Amazon Cloud Player

Yesterday, Amazon launched their very own music streaming service, the Amazon Cloud Player. If you're not familiar with cloud computing, the video above explains the basics pretty good. All existing Amazon customers can upload up to 5GB of their music for free. There's also the option to upgrade to a one-year 20GB plan after purchasing an MP3 album. I tried to get a closer look into the pricing options but wasn't seeing anything. You can try and find it on Amazon.

A Rose By Any Other Name

No one in the naming world has generated more envy than a boutique firm called Lexicon. You may not recognize the name. But Lexicon has created 15 billion-dollar brand names, including BlackBerry, Dasani, Febreze, OnStar, Pentium, Scion, and Swiffer.

Consider its recent work for Colgate, which was preparing to launch a disposable mini toothbrush. (...) Lexicon founder and CEO David Placek's (...) asked his network of linguists -- 70 of them in 50 countries -- to start brainstorming about metaphors, sounds, and word parts that connote lightness. Meanwhile, he asked another two colleagues within Lexicon to help. But he kept these two in the dark about the client and the product. Instead, he gave this team -- let's call them the excursion team -- a fictional mission. He told them that the cosmetics brand Olay wanted to introduce a line of oral-care products and it was their job to help it brainstorm about product ideas.

Notice what's missing from the Lexicon process: the part when everyone sits around a conference table, staring at the toothbrush and brainstorming names together. ("Hey, how about ToofBrutch -- the URL is available!") Instead, Lexicon's leaders often create three teams of two, with each group pursuing a different angle. Some of the teams, blind to the client and the product, chase analogies from related domains. For instance, in naming Levi's new Curve ID jeans, which offer different fits for different body types, the excursion team dug into references on surveying and engineering.
 
Fast Company gives us a quick look at how Lexicon goes about picking a name for some of the biggest brands we know today. Not sure how you feel about their process, but I love how they approach a problem from various angles rather than combining all efforts in a single direction. You can read the full article on their site here.

The Groupon Giant

In the economic wasteland of the past three years, the biggest success story has been a website that gets us to buy stuff we never knew we wanted: helicopter-flying lessons, hot stone massages, professional photo portraiture, obscure ethnic food, hot air balloon rides. More precisely, what we buy at Groupon—the two-year-old startup that, with projected revenue of more than $500 million this year, was called the “fastest growing company ever” in a recent Forbes cover story—is the right to buy all that stuff at a huge discount, so long as we all act fast. In other words, what Groupon sells (as its clever name indicates) is coupons, but with a social twist. It’s been such a huge moneymaker that scores of copycats have emerged, including other startups like LivingSocial and 8coupons.

Wired takes some time to observe the bargain junkies of today and the lengths they go to save a buck. In the article, a super saver, Lolly Miltz, racked up an $80 tab at the grocery store and spent less than a dollar out of pocket thanks to her coupon savy. The article also covers how Groupon affects businesses big and small in good and bad ways. You can read the entire five page article on their website here.

Stripping Down

A2951 set out to reimagine certain international brands by stripping down their packaging to the bare essentials. The nutella one is my favorite! You can see a lot more on their site here.

It Has Begun

I know these have been out for a little bit, but this was the first time I ran into them in person. They were displayed at the front of my local grocery store along with other gift cards to places like Amazon, Best Buy, Chili's, etc. I'm all for people making money off of new ideas. I'm just a little worried about the people who actually buy this garbage. I wonder if there will ever be any actual benefit or value to virtual goods. Time will tell I guess.

Twitter Gets Bigger

The clip above shows all the new features Twitter has added to its short messaging service. A few of the improvements include showing pictures and videos within the stream instead of having to click a link. The new perks will definitely get me using Twitter a lot more.Watch the vid to get a closer look.

The Man Who Makes Your iPhone

The colossus that Gou (pronounced "Gwo") runs today started with a $7,500 loan from his mother. His first world headquarters was a shed he rented in 1974 in a gritty Taipei suburb called Tucheng, which means Dirt City in Mandarin. Gou, then 23, had done three years of vocational training and served in the military. He then worked for two years as a shipping clerk, where he got a firsthand view of Taiwan's booming export economy and figured he ought to stop pushing paper and get into the game. With the cash from his mother, he bought a couple of plastic molding machines and started making channel-changing knobs for black-and-white televisions. His first customer was Chicago-based Admiral TV, and he soon got deals to supply RCA, Zenith, and Philips.

Bloomberg Businessweek recently published a piece about the rise of Foxconn and it's founder, Terry Gou. The article pulls readers in by addressing the company's eleven recent suicides, but it also provides a detailed account of how Gou's 900,000+ employee empire came into existance. It's easy for us to buy a product and not think about the lengths it took to get here. We're more concerned (myself included) with the next generation gadget rather than who assembled it. This is your chance to get an idea of what it takes to make something like the fourth generation iPhone possible. You can read the full article on their website here.

Making A Change For The Better

In an effort to differentiate itself from the other beverages in the category, PepsiCo's Sierra Mist has decided to tap into the growing market for real sugar sodas by phasing out its existing formula, which uses High Fructose Corn Syrup, in favor of the real sugar recipe of Sierra Mist Natural. "There's not a strong reason to choose one [lemon-lime] brand over another.... And when we asked consumers what would re-engage them in soda, 'natural' was the No. 1 concept."

Real smart move by Pepsi to give Sierra Mist such a unique selling point.  Adage reported that 7up is also taking steps to move away from HFCS. Hopefully this will start a mad dash towards real sugar for the entire industry. Or at least I hope, haha. You can read the rest of the article at The Consumerist and more about unique selling points at this previous post.

Charlatan, Martyr, Hustler

Big fan of this print by Joey Roth. You can order your own 11"x17" here.

The Stanley Thermos: A Timeless Classic

My family and I used to take a lot of road trips when I was a kid. My dad was notorious for driving miles without stopping. He would fill his Stanely thermos with hot tea to help with the long drives. In case you're wondering, the green they use in all their products is called Hammertone Green. I just ordered mine and can't wait until it gets in. You can read about how the thermos came into existence on their website or this Wikipedia entry.
Bonus: Stanely flask

Italian Designed Space Saving Furniture

This isn't just your typical Murphy bed. Resource furniture has come out with some game changers. I think it's their emphasis on both engineering and design that sets them apart. I really like how you don't have to take anything off the shelves when you rearrange the furniture.

Flashback: OK Soda

OK Soda was a soft drink created by The Coca-Cola Company in 1993 that aggressively courted the Generation X demographic with unusual advertising tactics, including endorsements and even outright negative publicity. It did not sell well in select test markets and was officially declared out of production in 1995 before reaching nation-wide distribution. The drink's slogan was "Things are going to be OK." Wikipedia

The entire Wikipedia article covers the soda's inception, the different tactics used to promote the drink, and its early demise. I didn't really dig too deep into this; I just thought it was interesting. You can watch a YouTube clip that W+K did for the soda here. More background on the soda here.

Miller High Life Indeed

Every time I see a bottle of Miller's High Life I wish the beer inside it was a little better. I hope I'm not alone when I say this, but I've always had a soft spot for the design on those glass bottles. They always looked so classy to me. I guess if you're not going to improve the beer then improving the packaging is the next best thing. You can read about the redesign and see more pictures at The Dieline. Cheers to the champagne of beers, haha.

WWDC 2010

Here's a link to Engadet's coverage of Steve Job's entire keynote. There's tons of coverage over the new iPhone, but he also dropped a few other noteworthy updates as well (iAds, Netflix, PDF capabilities, etc).

Hulu's Free Ride Over

"Under the proposal, Hulu would continue to provide for free the five most recent episodes of shows like Fox's "Glee," "ABC's "Lost" or NBC's "Saturday Night Live." But viewers who want to see additional episodes would pay $9.95 a month to access a more comprehensive selection, called Hulu Plus."

full story at L.A. Times poll above from The Consumerist

Red Bull Is Ballin' And Smart Too

From AdPulp:

According to The Wall Street Journal, the [$220 million] arena, paid for without a loan, represents the biggest and most visible foreign investment ever made in professional soccer in the U.S. Red Bull is a privately held company based in Austria.

"As soon as we decide to take part in a sport, we either do it properly or we don't do it at all," says Red Bull founder and Chief Executive Dietrich Mateschitz, who also owns soccer teams in Austria and Germany.

Within the stadium, the company's logo--two bulls butting horns in front of a yellow sun--is emblazoned on the lower-deck seats. Where some companies might have plastered billboards throughout the building, Mr. Mateschitz says the idea is to build his brand through the quality of the experience the arena offers."

Red Bull also rocked the Winter Olympics this year with the creation of Shaun White's private half pipe, deep in the San Juan Mountains of SW Colorado.

When you go to RedBull.com and try to ascertain just how far the brand's commitment to sports marketing goes, it's overwhelming. The brand sponsors Street Style, Air Races, Cliff Diving, Skiing, Skateboarding and much more.

What the brand doesn't concern itself with is traditional advertising. When you can successfully create experiences for people that they like, want to repeat and share with friends, the need for traditional advertising kind of flies out the window.

Letterpress Dice Prints

Amazing prints made with dice. The designs are incredible. I recommend visiting Paper Crave to see the process and all of the designs in full view to appreciate the detail. You can also order these prints off of Etsy.

Facebok Groups vs. Pages

AllFacebook.com has a definitive guide to the pros and cons/capabilities of groups and fan pages. This is great info for companies, bands, and small organizations interested in getting involved with Facebook. The guide may not stay accurate due to Facebook's constant changes, but it was written at the beginning of February so it should be good for a while. You can read the guide on their website here.

On a side note, it boggles my mind how much money all these "social media experts" are making with all this free information out there. If you're like me and you think these guys are a bunch of phonies, feel free to read David Armano's post about social media snake oil.

Square: Wireless Payment App

Quite possibly one of the most useful apps I've seen. It's a great way to exchange money with friends and small businesses. I'm glad they give you have the option of using the card reader or manually typing in the card number for each transaction. I think the pilot program is closed, but it should be publicly available soon.

Ketchup Packet Of The Future

"The Heinz Dip & Squeeze dual-function package gives ketchup lovers two ways to enjoy Heinz Ketchup: either peel back the lid for easy dipping, or tear off the tip to squeeze onto favorite foods…The new Heinz Dip & Squeeze product marks the first ketchup packet makeover for the foodservice industry in 42 years."

Just thought this was interesting. You can read more and watch a demo here