360 DEGREES Weblog

As a brand, MTV has been beyond durable, managing to reinvent itself continuously and in doing so presenting a fast-moving target that left many would-be rivals in its wake. Shows like MTV’s “Real World” deserve much of the credit, or blame, for demonstrating that reality can make for compelling viewing. But finding the edge was simpler before competition for its core demographic started coming from all fronts, from video games and social-networking Web sites to amateur clips on YouTube. (INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE)

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It’s about time that desks started matching the desktops that sit on top of them. The Milk Desk ($TBA) is the first desk we’ve seen that is as smartly designed as the computers we use. Its oversized 140 x 80cm top houses cable exits, a cable drawer, an integrated front file, and four modular square spaces that can be used as garbage bins, pencil holders, an iPod drawer with in-desk cable routing, and even as an aquarium. The desk also has an electronic base to raise or lower the desk depending on whether you choose to sit or stand. All-in-all, one of the most beautifull desks we’ve ever seen.

As any aspiring entrepreneur will tell you, creating an upmarket brand from scratch is no easy task. While it’s true that Montblanc’s pens have been a natty accessory for the discerning consumer since they first appeared in Germany in 1906, it is only in the last 15 years that the company has diversified into leather goods, watches, and more recently, fine jewellery. Montblanc is now the fastest growing brand of South African parent group Richemont, which also owns Cartier, Dunhill and Jaeger-LeCoultre. (THE OBSERVER, UK)

While indoor bike rides through pre-recorded video landscapes are nothing new, Connect18 has added a twist: immersion learning. Not only is this a fabulous example of multitasking, but combining exercise and education makes them both more enjoyable. Connect18 Group Tours offers the opportunity for a team of riders on stationary bikes to learn Spanish, for instance, while cycling through rural Mexico. Or to virtually tour the California Wine Country while learning about the region’s whites and reds. Certified instructors help motivate and encourage interaction among the group, and the scenery goes by more quickly or slowly based on the instructor’s pace.

While Connect18 has yet to expand its reach beyond San Francisco and surrounding areas, the potential market for this revolutionary fitness and learning concept stretches across the map. And the potential to expand on this idea may be even greater. Not only is the variety of subject matter for courses nearly limitless, but workouts could be adapted to all manner of fitness equipment, including treadmills, rowing machines, stair climbers, elliptical trainers and cross-country ski simulators. An obvious enhancement (and business opportunity) would be individual DVD tours that could be done in front of home television screens.

A focus on learning and skills is something trendwatching.com has identified as a major trend, grounded in a shift in consumer values: “In economies that increasingly depend on creative thinking and acting, well-known status symbols tied to owning and consuming goods and services will find worthy competition from status skills.”

 Go to: www.connect18.com

Marcello bottoli had a gilded career as the chief executive of Louis Vuitton when, three years ago, he left to run Samsonite Corp. It was a move from one of the world’s great luxury brands to a company that had been mistreated by its private investors, was still recovering from a sharp drop in business after September 11, and had, in fact, come dangerously close to declaring bankruptcy for the second time in a decade. Bottoli, cosmopolitan, disciplined, and an alumnus of Procter & Gamble Co. (PG ), described Samsonite as a sleeping beauty. (BUSINESSWEEK)