Jaffe Juice

Across the Sound is back. This is episode 14 with Tom Hespos guest/co-hosting. It's an extra long version (just over an hour), as there is much to cover and ATS has been "off the air" for a few weeks, but don't fret....it will get leaner, meaner, tighter and succinter as the weeks unfold. Enjoy and don't forget to take the survey afterwards...

You can download the show as a one-off here or subscribe via your local podcatcher (PodcastAlley, iTunes etc.)

(caveat: If I trackback to a post that trackbacked to me, would that be a circular reference?)

Here's a snippet from Fresh Glue's post which referenced my Juicies:

If you happen to like these year-end lists, you probably caught TBS's Funniest Commercials of the Year. You can view their top 10 here. Americans says they hate advertising but then they're willing to watch an entire show of ads that was created with the sole purpose of selling even more ads.

Here's why this is, in fact, not a contradiction: Americans/consumers don't feel like they're being sold to when they watch a show about advertising...and that's because they perceive and therefore consume the advertising as content. They also don't perceive the content as being disruptive or intrusive.

...now as far as the advertising that interrupts the program is concerned, that's another story, or is it?

I was interviewed for a year-end piece on NPR about the advertising highs and lows from 2005. It will be on All Things Considered on Friday and I'll provide a link to the audio after the fact (unless I end up sounded like a dork)

Here is a selection of my best and worst "so called TV" spots (hint: they needn't have run on TV to be considered TV in my eyes) from the year:

Best

• Proof of Life Award: Wieden + Kennedy’s Honda Anthem Spot
• Production Budget Safety Blanket Award: Sony Bravia
• Best Exercise in Consumer Collaboration: Converse Gallery
• Reality Advertising Award: Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty
• Reality Advertising Part II: Nike’s Tiger Woods spot (mine)
• Shtick to the fundamentals Award: Young Tiger Woods spot (Nike)
• Burger King’s “The King” series esp. with NFL Football
• One step ahead award: Burger King’s iPod Video (Heavy) creative
• Best use of 30-seconds: Napster’s 30-second peep-show
• Best worst kept secret: “Banned” X-Box 360 ad
• Best extension of a conventional campaign: Reebok’s I-am-what-I-am

• Best covert-PR-cover-up-conspiracy-theory-premeditated act of genius (TIE): The Heavy (already denied) or Crispin created "viral" Crying Game spot for Burger King on Heavy.com and secret society blood brothers partnership between Lugz and Apple for the latter's so-called rip-off of the former's former campaign (see below)

Wurst

• Neil French Award: Continental’s One Pass Miles (the one with the office whore who will sleep with anyone who has enough One Pass Miles - ugggh)
• Sex does not necessarily Sell Award: Carls Jr
• Borrowed Interest Swill Award: GAP’s downward spiral using celebrity endorsement
• Failure to reinvent the wheel: Pretty much most Automotive Advertising
• Most in need of an Extreme Makeover: Target
• Most esoteric and abusive placement AKA I advertise because I can, as opposed to I need to: Apple’s iPod
• Most blatant rip off of a previous campaign courtest of the Blogosphere: Adfreak's spot-the-difference post of the iPod Eminem rip-off of the Lugz campaign

I have exercised particular restraint at avoiding best/worst lists, as well as making predictions for 2006. Apparently, Jeff Jarvis agrees with me.

But 2 days before the end of 2005, I have caved and given in to temptation.

This is Brandweek's best and worst list (thanks, Erno) and here are some of their picks: (their verbatim words, in the form of either a BEST/thumbs up or WORST/thumbs down, are followed by my commentary in italics)

1. BEST: Use of shameless sex in advertising - Paris Hilton/Carl's Jr. - great impact and buzz, except for the fact it didn't sell chicken burgers; Carl's Jr's parent company was downgraded; Brandweek puts "Paris Hilton" in the credit list (need I say more) Look, if we're talking about brand benefit to PH, then yes, you deserve your number 1 (thumbs up) status; for all reasons, this deserves 2 thumbs WAAAAAY down.

6. BEST: Pitch to "real" women - TIE - Dove campaign for real beauty and curvation initimate apparel. At the end of the day, real people buy real products for real reasons and maybe...just maybe...will identify with other real people in the process. That's not an insight; it's common sense.

21. BEST: Trend for creative advertising - Broadband Video Technology.

• The 30-second TV spot may be dead, as industry watchers never tire of saying, but what about the 88-second spot or the 127-second spot?

Actually, I say the 300- or 3000-second spot in my book, but thanks for the plug. Video is alive and kicking and living large on the Web. All we need now is for creatives to realize that there is no difference between video that appears on TV and video that appears on the Web (or iPod, PSP etc for that matter) Good luck with that effort.

22. WORST: Trend for Creative Advertising - TiVo Search - Brandweek chides this move as (I paraphrase) too little too late AKA it's not Google AKA why would car buyers want to see a series of 30-second spot oversimplified drivel. OK, so they're right about the crap creative and maybe even right about the implications of this service (should it be successful) i.e. a massive shift to more infomercial type messages, but at the same time I see this as the first step in the realization of "Advertising on Demand." Fundamentally if you believe advertising isn't going away...and/or if it does, what the implications would be, then surely the ability to meet "Right message to right person in right place at right time" as indicated by THEIR express permission can only be a good thing???

23. WORST: Blogs - overhyping of a marketing trend. In short, I'm sure no one at Brandweek is reading this post as it is on a blog (Adfreak, your thoughts please!) To quote them:

• Blogs provide almost no new information
• They're frequently inaccurate
• And they're often written by people who can't, you know, write.

Rules are made to be broken...and lists are created to be critiqued. I like to do both.

Hey Alexander - I wanted to respond to your post about my post on "Lazy Sunday" AKA The Chronic-what?-cles of Narnia, but your comments are closed :( Send me your e-mail address or a way to get my response to you.

Hats off to Steve Hall and his Adrants blog. He's living the blogging dream and is a real shining and guiding light to the power, promise and potential of communal marketing.

I'm not sure what kind of traffic the mainstream media sites get, but I have to believe Adrants is up there with them (if not ahead):

Ten thousand people subscribe to this site's daily email newsletter and that number increases by 50-100 each day. The site is visited by 12-15,000 unique individuals each day and pumps out 25-30,000 page views per day. Seven thousand people subscribe to the site's RSS feed. And the numbers keep curving up.

Adrants is the deserved leader in the space and I'm proud to be mentioned by Steve in his article and to be able to feed off and on, link to and from and be a part of this connection.

I'll be sure to talk to him about this experience when he guest hosts on Across the Sound (Episode #15 - second week of January)

As posted on PVRWire, TiVo is now selling a wireless adapter, which will be able to link to an existing wireless network. Even more amazing is that it doubles as a comm device which allows functionality including (but not limited to) talking with the crew on the Enterprise and full beam-me-up-Scotty capabilities.

The Jaffe's are about to embrace the full power of TiVoToGo and multiroom viewing. Mmmm - on demand consumption.

One Free Minute is an interesting exploration of public speech, especially as it has been shaped, influenced, affected by technology (and specifically cellular technology)

On one level, it's an artsy/tangible depiction of the power of podcasting (thinking laterally) On another level, it's a creative expression of the power of us/many-to-many.

A third takeaway (as creatives, bloggers-come-podcasters, and/or podcasters in general will testify to) is how long 60-seconds actually is...trying to fill up a minute with meaningful insight/thoughts is much harder than one might think. There are very specific nuances/differences between the spoken and written words and it is a particular art form a) to be able to do both and b) to make every second count...

I guess that's the whole point of this exercise - to make every second count.

In the Journal today is a piece on 5 agencies to watch as Madison Avenue evolves. They are:

1. Naked Communications

2. Interpublic Group

3. Ogilvy & Mather

4. BBDO

5. Crispin, Porter + Bogusky

Ironically, 2 of the 5 are not even situated anywhere near Madison Avenue. Naked just opened up an office in NYC, but they hail from the UK (and it's debatable as to whether Naked shoudl even be called an agency) and Crispin are more inclined to partake in surf + turf than a breakfast at Michaels.

1 of the 5 is a holding company (IPG) and it's being cited for all the wrong reasons, whereas the remaining 2 are Madison Avenue stalwarts and their challenges are simply to ascertain how well they can evolve/adapt to the "new school" and "new ad disciplines"

The picture is starting to look a lot like "New Marketing", does it not...

btw....no mention of any of the boutiques in this set of 5.

New York Times' Dave Itzkoff comments on the "free" SNL skit, featuring Chris Parnell and Adam "the new Sandler" Samberg which is sweeping the Web by storm.

Since it was originally broadcast on NBC, "Lazy Sunday" has been downloaded more than 1.2 million times from the video-sharing Web site YouTube.com; it has cracked the upper echelons of the video charts at NBC.com and the iTunes Music Store; and it has even inspired a line of T-shirts, available at Teetastic.com

There are many important implications here, which range from TV networks using the Web to help drive loyalty, engagement and ultimately tune in, to the democratization of content distribution and consumption. It certainly didn't hurt to put this on iTunes (et al) for FREE (note to networks and Gordon Gekko: Greed is bad)

It immediately brings to mind the legendary Jon Stewart Crossfire clip, which thanks to iFilm, was seen by vast multiples of people, compared to the original airing on CNN.

But the real story is the continued and combined power of both consumer generated content and communal marketing. The fact this came from SNL is a red herring (don't get me wrong, it's important, but not as important as...); the genuine and authentic magic of 24-7-365 on-demand and ubiquotous content.

btw...here are the transcribed lyrics of "Lazy Sunday"

Yo, where's the movie playin'?
Upper West Side, dude!
Let's hit up Yahoo Maps to find the dopest route.
I prefer Mapquest!
That's a good one too.
Google Maps is the best!
True that! Double true!

Across the Sound returns in January 2006, without Steve, but with myself and an as yet unnamed guest co-host. Every week, I will invite a different co-host to join me in the global recording booth of Across the Sound. Every week, you will get to determine if they should stay or go....

January's co-hosts have been named. They are:

• ATS #14: Tom Hespos - Luminary, Online Spin Contributor and Commentator, Founder of Underscore Marketing
• ATS #15: Steve Hall - the looks, charm, voice, wit and soul behind the #1 marketing/media blog, Adrants.
• ATS #16: John Wall - I couldn't beat him, so I joined him :) He's the host of the daily, 10-minute informative, newsworthy and entertaining The M-Show.
• ATS #17: John Durham - Bus Dev maestro at Carat Fusion, long time friend and mentor; wine connoisseur

In addition to your comments, questions and promos, I invite you to submit "Audition Tapes" to be the next permanent co-host of Across the Sound. Think you got what it takes? Well send in your auditions to acrossthesound@gmail.com or via Waxmail.

Let's have some fun...but above all, keep the momentum and dialogue going! You can also subscribe on iTunes directly or through this link.

Steve Rubel has a good series going on about predictions for 2006. Here's the countup so far:

4. The Talent Crunch

3. RSS Inside

2. Social commerce

1. Comment search

Check back for updates...

Great commentary from LA Times' Joel Stein that paints a pretty sobering picture of the fundamental shifts occuring to newspaper, radio and TV and how advertising is being left behind in the process:

Mainstream media needs to fix itself fast or, just as cities have put Internet access in libraries, we're going to have to set up community centers with Sirius radio and televisions with pay channels. Young boys will huddle around the late-night Cinemax or the XM radio to hear 50 Cent without the curses bleeped out.

As 2005 draws to a close, I wanted to take this opportunity to summarize my open-source initiative, "Use New Marketing to Prove New Marketing," where I offered up a free copy of my book, "Life after the 30-second spot" to any business/marketing/advertising blogger or podcaster who agreed to review my book.

The original post is here and as you'll see, it alone attracted about 62 comments (making it the second highest commented post of Jaffe Juice's history; the highest was my Nike commercial with 109)

In short, I've sent out about 100 books to the four corners of the globe - including the likes of Netherlands, the UK, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, Australia, Spain, Italy, South Africa and of course the US...and the list continues.

By now, most people have the book in hand (and once again...if you requested a book, but haven't received it, please e-mail me and I'll look into it) and reviews have started to come in. I'm glad to say that they have been positive to extremely positive.

Part of what makes this is a unique exercise (after all, authors and their publicists always send out galley copies of the book to media outlets, critics, even influential blogs) is the following:

• This exercise does not discriminate - it is not about courting the "high reach" outlets. It is a long term investment (long tail) in the community as a whole - as defined by EVERY one of its members. For this reason, ANYONE who requested received a book, irrespective of their readership
• It was not designed to necessarily "bypass" mainstream media (I'm still extremely open to this book or the story of this exercise being covered by any media outlet), but by the same token, I wasn't going to sit on my a$$ and wait for them to discover the book, its central themes and the passion and conviction behind the message.
• The free book for review swap is unconditional
• The review itself is completely unconditional as well...in other words, I'm completely opening myself to any kind of review, but my conviction in the content arms me with confidence that the reactions will be consistent with all feedback I've received to date.

To those who are in the process of reading and ultimately, reviewing...please make sure that you include a direct link to either Amazon.com (here's the link) or to www.lifeafter30.com - this is a three-part excercise after all: 1) demonstrate the power of the blogosphere/podosphere, 2) validate new marketing and 3) show ROI/ability to result in sales i.e. there is walk behind the talk.

Also, if you're finished with the book and have completed the review AND want to return it to me (but you certainly don't have to), I'll use the book for additional request in 2006.

Speaking of which, phase 1 is essentially complete. I am not sending out new books right now, but am looking for a "sponsor" to provide a budget for a phase two wave of new books to prospective reviewers. Phase 1 was a organic approach and I feel that a more formalized layer on top of this would not be out of place...in fact would play up an important integrated proof point: this is not about replacing the old with the new; it's about adding, redistributing (budget), reordering (chronologically) and prioritizing (strategically)

News that soon, Toyota will surpass GM in terms of number of vehicle output. That's staggering...not necessarily surprising, but it's still the kind of tune that sounds more like a funeral march than a whistle like you work...

Laurel Papworth from Oz gives my Nike spot the nod as ad of the year. I can't disagree with her.

Have fun and don't overthink. But do have a Red Bull!

Here's another great Agency Holiday Greeting Card, with an original spin on the ole Snow Globe concept. PS Also subtly communicates a global presence and footprint

The Radio Music Awards (on TV!) came and went. I clipped a sound byte and shared it with Adam Curry. He played it on Delta Sierra Charlie 303 and I'm sharing it with you in the form of a Juice to Go.

Download jtg_11_radio_music_awards_and_daily_source_code.mp3

Subscribe to Juice to Go on iTunes or click here

Me neither. But now you have.

Check out their website and this really cool "Virtual Tour" of their office, which according to their note to me, "catches the spirit of KsanLab and its people" and "demonstrates the great potential of virtual worlds to transfer both informational and emotional messages"

Now compare this experience to the corporate websites of the "other" agencies out there.

Pray tell, who would you want to do business with?

I'm not sure who it was that taught me, "never waste an opportunity to brand" Perhaps it was me...who knows...who cares. The point is that every single part of ourselves, our beings, our companies, our brands that touch a potential, actual, loyal or lapsed customer is a moment of truth - an opportunity to make and leave our mark or "impression" on them, their perceptions and ultimately behavior.

One example of this would be your business card...which says so much without necessarily saying anything more than "here are my contact details"

Another example would be your holiday/season's greeting cards. Look the sentiment is sweet and all, in a "let's roast marshmellows by the fire and sing songs" kind of way, but it's also an opportunity to demonstrate why you should be the first call when the [insert recipient] here gets back into the office on January 2nd or 3rd.

Last year I brought back little African dolls and beaded American Flags, made by underprivileged kids in South Africa and gave them to my clients (PS - if you are or were my client and never received one, please e-mail me and I'll make good, albeit a year later)

This year, being true to my direction and passion, I sent a "Greeting Pod" (a Jaffe Juice/Juice to Go simulated podcast)

This year I've received my usual supply of cards, gifts etc. Most are sweet, but forgettable (except for the Advertising.com drum of candy which is being consumed as we speakkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk....sorry finger got stuck to the keyboard) Here's one from Space150 which really was different and finally, you'll understand what the post title is about.

Agencies (especially all those bus dev/new business drones who inundate me on a daily basis to remember them to my clients - yawn), this is or was your opportunity, which for the most part, 99% of you missed (again) Better attempts next year!

What's the most creative card/greeting you received?

日本語で出版されるべき30 第2 点の後の生命!

Free copy of the book to the first person who translates correctly!

PS In case the letters don't come out, here's an image:

Marketing and branding strategist and guru, Jack Trout, wrote this piece for Forbes, titled "Digital Confusion"

He begins his piece with the following words:

If you're like me, you're totally bewildered by the so-called digital revolution and its impact on marketing.

At least he's honest about his lack of clarity and understanding. That's where the new wave of leadership comes in. To that end, Trout paternalistically reminds us that strategy and fundamentals should go hand in hand with the new, exciting tools at our disposal.

His point is taken but I do want to add that in this day and age of integration, engagement and accountability, it is integral and critical to take a holistic approach when assessing and evaluating both the sum and its parts. Case in point, the example of Disney's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Yes, the movie did not perform and it did get panned, however is it fair and balanced to isolate the interactive or blogosphere components without judging every other movie that sucked before and scrutinizing their respective media mixes? I would contend that as a percentage of money invested, digital has largely been underutilized and arguably has overdelivered time and time again, relative to the other media components.

In the case of the blog strategy, it most likely did activate and engage the lowest hanging fruit i.e. those die hard Adams fans which admittedly would have seen the movie no matter what. So was that preaching to the choir? Perhaps. Or perhaps the idea was to use them to reach out to the rest of the community...in which case, mission not exactly accomplished.

In his article, he also mentions myself and Life after the 30-second spot. Hopefully this will continue to boost the awareness and passion behind LA30 and getting this into the hands of those who need it most:

And then there's Joseph Jaffe, who has written a pretty good book, Life After the 30-Second Spot. His point is that you can energize your brand with a mix of alternatives to traditional advertising. His theories call for rethinking the consumer, rethinking branding, rethinking advertising and rethinking the agency. (Help, I can't think because I'm so busy rethinking.)

Hey, multi-tasking in today's marketing and media worlds has become a mandatory, not an optional extra anymore.

Give the piece and let me know what you think...

Back to the consumer: from skeptical (page 53) to ahead of the curve (page 62) to vengeful (page 63)

This one's called, "The Bubble Project" (thanks Bastiaan) and I'm not sure if I would call it a promotional stunt to sell a book or a planned/organized backlash against all the ad-created clutter suffocating us on a daily basis.

No question that it takes guerilla marketing to a new level (high or low?) and from a legal standpoint, surely it will be viciously challenged...

Watch this space (until it gets plastered with a bubble)

It's funny...I've been thinking about both the blogosphere and podosphere and how both will naturally and inevitably expand or contract. I wondered about the casualities along the way...who will fade away...who will burn out...who will be bought out....who will be forever remembered and who will just be forgotten. And then it happened to Across the Sound. Steve is (as I'm going to put it :)) going on "extended hiatus" (that's my way of saying that when he's ready to return, there will be a Skype connection with his name on it)

...but the show will go on. I *strongly* believe in the extremely bright future of Podcasting, the burgeoning Across the Sound "brand", format, show and most importantly, it's audience (that's you!!!)

So I'm retooling and will return in 2006 in full force - minus Steve, but hopefully with a few new surprises (surely Howard Stern won't need all his sidekicks - kidding) So stick around and keep that feed burning...

In the interim, I want to take this opportunity to thank Steve for his contribution, partnership, friendship, vision and enthusiasm. It won't be the same without him (for starters will the show be called The Sound, The Burbs, On the Sound etc) and he will be sorely missed from the weekly banter, which I know many of you really enjoyed. In his absence, I will talk to myself, argue with myself, disagree with myself and respond to myself (it's a guaranteed next step from checking into the Funny Farm)

Let me here your thoughts. You can e-mail me, the show, send in your audio comments or attachments about what you liked about the show...what you didn't...tributes to Steve...suggestions for the future/format/co-hosts etc.

Thanks again Steve - you are a scholar, a gentleman and a mensch. I look forward to your (I hope frequent) guest appearances on ATS.

Here's Steve's post:

Over past several months I have had the unique opportunity to podcast with a living legend of marketing - Joseph Jaffe. Earlier this year I read his book and I was charged. Joe outlines a future for marketing that is consistent with my vision. Shortly thereafter we launched the Across the Sound podcast and since then we have attracted some 450 loyal listeners.

Unfortunately, I have found the demands of co-running a weekly podcast rather great. My blog continues to grow and now I have a new set of responsibilites at CooperKatz with my recent promotion to Senior Vice President. My mantra in 2006 is to keep it simple. I am going only to focus on the initiaitves that have the greatest value. It's all very GTD.

Across the Sound, while a lot of fun and engaging, doesn't quite fit into that pie. So, I am going to cede the show to Joe who will retool it and I am sure take it to new heights. Don't be surprised however if I podcast here - keep my FeedBurner feed in your podcatcher. I also may pop up on Across the Sound from time to time. I am a huge believer in podcasting as an emerging medium. I just need to put it in perspective and participate in it on a schedule that fits my life.

...but you will find them at Banana Republic.

In what may prove to be an extremely fresh and certainly lateral cross-marketing and promotional move, the new movie Memoirs of a Geisha will be tied in with a special Geisha line of clothing/accessories at your local Banana Republic.

I'm not sure of the exact specifics and history behind this (i.e. how much is explicit), but from the gut (which I typically trust), it has smart written all over it.

Keeping with the alliterative W (but excluded the prez), the Wall Street Journal reports on Wikipedia woes (subscription may be required)

Jason Fry tells the story of John Seigenthaler, administrative assistant to Robert Kennedy in the early 1960s, and how a fake/false biography had been posted about him, which linked him to JFK's assassination.

On one level, this is nothing new. We've all read the horror stories of pedophiles lurking in teen chatrooms, which chill us to the bone, but they are the exceptions as opposed to the norm.

So what of Fry's essential assertion:

At the heart of this is the fact that at a very basic level, Wikipedia is out of control.

Open for all means what it says...ALL (that's the good, the bad and the ugly) Clearly however, for Wikipedia to continue to grow, evolve and mature...there does need to be some kind of organic policing mechanism (ala an eBay rating for example) along the communal marketing lines (by the community, for the community)

But there is, Mr Jaffe....it's called the Wikipedia. Ultimately, offenders are exposed and inaccuracies obliterated. Perhaps...but it's not good enough. Damage can be done - especially amongst the uninformed. As the WSJ poll above suggests, people are turning to the Wikipedia as a first port of call, and with this power comes immense responsibility in return.

Out goes: Microsoft

In comes: Google

Google buys 5% of AOL at $1 billion (Dr Evil is impressed)

I posted a short while ago about Virgin Mobile's irreverent "Happy Holidays" campaign, but some reader feedback got me to think about this a little more. Here are the thoughts in Juice to Go form. Download chrismahanukwanzakah.mp3

Remember...you can subscribe to Jaffe Juice (or unofficially Juice to Go) on iTunes

Very interesting critique/commentary from Wayne Friedman in MediaPost on the direction the networks are heading (hint: it's not west, east or north) and how the slew of major VOD and iPod on-demand announcemetns are going to take years to show their metal.

Says Moonves: "New media is exciting, but it's still not going to be our bread and butter for a long time. It's going to be our gravy."

Right now the problem as I see it is that the bread and butter portion is stale and mouldy respectively, whereas the gravy component without the bread and butter is not only out of context (would you like some gravy with your empty plate?) but also certainly not nutritionally sufficient.

To bring you home from metaphor hell, many of this deals are tantemount to Hail Mary plays. Take ABC's one on iTunes, the supposed landmark first-to-market move: at $2 a pop without advertising, there are at least two very obvious and very large elephants in the room (I'm back in metaphor land)

Fortune article on the rise of wikis.

GE’s much lauded CMO, Beth Comstock, has been tapped by GE to run the newly created position of President of NBC’s Digital Media and Market Development Group. It is a sign of the times which speaks for itself. It is a good sign of the times at that.

CGC has now made the headlines of the Wall Street Journal, which certainly could be a flavor of the week...but also hints at the mainstreaming of this very profound and growing trend.

In my book, I outline the 10 tenants of today's new consumer and one of them is vengeful. Here's a story of a blogger who literally crippled an online photo store and a reminder that customer service is more critical than ever before, especially in a social media-led world.

Check out Microsoft's Windows Live Ideas page...which reminded me a lot like another design. Irrespective, this company has come a long way...embodied by one word, "beta"

I really like the clean and focused approach, led by the action oriented 3-pronged call to action: try it or sign up, learn more, view blog.

On Friday, Howard Stern bade terrestrial radio "good riddance" as he lept to the skies.

Yahoo! somehow managed to snag his final broadcast and people could listen and watch the broadcast. Jeff Jarvis was on hand with a cigarette lighter and wi-fi connection :)

I have to take my hat off to Yahoo! - they nailed this one big time. The site and the various functionalities were terrific, including countdown clock and of course advertising on Yahoo! which is how I found it in the first place. I only hope Lloyd Braun was taking notes...

Back to Stern...his new catch phrase or moniker, “we’re the last of a dying breed” has in my mind firmly supplanted David Verklin's "the crackle of change is in the air" (little industry insider humor)

Here's some video from casa jaffe: (please forgive the fact I took it lengthways like an idiot)

After a very dark Friday, TypePad is back up. Thanks to all who e-mailed me about broken links, gremlins and glitches....it was Pad-wide. As they say in the classics, "I'll deal with you later" (menacing laugh) on next week's ATS, but now...it's back to blogging.