Bring toy guns, then #GTFO.

There was an interesting post by Peter Bregman on HBR blog Why I returned my iPad. His experience with a new iPad was so engrossing and immersive, he had difficulty disengaging from it. The device built a cognitive enclosure robbing him of his me-time. He finally returned it in order to regain his self.

Our entertainment eco-system is going through a metamorphosis. The single biggest contributor is disentanglement of content from the form. Thanks to digitization, content can be delivered through myriad forms and devices. This disintermediation is empowering consumers to self-select and consume content at a time and screen of their choice.

Consumers are foraging for entertaining stimulation like never before. Their average home entertainment spending has been up, defying negative economic sentiments overall. According to Census data , the average American spent $771 annually on services like cable TV, internet connectivity and video games in 2004. In 2008, that rose to $903. By the end of 2010, it would be just shy of a $1,000 mark. Add to this $1,000 for cellular services, and the total commutainment expenses would total $2,000 per annum.

As the consumers’ daily intake of entertainment grows, there are concerns rife over shrinking attention spans and less control over own time. The volume of reading has been going down. According to eMarketer, reading got a mere 3% share of the total time devoted to all media in 2009. This was down 60% over the same period in 2008. Cognitive scientists like Nicholas Carr worry that the digital culture might take a toll on our deep reading capabilities. The motivation of going beyond the glut of text to analyze, infer and build insights is dwindling according to these skeptics. Edward Tenner sounds downbeat – “It would be a shame if brilliant technology were to end up threatening the kind of intellect that produced it”.

Steven Pinker, on the other hand, puts the debate in a historical perspective. He says critics raised a similar outcry after the invention of the printing press, newspapers, paperbacks and television. He recognizes that our brains will no doubt be rewired. Neuroplasticity of human brain suggests we will undergo a restructuring of our neural networks as a result of new digital experiences. He exhorts we do not view it as a one-off phenomenon but as part of a work-in-progress cerebral reorganization since time immemorial.

As long as our interactions with the devices do not turn dysfunctionally obsessive and we make room for introspective self-talk, we will be pumping sufficient goal-directed behavior. And will continue to drive up innovation and productivity.

Just watch it.

Now they’re encouraging you to use your cell phone during a movie. The app dims your screen and silences the ringer while it translates the minions in Despicable Me.

Sometimes, just sometimes, a project you’re working on might run into some…problems. Snags. Roadblocks. Hiccups. Things like that. You might find that you’re totally understaffed, or that you need a skill set you thought you had but didn’t. Or your hotshot designer might have walked out on you, leaving you, well, effed.

Don’t be ashamed – it happens to everyone. In times like these, the best thing to do is let those who need to know, know. You, my friend, need to send an E-Fail.

Riding the success wave of InternetOnlineWebsite.com, The Barbarian Group and Aquent have teamed up yet again to provide our friends and colleagues with a way to get the word out that things aren’t going so well. Utilizing one of the internet’s most cutting edge technologies, E-Cards, we’ve designed a site that lets you take control of your sinking ship of a project. IAmEffed.com is a free resource to help you get the help you need, fast.

What’s more, E-Fails are completely customizable to your current situation and level of distress. Within a matter of seconds, 41 different captions combined with 7 different illustrations provide more than 287 possible combinations. Well-placed humor is used to disarm your recipient, getting them on YOUR side. Thanks, E-Fail!

Even better, E-Fail can be sent completely anonymously, allowing you to let your producer, ECD or HR representative know about problems on the project without singling you out as the pariah.

So try an E-Fail today! E-Fail, when you care enough to send the very effed.

Don’t you wish all creative briefs were like this? (found via www.d-kitchen.com)

Money. Death. Alexander McQueen. Some suicides. An economy.

Midway through 2009, we got word that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame would be be throwing a huge concert event to celebrate their 25th anniversary. They were understandably secretive about the artist list, so when we got the final bill, our jaws dropped. Stevie Wonder. Aretha Franklin. Simon & Garfunkel performing together. Metallica with Lou Reed and Ray Davies. U2 performing with Bruce Springsteen and Mick Jagger. Woah.

So we got on the ball and built a fitting site. It’s simple and smooth, but packs a lot of content into a small space. It features artist biographies, iTunes playlists hand-picked by the Rock Hall, merchandise, video, and unique artist pages. The show happened back in October, but much of the site is still up at rockhall25.com.