Interesting Tidbits for November 16th through November 17th

Things worth reading for November 16th through November 17th:

• Too Good to Check – NYTimes.com – Important Piece by Thomas Friedman: “On Nov. 4, Anderson Cooper did the country a favor. He expertly deconstructed on his CNN show the bogus rumor that President Obama’s trip to Asia would cost $200 million a day. This was an important “story.” It underscored just how far ahead of his time Mark Twain was when he said a century before the Internet, “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” But it also showed that there is an antidote to malicious journalism — and that’s good journalism. “
• What The F*** Is My Social Media Strategy? by Mike Phillips – Even the LINK is NSFW, but don’t miss this & remember to hit “refresh” a couple times.
• “I’m a ninja!” Surfaced by Jim Nichols– what many sane people want to say to “social media experts.” Oy! – Like a car wreck, this is disturbing but compelling. Whence comes this vogue for sarcasm matched with animation so bad it makes Hanna Barbera look like Miyazaki?
• Amazon.com Brings Moviemaking to the Masses With Amazon Studios Launch – Risky Business – Talk about disruption! “Amazon is muscling into the movie business. And the 15-year-old Seattle-based Web behemoth wants everyone to come along.”Under a new first-look deal with Warner Bros., Amazon.com has launched Amazon Studios, a user-generated online development and production outfit built around monthly contests and community feedback. The end result, if all goes as planned, will be feature films derived from the best user submissions that Amazon Studios produces for theatrical release.”To feed the studio’s development, filmmakers and writers around the world are invited beginning immediately to upload feature-length films and screenplays to the site, which triggers an 18-month option on the material. Each month starting in January, based on community feedback, two scripts and one test film will be designated the best of the bunch and awarded cash grants — $20,000 for each screenplay and $100,000 for the film”
• Executive Summary – It Will Be Awesome if They Don’t Screw it Up: 3D Printing | Public Knowledge – Fascinating– and I thought just printing books on demand was pretty nifty! “In its simplest form, 3D printing is a way to turn bits into atoms, translating computer design files into real life objects. Although this technology has existed for some time in high end design firms and research facilities, new, open source 3D printers like the RepRap and the MakerBot are finding a way to make this technology widely affordable and available. Since these projects are open source, they are constantly evolving and improving. As a bonus, the RepRap can print out a substantial portion of its own parts, therefore making it a self-replicating machine.”
• The Rise of Connectivity Addiction | Fast Company – Hmmm, I may need to look into Richard Watson’s work: “We have developed a culture of instant digital gratification in which there is always something to do–although, ironically, we never seem to be entirely satisfied with what we end up choosing. Think about the way people jump between songs on an iPod, barely able to listen to a single song, let alone a whole album. No wonder companies such as Motorola use phrases like “micro boredom” as an opportunity for product development.”
• How far would you go for your favorite brand? | Marketplace From American Public Media – “A new study in the current issue of the Journal of Marketing says brand names mean so much to consumers, they’ll go to great lengths to afford them. Joe Priester explains.”  This might very well be nonsense, but it’s interesting.
• Marketing to Digital Moms | ClickZ – “When I attended ad:tech New York two weeks ago, I couldn’t help but feel that maybe finally women were receiving their due. The first day’s keynote speaker, Lauren Zalaznick, the president of NBC Universal Women and Lifestyle Entertainment Networks, though discussing “Redefining ‘Digital’,” couldn’t help but use female-centric examples and data when making her case. The ad:tech conference schedule dedicated two whole sessions to “Marketing to Digital Moms,” the first session led by Nancy Galanty of iMom Summit. Since women represent 51 percent of the U.S. population these days and, according to session presenter Terri Walter, chief digital storyteller Microsoft Advertising (love that title!), women control 80 percent of purchasing power worldwide ($5 trillion), I thought it would be nothing short of a disservice not to recap and expand upon the Marketing to Digital Moms topic.” The iMedia iMoms Summit in May is going to ROCK!
• YouTube – Dynamite – Taio Cruz – A Cappella Cover – Just Voice and Mouth – Mike Tompkins – This is really wonderful… and incidentally a testament to the power of the YouTube platform.