What’s Fresh?

When I was 15 years old I was waiting tables at a Pizza Hut and would say that many people would have a similar answer.  Not Daniel Brusilovsk, a 15-year-old techie, who just launched Teens In Tech into a private Alpha.  The site offers a community for teens who create (or want to create) content by podcasts, videos, and blogs.  The idea is that this will be a safe place for them to converse about their work, share tips, and showcase their talents in a profile based format.  The site even offers a job board for hiring new talent to Teens In Tech.  Quite a far cry from “would you like extra cheese on that.”

The Games are only a few days away, and I think NBC is ready. The schmorgas board of content options that viewers will be able to tap into is honestly mind blowing. Utilizing on-demand, mobile, interactive, and live streaming technologies–just to name a few–NBC is doing what the rest of the digital industry hasn’t quite figured out yet; they are providing online content to viewers and still expected to draw record numbers of viewers during their TV broadcasts.

As new technologies have been evolving, advertisers have been attempting to monetize these different formats while appeasing users (ie-not annoying them) and adhering to privacy restrictions. For example, mobile marketing is great in theory, but keeping it user-friendly and quantifiable for advertisers has not completely been accomplished to date.

What NBC is doing with their coverage of the Beijing Games is truly making content available to users no matter where they are during the 17 days of the Olympics. Since Olympic events are so time-sensitive, NBC should be able to entice users to subscribe to online feeds, watch live and canned events, so they can stay up to date (and not have to wait for Bob Costas to tell them).

From a ratings side, NBC will still be able to draw a wide TV viewing audience because the crowd pleasing sports like swimming, gymnastics and track are planned to be broadcast live only on TV.

All in all, I must applaud NBC…they have significantly raised the bar from 2006 and for the industry as a whole.

Meet Yuil a Cuil parody which was created by a developer (Sam Pullara) using Yahoo’s Boss API.  The funniest part of the Yuil creation is that it’s search seems to be far superior to Cuil’s.

If you live in San Diego you likely know that the town is being taken over by Darth Vader credit card holders, people who will argue about Spiderman’s divorce, and Fanboys (for PC reasons shouldn’t it be Fanpeople?) of all ages.  Comic-Con 2008 is officially here.

The event is entirely sold out and if you work near the convention center be prepared for the influx in traffic.  The crazy traffic is what got me asking “Who are these people that are flocking to SD and skipping work for a comic book based event?”  I decide to search it out (kinda like Ari Gold with a Google box) to answer my question.  Well It took me one search to figure it out…..The majority of these people are some for of techies.  And here is the search that got me to that conclusion: TweetScan-Comic Con.  This leads to pages upon pages of people talking about going to comic con or being jealous of those who are.

A vast majority of the people on Twitter (or those who are really active in it) have some tech connection.  These people either code, blog, work in online marketing, or have family members or close friends who do one of the above.  So to the techies that are attending Comic Con, have a good time.  To those who will be staring at their computers screens instead, keep checking your RSS.

Behavioral targeting is often revered as a cure to all that ails an online marketing plan, but that is just not the case. This assumption is based on key misconceptions that Geary’s CEO dispels in an iMedia article published today. The myths that Roell puts to rest are:

#1 All BT technologies are created equal

#2 It is possible to reach all audiences via behavioral targeting

#3 BT clusters are flexible and can provide marketers with a truly customizable campaign

#4 Behavioral campaigns are the most effective media buy

#5 Behavioral targeting alone will solve conversion problems

#6 You cannot optimize a BT campaign

#7 Retargeting is behavioral targeting

To read the whole article, click here

This is my favorite thing in my inbox at the moment.

*Excerpts from MediaPost Publications’s Search insider, July 23 by Aaron Goldman

I’m Snoozing, I’m Snoring

In the style of It’s Raining, It’s Pouring

I’m snoozing, I’m snoring,

Your search results are boring.

Your market share

is barely there.

Will Cashback get you roaring?

Bostock and Yang Went to Great Pains

In the style of Jack and Jill Went Up the Hill

Bostock and Yang

Went to great pains

To avoid an outright acquisition.

They played tough,

$44 billion wasn’t enough.

Then they retreated their position.

Yankee Google

In the style of Yankee Doodle

Yankee Google took over the town,

It’s PR spin smooth as a zamboni.

Stuck creative in its cap,

Scaring Mad Ave cronies.

Yankee Google keep it up,

Automating media, that’s dandy.

And now finally some transparency,

Now this is really handy.

TiVo set the stage for DVR boxes. The ability to pause live TV and fast forward through commercials revolutionized the television watching experience and angered advertisers. Since DVRs invaded living rooms around the nation, TiVo has been forced to compete with generic copycats. To bounce back and reaffirm its status as a technological force to be reckoned with, TiVo has partnered with Amazon to take interactive TV to the next level.

This partnership will allow users to buy promoted books, movies, CDs through their TV set via Amazon. One feature that proves that TiVo executes are ahead of the learning curve is that when a viewer selects an item and veers away from a program to finalize their purchase, shows are automatically recorded. This way viewers will not miss a second of their show–which could have been a deterrent for users to engage with an ad or make an in-TV purchase.

Statistics have long-since supported the fact that users are engaging their remote controls to do more than just change channels, but no manufacturer besides TiVo has developed an realistic way for advertisers to maximize this forum. I recently sat through a presentation by a local cable provider and they projected automatic recording to be a “2.0″ feature–meaning they haven’t got it figured out yet. So for now, i think TiVo is the best (and maybe only) option for viewers to broach making in-TV purchases.

In the beginning, advertisers were understandably hesitant and annoyed when TiVo unveiled its DVR technologies, but steps like this–that are way ahead of what cable companies are poised to do–show that the DVR format can and will fit into an advertising mix.

What’s in a name? Apparently a lot.                                                                          

As more and more companies begin to realize that social media is a space they can no longer avoid, they are looking to hire agencies and internal positions to help navigate the vast space.  However, these new positions (and agency needs) are causing an interesting game of semantics.

A recent 2 page AdWeek article on the subject of social media referred to the same type of position in the following ways:

• Social Media Consultant
• Social Media Expert
• Social Media Czar
• Social Media Team Member
• Social Media Marketer
• and my personal favorite Social Media Evangelist

Now coming from the SEO side of things, someone needs to get a WordTracker account pronto and a quick rundown in content optimization.  Beyond that…..what is the real difference here and does it really matter?  I would say none and no.  If the position listing  calls out a proper set of activities the company needs the position (or agency) to fill, finding the right person or group should be no problem.  Naming it or them should be even less of one.  But hey, if this name-game continues I may push for a title change to Social Media Goddess or Princess or Queen or….you get the idea