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Posts from June 2008

links for 2008-06-30

30 June 2008 | | Comments (0)

I'm really in love with Wordle

I first saw Wordle in action over on Leigh's blog.  And I just love it.  I don't know if there is any practical use for it.  Well, is there any practical use for tag or word clouds?  I think so ... it gives you a view into your patterns.  And that's helpful.  Though perhaps just **personally** helpful, not so much for your community.

In any case, at the very least, the images the Wordle creates are pretty.  So go make yourself some word art.  The one below is of my delicious tags.  Oh, and consider sending a few bucks to Jonathan - it's important to support developers like him!

Wordlemynameiskatedelicious

Update: I just finished reading the rest of the Wordle site.  I just want to say how impressed I am with Jonathan.  He's an IBM'er and created this code on company time which IBM has subsequently given their permission for him to use in this project.  Very cool.  Plus, Jonathan has created an amazing credits page, FAQ and blog.  So many people take acknowledgement and sharing credit for granted and simply don't do it at all.  I'm really impressed by not only Wordle but by the ethics of its creator (also, he's apparently played drums for They Might Be Giants - how cool is that!?!).  Great job, Jonathan!

30 June 2008 in Beauty, Cool Shit, Design & Typography, Language, Technology & the Internet | | Comments (3)

links for 2008-06-29

29 June 2008 | | Comments (0)

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28 June 2008 | | Comments (0)

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26 June 2008 | | Comments (0)

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25 June 2008 | | Comments (0)

What's a LintBucket?

A number of you have asked, "Uh, Kate, what's a LintBucket?  And, what happened to Reinvent!?"

Thank you for asking! 

Reinvent! Communications has officially "reinvented" itself as LintBucket Media.

Lintbucket_final

Your next question, I imagine, is "Why?"

Well, there are a number of ways to tell the story, but the most expeditious comes down to a truism that  I think should replace the age-old mother's lament "are you wearing clean underwear?".   And that is "do you own the .com?". (And yes, the irony of posting about this on my .ca blog is not lost on me.)

If you really want to hear the gory details, you can take me out for a martini, and I will happily tell you.

And your final question is likely, "Why 'lintbucket'?  What's the story there?"

Lintbucketcards My lovely partner (both in crime and in business), Rosemary, came up with that one - almost 2 years ago actually.  It was originally a response to a friend's ridiculously memorable blog name (ahem, craphammer); on a lark we purchased the domain. 

When we decided to rename Reinvent, after researching over 200 reasonable names/domains for a boutique marketing firm that specialises in social media marketing and community building and not finding any .coms, we realised what Dorothy realised (that she never needed to look any further than her own backyard) and decided LintBucket Media is a perfect name.

I like it because it's fun to say.  I can't say "lintbucket" without smiling - and that is a good trait in a company name, I think.

And as an anonymous colleague of mine says ...

It fills me with an irresistible urge to pick my belly button.

And that's saying something too ;)

25 June 2008 in Self-Referential | | Comments (6)

I hate it when charming, positive creative falls prey to someone's narrow-minded morality

This one is ranty, folks, with some bad language.

I am so effing tired of this:  a charming, humourous take on life that has a whiff of NOT being a scene from Leave it to Beaver and there is a clamouring for it to be silenced.  This cute ad for Heinz Mayonnaise was pulled from British air waves because 200 people didn't want to have to explain same-sex relationships to their kids. 

Two hilarious things about this. 

  1. The ad couldn't even air during "kid-time" on TV because of the high fat content in the mayonnaise
  2. The two men kissing in the commercial aren't actually a couple.  The POINT of the ad is to show that Heinz mayo gets you a professional deli chef making your lunch.

And it's not just TV.  Two women kissing at a Mariners game got them "spoken to" by an seating host - after a complaint from someone who didn't want to explain it to their kids.

OMG .. I am so livid.  Suck it up, people.  Same-sex relationships are part of the rich tapestry of real-life.  Why don't you come join us in it ... real-life, that is.

This re-affirms my plan to start referring to people as "Openly Straight" ... as I've said before, the phrase "Openly Gay" speaks of licentious fucking on the congressional floor.  And why should the gays be having all the fun?

Related Posts:
UTalkMarketing - Heinz pulls gay kiss advert
The Guardian -Heinz pulls ad showing men kissing
CBC - Heinz pulls British ad with same-sex smooch

Update:

I forgot, I wanted to add this FANTASTIC video about the popular retort in forum comments, "Your a fag".

Update 2:

I changed the embedded video b/c the other one was pulled (thx, Monique!).  However, this one will probably be pulled as well.  So, here's a search query on YouTube for the Heinz Mayo Commercial.  And here's a Google Video search for the Heinz Mayo Commercial.  Ugh.  Sure, when it's convenient for advertisers, they want us to see their stuff - but when they've messed up, pull it.  Tyrannical.  Feeling very frumbly today about this.

24 June 2008 in Ranting | | Comments (4)

links for 2008-06-23

23 June 2008 | | Comments (0)

links for 2008-06-22

22 June 2008 | | Comments (0)

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