Someone told me this week that years ago her university tutor postulated that social media would facilitate the return of true democracy - the real voice of the people. Well this week we’ve just seen how social media has changed the world. Obama’s campaign manager is a genius who embraced the many on a one-to-one level through a smart campaign that relied heavily on citizen journalists, bloggers, twitter feeds that kept fans updated first, fan groups, all decrying is one single, strong proposition: CHANGE.

I’m a big fan of David Meerman Scott’s blog - you can real all about exactly what can be learned from the Obama campaign. It’s also worth reading his free ebook New Rules of Marketing. Word of mouse marketing really is the way forward!

Using Twitter is going to change the way you think about staying in touch with friends and family. Did you know you can send and receive Twitter updates via mobile texting, instant message, or the web? To do that, you’ll want to visit your settings page (and you’ll want to invite some friends).

www.twitter.com

01. Aston Martin. Automotive – Cars
02. iPhone. Technology – Telecommunications
03. Apple. Technology – General
04. Bang & Olufsen. Technology – General
05. YouTube. Online
06. Google. Online
07. Nintendo. Leisure & Entertainment – Games & Toys
08. Agent Provocateur. Fashion – Lingerie
09. Rolex. Fashion – Accessories, Jewellery & Watches
10. Tate Modern. Leisure & Entertainment – UK Attractions & The Arts
11. Dom Perignon. Drinks – Champagne
12. Virgin Atlantic. Travel – General
13. Ferrari. Automotive – Cars
14. Ducati. Automotive – Motorbikes
15. PlayStation. Leisure & Entertainment – Games & Toys
16. Sony. Technology – General
17. Nike. Sportswear & Equipment
18. Bose. Technology – General
19. Facebook. Online
20. Lamborghini. Automotive – Cars

Click here to view site

YES it’s true; our idiosyncratic (but incredibly charismatic) boss, Simon Brown, is raffling his £650,000 house!

www.winfellowshall.com tells you all about the 6-bedroom mansion in Ingleby Barwick and how you can win. You can get yourself a ticket for just £25.

Simon designed Fellows Hall himself, and he and his wife Vicky built it with the intention of living in it short term prior to moving on to the next project. But with the housing slump it has proved more difficult to sell by conventional means. So, after a chat with a friend who suggested raffling it, Simon and Vicky decided to go for it.

As some of you are close friends, you are not able to enter, however please encourage your friends, families and colleagues to enter!

The website will also contain a media centre that will be home to various downloads such as web graphics that you can put on your own website and A4/A3 posters that can be printed off and put up at work, in the pub or the Take Away!

The website answers all your questions and the competition closes on December 24th 2008. Why not give it a whirl? You’ve got to be in it to win it!

Loving these travel posters - the graphic style by Steve Thomas reminds us here at Calm of LNER railway posters of the 30s and 50s that are still much cherished here in North Yorkshire (although the locales depicted here are somewhat more exotic)! - Pluto is my favourite.

If you own a cat like a few of us here at Calm, or have ever been fortunate enough to share any great length of time with one, you will totally get these fantastic animations.
There are three in the series, each one is very very well executed and they really are exactly how my cats behave.

Very funny!

Simon’s Cat - “Let me in”

Simon’s Cat - “TV Dinner”

Now this is clever and cool - furniture design at its best! It’s as if it was made for Calm Asylum (how do we get one?)
This is a table from designer John Nouanesing. It’s called Paint or die but Love Me

Subtitle: What is Calm’s Blog, [AKA] ‘A Space to Talk Differently’, [AKA] ‘A Bit of Daily Calm’ ALL ABOUT?

Well, it is our firm belief that companies need to be real and touchable. They need to converse with their potential customers, otherwise those customers will just go ahead and initiate conversations without them! (Think Dell Hell). So that’s what the team here at Calm have set out to do.

We talk about what we know -  we have some fascinating people in here who can talk passionately about every aspect of marketing - starting from brand and filtering through to the kaleidoscope of ways in which brands realise themselves - design, media, message, digital, social etc. We also post things on our blog that we think represent the way we think and show you videos, pictures and link to other blogs that say it better.

Also, we want to be found! We want more business than we can [currently] handle. And the Calm Asylum will grow to fit! A blog that talks about the things we do best has got to be one of the best ways we can think of to get into Google’s top ranks without even trying! See David Meerman Scott’s blog for more on this.

We really want you to see a bit of our personality in this blog. So you’ll also find stuff about things that tickle us pink from time to time. We also want you to participate, comment and get in touch. Think of our blog as a little peek into the minds of the inmates at the Calm Asylum - welcome to our space (and grab a free poster while you’re there)!

“Advertising is the principal reason why the business man has come to inherit the earth.”

- James Randolph Adams, quoted in John P. Bradley, Leo F. Daniels & Thomas C. Jones, The International Dictionary of Thoughts, 1969, Chicago, IL: J. G. Ferguson Publishing Co., p. 12.

“Advertising is of the very essence of democracy. An election goes on every minute of the business day across the counters of hundreds of thousands of stores and shops where the customers state their preferences and determine which manufacturer and which product shall be the leader today, and which shall lead tomorrow.”

- Bruce Barton (1955), chairman of BBDO, quoted in James B. Simpson, Contemporary Quotations, 1964, Binghamton, NY: Vail-Ballou Press, p. 82.

“Advertising is the ability to sense, interpret . . . to put the very heart throbs of a business into type, paper and ink.”

- Leo Burnett, quoted by Joan Kufrin, Leo Burnett: Star Reacher(1995), Chicago, IL: Leo Burnett Company, Inc., p. 54.

“Advertising is what you do when you can’t go see somebody. That’s all it is.”

- Fairfax Cone (1963), ad agency partner, quoted in James B. Simpson, Contemporary Quotations, 1964, Binghamton, NY: Vail-Ballou Press, p. 84.

“Advertising is the life of trade.”

- Calvin Coolidge, quoted in John P. Bradley, Leo F. Daniels & Thomas C. Jones, The International Dictionary of Thoughts, 1969, Chicago, IL: J. G. Ferguson Publishing Co., p. 13.

“Advertising - a judicious mixture of flattery and threats.”

- Northrop Frye, quoted in Robert I. Fitzhenry, The Fitzhenry & Whiteside Book of Quotations, 1993, Canada: Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited, p. 18.

“The art of publicity is a black art.”

- Learned Hand, American jurist, quoted in Robert I. Fitzhenry, The Fitzhenry & Whiteside Book of Quotations, 1993, Canada: Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited, p. 19.

“[A]dvertising is a symbol-manipulating occupation.”

- S. I. Hayakawa, Language in Thought and Action (1964), New York: Harcourt, p. 268.

View More Advertising Quotes

Taken from

Anyone that knows a (good) website designer or website developer will have observed that we are a picky lot. Accessibility, usability and good old ‘doing things the right way’ are top priorities in our lives (yes thats BEFORE love and money).  This can be a difficult sometimes when you spend ages making sure your code meets W3C and WAI standards but knowing that there’s people out there that don’t care.

When I’m sat in Digital corner and I feel a little sad I like to read “19 Things NOT To Do When Building a Website” This article really makes me laugh because I agree with everything he says (although possibly not with so much anger) and everything on this list is very, very right.

Its well worth considering some of these points if you are getting a website or redeveloping one - so many times something that seems like a good idea and is attractive to you, can be very fustrating for your users and without users your website is a very expensive way to entertain yourself.

Click here to see more