At PSFK Conference NYC, Danielle Sacks (Fast Company) led a thought-provoking discussion about the rise of the “New Idea Agencies” – companies that are thinking outside of the traditional client-agency model and creating their own products, brands, and intellectual property to launch direct to market. The panel, featuring Robbie Vitrano (Trumpet), Carl Johnson (Anomaly), Bart Haney (fuseproject), and Ben Malbon (BBH Labs), explained how their companies’ unique business models evolved and the struggles (and benefits) of agencies becoming their own clients.

Developing IP rather than just messaging is clearly an attractive idea. Why build brands that, ultimately, you have no stake in, when you can create your own products and services, under your own supervision and creative direction instead? Agencies like Anomaly and BBH Zag have created their own brands (Avec Eric and Ila, respectively) and are inventing new ways to partner with (or in some cases supercede) clients to create new, truly collaboratively-built brands.

But reimagining the paradigm comes with its challenges: failure is frequent and fast, Carl warns, and companies mustn’t try to be everything to everyone. They have to know what their limitations are and be as resilient as they are nimble. Owning one’s own portfolio means thinking about every angle of a product or idea and guiding its ‘real’ manifestation – through media, retail, and beyond.  And, as Ben Malbon explains, when your client is yourself, it becomes that much more important to be fully invested in your product and to let the best ideas win.

Watch the video in full below:

link to cult of done manifesto

Nerds got computers because they liked them. Then gamers got them to play games on. But it was connecting to other people that got everyone else: that’s what made even grandmas and 14 year old girls want computers.

(Paul Graham)

In The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind James Boyle introduces readers to the idea of the public domain and describes how it is being tragically eroded by our current copyright, patent, and trademark laws.

In a series of fascinating case studies, Boyle explains why gene sequences, basic business ideas and pairs of musical notes are now owned, why jazz might be illegal if it were invented today, why most of 20th century culture is legally unavailable to us, and why today’s policies would probably have smothered the World Wide Web at its inception.

Appropriately given its theme, the book will be sold commercially but also made available online for free under a Creative Commons license.

The best measure of a blog is not how many people it reaches, it’s how much it changes what you do. Changes your posture, your writing, your transparency, your humility. What blogging has done for me is made me think. I get to think about how the outside world will understand something I’m trying to do, for example.
Seth Godin

At 10, a certain wide-eyed innocence with a strong suggestion on bare-chestedness, half-exposed teeth (make them seem smaller and less full-grown), very light make-up, looking almost fresh out of a swimming pool or something.

At 20, a rather typical high-school/college girl first getting acquainted with mascara and lip-gloss; expressions of youth with straight hair, painted finger nails and fun accessories (ring); there is a sense of eagerness and anticipation in the expression.

At 30, she looks like she’s been through some really bad relationships, on the roads, and maybe have her life mortgated to drugs and alcohol, doused generally with a sense of cynicism towards the world.

At 40, life reins in as she matures and develops into a more assured woman; the wild sides has not been eliminated totally but tamed to a more nuanced portrayal;

At 50, back to a very classic and enduring look showing a sense of refined sophistication after living through the many decades; tastes have been distilled and generally looks more classy.

Finally at 60, the beauty grows inwards as the outer appearance are toned down in favor of more subtle expression (cropped hairdo, plain top), with a sense that the inner wisdom is now far more distinguishing than the outer appearance.

Two things come to mind: First, media can turn and distort “reality” by modifying how it is presented. Second, our time (to create) is limited. Use it wisely. Go out there. Do something! Take good care of yourself. Enjoy life!

Credit: Thank you for the great observation by Designer  Gems Sty and for the pictures by  Miss at la Playa.