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Mad Magazine Fold-Ins

The New York Times has a spectacular interactive Flash feature on Mad Magazine fold-ins. Remember those? I used to love them! They were in the back inside cover of almost every issue of Mad since 1964 and I also remember seeing them in Archie comics. Invented by comic book artist Al Jaffee, the fold-in was an image that you would fold over to reveal a hidden picture. I'm pretty impressed that even the text at the bottom folds over to reveal another statement - I had forgotten about that. According to Wikipedia, fold-ins were Mad Magazine's response to popular fold-out features like the Playboy centerfold.


The Times features 23 original Mad fold-ins dating back to the 1960s. The page allows you to use your mouse to drag and fold the graphic on-screen - far more efficient than having to do it manually, by the way.


The interactive feature is an absolute pleasure to navigate. I have to say I love the way the New York Times has fully embraced and integrated interactivity into the online version of its paper. This is exactly the type of thing newspapers have to do in order to stay useful and relevant. Sorry, blogger's tangent.

Via NotCot.org

Dear Starbucks

Two parts PR grab, one part gimmick and one part genuine interest in their customers ideas? It's anyone's guess, really. Either way, MyStarbucksIdea.com is Starbucks' Web 2.0 way of harnessing the collective intelligence of its clientèle.

Similar to Should Do This - a site I wrote about a few months ago - MyStarbucksIdea.com is a forum for Starbucks regulars to post their ideas on how Starbucks can improve on anything from products to service to the customer experience as a whole. All ideas can be voted and commented on and they are reviewed by a team of Starbucks "partners" (employees).

Currently the most popular ideas include:

• Adopt a frequent customer reward system (punch card, loyalty points, etc.)
• Offer free Wi-Fi internet access in all locations
• Create separate lines for brewed coffee and for special orders

The Ideas in Action section is Starbucks' way of showing us that they're actually paying attention. So, Collective Mind of the Internet, what say you?

The Duck or the Peanut

A little while ago I wrote a post about niche blogs. I wish I knew then what I know now. This Peanut Looks Like A Duck is a blog about things that look like ducks. Inspired, presumably, by this very peanut. Behold:

Read more entries at I Guess We'll Just Have To Adjust »