So I know it has been awhile since I have posted here on Contagious and I swear it’s not because I am slacking. It’s because I have been spending the majority of my time here and here recently.

This morning I was inspired to update this blog to talk about being a finger, not a nostril. There is a joke that I heard a long time ago that I always seem to whip out at parties during that time after you meet someone and you realize you have very little in common with that person but you need to say something. Here’s how it goes:

Why do gorillas have big nostrils? Because they have big fingers.

Funny right? Yeah, not one of those jokes where people leave the party commenting on how hilarious I am by any stretch. But this joke does bring up an interesting topic on how you do work, push the envelope, and blaze new trails. The joke insinuates that the gorilla’s nostrils got big because his fingers were so big and it stretched them out. It did not mean his fingers grew larger to accommodate the large nostrils. This is an interesting distinction.

Playing in an existing space, bouncing around on the inside and exploring is fine. You see people and companies do it all the time. But until people start “enlarging the nostrils” by pushing from the inside, nothing will ever grow, evolve, and advance.

We’ve had our fun in the social media/Web 2.0 space. We’ve gone to the parties, the Tweetups, and the conventions. We’ve tried “our best” to convince big companies and clients to have a social media presence only to fall short with a measley Facebook page that hasn’t been updated in 2 months. Now it’s time to enlarge the nostrils. Who’s ready to wield a bigger finger?

Gorilla image from Nailbender. Some rights reserved.

If you visit the website for Modernista!, the advertising agency based in Boston most well-known for their ads for Hummer and Cadillac, you may be surprised. Instead of the typical flash-based website with luscious images and animation that occupies most major advertising agency websites, you are greeted with a Wikipedia entry and an announcement.

A red pop-up says, “Do not be alarmed. You are viewing Modernista! through the eyes of the Web. The menu on the left is our homepage. Everything behind it is beyond our control.”

That menu is “cute” at best. It is basic and simple. And it gives nods to various popular sites and web languages:

The “ab.ou.t” section, represented as a nod, no doubt to del.icio.us and other sites (mine included) that uses the full URL to an advantage, is the Wikipedia page and also a Facebook group. The “wrk” section links to a Flickr account displaying print advertising and a YouTube channel for TV spots. The “n3wz” section links to a Google News page displaying the latest announcements and news articles falling under the “Modernista!” keyword. Then there is a “cont@ct” page. Read more…

There is a really scary article on ReadWriteWeb written a few months ago about a Russian web developer who purchased a number of domains containing the ReadWriteWeb name in it. As Richard MacManus explains, the ReadWriteWeb name was never trademarked.

A recent question in my LinkedIn network brought me to that page. In a question by Phillip Barnhart, he asks: “What is your organization doing to reserve key usernames on social networks”. He goes on to write a post on his own blog explaining how he registered “RadioShack” on Twitter.

This is a very good question for companies both new and established. When anyone can purchae or sign up for free an account using your name, what will you do?

My advice: check out this page on wikipedia of every social network site and start registering (parking) your brand’s name. Do this immediately.

Ok. I admit it. I like to see my name in print. Maybe that’s why when I decided to try out ChaCha, the all knowing bringer of answers, I used it to boost my own ego.

I found out about ChaCha by listening to Chris Pirillo in his latest CNN Live bit. Here’s how it works: you text message a question to 242 242 (ChaCha on your keypad) or send a question to ChaCha via their Twitter page and within minutes you get an answer. The best part about it all, is it is free.

Apparently, when ChaCha receives your question, there are over 30,000 human Guides on the other side of the line searching for the answer.

My question? I asked ChaCha about the real identity of my alter ego, Chelvis: The Chinese Elvis. Within seconds I received a message from ChaCha saying my question was received. And within 6 minutes I had the answer in my Twhirl client:

ChaCha Chelvis: The Chinese Elvis real name is Gregory Ng. Thanks for using chacha. http://chacha.com/u/1f9nc7vg

Pretty cool.

We know that sex sells. We have also seen with the ol’ Spitzer saga how sex and politics do not mix with great results.

But now a site has arrived with the hopes of using sex to teach. Sexy Politics hopes that a little striptease will get you interested in hot political topics. By answering 10 questions correctly, you get to see a good looking model start to undress. But is this type of provocative method good or bad?