The Smithsonian channel officially launched on September 26, 2007. So as you might have guessed, I have been avidly watching every show they air.
The more I learn about the institute, the more uneasy I feel how little I orignially knew.
You might be thinking that the channel is just like the Discovery Channel or Science Channle, but it’s not. Mainly because the interum between shows in not cluttered with mindless advertising… yet… Hopefully never.
I like the programming so much that I donated $35.00 to the institution just now.
The channel is only available if you have Directv and HD equipment, but I think it is well worth the cost. (Channel 267)
Today I watched a commercial by Verizon and I must say that it was of completely poor taste.
The commercial starts with a man working on his Fios Internet and he is immediately greeted by a Verizon representative.
“I always pictured you with a beard,” states the customer. Here Verizon is making a joke. Verizon portrayed as all powerful God. At the top of the screen in a set as white as heaven’s white pearly gates is a Verizon rep in a white bucket lift. Okay, I get it. Real funny Verizon.
Yet why should they stop here at displaying how powerful they are as a company? Next the customer needs help with his computer. The Verizon man sticks out his hand to make a ‘make it so’ gesture, and the computer quickly fixes itself.
Now I am usually fine with the advertising methods used by companies such as this, but this is too much. Verizon is clearly depicting itself as God in the commercial. The fact that the comment is said in a third-party format is meant to defer Verizon’s ownership of the actual viewpoint. So you might find yourself at first watching the commercial and telling yourself, “they didn’t just say and do that…”
The last thing Verizon did is respect us as a customer in this commercial. Even if the commercial doesn’t bother you very much, you should at least ask yourself this- At what point is a company pushing the limits on what it says or does? Verizon wasn’t breaking any law here so it is up to the consumer whether this goes on any longer.
Originally Derren Brown was only available on Channel 4 in the UK and I was only able to watch his work in scattered places across the web. Apparently Derren is already very popular and well known in the UK and has written a few books: Trick of the Mind. So based on his previous success in the UK I know Derren Brown will definitely catch on in the US.
I like Derren Brown’s work for a number of reasons. First of all, before watching him I was already very interested in hypnosis and neuro-linguistic programming. And after watching his work for a little while I realized how original he was in the way he twisted old methods and tricks. He is not like mainstream US magicians today such as Chris Angel, who are using tricks verbatim without improving or changing them. Derren uses techniques from both hypnosis and NLP while also including a little magic from time to time. This mix gives viewers and audience members a new and creative performance every time.
Feel free to share your thoughts on Derren Brown or even your interest in what he does. Either comment or e-mail me at thoughttrain[at]thoughtsponge.com…
Prisoner Thriller Dance
This video is amazing. Prisoners doing choreographed dancing. Right when I heard about it I thought of a business idea. Music videos using prisoners instead of paid backup dancers… Also make sure you look for the woman in the beginning… she is super hot!
From the day I began blogging I have always been amazed at how different areas of blogging can be monetized or draw traffic.
Take comments for example. Initially serving only to build community and allow reader feedback can now be used to increase traffic in other ways. There are many plugins available to keep you visitors commenting. In turn, they keep coming back again and again. One plugin that I’d like to mention is the Top Commentators Plugin. Since your visitors are spending time on your site and even giving input, why not give them something in return. Whenever I see a top commentator I know this person is spending a lot of time reading the content and may be an established user on the site. The funny thing about this plugin is that it lists the top 5 commentators. So as you might have guessed, you have greater odds and are easier to see if you are # 1. Needless to say, you sometimes see, “silent,” competitions taking place on popular sites.
So this might just be only one example but it does serve well for the concept behind blogging. A blog enables you to build community and change anything almost immediately. If something isn’t working, just try something else. If you have an idea for a blog you can literally have a working site up within hours.
And it is amazing that every aspect of the blog can be utilized in any way. The possibilities are endless.
Trick of the Mind