With Hurricane Gustav battering Cuba, and on it’s way to New Orleans, there’s another storm brewing – A social media storm.

Andy Carvin has created the Gustav Information Center, a website specifically to track information about the Hurricane. This was done using the free social network too, Ning. News about the site has spread like wildfire across the blogosphere and over Twitter.

The social network includes links to blogs and news items about Gustav, a forum to allow discussion, and a Google Map for anyone to offer accomodation to evacuating New Orleans residents.

And in the short space of 2 days, the social network is more just a collection of links to news and pictures. It’s a thriving community of volunteers, and people. It’s an interesting example of the real power of web 2.0, where anyone with an internet connection has the tools to create their own network quickly, easily, and for free.

(Photo Credit :: tcostart)

Firefox Download Day

• Via their community portal, Spreadfirefox, Mozilla created a series of Firefox buttons and badges, that bloggers could embed on their own blogs, myspace pages and the like.
• Facebook fan page – Fortunately for Mozilla, the Firefox Facebook page has over 115,000 members. They used this page to distribute links, articles and other information that pointed users to the Download Day site. Similar tactics were used on other social networking sites like Myspace and Bebo.
• You Tube – The Firefox designers produced a series of videos, which promoted the new versions features. These were then added to Youtube.
• Twitter – Mozilla also posted news and updates about Download Day to their 5,000 Uber Geeky followers through their twitter account.
• Mozilla Party Central - to celebrate the launch of Firefox 3, the Mozilla community hosted hundreds of parties across the planet. They used a Google-maps mashup to promote them.

What is ‘Nike Dunk’? And when was it originally launched?

Hi All,

It’s Friday thing/k.

3 weeks ago Nike announced the launch of NIKE PHOTOiD, a mobile initiative that allows European consumers the opportunity to create personalized footwear from the visual world around them.

The idea is that NIKE PHOTOiD instantly analyses consumers’ own photos, matches the two most dominant colours to the NIKEiD palette and applies the colours to a chosen customisable shoe design.
So basically, on sending a photo from a phone to a shortcode via MMS, within seconds consumers receive a link to the NIKE PHOTOiD mobile internet site that features their customised footwear, superimposed over the picture that inspired it.

NIKE PHOTOiD was devised and developed in collaboration with AKQA. Let me stop here for a sec and write few words about AKQA. Do you know AKQA? If not, pls click in. It is one of the world’s most influential digital creative and technology companies. Among the company’s global clients you can find also Microsoft, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Visa. Now, let’s continue.

The footwear design can be saved as mobile wallpaper, sent to a friend, and, by entering the unique DESIGNiD at NIKEiD.COM, consumers can link directly to their design to complete and buy. FYI – The first style of footwear to be offered on NIKE PHOTOiD is the Nike Dunk, a classic basketball shoe originally launched in 1985.

Once again, it’s another idea that links between technology and user experience. In this case the mobile technology connects a consumer’s inspirational environment with their natural desire to create.

Enjoy your weekend.
Yoav

One of the fascinating things about internet is that it allows us to invent brand new business models.

Take Crowdsourcing as an example. Now we can tap into the wisdom of the online crowd, and work with our customers in ways never before imagined. With the help of our online community we can gather great content, collect new ideas and even create new products.

There are some great cases of crowdsourcing out there, including some of the more well known:

- Wikipedia : Probably the most famous example. Wikipedia is the worlds’ largest encyclopedia, with over 2,4 million articles and 175,000 authors.

- Threadless : The online T-shirt store with a twist – Users can submit ideas for T-Shirts, and the most popular are printed and added to the company’s product range.

- iStockphoto : iStockphoto completely re-invented the stock photography game with their online library of user-submitted, royalty free images.

Others are taking the idea of crowdsouring a step further. Including US based brewery called BeerBankroll, who are experimenting with involving the community to fund and manage their company.

How do they do it?

The first step is the Crowdfunding. Beerbankroll are recruiting members (50,000 to start with), who will contribute $US 50 to get the project up and running.

Once BeerBankroll has raised $100,000, the Crowdmanaging kicks in. The BeerBankroll community will then be involved in actively running the business. Members can submit product ideas and vote on management decisions. They can have a say in everything from the brand name, company logo, product design, product mix, marketing plan, advertising and sponsorship.

The company profits are then divided by three: One third is paid to members. One third goes back to the company. One third goes to charity.

If the experiment works, BeerBankroll will have an army of 50,000 beer drinking brand evangelists to help them spread the word.

Who wouldn’t want that?

• The Age
• Peter Munro
• June 22, 2008
• Page 1 of 6

IT’S the business paradox of the noughties: the more you give away, the more money you can make. For consumers, it delivers the ultimate reward: something for nothing.

The revolutionary trend has been branded “freeconomics”, and last week the music industry became the latest to join in with the delayed launch of Qtrax, the first 100% free and legal music download service for users in the US.

It adds to a growing stock of products and services being given away. Newspapers, telephones, flights, drinks and divorces are on offer free of charge. Games, bicycles, books and cars, WiFi, financial help and travel guides are also priced to go at absolutely nothing. No matter what you are looking for, there are few limits to what is being “freed”. Increasingly, money will become no object at all, changing the way we live, do business and play.

The revolutionary idea of freeconomics holds that freewheeling will soon become the norm rather than an anomaly. The idea comes from Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired magazine, who argues it will become the dominant business model of the future. And businesses that don’t follow suit won’t survive the digital age. “The moment a company’s primary expenses become things based in silicon, free becomes not just an option but the inevitable destination,” he has said.

For consumers, it could mean mothballing your wallet as more and more goods and services are given away. For businesses, the challenge will be finding new ways to make money from nothing. Free photocopies with printed advertisements on the backs of pages; free books to promote paid author speaking tours and licensing rights; free electric cars in exchange for signing up to a power contract.

On Qtrax, millions of songs from artists such as Radiohead and Amy Winehouse can now be downloaded legally for nothing online, with the unprecedented backing of major labels Universal Music Group and EMI. It’s a bold strike from the music industry, which will recoup revenue from advertising, to cash in on what is being called the free economy of the future. Continued…

Author: Collected by Mai Nguyen

Aggregator [or Feed Aggregator/Feed Reader/News Reader]

Software or web application which collects syndicated web content into a single location for easy viewing.^[1] Examples include Web-based aggregators (eg. Google Reader) and Media aggregators that contain audio or video content.

Blog (Weblog)

An easy publishing tool (eg. website) that allows anyone to publish their comments on a subject. Most blogs promote interactivity by allowing users to subscribe to feeds or link content to other sites. The majority of blog content is text based, but may also include a focus on photographs (photoblog), videos (vlog) or audio (podcast).

Consumer-generated media (CGM) or User-generated Content (UGC)

CGM is content that is created and shared among consumers. Examples include blogs, forums, reviews/rating, public discussions, folksonomies, wikis, social networking, video and photo uploading sites.

Conversion Design

Incorporates business objectives into design with the aim of converting website traffic into prospects or sales. The process of conversion design utilises a combination of information architecture (IA), usability, search engine optimisation (SEO), and internet marketing strategies to improve websites.

Folksonomy

Also referred to as ‘collaborative tagging’, ‘social classification’, ‘social indexing’, and ‘social tagging’.^[1] Folksonomy involves classifying information, by users of the application, with the addition of personal/shared labels that create categories. It is generally performed by the owner or creator of the information rather than by experts. Examples where tagging occurs include social bookmarking (eg. del.icio.us), media (eg. Flickr), mobile (eg. Socialite) and online shopping (eg. Amazon).

Information Architecture (IA)

The set of ideas about how information should be organised to allow a logical and intuitive path for searching and managing information. In website design, IA focuses on ensuring web content reflects the site’s design and navigation scheme. A website with effective IA enables people to navigate and find required information with relative ease.

Interaction design (IxD)

The structure and behaviours of interactive products and services, and user interactions with these products and services.^[2] The process involves iterative research with the aim of improving usability and communication between people.

Mashup

Refers to web application that combines multiple services into a single application.^[3] For example, a travel website might include Google Maps to display locations of holiday destinations, information about locations and photos.

Podcast

A digital audio file made available for download from the internet using an RSS feed. Consumers can download the audio content to their desktop or portable media player (eg.iPod).

Rich Media

Advertising that consists of a combination of graphical and audio technologies to entertain and engage consumers while promoting user interaction. Examples: a movie ad that includes streaming video of the movie trailer or ads that change size when the user’s mouse passes over it.

RSS

A family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines, and podcasts in a standardized format. An RSS feed contains either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text.

Search Engine Friendly (SEF)

Websites that are search engine friendly possess content that are easily accessible by major search engines. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is commonly performed to create SEF websites.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

The combination of SEO, paid advertising campaigns, and other related techniques to maximise a website’s exposure on the internet.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

The process of making a website rank highly in major search engine results pages (SERP) with the aim of increasing quality visitors to the site. As part of website development and design, SEO generally involves modifications to the source code of a website, ensuring relevant and effective keywords are used.

Social networking sites

A ‘virtual community’ where members can construct an online profile of themselves and interact with other members via various applications. Popular examples include Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and Cyworld.

Syndication

Website content made available to multiple other sites, feed aggregators or readers. Most commonly, web syndication refers to making content from a site available in order to provide other people with a summary of the website’s recently added content (for example, the latest news or forum posts).

Usability

Usability refers to the ease-of-use of a product in achieving user-specified goals. In the context of information technology, both software applications (eg. user-friendly interface) and websites (eg. navigation, content) can be usability tested.

User-centred design (UCD)

A structured design process focused around the needs and specifications of target users. The elements of UCD usability are visibility, accessibility, legibility and language.^[1] Usability testing is commonly performed in conjuction with the UCD process.

Unique Selling Proposition (USP) [or Unique Selling Point]

A unique benefit of a product or service that influences a buyer to prefer it over other brands. Advertising campaigns are usually built around a USP as part of the promotional theme. Examples: Red Bull – “Give you wings”, Fedex – “When your package absolutely, positively has to get there overnight”.

Viral Marketing

Also referred to as Online Consumer Word-of-Mouth, Online Consumer Buzz^[5]. It is the propagation of branded messages by individuals.

Web 2.0

The second phase of the internet which highlights changes in how the web is used. Initially, people predominantly used the internet for downloading information (Web 1.0). Web 2.0 describes how both uploading and downloading of content is possible, with enhanced information sharing and communication among users. Web 2.0 applications include social networking sites, blogs, wikis and web feeds.

Web Analytics

The process of analysing data associated with the behaviour of visitors to a website. Such metrics include the number of unique visitors, the length of time spent on the site, and keyword searches made to arrive at a site. This knowledge is used to improve the website’s design in order to attract and retain customers.

Web Feed [or News Feed]

A web syndication format that allows people to view headlines of recent updates to selected websites or blogs, by using a single feed reader (aggregator) program. Atom and RSS feeds are two common examples and can be read by a feed aggregator (eg. Google Reader).

Web Syndication

Making content available from a website via web feeds in order to provide readers with a summary of the website’s recently added content.^[1] RSS is an example of a web syndication format (web feed), which provides the benefit of viewing updates to websites without the need to check sites individually.

Webcast

A media file that is broadcasted on the internet. Examples: TV and radio simulcasts, web conferencing, podcasts, video clips.

Web widget

A small program that can be easily put on a website, personalised start page, or blog (eg. link to add as a del.icio.us bookmark). When installed on a computer or mobile phone, it is called a ‘desktop widget’ or ‘mobile widget’ respectively. Some common widgets include weather guides, calendar, and search boxes.

Wiki

A collaborative website that allows its users to add, delete or modify its content. Examples include Wikipedia, Wikitravel, Wiktionary, Wikibooks.

Sources:

[1] Source: Wikipedia
[2] Source: Interaction Design Association (IxDA)
[3] Source: TechTerms.com
[4] Source: Adobe.com
[5] Source: Nielsen Buzz Metrics

In this artcicle:

Sample of women bloggers and publishers says:

* More than one-third of all women in the U.S. aged 18 to 75 read, comment, or write blogs

* Reasons for writing blogs:

* for fun (65%)
* to express themselves (60%)
* to connect with others (40%)
* as a personal diary (34%)
* to give advice or educate (26%).

* Reasons for reading blogs:
* for fun (46%);
* to get information (41%);
* stay up to date on family and friends (36%);
* stay up to date on specific topics (34%);
* connect with others (28%);
* entertainment (26%).

* Also notes on why women bloggers click on ads.

Published: May 28, 2008

From: adage.com

Republished here:

“Blogosphere” may not be a pretty name for it, but it is a pretty attractive destination — for women at least, and maybe for marketers courting them, too.

According to a recent study by BlogHer and Compass Partners, more than one-third (35%) of all women in the U.S. aged 18 to 75 participate in the blogosphere at least once a week. And that number increases if less-frequent visits are factored in. Of those women who are online any amount of time, 53% read blogs, 37% post comments to blogs and 28% write or update blogs, according to the study.

Hi all,

Today it’s a Freestyle Friday Think/g. There is no one big thing, but 5 small cool things that I saw in the past few weeks:

Let’s kick off with this contextual targeting ad. Contextual Advertising (or: content-targeted advertising) means that an advertisement is shown on a web site that is “in context” to a company’s specific product or service.

You probably heard about the severed feet that washed ashore on a Canadian island. Now read again the Contextual Advertising definition above and click the link.

The second thing is an ad that our talented Andrew Broughton sent me. It’s for the Alzheimer’s Association. As Andrew mentioned in his email, this banner ad uses a simple abstract function to represent its message, clear, minimum amount of type.

The third one is something that I didn’t see yet. It’s called Right-Click-Ad. The idea is to brand and own the ‘right click menu’. Check it out (and click the right click)

The fourth – I’d just love those ads that ‘talk’ to each other – moving content from one ad to the other.

And fifth, a ‘LOL!’ viral video ad for Budweiser that Chloe sent me. The Swear Jar. The video received almost 3,000,000 views. Enjoy.

And enjoy your weekend.

Yoav

Hi all, it’s Friday Thing/k.

This week is Cannes Lions 2008 week. It’s the international advertising festival. The Oscar of advertising.

The following campaign that I’d like to share with you won last Monday the Gold Lion for Best Use of Digital Media.

It’s such a powerful campaign in my opinion due to its objectives and its use of the fundamental internet strength – the fact that Internet is always “online”, 24/7. It’s also emphasis the fact that the Internet’s importance today is stronger than ever.

And here is the story.

On July 12th 2006, two Israelis were abducted by the Hezbollah. Since their kidnapping no news about them has been received. To keep their issue a top priority on the public’s and the government’s agenda, the digital agency, Y&R Interactive, knew they had to create an impact no one could stay indifferent to. They decided to launch a campaign that has never been attempted before and engage the country in a whole new way.

Precisely one year after the kidnap, Y&R Interactive invited every major site to stop their activity for five minutes and place a message: “The soldiers cannot be found”. This is a variation of “The Page cannot be found” message appearing when loading an inactive website.

On July 12th 2007, at 09:05 the internet stopped.

All the top 400 Israeli sites answered the call and posted the message. Hundreds more joined the campaign and spontaneously posted the message, using their own designs. Even Google found it important to address the subject.
The impact was so powerful even Israeli television networks and radio stations decided to stop their broadcast, in solidarity.

The campaign received amazing coverage worth millions in free press. The buzz was huge: 65% of the Israeli population was either directly exposed to the action or had heard about it.

That’s an impact. That’s the internet.

Have a good day & weekend,
Yoav