop (think air miles or nectar points) – to be spent on carbon offsets or ‘green’ things (eg Penguin hand-powered LED torch) and eco-stuff.

These my micropostings and bookmarks – November 4th through November 8th:

• The Snow Patrol : Is this the longest ever wait for an online delivery? – Hilarious – a despatch note from The Stationery Office: nearly 6 years after the order was placed.

  Another nice article from the Snow Patrol – a blog worth watching.

• J Sainsbury plc – “New breed of ‘Darwinist shopper’ is unearthed by research” – Wonderful example of PR here. Boring story (‘shoppers go for decent-enough own-brand in difficult times’) is re-presented as ‘Darwinism’ – an ‘evolved consumer’ for these difficult times. Classic effort here by agency Cake and Ms Butt the PR person. Leaving aside that individual organisms tend not to evolve (rather, it’s the species as a result of mutations being more apt), or the implicit message that their customers had some space for evolutionary improvements (!) and even the arrant nonsence that there’s a ‘discovery’ of high science in customers’ trading down, this is still a cheeky release. Kudos. Clearly, Cake are to be watched and Sainsbury’s seem to be evolving a sense of humour 😉
• Do stars shine brighter against a dark sky? [Editorial comment from October 2008’s Internet Retailing Magazine] – My editorial comment from November 2008’s Internet Retailing Magazine.