A peek into the lives of those working at CWS. We are a web design and internet application development company located in Rochester, MN.
Monday, June 04, 2007
LiveLeak vs. YouTube
There's a new kid in town.
It's another video-based website like YouTube.com but it specializes in video that might not be popular with some folks. After a few clicks on some of the "recently made popular" videos I can understand why. Unlike Youtube, which bans violent content, LiveLeak allows controversial clips of war, conflict and death.
This means you can find disturbing videos of Iraqi insurgents throwing grenades at humvees, a baby playing with a cobra snake (below), or even a crazy person who throws herself at a car. In short, LiveLeak is reality TV at its best.
Baby plays with Cobra snake
As a father, I felt a knot in my stomach after watching the video of the King Cobra. However, after reading the comments I realized that the snake was most likely de-fanged, which renders it harmless. In America we let our children play with dogs, in India they play with Cobra snakes. Got it.
It will be intersting to see if this new website will gain momentum in the near future. According to CNN, it is a privately held company with little funding and most of the founders still work elsewhere during the day. Wait, that sounds a lot like YouTube just a couple years before it was purchased by Google for $1.65 billion.
It's that time of year where advertisers shell out $85,000 per second for an advertisement during the Super Bowl. Many experts now agree that this hefty price tag makes it hard to achieve any sort of return on your investment. Nevertheless, millions are eager to see new advertisements produced by companies with huge advertising budgets.
So we have to ask, "Which SuperBowl ads have secured their place in history as memorable classics"? Do you remember these 5 ads?
5. Apple "1984" (1984)
A jogger representing Apple throws a sledgehammer into a giant Big Brother image representing IBM - promising a populist shift in the future of personal computers.
What worked: With "Blade Runner" director Ridley Scott in charge, the ad generated more hype - and post-game water cooler talk - than any television commercial in history. Do you even remember who played in the Super Bowl in 1984? (L.A. Raiders and Washington.) You almost certainly remember the biggest Super Bowl ad of the year.
The results: The most storied Super Bowl ad of all time might have boosted sales of George Orwell books, hot red running shorts and sledgehammers. But it didn't do much for the Macintosh - Apple continues to be the Reform Party of computer manufacturers. Maybe there was a storage locker filled with iPods behind that huge video screen?
A group of kids stare at the camera and declare their desire to "have a brown nose," "be a yes man" and "claw my way up to middle management."
What worked: Kids are cute, and even cuter when reciting lines such as, "When I grow up... I want to be forced into early retirement." It was great brand recognition for the new company.
The results: Monster survived the dot-com implosion and despite a stock controversy in 2006 has become a prosperous company that employs close to 5,000 people worldwide.
To boost productivity, a CEO recruits a linebacker from Reebok to slam into a series of "Office Space"-style cubicle drones.
What worked: A series of brutal hits, punctuated by lines such as, "Break was over 15 minutes ago, Mitch!" made this the best Super Bowl ad of the last five years.
The results: Terry Tate got people talking about Reebok for something other than sweatshop controversies. The company provides shoes for all the major sports and hosts clothing lines for rappers Jay-Z and 50 Cent.
2. McDonald's "The Showdown" (1993)
Michael Jordan and Larry Bird engage in a physics-defying hoops-shooting contest for a Big Mac and fries.
What worked: Every basketball fan knows that Bird would win this contest 10 out of 10 times, but it was still a clever idea with a catchphrase that continues to pop up in "Horse" games. ("Over the second rafter, off the floor... nothing but net.")
The results: This commercial seems to have blessed everyone involved. Jordan won three more championships and Bird transitioned into a solid career as a coach. And while salads and chicken products have been killing off the rest of the menu, the cholesterol-heavy Big Mac value meal remains an untouchable fast-food staple.
1. Budweiser "Frogs" (1995)
Three frogs, perched on a log outside a bar, croaking, "Bud... Weis... Errrrrr."
What worked: The fact that Budweiser milks every commercial concept to death - does anyone doubt there will be a "Magic Fridge 2" this year? - makes it easy to forget how cool this ad was when you first heard it. The buildup was great, with an oddly infectious catchphrase.
The results: For better or worse, the frog ads and the spin-off lizard commercials made Budweiser, which was starting to become an old-guy drink, cool again for younger partiers.
There are many more that could have made this list and also deserve recognition. For example, do you remember the E-Trade Monkey from 1999? What are you favorite all-time ads?
I seem to be getting plenty of forwarded email about people who have much to be thankful for. After having a son born at 1 lb 11 oz, I seem to appreciate the little things in life so much more. On to the email which shows a white truck that left the roadway and flipped over a culvert:
My initial reaction at this point was, "Wow, that guy totally skipped that culvert and landed on the other side. Considering the obvious drop off right there he sure was lucky." I then continue on to open the second image, which clearly shows how lucky he really was.
At this point, you might be thinking to yourself, "I knew there would be a really big cliff there". You've got nothing on me! For those of you who are never satisfied, I've thrown in two more videos of very lucky people.
He doesn't even think twice before running back to the car... blowing the whistle and calling for help. Yet another reason to plant a tree.
Enjoy your day and remember to count your luck stars!
This is an amazing video. I didn't know it was possible for an escalator to "trap" you this way. This shocking video proves otherwise. As you'll see, one should never travel on an escalator without a cell phone to call for help.
If you post a comment, please keep the victims families in mind and be respectful of other users. Do you have a great video to share? Let us know about it!
Iran yesterday blocked a number of top Web sites. Among them are YouTube, Web encyclopedia, Wikipedia and Amazon.com. Other sites that are being censored are the online movie database IMBD.com, news services like the New York Times and BBC Farsi.
The YouTube ban could be in response to a well-known Iranian soap opera actress for engaging in "indecent" behavior with a former boyfriend.
Reporters Without Borders, a Paris based press rights group said, "The government is trying to create a digital border to stop culture and news coming from abroad-a vision of the Net which is worrying for the country's future". The group also said that the Iranian government issued a ban on high-speed Internet connections in October.
The ban was ordered by senior judiciary officials in efforts to rid their country of western influences. This is in line with Iran's Islamist president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad agenda.
Iran boasts a large number of online users. The estimated number is 7.5 million Internet users. They are second in the Middle East behind Israel. They also have a large number of bloggers, over 100,000 that are an alternative to Iran's suppressed media outlets. Reporters Without Borders says Iran is one of 13 countries to be considered "enemies of the Internet". Among some of the countries known for known for online censorship are China, Cuba, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, North Korea and Syria.
"The Iranian government policy is not an isolated case. It is getting closer and closer to that of the authorities in China, with particular stress being laid on the censorship of cultural output", said Reporters Without Borders.
The Internet is not the only media that has been censored. Iranian publishing has also banned scores of books including classics from the west. Bloggers have also been intimidated by the government or jailed despite the President starting his own blog back in August.
There's a new kid in town.
