1800askDonna

Am I the only one who doesn't like this?

Link: Amazon.com: Amazon Prime Sign Up.

Am I the only one who is riled by Amazon's new "Prime shipping" sign up? For only $79 they will charge me less to ship overnight. (3.99 per book, no minimum)

I don't know about you, but if I want a book that badly, I'll go to Barnes and Noble or Borders and buy it with my Corporate discount card. I am usually content to wait til I have $25 worth of books I want to buy, and get the free shipping.

But I bet they do away with that now.

Seth Godin, on his blog, talks about this being smart, because of course if you have paid $79 to Amazon for Prime shipping, you are less likely to go and buy books at Overstock or ebay or even your local bookstore because now you are invested in buying them from Amazon. Smart business maybe. But it ticks me off.

As Seen in The New York Times > When the Sous-Chef Is an Inkjet

Link: The New York Times > Technology > Circuits > When the Sous-Chef Is an Inkjet.

What's next? Faux furniture?

Apparently Chef HOMARO CANTU of Chicago is charging people $250 for the "experience of food". but there's not much actual food involved.

I appreciate dining as theater...but is this carrying it a bit too far?

Do You have Pinot Noir?

I was watching CNN this morning, and they said that sales of Pinot Noir are up by 20-50 percent in many areas.  And that in Santa Barbara CA, traffic at the wineries is up by more than 100 percent!!

What's that all about?  The movie Sideways.

People are taking the advice of a fictional character, and flocking to drink Pinot Noir (now that they know how to pronounce it.)

Got me to thinking....if I were selling a product...would it be worthwhile getting someone to write a movie around it?  I know you can already pay for product placement.  Did you think it was a coincidence that Special K was prominently placed on the kitchen table in a movie breakfast scene, or that a character mentions the brand of their sneakers?  No...it's a paid for subtle advertisement.

But back to my conjecture...having a screenplay written around an industry or product.  So if I want to sell accounting services, I could write a screenplay about a sexy accountant.  Make sure the female lead croons over and over again about how accountants are the best.  Or maybe a comedy about a designer who uses paper towels creatively to decorate homes would be a boon the the paper towel industry.  I think I am on to something here!  Do you have suggestions for a screenplay or television pilot to promote a product?   

Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence--Do You Want to Live Forever?

Link: Do You Want to Live Forever?.

Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence

Fascinating.