Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Microsoft to Buy Massive


Not much to say here since others have commented on this already (see Branded Newb and Joystiq), but I think it's a good move for Microsoft to buy Massive.

Not only does it make sense in terms of their console/online gaming business, but it's a great in-road to a place where Google isn't (yet) on the ad-inventory/selling side. They are also planning on integrating it into their ad-brokering service, AdCenter, which can really help them differentiate their offering from Google, by providing a "one-stop" to buy search, display and gaming advertising placements.

I don't know about you, but I love the on-going battle between Google, Microsoft and Yahoo. It's fun to watch, isn't it? I just wouldn't want to be in the middle of it. Think of the stress. Yipes.

MySpace Competition Heating Up



In today's Wall Street Journal, there were a few interesting articles about the on-going battle for social-networking supremacy. In one article, the Journal highlights four competitors, TagWorld, Imeem, Tagged and VarsityWorld. It contains their "strategies" for carving out a niche in the social networking space. One emphasizes the drag-and-drop interface, one is downloadable (big mistake), one is aimed at high-schoolers and the last is monitored by humans. Is there room for them in the increasingly crowded area? Well, according to the article, their user bases range from 50,000 to three million. Will they survive and/or thrive? You decide.


BBC Enters Social Networking
In another article (sorry, it's not public), the Journal reports that the BBC has its own plan to "offer a serice on its Web site simlar in some respects to MySpace.com."

Microsoft to Launch Social-Networking Site
Last, Microsoft is entering the fray by launching their own social-networking site, called Wallop. This may be old news to you, since about 200,000 users are currently testing the service within Microsoft.

I'm bored with social-networking. Anyone have any other ideas? :)

Friday, April 21, 2006

Males as sex objects


In a recent posting, my buddy jokingly writes about how appalled he is males are being portrayed as sex objects and gives a couple of examples. One of the examples I didn't look at because I'm just a little too busy at the moment, but the other (which I had seen some time ago, but that I was happy to be reminded of) was for Brawny paper towels, a microsite featuring VERY funny videos is one of the most memorable advertising microsites I've seen in a long time (even though the videos take forever to download).

One thing that quickly comes to mind when thinking about the Brawny site is how increasingly important the Internet is and will continue to be in keeping advertising and all content fresh and pushing the boundaries. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the Brawny TV ads that accompanied that campaign, but they were so dull and stupid compared to the online videos (e.g. they had a hunky guy presenting a birthday cake with a cheesy voiceover with none of the cleverness and just a hint of the tongue-in-cheekness that the online work had so much of). Makes you wonder whether the TV came first and was enhanced/blown-out by the online or the online was first and it was watered-down for the TV executions.

But in any case, it's clear that the online gave the advertisers the ability to reach out and be more creative, explore the idea further and really give the idea more dimensions -- thereby giving the brand a fuller personality. I think that's why TV is going to dominated by online content in the near future. The ability to try more things, to be more edgy and experimental will quickly catapult the "wild west" of the Internet to the forefront of media that we know today.

Pretty soon, in my eyes, roles will be reversed and TV will be more of a promotional mechanism for the broader, edgier content online. Consumers (at least the more forward-thinking ones) will tire of the watered-down, corporate-filtered content on TV and will want to get fuller experiences, where they will not only be offered different, more experimental content, but also the ability to self-select that which interests them most.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Whoa! McMobile: McDonald's goes mobile!


McDonald's is promoting some of its Oklahoma restaurants with a "Mobile Whoa" campaign, where customers can participate in a mobile scavenger hunt, get a mobile coupon and post photos in a camera phone and Web site picture gallery. The scavenger hunt starts when customers text-message a specific code or register online at a microsite for the promotion. Customers then receive a series of clues via text messages. Besides the coupons for free fries with the purchase of a Big Mac, there's another plus: all customers who submit a photo to the picture gallery will receive a code on their phone to download a free ringtone or wallpaper.

Will it work? Who knows, but seeing as though Mickie D's was one of the first to sign up on IAB's Cross-Media Optimization Studies, I think they are on the right track to getting it right. All this experimentation is sure to pay off somewhere down the line. Heck, if I were a kid in Oklahoma with a mobile phone, I'd definitely play. In fact, I'm jealous I can't play now. :(
Check it out here.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Watching the Nervous Little TV Networks

A recent article (Watching the Nervous Little TV Networks) notes that the death of traditional TV itself is inevitable and is going to happen soon. I agree. In fact, I implied some of these things myself in a recent post. I think it is definitely the future and that future isn't very far off. BUT, it will take a visionary leader in the space. One that will really be able to capitalize on the fact that the Internet is so much more targetable, so much more measurable and so is so much more valuable than a random 30-second spot.

A person who commented on the article also noted that the effectiveness of ads not only depends on context, but also timeliness of the ad. He gives the example of holiday shoping. I agree with that, but I also think that the dynamic nature of online can easily accomodate that. For instance, instead of ads being frozen in time within a given content block (e.g. think of renting an old movie from Blockbuster and seeing those "coming soon" ads for "Coming to America" or some other ancient movie), by allowing ads to be dynamically placed in ad slots (like how iFrames are used for online ads now), current and timely ads can be rotated in and out, depending on the time of year and even the time of DAY that the content and ad are viewed.

Anyway, I think the age of TV over the Internet is just over the horizon. It's just going to take someone with vision that can come up with the technology and the ideas to make it work. It's that easy... kinda.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

"Google World Domination" is Trademarked!

My friend and colleague reminded me that he copywrited, trademarked, patented, and invented the term "Google World Domination." Mea culpa. May the wrath of Google befall me.

More Google news: calendar, China

Google Calendar
Google is launching a new calendar program today and I'm excited. Even this means continuation of Google World Domination, it's ok since I benefit... for now. ;) Now maybe I can discontinue using Yahoo Calendar and integrate my email and calendar system again. But, the downside is, as this Washington Post article states, Google will start to track how you spend your time and could also possibly start showing advertisements for movies, for instance, if you make an appointment to go see a movie.

Big bro has changed his name from Microsoft to Google.

Google in China
Talk about WORLD domination. The hoopla about this L.A. Times story is that Google is restricting access to certain types of content (e.g. keyword "Democracy") that the government seems unfit for their people's consumption. I think Google did the right thing by not dictating to a country what they can and can't do right off the bat, but it does bring to mind how powerful Google is that just by disallowing certain terms, they are able to almost black out a whole section of the Internet (in a sense) and, correspondingly, ideas and knowledge. Scaaaaarrrrryyyyy.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

The WRONG Way To Transition a Brand

A NY Times article says that Lenovo has already dropped the IBM name from its products. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Who the hell is Lenovo, you may be asking? Exactly.

MSN Deemphasizes 'Branded Entertainment'

If you notice at the end of this Click Z article, MSN Deemphasizes 'Branded Entertainment', it has a little note: "Editor's note: This story was revised after MSN offered more details of its branded entertainment plans. The company objected to an earlier version."

That's because the original title had "cuz it DIDN'T WORK!" at the end.

So sad.

Another step towards Google World Domination


As the Financial Times reports, Google is taking yet another step towards world domination with the purchase of a technology to get "expanded text extracts" (I can only assume from the searched sites themselves) that will give "relevant information without having to go to the web-site."

With all the millions and millions of searches and eyeballs on its site already, Google is already making a mint off their ad inventory. But what if they can gather another (to estimate low) 10% of the eyeballs by directing them to their own pages with useful snippets of information extracted from other sites? Not only is there an increase in inventory meaning an increase in ad revenue, but it's another competitive advantage i.e. another reason to use Google over Yahoo. This gets them a bigger market share and more users, again increasing users and use of the site, increasing revenue again.

But most importantly, in some ways it essentially makes the entire Internet accessible from one site. World friggin' domination. The whole Internet in one site. God help us all.

Btw, if you haven't noticed by now, I do love my hyperbole. :)

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Lessons Learned From "The Apprentice"


Saw the double-header of The Apprentice last night. I still love that show even though this season just isn't as interesting as usual. The main reason I like it (besides watching normally smart and savvy business people squirm) is because of the little nuggets you pick up.

They aren't BIG nuggets (hence the term, nugget) and they may not even be all that original, but they usually represent a shift in thinking beyond the obvious that is admirable. A couple of examples last night came from the second episode of the night, where Lee first gets the 7-11 manager to get all the shelf space for the promotion, then almost gets a huge 1,000 sandwich deal to put them over the edge. Some of you may be thinking that they were both no-brainers, but I'm ashamed to admit that I'm not sure I would've asked for the first and I definitely wouldn't have thought of the second, especially with the pressure of time and TV cameras in my face.

[Side note: I wish they would tell the audience (maybe on the website?) exactly what the criteria for each challenge is -- e.g. last night, they said that the objective was to increase sales by the biggest percentage. They didn't say anything about profit or even what product needs to be sold, but I guarantee that there must've been much more criteria. After all, why not sell the 1,000 sandwiches for $2? The way they stated the objective, it was all about revenue increase, not maximizing or even making profit.]

Anyway, another couple of examples from past seasons (that I can remember) are putting advertising on the pedicabs and using a geo-targeted mailing list from WeddingChannel.com (or TheKnot or some other big wedding site) to get New Yorkers to the make-shift one-day wedding dress sale.

Why am I writing this? Because I think we all (defintely me included) fall into the habit of thinking of our world in terms of the constraints we impose on ourselves. With just a tiny amount of -- yes, I'm going to say it -- out-of-the-box thinking, we might be able to make a big impact, rather than just spinning our wheels trying to make minute, incremental gains.

What are your favorite nuggets from the show?

helpwinmybet.com

Have you heard of this site? I just heard about HelpWinMyBet.com on KROQ radio in Los Angeles, and it's about some guy who made a bet with his girlfriend that if he made a website that got to 2 million hits, she'd have a threesome with him.

Apparently he hit it in like 24 hours.

Is this a joke/hoax? Does anyone know? If not, there is a good lesson about web marketing in there somewhere. Sex sells? Spin it to win it?

The other weird thing is that I SWEAR the guy said it was helpMEwinmybet.com, which takes you to another such site, but not the same one. Ah, the plot thickens... eh, not really... just another guy trying to make a buck through lawlessness and snake oil.

How to make millions

How To Make Millions
  1. Create a website that builds on the lawlessness of the Internet.
  2. Build audience based on that lawlessness
  3. Sell to large corporation
Case Study: See MySpace

How To NOT Make Millions (aka how to kill a great website)
  1. Be the large corporation that buys the lawless website with the giant audience
  2. Try to monetize audience while adhering to public and corporate scrutiny
Case Study: See News Corp.

The Death of MySpace?


A Los Angeles Times article in today's paper, Hip Youth Website Gets Grown Up About Safety, reports that MySpace has just hired a fomer federal prosecutor as a CSO (Chief Security Officer). This, combined with the millions that MySpace is spending on public service announcements (non-branded, of course) is just starting to take the shine off the apple, don't you think?

I think it's just a matter of time...

Webaroo: It's like a Tivo for the web!

I know you're sick of hearing me talk about the Wall Street Journal, but since I can't link to the article I read there, here's one from PC World.

A service called Webaroo is allowing users to download websites for use offline. I have heard of such tools for a long time now, but apparently the key differentiator is that Webaroo downloads quickly and automatically. According to the Journal:
Webaroo users will install the company's software on their computers and then indicate specific sites or subject matter they want the software to collect from the Web. When the computer is connected to the Internet, it downloads the corresponding Web pages.

In other words, it's kind of like your Tivo at home, except then you can take it with you, to view any time you want. Yes, the world is supposed to be all wireless now, but you and I both know that reality hasn't yet caught up to the huge expectations out there.

Just think, you could download stuff before going on a plane, or going camping (although technically you should be going camping to get away from your laptop -- bad nerd!), etc.

Anyway, just thought it was a neat idea. I also think that the idea is just more applicable now that laptops and other portable devices are ubiquitous while wireless isn't quite where it needs to be.

Disney to Offer Some ABC Shows Free on the Web

I read a story in the Wall Street Journal today that I thought was pretty big.

Turns out the mouse is going cutting-edge! They are going to offer their TV content free! Well, you're going to have to sit through commercials you can't skip, but still, this is a huge step forward. They are going to put hit shows like "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" on their websites for FREE! Whoa.

Think of the implications. The pay-per-view and video-on-demand businesses, much ballyhooed to be the next big things are now kind of thrown on their sides. Although iTunes is safe for now because people can't easily download the content on to their portable devices, someone will eventually figure it out. Pirated file sharing of those programs won't really be necessary and Tivo won't be the only way to catch your favorite shows the morning after (also changing the impact of the DVR on commercial watching).

What are other potential implications? Will it hurt DVD sales? Will it hurt rerun watching? I don't think it will, at least in the short-term. As the downloadable movie business has taught us, people still aren't very comfortable watching video on screens other than their TV.

Anyway, I'm just rambling because it's late, but I thought this was really interesting stuff. Just think, today it's ABC, but tomorrow, because of the competitive factors, it maybe all networks, maybe some cable channels, maybe ALL channels! Who knows? Like I said, this is huge.

What do you think? Am I making a mountain out of a mole hill?

Friday, April 07, 2006

Katie Holmes' Baby NOT Tom Cruise's?

LIAR!
(Image above from Defamer)

Ok, so this has absolutely nothing to do with what this site is about AND I'm not the Hollywood gossip type, but I do love a good conspiracy theory!

According to a "Hollywood insider" on the Kevin & Bean show on KROQ radio in Los Angeles this morning, there is a strong theory that Katie Holmes was ALREADY PREGNANT with someone else's baby when Tom and her met! Not only that, but that means that the BABY IS ALREADY BORN! The insider's theory was that it's Chris Kline's baby and she was pregnant, then he dumped her and she was in trouble. Tom Cruise hatched a plan to help her, help her career and help HIS movies (War of the Worlds, MI3) by marrying and raising the baby as his own.

Kind of makes sense, doesn't it? So the insider said that by this logic, Katie already had the baby and has to wear a prosthetic baby on her body. There are apparently a lot of people that have examined all the photos of her and the "baby" and have seen her throughout the process and they don't match up with reality.

So why not just wait in hiding? MI3 is almost out and they need to continue the buzz, the insider said.

Interesting theory, no? What do you guys think? Examine the photos yourself and let me know what you think. This could be your big story that launches your blog into Drudge Report status! Just give me a couple bucks when that happens. :) I know there are other theories out there, many of which I have no idea about because like I said, I'm not a Hollywood gossip type, so if there are any others you can tell me about, let me know.

Ok, gossip column is now over. Back to real work.

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Is Anyone Getting Sick of Hearing About MySpace Yet?

Me! Me!

Maybe I should stop including it in nearly every post I write. :(

Sigh, I'm just fueling the problem. I AM the problem.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Chevy Tahoe, Like A Crock

I'm a big proponent of user-generated content these days. I mean, I would be stupid not to be with MySpace, Facebook, blogs, etc. being all the rage these days.

But in a recent article, we find out the ugly side of this movement. Well, ugly is a little strong. Funny is more like it. A bunch of people (or maybe it's a certain Japanese car maker with a new hybrid, vanilla-flavored car out there. Hmmm...) have made ads mocking huge SUVs and their damage to the environment, their huge gas costs, etc.

I actually didn't need the article to tell me that because one such ad was forwarded to me from a colleague. Yes, the mix of user-generated content and the last huge interactive buzzword, "viral." Two great tastes that taste great together combined to give G.M.'s Vice Chairman Bob Lutz nightmares. Funny, I didn't see any damage control in his blog. Maybe he was the one planting them. Clever little monkey. Beat him at his own game and make your own here.

Or, read a more thoughtful "analysis" of this issue by someone w/ obviously more time than I have. ;)

Losing Control Using Online Ad Networks

A (surprise) FREE Wall Street Journal article reveals the dark side of using online advertising networks. When I worked with a large car OEM (ok, it was Nissan) and we were developing strategy for media with the online media team, I would always want to try to buy ad networks. I reasoned that because they spanned across many different sites and genres, maybe we could not only get great ROI, with cheap inventory and optimizing as we went, but we could possibly discover new areas where our message hits particularly well and gets results.

Our media buyers were never willing to give in on that, saying that they lose too much control of the placement of ads. Well, I had been in enough of those ad network pitches to know a thing or two, so I would counter saying that the networks have controls for limiting you from being placed in undesirable placements, and that surely, they listen to you when you say that you want certain sites and genres excluded from your buy.

Well, apparently they were right and I was wrong. In the article, huge brands found themselves in places they didn't want to be, like Disney being put next to an article about male sexual performance on About.com.

Chalk one up for the media nerds.

Tangent: Good advice about identity theft

Below is some advice I received in a forwarded email. I ran it through my personal foolish-nonsense-hoax® filter and it seems to make good sense, so although it doesn't really pertain to the objectives of this blog, I thought I'd share it.

ATTORNEY'S ADVICE -- NO CHARGE
Read this and make a copy for your files in case you need to refer to it someday. Maybe we should all take some of his advice!

A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company.

1. The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead of first name) and last name put on them. If someone takes your checkbook, they will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your first name, but your bank will know how you sign your checks.

2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put "PHOTO ID REQUIRED".

3 When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access to it.

4. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a P.O. Box, use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a P.O. Box, use your work address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks.(DUH!) You can add it if it is necessary. But if you have it printed, anyone can get it.

5. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. I also carry a photocopy of my passport when travel either here or abroad. We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed on us in stealing a name, address, Social Security number, credit cards.

Unfortunately I, an attorney, have firsthand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieve(s) ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online, and more. But here's some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know:

1. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.

2. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).

But here's what is perhaps most important of all: (I never even thought to do this.)

3. Call the 3 national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the Internet in my! name. T he alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit.

By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away. This weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.

Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet, etc., has been stolen:
1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
3.) Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289
4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271

We pass along jokes on the Internet; we pass along just abouteverything.
But if you are willing to pass this information along, it could really help someone that you care about

WSJ Article: Social Networking on Mobile Phones

Ok, last one for tonight on articles I can't link to. This article talks about the recent deals by MySpace and Facebook to make some of their services on mobile phones. What do you think? Is this stuff ever going to take off? Or is it just the latest gimmick to extract more money out of naive teens?

Personally I don't see it happening in the really near future, but maybe I'm just showing my age. Hell, I didn't give blogs much of a chance. What a dinosaur I am becoming...

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Wall Street Journal -- Will it ever be free?

I love the Journal. If you haven't been lucky enough to read it regularly, you're missing out. I used to think that it was too stuffy and only for the rich or the finance guys, but it really is a fantastically written paper with really interesting and valuable information, nearly every day.

Writing my last post, I got a little irritated that the Journal doesn't offer their articles free online like nearly every other paper. I mean, I know it's a little irrational, given that the paper itself is like a trillion dollars a year (luckily my wife gets the write-off so I get it every day), but c'mon. Where's the good ol' free web spirit?

Do you think they'll ever offer their content free? I think I read an article some time back that they are making pretty good money on the online subscription (probably because everyone charges it back to their employer), but c'mon, with all the hoopla about online advertising, it's growth and the shortage of good inventory are they missing an opportunity or are they truly maximizing their revenue?

This is one of those times when I wish I had a reader base to help me answer this dilemma instead of just talking to myself... sigh :(

WSJ Article: Latest Cellphone Games

Today's Wall Street Journal had an interesting article about some companies are finally getting ready to deliver the kinds of mobile phone experiences that they've always promised. Apparently there are a couple of companies, including Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's LivePlanet, that are putting out games that let you use GPS tracking to play real-life games like tag. Just as promised, what, five years ago, players can sign up their friends, then each player is given a "target" to "hunt" for. When the target is spotted and in range, you can push a "capture" button to get them. Of course, the catch is that someone is doing the same to you. I love the idea of these games and I could see great games happening on campuses across the country in the near future. But to make it even better on those same campuses, integrate drinking in there somewhere. Talk about a killer-app.

[Btw, sorry, but I can't link to the article, since WSJ requires a subscription to read their articles.]

Snagnabbit or "He Snagged It, Alright"

My so-called "trusted" colleague has betrayed me and claimed firsties on finding SnagIt. Bastard. I've been using that thing for quite a while and he's right, it's invaluable. Oh, and I'm not above getting paid for endorsements either. :)

Real Life Simpsons Intro

Ok, I know I'm late to the party, but I just wanted to jump on the bandwagon and give the Real Life Simpsons Intro props. Well done (if not about 10 years late). Damn! Almost got through the post w/out a snide remark...

Conde Nast Goes More Web

A recent New York Times article, says that Conde Nast is making a bigger move into the web. I got one word for this brilliant move: Duh.

Food TV Goes Primetime

An article about how the Food Network is trying to go more prime time in their programming got me thinking. As an aspiring foodie and Food Network junkie, not to mention an addict of reality TV, it seems like the network is just a little less than creative about it's offerings. For one, they reuse their "stars" a little too much, in my opinion (and let's face it, they aren't all the poster children of good celebrity - look at Bobby Flay -- yikes). I mean, it's been a great strategy up to now and I think Emeril has brought them to where they are, but with 1) the growing popularity of the network 2) the fact that nearly everyone cooks (at least canned soup) and 3) the majority of their audience is either a predictable audience of housewives or foodies, it seems like there would be plenty of opportunity to capitalize on their advantages.

One no-brainer is using the web to help them find their next food celeb. I mean, with the proliferation of video online and the emergence of blogs and vlogs as serious media, couldn't they use that platform to do multiple Project Greenlight - like projects? I could probably spend 15 minutes thinking of 20 other ideas, but I have a lot of articles to read at the moment. Maybe I'm just being naive, but that's what I do, criticize -- but with good intentions. :)