While surfing the New York Times I came across an advert for Orbitz in the right hand side-bar. Being interested in ads I ususally give ads at least a glance but this one looked intriguing. Orbitz provides users with an ad, with a message, and a very relevant message at that. Check out the images to see what the ad-game is all about....
 

Apple is all cool and hip at the moment. Thanks to the iPod, Apple is a notch up from a previously cool image, acquired over the years. Bob Dylan is an icon that the younger generations are less aware of. Bringing the two together builds a bridge between generations and genres that is priceless and unique......
 

Google is known for employing brilliant people and it seems to be precisely the case with Luis von Ahn, a professor at Carnegie Mellon. After initially explaining the concept of Captcha, Von Ahn moves on to the subject of Human Computation. The explanation of the thought process involved in specific case studies is amazing, real food for the brain. This Google Video from this specific Google seminar is well worth the time : I consider it a real privilege to have been able to see it...
 

Prison Break has just started showing the first episodes of season 2 in Canada and the US while the first season is showing in France. For a cheap but effective ad stunt 'Wanted' posters of the main characters are being posted on telephone posts etc. in the streets. I think the idea is great, once again shows that simple ideas can beat mega bucks and probably be far more effective in quite a few cases....
 

A minister of the UK government set-up a draft policy on the Internet in the form of a wiki-type system. Is it a surprise that pranksters descended upon the Wiki with a sleuth of funny or embarrassing comments depending on whether you are a visitor (but some jokes are maybe too close to the truth) or in the UK government....
 

For many years the reference in Search Engine Strategies and basically all things 'Search' has been through Danny Sullivan or Search Engine Strategies / Search Engine Watch. The Announcement (old news now) that Danny Sulivan is leaving feels weird. Search Engine Watch that Sulivan created from scratch was sold by him to Mecklermedia in 1997. He then created the Search Engine Strategies in 1999. And we all thought he would be the search man forever....
 

'Snakes on a plane' is an intriguing event as well as being a good-bad movie. The name of the film has become an expression, the hype around the film initially had nothing to do with the studio behind the film and the film itself has a 6 out of 10 average ! Not bad for what was initially expected to be a B-Film. Understanding how it all happened is interesting however, and will most probably become a reference like the (planned) Blair Witch Project viral marketing campaign....
 

An article at DM News discusses the Direct Marketing Association's Quarterly Business Review. For the 12th consecutive quarter it's a positive economic growth in view. From the different segments it seems that agencies are in a better position than others and will continue to be so....
 

A bizarre trend is leading hackers to advertise their services. An industry that is inked to make around $7.5 million every hour would be expected to advertise. The fact that all activities are completely illegal means the hacker industry is less inclined to advertise services available until now ! The blurred image of who is behind this, is getting an overhaul....
 

When you read "All Web sites are alike" at Fortune and you're not one of the media juggernauts quoted like ABC, Google or Time Magazine, you may finish the article in good spirit. It's a fierce world out there, be it real or virtual; bringing your site into the spotlight is hard, harder still when you are not well known. As the article points out, the quality of the content you publish is a key factor in the number of people visiting your site. Even sites like flickr, that could be considered successful solely due to the great service they offer, also provide some excellent photos and content. Telecom companies in the US are however on course to disrupt the Internet as we know it vigorously opposing all Net Neutrality bills to block them from controlling how and what can be accessed over the Internet....