Ad Age Not Thrilled With How It Was Represented on Mad Men

The 4th season opener of the AMC show Mad Men aired last night, and in it, the main character Don Draper had an interview with a reporter from Ad Age. While the show is clearly fictional and takes place in the 60s, it seems that Ad Age has taken some issue with how it was represented as a publication.

Rance Crain has posted a spiel about what the show failed to get right (in Ad Age's eyes), and how it really was back then:

What's wrong with this picture? No. 1, we never did interviews over lunch; No. 2, we didn't take notes in shorthand; No. 3 we didn't ask cute-ass questions; and No. 4, our pictures were never bigger than our stories.

So what was it really like being a reporter for Ad Age in 1964?

I was a member of the Ad Age editorial staff in Washington, New York and Chicago in the '60s and, heaven help us, we would knock down walls to be the first to report a big account change, major product introduction or agency startup...

It continues for about ten more paragraphs. The article is met with numerous comments from readers, including some sarcastic ones. For example, one person says, "This is saying a story-telling medium (television) about a story-telling medium (advertising) might not be 'authentically' accurate. I am shocked. SHOCKED!"

While most viewers probably don't look to Mad Men for historical facts, it's understandable that Ad Age would want to make sure it is defending its reputation, particularly given the industry that the publication resides in. The critically acclaimed show does get a great deal of media attention.

Interestingly, Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter says the show is "hardly a hit on Madison Avenue".

"Despite all the attention and the show's affluent viewership, 'Mad Men' has averaged far fewer viewers than other summer cable dramas like USA's 'Burn Notice,' and ad rates also are lower," he writes. "An average 30-second spot on first-run episodes of 'Mad Men' fetches about $20,000-$25,000, according to a recent trade media report -- not much, but it is a multiple of AMC's primetime movies." source: webpronews.com

Google Acquires Metaweb For Smarter Search Results

Two days ago, Marissa Mayer published an article in which she mentioned the wide range of meanings a simple search term like "jaguar" can have.  Now, Google's taken a big step towards improving its grasp of language, with the company announcing this afternoon that it's acquired Metaweb.

Let's address two points right now.  First, Google did not disclose the purchase price.  Second, we have no idea why news of this acquisition was sandwiched between Apple's iPhone 4 press conference and the start of the weekend, when it seems unlikely to get a lot of coverage.

Otherwise, Jack Menzel, a director of product management at Google, explained on the Official Google Blog that Metaweb is "a company that maintains an open database of things in the world."  He then added, "Working together we want to improve search and make the web richer and more meaningful for everyone."

Need an example?  Menzel continued, "Type [Barack obama birthday] in the search box and see the answer right at the top of the page.  Or search for [events in San Jose] and see a list of specific events and dates. . . .  But what about [colleges on the west coast with tuition under $30,000] or [actors over 40 who have won at least one oscar]?  These are hard questions, and we've acquired Metaweb because we believe working together we'll be able to provide better answers."

Indeed, Metaweb's Freebase, which is a "database of over 12 million things, including movies, books, TV shows, celebrities, locations, companies and more" should come in quite handy there.  And interestingly, Google intends to keep Freebase free and open (as it is now) so that other companies can use it.

Google Keyword Targeting Tool Launches Globally

Google said today it is launching its broad match modifier tool for AdWords globally after a successful beta test in the UK and Canada.

"The broad match modifier is a new AdWords targeting feature that lets you create keywords which have greater reach than phrase match and more control than broad match," writes Dan Friedman, on the Inside AdWords blog.

"Adding modified broad match keywords to your campaign can help you get more clicks and conversions at an attractive ROI, especially if you mainly use exact and phrase match keywords today."

Friedman says if you mainly use broad match keywords, that changing your current broad match keywords to modified broad match will probably lead to a hefty decline in click and conversion volumes and will not improve quality score.

To remedy this Friedman writes "To maintain volume, keep existing broad match keywords active, add new modified broad match keywords, and adjust bids to achieve your target ROI based on the results you see."

YouTube Hosting Q&A With Katy Perry

YouTube said today it is hosting an event that will allow fans of singer-songwriter Katy Perry, to ask the artists questions.

The YouTube Blog offers more details. "You have until midnight PT on July 18 to submit a video or text question to Katy's channel (www.youtube.com/katyperry). Everyone will be able to vote on the questions until July 18, and Katy will answer the most popular in an exclusive Q&A as conducted by YouTube's own Lisa Nova."



"We'll put the interview on the homepage shortly after it's edited and uploaded to YouTube."

Massive YouTube Film Experiment Announced

A project that should entirely live up to the billing "historic cinematic experiment" has begun. Ridley Scott, Kevin Macdonald, YouTube, and LG have asked people all over the world to record (part of) their lives on July 24th, and then much of the footage will be used to create a single film that'll premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

This undertaking has been labeled "Life in a Day." It's meant to act as a sort of time capsule, showing what the earth was like at a specific point. The only restrictions involve not including trademarks or copyrighted content (music, TV clips, etc.), and would-be participants must also upload their footage before July 31st.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMxuocCN1O0&feature=player_embedded

As for the men behind the project, Kevin Macdonald, who directed The Last King of Scotland, will be responsible for actually editing the footage together, and Ridley Scott, who's perhaps best known for his work on Gladiator, Blade Runner, and Thelma & Louise, is acting as executive producer.

The final product could be quite remarkable. Scott, Macdonald, YouTube, and LG have created a strong incentive for people to participate - 20 contributors will get taken to the premiere, and everyone whose footage is used will be credited as a co-director - so there should be no shortage of material.

More information is available here if any of this sounds interesting to you. Good luck to all involved.

Yahoo Gives Search Suggestions in Near Real-Time

Yahoo has enhanced its Yahoo Search Assist tool (the search suggestions that come up when you start typing a query), to provide what Yahoo calls "near real-time" suggestions as you type.

"You probably already use Yahoo! Search Assist to conduct your searches quickly, but now you can get even fresher suggestions, which will be especially useful when there are recent top news or events related to your search topic," says Yahoo Search Senior Product Manager Linda Wang. "With the new suggestion algorithm we've launched, you will see near real-time suggestions to help you easily find the freshest content."

"For example, I was wondering which team the Netherlands would be matched with in the World Cup today, so I typed 'Netherlands vs.', and the first suggestion is for today's game," explains Wang. "Clicking on the first suggestion, I was able to see game information right in the search result page."

The near real-time suggestions are available for Yahoo News search in addition to Yahoo Search.

Google’s Sergey Brin Writes About His Relief Mission Visit To Haiti

Google co-founder Sergey Brin is back from a relief mission to Haiti and has written his impressions of the situation there. He writes about the relief effort (and even shares some suggestions for things that could be done differently) and the scene in Port-au-Prince, but says the people of Haiti are “the real heroes.”

Despite tremendous challenge and suffering, they still show an incredible strength of spirit and resilience to the harshest of conditions. Seeing the people firsthand left me with a vastly different impression than I had going in based on news reports. Instead of roving gangs of violent criminals, I found people caring for the wounded and providing critical supplies to those most in need. Instead of people weeping of despair, I saw people busy rebuilding their lives in the most challenging of environments.

Brin also posted some photos from his trip, one of which is included below.

Motorola Slates 20-30 Android Phones For 2010 Releases

People who like to try new cell phones on a regular basis should brace themselves; this year, Motorola's going to do its best to make it rain Android devices. In an interview today, one exec committed to releasing something like two dozen smartphones based on the mobile operating system.

Spiros Nikolakopoulos, Vice President of Mobile Devices in charge of Asian and international retail distribution, told Damian Koh, "There will be between 20 and 30 smartphones globally and, at this moment, all of them will run Android."

Of course, that doesn't mean that every single one will be on display in malls around the U.S. Nikolakopoulos continued, "[N]ot all will be available everywhere as it depends on the company's partnership with the various telco operators in each country." So we may wind up with some near-identical phones that are just for sale in different regions.

Still, it sounds like Motorola's going to put out about all the Android phones it can. And since the company's been interested in Android since at least September of 2008, it's a good sign for both the manufacturer and Google that the relationship remains so strong.

Look for Android's market share to increase quite a bit over the next 12 months as a result.
source: http://www.webpronews.com

Apple and Microsoft: A Possible Alliance to Counter Google

A BusinessWeek report recent published suggests that the Nexus One release marks the latest volley in an escalating war between Google and Apple. This war could force Apple to form an allegiance with Microsoft in order to counter Google.

With Nexus One, Google, which had been content to power multiple phonemakers’ devices with Android, enters the hardware game, becoming a direct threat to the iPhone. With its Quattro purchase, Apple aims to create completely new kinds of mobile ads, say three sources familiar with Apple’s thinking.

Some analysts believe the Apple-Google battle is likely to get much rougher in the months ahead. Some say that Apple may soon decide to dump Google as the default search engine on its devices. The main reasons behind this could be to cut Google off from mobile data that could be used to improve its advertising and Android technology.

On the other front, allegiance with Microsoft can be a possible option that Apple would explore. Adopting Bing as a default search engine for upcoming Apple Products can change the whole scenario. Previously also there had been attempts to form a similar allegiance. We are trying to digg a little deep into history to list out the efforts from both the sides( Apple and MS ) to join hands against a common threat ( read Google)

They’ve Tried it Before: Kara Swisher of All Things Digital, says that there is a longstanding precedent for the move: “It’s a sweet little irony, since Microsoft and Apple have been frenemies over the years…Microsoft already has some apps for the iPhone, such as for its Seadragon photo app, a Tag Reader app and various manual apps.” Indeed, reconciliation attempts gone back to at least 1997, when newly-restored Apple CEO Steve Jobs famously stunned the attendees at the MacWorld conference by announcing a cross-licensing partnership with Microsoft.”

Sort Of, Since Google is A Shared Threat: Chad Berndston is one of several bloggers interpreting the words of Michael Gartenberg a tech analyst and former Microsoft pitchman. Gartenberg claims the Bing app is a sign that Microsoft and Apple recognize a far bigger foe than each other, and Berndston offers a tempered endorsement of this view: “The Bing app is available for free — it already exists for BlackBerry and Windows Mobile phones — and will go head to head with the Google Mobile App, which is Google’s established iPhone landing spot. While it would be naive to think a Bing app for iPhone signals something greater in the thawing of Apple-Microsoft relations, rest assured this won’t be the last time the two titans find common ground against a common enemy: Google.”

No, Remember Those Scathing Mac Ads?: At the Inquirer, Nick Farrell sincerely doubts Gartenberg’s implication that a “partnership between Apple and Vole is a wise move at curtailing the Google empire,” especially since Apple has invested so much money and time promoting itself as the anti-Microsoft: “While it is true that Apple is starting to dislike Google, the company’s image is built on attacking Microsoft. Apple fanboys have already had to deal with Steve Jobs deciding that Intel is really nice after all, but cuddling up to the Vole might be an alliance too far. However chances are that they will still do just what they are told, bless ‘em.”

On and Off At Best: Digital Trends blogger Dena Cassella explains why the Bing App doesn’t indicate anything more than a begrudging, temporary cease-fire: “Do we smell cooperation? Almost. It actually smells more like toleration…It almost looks like one of the signs of the Apocalypse, but surprisingly it’s not and surprisingly the app seems pretty useful—and it’s not from Google, so we can understand the appeal.”

More Like Microsoft Conceding to Apple in Mobile Wars: Some bloggers ran with the idea that the Bing iPhone App was Microsoft’s way of saying they recognized how dominant Apple was when it came to mobile applications. As Dan Frommer attests at the Business Insider: “Microsoft is smart to realize that Apple has created a mobile app platform that people actually use. And as the world’s leading software company, Microsoft must now make apps for it — even if it looks bad because the iPhone is eating Windows Mobile’s lunch. So, nice job!” TechCrunch’s MG Siegler concurs: “From Bing’s perspective it makes sense. They’re trying to grow the service, and search on mobile is red hot, as is the iPhone, obviously. But perhaps more interesting is just how much Bing is promoting the App Store within its own search engine.”

source: http://technology.globalthoughtz.com

How to Extract and Export Links from a Page to Excel

SEOquake, an SEO addon for FireFox (which will soon be also available for Google Chrome), has one great feature that I enjoy immensely: it allows to extract all links from the page (internal and external ones), retrieve some useful information one each of them and export all this data to Excel.

This useful option enables you to:

(!) Research who your competitor links to (remember to keep your competitors friends close);
(!) Research any web page “neighborhood” by estimating the power and authority of the pages it links to);
(!) Find the most powerful pages you link to, etc.

Let’s see how this works

1. With SEOquake toolbar (or “SEObar”) enabled browse to any page and click “Ext. links tab”:

(Notice the number in brackets – it represents the number of “nofollowed” links on the page))

2. You should see the list of all external links: click on question marks to retrieve stats for each linked page:

The stats you are able to retrieve for any linked page include:

• Google PR;
• # of results for SITE: search for the linked domain;
• # of links to the page (via Yahoo! SiteExplorer);
• Domain age (via Web Archive);
• Delicious bookmarks of the URL; etc

Note: there’s also a button above the table called “Request parameters” that will retrieve ALL stats for the whole table.

3. Once you are done collecting the data you need, hit “Save file” and export the whole table together with the retrieved data.

Note: you can use “Append to file” button to save the data to an existing file. This is a useful option, if you are collecting this data for the whole site by going from page and page and performing steps 1 to 3 again and again.

4. Now what?
Play with Excel sorting, filtering and other data managing options to your heart’s content to analyze the site linking behavior.

source: http://www.searchenginejournal.com

Link Building Strategies: Time to ACT

Everything in life that is worth anything takes a lot of effort and action. When I was in High School my Dad bought me an old 66’ Ford Mustang that was really beat up. For three years I worked on that old car and made it look like a million bucks. Because I worked hard and took action the car was amazing and it meant a lot to me, a lot more that if my Dad would have just bought me a new car.

The point is you have to ACT to receive what it is you want. Link Building is no different. If you want links (which you should) then you have to take some specific actions to get links. If you think they are just going to come because you have a cool website, then I am afraid you will be very disappointed.

Link Building in regards to Search Engine Optimization is not going away anytime soon, and for this very reason if you don’t have a strategy it will be very hard for you to rank for the keywords/phrases that you so desire.

Below you will find some specific actions you must take to build up your link juice. These items are not the only steps you need to take (there are hundreds – even thousands) but they will tell you what actions you need to take today to start your Link Building campaign. A.C.T. stands for Ask, Content, and Timing. You must A.C.T. to build links effectively.

A – ASK

I truly believe that you get what you are looking for. In my life I have found that to get what I want, I simply have to ask. You might think that is crazy but really it is a simple truth. To take action today to start getting links, you have to become a person that is not afraid to ask.

Here are a couple steps and tips that you don’t want to forget when asking others for links.

You must remember to be nice and willing to give back. An article I read by Kandi Humpf called “Linking is Like Love, You Have to Give Some to Get Some” is a perfect example of this. You need to build a relationship before you ask. For example, you probably wouldn’t ask someone to marry you on the first date and if you did you would more than likely be rejected. The same applies to link building. You need to take time to build a relationship with the person you are trying to get a link from. Yes, it might take a bit longer and is a bit more work, but in the end you will be more successful and you will start building equity.

Secondly you need to remember that you are going to be turned down. Hopefully by now you have realized that life isn’t all roses. You are going to get some people who tell you “No” but that is just part of the game. So if some tell you “No” then remember that a “Yes” is coming soon.

Last, you have to know how to ask. Don’t come right out and ask for the link exchange, instead, introduce yourself and your website. I receive a lot of link exchange requests and the ones that I end up doing are the ones that asked me the right way. What is the right way? There isn’t really a perfect answer to this question but here are some ideas.

First, you need to make sure that the site that you are asking to be linked from is somewhat related to your site. Why on earth would a dog trainer want to link to your fitness website?

You need to be different! If you send an email out that a thousand other webmasters sent out, more than likely your email will be deleted just as fast the others. But if you are unique and stand out, your success rate will be much higher.

Make sure your website is somewhat established. It will be hard to get someone to link to an ‘Under Construction’ or halfway finished website.

Lastly, make sure that you follow up. Some people will still say “No” but I look for the people that are serious and willing to take time to contact me again.

So it all comes down to taking action and asking. If you don’t do this, then you will be sure to fail in your link building efforts.

C – CONTENT

I firmly believe that to be successful online and especially in link building you have to create valuable content consistently. It is often argued whether content is King or links are King. To me they are equally important. It is hard to get individuals to link to your website or blog if you do not have great content on a consistent basis. I noticed over the years that the websites that rank well usually have a lot of relevant valuable content. This is not always the case but more often than not, the sites that get the most links and stay high in the rankings are the ones that provide reliable valuable content.

Creating your own content and submitting it to article directories, social networks, video submission sites, and other user generated websites has been a way that I have found that works best for me. Even if the sites nofollow your link, a link is a link is a link. Here are some of the top sites I suggest you submit your content with links:

• Hubpages.com
• Twitter.com
• Stumbleupon.com
• Squidoo.com
• Weebly.com
• Ezinearticles.com
• Scribd.com
• Zimbio.com
• Gather.com
• Facebook.com
• Youtube.com

Now, this is just a short, top list that you should at least be submitting your content for links. Keep in mind that your content needs to be valuable and the links need to be relevant. Do not spam these sites or you are just doing us all a disfavor. Now of course your content will be submitted differently to each of the sites above but as long as you are submitting amazing content on a regular basis you will find that your sites rank higher and your link building efforts will grow.

Another way to get links that a lot of people miss out on, and what I believe is a gold mine is your own existing content. Look back through all the past content you already have in blogs, web pages, guest posts, press releases, etc. There is possibly a lot of areas that you can add links. For example, if you have a related article on your blog and you have a website or web page that you need a link, then go back to that blog post and add the link.

T – TIME

You’ve heard the phrase “Timing is everything” haven’t you? Well with link building, timing isn’t everything but it sure plays a big role.

As I have mentioned above, if you are asking for links you need to make sure your timing is right. For example, if your website is not completed, it is not the right time to ask for a link. If your blog has one blog post, it might not be the right time to ask another blogger with hundreds of blog posts for a link.

As another aspect of TIME, you need to plan and build a process that works for you. If you have read any of my content you know that I am all about building processes and being consistent which has everything to do with TIME.

Of course there are many more options and strategies to link building but for me and my clients it is all about how we ACT. Remember to ask, create valuable content, and make sure the timing is right.

Here are some other great link building articles to help you in your efforts:

Link Building Tools To Use For Inspiration

The Psychology of a Linkbait

Six Explosive Organic & Paid Link Building Tips

source: http://www.searchenginejournal.com

Web 2.0 Suicide Machine gets banned by Facebook

Have you ever thought of deleting your Twitter and Facebook accounts? Well, it did occur to me once in a while, when I was too fed up with spams and nonsense in the network. With time, I have learnt to get way with such thoughts by being more patience and optimistic.

But many people may not be able to handle the frustration, hence committing, what is known as, a Web 2.0 Suicide. Yes, delete your all pictures and pages from your Facebook account, or delete all your friends and completely disappear from social web 2.0.

The application, sucidemachine, is a one click application which allows you to remove all your social profiles Twitter, facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn with just a click. This is how they are preaching their service:

“Tired of your Social Network? Liberate

your newbie friends with a Web2.0 suicide! This machine lets you delete all your energy-su

cking social-networking profiles, kill your fake virtual friends, and completely do away with your Web2.0 alter ego. The machine is just a metaphor for the Website which moddr_ is hosting; the belly of the beast where the web2.0 suicide scripts are maintained. Our service currently runs with Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and LinkedIn! Commit NOW!”

You can clearly feel the negative vibe in the statement. Apparently, it seems that many people have used the application to get rid of their social profiles. As a result, Fa

cebook have taken a defensive stance by blocking the application from accessing Facebook.

The web site have currently posted the message below :

“After more than 50,000 friends being unfriended and more than 500 forever “signed-out” users, Facebook started to block our suicide machine from their servers without any comment! We are currently looking in ways to circumvent this ungrounded restriction imposed on our service!”

Facebook have claimed that suicidemachine violates some of their Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. Facebook had recently announced their 350 million user and I am pretty sure they would not want those numbers to fall.

Mass suicide is a very controversial issue not only in this case but in reality too. To die is one’s right, but its against society and is considered a crime. Society is a conscious being which prevents any form of mass killing because such activities threaten the existence of society. In a similar way, the application above may not violate any rules or regulations, but is a potential threat to the growth of online social networks. Hence, Facebook’s action to block the application is very justifiable.

On the other hand, we have third party application’s right which conditions which stand strong. Its a simple service that simply allows you to deleter everything, what wrong is there? Currently, both that parties are in talk and Facebook is investigating the application. Till then we can only speculated. Let us know how you feel about the service.

source: http://socialmedia.globalthoughtz.com

Yahoo Shopping Partnership With PriceGrabber Arranged

Starting in mid-March, Yahoo Shopping will no longer be a solo act. Yahoo announced today that it's arranged to have PriceGrabber take care of some of the technical details, and it'll be able to make one more cutback thanks to the adjustment.

A post on the Yahoo Developer Blog explained, "[W]e have decided to enter into a strategic partnership with PriceGrabber to power the Product Submit functionality of Yahoo! Shopping as of March 11, 2010. As a result of these changes, Yahoo! will no longer provide the Shopping Web Services API, including Shopping Results (the 'Yahoo! Shopping Syndication Services') to you . . ."

Not all developers are taking the news well, and considering that Yahoo and PriceGrabber haven't offered anything in the way of free alternatives, it's a little hard to blame them. Yahoo might hurt itself with this move, too, since less interest from developers could equate to less attention for Yahoo Shopping.

Still, Yahoo's accounting department surely had a say in this decision, and it's hard to imagine that traffic statistics weren't taken into account. So this may help Yahoo save a significant amount of money while also allowing it to make a new corporate friend.