Archive for January, 2009
Posted on January 29, 2009 by Miller
TechCrunch.com just posted an article about Pipl which is a new ‘people search’ which I just tried out. Very Google-esque in its presentation, but the results are pretty creepy.
It crawls the ‘deep web‘ which are pages that aren’t publically linked to, as well as MySpace, Facebook, Flickr. Doesn’t stop there. I will also dig out news articles, blogs, mugshots, and public record documents on anyone you type in. Granted, this is all public information, but I’ve never seen it all aggrigated into one place.
Just putting in my own information creeped me out. For better or worse, I have a pretty common name so I wouldn’t be too high on the list unless someone knows where you live.
I just checked this out and am both impressed and scared. I hope we enjoyed the last of our online privacy…
But in addition to all the creepiness that comes with a search engine like this hitting the masses also makes for some opportunity.
I wonder if there’s going to now be Pipl ‘optimization’ for people who want themselves to be found (thinking freelancers, musicians, blogger, etc). So there can be a lot of good to come out of this in terms of self promoting… Should I want to rank high in those searches to promote my blog or business, and more importantly, how does one engineer that?
Posted on January 29, 2009 by Miller
Got some great inspiration from this post from a Gary V. keynote from the streets of NY. Check out Keynote Kid on Tumblr for a collection of his keynotes.
Ok, here’s the Quote of the Day that got me thinking:
“Who were the 5 biggest selling beers when radio was in existence? And who were the biggest selling beers in the first 5 years that television hit critical mass? Cause Pabst Blue Ribbon would definately redo some shit!”
Food for thought. And I agree. I just hasn’t happened yet. But Main St. is starting to see the impact especially in this recession. And its not about just opening a Twitter account. In fact, I think one of the mistakes (correct me if I’m wrong) of the way companies marketed themselves on MySpace was by going and friending thousands and thousands of people, and sending down Bulletins, and Event Invites that I didn’t care about. I know, at the end of the day, I don’t have to friend Tide Detergent, but if you’re a company that wants to play in the medium, you need to either interact on a personal level with your user base, or provide great information and content that I WANT.
That being said, I think if you’re a brand or product people are passionate about, use these tools (cause that’s all they are, tools) to create a community and reward the people that follow you on Twitter with content or offers that are exclusive. That ‘normal’ customers wouldn’t hear bout or can’t get anywhere else. I think you’ll get a lot of mileage out of that.
The companies that are able to provide that sense of community or that killer content will succeed. Look at Miller Beer. Traditionally, in the :30 SuperBowl ad world Budweiser has dominated. I look forward to their stuff every year. But this year, Miller is forgoing the long format ads and instead is doing a :01 ad (purchased through local markets as Bud has an exclusive agreement with the SuperBowl this year to be the only national alcohol advertiser). Is the reach potentially a lot less than Bud’s? Yes. But Google search Miller Beer Super Bowl, and you’ll be amazed at how many blogs are talking about it or linking to their site where you can see all 30 1-second ads. Its been to the top page of Digg, and I’d venture to guess that they’ve gotten more than $3 million of value from the online buzz than Bud will get with their traditional spots.
Posted on January 29, 2009 by Miller
No doubt about it, I’m def. NOT a professional graphic designer or a professional web designer, or marketer.
And you might not be the leader in your industry. You might be starting a new business or launching a new product where you want to compete in your space. But don’t know how.
Learn.
There has NEVER been more of an opportunity to get kick-ass tutorials, pointers, and how-to instructions on everything from building a business, to marketing, to learning how to use social media to grow your business. And its usually free, or cheap.
Need technical skills? I’d highly recommend checking out Lynda.com. For $25 a month you can take as many ‘classes’ on application training like Adobe products, web development, and other apps as you’d like. Learn at your own pace and review as much as you need. You no longer have an excuse when you don’t know how to make a PDF or use basic web applications. You don’t.
Second, read you ass off. Use Google Blog Search to find discussions and blogs about the topics you need to learn about. Get a Google Reader, and subscribe to those blogs. Ask questions, weigh in. Read your ass off. You will become an expert much faster than you’d think.
No one is keeping you out anymore. The only thing you have to invest is time.
Posted on January 27, 2009 by Miller
I’m sure this is old news in the blogosphere by now, but if you haven’t taken the time to read Bill Gates’ annual letter describing the work of the Gates Foundation, you should. Take 20 min and go through it. You will be inspired.
2009 Annual Letter
I still have not gotten through it in its entirety but I’ve been very impressed not only by the sheer amount of projects the Foundation has taken on, but even more so by two things…
First, the ability to be candid and talk about what has NOT worked.
Second, I’m impressed with the their integration of business principles into the world of philanthropic giving. They have been able to quanitfy results and the byproducts of their efforts (at least in this letter) so that the average person can understand the challenges, but also the ‘ripple effect’ of success.
A surprising but critical fact we learned was that reducing the number of deaths actually reduces population growth. Chart 3 shows the strong connection between infant mortality rates and fertility rates. Contrary to the Malthusian view that population will grow to the limit of however many kids can be fed, in fact parents choose to have enough kids to give them a high chance that several will survive to support them as they grow old. As the number of kids who survive to adulthood goes up, parents can achieve this goal without having as many children. This means that improved health is critical to getting a country into the positive cycle of increasing education, stability, and wealth. When health improves, people have smaller families and the government has more resources per person, so improving nutrition and education becomes much easier. These investments also improve health, and a virtuous cycle begins that takes a country out of poverty. This was a huge revelation for Melinda and me. It is why we expanded our focus from reproductive health to all of the major infectious diseases.
I applaud the Gates foundation for not only making this document public, but addressing the needs of people around the world in a method that promotes research, accountability, and results.
Posted on January 27, 2009 by Miller
Read a great article in Wired today:
Why Cloud Computing Still Doesn’t Work and how Google will Fix It – full article
I agree that the systems that would allow us to truly work in the cloud just suck at the moment (particularly in the mobile data transfer department). BUT I take issue to say that people aren’t already taking the first steps in moving to the cloud (for better or worse).
I think people are already moving to the cloud via social media tools. I have friends whose only copies of their digital photos are on Flickr or Facebook, and to me that seems like a mistake (even though Flickr will store full-res versions).
I’ll echo the point of some other comments in that what happens when a Google Data Center gets hacked, or a web service folds unexpectedly (anyone that got Circuit City gift cards this holiday season will know what I mean)?
There’s talk of a GDrive coming in 2009 that would either put all your docs on Google’s servers so that you can access them anywhere, or that it would be a piece of hardware that would ‘mirror’ your drive on their servers, keeping the most updated copies in each drive.
I love the idea of having things everywhere, but am not so keen on having copies of all my data on a 3rd party’s server . (I know, we already do that with email, photos, etc, but having EVERYTHING there puts a little too much trust in a web service). I want my content accessible. But I want to own it. I want the control.
Furthermore, I don’t think we need a Google Drive to manage this for us. If you want to mirror your drives on the cloud, lets focus on a software based solution. Let’s innovate. Once again, I think Apple’s getting on the right track (and monetizing it) with their Mobile Me services. Has anyone reading this used it? Is it any good for docs? Leave a comment.
Posted on January 26, 2009 by Miller
from FFFFOUND
from Dark Roasted Blend
Posted on January 23, 2009 by Miller
I read a great article on TechCrunch this morning that got me thinking about finding customers. It talked about how Apple is just rocking the marketplace even in a recession and that one of their strengths is the small width of products that they produce:
Apple made $10 billion last year and their simple product line is the key. Look at it. There really aren’t that many products: One cellphone, four iPods, three notebooks, and three desktop computers. Now look at HP’s, Dell’s, or even Garmin and TomTom’s product lines. Apple does something different and hopefully others are taking notes.
Makes sense. How many GPS units does Garmin make? 82. Really. Apple makes only a handful of versions of its products, but packs the hell out of the available features in that unit. Another excerpt:
Consumers hate choices. They say they love them, but have you ever stood in front of a wall of plasmas and LCDs with a random person? I have and did for years at Circuit City. They get overwhelmed by the amount of options, but Apple has made it easy but producing top-notch products that are easily available. The iPhone at Wal-Mart makes sense as it doesn’t require a salesman to sell the hottest phone on the market.
I have to add a couple of thoughts though. First, I agree that consumers hate choices….to a point. I think America’s economy is so massive because people want choice in that they want to find products and services that help them express themselves, and express their personality. So in that sense, choice is good. But I do agree with the arguement that no one needs 82 choices of GPS.
But there also is a certain illusion of choice. When there are so many options, the space between the differentiations is so small it can be barely noticable. But it can be effective. Look at how many times Taco Bell can re-package Corn, beans, beef, and sour cream into products.
Second, Apple innovates. When they focus on a product, they build things that are different in so many ways from what already exists. They create things that are remarkable. They create products that don’t even need salespeople. The community and the identity of that community that Apple helped build is one that is a growing niche. That is, they are not afraid to build premium products that ‘are not for YOU.’ They’re not for everyone. They are, however, built for a niche that has a cool factor. A community that a lot of people want to be a part of.
My point is that granted, the simplicity factor saves resources and allows them to focus on making a handful of kick ass products. But simplicity isn’t the answer by itself. I would argue that its simplicity combined with innovation, and a good understanding of communities that allow it to shine.
Posted on January 21, 2009 by Miller
I just read a great report from Trendwatching.com talking about how Generosity is fast becoming the new Green. I manage E-media for a small TV station, and even on this micro level I can see it happening. More and more clients are interested in doing socially consious giveaways in lieu of traditional advertising whether its providing scholarships, home improvements or grants to community organizations. Take it to TV with programs like Extreme Home Makeover and you’ll see what I mean.
Why is this happening? I don’t know all the causes, but there are some great cases laid out in the article. I do think that online culture feeds on sharing and generosity – from open source software, to publishing and sharing your photos, videos, and business tips – have made it where he who puts out the most quality content, or leads a tribe, or organizes to make change (read: sharing, giving, participating) win. They become the mini celebrities that encourage even more sharing across the web.
And now consumers are requiring businesses to do it as well. I do hope however that they do a better job than ‘going green’ (adding a recycle bucket does NOT make you a green company…what a sham). If you’re going to participate…. be generous, but more importantly be GENUINE.
Some excerpts (def check out the full article)
The current financial meltdown has led consumers to be more disgusted than ever (if that’s even possible) with greedy corporate execs who just don’t care. Many in the corporate world are so far removed from what is now an immensely better informed, more opinionated consumer arena, that their (non-)communications, their (inter-)actions, their entire behavior is deeply out of tune with what consumers want and expect in the years to come.
Some fun (US) stats from Reputation Garage:
* As few as 13% of all Americans place their trust in big business (and it’s not much higher for other mature consumer societies!).
* Only 39% of employees in a Watson Wyatt survey said they trusted senior leadership.
* Some three-quarters of US consumers feel that companies don’t tell the truth in advertising.
* Three-quarters of employees in big companies observed violations of the law or company standards in a 12-month period.
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