“After ten years of watching Web users, one clear conclusion is that they are utterly selfish and live in the moment. Giving users exactly what they want, right now, is the road to Web success.”
— Alertbox, April 21, 2003
Tag Archives: Early Net Culture
Doc Searls, David Weinberger: Net fundamentals.
“When we look at utility poles, we see networks as wires. And we see those wires as parts of systems: The phone system, the electric power system, the cable TV system. When we listen to radio or watch TV, we’re told during every break that networks are sources of programming being beamed through the air or through cables. But the Internet is different. It isn’t wiring. It isn’t a system. And it isn’t a source of programming.”
1. The Internet isn’t complicated
2. The Internet isn’t a thing. It’s an agreement.
3. The Internet is stupid.
4. Adding value to the Internet lowers its value.
5. All the Internet’s value grows on its edges.
6. Money moves to the suburbs.
7. The end of the world? Nah, the world of ends.
8. The Internets three virtues:
– a. No one owns it
– b. Everyone can use it
– c. Anyone can improve it
9. If the Internet is so simple, why have so many been so boneheaded about it?
10. Some mistakes we can stop making already
Marketing 101
You see a handsome guy at a party.
You go up to him and say, “I’m fantastic in bed.”
That’s Direct Marketing.
You’re at a party with a bunch of friends and see a handsome guy.
One of your friends goes up to him and pointing at you says, “he’s fantastic in bed.”
That’s Advertising.
You see a handsome guy at a party.
You go up to him and get his telephone number.
The next day you call and say, “Hi, I’m fantastic in bed.”
That’s Telemarketing.
You’re at a party and see a handsome guy.
You get up and, Give eye contact.
You walk up to him and pour him a drink.
You say, “May I,” and reach up to kiss him, and then say, “By the way, I’m fantastic in bed.”
That’s Public Relations.
You’re at a party and see a handsome guy.
He walks up to you and says, “I hear you’re fantastic in bed.”
That’s Brand Recognition.
You’re at a party and see a handsome guy.
You talk him into going home with your friend.
That’s a Sales Rep.
Your friend can’t satisfy him so he calls you.
That’s Tech Support.
You’re on your way to a party when you realize that there could be handsome men in all these houses you’re passing.
So you climb onto the roof of one situated toward the center and shout at the top of your lungs, “I’m fantastic in bed!”
That’s Spam
Source unknown. Found this on Halley Suitt’s blog in 2003
FBI using banner ads to go after criminals
The FBI is now using pop-up banner ads to go after the criminals on its “Ten Most Wanted” list. The first-ever FBI Most Wanted banner ad is a wanted poster seeking Boston organized crime figure James “Whitey” Bulger.
Relaunch Learfield.com
After months of planning and hundreds of hours of work, we re-launched the corporate website at 5:00 a.m. on November 1. On time and only a little over budget. The look and feel is the work of a very talented designer named Kory Johnson. Her style is very sleek and clean.
Everything beneath the hood was created by Gestalt, Inc. Chief Knowledge Architect Andy Waschick has spent so much time on our sites that he’s had no time for his own. He has a blog but it’s a sometimes dark and forbidding place that I dare not send you without his permission and note from your mother. Having Andy build your website is like… having Thomas A. Edison wire your home. It’s likely to take a little longer because he’s always creating and inventing and staying up all night in his workshop building a garage door opener before you have a car (or they’ve been invented). Somewhere along the way I stopped asking, “Would it be possible…?” because nothing is impossible for Andy.
The next phase for Learfield.com will be the development of a company-wide intranet. The thought of really connecting all of the employees in our company can be a scary one for some of our managers. Do we really want everyone to be able to communicate with everyone else? Do we really want them to be able to communicate with our customers and business partners?
Gnomedex: Conference blogging
I’ve been attending conventions, conferences and meetings of one sort or another for twenty-five years but this one is different. This one is wired. More to the point, it’s unwired. Many (most?) of the attendees have their notebook computers fired up and connected to the Internet via a wireless network. So, while the speakers were making their presentations, many of the people in the audience were “reporting” what was being said by posting (text and photos) to their personal blogs. Now, I don’t know if this is journalism or not. But I’m not sure it matters. Something is going on here. Steve Gibson is talking about Internet security and seconds later some guy in the audience hits the enter key and people all over the world can read about it (with photos). No networks. No editors. No filtering. How do we know that what we’re reading is accurate or fair? Well, there were probably a dozen people blogging today’s presentations. Pretty unlikely they’d all have the same ax to grind. Like I said… feels like something is happening here. [killed dead links in this post]
Doc Searls: Customers and Consumers
A-List blogger Doc Searls was once a radio guy and is not happy about the state of commercial radio. He makes a strong, clear point I’ve struggled with for 30 years.
“Commercial radio’s customers are its advertisers. It’s consumers are its listeners. Its business is selling air time to advertisers. It raises the value of that air time by attracting the largest possible number of listeners, in the most desirable demographics. How it does that is irrelevant to the business itself.”
He references a story by Jennifer Davies in the San Diego Union-Tribune (Corporate radio has pulled the plug on many a radio personality) that’s depressing –but hardly surprising– to this one-time DJ.
“The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates there will be an almost 8 percent decline in need for broadcasting announcers in both radio and TV because of industry consolidation. In addition, pay for radio announcers is stagnating with the average hourly salary of around $9.”
And as for tomorrow’s listeners?
“Teen-agers no longer take their cues from radio, searching out new music online instead. Since 1998, teen-age males listen to the radio almost 7 percent less a week. Teen-age females’ weekly radio listening is down close to 9 percent. Teen-agers listen to the radio less than any other age group, according to Arbitron.”
Douglas Rushkoff on AOL
“AOL never had a future. AOL was a training ground. An introduction to the Internet for people who didn’t know how to deal with ftp protocols. None of us thought it could last, because once the technological barriers to entry for the Internet had been lowered, no one would need AOL’s simplistic interface or it’s child-safe, digital content wading pools. People would want to get on the *real* Internet, using real browsers and email programs.” — Douglas Rushkoff
Lesbian Chat Rooms
They delivered our new refrigerator a few days ago. The guy in charge was in his mid-30s, early-40s. The younger guy was a sophomore in high school. As they wrestled the box down from the pick-up truck, I asked the young guy if he’d rather be online. “You bet he would!” , said the older guy. “So would you,” offered the teenager. I asked the older guy how he spent his time online and –before he could answer– his assistant said: “Lesbian Chat Rooms.” The older guys jumped in with something like, “You mind your own business now.” It was a topic they had discussed previously.
Now, I’m as fascinated by Lesbians as any other heterosexual male, but my first thought was: The Internet is here to stay. When the guys (representing two generations) delivering my refrigerator spend enough time online to make their way to the Lesbian chat rooms… well, this just isn’t a fad. The Net has achieved penetration.
Internet of things
“One day every possession will be tagged, and a radio signal will reveal the location of every object. That’s my dream. In the meantime, I’m going to attach my web address to everything valuable that might get lost.”
— Nick Denton has a dream and a good idea.