Curator News Feed: July 19, 2013
Happy Friday, readers! This week, we spent a few too many stolen moments marveling at footage of bears catching salmon in Alaska (hey--don't knock it 'til you try it). In addition to spying on our furry friends in the North, we also did some reading about everything from dragon skulls to a beat boxing. Check out our links of the week:
Giant Dragon Skull that Washed Up on British Beach is an Ad for Game of Thrones, AdWeek. I love cool, unexpected marketing like this. It goes to show the value of smart execution is exponential to the actual cost. -- Dan
Mimi Thorisson Blog. I've had a frenetic last few weeks between work and travel. My wife and I have planned a down weekend — lots of cooking, family time with the kids, and lazy, long meals outside. Whenever I have one of these weekends on the horizon I love to find something new to cook. I recently found this blog. It's beautiful and recipes look great. I've challenged myself to find a dessert to make for the family from this blog tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes. Have a great weekend! -- Scott
PR Nudges Its Way to the Content Table, Digiday. The headline caught my attention and the content was a little surprising. Probably because we don't believe in nudging our way, but rather marching to the table with confidence. -- Jennifer
Beatbox Brilliance: Tom Thum at TEDxSydney, YouTube. I was browsing the TEDxTalks YouTube channel this week and came across this video of the ridiculously talented beatboxer, Tom Thum, at TEDxSydney. WOW, just wow. -- Chelsey
Traveling from your desktop, Mashable. Nothing can replace the thrill of travel. The sense of awe you feel looking up at the Eiffel Tower for the first time, or the connection you feel with history while wandering the courtyards of Edinburgh Castle can’t be recreated by looking at pictures. However, Google’s new street view project is bringing the experience of travel about as close to real life as you can get without getting on a plane. The street view team has expanded beyond the camera-globe topped cars to smaller units that can explore iconic buildings around the world. To get a flavor of the project, follow this link and zoom in to street view, then use the navigation tool on the left to change floors. It won’t replace actual travel, but it’s a great way to explore new places before you visit or reminisce travels past. -- Matthew
Pitchfork: Chicago's Music Festival, In These Times. This weekend I'm headed to Chicago to visit friends and listen to great music, for some of the time at Wrigley Field (I'm considering wearing a Cardinal's jersey just to spite the Cubs.) to see Pearl Jam and also at Pitchfork, a music festival in Chicago. The line-up ranges from R. Kelly to Solange (Beyonce's younger sister) to Bjork. This article reveals more about why Pitchfork thrives in Chicago and touches on the city's music history. It's a more interesting story than you might expect. I'm excited to check it out! -- Maria
PR Pro Habits That Journalists Despise, PR Daily. As a PR professional, I send out a lot of email pitches to journalists. But I also graduated from journalism school, and I know all too well how annoying it can be to receive a totally irrelevant pitch. I always make the effort to keep my pitches highly tailored, but this SlideShare serves as a great reminder for all of us. I think this quote sums it up pretty well: "Be creative, and please, please, please don't bore me." -- Megan
The Lernstift Smartpen Checks Your Spelling as You Write, CNN. I’m not one to typically geek out too much on new technology inventions, but this one caught my eye. A new pen is designed to actually detect when you make a spelling error. It’s the ultimate cross between the current digital world we live in and the long-lost art of handwritten text. But, with the reality being that we have moved over almost completely to digital, with this still hold value for consumers? -- Annie
Social media crisis management: Be sincere, and verify, Portent Interactive Blog. It seems like social media crises have been happening long enough that people would know how to react (and how not to), but every time I start to think that, another Amy's Baking Company comes along and proves that cluelessness still abounds. One point from Ian Lurie's post crystalizes what I think separates those who get it from those who don't: "Remind yourself that you do not get to decide what an apology is. The audience does." Read this, and for god's sake, bookmark it. -- Paul
Brown Bear and Salmon Cam, Explore.org. The amount of time I spent watching bears fish for salmon seemed to earn itself my link of the week. What about it has us so mesmerized? I'm not sure, but it's definitely something everyone should see. -- Brooke