DIGEST – October 20 2011

I saw Andrew Zuckerman’s Wisdom in Sydney a couple of years ago, and loved it. The Chuck Close (above) quote, Inspiration is for amateurs, has stuck with me until today. So when it opens Zuckerman’s video on his secrets on creativity, I’m hooked. Left, right and sinker.    //     The 99 Percent & Brain Pickings

To truly use the country as its own map, it turns out, involves weaving discomfiting images of the country directly into the fabric of the map – from The Grand Map (below)

I wish I could remember where I found this, the best thing I’ve read all year. The Grand Map is a beautifully written piece by Avi Steinberg about how the map created by a search engine challenges us to think of not only the left and rights, but our childhood nooks and crannies as a place to be lost in, without having to zoom out.    //    The Paris Review

I’m not saying there’s no such thing as genius. But if you’re trying to choose between two theories and one gives you an excuse for being lazy, the other one is probably right. Paul Graham contemplates the speech he’d give to high school leavers in What You’ll Wish You’d Known    //   Paul Graham 

So brassily succinct is the theme tune (11 seconds) that at the WGA ceremony, it had to be played three times before any of the writers could make it to the stage. James Parker deconstructs Modern Family, making me want to buy more episodes or at least try and stay awake through Peter Overton’s Qantas news in-flight to catch an episode between Sydney & Melbourne.    //    The Atlantic

When you think of China you think of scale. Lots of scale. In 2006 the worlds largest mall was opened and yet now only 2% of the space is occupied, but of course McDonalds and KFC (who kill it in China) are the ones doing well.     //     The Globe & Mail

Have you heard of the GMST? Generic Meaningless Swoosh Thing? No, Oh. Well then read an airline pilots take on shitty airline logos.    //    Salon

So when 90% of the data in the world was created in the last 2 years and you’re a marketer needing to find metrics that don’t currently exist. You have a problem, yes? The IBM CMO 2011 global study is a monster PDF read, but if you’re a marketer then get started, how do you eat an elephant after all?    //    Campaign Brief 

Thanks all,

Sam

H/T to Ned for the Paul Graham article too.