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Monday, October 31, 2005
Halloween Movie Search?
In the spirit of Halloween, scary movies can bring a thrill and chill to the tradition. I thought that it would be appropriate to rent a scary movie. But I needed help. I didn’t know which movie I wanted to watch. So generally, I searched the Web.
In my research of old and new scary movies, I came across IMDb, the Earth’s Biggest Movie Database. Powered by Amazon, the movie search tool gives you an array of options when searching or purchasing a flick. The Power Search Tool was the most convenient. After minutes of finding the Web site, I lost focus as to why I even came across the site. I started to search movies that were made the year I was born, and who won the Oscar for Best Picture that same year. I started to play trivia games, as I was challenged to figure out the answers. I found the site very informational giving you options to search every aspect of the movie that you are looking for, right down to the production company.
I started to navigate throughout the site for other features that may have been interesting. There was so much information about movies that I did not know where to start. So I searched for my all-time favorite movie, Dirty Dancing. It gave a synopsis of the entire movie including the actors, quotes, and message boards for the audience. I almost brought the DVD, but had to stop the spontaneous purchase. This site was getting to be dangerous! So I decided to search more…
And if you were wondering what scary movie I picked, I never got to it. I spent all my time searching for other movies.
Check out these related Blogs from ADI.
RIP TV Tome
More Sites for the Coach Potatoes
posted by Ali at 5:07 PM
Halloween Dishwasher Disaster
I now get it – I understand why you don’t buy anything that you can’t carry out of Home Depot. Not because the product is inferior, or because the person selling you the product may lack knowledge. No, you don’t buy anything from Home Depot that has to be delivered because of the delivery service they use.
Home Depot in Philadelphia use a company called Spirit Delivery and Distribution Services to deliver and install the appliances they sell. My dealings with Spirit Delivery and Distribution Services have left such a bad taste in my mouth that it has tarnished my feelings for Home Depot and even if I have to drive a little more, from now on I will be shopping at Lowes. But I digress. Let me tell you why I’m writing this blog.
It all started on Wednesday, 19th October when, after a fair amount of research, I decided to purchase a new LG stainless-steel dishwasher. After helpful discussion with the salesperson the order was placed and paid for in full. The order included delivery, installation, and removal of the old unit by a licensed and insured Home Depot vendor. A date for the delivery was set – Saturday 22nd October between 11:00am and 1:30 pm. This was confirmed the evening before by telephone. Saturday arrived cold and rainy so it wasn’t really a hardship to stay indoors and wait.
11am came and went, as did 1:30pm, and at 2:00pm I called Spirit Delivery and Distribution Services to find out where my dishwasher was. I was told that the documents to pull the dishwasher had not arrived and that they had no idea where the unit was. I realized that these things happen and rescheduled the delivery for the following Wednesday between 8am and 1:30pm.
As most of you know, I am President of Advance Design Interactive and have a very hectic schedule but we cleared Wednesday’s schedule and again somebody from the Spirit Delivery and Distribution Services called to say that my delivery was confirmed. So Wednesday dawned and I again sat down to wait for my delivery, but now I was canny and called Spirit Delivery and Distribution Services to confirm the delivery was on schedule.
At 10:30 am somebody from the Spirit Delivery and Distribution Services called and told me that my delivery was not on the truck, that they had no idea where it was, and that they would have to do what they called a “doc†search. By now I was livid and had a complete melt-down, ranted and raved at the clerk on the other end of the phone and asked for a manager. A Spirit Delivery and Distribution Services manager eventually came on the phone, tried to calm me down, and said that they would have to complete a “doc†search and that she would back to me in 5 minutes. This was a downright lie which I found out only when I discovered exactly what a “doc†search is. I thought it was a computer search where a document number is typed into the computer and the location or audit trail of the item is determined.
However, after hearing nothing for 90 minutes I called Home Depot directly and was told that I should only speak to Spirit Delivery and Distribution Services and was given a number for the Bensalem, Pennsylvania office. I called and discovered that my interpretation of a “doc†search was incorrect and that a dock search is a physical search of the warehouse to find the missing delivery item with somebody literally walking up and down every aisle of the warehouse to physically locate the item. A process like that can take many hours so my promise of a return phone call from somebody at Spirit Delivery and Distribution Services in 5 minutes was a lie.
On Thursday morning I call the Spirit Delivery and Distribution Services, Bensalem office yet again and was told that the dock search was not complete but they would call as soon as it was. As I am sure you’ve now guessed, Thursday came and went without hearing from them.
On Friday morning I again called Spirit Delivery and Distribution Services and was told that they had no idea, they would have to order a new one, and would then reschedule the installation. I would have to waste another day waiting for them. I asked to speak to a manager to lodge a complaint and was told he would call me shortly. After another hour, and no phone call, I remembered what my Grandmother taught me – it was time to go to the head not the tail!
So next I called Eric Zimmerman, President of Spirit Delivery and Distribution Services – of course he like me is very busy and was not available!!! So I spoke to his assistant Michelle. By now my anger had become an icy calm and all I wanted was resolution. The main reason I am so angry is that they are effectively stealing from me the one thing I cannot replace – my time and I believe they should pay for my wasted time. Michelle listened and said that she would call me back shortly – I am still waiting.
You see the behavior at the top of the company is passed on to the tail. It appears to me that the people at Spirit Delivery and Distribution Services don’t give a damn about Home Depot’s clients or Home Depot’s reputation.
On Friday morning I received a call from a Spirit Delivery and Distribution Services manager who told me that he would investigate and come back to me. He eventually came back and said that the dishwasher had been delivered and signed for by a Ken R on that first Saturday and the driver had not bothered to try and find my townhouse but had gone to maintenance staff of the complex and delivered the unit there. My complex is a mix of apartments and town homes and the complex is always replacing appliances in the rental properties so they are always expecting appliance deliveries.
What failed here was the system. Why did they not know that the unit had been delivered? Where was the delivery note? Why did it take a week to determine that the machine had been delivered?
It is now Saturday October 29, 2005 at 3:00 pm and Spirit Delivery and Distribution Services were meant to come and install my dishwasher between 11:30 am and 3:30 pm. I was not holding my breath and guess what? They have just called to say they will be at least an hour and half late. I suppose, much to their surprise, I’ve told them to cancel the installation as I have to be in New Jersey by 5:30 pm.
So my friends, if you are planning on buying an appliance, make sure that if you choose to use Home Depot that the delivery and installation are not done by Spirit Delivery and Distribution Services otherwise I recommend that you buy from another supplier.
You may ask yourself why I have taken the time to write this Blog. I was treated with disdain and with no respect for me or my time, and in the end the saying Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned is totally true.
Maybe Home Depot will do a better job of choosing their vendors by finding companies that care about their clients and Home Depot’s reputation – but remember the dictum buyer beware especially when buying an appliance from Home Depot that you can’t carry out and install yourself.
~ Ashleigh
posted by Sue at 11:13 AM
Friday, October 28, 2005
Webisodes Are Back Again
A crowd gathers outside a hospital room. All matter of characters are assembled, including the evil villainess and her crowd of adoring men. The hospital room doors open in a flash and the doctor comes out “Gus is in a coma!â€. The crowd gasps. He looks at the villainess and exclaims, "It was you Buttricia, you smothered him!": Yes, I said Buttricia. Buttricia is one in the cast of vegetable characters used in the ad campaign for the product 'I Can’t Believe Its Not Butter'. This ad campaign is an an online mini TV show: a webisode.
Webisodes were very popular when the internet first started booming, primarily as an entertainment tool. These days, some large companies are revisiting the webisode as a marketing tool. Unilever, the company who makes 'I Can’t Believe Its Not Butter' is using the soap opera genre to draw its target market of women aged 35 and older into the lives of Buttricia, Dr. Cobb (a large ear of corn) and the heroine Spraychel (a very curvaceous spray bottle). Drama and romance abound in the webisode, but so does clever dialogue enumerating the benefits of 'I Can’t Believe its Not Butter'. Unilever reports not having paid anything for this ad campaign, they simply sent out emails and watched the web traffic increase more than 5 times over, just by word of mouth.
Another company using the webisode as a marketing tool is eHealthInsurance, who is spending much less on the webisodes than they would on a regular TV ad. Their webispode features The Wyndales, an accident prone family whose mishaps end in the question “Am I covered for thisâ€. Once the webisode is over you can click and get a free rate quote.
Jeep has also hopped on the webisode bandwagon with The Mudds, a dirt covered family of five that takes off on a major road trip in their Jeep Commander.
Americans today spend hours surfing the Internet, so it makes sense to take ad campaigns to the Net. I know that I have been sucked into the lives of Spraychel and Dr. Cobb. Most of the webisodes have a dedicated web address, which makes it very easy to pass the word along to your friends and have them become webisode fans as well, thus creating a viral ad campaign. I think that this is just the beginning of webisodes, they are certain to give classical ad campaigns a run for their money.
Articles of interest are:
I can’t believe its not a TV ad.
Webisodes Return, Now as Advertising
posted by David at 11:11 AM
Thursday, October 27, 2005
New Kid on the Flock
The Internet continues to go in different directions. People on the Internet continue to go in different directions. Why can’t how we use the Internet fit where we go and what we do on the Internet? The all new Flock browser now provides the technology for the user to customize their Internet experience.
A garage based group out of Palo Alto, CA, has created a new browser that will rival current Web juggernauts Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla’s Firefox. The Flock browser aims to change how people view their Internet experience. These days’, people don’t really browse the Internet per se; it is more of a social interaction with other users on the Web. Whether it is blogging, photo blogging, or Podcasting, the interaction is there and should be exploited. This is the main theory behind the Flock browser.
Here are some of the new unique features that will provide an enhanced Web experience:
1. Most Frequently Visited / Most Recently Added - Flock keeps track of which Web pages you visit most frequently.
2. Multiple Favorites Toolbars - With Flock, you can have multiple Favorites toolbars and switch back and forth between them.
3. Feed Discovery - Just like Firefox, Flock puts an icon in the URL bar when a site has one or more feeds. In Flock, you can click that icon to get a feed view of the page.
4. Feed Caching - When you star a Web page that has a feed, the feed is cached and updated every hour.
5. On the Fly Aggregation - Flock automatically creates an aggregated view for all of your collections. If you create a collection of news sites that you visit every day, you can see an aggregated view of your entire news site on one page.
6. Blogging - With Flock, blogging is a fully integrated part of the Web. You can easily blog interesting Web content with Flock, in just a few clicks. Flock includes a blog editor that works with WordPress, Movable Type and Typepad (and shortly also Live Journal) and Blogger.
7. Flickr Topbar - With Flock, blogging Flickr pictures is easy. You can drag and drop pictures from our integrated Flickr topbar right into your blog post.
8. The Shelf - The Shelf is a scrapbook for interesting Web content that you want to blog about later.
The Flock browser is expected to have their test software out within the next couple weeks and will being the “browser battle†shortly thereafter.
Other Flock Sites and Content:
FlockBuzz
FlockRadio
FlockPictures
Related Articles:
Businessweek.com
Related ADI Blogs:
What's the deal with Podcasting?
Flock, "The Social Browser"
~ Brian Staub
posted by David at 5:14 PM
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Netiquette
In any type of business relationship proper etiquette should be observed and the Internet is no different. Although e-mail can seem to be very personal, in the business world and especially internationally, proper Internet etiquette should be observed to maintain and foster positive and respectful business relationships. Here are some tips from Business Netiquette International to keep in mind when doing business correspondence over the internet.
1. Always show consideration for the other party. When writing correspondence always put yourself in the shoes of the recipient and ask yourself, how you would feel if you received the same message.
2. When sending a message always include where or how you obtained the persons/entity’s e-mail address. If it is from a web page, then site the particular web page so the receiver knows which page in question you saw. This may also get your e-mail addressed sooner by the proper party.
3. Always type a title in the subject line of an e-mail. If no subject is listed, many e-mails may be assumed to be junk mail and discarded.
4. Keep the e-mail brief, but not too brief that you sacrifice clear comprehension. Remember to be clear and concise to prevent idiomatic confusion from someone not fluent in your language.
5. Keep correspondence to a certain degree of formality. This is especially true when corresponding internationally and if you are initiating contact. Address the person with the proper title (Mr., Ms.) and only use a first name if they sign their names using only a first name. Internationally, even if a message is signed with only a first name it is rude for a male to contact a female using only her first name unless he is invited to.
6. Remember to capitalize the proper things. Do not write in all lowercase letters or in all uppercase letters. Write communication as you would on business letterhead. Also know there is a disagreement to whether 'Internet' should be capitalized or not. The Business Netiquette International website says "no", but author of Lapsing Into A Comma: A Curmudgeon's Guide to the Many Things That Can Go Wrong in Print-and How to Avoid Them and Copy Desk Chief of the Washington Post, Bill Walsh, says "yes". Mr. Walsh's reasoning is that 'Internet' is as much of a proper noun as the White House or the Dewey Decimal System. Even though there is debate on this, my advice is to find a rule that makes the most sense to you and your company, decide the rule company wide, and stick to it. The phrase “World Wide Web†and the initials “WWW†should be capitalized. The word on-line is always hyphenated except when it is used in a trade name like America Online. Yet, just like 'Internet', the jury is out on that one too.
7. When communicating internationally keep in mind that a certain level of deference is afforded older employees and employees higher in the company hierarchy.
8. Avoid “smiley†faces for business correspondence. It is fine for personal messages, but inappropriate for business. If you feel the tone of your correspondence needs a “smiley†face, then change the text to reflect a softer tone.
9. Use the "Bcc" option of your e-mail accordingly. If there is a bulk e-mail mailing with lots of recipients, use the “Bcc†for blind copies to protect the recipient’s privacy and to help prevent messages with pages of e-mail addresses before you can get to the body of the message.
10. Never send attachments unless you are approved, requested, or expected to beforehand.
To read more about proper Internet etiquette:
Electronic Mail Etiquette
About Netiquette
posted by David at 10:00 AM
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
No More World Wide Wait
It seems that in today’s technology world, the first thing people look at is speed. The way consumers feel about the internet is no different. Everybody would love for their web page to load instantly, along with all the web based programs that some sites feature.
Well your dream is almost alive. Developers are now using a new process called AJAX, short for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. AJAX itself is not a technology however, it is multiple technologies combined to create the process including:
• standards-based presentation using XHTML and CSS
• dynamic display and interaction using the Document Object Model
• data interchange and manipulation using XML and XSLT
• asynchronous data retrieval using XMLHttpRequest
• and JavaScript binding everything together
To break this down, AJAX essentially adds another layer into the communication between user and server. This is done with an Ajax engine. The engine is an intermediary between the two which is responsible for both rendering the interface the user sees and communicating with the server on the user’s behalf. This totally eliminates the traditional stop-start reload time that was associated with web based programs. The Ajax engine provides real time changes to web programs that are beginning to be featured more and more. Google is one of the front running companies that is featuring the new process in some of their applications including Google Suggest, and new Google Maps.
It is only a matter of time before the whole world is instantaneous!
Related ADI Blogs:
Google Maps Discovery
Related Web Articles:
AdaptivePath.com Article
CNN.com Article
~ Brian Staub
posted by David at 4:47 PM
Monday, October 24, 2005
Google Making Keyword Research Easier
This week Google introduced a new keyword research tool making it easier for advertisers to find the best keywords for their campaign. When working on projects I always try to find new ways to choose the best keywords. So since I was currently working on a campaign I was excited to see just how well this tool would help in my research.
There are two parts to the keyword tool. The Keyword Variation section is for entering keywords that may be relevant to the site. I entered my keyword and 138 searches for that word followed along with 114 additional words to consider. I thought this was a good way to give me some idea of a related word that maybe I had not thought about. Within the search there was an option to search the keyword by popularity or by the cost and ad position of the word. This was a helpful feature because all of the information needed was one place.
The second part, Site – Related Keywords, gave an option to type in the URL that you are researching. This tool searches the site and comes up with a list of relevant keywords based on the content of that page. It gives you a way to see how Google is looking and searching for your page and the keywords that they feel are relevant.
Overall, this tool was a big help in my keyword research. It gave me a better idea and made it easier to find the search volume of the keyword or phrase. This will definitely be a tool that I will bookmark for future campaigns.
posted by Ali at 2:21 PM
Friday, October 21, 2005
Are you addicted?
Are you addicted to email? Take this short quiz to find the answer:
• Do you get overly excited when the email alert flashes on your computer?
• Does the phrase “You’ve Got Mail†sound just as good as “I Love Youâ€
• Do you check your email while on vacation?
• Do you own a BlackBerry, Sidekick, or web-enabled cell phone?
If you answered yes to two of these questions you are an email addict. Don’t feel bad though, I’d hazard to guess that everyone who reads this blog is an email addict so you are in good company.
In today’s technologically advanced society it is very easy to become addicted to email and the internet in general. I mean why not check your email every five minutes when you can do so from your cell phone. Why not send and read your email in the car, on the train, in the airport, at the doctor’s office, at the hairdressers, at your son’s soccer game when it is as easy as pulling out your BlackBerry and typing madly away on the keys. If you are away on business isn’t it nice to be able to text message someone from your Sidekick and tell them you arrived safely at your destination.
It is this easy access to email that can cause much pain as well as pleasure. The BlackBerry has now earned the nickname CrashBerry for no reason, if you are typing an email while driving you are probably not watching the road and that can be a deadly habit. The overuse of the keyboard can cause carpal tunnel syndrome, which can be very painful indeed.
The most painful aspect to the easy use of email is the hardest to quantify; the loss of human contact. Why not call someone instead of emailing them. Why not talk to your fellow passengers while waiting at the airport; who knows if they will become your next friend, lover or employer. Why not actually just sit on the beach and relax with your family while on vacation instead of being glued to your technological toy. Why not stop reading this blog, get up from your computer, walk over to a co-worker and ask them how they are doing. You are sure to get a smile from them, and that is better than any email waiting in your inbox.
Articles of interest:
No Escape From Email
BlackBerry or CrackBerry? A PDA Culture War
Email Addiction (Emailoholism)
posted by David at 11:21 AM
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Watch Your Words
Search Engine Marketing has been growing rapidly over the past year and has almost become a routine checkpoint for website development. As marketers continue to roll out new methods and protocols to optimize websites, too few stop look at the rules and regulations that are in place. One key regulation that all marketers need to keep in mind is Copyright and Trademark infringement.
It seems these days that businesses will do anything to get their websites found through the search engines, even if that means using somebody else’s thoughts or words. One way marketers use to get results lies within the Meta-Tags, or the hidden keyword rich text. Even though few search engines use Meta Tag content to determine relevancy, using another entity's copyrighted or trademarked material is still problematic. An example would be for a copy machine retailer to load up his Meta Tags or site text with the word “Xerox.†Although it is used daily in business, “Hey, could you Xerox that for me?â€, it is still a heavily trademarked term by the Xerox company.
There is no loophole way around this. As with any other use of Copyrighted or Trademarked material, make sure you have permission to reproduce it from the person (or company) who owns the rights. Just providing a reciprocal link back to the site is not enough, and could still be open for an infringement case depending on the nature of how the information is used. Consider yourself warned!
Resourceful Links
Article from SearchEngineWatch.com
Blog about Contextual Advertising
United States Patent and Trademark FAQ page
~ Brian Staub
posted by David at 2:23 PM
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
New Internet Security Concerns
I got the e-mail from the overseas official who wanted to give me tons of unclaimed inheritance if I contacted them with some international wiring fees. I also got the e-mail from United Kingdom lottery imposters stating I had won millions and to send them my personal information and social security number to claim my winnings. Both of these scamming e-mails to steal money and information are almost laughable, but these and more diabolical dangers are serious and lurking on the Internet.
One thing to be aware of is “Spear Phishingâ€. This is a new scam in which you may get a very realistic e-mail stating that an account of yours has been locked for your protection and to re-access it you need to click on the attached link. Or perhaps it may be something else we do everyday to get our information and tasks done using the Internet. These e-mails are ‘fishing’ e-mails in which the sender is fishing for information. Clicking on the links accompanying these e-mails can put spyware onto your computer or worse.
Also lurking in the Internet jungle are viruses attacking your instant messaging. There are worms that can attack an entire buddy list or may force you to access the internet to infect a wider audience. Many times these viruses can appear as an instant message from a friend asking you to click a link to see a new funny movie or to view an image. Clicking on the link can be dangerous to your privacy and computer hardware.
There are even worms and viruses created to specifically attack Internet security software. These viruses block your security software from contacting the parent company to get critical updates. Some viruses shut down the Internet security software entirely.
The good news is that there are some things you can do to protect yourself. Common sense is a priority. For example, the United Kingdom lottery imposters recommended that I not tell anyone that I won the lottery and the e-mail was coming from a common and free e-mail provider. If the e-mail is from a company with enough power to grant you millions and the e-mail address ends in Yahoo!, Hotmail, Gmail, or anything other than a company name, you can guess the message and claims are fraudulent. Other tips include: checking the home page of the company sending the e-mail, trusting your instincts, and calling the company regarding anything about an account to ensure correspondence was sent from that company and before clicking links. For suspicious links on instant messaging, sending a message to your buddy confirming whether they sent the link can help deter you from clicking on the wrong thing. If you get no reply from the sender on your buddy list, don’t click the link. There are also software programs that prevent instant messaging worms. Keeping these tips in mind can keep your privacy and hardware secure.
Read other articles about Internet Safety:
10 Step Security
Threat Alert: Spear Phishing
Threat Alert: Antivirus Killers
Threat Alert: Instant Messaging Attacks
To view past blogs on the subject:
Phishing on the Internet
Phishing for the Holidays
posted by David at 9:42 AM
Monday, October 17, 2005
Stop the Spamming!
It is one of the most frowned upon techniques in the Internet world. No one wants to be involved and the people doing it definitely do not what to get caught. Spamming is the use of any electronic communications medium to send unsolicited messages in bulk. It’s a way to get your message across or advertise to a large group of people without the cost. Whether it’s through e-mail, instant messaging or search engines, Spam is not something that you want to have on your resume. It hurts the credibility of your website in turn; hurting your website’s positioning in the search engines. And the people who are spamming within their company or in the comfort of their own home are just putting a burden on the recipients. It’s a wonder why people still try to get away with this dirty tactic.
Recently, one of the biggest spammers in the nation was shut down. For years, he has been under the spotlight since Verizon wireless sued him claiming that he shut down its networks with millions of email solicitations. The FBI was suspicious of the operation which included financial records, computers, disks, and 150 million email addresses in his database.
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), spammers can compromise your computer in several ways, depending on what kind of Internet connection you have. All computers connected to the Internet are potential targets, but those with broadband connections are especially attractive to spammers because they are "always on." With all the ways to that people are being spammed how do you know if you are a target?
Here are some tips to avoid the spamming.
• Use anti-virus software and keep it up to date.
• Be cautious about opening any attachment or downloading any files from emails you receive.
• Use a firewall to protect your computer from hacking attacks while it is connected to the Internet.
• Check your "sent items" file or "outgoing" mailbox to see if there are messages that you did not intend to send.
• If your computer is infected, take action immediately.
posted by Ali at 9:39 AM
Friday, October 14, 2005
Gizoogle This!
I must admit I spend a lot of time surfing the web and I have found many interesting sites like the one that will generate your Hobbit Name, mine is Bramblerose Gamgee-Took of Bywater (try saying that one three times fast). One of my secret addictions though is the Web site Answerology.com where people answer your most pressing questions like this one “I have lost my remote and I don’t know whether to continue looking for it or get up and change the channel. What should I do?†You can imagine some of the answers he got.
I recently heard about Gizoggle.com and I just had to check it out for myself. It is Gooogle meets Snoop Dogg and the result is the shiznit. The purpose of the site is purely for entertainment. The main feature is that for any keyword or URL you search for the results are displayed in the Izzle-speak that
Snoop D-O-double-gizzle has made famous. Go ahead, type in anything you want and you will get results like this: “Astrology and Horoscizzles by Astrogizzle†and “Award Winnin’ Web Design and Develizzle by Advance Design Interactiveâ€.
Other features of the site include the spinning rims where the “O’s†would be in the word Gizoogle at the top of the page, a nice touch I think. There is also an image search where you can find Gangsta Barbie and Sesame Stizzle. In case you were wondering how to say every day phrases in Izzle-Speak you can click on the Textualizer, enter your text and it will translate it for you. Gizoogle has also been kind enough to translate some well known songs and phrases for our amusement.
I guess one could make the comment that someone had way too much time on their hands to create a web site like this, perhaps you are right. Maybe it was a grad student’s senior thesis or maybe it was just the result of someone messing around at home. No matter the reason we can all laugh a little more every day, and this web site does just that, it brings a little humor into your day. I suggest you spend some time on Gizoogle today, I guarantee it will bring a smile to your face. I leave you with this:
“We tha People of tha United States, in Hustla ta fizzorm a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquillizzle provide fo' tha common defence, promote tha general Welfare, n secure tha Straight Trippin' of Liberty ta ourselves n our Posterizzles do ordain n establish this Constitizzles fo' tha United States of Americaâ€.
posted by David at 9:00 AM
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Goodbye ADI
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone I have come in contact with over the past two and half years. This experience has given me a lifetime of happiness and friends and it will never be forgotten. I wish all of you the best of luck in all of your future endeavors.
Thank You,
Gina Brown
posted by Gina at 11:18 AM
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Internet Popular
You heard your mother say over and over again that life isn’t a popularity contest but the internet allows us more and more ways to keep in touch, gain information, make contacts, stay in the loop and be, well… popular! We have so many options for keeping tabs and being in “the know.†My experience first began years ago with the free e-mail providers such as Yahoo!, Hotmail, and others that will give you free e-mail for life. You create an account, become a member, have a profile and the option to exercise your new membership privileges in so many ways.
From the free e-mail account you can venture into forums that were specialized to particular interests in music, television, culture and more. If something you are interested in isn’t there, in many cases as a member you have a right to create a new group or a new interest. Once in groups or forums you can meet complete strangers and bash them, debate with them, agree with them, find commonalities and thus create “Net buddies.†Mom’s advice comes in handy again and you can stay away from a “bad crowd†putting safety and common sense first.
If the forums are not enough, there are e-mail providers and sites which can only be obtained through an invite. How exclusive! Someone had to know you and think of you to invite you! How did they decide who to invite the first? Was it just workers from the providing web company who invited their friends, who in turn invited their friends and down the pipeline to invite lil ol’ “me?†You can even have your own personalized pages on sites such as hi5.com, myspace.com, deviantart.com and sms.ac complete with your own personal blogs, bulletins, groups, journal, messages, photos, poetry etc. On these pages people can leave a picture and “shout you out†with a nice note, inside joke or comment. On hi5.com visitors to that site (or to your page) can appoint you with a trait and matching graphic on how great you are called a “fiveâ€. You even have such beaus and belles of the ball who have the most “fives†and a list of the most common “fives†given.
Additionally, when you log in to these various sites you can see how many “friends†you have, blog comments you have, general replies, journal entries and so forth. Comments you do not like can be edited or removed in most cases. For myspace.com and hi5.com you have the option to accept or reject a friend through e-mail alerts sent to the e-mail address you stipulate. Just like the invitation to join, getting a friendly e-mail stating ‘x, y and z’ wants to be added as your friend can be a pleasant surprise on an otherwise bad day. I have seen people on myspace.com who have thousands of friends!
Anyone with Net access can be a social butterfly and exchange ideas and find people with like interests.That concept is not new, but now through an invitation approach to marketing with personalization and rudimentary control you feel special and intrigued enough to join. You can have your own piece of the Internet with a personalized page, feel included, and part of a community with the added bonus of not having to purchase a new gadget to do so. This allows for a whole new way of thinking in terms of socializing, business, and networking. Your anonymous e-mail persona can be as important as your ‘real’ one as you interact with the whole world being “internet popular.â€
Read similar blogs on the subject:
Finding The Perfect Match
Google in the dating business?
posted by David at 1:47 PM
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
What’s the deal with Podcasting?
With the ever growing world of technology and the popularity explosion of personal media devices in the 21st Century, it was only a matter time before the accompanying content to fill these devices rolled out. Existing already were programs designed to download and apply music onto the players, but more recently there is a new breed of content filling up the gigabytes. Podcasting, which is a combination of the words “broadcasting†and “iPod,†have become increasingly popular and will be the focus of today’s blog.
For starters, a Podcast is essentially a method of publishing audio and video programs via the Internet, allowing users to subscribe to a FREE feed of new files. These files enable independent producers the ability to create self-published, syndicated "radio shows," which gives broadcast radio programs a new distribution method. Using downloadable Podcasting programs, such as Odeo, Blinkx or iTunes, one can receive a flow of new media right to their personal computers for use and/or easily upload them to their mp3 devices to take on the go.
Finding desirable Podcasts is just as easy. The recently created Yahoo! Podcasts provides the user with a chance to search for interests specifically, or they could search the directory of Podcasts in categories ranging from Arts, Business, Entertainment, Politics, and Sports. If you really want to be productive with your Podcasting experience, certain universities are now offering Podcasting as an aid to classes, including my own Drexel University.
Essentially Podcasting is extremely personal and provides an excellent outlet to customize. Once you've mastered the basics of searching, subscribing, and uploading, you may be able to move on to creating and publishing Your Very Own Podcast!
- Brian Staub
posted by David at 4:58 PM
Monday, October 10, 2005
Flock the New "Social Browser"
When I think of an Internet Browser, MSN Internet Explorer is the first to come to mind. I have used Explorer in school, work and home. But now as the competition emerges, a new and improved browser jumps into the scene, claiming to have a more user friendly navigation system.
Flock, the latest challenger to Explorer and Firefox is set to take Web Browsing through a whole new experience when it is introduced to the public in the next two weeks. Flock is being called the “social browser†for the next generation with features such as web feeds, blogging tools, social bookmarks, and photo sharing. Flock co-founder and Chief Executive Bart Decrem says, “The Web is not just a library of documents, but a stream of events and people. And people are spending a lot more time sharing on the Web.
He has a point. People share pictures, stories, articles; we even send cards through the Web. For some the Web is mainly to get information from other people that are browsing. Being able to transfer information to others easily is an important part of blogging, email and instant messaging as they all transformed the way we share.
Here are just some features that will put Flock on the map.
Blogging
• Eliminates arcane coding in order to post
• Automatically creates links, citations, and quotes
• Loads pictures from photo-sharing site so they can be dragged and dropped into the blog.
Social Bookmarks
• Can be tagged with useful descriptions and shared with others.
• Create watchlists of people whose bookmarks they like
• Able to form groups with people who have the same links
• Keeps a history of every Web page a user visits, so they can be found easily later.
posted by Ali at 12:44 PM
Friday, October 07, 2005
Google Images
Hello bloggers! I would like to take a second to introduce myself. My name is Brian and I am the new Drexel intern at ADI. This is my first week and my first of many blog entries to come. Enjoy.
For all of you who are as fascinated with Google.com as I am, you must be wondering about some of the features Google has to offer. Today the main tool of focus will be on Google Image Search.
Have you ever tried to search certain topics and got the best results possible while on the other hand searched and found completely random results? What are the criteria that Google uses find and rank these images? Well I needed to know more, and decided to find out.
After dissecting Google’s website for answers I came across a very informative page with all the answers to the questions in my head. Essentially Google analyzes the text on the page adjacent to the image, the image caption and dozens of other factors to determine the image content. Google also uses sophisticated algorithms to remove duplicates and ensure that the highest quality images are presented first in your results. Basically searching for specific images depends on the keyword sensitive pages that the images are on.
By they way, if you really want to get tricky with your image search, try the Advanced Image Search. Here you are able to narrow down if you want to search keywords or exact phrases, size, and even what file type extension you want for the desired images.
Hopefully now you can weed out those unwanted images and get right down to business!
~ Brian Staub
posted by David at 1:32 PM
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Fine hand-stitched donuts, puppy purses and traffic-light tableware
This is what I love about the Internet. You can find a market for just about anything. It’s not that the market never existed before – it was just that it was difficult for someone who makes dinner plates out of traffic lights to connect with the hundreds of people who actually want dinner plates made out of traffic lights.
Now, thanks to the World Wide Web, these people can find each other. In addition to that, people who were unaware that they wanted dinner plates made out of traffic lights – like me – could stumble upon them, purchase them online, and voilà ! A whole new world!
Have a look at some of these unique and/or fabulous ideas:
Puppy purses – your dog will thank you. Or not.
Traffic light dinner plates – the salad bowls are really cool too.
Hand-stitched donuts – some ideas you just accept without question!
Stationery you can only use for a wedding – they make saying “I do†much more doable.
M&Ms with a custom message – like anything I ever say would fit on an M&M.
3D shirts – for people who want other people to think there’s a bug on their shirt when there really isn’t.
I’m not sure exactly when it dawned on everyone that you could sell anything online – it was probably an eBay-related discovery - but I’m glad you can. Especially when the products are creative, innovative and useful, as some of the ones I mentioned are.
More importantly, the Internet has driven people out of the confines of corporate life and into flourishing home businesses, provided income for moms who prefer to stay at home to raise their kids, and given us all an unparalleled resource for finding what we need, want, or didn’t know we wanted.
I love it.
posted by Carolyn Price at 1:04 PM
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Did you know…
...AOL Search has a cool new look and search features?
...there is a “Pimp My Search Engine†series on www.searchenginewatch.com?
...Google has Big Plans & Big Projects? (Is this really news? Hummm)
...it's better to gear your website to your target audience than to search engine algorithms?
...Google partnered with Sun?
...there are 90 different factors that influence search engine rankings?
Now you're in the know!
posted by Gina at 3:56 PM
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Finding the Perfect Match
Is there such a thing as a Perfect Match when it comes to dating? Do you think you can find your own Perfect Match, or does putting your fate in the hands of others sound like a better idea? Knowing yourself well enough, likes and dislikes can lead to finding your Perfect Match.
The Internet replaces the old fashioned “personalsâ€. Online dating offers a whole new experience with its own set of rules. There are unlimited options out there. There is something for everyone. Get online and search for your Perfect Match.
If you’ve never used the Internet for online dating, let’s get you started. And no, it doesn’t matter what area of the US you live in. You can find your Perfect Match anywhere.
Before you begin, there are a couple of categories to consider with regard to online dating. Here is how I categorize them, Profile Sites, Location Sites and Special Interest Sites.
Let’s start with Profile Sites. Some well-known examples are Match.com, Perfectmatch.com and Eharmony.com. Each one of these sites allows you to create a personal profile and search for profiles that might interest you.
If you are a little more outgoing and thrive off of meeting people in person you can search the Internet for Location Sites. If you’re impatient and want to meet many people in a short period of time find local speed dating events or even blirting events (yes, blirting--Blackberry Flirting) at Hurrydate.com or 8minutedating.com.
Lastly, for those of you who insist upon finding someone with a specific common interest I offer the Special Interest Sites. A site like Consumating.com is "a dating site for geeks, nerds, hipsters, and bloggers.†Fitness Singles.com is fairly obvious and I think Singlerepublican.com is as well. Literary buffs might want to try Theatlasphere.com and for you golfers try Golfdates.com.
And by the way, the special set of rules I was talking about? Go to Crush.com to read speed dating tips as well as online dating speak.
Well I hope I’ve armed all you singles with some useful information to find your Perfect Match.
posted by Gina at 12:30 PM
Monday, October 03, 2005
Cell Phones: For Emergencies Only?
I can remember my first cell phone. It was the size of a portable telephone and the only reason I got it was because I was off to college. It was to be used for emergencies only.
As it turns out, my phone became my life line that year and continues to be to this day. I have upgraded since then, however. I live in an apartment where I don't even have a land line because I have my cell phone. I have become so dependant on this little device that I don't even need to have anyone’s number memorized.
As I drove into the city Saturday night, I realized I didn't know where the party was. I reached for my only way of communication, my only resource to the outside world. Suddenly, I remembered I had broken it the night before.
As I drove around Philly, I had two choices: walk around aimlessly or go home. As I crossed over the Ben Franklin Bridge, heading towards Jersey, I realized just how lost I was without this device that was meant to be for emergencies only.
I couldn’t believe how lost I truly felt. I was left wondering how many people could possible rely on something so small. But as in my experience has such alarge impact on life whether it is for work or play. You don’t realize it until you are left without it.
posted by Ali at 3:40 PM
