The democratization of publishing that blogging platforms fueled a few years ago seems to be only an early chapter in a longer story about the move from curated content by the few to tailored content by the many. Piers Fawkes argues that in it’s current form, PSFK’s days could be numbered.

Piers Fawkes offers some thoughts on the alternative ways we are using different communications platforms.

Rather than lament the passing of traditional values, beliefs and rituals, let’s invent ways to save them. Let’s examine the ‘dying’ practices we value and design new tools, strategies, and products to keep them (or the essence of them) alive.

The way my son labels things differently makes me think that his perception of technology as he grows up will be radically different than mine.

The other day, we highlighted some of the ways that magazines are diversifying their business models to remain both relevant and solvent as more and more of their audience moves online. We suspect (and hope) that print and by extension, traditional storytelling will always have its place, but there is clearly a shift towards multimedia narratives – combining video, audio and other interactive features – taking place as more publications bolster their reporting with additional content available online.
While this trend is most noticeable among print magazines that are attempting t0 adapt their product to the web, there are also a [...]

Back in July we came across the results of a study on consumer behavior as it related to “going green”. The research concluded that people are more motivated to make eco-friendly purchases based on perceptions about status – i.e. installing these solar panels are sure to make my neighbors envious – than they are by other factors, like cost-savings or more surprisingly perhaps, actually benefitting the environment.

We had an opportunity to visit the new Mets Stadium, Citi Field, over the weekend and have to admit, walked away feeling a bit ambivalent about the current state of America’s past time. While the space itself was certainly impressive  and well-designed, featuring clear sight lines from virtually anywhere in the park, along with a number of family-friendly baseball-themed areas from batting cages to a miniature stadium for kids, it seems like a small consolation considering the rather exorbitant prices being charged for everything from bleacher seats to hot dogs.

Which may be nothing new, but was an even harder pill [...]

In this opinion piece, PSFK founder Piers Fawkes defends the idea of free and explains how it is making his business thrive. He says that critics are railing against three key issues – free as a progressive business concept; that free means we have to change what we do for work; and that many people don’t live ‘free’ yet.

Recent discussions about the future of publishing has made me think a lot about PSFK’s approach to publishing. As part of my pondering I put together a simple document with a comparison of an article that features on the Financial Times and PSFK. By looking at an article on the same subject, I wanted to compare and contrast the editorial and business approaches between a “traditional” publisher and a new one without making too much commentary about what is the right or wrong approach. I thought it might be of interest to share.
PDF: A comparison of FT and PSFK articles
Original [...]

I originally drafted a post about the Kindle about a month ago but I thought I was being mean – so I let it sit and stew for a while. The release of the Apple 3.0 and some recent comments by Jeff Jarvis has made me dust it off with a quick update:
So there it is sat on my desk with a dead battery – 8 weeks after I bought the second generation ebook reader direct from Amazon. Unused, unloved, unnecessary. I feel like I’ve wasted my money.
My reaction to the whole genre: surely ebooks need a cigarette moment? Ebook [...]

“This is this is the second notice that your vehicle’s factory warranty is about to expire,” or so says the automated voice at the other end of the phone, regardless of whether or not you actually own a car in the first place. An annoyance that has hit a nerve with the American public and recently some are starting to strike back with hassling calls of their own. The Wall Street Journal examines the ethical and legal ambiguities involved with this brand of consumer vigilantism following a thread that appeared on the popular link sharing website Reddit.com, outing one of the [...]

It seems like every time I put on the “telly” I am bombarded with pictures and breathless stories about Susan Boyle, the Scottish lady who left fucktard Simon Cowell speechless (for about one minute) when she opened her mouth and belted out some show tune or other. Yeah, I’m one of the ten zillion people who’ve watched the clip on YouTube and I’ll admit she has a pretty good voice… But all the chat since that performance isn’t about her voice; it’s about her eyebrows and the frumpy dress she wore etc. World War III could break out tomorrow and [...]

OK, here we are, a week after the Domino’s YouTube “BoogerVision” disaster and we are deep into the various analyses of whether or not Domino’s handled this major fuck up well from a PR point of view. It’s been re-hashed and bashed more times than whether or not the singing Scottish lady with the retro-fashion sense and bushy eyebrows represents the end of flash and glam on prime time television… And I wouldn’t put money on that either!
In a Monday AdAge article, all the usual pundits are trotted out to give their take on it; Rob Weisberg, VP-multimedia marketing at [...]

Late last week, Enfatico effectively ceased to exist as a stand alone operation. The “agency of the future,” sixteen months after its creation, became the agency of the past when it was rolled into Y&R. Forgive me for enjoying a brief toot on my horn here, but I’d been forecasting this on AdScam for months, opting for either Grey or Y&R as the likely home for the struggling enterprise. Launched with much fanfare in December 2007, it was claimed this would be the first agency totally dedicated to servicing the advertising needs of single client, Dell, on a global scale. [...]

Prolific creative consultant and PSFK columnist George Parker isn’t afraid to bring some real talk to the table in his most recent book, The Ubiquitous Persuaders, a rousing look at the quickly evolving world of advertising – where it’s heading and how far it’s come. The book serves as a much-needed update to Vance Packard’s 1957 book The Hidden Persuaders, which attempted to expose the nefarious world of media manipulation, subliminal advertising, and other business-driven mind control closing in on us.
The Ubiquitous Persuaders offers a comprehensive study of advertising and all its follies, including industry niches, the relevance of new [...]