Category: Uncategorized

Three cheers for Cooliris

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Cooliris launches publishers network Apologies to our readers for being down for a week. We had a mean hack that caused lots of disruption to our system. We’re back up though with some extra padlocks on our door and hopefully will stay that way.

One of our favorite browser extensions comes from our friends at Cooliris. We’ve been watching their product turn Web browsing on its head as it turns your browser into a 3D experience.

And, we’re all too happy today to see the launch of their publishing networks which enables advertisers to subtly integrate their images into the experience. As TechCrunch notes, this is an exciting step for the startup as it moves to solidify its business model…which in this economy is a good thing to be doing with that investment money.

See their first campaign execution after the jump.

Continue reading “Three cheers for Cooliris”

Searching for Michael Jackson

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Michael Jackson RememberedMichael Jackson left the offline world last week forever, but his online presence has exploded into the infinite, and very much alive, abyss.

Much of the media has commented on the passing of Michael Jackson and the social media shock waves that jolted through the online hemisphere. Jackson had a profound effect on people all over the world. His passing left a void in the industry, but it also brought a new type of influence and swarm to the internet that hasn’t occurred with this magnitude before. This is because the last worldwide sensation to pass was probably Princess Diana, who died August 31, 1997–well before the Internet waves of influence were formed in a massive way. Continue reading “Searching for Michael Jackson”

2009, the dawn of the connected TV?

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Broadcom announced this month that LG Electronics had selected its BCM3549 Media SoC (System on a Chip) as the core for its new line of connected HDTVs. The new LG models will feature their Netcast Entertainment Access which provides viewers access to broadband content and services including Netflix and media widgets right through the TV screen.

This announcement further supports the prediction that 2009 will see the dawn of the Connected TV. Although, to be fair, Sony has had a broadband TV solution since 2007 through their Bravia Internet Video Link. The BIVL, which provides a wide variety of hyper-syndicated & premium content to certain Bravia models, is a small broadband-connected device that connects to the back of the set. This year Sony is scheduled to begin shipping the Bravia XBR9 and Z-Series which have the BIVL module integrated in the TV. Continue reading “2009, the dawn of the connected TV?”

July 4th or December 4th?

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Fourth of July (Flickr/Mykl Roventine)When I was asked to write a blog for an early July post, it made perfect sense to tie this article to our nation’s Independence Day, but I hesitated. For me, my siblings and parents, December 4th is equally as significant as Fourth of July – that’s when we celebrate freedom.

We don’t have fireworks, hot dogs or apple pie. We don’t tend to congregate in the same locale, because we are geographically dispersed throughout the US – and, it’s not a national holiday (which complicates things). But we celebrate it quietly. We reflect, in awe, at what my parents went through as political exiles entering a country they had honeymooned in, but were not intimate with– and one which they never dreamed of ever inhabiting permanently.

On the 4th of December, 1961 my parents left everything behind (as the saying goes), except for their children, the clothes on their backs, $15 US, their education, and hope. Continue reading “July 4th or December 4th?”

What Susan Boyle and Japan can teach YouTube

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boyleaThe most popular video of Susan Boyle’s performance for Britain’s Got Talent on Youtube.com has amassed over 70 million views as of June 2009. Her outstanding performance on the popular TV show would have made her famous in the Great Britain, but it is YouTube that made her a global household name.

Let’s imagine if 1% of the viewers actually bought an mp3 of her performance at 99 cents each, the video would have the potential to generate $700,000 revenue.

But of course, with YouTube’s current business model, there is no way for the visitors to easily access related products featured in the millions of videos available. Continue reading “What Susan Boyle and Japan can teach YouTube”

Is Nielsen right on teens?

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teensaThe human brain loves outliers. It uses them to provide new perspectives on the norm. With this in mind, Nielsen’s recent How Teens Use Media report attempts to ignore outliers, and look purely at research to give a perspective of teen media consumption, and in so doing, attempts to portray a more grounded and non-biased perspective of teen behavior.

Unfortunately for Nielsen, bias is unavoidable, and their report ignores certain outliers to the detriment of its overall perspective. The report’s findings, covering all of Nielsen’s research properties, showcases the inability of non-integrated research to accurately portray the behavior of the most integrated generation. Continue reading “Is Nielsen right on teens?”

Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and social visualization

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Death of MJ Twittered

Much will be said over the next week or so about the passing of two iconic celebrities Thursday, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson, whose work will forever be associated with particular moments in our cultural history.  I was a teenager at the height of Farah Fawcett’s launch and was well aware of the impact of her world-famous poster on all my male teenage friends.  I also danced to many of MJ’s top 10 singles and watched his life choices play out over the national stage.

Today, the social Web, as we saw happen with Iran, impacts the movement of information about these two well known celebrities.  Beyond Twitter and some blog entries, many sites have moved toward the artful use of visualization software to capture the impact and tremendous activity of newsworthy information.  A day like today is when their stories play out. Continue reading “Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and social visualization”

Facebook’s creepy friend suggestions

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Facebook Friend Suggestions Getting Creepy Recently, I began to notice that Facebook’s friend suggestions were increasingly accurate, and increasingly far-fetched.

At first, it seemed innocent enough. My husband’s aunt appeared on my “Suggestions/Add as a Friend” sidebar. While I like Patty and was happy to friend her, I thought it was strange given 1) I’ve never uploaded my email list to Facebook, or given it permission to do so, 2) I’m not connected to any of my husband’s family or friends on any social network, and my husband has refused to join any social network except for one, and there he uses a fake identity and is not connected to anyone remotely connected to his aunt 3) My privacy settings are tight and in theory, I can’t be found if you’re not my friend.

At first I thought, well, we do share the same last name, so I figured perhaps Facebook was suggesting her for that reason. Over the next few days though, I began to mull this logic. Facebook had never suggested a friend based on last name before, and how would Facebook know which person with that last name to suggest? And what about people with the last name “Smith” – that wouldn’t be very effective.

Then, it happened again. This time, Facebook suggested my mother’s former boss. Continue reading “Facebook’s creepy friend suggestions”

Report: Recession changes everything

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Recession is Game Changer for Consumer Behavior (Initiative)A new report by Initiative finds that shifts in the economic climate have created permanent shifts in consumer behavior. The report “Game Changer” provides marketers with insight on how brands can take advantage of changing values in their products and messaging.  Some of the key findings included:

-Massive decline in trust of “establishment”  (Further proof of what we’ve known for awhile, that consumers are trusting each other and online communities more than ever)

-Qualities such as “reliable,” “open” and “honest” are now valued more than “well-known” or “established”

-The Internet has become an “essential form of technology” for 75 percent of consumers surveyed, with mobile in second at 56 percent (interesting here was the 40 percent who said they are most likely to maintain spending on the Internet compared with other forms of technology and communication)  Continue reading “Report: Recession changes everything”

The Internet gets married, has kids, settles down

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Grow up (via Ant's photostream/Flickr)The Internet is on its way to settling down. Don’t misunderstand me, as far as the interwebs are concerned, 401 still means unauthorized access and has nothing to do with retirement (yes, that’s a geek joke). Instead, it means that the Internet is giving up on the chaos of its youth and settling into a respectable and tactful adulthood. At the root of the issue lies the concept of online identity.

For the past decade, our collective online experiences have been modeled after a Matrix-esque experience. We select usernames, which become our residual self-image. Behind these fairly anonymous handles humanity as a whole has been able to momentarily devolve into caustic, self-righteous, judgmental twelve-year-olds (not me, of course). Not that this was necessarily a bad thing, it just was. But the status quo is changing. So what’s the agent of change? Continue reading “The Internet gets married, has kids, settles down”