Google Maps Darfur

This is a really interesting CNN article about Google Map mapping out the atrocities of Darfur

here here to that

Thanks!

THANK YOU FOR SUCH A GREAT SEMESTER MARISSA!!!

final paper due date: EXTENSION

I want to give you as much time as possible to complete the final assignment and now that I know when I have to hand in your final grades, I'm happy to announce we can push back the due date for the final assignment.

The new due date is Monday, May 7th by 5pm. No late papers will be accepted. I'll be on a plane a few hours later and unreachable, so please make sure you hand in the paper by 5pm. No extensions, no exceptions.

Thanks.

tomorrow's speaker: david towers

tomorrow's speaker is david towers of avenue a/razorfish. you can find his bio here or check out his website.

Vice President, Managing Director - LA

David Towers was named managing director of the Los Angeles office in October 2006. David leads the Los Angeles team and is responsible for overall client satisfaction.

Prior to joining Avenue A | Razorfish, David was vice president of e-commerce for Liz Claiborne where he led the interactive strategy across all 40+ brands of the fashion conglomerate. Before that, he was the vice president of e-commerce operations for J.Crew where he grew the online business to over $100 million. David has also held various marketing management positions at American Express and Diagnostic Research. He holds a BS from the University of Southern California and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

In our thoughts and prayers...

I hope you all will join me in taking a moment to pray for those who lost their loved ones yesterday.
I have a lot of friends that go to Virgina Tech and so far all are ok.

Another take on the EMI/apple announcement

my business partner (and USC lecturer) aram sinnreich has an article today in truthdig (bob scheer, professor at annenberg is the editor-in-chief) offering another persepctive on the EMI DRM announcement - one that has been ignored in more mainstream publications.

final paper assignment

the final paper assignment is now posted to blackboard and I've also emailed the class a copy. please let me know if you have any questions.

South Park Warcraft Episode

Here's a link to the "Make Love not Warcraft" episode of South Park we mentioned in class yesterday ... pretty funny! Enjoy!

Sam Zell vs. Google

Recently Sam Zell had bought a newspaper publisher Tribune for 8.2 billion dollars. His decision was based on a logic that search engines such as Google should have to pay for the contents the newspapers paid for. Link

WTF

Marissa, can you just delete the previous two posts--I once again am a dumb ass and posted to the wrong blog. much appreciated.

the video game revolution

unfortunately, we dont have time to watch this documentary in class, but PBS produced this and it chronicles the history of the video game industry. you can watch it at your leisure.

today's speaker: Angela Wilson Gyetvan of revver

some info on today's speaker from revver.com:

Angela Wilson Gyetvan is VP, Marketing and Content for Revver, the first service that allows video creators to share and monetize their work across multiple platforms: internet, mobile and broadcast. She has more than 18 years of expertise in product launches and brand-building activities for companies targeting experience-hungry and media-savvy consumers. She has held executive positions with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Food.com, Electronic Arts, Broderbund Software, and Napa Valley Kitchens. Accolades have included being named “Guerilla Marketer of the Year” by Brandweek, and honored as a women leader in business by the Haas School at UC Berkeley. She holds a BA from Duke University and an MBA from the College of William and Mary, and is a member of Film Independent, Step Up Women’s Network, and the Junior League of Los Angeles. She spends her free time exploring pop culture, fashion and political activism with her daughter, and collaborating on a wine blog for women called “Wine Giques.”

supplemental assignment

since some of you have asked about ways to improve your midterm grade, I've decided to offer a supplementary assignment. It will be pass/fail and if you pass, you will bring up your midterm grade by a full letter grade. Thus, a D will be a C, a C will become a B, etc. Here are the requirements:

• Must be 5 pages, double-spaced, typed
• Must use proper citations (either MLA or APA)
• Please proofread - no spelling, grammar or structural mistakes

Please find a current event that relates to the concepts discussed in class. For example, EMI dropping DRM for its online music sales on itunes, or Viacom suing Google over copyright violation, or the debate over Net Neutrality.

Write a 5 page analysis of the issues involved in the topic: Why is this significant? Who does it affect? How should competitors respond? In your opinion, if this a wise strategic move? What do you predict the outcome will be? How does it affect consumers? How will it affect the industry? Is it a positive or negative development?

Please submit your topic for approval to me by next class, Thursday April 12th and submit the paper by Thursday April 19th.

please let me know if you have any questions.

Today's Speaker: Chris Williams

CHRIS WILLIAMS, CO-FOUNDER/CEO FanLib: Chris Williams leads the FanLib team, building key business relationships, spearheading strategy and overseeing operations. His wide-ranging experience as a successful internet executive, film and television producer, and advertising sales director allow him to effectively bridge the worlds of marketing, entertainment and online media. In 1996, Williams joined upstart Yahoo! as one of its first sales and business executives. Over the next five years, he rose to the position of Director of Market Development, generating over $300-million in revenue and managing a team of over thirty people. He personally developed signature relationships and negotiated complex partnership agreements with Viacom, Disney, Barnes & Noble and others. As the media landscape has changed, Williams has channeled his unique expertise in the colliding industries of entertainment, marketing and online media by helping marketers and established entertainment companies make the most of opportunities arising from online and consumer-generated media. Williams graduated from Boston University’s College of Communications in 1993 with a BS degree in Broadcast and Film.

Threats to Freedom of Speech on the Internet

Alright, to make up for my previous plunders, here's an interesting article from CNN.com about a blogger who was found in contempt of the law for refusing to release the unplublished footage of a riot that he released edited on his blog. As a result, he was jailed for 226 days. Check it out.

ahhh sorry

sorry guys, those lincoln log posts were supposed to go to my blog. dismiss them completely.

Lincoln Logs

Once again Lady Raptastic brings up a blast from the past--Lincoln Logs! I mean who doesn't love those building blocks of life? They certainly no legos, but they were prime toys for me when I was but a wee tot (in much the same way K'NEX rocked my play world some years later). Things I liked to do while building:

1) See how tall I could make a building (and I'll be damned if that tower fell over before I wanted it to).

2) Copy the buildings on the box in their exact form (I'm a perfectionist).

3) Race a friend to see who could build the most complete structure with as many blocks as possible the fastest (I always won).

Lincoln Logs

Once again Lady Raptastic brings back a blast from the past--Lincoln Logs. I mean how great were those building blocks of life. While they were certainly no Legos, they were prime toys in my early years (much in the same way K'NEX were great a bit latter in adolescence). I always had certain days where I would "build the tallest structure I could" (and get pissed if it fell over too soon), or where I tried to copy the buildings shown on the box to a "T." However, I think I loved to play with them most when I would play with a friend and we would have contests of who could build the most complete structure using as many logs as possible the fastest. No surprise, I always won.

EMI announces DRM Free Music

read the article here

Even though the files would be higher quality, itunes will be charging more per track (1.29 instead of .99).

~T

Gmail goes retro or April Fools? You decide.

Today Gmail unveiled its newest feature to its free email service: free printed emails delivered right to your door (yes, your PHYSICAL door, and on REAL paper!). It is called Gmail Paper and you can check out the supposed beta version of it on gmail's page.

Anyone think that this may be another on of Google's April Fools jokes?