Linkpile (via Delicious)

• Blaming advertising: “Two-thirds of Americans (66%) believe advertising agencies have at least some responsibility for the current economic crisis because they caused people to buy things they couldn’t afford. In fact, one-third (33%) believe they have complete or a great deal of responsibility.” Interestingly they tend NOT to blame peers. Which is interesting given years of claims by consumers and gurus alike that advertising doesn’t affect us and we only listen to our friends. But you knew that wasn’t true all along. Didn’t you?
• Ed Hardy wines?: “Perhaps no brand hookup makes less sense. Yet there it was at my local Whole Foods, stacked in orderly end-cap pyramids.” Interesting how Ed Hardy has soldiered on in general. When it debuted, every coolmaking tastemonger I know predicted it would fail immediately. The problem was supposed to be lack of authenticity. Moving into wine wouldn’t seem to help that problem — but maybe it wasn’t a problem after all?
• The fickle Twitterer: “According to a study out today from Nielsen, at least three out of every five people who sign up for a Twitter account bail within a few weeks.” But maybe they come back? I don’t know. Anyway, Nicholas Carr’s take.
• Your Facebook Profile Makes Marketers’ Dreams Come True: Overall not much new here, but an interesting example or two.
• Idiotic lawsuit of the moment: Oprah v. Mutual of Omaha, regarding rights to phrase “aha moment.”
• Obama’s Call to Create, Not Just Consume: “I want us all to think about new and creative ways to engage young people in science and engineering, whether it’s science festivals, robotics competitions, fairs that encourage young people to create and build and invent — to be makers of things, not just consumers of things.”