The Right Tool for the Job

Posted by keirsun on May 09, 2008 at 09:10 AM

Welcome to Friday and the next episode of StraightUpSearch the Podcast! Tim's guests this week are Drew and Leah, who are here to discuss the economic benefits of outsourcing your search engine marketing efforts to a preferred vendor.

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Hey Buddy, Got a Dime?

Posted by keirsun on May 02, 2008 at 09:20 AM

Welcome to another episode of StraightUpSearch the Podcast. Amy and Anne join Tim in the studio this week to look at how much cash the employees at each search engine have contributed to the three remaining presidential candidates.

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Light and Lasting Hold, But Why?

Posted by tim on April 25, 2008 at 08:42 AM

It's Friday, and that means it's time for another episode of StraightUpSearch the Podcast. This week Tim brings Maureen and Mike into the studio for a talk about Maureen's post, Google Hairspray is Patently Puzzling.

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StraightUpSearch the Podcast - Three's A Crowd

Posted by keirsun on April 18, 2008 at 10:36 AM

Hello Friday! And say hello to another episode of StraightUpSearch the podcast. This week Amy and Vern entertain Tim and our listeners with insights into Amy's recent blog post, Yahoo Tests Google Search Ads: A Search Rivalry.

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Kluster Kasting

Posted by tim on April 11, 2008 at 09:12 AM

It's Friday morning and that means it's time for another serving of the StraightUpSearch podcast.

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Stuck in Mobile with the Google Blues Again

Posted by keirsun on April 04, 2008 at 08:26 AM

It's Friday and that can only mean one thing: time for a new episode of StraightUpSearch the Podcast. This week, Chip's monthly mobile marketing update claims the honor of most popular blog post.

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With Kluster, Social Media Marketing Pays Big

Posted by carly on March 31, 2008 at 09:46 AM

The buzz surrounding the corporate monetization of social networking sites is enormous. Today, we take a closer look at Kluster to see how the startup is bringing social networking to the corporate world.

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YouTube - Broadcast Yourself in Higher Quality

Posted by tim on March 28, 2008 at 09:54 AM

We're turning on the YouTube this week to discuss the recent announcement that some YouTube videos can now be viewed in higher quality. Listen to this week's edition of StraightUpSearch the Podcast.

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A Month in Mobile Marketing

Posted by chip on March 27, 2008 at 09:20 AM

It's only been a month since our last mobile marketing update, but as you know new developments on the mobile front seem to happen at break-neck speed sometimes - this past month was no exception. In fact I tend to think that some of the news around the mobile web this month is as exciting as it comes.

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Safari 3.1 - A New Player to the Windows Browser Mix

Posted by steve on March 26, 2008 at 11:21 AM

After making a number of much-needed updates to Safari 3.0 beta, Apple has begun pushing users to install Safari 3.1 for Windows. This push has been welcoming for some, but somewhat of an annoyance for others.

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Let's Make A DoubleClick Deal

Posted by keirsun on March 21, 2008 at 09:01 AM

Tim pulls double duty this week as interviewer and 3rd party voice of reason. The topic of discussion is Keirsun's (our solo guest and yours truly) blog post from last week.

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YouTube Balances Higher Quality Videos with Usability

Posted by keirsun on March 18, 2008 at 11:18 AM

YouTube has announced that some of its videos can now be viewed in higher quality. We examine this new option and why YouTube has lagged behind in offering high quality video viewing.

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Obama, Hillary, McCain & Spitzer Step Aside: It's Time to Discuss Our Online Rights

Posted by maureen on March 17, 2008 at 08:52 AM

People can be and are deeply affected by what is being said about them online. But how far should we go to protect anonymous free speech online, and at what expense to others?

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The Balancing Act

Posted by tim on March 14, 2008 at 08:59 AM

A little Yin for your Yang in this week's StraightUpSearch podcast as Tim sits down with Adam and Geoff to talk about balancing paid search with natural optimization.

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Online Video - Are You Sure People Are Listening?

Posted by on March 13, 2008 at 01:54 PM

When looking for a quick answer online, video content can be a hindrance. We examine how video should complement other existing data already available on your site.

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Hulu.com - See your Favorite Shows Online!

Posted by teal on March 12, 2008 at 08:33 AM

Today media giants Fox and NBC Universal are publicly launching their joint online video venture, Hulu.

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A Mobile Show for the Mobile Web

Posted by tim on March 07, 2008 at 09:52 AM

On this week's podcast, we get together to talk about Chip's post from last week, More Moments on the Mobile Web.

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Yahoo! onePlace - Mobile-Content Management

Posted by on March 05, 2008 at 09:00 AM

Yahoo! announces the upcoming release of a new mobile-content management tool called Yahoo! onePlace. We take a look at how onePlace will affect web search from mobile devices.

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Wal-Mart's Blogging Buyers

Posted by alex on March 04, 2008 at 11:54 AM

Corporate blogging is not a new addition to the online world. Even Wal-Mart, with more than 5,000 stores, 1.2 million workers and annual sales of $400 billion, recently started its Check Out blog. We explore how this blog differs from the traditional blogging repertoire.

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Don't Miss Out on this Offer!

Posted by tim on February 29, 2008 at 09:20 AM

How much would you pay for a podcast? A dime? NO! A nickel? NO WAY! How about nothing? That's right, FREE! Don't wait, listen now to the next episode of StraightUpSearch the Podcast!

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More Moments in the Mobile Web

Posted by chip on February 27, 2008 at 10:35 AM

If you follow the mobile space on any level, you undoubtedly know that there is always plenty happening. So without further ado, here's a few of the more significant events as I see them.

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Our Very Own Grammy Wrap Up

Posted by tim on February 22, 2008 at 09:11 AM

This week on the podcast we're talking with Teal and Scott about Teal's recent post, Who Won/Sang/Wore What? Grammy Fashion, Winners and Other Questions Answered Online.

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StraightUpSearch Podcast Redux

Posted by tim on February 15, 2008 at 09:33 AM

That's right, it's the long-lost, never forgotten, now returned, StraightUpSearch podcast. The new SUS podcast gives us a chance to take a more in depth look at the most popular post of the previous week.

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YouTube - Broadcast Yourself And Broadcast People Treatin' You Bad

Posted by on February 14, 2008 at 04:26 PM

By now, we've all heard about Eric Bush and his brush with the Baltimore police officer. Maybe the slogan should be, YouTube - Broadcast Yourself... And Broadcast People Treatin' You Bad.

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Santa vs. Cupid: A Valentine's Day Social Media Showdown

Posted by amy on February 13, 2008 at 11:40 AM

Forget Cupid. Take some time to see how Santa ruled social media over the holidays with Oneupweb's follow-up report: Social Media Marketing Hits & Misses: How 2007's Hot Holiday Brands & Products Performed Online.

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Google Teams with Twitter to Rock the Presidential Primaries

Posted by duncan on February 06, 2008 at 01:40 PM

Look out Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, and any other television pundit. Google and Twitter have entered the presidential primary conversation in a fun and engaging way.

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UnSuper Size Me - Integrated Social Marketing

Posted by duncan on January 24, 2008 at 08:48 AM

Kellogg and Yahoo are working together to integrate television ads, sponsored paid search ads, and partner banners within search engine results. We take a look at how Kellogg's is using several marketing channels and the new tools of social marketing to gain a set of consumers that become dedicated to a brand.

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High School Reunions Fall Victim to Facebook

Posted by on January 23, 2008 at 09:00 AM

Are online social networks replacing the infamous high school reunion? We examine how social sites can spoil all of the good reunion surprises.

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Google's 2008 Mobile Initiatives

Posted by mike k on January 18, 2008 at 11:40 AM

Google has a number of projects that deal directly with the mobile market. Here is a quick overview of what to look for in 2008.

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Embrace Music via Technology: 2008 New Year's Resolution

Posted by on January 15, 2008 at 01:12 PM

In 2006 I resolved to learn to "Catch Good" (grammar intended). I wanted to reach out my hand and effortlessly catch things. In May, I caught a wadded up dollar bill that had been thrown...to someone else...in the middle of a business meeting. Absolute satisfaction. This year I decided to learn English to metric conversions. I planned to label it "Embrace Metric", but guess what? I don't need to learn English to metric conversions; that information is readily available online (it's also a 2nd grade skill... if Google is to be believed.) So I scrapped the idea and decided instead...

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iPhone Users Call Google in Record Numbers

Posted by keirsun on January 14, 2008 at 10:19 AM

Christmas day traffic to Google from iPhones was greater than from any other mobile device. Learn how Google plans to engage and increase its mobile users.

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Google & Panasonic Partner on YouTube TVs

Posted by keirsun on January 08, 2008 at 10:46 AM

Google and Panasonic announce plans to develop internet-connected HDTV's with one-click access to YouTube and Picasa Web Albums.

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(This Is) NOT Another List of Search Predictions for 2008

Posted by Christopher on January 04, 2008 at 01:47 PM

Already growing tired of lists of search predictions for 2008? Then allow us to present our tongue-in-cheek list of three things that should happen in 2008.

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Get Ready To Get Social in 2008

Posted by amy on December 31, 2007 at 09:41 AM

Attention online retailers! The New Year is only hours away so make the most of what's left of 2007 and get ready for the follow-up to Oneupweb's popular social media marketing study, Secrets of Social Marketing Success: How 2007 Hot Holiday Products Are Being Marketed Online.

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The Queen Celebrates Christmas on YouTube

Posted by on December 27, 2007 at 10:07 AM

50 years ago Britain's Queen Elizabeth II made her first live, televised Christmas message with a grainy, black and white broadcast. Today, at 81 years of age, Britain's most well known Grandmother has joined the social networking generation. This past weekend the Queen announced that her annual Christmas message would be viewable to eyes around the world via YouTube. The Queen's 2007 Christmas message also includes video of that very first Christmas broadcast along with other Royal Family videos. Click Video to Watch Two years ago the Queen's Christmas message was distributed as a podcast, giving viewers the option to...

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Top Ten StraightUp Posts of 2007

Posted by keirsun on December 26, 2007 at 01:37 PM

With Christmas behind us and a new year closing in fast, it's a good time to take a look back at 2007, StraightUpSearch style. Here are our top ten most popular blog posts for 2007.

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Writers Strike Schmiters Strike - It's All Online

Posted by duncan on December 19, 2007 at 09:17 AM

How much do we miss the writers now that we the fans are doing our own fair share of writing? We can laugh on our own. How empowering.

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Top-10 Mobile Updates of 2007

Posted by chip on December 13, 2007 at 04:36 PM

The year is drawing to a close and it's time to reflect on all that has happened during the past 12 months in the world of the mobile web.

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I Am Blogorati (And So Can You!)

Posted by maureen on December 06, 2007 at 01:09 PM

It's important to understand blogging, its elements and its terminology. Oneupweb's Blogging Survival Guide can help you do all of this. And it's free!

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Making Friends with Social Media

Posted by anne on November 20, 2007 at 12:20 PM

Years ago, launching a new website meant a couple of banner ads, print campaigns and broadcast spots. It used to be so simple; paying for eyeballs meant that you got your favorite pen out and your checkbook and wrote a couple of figures. Let's explore why that doesn't work anymore.

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Communities are Social Networks, Too

Posted by erin k on November 16, 2007 at 08:50 AM

Social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Del.ic.ious are rather popular these days. It's no surprise, really. Social networks allow people to find and interact with people who share their interests -- something they may not be able to do as easily offline for a variety of reasons. As the popularity of social networks increases and more crop up, the advertising world is quickly turning its eyes towards these networks, trying to determine the best way to utilize them. Try this: ask a friend or colleague what a social network is. My bet is they'll start rattling off the names of...

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Facebook's Biz Friendly Ad Platform

Posted by keirsun on November 09, 2007 at 11:10 AM

This week Facebook announced a new advertising platform, Facebook Ads, designed to promote advertiser interaction within the Facebook community.

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SEO Tools - Proceed with Caution

Posted by duncan on November 07, 2007 at 09:16 AM

I recently came across the Website Health Check tool created by SEObook.com. Having been around this industry for years I am no stranger to the idea of tools that can help a webmaster or search marketer speed up their work. Most of the tools we use here at Oneupweb were developed by our programmers specifically for our staff to use. I guess you could say we have a proprietary tool set. Our SEO project managers use these tools everyday on behalf of our clients. Our tools allow us to work faster giving our clients more value for the time we...

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RSS: Benefits Beyond the Blog

Posted by on November 06, 2007 at 08:55 AM

It's easy to assume that RSS feeds roam only in the land of the blogs. After all, if you set up a blog, your odds of getting (and keeping) traffic are greatly increased if you offer a feed for reader subscriptions. It helps you compete in that blog vertical and opens up Technorati as well. Still, RSS offers benefits beyond the blog. RSS For Your Article Database If your organization is operating in a niche and is going through the effort of establishing itself as an authority by continuing to author informative articles, you are doing things right. These articles...

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A (Willing) Victim of Target Advertising on Facebook

Posted by maureen on November 02, 2007 at 11:07 AM

A little over a year ago, I was in revolt against Facebook. The social network had just launched a major redesign and added two new products, News Feed and Mini Feed. I felt that both were an invasion of my privacy, and I wasn't alone. Tens of thousands of Facebook users spoke out, and Facebook quickly made changes to the program that we found we could live with. In fact, I had almost forgotten my anger with the social network. That is, until I started seeing articles pop up about Facebook allowing advertisers to target ads based on user profiles....

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Google & Nielsen Have a New Plan for Lab Rats

Posted by on October 29, 2007 at 04:14 PM

Google and the Nielsen Company are teaming up to monitor our every move as we flip through our favorite television programs.

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Facebook Shakes the Money Tree

Posted by on October 25, 2007 at 02:30 PM

Earlier this week news broke about Microsoft's $240 million investment in Facebook, valuing the social-networking up-and-comer at around $15 billion.

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The Power of Social Networking

Posted by maureen on October 15, 2007 at 09:33 AM

Real world example of how social networking via Facebook can lead to business-friendly sharing of information.

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YouTube Videos Start Making (Ad)Sense

Posted by keirsun on October 09, 2007 at 09:56 AM

Are you one of the few who has managed to avoid wasted hours of tube-surfing on Google's popular video sharing site, more commonly known as YouTube? If so, you likely won't be video-free for much longer. Last night, Google introduced video units. Essentially, video units allow Google AdSense publishers to display video content from YouTube on their website(s). So if you want something a little more eye-catching than those old AdSense text ads, Google is giving you, the site owner, "a new way to enrich your site with quality, relevant video content." In addition, Google says: You can choose categories...

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Widgets Brew

Posted by amy on October 04, 2007 at 02:12 PM

For three years of law school, the word “widget” had an entirely different and often unpleasant meaning for me. An utterance of the word triggered a frenzy of sales transaction theories, the monstrous Uniform Commercial Code, and a haunting image of my contracts professor who was a dead ringer for Colonel Sanders. So, when Newsweek referred to 2007 as the Year of the Widget just days before the New Year, I was less than ecstatic. Despite my lack of enthusiasm, widgets had an online audience of 87.1 million people in the US by June. I’ve begun to adjust to the...

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The Mobile Web & SUS Milestones

Posted by chip on September 20, 2007 at 10:28 AM

Well first of all I would like to mention that this is the 500th post for Straight Up Search! It should go without saying, but I am truly honored to not only be able to contribute to this blog on an ongoing basis, but on such a momentous day to boot. Whether you've been reading our blog for a week, or you've been loyal through all 500 posts, we're very glad to have you. Well that's about enough reminiscing, let's continue moving forward. And what better way to move a search engine marketing blog forward than by discussing new...

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Watered-Down AdSense for Mobile

Posted by on September 18, 2007 at 01:30 PM

Google AdSense for mobile officially rolled out this week. As a not-evil mega-corporation, Google has opted current AdWords advertisers into the mobile network for the next two months, free of charge. That’s very nice of Google, I’d say. It would be nicer, however, if AdSense for mobile weren’t a waste of time. The way I see it, there are four very basic components necessary to find success on the mobile web: A potential customer - there are lots of those A potential customer who uses his cell phone to access the internet - less of those A mobile-enabled website for...

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When Not to Blog

Posted by on September 17, 2007 at 04:36 PM

By now, you've surely heard the call to arms about blogging: It puts a voice to your company! It lets you create a dialog with consumers! It lets you participate in discussions that are important to your industry! Yes. All of those things are true. And all of those things offer a considerable amount of opportunity. Emerging companies can reach out more easily. Established companies can continue to reinforce their position of trust in the industry. The flipside to all of this opportunity, however, is that it comes with a certain degree of responsibility. And sometimes, knowing when not to...

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Corporate Communications 2.0: In Praise of Listening

Posted by Christopher on September 12, 2007 at 10:50 AM

Is the new social landscape the great leveler? This presents a crucial time to insert your corporation in the conversation, not simply as a dissenter but as an entity who cares for its consumers.

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Apple Announces 125,000 Podcasts & iTunes Goes Wi-Fi

Posted by keirsun on September 06, 2007 at 10:20 AM

In addition to Steve Jobs's numerous announcements yesterday relating to all things iPhone and iPod, the Apple CEO also dropped a couple numbers on the San Francisco crowd. 125,000 - The number of podcasts now available through iTunes. 25,000+ - The number of video podcasts available through iTunes. "This is amazing material," said Jobs during his announcement. That it is. Podcast content creators have the freedom to express their creativity while flexing their marketing muscles. And businesses have the opportunity to showcase their products and services in a unique environment to a targeted audience. (Learn more about the business benefits...

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Free gPhones for Everybody!

Posted by tim on August 03, 2007 at 08:58 AM

The kids in Mountain View (i.e.; Google) just never slow down. As if Google Base, Google Maps, Earth, Apps, Gmail, AdWords, AdSense, Blogger, YouTube, and on, and on, aren't enough, they want in on wireless too. The FCC is looking to open bidding on the 700 MHz spectrum in 2008. I'll let Wired handle the explanation of it all, but Google made some progress on a few of their wish list items. Now there are rumors that they are prototyping a device of their own. These rumors have been out for quite a while truth be told, Google working on...

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The Answer To US Mobile Broadband Adoption: Google / 700 MHz

Posted by adam on July 25, 2007 at 01:37 PM

It’s possible that the future of the 700 MHz spectrum could be developed by Google. Google’s interest in the new “real estate” comes for obvious reasons, but I believe it’s important that a non-wireless carrier has a significant influence in the development of a more consumer focused wireless broadband network. Many marketers, including myself, want to be excited about mobile marketing whether it’s through SEM, local verticals or any of the other possibilities. But let’s face it, currently the average American consumer doesn’t value mobile internet and has never made a purchase via their mobile phone. The US is behind...

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Six Degrees of Social Networking

Posted by Christopher on July 23, 2007 at 03:53 PM

My apologies for the title, but a jillion kudos this month go to Kevin Bacon. Not for Footloose (although if one thing scrapes the dirty crust off my cold black heart it's watching Chris Penn learn to dance), not for rockin' with the Bacon Brothers (no comment), not for rockin' underwear ads with absolutely no discernable sense of shame, but for taking advantage of the genius game of Six Degrees and using the underlying small-world metaphor to raise money for worthy causes via social networking. Check out SixDegrees.org. The concept is simple: you create a badge linked to any one...

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Semantic Web Awaits Its Papillon

Posted by on July 19, 2007 at 10:44 AM

Steve McQueen’s character Papillon never accepted the status quo. He chaffed against his fate, and spent his days thinking up innovative ways to escape the confines and constraints of Devil’s Island. Henry Petroski’s The Book on the Bookshelf, outlines the evolution of “the book”. From primitive codicil to jewel-encrusted work of art, and finally to the sleek, attractive tools they are today. The author predicted that the computer would go through a similar evolution (which we have seen as the clunky, cord-entangled beasts they once were have given way to sleek, attractive works of art.) Both Papillon and Petroski illustrate...

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Social Media Marketing - It's An Art Form

Posted by on July 13, 2007 at 09:30 AM

First of all, no one in the art community would call the advanced promotion strategies that they employ "social media marketing". Only some label-loving online marketer would say that. From the horse's mouth: "It's not marketing. We just DO it. We don't need to call it anything. It's just natural to us." About six months ago, I was talking to my artist sister Alexis on the phone and she said, "SARAH. Join Virb now - I just sent you an invite." "What's Verb?" I asked (unwittingly spelling it wrong in my mind). "I don't know how to explain it, but...

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Mobile Web - What's Going On?

Posted by chip on July 10, 2007 at 11:36 AM

Well it's been a few months since my last mobile update. I'm sure that has left everyone asking "What's going on". If you've been following the development of the mobile web at all, you know there has been plenty - here are some of the highlights. Mobile Podcasting - Samsung and Nokia team up in a partnership with VoiceIndigo to offer podcasts for mobile phones. Samsung mobile phones will come loaded with VoiceIndigo software allowing users to manage their podcast and music files through a handy web interface. In addition to being convenient and easy to use, this will allow...

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Getting Wet in Google's Socialstream

Posted by keirsun on July 09, 2007 at 10:27 AM

I may be putting the cart before the rented mule with this post about Google's social networking plans/projects, but similar to others out there, I believe it's never too early for useful information. According to Carnegie Mellon University's Human-Computer Interaction Institute's website, a Google sponsored project to "rethink and reinvent online social networking" has been completed. The result of the Master's program project is Socialstream -- "a system where users can seamlessly share, view, and respond to many types of social content across multiple networks." Just as Google itself is, in a sense, an aggregator for information on the web,...

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The Facebook Marketplace is Now Open

Posted by on June 28, 2007 at 10:04 AM

Photo slideshows. Music sharing. Horoscopes. Friend quizzes. It seems you can find a widget for everything these days, especially if you're a member of the second largest social network online. Last month Facebook opened its doors to application developers. Since then more than 1100 mini-applications and widgets have been created for the Facebook community. As the online answer to yearbooks, Facebook was formed in 2004 by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg. Last year Facebook was rumored to have a price tag of over $2 billion. Not bad for a college student. Why couldn't I think of that? While initially only available...

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Google Fuels the RSS Fire

Posted by keirsun on June 06, 2007 at 12:54 PM

Google has bought FeedBurner. This means that the big G needs a better tool for reading RSS feeds. Did I say read? I meant to say index and monetize RSS feeds. Increasing amounts of the world's information lie within RSS scripted (and other) XML feeds. Sure, Google still wants to index your website - that's like taking a picture of your house and writing down your address to remember where you live. The RSS feed is your mailbox and the flag is always up. Now Google, recognizing the value of this easily accessible information, wants to be your mail carrier....

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YouTube Bans, Universal Search, and The DoD

Posted by on June 01, 2007 at 09:56 AM

YouTube has gotten a lot of press lately, mainly from copyright lawsuits at home and YouTube bans around the world. While some of these YouTube bans have been temporary, other YouTube bans, like the ones in Iran and The United Arab Emirates, look like they will be there for a while. Most YouTube bans in other countries seem to revolve around videos that mock or convey a negative image of that nation's current leaders or other well-known national figures. As communications technologies, combined with the recent surge of social sites, have made the world a smaller place, these YouTube bans...

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Local Search Goes Mobile – Pizza & Beyond

Posted by chip on May 24, 2007 at 03:54 PM

Lately I find myself thinking about local search more and more. And it's no wonder with all the recent local and mobile applications that have been hitting the scene, combined with the dramatic growth in mobile advertising (both in terms of opportunities as well as in shear dollars spent). It's clear that this burgeoning market space is not only here to stay, but it is here to grow. If you've been watching the local search space evolve, you've undoubtedly seen many exciting developments including local search engines from all the major players as well as several community built local guides,...

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One For The Money

Posted by tim on May 02, 2007 at 08:40 AM

Because I can, I'm going to use a brief few lines here at StraightUpSearch for shameless self-promotion. We recently completed production on the first episode of a new podcast series called One For The Money. We take a light-hearted radio drama approach (a nod to radio serials back in the very early days - oldest school if you will) to highlighting some of the struggles companies face when trying to market online. Over the next several weeks, we'll be tackling a lot of the very real issues that come up every day for business everywhere. Have a listen and I...

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Peripheral Digging

Posted by on April 30, 2007 at 04:44 PM

It happens to every site or blogger sooner or later: you are aiming for one audience and, surprisingly, you land another less-expected peripheral audience. Naturally, this audience is always welcome, especially if it helps your conversion rates and impacts your bottom line. When crafting content that can easily be submitted to Digg or other social networks that categorize submissions, never underestimate the importance of peripheral audiences. It's pretty well known that Digg is a social network with a significant constituency of the technically inclined. If you are crafting an article on a subject such as improving your usability for online...

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Technology on the Run

Posted by on April 20, 2007 at 03:51 PM

As I sat down at my computer on Monday night to check out the results of the 111th Boston Marathon I started thinking about the incredible changes that technology has brought to the sport of running, and racing in particular. I started running in the early 1970's during the hey-day of the running boom. Frank Shorter, winner of the 1972 Olympic Marathon and Bill Rogers, four time winner of the Boston Marathon, were known as Frank and Bill around our house. My running log featured the legs of Jim Fixx, author of The Complete Book of Running, on the cover....

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Stop… Mobile Time!

Posted by chip on April 19, 2007 at 03:39 PM

Well it's that time again - time to take a look at all that's been happening in the world of the mobile web. And there has been plenty, so let's just get right into it. NBC to Stream Hit Shows: NBC has struck a deal with MobiTV to begin streaming some of their most popular shows (The Office, Heroes, and ER) to cell phone networks. For $1.99 a user gains access to the streaming television show for 24 hours before it is made unavailable again. While I am not too sure if this service has a competitive edge over iTunes,...

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MySpace, Facebook - Putting a "Face" on Tragedy

Posted by carly on April 18, 2007 at 08:48 AM

Let's be honest first and foremost, it's hard to talk about anything or even write anything that attempts to find the "good" in the aftermath of a tragedy. There is no good in the act that ripped through Virginia Tech's campus on Monday morning. It was shocking, horrific and numbing. We all watched our desktops and televisions closely as the horror unfolded. It's a new date for the history books, one that will change the way we think of 04.16.2007 forever. I drove home last night listening to NPR, still trying to put all of the pieces together. Then it...

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Social Media Optimization: Can You Digg It?

Posted by steve on April 17, 2007 at 10:51 AM

I'm going to write something and I want you to say the first thing that comes to your head. Here we go: Social Media Optimization Was your word "communities"? How about "linkability"? Or maybe it was "Digg"? It's that last one that I want to talk about for a minute. Over the past several months, there's been an increasing amount of content, ideas and suggestions relating to social media optimization (SMO), and to be honest, I can't think of one article I've read on the subject in which Digg wasn't mentioned. And for good reason - Digg is one of...

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The Onion Peels into iTunes

Posted by on April 05, 2007 at 08:12 AM

n Tuesday, March 27th venerable spoof-news site, The Onion, dipped its satiric brand into online broadcasting with the launch of The Onion News Network, a series of short video news podcasts. First segments on the site consisted of three, irreverent and very funny “news” clips that could have been gleaned directly from the publication’s falsified front pages. In less than a week, the site had skyrocketed to iTunes’ number one most downloaded podcast position.

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Can You Hear Me Podcasting Now?

Posted by keirsun on April 04, 2007 at 10:26 AM

A partnership between Samsung and VoiceIndigo, a mobile marketing service based in San Francisco, is bringing podcasts to mobile phones. According to a recent press release, Samsung mobile phones are already being shipped with VoiceIndigo's mobile podcast application pre-loaded. The mobile application provides pre-loaded podcast channels that the mobile user can browse for available episodes. Of course, you can also choose which podcasts you want to automatically download to your phone. Here's an overview of how VoiceIndigo's application works. According to the press release: VoiceIndigo is the first advertising-supported Podcasting service to ship bundled on a phone from a major...

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NBC Introduces MeTube

Posted by on April 02, 2007 at 10:30 AM

A little more than a week ago, AOL, MSN, and Yahoo announced they would distribute video content for a joint venture involving NBC Universal and News Corp. Beginning this summer, this new network will feature movies and full-length programming. Of course, it will be ad-supported, copy protected, and seemingly, no more than an alternative to regular television programming. While the higher-ups in all of these organizations are reluctant to say this is in response to YouTube, it is clear that if YouTube weren't so wildly popular, this venture would likely not take place, or at least not on this scale....

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Does Online Success Justify MLB/DirecTV Deal?

Posted by on March 26, 2007 at 01:13 PM

The crack of the bat, the smell of the grass, the sound of another congressional hearing. It's spring, and that means it's time for Major League Baseball to find its way into the Senate chambers again. On Tuesday, Major League Baseball COO Bob DuPuy is scheduled to appear before a congressional committee to defend his organization's right to enter into an exclusive partnership with DirecTV. This year Major League Baseball entered into an agreement with DirecTV to be its sole provider of televised nationwide coverage. DirecTV, however, is unavailable to approximately 20 percent of the country, due to restrictions on...

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Are Video Podcasters Ready for Apple TV?

Posted by keirsun on March 22, 2007 at 11:19 AM

It's officially spring and I can already smell change in the air. Or maybe I'm catching a whiff of the packaging materials being shipped with the now-available Apple TV. Selling for $299.00 and shipping in 1-2 business days, according to the Apple Store, the Apple TV has been labeled a favorite in the race to converge the computer with the television. Other players have already taken to the same field, including Microsoft's Xbox, but the Apple TV has a friendlier price tag and has been hailed as simple to setup and use. Usability is an obvious benefit/selling point for any...

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The Wal-Mart of the Internet

Posted by adam on March 19, 2007 at 04:07 PM

Most every online user knows by now that Google is the most dominant search entity to date. But it seems lately being known as #1 in search isn’t enough. Google has expanded into social networking (YouTube), competing with Microsoft Office (Google Docs & Sheets), not to mention the 35+ other services offered on Google.com. The newest revelation (or rumor depending how you look at it) is the possibility of a Google branded mobile phone code named Switch. This phone is speculated as being part Blackberry but with enhanced internet/search functionality. Its most obvious competition would be the much anticipated iPhone...

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YouTube - Broadcast Your Resume

Posted by anne on March 16, 2007 at 04:24 PM

The video resume, if done right, has the potential to be an impressive snapshot, but only if you can talk impressively about yourself and your professional achievements. Though the practice is still in its early stages, young job hunters are starting to make a video clip part of their job applications.

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Windows Vista - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Posted by jak on March 14, 2007 at 10:09 AM

With its big release last month, it's very likely that we've all heard at least something about Microsoft's Vista operating system. This blog post is going to be about The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Windows Vista.

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Social Networks and Popularity

Posted by drew on March 13, 2007 at 01:43 PM

Remember when social networks were the new thing? Facebook was an infant on the doorstep of every college or university in the country. Myspace was a mere idea in Tom's brain. Ultimately, there is a trend to almost all social web innovations; they become popular. Having a popular site is what the Internet is all about. But with popularity also comes interest from the marketing community. Most recently, we see Yahoo and Google both taking action to get into the social networking market. The social networking sites have changed because of this. Some would say for the better, others would...

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Tools of the Trade: Firebug

Posted by on March 12, 2007 at 03:57 PM

Every so often, I take a moment to look at the tools and processes that I use as a programmer to marvel at the progressions of time. Occasionally, I actually find that one of them has ascended to a level of importance that is rarely achieved. A tool that, maybe weeks before, had felt like a luxury, instead becomes central to the way that I work. I had experienced this turn around several months after installing Linux at my house, or when I first tried out a "natural" keyboard back in high school. Today, I'd like to talk about something...

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Know Your CMO

Posted by on March 08, 2007 at 09:04 AM

Social Media is supposed to be social, riiiiiight? So why aren't online marketers providing real and useful information in an effective manner to those people who will actually be responsible for when, where and how this all-too-important medium is wholeheartedly embraced by business?

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USA Today 2.0

Posted by tim on March 05, 2007 at 10:03 AM

USA Today recently 'relaunched' the online presence of the paper, introducing a host of new social features. This is significant on several fronts, probably key among them is seeing an established, major "mainstream media" (MSM) outlet take advantage of the explosive growth of social networking online. Over the last several months, the social web has become increasingly important as it garners more attention. To see a site with the stature of USA Today embrace this is hugely important. Too many of the old-guard MSM have remained almost defiantly stubborn, trying to bend an online experience to one they control -...

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Mobile Advertising: iPhone's Potential Mark

Posted by adam on February 26, 2007 at 04:39 PM

Over the last several months there's been much push for mobile advertising progression and adoption. Many are optimistic that mobile ad spend will exceed $1 billion by the end of 2007, which would double the 2006 spend; however, it seems most are projecting major growth not to happen until the end of this decade. Some are projecting $3 billion in spend by 2010 (as reported by MSNBC:Battle between Google, Yahoo goes mobile). Others expect ad spend will reach $11 billion by 2011 (as reported by MarketingVOX in Search Heavyweights in Mobile Advertising Race). Several factors determine how fast mobile advertising...

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More Moments in Mobile's Maturation:

Posted by chip on February 21, 2007 at 04:38 PM

Well here we are again, a few months have gone by since my last update on the evolution of the mobile web. As would be expected in a market evolving as quickly as this one, several interesting and/or significant developments have occurred. Here are a few of the highlights as I see them. MySpace Goes Mobile Vodafone brings the MySpace community to the mobile front. Through an exclusive partnership, Vodafone will begin pre-loading MySpace software onto its mobile phones. Slated to happen sometime this year, the partnership will bring millions of Vodafone users, at least across Europe, the ability to...

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Take a Podcast to Lunch

Posted by tim on February 16, 2007 at 01:45 PM

Get ready, employers, this one is a shocker - your employees are consuming podcasts on your dime in record numbers. Oh sure, if cornered, they’ll tell you it was the company’s inspiring series 10 Steps to Make You A Better Employee, but don’t believe a word of it. A quick look at their computer iTunes account will give you a much different picture. Now, before employers start papering the in-boxes with "Guidelines for Proper Internet Usage", let me offer the "half-full" explanation . . . Using our nifty PodGarden PodTractor tracking technology, Oneupweb regularly tracks those iTunes subscribers. In fact,...

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To Blog, Or Not to Blog

Posted by Christopher on February 09, 2007 at 03:59 PM

SEO, increasingly, is becoming a bona fide discipline, an industry to be reckoned with. With an increase in prominence comes an increase in exposure, and an attendant increase in the level of knowledge evinced by the populace. For example, relatives, when they inevitably ask what I do, are no longer inevitably slackjawed. People know what it is, this thing we do. Sort of. Thusly, potential clients are approaching us with a limited education, an idea of what they need. Toward that end, one of the questions I get, with rapidly growing frequency, is "should we have a blog?" My answer...

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Social Network Marketing: YourSpace

Posted by on February 01, 2007 at 02:49 PM

If you've read marketing predictions for 2007 and beyond, you can't miss the overwhelming belief that social networking sites can, and most likely will, have a greater effect on the ways companies reach out to consumers. With such great potential to engage customers in a natural dialogue, some companies continue to scuttle this ground-floor opportunity to really crank out some serious marketing mojo. Before we break out the whooping stick, let's back up a little bit and talk about some of the significant differences between traditional forms of advertising and the differences in social network advertising. In traditional forms of...

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Thank You for being a Friend

Posted by on January 31, 2007 at 09:55 AM

Log on to social networking giant MySpace and included right in the company logo is the slogan: A place for friends. So, who exactly is a friend?

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Street Smarts vs. 'net Smarts

Posted by on January 25, 2007 at 08:56 AM

What's Happening :: Part I It used to be television, now it's myspace.com that garners that valuable real-estate about three inches in front of our kids' noses. And just as my parents encouraged me to turn it off and go outside, the next wave is happening; only this time there is a new twist. Some neighborhoods require a little more street smarts than others. I grew up in Detroit. Spending time outside and getting to know my environment and its inhabitants was a crucial part of my safety, as it allowed me to hone the social intuitive skills that we...

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Search Darwin-ism

Posted by drew on January 24, 2007 at 02:58 PM

The web is constantly evolving around us; that much is obvious. A new website here and a new technology there allow us to see where the web is headed. But what about technologies outside the realm of the Internet? A recent Search Insider blog post speculated a statement made by MySpace co-founder Tom Anderson that MySpace has "replaced MTV." The blogger concludes that MTV hasn't been replaced, but has evolved with a changing generation. So are offline technologies evolving into web 2.0 technologies? Spout.com is another example of evolution. If MySpace is the web 2.0 MTV, Spout is the HBO....

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MySpace for Your Pooch?

Posted by on January 19, 2007 at 12:21 PM

Laugh all you want - but one of the biggest trends in niche social networking is the online pet community. If humans can have Friendster, Facebook, and MySpace (to name a few), why can't our beloved pets have a place of their own?

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Web 2.0 & the NBA

Posted by on January 18, 2007 at 12:54 PM

Being a closeted Chicago Bulls fan in the heart of Detroit Pistons territory, I’d like to spend a moment on the Dallas Mavericks and owner Mark Cuban. For as obnoxious and odd-looking as he is, it’s admirable that Cuban has not been content to sit around and count his dot-com boom money. Instead, he has continued to innovate in a way that’s resulted in arguably the most passionate fans in the NBA. (Following their owner's lead, they're probably also the whiniest.) Cuban's blog is poorly punctuated and sometimes nonsensical, but generally entertaining. In some ways, it’s the precise example of...

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Let's Face the Gen Next Facts

Posted by anne on January 16, 2007 at 01:59 PM

With online social networking being a hot tip-of-the-tongue topic, one group in particular has embraced this use of technology and the internet to make the connection with people in new and distinctive ways. Meet Generation Nexters. Generation Nexters are those born between 1980-2000 (69.7 million people to date). They are those born of Boomer parents and early Xers into our current high-tech times. Although the youngest workers, they represent the most technologically adept and fast learners. Defining events with this group include school violence, multiculturalism, and TV talk shows. They value civic duty, achievement and diversity. The NewsHour with Jim...

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Survival, Socialization, Entertainment

Posted by on January 15, 2007 at 10:59 AM

Rodney stares longingly out the grimy window of his second-story apartment at the orange glow of the slowly setting sun, reflecting on the day's tasks and achievements, taking his last draw on a dying cigarette. He can feel his heart pounding violently within his chest as if trying to break free from the horrible darkness racing wildly through his veins. One final rush of hot blood to his face and the calm takes back over — he has a new MySpace friend request. Rodney is fictional—his name has been changed to protect his innocence, or his guilt. What do you...

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Social Semantics & Web 2.0

Posted by on January 11, 2007 at 09:00 AM

Ask anybody what Web 2.0 means - or is (is it a concept? a thing? a phenomenon? all of the above?) and you're bound to get a variety of answers - all of them different. As fellow employees have pointed out here and here, the majority of ideas (both accurate as well as misguided) about Web 2.0 seem to be evolving faster than I can type this blog post. Aside from a litany of interpretations about what Web 2.0 is, other jargony new buzzwords are also popping up left and right, such as Social Media Marketing and Social Media Optimization....

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Do You Lead a Second Life?

Posted by on January 09, 2007 at 10:54 AM

For a tech guy, I can sometimes be a little behind on all the latest and greatest tech news, though it's one of my new year's resolutions to fix that. A couple months ago I was hearing a lot about Second Life, so I checked out their website, and soon forgot about it. My interest was piqued when, just yesterday, the source code to the Second Life client was made open-source. I've always been a big fan of open-source software, and applaud Linden Lab for releasing their client. For those of you not sufficiently familiar with Second Life, it's precisely...

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Is Social Networking the Next Milgram Experiment?

Posted by dave on January 04, 2007 at 02:52 PM

In 1961 Stanley Milgram, a Yale University psychologist, started what would become one of the most famous human behavioral experiments of all time - The Milgram Experiment. The goal of the experiment was to measure the willingness of participants to obey an authority figure even if their instructions conflicted with the participant’s personal views. The results of these experiments showed us just how much situational power can affect behavior. Fast forward 46 years to 2007 where social networking is now at the forefront of the online marketplace. Digg, MySpace, Orkut, Friendster, LinkedIn, YouTube, Metacafe and countless others clamber to capture...

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MySpace: To Advertise or Not to Advertise?

Posted by on December 29, 2006 at 11:51 AM

With the recent news of MySpace overtaking Yahoo as the most visited domain, the advertising community is abuzz about the opportunity to market to a difficult-to-reach demographic audience: teens and young adults. Some researchers say that a large percentage of MySpace users are 12 to 17 year olds. Although this is an incredible marketing opportunity, advertisers are having to weigh the risks of being associated with a site that has been criticized in the media for promoting sex and being unsafe for young users. The news media is filled with stories of sexual predators, arrests, police probes, lawsuits, and attorney...

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Congratulations, You've Had a Heckuva Year

Posted by on December 28, 2006 at 10:53 AM

You - you - are Time magazine's 2006 Person of the Year. But you knew that already. I'm hoping you've added it to your resume by now. Why you? Because you created a Facebook account. (I didn't.) Because your Grandma found her way to myspace. (Mine didn't.) Because your band rode a few demos posted on myspace into pop radio success on both sides of the Atlantic. (Wish it were me.) Because your podcast found subscribers around the globe. (Never got around to it.) Because your dad forwarded you a ridiculous viral video of some guy chugging four beers without...

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Wii Elbow

Posted by vern on December 27, 2006 at 05:15 PM

I'm not a big fan of video games. So when I saw the news reports of the PS3 stampedes, stabbings and shootings I thought, "how stupid, it's just a video game." Little did I know what was in store for me and my family this Christmas. A couple of months ago, two of our programmers brought in a Wii console and 4 controllers. We all took turns playing Wii tennis during break. I was instantly hooked, thinking what a great family gift this would be. Well, I should have acted right there and then and stopped at Best Buy on...

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Back in Black - The Return of the Hat

Posted by on December 21, 2006 at 12:08 PM

Okay, first of all let me apologize to reputable online marketers everywhere for exhuming the tired, old "black hat" reference. I couldn't resist, though, as that clichéd moniker was the first thing that came to my mind while doing some reading lately about the latest trends in social network marketing. It's no secret that the online marketing universe is all a buzz with talk, ideas and strategy about how best to sell one's widget in the ever growing realm of social networks. What's troubling is the spammy tactics being used by many to either falsely promote their product, idea, press...

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Search & Brand Management: The Taco Bell E.coli Crisis

Posted by chip on December 20, 2006 at 12:21 PM

Well by now it's no secret that Taco Bell has been dealing with the aftermath of E.coli tainted lettuce that surfaced in locations throughout the Northeast United States, causing as many as 71 customers to fall ill. What may not be as widely known is one of the ways in which Taco Bell is addressing this PR crisis. While it's not uncommon for companies to face public relations opportunities resulting from a crisis situation like this. What is uncommon, in my opinion, is for a company to effectively utilize search in its response. Showing some foresight, Taco Bell is currently...

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TiVo & iTunes - Calculating the Value of Time

Posted by dave on December 18, 2006 at 02:03 PM

Yesterday while watching TiVoed episodes of The Office and searching around online, I came across a Time Value Calculator. Although only mildly useful, this tool got me thinking - What is time really worth? Is it worth the $70.00 a month subscription fee to TiVo all your favorite shows, or the $1.99 to download an episode of your favorite show from iTunes to watch at your convenience? For me personally, $1.99 seems like a small price to pay for the convenience of seeing a commercial free version of an hour long show condensed down to 40 minutes and viewable anytime...

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To and From Home

Posted by on December 15, 2006 at 02:44 PM

With the holiday season upon us, many loved ones are spending days apart, overseas and in the armed forces. But communicating to and from home has never been easier with the emergence of high-speed Internet, e-mail and instant messaging. I recently received an e-mail from a friend about sending Christmas cards to our troops. When I realized they were online Christmas cards, I began to think about how the Internet has changed our lives so much since my grandparents, parents, and even in my lifetime. With a click of a button, messages are instantly sent to loved ones half way...

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Forget iTunes’ Billion Songs Sold, Pews’ News Is Podcasting

Posted by on December 13, 2006 at 09:22 AM

Pew Research’s groundbreaking Internet and American Life Project gave us that glance recently when they updated their February-April 2006 numbers on podcasting. The bottom line, podcasting is big and growing bigger every day.

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Podcasting for Search Engine Optimization & Marketing

Posted by duncan on December 12, 2006 at 02:12 PM

I was fortunate enough to spend a few days in Chicago last week at the Search Engine Strategies Conference & Expo. The company I am with, Oneupweb, hauled in a nice flat screen monitor to show one of the video podcasts we produced. Many of the people who stopped by our booth were there to talk about SEO and SEM services, but they couldn't help wanting to talk about podcasting too. I don't blame them. Podcasting is a fast growing and exciting aspect of the online marketing world. Thousands of businesses are realizing that podcasting is a great channel to...

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Stopping for Directions? I'd Rather Search.

Posted by on December 04, 2006 at 09:41 AM

The age old question of why won't men stop to ask for directions may have a new answer. No, it has nothing to do with genetics, GPS units, or just plain stubbornness. It may have something to do with text messaging.

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Chat + Search = Cha-Cha

Posted by on December 01, 2006 at 01:50 PM

For some the search site ChaCha might sound familiar. For the rest, allow me to introduce a social search experiment with dreams of making the web more accessible and returning the most relevant search results possible. Most social search sites employ tags, directories, ratings systems, and user comments to help you find relevant results. ChaCha employs a virtual harem packed with web-savvy guides capable of locating hard-to-find and obscure pages. That's right, guides. One of ChaCha's main features is that there is literally a collective of search experts waiting for your query. The simplicity is beautiful. Visit their home page,...

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Social Networking Opens Job Doors

Posted by anne on November 30, 2006 at 03:14 PM

The face of the employee recruiting process has changed considerably when compared to a mere five years ago. The days of pouring over resumes to learn of an individual's work history and level of education are quickly disappearing. Since I handle recruiting for an online marketing company, I am frequently on the prowl for talented graphic designers. These days however, I no longer have to meet in person with a candidate for an initial glimpse of their creative design and artwork. By placing a hyper-link within their resume, a talented graphic designer has the ability to "woo" even the most...

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Is Podcasting Still the Next Big Thing?

Posted by dave on November 29, 2006 at 04:55 PM

Check the headlines: Podcasting falls on deaf ears Podcasting: It's not just for geeks anymore What Podcasting Revolution? The line in the sand has been drawn. You either believe that podcasting is the next big thing, or just another over-hyped fad that will fade away and join the 8-track as an obscure Trivial Pursuit answer. Given this seemingly "either or" outcome, many companies have shied away from dedicating advertising dollars to this new potential revenue stream. As a subscriber and regular listener of numerous podcasts, all I can say to these companies is "You're missing out." Rarely do you get...

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800 Miles from Christmas

Posted by on November 27, 2006 at 11:38 AM

The turkey has been roasted and the stuffing is now just a memory in my mind and a good feeling in my stomach. Thanksgiving has past and now it's time to get back to work. After moving to northern Michigan to work as a graphic designer 2 months ago, the Thanksgiving holiday for me was especially interesting after a long 12 ½ hour drive to Omaha, Nebraska, to see my family and enjoy a much anticipated Thanksgiving dinner. As a 23 year old single male I don't eat much, and I rarely decide to cook a full course meal, so...

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Google, Yahoo & MSN Support Common Sitemap Protocol

Posted by steve on November 16, 2006 at 11:01 AM

It's been almost a year and a half since Google first launched a new service called Google Sitemaps. Back in June 2005, when it launched, Google Sitemaps had two goals: 1. Optimize Googlebot's ability to crawl web sites and provide more timely, relevant search results, and... 2. Allow webmasters to more easily communicate with Google to get their new content crawled faster than ever before. Since then, Google Sitemaps has undergone a name change (now called Google Webmaster Tools). The name change came about to reflect a growing list of features offered to site owners. Combined with the potential for...

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1980's Southern Alt-Pop, Google, & the YouTube Revolution

Posted by on November 14, 2006 at 10:05 AM

It was a snowy mid-November night in northern Michigan, (Mid-November. Snow. Lots of it. Sigh.) and, for the first time, I participated in a time-honored tradition: Wasting hours of time on YouTube. The good people at Slate magazine had published a relatively inconsequential article about one of my favorite bands, R.E.M., and a band I’m basically indifferent to, U2, and their two divergent paths since being the two coolest bands of the 1980’s. Included in the text of the article was a YouTube link – not my first, but the first I’ve been really excited about – of R.E.M. playing...

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iPod Killed the Radio Star

Posted by vern on November 09, 2006 at 05:29 PM

I'm usually an early adopter. I can't resist getting my hands on the latest sports gear and electronics. I don't know why, but when the iPod was introduced by Apple so many years ago I didn't bite. I was content to surf the radio dial during my 45 minute commute. AM 580 for the local weather, NPR for national news and then settling on a classic rock or alternative station depending on my mood. Sure, I have iTunes on my home Mac and listen to a wide variety of artists regularly. Maybe I'm a creature of habit. Maybe, heaven forbid,...

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Borat Reviews, 2006 Election Results, Blogs & Search Engines

Posted by duncan on November 07, 2006 at 09:47 AM

Have you taken the time to make sure your blog will rank for the keywords you are targeting? If not, you may not be getting everything out of your blog. Blogs and search engines truly are an important part of the modern media and information age. My blog today should help exemplify this point. Now why did my headline list election results? Easy. Today is Election Day and I knew that if I mentioned it, and added a little optimization to this blog post, I'd get many readers to take a look at my write-up. Millions of people will be...

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More Momentous Mobile Milestones

Posted by chip on October 25, 2006 at 01:35 PM

Once again, it's time to tip our hats to all those innovative ideas and developments that are helping to usher us into the brave new world of the mobile internet. While it would be virtually impossible to talk about everything that has been happening in this ever evolving sector, some of the most significant items from recent mobile history include: Mobile Browsing Opera's mobile browsers, which I mentioned in my last mobile update, have now all been released and are available for download on their site. Mobile Search Ask.com has recently taken some steps towards improving mobile search with Ask...

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Before There Was Facebook...

Posted by on October 24, 2006 at 01:37 PM

This summer, before I joined the staff of Oneupweb, I stunned an intern who had spent a morning "hard" at "work:" "Guess how old I am," I said. (Not particularly, I like to think.) "I have no idea," she responded. "I'm so old that, when I was in college, we didn't even have Facebook." Finding her sufficiently speechless, I walked away. The conversation made me, in a twisted way, wistful for the actual freshman facebook all incoming students were given when I entered school. Page after page of senior picture, alphabetically arranged, listing the student's high school, hometown, anticipated major,...

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Resumé to Podcasting

Posted by anne on October 19, 2006 at 12:02 PM

I turn on my iPod and am greeted with my most recent download. It begins with the tune "I'm Your Number One Fan" by the Depots; I hear a voice from afar that begins the narration with "My name is..." and I think to myself, "This may be the one." The narrator begins with a soft introduction and summary about themselves: their past work history, their present skills and a sampling of their duties from past employers. Each employer is introduced with a slightly different instrumental backdrop. The narrator describes each employment experience with vocal passion and excitement. This normally...

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LOST Season 3 Premier Gets Me LOST in Podcast Land

Posted by on October 04, 2006 at 12:36 PM

Last year I spent weeks listening to my co-workers Mike and Erin talk lively about each new episode of the TV show LOST on ABC. During that time my wife and I were busy with newborn twins and watching television was a luxury we couldn't afford. So, seeing my friends get so involved in the plot, characters and all their theories about one stupid TV show left me baffled. On a whim, a few months ago my wife and I decided to see what the hype was about. We rented the first season of LOST. That led to the second...

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The Power of Podcasting

Posted by tim on October 02, 2006 at 02:02 PM

It’s fair to say that Podcasting (gasp! maybe we shouldn’t use that word anymore), ahem – audiocasting - is in its infancy right now. Certainly not breaking any ground with that revelation, I know. As with most new media, businesses are scrambling to figure out how to use it. And many are left scratching their heads. The beauty of the new electronic media though, is that you can grow, evolve, and change quickly. Clearly these are pioneering days, even as the format is maturing with independent casters and fans; it’s only the earliest of days for business application. Right now,...

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Blogging - It's All About You

Posted by anne on September 26, 2006 at 01:38 PM

About ten years ago, a new way of communication emerged that allowed individuals to send messages to one another instantaneously, and if you had any regrets, you could recall that same message successfully without any apology necessary. What emerged from e-mail were some guidelines regarding its usage and its content; employees who normally exchanged kind phone conversations were found sending scathing responses to fellow coworkers as a result of capitalized red fonts! While e-mail proved to be a useful business communication tool, the temperament of an employee misinterpreting a sent message was more common than most would imagine. For example,...

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The Blog, the Critic & the Company

Posted by on September 25, 2006 at 01:36 PM

I'm the working mother of a three-year-old intellectual. Recently, the three-year-old and I found ourselves at a dinner party, out-classed and under-read. The room included a humorist, a political cartoonist, a marketing maven and a gentleman farmer slash film producer. During the evening of references that went over my head, someone mentioned The New Republic, citing it as an adjective of a personality. The following morning, while trying to keep up with the poignant part of my world, the NYTimes Technology section offered David Carr's insight into the current travails of The New Republic and its recent blog scandal. (Scandal?...

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From Soapbox to Zune, Creativity is Overrated

Posted by dave on September 22, 2006 at 04:35 PM

The advances that technology has made in just the last few years are astonishing. From receiving a personalized monthly diagnostic e-mail from your car, to reading about a military coup as it is occurring, there seems to be almost no limits to where creativity and technology can take us. Unfortunately, instead of taking this "The Sky's the Limit" approach to technology, many companies are deciding to go the way of the Lemming. The perfect example of this "follow the success" mentality is Microsoft. If we look at what Microsoft has been working on, we find the Zune, an iPod rip-off,...

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MySpace Rolls Out the Black Carpet for Borat

Posted by Christopher on September 19, 2006 at 12:16 PM

I have to admit this first thing: I'm a geek, and I'm completely unashamed. Were there a geek army, I'd enlist. I've taken my nauseating high school angst and every beating-induced neurosis and turned it all into a shimmering pride. Even geeks think I'm a geek. This is why I celebrate every geek victory as if it were my own. And Fox Interactive Media's premiering Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan on MySpace is a geek victory, my friends. The only way you can figure out where to see the film, and when, is...

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Help Google Help You with Image Labeler

Posted by drew on September 18, 2006 at 10:49 AM

"Google Image Labeler is a fun way to help us organize all the images on the Web!" Simply. Google Image Labeler is a new game that Google has launched. You enter into competition with possibly millions of other people who have nothing better to do with their time than help Google do its own work by labeling images from its database. It's like back in high school when that popular kid came up to you asking for help, and you decide to take time out of your own busy schedule to do so. Sure, it's a nice thing to do...

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Searching for Patriot Day

Posted by keirsun on September 11, 2006 at 04:03 PM

Being a television news producer on September 11, 2001, it was impossible to wake up this morning and not realize the date. All weekend I could feel this day approaching, even without tuning into news coverage of the 5th anniversary. But out of morning habit, I checked the calendar on my fridge while chomping Cheerios and noticed today is a national holiday - Patriot Day. I felt surprised that I had forgotten the President had given this date an actual name, a name that carries as much weight as Memorial Day or Labor Day. I decided this would make an...

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Mobileity: The Mobile Web Moves Forward

Posted by chip on August 24, 2006 at 11:12 AM

Well it has been a few months since my last update on the world of the mobile web. With this market moving as fast as it is, there have been several interesting developments in that time. So I figured it's about time I revisit this topic to give a little credit to all those interesting and innovative ideas that are helping to move us closer to a world without wires. Webaroo Improves: Now if you read my last update you are well aware of what Webaroo is and that I personally, am a big fan of the concept of being...

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Straight Up Site of Interest - Podcast Production & Tracking

Posted by keirsun on August 07, 2006 at 04:19 PM

It's time once again for our Straight Up Site of Interest. This monthly post focuses on forward-thinking internet technologies and the websites that preface them. After sharing the view, you'll have another answer to this very important question: "How can I market my website?" This month's topic: Podcast Production and Tracking We're doing something today that we haven't done yet with this monthly posting - tooting our own horn. Straight Up Site of Interest: PodGarden In our Own Words: "Oneupweb’s podcast services can design, produce, optimize, host and track your online production." First Impression: Stroll the paths of our PodGarden...

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YouTube Confessions

Posted by on July 25, 2006 at 10:26 AM

Is it wrong that at night, when I’m alone in my apartment, I’m scouring Popurls.com for the top YouTube posts and searching uncontrollably for Maury Povich's show on Pickle Phobia? Maybe not wrong, but definitely weird and probably concerning to my friends and family. But I’m not the only one who's into this user-generated video site; a recent USA Today article says YouTube reported 2.5 billion videos were watched in June of this year alone and more than 65,000 videos were uploaded to YouTube, accounting for more than 60 percent of all videos watched online. YouTube, dev