Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

What You can Learn from Books

Kathy Sierra posted an interesting inquiry The Book I Wish People Would Read... . Because, as she points out, October is National Book Month, and because I enjoyed a voracious appetite for reading since a very young age, I would like to pose the question to the readers of this blog. What have you learned from books that you'd like to share with others? Some parameters: Choose one fiction and one non-fiction book. I find that what we read for sheer fun is usually as interesting it not more interesting than what we deem 'required reading' Explain what you have... Read more →

Marketing in a Creative Economy

A recent article in BrandWeek goes Inside the Mind of a Marketer. Let's find out what makes them tick. Some common themes emerged: An ability to listen and discern. Listening is the number one thing we can all do better. When we quiet the voices in our heads -- the ones that are formulating a comeback -- we can actually hear what the issues are and build from them. This comes a little easier over time. Because we bubble up with creative energy, we sometimes make an effort to still ourselves. A preoccupation with the future. The motivation and psychology... Read more →

RED is In

From Tim Manners, Reveries: the best way to raise money to fight AIDS is to make sure that marketers make some money on the deal, reports Louise Story in The New York Times (10/4/06). RED was created by U2 Bono Vox and Bobby Shriver, Chairman of DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) to raise awareness and money for The Global Fund. Not a Charity: This is an Economic Initiative Bono and Shiver have teamed up with some of the most iconic world brands -- launch partners are Motorola, Giorgio Armani, American Express, Converse, the GAP -- to produce RED-branded products. RED™... Read more →

How Design Matters

I admit it; I read a lot of fiction. There are many fine storytellers who will captivate and inspire you. Writing fiction is about story design. Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth is a tale of building a cathedral in Kingsbridge. What is more powerfully mysterious, sensual and intimate than following in the steps of people who grow up to love and hate each other, discover greed and pride, behave with ambition and exact revenge? The book was so successful that Follett is now at work on a sequel featuring the descendants of the characters in Pillars two centuries... Read more →

Rewards for Watching ads: Free Music

New York-based SpiralFrog, the new legal music download destination, is negotiating deals with music labels. In exchange for free tracks of their favorite artists, users will view 90-second ads displayed on the screen during the download. An agreement with Universal Music Group (UMG) was penned at the end of August. Under the terms of the agreement, Universal plans to make its digital catalogue of music available for free downloads for an upfront fee paid by SpiralFrog. SpiralFrog will share a portion of the generated ad revenues with the music giant. Starting in December, the advertising-supported service will ask users to... Read more →

Tuesday with Mavericks

Today is the official release date of Bill Taylor and Polly LaBarre Mavericks at Work: Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win. Bill and Polly will be in center city Philadelphia tomorrow afternoon -- Tuesday -- with a few local mavericks. This is one of the few times our fair city has been on the front lines of a conversation on business innovation and the design of work. Last April Fast Company magazine readers' network hosted a conversation with Dan Pink on A Whole New Mind two short weeks after the book release. Many influential business bloggers and business... Read more →

There is Second Life for Creatives

As reported by BrandRepublic, Leo Burnett London and Arc Worldwide are launching a creative department in the virtual world Second Life. Called Leo Ideas Hub, the department will bring together more than 1,600 creatives from the global network. The project will be a center where creatives can interact with colleagues from around the world working on briefs, sharing ideas and showcasing their work. However, the Ideas Hub could expand to offer commercial opportunities. The hub will be open to all players, including those from the client world. Another open-source conversation. Read more →