Rethinking The Musical Stage: Amon Tobin

I've reported to you my recent education of the modern electronic recording artist. This old dog can indeed pull his head from his ass if given the time and inclination to do so. Therefore, I found myself exploring new artists and came across a recommendation of Amon Tobin. Needless, to say I was stunned when I saw the brilliance not only in his music but the amalgam of talent they've assembled to rethink the physical stage for the artist.

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Diary of a Trend Stalker: Gut Shot

Now that we've covered the basic methods of identifying topics, it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty. This can be tough work, but I don’t mind getting a little messy. I’m like the Mike Rowe of trend hunting – but without the contract to pimp Ford trucks. Maybe you have a gut feeling about something that might be a trend. Before you unleash your mind-dazzling observations on the community, put a little more thought into exactly WHY you think it is a trend. There's a very fine line between a genuine trend and the herd mentality of mass adoption.

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Building an App? Keep Your Marketers in Mind

Look at the fantastic group of Type-A brainiacs you gathered around that table to brainstorm the next great Web-based, mobile or tablet application. You have a list of goals, functionality and UI/UX ideas. However, I bet that nowhere on the list is anything about how advertisers will use the tool. But I bet you DID think about how brands will use the tool – didn’t ya?

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Diary of a Trend Stalker: The Weapons

Where would Bruce Springsteen be without his trusty blonde Telecaster? What would Annie Leibovitz do without her camera? How could Elmer Fudd hunt Bugs Bunny without his shotgun? Whether you are a rock star, a celebrity photographer, a cartoon archenemy … or a trend hunter – you need the right weapon to get the job done. We already established that everyone is a trend hunter to some extent. But your level of success depends on the time, tenacity and tools that you bring to the table.

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Webinar: eTips 2012 Trend Report

I'm very excited. I woke up to find this morning that my webinar, that I presented yesterday, made the cover of slideshare! We've admittedly created a nice body of good content here. I'd highly recommend you sift through the decks of your specific interests, give em' a look and give me your feedback! Enjoy!

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Diary of a Trend Stalker: Chapter One

Every day I wake up, look in the mirror and marvel at the gorgeous physical specimen staring back at me. I soak it all in and think about how lucky my wife is to have me. Then I shake off the remnants of that final pre-alarm dream and take another look at the disheveled guy with unruly red locks and badass Jedi boxers. That’s when I see the 40-year-old father of a 4-year-old daughter, a husband, and a friend to what seems to be an endless array of people. I am blessed with innumerable online "F3s" (friends, fans and followers) with whom I feel the need to connect in some way. I also feel hopelessly out of touch.

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