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I’ve been following the NBA for many years now, and most would agree that the NBA is one of the most savvy organisations when it comes to using digital media.

While most content-producers are afraid of piracy, the NBA Youtube channel puts up high-definition highlights of games. It always astounds me how clear the videos are.

My blog layout can’t take the awesomeness of the full-size video. Do yourself a favour and watch the original size on youtube. Remember to click on the HD button.

While the NBA was arguably strict on its players’ use of Twitter, every NBA team has a twitter account from which they update fans with news and even in-game statistics.

The NBA understands one thing well - the stories are larger than the individual clips. By updating us on the small things such as scores and video highlights, we are kept intrigued by large story-arcs: whether the draft class of Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Carmelo Anthony will continue to dazzle; whether CP3 will bring back the dominance of the little man; or whether the global game will change the way basketball is played in the NBA.

So when Bono advocates content tracking over the internet for policing of copyright violations, he comes across as trying so hard to protect an industry that should probably relook its entire product offering. Bear in mind that Bono made a lot of money from tours. His fans buy into his story, and the experience of a live concert. Those things aren’t going to be replaced by youtube clips anytime soon.

Perhaps it’s time for the music-makers and storytellers to go back to basics. They sure could learn from travelling musician Josh Wilson who lifted the spirits of passengers stranded at Newark during the lockdown.

Maybe the communal sharing of stories and music should take precedence over people making grotesque amounts of money.

A story based on discussions at last night’s Open Room. An analogy of the relationships between storytellers (old and new), their audience and advertisers.

You could say I’m blessed. I’ve been coming to the same watering-hole for the last 2 years. The lounge lizards still turn and stare at me whenever I walk through the doors, all of them hungry for my attention. I know the game; I offer them fleeting glances from time to time, feeding their hope. Some do get lucky, but mostly out of my whim. It is amusing to watch them scramble about, wondering what it is they did “right” that night. As if my choice were a direct result of their action. The guessing keeps them busy, and I get to maintain the titillation of intrigue.

Many people ask why I keep coming back to this place. Simply put, there is no better bartender in the next 4,000 miles. Oh, and the drinks are free. Or at least they were.

You see, John, the huge bloke sitting in that corner, used to pay for all my drinks. I used to give him the time of the day, but less so these days. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know why I’m not as into him as I used to be. It’s probably because of all the new guys in town: all interesting in their own cute way, and terribly distracting. Not all of them were good guys, a couple tried to get Bill the bartender to slip pills into my drinks.

It was embarrassing the first time I ordered my usual vodka martini (twist of lemon rind) and was asked to pay up. Didn’t Bill know who I am? I was infuriated that he would quibble over so small an item. For god’s sake, it’s just a bloody drink. Not wanting a scene, Bill finally caved and continued giving me free drinks.

That was 6 months ago. Now Bill says he needs to close down the bar because of financial reasons. Stupid bloke should have seen this coming before he set up shop in this god-forsaken town where I’m his only customer. I only hope I can still hit him up for a few more freebies before he heads out of town.

Pay for drinks? Are you friggin’ kidding me?!?

Today’s keynote from George Wright, Vice-President Marketing and Sales at Blendtec, who brought us the unforgettable answer to the question, will it blend?

Their most famous blend, an iPhone:

What I didn’t know was they sold the blended iPhone on eBay for around $1000 and donated it to a children’s hospital.

Anyway, I digress.

Gary Vaynerchuk’s keynote at the New Media Expo here in Las Vegas wasn’t particularly illuminating, but reiterated the principles which we all know.

People want authentic content. Consumers are tired of corporate speak. They are tired of companies and organisations spamming them with perfectly edited copies and hiding behind a mask of disconnectedness. “Why else do they watch reality TV?”, Gary hammers home, almost shouting.

Points he brought up:

• Produce authentic content. Have less, or no editing.
• Care about your community. Answer every email. Be thankful they took time off their lives to read, watch or listen to your content.
• If you’re wrong, apologise. Everyone loves people who can admit their mistakes. If you’re right but someone else says you’re wrong, correct them gently.
• You are not going to be defined by the content you produce. You will be defined by the universe, and what they think of you. The ship has sailed - you can no longer control the message.
• Focus on what you’re good at. It helps prevent burning out.
• There is no niche too small. Dominate it. Know who the players are and dominate the space.

It felt a little odd attending Verge, Ogilvy’s conference on marketing in the digital age. All of the conferences I’ve attended thus far approach the digital medium from the other end - often celebrating how this new medium frees individuals from the tyranny of those that control the traditional forms of communications such as newspapers and television.

And there I was, sitting smack middle of CHIJMES, a place of worship turned local watering hole, listening to the big wigs of the advertising giant talk about how they could exploit social media. Light wafts of corporatese hit me, but what was alarming was how quickly I became accustomed to it. I knew I had to put aside my hippie bigotry if I was to learn anything from this conference. Corporations aren’t evil. Repeat after me: corporations aren’t evil.

The fact that I sat there for free…the guilt stung.

And as speaker after speaker went up and said things we digital revolutionaries hold dearly as creed, I started to believe. Maybe these PR folks finally got it. Or maybe they’re just making mental bookmarks of these phrases with which they’d enthrall us into echoing their advertising messages.

Which of it is true, I doubt I’ll ever know.

Saw this t-shirt while coming to work the other day. I’m not usually a stickler for great English; I read, laugh and move on. But this shirt from Seagate which says “We turn on ideas” goes from “innovative company” to “corporate deadbeat” with a switch to preposition and a change in intonation.

Dell sucks eggs. They were great back in 2000 when they weren’t such a big outfit, providing me with replacement speakers before having me send back the defective unit so I wouldn’t miss a second of music. The goodwill’s all lost now.

I ordered a Dell monitor, which I hear are kickass products. I’m working on a 13” screen right now, so you can appreciate how psyched I am to give my eyes a break and move to a 24”. Dell sends me the confirmation email on the same day I ordered the monitor. When I go to their website to check on the status of my order, they listed my order date as the 9th. Ok, so they just sneakily added 3 days to my wait. The delivery date is the 15th. I don’t like the additional wait, but I can handle it.

So today I pop into the office, cleared up my desk to make space for the behemoth that would be hooked up to my Macbook. I check on the order status again to see if the monitor is making its way up the elevator.

Holy crap. They changed the delivery date to the 20th of November. No apology. No reasons given. No notification. Friggin’ dell.

Needing someone to air my complaints to, I look for a number to call. The contact number that came with the confirmation email does not exist. Their website has an “email customer service” but no phone number, except for an automated track your order phoneline. No customer service reps there, and the delivery date is still the 20th.

I knew I should have followed my gut and bought the Apple Cinema Display. Dell, I once believed in you, but you’ve really let me down.

Companies usually get all freaked out when the blogosphere says something negative about their product. But here’s a model example of how you should deal with it.

Factory City writes about “neat Mac apps that help you concentrate”. He writes about Pzizz, an application which he says is useful but expensive. Rather than enter into a debate justifying the arguably high price, Edward Laing from Pzizz leaves a comment on the blog giving Factory City readers a discount.

So here you have it. Great execution, Edward!

What do you do if you have a really crappy product and the blogosphere picks up on it? Sorry dude, there’s no cure for a lousy product in the new economy. You may cheat us of a quick buck, but we communicate too fast for you to make a long-term career hoodwinking us.