According to HarperStudio, who experiments with new publishing models to make books more effective, creative and sustainble, sites for authors and/or books, must accomplish the following five things:

1. Is interactive and speaks to a distinct community
2. Is inherently entertaining
3. Engages someone who has never heard of the book or author
4. Gives the reader a reason to come back
5. Can be found easily on Google

And, happily listed at the top of their examples of sites that “got it right” is the official site for John Hodgman, AreasofMyExpertise.com, which we (ERA404) designed last year.

And while JH, himself, should take credit for the first four and WordPress deserves recognition for the last one, I’d proudly extend HarperStudio’s list by one, and take credit for it:

6. Creatively extend branding across new media

Go us!

Nope, that’s not a dinosaur. It’s a new site that lets you, in the spirit of SimpsonizeMe.com, make yourself look like Shepard Fairey‘s iconic Barack Obama poster / TIME magazine cover.

Since moving to NYC, I’ve been fascinated by Mr. Fairey’s career. Most notably, his OBEY campaign which any New Yorker can’t miss (and which Katherine bought me a cool André face belt from the shop at Fairey’s alma mater, RISD). And his work with various magazines (TIME), campaigns (Obama) and movies (Walk the Line).

He’s fasinating, mostly, because he’s different. He’s part Charles Spencer Anderson of French Paper Company fame because of the clip art stylings and rough edges. He’s part Paul Rand because of the iconographic feel of his work. He’s part Keith Harring because of the graffiti/guerilla nature of his early work. But to my knowledge, there’s really no one that has been like him in the design world. Go create your own Obamicon and think about the above. Let me know if I’m wrong.

A representative will be with you shortly. Wait times can vary so stay tuned…..
That’s the ironic message boldly written at the top of the Dell Live Chat support page, next to the quirky speech bubbles and positioned over the “Feedback” link with the rotating +/- icon.

At the bottom of the screen, users can view their number in the queue waiting for assistance. I’m currently number 75. Read more

This week, AdRants posted their annual “Hottest Ads” of the year, listing ERA404’s viral marketing video for author Charles Bock’s Beautiful Chidren (www.beautifulchildren.net) as one of this year’s best:
Watching this SlinkyFox video will toy with your emotions. First you’ll be wowed by Landie, a girl-next-door hottie who looks like she’s getting ready to shoot a porn video. Then you’ll be skeeved by the sliminess of the director, who intones cheesy, increasingly creepy questions at Landie.

Oddly, you might even marvel at Landie’s acting abilities as she reacts to the director’s pointed questions. But you will most definitely experience surprise when you find out what the whole thing is for.

Some marketers love to test the limits of what’s acceptable and tactics vary widely from country to country. But it’s a safe bet to assume actual porn is something we’re not likely to see very often in advertising. In any country.

Little Big Planet for PS3 looks like a pretty innovative game. As someone on QBN called it, it’s “Super Mario meets Michel Gondry, meets Lemmings,” all of which I’ve loved at one point in my life. Read more