Songs in code (UPDATED)
Category ModernDayWarrior
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Timmah picks up on a fun meme.
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Timmah picks up on a fun meme.
Permalink for my entry... (UPDATED)
Google, I tried, you failed
Category TheCloud
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The kicker has to be the different messages. Firefox is infected with spyware, but Google's own browser simply can't find the URL?
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The kicker has to be the different messages. Firefox is infected with spyware, but Google's own browser simply can't find the URL?
Lotus Knows marketing ain't a one-way street
Category LotusKnows
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Ed Brill hosted a yellow community blogger conference call today with a presentation from Lotus VP of Marketing and Channels Kristen Lauria, to provide us with some further early insight into the forthcoming Lotus Knows campaign. The campaign is centered around a new audience for IBM: end-users. But not just any end-user. Lotus has defined a specific category that they call the "Pacesetter."
Pacesetters are business users that exert influence IT. You know them. Chances are if you're reading this, you probably are one. They're forward thinkers, technology enthusiasts, solution explorers. Working people aged 25-54 who spend a lot of time on the internet and are constantly buzzing about how they found old friends on Facebook, heard Michael Jackson was dead before CNN did because of Twitter, love the new stuff they found at the Apple AppStore, think their new netbook is great for casual web browsing at home.
The objective of the campaign is to get them to rethink Lotus; get them past the thought that it's simply email and calendaring (or spreadsheets!) The Lotus Knows meme is about emphasizing all the things that Lotus products bring to the table, not just the messaging aspect, but the in-place collaboration and broad gathering of information into a single place.
Ads will direct readers to lotusknows.com. This is a totally new landing site. No standard IBM banners, no blue saturated borders, even the IBM logo is IN YELLOW. The site will feature videos of Lotus products in action, and looks like it will even have a "Download Trial" button on every footer.
My one question was the elephant in the room: Why no TV? Kristen's answer was two-fold: There's a concern about crowding the SmarterPlanet TV ads, which is a fair point, but since I think the SmarterPlanet TV stuff is weak, I think crowding it out would be a positive result. But more importantly, their media research shows that the pacesetter audience is at least as reachable through travel-targeted buys and digital as through television. This is an interesting observation -- if you're a technology leader aged 25-54, you're less likely to sit through television ads -- you have a DVR.
All that being said, she was also emphatic that TV is not totally off the table. I suppose we'll have to see how effective the campaign is to learn whether IBM will double-down on its investment and pursue the expensive route of TV ad production and buys.
Lotus is asking their partners and customers to help them shape the campaign message by contributing their own ideas to the Lotus Knows meme. You can do this by signing up for the Lotus Knows Jam at ideajam.net.
All in all, this is absolutely the best non-engineering thing I've seen Lotus do since the IBM buy-out. I'm am as giddy as a school girl about it. And I must confess, I feel personally invested in the success of this campaign. After years of pounding on IBM's table, I'd sure hate to be wrong.
But as I look at Lotus' plan here, I think it's brilliant. I'm not afraid. I'm on the edge of my seat, leaning forward and screaming GO GO GO! as loud as I can.
I hope you will too.
Bookmark :
Ed Brill hosted a yellow community blogger conference call today with a presentation from Lotus VP of Marketing and Channels Kristen Lauria, to provide us with some further early insight into the forthcoming Lotus Knows campaign. The campaign is centered around a new audience for IBM: end-users. But not just any end-user. Lotus has defined a specific category that they call the "Pacesetter."
Pacesetters are business users that exert influence IT. You know them. Chances are if you're reading this, you probably are one. They're forward thinkers, technology enthusiasts, solution explorers. Working people aged 25-54 who spend a lot of time on the internet and are constantly buzzing about how they found old friends on Facebook, heard Michael Jackson was dead before CNN did because of Twitter, love the new stuff they found at the Apple AppStore, think their new netbook is great for casual web browsing at home.
The objective of the campaign is to get them to rethink Lotus; get them past the thought that it's simply email and calendaring (or spreadsheets!) The Lotus Knows meme is about emphasizing all the things that Lotus products bring to the table, not just the messaging aspect, but the in-place collaboration and broad gathering of information into a single place.
Ads will direct readers to lotusknows.com. This is a totally new landing site. No standard IBM banners, no blue saturated borders, even the IBM logo is IN YELLOW. The site will feature videos of Lotus products in action, and looks like it will even have a "Download Trial" button on every footer.
My one question was the elephant in the room: Why no TV? Kristen's answer was two-fold: There's a concern about crowding the SmarterPlanet TV ads, which is a fair point, but since I think the SmarterPlanet TV stuff is weak, I think crowding it out would be a positive result. But more importantly, their media research shows that the pacesetter audience is at least as reachable through travel-targeted buys and digital as through television. This is an interesting observation -- if you're a technology leader aged 25-54, you're less likely to sit through television ads -- you have a DVR.
All that being said, she was also emphatic that TV is not totally off the table. I suppose we'll have to see how effective the campaign is to learn whether IBM will double-down on its investment and pursue the expensive route of TV ad production and buys.
Lotus is asking their partners and customers to help them shape the campaign message by contributing their own ideas to the Lotus Knows meme. You can do this by signing up for the Lotus Knows Jam at ideajam.net.
All in all, this is absolutely the best non-engineering thing I've seen Lotus do since the IBM buy-out. I'm am as giddy as a school girl about it. And I must confess, I feel personally invested in the success of this campaign. After years of pounding on IBM's table, I'd sure hate to be wrong.
But as I look at Lotus' plan here, I think it's brilliant. I'm not afraid. I'm on the edge of my seat, leaning forward and screaming GO GO GO! as loud as I can.
I hope you will too.
Yellow Day 2009 Wrapup
Category YellowDay
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Just a quick summary of the PlanetLotus posts that included Yellow Day tags or mentions.
Permalink for more....
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Just a quick summary of the PlanetLotus posts that included Yellow Day tags or mentions.
Permalink for more....
Yellow Day LAST-MINUTE EXCLUSIVE: Behind the Scenes at Lotusphere 2010 OGS!
Category DontBeRidiculous
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Don't miss this exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from the preliminary rehearsals for Lotusphere 2010!!
Permalink...
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Don't miss this exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from the preliminary rehearsals for Lotusphere 2010!!
Permalink...
The Totally Unofficial Gonzo Yellow Day video
Category ProjectBones
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In celebration of Yellow Day, we did a special, crazy test version of Bones. But we also included some interesting technical updates on how things are progressing.
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In celebration of Yellow Day, we did a special, crazy test version of Bones. But we also included some interesting technical updates on how things are progressing.
Permalink for more...
Yellow is her destiny
Category YellowDay
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The image on the right is cropped, but the color is untouched. While my hair required considerable work, her color is perfectly natural.
More...
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The image on the right is cropped, but the color is untouched. While my hair required considerable work, her color is perfectly natural.
More...
Twisted pointless and amazing
Category IESucks
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Get a real browser. Then go here.
On a Design Partner call a few weeks ago, an (unnamed) IBM engineer made the comment "I'm not getting the sense that anyone thinks Firefox is just a flat out better browser than IE."
Me (interrupting): "whoa. Let's fix that. Firefox. is. a. better. browser. than. IE. In fact, everything is a better browser than IE."
There should now never be a question why.
Bookmark :
Get a real browser. Then go here.
On a Design Partner call a few weeks ago, an (unnamed) IBM engineer made the comment "I'm not getting the sense that anyone thinks Firefox is just a flat out better browser than IE."
Me (interrupting): "whoa. Let's fix that. Firefox. is. a. better. browser. than. IE. In fact, everything is a better browser than IE."
There should now never be a question why.
Lotus Knows what a difference a year makes
Category 11Aug
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Last year around this time, folks in the Lotus community had good reason to cheer. After years of taking it on the chin, new General Manager Bob Picciano said "enough!" and started publicly responding to the constant stream of FUD and smack talk from the competition. IBM starting making active statements about the Lotus brand in the press, bloggers picked it up, and the mighty Alan Lepofsky got so excited, he asked that we declare August 11 to be Yellow Day: an unofficial celebration of the Lotus brand.
Well guess what? It's Aug 5 today, and that means Yellow Day is NEXT TUESDAY! And this year, we have even more to celebrate. After a year of much more public assertiveness for the brand, Lotus has announced that they're going to take it, quite literally, to the man on the street! The Lotus Knows campaign is the first end-user targeted ad campaign for Lotus that we've seen in a long time, and the Lotus community is clearly excited to see what's in store.
It's a time to be proud to be yellow. So show your support even bigger than last year, and on Aug 11. Wear yellow. Blog yellow. Tweet yellow. Bleed yellow. Release yellow. Skin yellow. Ship yellow. Join yellow. Together, we can keep pushing this community forward, even in the face of economic struggles, fierce competitors and constant naysayers.
As for me and the team at Lotus 911... we do indeed have some treats in store!
In the meantime, this year's logo wallpapers are available in the Downloads section.
UPDATE: Fixed a spelling error in the images. Dorian, clean our your desk.
Bookmark :
Last year around this time, folks in the Lotus community had good reason to cheer. After years of taking it on the chin, new General Manager Bob Picciano said "enough!" and started publicly responding to the constant stream of FUD and smack talk from the competition. IBM starting making active statements about the Lotus brand in the press, bloggers picked it up, and the mighty Alan Lepofsky got so excited, he asked that we declare August 11 to be Yellow Day: an unofficial celebration of the Lotus brand.
Well guess what? It's Aug 5 today, and that means Yellow Day is NEXT TUESDAY! And this year, we have even more to celebrate. After a year of much more public assertiveness for the brand, Lotus has announced that they're going to take it, quite literally, to the man on the street! The Lotus Knows campaign is the first end-user targeted ad campaign for Lotus that we've seen in a long time, and the Lotus community is clearly excited to see what's in store.
It's a time to be proud to be yellow. So show your support even bigger than last year, and on Aug 11. Wear yellow. Blog yellow. Tweet yellow. Bleed yellow. Release yellow. Skin yellow. Ship yellow. Join yellow. Together, we can keep pushing this community forward, even in the face of economic struggles, fierce competitors and constant naysayers.
As for me and the team at Lotus 911... we do indeed have some treats in store!
In the meantime, this year's logo wallpapers are available in the Downloads section.
UPDATE: Fixed a spelling error in the images. Dorian, clean our your desk.
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