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Very beautiful visually, but very strong emotionally. The story tells about 4 inhabitants of Brighton Beach and their substance abuse. I like the storyline, how the abusers are disillusioned by their different ideas for success, like buying heroin and the cutting it to make a profit. The problem is they end up using the profits to get more heroin for their own addiction.

Not the best movie to watch if you don’t want to get all sad and depressed - it definitely doesn’t cheer you up, but touches you very strongly. Worth watching in my opinion, but probably not the first choice for a fun saturday evening.

I finally managed to see Martin Scorsese’s Aviator. After watching it I can say Howard Hughes was a nutty realist and an entrepreneur that wanted to be the best in everything he did. It goes without saying that being close to lunacy for so long cannot end well and the movie portraid his obsession with cleanliness quite well - not overdoing it though.

I decided to read a bit more about him in Wikipedia and they seem to have quite a long biography of his different years and eras in his life. Possibly being extended by the effect the movie had on this guy. Nevertheless an interesting film, a bit long but worth the time.

Just ordered James Surowiecki’s Wisdom of Crowds from Amazon UK. I’m really getting into this word of mouth marketing and viral marketing in general. I think internet is a totally new and such a powerful platform that WOM marketing is going to be picked up onto a totally new level. Or if it already hasn’t done that.

Just take a look at my post and how many people will see this “recommendation” and consider buying the book, instead of just talking to my friends in Savonlinna about it. This stuff is so interesting that I’m actually considering studying it a bit more, time will tell.

I read a very interesting book while in Melbourne. I bought Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point from Sydney airport for the trip and I can say it was well worth it! It’s a quick read with interesting stories in it.

Gladwell talks about how different epidemics begin and trends grow in the modern world. He bases his opinions and ideas on numerous studies he has been part of during his career. I heard the example of Hush Puppies becoming very popular already in one of my classes here, but the story in itself is always interesting. In short: Hush Puppies, the shoes, became very popular in a couple of years time simply through word-of-mouth marketing. A few kids in East Village NY were wearing the shoes and from there it spread to the main stream audience.

This book relates very closely with my thesis as well. Word-of-mouth marketing is the best way to market your products or services. No doubt about how blogs have increased the potential for WOM marketing. Got to find more material in this sector - very interesting stuff.