« April 2009 | Main | June 2009 »
Like a million other celebrities, Will Farrell has jumped on the branded product bandwagon. He launched his own sunscreen line this week. Besides the catchy titles and killer photos, the best part about this is that all the proceeds go to the Cancer for College Willpowered Scholarship Fund which provides scholarships to cancer survivors. It's the perfect addition to any beach bag, so get your Sun Stroke, Sexy Hot Tan, or Forbidden Fruit sunscreen today.
~Shannon
Ever read a tweet that made you want to throw something? It's amazing how 140 little characters can really grind your gears. With that, we present, the folks who tweet too hard. Have some fun mocking the self-important, the boring, and the flat-out dumb as they share their "morsels of twisdom" with the world.
--Kate
(from brandflakesforbreakfast)
PR and advertising folks get their inspiration from a variety of different sources and like other agencies, a lot of things help inspire our work here at Pure. Among those, I like to think free parking, ebay furniture and our dogs play a part.
According to this site, bringing your dog to the office can lead to more creativity and productivity, less stress, and an overall happier working environment. Two weeks from today, June 1, is National Bring your Dog to Work Day. If you're not a dog owner, you've still got two weeks to get a new little (or big!) bundle of joy adopted, trained and updated on its shots. Adopt here today - the Dumb Friends League updates their site every hour, and as of this minute there are 98 pooches, including King Henry, out there waiting to inspire you.
--Kate
In case you were starting to wonder "is there any one left in this world who is not on facebook," the answer is now officially, 'no.' That's right, Pope Benedict XVI is coming to a social network near you.
The fact that America's youth is losing the faith is no new news, but who ever thought we'd see the day when the Vatican would do something about it through new media technology?
The new Pontifical Council for Social Communications has been charged with finding new ways to talk to young people about Catholicism. All I can say is, I grew up in the wrong time. I could have really used an iPhone app to serve as a cheat sheet for memorizing the Apostles' Creed or to remember which Mystery I'm supposed to be mediating on while praying the Rosary. Or at the very least, something to keep me awake on those Sundays when the Homily was especially long.
Oh well, here's to wishing the Holy City social media success!
--Kate
Whether you like how the Obama administration is running our country or not, they've definitely accomplished some incredible things in the social web world to set this presidency apart. The White House flickr photostream is one example. Go here and spend some time browsing the photo albums. These images really add a human element to the life of our president, and the public comments posted show how powerful a picture can be.
--Kate
With the recent changes we've seen in the journalism industry comes a change in how we teach it. The MU School of Journalism is just one of many J-schools adding an iPhone to the list of requirements for all students. According to associate Dean Brian Brooks, the move is meant to increase efficiency in student learning and retention, turning the iPhone into a learning device.
First of all, mom and dad, the extra money you're forking over for an iPhone won't be used to replay lectures from class. You'll be lucky if your star pupil is even present to hear it the first time, rather than nursing a hangover in the dorm bathroom all morning.
But aside from that point, what are these schools thinking? My J-school professors quizzed us on the content of five local and national newspapers at the beginning of each class. This required combing through each paper cover to cover, and if you failed the quizzes, you failed the course. To me an iPhone in the classroom feels like we're helping America close the doors quality newspapers and quality talent. Is this trend the final blow against traditional journalism, or are professors smart to equip the next generation of writers with the tools they need to survive?
--Kate
Unlike the majority of US auto makers receiving federal bail out money, Hotwheels is staying the course anticipating strong car sales in 2009 despite its 14 percent drop in sales in 2008 due to disappointing holiday sales and the week introduction of its 40th anniversary car by Nick Lachey. Even with disappointing 2008 sales, the auto maker is showing strong sales volume of excess inventory because of consumer demand for lower-priced cars. Contrary to the current economic challenges, Hotwheels continues to lead the industry with innovative automotive design and features while maintaining the most competitive sticker price available .99-cents. The Telsa Roadster made the transition from Hotwheels toy pipe dream to concept reality, I hope America and Detroit can do the same.
Tim
A Twitter newspaper? Hey, why not. Check out TwitterGrep, where you can now view "all the news that's fit to Tweet" - in a format that's sort of like reading the Sunday Times on speed. Within seconds, I've learned that Kim Kardashian is "so hot" and live in Ryan Seacrest's studio right now, White House Military Office Director Louis Caldera has resigned after the NYC flyover shenanigans, and P Diddy's Twitter question of the week has been released (Biggie? Jz? Or Nas?!!!!!).
Could this be the user-generated journalism America's been waiting for? Or just a giant dumping ground for useless information?
-- Kate
The Tsunami is symbolic of the giant wave she created from her plug for KFC – I mean KGC – (is the Colonel rolling over in his grave?) If you thought it was a fluke when Oprah single handedly brought down the beef industry overnight in 98, you were wrong!
The “force” is with her again as she spiraled K?C into a crisis yesterday. Oprah’s tie-in for coupons and free samples spawned an insurgence of chicken-eating biscuit lovers to their local fast food favorite for some free swag. Instead of delectable goodies, their coupons and dreams of free drumsticks were shot down.
Does this add to the burden of their re branding, or is it simply enough that Oprah talked about it? Read the full story here.
--Amanda
