Retailers Brining SalesPeople Online

Traditional Brick and Mortar retailers have begun to recognize the opportunity to extend the value of their trained consumer facing sales people into the online space, leveraging their expertise, and their branded recognition, to offer valuable information and service to shoppers. One case in point is Best Buy who has launched www.askablueshirt.com to allow consumer electronic shoppers to take advantage of the expertise of the trained Best Buy sales force to build shopping preference and drive instore traffic.

Additionally, they are using the distribution power of this environment to generate buzz around events like Black Friday, in this case, showing photos of people camping out prior to the big holiday sales event. It shows that Best Buy, and other leading retainers, are starting to experiment with online well beyond their e-commerce and general brand building activities online.

Ask ChaCha

Nielsen reports that ChaCha, launched less than a year ago, is the fastest growing mobile search service to surpass Yahoo! and Google. ChaCha's 300% quarter over quarter gain is tremendous, but also a result of an increase in mobile search supported by the latest hardware options.

Personally, I like the concept. Users text a question and get a reply in minutes. With so much content out there, it's useful. Users must, however, be specific or the relevancy in the results are lost.

Big brands including McDonald's, Coca-Cola, and even the Obama campaign, have leveraged the tool for marketing purposes and have reportedly seen response rates up to 5% which well exceed mobile industry averages.

The Obama campaign specifically, used the service to urge early voting. Folks using ChaCha received a prompt that offered the option of getting more information on how and where to vote early - and of course there was a plug for Obama.

This will be one to watch - although it might be hard to miss.

www.chacha.com

A Weekend In The Life of Today's Shopper

To help illustrate how digital technology is changing the way shoppers shop, we introduce you to a Young Gen X family and their digital shopping experiences over one weekend with the holidays appraoching.

Meet Bob and Sarah and their 4 year old son Zac. This dual income family lives in the suburbs of New York. Bob works full time in Manhattan at an advertising agency and Sarah works part time at a prestigious marketing services agency in Westport, CT. Their lives get crazier by the day.

Friday afternoon

·Sarah has picked up Zac from daycare and is back home. She needs to plan her grocery shopping list, so to keep Zac busy, she sets him in front of the computer and fires up the toy section at Amazon.com. Watching him, she chuckles, 4 years old and he’s creating his own holiday wish list. Dragging and dropping items…his total is over $10,000! Sarah uses this time to get organized. She checks the mail and remembers how her mom used to get those over-sized Val Pac mailers and store circulars. Now Sarah gets alerts on her cell phone to download new coupons in her pre-selected categories.

·The holidays are approaching and Bob is behind on his gift shopping. He’s walking down 6th avenue in New York City and wondering where he can get the best deal on a digital camera without having to pop into store after store. Bob opens the Slifter application on his cell phone and researches deals and product reviews within a 5 block radius. Bob’s turned 6th avenue into the main aisle of an electronics store.

Friday afternoon is turning to Friday evening

·Bob is rushing to Grand Central Station to catch his train. He gets a call from Sarah with a plea to pick up some dinner. Wanting to avoid the after work lines, and trying to eat healthy before the holidays, Bob goes to his favorite sandwich chain’s WAP site and places his order right from his phone. He’s pretty sure Sarah likes Banana Peppers.

Its Saturday morning and the family is up early.

·Bob and Zac decide its time for a little video gaming. They fire up the console and a welcome reminder tells them they have earned enough loyalty points to download a free, new adventure for their favorite game – Life is good!

·Sarah still needs to do her grocery shopping. She goes to her iKan unit in the kitchen and reviews her personalized, recommended shopping list based on purchase history. She presses the Buy Now button to have her groceries delivered. Check one chore off the list!

·Bob decides to go to the local electronics store. He’s shopping for a Tablet to go with his new digital camera. When he comes to the aisle the screen on his cart instantly changes with a list of Tablet suggestions personalized based on his previous purchases. The loyalty card in his wallet is embedded with an RFID tag, so he’s greeted by a sales associate ready to answer questions. The sales associate uses the screen on his chart to pull up the chain’s custom social networking site so Bob can check out consumer reviews.

·Sarah decides its time to do a little holiday shopping for herself. With Zac in tow, she heads out to her local department store. In the dressing room she uses the virtual shopping assistant to see what her outfit would look like with different color matches. She goes with Fuchsia on Black.

Sunday night, Bob gets a text from his boss

·Bob still can’t believe his boss is making him travel last minute! He’s racing to catch the flight and instead of stopping at a kiosk to print his boarding pass, he simply shows the QR code on his phone at security. This leaves him enough time to go to the self-service kiosk at the gate and download a movie for the flight to his laptop in under a minute.

·Sarah, missing Bob, thumbs through an Esquire Magazine for gift ideas for Bob. She comes across a Ralph Lauren Ad for a Cashmere Sweater and special offer. She scans the QR code on the page with her cell phone to get more details before she decides to make the purchase.

•Zac, missing daddy, grabs a photo from The Target Shutterfly site and posts it to Daddy’s Facebook page


These are just a few of the touch points that marketers can use to drive incremental sales with Bob, Sarah, and Zac. Technology makes their shopping experience more intuitive, personalized, convenient, which drives a stronger value proposition overall for shoppers.

As demonstrated by this family, technology has dramatically accelerated the sophistication and variety of shopper touch points. This will become more pervasive over the next 5-10 years. Availability and adoption will increase and scale will drive implementation costs down. Shoppers will have access to products and services anytime and anywhere.

Axe, Eat Your Heart Out

Because nothing will get the girls knocking down the door to jump your bones like the scent of freshly flame-broiled beef.

Burger King has released its own fragrance: Flame. For when you want that just-got-off-the-night-shift fast food employee smell. Irresistible.

Of course, this works as a formidable PR stunt. But will anyone buy it in its undoubtedly short lived life?

Fostering Not Just Innovation, But Intellect

The campaign around Herman Miller's new chair, Embody, does more than what it sets out to do - foster innovation. It also fosters intellect. It is a site that is emotionally soothing, mentally stimulating, and seemingly an innovation in and of itself. I highly recommend perusing with a coffee and bagel tomorrow morning.

Check out TODAY'S THOUGHTPILE now

That's Not What It Was Supposed To Look Like!

We have all been under the gun to launch a new site... and realized in final testing that things are looking stellar in one browser but nothing like what you designed in another. And those last minute panic questions of "what happened" and "why" start to run through your head. There may be an explaination... beyond that of the "it's the client firewall!" Curious? Read on...

Audio Bones: Lame or Worthwhile?

Apparently, some of us have "deformed" ears. In other words, we complain about the iPod ear buds' failure to properly fit into our cartilage. Well, lookey here.

So, it's sound that's actually conducted through the bones of your ears, leaving the eardrum open to hear all the background noise. Clever, but kind of pointless at the same time...

Paul Newman, We Salute You

We simply had to make the first post of the week one that honors Paul Newman and the more than $250 million dollars in profits from the Newman's Own line donated to charities. A truly remakable man, remarkable cause, remarkabe products and a remarkable website that I referred to many times as best in class for staying true to the voice of a brand and for pushing a brand to a higher emotional ground.


I encourage everyone to visit newmansown.com


Although the main site is unavailable due to heavy traffic there is a simple page live that has a wonderful retrospective video thats well worth the 4 minutes to seel

For the Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good WE SALUTE YOU!

Cool New Banner Ads

In the recent "I'm a PC" campaign, Microsoft takes aim at the Mac ads that have reigned for more than two years. After a brief run with Jerry Seinfeld, the ads are now featuring ordinary folks who profess their devotion to PCs.

I caught the latest in the series of ads on the MSN home page... a very cool banner execution where a mosaic of images filled the background behind the homepage. And as you click on each image, it feeds a video of that person into what I think is a 300x250 video player. I think this would look even better filled with dog images and adoption videos... don't you?

Wholefoods.com Site redesign

Whole Foods has followed the trend of retailers relaunching their web-site to add more value to the consumers and enhance the shopper experience.

Secet Ingredient Videos & Podcasts, store locaters, store specials and a huge assortment of recipes with new search tool,high impact photography and flash as wells as social apps (rate and post recipes and freshly picked blogs).

Check it out at

wholefoods.com

Internet Killed the Newspaper Star

Google has just taken up the arduous goal of bringing all the glory of paper-press-periodical humanity to the Interweb.

Soon, you'll be able to view billions of pages of archived newsprint from the comfort of your cubicle.

Pretty neat, and you don't even have to get your hands all inky.

AdAge Article on mobile advertising

Not sure if this will load up correctly. If it doesn't, then use your
mobile devise!

http://adage.qwapi.com/site?t=FnTlaZuPXsZiMMsVa.wgJw&tsid=QWS5E80C78A14BCF5E93D0F38C05D18F5161367e40&tcid=84d03862b23e4fa0a9e4ac7c7c59e03e

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Sent from my iPhone

Get inspired:
http://creativebureau.blogspot.com

Cell Phone Coupons Get Local

I was just watching ABC News and they featured a piece on a new player, 8Coupons, in the Cell Phone Couponing industry. They have a wide array of local NYC offers from services, to Spa and Beauty to restaurants. They work with/train local vendors to make it easy for the consumer to simply show the offer on their phone to the cashier to get their offer. Could this be the end of the local coop mailer that stuff our mailboxes each month? Check it out at:

http://www.8coupons.com/

Life

Nice. Simple. Smart.
(for a coaster)

$34.5 million spent on Facebook virtual goods? | Negative Approach - CNET News

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-10030354-62.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

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Sent from my iPhone

Get inspired:
http://creativebureau.blogspot.com

Google Chrome Explained.

Google Chrome explained

Explorer, Firefox or the new Chrome?

I've been a big fan of firefox since it came out. For me, it's anything that gets me away from the clunky IE browser. Plus I'm biased, pre IE winning the browser wars I was exclusively a Netscape user. Anyhow, it's been announced that Google is launching a new browser called Chrome.


Find the article here


WASHINGTON (AFP) - Google on Tuesday launches its own internet browser, Google Chrome, in a new challenge to Microsoft Internet Explorer and Firefox.
ADVERTISEMENT

The Chrome browser, designed to cope with the next generation of graphics and multimedia dominated web applications, was announced in a Google blog late Monday.

It will launch initially for Windows machines in 100 countries, with Mac and Linux versions to come.

"We realised ... we needed to completely rethink the browser," Google's Sundar Pichai said in a blog post.

The application can be downloaded for free and its code will be open source so no rights will have to be paid by anyone using or adapting the software.

Chrome is Google's latest weapon in its bid to become the leader in all Internet areas. The latest major browser war was won by Microsoft when it won the battle for dominance in the 1990s against Netscape Navigator.

According to various estimates, Internet Explorer, which is the default browser on computers with Windows operating systems, is used by between 60 and 80 percent of Internet users around the world, with Mozilla Firefox a long way back in second place.

What's your favorite campaign?

See what these professionals had to say about what they felt was the best campaign. It's a really simple, but great question. I'd have to agree that the Apple work is really well done both online and offline. Take a look at this and if another campaign comes to mind, please post it.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1681694293/bctid1681848514

Cloud Computing

If you haven't heard of cloud computing, then you should read this article. Early adopters are already there, for the most part. Wiki's, webmail and web based FTP all fit the bill as far as cloud computing goes.

http://adage.com/article?article_id=130488

on with it.

Take a Shot.

So, it's not Call of Duty 4, but it's worth taking a few shots with.  I kind of wish that there was a) more ammo and B) more of a website to shoot up.  Maybe version 2.0.

check it out.

wifi at 32,000 feet

Well, it's finally here, wifi on airplanes. I am posting this high above the Iowa plains, thanks to the new wifi service being offered by American Airlines on some domestic flights. today might be the first day, there are representatives from the service provider, GoGo internet, on the flight to offer any assistance. 

Details: $12.95 per flight segment. Easy sign up based on very simple browser based registration, takes all major CCs, and confirms your order very quickly. Initial experience provided very quick broadband access. It seems to allow full access to the internet, including IM, altough it has disabled any VOIP or audio/video chat capability. I assume that is to promote quiet surfing, a welcome choice. the thought of 70 people all talking to their computers via skype or ichat is too maddending to consider.

The service did go down briefly, but a restart of my computer has had it up and running flawlessly for the last 2 hours. good thing i have a second laptop battery!

for all those IP access whores like me, it's a very cool thing. for all those who have been dreading this day, sorry dude. 

and please, no one tell my boss i can be reached in flight! :)

Wireless useage.

My take on this article is that they just don't know what they are
missing. Similar things were said about the web early on. Who would
ever want to bank online? Ya got me?

http://mobile.adage.com/site?sid=adage_ip&pid=article&targetURL=http://adage.com//digital/article.php?article_id=130223

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Sent from my iPhone

Get inspired:
http://creativebureau.blogspot.com

cesar: a Blast from the Past

For those who haven't yet come across this, a cesar T.V. commercial from 1990. I think it's safe to say, "We've come a long way, baby." Also, check out the one from 1991 the next time you're on YouTube. Looks like it made a huge leap from 1990.

Twitter on the iPhone: Which App Will Rule Them All?

If you twitter and have an iPhone then you should check this out. I've tried almost off of these apps and, agree that it's tough finding the right app.

Which will rule them all on the iPhone?

The Mojave Experiment...

As most of you are probably aware, Windows Vista has taken a different approach to their campaign...It goes by the code name "Mojave." It targets "regular" (clueless?) people who have never laid eyes on Vista, then lets them "decide for themselves." At first, I was skeptical about the brand's need to disguise itself, but I've since warmed up to it. Branding needs a little alter ego action now and then.

Take a look at the site, if only to check out the video execution.

Tivo to Try Something New with Amazon

Interactivity doesn't stop at web and/or mobile technology. It looks like T.V. advertising is in for quite the face lift. Let's face it, with the web constantly blooming, it's becoming harder and harder for T.V. commercials to make their mark, and effectively, at that.

So, what's the plan? With the TiVo remote, users will be able to buy the products being advertised, with the help of Amazon as a partner. This is believed to enrich the overall viewer experience and will not distract the consumer from their favorite program (that's the beauty of TiVo)....

It's still risky, however...

"As DVRs get more popular, 'the majority of commercials in home will be fast-forwarded through,' he said. 'It is critical that there be a form of advertising and a transactional solution that underpins the DVR, or the economics of television are going to be substantially undermined.”

Putting a Fresh Face (or Lack Thereof) to Viral

More proof you don't need a huge budget to produce an extremely successful viral ad campaign.

This faceless ad campaign for Lotus has sparked huge buzz across automotive blogs, forums, and more.

And all it cost them was a few latex masks, a couple stand-ins, and tickets to a handful of high profile British events.

MARS Petcare Makes the News!

Today's lead headline on BrandChannel was a feature about the pet industry, and everything from the conservative to the crazy (like dogs taking the runway at the Tokyo Pet Fashion Week!).

Of the entire article, Mars Petcare, our most favored client, took the lead on real estate. Check it out for yourself!

Killer Pizza

Some funny TV Spots for Round Table Pizza. The silly nature of them actually gets funnier and funnier as you see each spot. Done pretty well, enjoy.

iPhone with out contract?

http://m.usatoday.com/news.jsp?key=864264

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Sent from my iPhone

Get inspired:
http://creativebureau.blogspot.com

Have you Plurked?

Goodbye Twitter.

Build Karma points and start plurking instead. They've got a cool timeline to see who's doing what. It's pretty nifty. I guess you could say it's sort of like Twittering, but with a different twist. It's definitely worth checking out. Plurk.com

Will ".PEDIGREE" Be an Available Domain Next Year?

The ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is voting today in Paris. A vote that could lead to a radical and historical shift in the way we navigate the Web.

We are all familiar with ".com" and ".net", ".us" and ".gov". But what if we could secure ".Pedigree" or ".Cesar"? Based on the vote today, we'll see! Intrigued? Read on...

I wonder if we shouldn't be getting out our wallets now for our clients...

Spirit of Steve Irwin, Protect Us

Browsing MySpace is more dangerous than you think.

Hidden Meaning Behind the Photo...?

Hint: It's TOTALLY unrelated to botany and/or human anatomy...Think...technology.

Video Entertainment 8 Hours a Day

Did you see today's headline of eMarketer?  Research is indicating that Internet users in the US spend over 6 hours a day on video entertainment, and in 5 years they will be spending 8 hours per day.   That's a third of the day, the same amount of time many consider to be a good night's sleep.

As a marketer focused on the interactive space, recent articles and buzz over the growth of online video leads to excitement as there is tremendous opportunity.  My perception of this shift is positive given my position.  Years ago I worked in the more traditional space focused on print and broadcast, when I would have perhaps viewed such shift as a liability. 

Even so, it seems unfathomable that I personally could spend a third of my day engaging with online video entertainment.  Perhaps if I were still sweet 16, or if I were retired.  I guess they could be using the term "video entertainment" loosely and that some of those 8 hours in front of the computer are for educational purposes.   I kind of like to think the society of Internet users maintains such level of integrity.

Take a look on top articles for June 25, at www.emarketer.com

Diapers & Laptops & iPhones...Oh My!

It's no question that as technology skyrockets, so does its use among young people. How young is too young? Some parents these days are clueless as to when and how to provide their children with technology.

Take a read. It's a really interesting analysis (broken down by child age groups) on an issue with no clear-cut answer.

Vote for the next Wegmens WPOP

Wegmens is soliciting the help of its shoppers to vote on the next flavor of its private label CSD line "WPOP". As incentive, shoppers can win from a variety of prizes (patio packages, wii consoles, etc.) The promotion is featured on-pack and linked to a micro-site off wegmens.com. One of the first private label promotions I've seen. Its also advanced given the unique codes on packgaing linked to the promotional microsite.

http://www.wegmansvoteandwin.com/

Go2Pets - Out and About with Spot

Purina has teamed with go2® to provide dog owners with local information right to their cell phone including location of off-leash parks, pet friendly accommodations, camping, airlines, fun places, kennels, vets, etc..

http://www.go2.com/webbrowser/indexPetsLanding.cfm

Gas Price Saver Widget

Great Widget that features lowest gas prices in your area. Widget that saves your money!

Is Shorter Still Better When It Comes to Subject Lines?

Not according to a new study of over 225 MM emails and 660 subject lines done by Dela Quist, CEO of London shop Alchemy Worx. So what's the new magic number?

What is the optimal number of characters? Take a guess:

A) 50

B) 60

C) 70
D) 80

According to this study, if you chose A and D, you are correct. A 50 character subject line with a strong offer, or an 80 character line with an enticement are the two winners by a long shot. Open rates decrease significantly in the 60 - 70 range!

Check out the full article to ready the background and rationale! Looks like we might have a good reason to go a little longer!

Browser Wars 08

Over the next several months, both Firefox and MS Internet Explorer will release new, feature rich versions, according to this article in the NY Times.  Expected advances will include tools like Firefox 3.0's "Awesome Bar" that will provide smart search results based on past browser history, and IE 8.0's planned content sharing and dynamic content updating features, the new browser field looks like it will provide users all sorts of new useful features.

the times surmises that this renewed focus on the browser foreshadows a time in the not too distant future when all a computer really needs is a browser and a broadband internet connection, with most all information and applications like word processing and spreadsheets help on the web. This future has been developing right before our eyes with the advent of tools like Google documents, and now browsers are starting to bet that this type of server-side computing is going to start to pick up steam.

it's about time

Finally, Facebook will be undergoing "drastic" changes in the next month or so. To quote this article, "Profile pages are getting a total makeover." It looks like the clutter is being put where it belongs: in FOUR separate tabs. The idea is to clean up and simplify users' profiles, allowing for more control (something of which Facebookers were likely fearing loss).

And we all know what this means: those not-relevant-to-life, malfunctioning, annoying applications will become...LESS visible! (They will reside in their own tab.) It's believed that the more "meaningful" applications will shine brighter under the spotlight (ala the new-and-improved mini-feed feature).

I truly hope these changes bring about nothing but success. The clutter, similar to many tacky (to say the least) MySpace profiles, is soon to incur the wrath of...organization? What a concept!

And as a reminder, MySpace is precisely what I moved AWAY from.

Micro blogging with PhoneZap!

If you haven't already Jailbroke your iPhone, this may be the best reason to do so. Microblogging with PhoneZap! Snap a photo, add some copy and post it to phonezap.com. It's an easy way to have fun and share cool times. What's great is that there are ways to share ringtones too, how cool. Yet another social network, but this one may stick around and take off. Check out PhoneZap.com

Social Design Best Practices - OpenSocial - Google Code

Article has 9 good best practice principles for developing social applications:

If you're new to developing social applications, it can be difficult to immediately grasp how good
applications facilitate fun and meaningful social experiences. To accelerate your learning, we've come up with a list of a few light-hearted recommendations around building good social applications. Not all of these "best practices" are necessary in every case, but they might spark thoughts about finding new users, keeping old ones, and leveraging the social graph for fresh content and viral spread.....

Social Design Best Practices - OpenSocial - Google Code

Go Go Gadget Netflix

Netflix is contunuing to defend their holding in the marketplace against Blockbuster and cheap downloads with the announcement of a new device - a set-top box through which movies can be streamed from your online Netflix account conveniently to your TV. There seem to be a few bugs left to work out, and it isn't technically "free" (box plus you need to maintain an online account with netflix), but it certainly expands access for those die-hard movie buffs.

Good for netflix, bad for USPS? Any Netflix loyals out there?

Should YouTubers Heed this Advice?

Found today on the YouTube.com homepage. Take it as you will--for entertainment purposes or solid guidance on how to successfully maintain your posted videos.

He does make a COUPLE valid points, but I won't spoil it...Have a watch.

and would you like to scan your iphone, sir?

Interesting piece at Mashable about a service that allows barcodes to be read by mobile devices. It's called Scanlife, and it has lots of potential as a seriously cool way for brands to capture data and promote special offers.

Although grandma will still want to clip coupons for the foreseeable future, this is where the future of retail promotions is going.

Brand Resuscitation

The New York Times reports that a company called River West in Chicago has begun quietly buying up brand names of once beloved products. Names like Brim ("fill it to the rim with Brim!"), Underalls, and Quisp cereal are starting to make a come back on a store shelf near you. 

This strategy is based on the insight that just because a $40BB company like Unilever or Anheuser-Busch can't sustain a smaller brand like Nuprin or Eagle Snacks doesn't mean that there isn.t still lingering brand equity in the market place that can be tapped to create a resuscitated brand presence. 

In fact, River West did research that showed, for instance, that Brim coffee still has over 90% aided awareness in the market despite being off shelves for over a decade.

Get more from mobile marketing - DMNews

Interesting article on Mobile applications featured in DM News from the perspective of a few thoguht leaders in the space (ShopLocal, StudioCom, Store Xperience, Slifter)

Get more from mobile marketing - DMNews

Walk the Talk

Interesting Ad Week article on Mobile Word of Mouth featuring Google Android open source platform which will open up to developers to create a variety new applications.

Walk the Talk

NY1: Technology

NY1: Technology

There are some relatively-new high-tech tools available that combine shopping online with shopping offline that could have cut down on the amount of time you spent waiting in line this past holiday season.

Grocery Retailers rethink merchandising

Everyone knows that when you go to the grocery store, the bread in on the left, the produce is on the right, the meat is in the back, and you are going to do a loop in one direction or another, with occasional forays into the center for essential items like cereal. The best a CPG marketer can hope for is an end-aisle display to have their product featured within the perimeter "racetrack" itself.

Piggly wiggly has opened up an experimental format in Myrtle Beach, SC that takes that standard approach and turns it inside out, organizing products in what they claim is a more logical pattern. This includes things like placing the cereal next to the milk and putting frozen corn near fresh corn.

Will it work, or will it confuse the hell out of people who have been shopping grocery the same way for decades? Only time will tell.

Digital Carding

In the UK, 10% of kids age 12-15 admit to buying their own alcoholic beverages at a shop. This rising trend has led one chain to test out facial recognition software that will indicate if a buyer seems to have the facial characteristics of someone old enough to be buying alcohol. Is this a trend we can imagine coming to the US anytime soon? Beyond the privacy issues, there is a legal question as to the validity of this type of random criteria mapping. 

It does however demonstrate how digital tools are coming to the retail environment in ways that help the store owner, and sometimes, the customer.

Coming Soon: A Web-Wide Social Network?

"NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Three announcements, all within a week of each other, were indicative of the same trend: that the future of online social networking doesn't live within a single entity's walls but instead permeates the web. "

http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=127012

Cooler than Google Earth?

It looks like Microsoft has finally created a content feature that out googles google in terms of aggregating and displaying massive information in a totally compelling interface. It's the WorldWide Telescope project, found here.

This interface promises to have aggregated the photographic artifacts from both the Hubble and the best of land-based telescope-captured photograhy. As Microsoft puts it on the WWT site, " bringing together imagery from the best ground and space-based telescopes in the world for a seamless exploration of the universe."

Like Google Earth, Microsoft has created a 3 dimensional environment that allows users to explore in three dimensions the universe around us. The only problem is that you need a very advanced computer to view it, my MacBook Pro just isn't up to the task (ideally viewed on a PC with Vista, a .net framework installed, etc, etc, blah blah blah). At least give Google credit for making the old Keyhole technology both browser and OS agnostic. I'm sure MS will get there eventually, but I can't believe they think that this will sell more copies of Vista.

Assuming you don't have a .net framework on your computer, there is a pretty good overview here, showcasing it's introduction at TED earlier this year.

Are Diamonds Better Than an iPhone

Will the new HTC Touch Diamond Phone be the iphone killer.

Launching in europe and then us.

http://www.unwiredview.com/2008/04/15/htc-diamond-touch-and-dream-android-to-be-unveiled-may-6/

And now for a laugh. (Facebook in real life)

If you thought that last posting was a downer, then watch this for a chuckle. It's humor is based entirely in truth, which is... Hey isn't that a saying?

MySpace Humiliated Me

To quote from HHH's entry on Monday, "I've been violated." I never did work up the courage to share my experience with you all. In a rage of boredom (can boredom really be raging?), I joined MySpace a year ago. I had already been a member of Facebook for three years, starting back in the day when it was exclusively for college students. Somehow, it just wasn't enough. I wanted more. Knowing full well I'd feel creepy and full of regret, I joined MySpace.

MySpace was tolerable for the few months I had it, but I got bored quickly. Bulletins were abused by certain friends of mine who solicited useless junk, friend requests from swingers in Idaho kept flying in (it felt dirty), top friends got jealous if they got demoted in rank. My lunch hours would consist of filling out useless survey bulletin posts with no relevance to life. At one point, I threw my hands up and purged my top friends' list. Among my top four friends were politicians, singers and maybe a few bigots just to show how ridiculous the notion was. I couldn't take it.

Over the course of my membership, my account got "phished" three times. The first two times, it was harmless but annoying, nonetheless. The third time, I had to find out through a group of people at work. I quote, "WHAT was that naked video you posted on my comment space?" WHAT!? OH MY GOD. I was mortified. And THAT...was when my scandalous, unwilling affair with MySpace ENDED. There's no looking back; we're done.

While Facebook's security has become a little looser these days in the vast social orb, I can still say that it's 100 times safer than MySpace.

So, without further adieu, I close with some MySpace etiquette.

Bluetooth Marketing

What a great Bluetooth campaign.
-mags

http://www.cscout.com/blog/2008/05/06/trend-bluetooth-marketing.html

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Sent from my iPhone

The mentos Kiss-Cam
Need a kiss? I like this experience a lot, except for the webcam-connection which made me wonder 'what are they doing with my image here'. I wonder if others feel the same way?

Other than that it's a fun use of video online. It has a touch of interactivity built into the video too, Not bad! (Nice talent selection too)

Have we no manners??

I've been violated. Or, at least that is how I see it with my latest run-in on FB. All along, my biggest concern about joining FB was the privacy, or lack thereof. After much persuasion, I ventured into social media-land regardless and to my surprise it's been amazing - just in the number of old friends I have been able to reconnect with. That is until today.

Today, I opened my inbox to a rash of messages from friends demanding to know who the hell "So and So" was, because this person had invited god knows how many of my friends to be his friends. 99.9% of these he has never met, knows not how I know them nor how they came to be my FB friends and his perception was that this is acceptable FB behavior. Now, I am sure we have all gotten the completely random FB friend request, and we accept it or ignore it, and it's no big deal. But suddenly, when one of your own friends does it, and it results in an influx of messages into your inbox, it is a completely different story. It's the online version of a party crasher, and I did not react well.

So, in an effort to determine whether or not my reaction was completely irrational, and whether I should block him and go hide my head in the sand after sending a note of apology to all my friends, I googled "Facebook Etiquette". We should all take note with this quick refresher on proper behaviour on FB, and use these Top 10 as our "Facebook Mantra":

1. One should NOT friend another with whom they have no association with, that is without a proper introduction. You don't want to be the creepy dude on FB, do you?? Oh, and for those of you who are still single, it is recommended that you wait 2 days before friending someone you hooked up with.

2. If you must "Poke", do so with moderation and caution.

3. In conversations with fellow FB members, be careful not to let on that you know everything about them, even if they have plastered their page with gory details about thier latest breakup or conquest. Stalk secretly all you want, but in conversation do respect some level of (dare I say) privacy, otherwise you are right back in the "creepy" category.

4. Keep a clean profile page - avoid abusive posted items, notes, information or wall posts. And post pictures that include clothing - lack thereof is just wrong, no matter how you slice it.

5. Treat FB friends with respect - respect their views, even if they are of lesser quality or you perceive them to be wrong.

6. RSVP'd event attendance must be respected and upheld.

7. Tell the truth. (this is worth multiple mentions)

8. Be gentle and patient with non-savvy FB users (like the elderly and small animals).

9. Help friends who seem to be in distress - reach out to them, share the love.

10. Lastly, FB is not an acceptable replacement for socializing offline. Make time for your friends outside FB.

Domo Arigato, Rocky Roboto!

Meet Rocky, the doppelganger "robo-squirrel" residing on the lush, green campus of Hampshire College. Rocky's mission: to help observe animal (group interaction, individual behavior and patterns) behavior in a more "natural" fashion, as opposed to laboratory testing. The technology inside Rocky, who's a few years old, is constantly being updated.

Rocky's anatomy: a basic computer and speakers that mimic various squirrel calls. And yes, he can even discreetly connect to laptops!

"One recent afternoon...[they] brought Rocky out for field testing and placed him near real squirrels. Mounted on a board, he was shielded by a camouflage hood and a long cord connected him to the researchers' laptop.

After the computer's program flipped the hood open, Rocky went into a sequence of tail-flagging, barking and other motions squirrels recognize as warnings of danger.

The most successful experiments are when the real squirrels respond by 'flagging' their own tail, halting their foraging to check for danger, scamper up a tree or take other actions that show they picked up on the signals..."

Of course, optimal results can only be achieved if the actual species being tested is reasonably capable and intelligent. (Also, the smaller the easier when it comes to mimicking body language and signals.) Among other animals/reptiles/critters tested are lizards, wild parrots, sage grouses and even sea slugs!

Thoughts? Could this potentially be pulled off with some small dog breeds? And please, let's not call the robo-Chihuahua "Tinkerbelle."

Never too Late to Change...

Can you guess what this is a picture of?

Hint: Its really thin and really cool and may get me off a PC once and for all!

Whats a CTO?

A Chief Twitter Office, OMG, RME TISNF someone really landed this job at Comcast. Read on Twitterheads...

http://blogs.mediapost.com/social_media_insider/?p=13

Nifty Laser-Guided Wheelchair

This chair's computerized laser power says it all. Will the FDA hurry up and approve it already!?



http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/30/researchers-show-off-laser-guided-wheelchair-that-docks-with-veh/

Newsflash: people dig social media

Universal McCann has released some interesting survey statistics on social media. Use is up. People are even starting to understand that whole RSS thing.

- 83% watch video clips, up from 62% in the last study in June 2007
- 78% read blogs, up from 66%
- 57% of internet users are now members of a social network
- RSS consumption is growing rapidly up from 15% to 39%
- Podcasts are now mainstream digital content, listened to by 48%

More proof that social media isn't just a passing trend or blip on the radar. That doesn't mean that brands should scramble desperately to make use of these mediums. Relax, think and come up with compelling - not forced - ideas. There's nothing worse than a social media campaign made for the sake of being a social media campaign. Just because it's new and burgeoning doesn't mean it is immune from quality control.

Above we find the 13-million-view sneezing panda from YouTube, because a chart or graph would've be kinda boring.

Mobile Technology Meets Retail

An interesting, quick read featuring a sneak peak into the future highlighting patent development that will allow consumers to use their cell phones to pay for groceries.

This will open up a ton of targeting/programming options.

http://storefrontbacktalk.com/story/040308mobilepatent