Micro-Licensing

All right, I'm going on record to coin a new phrase - "micro-licensing." Given the rise in social networking and the personalization of the Internet, traditional licensing for non-profits may be outdated. A new craze may well take hold: micro-licensing where non-profits and potentially brands literally provide use of their logos for fundraising and other needs. Imagine for a moment the famed (RED) campaign appearing for one month at your local pizza parlor. Or, consider a one-day promotion with your local gas station where proceeds go to the American Cancer Society. This "pop up" social marketing, could be an excellent way to keep non-profits and other organizations raising money through our current recession and beyond (see link.) In my view, micro-licensing could be a great alternative to cumbersome multi-year agreements between non-profits and brands and could help take advantage of our desire to do good...without too much of a commitment.

Crowdsourcing

As a follow up to my earlier posts on the changing face of advertising, I believe the phenomena of group creativity is finally coming of age. See Wikipedia . While the big brains on Madison Avenue will certainly disagree, I think there is going to be enormous power in the concept of having the target audience a company is trying to reach, actually help that company market to them. And, with the wide variety of collaboration tools that started with Documentum's erooms, this is now a level playing field for everyone. As Thomas Friedman says, if you have an idea and don't take advantage of it someone else will - be they in Shanghai or San Francisco. So, watch out for more of this emerging trend.

The Return of Greenspan...Almost

In my ealier post I predict that the new president will reinstate the Maestro. Today's news stories may be a first step in that direction...


Clinton proposes Greenspan lead foreclosure group
Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:29am EDT

WHITE PLAINS, New York (Reuters) - Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and other economic experts should determine whether the U.S. government needs to buy up homes to stem the country's housing crisis, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will propose on Monday.

Clinton, a presidential candidate and senator from New York, said the Federal Housing Administration should "stand ready" to buy, restructure and resell failed mortgages to strengthen the ailing U.S. economy.

"Just as it has in the past, this kind of temporary measure by the government could give our economy the boost it needs and families the help they need," Clinton will say, according to excerpts of remarks prepared for a speech in Philadelphia.

"It would not require a single new government bureaucracy, and would be designed to be self-financing over time -- so it would cost taxpayers nothing in the long run."

Clinton threw her weight behind legislation proposed by Democrats Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut that would "expand the government's capacity to stand behind mortgages that are reworked on affordable terms."

But she said a bipartisan group should determine whether that approach was sufficient or whether the U.S. government should step in as a temporary purchaser.

The working group could be led by bipartisan economic heavyweights such as Republican Greenspan, Democratic former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker and Robert Rubin, the treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton.

Under the Frank plan, the government would take failing mortgages off the hands of investors and write new terms that would prevent foreclosure. It would see lenders write down the mortgage amount in exchange for a government guarantee.

The Return of Greenspan

I'm going on record that man or woman, Democrat or Republican, our next president is going to coax Alan Greenspan out of retirement for a two-year assignment as chief of the Central Bank. Far fetched? Crazy? Maybe, but with the way the economy is going and with the relative failure of Bernanke, I can't see how the new president wouldn't bring back the Maestro. Besides, the speaking circuit is going to get pretty boring at some point and my guess is he is missing the fun.