About Matt Thomas

I like dogs, soft pencils, bright colors, and loud music.

Historic French Quarter and Faubourg Tremé defaced with graffiti advertising Coca-Cola products

Reblogged from NOLAFemmes:

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It is my opinion that the City of New Orleans is being pimped out promoted at an unprecedented level (to a degree that gives rise to what could be described as “neighborhood fatigue”). Such heavy promotion rarely occurs without unintended consequences: for example, illegal, ugly, and damaging guerrilla marketing campaigns. This kind of defacement is unconscionable and must be addressed immediately.

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Coca-Cola defaces the French Quarter with ads. I wonder if this will go over well in New Orleans? Don't miss the first comment on the post, which notes that Coke's ad agency specifically mentioned it was illegal when looking for stencil artists. (For fun, also see Coke's attempt to respond on Twitter.)
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Mr. Daisey and the Apple Fabrication

And she listens to this, and she says, but you are not a businessman. And I say, that’s true, I am not a businessman. And she says, and you aren’t going to buy their products. I say, that’s true, I’m not going to buy their products. And she says, you will lie to them. And I say, yes Cathy, I’m going to lie to lots of people.

— Mike Daisey

I generally can’t stand to listen to people be called out to their face; it hits a visceral nerve within me that makes it painful to experience. Listening to Ira Glass confront Mike Daisey, though, was an amazing lesson in the importance of accountability. And listening to Mike Daisey defend himself was an amazing lesson in the futility of being the last person to still believe your own bullshit.

Learning from competition

Link

Marco Arment: Learning from competition

Reacting well to competition requires critical analysis of your own product and its shortcomings, and a complete, open-minded understanding of why people might choose your competitors.

They’re not fanboys. They’re not brainwashed by “marketing”. Your competitors’ customers aren’t passing on your product because they’re stupid or irrational.

They’re choosing your competitors for good reasons, and denying the existence of such good reasons will only ensure that your product never overcomes them.

Prichard Mayor Is Doing It Wrong

Memo to Mayor Ron Davis of Prichard: When your city defaults on its pension obligations to its retirees, then finally coughs up a tiny fraction of what’s owed to them after 18 of the pensioners have died, an enormous Publishers Clearing House-style check is not an appropriate way to tender the payment.

Alabama SB 12: Legally Mandated Rape and Torture

Reblogged from Pippa Abston's Blog:

Is it just me, or is this one of the most bizarre legislative sessions in Alabama’s recent history?  It seems as if once they managed to pass HB 56, they decided to go for broke and introduce every outrageous bill they could imagine!  I was busy this past week gathering information about the planned closure of Alabama’s major psychiatric hospitals in September (stay tuned). 

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The anti-abortion social agenda being pushed in the Alabama state legislature is obscene in its disrespect for women. I can't believe we're having this debate in 2012.

Something’s Unraveling, Alright

Jolie O’Dell at VentureBeat: Apple’s press conference showed a brand unraveling

While today’s Apple event unveiled a couple new improvements to an expected lineup of products, it also revealed a certain sloppiness that was absent from former, Steve Jobs-led launches.

[…] I think today’s Apple event shows that perfectionism fraying a bit around the edges. The bad pun, the goofy logo, the weird product name — all of it pointed to a leadership that either didn’t understand or didn’t care about consistency in iconography.

Obviously O’Dell is right — Tim Cook is failing to hold Apple to the high standards that Steve Jobs set for the company. Steve Jobs’s Apple never would have used an ambiguous product name like “The new iPad.”

Steve Jobs’s Apple never would have used a silly pun to announce a major new product.

And there’s no way Steve Jobs’s Apple ever would have used some weird special effects on the Apple logo.

Up until now I thought Tim Cook had done a pretty amazing job of taking over as CEO of the most successful company on the planet, but that VentureBeat article has really cast some seeds of doubt in my mind.