Microhoo or Yasoft: how does it affect you?

Read Eve Dmochowska's article here.

Given that Yahoo is the most popular website in the world - think about that - what can other web sites learn from this? Well Yahoo is a central resource for a lot of useful information isn't it: email, news, movies, video and quite a lot of other stuff.

In the end though, Yahoo is still 'email' to most people. That is its problem. Same goes for Google. It wants to be more, but it started as 'Search' and is still, essentially, a tool for 'Search'.

A lot of brands simply refuse to believe or accept that they can be and can do more than they were conceived to do. Coke can never also be a car, no matter how hard it tries.

Branding is exactly what it says it is, and you can't be what you are and something else. To do that you need to create another brand from scratch, and not many are prepared to do this. Herein lies great opportunity...

Why Google isn't New Coke - but Microsoft and Yahoo may be Pepsi

Comment on ACDP Blog: Where Does the Golden Compass Point?

The Golden Compass has just as much deliberate undercurrent as Narnia. The original children's book was written by Philip Pullman, who famously said, "My books are about killing God..."

A dedicated athiest, Pullman is an honorary associate of the [God forbid] National Secular Society.What then is the message of the film?

In truth, the film has been watered down from the original story told in the books. Essentially the story is about the fight against a controlling authority [like The Matrix, Star Wars, Harry Potter, The Bible Old and New Testament, Jake White's In Black and White], portrayed clearly in the books as the church, or the Catholic Church to be more specific. [Is the Catholic Church an innocent entity?]

...some analysts believe that the message of questioning authority is an important one.

I'd say the message is not healthy either way. Children are going to begin reading the books out of curiosity anyway. What is being shown is that the emphasis seems to be centralled on this very question of authority. Let's call it what is is: rebellion against authority. Ultimately I don't believe that the real issue is whether authority is good or not, but whether we are ready to honour and submit. The truth is that we are all part of a structure - nobody is above the law.

NVDL: This guy seems to suggest that curiosity or being curious is dangerous, subversive or wrong.

"Ultimately I don't believe that the real issue is whether authority is good or not, but whether we are ready to honour and submit."

That's an extremely silly statement when you think about it. So wherever you are, whoever your master is (God, Satan, Hitler or Mandela) you submit without making sure who/what it is you're submitting to? Crazy!!!