Brand Identity Sex Change

I think Dove for men is stupid.  Maybe the guys I know are all super insecure and I therefore sense that even the hint of femininity in their soap will turn them off.  Maybe it’s because dove brands are so strongly associated with softness and sweetness; pretty much the opposite of the obnoxious leader in the space, Axe.  (Axe isn’t stupid, they’re smart, but I find their advertising inappropriate at best – and yes, I judge you when I see it in your shower.)  But this interesting article from adage on the rise of men’s grooming products was most interesting in it’s conversation about Dove for men.

I think the concept is horrible in terms of product market fit, but maybe I’ll be proven wrong.  The article points to four examples of successful changes in the gender identity of the product.  I had to share, but check out the article for more details:

Marlboro: Hard as it may be to believe now, Marlboro started in the 1920s as a filtered cigarette for women. When research linking smoking to lung cancer emerged in the 1950s, Philip Morris decided it needed a “safer” filtered cigarette for men, who were reluctant to smoke a women’s brand. So it enlisted Leo Burnett to change Marlboro’s gender. The rest is history.

Degree: As personal care began pairing off increasingly into male and female brands and products in 2002, Degree tried having it both ways, developing lines for men and women. It’s been wildly successful.  Degree has been the fastest-growing antiperspirant in the U.S. in recent years. Since 2004, it’s nearly doubled sales to $148 million and added 4.3 share points to attain an 11.9% market share, according to Information Resources Inc.

Ugg: It actually started as a men’s brand years ago before becoming much better known as a girl’s and women’s brand. Now, Ugg is seeking growth by appealing to men again. So Deckers Outdoor has increased Ugg’s men’s offerings 20% in the past year and ramped up ads in men’s fashion magazines and online to appeal to guys.

Nair for Men: The Church & Dwight Co. brand introduced a version for men in 2002, appealing to a trend toward some men shaving their chests, backs and just about everywhere else hair may appear.

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Presentation of Copyright for Musicians

Last week I gave a presentation on copyright issues for musicians in via the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic in the College of Music at CU in a class for musicians as entrepreneurs taught by Jeffrey Nytch.  Joining me and my colleague Jonathan Haskell and I was Dave Ratner, who practices entertainment law in Denver.  Like other bodies of intellectual property, copyright is having a hard time keeping up with changes in technology.  How musicians will face that challenge in the generation to come will certainly be interesting.  Biggest takeaway: as a musician, it’s in your best interest to be as knowledgeable as possible about copyright law.  Next biggest takeaway: copyright law is tricky, best of luck wrapping your head around it.  Slides from the presentation are below.

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Social Media Marketing Presentation – Part II

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I’m Teaching Social Media Marketing Tonight, Tune In

As part of the social media marketing independent study I did for my MBA this fall, I’m guest lecturing at Page Moreau’s Entrepreneurial Marketing class at the Leeds School of Business tonight starting at about 6:30.  The first half of my slides are available here, second half to be published during class (with luck!)  If all goes as planned, I’ll have the class up on Ustream (watch my Twitter feed for the link).  Here we go!

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A Nice Place for Skiing

I went on a quick trip to Jackson Hole for the weekend.  For added inspiration, our group watched Claim and Signatures, two awesome ski movies you should pick up if you love the sport.  Our inside joke for the weekend revolved around a clip of Antoine Montant from Claim who explains about speed riding (a mix of skiing and parachuting) that Chamonix is a “nice place for skiing”, you know, in case you get bored with all the other ways to die doing adventure sports.

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Personal Strategy Sessions

Companies plan for the future, why don’t we?  It’s hard to to “be the change” when you don’t know what the change should be, or even how to think about it really.  So a friend of mind and I tried to put together a framework for thinking about professional strategy, in the personal sense.  You can download it here.  Good luck strategerizing.

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What Matters Now: One Sweet Ebook

In a nutshell, all these interesting people together and each wrote a page in ebook. Then they distributed it for free.  You can download it here.  This is a representation of the interesting people, in case you’re not already curious:

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More Awesome Internet Resources

This list comes from Online Universities.  They compiled a nice list of the 100 best video resources online.  I question the educational value of some of them, but others are great resources.  This is much more extensive than my original list of online content that is better than TV.  Oh yeah, and why are you still paying for cable TV?

The following is reposted.  The original post is here.

General

When you’re not sure where to start, browse the different categories on these video collections from MIT, HBO, Harvard, and more.

  1. The Open Video Project: This easy-to-search open collection features documentaries and lectures from Johns Hopkins, the Internet Moving Images Archives, and a lot more.
  2. HBO: You can watch special HBO presentations on YouTube, from TV shows to documentaries.
  3. Academic Earth: Schools like MIT, Harvard, Yale, UCLA, Princeton and Stanford share lectures and videos in all disciplines on this site.
  4. Videos Posted by Harvard University Press: Harvard University Press uploads videos and interviews about literature, medicine, history and the environment on Facebook.
  5. MIT Open Courseware: Get connected to the audio/visual resources from each of MIT’s departments here.
  6. TED: Watch TED videos from industry leaders and everyday people who are changing the world one step at a time in politics, art, business, science and technology.
  7. NYT Shorts: The New York Times’ short films delve into the behind-the-scenes issues and lives of talked-about topics and personalities in entertainment, politics and beyond.
  8. TIME: Just as the magazine covers all avenues of culture, science and politics, so do the captivating videos on Time.com.
  9. Hulu: You can watch your favorite TV programs or get more informative reports and videos from news stations, home and garden channels, history channels, and more.
  10. Netflix: With a paid subscription, you can watch certain videos — including documentaries and foreign films — online for no extra charge.
  11. Georgetown University: Featured videos from Georgetown’s archive include talks with faculty and experts about the environment, history, U.S. politics, international relations, and more.
  12. MIT World: Watch groundbreaking lectures and speeches from MIT discussing the energy crisis, climate change, business, technology, the arts, and more.
  13. Yale Open Courses: Yale has uploaded literature, history, architecture, science and economics lectures onto YouTube for public viewing.
  14. Princeton Event Streaming Media: You can download streaming video lectures about the global economy, neurology, biology, and other subjects.

Science

From space exploration to chemistry experiments and endangered animals, science geeks will find all kinds of fascinating videos here.

  1. NASA Connect: From meteorology to astronomy, these educational videos teach kids all about science.
  2. NewScientist: NewScientist’s videos explore new trends in robotics, computers, video games and virtual technology, health sciences, and more.
  3. Nature Online video streaming archive: Nature.com’s video archive includes presentations and shows about archaeology, the environment and space.
  4. Discovery Channel: Watch full episodes of popular Discovery Channel shows like Man vs. Wild and Mythbustershere.
  5. Science Hack: ScienceHack videos are screened and filtered by actual scientists and cover biology, chemistry, physics, robotics, engineering, and more.
  6. Free Science Videos and Lectures: From the health sciences to chemistry experiments, you’ll find a range of popular science videos here.
  7. National Geographic: Visit NatGeo’s online video collections for awesome images and coverage of the environment, space, animals, and live streaming videos through WildCams.
  8. CalTech Today: Science videos from significant lectures and guest speaker series at CalTech are archived here.
  9. Chance Videos and Audios: Dartmouth has organized lecture series — mostly dealing with science and math — from 2000, 1998 and 1997 right here.
  10. Online Neuroscience Lectures: UT Dallas’ lecture archive also includes videos from Johns Hopkins and other institutes.

Technology and Engineering

When you want to explore the next big thing in Internet, robotics, mechanical engineering and gaming, head to these video collections for news, tutorials and more.

  1. MIT TechTV: MIT’s technology collections show experiments, tech culture, and more.
  2. AtGoogleTalk’s Channel: Also known as @Google Talks, this YouTube channel features interviews and lectures from writers, tech execs and other leaders in new media and Internet.
  3. Computers and Math Videos: ScienceDaily’s computers and math videos include sub-categories like nanotechnology, video games and artificial intelligence, and robotics.
  4. Popular Science: The videos here can be a fun but informative resource for anyone who’s into gadgets, technology and science.
  5. Wired: Watch videos on Wired.com to learn more about gaming, gadgets, spacecraft, and more.
  6. Computer History Museum: Watch the ComputerHistory channel to find out what’s next in the world of computers, the Internet, usability, and more.
  7. CNET: CNET’s tech news videos will teach you about iPhones, GPS, Google, airplanes and more.
  8. UW CSE Video Collection: Undergraduate capstone design videos from University of Washington computer science and engineering students are archived here.
  9. Mathematical Sciences Research Institute: You can watch streaming video and media files from the MSRI from Fall 2004-Fall 2009.
  10. MechanicalEngineering.tv: Channels on this site include technology, physical and science, mechanical design, and CAD CAM.
  11. Oxford Internet Institute: From Internet regulation to web research to microblogging, the OII is a good resource for dissecting tough tech questions.
  12. Technology: The New York Times’ Personal Tech and David Pogue, as well as CNBC Technology News, contribute to this video collection.

Politics and History

Browse these video collections to supplement courses or projects in politics, economics, history, culture, and journalism.

  1. American Memory: The Library of Congress’ American Memory features 15 collections of American history videos documenting Teddy Roosevelt, Coca-Cola advertising, 9/11, theatre, and more.
  2. NARA on Google Video: The National Archives offers public viewing of films and newsreels from NASA, World War II and more.
  3. History Channel: You can watch full episodes, short clips or specials on History.com.
  4. PBS: PBS is an excellent source for news, history and politics, and videos include in-depth discussion from The NewsHour and more.
  5. John F. Kennedy School of Government: This video archive has videos from 2000-2008, including full lectures about global climate change, improving leadership skills, and more.
  6. Biography.com: The Biography Channel’s website allows you to watch full episodes of shows about Mark Twain, Abraham Lincoln and Henry Ford, as well as regular programming and features about broader topics in history.
  7. FreeDocumentaries.org: On this site, you’ll find documentaries that comment on culture, history, world events, politics, and the media.
  8. History Highlights: Get original videos from enormously important and riveting moments in history, like the fall of the Berlin Wall.
  9. EASE History: You can watch hundreds of videos from historical events from the early 1900s to today.
  10. LinkTV: LinkTV is “television without borders” and is a good source for getting more detailed coverage about global issues and current events.
  11. American History in Video: You’ll learn all about American history from 1492-the late twentieth century on this site.
  12. Smithsonian: From archaeology and anthropology to folklife events, the Smithsonian YouTube resource is a great resource for all history students.
  13. Famous Moments in American History: From Ben Franklin to Benedict Arnold to Molly Pitcher, watch videos about famous early Americans here.

Language and Literature

Here you can get help learning a new language or watch interviews with your favorite authors.

  1. BBC Languages: BBC offers online video courses in German, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese and more.
  2. Foreign Language Videos: OhioLINK’s open-to-the-public has beginning language videos here.
  3. Barnes & Noble Studio: You can watch video interviews of top authors here.
  4. Booknotes: Booknotes has archived over 800 streaming videos with authors.
  5. Bookstreaminc: Watch video interviews with top-selling authors like Al Franken and Wiliam Mann.

Arts and Music

From Carnegie Hall to the National Theatre and the Whitney Museum, these videos take you to the most distinguished art and music institutes in the world.

  1. MoMA: The Museum of Modern Art’s online communities page connects you to video collections — including interviews with artists and exhibition tours — via YouTube, Facebook, iTunes U and other outlets.
  2. Roland Collection of Films on Art: Download films for just $1.99 each, from categories like landscapes, religious art, architecture and the environment, and archaeology.
  3. Arts and Culture: LA Times arts and culture videos highlight certain artists and special art events.
  4. Whitney Watch and Listen: Here you can watch featured videos with artists, about exhibitions, museum news and more.
  5. Bravo TV: Watch full episodes or special features about fashion, art, design and more.
  6. Sundance Channel: Get previews and clips from soon-to-be aired or released films, plus online specials from comedy, fashion, independent movies, and more.
  7. National Theatre: On this website, you can download video recordings from London’s National Theatre.
  8. BlueGobo: Musicals and musical clips have been uploaded onto this site, from Annie Get Your Gun to Fosse to Les Miserables.
  9. From the Top: PBS’ From the Top lets you watch full episodes from Carnegie Hall’s youngest performers.
  10. MTV: Explore music videos from up and coming artists as well as established celebrities.
  11. Style.com: Vogue’s Style.com videos include designer profiles and interviews, fashion show coverage, and more.
  12. Interior Design TV: On this channel, you’ll get to tour showrooms and listen to interviews with top interior designers.

Social Sciences, Philosophy and Religion

These video collections help to make philosophy courses and discussions more accessible.

  1. A&E: A&E programs like Hoarders and Intervention will teach you a lot about mental disorders and societal trends.
  2. Heidegger: This collection of philosophy videos from Berkeley focuses on Heidegger and Descartes.
  3. Young Philosophers: SUNY Fredonia’s website shares philosophy lectures on ethics, the philosophy of religion, free will, research, and more.
  4. Philosophy Free Audio and Video: From Gandhi to Henry David Thoreau, you’ll find a variety of philosophy lectures, speeches and videos here.

News

For streaming video and analysis of current events, check out these news videos from CBS, ABC, PBS, C-SPAN and others.

  1. 60 Minutes: You can watch short clips or full episodes of 60 Minutes on the CBS website, here.
  2. CSPAN: Even if you can’t stand to watch it on TV, C-SPAN online is a great resource for looking up reference videos and coverage of debates, House Sessions, and general news broadcasts.
  3. BBC News: Watch videos from recent conflicts and news-worthy events around the world, as well as interviews with major personalities.
  4. CNN.com: The breaking news videos from CNN.com range from seen-on-TV reports to web-only specials of international coverage.
  5. Current.com: Current.com covers the most talked-about people and events in news, technology, the environment and entertainment.
  6. ABC News: Watch streaming video, Good Morning America programs and news features here.
  7. MSNBC TV: At the online station for “the place for politics,” you’ll get commentary and video from Capitol Hill and beyond.
  8. Reuters: This classic news service gets a new media update thanks to its broad video archive.
  9. Newsweek Multimedia: You can watch video stories of trending topics like unemployment and the economy, as well as from the publication’s 7 Things feature.

Health Sciences

Whether you’re a medical student wanting to learn how to perform a surgery, or someone wanting to research a particular disease or condition, check out these video collections.

  1. Health and Medicine: Health and Medicine is another ScienceDaily video collection covering all sorts of research studies, diseases and conditions, and health care issues.
  2. Rice University: These health sciences videos tackle current topics in medicine, like the H1N1 virus, as well as more wide-ranging issues like health care reform.
  3. WebMD: Watch a video to learn about virtually any disease or condition on WebMD.
  4. Medical News Today: This authoritative health sciences reference offers streaming video clips that cover specific conditions, medical research, medical controversies, and more.
  5. VideoMD: Expert physicians share their advice and analysis on this site.
  6. Prevention TV: Prevention.com’s online TV channel tackles current health topics like aging, nutrition and fitness.
  7. Videos of Surgical Procedures: This collection from MedlinePlus includes surgical procedure videos for the heart, bones, muscles, brain and more.
  8. Medical Videos: Learn how to examine patients, diagnose diseases and more on this NSFW site.
  9. Medical Students: Medscape’s resource page for med students includes a video section with interviews and more.
  10. Video for Your Health: These videos combine news and health for families, smokers, kids, the elderly and terminally ill.

Business and Leadership

These videos highlight the people and campaigns that are changing the world, and can help you do the same.

  1. FORA.tv: This website shares “videos on the people, issues and ideas changing the planet,” from the environment to the economy to politics and culture.
  2. dotSUB: You can watch activist videos in any language on this site.
  3. Wall Street Journal: The WSJ archives videos for technology, markets, business, world news, and more.
  4. Nobelprize.org: Watch videos of speeches, interviews and features about Nobel Laureates.
  5. AllBusiness.com Video Library: Learn about entrepreneurship, green business and more when you watch these videos.
  6. BW Video: Get interviews and whole programs devoted to investing, business and innovation.
  7. Small Business Video and Audio Presentations: The IRS provides information videos for small business owners here.
  8. Nightly Business Report: You can watch PBS’ Nightly Business Report for investing news, analysis on the economy, and more.
  9. Bplans.com: This business planning resource offers video tutorials to help you get organized.
  10. SmallBusinessNewz Videos: From marketing to franchises to sales to HR, these videos help business students and professionals become more responsible, successful individuals.
  11. On Leadership: The Washington Post’s On Leadership video collection interviews people like Jeffrey Kindler and Zainab Salbi of Women for Women International.
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Finding New Music

Unless you have an awesome friend like me that helps you find new music, you’ll want to check out this website.  Even if you do have a new music supply, it’s worth checking out We Are Hunted.  It’s a website that tracks the 99 most popular emerging songs.  What could be easier?

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Belize Please

I fell hard for Belize.  I’ve been on a fair number of trips around the world, and I have to say my two favorites so far are Kilimanjaro, Tanzania and Halfmoon Caye, Belize.

Belize has a number of atolls of the eastern coast, the furthest east being Lighthouse Reef.  Lighthouse Reef is also home to the famous Great Blue Hole and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  One of the two islands in the southern part of the reef is Halfmoon Caye, a minimally-inhabited marine park protected from the open ocean by the reef around it.  It’s littered with konk shells, teaming with birds, forests, and coconut trees with a small dock on one side.  It’s also totally off the grid (as paradise should be.)  It’s easier to describe with pictures.  This was the view from our little cabana:

The company that operates the tour there is called Island Expeditions Company, and they did a fantastic job.  Our guides Jaime, James, and Moses and our chef Phillip all exceeded expectations.  Another nice surprise was how friendly, fun, and interesting the people with us turned out to be.

We sea kayaked, we snorkeled, and a few of us discovered the scuba diving.  This is a photo of me and our dive master Ish (thanks Stuart!)

The dive shop, Huracan, was run by a warm and funny couple, Karel and Ruth, off neighboring Long Caye.  I highly recommend it (you can even stay there.)  We dove “The Aquarium” and “The Nightwatch” off Long Caye and “Ron’s Place” and “Bevis and Butthead” of Halfmoon Caye.  Fantastic diving.  This is me at “The [aptly named] Aquarium”:

Did I mention the fishing trips to catch (and then eat!) baracuda?  This is James setting the hook to catch one:

We even had what I liked to call Kiwi yoga (our guide Jaime was from New Zealand).  Starting your morning under the coconut trees listening to the waves lap against the shore makes going back to a yoga studio difficult, trust me.

Alas, my feet were very sad after a week to return to closed-toed shoes in the Atlanta Airport.  I’m still recovering from island withdrawl.  As a final note, if you want to stay on Halfmoon Caye, you had best do it before long.  It’s not hard to imagine it closed to commercial use, especially as a World Heritage Site.  If you make the trip, paradise awaits.

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