brand

BestBuy: brand value and experience, booo.

Posted by _tango! on June 5, 2007
Posted in: brand, design, experience, information, me, thoughts. Leave a Comment

best.buy.yack

I recently voyaged to one of my favorite hands-on testing grounds store BestBuy, but what I left with was a diminish in their brand value and trust. The events experienced were not new, but they were unnoticed in the past as in recent years my expectations in brands, customer-centric services, and brand experiences have changed a bit.

So, what happened? I needed an external hard drive since my measly laptop was under 1 gig of space. I went to BestBuy and bought a pretty nifty external Hard Drive that you basically just plug in via USB and your set to use. At the check out counter, the sales rep kept insisting that I have a GeekSquad service added to install it since there was a sticker on the box. I said no thanks, and she kept telling me about how much easier it would be to install etc. I told her that all I needed to do was plug it in. Then she said “oh, well I don’t even know what you are buying.” Right there and then, I lost my brand value and trust in BestBuy. First, they had a dumb sticker on a product that does not need a person to come help install it for $$$.(It’s like having a person come install a toaster at your house). Secondly, the person working and selling me the product did not even understand the product nor understand what I meant when I said hard drive.

For crying out loud, don’t hire people into your company that don’t understand the products you are selling. I’m not just ranting at BestBuy, but there are many other brands that have employees that don’t have a clue to what the company does. Yes, I know it cost more to hire people that breathe your brand, but I’m guessing it cost more money to re-market your brand value to customers that have had a bad experience. Good things are easy to forget and bad experiences are never forgotten. I’ll stop my ranting here, but BestBuy, take for example some kick-butt brands like Jetblue, Wholefoods, Patagonia, or TraderJoes; they get it, their employees do it, and their customers know, experience, and live their brands like a religion. Brands are truthful users experiences today, not just portrayed over-marketed lifestyles anymore. We live the digital age…we ignore ads, research deeply, and leave nothing hidden.

mix1 beverage: all-natural fast food

Posted by _tango! on June 5, 2007
Posted in: brand, design, food, information, me, thoughts. 1 comment

mix1 beverage life fast food

On another random drink journey to Wholefoods I came across these brightly packaged Mix1 beverages claiming to be the “all natural fast food” drink packed full of the optimal mix of ingredients to maximize your all-day energy and balance needs.

At first glance, these bottles seemed more like mini paint buckets or large nail polish canisters with their flat sides and corners, but hey, they grabbed my attention being surrounded by the the other over-texted transparent like packages upon the shelf. I picked up the lime flavor to try out. It taste like a mini blended smoothie with bits of protein. It also had this distinct flavor that reminded me of the famous Asian mini bacteria drink called “Yakult“, though pronounce in Cantonese “Yu look doe”. Anyhow, the drink itself was tasty and refreshing, though I’m not sure how much of a boost it gave me.

On a side note: It’s amazing to see how many new companies are spawning out that become their own brand, or need to. Take for instance Mix1. They all sell a story, a story about how they themselves started and wanted to create a drink they would use. Not only does the story apply to the founders, but every single worker down to the sales rep. Another great example is HonestTea. The founders had a hard time finding a drink in the market that was not too sweet yet tasty. Most Iced teas were jammed full of sugars, so they created Honest Tea, which taste like real home brewed iced tea without the over saturation of soda like sugars.(read there story here, or an interview with the co-founder here)

TuneGlue: MusicMap

Posted by _tango! on June 3, 2007
Posted in: art, brand, design, entertainment, experience, fun, ideas, inspiration, music, style, tech, thoughts. 2 comments
TuneGlue visual musicmap

Here’s another pretty sweet interactive visual music map suggester(TuneGlue). You type in a band name, expand to see “like-bands”, delete a few, lock down the primaries, and after a few clicks you have a dozen more bands to check out.

The interface is simple, the branching is nice, and the suggestions are pretty good. It would be cool if a “listen” button was incorporated into the pod options rather than seeking a sound sample on your own. Be awesome if you could use this software for your own desktop mp3 collection as well..fun times at parties if ya ha a big touch screen for guests.(Microsoft Surface Table, or Jef Hans multi-touch wall)

zamzar.com

Posted by _tango! on June 3, 2007
Posted in: brand, information, tech, thoughts. Leave a Comment
zamzar.com

Don’t you hate it when someone sends you a file format that your computer doesn’t read? If so, give Zamzar.com a try which offers free online file conversions (up to 100mb) for videos, images, documents, and music formats. They even have a nifty little URL video conversion section to download streaming videos to savable formats rather than squinting into the source code.

Zamzar reminds me of YouSendit.com which helps you store and send files across the net (up to 100 megs). So now you have online format converters and online file senders. I haven’t used Zamzar much, but I’m sure many of you will find it handy though the conversion types are basics and nothing super fancy yet(designers: no ai, psd, sldprt). Check out their conversions list here.

All Things Digital Conference Videos

Posted by _tango! on May 31, 2007
Posted in: brand, design, entertainment, information, inspiration, tech. 2 comments

all things digital d5 conference bill gates steve jobs
If you missed out on the huge All Things Digital conference(D5) this week check out the highlight videos on their new website including many clips of the highly anticipated Steve Jobs with Bill Gates side by side discussions. Go to allthingsd.com and click on the “D5” tab in the videos section for this past years videos and get your geek on!!!

Web TV Streams

Posted by _tango! on May 23, 2007
Posted in: brand, entertainment, information, me, tech. 2 comments
abc.com videos lost show

I’m the type that rarely has time for TV(seen more shows on airlines), but sometimes that TV playing in the background catches my attention and I’m hooked on a TV show or two(three, four). One huge problem is catching a show in the mist of a series and not really understanding everything. What now; TiVo, Bit Torrent, Kazaa, alloftv.net, or wait for the DVDs?

Well, now for the great news! I recently (finally) caught an episode of LOST and got addicted a few weeks back and was drastically confused and curious. Luckily abc.com started streaming all of their episodes online last summer, and just recently announced they would be streaming their shows at HD(high definition) quality in July!

Anyhoots, The LOST season finale “Through the Looking Glass” is tonight, so if your like me, and missed a bunch of their episodes, go watch their TV streams and prepare for the ever elusive season finale tonight! Otherwise, watch any of your other favorite ABC shows. NBC.com(HEROES) also streams their shows now. I’m sure many other TV networks will do the same (it’s TiVo online!)

update: in case any of ya’ll are interested in what was written in that mysterious “newspaper clipping” from the seasons finale episode, click after the jump for the rumored somewhat seen answer. via LostPedia

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Taste3 2007: videos

Posted by _tango! on May 23, 2007
Posted in: art, brand, design, entertainment, experience, food, information, inspiration. Leave a Comment
taste3 conference 2007

OoooOoo, the tantalizing 2007 TASTE3 conference (Food, Wine, Art) just released a handful of lectures from this past years event here. For those who attended, I’m jealous, but for those unable to attend (me!) here’s a jump start to some awesome videos.(watch Bryant Simon from the TASTE3 2006 if your in the design, art, experience field) I’ll post all the videos that are up so far after the jump…after watching the videos, go register asap as ticket prices rise and sell out as nexts years conference nears! happy tasting!!!

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PBS TV: Everyday Edisons

Posted by _tango! on May 19, 2007
Posted in: brand, design, entertainment, ideas, information, inspiration, me, style, tech. 6 comments
Everyday Edisons pbs tv show inventions

“Everybody has a great idea that could change the way we work, the way we live or the way we play. Everyday Edisons documents the development process of 14 inventions and the parallel stories of the people who invented them as they are taken from a sketch on a napkin to a store shelf.”

If your the type that craves to see, watch, and understand the creative methodology of a product idea to market, take a glimpse at the new documentry invention show Everyday Edisons on PBS (a Bouncing Brain Production), which follows a handful of inventors through their journey to bring their ideas to shelves for everyone to buy. Unlike some reality shows, there are no winners or losers and no cheesey competitions. This show follows and documents the story behind each individual over the time of a year working with a large team of people to make their products a reality with the real prize being a spot on store shelves.

The series started a few weeks back, so check out your pbs listings for your local air times(usually on Saturday). Even though the first season has not finished, it seems the show has licensed through some pretty good channels, skymall, and a few of the inventions have popped up on Amazon though not available at the moment.

update: They have their very own YouTube Channel to watch and subscribe to!!!!

Ripple.org beta

Posted by _tango! on May 16, 2007
Posted in: brand, design, ideas, information, inspiration, tech, thoughts. 2 comments
ripple.org beta

“Save the World one click at a time!”

Wow, what an awesome idea (which I had once, but these guys made it happen). Basically, Ripple.org operates off the idea of using ad revenue as money for donations. You click, you’ve donated. How simple and brilliant. If your the type that advocates saving the world, but have no money, and only time, here ya go! Click away and save the world. 100% of clicks/revenue go directly to specified foundations, though I wished there was someway for individuals to see how much they have contributed click-wise, time, or money…. check them out..click away!

via NotCot

Dragons Den

Posted by _tango! on May 11, 2007
Posted in: brand, design, entertainment, experience, ideas, information, inspiration, me, thoughts. Leave a Comment
dragons den bbc

If your an inventor, designer, entrepreneur, business leader, or just curious about what make and breaks great business ideas, take a look at the hit show Dragons Den in the UK where entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to Venture Capitalist (the Dragons) in seek of investments to develop their ideas even further in exchange for a percentage in their company. The show ranges from product inventions, to services, to strategies, business models, and every little aspect of what’s needed to be successful in creating a new company.  I’ve actually met one of the dragons during a pitch once before, but I’ll keep that to myself 😉

If your not in the UK, no problem….just go to their small video page here of winning pitches,(click the full screen button) or cling on to awesome video streams of each show at High Resolution at AllofTV.net (Dragons Den season 2, season 3, season 4) Most of the shows result in no investments, but the ones that make it through are pretty darn good. Here’s an hour long episode I watched recently…pretty good.

Joost invites!

Posted by _tango! on May 3, 2007
Posted in: brand, entertainment, me, tech. 2 comments

Joostâ„¢ the best of tv and the internetI’ve been beta testing the wildly buzzin Joost for the past few weeks and now I have a ton of invites to give away. If your a TV watching, multi tasking, internet driven, designverb reading, early tech adopting individual, send me your email with your full name with subject “Joost invite please” and I’ll send you an invite in the order that I get them in. (designverb(a)gmail.com) If ya don’t know what Joost is, check out their cool intro video or read about them via Lifehacker w/screenshots.

update: To save me loads of time please use the time saving automated joost invite version thanks to GigaOm and NewTeeVee right here.