Random Culture

Awesome Find: The Mike Wallace Interview Archives

You may have heard the news today that the University of Texas has purchased the archives of David Foster Wallace. The Harry Ransom Center also has some other interesting items in the current collection, including The Mike Wallace Interview. It was a nationally syndicated show that only ran for a few years, but you can find videos online of interviews from the first year. Notable interviews include Frank Lloyd Wright, Aldous Huxley, Henry Kissinger and many more.

View the complete list of interviews here.

Digital Lessons from the Toyota Recall

My latest post on the Click Here Blog takes a look at how Toyota has used social media and other digital platforms in the recent recalls. Here's an excerpt:

"Many brands plan how to deal with a crisis. This planning can be invaluable, as it allows them to quickly activate the organization to respond appropriately, and minimize damage. Toyota most likely had plans like this in place, but it's what they've done more spontaneously with social media that is getting them attention from the marketing community. Most recently, The Washington Post blog reports that they have launched an innovative new site, Toyota Conversations."

Read the complete post, Digital Lessons from the Toyota Recalls at the Click Here blog.

Quick Links: February 23, 2010

Inside Look at Google's Search Algorithm
A great primer that details the history of Google's algorithm, and the shape of things to come.

Twitter Reaches 50 Million Tweets Per Day
Despite indications that unique users of Twitter may be declining, Tweet volume continues to rise.

Heavy Users Driving Most of Twitter Usage
According to a study in the UK, only 7% of Twitter users were "heavy" users, driving much of the activity. So how many of those 50 million Tweets are being driven by "heavy" users?

Facebook Overtakes Yahoo... Look Out Google!

According to the folks at Inside Facebook, yet another reporting service says that Facebook has overtaken Yahoo traffic. This quote from Nick O'Neill is telling...

"The trend is pretty clear however: Facebook is dominating the web and is on track to be larger than Google, the leading internet brand today. While the domestic unique visitors may have just surpassed Yahoo!, the total amount of time spent on Facebook was already far greater than any other internet brand."

It's clear that Facebook has become an important utility in the lives of many Internet users... as important as say, search or email.

Read the complete post at Inside Facebook here.

Introducing Google Buzz

My latest post on the Click Here Blog is an introduction to Google Buzz, the new social media platform Google launched this week. Here's an excerpt:

This week, Google introduced a new feature that represents its latest venture into social media, called Google Buzz. It’s essentially status updating directly through your Gmail account, and it’s Google’s attempt to embrace social media and the “real-time” web. It hasn’t rolled out to everyone one yet, but you might see it when you log into Gmail, or you can visit Google.com/buzz.

Here’s how it works…

Following People on Google Buzz

Log into your Gmail account, and you’ll now see a link on the left-hand side just below your inbox that says “Buzz.” Click on this link to get started. You’ll essentially see a very Twitter-like interface directly in Gmail that displays recent “activity” from people you follow. This “activity” is a mish-mash of activity from people directly posting into Google Buzz or activity on other Google-owned social platforms, like Picasa, YouTube and Google Reader.

View the complete post on the Click Here Blog.

Quick Links: January 25, 2010

Product Reviews Accepted on Mobile
Two thirds of mobile shoppers say they'd buy more if they had easy access to reviews.

Fashion Brands Embracing Digital Short-Films
The latest? Prada hires Chinese filmmaker to showcase Spring/Summer 2010 collection. [via Adverblog]

Up to Snuff on Cloud Computing and Virtualization? You Should Be...
ReadWriteWeb launches new ReadWriteCloud site. Sign of the times.

Three Digital Resolutions for 2010

Check out my latest post on the Click Here Blog, Three Digital Resolutions for 2010. Here's an excerpt:

"New Years has come and gone, and you’ve likely made a decision to work out more, or eat healthier… it’s always the things we know we should be doing, in the name of self-improvement. Why not consider the same for your brand? Here are three things all brands should be doing in 2010:

1. Create a Mobile Version of Your Website
We’ve been talking about mobile for a while, yet a surprisingly small number of brands have created mobile versions of their websites. With the iPhone pushing up mobile Internet usage dramatically, and new phones following the lead, 2010 will be a critical year to get your mobile website up and running. Here are a few things to consider..."

Read the full post at the Click Here Blog.

Twitter: Endure or Flourish?

David Carr published a great opinion piece a few days ago, entitled "Why Twitter Will Endure." It's a thought-provoking read, and he hits on some really great points. Here are a few of the highlights that particularly resonated with me.

Twitter = Plumbing
Here Carr was quoting Steven Johnson, who's Time magazine article on Twitter produced a great quote:

“The history of the Internet suggests that there have been cool Web sites that go in and out of fashion and then there have been open standards that become plumbing... Twitter is looking more and more like plumbing, and plumbing is eternal.”

Twitter = Efficiency
Carr hits on an interesting idea that I find true in my daily usage of Twitter. That although it's additional layer on top of my already complicated array of tools and sites, it actually adds some simplicity into my routine.

"Instead of spending a half-hour surfing in search of illumination, I get a sense of the day’s news and how people are reacting to it in the time that it takes to wait for coffee at Starbucks."

Yet there are a few things I think David Carr has missed that are important to consider.

The Exotic 100-millionth Person?
In the article, Carr makes the following statement:

"Some time soon, the company won’t say when, the 100-millionth person will have signed on to Twitter to follow and be followed by friends and strangers. That may sound like a MySpace waiting to happen — remember MySpace? — but I’m convinced Twitter is here to stay."

100 millionth person? Even the highest estimates from ComScore, Compete and Nielsen put US Twitter visitors at 23 million tops, and all sources report that Twitter may actually be losing traffic.

Twitter vs. Facebook
Carr doesn't tackle Twitter's biggest competitor, Facebook. This same "plumbing" can essentially be found in Facebook's "status update." Many people use Facebook status updates as their Twitter updates and vice versa. There's no mistaking the fact that Twitter's numbers don't even come close. Facebook has already exceeded 100 million US users, and over 350 million worldwide.

In short, I thought David Carr hit on most of the reasons that I love Twitter, and I do think that he's made a case that Twitter will endure... but I'm not as sure about the future of Twitter.

Endure doesn't mean flourish. 

Quick Links: December 18, 2009

Tweets as Testimonials
New Trident Layers full-page newspaper ad incorporates real Tweets.

2009 in Review: The List of Lists
Rex at Fimoculous posts the 2009 List of Lists, of everything interesting that happened this year... no really, EVERYTHING.

The Future of Digital Magazines
BBH Labs has an interesting post on ebook technology and how it might affect the future of magazines.

YouTube Connects to Facebook
Users on the popular video site can now more easily share videos on Facebook.

The Future of Mobile is... Money

You might have heard some buzz circulating about today's announcement that Twitter founder Jack Dorsey has just launched a new mobile payment system, Square. It's exciting to see this topic finally beginning to get some conversation, especially since mobile money transfer and payment has already gained some ground in developing countries. Click Here's own Jill Krumsick posted yesterday about this very topic. Here's an excerpt about what's already happening in the US, from her blog post, "Put it on my Mobile Tab."

"The developed world isn’t going to see a economic transformation in the same way emerging markets might, but major players are taking note and moving forward.  Established and start-up companies are testing the waters in mobile money transfer (ie. PayPal Mobile), but the future is looking toward point-of-purchase transactions with the mobile device.  This idea, coined contactless payment, entails scanable hardware embedded in/on the device.

At the Cartes Exposition in Paris two weeks ago, Visa showcased it’s contactless system with Nokia that will be introduced in the next year.  This system allows items under a certain price threshold go through immediately and for items over, the user will be prompted to enter a PIN number for added security.  Another similar system,  Mastercard’s PayPass mobile program partnered with Blackberry, is currently pilot testing in Canada.  And American start-up Bling Nation is working on a smaller scale to create local networks of banks and participating retailers with mobile device transaction capabilities."

Read Jill's complete blog post here.

This is definitely a trend to keep an eye on, and something that will likely show up in every list of predictions for 2010... including mine!

Quick Links: November 20, 2009

Twitter Traffic Declining
ComScore, Compete and Nielsen all report traffic to Twitter.com declining, after months of continuous growth. Has Twitter reached it's plateau of users?

Video Game Marketers Use Social Media
Great insights into how social media is providing value to video game marketers, not just in reaching players, but understanding them.

More Mobile Commerce: REI
Yet another retailer is enabling mobile commerce. REI has now added the ability to buy through their iPhone app.

Introducing Twitter Lists

My latest post on the Click Here Blog is an introduction to Twitter Lists, and showcases a few of the more notable examples. Here's an excerpt:

"There are several ways that Twitter Lists are being used. We’ll look at two very important differences in how people can utilize Twitter Lists, private and public.

Private Twitter Lists
Private Twitter Lists are used to organize the people you’re already following. For many people, this may be as simple as dividing up co-workers and personal contacts. However, lists can be as granular as you’d like them to be. Perhaps you’d like to split your followers into west-coast and east-coast co-workers, or family, friends, co-workers and celebrities. Quite simply, lists allow you to organize these folks in any way you wish. Once you’ve organized them, you will see tweets from all the folks in the list on one page.

Public Twitter Lists
Public Twitter Lists are more about shaping how others follow groups on Twitter. We’ve only just scratched the surface of how these public Twitter Lists can be used, but here are several key uses we’ve seen so far:"

Continue reading the whole Post, "Introducing Twitter Lists", on the Click Here blog.

Quick Links: October 29, 2009

Today's links are all about "crowdsourcing"

Victors & Spoils: A New Ad Agency Built on Crowdsourcing
John Winsor of CP+B fame has started a new agency that's creating quite a buzz. Using talented creatives to harness the power of crowdsourced ideas.

Crowdsourcing Your Bio
Dan Viens, one of my students at Boulder Digital Works, decided to crowdsource his bio, rather than try to write it himself.

Crowdsourced Car Design?
Local Motors is hoping to create a new standard in the automotive industry.

Portland Art Museum Uses Crowdsourcing for Exhibition
Great example of a museum recognizing the new culture of contribution and co-creation.

Mary Meeker's Trends 2009

Each year, Mary Meeker from Morgan Stanley gives a great Internet Trends presentation at the Web 2.0 conference. This year is no different... View the presentation on SlideShare below:

Economy Internet Trends 2009 from Morgan Stanley

Quick Links: October 12, 2009

Say What? iCrossing's iPhone App
The folks at iCrossing have launched a social media monitoring iPhone App that allows you to quickly see what's being said about your brand, no matter where you are.

While You're Flying, Lufthansa Updates Your Facebook
Newly released "MySkyStatus" allows you to send information such as altitude, location, arrival and departure times via Facebook and Twitter.

Uniqlo Runway: 2009 Collection Site Launches
Yet another interesting site from the folks at Uniqlo.