Banksy's pet store in NYC...

Via WC. Thanks, Liam

Because they're worthless...

From The Economist

WHILE financial firms were taking giant punts to give their profits some va-va-voom, their marketing departments were conjuring up phrases to convey the impression that banks and insurers, like diamonds, were forever. Now that the future’s not bright, it is obvious that some were probably the worst corporate slogans in the world. From American International Group, a collapsed insurer (“the strength to be there”), through to Lehman Brothers (“where vision gets built”) and IndyMac, a failed bank (“you can count on us”), boastful institutions snapped, crackled and popped under pressure.
The home of the whoppers is America, but the trend has been connecting people globally. In incredible India, ICICI, despite being the bank of a billion smiles, was led to deny rumours of a run. And pure, natural, unspoilt Iceland has bailed out its third-largest lender, Glitnir, which although fast, smart and thorough, faced a funding crisis.

Yet not all banks failed to do exactly what it said on the tin. Through their slogans, Benelux’s lenders gave an eerie premonition of the massive state rescues to come. Dexia warned that “the short term has no future,” and Fortis asked, “here today, where tomorrow?” Not since Enron invited the world to “ask why” has an interrogative slogan been as prescient.
And consider also the few, the proud, that chose just to do it and openly advertise their risks. Countrywide promoted itself as a “lender that actually finds ways to make loans”. (When debtors lost their passion to perform, it was bought for a reassuringly expensive price by Bank of America.) The mortgage agency Fannie Mae, now state-controlled, fully disclosed that “as the American dream grows, so do we,” making clear what would happen if the world lost its faith in America. And no one comes close to Washington Mutual, whose slogan (“Whoo hoo”) should have given investors a clear warning about its risk appetite. Hello Boys! Wasn’t it obvious?

Innovation vs hibernation...

Two interrelated pieces underlining the importance of innovating not hibernating:

• Looking for a reason to hide, Seth G
  
  I've seen it before and I'm sure I'll see it again.
  Whenever a business cycle starts to falter, the media start wringing their hands. Then big businesses do, freelancers, entrepreneurs and soon everyone is keening.
  People and organizations that have no real financial stress start to pull back, "because it's prudent." Now is not the time, they say. They cut budgets and put off investments. It's almost as if everyone is just waiting for an excuse to do less.
  In fact, they are.
  
  Growth is frightening for a lot of people. It brings change and the opportunity for public failure. So if the astrological signs aren't right or the water is too cold or we've got a twinge in our elbow, we find an excuse. We decide to do it later, or not at all.
  What a shame. What a waste.
  
  Inc. magazine reports that a huge percentage of companies in this year's Inc. 500 were founded within months of 9/11. Talk about uncertain times.
  But uncertain times, frozen liquidity, political change and poor astrological forecasts (not to mention chicken entrails) all lead to less competition, more available talent and a do-or-die attitude that causes real change to happen.
  
  If I wasn't already running my own business, today is the day I'd start one.
  
• From this week's Economist
  
  Seven years ago, as America slipped into recession in the wake of terrorist attacks and the collapse of the dotcom bubble, Apple launched its iPod music-player. Many observers thought the company had gone mad. Apple was launching an expensive new product (the first iPod cost $399) in the depths of the worst downturn the technology industry had ever seen. It was venturing outside its familiar market, for personal computers, into the fiercely competitive field of consumer electronics. And it was taking on Sony, the giant of the industry. The iPod’s name, sceptics declared, stood for “idiots price our devices”.
  

The World of Ends...

http://www.worldofends.com/

A great, five year old piece still spot on today:

The Nutshell

1. The Internet isn't complicated
2. The Internet isn't a thing. It's an agreement.
3. The Internet is stupid.
4. Adding value to the Internet lowers its value.
5. All the Internet's value grows on its edges.
6. Money moves to the suburbs.
7. The end of the world? Nah, the world of ends.
8. The Internet's three virtues:
a. No one owns it
b. Everyone can use it
c. Anyone can improve it
9. If the Internet is so simple, why have so many been so boneheaded about it?
10. Some mistakes we can stop making already

Asimo...

Made of Japan...

nice

Early casulty of the Credit Crunch...

From SimCity to this...