Nothing to do with cycling (at least not directly), but friends of mine have a new book out, and I thought some of you might be interested: Brand Aid: shopping well to save the world
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Stuff
Brand Aid: shopping well to save the world
(22 posts)-
Posted 12 years ago #
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Just reminds me why I hate people using facebook for things like this rather than a 'proper' web site.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Having spent the past two days setting up a facebook page as an alternative to a 'proper' website, I think I have to disagree. There are lots of things I dislike about FB,and I have resisted using it for some time, but I am coming around to the idea that it works surprisingly well for letting you know what people are up to, what they are reading etc. I may yet change my mind, but at the moment I can definitely see the positives.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Biggest negative for me, i (many) can't see it at work which is where i and many others do most of their web browsing.
Posted 12 years ago # -
But it's not really an either/or.
That use of FB is basically a news blog/forum, which is fine, but hard to find the basic info.
Should be a page/link on a more static site which outlines the basics of what/why/who.
Posted 12 years ago # -
You're right. I should have said 'complement to' not 'alternative to'. Our proper website is very formal and full of content. People can sign up to get 'alerts' to new content, but not many do. We're hoping that FB can do the same thing in a less formal way, but it is still basically a way of directing them to the content-filled website.
Posted 12 years ago # -
http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/R/richey_brand.html
Even mentions Lance Armstrong!!
Posted 12 years ago # -
From the Danish Institute for International Studies link:
- "this book explores how corporations like American Express, Armani, Gap and Hallmark promote compassionate consumption to improve their ethical profile and value without significantly altering their business model, protecting themselves from the threat to their bottom lines posed by a genuinely engaged consumer activism. Coupled with the phenomenon of celebrity activism and expertise as embodied by Bono, Richey and Ponte argue that this ‘causumerism’ represents a deeply troubling shift in relief efforts, effectively delinking the relationship between capitalist production and global poverty."
Maybe many brands are given far too much margin to play the ethical or green card with little chance of being caught out?Posted 12 years ago # -
@laidback - try the quiz here and see how you do!
Who owns the following ethical brands?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/quiz/2011/jan/25/which-ethical-brand
Posted 12 years ago # -
Interesting.
Suppose if anything green or ethical appears in a supermarket then it's likely to be owned by a major.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Posted 12 years ago #
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Thought this would be appropriate, today -
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Posted 12 years ago # -
brilliance; sheer brilliance. thanks chdot. we'd been looking for the cd and not finding it.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Did you know his dad Scott Heron played for Celtic? Wonder if Gil will show up for that final gig?
On the who owns the brands I got 4 out of 10 - the ones I knew my other six guesses were all wrong randomly. So not a lucky day for me quiz wise.
I first became suspicious about this ethical branding malarkey about ten years ago when tesco started stocking organic goods of their own brand (afraid I just didn't believe it). Also Fairtrade (contains 26% Fairtrade Sugar - everything else unfair). Also Ecover (tho it doesn't work unless you lose double the amount rather defeating the purpose, or only wash things that aren't dirty?). I am more cynical and suspicious than many.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Slightly related -
"A documentary telling the story of how a small village in Ireland took on one of the biggest multinational companies in the world is proving to have global reach"
"The Pipe screens at the Filmhouse, Edinburgh, tonight until 30 May, with a director Q&A after the evening screening tomorrow."
http://news.scotsman.com/topstories/Captured-on-film-Irish-Davids.6774968.jp
Posted 12 years ago # -
Thanks Rtc for the Slavoj Žižek video - sums up an awful lot of what we see. Watch to see a neat summary of the Starbucks good coffee karma selling method.
That's why I'm a fan of Peter's Yard as that's good old-fashioned Swedish capitalism;-)
I know PY is not really representative though as everyone seems to have a device from apple - and expensive bikes. Plus it does things like bake on premises (check out Deli Polonia though as they have a bakery on Leith Walk now - so there is maybe a trend).Seriously though you have a two teir coffee experience in the city. Top end coffees from Starbucks sell at £2.50+ and offer the promise of conscientious consumerism so you don't have to think.
Choose the smaller cafes and a latte can be had for £1.75 - leaving you 75 pence to spend as you wish. (and you know you're supporting local business which spend money and pay tax locally)
With the growth of brands people associate certain values with them - almost as if they were a person. In the case of some they will even be forgiven for 'acting out of character'. Mere human beings can't compete!
These are just my musings and are not the views of LB Bikes ;-)
If you watch The Revolution Will Not Be Televised on the web it's accompanied by Google ads...(!)
Posted 12 years ago # -
"These are just my musings and are not the views of LB bikes ;-)"
OK, so what are LB's views?
Posted 12 years ago # -
LB Bikes is a partnership so any business related comments made have to be cleared with my partner. Once you're involved with selling things it's complex.
We both agree that Gill Scott Heron was a true original...
We were lucky to see him at Clouds Disco )yes( and the Queen's Hall...
Posted 12 years ago # -
regarding social media. Have any of you come across Empire Avenue? It was set up by some friends of mine from Uni. I've not really followed how it is going since the launch, but those of you who twitter etc might find it interesting.
Posted 12 years ago # -
"Karl Marx’s treatise on capitalism"
Thought Gembo might appreciate this. As you can see my buddies put their sociology/history/philosophy degrees to good use:
"While hosting friends at his Montreal home, Sri Lankan-born Duleepa “Dups” Wijayawardhana struck upon a novel idea for a website. Similar to the grand epiphany that inspired Facebook, the revelation came several six-packs into what would become a very boozy night. But unlike Mark Zuckerberg, who reportedly created his social network in retaliation against an ex-girlfriend, it was Karl Marx’s treatise on capitalism that fueled their imaginations while scrolling, yes, their friends’ Facebook pages, and gave birth to their idea.
“We were just sitting there going, you know, there’s got to be some sort of value to all of this,” says Wijayawardhana. “Oddly enough, we started talking about a passage from Das Kapital, where [Marx] says everything that you do—any good you produce—has economic value. And if it has economic value, then it can be tradable. To us, he may as well have been talking about virtual currency.”http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/not-so-funny-money-132076
Posted 12 years ago # -
SRD - nice. Many moons ago the IT people I knew were interested in the idea of 'beans' which were a currency of a virtual nature and used for trading, I can't remember why it dodn't take off but nobody was making money out of it.
Karl was very wise but alas largely theoretical
Posted 12 years ago #
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