A couple of interesting things in this Metropolis slideshow on “The Unreal World.” For instance, while it’s no surprise that you can hang out at an H/M store in The Sims, I’m not sure what to make of the fact that “the latest edition of Sim City Societies challenges players to create a green society by using alternative energy sources.” Is it good news that we may be on our way to tackling global warming in an imaginary world?
Also: Herman Miller “now offers Second Life members a collection of virtually rendered authorized editions of some of its best-known pieces.” Big deal, right? But this is what I like: The company “will make most of these new designs available for free to users who purchased virtual knockoffs. … from unauthorized sellers.”
That’s fantastic! If you’re going to have a representation of Herman Miller chair in a virtual world, you better make sure it’s, um, authentic. Make sure all your fake things are the real thing!
And finally, Fabjectory, which makes physical representations of avatars, for a fee.
This has already gotten considerable bounce online, but just in case you missed it, it’s worth reading “The Afterlife of Cellphones,” by Jon Mooallem, from this past weekend’s NYT Magazine. (Particularly if you have an interest in “unconsumption,” a recurring Murketing theme.)
The piece concentrates on cellphones, but as a single example of widespread problems with e-waste that apply to most any sort of gadget you can think of. To me the most interesting section was the final one, which includes the argument that “most phones are retired because of psychological, not technological, obsolescence.”
This is no real surprise, of course, but it’s interesting to read someone saying “People want [a cell phone] to be an expression of their personalities” in this context. In the business/marketing/design press, statements nearly identical to this are made all the time, regarding a wide variety of products. But in those settings, the remark is invariably positioned as a) something that must be understood if you want to run a profitable consumer business, and/or b) an adjunct to the argument that the “consumer is in control” and this newly empowered creature demands not just functionality but individuality-expression and stylistic excellence and so on from most every object s/he owns.
So perhaps the consumer really is “in control” … and is making a mess of things?
Also interesting: “82 percent of those with Internet-enabled phones do not go online.” This plays to another theme that’s interested me for a while now: Paying a premium for features that are never used.
And finally: “The United States Geological Survey estimates that in 2005 there were already more than half a billion old phones sitting in American drawers.”
So, what about this cloned-meat thing? Is it really going to happen? Clearly a lot of people are freaked out about it, even though the FDA says it’s okay. I assume the problem is twofold. First, nobody is all that impressed that a government agency says something is okay, because we’ve all seen enough problems with previously approved drugs and so on. Second, the FDA’s conclusion that clone meat doesn’t need to be labeled as such is just fishy.
The Times today quotes the owner of something called Prairie State Semen making the case of what’s in it for consumers:
“When you buy a box of Cheerios in New York and one in Champaign, Illinois, you know they are going to be the same. By shortening the genetic pool using clones, you can do a similar thing.
“It could improve the quality of meat in the supermarket.”
Okay, well, if it improves the quality, then why wouldn’t sellers of clone meat want it to be labeled as such? If it’s a benefit, then why hide it?
Underground, originally uploaded by EmonomE.
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1. An interesting note came to the inbox last night that’s inspired me to whip up another round of Consumed updates. It was from Glenn Jones (and it wasn’t just to me, it was announcement) one of the Threadless stars I interviewed for a column about that company for the July 8, 2007 issue. At the time, I noted that Jones “the creative director of Dashwood Design in Auckland, New Zealand, has won 17 times. He regularly gets fan e-mail, has been featured on the cover of the New Zealand magazine ProDesign as the ‘King of the Tees’ and is often asked why he doesn’t start his own shirt company.” (On Threadless he’s also known as Glennz.)
Turns out he’s leaving Dashwood to do his own thing. At the moment he’s selling prints and greeting cards at his own site, www.glennz.co.nz. Perhaps T-shirts will be next? I’m keeping an eye on it.
In other news:
2. Way back on February 4, 2005, I had a column about reborn dolls. (“‘Reborning’ is the name that has emerged for a curious process of altering and enhancing a baby doll to look and even to feel as much like a human baby as possible,” etc.). Via Coudal I learn that there’s a British documentary about the phenomenon. Titled My Fake Baby, it’s about “The extraordinary world of ‘re-borns’ — life-like baby dolls — and the women who buy them.” The trailer is here.
3. For the life of me I cannot figure out why my formulation “phads” — meaning manufactured fads and similar products of the trend industry — did not catch on. That was from a December 10, 2006 column on the astonishing number of alleged trends pumped out year after year — and which noted that this is not just a supply-side phenomenon, but demand-side one. That is to say, there is a curious kind of demand for trends, fads, and even (maybe especiall) for Phads. And so talk of such things continues, of course, one recent example being this Talk of the Nation segment addressing “how fads are born and perpetuated within a culture.”
4. The November 18, 2007 column on imaginary brands made passing mention of the (widely discussed) promotion for the Simpsons movie that brought various imaginary brands from that show into the real world, at certain 7-11 locations. The WSJ (via Brand Autopsy) says 7-11 “saw major sales lifts at the 11 U.S. stores that were converted for the month of the promotion. The company says total merchandise sales doubled; fresh bakery sales increased sevenfold and customer count went up almost 50%. Moreover, 7-Eleven says the promotion garnered about $7 million in free publicity.”
Posted Under:
Update by Rob Walker on January 14, 2008
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In a column about Smith’s, New York Magazine restaurant critic Adam Platt notes the need for such eateries “need a specific target demographic in mind.” And he spots “the living embodiment of possibly the most desired demographic of all.” To wit:
“Do you know who that is?” said one of the hulking gentlemen at my table. “That’s Anna Wintour’s personal assistant.”
upside down, originally uploaded by Susan NYC.
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Foliage Handsoaps: How soaps that look like little hands reconcile the contradictory attractions of novelty and familiarity.
Murketing regulars may recall my interest in things that look like other things. Today’s Consumed column in The New York Times Magazine addresses this subject by way of Foliage Handsoap.
The contrast that is embedded in things that look like other things — and its curious appeal — suggests something about one of the great conundrums of consumer behavior, or possibly even of human psychology: our attraction to the novel and our seemingly contradictory attraction to the familiar.
Read the column here.
The Hater summarizes the critical consensus:
It’s the show that’s done more for art and humanity than all art and every human ever. In addition, it’s the only show that is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, and everything that you want it to be. The Wire can inspire, move, and cure most ailments if applied directly. If you are barren, The Wire will give you child. If you are hungry, The Wire will give you bread. And if you are lost, The Wire will find you and hold you to its breast until someone who isn’t a television show comes along to claim you.
Posted Under:
Entertainment by Rob Walker on January 11, 2008
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What could possibly top the amazing innovation of “High Definition” television?
The WSJ yesterday had the answer: “Even-Higher Definition” television. This could be the “next big thing” for TVs. (Link, subscriber-only, sorry.)
What will they think of next?
Could it be, perhaps, “Higher-Definition Even Than That” television?
This Business Week story, “Arts and Crafts Find New Life Online,” includes an interesting anecdote. It notes that a German company called Hubert Burda Media, described as a “sewing-magazine and pattern giant,” has recently relaunched a U.S. site called BurdaStyle.com. Among other things, the site — which bills itself as “open source sewing” — gives away some patterns in downloadable PDF form. “Sewers can alter the patterns as they fancy, and there are no restrictions on selling finished clothing.”
Burda, according to BW is “the biggest pattern seller” in Europe, but it’s a minor player in the U.S.
It has a loyal fan in Mirela Popovici. The 28-year-old spends hours on the site downloading patterns, getting advice in the forums from other members, and creating how-to slide shows. A computer programmer by day, the Hollywood (Fla.) resident spends her evenings and weekends whipping up skirts, dresses, and tops. Last January she created a shop on Etsy … mirela.etsy.com … [where] she sells some of the clothing she makes using Burda’s patterns. “I love to alter their patterns,” Popovici says. “And having the community makes it so easy to figure out how to make different alterations.”
A few thoughts on this.
First, while BW emphasizes that users of the Burda site “can” alter the patterns they find there, this is not a meaningful point. You “can” alter any pattern, whether you found it online, or in a box of patterns your mom put in the attic in 1974. I mention this because I am very tired of being told how exciting it is that this or that company is letting us express ourselves these days. Believe it or not, people expressed themselves before the Internet.
Second, what might be meaningful is that Burda is giving the a-okay for you to sell what you make based on its patterns. However, its exact meaning is kind of interesting to consider. It happens that this is a recurring issue in the DIY world: Crafter A makes, say, embrodiary patterns; Crafter B loves them, buys some, executes the patterns on a jacket and a pillow — and then sells what (s)he has made. By and large, Crafter A is not so excited about this, because Crafter B is profiting from Crafter A’s intellectual property. Of course, Burda is in a very different position from Crafter A, insofar as it’s a “giant” company, so it can afford to do a little “open source,” to help establish its name a new market.
Third, I’m sort of curious if this kind of arrangement has an impact on the “handmade” nature of a garment. Clearly, in a literal sense, it’s still handmade. But since the “handmade” idea has been infused with a sort of anti-corporate ideology, or some sheen thereof: Does it matter where the pattern came from (a “giant” European company, this case)? What if it came from some vintage magazine, would that be better? What if it came from Wal Mart — would that be worse? Why?
Just to be clear, I have nothing against this Etsy seller and am not accusing her or anybody else, of anything. Just asking a question or two.
Free TV, originally uploaded by Vintage Roadside.
“Detail of the wonderful Palms Motel sign. Portland, Oregon,” says the caption. Vintage Roadside has at least two sets worth your time: Motel Signs and Neon Signs.
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According to aptly named website Mark Lives In Ikea:
Comediean/Filmmaker Mark Malkoff’s New York City apartment had to be fumigated. All of his friends have tiny studio apartments. Hotels in New York are insanely expensive. Left with few living options, Mark thought it would be fun and make an interesting video to move into an IKEA store where he’d live and sleep for a week. Never in a million years did he think IKEA would go for it, but miraculously they have a agreed.
I don’t think it’s all that surprising. Perfect example of co-promotion.
Site says he “moved in” today and will be there through Saturday. Posting videos, etc.
Via Coudal.
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