I know the news people at newspapers will find this amewsing, but I’m serious about making newspapers more unpredictable and fun. As usual, these thoughts may seem like rambling, but there is a vision to my madness, if only to open minds to more possibilities for making content varied and surprising. Why, for example, can’t that billboard Read More …
Clearly, newspapers are best when readers have lots of time. And newspapers know they need to have content for the five-minute reader. But how about being multi-tasking friendly? What kind of content could you enjoy while you’re watching TV? Eating dinner with the family? Driving? Out on a date? (Patience: Asking dumb questions sometimes leads Read More …
National or international event: It’s like getting a wrong number on purpose. You sign up with your phone company that you’re willing to place and accept a random call. You call on the event day (best to have it during some miserable month, like February) and get connected to someone somewhere who sees your picture while Read More …
If YouTube can sell to Google for $1.65 billion, how much would a site of short quality videos be worth? Imagine a conglomeration of the best bits from Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show, Late Night With David Letterman, and all sorts of sitcoms and cartoons. Not whole shows, just quick clips. Be fun to Read More …
You know you need to be told what to do. So call 1-900-GRANDMA. Press 1 to be told to get a job. Press 2 for her rap on keeping your pants on. Press 3 to be scolded for using sauce that comes in a jar. You suggest the rest …
Wouldn’t it be nice if politicians could pay a price for distorted campaign ads? Besides tossing them in the clink for deception (the best idea), how about you take away one vote for each time a voter might have seen that lie? One lie broadcast 50 times to 200,000 homes would be a loss of 1 million Read More …
How about a group that’s the antithesis of an anti-defamation alliance? Call it the Thick-Skin Society. Its central belief: We believe in total free speech, so go ahead, take your best shot! We welcome it. This multicultural group would monitor the media, from TV to blogs, and cry howls of protest when some group hasn’t been insulted lately. Read More …
Ever want to interact with your TV? Like hit it with a shoe when your football team chokes? What if you could hit it with a virtual shoe? Or toss a virtual pie or water balloon at a crook or despicable politician? Maybe you could project a cartoon balloon, to put words in the mouths of show characters Read More …
Few newspapers ever do the kind of nitty-gritty detail surveys that really reveal what readers actually read. Oh sure, there are phone surveys and focus groups, but who’s going to admit, “Well, I always read the comics and horoscopes, never the national news”? And with so much content to cover, what survey gets into this columnist vs. columnist, this Read More …
Think of it like a mini-scoreboard on the back of a car. You can use it to (a) display messages to tailgaters to back off, (b) speed in front of a hot babe and ask her out, (c) politely ask if someone would let you into line, (d) share jokes and political comments, (e) share Read More …
We’re all busy. Too busy to read. Too busy to exercise. Too busy to cook. Too busy to be smart shoppers, better lovers, better parents, etc., etc., etc. So why not a magazine for us? Everything in it is one page or less, and even that is presented in glanceable graphics form. Lots of briefs Read More …
Sure. Why not? Now, I’m not talking about informative blurbs, like “Pirates Steals Box-Office Booty. Page C1.” I’m talking about “wouldn’t you like to know?” come-ons, like “When Will This Hot Weather End? Page A3.” Horrors! It’s tacky, it’s annoying, it’s not serious and dignified! True. But: (1) You could tease many more stories on Page One. (2) You’d hook people into buying Read More …
Inspired by an idea at ShouldExist.org, calling for a free or very cheap online college. Now some colleges do offer online degrees, but how about getting one from Wikipedia? It’d work like this: People add comprehension tests at the end of Wikipedia items. Each time you pass one, you’re get a score that’s stored in a database. Attain a designated Read More …
Writers get syndicated. Cartoonists get syndicated. But why not creative graphic artists? The trick on the creative side is being timely and topical, so it’s best to piggyback lingering issues and react quickly to news. Could be serious and data-oriented, with maps and charts and math. Or it could have a humorous, let’s-talk-about it twist, with lists like “10 Cockamamie Excuses Mel Read More …
Or call it Pastimes. It’s weekly or monthly publication that aims to get people’s minds off their tribulations and troubles with puzzles, humor, comics, funny fiction, amusing photographs, observations/essays about TV and movies and video games and other distractions we love. Not news. Not gossip. (Better sources exist for those.) But things to do and things that make you smile. Read More …