But the next time you need to shop for the tiny tot who already has a Kindle, Xbox and tablet, might I recommend “Goodnight iPad” as an idea for the digerati?

The hardcover picture book is intended as a parody of the classic children’s book “Goodnight Moon” by Margaret Wise Brown, published pre-geek in 1947, but it offers a nice critique on our always-connected, gadget-filled world.

The Penguin tome is already an analog hit, with 120,000 copies published.

That’s because the book features great illustrations, along with killer lines like “and there were three little Nooks with 10,000 books” (with an empty book shelf behind the e-reader) and a “BlackBerry ringing with Eminem singing.”

Equally clever is “Ann Droyd,” the pseudonym chosen by children’s book author David Milgrim.

But, alas, the grandmother in the story becomes fed up with “the bings, bongs, and beeps of e-mails and tweets.”

Since I am both a big kid and a woman of many gadgets, my partner, AJ, naturally thought the book would be perfect for me. And it was.

And instead of “Goodnight stars, goodnight air, goodnight noises everywhere,” it’s also relevant to today in its reimagining:

“Goodnight remotes and Netflix streams, Androids, apps and glowing screens. Goodnight MacBook Air, goodnight gadgets everywhere.”

Here’s a video of the work to enjoy:

From the CollegeHumor dudes, who aim inside, accurately, on this one. Soundtrack by BlackBerry Messenger:

As many know, BoomTown is a Belieber.

Which, loosely translated, means I love me some Justin Bieber.

Which is why this video of a woman who looks exactly like him is so obvi compelling. It’s both disturbing and hilarious.

Here’s Dani Shay’s parody of Bieber’s hit song “Baby”:

But in the meantime, here’s a disturbing indicator: Now network TV sitcoms are parodying the notion of investing in revenue-free Internet start-ups. That’s a market top, no?

NBC really went to town on this one, by the way: There’s an entire mini-site dedicated to WUPHF.com, and it’s really well-done (it also makes more explicit reference to Facebook and “The Social Network” than the allusion in the clip above). Make sure to check out the investor section, which includes this awesome chart (PDF).

The fine print is pretty great, too. I’ve pulled it out here so you can read it:

So any time you read something that the CEO of Apple (AAPL) wrote on Twitter or in a blog, be aware that you’re reading a parody. Something that’s not true. Definitely not something you want to use in the lede of your story.

Last week, Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart spoofs Fox News’s Glenn Beck in a blackboard parody almost as good as Tina Fey’s spot-on impression of Sarah Palin on “Saturday Night Live.”

The conservative pundits seem to be the online comedy gift that keeps on giving.

Here it is in two videos:

For those who don’t care one bit about the rollout of the Apple (AAPL) tablet later this morning by CEO and ringmaster Steve Jobs, here is an incredibly funny song spoof poking fun at the mysterious ABC television hit, “Lost.”

The show is premiering the first episode of its final season next week, and the Fine Brothers want some answers about the convoluted plot of the often vexing program.

Using “Downtown” as its tune, the spoof is long, but spot-on–the part about Jin is especially hysterical. And that’s coming from someone who gave up on “Lost” after the weird second season.

Here’s the video:

BoomTown–fresh from slapping around six graders caught in a Bing stupor and commenting on the use of restaurant-seeking vampires by Microsoft (MSFT)–is also not quite sure what to think of another new advertising campaign from an Internet giant.

This time, it is coming from eBay (EBAY).

With the tagline, “Come to Think of It, eBay,” the ads start today, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, to “boost its standing as a holiday shopping destination.”

Interestingly, the new marketing campaign in print, television and online–the first for the Web commerce giant in 18 months–has been crafted by San Francisco-based Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, which has also just nabbed the lead role in the $100 million advertising campaign by Yahoo (YHOO).

Goodby, owned by the Omnicom Group (OMC), is known for its innovative ideas and has done such memorable campaigns as the Slowsky turtles for Comcast (CMCSA), the weird folk of Emerald Nuts, owned by Diamond Foods (DMND)–as well as campaigns for tech companies such as Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Adobe Systems (ADBE) and Netflix (NFLX).

Still, Goodby might be getting a little too cute here, because “Come to Think of It” could remind consumers exactly how much they have forgotten about eBay.

At best, “come to think of it” is a double-edged sword.

In a good scenario: “Come to think of it, I really haven’t listened to my ‘Frampton Comes Alive’ album in forever and I really want to hear it again.”

In a bad scenario: “An old girlfriend of mine is trying to friend me on Facebook–but, come to think of it, she was pretty freaky and I am very scared she found me again.”

You get the idea! Come to think of it: Play at home!

Actually, according to the Journal story, Lorrie Norrington, president of eBay’s marketplace operations, is pushing a different meaning of the phrase: “to shift the buyer perception of what eBay is today.”

The San Jose, Calif.-based company has to shift perceptions since it has seen its core marketplace business suffer, even as it has advertised less.

Here’s a video of one of the new ads, as well as some past ones–all of which include an unusual amount of Broadway-style singing, dancing and egregiously fabulous frolicking for a company led by then-CEO Meg Whitman.

But, come to think of it, Meg: Not that there’s anything wrong with that!

And, I could not resist adding at the end Weird Al Yankovic’s funny parody song about eBay, with video clips synched.

Enjoy:

“Come to Think of It, eBay”:

“On eBay”:

“That’s on, eBay”:

“Do It, eBay”:

“Found It on eBay” by Weird Al Yankovic:

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20091102/come-to-think-of-it-ebay-is-that-a-killer-ad-motto-or-a-desperate-plea-for-attention-plus-old-commericals/feed/ 3 http://allthingsd.com/20090914/the-internet-loves-mtv-taylor-swife-and-kanye-west-but-youtube-keeps-its-distance/ http://allthingsd.com/20090914/the-internet-loves-mtv-taylor-swife-and-kanye-west-but-youtube-keeps-its-distance/#comments Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:11:27 +0000 Peter Kafka http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/?p=10898 It’s a not-quite-annual tradition: Something unexpected (but perhaps not unplanned) happens at MTV’s Video Music Awards and the Internet can’t stop talking about it.

A couple of years ago, it was Britney Spears wobbling across the stage; this time around, it’s Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift on behalf of Beyoncé and…pfft.

I can’t work up the enthusiasm to describe it, but happily for Viacom (VIA), MTV’s corporate parent, there are plenty of people who will do that for you: The story is dominating Twitter and Google (GOOG), and it’s the lead story on Yahoo’s (YHOO) front page.

You can also see the incident on Google’s YouTube, of course. But you’ll have to do a little bit of hunting since Viacom clips aren’t supposed to be on the most popular video site in the world–because Viacom is still suing Google and YouTube for $1 billion.

Remember that copyright case? It’s still motoring along, slowly but steadily: Executives from both companies are still being deposed, and if things keep moving forward, there will actually be a trial in 2010–some three years after Viacom filed its first complaint.

In any case, here’s the official version, served up by MTV, which says it has generated more than 1.1 million views of the clip since last night.

MTV Shows

But if you’re pressed for time, you might prefer this parody version, which only requires 13 seconds and even manages to incorporate some political commentary.

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