Interesting Tidbits for November 17th through November 18th

Things worth reading for November 17th through November 18th:

• The Future of Advertising | Fast Company – Massive, well-written, and useful: this is the article you should send to your friends and parents who don't understand what all the digital media fuss is about. A triumph and not to be missed.<br />
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  "Over the past few years, because of a combination of Internet disintermediation, recession, and corporate blindness, the assembly line has been obliterated — economically, organizationally, and culturally. In the ad business, the relatively good life of 2007 is as remote as the whiskey highs of 1962. "Here we go again," moans Andy Nibley, the former CEO of ad agency Marsteller who, over the past decade, has also been the CEO of the digital arms of both Reuters and Universal Music. "First the news business, then the music business, then advertising. Is there any industry I get involved in that doesn't get destroyed by digital technology?""
• UK Consumers Are Doing More Online, More Often, With More Devices – eMarketer – Interesting piece from eMarketer about how the U.K. population has 70% broadband penetration and high uptake on new tech like tablets.
• No Need to Tune Into Google TV – WSJ.com – "…For now, I'd relegate Google TV to the category of a geek product, not a mainstream, easy solution ready for average users. It's too complicated, in my view, and some of its functions fall short."
• Mary Meeker’s Awesome Web 2.0 Presentation About The State Of The Web – Just in case you missed the million other links to these always-provocative slides.
• Research firm sees growth for Android-based tablets | Reuters – The tablet wars are just beginning: "(Reuters) – Tablet computers using Google Inc's Android-based system will steal some sales from Apple Inc's iPad and hold 15.2 percent of the market in 2011, industry tracker IMS Research said."
• Former News Corp. Exec Peter Chernin Enters Yahoo Scenarios | Kara Swisher | BoomTown | AllThingsD – "…Multiple sources from a variety of sides said that Chernin, a well-liked and deeply experienced media and entertainment exec, has been contacted by a number of private equity firms and other investors about his interest in becoming involved should any of the various and sundry scenarios around the Internet giant pan out." <br />
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  Really? Another Hollywood exec potentially to take on Yahoo? It's interesting to see how deeply entertainment is in the Yahoo DNA… I still think that Sony should buy Yahoo, though.
• Don’t write off Gowalla just yet: huge Disney Parks deal announced – "Foursquare competitor Gowalla has had a tough time gaining users and brands with foursquare and Facebook Places stealing much of the location-based limelight, but today they’ve landed one of the biggest fish there is. They’ve partnered with Disney Parks to offer stamps and pins for users checking in around Walt Disney World and Disneyland."
• Digital Goods Real Billions – Nice 101 deck on why Virtual Goods are big business.
• Brands and brains collaborate on packaging – iMediaConnection.com – Interesting piece on iMedia Connection today– I have doubts about the results of measuring somebody while strapped into an MRI (although to be fair the author, Brian Easter, doesn't discuss methodology) but do think that a neuro-scientific perspective is useful in marketing. Is it just me, or does anybody else think that Tropicana had a big WIN with the packaging switcheroo this year? <br />
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  Here's a quote from the article: "Though neuromarketing is still expensive — estimated costs run between $30 and $100 million if done properly — it is slowly becoming a more viable option for companies looking to gain new insight into consumers. Both Campbell's and Frito-Lay gained information that traditional testing couldn't yield, while SunChips and Tropicana could have used the same techniques to avoid a costly faux pas. Further investment in this emerging technology could hinge on the successes and failures of these companies' packaging redesign ventures."
• Reflections on a Season of Marketing Conferences | Millennial Marketing – Don't miss Carol Phillips' big picture review of a seson's worth of conference going. I'm grateful that so many of the conferences she attended and spoke at were with dmg :: events.
• Google: Google Goggles Marketing Experiment – Interactive (video) – Creativity Online – "Today Google announced the launch of a new marketing experiment using Google Goggles. The feature on the Google mobile app allows users to search for info on items captured on their phones and now, five brands—T-Mobile, Disney, Delta, Diageo and Buick have gotten in on the action. Gogglers who shoot print or outdoor ads from the aforementioned advertisers will be able to click through to a mobile site for that particular brand. "
• Innovations move amusement parks into digital age | Reuters – "The company offers a customized smartphone application that allows theme park guests to buy tickets, find rides and keep tabs on friends through a GPS map system, and post real-time updates about their day on Facebook and Twitter.<br />
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  "The theme parks stand to increase profits through the new digital media, according to Leonard Sim, founding director of Lo-Q, a Henley-on-Thames, U.K., company."