I was recently introduced to a new 70’s song over the weekend that I’m completely enamored with: “I’m a Fool To Do Your Dirty Work” by Steely Dan (not to be confused with Stealers Wheel as I often do). I’ve had the song on loop for the last 35 minutes. Love it!
I first heard the track as the outgoing song to Once in a Lifetime, a documentary about the rise and fall of the NASL. It’s an interesting and informative film not to mention a case study on how not to run a business. Despite the league being a flop, soccer moms around the country can thank it for laying the ground work for the sport in America and the some 20 million players here.
You can dload the Steely track from iTunes here. Get that!
As a professional blogger for nearly two years now, I’ve seen tens of thousands of comments aimed at me. Most of them are favorable, a lot of them are entertaining, some of them are negative, and a handful of them are just nasty. It comes with the territory when you publish your opinions, passions, and stories freely to the web.
But nasty commenters have a bright side. They help motivate me to work harder and make it so my output has to do the convincing. They give me thick skin and chutzpah to take risks as both a writer and businessman.
Continue reading…
It’s documentary week here at Smooth Harold, and this is one I’ve been wanting to see since it first premiered in NYC in March. It’s called Helvetica, and it’s all about type and design.
Here’s a snippet from Kottke’s 4/5 star review: “Perhaps the highest praise I can offer for Helvetica comes courtesy of [my wife], who was snickering on the way into the theater about going to see a movie about a font and exited saying, ‘that was great, now I want to be a designer!’ The rest of the audience, mostly designers and type folks, loved it as well. But for the non-design folks, what’s compelling about the movie is getting a glimpse of how designers think and work; that it’s not just about making things look pretty.”
Unfortunately, I’ll have to wait until it hits DVD as the film is only showing on the artsy fartsy coasts. Any one else seen it?
I’m on a roll with controversial documentaries. I just finished watching Good Copy Bad Copy in which independent Danish filmmakers examine copyright law in the US and abroad. It’s fascinating to see how other countries treat IP, let alone make money from music and movies in ways the RIAA and movies aren’t even close to understanding or trying. I don’t necessarily have a solution to the challenges that piracy creates, but this 58 minute film is a must-see on the subject. Download the torrent here (it’s free!)
[via BoingBoing]
Game journalism sometimes gets a bad rap, but many of the worst accusations aren’t based in reality. Here are eight of the most popular myths about game reporting…and what really happens behind the scenes.
8. Video game journalists aren’t as responsible as traditional media.
Conventional wisdom suggests that most gaming journalists are uninspired, inconsistent, overly sensationalistic, or even fail to fact check before running a story. While some outlets are more irresponsible than others, this isn’t the case across the board. Game journalism didn’t get where it is today by being inaccurate and irresponsible. Additionally, widespread video game coverage has existed no longer than 20 years since the late 80s. While the media is anything but nascent, it still has its growing pains. Was the mainstream media as reliable as they are today? Not likely. This same is true of video game journalists.
The Verdict: It depends on the publication and the reporter, but more often than not, game journalists are right up there with most media in terms of credibility.
Continue reading at GamePro…
The US healthcare system is broken. That is unless you work for an opulent healthcare or pharmaceutical provider. In that case, US healthcare works like a charm (from a for-profit perspective).
But let me put my business degree away for a minute. As a citizen and patient, I now believe in universal healthcare in America just like I believe in socialized libraries, policemen, firemen, public schools, and highways. Here are five reasons why: Continue reading…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqsyXdj_p_I[/youtube]
I’m on a kick of digging up old-school YouTube videos lately when I should be working, but I couldn’t pass this one up. It’s Radiohead’s most excellent No Surprises video (it’s also my favorite track from OK Computer). Don’t be fooled, though; director Grant Lee used ninja editing skills to make it appear as if lead singer Thom York held his breath longer than he really did.
The attention surrounding MMOs (massively multiplayer online worlds) has never been greater. But it’s not just role playing games along for the ride; non-game, avatar-driven virtual communities are just as popular, if not by more, and we’re not just talking Second Life here.
So in an effort to cut through the hype and glean some context, here are the most popular MMOs in terms of active users or subscribers, based on publicly available data. These titles may or may not be games, but the medium has expanded far beyond Tolkienesque fantasy worlds. They all are Mac-friendly/Web-based with exception of Guild Wars.
Continue reading at GigaOM…
You know mulitasking is nothing more than a feel-good concept, right? It’s a word people use to make them feel more productive. And “work-life balance” is anything but according to productivity ninja Tim Ferriss:
“For most of the planet, I would assert that the ideal dream job is the one that takes the least time. Be productive instead of busy, and recognize that life is full of special relationships and activities that need to be protected from one another. Focus on artful separation instead of integration, and you might just—as I did—feel as though an enormous burden has been lifted. Expect a lot out of life, but don’t expect too much from your job. It’s just one tool. Make it a specific one.”
Wise counsel.
See also: Book review: The 4-Hour Work Week
You don’t have to watch pro basketball to appreciate these well-aged gems of modern advertising. Courtesy of Fox Sports.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1QMXpGENkk&eurl=http://www.smoothharold.com/best-nba-commercials-ever/[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeboMEq10Ms&eurl=http://www.smoothharold.com/best-nba-commercials-ever/[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xErEq7ojGnk&eurl=http://www.smoothharold.com/best-nba-commercials-ever/[/youtube]
[Hat tip, Tim]
In case you’ve forgotten, the US economy is ginormous. Strange Maps tells why:
Although the economies of countries like China and India are growing at an incredible rate, the US remains the nation with the highest GDP in the world – and by far: US GDP is projected to be $13.22 trillion (or $13,220 billion) in 2007, according to this source. That’s almost as much as the economies of the next four (Japan, Germany, China, UK) combined.
For even more context, click on the above US state map renamed for countries with similar economy sizes. Amazing…
Hat tip, USA.
Write a lot. Then buy this book. Or vice versa.
Don’t let the name mislead you—The AP Guide to News Writing will help you become a better writer of everything except maybe books. This quick and worthwhile read is full of helpful tips, professional counsel, and practical ways to further flex your prose.
Continue reading…
More than 5,000 video game commercials can be found on Game Ad’s online archive. That’s a lot of ads. Sadly, a majority of them aren’t worth your time, so we’ve taken it upon ourselves to hand pick the best using only the finest ingredients; humor, creativity, cachet and a hint of nostalgia. Peep ’em. They’re the best video game commercials of all-time:
Continue reading at GamePro…
Definition: Trend (n.) – the general course or prevailing tendency. A leaning towards, a fad, a novelty.
So why do trends exist? Because they are familiar, they enable standards, and they just make life easier. In the case of video games, trends help companies maximize sales while reducing costs because gamers will purchase what they are accustomed to. But easier isn’t always better. Here are eleven reasons why:
Continue reading at GamePro…
The wife and I were talking over the weekend about our corporal markings and how we got them. Breathtaking conversation, I know. But we both thought it was interesting how a scar is really just a physical story from your past.
With that, here are the stories behind my engraved blemishes in the order I received them. Some dates are educated guesses of course. Not that you asked, but I thought I would document them none-the-less: Continue reading…
Ryan from Invisible Inkling has such a good take on the waning popularity of newspapers and how new media has changed the game for the better. Without stealing his thunder, here are his major points:
- It’s not Google’s fault
- It’s not Craigslist’s fault
- Write local
- Get new training
- Stop charging for news (only advertising)
- Reporters need to be multimedia enabled, not just writers
- Use bloggers as network sources and voices, don’t fear them
- Let your readers consum your content in a variety of ways
- Embrace new media
- Revamp your online vision
Be sure to click on through to read his excellent commentary.
A New York lawyer quit his job to make a living as a Lego artist. After seeing his work, I’m sure he’s living well. Incredible.
I don’t know where I came up with this, but I’m sure it was from someone smarter than me. When successfully connecting with someone on the phone after first leaving a voicemail and/or email, don’t ask the person if they “got your message.” It does you no good and merely wastes an additional minute or two before getting to the real purpose for the call, to solve a problem.
I’ve started implementing this policy and can say it works wonders. I simply say “Hello,” after the person answers and proceed to ask my original question assuming they didn’t get my message. This speeds things up and gets you your information quicker than the usual. Who cares if they got your message, what matters is that you get your answer.
Since Microsoft launched the beta for Halo 3 two weeks ago, some have murmured that the graphics are a bit, well, uninspiring, especially in comparison to Gears of War. Next-Gen spoke to Bungie about this perception.
Bungie’s Frank O’Connor talked about the public’s reception to the beta and any changes in the game in the months between now and launch on September 25. He said, “Well to be honest, we’ve seen them [the graphics] praised too. Multiplayer is by necessity a more sterile iteration of our graphical style and will always be tuned for performance and elegance rather than jamming the screen full of pixels. We think that the final aesthetic look of our game will be judged at launch in September and in part based on the more intense single player spaces. We’re also focused on maintaining the Halo character and atmosphere in our visual design – we’re competing with ourselves, and not simply trying to match the aesthetic of other games. We think that folks will be happy with Halo 3’s graphical polish come September.”
Continue reading at Edge…
Fact: I believe 75% of all in-person meetings are unnecessary. That said, an anonymous individual published a comment yesterday on an older post of mine in which I criticized unnecessary meetings. This is what s/he said:
“Routine meetings bring routine results.”
I respectfully disagree, though I appreciate the commenter for challenging my stated beliefs. So in his/her same spirit (or assuming I misunderstood their definition of “meetings”), I give to you Smooth Harold’s oversimplified expressions on what brings routine results. And I quote (myself)…
Routine productivity brings routine results.
Routine accountability brings routine results.
Routine management brings routine results.
Routine practice brings routine results.
Routine humility brings routine results.
Routine planning brings routine results.
Routine work (that meets your goals, not busy work) brings routine results.
Don’t confuse a majority of your meeting time with getting work done (GTD). Skip or rethink most of your meetings in favor of weekly email updates that ask, “What’s been done?” “What will be done?” and “Is there anything stopping you from getting your work done?” Even ask yourself that. Then once a month have a phone call or in-person meeting to follow up with the weekly ones. This concept alone has gotten me “results” over the last four years when dealing with others, meeting deadlines, and increasing productivity so I can focus on relevant tasks that meet my financial objectives.
At the same time, I’m a big believer in the human element. That is meeting often as friends, co-workers, clients, associates, and colleagues. Earmark copious amounts of your time to enjoy one another’s company without exception. Just don’t call it work.
UPDATE: As Jordan so kindly pointed out in the comments, I may have misinterpreted my anonymous commenters quote, that is routine in a negative light. After consulting a dictionary, I’m not sure if I exposed my lack of diction prowess or if routine can be used in a positive way as I did above. Whatever the case, hopefully something can be derived out of what was said above…
You could view the current situation of the PS3 in one of two ways; either everything is going as planned and the geniuses at Sony are gifted with insane amounts of foresight, or things could be better. Being that Sony appears a little bit, shall we say, defensive about the whole ordeal, we suspect the latter. So assuming Sony still wants to appeal to the mass market, here are seven ways the company can turnaround the PS3 in the shortest amount of time. Behold our armchair quarterback skills!
Continue reading at GamePro…
Brilliant! A picture truly is worth 1000 words. Via Ads of the World. Bonus: Go check out these three crazy ads from years’ past. Blowing smoke in a girl’s face used to be a turn on…? It did in advertising.
Associated Press
The AP alludes to why: “By reaching the June 10 [French Open] final, Federer would play in his eighth major title match in a row, something no man has done. Not Laver. Not Pete Sampras. Not Bjorn Borg. No one.” Even then, Federer — who is only 25 — has already won 10 majors placing him number three on the list of male tennis players with most singles major championship wins, right above Agassi and quickly closing in on Sampras. Whether you like tennis or not, behold the most dominate athlete alive. He’s leagues better than Tiger or anyone else for that matter and may prove to be the best player in history. Amazing.
Humility is the most admirable trait a human being can posses. I’m convinced of that. It enhances all other personal qualities, and it motivates me to be a better individual, both professionally and personally.
Two weeks ago, I wrote a story for GigaOM. I was proud of the piece. I thought it was well covered, well written, and pertinent to my audience. Then I saw my editor’s edit. Wow! He completely transformed the copy into a much more vibrant and personable article. Granted, my points remained, he just sizzled them up to make the reading much more enjoyable.
He then emailed my article to our publisher for dissemination and — while CC’ing me on the email — said I did a great job on the piece without mentioning his sizable renovations. We could have easily shared the byline, but instead he just made me look ninja good without asking or wanting any credit in return. I was humbled by the experience, and realized I could do so much more in helping others prosper without recognition or payment. So yeah, do your best to try and make others look good.
[Thanks, James!]
Lindsey and I found out what we’re having today–it’s another baby girl! I am slowly getting outnumbered by three female lovelies, but I was very happy to hear the news. Our first girl has been a good sleeper, is a lot of fun, and the economist in me is happy to know we can get a lot more mileage out of the hand me downs pre-owned clothes.
After talking it over with Lindsey, I think we’re pretty much set on the ever-popular Madison as a name calling her Maddie of course. So I formally welcome you to the Snows, Maddie! See you in about five months. Hopefully you’ll be a little more tranquil than your older sister Sadie, but we’ll take what we can get.
However justified, Sony has been fiercely criticized for both its approach and management of the PlayStation 3 to this point. The company just posted its biggest quarterly loss in four years shortly after dealing with several public relation mishaps related to the PS3. Just listen to these colorful quotes by former PlayStation boss Ken Kutaragi when describing the PS3: “It’s probably too cheap,” “It’s 4D,” and “[We want] consumers to think… ‘I will work more hours to buy one.'”
Not very endearing, huh? So who’s in charge of helping gamers see beyond such rogue statements? None other than Sony’s senior director of corporate communications, Dave Karraker. Karraker, who is just eight months on the job, has perhaps the toughest job in video games; helping consumers regard the PS3 with as much esteem as the record-setting PS2 despite the former’s high price and somewhat slower start. We sit down with the man to ask how he’s coping with being the public face of Sony.
Continue reading at GamePro…
Out of all the period games that could be made, a lopsided majority end up being about World War II. In the 2006 calendar year alone, a whopping 23 World War II-themed games (including special editions) were released at an average of two titles per month. Unthinkable? There’s a reason.
“Throughout history, one of the most incredible tests, is the test of a soldier,” says Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford. “From shield and spear to tanks and battleships, war and soldiering is one of the most interesting human experiences. Thus, it is one of the strongest human fantasies.”
If being a soldier then is what Pitchford calls a “core fantasy” of gamers, what better backdrop for a soldier than World War II?
Continue reading at Edge…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0iQhn5dYqE[/youtube]
If this kid doesn’t make it big, we’re all screwed…
Viral marketing goes by several different names — buzz marketing, disruptive marketing, guerilla marketing, annuity effect, long tail, media leverage and even word-of-mouth marketing. But adding the word “marketing” to viral or any of the aforementioned names is a bit of a misnomer as the act of marketing typically describes a direct and conscious act on the part of companies to pitch their products to consumers. Viral marketing is anything but conscious. It is indirect marketing managed by consumers and consumers alone.
By definition, viral marketing is a phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message, usually — though not exclusively — online. Like a literal virus, the product message gets passed along from one user to the next and is easily shared in rapid fashion. Hotmail’s mandatory “Get your private, free e-mail at Hotmail.com” message on every outgoing e-mail is widely accredited as the first viral marketing campaign. Its strategy included:
Continue reading…
What makes something the worst job ever? In my eyes, it’s a lack of excitement. The worst jobs in the world are boring. Yeah, Discovery’s Dirtiest Jobs Ever are pretty bad, but I’d like to think I’d pick one of those any day over boring work. Excitement = Happiness.
Before I describe the worst job I’ve ever had, let’s run down my list of employers and/or clients in chronological order: Chick-fil-A (first job), IBM (PC specialist), Lucent Technologies, Youth Soccer Coach (paid, baby!), Cingular Wireless (retail clerk), BYU Performing Arts (male secretary), BYU web developer, Griffio (my company, still a male secretary), Combat Films (freelancer), Weblogs Inc (blogger), Provo Labs (business incubator), Next-Generation (writer), GamePro (writer), and GigaOM (reporter/blogger). A large number of the latter gigs have been managed concurrently and are/were part-time.
Continue reading…
I went to brunch with Om Malik on Saturday while on assignment in San Francisco over the weekend. I’m really glad it worked out as Om is one of the kindest individuals I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.
First thing that struck me about Om was the genuine interest he showed in meeting me. Malik is an accomplished professional. Blake Snow is not. Nevertheless, Om didn’t play the “I’m in a hurry, Blake, so what can I do to help” card. Rather he was very giving of his time. What was originally suppose to be a short meeting turned into an hour long discussion between colleagues on a nice, sunny day in the Bay Area.
I then learned that while writing for Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and Business 2.0 by day, Om also worked as a club promoter by night. He charged high-rollers a “finder’s fee” to ensure their admittance into New York’s hottest clubs on any given night. In return, club owners received high-spending customers on a VIP list without charging a cover or paying for marketing. Clever idea! At one point, Om’s promotion business was netting him $40,000 per month on top of his salary before ultimately selling the company to solely focus on reporting.
Lastly, after discussing our careers, Om and I started talking baseball which we both share an affinity for. I asked him for his thoughts on the controversial Barry Bonds whom I called “a cheat,” to which Om replied in gentle fashion, “Everyone has made mistakes in life. No one is perfect.” This from an Oakland A’s fan even. At first I wanted to defend my original claim given its widely accepted credibility and Bonds’s reputation for being a jerk, but conclusively realized I couldn’t do so without being a hypocrite. How many times have I been “a cheat” in life only to want the quick forgiveness of those whom I had wronged. Thanks, Om!
See also: Now blogging for Om Malik
The latest skirmish in the console wars took place this weekend, at the Mission District’s ultra-hip Foreign Cinema. That’s where Microsoft offered the gaming media a hands-on media preview of Halo 3, one of gaming’s most anticipated titles— and the company’s bid to expand their broadband audience.
Make no mistake about it, though the PS3 trails far behind and the Wii isn’t a direct competitor, the 360’s position as the HDTV-powered next gen champ is far from assured. The console has sold 10 million units to date since first launching 18 months ago, and claims six million online members to its Live service. It is hard to say how many of those are paying members, and how many are part of trial or some giveaway.
Continue reading at GigaOM…
My wife went out this evening so I had the little one all to myself. With Lindsey leaving at six, it was up to me to make dinner and entertain Sadie until her bedtime.
After dishing up Spaghettio’s to the youngling and downing a delicious quesadilla for myself, I decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood with Sadie in the stroller. I was just about to grab my Blackberry (as I normally do), but said, “forget about it.” I’m glad I did.
Sadie and I had a blast. The weather was beautiful, the sun was shining, and I didn’t have a care in the world. That’s rare for me. We stopped for a cherry Icee (more juicy than a Slurpee, mind you), and Sadie nearly drank the entire 32 ounces. We sauntered the neighborhood for a good hour as I kept thinking, “I haven’t had this much relaxation in a long time.” It felt so good.
So I ask you, Smooth Harolders; what do you do to relax? Do you have to remind yourself to do so?
Wow. Just wow. The 4-Hour Work Week is the most influential book I’ve read in years. Author Timothy Ferris, though a self-proclaimed extremist, dishes on slowing down your life, getting out of the rat race, outsourcing menial tasks, ditching your RSS feeds, batch processing email instead of checking it every 15 minutes (if not more), reducing unnecessary information consumption in favor of productivity and real learning, how effectiveness trumps efficiency, and how the idea of “retirement” is grossly flawed. In short as the book description tells, “Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich.”
Ferriss defines the new rich as those who favor mobility, experience, and service in favor of materialism. He counsels in great detail how to setup an automated online company for newbies (easier said than done, though possible) and how to focus your daily work efforts without letting fluff work get in the way. Best of all, Ferriss delivers it all in a very grounded, balanced, and hilarious way despite what his sensational title and clever tagline suggest. Overall, the book is unthinkably smart and of value to any person over the age of 18. I resolve from here on out to work smarter while striving to do what I love further still. That and more world travel, of course. 🙂
On that note, I’m planning my attempt to ditch the Internet for an entire year. I don’t have all the kinks figured out, and twice weekly email use will have to stay, but I will triumph within the next five years. Just you watch.
This, my friends, is how you want to vacation on St. Maartens… With a ginormous metal tube flying 40 feet above your head every 15 minutes as you try to relax on the beach. No, that’s not photoshoped. Other amazing photos of the civil engineering atrocity can be seen here.
[via Kottke]
Spiderman 3 is the best comic book movie ever* followed closely by Batman Begins. Interestingly, however, this movie is getting slammed in reviews with most people saying it tries to do too much. I, on the other hand, loved this movie. And while it is a tad long, I thought Columbia Pictures did a great job pulling all the stories and subplots together in a clever Seinfeld fashion. And yes, the movie is hilarious.
Regardless of what you may have heard, here are five reasons why Spiderman 3 is the best movie in the series not to mention the best comic book film to date: Continue reading…
According to the AP, North Dakota high schools are switching from aluminum bats to wooden ones primarily for safety reasons. Line drives pop off metal much faster than sticks, and balls go much deeper as a result limiting the reaction time of fielders.
But even though the change will likely reduce injuries, albeit by a fraction, I suspect a large motivation for the switch is due to baseball purists like myself. Balls just sound better off wooden bats than high-pitch, clanky aluminum ones.
Oh, and the game is a lot better when played by real athletes that don’t cheat using performance enhancing drugs (I’m looking at you MLB).
You can learn a lot from the past. Gauging the current state of the console wars is no different; historical context can be enormously helpful. In this article, our goal is simple: to predict the commercial victors of the next-gen console war.
But how? Easy: by comparing the sales of the last-gen consoles — the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube — to the current crop of next-gen consoles using a concept called “sales velocity”. Sales velocity is just a fancy name for how fast (or slow) something sells over a period of time. In this case we’ll examine the launch numbers and examine the complete last-gen sales cycle. And even though the data is U.S. only, what bodes well here generally bodes well globally and vice-versa (with the occasional exception, such as the PC Engine’s monstrous success in Japan).
First up, Last-Gen Sales Velocity in terms of the first five months of launch:
Continue reading at GamePro…
Originally published on Thursday, April 21, 2005.
Today I had the opportunity to meet with two potential clients in Salt Lake City. These meetings were “first contact” and are only second in enjoyment to “closing a sale” meetings. I really take pleasure in sitting down with people and seeing how our company can help improve their businesses. It’s a pleasure to discover their backgrounds; where they’re from, what they do, and what makes them tick. I think that’s why I like business so much. Lots of psychology involved. Hopefully my Father’s PHD in Psychology along with his wise influence on me as a boy helps me in that respect.
Robert (my partner and close friend) and I have really enjoyed this past year since formally graduating. Although we started Griffio while still in school, this day marks a full year in which we have been working full time for ourselves. We’ve learned a lot about failure, success, and have met literally hundreds of individuals. Large ones, small ones, funny ones, boring ones, rude ones, kind ones, fast ones, slow ones, shady ones, and sincere ones. The work we do is a blast. But it wouldn’t be worth anything without the people that work strives to serve.
Even if you’re not in the business industry, take every opportunity you can to meet someone new. It doesn’t take much, but the positive effects will carry you a long way.
UPDATE: I maintain my case.
Those who know me well know I like video games. I don’t get to play them as much as I’d like to, but I do have the opportunity to write about them as a freelancer. So why is video game dialogue so cheesy? Why do I get embarrassed sometimes when my wife comes in the room only to find me suffering garbage line reading and poor scripts to get to the action? This is something of a pet-peeve for me as a hobbyist and something I recently wrote a feature on. From the article:
“The once fledgling video game industry with its minuscule budgets forced early game makers to wear several different hats, including storytelling ones even if they didn’t have prior experience. “When video games began, particularly on the PC, they were made by one, two, and three-person teams,” says Newsweek’s N’Gai Croal, a vocal proponent against amateur game dialogue. “Very few of these people had professional writing experience.”
As gaming grew to more than $14 billion a year, its storytelling failed to grow up with it. You can read the full article on Edge.
You build a customized grass/clay hybrid court for $1.63 million so Roger Federer (world #1 specializing on grass) and Rafeal Nadal (world #2 specializing on clay) can duke it out to see who’s best. Brilliant!
An HD-DVD code hits the intertubes allowing Linux geeks to illegally play the HD format on their computers. The code gets posted to Digg. Digg takes it down for fear of legal action (though the site was sponsored by a HD-DVD promotional group a while back). Diggers (a swarming nerdfest of white, web-savvy geeks like myself) repost, repost, and repost. An online revolt is underway. I’m guessing it’s fleeting as Digg is such a stellar platform for junk news (sometimes good news), but the peeps are pissed. It’s interesting to see it all pan out. Read Ryan Block’s report for the full skinny.
Disclosure: I very much like Digg and use it on a regular basis to self-submit and drive mucho traffic to my articles.
UPDATE: One Digg commenter nicely summed up the phenom tonight, “It’s like watching a city on fire…” It really is. Crazy.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av6fWfmugds[/youtube]
Good stuff, though I like more DC IP than I do Marvel IP. Best line from the spoof — Superman says, “I might actually fight a supervillain in my next movie.”
See also: Novell spoofs both PC and Mac with Linux
Search Rank has a nice little piece outlining 10 signs that you may be a blog addict. Here’s my take on each point:
- You always have your RSS reader open. While I am usually guilty of this, I’ve been cutting back to get more work done. Productivity for the win!
- You tell customers that you missed a project deadline because “some things” came up but in reality, you were blogging. Guilty.
- You periodically dream that you are blogging. I don’t know if I dream about the very act of blogging, but I definitely dream about post ideas…
- You get inspiration for new blog posts at the strangest times. Yes. Why else would I carry my Blackberry for notes at all hours of the day?
- You await blog comments like emails in your inbox. I actually have gotten better at this, but still do it religiously on Smooth Harold.
- In order for your family to keep up with what’s going on in your life, they have to read your blog. Guilty. I posted my second child’s conception announcement here before anywhere else. You heard it here first, folks!
- You have actually considered setting up a blog for your pet. No way I’ve done this. Lame.
- You can’t remember dates for your wedding anniversary, kids birthdays, etc., but you know what your Technorati rank is. First, Gcal remembers my dates for me, and honestly have never looked at my blog ranking. I’m sure it’s in the millions and I don’t write (at least not here) for popularity.
- You blog about anything and everything. Yup. Smooth Harold is more “general” than most, though I do like to stay true to the biz/tech angle.
- Keeping a blog is no longer enough but you now have to record your every move on Twitter. Not here. Twitter is a fleeting fad. I’m sure it will live on for those who don’t already have enough things to waste their time on, but this here blogger could care less.
Only 6.5 out of 10! Where are you?
See 10 cons of the Web 2.0 movement. My favorite one: “Spelling and grammr (beta) have gone to hell in a handbasket. I’m in ur domainz, droppin’ ur vowelz.”
I’m guilty (during one fleeting moment in time). Are you?
My Space
A little update on how fast My Space grows. Wikipedia: “According to Alexa Internet, Myspace is currently the world’s fifth most popular English-language website and the fifth most popular website in any language, and the third most popular website in the United States… The company employs 300 staff and does not disclose revenues or profits separately from News Corporation. With the 100 millionth account being created on August 9, 2006, in The Netherlands and a news story claiming 106 million accounts on September 8, 2006, the site reportedly attracts new registrations at a rate of 230,000 per day.”
Wow.
A recent survey showed that 57% of respondent executives view user-generated content as one of the greatest threats to existing business models. Why is that? “Because they can’t control user-generated content, and they only know how to make money when they are in control of people,” says Jason Calacanis in an email to Smooth Harold. “Over time they will learn you can make money when your not in control–but that will take years.”
No wonder. Not being in control is a scary thing, especially when trying to turn a profit.
[Thanks, Jason]
6 Pins has some nice examples of guerilla marketing up today. I especially like the above. Regarding the topic of Guerrilla Marketing, here a five reasons I didn’t include it on my upcoming Connect article about Viral Marketing:
- Guerrilla Marketing has more to do with promotional advertising than strategic marketing, although Guerrilla tactics are strategic in and of themselves.
- Guerrilla Marketing doesn’t spread itself as easily as other viral campaigns outside of word-of-mouth
- Guerrilla Marketing tends to be more direct than viral marketing (though not always)
- Guerrilla Marketing is most effective in local and/or regional markets as opposed to the global reach of viral marketing
- At its core, Guerrilla Marketing campaigns are nothing more than rogue, very creative, advertisements for a fleeting memory, though enough to generate short-term buzz and curiosity
That said, I really appreciate the creativity of most Guerrilla campaigns. United’s Ted Launch was one of the best examples of Guerrilla Marketing I’ve read about.
I’m 27. Married. And I have one little girl with one more (girl/boy) on the way due this October. I’ve been self-employed for over three years, I work from home, and I believe in God. Here are 10 things that scare/worry me at this point in my life: Continue reading…
On April 29, Microsoft will release their third flavor of 360 ice cream — the black Xbox 360 Elite. Let’s not be coy; the reason in adding a third, more expensive 360 is solely due to the existence of the $600 PS3. Since the inception of game consoles, prices have traditionally dropped with age, not increased. But If Sony can sell 3 million “supercomputers” in five months, why can’t Microsoft?
The Elite was largely criticized when it was announced last month and still is today. So at the dawning of its release, GamePro presents eight reasons why the Xbox 360 version 2.0 is anything but elite.
Continue reading at GamePro…
