Couch Potato (2007 Edition)

I am not sitting on a couch and not watching TV yet it is Sunday (a free day) and I have been in front of my computer screen since 10.30am. Excluding lunch (1hr or so) and ad-hoc walks around the house, that makes a bit more than 4hrs and more than 32 different sites (not to mention the web-pages, 2 pod casts, some previous downloads).

According to Wikipedia a couch potato is "a person who spends most of his or her free time sitting or lying on a couch". 2 lines down the definition states: "Generally speaking, the term refers to a lifestyle in which children or adults don't get enough physical activity"...

Am I becoming the (interactive) couch potato?! I think I'd have to resume posting my next BLAB about The New Gmail Features later on this evening. Until then, I will switching off this machine and moving on the lengthy strolls around the house (already started jogging on the spot!)

The real interactive

I am currently watching ira play live and the crowd going wild. This has nothing to do with digital but it is definitely interactive. If only we aspiring marketing gurus could replicate this kind of interactive experience and sense of belonging that music artists provide, we would definitely get to the lovemark stage(scroll down for previous post about kevin roberts) goodnight dear reader!

Too many posts: Facebook's New Ad System

Facebook has launched a new ad. proposition which basically revolves around Word-of-mouth advertising. The new system allows users to blab about their latest purchases.

I have been reading about the new ad. model since it's launch on Nov. 6th but this article made me write some comments about it. As stated in the article, Facebook gives an identity to the person recommending the product, giving added value to the product reviews and recommendations that we're so used to.

Some marketers are skeptic about the new ad. model because they can't imagine users actually taking the initiative and speaking about their product. Since I have discovered Kevin Roberts I have to quote the guy. Roberts believes in LoveMarks, products which we love and are loyal to even beyond reason (Classic example: Ipod). Various organizations define loyalty as the moment when the customer becomes a brand evangelist and recommends the product. Everyone has his/her list of lovemarks. I have drawn my list:

TomPeters.com: The guy is so excited about his job
Google (& Blogger): Makes things simple and available for everyone
My SonyEricsson K8510: It is not the perfect mobile device but the good camera features make me speak about it
Tronky: Everyday breakfast, can't do without
Gomonews: Edgy wireless news at the right time
Adage.com: The big picture about advertising
Alicia Keys-Unplugged: My colleagues at the office have heard the album (even though I usually plug in earphones)

Disclaimer: Karl may have gone out of point with the above Lovemarks list but he hasn't read the book yet.

I will definitely recommend the above services/products on my facebook profile!

Kevin Roberts - A late welcome

I must admit that I am late, very late. I have discovered another marketing guru and promise to get to know more about him, his company and most importantly, his books, in the near future. Kevin Roberts needs no introduction from us at BLAB but deserves respect and attention! He is the "CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi, one of the world's leading creative organizations, employing over 7000 people in 83 countries"

Most importantly, Kevin Roberts is the author of LoveMarks and The LoveMarks Effect, both of which I hope to be able to read soon.

More about Kevin Roberts and Saatchi & Saatchi (an Ideas Company) here

"the web is better when it's Google" - Google OpenSocial (part 2)

This BLAB promises to be a very, very subjective one and backed by little factual insights, but I have some issues with Google...and the OpenSocial business.

Google is in my top list of organisation who understand interactive and inspire 'aspiring marketing gurus' like me (not that Google really cares about this ranking). Google revolutionized Search but most of all, Google observes me all the time. This it does to deliver great experiences and better services but somewhere in all this there is financial return and I often feel that this may come at the expense of my privacy (and I am not the only one)

OpenSocial promises great experiences to us Hi5 and MySpace users, but it also promises Google more analytics about which widgets I use, when I use them, where I use them, etc.

True, "the web is better when it's social" but does Google really care? Is it more a case of "the web is better when it's Google!"

Kylie goes for Social Networking

Kylie Minogue and Parlophone, the singer's record label, have just launched KylieConnect.com. KylieConnect.com is the first Social Networking Site dedicated to an artist's current and prospective fans. The site allows fans to setup their own profile and the good news is that the site may also be accessed over mobile. Haven't checked the site fully but the interactive idea definitely deserves a BLAB.

Google just can't help it...Google OpenSocial! (Part1)

Google has to have a share of the attention being drawn upon Social Networking Sites (SNS) such as Facebook. True, Google has Orkut, its own SNS, but that is not enough!

Google has over this past week launched Google OpenSocial which is an easy to use API based on Java and HTML allowing the development of third-party applications for sites such as Hi5 and LinkedIn. The good news (for Google) is that MySpace is also adopting Google OpenSocial, allowing the serving of third-party applications to its 200 million accounts.

Google OpenSocial is also good news for third-party developers such as Slide which were also present at the OpenSocial Campfire. Slide is basically a widget network serving widgets to 134 million unique viewers a month.

Below is my (very) simple Slide widget featuring a number of companies involved in the OpenSocial project.

Marketers and big brands may advertise and get their brands across using widget networks such as Slide's. Marketers will definitely seek to make good use of this extended network of widgets and applications, yet what about lonely $15 billion worth Facebook which managed to get a mention on today's Sunday Times of Malta and is currently the hot topic on the most popular marketing blogs and websites (the latter being far more important to 24 yr. old CEO Mark Elliot Zuckerberg)?

OpenSocial is definitely more attractive than Facebook's FBML (Facebook MarkUp Language), a mark-up language used to develop widgets but which restricts these applications to run only on Facebook. Should Facebook join the crowd?