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Turn Your Phone Into A Social Weapon

Mobile Faker by Sprint and Moderati is designed to help consumers navigate the competitive social scene with ease.

The idea is that you get a set of tools to handle socially difficult situations described by Moderati like this:

"Ever been at a bar and needed to look busy because some loser is giving you the eye? Schedule a Faux Call and your handset will rescue you. Desperate for conversation topics for the wine tasting you were guilted into attending? Get Hip Quick can help you out. Someone asked for your number, and you're afraid to tell the person you've been flirting with for two hours that you're married? Give her a Faux Number."

Hmm... You've got to be pretty young and/or immature to actually have a need for such trickery in your social life.

I think I'll introduce a competing product: "Mobile Honesty. Get help to be honest in socially difficult situations" ;-)

Male Answer Syndrome

I love Wordspy. My favorite neologism so far is probably this:

Male answer syndrome n. The tendency for some men to answer a question even when they don't know the answer. Also: MAS.

Example Citation:
Try an experiment. Ask a male friend a question, something completely outside his sphere of expertise. Will you get an answer? Chances are, you will. The male friend is exhibiting behavior known as Male Answer Syndrome. It's the compulsion by many individuals (mostly men, but sometimes women) to answer questions readily, regardless of knowledge.

Via emme.

Recording Industry Does It Again

"It's a raid. It's a raid." The shouting was loud last week in Atlanta when authorities, working with the recording industry’s trade association raided DJ Drama’s studio and arrested him on racketeering charges. Investigators say the D.J. was producing unlicensed recordings and selling them without permission.

The move stunned music fans, writes the The New York Times.

DJ Drama produces mixtapes which is an integral element of rap culture  helping to push established and upcoming artists by generating buzz among fans. Nobody has ever seen the tapes as an actual infringement of copyrights. Even representatives of major record labels privately say that they have courted D.J.’s to create and distribute mixtapes featuring the labels’ rappers as part of efforts to generate buzz.

“It’s just kind of understood you need that channel of exposure for any kind of real, credible artist. I don’t think this industry’s ready to deal with that conversation,” says Ian Steaman, a longtime talent and marketing executive to the New York Times.

In many ways mixtapes are a way of letting customers influence the music they listen to. Some might say that what goes on in a mixtape is a typical remixing of the product much like the way consumers remix iPods by hacking them or cars by styling them. It's modern consumer culture.

But that's not what the recording industry wants. It wants consumers passively pulling products off the shelves of major record stores. The industry is simply too dense to see that this business model while great in the eighties is now crumbling faster than and old cookie.

Mixing and remixing of products is here and now and engagement in this proces by companies is crucial to their survival.

Can You Be Critical Of Apple?

The new iPhone has sent people reeling in awe of Apples cunning design abilities. I too found myself excited about the damn thing. But then I read what Hugh Macleod of Gaping Void had to say on the matter and I found myself chuckling in agreement:

Everyone's been getting all excited about Apple's new "iPhone", but somehow I just can't be bothered.

I feel much the same way about my new MacBook Pro laptop, which I've had since November. The most interesting thing so far has been opening the cardboard box it came in. Since then it's been all downhill.

Yes, Apple is great. And the new Iphone sure looks sweet. But where is the critical distance you people of the Blogosphere!?

How To Take A Shower

The site Video Jug is one big learning experience. For example there are snippets about how to ask someone on a date,  clean a window, conceal bags under your eyes and uh... I almost forgot... about how to shower. I bet you didn't know you needed that sort of information... ;-)

VideoJug: How to Use the Shower