2010 March | Jamie Beckland
Mar 30 2010
Today I noticed something new on a Spanish language site: a toolbar asking me if I wanted to automatically translate the page into English.
This is the type of functionality that makes me get warm fuzzies for Google. Oh, and it brings the Star Trek universal translator and Douglas Adams’ Babel Fish one step closer to reality. Continue Reading »
Mar 29 2010
Google was built on search. It was not built on social. And, to thrive in the space, you have to have social running through your veins.
But, in their fight for social relevance, they will force the other players to play fair. So, thanks, Google! Continue Reading »
Mar 27 2010
Facebook recently announced that they will give up personally identifiable information to certain “approved” sites that use Facebook Connect. Within the tech industry, this is seen as a scary invasion of privacy, but I am not sure if it is really a very big deal. This isn’t a very big step forward from a marketing perspective, and in the end, most users will be better off.
Mar 25 2010
The social media story of Lady Gaga is pretty phenomenal. The latest chapter is her new video “Telephone,” which is a whirlwind of amazing viral potential, product placement, skin, hair, clothes, and camp references. Whether you love it or hate it, chances are you’ll watch it.
Warning: the video may be NSFW, and this post may not be either, as it describes some of the themes of the video. Continue Reading »
Mar 23 2010
The simple fact of the matter is there are not that many news-worthy events that happen in a day. But, the amount of content is exploding. So, here’s what happens:
1. Something happens
2. People talk about what happened
3. People talk about what people said about what happened
4. People try to link what people said about what people said about what happened to a grand unifying theory
Let’s look at an example:
Mar 20 2010
Seth Godin has an interesting post about the rise of “drive by culture”. He argues that the dramatic rise in content found online, and the incredible ease of finding it, has created a culture of “clickers, stumblers, and jaded spectators.”
He is right. But he also misses the (obvious) way to fix this.
Mar 19 2010
Greenpeace just made a video about how Nestle uses palm oil from the Indonesian rainforest. It went viral.
Not surprisingly, a number of people (over 91,000 at last glance) became Fans of Nestle on Facebook, so that they could express their displeasure about Nestle’s sourcing methods.
But, here’s where the story gets bizarre. Continue Reading »
Mar 17 2010
One of the SXSW sessions I was most intrigued about this year was Digital’s Emerging Role in Unconsumption, given by Nita Rollins of Resource Interactive. The session description asks some provocative questions about this emerging trend. But, the session was made even more interesting by the backchannel uprising…
Mar 10 2010
Really, this advice is good for just about any conference, but especially important at South by Southwest, because it is non-stop for several days, from 9 AM to 1 AM (or later).
Do these things and you will be in the clear. Continue Reading »
Mar 01 2010
In the advertising world, there is much hand-wringing and consternation about doing work for pitches.
The basic argument is that doing work for pitches amounts to doing work for free. Of course, Creatives and many mid-size shops are aghast at this practice and want it to stop immediately. ”Our creativity is our life blood,” they declare, breathlessly. ”Why would we ever give it away?”