have you ever had a song stuck in your head where you don't know the words but will end up humming the tune for the better part of your day?  well a new website called midomi can listen to your garbled hum, whistle or singing to decipher what that song actually is.  in addition to their online portal midomi has a mobile application that performs the same function so that when you are in the car or without your laptop you can still satisfy that urge to know.

check it out at midomi.com

according to the wall street journal, wal-mart plans to rebrand themselves with a new logo, leaving behind arguably one of the most recognizable logos in corporate america.  not only will they abandon the familiar blue and white they'll also combine two words into one walmart. 

while still unofficial word of the revamp spread after, "it was used for a new store prototype proposed last week for a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Shelby County outside Memphis.  Chip Saliba, a manager with the Memphis/Shelby County office of planning and development, said engineers for the company told him that this was the new sign package that the company is unveiling soon."

fedex kinko's will soon be known as fedex office - bloomberg has the details

from our good friends at google:

We're very excited to tell you that real-time quotes on NASDAQ securities are now available on Google Finance. This is an important (and way overdue) development for everyone who consumes financial information. Historically, real-time stock data was not freely and widely accessible. Either buried behind subscription walls or brokerage sites, consumers typically had to live with 15 or 20 minute price delays. In the world of finance, time is indeed money, and it's critical to have timely and accurate data.

.....it's becomming a distant foggy memory but some of us still recall those days. 

well in today's USA Today airlines have announced they'll be eliminating paper tickets moving forward which allegedly saves airlines $3 billion (yes a B) worldwide and cuts the cost of issuing a ticket from $10 to $1.  i take it that savings won't be used to bring back free meals though.

and as gas prices continue to rise here are two other articles from the consumerist that shed a little light on how other airlines are trying to generate revenue or cut costs:

• Next On The Airline Chopping Block: Lavatory Sinks?

• Airlines Revive Hated Minimum Stay Fares

free meals, yes those were the days...

well it's been about a week now since returning from sunny (and hot) california from the music festival that was coachella...  i'll be posting an entry over the weekend with a more detailed account of the event along with some pictures and video.  this morning however i saw this interesting concept online relating to festivals and wanted to post it while it was fresh in my head...

myhab, a UK based student started & run company has created an interesting product for the music festival goers experience.  the company has created a unique "tent" called a myhab (obviously) that is a temporary and waterproof shelter that is completely made of recyclable plastic and waterproof cardboard.  the myhab is fixed on a raised platform as well to prevent rain and water from seeping in like a regular tent might.  myhab works with UK festivals to secure premier camping space on festival grounds creating an eco-village of myhabs.  the units are then available for rent by fans who are traveling to the festival, perfect for those making long journeys who are unable to bring along their own tent.  when fans arrive onsite they are greeted with a pre-setup myhab big enough to sleep two people and are also provided access to premier facilities including private showers and bathrooms in the eco-village for being a myhab customer.  at the end of the show myhab staff breakdown all the units and prepare them for their next use.

being a festival fan myself this is definitely a great option for people...especially those that travel by air where bringing your own tent is a challenge.  some festivals in the US have begun to offer pre-built shelters (such as Coachella and newly former Rothbury) however those shelters have been geared toward more VIPs willing to shell out major dough.  myhabs however are a cost-effective and environment-friendly method that enables any fan to have a shelter for a couple hundred bucks. 

let's see if this trend jumps the pond and becomes a more mainstream option at US festivals...

....i leave tomorrow for coachella - so excited!!

first of all - if you haven't heard of or checked out the new website HULU then you need to click that link and get with the program...for those of you not in the know, HULU is the "YouTube Killer" that FOX and NBC, along with their networks, hashed together to offer their content through their own portal.  ABC & the Disney family keep their content locked up behind ivory towers though making you visit their website to gain access to some of their content.  HULU content includes full streaming episodes, movies, shorts, etc and includes some social networking features. With this and other media revolutions are changing the landscape of media and creating a seismic shift in how consumers are viewing their media these days.  in a recent new york times article i was shocked to learn that the office premiere back from september had 1 in 5 viewers watching the episode on their home computer.

with the likes of video-on-demand, streaming content via the internet, DVR, TiVo and many more; the television program is becomming a different medium...tv is no longer tv, it's now just content with limitless boundaries for broadcast and few controls for advertisers.  and with the rise of devices that allow consumers to control how and when they watch this content (PSP, iPods, iPhones, SlingBox, etc) people are not only able to determine how they'll watch it but also where and when.  not to mention the media extenders that are coming about such as Apple's iTV and Microsoft backed Media Servers that already allow folks to setup a home media network so they can even stream video from sites like HULU, iTunes, Amazon Unbox and Joost directly to your TV...talk about true on-demand...not to mention ability to stream in HD!

what i find to be the most interesting of this whole media revolution is how it'll change the way brands advertise and leverage their marketing dollars.  people are already beginning to see the decline in value for tv spots now that they can so easily be fast forward through.  so what are brands to do?  how can they still show up on TV and hit home with consumers to make the pitch?  my answer, sports. 

granted i work in the sports field so my answer may be a bit bias...but it is true.  where else do you have a captive audience for multiple hours that you can take your brand and immerse it with a player, team, league or broadcast to provide fans with brand message points, consumer/brand interactions via promotions/sweepstakes and branding all in one programming segment...be it a game, season or playoffs?  while some may argue the sports field is cluttered - that's partially true - but isn't TV just as cluttered?  every category and brand is covered across television and multiple shows.  no one really pays attention to know whether or not Car Maker X is the official car for commercials during the office...however fans will know that Car Maker X is the official partner of the NFL, or New York Yankees or the NCAA March Madness.  not to mention you are connecting with a fan's passion during these times which has shown a correlation with stronger brand affinity and purchase intent.

anyhow the times article is an interesting take on the state of media consumption.  with the recession at who knows what point of the cycle pending on the coverage you watch - brands are definitely going to be cutting back some dollars where they can over the next few years...in our trade journals people are expecting dips in our business given that sponsorship compared to tv metrics doesn't measure apples to apples but when those tv avenues are evaporating almost daily before our eyes i feel our industry will emerge to help brands bridge that gap that the new world of tv will be missing.

opinions?  thoughts?  sarcastic remarks?  would welcome any and all.

richard florida is an american urban studies theorist with a primary focus on social and economic theory.  if you aren't familiar with his name you may be familiar with his work about the "creative class" and the two books he wrote about them called The Rise of the Creative Class and The Flight of the Creative Class, both of which were national bestsellers.  his overall theory from those books in the words of wikipedia are "that metropolitan regions with high concentrations of high-tech workers, artists, musicians and a group he describes as "high bohemians", correlate with a higher level of economic development. florida posits the theory that the creative class fosters an open, dynamic, personal and professional environment.  this environment, in turn, attracts more creative people, as well as businesses and capital.  he suggests that attracting and retaining high-quality talent, versus a singular focus on infrastructure projects such as sports stadiums, iconic buildings and shopping centers would be a better primary use of city's regeneration resources for long-term prosperity."  some say that this is what is happening in pittsburgh currently, with a large push of high-tech companies into the city which will hopefully create some revival amongst a city with one of the higher age populations in the country.  being a professor at carnegie mellon university's heinz school i wonder if his teaching started to rub off on those in city offices.

florida's new book about urban renewal and talent migration called Who's Your City? examines how and why people choose the places they live and how those selections affect things like real estate and their community.  below is a map displaying where the "creative class" is centered in the US - if you follow the link to his website Who's Your City you can check out some of his other maps and findings.