MortarBlog

You know, we have a lot of fun here on the Mortarblog, but we’re about giving back, too. Take a moment out of your busy day and spend some time with comedian Ricky Gervais as he raises awareness of poverty in Kenya. It’s not like the usual pitches; you know the ones, they claim to be about helping people, but they’re really just cheap, shoddy vehicles for self-promotion. No, we’re not into that. We’re about helping people. And so is Stephen Merchant. He appears in this video because he cares about the state of the world we share, not because he needs to raise his own profile. Or sell Daz Detergent.  Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is on board; he’s about solving problems, too. Not selling cookbooks. Because what could be more cynical than that?

Selling bloody cookbooks in Kenya? That would just be wrong. But we’re not about wrong. We’re about brotherhood. We’ve got Geldof, for goodness’ sakes. What more do you need?  If you don’t well up when a Kenyan villager gives Gervais his most prized possession, your very soul is in peril. Or, you’re out of onion rings. Check it out, won’t you? When you give back, everyone’s a winner.

(more…)

For years, companies have talked about doing business "at Internet speed." Finally, someone’s figured out how to do more than talk about it. Grand Opening is a simple, open space located at 139 Norfolk, on New York’s Lower East Side. For the next three months, it will be operating as "Pong," a ping-pong club featuring "…pickup games, or (visitors) can become
members and compete for a chance to win the L.E.S. Cup—a season-ending
tournament that will reveal the Lower East Side’s most talented table
tennis luminaries. Video replays, a competitive ladder,
leagues, tournaments, spectator bleachers and an on-site pro are just a
few of the exciting features that can be found at PONG."

(On site pro?  "So, what do you do?" "I’m a pro at a tennis club." "Really? Which club?"  "Uh…." )

Much as we love ping-pong. (OK, beer pong,) that’s not the best part. The best part is, after three months, there’ll be another grand opening, as the space reinvents itself.  The virtual world’s greatest asset is its ability to reinvent itself at the click of a mouse. We love seeing the brick-and-(ahem)-Mortar world do the same.

We don’t even live in Manhattan, and we can’t wait to find out what’s next.

(Thanks for the tip, Coolhunter!)

(more…)

Yet again, another MSM story about the blogosphere and it’s growing influence over politics repeats the canard that the blogosphere is populated by children tapping away in their PJs. From the Chicago Sun-Times via DailyKos:

But Sree Sreenivasan, new media professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, says the effectiveness of Web sites and blogs as political tools may only go so far: “It’s still a small percentage of people using these technologies.”

Most are young and what Sreenivasan terms “early adaptors.” And, as he concludes, the impact of young voters “is notoriously hard to predict.” It was thought they were going to turn out in big numbers in 2004 but that didn’t happen.

In the end, who has time to blog? After reading four newspapers each day and my e-mails and doing my work, I’ve had it. Blogging remains a luxury for the young — or the bored.

Firedoglake quotes from the 2006 Blogads readership survey to beat back the bunkum:

The median political blog reader is a 43 year old man with an annual family income of $80,000. He reads 6 blogs a day for 10 hours a week. 39% have post-graduate degrees. 70% have contributed to a campaign.

Mr. Sreenivasan is a new media professor? What kind of “new” media? Telegraph?

(more…)

We’re tempted to say that this signals some sort of awful decline in our civilization but, rather than focus on the negative, we’ll just say that we’re glad it’s not the Governator in this picture. From the Washington Post via Gawker. And, yes, the photo credit is THAT Valerie Bertinelli.

(more…)

We don’t mean to keep picking on W+K. We actually think they do some of the best work in the industry. But this time, we can’t help ourselves. Irony…pulling…must resist…must fight…can’t!
We’ll make this quick: If you’re going to start your ad with the line “Thank you, ignorance,” you might want to proofread it. Can you find the typo? (Sorry the image is so small. The full-size version has mysteriously disappeared. Coincidence? Perhaps.)
Since we’re givers here at Mortar, we’re providing a link to Lynne Truss’ incredibly helpful Eats, Shoots & Leaves.  If the sweet sting of her punctuation discipline doesn’t cure you, nothing will.

(more…)

Underwear, Brand Loyalty? Think about it – is there any other piece of clothing that shows more brand loyalty than your underwear?

Today’s New York Times article "But What If You Get Hit By A Taxi?" clearly shows how the men’s underwear market is heating up.

It makes sense, in a society where we are constantly ambushed by all sorts of brands – do we ever stop to think about what kind of underwear we are wearing and why?  When I buy toothpaste I prefer Crest, when I buy coffee I want Starbucks and after reading the article "But What If You Get Hit By A Taxi?," I realize I like Hanky Panky. I never thought of my brand loyalty to Hanky Panky being quite like this.

The equation makes sense: Underwear = Brand Loyalty

Who knows - this might be the one area where we can escape some of the media’s influence and make a personal decision on our own. Nobody really knows what underwear makes us feel most comfortable, stylish and and confident (well, maybe Mortar360 can figure it out with their advanced consumer research techniques).

But, after all, underwear should be kept personal. Even though, I’ll let the cat out of the bag -  I am completely devoted 100% to Hanky Panky.

(more…)

Why don’t the top agencies, like Nike’s much-lauded Weiden & Kennedy, get the Web. Why?

(more…)

Hows this for an original concept? Click thru to enjoy NoOneBelongsHereMoreThanYou.com probably the most original web launch this year. Then buy her book. Courtesy of new author Miranda July.

(more…)

Dubbed “The Gang of 500” by ABC’s The Note, the permanent power brokers (media, money and the occasional politician) in Washington don’t understand why this whole Imus thing is a big deal. So what if he said a silly little thing about a women’s college basketball team? Why can’t everyone just take a joke?

Let’s just assume that most of the heads in this gang couldn’t accurately be referred to as “nappy.” Imus has lost credibility, advertisers and two weeks of air time but it doesn’t appear he’s lost his core audience: the dinosaurs (predominantly old, white and male) who still pine for the days when you could smoke wherever you want, harass whichever secretary you want, and the only interaction you ever had with a person of a different race was when you had your shoes shined.

For a group of people renowned for sticking to focus-group vetted talking points, the “Gang” seems to have missed the memo that casual racism isn’t acceptable to most Americans anymore. Their “good ole’ days” mentality puts them on the same road to extinction already traveled by former Senator George “Macaca” Allen.

Mike Segar/Reuters

The Rutgers Women’s Basketball Team

(more…)

Just got back from Golden Gate University’s Speaker Series Event featuring Robert Scoble, author of the book Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers (he wasn’t naked at the talk).
 

If I was a hardcore blogger, I would have been writing this during the event. Twittering it. Texting via my PDA. Whatever. Call me "old skool", but I wanted to actually listen and absorb what Robert Scoble had to say, instead of trying to process and regurgitate the points he was making ad hoc.

Robert is very low key, funny, and insightful. I always like a speaker who can throw in a mild cuss word and not raise the collective hackles of the audience. He spoke to us in "layman’s terms", but never dumbed it down. He took lots of questions throughout the conversation, and wasn’t married to his PowerPoint deck (which was loaded with Hugh MacLeod’s great comic graphics). He even signed books for attendees.

Here are my take-aways from the talk, and this is all paraphrased from memory, as I didn’t take notes (the few real quotes I remember will be in quotation marks).

If you aren’t blogging, you will be left behind, and fast.
Blogging
will get you linked to, therefore blogging will pump up your Google search results status. If you aren’t on the first page of Google search results, people won’t
find you.

Read smarter - use a feed reader.
Scoble said he reads/scans over 30 THOUSAND blog posts a month via his Google Reader. He is subscribed to over 650 separate blogs (I thought I had a lot of
subscriptions to read, but I have a piddly thirty). There is no way
Robert could read 10k blog postings a day by visiting 650 individual
blogs. There are other feed readers out there beside Google Reader, so
just find one you like, and start your day off with some new knowledge,
information, and honest conversation on topics you choose.

The best defense is a good offense.
A woman asked: How do I stay invisible on the Internet? I don’t want bad press out there about me. Scoble said: "Get over it." Stuff will be said, both good and bad. Blog about it. Post videos. Link to folks who say good stuff about you. Respond directly to the bad press and you can perform some damage control. You may find out ways to be better, do more, turn those naysayers into evangelists.

The thought is kismet with Clive Thompson’s article in Wired called The See-Through CEO, where he states: "Google is not a search engine. It’s a reputation management
system. By enhancing transparency, companies can manage their images as
never before." He goes on to say, "Once people are interested in you, they’re interested in helping you out - by offering ideas, critiques, and extra brain cycles. Customers become working partners."

I am looking forward to reading Naked Conversations, and getting even more insight from the Scobleizer.

(more…)