iris Singapore


I'm with the lovely folks at iris Singapore for the next few days. You can learn a bit more about them here on the iris website, but if you really wanna get a feel for what they're all about, check out this mockumentary/viral they did back in June. Great stuff, and there's much more on the way ...

Tina Palin, take two



KC: "But again, and not to belabor the point. One specific thing."
TP: "Katie, I'd like to use one of my lifelines."
KC: "I'm sorry?"
TP: "I want to phone a friend."
KC: "You don't have any lifelines."
TP: "Well in that case I'm gonna just have to get back to you!"

I think it gets funnier the closer is gets to the real thing.

Funnier ... or scarier.

BA flies solo


British Airways has launched a social media platform called Metrotwin which links Londoners and New Yorkers and is being touted as "one of the biggest forays into social media by a major brand to date."

They've got seat-back screens and keypads, right? So, why aren't they enabling this social network on-board where they've got a captive and engaged audience? They often have nothing better to do. Plus, their opinions would be top of mind: The pub they just had a beer. The restaurant where they dined. The show they saw. The car they rented. The hotel they stayed at. The seat they had on the plane. The airline that lost their luggage. ;-)

Hmmm … Personally, I’d have preferred a massive partnership with TripAdvisor or Dopplr or even TimeOut instead of going the “gotta own it all” route. People don't like having to do things in different places. Does this integrate with FriendFeed? Is it tied into Facebook or other networks? Is there an RSS feed that can be plugged into wherever you want? Can my SeatGuru feedback be folded in with my opinions? Does it work with Soup and others like it? What about getting my holiday pics from Flickr into it? Is that possible?

I know airlines are in the business of flying solo, but is going it alone really the best experience for travelers?

One thing is for sure, I’m sure BBH and Agency.com were very happy to build and market a stand-alone social network for them.

Cadbury channels John Wanamaker



Despite a Cannes Grand Prix and some very memorable imagery of Gorillas and Trucks, Cadbury's Dairy Milk has lost market share to competing chocolate brand Galaxy who opted for a strategy based on positioning and targeted sponsorships rather than flashy TV ad campaigns.

Sure, the Cadbury ads are memorable, but do they sell?

Jan Jesenovec, confectionery analyst at TNS, told Brand Republic that "Advertising will not significantly increase your sales. It simply reinforces the positions of big brands."

There you have it folks: Advertising doesn't increase sales.

Does anyone else think this is a complete load of rubbish?

Most people know Gorilla ad, but as Brand Republic reports, the Galaxy marketing which targets women in 'indulgent moments' was also "boosted by several high-profile partnership deals, including ties with the Sex and the City movie and the British Book awards.

Cadbury's flagship Dairy Milk brand has lost market share to arch-rival Galaxy. According to the annual Biggest Brands survey compiled exclusively for Marketing by TNS, Dairy Milk lost share in the take-home confectionery sector, posting growth below the 2% market rate to reach a sales value of about £200m. By contrast, Galaxy grew 12% year on year to about £80m.

Their targeted approach, whilst less glitzy, has been working harder:


Philadelphia retailing tycoon John Wanamaker once said, "I know that half of my advertising doesn't work. The problem is, I don't know which half."

I'd say Cadbury should know which half ain't working.

Fred

This is fantastic ... in a completely fcuked-up kinda way.


4 factors of online content success:

1. It should be funny.
2. It is much better when it is irreverent.
3. It is really good when parents hate it.
4. It is best when parents don’t know about it at all.

"Fred" ticks all the boxes.

That clip has 9,336,760 views on YouTube and is climbing fast. Not bad for a 15-year-old pretending to be a 6-year-old.

"Fred" is what marketers are competing against when considering "new and alternative media strategies" … Try getting "Fred" past legal in most companies. Good luck.

But, if you can’t beat 'em, join 'em … Sponsorship deals are already in the works. 

More of Fred on YouTube who I discovered thanks to Gordon on BrandRepublic.

Don't you think Fred is from the same strange content anomaly as The Blah Girls?

Capsule N96

Nokia is launching their own mobile TV channel for the N96, Capsule 96, containing short-form entertainment and lifestyle programming.

Must admit, I kinda like the idea.

It certainly plays to the whole media snacking/bite-size media thing. Plus at 96 seconds long, downloads won’t take forever and won’t cost a fortune. Sure, streaming would be better, but seems like a viable interim option.


The six Capsule N96 series, covering motoring, fashion, technology, lifestyle and comedy will be available to download from Nokia's website from 1 October until the end of November.

Nokia has signed up Jonny Smith, Margo Stilley, Wayne Hemmingway, David Phelan, Ben de Lisi and Jonny Woo to present the 96 second weekly mobisiodes.

Who the hell are these people?

You might know them, but ME Daily agrees that the concept looks pretty UK-centric:

The N96 will come with a made for mobile TV channel, presented by some well-known faces. Well known if you watch a lot of UK television, that is. And even then it could be a bit of a stretch for some.

Brand Republic offered some detail on the content:

Shows on offer include 'Cabin Fever', presented by Five 'Fifth Gear' presenter Jonny Smith, which offers a glimpse of the world's latest super cars, celebrates classic vintage models and includes a guide to the latest in cutting-edge in-car entertainment.

Fashion 'Portfolio', is presented by actress Margo Stilley, who starred in the controversial real-sex 2004 British drama '9 Songs', which was directed by Michael Winterbottom.

Designer Wayne Hemingway presents 'Pulse', which takes viewers on a tour of galleries, festivals and performances from across the UK's arts and entertainment scene.

On the gadget front 'Byte-Wize' is presented by David Phelan and will focus on ground-breaking gadgets, gizmos and futuristic developments of all shapes and sizes.

Simon Ainslie, managing director at Nokia UK, said: “The quick-fire and exciting programming that forms Capsule N96 really reflects the dynamic nature of the Nokia N96 and its users.

“Watching great content is no longer inherently linked to your living room. Great devices like Nokia N96 allow you to decide what content and when so the opportunities are endless on where to watch new shows and old favourites alike.”

The UnOfficial N96 blog pretty much spits back the press release and both they and TechRadar seems to like the idea. The latter couldn't help themselves to poke a bit of fun:

Although we don't usually paste in press release waffle, Nokia's justification for providing these little snippets of infotainment is just too good to miss:

"Catering to the new generation of time poor 'content grazers' who want insightful, up-to-the minute content in condensed packages to watch at their leisure, Capsule N96 offers high quality 'infotainment' to view on the go."

What on earth is a content-grazer? Why are we suddenly time poor? Why do we want to watch condensed programming? The questions are endless.

Nokia launches mobile TV channel with smart phone
Brand Republic

Nokia plans mobile TV shows for N96
NMA

Nokia's new 'TV channel'
Mobile Entertainment Daily

Nokia unveils premium mobile TV for N96
TechRadar UK

La Nuit des Publivores

I remember when I was living in Paris in 1987 and saw La Nuit des Publivores for the first time at Le Grand Rex. It was certainly a contributing factor to what got me interested in advertising in the first place.

Here in the UK, the event is called The Night of the AdEaters, and they've even got their very own viral to promote it:


Here's some info on this year's UK event:

This internationally acclaimed advertising and entertainment show will celebrate over 350 of the finest, most amazing, artistic and creative television and cinema advertising from around the world, including the best Russian, Asian, African, South American and UK advertising. It will also be interspersed with a menagerie of entertaining acts, and hosted by rapping elderly drag queen comedienne Ida Barr; think Granny meets Missy Elliott!

The show takes place at the Bloomsbury Theatre, 15 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AH on Thursday 16th October. Doors open at 6pm, the reel will commence at 7pm and it is due to finish at 1am.

Tickets cost £25 (inc.VAT) or £10 (incl.VAT) for students (valid student card required). Limited student tickets available. To buy tickets, and to view the creative work, visit www.adeaters.co.uk or contact Sophie Walker on 020 7201 8224.

Here are some highlights from previous Nuits des Publivores:


A bientôt!

Just like butterfly wings


The control of galleries over artists is as fragile as butterfly wings.

Whether you like his work or not, Damien Hirst and Sotheby's are proving that it is possible to sell big-ticket art direct to the buyer, disintermediating gallery dealers across the globe who've traditionally controlled the action. The Dow might be down, but the prices for Hirst's art are up, proving skeptics like perennial downer Carol Vogel and many in the financial community wrong.

Beautiful Inside My Head Forever is in mid-stream as I write this and everything is selling, most at or above the minimums. The cover lot, The Golden Calf, sold for £9,200,00. On a day when the banks are collapsing and a SuperCollider is supposedly threatening our very existence, it certainly seems that someone out there must certainly have a bunch of cash.

"The galleries have convinced everyone not to bid," Hirst said last month, recounting the dream while overseeing the installation of "Beautiful Inside My Head Forever," his one-artist, two-day auction that begins Monday night. "It's risky I know," he added. "But it's too late to worry about it now.

"Even if the sale bombs I'm opening a new door for artists everywhere," Hirst said. Although few artists are capable of producing enough work to hold a one-man sale, his effort could inspire others to consign even one piece to an auction house rather than to a dealer. "If you're going to do it," Hirst added. "Do it big. It's nice not to play safe."

I find his art a bit shocking ... certainly disturbing at times. The little pig made Katja cry, and there is something a bit strange about a full-size zebra in a tank of formaldehyde. That said, the butterfly wing rose windows are very impressive, once you get past the idea that they sure did have to "find" a whole bunch of various red and iridescent blue butterfly wings to do it.

Here are some links that I was browsing leading up to the sale:

Damien Hirst goes for broke at Sotheby's
Carol Vogel: Damien Hirst has a recurring nightmare. His big auction here is about to begin and the Sotheby's salesroom is overflowing with collectors and dealers. Oliver Barker, the auctioneer, opens the bidding on 223 works that Hirst has produced over the past two years. Suddenly the place goes quiet. Not a paddle is raised.

Will Sotheby's show be a nightmare for Hirst?
Damien Hirst, whose auction of 200-plus artworks starts at Sotheby's, London this evening, has disclosed that he has suffered a recurring nightmare in recent weeks: the auctioneer declares that the bidding is underway but nobody raises their hand to bid. "The galleries have convinced everyone not to bid," Hirst says explaining the dream. "It's risky I know. But it's too late to worry about it now."

I have to admit it: I was wrong about Hirst
Acclaimed Observer critic Peter Conrad used to think Damien Hirst was a greedy, cynical, overpaid show-off. But on the eve of a £60m auction of the artist's work, he toured the Sotheby's galleries and became a convert to Hirst's wit and ingenuity in wrestling with notions of mortality and death.

Sotheby's shares hit by jitters over Hirst auction
Sotheby's shares suffered a second day of declines amid fears that its pioneering auction of new works by Damien Hirst, estimated to sell for £65m, will be a flop.

Why I was banned from Damien Hirst's £120m gamble
Ben Lewis: For the past two weeks Damien Hirst has been telling news crews and reporters that his auction, which begins tonight, is a way to democratise the art market. Yet far from being a new dawn in democracy, the historic Hirst sale is the most stage-managed auction ever.

Damien Hirst seeks art market revolution
AFP: British artist Damien Hirst, who broke the mould by putting sharks in formaldehyde, has turned his attention to revolutionising the art market by selling his work direct at auction.

It will be interesting to see what they all have to say when this seemingly successful sale wraps up tomorrow.*

* Note: A technical glitch prevented me from posting this on Monday.

Goodbye Gutshot, Goodbye Rebuy


My favourite gritty grimy seedy snarky wonderful poker club in London is closing.

The legal fight for Gutshot has been well documented so I will spare you the details but unfortunately this Wednesday 17th Sept 2008 will be our last day in Clerkenwell Road. In true Gutshot fashion we would like to celebrate our closing in style by having a tournament that has always proved very popular amongst our members; the £5 rebuy.

Kicking off at 8pm it will be just like the old days with poker tables all over the club and rebuys a plenty. If the current interest levels are anything to go by it should be a roadblock and break our previous record number of runners which currently stands at 181. I hope you can make it.

After Wednesday we would like you to support a new club that is local to us in Old Street which is called The International Club (www.theintclub.com). It will have some very familiar faces as many of our staff will be moving over as well. There will also be an online affiliation and you will be able to play, deposit and withdrawal on the Gutshot Poker site from the luxury of this swanky new venue. As a part of this affiliation we have provided The International Club their very own forum on the Gutshot site where I am sure they will be posting all the latest on the club. We will be supporting The International, I hope you do too and look forward to seeing you down there on their opening night which is Thursday 18th September with doors opening at 7pm.

The king is dead. Long live the king.

Tina Palin


Tina Fey's Sarah Palin skit, which opened the new season of SNL, stole the show.

The real comedic thunder, the sketch that folks will be talking and arguing and getting all culture-war-crazy about, was the show opener with Emmy-award-winner and SNL veteran Tina Fey as Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Fey appeared with the gifted SNL regular Amy Poehler, who portrayed Sen. Hillary Clinton, in a joint "nonpartisan" address on the "ugly role that sexism is playing in the campaign." Palin was also the target of innumerable barbs in the "Weekend Update" segment.

As The Chicago Tribune put it, "Tina Fey out-Palined Sarah Palin."

More, please.

Who is Johnny X?


Sony Ericsson is about to launch the Xperia X1, and they're using a web-based content series apparently called "Who Is Johnny-X" to do it.

For now, there is just a teaser video, but there's obviously more to come. Looks a bit like Momento meets the Bourne Identity. Having foregone traditional media (there's no ATL/TV supporting the X1), there's a lot riding on the power of this concept and the use of digital to drive the success of their new handset.

The campaign launches at noon on Monday, 15 September when people can tune into the world premiere of Johnny X and "put your questions to a member of the Xperia X1 team."

So, who is Johnny?


The best review of the teaser campaign I've read is by TechnicalMarkus in MobileShop.com. Here's a snippet:

What we’ve got is a trailer for an upcoming thriller, ‘Johnny X’, with a bloke who looks like he’s living on the edge, and hanging onto his nerves by his teeth (which he might be, since there’s a ‘WANTED’ poster for him halfway through. Gasp! What could he be wanted for?). Oh, and it has car chases. And a bloke doing a parkour-free-running-style-jump-thing over a rope barrier.

Savvy commenter diuqil on Edgadget writes:

From what I understand in the video: one moment Johnny X is taking pictures with his interracial boyfriend using an Xperia X1, and the next moment his life gets flipped turned upside down and he's running from the authorities. My guess? They killed his boyfriend and framed him for the murder.

Most of the other 50+ comments are far less flattering, to be honest.

Meanwhile, the main post on Engadget states: Sony Ericsson is taking the viral route on marketing with its forthcoming Xperia X1, launching a new "alternative reality thriller" centered around a mysterious character named Johnny X. There's not much meat in the video the company is desperately trying to sneak into your daily YouTube diet, but at least we get to see action-packed chases, Memento-stealing plot points of the highest order, and one weird, seemingly backmasked utterance of "Johneeeeeeeeeee... X!"

From the Unwired: Brand Republic reports that the Who is Johnny X will also be seeded on YouTube and marketing activity will be supported by global print ads in selected titles and outdoor ads using the strapline "Life to the Power of Nine" (the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 features 9 panels) to highlight the product's multi-panel interface. Press ads will run in titles such as i-D magazine, National Geographic and Wallpaper to reach the product's target audience of males aged 25-44.

Sony Ericsson's head of marketing Cathy Davies said X1 was one of the company's "strategic hero products", a title given to new launches which are deemed of critical importance in certain sectors:

"People are already aware of what the X1 is about so we are building an ‘intrigue' campaign in the buildup to its launch based around our digital drama. The launch of the X1 will come at a busy time for us as we are also preparing to roll-out a new imaging product in Q4 as well." She added that Xperia would be a key sub-brand focus for Sony Ericsson for the next two years. "This is the first true Sony Ericsson sub-brand and we will use it to launch premium products."

There's an excellent review over on the Boy Genius Report, and there's a bit more from Engadget, here. Also check the Unofficial Sony Ericsson blog, Official press release, Official product site, and the SonyEricsson YouTube page

Disclaimer: Sony Ericsson is a client, and iris is working on the BTL elements. But I'm not working on this campaign so my guess is as good as yours. Dare is doing the digital work and is being supported by Wolfstar for the seeding and digi-PR. As Flo Heiss writes that it is "arguably the biggest thing we’ve done at Dare this side of the animated gif."

For their sake, I hope they don't fcuk it up. But to be perfectly honest, I don't really care who Johnny is ...

I just want want his phone.

The mothership


That's the second spot in the Crispin Porter Bogusky-produced advertising campaign for Microsoft and Windows Vista.

Bill: Why are we doing this again?

Jerry: Why Bill? Because as we discussed, you and I are a little out of it. You’re living in some kinda moon house hovering over Seattle like the mothership. I’ve got so many cars I get stuck in my own traffic. We need to connect with real people.

Brier Dudley writes on the Seattle Times, "Now we know what they're up to. The second Bill Gates-Seinfeld ad that's debuting tonight during "Big Brother" on CBS is a million times better than the freaky churro spot that kicked off the $300 million Windows campaign last week. Tonight's ad explains that Gates and Seinfeld are on a quest to reconnect with real people, just like Microsoft is with the campaign."

Much of the tech community, like TechCrunch's Michael Arrington, remains confused. Dudley echoes that:

By embracing ordinary people -- and contrasting them with the awkward rich guys -- the ads are also a populist comeback to Apple's "I'm a Mac-I'm a PC" ads that feature a hipster mocking an ordinary guy.

Is it enough to make mainstream consumers get excited about Windows again? I wonder how many will just scratch their heads and wonder what's going on.

The first spot is here, in case you missed it.

I kinda like it, but I miss Costanza.

advertising, microsoft, vista, cpb

BlahGirls and the TechCrunch50


BlahGirls didn't win TechCrunch50, but I still like 'em.

"Blah Blah Blah" is a new original content web property that delivers a unique perspective on popular culture from the vantage point of the Blah Girls. The Blah Girls are an animated clique of teenagers who enjoy providing their commentary on the latest entertainment themed news and happenings. With this initial foray into the digital medium, Katalyst Media is applying their expertise in content creation in a new form, and providing a compelling offering to advertisers. Katalyst Media was started by Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg.

The TechCrunch50 has the stated goal of finding the best start-ups and launch them in front of the industry’s most influential VCs, corporations, fellow entrepreneurs and press. This year's winner of the TechCrunch50 start-up shoot-out is Yammer.

Yammer is Twitter with a business model. Created by an existing company, Geni, to scratch its own itch, Yammer takes the familiar Twitter messaging system and applies it to internal corporate communications. There is such a huge demand for this type of service that 10,000 people and 2,000 organizations signed up for the service the first day it launched on Monday. Anyone with a corporate email can sign up and follow other people in their company. But if a company wants to claim its users, and gain administrative control over them, they will have to pay. It’s a brilliant business model.  (Watch a video of the the winning demo).

Info about all the participants can be found here, including background info, press releases and in most cases, videos of their presentations. Over on CenterNetworks, Allen Stern shared his thoughts on TechCrunch50 and Demo (another start-up conference that takes place at the same time).

Feelin' Punk'd?

startups, blahgirls, techcrunch50, content, yammer

Summer? What summer?


I know there are technically a few days left until English Sunfest '08 officially draws to a close, but I thought I'd get a head-start by breaking the news here first:

There was no summer in England this year.

None. Zip. Zilch. Nada. F-all. You heard it here first, folks.

I remember what it feels like to say goodbye to summer. And especially to those of you in the States, I remember what it was like going back to work/school after Labor Day. Most of the time, it sucked. But think of it this way, at least you can look back on a summer of BBQs and pool parties (or trips to the beach, if you were lucky) and lots of outdoor fun. In England, all we have are incredibly depressing re-runs of Bulmers ads.

So here's to next year, when rain or shine I plan to re-enact "Asado en Mendiolaza" by Marcos López somewhere in Central London.

While you're waiting for that fine and undoubtedly rainy day, you can check out his work and other cool stuff at "Opening Maps (Mapas abiertos) Contemporary Photography in Latin America until September 21, 2008 at the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels:

At the heart of the Summer of Photography, the Opening Maps (Mapas abiertos) exhibition provides the most complete panorama ever presented of the artists, themes, and trends of contemporary photography in Central and South America and the Caribbean. Overseen by the Spanish curator Alejandro Castellote, this selection of more than 200 photographs results from several years of research and cooperation involving photographers, artists, critics, historians, and people in charge of cultural institutions in the countries of Latin America. Opening Maps has deliberately chosen to leave to one side the usual themes of Latin American art and explore the eclecticism and subjectivity of artists who are sometimes almost unknown. By approaching things from three angles (rituals of identity, scenarios, and alternative histories), however, the exhibition nonetheless succeeds in tracking down the common denominators of a Latin American outlook on the world. (Podcast)

At least we never need to buy sunscreen.

ExxonMobil gets the job done


Tori spotted this ExxonMobil campaign on CNN, both via a video sponsorship and also via some other online ads on their site.

Sure, it is for petrol, but I kinda like it. This is a damn good example of using the web for corporate brand communications. It isn't risky. It isn't two-way, user-generated, tagged, RSS'd, web 2.0 delightification, but it works.

It gets the job done.

The tone is very good. The music is perfect. Simple yet effective design. Not too branded, but you know who it is coming from. It is very well produced, and post-production value is high. It is scientific, yet understandable. You get to know them. They’re real people doing a real job. Perhaps the nicest thing is the way the conversations segway from person to person. You get the impression that it is a collective consciousness. Borg. They’re all thinking/sayng the same thing. One team, working together, to solve the problems energy of the world.

In addition to the “on-camera” talent, the little interactive vignettes are well-done, simple ... and get the job done.

This was not cheap to create … but it ain't like they're short on cash.

One of the worst banners I've seen


This banner is really lame. What is it telling me? That T5 works? Is that a joke? Like, I'm supposed to get all warm and fuzzy because an airport terminal is working? What's in it for me? Why would I ever click on this?

In fact, clicking on it goes to a generic BA page with fares ... from August (according to the URL).

What a waste.

Microsoft's Shoe Circus



That's the first teaser from Crispin, Porter and Bogusky for the new Microsoft Vista campaign.

The ad, part the $300 million "Windows Not Walls" ad campaign, stars Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates. Jerry got $10 million for the campaign, for those of you scoring it at home.

Pretty sure it was directed by Michel Gondry, which explains why it is a bit quirky and loopy. Borderline strange. And I’m not too sure where it is headed. Haven’t decided if that’s a good thing.

Microsoft SVP Bill Veghte wrote to all MSFT employees about the goals of the campaign. The overall goal is to inspire consumers and “tell the story of how Windows enables a billion people around the globe to do more with their lives today.” This first phase, he says, “is designed to engage consumers and spark a new conversation about Windows – a conversation that will evolve as the campaign progresses, but will always be marked by humor and humanity.”

More here, here and here.

Big top or or foot order. What do you think?

Chrome: The Google browser


Google is launching an open-source browser, and they're using a comic book drawn by Scott McCloud to do it.

The news leaked in advance of the launch, and there is a ton of speculation out there as to why Google would develop a browser, given Microsoft's dominance and Firefox's rising popularity.

I think the opportunity boils down to one word, mobile, and the best analysis I've read so far is by Om Malik:

Microsoft is vulnerable on mobiles, where IE Mobile has a non-existent market share. Like Mozilla, Microsoft is playing catch-up with Webkit, the core rendering engine for Nokia S60 phones, Apple’s iPhone Safari and Google Android devices. Even a Windows Mobile version is in the works. (Read my Webkit report.) By developing a browser that offers a seamless experience on both mobile and desktop devices, Google can carve out a nice chunk of the browser market for itself. The big opportunity could be especially the emerging class of mobile devices like the Netbooks.

Here are some more details about Chrome as well as a few links to further analysis.

• It is based on Webkit and will include Google Gears.
  
  
• It has a browser extensions framework that will allow it to make Adobe AIR-type hybrid apps.
  
  
• It includes Javascript Virtual Machine called V8 that was developed by a team in Denmark. It accelerates the Javascript performance and is multi-threaded.
  
  
• It has tabs, auto-completion, and a dashboard-type start page that can help you get going to the web services you need. Opera has such a dashboard.
  
  
• It has a privacy mode that allows you to use the machine without logging anything on the local machine. It might be similar to a feature called Incognito in the latest version of Microsoft IE.
  
  
• Malware and phishing protection would be built into the browser.

A fresh take on the browser (official post)
At Google, we have a saying: “launch early and iterate.” While this approach is usually limited to our engineers, it apparently applies to our mailroom as well! As you may have read in the blogosphere, we hit “send” a bit early on a comic book introducing our new open source browser, Google Chrome.

Google Ignites a New Browser War With Microsoft By Unveiling One of its Own This Week
Kara Swisher, AllThingsD
In its most frontal and aggressive attack on Microsoft yet, sources with knowledge of the project said Google is preparing to unveil a new browser–ready for download to users as early as tomorrow–to try to loosen Microsoft’s iron grip on the most important piece of software to navigate the Internet.

Google Chrome, Google’s Browser Project
Google Blogscoped
Today there was a comic book in my mail, sent by Google and drawn by no less than Scott McCloud, creator of the classic Understanding Comics. Within the 38 pages, which I’ve scanned and put up, in very readable format Google gives the technical details into a project of theirs: an open source browser called Google Chrome.

There's also a pair of good articles on TechCrunch:

Meet Chrome, Google's Windows Killer
Make no mistake. The cute comic book and the touchy-feely talk about user experience is little more than a coat of paint on top of a monumental hatred of Microsoft.

No Joke: Google Introduces The Chrome Browser With A Cartoon
Google Blogoscoped has published a lengthly cartoon sent to them by Google and drawn by Scott McCloud that provides the first public details about Google Chrome, an open source browser based on WebKit and powered by Google Gears that has been rumored but never before confirmed.

A ton of chatter can be found here.

google, browser, chrome, open.source, firefox, microsoft

Where the sun was born



We just got back from paradise, better known as Sol Caribe.

About 2 hours south of Cancun, Sol Caribe is near Tulum in the middle of the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve. Punta Allen, the town at the end of the reserve, has the nickname "where the sun was born", and it is totally appropriate. There's miles of beach, turquoise water, fishing, snorkeling, dolphins, turtles, crabs, pelicans, iguanas, great food, perfect margaritas ... and no connectivity other than sat phones. Michael has been running the place for 15 years, and along with Lee and a few other staff, they take really great care of you. If you're looking to get off the grid, this is definitely the place.

While the above clip does not do justice to the place, it gives a tiny peek into a wonderful slice of heaven on earth. A few photos are here.

Adios, mis gringos compañeros!