Next! On Sick Sad World…

Daria is coming to DVD in 2010!

and so it seems that my life will once again have meaning…

And for nostalgia’s sake:

As soon as the DVDs come out, i’m going to purchase 3 sets. One for regular viewing, one for back up, and one to put in a safe deposit box at the bank, along with my imaginary gold bullions and treasury bonds.

In other news re TV shows of yesteryear:

A porno version of SEINFELD was made!

and a NSFW original trailer can be found here:

Should be called “Seinfeld: A Porno About Nothing”

Boards of Canada – Stry Craty Bya

Boards of Canada – Stry Craty Bya [audio:http://www.plasmoandtheinfinitesadness.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/04-Stry-Craty-Bya.mp3%5D

From their 1989 Acid Memories EP.

If there is one argument for the freefall distribution of music over the interwebs, it would be that we would never get the chance to hear BoC’s earlier works. Apparently it was only ever distributed to friends and relatives on a cassette.

Life would be less meaningful; days more empty.

Art and Copy

So me and my lovely friend went to see a movie as part of the Sydney Film Festival today, and watched a film about the advertising industry. The movie was part history lesson, on how the industry got to where it is today, part social analysis of the profound effect of advertising on modern culture, and part personal stories of how the most influential creative forces behind the ads and changed the way we live.

There were some pretty awesome vintage ads shown in the movie:

One point that was discussed in the movie particularly resonated with me. This advertisement was shown:

The ad was revolutionary at the time it was made because up to that point, all ads were made to sell a product based on design or functionality. This ad barely mentions the product. It instead tells a story with a particular kind of humour. Budweisser is then no longer a beer, it becomes badge for all those who subscribe to this kind of  humour.

Overall I thought it was a pretty good film, not only was it insightful, funny, immensely charming, it was also the perfect advertisement for the industry. I left the cinema with the unyielding urge to sell something.

Online Content & the Media

Taken from a SMH article on the media’s ‘clumsy embrace’ of the internet.

She goes on to dispense some critical-sounding advice, implying that the mainstream media does not understand online and that newspapers are partly to blame for their own predicament.

“The approach, ‘Let’s just take whatever appeared in the print paper and put it on a web page’ doesn’t work,” she says.

She points out how sites such as YouTube and the online retailer Amazon.com construct their content so that there is always more to buy or more to watch. “I can go to various newspapers and when you scroll down to the bottom, what do you do next?

“There were related stories and related videos but those were up on the top. So now the most committed user – the one that reads through the entire piece – is now looking at the bottom of the page with nothing to do.”

Ms Mayer says linking to more information, engaging readers in dialogue and making the content more interactive are part of the “web fundamentals” that could be used to “end up with a product that will look different than news online does today”.

I cannot stress how this strategy of ‘constant information bombardment’ is a make or break for any web company specialising in content or shopping. That was how Youtube became so ridiculously viral, how you could impulse buy tenfold via Amazon and how some major blogs have bounce rates of 0%.

Dannychoo’s blog is an excellent example of this, and it is obvious that his employment background in Amazon Japan reflects on how his blog functions to be the leading Japanese lifestyle blog for westerners. A lot of content is contributed by fans, there are sharp photos everywhere to get you clicking, and at least 3 related stories at the end of each article followed by user comments. It is hard to leave the website! I am not endorsing the blog for the content, but for the pure genius of the entire setup!

It is not simply just the idea of ‘linking back to other content’, but also the complex algorithms behind ensuring that these links are sharply targetted to your interests.

It is upselling in the most grandest of scales and ensures that every cent you pay for marketing your website online is well worth it.

What keeps you going back to a website and what keeps you there?