April 30th, 2009 by julie
green pizza box.
simple design delivers.
April 28th, 2009 by wendy
Point: Have one.
A common mistake made in all communications, commercial, non-profit, interpersonal, animal, vegetable, mineral, it doesn’t matter, is mistaking quantity for quality. We have all at one point in our lives over talked when we feel like we have nothing to say. We have all, at some time, pressed a point again, and again, and again. And again. And again. And again. We have all, once, chosen the giant Russell Stover solid milk bunny over the tiny Godiva dark dusted egg. Which is less about communication and more about food issues. Which is a legit topic, just not today. Today is about the sheer volume of information out there, and the sheer boredom it inspires. Take, for example, blogs. Here we are on Day 3 of the daily blog commitment, and people, there is no reason for me to blog. I could write about the NTEN conference, or the great advocacy and fundraising group Care2 we met with this morning, or the incredible non-profit, Malaria No More, we are having coffee with this afternoon. But, really, there is a very thin line between those relevant updates and letting you know my laundry is still drying, or that i think non-fat chai lattes are grrrrrreat. And that line, my friends, is what separates quality from quantity.
To summarize:
Point: Have one.
Point 2: If you don’t, wait till you do.
Point 3: Maybe EVERY day is a little much.
Point 4: Did you see the new STOP SOOT Video?
April 27th, 2009 by wendy
Little is the new big.
Regularity in effect. Underground promises, Underground delivers. Each and every day a little bit of somethin’ somethin’ to contemplate, peruse, perchance, perhaps - a tiny bite of je ne sais quoi to add to your daily thinking on things like the role of advertising to help non-profits achieve their goals, the resurgence of the handwritten letter as a form of effective communication amongst friends, the responsibility of co-passengers on public transportation to warn one another of unknown substances on plastic seats, or the underestimated role that something as seemingly silly as soot plays in global warming.
That’s right, people. Soot. AKA Black Carbon.
Soot is responsible for 25% of global warming.
Bet you didn’t know that.
April 23rd, 2009 by wendy
Underground goes deep. Regularly.
As much as friend, writer and editor of the online literary magazine the Rumpus, Stephen Elliott potentially bugs with his daily after daily after daily announcement regarding new content to be found in the Rumpus - an interview here, a cartoon there, a first-person account of George Plimpton’s oral biography by his son - i must say, i love it. every morning in my email i receive a fresh cup of verbal caffeine, hand delivered with a wink and smile (literally - his daily news article is called Morning Coffee.) i have come to expect it. like hitting the snooze button or wiping the drool off the pillow, checking for the rumpus email has become an AM habit. and i look for it every day. if he were to disappear for a few days, i might not look for it on the fourth. on the fifth i might miss it again. on the sixth, again, miss it. but on the seventh, sigh, i will have forgotten the Rumpus, and Stephen, all together.
Which goes to show: there is something to be said for consistency. as long as it changes constantly.
That’s the thing about the communication profession these days. Where as we used to be able to put up a “new” take on a well-worn campaign with slight tweaks to jokes or new kids and puppies about once a year and that would keep people alert, alive, and addicted, that time is no more.
With the fragmentation of the human attention span, the compounding of available information, and the paper thin depth of people’s dive into What’s New, it is the constant and committed, those who are in it for the long haul day after day after day that hold our attention and even make us come back for more.
April 22nd, 2009 by wendy
Earth Day n’ NTEN. People, please.
Yes, people. It is a special time of year.
It’s Earth Day.
It nearly hit 90 degrees in SF on Monday.
New flavors of ice cream are hitting the shelves.
The novel is making a comeback.
Instead of thinking “what’s next?”, people are thinking “what now?”
And these things, my friends, can mean only one thing:
The NTEN conference is coming to San Francisco, 4/26 - 4/28.
Underground is going to be there in fits and starts, but will certainly have a presence at the party, Monday night.
Hit us up if you are going to be in/around the area. We would love to meet you in person and take this virtual love affair into the realm of reality.
Underground loves you.
