Trendwatching identifies an emerging consumer trend in PRETAIL -- ''a mode of consumption that sees consumers treat crowdfunding platforms as the new shopping malls.'' It's no secret that many crowdfunding sites seem to be pre-purchase opportunities on the next cool thing (case in point, the Pebble watch). And it's also no secret that some crowdfunding sites (notably Kickstarter) don't like that emerging trend. … [Read more...]

The rise of 'slacktivism' -- or the lazy person's form of activism on social media -- was already apparent in the early days of the social network world (I noticed articles about it way back in 2005). But now at least one organization sees it as an epidemic worth attacking. UNICEF has launched a campaign to nudge people who might 'like' them to actually support them with cash. … [Read more...]

How do you spend and save your money each day, within the context of your whole life? It sounds like a philosophical question, but it's actually a rather essential economics question. And as with most economics questions, it has a really cool and convoluted name: intertemporal consumption. … [Read more...]

I was saddened to hear that friend and colleague Alvin 'Skip' Reiss had passed away in February. He was 82. … [Read more...]

I've been part of a rather long list of conversations about the next evolution of arts organizations. I'm not blaming anyone but myself, as I love those conversations. And I'm as frustrated as anyone at the current struggles of the field. The board-governed, professionally managed, mixed-diet (earned and contributed), high-fixed-cost nonprofit organization seems increasingly ill-equipped for its changing environment. It seems a creature of a previous ecosystem. It seems in need of evolution. Yet, therein lies the problem. … [Read more...]

We like to think that the tensions between profit and artistic production are issues of the modern age. But consider this conversation from about 2400 years ago: … [Read more...]

Designer Tina Roth Eisenberg (aka swissmiss) is a cool-project machine. She and her team have launched the monthly breakfast idea-network of CreativeMornings, the TeuxDeux to-do list system, the artsy temporary tattoo business Tattly, and the Brooklyn shared workspace venue Studiomates. She has just posted her SXSW talk, and it's well worth watching (embedded below). … [Read more...]

There are all sorts of interesting things about Netflix, and their recent incursion into program development in addition to content delivery. The company that used to mail you DVDs (and killed Blockbuster Video in the process) is now producing and presenting HBO-quality content through the Internet (and making television studios anxious in the process). But what caught my attention (at least this month) was their strategy for measuring success in these new ventures. Internally, they're defining and observing metrics about ''engagement'' with … [Read more...]

Marian Godfrey offers some bold and beautiful words in the current Grantmaker in the Arts Reader about her life between prose and passion, supporting the mechanics of artistic enterprise as a funder while engaging the joy and discovery of expressive works. Her essay/manifesto covers a lot of ground, and demands a full reading (so go read it). But I was particularly struck by her disdain for the language we've come to use in arts and cultural management. … [Read more...]

Hollywood studios are in a bit of a spin over a lawsuit filed by unpaid interns. Although it dates back to September 2011, the suit is coming to a ruling later this year, and may reshape policy and practice far beyond the Hollywood Hills. … [Read more...]