Open Authoring
Bob Garfield at AdAge.com is a little late to the blogging party, but is definitely jumping in with both feet as he begins his Open Authoring book project: Listenomics.

He's posted the TOC and it looks like a pretty interesting book-to-be.

Staples Nails It.
I thought it was a brilliant move when they created the novelty "Easy Button" as an advertising specialty for sale in their stores.

Now Staples has amped up their brand by creating a "real" Easy Button for your desktop. The now familiar red-buttoned icon stays on your desktop until you need to hit it -- and then it unfurls a useful toolbar that allows your to search for office supplies, visit the online stores, view specials, the weekly circular, redeem points in their customer rewards center, or find the store location nearest you. When you're done, hit the button again and the toolbar disappears, leaving your desktop clear and the Easy Button at the ready. You can move the button around your desktop, or minimize it to the desktop tray -- where its icon is also represented by that brilliantly branded red button.

Staples appears to be pressing all the right buttons in building this cute little advertising gimmick into a full-blown brand of its own.

Old Ads. New Ideas.
My buddy Troy White from the Duct Tape Blog Channel recently shared an interesting resource for marketing inspiration -- an online archive of "hard to find ads."

It's a collection of classic/retro ads that proved successful for their respective companies, and with the speed that ideas get recycled, this could prove to be a valuable repository of ideas you can apply and adapt for modern times.

Be warned -- the "free" registration is lengthy (they site owner could probably make a ton of money simply offering the option to 'bribe' your way in with a buck to bypass the B.S.), but my bet is that access to the archive will prove worth the time spent.

You can find Troy's review of the site HERE -- or link directly to the page by visiting HardToFindAds.com.

Every little thing you do is magic (to somebody)
We all know a friend or two that has a talent we consider unique. Something that we have no talent for ourselves, so we view their skill as almost magical.

I can usually get a person to say "how the heck do you DO that??" when coming up with ideas on the fly, or when discussing obscure website resources on just about any topic -- but I marvel a people who have a good memory for telling bar jokes, those who can do math in their heads, skills in sports, etc. The list goes on and on -- we all have someone whose skill in something completely baffles us.

But the point is, EVERYONE can do a little magic and completely awe someone whose skills are not as developed in an area in which we personally excell. You just need to find that skillset and develop it to the point of mastery.

It's like learning a magic trick.
Before you see how a trick is performed, you can be left completely speechless -- but once the secret is discovered, it might be something you could perform yourself. Check out this link to a short video of the "World's Greatest Magician" and see what I mean.

A view on the new
INside Innovation magazine
from an outside innovator
I'm a fan of BusinessWeek Online, and have been enjoying their innovation-themed emails, but the announcement they will be publishing a magazine title "INside Innovation" leaves me shaking my head.

To make a goal of reporting on innovation, and then executing that goal with one of the least innovative means at your disposal, dooms the project to failure. How can you think anything covered in the magazine will still be "news" (let alone 'innovative') by the time it gets through layout, printing, and distribution. Hell, in internet time things that are considered innovative at breakfast are old school by dinner time.

Better for BW to have followed Fortune's example and kept their feature online. The Fortune Innovation Forum (renamed the even less-catchy "Business Innovation Insider") has done an excellent job of keeping innovative insights in front of online readers since 2005.

An even better execution has been implemented by my buddy, Howard Mann, of the DIG Tank blog. His online "magazine" UXMAG.COM is a feat of gorgeous design and delicious content. If the traditional magazine were to incorporate the internet and evolve to this level -- I could live with that.

Until BusinessWeek enacts the same innovation internally that it intends to report in this new magazine externally, look for INside Innovation to last about five issues (or less.)

Skype VS. Vonage
Ask anyone which I prefer and I will unabashedly proclaim Skype to be the best, but it appears from the latest info in Business Week Online, I ain't the only one.

While an article in their INNOVATION section touts Skype as a viable challenger to the "old order" of the Goliath wireless world, a second TECHNOLOGY article shares news that Vonage's idea to provide early "reserved" $17 shares of its IPO for their own customers may have backfired after the stock fell to $12.50 before the company had a chance to collect. People who said they'd buy a bundle, are trying to cancel their reservations.

As Vonage decides to either pressure their customers to collect on the 26% loss or eat the difference, their stock can only continue to suffer -- they either take the financial hit and leave the money in the customers' pockets -- or they apply pressure to the customers to collect (reminding them of the bad investment and pissing them off to-boot.) Could canceling their service as a retalitory measure be far behind -- which I imagine wouldn't help the stock price either.

I've got some plans up my sleeve for some DTIG events using Skype's conference call and recording capabilities, and I'd love to invite some of MyBrainBlog readers to participate -- but you'll need the free Skype service to attend.

Download Skype at the link provided (it's FREE) and drop me a line with your Skype ID. I'll alert you to the conference call projects on a "first-come/first-Skyped" basis.

Download Skype here
Add me to your Skype contact list: dontheideaguy