Can Good Design Save Detroit? Again?

Ellen McGirt — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 10:42:50 -0500

The big three automakers submitted their restructuring plan yesterday, asking for some $34 billion in loans. For GM the news was quite grim - they indicated that they could fail in six weeks if not given some immediate help.

Government 2.0?

Ellen McGirt — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 10:57:29 -0500

We thought this day would never come.

I cried in the voting booth yesterday. Like so many others, I had barely let myself believe that this could really happen--a woman and an African American, serious contenders on a national ticket.

President-elect Obama has run an extraordinary campaign, harnessing powerful social tools that came into widespread adoption just in time to help "a skinny guy with a funny name"(as he puts it) become a symbol of a truly democratic America, where anyone can in fact become President.

Government 2.0: Can President-Elect Obama Take What He's Learned On The Road to The Beltway?

Ellen McGirt — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 10:55:56 -0500

We thought this day would never come.

I cried in the voting booth yesterday. Like so many others, I had barely let myself believe that this could really happen– a woman and an African American, serious contenders on a national ticket.

President-elect Obama has run an extraordinary campaign, harnessing powerful social tools that came into widespread adoption just in time to help, as he puts it, “a skinny guy with a funny name,” become a symbol of a truly democratic America, where anyone can, in fact, become President.

Brand Obama Thrills Broadcasters with Record Ad Spend, But Cheap Video and Democracy Are the Big Winners

Ellen McGirt — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:41:16 -0400

David Carr, one of my favorite columnists, points out in today’s New York Times that the embarrassment of riches the Obama campaign is heaping upon television broadcasters is about to come to an abrupt, and unwelcome, halt.

Broadcasters, like their brethren in financial services, are no doubt are preparing for their own revenue apocalypse with similar grace.

Reader Generated Economic Indicators - How You Know We're Hosed

Ellen McGirt — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:45:16 -0400

Rita Gunther McGrath, a reader from NYC (and an associate professor at the Columbia Business School) writes:

I'm Rich As Hell And I'm Not Going To Take It Anymore!

Ellen McGirt — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:12:21 -0400

In the grand tradition of Dear John letters, anchor sign-offs and birdflip manifestos, Andrew Lahde has broken new ground.

The head of a Santa Monica based hedge fund bearing his name, Lahde quit the business after posting an 870% gain last year. His good-bye letter to, well, everyone became a viral hit in the last two days as he took a victory lap by delivering a body blow to the deeply flawed system and people that allowed him to rake in more than his share.

From the letter:

Reader Generated Economic Indicators - How You Know We're Hosed

Ellen McGirt — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:28:38 -0400

A reader in North County San Diego writes:

"The car business is in the dumper - a local dealer offered me a 2009 used Nissan Murano ($45,000 sticker) for $20,000 yesterday and offered to buy it back in three months for $17,000. Gas hog, otherwise I would have considered it."

Manic Monday: The Financial Markets Are Unpredictable. Human Nature, Less So.

Ellen McGirt — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 10:52:07 -0400

Last week, London’s tabloidy News Of the World broke the story of a handful of AIG executives who dropped a bundle on a cushy partridge hunting retreat, of all things, at a tweedy English country manor. The newspaper sent “undercover investigators” to catch the eight “fat cats” fiddling while the rest of the world burns:

“The recession will go on until about 2011—but the shooting was great today and we are all relaxing fine.”

read more

Inspiration by Design: A Journey Through Cancer with Paper and Glue

Ellen McGirt — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:19:04 -0400

It began with the shock of recognition that every woman dreads: A lump, found while showering. Wrote artist Vicki Behm, "the first image that popped into my head was Mr. Clean. What will I look iike bald? And who will I look like? Telly Savalas? Yul Brynner? Homer Simpson? G.I. Jane?"
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Inspiration Friday: An Artist Celebrates Your Rights

Ellen McGirt — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:19:10 -0400

Check out this extraordinary video – a motion-graphical interpretation of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The video was created to commemorate the 60th anniversary of its adoption by the United Nations. (More on that below.)

read more

Can Good Design Save Detroit? Again?

Government 2.0?

Government 2.0: Can President-Elect Obama Take What He's Learned On The Road to The Beltway?

Brand Obama Thrills Broadcasters with Record Ad Spend, But Cheap Video and Democracy Are the Big Winners

Reader Generated Economic Indicators - How *You* Know We're Hosed

I'm Rich As Hell And I'm Not Going To Take It Anymore!

Reader Generated Economic Indicators - How *You* Know We're Hosed

Manic Monday: The Financial Markets Are Unpredictable. Human Nature, Less So.

Inspiration by Design: A Journey Through Cancer with Paper and Glue

Inspiration Friday: An Artist Celebrates Your Rights

Reader Generated Economic Indicators - How You Know We're Hosed

Reader Generated Economic Indicators - How You Know We're Hosed