The Round-Up Volume 1, Issue 15: It’s Autumn and Change is in the Air

“Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.”
-- Elizabeth Lawrence

Change is in the air, or maybe that’s just the faintly earthy, comforting scent of a wood burning stove mixed with the coolest hint of a chill in the autumn air slowly settling upon us. As the colors fade from the trees and the leaves are raked to make way for the coming winter snows, we’re afforded the chance to look back fondly upon the year that was.

This time of year presents a chance to make a prediction for what is and what will be (and over the coming weeks we’ll see a lot of them), but let us not look past the immediacy of now and the changes and innovations that are already upon us. Let us uncover some of the innovations that afford us, both as consumers as well as marketers, the opportunity to gain a moment in our day and as the quote says, take a moment to watch the leaves turn.

Or, we can skip past all that hyperbole and check out some of the cool companies we’ve discovered over the last two weeks…

Original online video production is a hot category and no company is hotter than MEVIO (http://www.mevio.com/). Formerly Podshow, the company has emerged as a leader in the development of online video content by focusing on the personalities who are presenting the content. They follow a TV model by creating continuity in the hosts, a lesson embedded in the company DNA (check out the founding team).

Speaking of video and VJ’s– have you seen MTV MUSIC (http://www.mtvmusic.com)? Get this – videos and more videos, all the time! No horrible reality shows! I love it! And no – they are not paying me to say that! I really love it!!

If you’re not watching TV on the Internet, maybe you’re getting together with friends and colleagues? One of my favorite companies has always been MEETUP (http://www.meetup.com/). It appears that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, plus the business mode works, hence QLUBB (http://www.qlubb.com/). Both companies help you organize your real world gatherings, which is a great way to learn what others are all about.

Sometimes when you get together with other people, it requires some travel time. Traveling requires flying, and waiting for a flight to land can be a precarious way to spend your time, until you use FLIGHT STATS (http://www.flightstats.com/). The site gives you email and phone updates regarding your desired flight, saving you time from sitting aimlessly at the airport.

Though it’s not really a new service or a new site, we wanted to showcase a design that we uncovered while on one of our expeditions for coolness, from THE COOLHUNTER (http://www.thecoolhunter.net/architecture/HOUSE---The-Best-Of-The-Best/). A house that leaves you breathless!

And as we leave the Round-Up this week, let us leave you with another quote, one from Chuang Tzu, an early interpreter of Taoism from approximately 380 BC:

“We cling to our own point of view, as though everything depends on it. Yet our opinions have no permanence; like autumn and winter, they gradually pass away.”

Have a great week and remember to be open to others point of view for that is truly where education lies.

Thanks!