Mar102010
Sarah Findle
The New York Times blog, “Bits” announced that FourSquare, a well known location-based social network, will soon provide free analytics tools for businesses. As the use of location-based applications continues to grow, the analytics will offer valuable information for businesses about their customers.
Some of what the analytics will provide:
- Who has “checked-in”*
- When they arrive
- Male to Female Ratio
- Most active times of day
- Option for instant promotions to engage customers
*Note: There will be an opt-in, opt-out setting in the privacy panel that will give Foursquare users the ability to keep their information private.
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Mar102010
Maximillian Hill
Sorry Tchaikovsky, but it’s true.
Mar92010
Joshua Craig
Wordle is a great service which will take an RSS feed from your site (or anybody else’s site) and convert it to an image. Larger words are found more often, smaller words are found less.
Here are a couple of examples.
From our very own blog (http://www.merrellgroup.com/blog/feed/):
And from my personal site (http://www.joshuarcraig.net/feed/):
Go try it out for yourself!
Feb242010
Carlyle McCoy
Oh the joys of college applications. Hours of standardized tests, filling out mind-numbing paperwork, and the ominous duty of constructing a meticulous essay highlighting what makes YOU so special – and now YouTube?
Applicants for Tufts University’s Class of 2014 had the opportunity to submit a video as an application supplement. About 1,000 of the 15,000 applicants submitted a video, with some becoming viral online sensations.
My personal favorite is local North Carolinian Amelia Downs, with more than 6,000 views for her video combining “two of my favorite things: being a nerd and dancing,” in which she performs a bar graph, a scatter plot and a pie chart, among others.
I’ve never been a very tech savvy or artsy individual – when given the option to write a ten-page paper or construct a diorama, I always went for the paper. But not everyone is like that, just like not everyone has to ability to move a story along visually.
The problem that arises with this new option is whether students will have to channel their inner James Cameron, in addition to scoring good grades, being able to write and filling in the correct bubbles on a standardized test. Is this increased pressure and competition going to be too much for already overburdened 17-year-olds?
Feb172010
Carlyle McCoy
As a Canadian, hockey is seemingly a part of my DNA. So imagine my disappointment when I realized one of my classes conflicted with Canada’s opening game against Norway. Devastation. But thanks to Twitter, I was able to follow every goal, assist and major action from my laptop.
These games have been pegged as the “first social media Olympics.” On Twitter, fans can connect directly to Tweeting athletes through a published list of verified Olympic athletes. Sites like Twitter-Athletes and NBC’s Twitter tracker are two other sources of news.
Facebook is not to be left behind. The official Olympic Games fan page has about 1.5 million fans, collecting status updates from Olympians like skier Lindsey Vonn and speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno, as well as adding daily photos from Vancouver.
The great thing about these sites is fans now have the ability to connect directly to the athletes, giving everyone the feeling that they have the “inside scoop” about what’s going on in Vancouver. No matter where you are in the world, through social media, fans can feel like they are part of the Olympic Village.
Dec82009
aandrews
Even if you’re not a cat lover – I think this YouTube video will still make you smile. No matter how times I watch, it still brings a huge smile to my face.
The Cutest Kitten on YouTube:
Dec42009
Maximillian Hill
I’m a gadget freak. It it has LEDs or a USB connection, I own it.
It’s true.
But here’s a gadget that I’ll never buy and you shouldn’t ether: a baggage locator.
I didn’t know that these even existed until just a few moments ago and I thought “wow, that’s a really BAD idea.”
Now don’t get me wrong, locating your luggage in record time would be great. Heck, I’d get a gadget that let me track luggage from my phone (they call that a GPS tracker, but they’re pricey) and we could call it even, but no, someone HAD to go nuts and make a gadget that attaches to your bag and blinks/makes noise when you press a button on a cheaply-made fob.
“What’s the problem” you ask? The problem is that you’re attaching a remotely activated light/noise maker to your bag and intend to set it off in an airport. Imagine the hysteria you could cause with an odd device strapped to an unclaimed bag on the carousel that suddenly starts flashing and beeping. Put it inside the bag for more “fun” while TSA is scrambled to intercept it after you activate it from “over 60 feet away.” That’s far enough to activate it before it even gets inside baggage claim.
Just think about the look on the handlers’ faces when your bag starts making noise. Priceless.
So just say “no” to these gadgets and put a piece of string on your bag. It’ll save you $15 and it’s a much more elegant solution to a problem that no one really has.
Dec22009
Kipp Bodnar
Time, Inc. is in the process of developing a digital touch screen magazine format. It is clear that the magazine industry understands the need to move to digital and the need for a great experience.
The obvious first questions are will people read them and more importantly pay to read them. Once we get past those questions, it seems like the true opportunities begin. If a digital magazine experience can be created, it will open new opportunity for advertisers to leverage magazine style creative with the analytics provided by the digital medium. Additionally, this would enable magazine ads to become truly interactive and offer new execution options.
Nov182009
Maximillian Hill
Gizmodo has done a VERY in-depth review on all the pocket camcorders out there and has named a winner. If you’re looking for a nice camcorder that shoots 2 hours of HD, both Gizmodo and I recommend the Flip Ultra HD.
For a mere $200 you can pick up this snazzy camcorder and toss it in your pocket or purse and be ready to film anytime, anywhere. Maybe you’ll be the next Zapruder as you catch something shocking and amazing on your pocket camera.
Sep222009
Maximillian Hill
Smashing Magazine has posted a bunch of free icon sets and images for you to use in your designs including the e-commerce icons pictured above. Go get ‘em right now!
