Top o' the mornin' to ya!

I'm becoming a big fan of Grant McCracken's blog, and for good reason. Check out his review of Tom Messner's Essay about Advertising's traditional texts. Here's a little taste:

"If I may presume to say, this is what happens in moments of crisis. When all the world runs shouting into the night, some people say, "Ok, let's review. What is it we say we do? What do we do?" in the process extracting the most powerful propositions and processes of the industry before the naysayers succeed in burning it down.

It's a little like Minerva taking flight at dusk, but in this case, I think it represents a recovery of memory, a return to self, for an industry that systematically refused an idea of what it was."

Also be sure to read guest contributor David Heller's piece on DVR and NBC's tepid Turin Olympic coverage, over on the Being Reasonable blog. The last paragraph will kind of give you a clue as to where television may be going in the next 10-20 years. (The skinny: If TV networks can't brew compelling stories for us, we'll just do it ourselves.)

While you're over at Being Reasonable, spend a few minutes with Marc Babej and give some thought to his latest question: What Does it Mean for an Ad Agency to be "Hot," Anyway? While you're at it, ask yourself what it means for any company or person to be hot. Is your company hot? Your department? Your project? Your product? You? If so, why? If not, why not? Look at iPod. Look at Starbucks. Look at Google and Firefox. Look at your favorite product or service or company. What makes them hot?

What keeps them hot?

These questions are as difficult to answer as they are easy to ask, but they may be one of the most important bits of introspection you'll engage in all year, so definitely take some time to explore them.

Other great reads today:

Product Innovation: Bruce Fryer's "Yes, I'ld like the kitchen sink too!"

First Impressions: Mary Schmidt's "I Throw Away Business Cards!"

Open Source Marketing: John Winsor's "Power To The People!"

Management: Shel Holtz's "Analysts expect CEOs to communicate with employees."

Blogging: Neville Hobson's "Go away, Kool-Aid and Star Wars!"

Podcasting: Neville Hobson's "$5.5m for podcast venture."

That's it for now. Have a great greenish day, and a wonderful weekend.