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A Twitter App Just for the World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is now underway, and Twitter is pointing out a Twitter app called PokerRoad Nation, which aggregates tweets from professional players.
With PokerRoad Nation, users can filter the tweets to see updates from specific WSOP players or from specific events. There are over 50 events, and thousands of players (pros and amateurs).
"When you're trying to follow an event like a poker tournament where thousands of people might be playing at hundreds of tables, a tool like this let's you see what's going on through the players' eyes," says Jason Goldman on the Twitter Blog. "It's a whole new way of seeing the game."
PokerRoad Nation was created by poker professional Joe Sebok, who is also an avid Twitter user. Along with poker pro Barry Greenstein, Sebok also runs PokerRoad.com, which features a blog, audio, and video content.
Looking at PokerRoad Nation, I can't help but be reminded of when poker superstar Phil (Poker Brat) Hellmuth was drunk tweeting a while back. I wonder how much drunken tweeting we'll see throughout this WSOP.
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Technorati tag(s): online marketing
posted at: 12:00am on 31-May-2009
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Has the R.I. labor market hit bottom?
While the employment picture appeared to grow darker in April as the jobless rate surged to 11.1 percent – catching some observers by surprise – others insist that there are reasons that the state’s most recent job figures should be considered …
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Technorati tag(s): Rhode Island, Providence, New England
posted at: 12:00am on 31-May-2009
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Integration - The Key to Google as a Social Network
Google has or is working on pretty much all of the main ingredients for a really great social network. The problem (in my opinion) is that they are scattered and not integrated as well as they could be. Do you particiapte in any of Google's social projects? Tell us which ones.
Gmail
A while back when Gmail turned five years old, Google said that the coming five years would see more radical changes for Gmail than ever. Given the social nature of the web today, changes for the more social are the next logical step(s). Here are some rather social things (as I discussed here) that you can already do with Gmail.
- send messages to friends
- keep conversations with multiple friends together
- embed videos/rich media in emails/chat messages
- send messages to people beyond the Gmail wall
- use search operators to bring up all photos /other media from any past messages
- Account holders have profile pages with their picture
- Creating a Google account essentially gives you an account to a much broader range of products in Google itself that allow for sharing things with friends (such as Docs, Reader, and Bookmarks)
Google Wave
Google Wave is a little confusing at first glance, but Jordan Golson at GigaOm sums it up well as a combination of email, instant messaging, and a real-time wiki. MarketingShift calls it the closest thing Google has to Facebook. Google calls it "a personal communication and collaboration tool" with the current incarnation being a "very early form."
This thing was made by the creators of Google Maps. It's going to be interesting to see where it goes. It has received a lukewarm response thus far, but we'll see what happens.
Google Friend Connect
Google Friend Conect is Google's way of connecting users through other sites that aren't owned by Google. It comes equipped with gadgets such as a Q&A gadget, and an event gadget that lets you coordinate events with friends, something you can do with Google Calendar also, by the way.
Web Elements - Conversation Element
Besides announcing Google Wave at the Google Developer Conference this Week, the company also announced Web Elements, which we discussed here. The Google Social Web Blog looks at one element in particular - the conversation element, which is powered by Google Friend Connect. It lets your visitors post comments restricted to just your site or participate in a global conversation based on topic of interest. That is interesting. Google explains:
A global conversation takes place on several web sites simultaneously and will have a "Global conversation" label underneath the title. When visitors post to a global conversation on a specific topic, such as mandolins (as shown in the image below), the post not only shows up on the site where they posted it, but it also on any site that chooses to embed a Conversation element on mandolins, now or in the future. So now your visitors can talk about mandolins with others interested in the same topic, no matter what site they're on.
Google Reader
Google Reader, which of course allows users to subscribe to blogs and content sites by way or RSS feeds, has gotten a lot more social this year. They added a commenting feature, and a "friends and trends" feature.
More recently, they have pointed out the ability to create and share custom feed bundles with friends. This is an intersting way to share content.
YouTube
YouTube is often thought of as a video site, and it happens to also be the 2nd largest search engine. I think people often forget that it's also a social network. Google continues to add social elements to this as well. For one, they've been testing realtime updates. They are also finally tying YouTube accounts to Google accounts. Makes sense doesn't it?
Real Time Search
Google Co-founder Larry Page made it pretty clear that we're going be seeing some more in the way of real-time search coming from Google. Well, that's one of (not the only one, granted) the big appeals to Twitter. We don't know what is going to come of this yet as far as Google's concerned, but you can expect something.
Photo via Loic Le Meur
iGoogle and the Google Profile
I think these two elements are the real keys to integration of social activity through Google. If Google and users want to tie all of Google's social elements together, I think it's going to be through their iGoogle page and through their Google Profile. One appealing thing about both of these, is that neither one has to be limited to only Google's social elements.
Google has a tremendous advantage with iGoogle, because it is designed to be the home page, and no doubt many people (myself included) use it as the home page in their browser (not just for Google).
Everytime I open a browser window, i start from my iGoogle page. And why not? It's got access to my email, chat, Twitter, Facebook, task list, and everything else I want, all on a customizable basis thanks to Google's directory of gadgets that can be added to preference - and that directory keeps growing. Most of Google's products have gadgets. If you want to bring together your social Google experience to one home base, this is the most likely place that is going to happen.
Then of course, you have the Google Profile, the page that really ties your Google experience together from the backend. This is what you log in to every time you use a Google service, regardless of which you actually log in from (there may be exceptions). You can add any links to this page that you want (and I suspect that there will be a lot more customization options available in the future). Recently
Google made some big moves with the profile. For one, you can now create a vanity URL with it, based on your Google account name. Second, they started adding profiles right into regular Google searches for names. Considering that Google is the largest search engine in the world by a very large margin, that's going to give those profiles some pretty significant exposure.
Advertising and Revenue Models
Revenue models and social networks don't always go hand in hand. Some of course have yet to really even launch a viable one, but that has not been a problem for Google. Google has one of the best revenue models on the web (though there has certainly been a lot of talk that there is more to be done with YouTube), but Google has no problem with putting AdWords ads anywhere it feels like. Consider their foray into "interest-based" advertising, and you have to wonder if they'd ever consider displaying ads on iGoogle...or the profile. iGoogle being the starting point for the user (in many cases), and the profile being outsiders' gateway to finding friends.
Conclusion
Basically, my point to all of this (and has been for some time) is that Google is building a social network right under us. Many Google users will find themselves social network users without even realizing it, and Google will have to be included in the conversation of top social networks. And Google is a beast to compete with, I'm sure others will tell you. Google has not had great success with every product it launches, but if the company can find the right way to integrate everything, it's going to be quite a force (or even more so than it already is).
What are your thought on Google as a social network? We would love to hear them.
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Technorati tag(s): online marketing
posted at: 12:00am on 30-May-2009
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Access Your Desktop PC with Windows Mobile
You can use a handheld device to access your office PC from anywhere with Remote Desk Mobile.
 
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Technorati tag(s): small business
posted at: 12:00am on 30-May-2009
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Cape Wind gets ‘super permit’ from Mass.
HYANNIS, Mass. – Officials in Massachusetts have approved a comprehensive permit allowing developers to go forward with Cape Wind, the long-stalled 130-turbine wind farm proposed for Nantucket Sound. At left, a rendering of how the project would …
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Technorati tag(s): Rhode Island, Providence, New England
posted at: 12:00am on 30-May-2009
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HP Unifies Storage, Eases Virtualization for SMBs
HP bolsters its small business lineup with new unified data storage systems, SANs and a virtualization in a box bundle.
 
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Technorati tag(s): small business
posted at: 12:04am on 29-May-2009
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Amazon's Bezos Entertains; No Color Kindle Near
The e-tailer's ebullient CEO highlights the company's latest trove of successes, from the Kindle to cloud computing.
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Technorati tag(s): ecommerce
posted at: 12:04am on 29-May-2009
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Comments Make Content More Valuable
Comments are the backbone of the social web. Everything is going social if it has not already been that way for some time. Why is that? People are social by nature. It's how we communicate. It's how we learn. It's how we teach. Do you find comments to be valuable resources? Share your thoughts.
Conversations are built upon comments going back and forth and branching out in new directions, taken from one channel to the next. As the web as a whole has become more social, the conversation has gotten larger and it has become easier for anyone to get involved at a growing number of destinations, whether you join in the comments on a blog post, a Twitter stream, a Facebook News Feed, an email , a Google result (courtesy of SearchWiki), IMDB, a forum, a YouTube video, etc.
The web has never been as connected as it is now, and it is only becoming more so each time any service rolls out a new sharing feature. Facebook launched Facebook Connect, Digg launched the Diggbar, somebody launched the Shareaholic Firefox add-on, etc. These are just a few examples of thousands of content sharing tools.
There is value in conversation. I'm sure you've heard of the wisdom of crowds. Is every blogger an authority on something? No. Are all bloggers the authority on the subject of each of their posts? Of course not. That's why commenting is an option.
Comments add value for the reader. If a blogger is wrong about something (or even if he is not, but there is some debate), there are comments there to at least provide different views. Readers can then take these in with the original post and use their own judgment to reach their own conclusion, or use it as reason to further research the topic. Either way, they are getting value out of it because they are not taking one person's word for it.
When you're talking about a blog, or a news site, or really any kind of content site, comments add value. They don't just add vale for the reader, but for the publisher as well.
WebProNews recently conducted an interview with James Smith, Chief Revenue Officer for the Huffington Post, a very popular social news site. In fact, James attributes the site's success to being social. He says the site currently logs over a million comments a month.
"The reason I like to read HuffingtonPost is because of the comments - it makes it feel so much more community based AND the comments are refreshed quite quickly," writes Susan, commenting on a WebProNews post looking at the interview (and adding value to that post of course).
In the above clip, Smith talks about some types of things that attract people to want to "dive into" content. He mentions polls, images, and most popular stats, like showing the most popular news stories, and how many comments they have. Readers see hot topics of conversation, and often feel more compelled to look at that content because they have an indication that it has generated some interest.
Of course this helps page views, which can help advertising, and so on and so forth. This benefits everyone involved. Advertisers get more clicks. Publishers get more money from advertisers. Readers get more valuable content - not only from the comments, but because if the publisher is doing well financially, they'll be able to keep providing the content. Everybody wins. Furthermore, the publisher will be more inclined to post on subjects of interest, because they will attract comments, and the cycle continues.
Sometimes readers need a little push for commenting (which is why you'll often see comment links scattered throughout WebProNews content). It's simply a call to action for added value for all parties. Blogger Neville Hobson has a nice list of tips you can use to encourage comments.
As a blogger/publisher, once you get comments, keep up with them, and stay involved in the conversation when applicable (certainly time can be a factor here). For one, it will give the commenters a reason to come back, and conversations that come from comments can often inspire future posts. There also may be some things that fit right into your post that you hadn't thought of, and they will be there as additional resources for your readers.
Do you enjoy reading comments on articles and blog posts? Do you find yourself commenting frequently? Tell us.
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Technorati tag(s): online marketing
posted at: 12:04am on 29-May-2009
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Carcieri picks Suttell for chief justice
PROVIDENCE – Gov. Donald L. Carcieri today nominated R.I. Supreme Court Justice Paul A. Suttell to be the court’s next chief justice. Suttell, 60, was first named to the Supreme Court by Carcieri in July 2003. Prior to that he served on the R.I. …
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Technorati tag(s): Rhode Island, Providence, New England
posted at: 12:04am on 29-May-2009
path: /Rhode_Island_USA | permalink | edit (requires password)
How to Create an Image Backup, Part 1
Creating an image backup of your PC’s hard drive can save you a lot of anguish down the road. Ron Pacchiano walks you through Part 1 of the process.
 
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Technorati tag(s): small business
posted at: 12:01am on 28-May-2009
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Tracing Back Unhappy Customers Online
Every business is online and its in-house databases must now track the online incarnation of the bricks, mortar, and people.
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Technorati tag(s): ecommerce
posted at: 12:01am on 28-May-2009
path: /Ecommerce | permalink | edit (requires password)
Gov't Still Doesn't Know How To Deal With Internet Sex
The way state attorneys general have been dealing with sex in the digital age lately shows government officials have no idea how to deal with sex in the digital age. Two cases in point: craigslist erotic services listings and teen sexting.
After attorneys general across the nation put craigslist under the glare of their interrogation lamps and made a series of demands with no legal backing whatsoever (especially in South Carolina), craigslist complied by shutting down its erotic services category. To help with what state officials hoped would curb prostitution, craigslist replaced “erotic services” with an employee-monitored and more expensive “adult” section.
Doing so has done little to discourage prostitutes from posting on craigslist. It’s just created more cryptic language and, as ArsTechnica reports, made the sex trade more dangerous than before. Considering it was the “craigslist killer” who inspired the pressure to change, a more dangerous craigslist might be considered an unintended consequence.
Another unintended consequence of digital age laws: charging children with trafficking child pornography. The most famous case of many across the states is out of Pennsylvania, where three teenage girls have been charged with “peddling child pornography” by a local DA after a teacher discovered the girls had shared semi-nude pictures of themselves with classmates.
According to one survey, a fifth of American teenagers had participated in sexting (combination of sex and text messaging), and how one could possibly consider slapping sex offender charges on kids for the rest of their lives is just unconscionable. Nonetheless, Breitbart reports that a dozen states have levied child porn charges against kids across the nation.
A voice of reason appears from Canadian academia though (really, it takes a foreign scholar to make this connection?): Sexting is the digital generation’s version of “doctor,” “strip poker,” or “spin the bottle.” Wonder how many of us (not me, of course ;-p), could have been slapped with sex crime charges in junior high just a few decades ago?
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Technorati tag(s): online marketing
posted at: 12:01am on 28-May-2009
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Cookson slashes Attleboro staff by 21%
ATTLEBORO – Cookson Group plc has cut the number of workers at its precious metals plant in Attleboro by 21 percent since last September, the company said in a statement earlier this month.
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Technorati tag(s): Rhode Island, Providence, New England
posted at: 12:01am on 28-May-2009
path: /Rhode_Island_USA | permalink | edit (requires password)
Review: Seagate Replica PC Backup Appliance
It’s not perfect, but the Replica PC Backup Appliance might be the drive that finally gets you to, you know, actually back up your data.
 
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Technorati tag(s): small business
posted at: 12:00am on 27-May-2009
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iPhone App Flap Underscores Process in Flux
The latest iPhone app approval snafu involving the Kama Sutra sheds light on the many positions smartphone app stores take in vetting content.
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Technorati tag(s): ecommerce
posted at: 12:00am on 27-May-2009
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Online Classifieds Usage Doubles In Four Years
Almost half (49%) of all Internet users have visited an online classified site like craigslist, a percentage that’s more than doubled over the past four years. In 2005, that number was just 22 percent, according to Pew Internet.
On any given day, about a tenth of Internet users, (9%) visit online classifieds, up from four percent in 2005.
Pew’s findings are based on an April 2009 telephone survey of 2,253 adults. Pew says the margin of error sits at about plus or minus 2.4 percent.
“In the world of online classified advertising,” writes Pew, “Craigslist is by far the most used website in the United States. In March 2009, classified sites averaged 53.8 million unique visitors, up 7% from February. Craigslist had 42.2 million unique visitors in the month of March.”
That’s continued bad news for traditional newspapers, who made millions upon millions of dollars from classified listings over the decades. Likely all the controversy surrounding the so-called “craigslist killer” and subsequent assaults by state attorneys general has only helped craigslist in terms of brand recognition.
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Technorati tag(s): online marketing
posted at: 12:00am on 27-May-2009
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Marra buys out restaurant partner Pinelli
EAST GREENWICH – Steve Marra, far left, has bought out his partner, Bill Pinelli, to become sole owner of Pinelli Marra Restaurant Group, one of the state’s best-known independent food service companies, Providence Business News has …
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Technorati tag(s): Rhode Island, Providence, New England
posted at: 12:00am on 27-May-2009
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Twitters Set Up 'Twitition' To Save Earl
If you’re a fan of the TV show “My Name Is Earl” and you haven’t yet heard the news, wipe your Cheetos fingers so you don’t get orange stripes on your face after I tell you this: NBC just cancelled it.
Yes, I know we still don’t know who Earl Jr.’s real daddy is, but there’s still hope. A Twitition (Twitter petition) is already under way.
 Greg Garcia, the show’s creator, received the phone call at 7:30 this morning Pacific time, according to the LA Times, after getting the cold shoulder from NBC executives before the announcement of the 2009 Fall schedule. Garcia took the news in stride, looks like, and didn’t hesitate to throw a jab at the network: “It’s hard to be too upset about being thrown off the Titanic.”
Currently NBC is being crushed by other networks in terms of ratings, and though MNIE consistently attracted six million viewers (not great for Thursday night prime time), the show was also consistently in last place to dramas and reality shows on other networks, programs like Grey’s Anatomy, CSI and CSI NY, Survivor, Bones, and Hell’s Kitchen—meaning that if NBC has it’s way, there’ll be no way for smart comedy fans to escape formulaic programming and British guys who shout too much.
Well, okay, they’re pouring on the Saturday Night Live pretty heavy on Thursdays next fall, with SNL Weekend Update in Earl’s spot; NBC’s also bringing Chevy Chase back from the dead in a show called “Community.” But they’re also bringing back both tired old Law & Orders, I suppose because CBS’s CSI-All-The-Time ways are a bad influence.
NBC’s also bringing back “Chuck,” saved from cancellation by Internet geek activism.
According to the LA Times:
Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios, said the network opted to cancel "Earl" and "Medium" because neither the fans nor the advertisers had waged a campaign to save them the way viewers and the Subway restaurant chain did for "Chuck."
And that is obvious bullbutter because even the MNIE’s creator didn’t know the show was going to be cancelled until this morning, and I can pretty much bet fans of the show are shocked. Ethan Suplee, who plays Earl’s brother Randy, tweeted his disappointment:
“Just got the call that My Name Is Earl has been canceled. They sure did take their time with that decision or rather informing us of it.”
Alyssa Milano, who played a short-lived character on the show, retweeted the newly created Earl Twitition Twitter account, which has amassed about 400 followers in the past few hours. Maybe with some celebrity help, that will beef up.
If not, and NBC can’t be convinced to change its mind, Garcia says he’s open to a move to Fox or ABC. Both networks have expressed interest in the show, so maybe Earl can pull a “Scrubs” and switch networks. Even better if Earl could pull a “Family Guy” and actually survive the switch.
At least we might get to find out who Earl Jr.’s daddy is and whether Crabman’s gonna put up with that.
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Technorati tag(s): online marketing
posted at: 12:03am on 26-May-2009
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Four People Who Don't Get "The Internet"
It’s interesting how “the Internet” has come to be a singularly collective, authoritative entity. On a radio morning show today, a woman called in and said, regarding concrete foundations, “the Internet said you needed footers.”
“The Internet” said it. It seems many people regard “the Internet” the way they regard “the paper,” as the go-to, authoritative information source, without a thought of the individual sources making it up. It’s as though “the Internet” speaks with one voice and all descriptors used apply to all parts of it rather than a discordant symphony of infinite voices singing the impossibility of one size fitting all.
Some prominent people—well, at least they are given prominent pulpits—have been really trashing “the Internet” lately, but don’t seem to really get “the Internet.” The first one on the list disappointed me the most.
Ralph Nader
 Ralph Nader
I respect what Ralph Nader has to say usually; I put him up there with Ron Paul as one of two guys who came the closest in the last century to being very nearly mostly right about things. Nader recently addressed a group of Washington, DC college students and implied they were too obsessed with “the Internet,” that “the Internet didn’t do a good job of motivating action,” and instead does a good job of massively trivializing communication to no truly productive end.
Guilt is a tried and true motivator, and Nader laid it thick onto the college students, asking them how the Internet generation would explain to its grandchildren what they did to prevent the ills of the future world:
"You know. The world is melting down. They're nine years old. They're sitting on your lap. They've just become aware of things that are wrong in the world: starvation, poverty, whatever. And they ask you, what were you doing when all this was happening: Grandma? Grandpa? That you were too busy updating your profile on Facebook?"
I almost thought he was right since I have curmudgeonly tendencies. Internet campaigns are most effective at saving cancelled TV shows. But “the Internet” sort of did get Barack Obama elected, too. It seems like Nader is bemoaning what all elders have bemoaned forever: the yet unrealized potential of the youth. He could just be coming down with a case of oldmanitis, growing impatient with the new batch of lazy will-be activists.
Sarah Palin
 Sarah Palin
Besides what would be, if allegations were accurate, a blatant assault on freedom of speech and fair use, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and her Attorney General’s legal threats to a Texas DJ show they don’t really understand “the Internet” either. Shoe Latif, operator of crackho.com received a cease and desist letter from the State of Alaska alleging violation of Alaskan law by using the state’s official seal on the site.
During the election, Latif says she actually just used a simple redirect to drive crackho.com traffic to Palin’s website, and never hosted any of Palin’s content, official seal included, on her servers. What came up was more like framing, kind of like what Google does with Google Images. In essence, visitors were rickrolled, which so far isn’t illegal.
Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton
 Michael Lynton
Before becoming CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Michael Lynton served as CEO of AOL Europe and president of AOL International. So it’s naturally confusing to hear him say something like this: “I am a guy who hasn’t seen any good come out of the Internet.”
Of course, Lynton is Sony’s boy now, and he gets paid a lot of money to deride the very medium upon which he built his success. His perspective now is that “the Internet” is bad for the entertainment industry—worse, apparently, than twice-baked movies, bad acting, bad scripts, formulaic, lowest-common-denominator drivel the industry floods TV, radio, magazines, theaters, video stores, news programming, and, yes, iTunes, with.
But perhaps richer than the line about nothing good coming out of the Internet is the next one about copyright law. Lynton said Washington needed new rules to protect copyrighted material rather than expanding broadband further: “Somebody has got to realize that we need some rules.”
Somebody like the cast and crew of the former US Senate, who unanimously passed sweeping, tougher copyright legislation, upping fines and penalties last year? Somebody like the Congresspersons and White House officials making international copyright treaties matters of national security so they can hide from the public and “the Internet?” Somebody like the five RIAA lawyers currently implanted in the Department of Justice?
Somebody like those guys, Lynton? How about somebody who thinks a teenager downloading songs (or his parents) shouldn’t face $150,000 fines every time he does it?
Bryan Appleyard
 Bryan Appleyard
Writing for Britain’s TimesOnline, erm, an Internet site, Bryan Appleyard reduces Web 2.0 to something created and popularized by California cultists, whose creation has led to Appleyard coining a phrase sounding as close to buggery as he could muster:
“Bloggery is forming itself into big, institutionalised aggregators such as The Huffington Post and The Daily Beast, and remains utterly parasitic on the mainstream media it affects to despise. Even Twitter is already coming to be dominated by conventional, non-web-based celebrity — Oprah Winfrey in the US and Stephen Fry over here.”
Yes, “bloggery” does sound like a filthy, depraved habit. It’s one of those words requiring the speaker to turn up his nose a bit at the stench of it. The rest of the piece reads like a diatribe delivered over crumpets in a newspaper mogul’s—what would they have?—sitting room.
The Internet
The problem is not “the Internet.” It’s not the fragmentation and trivialization of communication. It’s not the rampant freedom of speech and fair use liberties. It’s not the free promotion fans offer entertainment companies. It’s not a few innovators having world-changing influence.
The problem, for the establishment, isn’t any of that. It’s that the world is changing, at all. Entrenched power and money structures need predictability and control if they are to continue to succeed. And that makes the Internet a problem for them, not for the rest of us. “The Internet” carries the only current populous hope of the people and it’s driving the powers that be absolutely crazy, save for Nader, who just thinks it's pointless.
It isn’t lack of control that’s the problem, nor populism, nor cultists, nor fragmentation. It’s the ever-increasing desire of the few to control what has become the masses’ medium of choice. Governments, ISPs, Entertainment, Newspapers, and Others want this new Wild West reformed into something orderly, something controlled, something (immensely) profitable. The desire to lump "the Internet" under one easily understood label is only very nearly as strong.
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Technorati tag(s): online marketing
posted at: 12:02am on 25-May-2009
path: /Online_Marketing | permalink | edit (requires password)
Internet Gets American Idol Wrong
Every year one can take a quick a look at Internet activity and predict who’s going to win American Idol. It totally worked last year, with David vs. David, and years before that. This year, though the Internet bet wrong.
Looking back at the beginning of the season, the two finalists really did come from nowhere. Back in February, searchers pegged Danny Gokey and Alexis Grace as would-be finalists. While Gokey almost made it, it came down to the acoustic soul of Kris Allen and screamqueen Adam Lambert.
And it looks like everybody got it wrong, from the Internet to the judges. Lambert was clearly favored by the judges, even on occasions when he stepped far to the left of the right pitch. After a Allen’s tame duet early in the show with Keith Urban, Lambert got to be the new front man for KISS in full makeup—sounds like even the producers had favorites.
Hitwise reports searches for Lambert outnumbered Allen by five to one.
Biz360, analyzing social media data, also picked Lambert to win.
So did BettorsWorld, the first time they’ve been wrong—Allen beat the bookies!
Did anybody guess it right? Well, we did find one press release from ymarketing. Whatever they did—which they say was through a combined analysis of search and social media—they did it right. Ymarketing predicted Allen as the winner by looking at Facebook Lexicon, Google Trends, Google Insights, Compete, YouTube, and Twitter, as well as some unnamed data sources.
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Technorati tag(s): online marketing
posted at: 12:02am on 24-May-2009
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Work resumes for United relocation
United Natural Food Inc.’s move to Rhode Island – which appeared endangered by the financial troubles of developer Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse – is no longer in doubt.
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Technorati tag(s): Rhode Island, Providence, New England
posted at: 12:02am on 24-May-2009
path: /Rhode_Island_USA | permalink | edit (requires password)
TV Still Video King, YouTube Still Hulu's Daddy
According to Nielsen, almost 99 percent of the video watched in the US is on a television. That leaves 1.1 percent for the Internet, and 0.1 percent on mobile devices.
In fact, though video viewing online and on mobile is increasing dramatically, neither medium is taking away from TV. Americans are actually watching more TV than ever and just adding online viewing to their schedules.
That’s bad news for gyms, eh?
Last year, 116 million people watched an average of two hours of online video per month. This year 131 million people are watching an average of three hours per month. Mobile video viewing increased by 52 percent; 13 million people are watching 3.5 hours of video monthly.
But the grand champion is still TV. Kids ages 2-11 average 108 hours of TV monthly, and those over 65 watch 210 hours, both groups working the set like part time jobs.
Among video sites online, the numbers may also be surprising. For all the hype and news of growth surrounding Hulu, the NBC/Fox joint venture site has quite a ways to go to catch YouTube. With users uploading an astonishing 20 hours of video per minute, YouTube grabs over 61 percent of the online video market share.
Hulu? 1.91 percent, about the same as iTunes. Google Video grabs 3.42 percent; MySpace received 2.72 percent.
But Hulu is growing fairly rapidly, and interestingly has the tenth most-watched YouTube channel, thanks primarily to “Family Guy.” Even at an incredible current year-over-year growth rate of 630 percent, it will take Hulu three years to match just 30 percent of YouTube’s traffic.
So it might be safe to say that Hulu, while formidable in the online video space, isn’t quite the YouTube-killer some have projected, in the same way online video hasn’t come close to being a TV threat yet.
e analysis report.
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Technorati tag(s): online marketing
posted at: 12:01am on 23-May-2009
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Library Of Congress's Depression Photos Debut On Flickr
History buffs may want to rethink their plans for the three-day weekend, and even people with only a slight interest in the subject should get ready to make a few mouse clicks. The Library of Congress and Flickr have teamed up to introduce folks to a huge collection of photos, with most of the images dating back to between 1935 and 1943.
Viewers of the collection, which was put together by the Farm Security Administration and the Office of War Information, can look over the highlights quite quickly. Or it's also possible to spend weeks pouring over the pictures.
A post on the Flickr Blog explains, "The Library of Congress' newest set features 10 of the most frequently requested photos plus staff picks to introduce you to the vast archive of about 170,000 negatives and 107,000 prints of life in America during the Great Depression and World War II."
Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother," seen here, definitely counts as one of the most requested pictures, and should give you an idea of the quality of the collection.
If you then find yourself with even more time to spare, a post on the Library of Congress Blog states, "You can find more than a million pictures among the digitized collections in the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog at the Library of Congress website. You might also enjoy the special presentations of photos that also appear in American Memory and Exhibitions."
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Technorati tag(s): online marketing
posted at: 4:18pm on 22-May-2009
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Mouse Position Script
Use this script to determine the mouse position on your page.
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Technorati tag(s): javascript, programming, scripting
posted at: 4:08pm on 22-May-2009
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UK Court Clears eBay in L'Oreal Fakes Case
Online auctioneer wins one in Britain, but counterfeit battles continue.
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Technorati tag(s): ecommerce
posted at: 4:08pm on 22-May-2009
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Top 50 iPhone Apps Provide the 411
These iPhone apps help you keep your fingers on the pulse of news, weather, sports, tech, business, and just about everything else you might need.
 
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Technorati tag(s): small business
posted at: 4:08pm on 22-May-2009
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eBay Collects Another Win Against L'Oreal
eBay is on a legal roll. A little more than one week ago, a French court ruled that the auction company is not responsible for the sale of counterfeit L'Oreal products through its site. Today, a UK court came to about the same conclusion.
L'Oreal - along with several other luxury brands - has been hounding eBay for some time, accusing it of doing too little to stop the flow of counterfeit goods. L'Oreal wants eBay to proactively screen listings, and not just pull them down upon request.
But of suits filed in Germany, Spain, Belgium, and France, L'Oreal has already lost the last two, and now eBay appears to be in the clear in the UK, as well.
According to the BBC, the UK High Court just "called on eBay to demand sellers disclose names and addresses, take greater account of negative feedback from users, filter listings and restrict volumes of high-risk products, such as fragrances."
Richard Ambrose, eBay's head of trust and safety, also attempted to stem off future suits by stating, "We reiterate again that co-operation and dialogue is what is needed, not litigation. Only by working together can we collectively address the issues that concerns eBay, rights owner and consumers."
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Technorati tag(s): online marketing
posted at: 4:08pm on 22-May-2009
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Workers to pay 41% of health costs in ’09
SEATTLE – A new national report shows U.S. residents enrolled in employer-sponsored health plans will cover an average of 41 percent of their families’ health care costs this year, the largest share to date.
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Technorati tag(s): Rhode Island, Providence, New England
posted at: 4:08pm on 22-May-2009
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Focus on SEO, Open Source to Boost Online Sales
Even in a recession, e-commerce firms can improve sales while cutting costs -- Gartner provides five strategies for doing so in a report.
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Technorati tag(s): ecommerce
posted at: 12:00am on 13-May-2009
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Ask CEO Steps Downs After One and a Half Years
Ask CEO Jim Safka has suddenly decided to step down from his role with the company. He has only been there since January 2008.
In a letter to the Ask staff, Safka said:
"This choice was not made lightly ... When my brother John passed away unexpectedly less than a month ago, I began re-evaluating my personal and professional priorities and decided it was the right time for me to make a change ... And whatever I do next will be smaller and more local, enabling me to have a better personal balance."
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According to the Wall Street Journal, Safka is going to become the CEO of online textbook rental company Chegg. This information comes from "a person familiar with the matter." Ask president Scott Garell will apparently be taking over some of Safka's duties at least for the time being.
Safka has overseen Ask.com's global operations and has also held the title of CEO of Primal Ventures, a new-venture entity that identifies seeds and incubates business opportunities for Ask.com's parent company IAC.
He has also served as CEO of Match.com, another IAC property. He held that title from 2004 to 2006. Prior to that he held positions with AT&T, E*Trade, Intuit, Warner Bros, and Paramount.
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Technorati tag(s): online marketing
posted at: 12:00am on 13-May-2009
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Butler seeks $1.2M for brain research
PROVIDENCE – Butler Hospital has launched a $1.2 million fundraising effort to bolster brain science research on its Providence campus by creating an endowment to seed projects, fund research and strengthen infrastructure.
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posted at: 12:00am on 13-May-2009
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Apple Slips in E-Commerce Satisfaction
Apple.com falls five points in an annual online customer satisfaction survey.
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Technorati tag(s): ecommerce
posted at: 12:01am on 12-May-2009
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Netgear Looks to Rack Up Small Business Storage
The storage vendor also touts remote access that's drag-and-drop simple.
 
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posted at: 12:01am on 12-May-2009
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UK Consumers Fear Online Shopping
Almost one in three Internet users are not shopping online in the UK due to lack of trust, according to a new report from the Office of Fair Trading.
 John Fingleton
Of these Internet users, 30 percent identified a lack of trust as the main reason for holding them back, while 20 percent cited fears over personal security and 15 percent said they did not trust companies that sell online.
While consumer confidence is gradually improving, overall levels are still too low for the market to reach its full potential. Among those who do shop online, 72 percent say they still have concerns about doing so and 38 percent are only slightly aware of their online consumer rights.
The report found that despite concerns, there have been some positive changes. Among those who do shop online 54 percent feel it is as safe as shopping in a store compared to 26 percent in 2006.
"Online retailing is the future for many businesses and increasingly important to the economy. If consumers are not confident online, demand will grow at a slower rate," said John Fingleton, OFT Chief Executive.
"So, we must tackle these concerns right now if the online market is to grow at its full potential."
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Technorati tag(s): online marketing
posted at: 12:01am on 12-May-2009
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R.I. food stamp use ranks near bottom
PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island ranked fifth from the bottom out of all 50 states when it came to the percentage of eligible residents who signed up for food stamps in 2006, with just 55 percent of those eligible enrolled in the federally-funded …
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Technorati tag(s): Rhode Island, Providence, New England
posted at: 12:01am on 12-May-2009
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Swine flu tests emergency planning
While the dangers of swine flu appear to be fading by the day, at its height the threat provided a semi-serious test for some businesses’ disaster preparedness and continuity plans.
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Technorati tag(s): Rhode Island, Providence, New England
posted at: 12:00am on 10-May-2009
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DRM Debate: How Much Is Too Much?
Content needs to be protected, but how that's enabled was a subject of debate at the Digital Hollywood conference.
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Technorati tag(s): ecommerce
posted at: 5:33pm on 08-May-2009
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10 Free Must-Have Windows Networking Apps
Build your own networking toolkit with this great collection of 10 utilities. Even better, it won’t cost you a dime.
 
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Technorati tag(s): small business
posted at: 5:33pm on 08-May-2009
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Floating Astronaut
The Astronaut floats around your screen across a moving star background.
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Technorati tag(s): javascript, programming, scripting
posted at: 5:33pm on 08-May-2009
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State AGs Look Into Google Book Deal
Google is facing more scrutiny over its proposed settlement it reached with copyright holders allowing it to digitize millions of books.
This time a group of state attorneys general have discussed the deal in a conference call held on Tuesday, Peter Brantley director of the Internet Archive told Reuters.
Google is also facing an antitrust investigation by the Justice Department over its class action deal it reached with publishers and authors to digitize books.
The deal has raised concern with libraries because it does not spell out what Google would eventually charge them.
"There was no indication that there was any specific activity planned," by the attorneys general, said Brantley, whose nonprofit Internet Archive also digitizes books in addition to building a digital library of Internet sites.
Google maintains the settlement would increase access to millions of books.
"The Department of Justice and several state attorneys general have contacted us to learn more about the impact of the settlement, and we are happy to answer their questions," a Google representative said in an e-mailed statement.
Under the deal Google would be able to digitize and sell so-called orphan books, those still in copyright, but with no clear owner. That has raised concern about antitrust issues.
The Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers reached a proposed settlement with Google last fall that has the company agreeing to pay $125 million to set up a Book Rights Registry, where copyright holders can register works and receive compensation from book sales.
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posted at: 5:33pm on 08-May-2009
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Anti-competitive practices alleged at CVS
WASHINGTON – A group of state lawmakers is asking federal regulators to investigate whether the 2007 merger that created pharmaceutical giant CVS Caremark Corp. has led to higher prescription drug prices for Americans.
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posted at: 5:33pm on 08-May-2009
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What is Virtualization, and Why Should You Care?
Analyst Laurie McCabe explains one of the more complex tech concepts and talks about how virtualization can benefit small business.
 
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Technorati tag(s): small business
posted at: 12:00am on 08-May-2009
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Integrated Ads Through Social Media Apps
appssavvy is a direct sales team for the social media space, and is able to get a first-hand look at the world of marketing through social media apps, a trend that is growing by the day. In fact, the company recently entered exclusive partnerships with six big-name social app companies - LivingSocial (makers of the ever-popular "pick your five" app on Facebook), Circle of Moms, Zynga, Serious Business, Where I've Been, and Poolhouse.
I asked appssavvy CEO Chris Cunningham a few questions about the company's experiences with the industry that will hopeful shed some light on it for businesses looking to enter the social app marketing game.
Chris Crum: I see examples in the press release of companies that are "interested in" using the social media apps. Are these companies going through appssavvy?
 Chris Cunningham: To date, appssavvy has run more than 75 campaigns between social media application developers and publishers with advertisers, including Lexus, Sony Pictures, ChapStick, Oakley and Adidas, to name a few. appsavvy connects advertisers and agencies with apps, such as the ones announced [the six partnerships mentioned above], among an array of others including NBC News's iCue, MesmoTV and SocialCalendar. appssavvy works with hundreds of applications.
Where appssavvy fits is in that the company has relationships with advertisers and agencies and is connecting those relationships with developers of social media applications in contextually-relevant ways or through integrated sponsorships. Traditionally, a majority of these developers are just that, developers. They don't have the relationships with Madison Avenue, thus appssavvy fills the role as their advertising sales team.
Chris Crum: What are some specific examples of how these companies and other advertisers are using the applications to market? Where does the marketing fit into the "pick your five" app for example?
Chris Cunningham: appssavvy is focused on connecting advertisers to social media applications in contextually-relevant ways and through integrated sponsorships. It is not through traditional media buys of banners, etc. The campaigns are true partnerships where the advertiser is adding to the experience, not detracting from it. For example, Oakley, the sunglasses and other optical products outdoor company,
this past winter ran a campaign on the social media application Snow Reports, providing snow reports at resorts from across the world. The campaign was contextually-relevant, but Oakley also integrated custom skins, feature videos and profiles of the company's ski and snowboard teams.
As for Pick Your Five, we do not have an advertiser example, yet, but stay tuned. Pick Your Five is not only hugely popular, but is a great entertainment opportunity for a brand.
Chris Crum: What exactly is appssavvy's role in the process of getting an advertiser's message out through these social applications?
Chris Cunningham: It ranges not only from connecting the two (social media application and advertiser), but from the creative standpoint, to the execution, to the tracking and optimization. appssavvy is the expert in this emerging space for digital marketers. We work with the agency and advertiser to create an opportunity in social media to reach relevant audiences, while adding to the experience. For example, recently we connected Sobieski Vodka with SocialCalendar. Sobieski's branding was integrated into the application's calendar and the premium vodka provided a martini glass icon -- which was the most used icon during the campaign's flight -- to be used in invitations. In addition, Sobieski also integrated recipes for holiday drinks into the application. In this example, Sobieski not only received strong branding exposure, but was able to connect with audiences that met its advertising needs.
Chris Crum: Can you give me any hard numbers involving conversion rates and/or click-through rates?
Chris Cunningham: It isn't about a click, although that metric is and can be tracked. In addition, each campaign is really different from a tracking perspective. Social media application campaigns, if done right, are not about traditional digital media of tossing up banners. We see them being right when done in regard to context. For example, would it make sense to connect an auto company with Circle of Moms?
 Probably, not. Would it make sense to connect a CPG company targeting moms? Absolutely. In addition to context, it is about integrated sponsorships. Oakley and Sobieski, as examples, not only fit from a context perspective, but they brought content that added to the experience and lifted their brands. From all of this, you can track any number of metrics, from how many videos or profiles were watched/viewed in the case of Oakley, to how many icons were used or recipes downloaded in the case of Sobieski.
Chris Crum: If there is anything else about appssavvy and social app marketing you'd like to share, please feel free to do so.
Chris Cunningham: A couple of things: First, social media applications are becoming mainstream. It always takes a year or two to garner enough understanding in the digital marketing space for an advertising opportunity to take shape. Since beginning appssavvy in early 2008, we've spent the better part of a year educating advertisers and agencies and are really starting to see the space takeoff. On that note, we're also seeing a real flight from quantity to quality, which is really what today's announcement of six new leading social media application partnerships is all about. Yes, there are tens of thousands of Facebook applications, but quality is winning out, which is very exciting and why companies like Circle of Moms, Zynga, LivingSocial, SeriousBusiness, Where I've Been and Poolhouse are experiencing such strong growth and success.
I'd like to thank Cunningham for answering my questions. I hope those who have not tested the waters of social media app marketing have gained some insight into the opportunities that are available.
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Technorati tag(s): online marketing
posted at: 12:00am on 08-May-2009
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CVS criticized for overcharging in Mass.
BOSTON – A major national union today unveiled a report that criticizes CVS Caremark Corp., the nation’s largest retail pharmacy chain, for allegedly overcharging customers in Massachusetts.
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Technorati tag(s): Rhode Island, Providence, New England
posted at: 12:00am on 08-May-2009
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Craigslist Facing Ultimatum Over Sex Ads
Executives from the classified site meet with attorneys general over prostitution linked to Craigslist, lawsuits threatened.
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Technorati tag(s): ecommerce
posted at: 12:00am on 07-May-2009
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Economy Drives Growth in Web-based Software
Industry pioneers Salesforce and NetSuite successfully set the hosted-business software table and, in a down economy, other companies rush to grab a seat.
 
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Technorati tag(s): small business
posted at: 12:00am on 07-May-2009
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Women Prefer Blogs/Facebook To Twitter
Women keep their personal lives and business lives very separate when it comes to social media, according to the 2009 Women in Social Media Study by BlogHer, iVillage, and Compass Partners. While women consider blogs great sources of information, especially regarding purchases, the vast majority of women use social networks solely for keeping in touch with family and friends.
Over half (55%) of the women surveyed in said they participate in some kind of blog activity (publishing, posting comments, reading), and 53% use social networks.
But here’s the kicker: Women use social networks in the purest sense only; 75% use them to keep in touch with friends and family, and not so much as information sources or for making purchase decisions. That’s a major insight considering this is the half of population making 85% of purchase decisions in the US.
In contrast, women rely more on blogs for the business of life, and are twice as likely to use blogs than social networks as an information source (64%), for advice and recommendations (43%), and opinion sharing (55%). Women are 50% more likely to use social networks merely as a means of keeping in touch.
A third of those participating in social networks are loyal to just one and do no other social media activities on a weekly basis. There are likely infinite reasons for that, but it sheds a rather harsh light on why only 20% of women appear to use Twitter.
It could mean that most want all of the networking under one roof for convenience, and only desire one-to-many communication if it involves people they know and trust. It could also mean that Twittering is still considered a medium for celebrities, politicians, and digital hipsters; the survey found that women who themselves blog are significantly more active across all forms of social media.
"Bloggers have a broad reach in the social media population and the survey demonstrates that women who blog are the most actively engaged social media participants -- constantly seeking out new ideas and ways to share their opinions about those ideas," said Susan Wright, president of Compass Partners.
And other women are listening, perhaps more than they are to traditional media. Thirty percent are watching less TV, 31% are listening to less radio, 36% are reading fewer magazines, and 39% are reading the newspaper less.
Numbers like that indicate a huge shift in the media landscape: the sex making the most purchase decisions are rejecting traditional media in favor of online sources. Forty-five percent of women in the survey said they decided to purchase an item after reading about it on a blog; among the women in the more digitally savvy BlogHer network, that number is 85%.
Women bloggers are twice as likely to share a positive purchase experience on blogs and/or message boards and about 40% more likely to share a negative experience. So it’s a good idea to be very, very nice to women bloggers, especially since they are likely to carry significant influence with non-blogging women.
"At a time when the economy is top of mind for more than 70 percent of these active social media participants, women who blog are turning to online resources, including blogs, to help them make their day to day purchasing decisions," said BlogHer cofounder Elisa Camahort.
The results of the survey are concluded according the answers of 2,821 women in the general US population, 1,008 women in the BlogHer network, and 788 women in the iVillage network.
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Technorati tag(s): online marketing
posted at: 12:00am on 07-May-2009
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Arcade interior makes PPS at-risk list
PROVIDENCE – Two historic theaters, an East Side apartment building and the interior of the to-be-renovated Arcade are among the 10 listings on the Providence Preservation Society’s 2009 Most Endangered Properties survey.
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Technorati tag(s): Rhode Island, Providence, New England
posted at: 12:00am on 07-May-2009
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NetGear Unified Against SMB Security Threats
The networking company offers a family of unified threat management appliances designed to protect against Web-based threats without compromising network performance.
 
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Technorati tag(s): small business
posted at: 12:00am on 06-May-2009
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Cost-Cutting E-tailers Look to Retain Customers
The recession is prompting online store owners to shift their marketing priorities, with customer retention and social marketing topping the list.
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Technorati tag(s): ecommerce
posted at: 12:00am on 06-May-2009
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Business Plan announces winners
PROVIDENCE – A company that is working on preventing medical device-related infections and a team of Brown University students developing an energy drink were the two big winners in the sixth Rhode …
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posted at: 12:00am on 06-May-2009
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Is Amazon Set to Super-Size the Kindle?
Reports of a jumbo Kindle grow as other e-reader vendors prepare large-screen devices to help salvage the ailing newspaper industry.
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Technorati tag(s): ecommerce
posted at: 12:04am on 05-May-2009
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Small Businesses Find Silver Lining in Cloud Computing
Entrepreneurs discuss the pros and cons of ditching Microsoft Office for Web-based office tools.
 
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Technorati tag(s): small business
posted at: 12:04am on 05-May-2009
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Online Video On TV To Generate $2.9 Billion
The U.S. market for watching online video on TV is set to significantly increase, according to a new report from In-Stat.
Over 40 percent of young adult U.S. households view Internet video on TV at least once per month.
Revenue from Web-to-TV streaming services will grow to $2.9 billion in 2013.
 Keith Nissen
"Once Web-to-TV video becomes simple and convenient, mass consumer adoption will follow quite rapidly," says Keith Nissen, In-Stat analyst.
"Our primary research shows that users want a variety of their consumer devices to enable a web-to-TV video experience."
In-Stat also found that within five years, the number of broadband households viewing Web-to-TV content will grow to 24 million.
Currently, 29 percent of 25 to 34 year olds with game consoles use the devices to watch streaming video off the Internet.
In five years, there will be 7.4 million broadband households that use media center PCs for streaming Web-to-TV content.
TV networks and cable operators currently view online TV as an additive to pay TV services, but Web -to- TV will cause a complete restructuring of today's video services.
Video content will be optimized for broadcast or Web-to-TV based on content type.
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Technorati tag(s): online marketing
posted at: 12:04am on 05-May-2009
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URI’s Seemann leaving for Texas A&M
In a blow to the state’s efforts to boost its science and technology sector, a prominent University of Rhode Island administrator who has helped lead those initiatives said today he is leaving to take a job in Texas, PBN has learned.
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Technorati tag(s): Rhode Island, Providence, New England
posted at: 12:04am on 05-May-2009
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What Is Twitter About in One Word?
The "what is Twitter about?" article is not a new concept. It's been discussed frequently pretty much since Twitter was launched. Yet people still have a hard time grasping the concept. In fact, Twitter has had a hard time with user retention most likely because so many people try it based on all of the hype, and then don't return because they don’t "get it." What is Twitter about to you in one word? Tell us.
The truth is, it often takes a while using the service to "get it." The more you use it, the more you start to realize the benefits that are there. I (with a little help from Mike and Tiffany) asked a whole bunch of people what Twitter is "about" to them in one word. A handful of them responded, and here are some of the answers I got:
- Updates
- Egos
- Networking/Networks
- Relationships
- Represent
- Connection
- Possibilities
- Instant
- Marketing
- Speed
- Noise
- Inane
- Communication
- Contrived
- Aggrandizement
- Useful
- Spammy
- Conversation
- Open
- Freedom
- Useless
- Awareness
- Chat
Going into this thing, the word I was clinging to in my mind was microblogging. It has always been described with this word, but what does that mean? Small blogging. To me, Twitter is not a whole lot different than a collection of blogs, only all of the entries are really short (140 characters or less).
Is there a lot of noise? Sure. Could the same thing be said about the Blogosphere? Absolutely. You read blogs because they are written by people who talk about topics you are interested in reading about, or because you're interested in what the blogger has to say because of who they are. The same could be said about Twitter. You follow those whose thoughts you are interested in hearing, whose links you are interested in sharing, whose company's you are interested in staying informed about, etc.
Company Twitter accounts are no different than company blogs for all intents and purposes. The same goes for personal accounts and personal blogs. Do you care what I ate for breakfast? Probably not, but someone might. And I could've just as easily posted the same info on my personal blog. The difference is that on Twitter, I would've got right to the point - I didn't have any breakfast this morning. A blog entry might have taken several paragraphs to explain the reasoning behind this. If these are the only things I blogged about, you'd probably stop reading my blog.
If these are the only things I tweeted about, you'd probably stop following me. If twitter accounts are like blogs, then Twitter is like its own Blogosphere (or microblogosphere) combined with a feed reader. You select the ones you want to follow, just as if you were selecting what blogs to subscribe to.
To me, this is what Twitter is about. That’s not all it’s about, but that’s how I get the most use out of it. That’s probably why I am not an incredibly frequent Twitterer per se. I read Twitter a lot more than I write on Twitter, but that’s still using it. Neville Hobson recently wrote about how Twitter is for listening. For some of us, that is the biggest part of it, but still for others, it’s speaking. We couldn’t listen if nobody was talking.
It is clear that Twitter is about a variety of different things to different people (and nothing to others). One person's microblogging service is another person's networking platform. There is certainly plenty of crossover as well. It doesn't have to be about strictly one thing. It's whatever you want it to be. And if you don't want to use it, nobody's putting a gun to your head (hopefully).
Thank you to all who participated in my little survey. I’m not sure if we’ve helped anyone “get” it or not, but either way it was interesting to see the different words people came up with. Somehow, I didn't get many repeats. Twitter obviously fits different molds for different people. But we already knew that.
Got a word for Twitter that's not on the list? Share it with us.
...Try not to get too profane.
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Technorati tag(s): online marketing
posted at: 12:01am on 04-May-2009
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Engaging with the Kentucky Derby Online
Not that this comes as a surprise, but the Kentucky Derby is in on the social media game. We're seeing pretty much every major event become more engaging with the general public. Not unlike the Presidential Inauguration or the NFL Draft, there are plenty of ways to get involved with the Kentucky Derby online as well.
The Derby has a section of its official site called Derby Connect that offers a suite of online tools to "keep you in the action every step of the way." These include a YouTube channel, a Facebook Page, the Derby Universe on Netvibes, and Derby widgets. The widgets are still being worked on according to the site though. They better hurry up if they want them ready for this year.
The Derby has over 30,000 fans on Facebook. The page features regular updates on individual horses and odds, a nice collection of photos, and plenty of fan discussion.
The Kentucky Derby YouTube Channel, which has actually been in existence since 2006 features 56 videos for those who can't get enough of the Derby. One particular video shows you how to make your Mint Julep, a traditional Kentucky Derby drink.
Of course, the Derby has its own Twitter account as well. Follow username @derbyoaks for the official twitter feed for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks, straight from Churchill Downs. The feed currently has over 1,400 followers, and is being updated regularly.
There is plenty more Kentucky Derby media in the form of news, photos, videos, etc. on the Derby's site itself. There is also a means of betting online via Chruchill Downs Incorporated's account wagering service Twinspires.
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Technorati tag(s): online marketing
posted at: 12:05am on 03-May-2009
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For one small business, credit woes over
For Jamiel’s Shoe World, the credit crunch that plagues small businesses in Rhode Island ended when it got a loan thanks to the federal economic stimulus package. But the crunch still exists for the majority of small businesses in the state.
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Technorati tag(s): Rhode Island, Providence, New England
posted at: 12:05am on 03-May-2009
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A Desktop Alternative: Asus Eee Top PC ET1602
If you need wireless connectivity and basic computing capability in a tight space, the Eee Top ("top" short for "desktop") PC ET 1602 may be your answer.
 
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Technorati tag(s): small business
posted at: 12:01am on 02-May-2009
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Amazon Expands Payment Services
As eBay positions PayPal for global dominance, Amazon adds 25 new partners in offering its own online payment solution.
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Technorati tag(s): ecommerce
posted at: 12:01am on 02-May-2009
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Google and Yahoo Both Use Goats for Lawn Mowing
Google posted to the official company blog today that this spring, the company has begun using goats instead of lawn mowers to maintain the fields of their Mountain View headquarters. The idea is that this is a low-carbon approach.
"Instead of using noisy mowers that run on gasoline and pollute the air, we've rented some goats from California Grazing to do the job for us (we're not 'kidding')," explains Dan Hoffman on the Google Blog. "A herder brings about 200 goats and they spend roughly a week with us at Google, eating the grass and fertilizing at the same time. The goats are herded with the help of Jen, a border collie. It costs us about the same as mowing, and goats are a lot cuter to watch than lawn mowers."
If this wasn't a strange enough story, evidently Yahoo has already been doing this too. On Twitter, Yahoo tweeted at Google saying, "They like our grass too," with a link to a photo on Flickr of goats grazing on Yahoo properties. This photo was uploaded two years ago.
"Once or twice a year, a large herd of goats can be seen just past our parking garage in Sunnyvale, grazing happily on the tall grasses of the hill (cough - landfill - cough) beyond," says Yahoo in the caption. "We have a special fondness for the goats and are always sad to see them go (which, based on their voracity, happens much faster than you'd imagine)."
Yahoo may not have Google beat in the search game, but they are certainly ahead of the game in goat mowing. It's pretty interesting. We've been covering the search industry for years, and this is the first I've heard of any goats.
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Technorati tag(s): online marketing
posted at: 12:01am on 02-May-2009
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RWMC-St. Joseph merger on track
PROVIDENCE – Roger Williams Medical Center and St. Joseph Health Services of Rhode Island announced this afternoon that their application to merge has been accepted as complete by the state.
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Technorati tag(s): Rhode Island, Providence, New England
posted at: 12:01am on 02-May-2009
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Newspaper Association Going Online Only
Earlier this month, the cover of the Newspaper Association of America’s trade magazine Presstime pleaded “Don’t Stop the Presses!,” the don’t and the exclamation point in bright red, confident and defiant serif font.
Yesterday, the president and CEO of the NAA, in the subdued acceptance of Editor&Publisher’s decidedly sans serif* automatic, took on the tenor of a world leader announcing an approaching meteor: “Even in this difficult situation, we must remain optimistic.”
Or maybe it was the final, grand march of General Custer, a yes-we-can immediately followed by an apparently-we-can’t. The “Don’t Stop the Presses!” issue will forever be the ironic penultimate one.
Despite the call to keep the presses running, the NAA is cutting half its staff and Presstime will forthwith be an online-only publication. Sturm cited a poor first quarter as the catalyst for the decision and said the economic downturn was “sharper and more severe than anyone saw coming even six months ago,” and there’s no hint of a bottom yet.
That type of negativity is spreading faster than the swine flu. A PRWeek/PR Newswire media survey this week revealed that 50 percent of journalists are considering a career change this year. That’s half. Imagine half all of lawyers suddenly quitting. Wait. Bad example. Imagine half of all Subway sandwich makers walking off the sandwich line, half of all doctors calling it quits, half of all mechanics, half of all Congress—well, some examples are obviously better than others.
Many journalists aren’t going to have a choice, anyway. Taking a bullet for you paper doesn’t even grant job security any more, so why commit to the Fourth Estate in the first place?
The negativity is not limited to small publications, either. Back in January, when death of journalism stories were being pumped out with the regularity of weather reports, when Google’s Eric Schmidt didn’t have any ideas either, I asked a well known editor of a popular, respected, and major national news magazine what could be done to save it. This is what the editor said:
“As for what saves long form journalism, I'm sorry, but I can't think of anything. Not trying to be glib. I really think we're all fucked.”
Well, so much for sugar-coating. If that editor didn’t know, did anybody? How about Curt Brandao, aka Digital Slob? Here’s a guy straddling both sides of the fence, a syndicated newspaper columnist and podcaster, a regular Renaissance slob.
“The problem isn't newspapers,” he said. “It's the Captains of Industry at their helm who are willing to metaphorically cut off their own arms, (while more literally cutting off ours) to keep a 20 percent margin for investors for one more year, when they could easily make 11 or 12 percent for 125 more years.
”Sure, sure, there's not as much money to be had online (now) as there was/is in print. Doesn't matter.
“Remember the movie ‘Poseidon Adventure’ when the ship was already upside down and the water was rising and Shelly Winters took a long swim to find a way out for the group, knowing she would definitely run out of air unless she found some on the other side? That's what newspapers need to do. Take a deep breath, commit to the new paradigm, and swim like hell.”
Well, that sounds like as good an answer as any, and the NAA is suddenly looking a lot more like Shelly Winters.
*Serif fonts (with the fancy little tails) are traditionally for print reading. Sans serif makes it easier to read from screens. You can read more about fonts in an old, wordy classic of mine called “The Essentials of Font Philosophy.”
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Technorati tag(s): online marketing
posted at: 12:00am on 01-May-2009
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Marketing Tips: Keywords, Gadgets and Fried Chicken
Check out the latest Webisode of "Help! My Business Sucks!" and watch as marketing maven Andrew Lock shows entrepreneurs how to “get more done and have more fun.”
 
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Technorati tag(s): small business
posted at: 12:00am on 01-May-2009
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Tufts approved to sell R.I. HMO products
PROVIDENCE – Tufts Health Plan has received state regulatory approval to start selling its HMO products in Rhode Island, with effective dates of July 1 or later.
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Technorati tag(s): Rhode Island, Providence, New England
posted at: 12:00am on 01-May-2009
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Zango/180Solutions Closes. Nobody Weeps
Zango, the company that became a byword for spyware and drive-by software downloads, has finally shut its doors with assets being sold to pay creditors. Known for several years as 180solutions, the company was named and shamed by the FTC who finally won a settlement soon after the company had adopted the name Zango. Its [...]
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Technorati tag(s): online marketing
posted at: 12:00am on 01-May-2009
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