Thursday, April 26, 2007

The Form Factor

One of the brightest essays I've read recently on the situation that masters of print mechanisms, a.k.a. newspapers, face both today and going forward is on Forbes.com.

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I know it seems I am always linking to Forbes these days. Maybe it is my advanced age. But I am digging the Forbes content lately. And David Evans does an outstanding job of isolating the specific challenges the lumbering newspaper industry faces with a revenue mindset that has already been eclipsed online by much bigger players. Here's a tease:

"So, if anyone is going to save the newspaper industry, it isn't any of the moguls who think they can breathe life into a dying technology. It is more likely to be someone like Steve Jobs who can devise a really appealing way to make newspapers available digitally."

As already documented here, I have reserved a special sneer for the notion that the daily newspaper industry can save itself. It cannot. At least not without attracting innovative players (instead of chasing and/or buying out anyone with a different idea). In a spectacularly newspaper-like demonstration of sheer guile, Editor & Publisher announced finalists yesterday of its 2007 EPpy Awards for newspaper Web sites that are, by and large, completely unprofitable.

I don't think the announcement was met at individual newspapers with champagne i.e. the Pulitzer Prize announcements: Yeah! We, uh, won ... something... We don't suck as much as other newspapers with Web sites!

Check out Evans' fine essay here:

The Newspaper Form Factor


More later,


Mark

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

And Now A Word About Our Banners...

Shill.

Yes, that's the word I choose to describe my decision to add banner ads to Mark's World. I am a shameless shill.

There. I said it. And I am proud of it.

NFLShop.com The links for official Chicago Bears items (At left! Try it!), iTunes, Overstock.com and Macs are part of a affiliated network. I put up their banners. Should you choose to click and buy the things you otherwise would buy, I get a few bucks to buy steins to hand back to you. It's a vicious commercial cycle.

Here's the pledge: I will never put banners up for products or services I don't personally use. I am typing on my new MacBook Pro while listening to Neil Young on iTunes. I have my own accounts at both Overstock and NFL.com. I've been telling folks for free about Overstock for years. They, frankly, owe ME.

The other day, someone clicked through the iTunes, made a purchase and I made a few coins and I was truly amazed at what Mark's World is evolving into. I am having fun, learning and evolving and I'm glad you are checking in!

More later,

Mark

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Join 'The Club'

Nick Lowe's latest album, "At My Age," will not be released until late June but his label, Yep Roc Records has already released a new song for us to enjoy: The Club.

Nick Lowe, "The Club"

More later,


Mark

The Store is Back!

For everyone who was concerned: Mark's World Crap-A-Rama is back! Just click that big "It's Mark's World" logo to the left.

More later,



Mark

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Join 'The Club!'

Nick Lowe's latest album, "At My Age," will not be released until late June but his label, Yep Roc Records has already released a new song for us to enjoy: The Club. Enjoy!

Nick Lowe, "The Club"

More later,


Mark

Thursday, April 19, 2007

It's Time to Celebrate!

Well, my sister Karen is right. I do owe Mrs. 6,000 something. And we're still experiencing problems down at the store. So, she'll get a Mark's World stein. Eventually.

Right now, I have a better idea. My gift to her is simply this:

A Celebration!

With apologies to Kool & The Gang:

There's a party going on right here!

A celebration to last throughout the year!

So tell my sister and point your browser to:

Karen Roth: The Happy Birthday Tribute! .

OK, so it doesn't exactly rhyme. I'm not the next Kool. I don't have a "Gang." I'm OK with that.

But I do have a wonderful sister who is turning 50 in roughly six months so what better way to mark the half-century mark than by Mark building her a wonderful tribute marking the occasion?

There's a countdown clock. There are links to her life. There are places for you to leave her messages. There's music!

So check the site out!

And let the celebration begin!

More later,


Mark

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Mrs. 6,000?

Well, well, well...

I said the 6,000 visitor was likely someone employed by a school, who visited at 7:32 a.m. CST last Monday and utilized the Illinois Century Network. My problem? I know far too many people who fit that description.

But I figured that someone would come forward once they saw Mr. 5,000 and his awesome stein. That person apparently has. My sister, elementary school librarian Karen Roth, FINALLY returned to this site and after she checked with her school's IT person, it would appear that she is Mrs. 6,000. Now, of course, she wants her prize.

Ahem. The trick is, the prize is for LOYAL visitors. I stated that quite clearly. What do am I supposed to do for some person who shows up every 10 days or so ... and makes us all wait? Plus, we have the whole mess over at Mark's World Crap-A-Rama.

Hmmm... OK: I have a very special prize for you, Karen. VERY special. One of a kind. Stay tuned!

More later,


Mark

Trouble at the Store

In response to the many inquiries about the sudden lack of merchandise in the Mark's World Crap-A-Rama Store, the fine folks over at CafePress.com sent me this message earlier this evening:

"Over this past weekend we experienced a redundant system failure that resulted in the corruption of a number of images, deeming many unprintable. Essentially, this means that an image server and its backup both failed, and Shopkeeper images were potentially damaged.

"Unfortunately, one or more of your images are affected. We are currently working to restore images, and in the meantime you’ll notice that some of your designs show as pended* in your media basket, and are not salable within your stores or in the Marketplace.

"Over the next few days we will be removing the pending* status from images as they’re fixed. Our goal is to restore as many as possible, and we anticipate knowing the full results of our work later in the week. We will send a follow-up email to report our status at that time.

OK, folks. No window shopping or mug buying until later in the week... Sorry!

More later,

Mark

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Spider-Man Is Here, NOW! I mean it!

Sorry! I forgot to open up the site before I posted the blog and sent out e-mails. NOW go here:

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Spider-Man Is Here!

More later,


Mark

Spider-Man Is Here!

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Literally.

While the movie does not open until May 4, Mark's World is working hard to give you a sneak peak of all of the excitement of Spider-Man 3 at this new Web site:

Spider-Man Is Here!

Visit our new site often for videos, images and news of what will easily be the movie event of the Summer of '07. From this site, you can also link to the official Spider-Man 3 site, Marvel.Com and even be first grab tickets at Fandango.Com.

Our new site was made possible by the great folks at Sony/Spider-Man 3 who made free Web site design shells available to the blogging public. As in all cases, tell us what you think!

More Later,


Mark

Friday, April 13, 2007

Chicago Is So Two Years Ago

Today's Tune is from the outstanding Fall Out Boys. Obviously, it was an ironic selection.

Has it really been two years? I mentioned to Tom Shaw this week that the decision to embark on a new direction seems both like such a long time ago and as fresh as yesterday.

That's the thing about getting older, I guess. Time seems so compact these days.

I have always been fortunate in my journey to accumulate many good friends and friendly acquaintances along the way. I draw inspiration from so many great people and their continued camaraderie. So many others have embarked on their own journeys to new, amazing successes. It is a constant source of pride.

In two years, I've started a book, found new meaning in being a husband, discovered a blog, took a new job, moved 1,400 miles and today I find myself exactly where I wanted to be: Eager to learn with lots to contribute. And, in Florida.

And I think I like this Mark Sweetwood a heckuva lot more than that guy from a couple of years ago. It is enormously easy to forget what's really important when caught up in the pressures of the day; when you feel that you, alone, must solve the world's problems. I hope everyone who needs to gets a chance to learn that lesson before it is too late.

Thanks to all of you out there who weather my frequently weary tomes (even you lurkers with masked IP's!) and keep coming back to Mark's World. This page is a blast and I am glad so many of you continue to stop by to read and/or chime in. It couldn't be Mark's World without you!

More later,


Mark

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Scott-N-Stein

Look! It's Mr. 5,000 Scott Dalzell! And look at that handsome mug (the stein, I mean!!):

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Well, I'd say that is one fine stein, Frank. Or whatever your name is... If you agree, maybe you, too, need to check out the fine merchandise, I mean, crap at:

Mark's World Crap-A-Rama

Steins, mugs, bears, aprons: Everything you need to get through the day (and night!). It's like Wal-Mart ... without the savings and the selection. And the utility. And the greeter.

If only Mr. (or Mrs. 6,000) would come forward... I have now heard from, or have been accosted by, Nos. 5,998, 5,999, 6,001 and others. These steins need a home!

More later,


Mark

P.S. Thanks, Scott, for being such a great sport!

Saturday, April 07, 2007

Spider-Man Update!

Less than a month to go before the BIG debut of "Spider-Man 3!"

Today's freebie from the fine folks at Sony discusses "The Goblin's Lair." When we left the story at the end of "Spider-Man 2," young Harry Osborne accidently stumbled into a secret room of twisted gadgets left behind by his father, Norman, who was also the infamous Green Goblin!



More later,


Mark

Friday, April 06, 2007

A Very Good Friday

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Our 6,000th visitor is a little shy! Damn you, masked IP's!

I can tell who the 5,999th visitor was. I can tell who the 6,001th was.

Anyway, we're still going to celebrate! How? By the opening of a new feature!

There was some method to my madness a couple of weeks ago when I unveiled the official, new Mark's World logo. I wanted to brand Mark's World with something that could have all sorts of horrific uses. I wanted something wootier than Woot.Com. Flingier than ThingFling.Com. Slicker than SlickDeals.Net. More audacious than, uhm, Obama...

Think: Craptacular. Welcome to the official retail store for Mark's World:

Mark's World Crap-A-Rama .

Yes, you, too, can impress friends and loved ones with official Mark's World crap. I found this site a while back and have been itching to have some fun with it. And every 1,000th visitor documented by yours truly will receive:

Mark's World Special Gift .

So, the very un-shy Mr. 5,000 Scott Dalzell: Your crap in the in the mail!

Browse around the store. Frighten yourself. Save the planet. Buy some crap.

More later,


Mark

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

No. 6,000!

Wow! Our 6,000th visitor clicked through this morning and we here at Mark's World couldn't be more proud.

At 7:32 a.m. CST, this person utilized the Illinois Century Network (think: school) to check into Mark's World. So, I need a little help from you. If you utlized this ISP at this time, contact Mark's World at MarkSweetwood@aol.com! And then, we will richly reward both you AND Mr. 5,000.

Stay tuned!

More later,


Mark

Monday, April 02, 2007

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Just A Picture Before We Go...

One more chapter from our long weekend-long series "Mary Meets the Trans-Famous:"

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By the way, thanks so much to all of you who visited Mark's World this weekend. We're setting some all-time traffic records for our little pimple on the backside of the Internet. We'll be notching visitor No. 6,000 this week and I couldn't be happier!

Scott Dalzell, you might recall, was Mr. 5,000 several weeks ago. And I still owe him something. So, I solved that little dilemma. Be here this week when we reward our 5,000th visitor AND crown our 6,000th visitor with some cool, uhm, crap. Not just any crap, mind you: Official Mark's World crap.

Next up: Our flight home. Then, a recap of our Bears weekend experience,

More later,


Mark

My Kind of View

I promised you some pictures from out lake-view room here high atop the Chicago Hilton and Towers. We rated the executive level (somehow). The hotel is right across from Grant Park and, obviously, Lake Michigan.

From one window, by gosh, it's Soldier Field, my friend:

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From another window, the park and a better view of the lake and Lake Shore Drive:

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Well, the third day is coming to a close. We attended the morning session with Chicago Bears coordinators Ron Turner (offense), Bob Babich (defense) and Dave Toub (special teams).

Here are Turner and Babich:

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It was interesting hearing them discuss the plans for the next season.

And let me say this: The Bears organization takes a lot of heat (cheap, old fashioned, narrow-minded, blah, blah, blah) but they are also the only team hosting its 10th annual fan convention. Few teams have one such event, let alone a string of 10. And from CEO Ted Phillips on down, they all sit in front of the fans and take the hard questions. It's very special and if that makes me sound like I spent too much time sippin' the Kool-Aid: Guilty as charged. This event was different than I imagined but it was terrific fun.

And we'd do it again. Provided is isn't so crowded. If the Bears go 2-14 next year, I bet it would be a lot less crowded... But I am not wishing that on them.

And this report would not be complete without today's entry in the continuing photo series "Mary Meets the Trans-Famous." Today's brush with fame? Staley!

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It's been a great trip! Coming up: A wrap-up on what I learned, who I met and what I bought at the vendors tables.

More later,


Mark
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