I am pleased to be included in the 2009 Good Brands Report published by trends research, innovation, and activation firm PSFK. The best description of the report comes from PSFK’s own description:

The Good Brands Report of 2009 is a celebration of leadership during this challenging year. Those who made it onto the list are businesses from which we should learn.

They are not just the well-known brands of the day, but also companies that lead by example in innovation, environmental consciousness, and social policy. We started our search for the Good Brands of 2009 by looking at the companies we were writing about on PSFK.com throughout this year. Then, we asked a panel of cross-industry global experts from the Purple List to tell us which of 40 common brands on PSFK were considered ‘Good’.

The report includes several global brands including Good Magazine, Amazon, Facebook and Virgin, the latter brand where my quote was used, as follows:

It reads, “When you see the Virgin name on something, you know it will be a pleasant experience.”

Though I have only been exposed to a small number of Virgin brands, namely its record label and music stores, my quote holds true when I think of it. The Virgin Music store in Paris is a must-see – it is huge and has every minutae of genre. Granted, that store will probably morph over time, but the 2 times I went were always a great shopping experience.

You can read the report below, as it is embedded as a Slideshare presentation, or click the link below to download it as a PDF.

Thanks to the folks at PSFK for not only creating the report, but for hosting the Purple List. Also of note, Piers Fawkes, one of the co-founders of PSFK, is also one of the co-founders of likemind!

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I just registered for – and paid for – TECH cocktail 11 on Thursday, August 6, 2009 at John Barleycorn in Chicago’s Wrigleyville section. Note I highlighted “paid for” as this had up to now been a free event. When I went to register I didn’t realize it was no longer complimentary admission.

And you know what I say to that? It’s about time!

TECH cocktail (TC) is where I have met many people I consider everything from friends to colleagues in Chicago. It brought out the best of the city’s tech and creative communities. As word got out of their success – not to mention open bar – they got more and more crowded. It has been harder to have conversations with people, let alone get to the tables of the presenters and sponsors. By charging a nominal amount and no longer having an open bar (you get 2 drink tickets with admission) I am sure it will keep away some people, and my gut feeling is those are people you would want to keep away! All things considered, I have no doubts TC will still be a lively and successful event.

Will I see you on the 6th?

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Next Tuesday, July 14, I will be the guest speaker in the chat room during the live domain name auction on Bido. Bido is a unique “social auction platform” which offers for auction one domain name a day exclusively on the Web. You don’t have to bid on a domain name to participate in the live chat, but you do need to register.

The domain name to be auctioned is unlock.info. The term "unlock" has a high degree of meaning in the world of mobile devices, as a device is either locked to a particular provider or unlocked and can be used on any provider. I have written on locked vs. unlocked mobile devices before and I only own and use those unlocked.

I am looking forward to joining the conversation on domain names, mobile technology and Internet services during the chat on Bido. If you have never participated in a domain name auction I encourage you to check it out.

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I am proud to announce that Dunkirk Systems, LLC yesterday launched the Active Travels blog and forum!

If you are looking for more than a stroll down Main Street at Disneyland, Active Travels is for you. Steve Jermanok is a travel journalist and has written several book and has contributed to the Boston Globe, Men’s Journal and Outside among other publications. Through Active Travels he shares his experiences over the years with unique travel destinations throughout the world on his blog. The forum, aptly named Go Play!, will “fill in the blanks” as he calls it and allows people to discuss destinations and activities. Simply browse the conversations and register to participate.

You can subscribe to Active Travels by RSS feed or by email or visit the site at activetravels.com. Though launched yesterday, it has had a soft launch over the last several weeks and there is already a wealth of travel information and destinations to read about. I think I found my summer getaway already, maybe you are next?

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The next likemind will be Friday, July 17, 2009 in dozens of cities around the world.

In Chicago, it will be at Argo Tea, 140 S Dearborn St. at the corner of Adams and Dearborn Streets in the Loop from 8:00 am to 10 am.

I call likemind a gathering of creative-minded people, from various disciplines including Internet, advertising, art, social media, et. al. For more information on likemind, you can read this great article on likemind from the New York Times.

No RSVP is required. You are also welcome to join the likemind Chicago Facebook group.

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