Domo Arigato – This Week In Aducation October 16, 2010

Google made a lot of money in Q3, or at least, they made more money than analysts predicted. The company breaks down their earnings on their blog.

And we’re all wondering how the Fortune 500 company spends this money. More media-related investments? Sure. But Google’s also branching out a little. 5 Words: robot cars that drive themselves.

Remember the hoopla surrounding Gap’s awful new logo? Well, the company has decided to get rid of it, which I think is a great decision because, otherwise, I wouldn’t have stepped foot into another Gap store for years. I’m just not at that point in my life where I can afford to buy $800 office chairs (I’m making a reference to Crate & Barrel, whose logo is also in plain Jane Helvetica).

Regarding logo redesigns, this one is brand new (get it?): Myspace unveiled a new logo as well. And with the exception of the (surprise!) Helvetica font, it’s pretty edgy. Reactions, though are quite mixed.

Apple makes most of their iOS revenue from virtual sales, not advertising reports analytics company Flurry. But warn your kids, warn your wife, and warn your husband, because the BBC says some games trick you (or kids rather) into making these purchases.

Finally, Sesame Street’s Old Spice ad parody goes very viral since being posted last Thursday on YouTube – 4.3 M views of Grover in a towel. Add one more view by clicking play:

I think …. September 17, 2009

One of the great things about posting material on the internet is that it gives me an arena to express my opinions.  A little dark secret of mine is that I always have random thoughts and opinions running through me head.  Most of these opinions are random and spur from topical information.  For example, I have an opinion on why Texas football has more to prove against a team like Louisiana-Monroe than Texas Tech.  Or that what Kanye West did at the MTV Music Awards shouldn’t have been a surprise.  He does this every year.

With that said – I am introducing my newest column. “I Think.”  An opportunity for me to express my opinions – for everyone’s benefit I will do my best to keep these opinions media focused.

 September 17 – When people are evaluating social media sites like Facebook or MySpace ,too often these people are forming opinions on the sites and not the technology.  I view social media sites similar to the growth of television.  From the 1950s to the late 1970s consumers had only three channels that catered to mass market, but then cable television was born.  Now there are hundreds of channels that are targeted towards sports enthusiasts, music enthusiasts, entertainment/celebrity enthusiast, animal enthusiast, and so on and so on. 

I believe social media will eventually move in that direction.  Facebook is targeted towards the mass market, but in a couple of years I see new sites gaining traction that focus on different life interest.  At that point is when I see paid media becoming more involved in with social media.

I feel better now that I have gotten this off of my chest.