You might not recognize it by taste alone, but Coors Light isn’t just a beer anymore.
It’s a portfolio of Facebook apps that enable you to access maps that direct your “brew crew” to nearby bars – or MySpace pages where you can locate happy hours in your geographic area and upload pictures of your posse for the chance to win prizes.
For that matter, Chantix isn’t just a smoking-cessation drug anymore, either. It’s a service that connects you a with a personalized website and easy-to-use tools to track your progress, as well as to access to support groups and on-call coaches who can help you squelch your addiction.
Your daughter’s Webkinz isn’t just a stuffed animal. It’s an online virtual world where she can take care of her virtual pet, earn KinzCash and play games. It’s been so successful that even Barbie now has her own virtual world, called BarbieGirls.com, where girls can customize their dolls’ looks, shop at an online mall, and hang out together at a place called "The B Cafe."
Even your Special K cereal is far more than a lowly bowl of cornflakes these days. It’s an online weight management service and social network called “The Special K Challenge,”... Read more
Tagged 'ipod' 
Is iPad Built for Two?
Today, the radio industry publication Music Week published Dan Thornton's thoughts on the iPad's impact on commercial radio. As Absolute Radio Digital Marketing Manager, he brought up a lot of good thought-starters on the potential. What I found most interesting was him setting the interaction environment of use.
iPad replaces all those heavy textbooks
While those like me don't see a fit for the iPad in an already computer-saturated home environment, the iPad literally takes twenty pounds off the backs of high school and college kids if their textbooks are all available through the app store. And why wouldn't publishers put their books in the App store? The audience is already there and ready to one-click all the bookstore hassle away.
iPad is for small group sharing
As I've been talking about for the past year or so, I believe the next wave in social computing is small groups. I see today's kids in the US behaving a lot like young adults in Korea, finding a lot of enjoyment and social currency in using a single computer together. This concept also extends to networked publics, and being able to create a small social conversation about a topic or item not among all 120 of... Read more
Kindle stomping iPod in early sales
Amazon.com sold 500,000 of its Kindle readers during 2008, the second year it was available. This according to a Citi analyst's report (via Tech Crunch). During its second year, Apple only sold 378,000 iPods. What's more, Citi estimates Amazon could have pushed 750,000 units if they didn't sell out. If you thought the iPod revolutionized media consumption, look out…
Speaking of Kindle and how it stands to deliver a major impact on media. Check out this post from Silicon Alley Insider last week. They estimate that, given the New York Times' delivery costs, it would be cheaper for them to cut the paper, buy all subscribers a Kindle and wire them their news.
It would probably be easier on our planet's forests, which are in serious trouble these days.
