advancedstyle.blogspot.com

The blogger behind Advanced Style has an unusual approach of presenting fashin clothes - to use models that love bright colours, dress according their individuality and are slioghtly older. The idea is that style has no age and limitations.

The lady on the final photo is... 91! She looks so energetic and happy. I hope that I will look like that when I reach her age.. :)

As the author of this blog, Ari Seth Cohen puts it, Respect your elders and let these ladies and gents teach you a thing or two about living life to the fullest. Advanced Style offers proof from the wise and silver-haired set that personal style advances with age.

Does it count if?

Over the last 2 hours, I've been sitting at home waiting for my university's website maintenance to be over.. while occasionally going to the fridge. Right now, I am feeling like a balloon. What a coincidence that I just saw a the advert 'It doesn't count'. Or shall I saw the campaign. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was made for the protection of myself and thousands of other women who feel guilty after eating a mountain of chocolates or greasy, delicious cheese. It doesn't count if it's free, if it's organic, if it's a holiday, a sad or happy moment... It is a brilliant campaign. However, the only thing is that it was made by the right type of company to encourage eating freely over the right quantity. “Our first major social campaign provides us with a light-hearted mechanic to engage directly with young adult females, and gives us a chance to change their perception of KFC,” said Jennelle Tilling, UK and Ireland vice-president for marketing at the House that Colonel Sanders built.

Here is the video:


The last quote was taken from brandsinsm.com

Penguins Inspiration! Stunning

It is a beautiful 1:30 min long video showing some penguins recorded by BBC.

                 
And that made me curious about businesses that deal with penguins. It turns out that people actually sell penguins?! I am not really sure to what extend that is legal, but one unit costs $25. The most curious bit is that the demand is so high that they actually ran out of penguins! I am really interested if this is actually real :) Here is a link, you can have a look: http://www.penguins4sale.com/.

Surely, it is some sort of scam. But here are some great pieces of penguin art:

Source: http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/penguin/all

Are we really that stupid?

Here are some silly instructions on packaging. It's quite interesting who comes up with that sort of explanation and who is likely to misuse the products in that way...

 

On a bag of Fritos:
You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside.

Printed on the bottom of Tesco Tiramisu dessert:
Do not turn upside down.

On Marks and Spencer Bread Pudding:
Product will be hot after heating.

On packaging for a Rowenta iron:
Do not iron clothes on body.

On Boot's Children's Cough Medicine:
Do not drive a car or operate machinery after taking this medication.

On most brands of Christmas lights:
For indoor or outdoor use only.

On an American Airlines packet of nuts:
Instructions: open packet, eat nuts.


On a child's Superman costume:

Wearing of this garment does not enable you to fly.

On a take away coffee cup:

Caution: Hot beverages are hot.

On a Harry Potter wizards broom:

This broom does not actually fly.

On a muffin packet:

Remove wrapper, open mouth, insert muffin, eat.

On a bottle of hair dye:

Do not use as Ice Cream topping.

On a box of fireworks:

Do not put in mouth.

On a toaster:

Do not use underwater.

Is it really for people's safety, for attracting attention, fear of being taken to court, or simply for making you buy something...? :)

Source: http://www.doheth.co.uk/funny/doomed

10 cheap healthy foods vs 10 ridiculosly expensive foods!

The cheap and overall healthy foods:

1. Bananas - about $0.33 each


2. Beans  ($0.75/15oz can)


3. Canned tomatoes ($1.67/28oz can)


4. Carrots ($0.66 per pound)

5. Frozen spinach ($1.00/10oz bag)

6. Lentils ($0.79/1lb bag)

7. Oatmeal ($3.69/42oz canister)

8. Peanut butter ($2.39/18oz jar

 

9. Peas ($3.00/2lb bag)

10. Sweet potatoes ($0.50 per potato)

Here is the list of hilariously expensive foods!

 1  Matsutake Mushrooms – $1000pound because of its rarity

2. The World’s Most Expensive Bagel – $1000 topped with white truffle cream cheese and goji berry infused Riesling jelly with golden leaves.

3. The Zillion Dollar Frittata – $1000
It consists of a mixture of eggs, lobster and 10 ounces of sevruga caviar (which costs the restaurant $65 per ounce).


4. Wagyu Steak – $2800
Kobe beef comes from cows that are allegedly fed only beer and massaged by hand to ensure a tenderness and marbling beyond compare



5. Samundari Khazana, the World’s Most Expensive Curry – $3200 To celebrate the DVD release of Slumdog Millionaire, Bombay Brassiere packed this curry platter full of the most expensive ingredients they could find. Devon crab and white truffle and a half tomato filled with Beluga caviar and dressed with gold leaf are just the start of this lavish dish

6. Domenico Crolla’s “Pizza Royale 007″ – $4200


The 12 inch pizza pie is densely packed with an assortment of some of the world’s most expensive food ingredients, such as lobster marinated in cognac, caviar soaked in champagne, sunblush tomato sauce, Scottish smoked salmon, venison medallions, prosciutto, and vintage balsamic vinegar. In addition to all these fine ingredients, it’s topped with a significant amount of edible 24-carat gold flakes.



7. Dansuke Watermelon – $6,100
In a country where watermelons are rare game, they can be a costly commodity. That’s how a 17-pound Japanese watermelon became the most expensive watermelon in the world. Densuke watermelons, a type of black watermelon grown only on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, are usually given as gifts due to their extraordinary rarity. There were only sixty-five of the fruits among the first harvest this season. They are harder and crisper than the watermelons we Americans are used to and, according to Tohma Agricultural Cooperative’s spokesman, they “have a different level of sweetness.”


8. Yubari Melons – $22,872
Another type of expensive melon, the world’s most expensive cantaloupes are a pair of Yubari melons and were the first auction of the 2008 season. They had previously been judged the best pair and were purchased by the owner of a nearby seafood lunchbox and souvenir business. It had some competition—100 melons grown by farmers from Yubari were also judged.

9. Almas Caviar – $25,000
Almas caviar comes from Iran making it extremely rare and extremely expensive - sol only in the Caviar House & Prunier in London England’s Picadilly that sells a kilo of the expensive Almas caviar in a 24-karat gold tin for £16,000, or about $25,000. Coincidentally, it is also where you can find the most expensive meal in Britain. The Caviar House also sells a £800 tin for those on a smaller budget.



10. Italian White Alba Truffle – $160,406
Expensive truffles are notoriously pricey because they are difficult to cultivate. This makes them a true delicacy which some have called the king of all fungi. The Associate Press reported that a real estate investor and his wife from Hong Kong have paid €125,000 ($160,406 USD) for a gigantic Italian White Alba truffle which is reportedly the world’s most expensive ever. The most expensive truffle weighs in 1.51 kilograms (3.3 lbs).

Sources: http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/10-cheapest-healthiest-foods-money-can.html
http://most-expensive.net/foods

Case Study:Friends

Following his 12 rules for building successful brands in the 21st century outlined in The New Marketing Manifesto by John Grant, here is what the author has to say about  what's behind the popularity and huge success of the sitcom:

1. Sympathy and empathy with attractive losers

(Get up close and personal) - an actor striving for success, an obessed vegan who is overly ethical and green, a beauty that comes from a rich family and tries to be independent by working as a waitress, a guy who is constantly searching for love and two friends who are trying to be a good couple (I couldn't really find something specific that characterises Monica and Chandler as losers)

2. Basic human needs: company
Six people that meet up pretty much every day.

3. Author innovation: in plot, locations, seasonal and topical references
Cozy cafe, unforgettable Thanks-giving scenes, references to old episodes

4. Mythologise the new: the 'friendily' (friends as surrogate family)
Friends who don't need a family that much, nor a lover. They usually end up as being enough for each other.

5. Create tangible differences in the experience: signature style and creative icons
No need to discuss how different they are - e.g. Monica's obession with tidiness vs. Phoebe's hippy's ideas.

6. Cultivate authenticate
Insightful and uncomfortable moments - some scenes that make you blush or ROFL.

7. Work through consensus: a show to share or discuss with others, or read about 
It's one of those shows which despite not being filmed anymore is still re-watched and re-commented on.

8. Open up to participation: everyone has their favourite friend to identify with, or even copy
I personally admire Rachel because she's brave enough to throw away the rich life offered by her parents and tries really hard to be independent.

9. Build communities of interest: it's one of the few shows that attracts fans not just viewers
10 years of love for and obsession with the characters

10. Use strategic creativity: it's a movie promise for a TV show - for a quick hit
Short episodes, humour that is easy to understand (they even add this laughter), weird scenes, friends' cohesiveness

11. Shame a claim to fame: the starts are real friends - at least for the purpose of endless PR stories

Some of them were even more then friends.

12. Follow vision and be true to your values - ' we all act like that real life . only not as funny' (Joey)

Coca-Cola - Guerrilla Marketing

Here is an example of how the famous brands uses the advertising strategy guerrilla marketing to impress people. I think Coca-Cola is doing (as usually) its job of being unique, eye-catching and extremely surprising for those who experience it.
I wish they could make a similar campaing for healthy food - maybe that would be the secret do make people eat fruits or veg - by providing a machine that gives the fruit for free...

Business Cards

Business card are usually created to make some strangers remember you after a networking night with n-number of faces that you meet. Some people say that the cards should be simple, preferably light and to contain your name and contact details. 

However, i strongly disagree. How are people supposed to remember you amongst all 89759482948294 white cards typed in Times New Roman??

Here are some examples of people that have made the effort to be remembered. Well done to them!

I recently purchased my first business cards and am pretty excited about them. I will be finally able to hand them in to important people that I meet. Maybe it's early to call them 'business contacts', but in a year or two things will be different..

Stalking direstors?

 I recently came across a website with an interesting feature - to stalk companies directors. Well, okay, not literally, but to gain some information about their whole names, their addresses, surely the companies they work for and the websites.

It's quite useful I'd say and it works really quickly!

This is it:

http://company-director-check.co.uk/

And even more surprisingly, the same can be done with companies. http://companycheck.co.uk/

I just wander how they can find such confidential information such as a company's liabilities  or assets.

For instance, if I type in'Virgin Galactic', this is what I get:

Cash at Bank : £622,645 Cash at bank and 'in hand' is the bank balance for VIRGIN GALACTIC LIMITED at the end date of the period the accounts were for. I'm impressed! And this is what I'm doing while revising for Legal Relationships exam! Unfortunatelly, most of the information is not free and you need to pay about 5 pounds for a report which I suppose you can get from the company's websites for no charge

Net Worth : £2,044,359 A company’s Net Worth is calculated as Shareholders Funds minus Intangible Assets. £2,044,359 is from the accounts filed in 2011

A Spring Post

Hello! It is a nice, enjoyable, sunny and blossom spring afternoon. There are white trees everywhere and I almost feel like in winter when I look up.


I am thinking about my blog and its content and although it's called Business Stalker, which implies that I write about business-related issues, I realise that this isn't fun for me. So do I need to change the name again? I don't know. But at the moment I'll concentrate on my posts and the content rather than the name and whether I write in Blogger or in Wordpress. By the way, isn't it weird that the spell check is indicating that the word blog is wrong??
Never mind, I will finish off with today's post by posting a picture which was sent to me by my boyfriend!

It is so true that it hurts.

10 Deadly Mistakes During Business Cocktails

I recently attended a cocktail party with business people and have to admit that I didn't act too professionally at the beginning. So I decided to share some conclusions with you :) Just to make it clear - I didn't make all of the mistakes listed and I'm not going to share which ones were mine and which ones I've noticed before.


So here they are:


1. You forget the meaning of 'small talk'


When someone starts a casual talk with you, you suddenly turn it into a complex, intellectual, and well, let-me-escape-from-you conversation.


E.g.
"Nice to meet you, X. Do you enjoy your time here?"
"Yes, I do, thanks. But to be honest, not everything from the food appeals to me. They could have chosen another brand of cheese or at least serve it with a wholemeal bread. On the other hand, people here seem to be nice, but I think that this woman there next to the door is shooting angry glimpses at me, dunno why."


Your life at this moment could have been much easier if you had just said something like:
"Yes, I do, thank you. I don't really like the cheese, but i can live with that.How about you?"


2. Not drinking and giving long explanations for that


"Where is your drink?"
"Oh, I don't drink. It's just my lifestyle. Some people may find it strange, but it is just the way I am."


3. Wearing unpolished shoes


Like your dog has stepped on them. Dusty shoes make you look cheap.


4. Saying mean things about other people in the room.


We all have some moments when we feel awkward and say the first thing that comes to our minds. For example, discussing other people or laughing at them. It not only sounds malicious, but it also makes you feel low-confident. And just imagine that the person in question is the best friend of your interlocutor.


5. Eating fast/ eating food that applies big chunks/eating all the time like a rabbit.

 


Not sexy, nor professional!


6. Being dressed too casually

 



You are not on a teenage party, so if you don't want people to look down at you, you better try to understand the dress code.


7. Feeling too comfortable

 



If you are feeling relaxed and calm, it doesn't mean that you have to straddles your legs and occupy the whole sofa.


8. Forgetting what people have just told you 5 minutes ago.


As a result you feel unfocused and distracted and people may think you don't care about what they have to say.


9. Interrupting


Someone is telling you their favourite story and you constantly find something to add in between their sentences. Annoying!


10. Blah-blah-blah-blah


Even if you find the best listener to the world and he/she waits for you to finish your waterfall of words, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are interested in the endless talk.

To conclude with, I think that you actually need to make some of the mistakes in order to become more professorially-looking. And after all, it's always a good laugh when you remember it all!

Geek vs. Nerd Overview

I've been thinking about two popular terms 'nerd' and 'geek' which seemed identical to me. But as it turned out they aren't. And because my blog is mainly business dedicated I decided to explore them from a jobs point of view. But first, let's examine the distinctions.

What is a Geek?

(Yup, Justin. He was in an article about celebrities going geek)

1. Someone with specific niche interest or lifestyle

2. An early adopter (from marketing point of view)

3. The knowledge ranges from 'living encyclopedia' to mundane

4. He/she can be pretentious

5. A fan of gadgets

6. Someone who wears ironic T-shirts

7. .. and is highly likely to own a Mac

8. Geeks are usually communicative

What is A Nerd?

1. Someone extremely interested in academics

2. Runs away from society (introverted)

3. He/she is interested in games, movies, science, computers

4. Usually owns a PC (or a huge pile of books)

5. His/her interests include books: chess, fantasy, sci-fi, physics, computer programming

6. Nerds wear those kind of clothes which when you see you ask yourself: 'Who the heck would wear that?'

Movies Geeks like:

- Anchorman

- Donnie Darko

- Tron

- Office space

- Arrested Development

Movies Nerds like:

- Lord of the Rings

- Battlestar Galactica

- Star Treck

- Matrix

- Pi

Source: www.mastersinit.org

P.S. The business side of Geeks & Nerds is coming soon!

Top 8 for Expensive Pillows

There is something very cozy about those two pictures. I can't remember how I found them. Oh yes, they were in the folder of my old blog - Lullaby.

So how can I connect them with a business concept?
The first association is... pillows!

Here are the 8 most expensive pillows 
(that I managed to find)

8) £65.00 Organic wool pillow (www.greenfibres.com). Looks comfy, but as organic as it is, it's too expensive for me!

7) £81.73 Versace Silk Cushion Pillow (www.ebay.co.uk) - Ok, we all know that a brand always adds value.. to the price.

6) £110 Supreme Canadian White Down Pillow (www.duvetandpillowwarehouse.co.uk) - Well, this one is waaay to much. How special can it be to cost 110??

5) £223.48 Vintage Cotton & Silk Suzani Pillow (www.ecrater.co.uk) - Mmm... to be fair, this isn't the most beautiful pillow I've seen...

It's getting worse! Look at that:

4) £292 1950's Elsa Schiaparelli Silk Scarf Pillow (www.newyorkshoppingdiary.com)

 (Sorry, creators, if you read this, but I just don't see the logic beyond the price of this granny pillow)

3) £875.20  Rose Princess Pillow (www.etsy.com). Based on?

2) £1,069.69 Decorative Designer Pillow (it's a cover) (www.etsy.com) - And this is just the cover. Imagine if the had included the pillow (or VAT :D)

1) And the winner is... 

£ 1,887 - Twilight pillow from Edward& Bella  love scene (www.ebay.com)!

I temporarily lost my ability to talk!