That’s right folks. Actor Gary Busey, whose last decent film happened sometime way back in the early 80s, and whose most recent credits include drunken rampages on the set of Inside Edition, has his very own series of video shorts (courtesy of GotVMail which must subscribe to the take the most random celebrity-of-the-day and create a series of promos around it aka School of Geico car insurance advertising)
GotVMail heeds us, almost daringly, to “Go inside the entrepreneurial mind of Gary Busey,” but the ramblings of Busey’s inner most thoughts as witnessed on many of these videos feel more like the output/regurgitation of a 5-year-old suffering from ADHD trying to tell mommy and daddy exactly what he/she did in school that day in between back-to-back episodes of iCarly.
Case in point:
Gary Busey has a hobby. He likes to create “Busey-isms.” Here’s two examples of a Busey-ism. Now=No Other Way, Team=Together Everyone Achieves More. You too can craft your own vernacular, according to GB. Just take your last name and make it an “ism.” Extra credit to those who last name starts with “Cynic,” “Bullshit.” By the way I think I just created my very first Busey-ism. Is WTF already taken?
Remember the 5 Ws (Who, What, When, Where, Why)? Gary Busey wants you to think outside the box and turn your favorite interrogatives into…Interrogatives? No, we’re not kidding. This particular video had to be the brainchild of at least 4 hours of direct inhalation. Pott-o-meter says: 8. In case you missed it, POTT=Potentially Over The Top
Never ask your family for money because you have to pay them back. Just lean on the bank or get Wesley Snipes’ accountant. If all else fails, hit the kids up from the lemonade stand. You know the ones who’ve been standing in sweltering heat all day just to make a .10 profit?
Busey does a phat WC Fields’ impression and coincidentally doesn’t like lame I’m too sick to go to school/work excuses especially ones that start with, “I got salmonella thrown right square in the face.”
While Busey is no business brainiac, his Yogi Berra, dumbed-down approach to business might be an asset to GotVMail’s marketing strategy in terms of visibiiity of their brand in the marketplace. However with soaring rates for plans starting at $10/mo for 50 minutes of VOIP, GotVMail will need more than Busey’s bravado and clever topspin to remain competitive with companies like AOL and Cisco.
Akin to Quizno’s infamous gerbil fiasco commercial ploy a few years ago, whether you’re aligning your company brand with gerbils or rats, either way, you’re bound to build buzz, but that only lasts for so long before you’re consumers start to look elsewhere.
First, the rag that doubled as every pseudo geek’s wet dream, whored itself out this month to the highest bidder for the mere promise of tail by shamelessly promoting the tech world’s very own Paris Hilton. The only takeaway from Wired’s cover feature being if you’re greedy enough and cocktease make eyes at the right people, there are places you can go online and offline, btw.
Next, MediaBistro jumped aboard the Anderson lovebug by giving us a cheap imitation (you have to pay $15 to preview the whole clip of Chris) of a marketing man’s bible to Web 2.0 social communities in the form of a video clip.
While most of the content on the video is pretty vague marko-babbly, (we are talking about the guy that launched the long tail phenomenon) Anderson is a source for all things innovative by sheer virtue that he works for “the most tolerant site out there.” If only he had been groomed in an elitist French boarding school that taught him proper elocution maybe I could stand to hear about his or anyone else’s “raison d’etre.”
Think Goofus and Gallant are enough to teach today’s kids the stuff that they need to make it in the real world? You’re wrong. These days it’s all about differentiation and having the proper toolkit in place to build your brain from the ground up.
So whether you’re a parent, educator, or kid looking to understand Math & Science in terms that actually mean something to the average individual who is not mathematically endowed (guilty!), A Write to Learn is an innovative and dare I say, fun approach to learning for kids and adults of all ages.
The brainchild of Barbara Gottfried Hollander, a former Book Reviewer for The Jerusalem Post and Columnist for The New Jersey Jewish News, the destination site for educational consulting features creative exercises geared to teaching kids practical and relevant applications, such as how to wrap your head around Chinese currency in time for the upcoming Olympics, and even lends itself to curriculum developers looking for a little inspiration for their courses. A Write to Learn aims to involve teachers and kids (how novel, right?), by showcasing the writing talents of young adults and looking to involve them in making a difference for the future.
Maybe I woke up on the less cynical side of the bed today, but Hollander’s world is one that makes me think that there might just be a brighter future in store.
3 Years ago, Skype was the hottest thing in town. Then the bidding started, and when it comes to bidding no one knows how to do it better then eBay, who, with plenty of woo ha, paid a modest sum of $2.6 billion for their new toy. But, a while later, eBay, who also own PayPal, realized, that its harder to integrate the technology into its auction business then they first thought, Skype has become the hot potato that no one wants, even the appointing of Josh Silverman as the new CEO in February did not seem to help, and now eBay is considering selling the VoIP provider. Skype is quite good actually, it allows free PC calling, and saved me a lot of money when I used it to call computers internationally.
I’d take Sergey over Marc any day of the week. That’s why when I first heard about Facebook’s new chatting utility from Gina Trapani over at Lifehacker, I didn’t really care. Google rolled out a similar item years ago and as far as I was concerned, Gmail chat was my staple. I was reluctant to get too excited over what seemed like yet another device that exposed my whereabouts onto a largely disinterested or conversely, overly gawker-ish audience. Truth be told I use Facebook relatively scarcely, mostly taking advantage of the feeds feature to see if friends have updated their profiles with new pictures.
On the flipside I use my Gmail chat quite often, preferring this over most of the other instant messaging and chat features offered by services such as AOL or MSN. The good news about Facebook’s new chat is that, like Gmail chat, it’s not a downloadable external client, and it pre-populates your buddies based on your contacts list. Facebook has capitalized on the trend of the passive user (and those of us who sometimes forget that we even have Facebook open on a tab in our internet browser) to incorporate an application that ensures we click on our accounts a little more often during our days and/or depending on how often we get pinged by a contact. It’s a savvy move for the company and an obvious next step in terms of features on the site, but the utility lacks a certain efficiency in multi-tasking various simultaneous chats. Clutter erupts at the bottom of the screen which makes attempting to integrate it as an activity during the work day all the more difficult. And I can’t speak for everyone else, but if I can’t use it as a diversion during my day, I’m certainly less inclined to use it as a past time on my time off.
I recently discovered a new site, Linkory.com which allows you to connect with others through memories and shared experiences. It’s Web 2.0 facade aside, Linkory is more than just another one of those community sites geared to make people feel less lonely. Through surfacing stories of childhood and memorable events, users get to evoke their experiences and make them come alive again using media such as text, photo, and video. Even cooler, you can “send” any of the memories (video, photos, etc) you find on Linkory to Facebook buddies. Like most sites out there these days, you don’t have to pay to use the service which is always a nice bonus feature.
What I enjoyed most scrolling through some of these memory threads is realizing how much history I’d neglected or forgotten. I could scarcely remember Elian Gonzalez and yet the little boy preoccupied so many of our lives for months in 2000. Taking a stroll through Linkory is like cuddling up with a cozy warm book you’ve read at least twice, but whose in company you will undoubtedly always find an old friend.
There is redemption in getting sued. Just ask Jay Buckmuster, CEO of Craigslist, who publicly voiced his disappointment over Ebay’s “petty” war on Craigslist after they filed suit against the company on the basis that Craigslist was diluting their shares in the company. Ebay has 28.4% stake in Craigslist. While confidentiality restrictions prohibit too much information from being leaked to the public on this, some cynics believe that eBay is banking on either of two scenarios: 1) eBay is trying to back Craigslist into a corner and buy them out and/or 2) eBay is trying desperately to sell their shares in Craigslist at a most optimal rate.
Whatever the case may be, don’t feel too bad for Jay Buckmuster. At the very least, he’s garnering some serious sympathy out of this whole ordeal, not to mention some innovative food for fodder in the way of comments on his post. Our favorite: the missed connection.
Missed Connections
You (eBay): Middle aged, bitter, nerdy.
Me (craigslist): young, indie, hip
I saw you at the flee market. You told me own it … like I’d be impressed. You offered me a ride on your Harley … again like I’d be impressed. Your not cool.
Set to be released in May, Wii Fit is already making headlines with its slew of aerobic exercises designed to get even the most inactive/dormant of couch potatoes off the proverbial couch. The system can support up to 660 lbs of weight (although it stops measuring activity after 330 lbs) and features the following activities:
Strength-training exercises, including a push-up/yoga combo (which sounds devilishly difficult), single-leg extensions, arm/leg lifts, a variety of squats and lunges, and side planks (ouch). There’s also plenty of aerobic action, including steps, runs, and rhythm boxing. Then there’s the yoga, complete with your standard deep breathing, half moons, a potpourri of poses, you name it.
For soccer fans waiting for some sort of fix, the new Wii Fit boasts a soccer ball head-butting game. Head trauma aside, rave reviews and a price tag of ? (yet to be publicized), Nintendo’s new game package has already sold 1.4 million systems in Japan alone.
That’s right folks. Actor Gary Busey, whose last decent film happened sometime way back in the early 80s, and whose most recent credits include drunken rampages on the set of Inside Edition, has his very own series of video shorts (courtesy of GotVMail which must subscribe to the take the most random celebrity-of-the-day and create a series of promos around it aka School of Geico car insurance advertising)
Think 
I’d take 
There is redemption in getting sued. Just ask Jay Buckmuster, CEO of Craigslist, who 
Photo taken outside of Craigslist headquarters & courtesy of Craigslist’s