Darren says the cups were given out at the recent Gnomedex technology conference. There’s a great example of a company hitting their target market head-on – perpetual caffeine-seekers who love new gizmos.

Would you try it? I sure would.

The owner appeared out of nowhere. “I’m sorry but no,” he said. I was a bit startled. He went on: “You can’t take espresso to go – you have to drink it here. There’s no such thing as espresso to go.”

It’s unconventional customer relations, but I had to laugh and agree. Cup, saucer and tiny Italian cookie in hand I informed my waiting husband that we’d be sticking around for a few minutes. He took one look at my lovely coffee, then went and ordered his own.

We paused and enjoyed our espressos – the way it should be.

It was a timely reminder of what coffee culture is really about.

By the way, the shop is Gio Bean Espresso, at 1340 Water Street. Stop by – and plan to stay a while.

On the one hand information wants to be expensive, because it’s so valuable. The right information in the right place just changes your life. On the other hand , information wants to be free, because the cost of getting it out is getting lower and lower all the time. So you have these two fighting against each other.

I interpret this as when info is a commodity and can be distributed at low cost it can be free and when it’s customized it’s expensive. I think it makes a lot more sense to look at the context and weigh both options.

It’s an intriguing paradox. For some reason we usually hear only the latter part of the quote and I think that’s missing the point!

Anderson’s book moves along at a good clip. I like his analysis of how the TED conferences manage to charge $6000 to attend yet stream all the content for free and how Yahoo dealt with the advent of gmail.

I love the energy and passion of an entrepreneur doing something he or she loves. Keep your eyes open for Whistler Roasting Company beans – roasted with feeling.

I remembered a blog post I wrote last year about the sort of wacky way the Tour gets covered. Check it out here.

Whatever you are getting up to this summer, be safe!

Ahh the power of a good media review.  My husband and I found ourselves at the Summer Night Market on the weekend based on this  review in the Vancouver Sun. And I’m glad we did.

First stop was Hurricane Potatoes. These are a treat. They’re fried-but-not-greasy, full of flavour and fun to eat. Next, through the sea of humanity, to Sumo Bites.

I noticed they had a laminated copy of the Vancouver Sun review prominently displayed.  I love it when I see this -  it reminds me of the value of media relations.

Sumo Bites serve mini burgers in a rice bun. Unusual and really tasty.

It’s a fun adventure for a summer evening. Felt a lot like being in Asia – but with health inspectors.

I learned some intriguing things about the company while reading Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture this week.

The author, Ellen Ruppel Shell, takes a close look at the massive retailer in this 2009 book about the real price of low price.

I suppose I knew this unconsciously, but IKEA aims to discourage sentimentality. Rid yourself of that solid oak heirloom dining room table full of memories of family dinners  – buy our fresh, stylish BJÖRKUDDEN Dining table for $129.99 instead.

This ad by Spike Jonze illustrates the company’s position on nostalgia in a fun way using a disconsolate discarded lamp.

Interesting positioning. I hadn’t thought of the company that way, but can see how it works for them!

The book is an easy read with some make-you-think insights. Shell refers often to the work of Dan Ariely, whose book Predictably Irrational I loved and reviewed last week.

Procrastination is addressed – and studied – in Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions, an entrancing book by Israeli Dan Ariely.

Read these and you won't lie for a while

The author also examines:

- Why we are happy to do things, but not when we are being paid to do them

- Why recalling the Ten Commandments will make us less likely to lie

- Why we’d walk a block to save $7 on a $25 pen but not walk that same block to save $7 on a $450 suit.

Ariely, a professor at MIT, concocts some fascinating experiments to test various hypotheses. Being a writer – and distinctly recalling life as a student – I loved his procrastination study.

He taught three classes each with three assignments. The first class could choose their own assignment deadlines. Once they had chosen the dates they were committed. The dates could be any time before the end of term

The second class had no deadlines except for turning in their assignments by the end of term.

The third had three deadlines, determined by Ariely and spaced evenly throughout the term – no extensions.

Can you guess which group did best? Yup – the group with the professor-set deadlines. Second best were those who chose their own deadlines and worst, the get-them-in-by-end-of-term group.

Lessons learned (besides that students procrastinate) were that restricting freedom is the best cure for procrastination and yet, the students – and likely the rest of us – don’t fully grasp our tendency to procrastinate or know how to give ourselves deadlines that will get the best results.

Worth some thought – especially at tax time.

A great read – thanks to my mother-in-law, Betty, for the referral.

I worked my way through the book (published in 2007 – which means of course it’s an ancient tract), read some of his blog posts and then decided perhaps his words are a healthy warning to us.

This in his chapter called solutions:

“Our challenge… is to protect the legacy of our mainstream media and two hundred years of copyright protections within the context of twenty-first century digital technology. Our goal should be to preserve our culture and our values, while enjoying the benefits of today’s Internet capabilities. We need to find a way to balance the best of the digital future without destroying the institutions of the past.”

I happen to agree. I think user-generated news – except for breaking news – is vastly inferior to news researched and written by professionals. Apparently Keen debated Jeff Jarvis, author of What Would Google Do (which I reviewed in a previous post). Now, that would be a good listen.

I thought of Cult of the Amateur as I listened to Malcolm Gladwell’s talk at the recent F5 Expo in Vancouver. Both were a Web 2.0 reality check. I don’t agree with every point either made – but I enjoy their provocative positions and find both make points worth considering.

But it ended up being a lesson in adept crisis management. I give full, unbridled credit to organizer Lindsay Smith. Just before the event was due to start – and apparently with no solution in sight – she walked out into the middle of the teeming lobby and called for our attention. She said she was really sorry, that they were working on it and that those who had some digital or paper evidence of registration were invited to head in.

Now while this was far from ideal (like many others I had carefully and greenly not printed my registration as I was sure they’d have it there) it dealt with some of the madding crowd and things could get underway.

It’s a perfect example of the Three A-s of Crisis Management. Acknowledge responsibility, Apologize and Act.

Lindsay did all three and we got on with the show. Kudos to her in dealing with a harrowing hiccup with grace and quick-thinking!