July 2007 Archives
Attention Internet sellers.
Bryon Chesney noticed the venerable Scarborough Research says Knoxville, Tenn. is tied for No. 2 in the penetration of eBay among Internet users. It's an interesting list.
Some factoids from the release:
- eBay Visitors are 37 percent more likely than the average Internet user to have spent $2,500 or more online during the past year.
- They are 16 percent more likely to be ages of 18-24, and 12 percent more likely to be male.
- They are 71 percent more likely to buy consumer electronics online, and account for 53 percent of all online purchasers in this category.
(via Michael Silence)
Tags: ebay
The latest lament of the death of AP's youth experiment ASAP is Will Sullivan. For him, it was an experiment he would have liked to have seen succeed in that newspapers need to do something that will actually attract younger readers
Steve Yelvington has some thoughts on why it failed and some great comments from others.
We "use" it at knoxnews and Knoxville News Sentinel and probably will until it dies in October. It's been available to our print folks, but they aren't running much of it. They didn't realize they had it in their wire feed for quite some time. Online the hosted version is on an inflexible platform. I never got my page view tracking code in it; never really had the ad positions we needed. AP's Customwire is much more friendly to clients.
It never really had the audience that I could tell. That may very well have been because we did little to promote it other than the promo tools provided by the service and sometimes running a piece high on the home page on weekends.
The packages often were just a different spin on the traditional news topics instead of really outside the box stories. But they could be pretty good.
As has been suggested, tying the product to the 'Old Gray Lady' probably doomed it from the start.
It could not get the face time with the intended audience. Had it got their attention, I think an audience might have been possible. Maybe AP targeted it to the wrong client?
It would be interesting to hear AP's internal "lessons learned" on ASAP.
Updated: Susan Mernit has this analysis: AP ending ASAP,a youth-oriented syndication package launched in 2005, in October. The cause? "A number of marketplace changes that were happening with the U.S. newspaper industry." (Susan sez: Is that corporate speak for we're screwed?)
Tags: ASAP | Associated Press | newspapers | youth market
I've seen a lot of thoughtful react to Jason Calacanis' weekend post about Facebook bankruptcy, but Ethan Kaplan has the best two sentences I've read:
You all, and we all, made a system in which the promiscuous exchange of data is the predicate for it functioning. Do not complain about reaping what you sowed.
In classic Calacanis style, he whipped up a blogosphere tornado trying to come to grips with the overload of his Facebook account after being sick for a few days. His Kudzu of Connections piece whirled and whipped about on an otherwise lazy summer Saturday.
For a longer react piece, I'd recommend Rex Hammock's Jason decides Facebook is not the golden fleece. He's been writing and thinking alot about Facebook and other social netwroks. But there's lots more react.
Is Robert Scoble right when he says: Facebook is the new business card AND the new media distribution network?
If it is, add me to your Rolodex.
Tags: facebook | Jascon Calacanis | identity | Rex Hammock | Robert Scoble
Did a couple worksouts at the gym in addition to jogging; I dislike weight training, but I need to do it. I was sore Tuesday and Wednesday.
Some of my exercising tunes this week were "Say You Love Me
Sessions
Calories burned
Time exercising
Miles jogged
5
2496
3:39
11.55
4
2000
3:15
No advice
The month-to-date miles is 51.05.
Tags: jogging | fatbloggers | jason calacanis
Arvinder Kang from Ole Miss pointed me to this strange project from a guy who grew up in Knoxville and South Africa, and now lives in Greensboro, NC.
He's creating an IMAX movie from still photos. Ah, yes.
There's a web site
Stephen van Vuuren says he is creating an "IMAX movie in the basement." I think it's kind of a Billy Bob Thornton "The Astronaut Farmer" does a big budget movie in the basement instead of a rocket ship in the barn.
According to the Web site, the movie "Outside In" is a giant-screen visual symphony that aims to artistically bridge science and spirituality as it journeys from the big bang to the Cassini-Huygens Mission at Saturn."Outside In" is a giant-screen visual symphony that aims to artistically bridge science and spirituality as it journeys from the big bang to the Cassini-Huygens Mission at Saturn.
Well, he tells his story here:
His blog explains the "YouTube" effect of the video clip this week.
Charlie Farmer made it into space; maybe Stephen van Vuuren will make this movie.
Tags: imax | movie | Stephen van Vuuren
Here's two video views of the sex appeal (or social networking creds) of the oh-so-trendy iPhone.
iPhone of the Sexes from New York video blogger Ilana Arazie and iPhone Lovin' from the Wall Street Journal's Andy Jordan and his new Tech Diary video blog.
Gee, maybe iPhone owners will just have to use it as a phone/iPod/Internet device. Go figure.
Tags: iPhone | sex appeal | social networking | adult toy
Some views on the new Pew study on Video Online.
On the sticky note write, "Here's proof that there's a Revolution happening."
-- David All
- Melissa Worden: Good and bad news for online video
- Howard Owen: Use caution when reading too much into latest Pew study on video
- Steve Yelvington: Striking video usage
- Robert Patterson: Online Video has Tipped - Pew
- Ed Cotton: online video is mass media for the young
- David All: Pew Report finds prominent role for online video
- Church of the Customer: Why everyone wants a viral video
- Lisa Barone: Broadband, Social Trends Linked To Online Video Growth
- Dan Blank: 57% of Internet Users Have Watched Videos Online
- Updated: Mindy McAdams: Frequent use of online video
Go get 'em IAB.
I always find that statistics are hard to swallow and impossible to digest. The only one I can ever remember is that if all the people who go to sleep in church were laid end to end they would be a lot more comfortable. ~ Mrs. Robert A. Taft
Actually, Mark Glaser has an insightful look at some of the issues with web analytics I'm looking forward to the second part.
It is ironic that the most measurable media ever created has such a hard time figuring out how to measure anything -- accurately.
Tags: web stats | web analytics
A funny Dave Morgan story.
Tags: Dave Morgan | Tacoda | Real Media
Woohoo! Jackie Broyles and Dunlap did wonders for Tennessee stereotypes during the CNN/YouTube debate on Monday night. They were funny, but my, oh my, they're the image Tennessee wants to project about itself? They've got a lot of other videos here.
The debate questions in general were excellent and showed the diversity of the American people. It worked better than I expected. The primary drawback of the format is the inability to have follow up questions.
The health care questions in the words and pictures of real people dealing with life, death and illness framed the issues better than any panel of journalists I've watched. It was compelling.
Tags: presidential debates | election | CNN/YouTube Debates
It is interesting that Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards seems to be the only candidate attempting to use Twitter as way of communicating with voters.
The Twitter blog says Edwards will answer Twitters during a live Webcast following the Monday YouTube/CNN debate among the Democratic hopefuls. Edwards' Twitter page is twitter.com/johnedwards, but see the Twitter blog for details.
There's some discussion of the YouTube/CNN debate here and all the official info here.
Is Twitter an effective platform for creating dialogue and connection to voters or customers, or is it just micro-blogging among friends? It's already obvious that YouTube will be a campaign factor, but Twitter much less so. Edwards is approaching 3,000 Twitters users following his postings, which will get sucked into Google's search results. That's a small number for a nationwide political campaign or any kind of national marketing campaign; he's definitely early to the technology.
(I was able today to get knoxnews headlines coming back into Twitter by using twitterfeed.com. Nice! Follow knoxnews at twitter.com/knoxnews. Ignore the coffin colors.)
Tags: Twitter | YouTube/CNN Debates | John Edwards
On track this week.
For my Sunday jog, I listened to Gregory Galant do a 49-minute interview with Yelp co-founder and president Jeremy Stoppelman. Galant is on a binge of PayPal ex-pats, but, hey, several of them went off with their riches to start interesting new companies, like, say, Yelp.
For me, jogging is a good opportunity for multitasking, whether it's listening to music or just thinking. Stoppelman was a pretty good listen for a Sunday mid-day jog. Biggest challenge with Yelp: "Not screwing it up." How to scale the business: "The short answer is we don't quite know." Refreshing frankness.
If you're into business profiles (granted that sounds geeky), Galant is a good listen, but he doesn't post a new podcast often.
Sessions
Calories burned
Time exercising
Miles jogged
4
2638
3:15
13.50
4
2000
3:15
No advice
The month-to-date miles is 39.5.
Tags: jogging | fatbloggers | jason calacanis
Too funny. Faith Hill gets a makeover, Photoshop style, for Redbook. There's a by-the-numbers description of what was done here.
Via Bob Stepno. who says:
Like Jezebel, I'm at a loss to see "just what Redbook editors/art directors found so abhorrent about an already-above-average 39-year-old country music star and mom to three that they had to retouch her into something more befitting the cover of Cosmopolitan."
I'm with Bob and Jezebel, Faith Hill "as is" is mighty fine.
Tags: Faith Hill | Redbook | Jezebel
Knoxville's Randy Neal has spun up a new site, BlountViews.com, (named for the county, not the blogging ... or maybe both).
Its mission is to be a hyper-local community web space for liberal/progressive citizens of Blount County to meet, organize, and discuss news, politics, events, and issues of interest to the community.
It's cut from the same Drupal-powered mold as his vibrant KnoxViews.com.
Best of luck with the new site!
Tags: hyperlocal | blogging | Blount County Tennessee
What happens to your virtual life when the physical one ends?
Tags: personal planning
Scott Karp is thinking about newspapers and blogging ...
. . . maybe what newspapers should become in the digital media era is a network of local bloggers — some of whom are staff writers and some of whom are freelancers. Maybe most of them are freelancers. Maybe the full-time reporters are dedicated to beats local governments, which require more time-intensive reporting to fulfill the Fourth Estate mission, but which can be supplemented by freelance reporting.
I'm not sure that blogs are the ONLY organizing principle for newspapers’ original online content, but they are certainly a key one, one that has been able to develop audiences.
Blogging is about more than writing -- or reporting and writing in some cases -- so freelancers who grasp the blogosphere ecosystem would certainly do better than fulltime writers who don't. Most newspaper writers right now don't get it.
Karp is not just throwing another hand grenade at mainstream newspapers. His model of how newsrooms will be "staffed" or news will be covered is along the same trajectory that newsrooms are already exploding, whether they realize it or not.
These are challenging, changing times. And Karp may have put it best in responding to a comment on his post when he says:
The key challenge for newspapers is figuring out how to continue to both create and aggregate a robust supply of local content when they ultimately cease to publish in print.
The day may not be too far off when people wonder why they call them "newspapers."
Update: Mathew Ingram thinks this is a good idea, too.
Tags: blogging | newspapers
This looks to be a very good page on getting a deal on a hotel room.
Tags: cheap hotel rates
Keep repeating, there is no blogging "A-list."
Knoxville's Glenn Reynolds and several others could have been included in the BusinessWeek slide show above among those building audiences, brands and businesses through their blogs.
Seriously, A-list or not, among the wonderful stories of the blogging phenomenon is the creation of small businesses that are highly rewarding personally, professionally and financially to their creators.
The BusinessWeek slide show highlights but a few.
Tags: blogging | entrepreneurs
Yahoo! has been taking its lumps in the last few months and there were rumors of a Yahoo-Microsoft combination as the only way to take on Google, but Robert Young, writiing on Publishing 2.0, comes up with six reasons why Google, yes Google, should snap up Yahoo!
- Yahoo! Mail, which accounts for almost 50% of the free email market, has more than 10 times the market share of Gmail;
- Yahoo! Answers is a major hit… Google Answers failed;
- Yahoo’s Flickr is a runaway hit… far outpacing Google’s Picasa photo site;
- In critical verticals, like finance, Yahoo remains the clear leader despite much effort by Google;
- Both Yahoo! and Google are cozying up to the newspaper industry with their respective efforts. Combine the two efforts and a successful outcome for all parties is almost guaranteed;
- Want to acquire display/brand ad expertise? Forget DoubleClick — Yahoo’s ad sales expertise and relationships with big Madison Ave brands and agencies are far superior. Besides, as long as Google’s going to get scrutinized under federal antitrust regulators, and now Congress, might as well go through all that headache with the promise of a much bigger catch at the end.
Interesting analysis. And it's interesting that among the six reasons are the efforts by both companies to forge strong ties to newspapers. Maybe, we're not the wallflowers we imagine? I'm not holding my breaking that we'll see this announced.
Look out kid
It's somethin' you did
God knows when
But you're doin' it again
-- "Subterranean Homesick Blues" by Bob Dylan
Jeff Pulver says he's abandoning LinkedIn for Facebook to focus all his "professional business social networking contacts" while Chris Brogan says in Lee Corso fashion, "wait, just a minute there," LinkedIn still does some things Facebook doesn't but just needs some help.
Steve Rubel says Facebook is a fad like well, LinkedIn and Friendster and Flickr and YouTube and iTunes and iPhone. Watch what people do with the technology, not the technology itself, he says.
Among 10 things Susan Mernit says we've learned from Facebook is:
Technology teaches possibility. It's true that Facebook is a fad, as are the other hot sites of the moment--but it's also true that the big rush onto Facebook tells us more about what users want--and about how particular behaviors, once established, seek to find a home. Create that home, power that home, and babe, you win.
Pulver's seemingly main reason for aligning around Facebook for all contacts is the "wealth of opportunity for vibrant interaction between users and groups of users on Facebook."
And Brogan's in his defense laments LinkIn needs a profile picture and says it has to turn its "platform into something even more valuable."
Rubel zeros in on how these sites change business and society. And Mernit sees it all coming together more powerfully in the cell phone.
It's fun watching what's happening happen. Networking and social habits are being developed now that will, as Rubel suggests, have a profound impact on how society operates in the future (not better or worst, paritcularly, but differently).
For me the idea of hyperlocal anything, much less news, being tied to a clearly definable geographic area is a limited take on what is "local" or part of community. That has some overarching implications on what products or services people will gravitate toward.
Ah get born, keep warm
Short pants, romance, learn to dance
Get dressed, get blessed
Try to be a success
Please her, please him, buy gifts
-- again from, "Subterranean Homesick Blues"
On Twitter, On Facebook, On LinkedIn. On Pownce On Flckr. ... well, you get the picture.
Tags: Facebook | LinkedIn | social networks
In a review of MaineToday.com's refreshing redesign, Howard Owens have some good observations on news site design in general, particularly link bloat and internal politics that bewilder more than bemuse.
One area he didn't delve into is one we're struggling with a bit in our redesign (which we like overall).
How do you get front-and-center attention for non-article content like blogs and videos? We have a great design if blogs and video are supplemental to text stories, but it's a bit tougher to give them equal footing -- even with links to both types of content on the front albeit below the fold. We're still experimenting with the best solution for us and I'm sure we'll hit upon something that works. Most content management systems I've seen have the article at the center of their universe and you end up working around that.
Not even newspapers sites, however, need to be article-centric! How are others tweaking article-centric designs to emphasize other types of content?
Tags: web design | newspapers | online media
I was more than halfway there, but well, anyway. Back boobs? Did you say "back boobs?" I don't read diet blogs, but this quote on Susan Mernit's blog made me look: You know you are getting fat when you discover that you have back boobs so big that they need their own bra. That's from the blog "Back in Skinny Jeans." Have mercy.
Sessions
Calories burned
Time exercising
Miles jogged
2
1596
1:51
9
4
2000
3:15
No advice
Total miles for month: 26.
Tags: jogging | fatbloggers | jason calacanis
Mark Potts is getting a lot of links today on his look back over the Backfence, but another jewel was his post last week on newspaper youth products, Dog Bites Man; Kids Don't Care.
In the not-to-do category, he says:
Young people have never cared much about news; now they care even less about fossilized news delivery formats like newspapers. And what are newspapers doing about it? Um, starting newspapers aimed at the youth market! Or publishing condescending kids' news pages (which appear in the very newspapers the kids don't read)! Great thinking.
Ryan Sholin takes it another step today in "The eleventh obvious thing: Your subscribers are dying."
Again, if you’re serious about staying in business, you’re going to need content that the LIVING people in your circulation area are interested in.
He says we need to start brainstorming ways of framing news in a way that catches their eye.
If you've got the idea, maybe my kids will read you -- online.
Tags: youth market | newspapers | online media
I saw these strange birds a couple weeks ago when we went to the North Carolina Pottery Center to see an exhibit called "Slipped, Dipped, and Dotted: 18th-21st Century North Carolina Redwares" (May 4-Aug. 25, 2007).
Among the curators is Westmoore Pottery and longtime friend Mary Farrell of Westmoore had encouraged us to see the exhibit before it ended.
Redware pottery. low-fired pottery (1800 degrees) more fragile than stoneware or porcelain, had been produced in North Carolina since the 1700s. Artisans at the Moravian potteries of Bethabara and Salem have been well documented, but in the 18th and 19th centuries there were at least 60 redware potters from the mountains of North Carolina into the Piedmont. The exhibit gives a glimpse back to those long gone potteries and to modern potteries like Westmoore and New Salem Pottery that are carrying forward the styles and shapes of the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries.
The strong earthy colors and designs continue to resonate. Just a few days ago, Mary Farrell send out an email newsletter telling customers:
Westmoore Pottery's work will be among those used to decorate Country Home magazine's 2007 Show Home in Oregon City, Oregon. The house, at Marklund Place, the site of the 2007 Street of Dreams, will be on display to the public starting this month, from July 27 to August 26.
We can't possibly make it to Oregon to view it, but maybe some of you who live closer will be able to do so.
The house is incorporating a lot of "green" energy-efficient technology, and Creative Director Mary Emmerling has chosen a decorating style influenced by French Country style.
if you're out that way, give the house a visit, take photo and email it. It sounds like an interesting blend of state-of-the-technology and style influences from hundreds of years ago. But the real treat, of course, is a visit to the Farrell's pottery in the Westmoore Community of northern Moore County, NC.
Newspapers everywhere are trying to "transform," "explode," "re-org," "downsize," and generally rearrange the "deck chairs" on you know what.
Here's an idea of Melissa Worden:
Instead of having our main production efforts going to print production, and a small online team, why not have the main production efforts be for online, and employ a smaller set of editors to package the print product?
The idea of a small staff "re-purposing" online back to print may seem ridiculous to the print-product-rules crowd, but it makes sense and actually is where most newsrooms are tangentially headed as they move forward while watching the road in the rearview mirror.
Regardless of whether it is where newsrooms are moving, it's not the message that's being understood even in newsrooms where there's been a "web first" manifesto.
Focusing a newsroom around producing an online product first and reusing a cut of that in print would begin to put the newsroom where it will need to be -- soon. A lot of culture change could be accomplished and embedded in the process by rejiggering the work flow.
This would require standing most newsroom production systems on their heads -- and what would be bad about that?
Tags: newspapers | newsrooms | culture change
Early morning just after sunrise (7:30 a.m.) today at Wolf Laurel, NC, which is in Madison County. This is an HDR image; you can click on it for a larger version.
See some more early morning HDR shots from today. Don't miss the "Pot Man."
Tags: photography | HDR | North Carolina | Wolf Laurel | Madison County | sunrise
In the continuing MySpace is so 2006 storyline, there's a report that says that usage among the ever-fad-attuned high school crowd of Facebook is gaining ground while their usage of MySpace is declining.
Net scoreboard comScore says in a new study that Facebook has increased its number of US visitors under the age of 18 by about 2.5 times while MySpace has dropped about 30 percent..
MySpace is still leads in that age group, but it's beginning to look as exciting as toys in a Dollar General store.
That goes against the line that MySpace is a high schoolers product while Facebook is a college student product. Facebook began changing all that when it opened up registration to all last September and with its API launched just in the last couple of months. It's the juggernaut of the summer.
More comScore data says in the last year Facebook had 181 percent growth in use from the 25-34 year old demographic, 149 percent growth from the 12-17 year old demographic, 98 percent from those 35 years and older. The lowest increase occurred was with the 18-24 year old demos.
Facebook is even attracting no-clue-as-to-a-fad-folks like me. But there there one person in my small work group that says she's not signing up cause she's not doing another stinkin' social networking site, but if she relents it could be a bellwether of sorts (the juggernaut is rolling downhill?). I'll keep you posted.
In this break in the action, I'd like to ask: Other than greed, what is up with the proposed Net Radio copyright fees, which some say will drive radio off the Internet?
Mashable says there has been a slight reprieve from the Monday (July 15) fee increase that would force a lot of radio stations off the Net under their present business models.
With more than 7 million people listening to online radio at some point every day according to SaveNetRadio, there is clearly a lot at stake.
Well, yeah.
I have no problem with rights holders getting paid and I'm not even sure why Congress should be involved. But the fee hikes don't even seem to make business sense: let's eliminate lots of customers building businesses and audience and revenue streams for us. Granted, I'm missing more than a few zeros in understanding this.
The companies that would see their business models gored appear to be behind the "grassroots effort" SaveNetRadio.org that's got a wave going in the stands. It's a typical arena football game in Congress with Big Blue Suit Corp. PR campaign vs. the "We the People" grassroots effort . Both sides leave the stadium driving BMWs after dropping wads at the Congressional campaign concession stands.
Hey, overtime just started. Back to the game. Hit play, will ya.
Tags: net radio | copyright | Internet Radio Equality Act
Damn, I'm a 10.
The "Online Identity Calculator (beta)" says:
Congratulations. You are digitally distinct. This is the nirvana of online identity. Keep up the good work, and remember that your Google results can change as fast as the weather in New England. So, regularly monitor your online identity. Read Chapter 11 of Career Distinction for more ideas on how to continue to build your brand online.
LOL, I hadn't seen this buzz phrase used on the site: "GQ (Google Quotient)?"
I also couldn't believe that a search for "Jack Lail" resulted in 29,700 results. Well Gaw-aw-aw-leee -- Gomer Pyle.
The site hypes a book I haven't read -- Career Distinction: Stand Out By Building Your Brand by William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson
(via BlackRimGlasses)
Tags: Career Distinction | quiz | Google Quotient
Must reading for Gore watchers is Fast Company's "Al Gore's $100 Million Makeover."
Here's a guy who was worth, oh maybe, $2 million in 2000, who is worth well north of $100 million today, with a mere $30 million in Google stock options.
Is he just now hititng his stride?
Tags: Al Gore
The NashvilleisTalking/WKRN imbroglio has caught my attention again.
Lost Remote points to a Cable & Broadcasting piece that says the upheaval at WKRN may be a symptom of a rift between old and new media that has led to the departures of Interactive Media heavyweights Wes Jackson at Belo, Ric Harris at NBC Universal and Eric Grilly at MediaNews Group.
I don't have the inside skinny on any of those, but Gordon Borrell, the respected Internet/Media consultant, is quoted:
There seems to be a real rub between those running interactive operations and the big traditional media companies and [the media companies’] inability to move fast enough to satisfy those people.
The swirling rumors (and Michael Silence has a good post on those) about WKRN's NashvilleisTalking blog site is doubly interesting to me because Gwen Kinsey, new GM at WATE here in Knoxville, got the additional role as GM at the Nashville station after the bloodletting.
The new Web strategy for WKRN:
... some in the market expect management to pull the plug on NashvilleisTalking and ultimately roll back WKRN’s digital innovation. “They're going back to Media 1.0,” says one veteran of the market’s news wars. “They'll make their money on broadcast.”
Well, maybe. We'll see. Management's sparse public pronouncements would indicate some future for NashvilleisTalking.
And Brittney Gilbert, the face or voice of NashvilleisTalking until her recent departure, works up a passionate defense of the groundbreaking project even if she says she doesn't care what happens to it next. She was reacting to what Bill Hobbs said.
But amidst the we're-headed-back-to-the-Stone-Age news is a comment from Gilbert's old boss at WKRN, Mike Sechrist, who says somewhat circumspectly:
I’ve had some eye opening conversations with two individuals who want to start full fledged news operations in their respective cities (one on the east coast and one on the west) using only VJ’s and the web. They both have the same idea of usurping local broadcast news.
Usurping local broadcast news. Usurping local broadcast news. Now Mike, that's an idea.
A YouTube video of Sechrist from back in his WKRN day:
Tags: broadcasting | television | interactive media | WKRN | NashvilleisTalking
It's amazing that with all the high tech mumbo jumbo and fail-safe systems we have available in modern society that a bird on a suicidal swoop at a substation can hold the newspaper and 4,299 other customers powerless.
An errant bird caused a 30-minute power outage this afternoon for 4,300 Knoxville Utilities Board customers when it flew into a substation.
We reported that Monday online after the lights came back on.
Tags: power failure
Did pretty well Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Sunday I waited until mid-day and was hot. I walked and jogged, but because of the heat, I still averaged 145 bpm today. Anyway, ahead of schedule for the week.
Sessions
Calories burned
Time exercising
Miles jogged
4
2848
3:29
17
4
2000
3:15
No advice
Tags: jogging | fatbloggers | jason calacanis
Oh, wow, Ilana Arazie, is getting hyped on Jewlicious.com and snuck in an AP The Hot List and is doing stuff for Amaldo.com.
Check out her vblog, Downtonw Diary, for her latest.
The video below is a recent one on online dating that I liked.
She's got a day job with the AP Online Video Network, but I wouldn't be surprised to see her build a pretty good audience around her video blogging. She's got the guerilla marketing going already. Hey, Ilana, go for it!
Tags: Ilana Arazie | video blogging | vblog
More evidence that brand matters on the Internet -- maybe more so than in the non-digital realm.
Participants in this study ranked the performance of brand name search engines Yahoo! and Google higher than the not-really-a-brand-MSN Live and an unbranded search engine. All, however, returned the same results.
Interestingly, Yahoo! ranked highest, even through many in the study group used Google regularly. I wonder if that has to do with Yahoo!'s traditionally heavier advertising and marketing. Yahoo! has done quite a bit of branding advertising; I can't recall any from Google, although it'd be hard to find an internet user that doesn't "google."
Whatever factors influence the choice of Yahoo! over Google, the implication of the study is nurturing a trusted, positive brand image online is money and time well-spent.
Positive brand identification = Loyal Audience. Audience = $$$.
I've seen some research -- and I'd like to know more -- that TV station Web sites have higher credibility ratings than newspaper Web sites. Obviously brand "feelings" are at work at some level. What I don't know is what factors are influencing the perception.
Tags: marketing | branding | online media
We watched a fireworks show at Badin Lake on Wednesday night. We had a great spot to see them and I'll post some more photos in a bit. We were on the shore, but there were loads of boats on the water.
Updated: Some more photos of the fireworks.
Tags: fireworks | Badin Lake
Our two summer interns, R&B (Rem de Rohan and Lauren "Bama" Bell), have done a video on life as a intern. Not to be missed.
Tags: interns | newspaper video
An HDR image I took at my parents' house on Badin Lake. This was taken on the backside or lakeside of the house. There are more here and I'll be adding a few more.
Tags: HDR photography | Badin Lake
Gee, I've sucked at this lately, but I'm trying to get back into the routine. Here's a look at last week.
June total: 26.75 miles
Tags: jogging | fatbloggers | jason calacanis
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Bryan Murley, one of the forces behind Innovation in College Media, did a post Monday on the decision to make the formerly paid-subscription site GoVolsXtra a free site.
Murley says of GVX:
It’s exactly the sort of niche web site more and more pro newspapers are investing time and energy into, and the sort of thing college media could adapt relatively easily. Indeed, the Florida Alligator is already aggregating sports content at alligatorsports.org, and Boise State will be doing so this fall with Broncosports.tv, according to Brad Arendt.
Lucas Grindley, content manager at the New York Times owned HeraldTribune.com in southwest Florida, uses the decision to relax registration requirements as the lead for a