Business Pundit

Google released its annual April Fool’s gag today, called GMail Autopilot. It’s an intelligent email autoresponder that answers email just the way you would, by mimicking your behavior using cutting-edge “CADIE” technology. Here’s what… Read more

Let me ask you a quick question: What demographic comes up with the best April Fool’s pranks? College students? Internet pranksters? Independently funded joke-lovers? You might be surprised to find that companies–including media outlets–comes… Read more

South by Southwest (SXSW) is a unique event that combines music, film, and digital media into one massive, 4-day series of events. Each of the three South by Southwest event categories have their own conferences, festivals, and trade shows, so… Read more

USA Today has its user-driven list of best Superbowl ads out for 2009. The Doritos superbowl commercial, created for a Doritos contest, takes the cake (see the YouTube clip above). Simplicity really can lead to the best results. See the… Read more

(See the ads here.) …assuming the mark is to generate buzz and controversy. From the Wall Street Journal: Next week, Burger King kicks off a major ad campaign that involves a unique twist on the tried-and-true marketing technique of… Read more

‘Tis the season of giving, especially to those who gave to you during the year. That is to say, clients. I’m all for choosing expensive, personalized gifts, whether they’re branded or not. I would rather give a gift someone delights in… Read more

Times are hard. What’s a retailer to do? Offer free schwag, of course. Because we all want office supplies for Christmas (via Marketwatch): To ring in the holiday season, Staples developed the “Gift It For Free” sweepstakes, which kicks off… Read more

The Wall Street Journal has good tips on how to respond to lowball job offers, which are a trend in the bad economy: Rather than immediately reject or accept a lowball deal, you should mount a careful counterattack, experts recommend…. Read more

This is a guest post from Dim Bulb’s Jonathan Salem Baskin. Along with the crisis in financial markets, there’s another ugly truth we need to admit: brands are dead, and it’s time for marketers to admit it. Nobody carries brands around in… Read more

This is a guest post by Robert Barr of BlabrMouth. The scene: a nondescript office campus in the Seattle suburbs. It’s long past midnight but headlights from a late night coffee run enter the parking lot while assistants and interns… Read more

In honor of NANOWRIMO, I thought I’d share with you some of the ways writing a novel has impacted my business! I’ve been writing memoir and fiction for about five years. On a couple of occasions I’ve tried to write a novel. So far… not so good…. Read more

He advocates social networking for hospitals. Coupling Google Answers with layoffs. Creating purple elephants to fix healthcare. Phil Baumann, a former finance professional who now works as a nurse and a blogger, is a masterful observer of… Read more

The Harvard Business Review’s David Silverman looked up companies founded during the Great Depression, as part of a post on economic downturns and innovation. Here’s what he came up with: * Motorola * Hewlett-Packard * Xerox… Read more

I was sitting at the kitchen table when I heard it. My daughter shouted as I leapt from my seat. “Brandi Carlile! Mom, it’s Brandi Carlile! There on the screen was the Cadillac logo backed up by the aching vocals of one of my new favorites, Brandi… Read more