AdSponge

I don’t plan on talking about the economy or the troubles with it much, but I Stumble’d Upon this image and had to share it. One can only imagine this is circa sometime during the Great Depression, and its a little scary how similar this picture is to the current economic situation. I searched out a Wall Street Journal article that briefly sums up our current economy, and even has a reference to the Great Depression! How awfully ironic!

And to add a marketing twist, this economy could change consumer’s purchasing habits and ability, which could ultimately change how marketers operate and advertise, and how much they spend on media and yada yada yada, you get the point. Enjoy the photo and article!

Every now and then I’ll do a Google search of my name and see what comes up. Well I checked it out today and like usual, I’m pretty much nowhere to be found. Is this good or bad? That question is debatable. Sure, it’s good that my search results aren’t littered with scandalous pictures or other awful reports. But my results aren’t really saying much of anything. I suppose that most people who would be searching for me would mostly be employers or recruiters, and a good cover letter will include all the great things you can’t find on the internet. Luckily sites like this one, Twitter, and even Facebook allow you to control some of your online reputation, even if it’s not on Google.

Just installed this new app on Facebook called Blog It. Basically, it allows you to update several of your blogs and social networking sites at one time. For me, I can update my Facebook status and Twitter account in one attempt. Also, I can post to my Wordpress account, which I’m doing now. It’s a little limited, still figuring out how to add pics and video.

I took some time off from writing, and don’t really have a good explanation as to why. Wasn’t quite feeling it, I guess. But I’m back now, and have a very interesting topic for today.

I came across a web clip in my GMail this afternoon that the world is on pace to reach capacity on the internet by 2010. For those not well versed in math, that is just over a year and a half away! I imagine for a lot of people, this doesn’t make a lot of sense. The internet is so large and expansive, and you are free to add pictures and video and create sites as you please, so how could we reach the edge?

The problem isn’t in the internet itself, rather, its the infrastructures set up by communications companies that are reaching a breaking point. The article is based on a speech from AT&T VP of Legislative Affairs Jim Cicconi at an eForum on Web 2.0 from England . Here are some of the highlights:

“The surge in online content is at the center of the most dramatic changes affecting the Internet today,” he said. “In three years’ time, 20 typical households will generate more traffic than the entire Internet today.”

…said that at least $55 billion worth of investment was needed in new infrastructure in the next three years in the U.S. alone, with the figure rising to $130 billion to improve the network worldwide. “We are going to be butting up against the physical capacity of the Internet by 2010,”

“Eight hours of video is loaded onto YouTube every minute. Everything will become HD very soon, and HD is 7 to 10 times more bandwidth-hungry than typical video today. Video will be 80 percent of all traffic by 2010, up from 30 percent today,”

For me, the most interesting detail from the article is the prediction that 80% of online content will be video by 2010. While the current trends certaintly support this, I think that figure might be a little steep. I feel the technology and capabilities will be there, even if the infrastructure can’t support it. I think we’ll see most online advertisements in video by then, and even more sports, news and entertainment via video.

Hopefully we can build up the infrastructure by then so we can have a wide-open internet for years to come!

Seth Godin is a marketing guru with a great blog. He knows his stuff, and what I like most is he often questions conventional marketing theory. I find his recent post to be inspiring and comforting:

Publishing your ideas… in books, or on a blog, or in little twits on Twitter… and doing it with patience, over time, is the best way I can think of to lay a foundation for whatever it is you hope to do next.

That is one of the premises of this blog. I created AdSponge in part to document my thoughts and ideas as I learn and grow and develop a career. Its good to know someone like Seth Godin agrees and even advocates this.

Miller Brewing Company is going through a renaissance of sorts. The largest change is undoubtedly the ongoing merger with Coors. Aside from that mess, Miller’s brands are getting a fresh makeover as well. Miller Lite gets both a new campaign as well as new logo and packaging. The new look is smooth with more emphasis on color than the logo itself, and comes across as less distracting than the previous version. The first place I noticed the new Lite look was on the #2 Dodge that Kurt Busch pilots on the Nascar Sprint Cup circuit. The car debuted at Daytona in mid-February; however I didn’t see newly packaged Miller Lite in stores until last week. When you’re a massive brewer like Miller it is probably difficult to get packaging up to speed with promotions and advertising. None the less, I think the new look is great.

Among the changes going on at Miller include a new campaign on the horizon for Miller Genuine Draft. Ad Age has a wonderful article on the recent downward spiral of MGD’s sales and subsequent agency changes, including whats on the horizon. I’ve never preferred MGD personally, but if Y&R can breathe new life into the brand, expect to see MGD back in the game soon.

Miller Brewing Company is going through a renaissance of sorts. The largest change is undoubtedly the ongoing merger with Coors. Aside from that mess, Miller’s brands are getting a fresh makeover as well. Miller Lite gets both a new campaign as well as new logo and packaging. The new look is smooth with more emphasis on color than the logo itself, and comes across as less distracting than the previous version. The first place I noticed the new Lite look was on the #2 Dodge that Kurt Busch pilots on the Nascar Sprint Cup circuit. The car debuted at Daytona in mid-February; however I didn’t see newly packaged Miller Lite in stores until last week. When you’re a massive brewer like Miller it is probably difficult to get packaging up to speed with promotions and advertising. None the less, I think the new look is great.

Among the changes going on at Miller include a new campaign on the horizon for Miller Genuine Draft. Ad Age has a wonderful article on the recent downward spiral of MGD’s sales and subsequent agency changes, including whats on the horizon. I’ve never preferred MGD personally, but if Y&R can breathe new life into the brand, expect to see MGD back in the game soon.

What sets an ad agency apart from its competitors? The creative? Sure. The talent? Maybe. For me, it goes beyond advertising all together. Check out what Wieden Kennedy did for their founders day at their Portland office.

Its no wonder they have such stellar clients including Starbucks, Coca Cola and Target.