Lots of fans make incredible art.

My absolute favourite paintings were by Elizabeth Wu. This one in particular I really, really wanted.

I have to mention my totally cool Snapefest bag. If you’ve never heard the Snapecast podcast, have a listen to the snapey, snarkiness of Snapecast.

The People of Portus

Jim Dale, narrates on the North American audio books. Brilliant.

Henry Jenkins, smarter than Hermione, Director, Comparative Media Studies Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Yesterday was about Slytherin. Today was about Gryffindor.

Here’s the burned hand of Dumbledore.

First wizard spotting is a death eater.

First Wrock (Wizard Rock) concert I attend is The Mudbloods.

Quote: The Mudbloods on MySpace. I am LOVING “Wish You’d Be My Witch”. Please listen.

Despite the ominous overtones of these two things, the conference is very cool and awesome.

I’ll be posting photos on my Flickr stream.

Bibb Lettuce with Cucumbers and Tomatoes, Oil and Vinegar Dressing

Pecan-Crusted Chicken Breast with Roasted Corn Sauce, Garlic Mashed
Potatoes, Seasonal Fresh Vegetables
or
Vegetable Lasagna

Banana Cream Pie in Almond Crust

And then the phenomenon of podcasting in the Harry Potter community, according to Monique.

I discovered the DailyMile widget on Caleb Keiter’s blog yesterday and think it is a very cool social tool for training, which seems to be a rather lonely exercise for most of my friends.

You can get training answers, can train with your friends, meet people in your area and find races. I loved watching James’ triathlons. (Note the “watching” part.) And I think the summer boys should get onto this tool and train together. Where’s the race this year? What happened to the boys’ weekends? The fishing? The racing? The sunburns?

Looks fun. So fun I might consider running … maybe across the street to get some nachos. Can this thing track calories?

I love it. I AdHack it.

There’s something about dance video commercials that totally capture my interest. If saw Drench in a story, I’d think of this guy. It would make me happy. I would have good associations. Check it out.

Source: Thanks Dan!

The Long Tail theory, as explained by its creator, Wired magazine editor Chris Anderson, holds that society is “increasingly shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of ‘hits’ (mainstream products and markets) at the head of the demand curve and toward a huge number of niches in the tail.”

Anita Elberse, a marketing professor at Harvard’s business school, argues that the hits are still holding true online. See the full article here. The most popular YouTube items tend to concentrate on a few. The hits and blockbusters are still how we operate as a society.

This may be true but one of the things Anderson argues in the Long Tail, which business are definitely seeing, is that the hits are becoming smaller because the audiences are more fragmented. So although the hits are still working, the question for me is “for how long?”

The other part of the Long Tail is that businesses need to stop thinking about marketing only in the mindset of the hits. For example, the tv ad, the Grand Central print ad placement, the NYTimes ad. Less and less effective.

I’m glad these discussions are still going on. To me it shows that there’s something great opportunity to fix the way marketing works today.

Source: Thanks to Dan Wagstaff

WSJ.com
TheLongTail.com
Harvard Business Review

Does everyone’s left brain like this or just mine?

You Are 35% Left Brained, 65% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you’re left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you’re right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Hey Darren Barefoot just pointed me in the direction of Zoomii.com.

Zoomii bookstore shelves are pulled from Amazon data and you can zoom in, scan the shelves and click for book details. This is a cool idea: browse 22,060 books, search 156,580 books.

Got feedback? Pop over to the forum.