After photographing friends in order to assess their zombie status, people will probably post the photos onto Facebook, Twitpics, or Flickr, given our obsession with documentation and display in this era of social media. In this way, the zombie app (which is a spin-off marketing product for the book The Zombie Survival Guide) promotes the book via organic social channels. Now that’s clever thinking!

Then when they ask what I studied at university, I answer with my degree. (Insert “I studied Visual Anthropology at Oxford University” here.)

Their response often includes skepticism. (Insert “So I see you don’t do anything with your degree” here.)

My initial wish, though often averted, is to jump into a three-hour crash-course lecture about the wonders of anthropology, and our mind-blowing, cross-cultural approach to material and media culture. Don’t worry, though, that desire is usually suppressed. But truly, it is shame because anthropology actually does tend to blow people’s minds in a good way.

Without jumping into an exaltation, right here, of the mental gymnastics and clarity that anthropology can offer, let me just tell you that there are some people who get anthropologists! They get how professional anthropologists are some of the most perceptive thinkers on brand identities and people’s relationship to brands, products, and the everyday materials that make up their lives.

One person who would totally understand anthropologists is Gary Singer, CEO at marketing firm Buyology. Though he’s a neuroscience marketing specialist, (ironically!) the language he uses speaks to the heart of anthropologists.

As quoted by MediaPost’s Behavioral Insider, Singer says:

“We identified what we call ‘relationship drivers’ that included things like clear vision, does the user of the brand have a sense of what is meaningfully distinctive about the brand, rituals, symbols, storytelling, etc. These are the very tangible, measurable attributes that constitute strong non-conscious relationships between users and brands.”

The article continues quoting Singer, who says:

“Any Apple store is remarkable in the mythology that is communicated by the store. At the 59th St. store in New York you have a glass cube with absolutely nothing on it except for the visibility of the logo in the middle of the cube, and you have people actually walk down into this environment. It is the equivalent of walking into the Sistine Chapel. It is amazing. That leads you to the use of grandeur. Apple is unbelievably affective (sic) at employing symbols and ritual and storytelling and even a sense of mystery.”

This is exactly what an anthropologist would be saying. And there are some anthropologists who do! Some of the foremost anthropologists who study the role of material culture on identity and society are the renowned Daniel Miller and also my own university tutor Inge Daniels.

Anthropologists—especially anthropologists of visual culture (which includes media and material culture)—are highly attuned to the deeper, subconscious relationships and complex dynamics that develop between the brand and the consumer.

So next time, someone asks how my degree (or, rather, my very method for understanding and analyzing the world around me) relates to what I do for a living, instead of suggesting a crash-course in visual anthropology, I just might suggest that they check out the book Buyology.

A shiny gadget for a cheap price and with all (or should I say some?) of the functionality of the latest and greatest can be really tempting. And at $35 a pop, it’s not much of a gamble!  

What do you think? Would give a second-rate tablet a try?

It’s been a sad and lonely world at The Times, since launching a paywall on July 2. Traffic is down and so are shares.

So break down the paywall, Times, and bring back the freedom to surf and share.

It’s only available on a few domestic flights at the moment. And if you’re not an iPhone user, you won’t be able to enjoy this amenity for now. It’s scheduled to be available on more flights and for other smartphones at a later date.

Lovin’ this functional appropriation of smartphone technology! One downside, however, is the app doesn’t come with a teleporter. So it looks like baggage check-ins and security checks will still be the same old nonsense.

Flipboard brings social media to a higher aesthetic with a sleek magazine-like layout that allows you to browse your friends’ latest content links from across the web.

I love the aesthetic of magazine layouts and I definitely enjoy viewing shared content links without the inane “I love Fridays” Facebook chatter!

Not that I knew anything firsthand about the email campaign, but getting regular emails about ice cream is not my idea of fun times in my inbox.

Wait, let me clarify.

Getting regular emails from retailers about their ice cream products is not an exciting concept. But getting regular emails about summer ice cream haunts and ice cream recipes from SeriousEats, Chowhound, NYMag’s Grubstreet, and Foodepedia is actually quite enjoyable. (How else would I be able to live out my weekend gourmet dreams, if not vicariously through ambitious foodies, bloggers, and food journalists?) Then again, receiving regular emails from publications is basically how all of us keep updated, right?

As for retailers: unless you offer a diversity of goods and services that I’m constantly thinking about (read: clothing retailers and travel companies), I really don’t care about being connected to you via my most intimate web space. My inbox is sacred and, frankly, I don’t feel that Ben and Jerry’s emails had the right to be there in the first place.

Their newest marketing ventures, including a really fun-looking app, sound like a major improvement!

What about you? Would you like emails from Ben and Jerry’s? Colgate? Herbal Essences?

Now if only they could move on to developing a music database and allow for searches on melody and rhythm!

Knowing this, eBay wanted to boost its image as a destination for fashionistas and its connection to fashion-lovers the world over. Instead of jumping aboard Twitter and onto a blog, eBay simply gave itself a little makeover. 

Launched in April, eBay’s fashion site and eBay’s fashion outlet presents a fashion-centered user interface, while recently launched eBay’s new fashion app allows users to play around in their closets.

But does it work?

I think it’s a great way to market themselves as a fashion-friendly (designer-friendly, even) destination. Personally, I might find my eBay browsing simplified, but I won’t be tempted by the second-rate outlet items. Then again, I’m just one of those who can’t deal with T. J. Maxx (or T. K. Maxx for our Europeans readers).

My bias aside: though it’s definitely an improvement for eBay, I’m not feeling much in terms of UX. It doesn’t quite set my little shopper’s heart aflutter like Net-a-Porter or ShopStyle.

What’s your take? Does it work?

I’m loving that publications aren’t giving up on the magazine medium. I’m also loving that magazines are exploring different platforms.

I’m loving it, but I’m also scared.

Media experts have long suggested that applications were needed to get people paying for quality content. They argue that if Apple could successfully coax people into paying for music with iTunes at a time when obtaining free music via piracy was still the norm, then magazines and newspapers should be able to coax people into paying for content with apps as well. Apps, with a physical distance from the web browser, are also psychologically distanced from the free-for-fall spirit of the web.

As I said, I’m excited to see magazines look for new viable business models in the hopes that this might keep quality journalism alive. But I do wonder if all magazines and newspapers turn towards apps, what will we be left with on the web? Skeletons of websites, once rich with quality content and comments? Limited conversations within the social sphere? Links to the fluff pieces which are relegated to the free domain? 

And if consumers will only pay for the content and viewpoints they care to support, would we be limited to discussing knowledgeably with only those who subscribe to the same mindset?

I hope this app model works out in the interest of everyone involved–businesses, journalists and consumers, alike.

What are your feelings? Is this project financially viable? How do you think it will affect us consumers and the nature of online connectivity?