I’m a big fan of slow news. There are some things that are great to know right away, either because you need to act on them quickly or it’s fun to discuss in realtime at the web’s water cooler. This has left a lot of important stuff, stuff that may not be conducive to a rapid-paced news cycle, at the wayside. This is why I am excited about Evening Edition.
As the creators explain, it is “the perfect commute-sized way to catch up on the day’s news after a long day at work.” They provide a paragraph of text on a handful of stories that is just enough to help you understand what happened. It’s only a day old, but I lurve the concept and the first edition was tight.
Tangentially, Andre is letting the parade march by. Leaving social media can be like paddling your kayak from the center of a roaring river to the edge, but a lot of people I respect have started to consider a world away from the rapids. I’m hoping we all find some balance.
“Why did you think she needed a haircut?” ” It was almost down to her tush. If she grew it any any longer, her hair would go into the toilet and it would be gross.” You should listen because these girls are freaking adorable.
I have long thought it’d be fun to reproduce fast food ads, keeping everything the same except I’d swap the product photo with one of from a burger I’ve purchased. We all know the end result does not look the same, but this video shows how much lighting and retouching makes a difference. When you style up any old Quarter-pounder, it ends up looking pretty good.
While the video is entertaining, it doesn’t make me feel better or less manipulated. The difference between reality and the ad is too great, which leads to disappointment. Of course, McDonald’s is trying to sell a product and they are going to do what it takes to maximize sales, but it’s not helpful to the consumer.
It’d be great if, just like standardized nutritional information, there was standardized product marketing. Every burger had to be photographed in the same studio; every phone had to show the same set of features; every airline had to display their average hold times and delay length. It’d be maddeningly difficult, if not impossible, but realistic expectations would make consumers happier in the long run and force corporations to build better products. [via kottke]
