Central Perk

sâmbătă, 15 octombrie 2011

Posted: 14 Oct 2011 10:29 PM PDT

We know all about high jumpers, but jumping high enough to avoid death by this speeding car is pretty incredible.

The Lamborghini Gallardo comes frighteningly close to the man before he jumps over the vehicle as it dashes right under him. We don't even want to imagine what could've happened if the timing wasn't just right.

Libyan Guitar Hero

Posted: 14 Oct 2011 09:35 PM PDT

Historically music has always been a feature of battle, from drummers keeping armies marching in time to buglers playing laments for the dead.

In recent years, however, the role of the battle musician has largely been relegated to an anachronism.

Not so in Libya, apparently. An extraordinary picture has emerged from the country, credited to the AFP/Getty agency, which appears to show a guitarist in full song during a fierce gun battle in Sirte.

The photo by Aris Messinis, which was published on 10 October, almost looks too strange to be real. There is no note attached to the photo to say what song was being played - or, indeed, why. But it is certainly a strange insight into the very human chaos of modern warfare.

Source: dailymail

Soda Can Sized Puppies

Posted: 14 Oct 2011 07:58 PM PDT

If you like dogs this will be a real treat for you, here is a collection of dog puppies who are just about the size of soda can. These little pups are the definition of cuteness and it must be because of their size! Probably the smaller it is, the cuter it gets!

You Can Pay for Attention, or You Can Earn It

Posted: 15 Oct 2011 09:19 AM PDT

Posted by randfish

Last night, I was feeling under the weather, lying on the couch and watching a college football game on television when this advertisement comes on:

It's clever, right? JC Penney realizes something every SEO, social media marketer and viral content builder has known since they got into web marketing: People don't like being interrupted by marketing. So they provide content instead, hoping to earn a positive reaction and, in the future, a positive association with the male customer base watching Friday night sports.

Penney likely spent ~$20,000 for 30 seconds of interruption 7 times (that I counted) during the 2 hours I'm on the couch drinking hot tea.

I just hope they're spending $140,000 per channel per night on inbound, too, because when their customers want mens clothes, they do this:

and see this:

via @betsypavlica

and participate in this:

via Metafilter

and consume content like this:

via Primer

I enjoyed the JC Penney ad. It made me think about advertising, about what consumers want out of marketing and about where the future of attention and influence are headed. In my opinion, the time for interrpution is over. That's why I love being an inbound guy. Our time's just beginning :-)

Do you like this post? Yes No

Weekly Address: Made in America

Your Daily Snapshot for
Saturday, October 15, 2011

Weekly Address: Made in America

From a GM plant in Detroit, President Obama highlights the landmark trade agreements passed this week which will support tens of thousands of American jobs, level the playing field for American workers, and help us meet our goal of doubling our exports.

Watch the video.

Weekly Wrap Up

Here's what happened this week on Whitehouse.gov:

A Strong Bond The President and Mrs. Obama hosted President Lee Myung-Bak of South Korea for an official White House State visit. On a rainy Thursday President Lee and his wife arrived at the White House to a crowd of people on the South Lawn. Later that day President Obama and President Lee held a joint press conference to discuss the global economy and how to capitalize on the strong U.S.-Korean relationship to create jobs. That evening, the Obamas hosted a State Dinner in honor of President Lee, featuring produce from the White House kitchen garden fall harvest. On Friday, both leaders travelled to Detroit where they toured General Motors Orion Assembly and gave remarks on the recent Landmark Trade Agreement between the two countries.

Breaking Records On Thursday the First Lady led 400 local students in a bid to help break the Guinness World Records title for the most people doing jumping jacks in a 24-hour period. National Geographic Kids Magazine “jumped” in on the fun on the South Lawn in support of the First Lady’s Lets Move! Initiative. Figure skater Michelle Kwan and Today show host Al Roker were also on hand.

Fighting for Jobs The morning after the Senate’s failure to pass the American Jobs Act, the president addressed student, business, and cultural leaders at the Forum on Latino Heritage where he talked about his unwavering focus on creating jobs and putting people back to work. “The media will look at last night’s vote and say, well that’s it—let’s move on to the next bill. But I’ve got news for them... not this time. Not with so many American outs of work…we will not take no for an answer.”

Jobs for Law Enforcement Vice President Biden visited Flint, Michigan, a town that has been forced to cut its police force in half due to budget cuts. The Vice President talked with local law enforcement and firefighters about the American Jobs Act and how it would both create jobs and protect the nation's "most basic obligation" to keep our citizens safe by putting cops and firefighters back to work. "This is a fight for the soul of this country. It's a fight for the middle class. ... It's about making sure America's fire departments, police departments continue to be a large part of the American fabric and be able to do their job.”

West Wing Week: Check out your video guide to everything that happened at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Get Updates

Stay Connected

This email was sent to e0nstar1.blog@gmail.com
Manage Subscriptions for e0nstar1.blog@gmail.com
Sign Up for Updates from the White House
Unsubscribe e0nstar1.blog@gmail.com | Privacy Policy
Please do not reply to this email. Contact the White House

The White House • 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW • Washington, DC 20500 • 202-456-1111

Seth's Blog : Gala economics

Gala economics

The email feels like a welcome one. "I'd like to invite you to…"

And then you find out it's a charity gala. 500 people at an expensive hotel, eating a not very good meal and paying a great deal for the privilege. Sure, some of the money goes to charity (but too much goes for the chicken in white sauce). Sure, it's entirely possible you will have ten interesting minutes of conversation, and yes, it may be that you'll hear a speech that will move you.

But I think we can agree that this is a ridiculous way to efficiently raise money for a good cause.

Galas and charity auctions and other events designed to raise money from the inner circle of a community suffer because they're conflating several benefits at once.

First, being invited to a gala feels like a gift. It's nice to be asked, to be noticed, to be included. The socially appropriate response is to accept the gift and say yes.

Notice that the invitation isn't being accepted because it's a good cause, it's being accepted because it's a social obligation.

Second, there's a set of benefits to both the invited and the inviter. The gala is held in a reasonably enjoyable venue, with lots of money spent on wine and food and such, all to benefit the attendees, not the charity. The inviter gets the social gratification of hosting, plus the added benefit of feeling charitable. The guest gets the social benefit of being included in this stratum of society, of having an excuse for a night out, and possibly the commercial benefit (lawyers, brokers, etc.) of being part of a trusted circle.

Again, none of this benefits the charity. [And having a big donor pay for the whole thing changes nothing.]

For this reason, the gala is actually corrupting. Attendees are usually driven by social and selfish motivations to attend, and thus the philanthropic element of giving--just to give--is removed.

Attending an event that's dramatically overpriced for what's delivered to the recipient is a signaling mechanism as well. It says to the other attendees, "I can afford to overpay and so can you, we must be similar, and our hearts are in the right place as well."

Do elements of our community need gala-like events to lubricate their social interactions? Quite probably. It's a tradition, particularly in certain cities and tribes. But is it a scalable alternative to selling generosity for its own sake?