Java PowerPoint library
Root Beer: Java PowerPoint library
cool! I don't think you could do that.....
Saturday, July 03, 2004
No more Advertising As Usual
Via The Doc Searls Weblog : Quit Envying The Dead
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We could do that....
Friday, July 02, 2004
Beijing reports on a march by a few Hong Kong citizens
Following up on a earlier posting about July 1 demonstrations in Hong Kong for more Democracy:
according to Associated Press China's state media on Friday told the mainland's people about "a march by a few Hong Kong citizens", but didn't mention that the demonstrators were demanding more democracy or that half a million people marched.
The report, appearing on the paper's back page, didn't identify any people or groups.
...Nothing too see....go away....
Thursday, July 01, 2004
Still Lounge & Cafe, Toronto's newest Party Central!
Celebrating Canada 137th birthday at the launch party of Still Lounge & Cafe (458 Queen St West, at the corner with Augusta Ave - 416-703-6532), the newest project of Peter and Robert of Totto - Spa & Salon fame. I should get Accordion Guy since it is in Accordion City.
Peter & Robert were also very generous in buying a table and donating to the silent auction for last night's 1st Annual Councillors Ball in support of Variety Village. Despite the controversy, Mayor David Miller did attend.
Hundreds of Thousands Demonstrate in Hong Kong demanding Democracy
Via the Scotsman.com, The Globe and Mail and Reuters comes news of a second year of mass - peaceful - demonstrations in Hong Kong on the seventh anniversary of the former British colony'’s handover to Chinese sovereignty. (There were also protest marches on New Years Day this year.)
Marchers - estimates range from 200,00 (by police)to 400,000 - filled all four lanes of a major downtown thoroughfare, peacefully chanting slogans, holding up signs and waving inflatable Mr. Tung dolls as they made their way to the fenced-off Hong Kong government headquarters.
Beijing ruled in April that ordinary citizens cannot elect Tung'’s successor in 2007 or all lawmakers in 2008. China Had promised before the handover that it would allow Hong Kong to retain considerable autonomy for 50 years, but many contend that this autonomy is being undermined.
Chinese officials also heaped abuse on activists and a number of Hong Kong people reported receiving threatening calls from China, telling them not to vote for pro-democracy candidates in September. Indeed, Beijing declared that Hong Kong, a territory of 6.8 million, would never get the democracy its middle-class professionals wanted because they were not Chinese enough, if not outright traitors.
Leaders in Beijing also worry demands for more democracy could spill over to the mainland and undermine their cushy jobs one-party rule. Chinese state media have made no mention of the march and, In addtion, China drastically reduced the number of mainlanders allowed to visit Hong Kong this week.
Big surprise!
Big White Guy drew my attention to a article in the Asia Times : Beijing kills Hong Kong's 'buzz' which speculates about the "method in the madness" even as the CPC destroys the core values of Hong Kong : the rule of law, a free press, freedom of expression, and I would add, adventure, opportunism, or a lack of much attention to social distinctions.
This tactic might prove to be the icing on the cake to the divide and rule tactics of a Communist Party of China (CPC) offering dialogue to those willing to accept its terms of debate and hurling threats, abuse and outright violence at those who stubbornly insist that democracy means choosing a government by universal suffrage.
In hunting around (and around), I found to new - too me - sources of Hong Kong news:
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
"The Next Killer App Online" Is Here - And It's Centrsource
As seen on The Canadian Marketing Association's (CMA) CMA e-Communicator - June 2004
| "The Next Killer App Online" Is Here - And It's Centrsource What is CentrSource: It's an online utility where consumers can go and respond to virtually any advertisement in their local area, whether its television, print,online or in-store. All at their convenience with total privacy and security. With no intrusive pop-ups or banners. What it means to Advertisers: CentrSource offers dvertisers permission driven responses that link their online and offline  content in a way that is completely complementary - and there are no set up fees or admin fees to use the utility. You only pay when a consumer "raises their hand". And it takes literally minutes to set up. |
www.CentrSource.com
Here's the press release from the CMA Show
Sunday, June 27, 2004
The harder hard sell
Economist.com | The future of advertising
More people are rejecting traditional sales messages, presenting the ad industry with big challenges
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The advertising industry is passing through one of the most disorienting periods in its history. This is due to a combination of long-term changes, such as the growing diversity of media, and the arrival of new technologies, notably the internet. Consumers have become better informed than ever before, with the result that some of the traditional methods of advertising and marketing simply no longer work.
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There are plenty of alternatives to straightforward advertising, including a myriad of marketing and communications services, some of which are called “below-the-line” advertising. They range from public relations to direct mail, consumer promotions (such as coupons), in-store displays, business-to-business promotions (like paying a retailer for shelf-space), telemarketing, exhibitions, sponsoring events, product placements and more....this part of the industry was worth some $750 billion worldwide last year, estimates WPP, one of the world's biggest advertising and marketing groups.
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After the technology bust it was easy to dismiss the internet. But the phenomenal success of many e-commerce firms, such as Amazon and eBay, shows that millions of people are becoming comfortable buying goods and services online. Many more are using the internet to research products, services and prices for purchases made offline. Some 70% of new-car buyers in America, for instance, use websites to determine which vehicle to buy—and often to obtain competing quotes from dealers.
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Such consumers can be targeted by internet advertisers and, in some cases, their responses accurately measured. A surge in online advertising is being led by paid-for text-links dished up by search engines such as Google and Yahoo! The response rate from people clicking on paid links can be as low as 1%—about the same as direct mail, which remains one of the biggest forms of advertising. But there is an important difference: internet advertisers usually pay only if someone clicks on their link. This is the equivalent of paying for the delivery of junk mail only to households that read it.
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How are companies and the advertising industry responding to these trends in media consumption? Some people do not believe they amount to a sea-change, while others are simply hoping it will not come to pass on their watch, reckons Sir Martin Sorrell, WPP's chief executive.
