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I recently traded my city condo, yellow cabs and laptop for a three story house, a Suburban with two car seats and limited to no cell phone reception in a smallish town in KS that is home to my sister, brother-in-law and nephews. My summer “vacation” was spent trying to keep up with (and frankly alive) two boys under the age of 4. Thankfully their parents didn’t totally disappear but I was basically on my own from breakfast through to bath and bedtime.

I’m fascinated with people watching and this past week, all that energy was put towards watching them and the events/people that surround them. I often pay particular attention to how they interact with tools and technologies that weren’t even a pipe dream when I was their age. Lucky for you, I’m going to share a few of my observations…

So BRAND walks into a bar… (no, this is not a joke).  What happens when “bar” equals “community hub?”

I’ve found the reactions of marketers to the need for serious thought and planning around community-management to be both surprising and fascinating.  After all, community management– like so many of the concepts that come onto our professional radar in a rush of “why haven’t you considered this before”– isn’t a new concept.  We could go all the way back to early human communities and examine counselors, religious figures and even the town drunk for clues about how to keep people happy, engaged and contributing to a greater good (or evil).

Thanks to my favorite cohort, I had the opportunity to attend the NRA Show yesterday (THIS not this).

It was a huge cluster of everything food related from celeb chefs to the latest innovations in kitchen refrigeration to blenders that double as guillotines to mobile cuisine, also known as the new black. Sadly, there were no exhibitions dedicated to  The Human Centipede.

Aside from sampling a frightening range of food for 382 minutes, here are my top 3 highlights:

Did you miss us? We sure missed you. Most of all, we missed bringing you the latest gaming industry news and trends in this excited-for-E3 issue of PLAYED. This month, we consider the celebrity of developers and how it may shape the industry in years to come. We also check out Apple’s latest step into the gaming space with their Game Center mobile network and proprietary approach to the mobile space, along with the industry’s “green” efforts towards an improved environment. Finally, with achievements and rewards an integral part of gaming, we look at how high scores and in-game bonuses are influencing real-life programs and activities.

Fellow sneaker heads, we are not a secret society.

There is a group of us out there that agree there are few feelings better than scooping an exclusive pair of your favorite sneakers (whether that’s Air Max 95s, Jordan Vs, or Dunks in my case). There are numerous sneaker shops throughout the country (and abroad – don’t sleep) that are always good for that unexpected gem that completes your collection (until you come back next time) and leaves you on cloud nine with a reward for your sneaker sleuth skills.

Unfortunately, technology and innovation are ruining that euphoric feeling for me. Whether it’s the traditional email/newsletter or the constantly growing social media landscape, shoe companies are making it tougher to get my hands on their exclusive goodies. A culture once dominated by word of mouth is now fully embracing the tools of the digital word of mouth landscape. Woot for them. FML for me.