What’s In This Issue?
This Week’s Main Stories
The Curious Survival of Microsoft Paint
For years Microsoft product developers have tried to "sunset" the old Paint application, and die-hard enthusiasts have managed to save it. This is yet another example of Deliberate Downgrading and an illustration that sometimes the lasting appeal of a product has everything to do with its simplicity.
Dutch Tulips Need Protection From Instagramming Tourists
Tourists are trampling Dutch farmer's carefully cultivated tulip fields in pursuit of the perfect selfie, and now those farmers are fighting back. In the US, those farmers might employ shotguns and pitbulls ... but the Dutch (led by their Tourism Board) have a distinctly more European solution: fences, polite warning signs and a social media campaign (#watchyourfeet).
AdAge Creates A 75-Year Timeline History of Agencies
This year Ad Age magazine published their 75th annual Agency Report and as part of it, they released this timeline of significant milestones from the history of agencies. It is an interesting compilation of agency history, from the takeover of Ogilvy from "odious little shit" Martin Sorrell to the steady rise of digital within the agency business.
In 50 Years, Dead People Will Make Up Most Of Facebook Users
According to a new research report, the site may one day shift in utility from a social network for the living to a kind of global obituary and memorial network for the deceased. After all, what you shared throughout your life on Facebook is certainly more detailed than anything you could fit onto a tombstone.
The Woman Who Preserved Over 30 Years of TV History
In the 70s and 80s, many studios would constantly erase and recycle broadcast tapes to save money and free up storage space. It's hard to believe but the digital archives of one woman (collected since 1975) may be the only existing documentation of an era. This is a story of a unique woman's collection that became more significant than anyone expected it would be.
Hertz and Its $32 Million Website Nightmare
Anyone who has worked for an agency is likely reading this story with more than a little schadenfreude along with gratitude that this didn't happen on their watch. But the nightmare scenario of a client suing for a big expensive project gone wrong is playing out right now, and digital professionals everywhere can't help watching. And hoping their own clients don't get any ideas.
Rich Kid Revolutionaries
Last year while researching Non-Obvious 2019 I read a book called Uneasy Street by sociology professor Rachel Sherman that offered a unique take on the widespread income inequality facing America. The book was one of the core supporting factors behind the trend I wrote about called Overwealthy, which explored what happens in a world where a growing number of people realize they have more than they need and actively seek ways to correct that situation as opposed to greedily chasing the accumulation of even more wealth for themselves.
As this article from Sherman outlines, it may be the Overwealthy rich kids of the affluent who will lead the charge towards redistributing some of this wealth. Whether driven by guilt, altruism or perhaps both - this younger generation has plenty of ideas for what to do differently ... and they are already making their ideas happen.
