Monday, January 26, 2004

Review: Nestle Butterfinger Hot Cocoa Mix Why does this make me laugh? Perhaps because it feels like one of those late nights in college, when you'd heard yourself say something like, "hey, what would this and that taste like together?" and your buddy says, "well, let's find out." Whatever happens, do not consume this product. Even if a Nestle representative has a gun to your head, I recommend carefully weighing your options before making your decision. Nearest approximation: Melt a Butterfinger candy bar in a wood-burning stove. Blend the chocolately, peanut-buttery ash with 8 oz. water. Serve boiling. To say that this "peanut-buttery" cocoa tastes vile is to do a disservice to vile things everywhere. To drink it is to ingest a steaming mug of Satan's vomit. Avoid. [~stevenf] Poor Nestle, being introduced to the power of weblogs like this... :-) 9:45:22 PM    trackback []

The Myth of Google I thought this was worth amplifying: I'm sure you're aware of Orkut, Google's new social networking application. It's definitely generating a bunch of buzz on the Net today. The way that Google released the news about Orkut, and the story that is spreading around it, is very telling of the nature of Google as an organization. If you know about Orkut, you are also aware of the fact that Google allows its engineers to spend 20% of their time on personal projects. In the old days of the new way, we would call that bit of information a "meme"--some idea that gets passed around. That bit of info is really not relevant to the features or benefits of the Orkut system itself. Rather, it helps to illustrate something about Google: that, at its core, it is a company of smart programmers doing cool things with technology. Social networking is hot, but Google gets into the fray not because of board meetings and strategic consultations. Rather, they are into it because--from the depth of their technology group--someone came up with a cool implementation. ...or, at least, that's the story. And stories are brands, and brands are the basis of relationships between companies and consumers. The fact that the community of consumers are the ones currently perpetuating the story, in the form of the 20% Time Meme speaks volumes about the strength of the brand. [Gary Stein] 8:51:27 PM    trackback []