Edward Tufte on the iPhone: video

Some geeky fun for a Friday afternoon.

Tufte: "Clutter and overload are not an attribute of information, they are a failure of design."

(Thanks Kristine for the link!)

Winning and losing

One of last year's stickiest, fastest-growing, most thought-provoking, and purely enjoyable online gaming properties was Bogglific -- the homegrown, free, networked version of Boggle on Facebook.

There are many creative ways that Hasbro could have handled its intellectual property concerns without alienating the thousands of passionate users who used Bogglific every day.

Sadly, as of today, they went with a plain ol' cease and desist.

From the Bogglific home page:

Bogglific to Close Down :-(
Hasbro, Inc. has sent a DMCA notification notice to Facebook regarding Bogglific. They claim it violates their trademark, and violates copyright over the Boggle rules.

I'm no lawyer, and can't see how it violates copyright. But I have neither the time nor the money to fight this, and Facebook has given me a grace period of 48 hours to shut the application down voluntarily.

You might be interested to know Scrabulous is in the same boat, but they have the resources to fight their battle. Hopefully they will be successful.

Sorry, guys. It was great fun while it lasted. You're a fantastic bunch, and it's a pity that Hasbro doesn't realise that Bogglific helped its Boggle sales by introducing all your Facebook friends to the game, not hindered it. That is sadly how the litigious US works.

Note that the Bogglific forum will be deleted by Facebook, so you may wish to post further discussions to the Bogglific Addicts group (which is not run by me.)

Where do Bearitos come from?

A great map showing the corporate parents of many of today's popular organic food brands. From Phil Howard at Michigan State University. (Thanks to Roxie for the link!)

The culting of brands

I blogged recently about wanting to write a book comparing cults, built-to-last corporate cultures, and wildly successful consumer brands. As I secretly hoped, someone has already written such a book, and it's phenomenal.

If Jim Collins described the optimum corporate culture for the late 20th century, then Douglas Atkin in "The Culting of Brands" has intuited the human relationship model behind the most powerful business innovations, and grassroots social, technological, and religious movements of the new century.

Imagining the future: Feasible globalizations

A provocative article from Dani Rodrik. (Thanks to Umair Haque at Bubblegeneration for the link.)

Why conversation matters

An intriguing model from Paul Pangaro. For anyone trying to design the next generation of human-computer interfaces, or win a political argument at the family dinner table.

The Story of Stuff

An amazing video from Annie Leonard and Free Range Films.

Running dry

The NYT has been running an important series of articles about disappearing water supplies in the U.S. due to climate change. The bad news: According to Steven Chu of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, “There’s a two-thirds chance there will be a disaster... and that’s in the best scenario.” The good news: Cities and regions across the country are taking their futures in their own hands, and looking systemically at potential solutions.

The American West: Disappearing snowpack in the Sierra Nevadas and elsewhere forces some drastic choices.

Orange County: Turning sewage into drinking water.

Fort Collins: Going nuclear in this "deeply green" city could jeopardize local water supplies.

The Axe and the Dove

The Dove "Onslaught" video has stirred up controversy for parent company Unilever, which also markets Axe deodorant. From today's AdAge:

'"Onslaught" also accomplished what four years of racy Axe ads hadn't -- getting the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood to demand Unilever stop running Axe ads. While the group already was aware of Axe and of Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty, the specifics of the "Onslaught" push set it off.'

A complex story about the marketing biz, corporate integrity, and social media.

Quotes from Pop!Tech: Paul Polak

"90% of the world's designers work on the problems of the richest 10%."

Holiday gift ideas 2007

Some holiday gift ideas for your ecologically, socially, and digitally minded loved ones:

1. Apple TV - It's a slick product all-around, but by far my favorite thing about Apple TV is that it makes it easy to watch hours of TED video podcasts from the comfort of your living room.

2. GlobalGiving gift certificates - GlobalGiving makes it easy and fun to give to grassroots projects in the developing world, and see that your donations have real impact. (Admission: GlobalGiving is a former client of mine.)

3. Muji anything - Today is the grand opening of the first Muji store in the U.S. Hopefully, we'll soon see an e-commerce site, but in the meantime, head to Soho in NYC for hundreds of simple, thoughtful and (somewhat) green products. I have my eye on the rice cooker and the bike.

4. Eatwell Farms - In Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan makes a fairly stark distinction between "industrial organic" and truly organic foods. With Michael's book in mind, I tried Eatwell Farm's pastured eggs, and found them to be three times as tasty, and considerably more healthful, than the very best eggs at Whole Foods. For those in the Bay Area, Eatwell's produce boxes are a perfect gift.

5. MCG Jazz recordings- Bill Strickland is a hero of mine for his work with youth, education, and the arts. The Grammy-winning live jazz performances from Manchester Craftsmen's Guild are a special treat for music lovers, and the proceeds help support a terrific cause.

BP and EA bring climate change to SimCity

I love the concept. Eager to see whether the game's climate change models are realistic, but at least it's a start. Thanks to Dan for the link.