Overheard

“‘Like many young technicians, he is apt to say things like, ‘Microsoft has worse products but better marketing.’ When uttered by a software developer, the term ‘marketing’ simply stands in for all that business stuff: everything they don’t actually understand about creating software and selling it. This, actually, is not really what ‘marketing’ means. Actually Microsoft has pretty terrible marketing. Can you imagine those dinosaur ads actually making someone want to buy Microsoft Office?” Joel Spolsky

Fourthmeal: The meal between dinner and breakfast.” Taco Bell

“What we see in films like American Beauty and Fight Club is not actually a critique of consumerism; it’s merely a restatement of the ‘critique of mass society’ that has been around since the 1950s. The two are not the same. In fact, the critique of mass society has been one of the most powerful forces driving consumerism for more than 40 years. That last sentence is worth reading again. The idea is so foreign, so completely the opposite of what we are used to being told, that many people simply can’t get their head around it… simply put: books like No Logo, magazines like Adbusters, and movies like American Beauty do not undermine consumerism; they reinforce it.” This Magazine: The Rebel Sell

“Instead of the traditional airline pricing scheme, Ryanair charges for just about everything besides the ticket. They charge for handling every piece of luggage, every drink, every peanut, every inch of advertising on the side of planes, and soon—cell phone access during flights. The real shocker is that Ryanair earned $368M in net earnings, which gave the airline an industry-leading 22 percent net profit margin.” Chris Campbell

“When MLS kicked off in 1996, it did so with team names like the Crew, the Mutiny and the Rapids — American names. After the 2004 season, the thinking shifted to accommodate the league’s fastest growing fan base. The Dallas Burn was renamed FC Dallas (‘F’ for futbol rather than football), acknowledging that the club’s core support came from the Latino community. An expansion franchise aimed at Los Angeles’s Spanish speakers was named Deportivo Chivas. Another in Utah, where Latinos make up more than one-tenth of the population, was dubbed Real Salt Lake. Most white Utahns, even the soccer fans, mistakenly pronounced it ‘Reel’ instead of ‘Ray-al.’” Toronto Star’s Cathal Kelly, on Major League Soccer’s recent interest in ethnic fans

“Why wash your Arby’s^® down with a cold beverage? You could try washing your sandwich down with another sandwich. But a sandwich could be hard to fit in a cup and even harder to sip through a straw.” Arby’s cup

“I stopped talking directely to the camera and started interacting more with my neighbours, which is one of the things that some people later said seemed to bother them.” Canadian Tire Guy actor Ted Simonett, on how his role has shifted over the years

“The secret to Web 2.0: What do Flickr, Ning, Kiko, Vimeo, Shadows, YouTube, Furl, NewsGator, Shutterfly, Mefeedia, Feedster, Planzo, Zazzle, Tailrank, Yakalike, Qoop, Lulu, Blish, Flagr, FireAnt, Odeo, Measure Map, EVDB, Gather, Oyogi, Last.fm, Jotspot, Frappr, Yedda, Writeboard, Kanoodle, Memeorandum, SuprGlu, 43 Things, Findory, Clipmarks, Wayfaring, AllPeers, Zoozio, Ziggs, Wink, Reddit, Digg, Gumshoo, Ta-da List, Wikipedia, Pubsub, Ookles, YubNub, Bloop, FeedBurner, Bloglines, Gabbr, Gcast, Blinkx, Openomy, Riffs, Myspace, Pandora, LookLater, 30 Boxes, Rollyo, Squishr, Plazes, Noodly, Wondir, Protopage, Blummy, Jots, Vizu, Del.icio.us, Tagyu, Writely, Simpy, Gtalkr, Truveo, EgoSurf, Mozy, Quimble, Basecamp, Squidoo, NewsVine, Clipfire, Lookster, Netvibes, Facebook, Goowy, Yelp, Magnolia, Technorati, Gmail, Feedmarker, Mercora, StumbleUpon, and SpinSpy all have in common? They’re all web sites.” Jason Kottke

“Marvel will tell you that they like X-Men more than any of their other titles, because it appeals specifically to three groups—the demographic is young blacks, young Jews, and young gays—and that they identify themselves more than most. Although, all teenagers perhaps think of themselves as mutants and that they are mistreated by the rest of society for a time, for no good reason.” Ian McKellen, X3’s Magneto

“There will be cynical people.” Gillette’s Wade Bayne, on public reaction to their new 5-blade “Fusion” razor