Useful Media vs. Entertaining Media→

Media, of course, has morphed and expanded, and the change is accelerating. It has grown in both time spent and impact on us. Now, media consumption changes just about everything in our lives, all day long. While a century ago, a few minutes a day might have been spent with a newspaper or reading a letter, today, it's not unusual for every minute of the day to involve consuming or creating media (or dealing with the repercussions of that). Media doesn't just change what we focus on, it changes the culture it is part of.

Another insightful post by Seth Godin. Are we using media or is media using us? 

A Year Inside The Australian Ballet: Episode 9 - A 50th Birthday

In 2012, The Australian Ballet has been following Senior Artist Amy Harris and Corps de Ballet member Jake Mangakahia as they've taken on new roles, new ballets and challenging classics in a supersized 50th anniversary season.

Streamers, fireworks, cake, international stars and an unforgettable gala -- their 50th birthday on November 2 was one heck of a party! Episode 9 of A year inside The Australian Ballet shows the celebrations in the studio, famous guests rehearsing, and highlights from the gala.

Previously:

A year inside The Australian Ballet: Episode 8: The corps de ballet 
A year inside The Australian Ballet: Episode 7 - The mid-year review
A year inside The Australian Ballet: Episode 6 - Dressing the ballet
A year inside The Australian Ballet: Episode 5 Music of the Classics
A year inside The Australian Ballet: Boys' Day, Episode 4
A Year Inside The Australian Ballet: On The Road, Episode 3
A Year Inside The Australian Ballet, Episode 2
The Secret Life Of Dancers

The Orchestra

Over the years I've shared a remarkable guide to the orchestra, talked about the roller coaster ups and downs of selling an orchestra, showed instruments from the inside and looked at conductors analyzed through motion capture. 

Now I find myself in awe once again through The Orchestra, a fantastic app by Touch Press, makers of educational apps including The Elements, Shakespeare's Sonnets and Leonardo Da Vinci: Anatomy. 

A glance at the app and it becomes obvious that is was created with great care. In a blog post Touch Press' Creative Director goes behind the scenes and the passion becomes evident:

The first beautiful thing about The Orchestra is the music. For that we thank Haydn, Beethoven, Debussy, Mahler, Stravinsky, and a certain Mr. Berlioz. (Music by these great composers and others was performed for this app by the Philharmonia orchestra, one of the world’s great musical institutions, and also one of its most innovative under the direction of Esa-Pekka Salonen, a big name in such circles.)

Give A Damn, Damn It: Reddit Co-founder Alexis Ohanian

Alexis Ohanian shares lessons learned from years of building three startups from scratch. Making a customer's day should be obligatory throughout every organization, he urges. Whether you mail swag to early users (like Hipmunk) or add fun to the otherwise mundane (like Wufoo), everything should have a personality that wins over users and, as a side effect, is more effective than any other kind of "traditional" marketing. 

You are building something. I hope that you want to make the thing you are making, and as Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian says, do it so you can surprise and delight. You do that by giving a damn. 

Bad Robot Meets MIT Media Lab: In Conversation With JJ Abrams

JJ Abrams is responsible, directly or by influence, for some of the most compelling and engaging storytelling pop culture moments in the past few decades. Joi Ito is the Director of the MIT Media Lab home of some of the most extraordinary technological innovation. In this conversation, hosted at MIT, Ito and Abrams discuss creativity, creative accidents, production planning, adaptability and developing projects in secret. For more from Abrams, check out his TED talk on mystery.