Screenshoot of web 2.0 Death

When your normal “no special deal” adsense ads start running on your once great Web 2.0 website it’s time to quit. Everyone knows what happened to Digg over the past over the past year… and of course recently over the past few months Digg has been running adsense…. it’s not the custom branded adsense that Google provides to higher end sites. It’s the run of the mill, Google Branding adsense. The kind that you can find at any website.

In other words, the site completely lost it’s lustre.

It’s time to call it quits Digg, seriously it’s time to sell and redirect the domain name to something worth while.

The obituary for Digg would read as following:

Here stood a website that got in bed with Microsoft and caught an STD. There was no cure, because sponsored feeds, banning sites that were critical of the software company, were not above the table.

However the issue isn’t just focused on Digg. The issue overall is the entire “web 2.0″ concept.

Some of these companies are profitable and real, such as Facebook. Others however are… well…. still struggling with a business model.

The major criticism is that there is no such thing as Web 2.0 … calling these companies nothing more than just 1990′s startups using 2010′s technology. A common statement is “tell me the difference between Facebook Chat and ICQ” or “Online Social Networking was invented in 1995, I had a geocities page as well” and perhaps the most comical “Explain to me the difference between watching a Real Video Stream and watching a Youtube Stream”

Many of the arguments are valid.

What are your thoughts?

May 25, 2011

Bacardi Campaign Brings It All Together

A new Bacardi campaign is bringing it all together, in more ways than one.

The "Bacardi Together" campaign features creative stressing that the rum brand is one of the great "inventions" that has served to bring people together over the course of history. In addition, the campaign brings together -- that is, integrates -- a variety of media and channels.

An anchor of the new campaign is a 30-second TV spot, "Inventions," from Young and Rubicam. The spot reviews human inventions over the centuries designed to help them get together -- including fire, the wheel and light -- leading up to: "... and over a century ago, we invented Bacardi, to bring it all together."

The commercial, which features Bacardi Superior Rum, the lead product in the brand's portfolio, was filmed by director Johnny Green in a variety of locations across Argentina, and features Funeral Party's "NYC Moves to the Sound of LA" as its theme track.

The spot will run in prime time on national cable networks throughout the summer on leading sports and entertainment networks, including ESPN, Spike, Comedy Central, FX, TBS and TNT.

Earlier this month, the brand launched outdoor and digital media executions of the "Bacardi Together" campaign in markets including New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Las Vegas, Dallas, Minneapolis and Chicago. These feature "Mixes well with others" messaging, reinforcing the theme of people socializing over a Bacardi cocktail.

In addition, the "together" theme extends to a new Facebook and social media platform, "Like It Live, Like It Together." Consumers who visit Bacardi's Facebook page and "like" the brand can cast their votes for their top "likes" and win tickets to attend two "amazing events" shaped by their "likes" input. The events will be held in New York City and Las Vegas on June 13 and 15, respectively.

The Facebook initiative, launched May 2, has already generated 160,000 new Bacardi Facebook fans, and the events are nearly at capacity, reports Billie Melnyk, senior brand manager, Bacardi rums. Fans' "likes" are "curating" the activities -- determining the talent, activities and food at the events, he says. For example, rappers Cee Lo Green and Kid Cudi will appear at the New York and Las Vegas events, respectively.
Bacardi is now Facebook-posting updates on the details of the events as shaped by fans, and will video the events and post those on Facebook, as well -- "completing the loop," says Melnyk. "We've built a strong relationship with Facebook -- Bacardi's ability to bring people together fits perfectly with Facebook's social purpose," he adds.
The message that it's important to make time for personal, live socializing as well as connecting online is clearly at the core of Bacardi's theme. (A "Bacardi Together Manifesto" video created by the brand's global marketing team that's on YouTube -- an experiment with viral messaging -- stresses sometimes putting aside devices and harried work schedules to meet with friends.)
But Melynk points out that far from conveying an anti-technology message, Bacardi is employing technology as a "catalyst" and enabler of live get-togethers, by creating and promoting the live events through Facebook.
The campaign was designed to unify the brand's product portfolio, as well as consumers, by creating both live and online Bacardi get-together opportunities, summed up Toby Whitmoyer, VP, category managing director for Bacardi rums, in a release. The TV spot and other creative elements depict daily-life scenarios and moments of celebration over Bacardi -- known for its "spirit for life" and heritage -- to which people can readily relate, he noted.
"We've had great campaigns in the past, but this one really expresses Bacardi's core 'bringing people together' truth across all of the campaign's elements," adds Melnyk.

Be Your Own Boss Work at Home

By: Glenn McDonald

Many individuals are looking for great ways to earn money. One of the fastest growing trends is to work at home. Working at home is a fantastic way for mothers and fathers alike to work from home while being with the kids. Just as much, when one works at home, it can save a great deal of money on gas and other expenditures required to get to and from work every day.
While the Internet offers many work at home programs, people need to be cautious about the work at home programs that are available because not all work
at home programs are legit. Such fraudulent programs may include some of the following: stuffing envelopes, telecommuting with potential customers, and posting advertisements for various companies on the Internet.

Stuffing envelopes sounds like an easy work at home job. The companies that offer these services claim that their work at home employees earn an upwards
of $1.00 for every envelope that they stuff and send out. In often case, this is not true. Most of the envelope stuffing companies are not legit, as money must first be paid for a kit, and then an information kit is provided. Many people think that making money stuffing envelopes is a great way to earn money from home, when in fact, it truly isn't. These companies will often send people lists of names, sometimes including phone books from various cities. The worker must then try to send out envelope advertisements to
particular individuals. The workers will only get a percentage of the profits made from a sale. So the claim that thousands of dollars can be made in one week is simply not true with stuffing envelopes as a work at home job.

There are also companies that try to recruit workers by stating that they can call potential customers from their home. Just as the envelopes that are to be mailed out, many of the workers profits rely heavily on the sales that are made from potential customers. Long distance charges can apply when a work at home telecommuting job is in practice. Many people cannot afford the long distance bills that they will receive, and if any money is made from the calls, it will be not enough or just enough to pay for the long distance charges.

Other ways that companies try to profit from those that seek a work at home job are Internet companies. Some organizations claim that if you work for
them to help advertise their company, that you will be paid. The work may include sending out e-mails, as well as posting advertisements in chats and forums. This type of advertisement is often seen as spamming. When an advertisement is spammed, the Internet e-mail, message board and or chat server is notified. In turn, these servers will block any future advertisements that come from particular IP addresses. That being said, trying to earn money from posting advertisements is a very difficult way to work at home.

Individuals enjoy being able to work at home. With the right research, anyone can earn good money with a reputable company working from home. To work at home truly is a blessing for many people, and continues to be an ever popular trend among individuals today.

Google says ad tools provided MN firms with $1B in sales

Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal - by Ed Stych, Web Producer

Date: Monday, May 16, 2011, 10:05pm CDT

Related:

Media & Marketing, Technology, Economic Snapshot

Read more: Google says ad tools provided MN firms with $1B in sales | Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

Google Inc. says its search and advertising tools provided $1 billion in economic activity for 28,000 Minnesota businesses in 2010.
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) used a formula to figure out how its AdWords and AdSense products helped businesses.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based company believes those tools conservatively provided $64 billion in economic activity across the nation last year, or an average of $1.28 billion per state.
The formula Google used for AdWords was a little complicated, but the company believes that for every dollar a business spends on AdWords, it receives an average of $8 in profit.
For states bordering Minnesota, Google said it provided $643 million in economic activity for 22,000 Wisconsin businesses, $130 million for 10,000 Iowa businesses, $28 million in economic activity for 2,000 South Dakota businesses, and $23 million for 2,000 North Dakota businesses.

Read more: Google says ad tools provided MN firms with $1B in sales | Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal